Can We Give Breathing (and Just Being) a Chance?

I had a great conversation with two students of mine after class. Both students are funny, smart, mature and terrific listeners. We were talking about our 20's and even our 30's when we would work out daily and wouldn't consider it a good workout unless our muscles were screaming and sweat was pouring from our every pour. No pain, no gain. I'd like to say, yoga has taught me in my 40's to be kinder to my body and pay attention to my wellness overall. Why I wondered is it so difficult for us to have our yoga practice feel hard to be challenging. What is it about approaching yoga that way that puffs up the ego, while a quiet, focused practice feels wimpy or more like a cop-out. The more I got to thinking about that, the more it seemed appropriate to ask about anyone's practice. To ask about anyone's approach to life, for that matter. Why does it need to be hard and crazy and jam-packed to seem like it "counts." Why can't it be fun or simple or enjoyable? Why can't the to-do list be short enough to actually finish? I know I'm guilty of such thoughts with myself, even though I find it so frustrating when students think nothing is happening in an "easy" class. Sometimes, I hear, "I liked your class, but I need to feel sore the next day to know it's made a difference." Is it the Puritan heritage of America that makes us think this way? Working hard for salvation? Idle hands are the devil's workshop? A clear mind is scary? Whatever it is, I think just taking a moment to ask "Why of the urge to add more to an over-scheduled plate is a good idea?" Wouldn't it be great if we could stop the ego dead in its tracks and give ourselves a chance to just breathe. I'll bet nothing bad will happen. I'll bet it will actually be kind of nice.