Day 15: Todd Williamson

October 15, 2009 at 12:01 am, Category: Inspiration

“They let go of these things, even for a couple of moments and they change, and I get to see this dramatic shift.  So I find that to be really the most inspiring thing because it’s life-changing.”

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Toni Reece: Todd, thank you so very much for agreeing to be part of the interviews and the project, and before I begin, can you please introduce yourself?

Todd Williamson: Sure, my name is Todd Williamson, and I am a co-owner of OmBase; it’s a yoga studio in Portland, Oregon.

Toni: Okay, well thank you, and I’m sure you have a lot of people that you inspire through the services that you provide.  And that leads us into the very first question for the project, which is, when you think about inspiration, who do you inspire, and how do you think you might do that?

Todd: Well, I thought a lot about the question, and I think the question is really interesting.  I find inspiration to be really contagious, and so whether I inspire somebody or not, for me it’s more important for me to be inspired, because if I feel inspired, I know that it’s going to be contagious and the people who are needing to be inspired will be inspired.  I’ve heard from different people, they get very inspired that I know that when I feel the inspiration myself, and then, you know, you see something switch in them.  You see the light go on and they might not necessarily be inspired to do more yoga, but they might be inspired to go, I don’t know, live their life differently which, for me, is the real yoga, the big picture.

So, it’s an interesting thing, because inspiration really weaves in our language; inspiration is about breathing, so I talk a lot about breathing and how your breath … you can’t breathe for the future, you can’t breath for the past; you really only breathe in the moment so when you fully breathe, when you allow the breath to embrace and infuse itself, it’s like the cells themselves are inspired, literally, and they’re almost compelled, you might say, to move into an affinity, more energetically in affinity with the moment, with now.  And I find when people dare to do that, regardless of what the pose is on the outside … but when they do that on the inside, everything changes and they see everything differently.

And so for me, that would be more how I would sort of relate to whether they’re inspired or not is that are they daring to just kind of let go and move into that place where magic starts to happen?  That to me is what I get to see basically on a daily level, which I’m really grateful for.

Toni: So basically you are inspiring others by the actual definition of the word, from your definition, which is breathing.  And so you are inspiring others by having them — by the yoga that you’re teaching — breathe differently, breathing in the moment differently.  Everything that you just said is really inspiring others by what you teach.

Todd: Well, in essence that’s right.  The breathing can be very mechanical, but what I find is, it just takes one.  And when you’re doing something with other people and one person courageously aligns themselves in a way that is more in affinity with, let’s say, the creative life force or whatever words you want to use, that action of them making that switch inspires everybody in the room.   So everybody might be going along doing some kind of mechanical breathing, but for me it’s more important that they come into their most natural breath, which is a gentle breath, but not a breath that’s contrived to be gentle.

So it’s really learning how to get out of the way, because I feel as though my experience is showing me more and more that inspiration — being inspired — is literally is most … well, it’s like your innate state; so touching that again brings you back into discovery and you see things new.  So it’s really quite remarkable, and it can happen; there are lots of doors in.  Breathing is just one way, meditating.

There are lots of ways that we access it, but I try a few different doors every class and however we start to get there, we always kind of end up in that same, like Rumi says, in that field beyond concepts of right-doing and wrong-doing.  We’re just all in that place, and that’s where we hang out for the whole class regardless of what we’re doing on the outside; inside, we’re kind of all communicating and coming together and communing and then they go outside with that inspiration and affect the world, which is fabulous.

Toni: So when you talk about what you do to help others explore their potential, it’s that discovery from moving from the mechanical to the natural, and I would like to know a little bit more about that because I would assume that that is the way that you help people to explore their potential.  So can you give us some ways that you do that?  You said one way is to help them breathe, but there’s other ways.

Todd: Well, I use a combination of things, you know — and it’s really kind of experiential — but I use sound, I use movement, guided meditation, I use all those things.  But I find in our culture, in particular, we’re very comfortable at being in our head or hanging out in our head, trying to understand things.  And when you’re doing that, I find that you stay there instead of dropping into the heart which would be the more natural place or the place where you have to find your inspiration.  The heart is in the moment; the head is always about the past, the future, all over the place.

So it’s really trying to give people permission, first off, and feel safe enough to do something different, to do something which may feel like letting down their defenses, letting down the things they are holding on to, the things they believe keep themselves safe, the things they cover themselves with, all the different personas, all the different everything.  And as they start to uncover, they start to discover more and more about themselves.  So there are lots of different ways.  You might start with something familiar, something more mechanical, but the invitation is to settle into familiar without having to settle for the familiar.

So a lot of times it might sound semantic, but as you’re doing it around other people doing the same thing, you naturally, automatically start to mimic and match their energy, and you find yourself literally feeling different.  And it make take a while to connect the dots to realize how you’re doing what you’re doing and, for me, there really is no recipe because if you follow a recipe, oftentimes that’s going to come back to the mechanical.  So it’s really more something you intuited, something you tuned into and really connect to that inspiration is something that … it’s just happening, it’s coming through you.

That’s, to me, like the wave connecting to the ocean.  It’s that point where you realize, hey, I am connected to the ocean, and I’m a wave and the wave is animating me.  The wave is moving me.  You’re a unique expression of the ocean, but you’re part of the ocean; you’re not the whole ocean, but you’re part of the ocean.  So all those things, it’s doesn’t have to be that kind of revelation, but it’s enough to just get out of the automatic stuff that you … away from mechanical stuff, which seems odd because a lot of the yoga can seem very mechanical.  So it’s using a tool a different way, is basically what I like to explore.

Toni: That’s really interesting, and one point of clarification if you could do for me, which might help the readers or listeners of this interview … you made a statement, you said that you go into the familiar but you’re trying to get them to settle for the familiar.

Todd: Well, okay, so basically it’s feeling the difference between settling into something versus settling for something.  I don’t believe we’re ever being asked to settle for anything, because when you’re settling for, you’re really moving outside of your integrity; you’re moving outside the moment.  And so when you’re not in that alignment, when you’re settling for something, you’re perceiving it through filters, your definitions, beliefs, concepts, and so forth.  You’re compromising, you’re acquiescing, and I don’t think that’s the same.

To me, it’s dramatically different if … I call it this way; dropping from your head into your heart, you’ll naturally feel yourself start to settle in and sink more deeply into like the wave, sinking into the ocean.  You’re sinking into more of you.  You get a feeling of more You – the capital Y- You – as opposed to trying to configure or align yourself in some way that seems to be more acceptable for something external to you, some purpose or some person or some circumstance.  So it’s really about tuning in and working from the inside out, and you do it with the breath, you do it with movement, you do it with awareness, all these things.  It sounds very similar and it can be a semantic clarification, but experientially it’s dramatically different.

So, when I started this practice and I started really looking into it and was honest with myself, I was horrified to notice that most of what I did during the day was settle for this, I settled for that, and it was not comfortable, and so learning how to be differently and not settle for, but not be obstinate; it’s just that tuning in.  It’s a listening and then dare to be moved; allow yourself to be moved, to be inspired, which is not operating from your head.  That’s the obstinate part.  So it’s not sticking in your heels and “I’m never gonna do this.  I’m not gonna compromise”, it’s tuning in and being malleable, being flexible, feeling the movement that’s coming through you and daring to move in that way, so that you’re moving with everything around you, not against it, and you’re not trying to contrive it and control it.  There’s a subtle difference, but it’s very dramatic.  Did that help a little?

Toni: Yes, you did, you clarified it beautifully and thank you.  If we go to … with everything that you’re doing, Todd, and the work that you’re doing and living actually in inspiration and so forth, what do you need to be inspired?  How do you keep yourself inspired?

Todd: Well, you know, that’s a really good question, and I find I’m answering that daily, because I ask that all the time.   I find that if I settle for what works yesterday and last week, it has diminishing returns, so it’s always got to be something new; and I find the thing that’s always new is me showing up really to teach.

And so I’ve been teaching a lot more recently and so I haven’t had days off, and so recently I was thinking, oh, I really want a day off and so I made a day off, I gave myself a day off, and then I was like sitting around thinking well, what am I taking a day off from?  The very thing that really inspires me?  Why would I do that?  Doesn’t mean I have to teach all the time but really looking at what I give myself permission to do when I’m teaching, and then if I step away from that it doesn’t mean … I can step away from the teaching without stepping away from that alignment that we were just talking about.

So here’s where I’m learning more and more deeply, like how do I do that?  So I keep myself inspired by listening to my guides, by being in class watching my students courageously let go of the very things they believe are keeping them safe, keeping them defended, the things that they believe connect into their lifeline; they let go of these things, even for a couple of moments and they change, and I get to see this dramatic shift.  So I find that to be really the most inspiring thing because it’s life-changing.  It changes their life, and so it impacts my life, so that’s what inspires me probably the most, more than anything.

Toni: This is all how it relates to you and work and the people that you are helping to inspire.  How does it translate to your personal development, to how you explore your own potential?

Todd: Well, because it’s allowing me 1) an opportunity to spend more time practicing, time being for practice; it allow me more time practicing tuning in.  So the more I tune in, the more familiar that is for me, the easier it is to tune in more and more of the time; and the more I’m tuning in, the more I feel like my little ideas I get to put out of the way, put them aside, and then I get to live in that place where I’m literally like riding the wave.  I’m being moved, and that’s exciting because that is not just when I’m teaching; it’s when I’m at the grocery store, it’s when I’m cooking, it’s what am I gonna cook, what am I gonna buy?  I’m not answering any of those questions, it’s just bubbling up.

And so it’s amazing, it’s just a different way.  It’s hard to articulate, but it’s a different way of being, it’s a different way of living so that I feel more alive just by doing that.  So it’s through my teaching that I find the main door of inspiration, and it’s hanging out immersing myself in that feeling and wearing it, and then getting a little more brave and wearing it out not just when I’m teaching but out in the world that things start to magically happen.  And it’s not like I’m doing it; it’s just, they happen.  Like the studio just came together and people came out of the woodwork and built it.  I don’t feel like I had to do it; it just happened.  I had to be present, and I had to be open for it.  These things are what happens more and more in my life and that, to me, is an indication of moving into your alignment, or what I would call your divine design.  These things just unfold.

Toni: But again as you said, you have to be ready for it.

Todd: I think everybody is ready for it in a way, but it’s being brave enough to move into having this and be willing to receive and have, which is different from wanting.  So when you get tired enough with things not working or bumping into obstacles — seeming obstacles, all that stuff — when you’re really ready to embrace the change, then you’re really ready to move into having this, your birthright.

And so for me, there it is again, it’s another seemingly semantic difference, but the shift from wanting something to receiving it and having it is very subtle, but it requires this internal shift and this willingness, this permission that you have to give yourself ultimately — and others around you can inspire you to do that — and that, to me, is what inspiration does; it moves you right into your having it, because then you’re not wanting anything when you’re inspired.

Actually, when you’re inspired, time goes away.  You’re literally outside of time.  The past goes away, the future goes away, you’re just in the moment, so that, to me, is what’s lovely about inspiration, and it can be through a piece of music, it can be through any number of things.   I just happen to do it through this vehicle I call yoga.

Toni: Well, Todd, I have to tell you, you have been an amazing interview because you have put a different and a unique definition to inspiration, and it’s not that it’s better or worse than anybody else’s story, it’s just unique and the way that you’ve described it is fascinating.  And I can absolutely validate being in the moment and inspired, as I am, with these interviews, which is a great body of evidence for inspiration, because as I’m interviewing all of you, I am lost in that 15 minutes and time stands still.  And you’ve done that for us today, and I cannot thank you enough for the information that you have given that people will have to absorb and learn and they will benefit from, and for that and the snapshot of time that you’ve given today, I cannot thank you enough.

Todd: You’re welcome, Toni, and thank you for putting this project together.  I was inspired just reading about it, and I think it’s a wonderful service, and I’m really, really grateful for being able to be part of it, so thank you so much.

Toni: You’re welcome.  Thank you again.

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For more information about Todd Williamson:  www.ombase.org

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