Life Happens Good & Bad
You’re going about your business and feeling pretty good. You have a spring in your step and all is well at the moment. You have your routine and your day planned out and it seems like there’s nothing in your way. These are the easy moments in life where you don’t have to think or work too hard. You’re just floating along. This is when, I like to say, you are “in the flow.” Then out of nowhere… BAM! Something happens that changes everything. Your great mood changes instantly and you feel scared, confused and overwhelmed. What do you do next?
Often times we go into a reaction based response, which is never good unless it’s truly based on surviving and there is a need to react quickly to save yourself or another being. If the reaction is simply fear or anger based, you may regret your actions. And then the cycle spirals into more fear, self doubt, anger, confusion and possibly embarrassment. Do you know what I’m talking about? We all have our conditioned responses and patterns of behavior that have worked or not worked for us in the past. Perhaps we are aware of these patterns or perhaps not.
The Yoga of Awareness
This is where the Yoga comes in. Yoga teaches awareness on all levels. Physically, mentally and emotionally. Awareness of the mind, body, spirit and breath. We learn this awareness on the mat and in meditation, then we learn to take it off the mat and into the existence of our daily lives.
This awareness brings to the forefront what we’re feeling when we’re upset, angry or disappointed by the unexpected and occasional shocking news. We learn through the practice that having these feelings is okay. We are allowed to feel emotions. We should want to feel things and accept emotions as part of the human experience. These emotions help us feel alive instead of feeling numb. The practice teaches us to embrace our emotions and to have the patience to respond instead of react.
Personal Experience
Personally, I’ve learned to pay attention to how these feelings manifest in my body and mind in the moment. My breathing becomes short and shallow and I start to feel heat and tension in my body. If I’m speaking, I speak louder and maybe even yell. My thoughts are overwhelming, confusing and fear based and therefore I speak and communicate based on overwhelm, confusion and fear. It doesn’t feel good or right when I react to resolve anything out of these emotions and in the heat of the moment. I know that I should step away and pause before I react. I know this, but I don’t always do this.
Over the years and little by little the awareness from my practice helps me to move from reacting to responding. I know that if I take a pause to allow myself to feel what I’m feeling, I can process it in a healthier way. The length of the pause is either a few breaths, minutes, hours or even days, depending on the depth of the situation I’m dealing with. I know that I have to allow myself to feel whatever emotion manifests in order to process it. Otherwise it gets buried within and manifests another way over time.
The Wisdom
Life is uncertain and change is constant. We have to know that life has twists and turns, ups and downs, and at some point we will experience difficult moments. This concept is universal and has been explained by Philosophers, Gurus and Mystics since the dawn of time. We exist in a interchangeable relationship between light and dark, yin and yang, sun and moon, masculine and feminine, light and heavy, good and bad, and on and on it goes. With that wisdom, we can rely on the simple fact that everything is temporary and will always pass from one, to the other and in between. Know that whatever your feeling in the moment is legitimate and will pass eventually. Nothing is permanent even though it may feel otherwise. Learn to rely on this truth and over time we begin to trust and have faith. In the end, we have to trust that whatever we experience is part of our path and was meant to teach us something. If we don’t learn from our experience, the lesson will continue to present itself in some form until we do. Perhaps you already know this deep down to be true. Trust it.
Practice tools
In the heat of the moment, take a pause, step back and take 5 deep breaths. Literally step away or sit down. Take 5 conscious breaths watching each one move in and out of the body. Inhale slowly and watch the breath move in through the nose, down the throat and into your lungs and belly. Exhale slowly and watch the breath move out of the belly and lungs, up through the throat and out of the nose. Count each breath as you exhale. After 5 breaths, simply observe what you are experiencing emotionally, physically and mentally without judgement. Allow yourself to legitimately feel and process the experience. Allow it! This initial pause will establish enough clarity in the moment, at which point you can begin to asses whether or not you need more time to process whatever you’re dealing with.
Begin a regular yoga nidra practice. This practice teaches us ultimate awareness of ourselves while in a deep state of relaxation. A regular yoga nidra practice is proven to relieve the symptoms of chronic stress and anxiety, encourages mindfulness and awareness in our daily life, improves brain function, and creates a sustainable mind body connection.
Listen to the recording attached from my podcast and practice often. Check out more of my yoga nidra practices on Soundcloud or iTunes.
Wishing you and all beings happiness, health, freedom and safety.
Namaste
~Zen Jenn
