Hope, Renewal and Growth
/
I love Spring - it’s a season of hope, renewal and growth. The snow has thawed and melted, the grass is green, the flowers are budding, and the animals and humans are outside again. The potential for change in our environment and ourselves is exhilarating. Yet, if we don’t pay attention, the changes seem to happen overnight, and we can miss them.
Last year, in my need to bring more balance back to my life, and perform a bit of self-care, I’d started practicing yoga and meditation daily. I have been practicing yoga for over 20 years, but inconsistently, and focusing more on it as exercise rather than medicine for my life. Yoga is a practice in self-reflection. Meeting ourselves on the mat means learning to breathe through all of the thoughts, emotions and memories that arise when we move through our poses. The urge to run away can be very strong, but the only way to get to the other side is to completely surrender and breathe.
The Yamas and Niyamas are two limbs of yoga on the path towards self-reflection, and a guide for our life’s journey. While studying the history and philosophy of yoga in my teacher training, I started to notice areas of my life where I was not practicing love, where I was grasping, where I wasn’t content, or where I was overly rigid. I recognized when I was ruled by the ego and not the Spirit.
Running so fast, and for so long, allowed me (required me) to keep my mind, body and spirit separate. I had somehow disassociated from the core of who I was as a whole. Yoga and meditation became the mirror that reflected my life back to me. And, it wasn’t the soft lighting mirror - it was the other one that you’re scared to look at because its bright light magnifies every line and every blemish. Once you look, you can’t un-see what you saw. It was time to slow down and make some changes in my life.
My yoga instructors have taught me that the pose itself is not the goal; it’s the movement between the poses that matter more. Injuries happen often moving from pose to pose when we’re not paying attention, rushing or pushing through despite pain. Focusing on the breath, on proper alignment, being present in the movement and releasing the ego are critical in yoga. I’ve come to realize how important these things are in life, too.
I know slowing down is not easy. It forces us to deal with things that are unresolved. By making small adjustments, we can de-program ourselves from old patterns, thoughts and attitudes. The changes won’t happen overnight, but they will come.
Here are a few small changes you can implement:
Starting a daily meditation, affirmation and gratitude practice allows you to quiet the mind, practice being kinder to yourself, and recognize your blessings.
Schedule time on your calendar for alone time to take a walk, read, take a bath, enjoy a glass of wine, journal - whatever your version of a guiltless pleasure is.
Begin to de-clutter your home, closets, and drawers, and make room for new beginnings and changes.
Simplify your life to create room for things that bring you true joy.
Focus less on the destination and more on the journey.
Revel in stillness and your breath. Instead of racing from one destination to the next, choose to live more fully in the space between the moments.
I am not “cured” of my controlling and high-intensity tendencies, but I am more self-aware and have the desire to change. Instead of beating myself up with unkind words or thoughts about my short-comings, I am practicing self-love and care. By finally slowing down, I feel peace, love and joy. And, you can, too.
Namaste
“When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too.”
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist