My Yogi Lifestyle: Daily Yoga

A daily yoga practice is about how we are living life every day, moment to moment. On the mat, the yoga postures move our bodies in ways that open up energy channels and move us in ways that allow things like gratitude, presence, mindfulness, love, and clarity to bubble up from our core to the surface of our being. Yoga teaches us perspective. Life happens, and not always in the way that we want it to happen. But what yoga shows us is that by tuning in to what is happening right now, we can find peace in the way things are. Instead of being anxious or worried about the future or the past, we appreciate the beautiful subtlety of right now. We can take it all in, or we can let it all slip away.

My Yogi Lifestyle: Faith in Things Unseen

Have faith. Whether or not you consider yourself religious or spiritual, faith is something that exists within each and everyone one of us, though we might not always be able to access it. Faith, I read recently, is "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1) Why do we so often think that we need to see to believe? Can we ever learn to rest in the knowledge that sight only goes so far?  That there is something bigger, grander, and more powerful than our human mind and physical senses? Can we continue to set intentions and work towards goals while also being open to letting go of our plan, realizing that it might not be the best one? 

Consider a time when something happened that didn't go the way you anticipated. Maybe you didn't get the job you thought you wanted, or a relationship ended badly, or you had to move across the country for a new job. We tend to plan out our lives, deciding what we see for ourselves and determining in our heads how our lives will look. But in the end, its not really for us to decide. This is where the following explanation of faith, written by Matt Emerson in the Wall Street Journal recently, resonates strongly - faith is "nurtured by patient trust, open to revision." We want things to happen in a certain way and we want them to happen in the time we've determined for them. But again, its not really for us to decide. Not only must we be patient, trusting that all is unfolding with purpose, we must also be open to revision, open to change, open to a different perspective. Things may not always look the we'd like them to but that doesn't mean they are wrong. Whether we can see it or not, each moment of our existence happens just as it should. We must learn to trust and have faith in this understanding and let go of our egoic mind that thinks it knows best. 

We might not always be able to see the good or the light at the end of the tunnel, but we must have faith that its there. Good things come to us in ways unexpected and life evolves and unfolds in ways that we often don't understand. But when all things seem to be falling apart, remember, all things will come together. They will come together exactly as they should, exactly as you need them to, whether you ever fully understand why or how. Eckhart Tolle holds one of my favorite quotes, which I've used many times but use over and over because it is so relevant to all of us at so many points in our lives: “Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness. How do you know this is the experience you need? Because this is the experience you are having at the moment.”

A Toddler's Perspective

Its amazing what one can learn from a toddler.  This afternoon my two year old, Maggie, taught me about perspective. Perspective can make such a big difference in how we view our quality-of-life. We absolutely have the choice in the way in which we respond to the things that happen to us. We can't change them, but we can live and laugh through them

Today we experienced one of the first nice days in a long time.  The sun was shining, melting the mounds of snow that descended upon us just yesterday, and the temperature was about 50° warmer than it's been in a a while. 45° felt like 70! Taking advantage of the nice day, I walked over to pick up my daughter at day care, taking our dog, Meatloaf, along with.  For a 70 pound English Bulldog, he's a bit sheepish when it comes to water, and tippy toed his way through the many puddles in the sidewalk.  Little did he know what was in store for him.  On our walk home, a car drove through an enormous puddle on the side of the road, completely drenching Maggie, Meatloaf, and me. We all froze and gasped (or at least, Meatloaf would have gasped if he knew how).  As I was turning around to give the driver a dirty look, (how dare they!) I heard uncontrollable, hysterical laughter coming from Maggie. She thought getting soaking wet from this car was the funniest thing in the world!  What a lesson. The moment I heard that laughter I softened and started laughing myself. After all, its funny. Yes, the water was probably filthy but we would survive. Instead of stewing over the incident, I'm smiling about it.  And why not?  Its almost a certainty that person didn't do it on purpose, and there's a good chance they didn't even know it happened.  And that doesn't really even matter anyway.  It happened.  We can either choose anger, or laughter.  I choose laughter. 

~Namaste

Sell the Goat

In my yoga classes, I’ve told the following story which I came across while studying the yoga sutras:

"A man lived with his wife, mother-in-law, six children, some chickens, a horse, and a cow.  They were all driving him completely crazy.  So he went to the village rabbi to ask for help.  The rabbi said, 'Yes, I can help you.  Buy yourself a goat.'  Overjoyed, the man went out and bought a goat.  Now he lived with his wife, mother-in-law, six children, some chickens, a horse, a cow, and a goat.  His home was even more crazy than before!  So the man went back to the rabbi to tell him about the situation.  'I can help you,' said the  rabbi. 'Sell the goat.' So the man went out and sold the goat.  Now all he had was his wife, mother-in-law, six children, some chickens, a horse, and a cow.  It was quite peaceful without the goat."

Simply changing our perspective on a situation can make such a difference.  When things aren’t going well it feels like the weight of the world is on our shoulders.  If you’ve ever found yourself thinking, “Nothing is going my way,”  “Everyone is against me,” “No one cares,” then you’re not alone. When you are stewing in your anger or pouting over the way an interaction went with a loved one, try reminding yourself that you are making a choice to be in this state.  No matter how badly you want to put the blame on someone else, you alone have the power to change your perception of the situation.  Sell the goat. 

Let me give you an example.  I am a world-class pouter.  I can give the cold shoulder and the silent treatment like you wouldn’t believe.  Unless you’re my husband…then you’d believe it.  Often times I will lament to him about some situation or another that has arisen with which I’m dealing.  What I’m looking for is someone to simply listen and sympathize.  What he offers is advice.  I become upset and offended that he is not being supportive, and a draining couple of hours persist (yes, hours) where I barely say two words or crack even a hint of a smile.  Here’s where a fresh perspective comes in to play.  There’s always another side to the story, after all.   You remember the Golden Rule, right?  Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.  A great rule of thumb.  But I’ve heard about a new rule that I think is important for everyone to consider.  This is the “Platinum Rule:” Do unto others as they would have you do unto them.  In other words, treat others how they want to be treated.  When my husband has a situation to deal with, he wants advice and solutions.  Because this is what he wants, it makes sense for him to offer those to me.  He’s following the Golden Rule, but it’s backfiring.  I’ve heard so many women tell a similar version of this story and I’m sure just as many men have said the same from their perspective.  Instead of becoming frustrated or angry, what if we could just change our perception and see that this person’s intentions are good.  It’s not easy.  Our minds love to hold on to these negative interactions and manifest them into problems.  But like I’ve said before, there are no problems. So how can this be a problem?   Change your perception. Sell the goat.