The other day I was rushing out the door and I kid you not, my keys fell into the Bermuda Triangle. I'm serious. I tossed them and my phone on the seat of my car, as I usually do, ran to stick something back in the house and when I got back to the car they had vanished. I spent TWENTY MINUTES and even enlisted the help of my roommate in finding them. I was late for a client and frantic and thought I had surely lost my mind this time. They eventually turned up in a tiny little blind spot under the seat of my car, where they had fallen when I absent-mindedly tossed them. The thought hit me, this is why MINDFULNESS is so important. If my mind hadn't been so cluttered with fifteen other projects I'm in the middle of and what I'm making for dinner tonight and if my utilities bill is late and if the lawn guy came yet and if I'm off book for my scene tomorrow and if I've posted on Instagram enough or called my Mom enough or showered enough or slept enough or AAAHHHH!!!!
I clearly need to slow down, BREATHE, and center myself. I was late for my client. He graciously still paid me for the whole class but I would have lost half my rate because I wasn't present enough to notice my keys had slipped off the seat as I tossed them. We spend so much of our modern lives going 60 mph. As a single mom, I always have more irons in the fire than I can possibly keep up with. But if I can force myself to take a few moments in the morning to sit and meditate, and when my head is spiraling and my thoughts are getting scattered, to step away from everything and lift my face to the sun, how much more engaged will I be during the rest of my day?
I'll tell you this, the difference in my relationship with my daughter is night and day on the days when I practice Yoga and the days I don't. If I am stressed and tired and impatient, she picks up on it immediately and acts out so much more! And then I, in turn, respond with frustration and impatience.
These same differences can be seen in our relationships with coworkers and bosses, our confidence in meetings and presentations, the effectiveness of our communication. The biggest companies know this! Google, Nike and Apple incorporate mindfulness training for their staff. They know their crew will be most effective if their minds are focused, rested and engaged. We can actually lower our percentage of human error by taking mindfulness seriously and engaging regularly in meditation and yoga practice. I'm not a lifelong yogini or some meditation expert. But I have seen the benefits in my life since I began to take it seriously only a few years ago.
My journey toward the yogic lifestyle began back in high school when my rugby coach signed the whole team up for a yoga class. I didn't think much of it at the time except the usual myths like "yoga is for flexible people" or "yoga isn't a hard workout". I had fun with my team but continued to think some of these things for many years. I would use yoga as cross training when my body became crippled by painful, tight muscles, and I would take a half-hearted stab at meditation here and there when my panic attacks became too overwhelming. But I didn't really believe in the practice until my pregnancy. I have struggled with mental health issues for years (more on that in another post), but the dark early days of my pregnancy were like nothing I had experienced before. The choice to keep my daughter alive was, some days, the only thing keeping me alive. I was blessed enough to have a healthy pregnancy and went to the gym a lot, but started having mobility issues, pregnancy carpel tunnel, and of course, couldn't lift heavy the farther into my pregnancy I progressed. I turned to yoga. This practice provided me with a place where I could get in touch with my body on a deeper level and embrace all of the changes I was going through. It helped me prepared for labor and delivery and after Cali arrived, it was a huge part of my recovery. I committed to my practice more deeply the more I learned and eventually decided to do teacher training.
The more I learn about Yoga, the more I am so glad it is such a big part of my life, and that I get to share it with others! Check back soon for a video class and guided meditation that I want to share with you!