Thursday, September 17, 2009

Wishing...

Tonight, I'm wishing I could keep the confidence and inner strength I feel doing yoga going all the time. I'm wishing, because right now, it feels so far from reality. I finished my practice tonight - a vigorous power yoga session - feeling great, feeling strong, feeling accomplished. But then I read something that upset me, and I lost that feeling in an instant. How do you get it back? Even better, how do you not lose it?

When I feel personally attacked, or worse, when I feel someone is attacking someone I love, my heart starts to pound, my breathing gets shallow... I guess it's some version of fight or flight. I don't like it at all, and I recognize that it's an unnecessary reaction. Why can't I breathe through it, focus on calm, see the trivial nature of the problem, etc.?

I was planning on coming here to post about how my neck and shoulder practice has released so much tension that I felt I could arch back in my standing back bends with much more ease tonight. And, my arms are getting so much stronger that for some chaturangas, I'm not using my knees - that's a huge improvement. But then I read that one thing... and I let myself get diverted.

Yoga is definitely not an easy answer, or a cure all for everything. I guess I should focus on the skills I have, and know that I'm working on strengthening them, and with time, I can hope to react better to stressors that really shouldn't stress me at all!

Namaste

2 comments:

  1. Today I wish I could take back the angry thoughts and words from yesterday, since it was all a misunderstanding. Nothing like a big mistake to make you realize you need to do some work on your personal life! Yesterday was an eye opener, that's for sure.

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  2. Regardless, your post is true, even if that instance was a misunderstanding. Exercise and yoga does clear your mind and build confidance, and it is not a bad question to ask, how to make that a 24/7 feeling.

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