A Blissful Life 9/3/24: Drive Your Life

I sit down to write this week’s column and immediately focus on my breath. Deep inhales through the nose, and slow exhales from the mouth. After just a few connected breaths, I feel my body and mind beginning to relax. It has been a transitional week, full of activity. Through it all, I found and continue to find myself naturally pulling what I have learned in yoga to stay calm, present, attentive, and happy– even amid obstacles, chaos, and setbacks. Like I mentioned in last week’s column, yoga is so much more than a workout or something that will help your body become more flexible (and it will do that, too!). The multitude of lessons that I have learned on the mat come in handy out in life every single day. I am grateful for my yoga.

Something I love about yoga is how it helps us to become more self-aware, because self-awareness gives us choices. For example, if I am confronted with something stressful without ample self-awareness, I will become stressed and live in that state until something externally calms me down. However, if I am faced with that same stressful event, but I have the awareness to know what is happening, I can make the decision to bring my attention to my breath and self-regulate my nervous system. I may choose to gently constrict the back of my throat and take conscious inhales, and slower, conscious exhales. Or perhaps I might use a double inhale through the nose, followed by an audible exhale from the mouth. I will also remember the Yamas and Niyamas, which are yoga’s moral codes or guidelines to living ‘correctly’. Additionally, a mantra, or a phrase from a teacher might pop into my head. Just like that, I am granted the opportunity to stay calm and centered in my body and face the challenge from that perspective. Without self-awareness, we are at the mercy of our circumstances. With self-awareness, we sit in the driver’s seat, hold the steering wheel, and decide how we are going to navigate the road ahead.

I like to feel in control of my life, and I have come to find that the feeling of being in control does not come from trying to manipulate the things or people around me (that will never work and actually ends up inducing more stress and complications), but rather from controlling how I am in each situation. I can use my tools to stay calm, use my learnings to keep things in perspective, step up to the plate, and trust in divine timing. I am a big believer that no matter what is going on in my life, I am always exactly where I am supposed to be. If I am feeling uncomfortable about something, or in pain, or if I am having a certain awareness of a situation, I have to pay attention to those things. I used to look the other way and hope they disappeared, but they would only grow bigger and bigger until I had no other option but to address them. After experience, I now understand that if something is calling out to me it is because it wants some love and attention– not to be forced to change or pushed away.

With that, I invite you to join me and our team of certified instructors at Ocean Bliss Yoga for classes and workshops. All are welcome. View our updated Fall schedule and sign up at oceanblissyoga.net. Call or text me with questions or comments at 917-318-1168.