Here We Go Again
Here we go again. Change. Change Change. Shift.
It can proceed in many ways. It can be hurried, it can be rote, or perhaps it can be thoughtful? I think moments of creativity are born when we stop and examine the rote. When we apply thoughtfulness to our autopilot.
When we take a moment to make what we always do feel different.
I am a big yogi. I am a teacher of yoga since 2001, but I am also a devoted practitioner. It has it’s ups and downs and it has moments when it is more or less present, but there is no question that it is a touchstone. When the going gets tough, I am diligent about being on the mat.
There is a technique that many teachers use when they say, “cross your legs in the opposite way” or “clasp your hands with the non-dominant grip” . We can ignore this cue, or even let it slip over us, or we can hear it and apply it.
What it means is “wake up”.
Do not fall asleep at the wheel. Be present. It impacts me almost every time. It shocks me back to the here and now. It inhibits my mind from wandering, thinking about my day, or what I have to do immediately after class. It stills me and reminds me to be in the moment, to take the time I have already set aside for myself and use it. Do not squander it on the endless “list” in my head.
I am doing that this fall. I am clasping my hands in a non-dominant position. I am not allowing myself to be automatic. I am being careful about the plans that I make, and being very specific about the things I am committed to and being present for. I am being mindful of who needs me and whom I want to be needed by. I am keeping my eye on my instincts to do things alone.
I have people who love me and are there for me. People who want me to lean on them, and allow them to take care of me. I am choosing to let them as much as I can, and better understand why that is not always my instinct.
What is your non-dominant position? How will you make what is automatic thoughtful?
Take this moment to think and reflect- write it down. Make the unconscious conscious.