An adolescent lack of self-awareness in a high school math class taught me the hard way about the power of body language when my teacher mistook my extreme discomfort as extreme indifference. Decades later my yoga practice furthered my understanding that mindful body language can help me convey to those around me that they are welcome, interesting, and valued.
What if you could choose your pace each day? What if you could choose to be calm? What if you could pause and allow hectic thoughts and chaotic feelings to settle? What if you could do all these things and more WHENEVER you felt out of kilter? If that sounds as good to you as it does to me, we’ve got a very good reason to add a few (more) minutes of meditation to our days.
In the heat of the moment of disagreement with my husband, my yoga practice provides a moment of clarity and space. While our frustration did not disappear immediately, our feelings of aloneness and isolation in the problem did. The reminder that I am part of a "we" held together by love (yoga's promise of oneness or union) added hope that our best chance of navigating our challenging situation was together.
It turns out (as it almost always does) that yoga teaches us not how get better at doing yoga, but how to get better at living life. One of the most important skills that yoga teaches is presence. When we are in the now life is richer and more meaningful. It is also more manageable. When we are where our feet are we can navigate even the most challenging events of our life with grace and poise.
If we're not aware, our mind can create a sense of scarcity that does not represent the real abundance of our lives. Doing so can send us into needless physical and mental anxiety. With a little mindfulness and some practice, it is possible for us to learn to choose an inner sense of relaxation rather than constriction which can be life-changing.
I am grateful to my new mindfulness teacher, Julia, a customer service representative who I will probably never meet, for the loving reminder that we are connected. Thank you, Julia, for the renewed certainty that in every act we take (even when online shopping), we have the power to be more than polite. We can be thoughtful and kind. And that matters greatly.
Mindfulness makes us better at what whatever we are doing (reading, gardening, being with a friend, and so on). When we pay attention, we are exponentially more competent than when we do not. But mindfulness offers more. When we are mindfully engaged with or paying attention to whatever is happening, we feel better - calm, comfortable and confident. Feeling this good motivates us to keep us practicing!
Advent can be a hectic season filled with to-do's lists needing to get done. As we reach the end of Advent, it is good to remember that one of the season's themes - "expectant waiting" - is meaningful all year round. When read through this lens, Advent stories teach us that the un-done in life is as good and valuable as that which is done. You might even say the un-done is the “whole point” as it holds the potential of life yet to be lived and savored.
Practicing mindfulness while Christmas shopping? YES. A day spent among crowds, with little likelihood of a parking spot, and crazy, mid-December drivers with whom we share the roads reveal that the only thing we control in life is ourselves. Paying attention to how we're approaching these "obstacles" is a surefire way to have a happier day.