A Sutra for yr Sunday ~ Have the thought “or I could do nothing!” .
One of the habit patterns of the mind that can cause stress is chronic problem solving. A few years back I was travelling from the Sunshine Coast to Brisbane with Bryan Kest (who has been teaching Yoga for over 30 years) Earlier that day I had received a message from another teacher, who was upset about an issue. Keen to help “make the situation better” I started mulling it over and considering all the possibilities of ‘what I could do about this problem in order to help”
I was saying “I could do this….. Or I could do this…., I rolled out a few options, sharing it to get clear on “what I should do” Then a suggestion from the passenger seat that strangely enough had never occurred to me
“OR YOU COULD DO NOTHING!”……
? Light bulb moment!
Like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. ?
So often we don’t have to “do” as much as we think.
The mind, especially when under pressure will constantly look for problems to solve or create constant goals so there is always more we ‘think’ we have to do or pursue. The mind produces chronic low grade stress with “trying to make things better” especially when it has nothing to do with you.
Since then Ive looked into what reactions take place in the body and mind. I was fascinated to learn that there was such a thing called not just fight flight freeze response, but “fight, flight, freeze, PLEASE” Trying to please can manifest in thousands of ways, trying to fix problems or ‘perceived’ problems rather is just one of them. I love the quote:
“The only problem you have is you think you have a problem”
Take the weight of your shoulders, have the thought : “Or I could DO NOTHING “
One thing nature teaches us is that all things change, and this situation did without me having to do anything at all !! ? (Who would have thought;) Thanks to that light bulb moment I realised how helpful it can be to simply SIT! & DO NOTHING. Like all things it passes.
One of the definitions of Yoga is “To take skilful action” Quite often the most skilful action is to do nothing ! Some may even call it mindfulness meditation in daily life.
Step 1 – Have the courage to sit and do nothing and
Step 2 – Simply ‘wait’ and see what happens
Happy Sunday ? Namaste xoxTammy .
ps Gratitude to the many teachers I’ve had who have taught me how to practice Yoga off the Yoga Mat. ?
(I share more on overcoming stress & the obstacles of mindfulness in my next blogs to come and in our 4 Week Introductory Course to Mindfulness,
In our Level 1 + Level 2 Mindfulness Coaching Program we take this deeper + explore practices that can help us deal with strong emotions, highly charged thoughts and feelings
Bryan Kest (Founder of Power Yoga Santa Monica in LA) will be teaching yoga in more ways than one in two very different yoga classes
POWER YOGA plus TALK + Q&A this Wednesday &
LONG SLOW DEEP Thursday 6:30pm @rawpoweryoga in Brisbane
