.....racing through life

Yogis,

Have you noticed how quickly everything is moving?  The years, the news, technology, styles – even our driving. While I slept one night it appears that speed limits increased. On my recent drive to see my parents, each leg of the journey permitted five or even ten miles an hour faster than I remembered.  We are all in such a hurry, but I am not exactly sure to where.

Even in the yoga world (yes there is a yoga world) the pace has picked up. Classes at times have us moving so quickly that we must stop and look around to see where we are supposed to be. With the time constraints we all seem to be under we want to move, sweat, gain strength and relax all neatly within a 60-minute window.......

This weekend I was asked to lead a restorative/yin type practice for our teacher training. The exact opposite of fast. While gathering my thoughts I read some articles that described this slow moving style of yoga. One author said something that began to make some sense to me of all this rushing. He stated that what he found when doing yin was that he was forced to feel.

Yes. When you move slowly into a posture and then resolve to be still for the three to five minutes that we stay, there is no escaping feeling. First the physical body begins to speak. Aware of the tightness and sensation of pulling in the hips. Then the busy mind kicks into gear. ‘What a waste of time! We aren’t doing anything. I bet I have five emails waiting for me.  I am not as deep in the posture as the guy next to me.’  You are forced to see and hear your inner voice and its relentless chatter. And when you stay long enough, pose after pose, the emotions begin to creep in. Perhaps a lingering sadness. Or a longing that you have never given voice to. Tears may well up with no warning.

This all got me thinking. Perhaps this hamster wheel of life that we have all created (yes, WE created this) and get on every morning as soon as the eyes blink open are a way of staying clear of the world of feeling.  If I have every moment of every day accounted for, then my feelings of jealousy never have to be observed. The anger I still carry from my childhood doesn’t ever have to be watched. I can think my way through life. Much less messy.

Our phones have provided another perfect escape. As soon as there is one empty moment, instead of spending time with the most important person in your life, the phone is grabbed. A lifeline always there to fill in those uncomfortable gaps. 

I challenge each and every one of you to take five minutes tomorrow to feel. To tap into the inner world.  The simplest way is to find a quiet place in the house, or outside, sit down, close the eyes and watch the breath. Nothing to do. Nowhere to go. Ask your heart what it is feeling. Then listen.

Now if you read over my challenge and immediately dismissed it, ask yourself why.

The world of feeling is so much richer and more colorful than the world of thinking.  We need both. Don’t let your life race by without tapping into the beauty that lies within ……when you slow down to feel it. 

Everything you seek lies within…….

I want to feel it all,
SARAH