A big part of the Living Yoga philosophy is to take the work and awareness created on the mat into daily life, so self-work is imperative to me. Motivational speaker and author Louise Hay says that, “inner work always improves the quality of our lives” and that “awareness is the first step to healing and change.”
This past week, I noticed within myself, a much hurried disposition in many of my daily activities. I became aware of the need to check off my to-do list with great speed and expeditiously. I noticed when I would talk to someone about what I was about to do that I ended my sentences with “I’ll be real quick.” For instance, I’m just going to grab something upstairs, I’ll be real quick. Oh, I need to walk the dog before it rains again, I’ll be back real quick. I’m going to finish up my lunch real quick and then head to the store. Going to jump in the shower, I’ll be real quick and then we can go. Just need to go to the bathroom, I’ll be real quick. And that’s when it hit me. I thought to myself, oh my gosh, I’m rushing to go to the bathroom! Why?? Especially when I know people are waiting on me I feel the need to be Real Quick!
So in reflection, I’ve decided to work on changing a few things. Mainly, to stop saying Real Quick (is that even grammatically correct) and to SLOW DOWN. Yes, we all have days when they are so jammed packed with things to do that we need to work swiftly and efficiently to meet the deadline, pick up the kids, and make dinner. However, even in the midst of those hurried days, it’s a good idea to hit the pause button. I’m doing a couple of things now several times throughout my day; finding my breath and repeating a mantra. Finding my breath always brings me back to the present moment. I usually find that I’ve been holding my breath or clenching my abdomen instead of breathing fully and completely. I’m also working on not saying Real Quick, and when I catch myself about to say it, I’ve been repeating this mantra, return to the breath, return to the breath.
Well, I’m off to walk the dog now. As he stops to sniff around, I will consciously take a moment to pause, and return to the breath. Namaste.
Claudine
