Worry
-unknown
The opposite of worry/fear/anxiety is prayer/trust/surrender. If you are in panic mode, you are definitely triggering the flight or fright/sympathetic nervous system which = the stress response: When you are in peace mode, you are triggering the parasympathetic nervous system which = the relaxation response. Ease and/or disease, we are equipped for both. The one we give more attention and effort to will get stronger, you know that…
The average person is on the first side of the fence, and walks around sleep deprived, with rapid or shallow breathing, jittery nerves and queasy stomach, not to mention a mind cluttered or organised around a worry list. I am not going to tell you that there is a magic wand to make worry go away but you can adopt strategies to bring your mind under control. This should not be underestimated since the mind is responsible for conjuring the worry up in the first place. I realise when you see pictures of people ‘doing’ YOGA that it may be hard to figure out how it all works, why all the fuss about starting Yoga and how it ties into training the brain, so here are a few details.
-We use postures and breathing to tame the busy mind, cultivate the meditative mind, and build a mindfulness about our attitudes in life.
-We weed our gardens, try to be nourished and nourishing
-We practise first things first
-We practise LET GO and LET GOD
-We try to balance out the GO GO GO with a bit of GO WITH THE FLOW
-We don’t always know the answers and sometimes accept not knowing everything for awhile
-We let the worries be the hecklers at the comedy show, we try to use their lines to improve our material 🙂
ha ha ha ha
-We practise Yoga not to escape but to help illuminate the way
-We meet ourselves where we are, whether on the mat, adding a prop to support us, or by accepting ourselves as we are
-We neutralise stress as it comes up…this does not mean sweeping things under the rug
-We learn that we can face our emotions and thoughts and see what’s what without necessarily being disturbed, in fact, this objectivity helps us make new, empowering, positive, nurturing choices and see options open up (see Pratyahara)
Well, the list would go on. I hope this segway helped take your mind away from a few worries, give you perspective on them, and invigorate you to see the light, as it were 😉
Why not take a moment now to bring your palms together in front of the heart, into Atmanjali Mudra (gesture of prayer)? Affirm that you are grateful for this moment and connect with your heartbeat and the rhythm of your relaxed breathing. Feel it as a moment of peace, harmony, balance, repose, silence, and the heart’s desire. As a result, you may feel more clear and rested so you may want to do it more often…
Let me know how it goes,
Om shanty, shanty, shanty (shanty = peace by the way)
it’s a process…dive in…
Rana
Rana Waxman is a registered yoga therapist ERYT-500, with 20 years of teaching experience. Rana is a freelance writer and social media expert in addition to leading yoga workshops internationally and teaching alignment focused private and group Yoga Lessons in Hoboken and Jersey City NJ.
