Setting Yourself Up

Let me tell you about my last couple of weeks.  I was insanely busy.  Yes, I know.  We are all busy.  But I was REALLY busy.  I had an out of town wedding to go to, a semester of teaching to prepare for, and tons of homework and studying to do for the yoga program I was enrolled in.  I was feeling stressed, rushed and a bit crazed...so much prep, so many deadlines....

And as soon as it all was over....

I got sick.  

Of course.

One minute I was feeling fine.  The next all I could think about was crawling into bed, my throat raw with what turns out to be, well, a bad cold.  That's it.  Not even something that will get me sympathy, but it stopped me in my tracks.

When I was a school teacher I always got sick during vacations.   As soon as I was done with my obligations my body would demand to rest.

You can set yourself up to be sick, 

or you can choose to stay well.   -Wayne Dyer

I set myself up to be sick.  I wasn't listening to my body- running like mad, not resting, not playing, only working, working, working....I was even drinking coffee, something I rarely do.  I fact, I was having a bit of a love affair with coffee- it was my hero, making it ok that I was shorting myself on sleep at night.  I was holding up ok, albeit a bit stressed, but I was getting things done.  

I do not support the argument that we manifest all of our illness.  There are pathogens, carcinogens, toxins, luck and heredity to consider.  But some illnesses we set ourselves up for.  By not listening to the body as it asks politely for rest, we make it shout louder for rest, until finally we have no choice but to rest.  

I write about balance because it is a hard thing to achieve.  And even as we move toward a lifestyle that feels healthy and balanced, challenges will keep arising. With each step we take comes an opportunity to adjust, learn, fall down....

Sometimes I fall down.  Sometimes I stay at the keyboard even though my fingers are hurting, sometimes I schedule more clients than I can happily work on in a day.  Sometimes I don't go to sleep when I know I need to.  And sometimes my body rebells and I end up having to cancel all my appointments and stay in bed for a few days.  

Right now my brain is jazzed to be writing.  I want to keep working on this piece, to develop it into something really fantastic, something that will help other people...I want to write and to write...

but, my body is craving this:

So,  I am going to listen to my body.  

I invite you to listen too.

Wishing you balance,

Nancy

Falling

The above photo was taken by Renee Rischenole, Freelance Photographer/Writer/Artist and fellow student in the Essential Teacher Training at Open Sky Yoga.  You can find more of Renee's work at her website, www.reneerischenole.com.   This photo is of her morning view in savasana.

Savasana, for those of you who are not addicted to it yet, is corpse pose, also known as final relaxation in yoga practice.  I have come to the conclusion that we could all probably use more savasana in our lives.  

Part of our homework for one of the homework sets was to spend a significant amount of time in savasana and to reflect on the experience.  We were also asked to write a poem.  Here's mine:

Wishing you balance,

Nancy

Surrender

I arrive at my teaching job 30 minutes early but totally exhausted and in a great deal of pain. In this moment, life seems hard. The stress of teaching- the stress of teaching while in pain. It feels like too much. I usually don’t have any spare time before class, as I run from one thing to the next. But, chance has it that I am early. I can grade papers, go over my notes, check my mail. What to do with this 20 minute gift? I think about what BKS Iyengar says about modern lifestyles needing sedatives. I decide to take a sedative in the form of rest. I put my legs up on a chair and lie quietly, releasing my weight into gravity, stilling my mind. I drop right in. Worries melt away. Thoughts melt away. I am being held safely by the floor beneath me, by the earth, by gravity. My body breathes, but I am not doing the breathing. I am not doing anything. I am soft and permeable. There is a class in the next room, music, noise, but it seems very far away- I have an awareness of it, but it is only part of the field. Ten minutes later I emerge. I am ready to teach. My pain greatly diminished, this is nothing short of miraculous. I approach my teaching with energy and an elevated mood. Interesting- I surrender to Savasana and as a result I completely surrender to teaching. I am completely absorbed in it. My classes are some of the best that I can remember.  I am happy and free. Savasana!

Surrender.


Wishing you balance and rest,

Nancy