Most of my life, I would say I was a ‘busy’ person, and so you assume I had a lot of vitality. I was a daughter, wife, businesswoman, mother and a volunteer in our community. As if that wasn’t enough, I was often studying some course or taking a class. I didn’t do this with ease. I was always chasing the clock, so to speak. |
During that part of the day or evening where I could actually sit down or lay down, I stayed busy in my mind pre-planning what I would do tomorrow or next week – and my mind loved hashing over things that had happened the day before, thinking of all the clever things I ‘should have’ said. I was often exhausted but I just kept pushing myself to keep up with my self-imposed grueling schedule.
A few years back, I discovered Esoteric Yoga sessions. Initially, it was just one more thing to fit into my busy schedule. The first few sessions were uncomfortable for me. I wanted more activity in the session. I didn’t like the long pauses in between instructions. It felt like a waste of time!
Surprisingly, although I wasn’t enjoying myself that much I could sense that something was being offered in these sessions, which was worth exploring. I kept returning for another session, sometimes with different practitioners, still trying to ‘figure it out.’
At some point during the sessions, my mind no longer wandered around in the future or the past and I became more aware of how it felt to be in a body, in my body.
Creating a union between my mind and my body, I soon realised that my body was always communicating with me.
My body knew if I was too cold, too hot, or just right. My body knew if the pillow was preventing me from relaxing my shoulders. My body knew if my waistband was digging in or my socks were too tight. I could feel in my body if I was upset by something.
I realized that these messages were always being sent to me but I often wasn’t listening because my mind was busy somewhere else. But with my mind aligned to my body, there was plenty of room to receive the messages of my body, make the required adjustments and still have time and space to spare! After these sessions I often felt increased vitality.
Eventually, I started to take the practice of being consciously present out of the session and into my daily living. I used simple exercises like walking up a flight of stairs, staying fully present in my body from the bottom step to the top step. Not as easy as it sounds. The mind is a masterful jackrabbit, hopping all over the place. One of my favourite places to practice is hanging up a basket of laundry outdoors, one piece at a time, being consciously present with each piece I am pegging on the line.
It can be quite fun to be really present during the mundane tasks of daily living.
Next time you are thirsty, from the moment you realise you need a drink of water, become fully present with walking over to the sink, getting a glass out of the cupboard, turning on the tap, filling the glass, drinking it, swallowing, and setting the glass back down on the countertop. Now that will be one refreshing drink of water. It will be like drinking a glass of vitality. It won’t be based on the water or the size of the glass.
The increased vitality comes from being present with what you are doing, be it drinking a glass of water, hanging up the laundry, cooking dinner, driving to the grocery store, vacuuming or writing a blog.
Doing any of these things in conscious presence, meaning the mind is aligned to what the body is doing – will bring you a surprising amount of energy. Perhaps being present isn’t creating energy but it is that you aren’t needlessly using up extra energy doing one thing while the mind is doing something else. It’s a wonderful way to increase your vitality and it’s easy (with a little practice) and it’s fun.
Gayle C, Australia
If you like this article you may like to read
The Wonder, Beauty and Science of our Body
A few years back, I discovered Esoteric Yoga sessions. Initially, it was just one more thing to fit into my busy schedule. The first few sessions were uncomfortable for me. I wanted more activity in the session. I didn’t like the long pauses in between instructions. It felt like a waste of time!
Surprisingly, although I wasn’t enjoying myself that much I could sense that something was being offered in these sessions, which was worth exploring. I kept returning for another session, sometimes with different practitioners, still trying to ‘figure it out.’
At some point during the sessions, my mind no longer wandered around in the future or the past and I became more aware of how it felt to be in a body, in my body.
Creating a union between my mind and my body, I soon realised that my body was always communicating with me.
My body knew if I was too cold, too hot, or just right. My body knew if the pillow was preventing me from relaxing my shoulders. My body knew if my waistband was digging in or my socks were too tight. I could feel in my body if I was upset by something.
I realized that these messages were always being sent to me but I often wasn’t listening because my mind was busy somewhere else. But with my mind aligned to my body, there was plenty of room to receive the messages of my body, make the required adjustments and still have time and space to spare! After these sessions I often felt increased vitality.
Eventually, I started to take the practice of being consciously present out of the session and into my daily living. I used simple exercises like walking up a flight of stairs, staying fully present in my body from the bottom step to the top step. Not as easy as it sounds. The mind is a masterful jackrabbit, hopping all over the place. One of my favourite places to practice is hanging up a basket of laundry outdoors, one piece at a time, being consciously present with each piece I am pegging on the line.
It can be quite fun to be really present during the mundane tasks of daily living.
Next time you are thirsty, from the moment you realise you need a drink of water, become fully present with walking over to the sink, getting a glass out of the cupboard, turning on the tap, filling the glass, drinking it, swallowing, and setting the glass back down on the countertop. Now that will be one refreshing drink of water. It will be like drinking a glass of vitality. It won’t be based on the water or the size of the glass.
The increased vitality comes from being present with what you are doing, be it drinking a glass of water, hanging up the laundry, cooking dinner, driving to the grocery store, vacuuming or writing a blog.
Doing any of these things in conscious presence, meaning the mind is aligned to what the body is doing – will bring you a surprising amount of energy. Perhaps being present isn’t creating energy but it is that you aren’t needlessly using up extra energy doing one thing while the mind is doing something else. It’s a wonderful way to increase your vitality and it’s easy (with a little practice) and it’s fun.
Gayle C, Australia
If you like this article you may like to read
The Wonder, Beauty and Science of our Body