Tag: resistance

Get Unplugged For More Serenity

balance-15712_640When was to last time you totally unplugged from the modern distractions of life? Switching off phones, e-mail and social media notifications? Or even going offline for more than a few minutes?

Getting unplugged has so many benefits like getting back your serenity and perspective on life. Especially if you have a stressful job or a demanding phase of your life… be brave and give our suggestions a try!

Just for 10 minutes?

What if you actually switched off your cellphone right now? Closed your email? Cut off social media? For just 10 minutes – not more. Just to get a breather. Just to be able to look out the window and feast your eyes on the blue of the sky?

How do you feel? Your anxiety skyrocketing?  Don’t worry it is a totally normal reaction. Not being attached to the distractions will trigger your fears big time. Let them be. Acknowledge the fear of missing something important or fun. It is OK. And it will pass.

If you only feel irritation and fear creeping up with no serenity in sight, know that it will pass, too. Maybe not when you do this little experiment for the first time, maybe not even for the second time. If you keep taking 10 minutes unplugged and give yourself this gift every day for a few weeks, you will end up craving your 10 minutes of freedom. And this is great craving to have, don’t you think?

An hour?

How about taking one whole hour in the evening with no digital distractions? No phone, no TV, no radio, no FB or Pinterest! Just you and your thoughts. You and your body. One hour just to BE. When was the last time you experienced just being? Without anything planned for 60 minutes? I know, it might get scary… this “nothing planned” time on your hands. The freedom to enjoy this time as you wish.

Your immediate reaction might be to look for something to do. Like clean the house, clean up your desk, read a magazine, chat with your partner. Go ahead and do these things. Or decide to get radical and just watch the moon and the stars. Then go to bed and enjoy a good night’s sleep. How rejuvenated would you feel the next morning?

For the brave: Unplug for a whole weekend!

Now imagine going offline for Saturday AND Sunday! No media, either – for 2 whole days! Panicking already?

How will you fill 48 hours without your favorite distractions? A few ideas:

  • cook a meal from scratch
  • go to an Art Fair
  • invite your friends to a picnic
  • work on a creative project you always wanted to do: paint, take a dance workshop or write
  • practice yoga both days – take your time on the mat
  • meditate twice a day
  • create a vision board.

Will you miss something exciting by not being online and on social media for the weekend? The world will go on, news will come and go without you knowing about them. Be assured if it was meaningful, important or serious news, it will be waiting for you on Monday. You will not miss much – but gain an aspiring, rejuvenating weekend as the best start for a productive week ahead!

 

 

Find Your Mind-Body-Spirit Center

What is stress? Why does it take its toll on our body?  Stress manifests in our body as ‘gruntis’ or knots.  When we have anxiety or deadlines to meet, and misperceive ourself as unable to meet such needs, we feel stressed.  When we are friendlier with ourself, we feel we have more ability to take more risks and our belief in the self increases.

Our Corporate Yoga Classes teach and train students how to deal with the stress of everyday life, when they are asked to play the edge in every yoga posture and then remain calm.

When just the right amount of pressure, tension, stress and resistance, we can all excel and become stronger.  Challenges we face in the everyday life are hidden gems in disguise.

Human organisms don’t thrive under cozy conditions.  They thrive when conditions are a challenge and the organism is fighting to become stronger.  A very famous French literary author Jean Paul Satre once said, we are all doomed to find within us our destiny of freedom.  I believe the freedom he was referring to was the opportunity to provide yourself constantly with life’s second chances.  Or those moments when you face mistakes with a smile knowing these moments to be pivotal stepping stones for personal change and evolution.

The first teachings of the Buddha were that life is difficult but the good news is that we need not suffer.  When we develop or cultivate a warrior heart approach to life, we face the harsh wind and soften.  We develop a wisdom and knowing that life will knock us down again and again, and it is human to resist, but honoring our resistance is saying yes to the whole journey of transformation, not just the parts the suit us.

When we slow down at first initially, it may feel quite different, even painful to explore some of these dried out and neglected spaces within our own psyche.  This is why Pema Chodren says that it is essential to touch lightly our suffering and to always be gentle.

All challenge in our life is said to present itself as a personal obstacle course designed to teach us to move from our center.  When we do, we encourage newfound gentle wisdom to arise and allow the waters of our mind to settle and become clear.  It is then that we may access the prajna, or living wisdom of the heart, and find a solution.  Albert Einstein once remarked that you cannot solve the problem from the same place it was created.

The practice of awakening or enlightenment is to discover our own hero’s adventure lies within.  It is never too late to pick up again our sword and defend our own honor.  Rather than fighting the dark, we understand the power of simply turning on a light.  Gentle loving kindness is the way.  Stiffness, tension, too much flexibility, all of these attributes define the way we view our world.