HAPPY!
If you ask the majority of people what they want out of life they typically say, “I just want to be HAPPY!” If it isn’t first, “Happy” is usually high on the list.
Recently I have given a great deal of thought to the motivation that draws me so deeply into yoga, and to examining my personal feelings around the art of living a yogic lifestyle. Beyond the obvious health benefits, about which we are all aware, I have found a path and belief system, that brings me great relief in both my personal reality, and my outlook on life.
My perception is that this life journey happens, and that challenging situations present themselves along the way. People pass away, we feel rejected and disappointed by others and by life sometimes, we disappoint and judge ourselves, we get cut-off in traffic, we receive too many parking tickets… the list goes on and on. Often we feel like we have no control over what is happening right before our eyes. The point is, that we are all sensitive beings, and we react to everything, on some level! At times we DO get angry, pissed off, hurt, disappointed and overly emotional. This is part of the reality of being human.
The light I see at the end of this gloomy tunnel is that life is not about just being HAPPY! Sometimes I like feeling mad, sad, or stupid-silly. The beauty is in knowing that it is totally okay to feel that way.
GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO FEEL WHATEVER YOU FEEL!
We often punish ourselves by suppressing or ignoring what we feel when we get upset about something, because we think it is wrong to have a reaction. I believe that we can honor our feelings without acting them out. We can experience them and own them, without directing negative energy towards other people.
The beauty in the yoga practice is the freedom we can create when we step onto our mats and into a headspace where we simply give ourselves the permission to FEEL whatever we are feeling. In my opinion, “If you’re feeling angry when you come to practice because you had a rough day, then be angry. Be sad that your cat just passed away, you lost your job, or you have really bad PMS. Experience what you are feeling until you begin to feel something different.” We don’t need to put on a show for ourselves.
If we were robots, perhaps we could adjust our settings to be in “Happy” mode all the time, or the “Work Success” mode combined with the “Emotions-On-Hold” setting.
How great is it to hear, “You have the right to feel any way you like?”
There is a difference, however, between acknowledging and experiencing our feelings, and wallowing in them. Once we have really allowed them to be what they are, only then can we truly release them.
In practicing yoga on or off the mat, we bring awareness to our breath and our bodies, inside and out. We bring conscious awareness to what is happening in any given moment without judging it.
Feel whatever is real for you: Happy, Sad, Mad, Uncertain, Silly, Excited, Curious, Inspired,…in any given moment, so that you can free yourself for the next honest moment. (It might be wonderful!)
There is a sense of Balance and Happiness that comes with the ability to hold space for yourself and the reality of the now.
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