Wow. I just spent the last two hours in a restorative yoga
workshop that my friend took me to. It was a great reminder that we all need to
take the time for restoration and rejuvenation. And all too often we are too
busy and too stressed to realize that we need it.
It also is a good reminder to leave any resentments or
struggles that you might be having in your personal and professional life at
the door. And I’ve been struggling with this. I found myself on the receiving
end of a very painful situation and I’ve been carrying around more resentment
than I would like to admit. And I’ve realized it’s time to let it go and move
on.
I’m done talking about it, and I’m done feeling as though I
have to defend myself. I’m not going to let it define who I am. I think that
women are particularly susceptible to both allowing others to define us by our
circumstances, and doing it ourselves. We just need to say no.
One of the clear benefits of yoga is it’s ability to shift
your energy from a lower level to higher one – and to integrate all of our
energies, or chakras. I also use this approach in coaching through the core
energy coaching process that I use with my clients. But I love the idea of this
deep integration of mind, body and spirit that happens during yoga practice and
I see the real benefits for me as both a coach, a writer, a mentor and a
consultant.
Restorative yoga is great because you don’t have to be a
regular yoga practitioner to enjoy the class or get achieve a good outcome. All
you have to do is open your mind, your heart and your spirit, and be willing to
trust the process. The same is true for coaching. You don’t have to do anything
but be open to the process and be willing to work for the change that you want
to see if your life – and change will happen.
Life is a journey. Do everything you can every day to enjoy
and truly experience who you are and what you are doing in each moment. As
someone once said, “Yesterday is history and tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a
gift. That’s why we call it the present.” Our challenge is to live mindfully –
living the here and now – letting go of the past and stepping into each new day
as a hopeful promise of what is to come.
