8 Ways to Live Differently
Too Busy and Too Stressed?
8 Ways To Live Differently
Your ears begin to hear the melodic melodies of the birds and the light is beginning to peek through the soft, gauzy white curtains. You hesitate to get out of bed as it feels so warm and cozy; welcoming and safe. Maybe your fluffy, soft, sweet dog is starting to nibble your fingers, nudging you to get up. Instead, you stay in bed, reach for your phone and start scrolling through social media or emails. Within 5 short minutes, you feel anxious but the dog isn’t.
Now more than ever, most of us wake up tired and anxious. It’s kind of the global way these days, even if we got a good night’s sleep 2 out of 7 nights (which is another problem), I’ll get to that later too. Our minds start racing, and quite often even our blood pressure begins to rise. With this type of start to our day, we could easily be depressed by noon especially if we read the news and added too much coffee and carbs to it.
Living Yoga didn’t come to me until I was in my 40s after 7 years or so in regular physical yoga practice. It found me in a lot of pain, destructive behavioral patterns, and a full lack of self-care or self-awareness. I decided I wanted to consciously know what my part in this dance was and how I could change those dance steps. My yoga mat was just the doorway into really beginning to do my work.
Time to get real. Time to heal. Time to free me.
What does it mean to Live Yoga? You might say “I don’t practice yoga that much or I’m not a yogi in a cave” (not that that helps), “I’m a busy human with too many responsibilities and too much to do all the time.” What if we looked at things differently? “What if I could be a spiritual being having a human experience this lifetime?”
There are many ways to Live Yoga that I will share with you over time. This was my mission when I opened Karma Yoga Studio back in 2003 and it’s my pleasure now to offer more going forward. Living Yoga with Katherine grew out of my love, practice, and personal healing of over 27 years in the world of yoga.
Let’s start here today with some simple ways to dramatically improve and shift your experience with life. Trust me, there ARE other ways to live besides in chaos, struggling, tired, or running on empty. Let’s commit to thriving instead of surviving. You’re worth it.
Practice Self-Care, Self-Care, and more Self-Care
We need to start here for the rest to work. What the heck is self-care? It’s not like we were taught that growing up. Self-care is self-love. It’s how we nurture ourselves every day. It could look like a walk, golf with a friend, a bubble bath, exercising, good food, calling someone, more sleep, you get it. What would rejuvenate/feed you today? Big or small; just not putting yourself last on the list or not at all.
2. Listen to your Self
This is so important. Trust your gut. If it feels yucky it is. If you are not ready it’s ok. If it’s not ok with you it’s not ok with you. Create boundaries if needed. Be ok with saying NO. Your heart knows. Trust yourself.
3. Exercise regularly
Move and breathe every day. It doesn’t have to be exotic, complicated or long. This will increase your feeling good chemicals. Choose every day what is right for you. I check my energy level and schedule each day to decide what will support me not deplete me. Some days it’s a challenging workout and other days it’s slow and rejuvenating.
4. Protect your energy
Choose what matches you or where you want to vibrate. I.e. people, places, things. Start to look at all you come in contact with as energy. You are affected by colors, food choices, people you hang out with, the television you watch, basically everything! Make conscious choices that only support you not bring you down.
5. Meditate instead of Medicate
If you think you’re too busy to meditate then you really need to. Try a simple guided meditation or be trained by a meditation teacher for a more formal entry and continued guidance and support. It can be simple as 3 minutes a day to start with. It does not need to be difficult or time-consuming.
. 6. Do your “work”
This is important. As we grow into adulthood we bring with us our childhood wounds. We all do. Seeing them is the first step; deciding to do something about them is the hard part. It takes courage to change and you’re worth it. If you keep seeing a pattern/trigger that brings you chaos or struggles it is something that still needs healing. Free yourself. Find a good therapist to assist you with the gift of healing.
7. Mantra: Trust, Allow, Accept, and Let Go
So this is a good one but not easy. Imagine approaching everything in your life this way. Can I trust this is supposed to happen and for my highest good even if it doesn’t feel that way? Now can I surrender enough to allow it to happen? Oy. Can I accept it’s ok and in divine order for my soul’s evolution? And can I let go to the plan; the divine plan for me?
When we fight what is IS when we suffer. Looking at the bigger picture: What am I meant to learn here? Instead of “whoa is me.” This takes time and practice. Keep saying this mantra over and over until it becomes more natural.
8. Serve others
Ram Dass always said; “If you want to know God then feed others.” “Feed” means share. Sharing your essence with others is so healing. When you are practicing the above 7 tips regularly then you carry around with you a loving presence aura (energy field), a higher vibration that automatically lifts others up! When you’ve taken care of yourself then you can easily be there for others without feeling depleted or resentful. When you hold so much love, joy, and fulfillment you have way more to give. And you’ve learned “boundaries” so you won’t over-give.
Journal
Now, grab a journal and title it “Living My Yoga” and dedicate it to YOU: “Project (Your Name)”. Whether you are single, a young parent, or in your later years of life it’s always the right time to begin.
Practice #1:
Every morning (or when it’s good for you) begin with a few quiet moments before electronics and let a stream of consciousness come in. Write down any thoughts that come to mind or how you will let self-care show up today for you. Remember, self-care is foreign for most of us. Give it time, be gentle with yourself, and it will slowly become apparent to you.
Thank you for joining me on this journey of Living Yoga. It’s an honor to be together with you whether you are new or we’ve been together for a long time.
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment below and tell me what you might do to love yourself more?
