"The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience."
- Eleanor Roosevelt
Life is filled with challenges and learning opportunities, problems and stresses we need to work through. If we are lucky, and if we can open ourselves to this, life is also filled with love, joy and truly wonderful experiences. When it feels like my life is going well, I love to practise a variety of themes on my yoga mat. Themes such as Staying Present, Santosha (contentment), and Breathing Consciously feel re-affirming. I practise these themes and feel "I got this".
During challenging or stressful times, though, these very same themes can feel next to impossible. I forget to breathe or stay present in my practice, my mind wanders and feels restless. How can I practise contentment or breathe calmly when I'm facing what feels like a serious life-altering stressor? Is it even possible?
During my Yoga Teacher Training, one wise teacher talked about welcoming and embracing all of life's experiences, both good and bad. He said to let all energy, both good and bad, come at you, but to keep a back door open for releasing the negative energy. Let the positive energy make your life richer, he advised us, and if there's negative energy, release it and let it go out through the back door. In the years since then, I've learned that this practice is not so easy, but I have discovered that it's worth working on.
Life's challenges can be painful, so we can be forgiven for trying to avoid them. But if we do close ourselves to the negative experiences, we are simultaneously closing ourselves to life's riches and most joyful experiences. When we allow ourselves to deeply feel the stress, grief and pain that comes our way, we grow stronger and wiser. If we allow ourselves to feel all energy fully, we can embrace the positive, learn from the negative, then let it go and feel lighter and richer for having gone through it. By being open to all of life's experiences, we can grow and thrive. Somewhat surprisingly, life's most challenging moments and people are often our greatest life teachers.
12 Strategies for Opening to Life:
1) Scan your body, see where you feel any tension. Breathe into the tension. Then invite the tension to release on the exhale. Repeat.
2) Breathe consciously. Take a long, deep inhale. Take a long slow exhale and visualize the stress leaving with the exhale. Repeat.
3) Stay present. Feel the emotions, the pain. Acknowledge it, then invite it to release.
4) Walk in nature. Think about the challenges, feel them, then let them go.
5) Stop and appreciate just one simple thing that is good (even a small thing like enjoying a flower).
6) Reach out to a dear friend or family member.
7) Practise some themes such as Santosha (contentment), Metta (Loving Kindness). Practise them during good times, see how they feel when life is going well, then practise them again when faced with a challenge.
8) Take time to rest or relax, no matter how busy you are.
9) Set aside time for your favourite activity (read a book, ride a bike or horse, go for a hike in the forest, listen to some music, get together with a friend).
10) Make time for creative self-expression. Do some writing. Get out your paints or sketchpad. Play an instrument. Sing. Dance. You can express your fears or worries if that feels best, but you might feel better if you focus on something positive.
11) Do some yoga or meditation.
12) If none of these strategies work, it might help to seek professional help.
That was a great post ! Thank you for sharing 🧘🏼♀️