 Life is hectic. I often like to think of my own prana/energy like a little battery. You know those ones where you can press the buttons and you get a reading of how much is left. Currently I am running on about 60% - room for more, but def not dragging my legs which is nice :)
Just like any interaction or exchange in life – everything in your life has an energy exchange – an energy impact on you. Everything – from yoga, to talking, work, relationships, friends, family, TV shows, phones, food, thoughts – EVERYTHING effects your energy – your ability to function, your stress levels, your sleep, your immune system, and more. Everything impacts your energy battery reading!! Everything either serves you ... or it does not. Negative thoughts will zap energy out of you like you are fuelling a bulldozer whilst positive thoughts can give you more fuel to persist and continuous positively can lift you up. Watch your thoughts... can you choose ones that give you energy. Gratitude, positivity, acceptance, surrender and LOVE all go a LONG way to helping build your energy. For example imagine resisting something that you have no control over. Being negative or dwelling over a situation you can do absolutely nothing about. HOW INSANE IS THIS!!! What would be a bigger waste of time and energy than focusing and stressing about things you have NO CONTROL over... instead try to accept things as they are and focus on the positives. You will be amazed at how your outlook and energy shifts. People can have a positive, negative or neutral impact on you. Over the last year or so there has been much mentioned about emotional or energy vampires – you know those people in your life that you catch up with for half an hour and all of a sudden you walk away feeling like you have been hit by a car or in need of a life support machine. Drainers. Pause. Can you identify energy drainers in your life? And of course on the opposite end of the spectrum there are those people you love, those people you walk away feeling up lifted and inspired, those people you would love to spend more time with. Pause. Can you identify people who give you energy? Are you a habitual ‘Yes’ person? Do you have difficulties saying no? Do you find yourself in social situations to please others? Situations just like everything else impact your energy. As an introvert I often need a day to recover if I am dragged out to socialise in a big loud group of people. I can wake up feeling hung-over (even though I don’t drink) and like I just want to crawl into a cave. Conversely an afternoon walk in the sunshine makes me feel recharged and ready to take on the world. What activities and social environments fuel your soul? Of course there is the huge food element....this is a big one. Some food is good for us and some is not. Its not as easy as listening to the media because most of that is rubbish. Some foods will make you tired, some will freshen you up, and some will warm the cockles of your heart. Its an individual thing so make sure you start to take notice of how different foods impact YOU... THE CHALLENGE... Your mission should you choose to accept it, is firstly to observe your energy levels and watch what impacts you. Observe how you feel after each meal, after catching up with different friends, after being outside, after different activities. Secondly is to start to minimise and eliminate things that do not serve you – aka energy drainers. Whether that is people (you may limit your interactions with them, choose to part ways, or change the circumstance in which you are interacting), food, thoughts – any drainers. Start to make time in your schedule for activities, people and things that nourish your soul and recharge your batteries. Observe your life. Increase your awareness. Grow your consciousness. Korinne xxx
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It can be as simple as doubling your exhalation to calm down when you are anxious, in bad traffic, or in a meeting where you simply need to bite your tongue. It will develop over time to the more complex art of starting to observe your self. You become accustomed to watching your self in long pose holds. Watching which poses bring up anger, emotions, or those you just HAVE TO RUN FROM because the fear of what is hiding in that pose is too much for you. You become familiar with watching your ego react. Catching it out sometimes, or sometimes getting caught up in it and forcing a pose that really is not appropriate for your body in that moment.
Let us take this off the mat. Your mission should you choose to accept it, is to pause and observe. Pause before we react to any situation – whether that be a conversation, an environment, a perceived wrong doing, etc etc. Do you have the power to PAUSE before your ego takes over? Watch how you automatically want to react. Defensive, aggressive or walk away? Assess whether this is a productive reaction. Assess how the best version of yourself would react in that situation. And then, a lot more informed and in control of the reaction, but more importantly how the present situation and your reaction will affect you and your emotions: Act in the manner the best version of yourself would. You will be surprised at both how difficult this is to practice regularly, but also how amazing the impact is when you start to take control of your reactions :) Practice makes better. So keep practicing. Rin xx Written by Korinne McNeill. |
