This week, two notes arrived from yoga
land, one about asana practice and one about meditation, both saying
this: I know you love your practice, but what do yoga and meditation actually do for you?
Here’s my answer of the week.
I’ve just catapulted myself into a
very busy season of theatre by agreeing to both direct and act in a
beautifully written show that will run in May. What this amounts to is three
months of fun, intensity, horrendous multitasking, and a satanic
level of detail management.
You’ve done this, haven’t you? If
not in theatre, then with kids’
hockey/basketball/volleyball/football seasons, renovating your house,
changing jobs, moving your parents to seniors’ homes, etc.
Busy seasons.
Before yoga, my head exploded during
these periods. I’d wake up in the middle of the night to mental fireworks, new ideas competing with to-do lists, my
mind a thousand miles from my body, from my Self.
My practice has changed that. I still
wake up in the middle of the night thinking (I need 11 actors, a
cellist, a cat, and a live snake), my breath shallow and speedier
than I’d like.
But the second I register this, something new
kicks in. I stop everything (forget the snake, I can’t find a
snake at 2:30 am) and take one deep breath. It feels good. I take
another, and begin to reel myself in. Five minutes and 30 breaths later, I am back
inside myself. I can feel myself land inside my body. Boom. Thoughts
drift by, but I’m watching them now, instead of being hijacked by
them.
This is a definite and concrete effect
of yoga. The training of focus. A quiet head. And it’s magical
after years of being whipped around by my own thoughts.
Thanks to yoga for changing my mind.
Thanks to you for asking questions, and for the conversation,
kristin
Dr.
Kristin Shepherd is a chiropractor, actor, and speaker (About All
Things Wonderful) in North Bay, Ontario. Join her on the web,
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