Sometimes things in life happen that make us wonder, doubt, and
question why things happen. When life does not go your way or when
something unexpected happens to change your course, how do you respond?
Have you learned enough about yourself, your habits of reactivity, and
your inner dialogue to come to a place where you accept things with a
gracious and loving heart?
This past weekend, I had an accident that changed my course. My
marathon training came to an abrupt halt, my teaching is very limited, I
had to cancel my private sessions, and my energy level plummeted. My
bike crash made me pause and take inventory of what is truly important.
Pain can be our teacher--physical and emotional pain. It shows us where
we are vulnerable and where we can and will get stronger. It allows
the unique opportunity to check in with the attitude we look out into
life with. We have the choice of allowing the physical pain to
determine our emotional climate and we can also choose to have the
emotional state determine our physical state. Can you differentiate
between the two on our mat as well as in life? I have to admit, it has
been a very long time since I have been physically injured that bad. My
emotional state did get tangled with my physical state and I allowed my
physical state to reign. The first 72 hours were very frustrating and I
took it out on those closest to me--namely my husband. I had to
apologize for my irritated tone and very short fuse. I had to keep
reminding myself that I was emotionally okay--I have the love of God and
my family and my friends. All is good there! I had to remember that
physically I was OKAY--painful yes, but all would heal just fine. I was
thankful for the 'no broken bones' and the fact that we encountered
some loving and kind individuals that helped us that day. What I am
feeling shall pass. It was a great reminder to me to remain mindful in
each moment and to differentiate my physical and emotional atmospheres.
It became all too apparent how each influences the other and just how
powerful our thoughts are. Since I switched the channels of my internal
chat room, I physically feel better; still hurting, but my pain has
moved to the rear view mirror rather than staying resident out in front
of me.
Yoga is not something you do just on your mat. It is our job to
continually check in and make those adjustments so that we remain
positive and loving. I love my crash partner dearly and am thankful she
is healing up as well. I love my crash observer and her tender heart
that came to the ER with us. I am thankful for the two gentlemen that
helped us roadside and the exquisite staff at the ER. I love how my
children helped to nurse me. I am grateful my husband became my verbal
punch bag for a few days and understood it was my inner demons and not
him. He is patient and accepted my apologies for being so crazy. I
think it is important to remember to apologize when we realize we
are not acting in love and to find the blessings when things go wrong.
Let July be a teaching month--cultivate new things on your mat so
you can create a better world around you and experience freedom!
namaste
Trish
