Begin…. again
I, like most people, have made resolutions. I have written lists and vows and manifestations. I have done so with the best of intentions. I manage to maintain my resolve… for a time. Then I stumble. Life happens. I trip on my good words and fall into old habits.
What if we were to stop making resolutions? I refer to the grand end of year type resolutions “it’s a new start… everything will be different… new year, new you… etc”. The kind of slogans marketing departments churn out in order to sell us teeth whitener, skinny tea, $100 yoga tights...
I have come to realise that every breath. Every conversation, the dawn of each new day is the chance to begin again. It is unrealistic to think we are able to overhaul our patterns, habits and learned behaviours in a resolution or 2… in an online purchase or 5… and over the course of a mere 12 months. That’s a lot of pressure.
By breaking our growth and evolution into much smaller conquests, we can create more opportunities for “success”. 3 deep breaths before responding to that email. Saying a kind ‘no’ sometimes and creating boundaries. 5 more slow breaths in that challenging yoga pose before giving in to child’s pose. Listening, really listening when being spoken to, and pausing before the response. Leaving the washing up for now, in order to get on the floor and play with the kids. This is the essence of mindfulness. Mindful living. Training thoughtful response rather than reactive response.
It’s fair to say that being a human can be really hard. There is a lot of room for error. We will set goals and sometimes we will nail it. Sometimes we won’t. Let’s approach our growth with a gentle loving kindness. Breaking old cycles requires a lifetime of practice and patience. With any luck, over time we can start to create an honest internal dialogue and can identify when we are becoming stagnate, unproductive and rigid in our thought. We learn when to challenge or push ourselves and also when life might be calling us to yield into a softer mode.
Yoga provides a set of practical tools to train mindfulness. Through yamas and niyamas (universal and personal moral codes of conduct) we create an ethical base for a kind and healthy life. Through asana (yoga poses) we create strength, openness and learn to drop into our body, moving from away from overthinking and into feeling. This presence in body can create glimpses of presence in mind. Through pranayama (breathing practices) we connect with our breath, influencing our heart rate and mental wellbeing. Through pratyahara (turning inward) dharana (concentration) dhyana (absorption) and samadhi (oneness), we discover the pathway of meditation and the challenging, rewarding, joyful realisations that this focused quietness brings.
2021… and every year… every month…. week… day… hour… minute…. second…. breath…
is our chance to begin…. again.