I believe we can connect with breath and body to observe our feelings and thoughts. When we are aware, we can allow those thoughts and feelings to align with the heart to have more fulfilling relationships in work, family, friends - noticing the beauty that already exists in your life.
Something that I have discovered about myself is that I have a tendency to want to hold onto a moment forever. Maybe you can relate? It’s like I find so much joy in certain moments that I want to relive that experience over and over again. Part of the human experience… our mind likes to tell stories over and over again. Our body holds these stories. This holding become so imprinted in us - in body and in mind. Our mind and bodies almost create this map to follow. A map to a good place or a bad place. Maybe we could just let it be a place - without labeling it good or bad. Let it be an experience and then let it go.
I hold onto the joy - that is a habit I practice over and over. A good habit or a bad habit? My mind and body get tired of holding. The control… it allows me to hold onto the past… the “good” memories and the “bad” memories. My mind and body know the story and they can travel the path.
The holding on becomes a habit - it’s hard for me to feel when I’m holding on to the joyful emotions and the difficult emotions and my body gets tired, my spirit gets heavy, my mind gets scattered.
Here’s where the rest comes in. I’m not talking about a nap, or a vacation, or binging Hulu and Netflix, or watching TikToc. I’m talking about slowing down, being still, getting quiet, and listening. I’m talking about practicing Restorative Yoga. This is not an easy practice. That is why we do it.
“Let go of your attachments: your attachment to being right, to having total control, or to living forever. This process of letting go is integral to the process of becoming whole.”
- Judith Hanson Lasater
“Restorative Yoga practice is successful when the deep, quiet, protected place we find on the mat helps us navigate relationships with ourselves and others in our daily life with more clarity, compassion and ease. ”