Life is going along. You feel good, your job is fine and you are generally happy in the here and now. But then something in your head plants a seed, an impulse to stir the pot. The need for a little drama. Maybe it manifests as a snarky comment to your spouse, or sharing some juicy gossip with a friend, or maybe it’s a work email that’s more prickly than needed. And zap – a bit of drama has just been added to your day. Why do we create chaos in the midst of calm? Why do we raise an issue about something we aren’t even all that passionate about? Where did that little zap come from, anyway? Has society, with television, video games and the internet, become so much louder and bolder that we feel like we are not really living unless our lives resemble a reality television show? Do we enjoy that rush of adrenaline that comes with conflict?
Did you know: that drama can result in a rush of adrenaline, as well as increased heart rate and blood pressure, the net result being an almost euphoric feeling? Add physical reactions to that and dopamine is created. You can actually become addicted to anger and drama.
Theme: digging deeper and finding the rich nuances and textures in your life can help you reduce the need for added, external drama. Throughout your yoga practice today, mindfully experience the movement of each muscle, the slow stretch of each tendon. Feel the sturdiness of the bones. Notice the quality of the breath and its movement through the body. Look within and enjoy the basics. Find that they are enough. As you go out into the practice of living, catch yourself when you are tempted to create drama and breathe, asking yourself what is triggering it. Interrupt the pattern. Quiet the noise and find pleasure without all the drama.
Breath
Explore your breath print –how does the breath flow in and out of your body? Which nostril is predominant right now – left or right? How deep is your breath, how wide, side to side? Do you breathe more into the back of the body or the front? Is the flow even or does it seem constricted in places? Is it easier to inhale or exhale? Enjoy and find the richness within your unique breath print.
Theme Pose
Tadasana – Mountain Pose. Use at the beginning, middle and end. Explore how much exists, both in the physical and subtle body aspects, of this simple, yet powerful pose.
Cuing
Highlight a part of the body and how its contributing to a pose, for example feel the sturdiness of your bones as they create a scaffolding for your pose, notice how your breath gives your body life, celebrate the lift of the heart with each inhale. Encourage yogis to find a deep sense of contentment within each pose, the meshing together of their physical and subtle bodies.
Meditation
Explore the beauty of the inner body; the lungs breathing themselves, the heart circulating blood, the digestive system helping nourish the body. Find that place, next to the heart, where YOU reside. Know that you are perfect, unique; exactly as you were created to be. Feel a deep sense of contentment with yourself, just as you are, and the world, exactly as it is.
