CHASING AWAY THE BLUES
Monday, March 16th, 2009Living in a modern world we need to remember that we are not modern organisms. We are Human BEINGS. We try to fit into the speed, constant input and abrasive afflictions from the outside without realizing how this is shaping us rather than being shaped by an inner guidance.
Yoga works magic. When I feel sad, I can find a posture to be in, and I don’t feel sad anymore. When I am free falling in the grips of some emotional spiral leading me down a dark tunnel, not knowing how I got there… STOP! I can lift myself back up by doing yoga. I consider this pure, delicious MAGIC.
After many years of doing yoga and dealing with the habit of getting depressed, I have grown in maturity with my practice and my desire to be happy that I know when I need to stop all other distractions and find one posture to sit in. I will at that point chose to do yoga over any other choices that I could make. I won’t hike, bike, or turn the TV on. I know that the nudge of discomfort is calling me to slow down, get into a pose and change my point of view; and it works!
Why or how it works, I am not absolutely sure and I don’t concern myself with why, I only know that it does work. I do know that I find a sense of intimacy with myself from doing yoga. I quickly feel a connection with that elusive God-force which is far greater than the thoughts that throw me into that downward cycle. Being in a pose I can feel attitudes change. Negative thoughts fade from my mind and are replaced with a completely different vision; calmer and happier.
Over the years of knowing Yoga and the results, I find depression becomes a strange invasion and no longer an old familiar friend. While I am so happy to have this tool for myself, I am constantly humbled by it and grateful that I can pass my experience of yoga on to others.
We are all living in a very fast paced never- ending, evolving electronic monstrosity. The modern world requires us to chase the newest, the best, the most, and the fastest. We have to keep up with the constant, changing information and we become robotized as we react to the sudden changes, the fears of the latest disease, the latest trends, and just too much information.
The meaning of Yoga is a “yoking together” balancing, harmonizing, and connecting with “Higher Source.” “Nameste,” the Sanskrit greeting for hello, means “The divine in me greets the divine in you.” Yoga poses are hugs from you to yourself.
No matter what the demands of our modern world are, we still have to come back to our own inner connection. Through the practice of Yoga; by harmonizing and joining with the ageless timeless search and discovery of a/our higher self, we can move from the blues to seeing the brightness of hope and happiness on this journey of practicing the art of Human Being.
TRY THIS:
When you feel “off” and you are looking for any distraction to soften the edginess, remember your Yoga. You don’t have to do a full practice. You don’t have to do it for a certain amount of time. Just find a posture that will peak your interest, get you to breathe and stay in it. The magic will begin there.