Moving With Intention

Let everything you do be your own choice, following your own internal guidance and timing. This thought came to me this week during Savasana. So often I see people coming out of savanna moving exactly as I tell them to, when I tell them to. This largely ruins the point of the practice- the goal is to get into a more present and intuitive space. Your yoga practice should be the practice of presence, which means tuning into yourself, not into me as the teacher. I am guiding the class to various poses at various times, there is a reason for the sequence, however it is important that you move into each pose and hold each pose in a way that is in-tune to yourself, not myself. Each pose, regardless of the guidance, needs to come from your own inner drive. Does this mean that each person is going to be doing a completely different practice? No, however I suspect this is the fear. This does mean that each person is going to be experiencing a completely different practice, because they will be experiencing their own practice..

This is one of the greatest gifts and powers that you can hold within your own life. This does not mean that you do not do what you need to do, follow along and play well with others. PLEASE, trust yourself well enough to know that if left to your own devices your decisions will honor what is happening around you. This does however mean that instead of being constantly reactive and responsive, you are intuitive, present and in the beautiful flow of your inner self. We have spent the better part of our lives doing as we are told and reacting to what is happening around us. The effect that this has had on you is that you do very little at your own impetus. It takes away subtle layers of independence, intuition and trust. Yes, you have to be somewhere at a specific time, and yes you have a to-do list to conquer. But doing it in your own way and your own time ensures a greater degree of power and pleasure within it. After all, it is your to-do list and your plans that you are tending to. If you spend too much time thoughtlessly moving through the day you forget this, and slowly, action by action, your life becomes someone else's life, maybe it's your children's, or your boss's, or Father Time's in general. Doing things in your own time and on your own decision fosters ownership over the action. As subtle of a shift as this is, it has a massive affect- everything is once more yours. 

Start small. Start in moments where you know you can afford to not rush, it will make you feel more comfortable. Tell yourself that you are actively choosing to not rush, regardless of what the clock (and anyone else) says. When you are in yoga, or in bed, and it's time get up and get going, move at the pace your body is asking to move- roll slowly to your side and wait there until your body says it's ready to sit up. Sit up and rest there until your body says it's ready to open its eyes.  When you are looking to get something done so that you can move on to the next task, tell yourself that you are going to move thoroughly. Remember that you can more carefully, thoroughly, mindfully without moving so slowly that you run late. Trust yourself to this. Try it out. Move with intention and care, for this moment, as tedious as it is, is your life and it deserves your attention.​ After you do this, check in and see how it feels. I bet you will feel much more connected with yourself and the moment, as well as having a greater sense of joy and power within it, leading to greater appreciation for whatever it is that you did because it is now YOURS and you did it for YOURSELF, exactly when YOU wanted to. The universe may have the upper hand in delegating your life at times, but even if the choice wasn't your own, it will become your own as soon as you do it in your own way and in your own time