“Ultimate Forgetting”

Occasionally  I put together a yoga class that is amazingly invigorating and inspiring. Everyone’s mind is totally focused on our breath and body during the whole class. When class is over we are all so relaxed, we just sit and bask in the quiet. Then slowly we all start to roll up our mats, not wanting to say anything for fear of losing the peace that is permeating the room.

We feel centered, balanced, in touch with ourselves. We vow to never let this feeling slip away. But then we get busy with work, with the kids, and we completely lose the connection and the composure we had. Even more disturbing, we have no idea how to get it back.

In the midst of doing, there’s a sense of enjoyment, fulfillment, and alignment with a deeper current of aliveness. But as soon as you position yourself behind the wheel of your car or sit down in front of your computer, you  tense your shoulders, hold your breath, and lose touch with yourself. What happened, you wonder. How did I lose my balance.

We all do this, we read books that help center us, we meditate, we do yoga, and we vow to implement it all into our lives. And then without realizing it, we return right back to our old habits and routines: Over booking our schedules, filling our time with texting, and other technological devices, completely forgetting to stop, and breathe, and be present.

There seem to be powerful inner forces at work that induce this “Ultimate forgetting” and sabotage our genuine attempts to create balance and peace. I find this even in my own life. I put off my morning meditation, thinking I will do it later, then I “forget”. then the next morning I have lost my balance already, and I forget again. Then everyday gets busier and busier because I have forgotten to center myself with meditation, and instead, I hit the ground running like it is a race to see how much I can get done.

I pride myself on being able to take care of myself, emotionally, spiritually, and physically, so when I start to feel my neck tense up, and my shoulder start to ache, I know I have lost my balance emotionally. All physical pain starts with an emotional pain. The physical pain is the nervous systems way of giving our body a wake up call, that all is not well emotionally.

In today’s world there is an enormous incentive to work harder and faster but hardly any encouragement to slow down, do less, and enjoy life more. If we really slowed down to a more balanced pace and took time to enjoy life, what would happen? I find when I take the time to start my day with a meditation, I feel more connected to what I am doing during the day, I get more done, I feel more peace, relaxation, and a pleasant current of energy. life becomes more enjoyable. I feel balanced emotionally, spiritually, and physically.

Nancy Adams Certified Thai Yoga Therapist

and Ayurveda Consultant

These are my own thoughts. I sometimes take writings from others to support my own ideas.