It's a State of Mind

Do you ever have one of those weeks where there's a lot on, you're really pumped and your mind is racing with lots of new ideas and things to do. Pretty hard to switch off when you're in that space, huh. I've had one of those weeks.

It's a very exciting time at Turquoise Ray. We are in the process of redesigning the content on our sister site, Instant Stress Relief. The content covers a range of issues related to stress that people often ask about. We've got a few pages up and lots more to go on things as diverse as 'what causes stress' through to information on anxiety and depression. Anyway, I did something today that I often forget to do. I took my own advice.

I attend a weekly yoga class. Most of the time, I love it. It's a welcome respite from my weekly schedule of lifting weights and swimming and it provides an opportunity to relax the mind and check in on the body. That is, when I remember to relax my mind and check in on my body. I arrived at class today with a million things running through my mind. Exciting stuff, not threatening stuff but the flow of creative oil through my brain was more stimulating then relaxing. I lay down on the mat and thought through a few of the topics that were foremost in my mind and I noticed how that made me feel. I noticed the excitement and enthusiasm and I decided to park it, just for the 90 minutes that I was in the class. I said to myself, "ok body, this is your time, we'll do whatever you want to do". Immediately I felt my body start to unwind. By the end of the class I was totally relaxed, there were spaces inbetween the spaces in my vertebrae and my shoulders had moved from beneath my ears back down to my shoulders.

The effect was so profound that it really caught my attention. I could have marched through that yoga class and finished up feeling as exhilerated as I had when I arrived. Instead I had allowed my body 90 minutes to catch up and I felt replenished and even more creative than before.

So here's the bit of advice that I remembered to act on. Sometimes how we are when we're doing things is just as important as what we're doing. Often we can surge forward with even more power, motivation and enthusiasm if we just take a moment to check in with our body and give it what it needs. The easiest way to do this is by asking the question. Our body knows what it needs and when given half a chance will redirect the orchestra to play harmonious music once more.

Next time you're walking along the beach (even if it's just in a daydream) notice how the wave surges into the shore, pulls back and surges forward once more. It's a great example of the potency that available when we work within the natural order of things.