January 1, 2023
Strongheart isn’t starting the New Year the way we hoped or expected. The comfortable space where we meet and practice together has gotten temporarily knocked out of commission. Last weekend’s frigid temps busted a pipe next door and “floating floor” took on a much more literal meaning for us.
Shoveling water out the back door and soaking up flood waters with yoga blankets (which BTW hold a lot of water) is a great way to activate the Sympathetic Nervous System and feel the stress climb. We’re all designed to do something when sudden, unexpected things happen, and they don’t have to be life-threatening, terrifying disasters like what befell Buffalo N.Y.
Big or little, the unpredictable and undesirable causes stress. What takes us out of our comfort zone causes stress. Feeling that things are beyond our control causes stress. And because much of life falls under the heading of unpredictable, unexpected, and out of our control…life is stressful.
A life without stress isn’t possible and chasing that goal is probably pointless. Even in an ashram on a mountaintop, unexpected snow could collapse the rooftop and peaceful meditation would probably not be the ideal response. But being able to get back to our peace in a timely way, after we’ve fixed the ashram roof, is a worthy goal.
A stress-free life is an empty aspiration. The resilience to meet stress and recover calm is something to strive for!
We foster our resilience when we don’t fan the flames of our anger—-dwelling on anger just prolongs our stress. We foster our resilience when we tune into our compassion—our loved place flooded, elsewhere people died. We foster our resilience when we remind ourselves we aren’t alone, and feel gratitude for all the help that’s been offered. We foster our resilience, when we recognize that we are capable of meeting challenges—when we trust ourselves.
So Strongheart is beginning this new year, resolved to stay resilient and teach yoga, with mindfulness, gratitude, and compassion to foster that spirit in our community.
Shanti,
Pattie