Once you find your zen through yoga, meditation or breathwork, how do you keep it going in the real world? Just like your poses, the secret is practice.
Here’s a real example from my day yesterday:
I was driving to a parking garage on the upper west side and was at a red light when I noticed my phone buzz, I took a quick look to see if it was an emergency. The moment I looked down, a man in a truck parked next to me started screaming at me at the top of his lungs to stop texting. He screamed this to me over and over again.
In my prior life, I would have instantly yelled back at him that I wasn’t texting and yes, probably would have used some type of profanity… Because of my practice of non-reaction, I stopped a second and took a breath. I considered yelling back at him and then realized that would raise my blood pressure and heart rate and probably affect the rest of my day. I considered speaking politely back to him, but realized that probably wouldn’t work either. So instead, I just drove away quietly.
As I drove away, it gave me time to think of the man’s perspective. Maybe he knew someone who was hurt in an accident because the other driver was texting. Whether that’s true or not, he was, in his own way, trying to help me. I then took a deep breath and let it go.
What do you react to that affects your day in a negative way? How can you start practicing non-reaction so you can keep your body and mind calm?
Namaste,
Brenda
P.S. Yes, that is my beloved teacher Sri Dharma Mittra as the featured image for this post. He always teaches us that the real yoga is practiced off the mat.
