When is the best time to step off the path?

Restarting and Resetting

Mindfulness Talk:

I won’t lie, May is rough and I spent the first couple of weeks pretty much living on sugar and caffeine.  But last Friday afternoon, I veered my car away from Starbucks and to a park for a 15 minute walk instead.  I didn’t do it as a restart.  Friday afternoons are not the time for resets, right?  I only did it because my stomach was hurting.  

However, over the weekend I found myself skipping the sugar aisle.  I took a yoga class entitled, “Regenerating Vitality“.  And on Monday afternoon, when fatigue began to hit, my fingers started planning an evening hike instead of reaching for the sugary caffeine.   

Turns out, that little decision on that Friday afternoon was a step off the path. It was a reset.  It mattered.

Yoga philosophers wholeheartedly agree with the value of a simple step off the path.  In fact, the very first sentence of the Yoga Sutra can be translated as, “the time for yoga is now”.   Atha, the Sanscrit word for now, whispers to us through time. It reminds us of the value of the ever-present now.

You don’t need to wait until the beginning of a new season or the beginning of a new month.  You don’t need to wait until that thing that’s keeping you busy/stressed/overwhelmed/tired is over.  You don’t even need to wait until Monday.  The best time to step off the path is now. Atha.  And it will matter.

Until next time,

Laura

Meditation:

Finding Present Meditation: Focus your concentration on a picture of a path. Or perhaps you are doing this meditation as you are slowly walking on a path. Notice the fresh, clean, new air entering your nose with each inhale. Just breathe and enjoy the freshness and newness.

Continue with this meditation, or begin the mindfulness meditation.

Mindfulness Meditation: Imagine walking on a path. Enjoy the feel of your feet on the path. Enjoy noticing new buds on the trees along the path. Just breathe in the freshness and newness.

You might notice something just off the path. Maybe it’s a box of crayons and an easel. Maybe its a good book and a comfy chair. Maybe it’s a childhood pastime that you once loved. Stop and notice it. Notice the feeling that it brings to you. When you are ready, keep walking on the path, breathing in the fresh air.

After a while you might notice something else just off the path. Stop and notice it. Notice the feeling that it brings to you. When you are ready, keep walking on the path. breathing in the fresh air.

Keep walking and noticing until you are ready to be done.

Closing Routine: When you are ready, rub your fingers and take three cleansing breaths. Or find a closing routine that works for you.