Many changes have taken place in the past few months and whether we like it or not, these changes look like they are going to stay with us for a while. I have taken the last several weeks to press pause and to take a deep breath. To take a deeper breath in my practice of Yoga and Pilates and to take even deeper breaths in my self-care practices and meditation.

 

        How has this new world we are living in influenced your practice?

 

        As the events and effects of battling Covid-19 continue to unfold, I have noticed a lot of changes and shifts taking place within me and around me. But what has been most noticeable are the changes in my body through a deeper and more reflective mind-body practice. Our bodies are constantly changing with time. It may gain strength and flexibility in areas where you never had strength and flexibility, or it may lose mobility in areas where you previously had a lot of range of motion. And at the same time, our thoughts and environment are constantly evolving and shaping us too. The world in which we live is constantly changing and our posture and the way we move is reflective of that. As the outside world throws curve balls at you, how do you deal with them? What takes place in your body while you are coping with these challenges? Are you fighting these changes or adpating to them? 

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        I guess my point really is- have you noticed if you are still practicing the way you have been, always sticking to a certain pattern of movement and a certain pattern of thinking. Have your movements evolved and changed? Many of us at some point often felt “stuck” in our lives. Until we are thrown into the deep end of the pool, we are great at inertia, not rocking the boat and avoiding changes because they make us uncomfortable. When we feel we are limited in our choices in life, notice if you are always feeling if you are limited in the way your body feels. When you feel stuck in places in your body where you feel disconnected, notice what pattern of thinking you are in at that moment? Do you feel trapped in your body?  When you feel courageous about doing a headstand away from the wall and succeed in doing so, how does that affect your thoughts and perceptions for the rest of the day and/or of the people around you? Have you changed any pattern of thinking as a result of a different pattern of movement? Have you changed your pattern of movement as a result of a different pattern of thinking?

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        How our body responds have a direct relationship with what our emotions and perceptions are. The boat has now been rocked and we are all finding our own ways to be comfortable with the discomfort that is taking place all around us right now in this "new normal" life. Notice how you are now breathing. Some of us are struggling with our body and mind because we are out of our comfort zone. Some of us are fighting to get back into the comfort zone of certainty. How do we break this pattern of feeling stuck in our bodies and stuck in our lives?

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        When we get caught up with the vortex of challenges and allow them to consume us, our awareness of what is possible becomes limited. When you stretch on the mat, stretch your awareness a little further and deeper so that with time, patience and positive attitude, you can break the old patterns of thoughts, behaviour and choices that aren’t useful to you anymore and create new patterns that serve you better. Shifts in the body create shifts in the mind and shifts in the mind cause shifts to take place in the body. Watch how a new seed planted in your body and mind grow. As you tend to it like careful farmer, watering it with love, light, patience and respect, notice how your body and mind begin to harmonise with each other and new improved patterns will start to appear. Then notice how you journey closer to who you are.