In class a few weeks ago Rebecca talked about how yoga is a way to let go of stress and forget about obstacles that exist. She talked about how we often create stress for ourselves without even realizing it, and our yoga mat is a place where this should not occur.
A month ago me and a group of friends went to Nashville Tennessee for a country music festival. I have been a few times and it is a blast. This year more of my friends decided they wanted to come because they kept hearing how much fun it was. As the trip approached more and more people began booking flights, tickets, and hotel rooms. I was stressed. I didn’t want to have to wait for people to get ready every morning or argue about what our itinerary would be each day. The week before the trip I felt anxious rather than excited. A getaway that was planned as a way to escape the stress of my daily life had become the opposite.At the end of the weekend I couldn’t have imagined the trip without the entire group. I cannot believe I created anxiety for myself about this! I was in Nashville listening to awesome music with literally all of my closest friends!
When Rebecca started talked about creating stress in class the week after I returned from Nashville I laughed to myself. Why do we do this to ourselves all the time? It’s like we feel like we need to be stressed at all times or else we are doing something wrong. There was no need for me to turn this trip into something stressful, yet I did. Sometimes I do this is a yoga class. I find myself stressing about how much time is left or if I am going to be able to balance in half moon for the amount of breaths the teacher instructs us to. This is so dumb! Yoga is a way to relieve stress, not create it. A fun trip with your friends is supposed to be just that, not something that raises our blood pressure. Next time you are stressed I challenge you to really think about what you are worrying about. Is it worth it? Should you really waste energy on stressing about? Is the situation intended to be stressful or are you supposed tobe relaxing in Shavasana and instead going over your to do list?
Moral of today’s class: There is enough stress in our lives and in the world. Don’t create it in places where it shouldn’t exist.
-A
“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another”William James
what yoga gave to me... 