…and how to hunt down your ‘most-wanted’ emotions
Hey yogi friends. Right now, I’m listening to these lyrics…. Alanis Morissette. Recognise them? Feel free to sing along.
“Well, life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
When you think everything’s okay and everything’s going right
And life has a funny way of helping you out when
You think everything’s gone wrong and everything blows up
In your face”
Bam… it’s like – ‘hey… you talking to me?’ At the risk of sounding kooky, it feels like something ‘out there,’ right now, in this moment, has my back. Music does that for me – a lot. How bout you?
What’s weird is the same lyrics, another day or another year, nah…nothing. Not even sure I like this track. Hmm…?
What the hell are you talking about Josie? I hear ya. Stick with me, this stuff is worth thinking about.
The power of your attention, your awareness and what you tune into, is what can influence whether you get whatever it is you want out of life. Think about it for a sec… what do you want?
A list to get you started… who doesn’t love a list?
- Travel the world
- Age well
- A new personal best
- Get injured less
- Be an entrepreneur
- Be healthy and strong
- Be resilient
- Finally get into crow pose/headstand/touch your toes.
No matter what your goals, dreams or aspiration, AWARENESS changes the game and improves your chances of success.
So, today I invite you to ask yourself. Are you paying attention? Are you listening? Do you pick up on the signals of your body, your gut, your heart? Are you tuned in to your Self, to your Spirit and Soul and those mysterious, unexplainable moments of clarity, support, guidance – (thanks Alanis).
Think this is out of the remit of a yoga teacher? I get why you might (it’s not how the media sells this yoga stuff to us, and certainly not what you’ll get when you rock up to most gyms).
But hear me out if you will. Yeah, I can show you how to get into poses, have a strong, fit, balanced, flexible physical self, but that’s not enough (for this yoga teacher).
Live the most amazing life
We are all way more complicated and beautifully intelligent than that – and so is the practice of yoga. So please, let’s all dig a little deeper, let’s go beyond the physical or material world (what we can sense and see) as a source for our happiness, and think about other possibilities for getting what we want (and need) to live the most amazing life. Why the hell not?
You see, the reason any of us do anything is because we believe it will help us achieve what we really want. And when you boil that down, dig real deep, it’s likely that it’s simply to be happy. Or to experience an emotion that brings us happiness… excitement, fulfilment, freedom, love, connection, belonging, health.
Take your pick…
(Ok, I’ll share… my most wanted emotions are adventure, freedom and connection, so I know I need to do stuff that achieves those feelings to be happy).
And, what I also know (because I’ve been there and done it) is that we all too often lose sight of this.
We tune out of what we want (and need). We side line our dreams, play small and either think what we want might not be possible for us or wait until some imaginary date in the future when it will all magically happen. We tell ourselves it’s not the right time, the right circumstances, yet… but one day maybe, somehow, we will get around to it, and be happy.
Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
We get lost in the distraction of doing, doing, doing. We go through the motions (job, food, family, the odd holiday), and mindlessly move through life. Then oh dear, we wonder why things haven’t gone exactly to plan or why we missed out on something.
If you get too far down the road of not paying attention to the journey you’re on (and not listening to what you need) ‘life has a funny way of sneaking up on you’ to say you’ve gone off course. But you need to be paying attention to get that message. Otherwise, you’ll keep on going until one day, life doesn’t just sneak up on you. Oh no…it completely pulls the rug from underneath you and you wake up to find the road back to what you always wanted is a million miles away – and that’s a highway to stress, dis ‘ease’ and even depression. (Been there done it. It’s really not great).
Let’s not go there eh? Instead, how about we just pay more attention to what we’re doing and where we’re going and what we really want. 😉
Yoga and meditation are both ancient healing practices that cultivate your level of awareness. It’s a way to get as connected to your inner world as your external and be poised and ready to course correct more often in your life.
The goal, you see, is to be happy in each moment, to stay on track, find balance, homeostasis, and equilibrium now – not in some future, might never happen moment.
And that means choosing to listen and be aware of the messages, cues and the signs life (or your mind and body) chucks at you in each moment too.
Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you
When you think everything’s okay and everything’s going right
And life has a funny way of helping you out when
You think everything’s gone wrong and everything blows up
In your face
I needed to hear this today…and regardless of where it came from, it gave me some level of support and an opportunity to take a breath, reset and move forward.
What signs, messages, clues are you getting? Are you listening. Do you shrug these moments off as meaningless? I won’t judge. But I’m interested if you do, or if you don’t. Please share them in the comments below. People like to know it’s not just them, including me. 😉
How to hunt down your ‘most-wanted’ emotions
Then I invite you also to find some space, get still and take a minute to ask yourself what emotions you want to experience the most, so you can do more of the stuff that makes you happy too.
A good way to find out is explore a most recent happy memory and ask yourself:
- What were you doing in that moment? Describe it in detail. Who was there, what were the circumstances.
- What did you believe life was about in that moment?
- Then finally ask yourself if it was up to you to create these moments, rather than wait for it to happen, what one step could you take to make it so. What action would move you closer to what you want (and need) to be happy?
For best results, I’d encourage you to do this after your yoga and meditation practice. Nothing fancy, just start to move your energy through the body with a couple of rounds of sun salutations, and then take a comfy seat in meditation. (Go here to get more on how to meditate).
This makes the body and mind more receptive and open to receiving the answers you’re looking for.
Try it…and let me know how it goes.
Thanks for listening. If you got this far, congrats…you have been. LOL Keep it up 😉
Until next time. Be aware, and be happy.
Josie. X
