Last Sunday in yoga class, my teacher said that we needed to get naked. I know what you think now and it’s not that she wanted us to undress…not at the end of October in New England…
For me and us this much rather means to get rid of all the extra stuff we don’t need in our lives and pay attention to what’s good for us and only keep this! She gave the example of drinking a giant coffee with 4 bags of sugar in it routinely, maybe every day. We know that the sugar is not good for our body, but still stick to this craziness…but why? Are we really enoying this so much that it makes us feel good, that is makes sense to do it, although we have regrets already floating around in our heads?
It seems like we are numbing ourselves with routines that we seem stuck in. We are kind of aware what’s good or what would be better for us, but still choose to ignore it…because this is just the ‘easier’ way to go… someting else would mean CHANGE.
My yoga teacher suggested to just do things differently now and then, to just get out of this stuck place. Thinking of yoga, it would be just throwing in a different pose into our (daily) routine and change things up a bit to be more aware of what we are doing.
So after yoga class I went home and decided on the way back home that I would change up the sewing workshop that I had planned for the afternoon. Instead of sewing beanies, the participants would sew dresses although they had never sewn a single piece of clothing ever before 🙂
The ladies were very surprised about my idea and weren’t sure if they would be able to do that. But I had so much faith in them that they trusted me and in the following 5 hours they sewed dresses for their daughters. Seeing them full of pride holding up the dresses was such a gift to me. I just love to see people proud of themselves. This is probably one of the most rewarding feelings to watch for me 🙂
So since Sunday, I’ve been thinking about ‘getting naked’ a lot and tried to incorporate this idea as much into my life. And the funny thing is that the universe seems to send me reminders almost every day!
And it feels like practicing this idea has so many benefits.
Firstly doing things differently makes us conscious of things that we might not even know that we are stuck in. We are just so used to flying through our day on autopilot…
It came to my mind that my brother once suggested to do everything, you usually do with your right hand, with your left, just to notice what hand you are using and how you are using it for just totally normal things… like taking a shower and using shampoo.
On Wednesday I talked to a friend who is offering a decluttering course to people who want to get rid of things around their house and who want to learn methods how to get themselves more organized. She has witnessed how people transfer these methods into other parts of their lives and don’t just get rid of materialistic ‘things’, but also of blockages in their minds and routines that they seems to be stuck in… I was impressed that this seemed to fit right into my thoughts of this week 🙂
Later that day I met a friend and she told me that she feels rather happy with her life right now, but also very stuck. She feels that there seems to be something missing. Working a normal 8am to 5pm day five days a week takes up so much time if you don’t feel like you really enjoy it. There are only these few hours in the evenings that you feel like you are too exhausted to really do anything else then eating dinner and watching a TV show before you go to bed. Then there are these two days of weekend that you really want to enjoy and ‘live’! These two days get so precious and they seems to be so special, that you really want to get out the most of them, but what’s about chores around the house? the yard? Other things that need to be done? They seem to be in the way…
So, how can these people who experience to be stuck in this place ‘get naked’? I feel like, of course, it would be best to make your job a happy place for you. Is it possible to do something that really nourishes your soul and you can identify with as ‘your job’? This is easily said, but it seems like this should to be the big goal for everybody…
But let’s go baby steps! What about doing something different every day?! It could just be eating something different for breakfast, driving a different way to work, greeting your colleagues a different way that day, having the goal to surprise one coworker with something special that day, instead of eating lunch in the cafeteria go outside and enjoy it outside while going on a walk, getting yourself a gift, driving home a different way, eating out at night, creating something, maybe sewing in the evening instead of watching TV…I could think of a million things 🙂 …
I think, if you get used to taking chances, to getting out of your comfort zone, and just do things differently, you will get addicted to this new lifestyle and all of a sudden you feel like you still have energy left for fun things, even after a long day at work…because it’s fun to experiment…
Co-creating your life and getting to a happy full-filled life does not just happen, it does need your energy. But the cool thing is that the more energy you put in, the more you will get out! 🙂
Somehow I came to listen to one of my favorite CDs this week, that I hadn’t listened to in years. It’s by the Bright Eyes, called ‘I’m wide awake, It’s morning’.
I feel like this is no coincidence either… Getting rid of stuck places, routines and being mindful about what I am doing makes me super conscious and this feels like I am wide awake all the time ! It’s an amazing feeling, full of energy and power.
I also got my intenSati workout DVD in the mail this week. I wrote about this in my last post. I tried it out a couple of mornings this week and again I was reminded of my week’s goal of doing things differently and getting rid of routines…the affirmation to say while doing one of the ‘poses’ is: ‘Everyday in a my very own way, I’m leaner, I’m leaner…Yes!’
‘Lean’ can mean a lot, but for me it totally means to get rid of stuff that is not good for us, routines that we are unconsciously stuck in and focus on the good things, that make us feel alive and focussed and happy!
Today is Sunday again and I am so grateful for the idea of ‘getting naked’ that my yoga teacher brought to my consciousness for this week! I see a great opportunity in this for everybody to feel alive and powerful and full of energy in this adventure that we call life!
So, who is in? Let’s get naked this coming week!! …just try it out and see if you enjoy it as much as I do! 🙂
Much love, aNNika