During the month of January, due to work, business travel, a stubborn cold, etc, I ended up not going to a yoga class for about a month. There was always a good excuse to not go, but little by little, it starting affecting me in many different ways. First, on the physical side, muscles start getting tense, especially with those long hours sitting in tight airplane seats for hours at end. Then, anxiety due to work conditions started showing up, which had not happened in a long time. Of course, there were real circumstances at work that would have caused anxiety to anyone, but that is one of the greatest benefits of having a steady yoga practice: the ability to control how we react to what happens to us, and not let external factors lead our life!

This leads to a concept I have been reading about lately, and it is the concept of Pausing and being able to control our reactions. If we train ourselves to pause before reacting, it would save us from so many uncomfortable moments! And yoga is great practice for this pause, since we are forced to quiet our minds in order to confront poses or ‘Asanas’ when otherwise we would just run away, just like when we confront difficult situations in everyday life.

Fortunately, I was able to get back to my yoga practice and pick it up where I had left. Slowly, the muscles are adapting again, as well as the mind and the spirit. Practicing the pause seems to be a bit more difficult outside of the mat, but it is worth trying, and remind ourselves how important is to keep a healthy body as well as a healthy mind. For that reason, I am back writing my blog, which is also a way to practice yoga.

Namaste!