Life hits us from all sides; the media, email, texts, colleagues, spouse, children, friends, etc. and causes all kinds of daily drama. We try to control each and every one of those things and people in order to deal with it. What we need to be reminded of every so often is that, in effect, we can’t control any of it. Today, in yoga, the teacher told us that while we cannot control the things that impact our lives, we CAN control our reactions and responses to them.
I learned of this flipping of the control over a year ago and it’s taken many yoga classes for it to become a part of what I now do naturally. It’s the old adage: tell me and I’ll know, show me and I’ll understand, involve me and I can do it. Today in the yoga studio, the shade was open and the sun was impacting me greatly. As I lay in savasana the sun was burning my arm and shining in my eyes. I didn’t think I could last there without getting up and closing the shade. But in yoga, that’s a no-no. The teacher controls the room and we have to trust her to do it. I couldn’t control the shade and the sun, all I could control was my response to it. I laid very still and concentrated totally on breathing and closed my eyes to the sun. The teacher did open the window and shut the shade, but I had to be still and trust her to do it. It’s this daily conditioning to keep the control confined to my response that is finally manifesting itself in my life outside the studio. I cannot control what others do or say to me, but I can control my reaction to it, and I have done that in a few situations lately. When drama started to erupt, I quieted myself, stepped back, and decided how to proceed. I found controlling my response felt wise and calm, while trying to control the other person was always so upsetting and exhausting.
And so, as another day goes by, “easy does it” is always better frantic and frenetic, and…I have written.
Good advice… though I am not into yoga and if I had been in the room with the sun burning my arm, I would probably have taken that as a sun to get up and take control… easier to do when you are ignorant of the rules of the room. When I play golf, I have to let go of giving others advice and just focus on my game… not exactly the same, but I can relate.
“we CAN control our reactions and responses to them.”
–> This is so true.:) Thanks for sharing.