Get In Your Zone

Life is all memory, except for the one present moment that goes by you so quickly you hardly catch it going. - Tennessee Williams

She walked into my yoga/pilates class in tears. She silently placed a mat down, sat on it, and had her phone out next to her. She checked that it was on vibrate (but still on) and checked several more times before the class started - as if she was hopeful to see someone had called.

I walked up to the stage and asked my typical 'starting off questions'. 'What was the pulse of the class? Was it a good day? Was it a bad day? Why did people come to class? Strength? Confidence? Energy? De-stress? How did people want to feel when they left? Energized? Happy? Powerful?'

I had my eye on her, to see how she would respond. She sat unresponsive. I knew her mind was somewhere else.

I then told the class that I needed each person to be willing to let go of whatever was on their mind and choose to be present in the moment of what we were doing. I said, 'if you just go through the motions, you'll just have a mediocre workout, but if you think about connecting your movement, with your breath, with your thoughts, with your goals, then you will find yourself present.' I glanced at her one more time and she was checking her phone.

We began class and I can always tell those who have been able to let go of their 'outside of the studio stress' and allow themselves to be inwardly focused on themselves for the hour. I call this, 'getting into their zone'. I always know without doubt, that they leave feeling better than they came. I know when they walk out of the studio, they will be able to deal with whatever comes their way, better, with more patience and strength.

*Back to class* Halfway through class I looked over during a difficult transition where we end up in a reverse triangle and our heads are low to the ground. When in this pose, she was looking at her phone.

I brought us out of this sequence and paused in a prayer position for a moment and said, 'I know that when we are going through a difficult time, it is painful to let go of the outside chatter. If someone has left us, something didn't work out, something failed miserably - whatever it is - there is nothing you can do except get your heart in the right place to handle it. This is a choice you make right here, right now. You can choose to hold onto that and feel miserable and go through the motions of this class, and then go through the motions of life when you leave. Or, you can chose right now to honor your body, how amazing it is, think about the next step you take and be aware of the breath coming into your body. You can chose to be at your best right now - no one is stopping you but you. If you let some outside distraction stop you, then that distraction has won.'

We went back into our vinyasa flow and I looked over. At first I thought she was packing up to leave, but I quickly learned she was putting her phone away into a bag and walked it over to the side of the room. She came back and finished class with one of the best 'present moments' I have ever witnessed.

After class she came up to me and told me her story. She was going through a breakup with the 'love of her life'. She had been lethargic for days and could not bring herself to want to do anything but cry (been there, done that!) She said she had tried going to the gym 3 other times but would leave in tears, unable to finish her workout because she was so upset. She said she wasn't sure if she could make it through tonight, but when I said, 'if you let that outside distraction stop you from being present, then it has won...' it all made sense to her. While she didn't like how she was feeling, it was because she missed the past and longed for the future with her boyfriend. She didn't enjoy the present of being right here, right now.

Later that week, I received an email from her. She said that she practiced being present at work, as well as out to dinner with her friends. She focused on being into each conversation, being her best, and enjoying the moment. She said she finally figured out how to let go of what she couldn't control, by focusing on being present with who she was right at this moment. Amazingly enough... the moment she had this realization, he called.

Now it's up to her to determine what to do with this next moment. I am confident that she has all the tools that she needs to make the right decision for her. Afterall, those are the tools you learn when focusing on being present and honoring yourself.

I know I have found myself in this place before. When something is out of your control that you want desperately - perhaps a love - a job - a friend, it can be overwhelming and creates a lot of anxiety and stress. I have found if I can bring myself to be present in the moment and reflect inwardly on taking care of me - then I can overcome whatever heartbreak or disappointment I have faced. It is easier said than done, that is for sure. But, I recommend finding a good yoga class or unconditional friend as a starter...

Here's to this moment. May you 'get in your zone' and be fully aware of how fabulous you really are...

"Each today, well-lived, makes yesterday a dream of happiness and each tomorrow a vision of hope. Look, therefore, to this one day, for it and it alone is life." - Sanskrit poem

"You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment." - Henry David Thoreau

"Life brings simple pleasures to us every day. It is up to us to make them wonderful memories." -- Cathy Allen

My Message is My Life

My message is my life. - Mahatma Gandhi

This weekend I talked with a friend of mine who wanted to discuss how we know what our purpose in life is... it is always an interesting question to consider. I am not one to claim to have the answer, but I do have a few ideas.

So often, we spend time focusing on what huge impact we can have - some enormous purpose to existing. But I ask you to pause for a moment and then name the last 5 Nobel Peace Prize winners. Or perhaps, 5 Senators from your state or the current top 10 Best Selling Novelists.

Perhaps you can, but more likely, you cannot.

Now I ask you to name your 5 favorite teachers, your 5 greatest friends and your 5 strongest role models. The point to this little exercise is to prove that people don't remember those who won a fancy award or prize, they remember the people who were there for them, touched their hearts and influenced their life for the better.

So that is our purpose. To learn from our lessons to help others have a lighter road, to be open to new experiences, to find passion in the things we love and to love as if there was no such thing as being hurt.

When we start to feel off-track in life, that is just our heart taking the steering wheel and telling us to head in a different direction. It is important to pay attention to these times (and we all have them, so don't worry), because they can be the wind in our sails that drive us right to discovering 'our purpose'. When we are following our hearts, finding our simple joys, being there for others - then we have found our purpose. It's not a moment. It's not a major award. It is how we choose to live in each moment.

My message is my life.. Such a fabulous way to say - everything I do, every day of my life, is what I leave behind. So make sure you leave behind exactly what you want to. You have the ability to leave an imprint on this world anyway you want. What will your imprint be?