Blog-a-thon Day 15

Just this. And then, just this. And then, just this. That was the message in yoga class this morning. Was it possible to be in the moment without thinking about the plan for the rest of the day, the rest of the class, the next yoga posture, the other half of this yoga posture, the next painful minute in this pose?

I found it challenging to practice inhabiting the moment rather than the future, to convince my busy mind to be less of a planner and more of a be-er.

I miss a lot when I am elsewhere. This morning I missed a lot while getting Kyle ready for his day because I was concerned about getting all the things done with him to get him out the door on time which would then allow me to get ready on time, especially today because my friend was coming to yoga with me for the first time. And on and on it goes. I had good reasons for not being in the moment, didn't I?

And then it was hard to be in "just this" during class because I was thinking about my friend and whether or not she was doing ok with some of the poses. And what was the rest of my day going to look like? I had so many things to do today but didn't really have a plan. Why was I moving on to the rest of my day when my physical body was doing yoga anyway? Why would my mind want to miss out on this nurturing "me" time in yoga class?  My teacher continued to remind us about coming back to just this.  I kept working on it, and redirecting myself back to the moment.  

Homework assignment:  Spend 15 minutes at home in "just this". Try flowing from one moment to the next doing or being without a plan for the next minute and the next and the next?  What would I do if my mind had no plan? Where would 15 minutes of moments lead?

I was inclined to put this off until another day but decided to be a "good" student and get my homework done right away. I set the timer for 15 minutes and without planning,  I found myself at the refrigerator with the container of strawberries in my hand. Hmmm, they looked so good and the sun was shining so I took a few out to the pool and sat in the sun to enjoy them. I felt self indulgent doing this in the middle of the morning. I should be unloading the dishwasher while eating these.  I should be ... should be... blah blah blah. Oh yeah, "just this" right now.  I had to redirect my mind a few times and then the phone rang. I did not plan on having a phone conversation as part of my 15 minute homework assignment but such is life. It was important and I gave my full attention to the caller without thinking about my strawberries... at least not too much, anyway.

Fifteen minutes went by really quickly. The strawberries were great and I moved forward on a project for Kyle by talking to the caller. I found my planner mind to be a little resistant to "just this" but was glad I hung in there and played along.

Just this will take a lifetime of practice but is always available. I just need to remember.

JUST THIS