The Light In Me...

The decorations, the music, the parties, the presents and the rushing around are now a thing of the recent past. The quiet after the storm. But is it really quiet?

Do you ever get the feeling that after the holidays we rush back into our daily lives that are just a different type of hectic to the holiday season? For those of us who live in a seasonal place, we are just stepping into the truly busiest time of our year. For the next 4-5 months, our roads are more crowded, we have to look for a "good" parking spot, we might have to wait to get a table at a restaurant and there seems to be one event/gala, golf/tennis tournament, seasonal parties and openings at least every weekend, if not many nights of each week. Phew!

It's no wonder we call it a season, because if it were year round, we'd be really tired!

My thought for this week is to keep the idea of balance in our awareness. That amidst the chaos, we stop to take a breath. But truly, that's underselling how beneficial finding inner quiet can be. It's giving a bit too much weight to keeping engaged and busy as though that feeds our soul more than being disconnected.

This is not a new theme or weekly thought from me, but a repetition of something that is so potent and underpracticed that reiterating it seems more than appropriate given what lies ahead.

During the first few restorative yoga classes that I have been teaching at Rancho Mirage Women's Health Center, you can see and feel the shift from how people begin the class, to how people leave the class. It's as though there is this unfed need for us to rest and renew. Once the class steps into that quiet space, it's as though they've realized how ravenous they have been for this type of nourishment.

It is so easy to get distracted by daily living. Our culture is about the best at doing it, so much so we don't realize it's taking us away from our inner selves. When we begin to open the space in our hearts and recognize our own Divine spark that lies within, we are in a better place to recognize that same connection in others.

That is truly the essence of the word, "Namaste" (Nah-mah-stay).

The light in me, honors the light in you.

If we stay overly busy, disconnected and distracted we don't hear the word "Namaste" within our own souls. When we get quiet, unplug, relax and engage our breath awareness we not only see it in ourselves, but it spreads outward.

In a time such as this, when peace is sought on so many levels, make more of a commitment to finding the peace that lies within.

I have a bumper sticker on my car from www.restorativeteachers.com that says, "Changing the world, one savasana at a time". For those unfamiliar with savasana, it is the final relaxation pose at the end of each class, where each student is supported in a lying down position on the floor. Just imagine if everyone spent 15 minutes in a relaxation pose every day...what a wonderful world this could be.

Namaste'