The Snowball Affect

The other day I saw a post on Facebook from a friend in Colorado who had just posted picture of a fresh snowfall.  Meanwhile, I'm sitting in the desert of Southern California, early spring where the temperatures are warm enough to wear shorts and tees, looking at this picture and thinking, "Brrrr...that looks cold.  Why don't you move back to California?"  And perhaps this friend was thinking something similar.  Yet another storm has dropped snow and many people might be thinking "enough already!"

The one year my family lived in Iowa, the arrival of the first snowstorm was nothing short of magical.  It was cold but incredibly fun to romp in, have snowball fights and enjoy the pristine quiet that often comes with snow.  By the time April rolled around though with even more snow, it wasn't quite so magical and everyone was yearning for spring to break through.

My thought of the week was obviously sparked by the image of yet another storm compounding the already long, cold winter.  Why is it that what initially seems so lovely and easy can have a different feeling over time?  Same snow, different experience.  Perhaps a primal piece exists within us that can tolerate a certain level of change and challenge.  We adapt to the newness of a situation and cruise along without any great fluster.  Yet, if we have a sequence of things happen that seem to come one after the other, it all seems to "snowball" (no pun intended!) disproportionately out of control.  What initially was manageable seems to have spun away from us and now is heading toward the feeling of overwhelm.  Add fatigue into the equation from lack of sleep or long hours working, then managing anything outside of what's spinning out of control is near impossible.

Sound familiar?

Someone described a parallel thought around risk factors and heart disease.  If a person had one risk factor, it seemed to be somewhat manageable, but if they had two, three or four risk factors it multiplied exponentially and increased dramatically the chances of suffering from a heart related incident.  In these cases, 1+1 doesn't equal two, but much more than that.

At times where we have a multitude of factors influencing us, how we manage ourselves through these experiences can make the difference between it being an acknowledged fullness to life to a feeling of dread and inability to handle it. When I see people in these states of overwhelm or find myself in one I am reminded to look after myself on the most fundamental level by nourishing with healthy food choices, getting plenty of sleep, breaking things into manageable chunks and slowing down!

Overwhelm is a sign of imbalance, something is outta whack. Yoga is about the practice of finding and establishing balance, living in that place where our bodies, minds and inner selves are in harmony.  And often, when things spin out of control, one of the first things we surrender is time spent on our own selves.  Instead, step ONTO the mat, not away from it.  Realize that taking time to breathe and move the body, to sit quietly and reflect are the perfect antidote to what can manifest as feeling that life is heavy.  

So, if you're living through yet another snowstorm, enjoy the beauty as this too shall pass.  It might be your last chance for months to build another snowman!