“Change is in the air, as old patterns fall away and new energies are emerging. Consciously release what needs to be released, and welcome with a full embrace the newness you’ve prayed for and so richly deserve.” ~~ Marianne Williamson
Photo Courtesy of http://lilypadandalycat.blogspot.com/2012/06/change-is-in-air.html
Change. It means different things to different people. Some of us fear it, some of us crave it, and some of us could care less. It is now the Spring season in many parts of the world, and many people use this time of year to make changes in their lives…the term “Spring Cleaning” came from somewhere, didn’t it?
This past year has been a big one in terms of change for me, all across the board. Things changed for me at my full-time job in several big ways, my health ebbed and flowed over the months as I worked with doctors to try and figure out what was wrong with me, my yoga practice changed to include more restorative practices, I began meditating regularly, my daughter got her driver’s license (Yikes!), my parents moved to be closer to me (Yay!). There are other things, but you get the point. For me, all of these things were BIG things in my life. Some of these changes were scary, some were amazing…and I had to figure out how to deal with each of them as they hit me, so that I could maintain some sort of balance and sanity in my life.
You see, I am typically a creature of habit. I like knowing what’s coming next. I like having a schedule. I am SO not spontaneous! And I know that I drive my husband completely nuts (and probably quite a few others) when I keep nagging and asking, “What’s the deal? I need to know the plan ASAP so I can schedule everything. Let’s make a decision already!”
With some of the things I dealt with, I had no choice but to go with the flow and see what happened. Gosh, that just about killed me in a few instances, as you may know if you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time. But I did what I had to do, and came out on the other side in one piece. Some of the changes I made to more effectively deal with everything have ended up being exactly what I needed. Some of the changes…well, I’m still waiting to see how they manifest themselves. But I am no longer afraid. I am actually kind of excited to see what happens, and it feels pretty cool to have that change in my attitude!
You may be going through changes yourself. Small changes, big changes, bad changes, good changes (Dr. Seuss, anyone?)…it doesn’t matter. Change is change. How do you deal with it? Does it freak you out like it does me? I’m getting better at it though, with a little practice.
Yesterday, I went to a yoga class at a studio I’d never been to before. I was invited by a friend, and I am SO glad I decided to go. This class was based on the Universal style of yoga, which I’d never tried before. You know, I’ve been practicing yoga since 1999, and there were some poses and breathing exercises we did yesterday that I’d NEVER done before. Like Sundial Pose (Parivrtta Surya Yantrasana), for example. Some people also refer to this pose as Compass Pose (Check out http://poseofthemonth.wordpress.com/2011/07/06/parivrtta-surya-yantrasana-compass-or-sundial-pose/ if you want to know more about this pose). I’ve seen pictures of this pose, but I’ve never been to a class where it’s been taught. Never. But I tried and achieved some feeble variation of the pose, and it felt really good to try something new. And at the end of class, having tried so many new things, I felt GOOD. I felt RELAXED. I felt like I’d grown just a LITTLE. That’s what it’s all about, in my opinion.
So if you’re like me and tend to avoid change, try to let go of that fear, just for this week. Welcome something new into your life, even if it’s something small, just to see what happens. You may be pleasantly surprised by what you find.
SC Yoga Girl 