What's Your Sign?

What’s Your Sign?

Being Observant

All around us the universe is sending us messages.  Perhaps the slow car in the fast lane is a reminder to take a few deep breaths or the teens laughing on the sidewalk cue us to take life lightly.

But far too often, we are too busy to even notice these signs.  We get up.  We dress and feed our family.  And after we get ourselves together, we remember to feed the dog, and now we’re likely late getting out the door.  So, with all of this chaos going on in the first few hours of our day, how on earth are we supposed to “smell the roses?”

Practicing yoga and meditation teaches us to bring our mind, breath and body in unity.  When all three are working together, we can begin to sift through all the noise and see those signs Mother Nature is practically throwing at us.

Until my own yoga practice became more regular, I never spotted these signs either.  The universe could have been sending me the latest lottery numbers, and I wouldn’t have noticed.

How can you become more observant?  Download a copy of any yoga sequence found on Limber Llama Yoga.  Move through the sequence slowly allowing your breath to be even and slow.  Notice if any poses cause your breath to be shallow and tense. 

Once you have your breath and movement in synch, turn to your mind.  What are you thinking about?  The weather, dinner, tomorrow’s schedule?  Accept that these thoughts will come up, and turn your thoughts to your muscles, bones and breath.  How do your hips feel in Warrior 2?  Describe it to yourself. 

Soon, all three – the body, breath and mind – will synch.  And with practice, it becomes easier to unite these off the mat and in the real world.