How Yoga Got Me Through A Stressful Week Feeling Tranquil

Photo taken at The Yoga House

This was how my week went.

MONDAY
My toddler son woke up at 3:30 a.m. He threw up in his bed. I slept on the floor with him. He had a stomach bug.

In the afternoon, he threw up projectile when I was holding him.

TUESDAY
My middle child, second daughter, spent her half day in the nurse room and came home with a headache.

WEDNESDAY
She missed school and stayed home.

THURSDAY
I found head lice on my second daughter. (14 Facts About Lice & How To Treat) I spent two plus hours with her to treat her head lice.

FRIDAY
My son threw a huge tantrum. I cancelled my morning plan.

SATURDAY – VALENTINE’S DAY
On Saturday morning my husband came down with a stomach bug. He stayed in bed all day. I cancelled our dinner appointment.

Normally I would’ve felt flustered, exhausted and frustrated at the end of a week like this. I did not feel any of them, though. I was able to keep my calm. Honestly the only day I felt stressed was on Friday when my son threw a big tantrum.

Photo taken at The Yoga House

I thought to myself “why is it different this time?” How have I kept myself unshaken from my eventful week? The only explanation I had was the yoga class I have been taking. A yoga teacher training course I signed up for started at the end of January this year (2015) and it is ongoing. It’s been an eye-opening experience.

There are several reasons why I signed up for a yoga teacher training course. The opportunity came is one thing. The hype about yoga always made me curious why people loved it so much because I never got it. I’m turning 40 this year and I wanted to do something special for myself. I thought this would be very special. Not only do I get to learn yoga in the birth land of Yoga, India, I get to have a yoga teaching certificate. When I have to leave India, which will happen in a couple of years, I will be able to take a piece of India with me. I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate my 40th birthday.

Now back to the question. How did yoga changed my attitude towards my daily life?

In order for me to be able to explain how yoga helped me, please allow me to write a little about Hatha Yoga. Here is a quote from my text book.

“The process of Yoga is not merely a pursuit of fitness but a process of refining towards a steady state of peace and contentment. One cannot expect the “benefits” of Yoga if one is not ready to invest in dedicated and diligent practice.”

Hatha Yoga
I’m learning traditional Hatha Yoga. Its belief lies on the connection between breath, life energy called “prana” (I think prana is like “soul” in a sense that it is what makes a difference between a body with life and corpse) and the body. The breath connects the mind, emotions, physical body, and energy body.

Asana
Asana, “yoga postures” or “yoga positions” in the Western notion, is an instrument in Hatha Yoga to connect the above mentioned elements. Asana works on the body with the breathing and pursues the spiritual discipline. In my own words, aligning the body and staying still in asana with breathing creates a pipeline for the mind, emotions and body. (As a side note, Asana without the breathing element is mechanical and a mere stretch exercise. That is not in the true principles of Hatha Yoga.)

I still have so much to learn, but my breathing has changed the way I am. I’m more aware of my emotions as a result of paying attention to my breathing. The asana practices (yoga posture practices) have been my time to escape from any noises I have in my head, face my inner self and listen to my body. The emotional sways that I experience in my daily life seem to have lessened and do not affect my mind as much.

Another thing I learned in the class is to surrender and accept. I have never known about acceptance and surrender in Yoga philosophy until now. It helps to hear in the classroom that there are things that are out of our hand and there is no point of getting worked up about it. When it happens, surrendering to the situation and breathing slowly and consciously can calm your mind.

In asana there are so many postures with a quality for surrender and letting go. By doing those postures with conscious breathing it feels that it reaches my subconscious mind and removes some clouds that hang out there if this makes any sense. It’s hard to explain because it’s not the tangible process.

This is just a small part of what I have learned. It’s been very rewarding to have yoga in my life. I’m also grateful for this opportunity to be in a classroom to learn something new. I realize how I love learning and indulge in the joy of learning. I wish I was this dedicated to education when I was in college.