How to Create More Peace & Presence
It's March, my friends, and Spring is upon us. Each month, I like to bring different ideas and concepts around yoga and its philosophy to our community. As many of you know, yoga is much deeper than the physical practice,
As part of the philosophy of yoga, I’ve been thinking a lot about peace and living peacefully. It’s a simple concept but incredibly hard to do in the world we are living in today. We’re inundated with cultural expectations, social media, judgments, and division; the list goes on and on.
Many people walk through life robotically, reacting to what life offers. They are up in their head, and their brain is like a tornado, thoughts swirling around in every way.
How Thoughts Impact Our Mental State
To give context, the average person has 50,000 thoughts daily, and 80% are negative. And most people aren’t even aware of their thoughts. Have you ever been driving your car, got to work, and realized you don’t even remember the drive?
The good news is; there's hope. I believe in feeling peace; we must encompass a state of awareness.
And, how can we cultivate more awareness, you ask?
I know you have heard it before, folks, but sit and get quiet. If you are new to meditation, try sitting for 5 minutes daily and focusing on your breath. Or maybe try a yoga class (Hello! We have you covered on this one!).
The Power of Yoga and Meditation
Most yoga classes bring attention to your breath and meditation at the beginning and end of class. An excellent yoga class keeps you present and aware of your breath throughout the entire flow.
Yoga classes are a great way to pay attention to your breathing and bring awareness to the current moment, but there are many ways to slow down and be present.
Walk outside with music
Meditation
Run yourself a bath
Take an extra few minutes in your car to breathe
Stretch before bed
The key here is that you want to bring awareness into the present moment.
Bring Attention to the Present
Part of what rips us away from our peace is our busy minds and rarely living in the present. Feeling at ease is hard when constantly thinking, moving, and doing.
The activities I suggested above are things you can do that encourage attention to breathing and feeling present. But even more than any specific activity, the real power of creating more peace in our lives comes from bringing yourself into the moment.
Noticing the way your feet hit the ground “thump thump thump” as you walk, breathing in from your noes and out through your mouth as you stand in line… By bringing awareness to the present moment, we come home to our pure, peaceful selves.
Yoga class is a great space to experience this sense of presence, and often that peaceful feeling will last with us throughout our day.
The more we consistently practice, the more it becomes a natural state of being.
— xoxo Nicole