Sometimes life throws something onto your path that makes you slow down or even stop altogether. You might welcome the pause when it’s an extended vacation or a sabbatical, but at other times, it might not be your intention to stop. Maybe you get sidetracked by an illness or a global pandemic. Whether you wanted to slow down or not, there usually comes a time when it’s necessary to pick up the pace again.
How can you pick up the pace after a pause, without lots of effort and stress?
When you move at a fast pace, you can get so much done in a short amount of time. When you move slowly, it takes longer to complete the same task. So you may feel like you never have enough time to accomplish everything, and the stress mounts. Many of us slowed down significantly during the pandemic, either because of illness or loss of work or social activities. Perhaps you’re struggling a bit to ramp back up to the pace of your life before the pandemic.
Don’t feel guilty if you’re struggling a bit with this.
During the times I’ve been away, and then returned to New York City, I’ve often wished there was some sort of “on ramp” to gradually get me back into the fast flow New York is so famous for. Well, there isn’t an on-ramp. But I have both yoga tools and aerial applications that help me manage bumpy transitions.
Let me share some yoga tools to help you ease back into your normal tempo.
Lately I’ve been fielding more and more questions about the difference between aerial silks (circus) and aerial yoga. For anyone who’s taken both types of well-taught classes the differences are usually pretty obvious, but it can sometimes be confusing for new students.
Last night I caught up with a friend I used to dance contact-improv with in Minneapolis. I initially felt guilty that I let a few days go by before responding and that when I did finally return his message, I didn’t call. Rather, I left six awkward 1-minute voice notes via Facebook. Although this was someone I used to physically touch and laugh with on a regular basis, I couldn’t bring myself to have a live conversation; it felt like an impossible task. My guilt subsided when he replied with the admission he’d been almost 100% alone the entire year and also was feeling shy. He shared stories of how he looked away and disengaged when people tried to talk to him in the grocery store, and how he recoiled when he was eventually touched physically by a friend. He said it took an incredible presence of mind to override his nervous system’s new negative response to friendliness and connection.
I sat down many times this month, trying to write some words of wisdom or creative musings for the Unnata Yoga blog, but each time I faced a blank page, nothing arose. My husband quipped, “Sounds very yogic.” Perhaps. But also not very helpful when trying to produce an article of inspiration!
We all have felt immense and unusual stresses over the past year. And, it’s no surprise most of us feel we are in the middle of a work or life transition as a result. We are at a “crossroads,” in a way. Whenever we arrive at a crossroads, no matter how smooth or rough the path we’ve been traveling, we are presented with a choice to change course. And so the difficult question arises, “Should I stay on this course? Or, should I move in a different direction?”
My personal scuba diving journey began 12 years ago. I clearly remember the day I first dove underwater. It was a lovely sunny day, we were out on a boat and two girls were doing their very first discovery dive. One gave up and decided that she was not going to do the dive. I still don’t know what got into me, but I knew it was the right time to take the plunge. I have observed many times how to put on the equipment and I knew how to use it, but for some reason I had delayed actually doing it myself.