BTL Welcome Mat
Showing Up When You are Tired or Sad
Our gut reaction when we are feeling out of sorts may be to skip yoga practice, but as Audrey shared this week how you show up to your mat when you are “in a mood” is just as important and informative as when you are feeling happy and joyful, maybe even more so.
Remember, no shame, no blame. If you are talking down and guilting yourself, you will demotivate yourself. Here’s your permission slip from Julie, “Release ‘worth it.’ Release the shoulds. It should be light, easy, fun, something that you look forward to.”
Tips for Engaging Those Emotions
- Accept them. Showing up on a bad day is where the work is, it’s uncomfortable and that’s okay.
- Embrace the opportunity. Give yourself time and permission to be with your feelings Ride the wave of your emotion, the rise and fall helps us learn and change. Emotions can be intense, so we often use coping tools to escape from feeling them fully. If a feeling is intense but tolerable, stay with it. Witness the full resolution.
- Ask yourself, “What is it that I really need at this point?” Give yourself what that is. Modify during the class you were planning to take or take a different one from the class library. Release yourself from the weight of what you think you need to get out of yoga and instead embrace what you need in the moment. Also consider whether it is a motivation issue or whether need something that is not movement? What can you say yes to instead?
How We Show Up
- The Ten Minute Rule- Give yourself permission to show up for at least 10 minutes. If it’s working, keep going. If not, have peace with moving on with your day.
- Give yourself a reward after completion– Could be tangible, self-care, or social.
- Pair movement with something that is already a habit, such as a morning or bedtime routine.
- Change your environment. Shake things up by taking your practice to a different setting, such as outdoors.
- Focus on the long game. Let go of the tunnel vision of what things look like today and embrace the elasticity of yoga practice.
