Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Mind the gap


I call them gap days. You know these days when you are inbetween two projects, or you are in the middle of a project and suddenly interrupted by something, it can be the weather if it's an outdoor project, it can be something else coming up that needs your attention or something upsets you or hurts you and you are just not able to focus on work.
The gap days often brings with them some kind of frustration. You are not able to continue your project and you were in such a good flow or you just can't focus on your next step; what to do next? Which project to focus on now? Restlessness and frustration. It can be that restlessness and frustration set the tone for the rest of the day
In the metro in Athens the voice in the loudspeakers says at some of the stops “mind the gap between the train and the platform”.
And yes, let's mind the gap. Not in order to jump safely over it into the doing of another project, but let's mind the gap as a gap, an opening, an empty space inbetween things and stay there, listen to what it has to say. See it as a call from the soul saying hey, stop the doing for a moment and listen here, got something to tell you.
For me when I do this, when I am alert enough to hear that message, I understand the frustration and why nothing seemed to work that day; it wasn't meant to work! Or rather: I wasn't meant to work. It was time to stop the doing and the mental activity for a moment (or a day).
I am not living and working in a very stressful environment, nor have I a demanding boss giving me tight deadlines, but I can still loose connection and get caught up in musts and shoulds. Things might be flowing but if I'm not paying attention I can easily drop out of the flow if I'm attached to my thoughts, to the outcome of my actions or in any other way not present in what I'm doing in the moment.
Then I need a break. I need to stop and listen. And it seems like Life takes care of that by putting something inbetween me and the work I believe has to be done, now. And so there is a gap. A Gap is a Gift from the Soul. When I can accept the gift I stop and ask:
What is going on inside me? What needs to be seen and taken care of? And usually these are the moments of my most profound insights. These are the moments when I get in touch with something inside myself that is vulnerability, gratitude and bliss in the same time. And these are the moments when something else kind of takes over and sometimes guides me into another new project that was not at all on my schedule that day but gives me the nourishment and fulfillment I actually needed.

Do you have gap days?


A gap day
An inbetween day
A day that takes a break from doing and producing
A day when there is storm outside
and thunder inside
A day when the soul invites me to the moment that is and is the only thing there is
The lightning of that realization
cracks my heart open

Monday, April 8, 2013

Yoga and Intimacy


What does yoga and intimacy have to do with each other? Everything! Yoga is about connection, oneness, unity. The word yoga itself means to unite in Sanskrit.
It can look like a very individual practice; everyone on his or her mat, concentrating, doing his or her own yoga. And yes, because first we are cultivating an intimacy with ourselves. We get to know all the aspects of our own being through the awareness that yoga is all about and which differences it from other gymnastics or workouts. We become aware of our bodies, its limits, its joys, its needs and desires. Through all the stretching and bending and twisting and breathing we get to know all the corners and pieces and parts we didn't even know we had. Absolutely essential for a good yoga practice is to cultivate respect for the body, which comes naturally when we start to pay attention, to listen , to be aware.
The breath and the body work in deep connection in the hatha yoga practice and the breath also works as a bridge between the body and our innermost being. Becoming connected and intimate with that part of ourselves opens the door to intimacy with other people and the world around us. We realize that we are part of it all, that we are part of a huge ecosystem called the universe. Out of that insight comes respect, compassion and love for our fellow human beings, for the animals, for the nature and the whole planet.

Yoga can guide you to a full experience of being you in your body, relaxed and grounded in consciousness. Your body's movements emerge from deep inside and are brought forth by the breath. That body-breath-soul connection is the very first intimate relationship one has. (I am not saying that yoga is the only way to find this connection but it is a good way. And maybe that's the reason why yoga is so popular these days; it fills a gap, giving people something they miss in their lives; that intimate connection with ones inner being.) In the beginning it can be challenging to drop images and ideas of perfection and goals to reach. But after a while we learn to relax and accept every moment as it unfolds, starting with our own bodies as we move with awareness exploring its limitations and needs.
When we can relax, rest and just be in ourselves, without the need to control or change things, the same will effortlessly happen in our relationships. When our yoga practice has become profoundly integrated in our whole being, a desire is born. A desire to embrace life in all its aspects.