A YOGI CHA BLOG

TURBULENCE- don’t budge from these things.

And the reason for that is probably not what you think.

I have always been determined that I move as soon as I get out of bed.

I have my morning cleaning routine, so that I get rid of waste products in all areas : bowel movement, tongue scrape, self massage, warm lemon water and meditation.

Depending on several aspects it will be followed by Ashtanga Mysore or my own gentler routine of sun salutations. If I’m in good health, those salutations are followed by a run.

What this routine does is not so much a question of keeping me healthy but bringing my set points to their natural positions.

When there is turbulence, we need this more than ever because it’s the moment those set points are completely out of whack. And of course our tendency would be to lose our north even more.

This sounds so simple but I promise you that when you feel like the world is upside down (or you are just down under), when you despise yourself or others your mind is not clear. So, seeing what would be “the natural right action” is not on 20/20.

Let’s begin looking at this from a very hands on perspective.

When you travel, either by driving quite far or on a plane, your body is not adjusting to the new environment in a natural rhythm. This is why we experience Jetlag.

One minute you are in one setting where the doshas are in one way and the next minute you are in a complete different constitution.

Maybe we would deal with it better if we did like the legend has it about the Indian man who sat in the airport for hours because he was waiting for his spirit to arrive as well.

There is turbulence and the doshas are moving so naturally we feel lost. What we need to do in that moment is to focus on one single thing that will bring us back on track.

If you ever have tried orientation, you know that your guide in finding the right way is showing you ONE single direction. The compass shows you where you have your NORTH.

That is all you need in order to know where the other directions are and you will easily make your way back on your path.

This is why I want you to have one thing that allows you to find your North. Ideally we want to keep that North in the early morning because that is the moment when we are still open to suggestion, more easily conditioned since we have had a rest from taking in the impressions of the world.

The sooner we realise that we are off track and need to take out the compass again, the easier it will be to get back and the less lost we are.

So naturally, if you just make it your thing to have that compass out every morning, you don’t have to lose track very much at all. Like brushing your teeth.

It might seem like an obvious and simple thing what I’m talking about, but I promise you that when you feel lost, these words will be very helpful. I’m writing this to remind myself right now and I believe that most of us are pretty similar.

That one thing can be a commitment to get out of bed as soon as you wake up, take a couple of rounds of sun salutes and then sit down and do ten deep breaths where you focus on prolonging the exhalation a little more with each breath. When you have reached the last of the ten breaths, you will have calmed yourself down so much that you can just let go of the focus and bask in the stillness you have created. You can just sit there for five minutes, so still. So quiet and all the senses turned inwardly. It doesn’t have to be more ambitious than that.

You see, when you do that you will begin to find your way back again because you have found North on your compass and all will progressively fall into place.

Now, let’s take this approach to the more complex situation, when we are lost but still in the same geographic location.

This is the time when I want you to come back to my words, really. Because when it comes to physical wellbeing, we can be pretty attentive. We can observe. But when it comes to sadness, anger, frustration, heartbreak, loss or shame our mind is so good at making us believe what it is telling us.

The advantage here is that those simple steps for finding your North work on all levels of your being. Not just allowing the physical to settle back at it’s set points. Also the mental and the emotional.

But if you would do this every day, whether you have lost your North or not, it will create something even more spectacular. It will enhance your subtle capacities to detect small side steps on the track so that your compass just flickers a little.

Most people I have worked with on these steps would have one same thing in common and that is “where to start?”. Because if we have not done something before, it will always ask more of you to get going. And of course, we usually come to the insight when we are lost so it will seem even more of a mountain to climb.

This is why I created the 8 week online program, Nourish-Balance-Thrive where we focus on Ayurveda & Psychology. If you would like to know more about it, you can check the landing page here or email me any inquiry at [email protected]