From my Desk: Yoga Reimagined
really, my desk. yes, my plant needs some love!
You may not know this about me, but I do a lot more than teach fun beach yoga in the summers in CT! By day (no matter the season), I have a desk job: I am the Executive Director of a non-profit yoga teacher training school. And, I face all the same stresses - physical and mental - as the rest of you who sit at a desk and run or manage projects and people! And, I am still learning how to harness the yoga tools I have to help me stay present and out of overwhelm at work. I want to share these tools with you - off the mat - too.
I’ve been a yoga teacher since January 2018, but I know just how hard it can be to really dig into that tool box of mindfulness when we need it most. How many of us have tools to really help us, but we forget them when we really need them, or get too lazy to take the time to use them? I’m guilty, too!
These days, the excuse of “the pandemic” is starting to slip by the wayside, and it’s time to take more responsibility for ourselves: for our health, mental health, actions, and how we show up in the world. And I think that’s refreshing - because it’s in our control! But being responsible for those aspects of our lives means going back to the tools that help us make it through the best we can. We don’t want to be eking by anymore. We want to start to show up as our best selves again.
When we react to situations, we are not in control. We are letting our circumstances determine how things are going to go. I’m pretty tired of that game, you? When we pause, reset, and respond appropriately, we are in control. In control of the situation? Maybe. A better chance of that than if we were in reaction mode. Control of ourselves? Definitely. And because of that, we are much less likely to put ourselves in a situation of doing or saying something we regret. Rather, we can come from a place of calm confidence.
I have pulled out the pranayama tool box to help me engage with this better version of me. Literally taking a breath. Wait, you thought I did that all the time?! I’m a non-profit director and mom of 2 little kids - are you kidding me?? No, regrettably I haven’t been doing that effectively all along. But, I am now. And so can you.
I’ve designed a 2-part workshop series to help you learn to do just this. We will work through pranayamas that can help you feel grounded and centered, or relaxed and contemplative, or energized, or that will help you make decisions more clearly. We will work on gentle movement that you can do at your desk, at home when you’re on the phone (or turn off the video for 2 mins on a Zoom) which aims to reduce fatigue, undo repetitive stress patterns, get out the cricks and creaks, work on posture, prevent eye strain, headaches and neck stiffness, and help you feel a little more unscathed by your work day.
This is yoga. Yoga you can use. Yoga you can do in your work clothes, at home, in the break room, in the supply closet, wherever you can take a 5 minute break. Learn to breathe in times of stress and overwhelm, and you’ll win the day.
