It's a Catastrophe!

Did you ever have one of those days? Everything starts out just fine, and then, out of the blue, you hit the wall! A tech glitch erases your work, your baked items all land on the floor, or you suddenly realize you failed to do an important task. At that point, your day goes from moving along as expected, to a total shitshow. 

Full disclosure, I had this very experience just today. I woke after a good night's rest, got in my early morning walk, and started tackling my to-do list. I took the time to record a yoga class and at the very end of the class, I thought I caught a glimpse of the dreaded “your internet is unstable” message. I went back into my recorded yoga class to find that it was indeed full of glitches and freezing. I would simply have to start over and record another fresh class. Certainly not the end of the world, but this was the second time in a week when tech issues forced me to re-do my work. For some reason, this second event just felt overwhelming: Why is this always happening? I can’t keep doing this! I don’t have time to repeat things I thought I had completed! Who is responsible for this mess? It’s a catastrophe! 

When I pause long enough to take a deep breath, I know what’s going on here. I am indeed ‘catastrophizing’ events, and they are looming large! I am allowing all-or-nothing thinking to get me really worked up and angry. I am falling down the rabbit hole of looking around for anything else I can add to my litany of how things are going wrong today. 

Here’s the best part. I was indeed forced to re-record my yoga class. And guess what? The act of teaching, breathing deep, and getting immersed in yoga allowed me to let go of the story of my own ‘no good, horrible day’ and get back to a more rational response to what was really a minor inconvenience. I felt more centered, more relaxed, and more at ease. Yoga allowed me the time and space to step away from my own ridiculous narrative about my day and come back to the sensation of being present and content. 

Yoga is not a replacement for addressing serious issues and problems. Yet, what we get hooked by and worked up about as we move through our days is often trivial and simply a passing irritation. Coming back to our yoga mat, our breath, and slowing down to find something more positive to focus on can have a wonderful effect on our day and our overall mood. 

 I’d love to hear from you....how does your yoga practice help you cope with stress and the minor (but somehow compelling!) irritations of your day?