yoga for beginners - dealing with obstacles

Staying Positive - Freedom from negative and destructive thoughts

This is a short series of blog posts dealing with obstacles in yoga for beginners. Even as a Yoga Teacher, I am faced with the same challenges as my newest student. It is the natural order of the universe, I believe to send us challenges, not to upset or derail us but to help us to grow stronger.

Inner strength is what allows us to thrive in the face of adversity.

So here are some basic tools that I use on a daily basis (if I can) to overcome challenges.

Today I am going to focus on maintaining a positive frame of mind. I believe I am a naturally optimistic person, but optimism alone is not really effective in dealing with the shit that hits the fan. Most of us like to think, glass half full rather than glass half empty and I have even heard the phrase, glass half full of water and half full of air, but how does that help us when we are faced with a real problem like an injury that prevents us from doing physical exercise or a deadline at work that stops us from getting to class?

There's a saying in 'The Secret' by Rhonda Byrne that goes, what you think about, you bring about. And another common phrase is 'worrying is like praying for something you dont want'

Here's the solution. More of a tool than a solution. Gratitude. Why is having an attitude of gratitude so important?

Whether you believe in God, the Universe or perhaps you just consider yourself to be a good person with spiritual principles, having gratitude changes things on a real level. The way I believe it works is that we are all walking around sending off vibes (vibrations). We get a good vibe off someone or instinctively shy away from them. Including gratitude on a daily basis into your life will bring about positive change. Writing a gratitude list reminds us of the things we take for granted and reinforces the positive things that are going on in our lives already.

Operating on a level where you are grateful and happy sends out positive vibes to those around you and we all know like attracts like. Being grateful for what we have increases the things in our lives we can be grateful for whereas focussing on things that are anxiety causing increases the negative side of this equation. Thinking of them on the same line shows you can not be grateful and worried at the same time so the more you are grateful the more you can avoid the lower emotions such as anxiety, fear and negativity.

So getting back to the injured sportsperson or the overworked employee. These could be considered as lessons to be learned. Ways in which we can grow as a person to learn the lesson and become better. Being grateful for an injury might seem hard but what if this is your body trying to tell you to be more mindful, to slow down or to have more compassion and kindness towards it. Maybe it's time for you to have a rest. And working late, missing classes? Maybe you can figure out how to manage your workload so that it is fair, speaking to your colleagues or supervisor, working out a smarter way to get the job done or re-prioritising work so only the important stuff is done and letting the other stuff go. But it's you that has to decide what is important.

When you are on your deathbed, will you wish that you had looked after your health or that you had worked harder for your boss? What advice will you give to your younger self.

When do I use this tool?

Every night before I go to bed, I keep a record of my dailygratitude on an open facebook group.

But here's the big one! When I feel anxious or nervous, worrying about something or someone, I think of 5 things I am grateful for. I say them in my head slowly so I can really feel the gratitude and I look for things I haven't said before so it's a little bit challenging. Then once i have listed five things, I allow myself to feel gratitude in general. This changes my mindset from negative to positive. I have found this tool is powerful and effective in reducing tenson so I can get on with what matters.

If you want to learn more about gratitude, there are many well known authors that write about this. One of my most recent inspirations comes from Phil Stutz and Barry Michels book The Tools.

Next beginners workshop is this Saturday at 2pm. Book online at www.wandsworthpoweryoga.com only £20 for 2 hours of personal mat time with me, Peter Tuohy. Feel more confident in your practice, learn what's holding you back and take your practice to the next level. After this workshop you will be able to execute the main sequence with confidence and the tips you pick up, personal to your practice will accellerate you to the next level. Many of us just don't know what we dont know and investing in this time for yourself will help you many times over.

Have an awesome week and look out for the next installment tomorrow on managing your energy.

Warm wishes

Peter

#obstaclestoyoga #yogaforbeginners