Emancipate Yourself from Negativity

I taught yoga at 9 am this morning, after leaving work in the Emergency Department a mere 7 hours earlier (that would be 2 am :-). When I woke up to get ready, I felt bitter at having to teach, considering I would much rather spend my morning asleep. In response to these feelings of bitterness, a voice inside my head dared remind me that I always resent waking up for a morning obligation, regardless of if I had or had not worked the night before. It went on to suggest that the very act of teaching yoga would transform my whiny thoughts and feelings into inspired ones. Finally, the voice concluded that I would love teaching today and leave invigorated.

I was shocked at the confidence of this voice, and a bit annoyed at having my whiny tirade interrupted. Its assertions intrigued me, however, and I became curious as to if the voice's conclusions would manifest. As an experiment, I stopped whining and instead focused on brushing my teeth, eating my cereal, and getting out the door. Driving to class, I noticed an odd feeling - the part of me that likes to whine and be a victim of circumstance was hoping that my inner voice would prove wrong, and that I would teach a terrible class and leave defeated.

Fortunately, the voice was dead on. I taught what I think was a solid and creative class. I began with a theme that I recently revisited in my journal - recognizing that the way you use your energy in a yoga pose is similar to the way you direct your energy in life. Taking this theme to practice, I explained a common bad habit among yogis - to do Warrior II pose with shoulders elevated and jaw clinched. Yogis will engage their shoulders this way because it gives the false impression of stronger arms. Tensing the jaw is something yogis often do when they are concentrating. Both of these actions are a waste of precious energy. Relaxing their shoulders and jaws allows yogis to redirect their muscular energy to a strong foundation and an engaged core, which leads to a more steady and comfortable pose. This example is very similar to redirecting the energy spent whining towards teaching a beautiful yoga class :-)

As class went on, I thanked my inner voice for its reassurance that I would find inspiration through the very act of teaching. For our final 5 minutes of shavasana or corpse pose, I played Bob Marley's "Redemption Song". During my closing, I repeated his wisdom, "Emancipate yourself from mental slavery - none but ourselves can free our mind", reminding my students and myself that practicing yoga can free us from our bad habits. I smiled inwardly, remembering my own recent emancipation from my whiny ego!

I am far from automatically giving my inner voice center stage. There will no doubt be other times when my pessistic ego drowns out my inner voice. However, this morning I managed my own yoga lesson before even leaving my house - I quieted my mind enough to clearly hear my inner voice, and then changed my mindset according to what I heard. Not bad for a sleep deprived amateur!