I was in a yoga class recently and the teacher said something memorable that I’ve been reflecting on for a couple of days.
“Our bodies can’t build strength until they’ve been relieved of tension or stress.”
This particular yoga teacher has an exquisitely gentle way of practicing that she teaches in all her classes. Her classes are so gentle, in fact, that I sometimes find myself feeling guilty for not “exercising harder” on the two or three days a week that I go to her classes. But it felt so good being in her class, often spending most of the class lying on my back doing spinal lifts and twists and hearing her say, “Slowly, slooowwwllly.”
So this past weekend when she mentioned that our bodies can’t build strength until they’ve been relieved of tension or stress, it all clicked into place for me.
As successful North American women I suspect that we can sometimes become entirely focused on building strength in so many areas of our lives; bigger businesses, more efficiency in our lives so that we can get more done, etc. But if we feel drained by all that doing perhaps that’s our body’s way of asking us to stop pressing forward sometimes and take care to relax, relieve and let stress fall away.
My yoga teacher reminded me, once again, that there has to be balance in everything we do. As women who give so much, we need to remember that the giving of strength does require the balance of releasing stress and tension.
1. Can you think of three things that help you to feel relieved of tension and stress?
2. Could you book some time this week to engage in one of those activities?
namaste,
Zoey
Zoey Ryan
life & business coach for women
inspiration * clarity * wisdom * enchantment
www.shaktisage.com
604-323-3700
“Coaching for your heart & soul & the heart and soul of your business.”