After teaching yoga for decades, a few years ago I decided to take my skillset to another level and become a certified mind/body specialist. Gratefully, the enhanced understanding of the mind/body connection not only profoundly changed the way I approach my life but also spilled over into how I interact with others. The main transformation for me came in the area of intention.
What does it mean to incorporate intention into your daily experience of this life? For me it has meant not allowing myself to live on auto-pilot, both in my routine tasks and my interpersonal relationships. Intentional living with awareness allows me to actively resist the urge to be victimized by my fickle (hormonally fluctuating) emotions and my technology-challenged mind. Both of which could present negative triggers any moment of the day.
We are living in crazy fast and furious times with technology always advancing and selling us new “must haves” to properly function in this modern world. Not only are we carrying around smart phones, all of our newest appliances are also compliant with the intelligence features which can make someone like me (not so tech savvy) feel really dumb. I laughed as I stood and stared at my new front loading washer – exciting bells and whistles, but seriously I was clueless. I found myself taking the deep dive on YouTube just to wash one single load of dirty clothes. Thank goodness for instructional videos!
If I don’t practice awareness with intentional centering and breathing – I can easily be sucked down the rabbit hole of feeling overwhelmed and allow a stupid “smart” appliance to be the source of my anxiety. Ridiculous right?
It starts like this. What is this tightness I feel in my chest? Why is my thinking suddenly chaotic and erratic? Awareness. I stop the runaway train. I take a deep breath. And just like setting the washer on the towel cycle, I choose a different setting for my brain. I intentionally choose to let go of outside stimulus and inside parasympathetic reactions; and instead envelop my mind with calm thoughts, relax my shoulders and slow down my breathing. Intention.
Awareness and intention is the antithesis to being a victim. But just like the effort required to get ripped abs or play Beethoven’s Fifth on the piano – it takes practice. After much observation and personal experience, I believe living with awareness and intention is one of the most effective tools to living a full, less stressful life. Grateful.
The Zen Den
Hello and welcome to The Zen Den. My name is Alison and while I am passionate about many things, my most inspiring driving force is human connection. Blogger, content writer, orthopedic exercise specialist, motivational speaker, international yoga pro, published songwriter, avid poker player, mom and wife are just a few of my titles. But when I do my job at NASA, I am known simply as “The Fairy Zenmother” a role I deeply love because people invite me into their space to help them find their center, relax and stretch their muscles and destress their mind. Here in the blogosphere version of The Zen Den, I invite you into my world where I will explore ideas for creating a better tomorrow and a kinder today. And hopefully, with insight, authenticity and humor; my words, observations and experiences will help you feel calm, centered, intellectually challenged and spiritually enlightened. Alternatively, if you have something you would like to see covered in The Zen Den, just let me know. Your feedback is welcome and valuable to the success of this blog. Finally, my heart is filled with gratitude to have this opportunity to share with all of you.
