Working the Yoga

I don't feel good today. Physically, mentally or emotionally. It's just one of those days where I want to huddle under a blanket in the corner.

There have been times in my life when I would have grabbed some chocolate and went and hid away. Instead, today I'm choosing to work my yoga with Patanjali's 8 Limbs.

Patanjali is considered the father of yoga and the author of The Yoga Sutra. In the Sutra's he lays out an 8-fold path to living a better life through yoga.

• Asana - check. I locked the bedroom door and allowed myself 20 minutes for a nice meditative flow this morning.
• Dyana - check. It was only about 5 minutes, but a quiet meditation helps center me before I unlock the door.
• Pranyama -check. Quite a few times today I've stopped and focused on my breath. Whether it's my stomach cramping up or my insides feeling a little anxious, I close my eyes and breathe my way through it.
• Ahimsa - check. The first yama: non-harming. I'm not going to harm myself by feeding my feelings with chemicals and sugar. I've drank some extra water with fresh lemon today and kept my food healthy. Tonight's dinner will be some fresh salmon for a little extra omega-3's to boost my brain function and sweet potato and broccoli for the anti-oxidant boost.
• Satya - check. The second yama: non-lying. When asked what's wrong with me, instead of answering nothing, I've let those around me know I don't feel good. Nothing specific is wrong. Just cut me some slack today.
• Santosha - check. The second niyama: contentment. It was a busy day around here today. We have an appraiser coming to look at the house next week so I wanted to be sure the house looked good and a few little projects that had been needing done finally got completed. In the midst of it all, I gave myself permission to take advantage of this rare, warm sunny day and I lay down on the front porch swing and just soaked up the sun's vitamin D. Of course there were more productive things I could have been doing, but instead I let myself be content with how everything was at that moment.

Staying present, staying focused and staying true to my yoga has helped me get through today. So it actually ended up being a good day. That's the thing about living the yoga - no matter what external circumstances are happening, I have a guide to living through it in a peaceful, positive way.

Tomorrow I'll wake up and start the yoga all over again.