So often when we feel bad, not only do we feel bad, but we add another layer of guilt or shame or denial that we shouldn't feel this way. When you start paying attention to this habit of the mind, you start to see that a lot of the stress, discomfort or inner pain we feel is no longer coming from feeling bad itself, but rather from our reaction and feeling bad about feeling bad.
Realising this mechanism - what we resist, persists - has truly been one of the most helpful and transformative mind switches for me. I see it play out with insomnia, or anxiety, or sadness, or fear - the more I try to escape these states when they visit, the bigger and more intense they grow because I add so much reaction to them.
It's when I turn to them with the light of awareness, acceptance and kindness that it's okay to feel whatever arises, that those difficult emotions and states of being become less heavy to bear.
That's the ultimate practice of yoga in my eyes - can we pay attention to how we feel every shifting moment and can we turn to the experiences we often want to escape with kindness or at the very least acceptance?
"Compassion for others begins with kindness to ourselves" - Pema Chodron
Let's practice for ourselves and each other 🧡
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