Karen began our practice meditation today with those words, a variation of the Buddhist Lovingkindness Meditation. My mind, body, and soul are calmed every time I hear this. Why don't I do this meditation more often?
We get caught up in the Monkey Mind/Busy Body rush of our days and forget to send a blessing to ourselves, to those we love and to all beings -- even our enemies (or those we really and truly do not like. C'mon, admit it. You can think of one or two...)
Throughout the practice Karen reminded us that happiness happens when we take action on our own behalf and when we change our mindset to embrace happiness.
She reminded us over and over to SMILE. Just the act of smiling triggers an emotional response that causes us to feel lighter and more joyful. Maybe it's the muscle memory of all the times our smiles have been in response to joy in our lives. Try it. It works.
At one point in the practice I found myself gritting my teeth and wondering how much longer I needed to hold the pose. I've had some unexplained stiffness in one hip that is frustrating me and also is a bit painful. I try to stretch it and ignore the twinges, but so far that isn't working. Still, as we sat in Easy Pose, with Karen reminding us to breathe, smile, and take any action needed to fully relax I realized that I was holding that leg at a weird angle and all my focus (even though I was smiling) was on the pain I was feeling. I grabbed a blanket, folded it, and put it under my knee to prop my leg. Ahhhhh....that did the trick.
Having self-compassion in that moment allowed me to be truly happy. I stopped pushing myself; stopped the incessant chatter that had come up questioning what is wrong with my hip and why it happened and how to fix it and when it will get better....and just relaxed with one leg propped and the other flat. Sure, I want my old flexibility back, but in that moment and maybe for all the moments to come, I found a way to accept what is and to find comfort and contentment there.
A shift in thinking led to a shift in posture which led to a shift in emotion. If it can work on something as easy as Easy Pose, imagine what it can do on the really big stuff.
May all beings be happy.©
Namaste, donnajurene
I frequently use the smile technique to improve my day! Thanks for the reminder! I will be sure and use it today
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