Tips for Getting Unstuck

Nothing cures overwhelm and breaks through obstacles like action.~~Jack Canfield

I’ve been trying a lot of different yoga classes lately.  I’ve done bikram, fusion, hot, gentle, vinyasa, hatha—I think I’m trying to find my yogi niche.    I recently went to a candlelight vinyasa flow class with an instructor I had never practiced with before.  At the end of class, I knew I’d come back to this teacher’s class.  Unfortunately, she announced it was her last class.  She was moving back to Hawaii!

“The Chicago weather is too much for me.  Chicagoans are really rugged.”

I personally never really thought of Chicagoans as rugged, northern Minnesotans maybe, but not Chicagoans.

 “The winters with the cold and gray can be difficult.”  I offered.

“I like Chicago, the people are friendly, there’s a lot to do, but I appreciate the weather in Hawaii so much more now.”

I wished her well, and left the studio.  I’ve lived in this area all my life. I’ve often thought I’d love to live in a warmer climate, but if I moved, I’m sure I’d miss the change of seasons.  It’s easy to take for granted things in our everyday life.  Sometimes we need to shake up our life to figure out what’s important.  Moving to a new environment, ending a relationship, changing jobs are just a few ways to shake up your life.  There are times when we are so stuck that we need these major shifts, but why not try shaking up your perspective before you really get stuck in the muck of your everyday life?

Pick one area of your life that needs a pick-me-up and try the following:

1. Identify what’s not working.  Spend some reviewing what’s not working and why.  Write it out, tell a trusted friend, get the whole story out.  How many times have you told this story, ruminated about it or just couldn’t get it off your mind?  For most people the answer is probably a sizable number.  This is your old story; playing in your life like a broken record.  If you look hard enough you could probably track threads of this theme back to your childhood, but this revelation won’t necessarily change anything.
2. Develop a new story.  After today each time you catch yourself, talking or thinking about the old story STOP, take a deep full breath in and then a complete and full exhale.  Now change your rap.  Look for what’s working in the situation and see how you can grow that behavior.
3. Find support.  Enlist people to support you who believe things can change.  As you discard your old patterns and adopt a new perspective, you need believing eyes.
4. Do it now.  If you really want to get out of the muck, you have to take action. Do something different and new.

If you are faced with a situation in your life where nothing is working, then you are probably already stuck in the quagmire and a perspective change is most likely not enough. You need an earthquake.  Forget Northern Minnesota, maybe it’s time to move to Alaska.

This Week: Drop the old story and do one thing to weave a positive thread in your life.

Choosing Joy through Laughter

Laughter is an instant vacation~~Milton Berle

Do you wish you could lose weight, find the perfect relationship or have more money?  Do you think that if you could have these things you would be happier?  I’ve worked with a number of people lately who said, my life is good, I have a good job, a relationship, money’s not an issue, but I’m not really happy.  They could spend years in therapy trying to find the underlying reason for their unhappiness…but would they find their way back to joy?

Fame, relationships and money all bring a particular energy to our life, but do not necessarily bring the energy of joy.  A life filled with joy is a choice found in the present moment.  Maybe your day can’t be joyful, but a moment can.

If you’re struggling with how to do this, one of the fastest ways to a change your mood is to laugh.  Try renting a funny movie, go to a comedy club or take a laughing yoga class.  I haven’t tried laughing yoga but recently went to Bikram “hot” yoga with a friend.  How did we end up there?  Groupon!  I wonder how many people have ended up someplace they’d never be, if not for groupon.

The temp in the room was 105° and my body drizzled sweat like a summer shower.   Face smashed in the mat while struggling to twist into the pose, I glanced towards my friend.  Her body contorted like deflated bellows of an accordion seemed disconnected from her bright red and swollen face. I couldn’t see the white of her eyes, just beady dots through narrow slits. I knew I looked worse.  I quickly turned away, biting my lip in an attempt to quell my urge to laugh.  I knew if I started to laugh there would be no stopping and I’m sure laughing in hot yoga is frowned upon.

As we left the yoga studio, we burst into uncontrolled laughter.  We laughed to our car and laughed all the way home.  Irregardless of the possible health benefits, hot yoga was definitely worth the laugh. As far as hot yoga goes, the jury is still out.

This week:  Once a day, check in and see how you’re feeling.  If you’re not feeling happy, find a way to laugh and feel the energy of joy.  It’s a choice.