“Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.” ~Chinese Proverb

Our busy lives are full of tension and stressful events. Some are fun, while others are more challenging. Though the situations and emotions can cause us to feel stressed, they are not necessarily the cause of stress in and of themselves. How we engage and choose to cope with them is the real cause of stress. It’s not what happens that matters; it’s how we relate to it. Self-identification, like “I am depressed” or “I am angry,” keep us stuck in the emotion and disconnects us from the truth of who we really are. That in itself creates tremendous stress in our body because it’s imposing something that is completely disconnected to our soul truth. Simply rephrasing “I am sad” with “I am feeling sad” or “I am angry” with “I feel so much anger,” allows you to honor your journey by acknowledging your experience in the present moment without engaging with the drama and this false identity. Our sources of stress and the emotions we feel as we process them aren’t who we really are. In times of grief, anger and depression, tools from mind-body practices, like JoyFull yoga and meditation, offer us techniques to help us channel the challenging emotions in healthy, compassionate ways that are supportive and deepens our connection to our true north. This allows us to navigate through the events of life with more clarity so we can release the pain and clear the emotions out of our body and mind so they don’t settle there and affect our health and well-being.

If we take time to cultivate a peaceful mind for just a few minutes every morning we can go through our day in a much more effective and healthy way. Staying committed to a daily practice can impact our stress levels and improve our quality of life tremendously. Of course the biggest obstacle is always the illusion that when we are busy we don’t have time to take care of our inner well-being. The reality is that when we don’t make time we are trying to meet all of the external demands of life by putting the cart before the horse. We only get more stressed and our health suffers. The first group of people that have just gone through my 12-week program experienced how effective these empowering tools can be to alleviate stress and suffering. When we hold on to the pain and try to pacify and manage the situation, we stay in a state of stress. When we take time to heal and clear the stories, we release the suffering and can then experience true power and inspiration. We can access our intuition so we not only have the horse in front of the cart, but we can guide the “horse” towards life experiences that we love and enjoy.

When you quiet your mind and strengthen your connection to your peaceful heart, it becomes easier to remember that you are not the emotions you are experiencing.

Peace is who you truly are. Love is who you truly are. You can begin to practice being you by gently breathing in peace and breathing out peace.

Today, give yourself a break, practice being you and not who you think you should be.

The prayer of PEACE LIGHT and LOVE is a great way to immediately reconnect with your Truth. Visit www.louiselavergne.com and join my email list to receive a copy or come to a JoyFull Yoga class. You can use it anytime you need a little help healing the attachment to the struggle and let go of the drama.

© Louise Lavergne 2001-2015 www.joyfull-yoga.com 541-899-0707 Louise is the creator and owner of JoyFull Yoga with studio located in Jacksonville, OR. She’s an author, international inspirational speaker and JoyFull living coach. Find- out more about her 12-week on-line transformational coaching program FOUNDATION 4 your L.I.F.E. at www.LouiseLavergne.com. See ad this page.