Moving with the Journey, Relaxed

I just learned how to relax. I’m so excited!  And, it took me being completely out of my comfort zone to truly understand what it meant to do it, to relax. I’m doing it right now as I type this. I have never relaxed at the beginning of a writing, so this is new. It feels good to let my shoulders slide down and away from my ears, everything open, not forced open, but subtle, and easy, at the beginning.

If you relax, the inspiration, and then the thought will come. We have to take the time to listen as we relax into knowing that it will be.

This meant for me, for years, I have had moments where I felt relaxation, and then long stretches, where I found it a chore to relax. I am not sure if this sounds familiar to anyone. But I am sharing this any way because it felt very familiar to me. It was my existence. And no one really wants to live uncomfortable in their skin if they've ever felt the alternative. I feel for everyone who has and continues to feel this way. Really, truly getting this message means to go forward as a collective to experience space. In the space that we allow ourselves, we find relaxation.

So let’s go forward and investigate this together here. Let’s find a sliver of your relaxation, if you seek this. And if you know relaxation: it is your friend, let’s go forward with the idea of bringing the collective up to speed. Now I know, not everyone wants to be a teacher, but everyone wants to know; so with Love, we should share what we know. Just share, and that will be the teacher.

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When is the last time you fully relaxed? What is relaxation to you? When do you feel it?What are you doing when you feel relaxed? Can you bring your relaxation to a particular time and space? Can you bring it with you to another? Can others sit in it with you? Do they feel relaxed in your presence?

There were many times over the holidays that I thought, “I should be relaxing,” but I couldn't. Why, you ask? I have practiced working hard for so long, thinking that was the way to get there, wherever "there" was. To be honest, I was neglecting the true process that must unfold in its own time. 

I was suggesting that I could do it with my physical strength; I learned that a couple months ago when trying to acquire a freestanding handstand. Deeper poses are not always as they seem. They stretch beyond the muscle. They bring you to your alignment or lack of alignment. They stretch You. Sitting with yourself is a big part of the pose.

So, Christmas took me out of my comfort zone. Took. me. out-

I can’t even tell you in words here how, to the very being of me, I needed relaxation. And this holiday broke my mold. The pseudo relaxation I’d been nurturing could no longer work. (I have to laugh at myself here. Oh, Gosh, the layers through transition... They are beautiful, a bit ugly and so confusing.)

It was a struggle for me not to be working on an idea that I conjured in my youth about perfection. The reason why I couldn't relax was because it looks imperfect to make mistakes, and I’d told myself that If I relaxed, I would do just that, make a mistake. 

And then, in comes the anxiety..Relaxing meant, I‘d be doing something I might not be comfortable with? I might be sharing my truth with others or even worse (wink, wink) I might be listening to theirs? Oh, Shit!! They might see Me.  One has to smile at the intricacies of the mind. What it wants to believe or thinks it needs to believe to keep up the facade. It’s really pretty amazing, till it's not. When you are stuck on the end of a belief you realize to be untrue, but you've practiced it so long that it lingers, that does not feel amazing. The end result, the breathing into it, is, though. There is no defeat. Hold on.

More important than my coming to Christ Consciousness, again, this holiday, was how I uncovered the truth that propelled me to come. It was a listening to myself with honesty. I needed my practice badly. I needed to believe in the Light. Not just asana. I needed meditation and prayer. I needed grounding and lifting. Journaling and singing. Teachers: family, friends, near and far. I needed flower remedies and the right oils and scents. I needed Love to go to the right places. God. 

We spend so much time wandering around looking for this which really sits in our laps. And no doubt, needing the journey. Really needing, so we can accept ourselves for everything that we are. We need the journey so that we can hold the gift on the other side of the processes. 

We shall choose how this experience shall go, but if we can relax while we go.. ahhh, yes. To enjoy the journey, relaxation will need to be practiced with consistency, in the way that nurtures your soul and guides you home to Yourself. You can ask for guidance; there are people who want to share, but they are all looking for their home. You will find this space by feeling into it. No one can do that for you.

So I’ve been practicing.

I wake up and do what relaxes me, stretches me and my perspective. I try not to reach for the phone, but it's still early in this leg of my journey, and sometimes I do. But I don’t stay there long. I am sure to move directly to my spirit, for me, first, for my connection. To touch base. To find balance. I am happy now to share the rest of the day with those I love, but I must fill me first. This gives me great peace and yes, relaxation. A trust in what guides and allows and loves me.

So you might wonder what I was doing before.To be honest, I’ve been meeting myself where I was. I was meeting others. Sometimes, making excuses. I am a human being.  And I feel no shame about that. And if this is similar to your story, you should not either.

I am telling you to relax all the time.

Yes.

Why, yes, I am.  

Relax about it all.

That may sounds trivial, but I know for a fact that relaxing was not something I knew how to do. I’d tell myself I was relaxed. Yea, sure. But even after some yoga classes, I’d still feel like I needed more movement. I’d feel like I still had jitters, like carrying my weight was really hard.

And, I'd tell you, relaxation is inside you, no matter what the "pastor" does. And, yes, that is a benefit of yoga. I am not sure what I would have done without the bit I have been blessed to hold.

Now, what you discover when you relax is trust. You discover whatever you trust in, your beliefs, yourself on some level, and what you believe and feel for others. This can be a challenge if you're not sure what you will find. Self discovery is not for the faint at heart, and yoga is not easy. Rather, it should challenge the body, spirit, and beyond. We practice to stretch and grow and be coming, in a relaxed state. This is not easy for anyone, until it is easier.

So, let's travel into relaxation. Allow the process to unfold here. Take it slow and easy. Sit well. Let everything go and in that space, draw everything up. Draw your energy up. Your intention, draw it up. Length the spine.

Receive now a slow, deep breath. Feel the life energy of your breath filling the space at the base of the spine. Feel your belly grow as you inhale. Draw your breath up slowly into your chest. Draw this breath into the front of your throat. And when you feel full, let the breath ease down your back body. Squeeze your abdomen in, down and up. Hold the breath out at the bottom of the exhale. Release. Sit still for a moment. Feel that you can relax.

If just for a minute, you have found relaxation. You have done it. Again, if relaxation is a friend of yours, take it with you so that others will share in the relaxing-energy space you have created for yourself. For All, what we will discover through continued practice will be better than gold.

The key is practicing with consistency that which you want. The truth is, relaxation does not have to mean you are not doing anything. You can relax as you do everything, but we must take the time to practice it, so we may access it as we move along through the journey.