Life is a Spa

Sep 9, 2019 by author

 

Being tangled in a web of insecurities is not fun. Trust me. Just because my hair is done, I have a smile on and my outfit is put together doesn’t mean I’m strong. If you can’t see it, it must not be there.

My life might not be an open book either, but keeping it all together as a working woman, a partner and a mom is not all rainbows and flowers all the time. That’s why I created a place for me to escape daily. There are a couple of ways to do it.

I like to disconnect myself from technology each day a couple of hours before bed. Dim the lights, possibly light some candles and read a book. If my toddler is still awake, I would create a tipi type of a house for us to sit in and read out loud together. I feel that any activity that does not require strong lighting and loud music works well for calming and de-stressing. I call this setting a spa, with no technology in sight where the time is always now.

 

 

We are obviously different, and other practices might work better for you. So, another way of bringing your awareness to the present moment is by stopping and handwriting things down. In this fast-paced world, we can easily find ourselves with difficulties to convey something thoughtfully. The world revolves at a pace that is difficult for us to keep up with. So, we start meshing things together for better optimization of our time. But, we might be digging ourselves a hole in the long run. I think writing is a wonderful practice of mindfulness. Don’t just make lists. Write in full sentences and start forming paragraphs, and later full articles. If you’re comfortable with it, even find an outlet where you can share them.

Maybe stopping and meditating seems too time-consuming to you. You seem to be more accomplished by leading an always on the go lifestyle. But, think of it again from a distant point of view. Slowing down will bring your heartbeat and blood pressure down, and it will balance your overall well-being. It will make you perform better in the short run, and in the long run it will make you go after health resources less frequently. I say try it in the company of a good friend. So, instead of meditation (or a different calming exercise), you can call it a hangout or a casual business meeting. Stopping and mindfully observing yourself will actually make you think of endless new ideas that might come handy at your next big meeting. I say try it.

Life is a spa. It should feel like it, too.

Here’s a calming yoga sequence that works for me in a place of meditation, I would normally do it before going to bed at night for inspiring better sleep:

– Sit cross-legged on the floor, then bring hands in prayer in front of the heart and cross one leg on top of the other, so that the knee is facing up for Sukhasana. Repeat on the other side.

– Now from that same pose, bring both hands behind your back, one from the bottom of your side, and the other from the top. Now try to interlace the fingers on your back, or bring them as close together as you can, lengthening your spine with each inhales. This is called the Gomukhasana pose.

 

– From here on, bring the hands in front. Sit in a comfortable cross-legged position. With an inhale lengthen the spine, and with an exhale rotate towards one knee—placing the opposite hand on the knee— before repeating the move on the other side for the Parivrtta Sukhasana pose.

– From the same comfortable seated position, bend your torso over to the front with a straight back. Continue breathing deeply and slowly. The position is called Buddha Konasana.

– Extend one leg at the time and position yourself into tabletop pose for performing cat-cow poses or Marjatysana and Bitilasana.

– Before concluding the sequence, position in a Child’s pose with arms extended in front and finally arms by your side.

Namaste.