Today I spoke with someone close to me facing a bit of a dilemma in her life. It doesn’t really matter what the dilemma is, but it was tearing her apart. There were several different levels to this dilemma and she really felt like she was at a crossroads in her life, or would be soon. Some of the concerns she expressed to me were immediate, others wouldn’t be happening until months into the future, IF they happened at all.
She had rationally laid out all possible scenarios, all possible choices for each scenario, and how each might play out. She asked me for advice on what she should do. After listening to her whole story, I did have some advice: Get out of your head, into your heart, take a deep breath and let go.
Let go? What does that even mean?
She was spending so much time analyzing her dilemma that she wasn’t feeling her way through it, she was “thinking” her way through it. And if you think this kind of worrying and anxiety doesn’t cause you physical stress, think again. It’s all connected – mind and body. (She just got diagnosed with high blood pressure – coincidence? She’s 32.)
Letting go doesn’t mean dropping your values and morals, and it doesn’t mean giving up. It means surrendering to the greater flow of the universe and trusting in that process. On the yoga mat, we learn this. We breathe directly into tight spots in our bodies, and as we breathe out, we let go of our worries and fears. We let go, rather than holding on. It’s amazing how many times I’ve seen people come into class worried and tense, their shoulders up around their ears, and at the end of class they look lighter, more carefree and their shoulders have melted down away from their ears, where they should be. The transformation is phenomenal.
So the next time you’re in your head, playing out all the different scenarios of YOUR dilemma, check in with yourself. Do the sorting, organizing and scenario planning that you feel you must do, then take a chance and let go.
Inhale, worry and fear. Exhale, let go.