Learning to let go, both on and off the yoga mat (with some help from the sacral chakra...)
Represented by the element water - the sacral chakra is all about loosening our grip on life and letting things eb and flow - freeing up space for fun and creativity!
While the root chakra is about grounding and feeling secure, once we have that base in place, our second "emotional" chakra, teaches us to to enjoy life through the senses of joy, passion and enthusiasm.
On the yoga mat;
Enjoy your practice more by letting go of what you think you should be doing, and instead respond to what your body is telling you need (extra childs pose anyone?! :-).
Let go of any competition with yourself or with others, and the need to have the "perfect" pose, by focusing on how the poses feel rather than how they look.
Hip opening poses
Love them or loathe them, hip opening poses literally help us to loosen our grip! You can feel a lovely sense of release after practicing deep hip openers.
Give the following a whirl and see how you feel after:
- Happy baby
- Warrior 2
- Pigeon
- Lizard
- Double pigeon (also called fire log)
Hip openers can bring up a lot of DEEP stuff. Emotions that we bury. Not to mention the physical sensations! Try to breath through these allow yourself to notice and experiences any thoughts that come up (even those that say "argh - I hate this pose") and remember that every experience is impermanent.
How to let go off the mat...
I know that when I feel stressed, my control needs go through the roof. I start to micro-manage things I don't need to. I over-work and work late. But no-one can do everything - we're only human and have a finite amount of energy in any given day.
To avoid the burnout, I try on focus on what's really important (whether in my work or my home life) - and try not to sweat the small stuff. Everyday I set a "MIT" (a most important thing). I try to complete it first thing and anything else on top is a bonus.
If you find you do the same, is there any way you can resist the urge to try to over control? Could you trust someone to do a job for you? Accept they might not do it "your way".
Could you take some imperfect action? Do something that is "good enough" rather than 100%.
I find when I do this, all of a sudden it frees up my mental capacity to have more fun, and maybe do something creative - the things that seem frivolous when there is "important" stuff to be done.
Does any of the above resonate with you? If so, drop me a line :-) (info@yogajayne.com)
Jayne x
