Getting Rid of Excess

This week in my Yoga class (that I really wasn’t in the mood to go to) the instructor talked to us about Excess. Every week as class begins, the instructor speaks to us from the book The Yamas and the Niyamas.  Excess can rob us from our Joy. Excess can be in the form of sleep, sugar, clutter in life, food, activities, weight, or anything.

That very same day I took a walk instead of a run and listened to a new podcast called The Coach Jenny Show. It was Episode 6 and the topic of the episode was Six Ways to Declutter Your Life and Improve Your Performance. Bingo! There was the affirmation that I was meant to be at that yoga class that night. If I stayed home I would have missed the message meant for me.

The reason why I didn’t want to go to yoga was because I wanted to be home with my family. I had been feeling down for over a week. Not just down but significantly blue. I was afraid that depression was creeping in and I was losing control over my emotions. The weather the week prior was grey, cold and rainy. I was starting to go crazy. But by Sunday afternoon the clouds finally cleared up and the sun came out. It was such a treat! Sunday was Mother’s Day so I made sure I got in a run for myself and did things that I wanted to do. Then we visited my mother-in-law, and then had my mother over for a tea party and dinner. I wanted to take a walk with the family before dinner so we could enjoy that sunshine and some fresh air. We had all been stuck indoors for so long and needed to get outside and move.

I was glad that I went to the yoga class because in addition to the word “excess” that I had been thinking about since Monday, the exercises she showed us were different. We did more work with opening our shoulders and also used the wall for support. When I woke up the day after, I felt sore, which was the kind of sore that is good.

I had to teach a class on Tuesday and I was feeling anxious about it, but after being a yoga I was able to calm my thoughts and help myself to remove the excess anxiety with meditation.n I am noticing that I am applying meditative practices to my every day life.

With the new podcast I listened to, Coach Jenny was talking about moving into the new year and finding ways to renew, regroup and reinvent ourselves. She challenges us to make a small habit for yourself that speaks directly to you, and get rid of something that is weighing you down or zapping your energy so you can make room for something new. When I got back from my walk I felt renewed and when I got back from yoga I felt even better.

I made a decision at that point that I was going to stop letting the excess feeling of sadness or confusion or overthinking take over my thoughts and I was going to set daily and weekly goals for myself. I was able to determine that when I don’t have a deadline or a direct goal in my calendar then I tend to go astray, lost motivation and focus.

This week I am now setting up small goals for myself that I can focus on and when I set myself up with a “Power Hour” to do things I get things done and I feel better for accomplishing my tasks. So what else do I have to get rid of? Stuff… I have too many closets! Too many clothes, too many shoes…. you know the drill. It’s time to purge, do some Spring cleaning. I am going to make it a priority over the next few weeks to remove any items that I haven’t worn in a year. I already have one laundry basket full of clothes.

So I have had a lot of time to think about some things. I had been worried that I was getting very depressed but then I had an immediate turnaround where something clicked for me and I’m feeling a lot better, more focused and determined.  Progress not Perfection.  That is my motto this week.