Pause and relax

Pause and Relax

Pause

Albert Einstein said “He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eyes are closed.”
Many of us feel that it’s difficult to take time for ourselves because we have too much to do that just can’t wait. It’s possible that feeling busy gives us the sense that we are important and needed, but the very fact that we are alive is confirmation enough that we are indeed important and needed. We are important because each one of us is a unique person capable of contributing to enhance the quality of life in our own specific way. We are needed because it is essential for everybody to contribute. As we contribute, we fulfill our need to connect to others in meaningful ways. In addition, when everybody participates the results are always better and everybody feels valuable and invested in the process and the results.

Pausing is a way to create space for presence. Because it is our presence that’s needed in our lives and in the world. Without presence it is highly unlikely that you can participate consciously in your life. Pausing invites awareness into the most important moment of your life, right now. During the previous exercises, we have been cultivating our ability to pause by taking a moment out of our busy days to investigate some aspect of ourselves and our existence. Quite possibly you have noticed that it is the pause that facilitates becoming aware of your tendencies. Pausing also enables you to redirect your attention or to fine tune what you are doing.

What to do once you pause?, you may be asking. Just feel, or as Alan Watts suggested, come to your senses. Once you pause, you connect to the direct experience of the present moment by feeling what is happening. When you pause and feel, you may notice your internal voice narrating or offering opinions about what you are doing, as well as about what you are feeling. Clearly you are already experiencing this moment, so there is no need for a narrator. And there is no need to create a story about your sensations. Shift from thinking about what you’re feeling and attend to the ongoing stream of changing sensations. You can focus on the sounds all around you. Or pay attention to the fluctuations in light and color that you perceive through your eyes. Or concentrate on the sensations in your skin. In other words, you are changing from thinking and doing to being and feeling. Literally coming to your senses is a direct way to return to presence.
As you pause and feel, notice if there is any tension or resistance. Then RELAX. Knowing that you can be effective only in the place where you are enables you to let go of other times and places. How often do you take time just to be?

When we try to be still and quiet, we may notice a constant stream of thoughts and opinions running through our minds. Many (if not all) of those thoughts are related to the past or the future in the form of regrets, worries, plans, dreams, and fears. We already mentioned that you can redirect your attention to feeling the specific sensations that are happening and what you are perceiving through your senses as well as through your proprioception, the sense of where in space your body is. You may also explore with curiosity, not only what is happening outside of you but your inner world, your inner sense of self, your interoception. Another way of redirecting your attention and energy is to ask yourself if there is anything wrong that is within your power to change right where you are. If there is something that needs fixing and you can fix it right there and then, do it. Otherwise, if whatever needs to be fixed is out of reach at this point, then just drop it. Let it go. Releasing what is out of our control efficiently frees up the energy being used as tension, stress and worry.

Being relaxed is not the same as feeling sleepy or exhausted. Actually, redirecting energy away from mental, emotional, and muscular tension and towards being in the present moment has the dual effects of helping you feel relaxed and energized at the same time. The energy that was previously allocated to tension suddenly becomes available for presence.

Let’s try this now for a few minutes. Find a comfortable position. Give yourself permission to be here and nowhere else. Accept that, regardless of how important you are, the world will be able to survive without you being out there. Make any adjustments that will enalbe you to feel very comfortable. Now notice the sensations in your toes. There is no need to move, just feel. Now feel your feet…your ankles…notice the sensations in your lower legs…sensations in your knees and thighs. What are the sensations you are feeling all around your pelvic area…feel your abdomen, waist and lower back…..what are the sensations in your mid and upper back….be curious to notice the sensations in your chest and all around your rib cage. …What are you feeling in your neck, throat and jaw…..pay attention now to the sensations around your ears… sensations in your face, forehead and head….feel the back of your head and then your shoulders….feel your upper arms and elbows…then your forearms, wrists and hands…what sensations are present in your fingers and fingernails…..feel the myriad sensations in your whole body, no need to narrate or describe… just feel. When you notice that your mind has started planning, remembering, or worrying, redirect your attention by asking this: Is there anything that is wrong, right here and now, that is within my power to change? Then, fix whatever needs fixing, if anything. If there’s nothing to fix, then smile and enjoy being in a time and place where nothing is wrong.

Notice how you feel afterward. Does your experience change when you pause, feel and relax? Is your perspective slightly different? Do you feel more like you and less like all the thoughts and stories that keep your mind busy? As usual, put this into practice a few times each day and notice what happens. If you do not have a lot of time, consider pausing for only one or two minutes and taking a few slow and soft inhalations, each followed by a satisfying exhalation. I hope that you find this enjoyable and effective.

If you prefer, you may listen to the podcast:

This is an excerpt from the book Unravel the thread: Applying the ancient wisdom of yoga to live a happy life

If you find Simple-Yoga.org and Unravel the thread useful, consider supporting my labor with a donation, you may also donate using PayPal or Venmo. Thank you!