“Where your focus goes, energy flows.”
Have you heard this before? Do you agree? I’ve heard it spoken by several different teachers I’ve taken from over the years. If you think about it, you can’t hit the bull’s eye looking the opposite direction so I very much believe this statement to be true.
Where we look with our eye focus can change things and where we “look” with our mind focus (or attention) is the same. This last week while teaching yoga, I spoke to that in several different ways. Have you ever gotten a stiff neck? Been sitting too long staring at something for awhile and then shoulders hurt? Sometimes we get stuck looking at things one way. While we work at a computer, do our jobs, look at our phones and even drive, our head and neck is locked in one position. Cars with blind spot indicators have even limited our need to turn our heads and look into our blind spots!
Yoga is the practice of being aware of where your focus (eye and mind) goes. Once awareness is there, yoga is also the practice of realizing we have the ability to choose where we put our focus, no matter how many times we get distracted, or stuck.
Where has your focus been lately?
If you’ve had a stiff neck try these few stretches to bring more freedom there and help with pain.
Use a long towel or strap, have a wide grip, bring your hands above but behind your head.
Look in a different direction and try even a side bend or moving your arms around.
Bring your prop down by your hips, still behind you. Move your gaze/head around here.
If you’ve been mentally stressed consider, the verb definition of stress: “to give particular emphasis or importance to.” What have you been stressing? A lack of money, time, another resource? If you thinking “don’t eat a cookie, don’t eat a cookie, don’t eat a cookie” what are you now thinking about? EATING A COOKIE! If you focus on the lack, you get more lack. I’m not saying ignore it, because that means there’s no awareness there. Perhaps, now that you are aware, it’s time to shift your focus. Learn more on this different view on stress.
Where your focus goes, energy flows. What would you like to focus on (or stress) instead this coming week?
