How you do one thing is how you do everything

I recently mentioned in my yogaclass how the words above had stuck with me and I thought I could share this story with you here as well. One day during one of the many amazing yoga rituals during The Craft training in Rome my teacher Adrienne Rabena ever so eloquently said; «how you do one thing is how you do everything.» The following day I found myself back in the busy streets of Rome trying to cross the eternal city, in fight or flight mode - stressing out trying to make it to class on time.

Finally on a bus, filled to the brim with stressed tired people going to work I fell into the same game as everyone; annoyed and frustrated at the public transportation system in Rome. When I suddenly heard Adrienne's voice echoing in my head; «How you do one thing is how you do everything» and I thought to myself; if this is me moving from place to place… How do I really spend my days? So much of my life is spent in these 'in between' moments. These are precious moments of my life, why am I wasting them in such stressful state. Really, what am I rushing for? Do I ever arrive somewhere?

Why do I stress out unnecessary about things that are beyond my control?

Life is always moving and most of the time we’re trying to GET somewhere. Stressing trying to move ahead in life, in our carrier, to the next relationship, next connection, next exciting event, next *fill in the blank*.

So many things are out of our control.

I cannot make traffic move faster or drive the bus myself. All those people on that bus were in the same situation as me. We all want to arrive safely and on time. I couldn't change the circumstances in that moment, but what I could change was my perception, how I chose to see things. Even though I felt uncomfortable with people pushing me, being negative and all. I let it go, and in an instant I saw them in a new light; I felt compassion for them. I could see how stressed out many were as they were trying to make it to a job they hated. Traiding their time for money and that they had to spend all this time and energy everyday to get to work.

I realized where I had put my focus, and chose again. I leaned my face towards the sun, took a deep breath and started enjoying the ride, knowing I would arrive sooner or later. I found so many reasons to be happy for being alive on this day. After all, the sun was shining, I was in Rome on my way to a yogaclass for heaven's sake. I was free.

A miracle truly is a shift in perception.

Let’s begin enjoying ourselves and the ride. Life is a journey after all.

If death is the final destination, make sure you enjoy every moment of this trip called life.

The mundane, 'the boring' and even the crappy days has it's teachings.

There is always the opportunity to awaken to the present moment.

I'm writing these words to remember, remind myself - and maybe you recognize this tendency in yourself too?

It is truly an everyday practice. Starting off each day with a moment of mindfulness, setting the tone for the day. Everytime we catch ourselves in this stressful mindset and redirect our thoughts, it gets easier to come back to the present moment. And don't forget to forgive yourself when you catch yourself in a negative spiral. In our yogapractice we always return our attention to our breath. So an easy exercise is to just notice your breath and see if you can take a deep inhale and a slow exhale. We cannot breathe in the past or the future, only this precious now moment.

Love, Iselin