Finding Your Way

For many, daily regimes and routines provide a solid foundation for your life. Following a predictable and familiar path gives a sense of stability and comfort. From a yoga point of view, I’m always advocating for greater stability. When people are not anchored in their lives they often struggle on a number of fronts, be it relationships, careers, finances and happiness in general. But when stability is actually inertia in disguise it is a barrier to change and growth. 

How do you know the difference? It may be wise to step back from time to time and examine if inertia is masking itself as stability. Perhaps your routines have made you complacent and less of an agent for change within your own life. Complacency can be akin to a dullness that acts as contentment. Could it be that stirring things up a bit may actually be what’s needed? Maybe a little shake-up could make you feel more alive and happier. 

People who love to travel are good at shaking things up. They naturally put themselves in challenging and new situations all the time. Being in new countries, with new cultures and customs you literally get to experience how to find your way. Being in new places forces you to rely on all of your skills and senses. Seeking the guidance of strangers about how to get from point A to B or identify a good place to eat or buy your essentials requires a great deal of trust. Adapting to foreign transportation systems makes travellers masters at adapting and being able to go with the flow. 

If you’re not a traveller you may have other means of shaking things up. Your work or hobbies may keep you on your toes, always thinking and having to adapt and adjust to what’s changing and what’s new.

In the yoga and tantra traditions, teachers guide students and provide new practices that keep you moving forward on your journey. Just like everything else in life practice can become stale. When done by rote practice lacks the shakti or force necessary for it to be effective. Elevated practices help students find their way as they progress forward. 

Some advanced practices shake things up literally and figuratively when you start them. The energetic shifts in the body can be profound and at times unsettling. This keeps seekers on their toes as they know the power behind these practices. They also trust the guidance of their teacher who has already tread the path and had the experiences. 

If your life is devoid of anything that takes you out of the familiar, at least from time to time, you may be in a place of inertia. There is a fine line between being content with things and being stuck.

Depending on the stage of your life, you may want to regularly take some time to pause and reflect on where you are at. Perhaps once per year make this a purposeful event that you dedicate yourself to. 

There are times in life when big changes make sense and moving into retirement is definitely one of them. Others include moving out of the family home, getting married or moving in with your partner, landing a dream job or even having a catastrophic life-changing event. But you need not wait for one of these points in time to pivot into something new. Take the time necessary to reflect and then honour what comes out of that experience. Fear can definitely hold you back from stepping forward in life, but it need not.

For me, this last week has really been an exploration of finding my way in a new city and a new home. Planning for the move was fast. In a span of five weeks, I literally packed up my Ottawa life and moved west. The great thing about this experience is the stability my daily practice brings me provided the anchoring necessary to make such a big move and comfortably find my way at every step of the process. That is a positive aspect of stability versus the inertia I referenced above. 

When steeped in your own practice you can easily step out of the familiar and take a chance to discover new things about yourself. Sometimes a little (or big) shakeup is just what is necessary. You won’t be disappointed. 

If you need some coaching on your next steps, feel free to reach out for a chat. I offer free 30-minute coaching consultations to new students.