A Journey Into Yin Yoga

INSPIRATION AND FINAL THOUGHTS 261

Often as we move through the inevitable challenges of life, we can feel
isolated and alone. Surrounding ourselves with uplifting people serves as a
constant reminder that we have support. Sometimes we get lost within the
darkness of despair, especially when we move through a personal tragedy.
Our friends and loved ones can help bring us back into the light. Sometimes
all it takes is simply hearing another person’s story. This story of overcoming
challenge can be the perfect gift to remind us that there is always a path
out of our own suffering. It also normalizes the situation. When we hear
that another person has struggles, it reminds us that we aren’t failing at life.
Everyone encounters adversity.

PAUSE AND FREEDOM

The pause holds power, both physically and mentally. This pause is where our
freedom exists. It’s what creates the space that lets us witness our experiences.
Without this pause, we are simply a slave to the old mental programs that
have been passed down to us through our family and culture. We are dragged
down by the reptilian part of the brain, which has the single perspective of
survival at the detriment of everything else.

“Now and then it’s good to pause in our pursuit of

happiness, and just be happy.”—Guillaume Apollinaire

But we are capable of so much more than that, as the following story
illustrates. A military officer spent a significant amount of time fighting in
wars overseas, and like many veterans, when he returned home he suffered
from posttraumatic stress syndrome. A part of him knew that meditation and
mindfulness were ways to reclaim his true self—the part of him that had been
buried by the horrors of war.
After several months of a consistent meditation practice, he was in a gro-
cery store. With only a couple of items in hand, he was about to jump into
the express checkout lane when a woman holding a baby cut him off at the
last second. He could feel his body gripping as the stress hormones flooded
the blood stream. Thoughts began to race through his head: “How could she
be so disrespectful? Just because she has a baby doesn’t mean she’s entitled!”
To make matters worse, as the woman proceeded to unpack her grocery
items, it was apparent she was over the allotted express lane amount. Being
a military officer, he was used to rules. In fact, in his line of work, following
rules could be a matter of life or death. As he began to count the number of
items he became angrier. Every item beyond the 15 took his inner rage up
another level. His heart rate sped up, his body temperature rose, his mouth
dried up, and his hands became clammy.
Then something remarkable happened. His meditation practice kicked in.
He noticed all these stormy biological warning signs wreaking havoc through