How to Create a Time Warp
Life has been extremely busy for me this year: I've attended several out-of-town trainings, led retreats in Costa Rica and Spain, taught numerous classes and workshops, and my private yoga therapy practice has really picked up steam. And that's just work -- I've had a whole slew of activities and travel for family and friends as well. Which is why I was taken by surprise when I realized that I was soon to host Thanksgiving dinner even though my calendar was booked up to the very last minute.
In the period B.Y. (before yoga), I would have started spinning my wheels and wasting a lot of time with "how am I going to do this" thinking. My panic about how much I had to do in so little time would have caused me to be unfocused and unclear, and I would have been completely exhausted before my guests arrived.
But living with yoga day to day has taught me how to warp time. The method is simple, yet takes lots of practice: Stay in the Present Moment. At first, this is hard to do. When we are in class, we can watch how quickly the mind jumps back to the past or forward into the future. But if you keep practicing, you'll find yourself more and more in the present -- the only place we should be. In the present moment, you have all the time you need. You are focused, clear, and efficient because you are fully present. Your brain isn't scanning through time, dredging up old stuff and imagining things that haven't happened.