Last week I gave the following homework assignment to my students. The feedback was so incredible that I decided to post it here so that anyone who happens by can do the homework too!
My dear students,
I'm assigning yoga homework this weekend. Sometime between now and Sunday night, please take at least 45 minutes to do something that nurtures YOU. It doesn't have to be yoga or meditation, but do something that helps you to feel rested, comforted, nurtured, joyful, or peaceful. Something that has no purpose other than helping you to slow down and connect with yourself and your Spirit. It can be taking a nap, a bubble bath, writing in a journal, dancing, praying, curling up with a cup of tea and a good book, re-discovering a hobby that you haven't had time for, etc.
The point is to slow down and nurture your busy self. The world isn't getting any saner anytime soon, so we have to be responsible for bringing some sanity into our own lives. The combination of constantly running to the next thing, doing, doing, doing and taking in what seems like a never-ending stream of bad news makes us weary. Just looking around, it strikes me that in general, we are very, very tired... We can forget that just because something CAN be done doesn't mean that it HAS to be done. A little bit of down-time each day can be very grounding and rejuvenating and can give you a boost to enable you to better meet the challenges of work and family life. Please try it!
Namaste!
Sandy Pradas
p.s. Please note that vegging out in front of the TV doesn't count. This activity numbs you and takes you outside of yourself. The point is to connect with yourself and be fully present!