DO LESS…

I am a doer. I love a good to-do list, and I probably get more done before 9am than is normal!

My issue, is that I absolutely suck at resting. I know, I teach it and yet it is still my weak link. I’m human, give me a break!

So yesterday, I attempted to have some down time. Being me, I wrote ‘Do less’ on my to-do list. Having written it down, it was more at the forefront of my mind when I did things. Like shower- who knew that I rushed every shower, doing only perfunctory things?! I stood under the water and just let it… run over me. I did this for like a minute- I was amazed! Why had I never done that before?! Because, when I am awake, I am in doing mode, and a shower is a place to do cleaning things!

Then I tried to make a coffee without doing anything else. Turns out, that is not easy. I am always making a coffee and… folding laundry, texting a friend, cleaning the fridge, feeding my dog. I am never JUST making coffee. So I ‘did less’ and just stood there and watched the shot get brewed- it was quite pretty!

I cleaned my house (it was essential for me to then rest- I cannot rest in a messy house!)

But when I came to lay on the couch, boy did I twitch. I tried to do less. So- no phone, no computer, no knitting, no nuffink.

And it revealed something big to me- that the environment does not need to slow down for me to be still. The stillness I am looking for, is inside. And my inside is clearly a circus!

Slowing down, quietening the mind- these are practises that take practise. In fact, I would say this takes more practise than a head stand!

Patanjali tells us that our ‘practise’ needs to be sustained and consistent over a long period of time, and done with devotion.

Clearly I need more practise at doing less!  

This is where yoga comes in- because yoga isn’t just when you are in yoga pants, on a mat, in down dog. Yoga is the very moment that we become aware of ourselves-

Atha yoga anushasanam

And now the practise of yoga begins

So me becoming aware that my mind had turned to chaos in the stillness IS yoga. And it is the most powerful moment because it is only when we are aware of our behaviour that we can change it.

So what to do when the mind is having a rave? Keep it simple. Breathe in through the nose for a count of four. Breathe out through the nose for a count of four.

Its ain’t fancy. Its not Instagram worthy, but it is life changing!

GIVE YOUR BUSY MIND SOMETHING TO DO… but not so much that it becomes a way to distract you from the work. Because the work is finding out WHY your mind is so busy, and that is the hard part! You cannot get curious about this when the mind is having 8 hundred conversations and worrying about things that have not happened yet. You need to bring the mind to a calmer spot to then get anything out of your investigation.

So, the next time you feel yourself doing too much, repeat ‘DO LESS’ and see what you can stop doing in that moment. This then becomes the practise, the practise becomes a habit, the mind becomes calmer, the enquiry can begin.

Good luck!