Be a Pillar of Calm
One of the best things we can do is work on ourselves. Yes, of course yoga is about giving to others, and the starting point of contributing meaningfully to others, is giving to ourselves first. As they say, 'put on your own oxygen mask first'.
'Who you are' is more important than 'what you do'.
We can choose to work on our self so we are the 'pillar of calm' for the people around us. This may be controversial to say, but there seems to be a huge momentum in the need to always be connecting socially right now! If we are feeling lonely, or bored, could this instead be a time to get curious about where that feeling is coming from? Was this something I used to cover up previously with keeping myself busy, being distracted by drinking or always socialising?
What a great time for reflection. Rather than getting caught up in the momentum of creating a huge following on instagram, or being constantly connected over online calls, or getting wrapped up in netflix for hours, can we make better use of this time? Can we begin the process of becoming that person who embodies stillness, steadiness and inner peace?
Sure it's great to connect meaningfully with others, but it's also a good time to reflect on our intentions for doing so. Are we doing this from a place of wanting to distract our self from our internal chatter? Can we simply take time to sit and notice what 'stories about who we are' come up for us? Or do we lurch for the iphone before we get an opportunity to pause and reflect? The way out of our uncomfortable emotions and stories, is in fact, by being with them (with lots of kindness towards our self!).
If we all did more of 'helping the elderly lady across the road', or living simply by only having what we need, or growing a veggie garden to help with food wastage, imagine the benefit to society as a whole.
I wonder if we could start to take responsibility to embrace the process of personal growth? Can we start the inquiry of peeling back the layers of conditioning that has led us to our need to be wanting more, doing more, being more and to be a huge success. Can we just be ordinary?
We have an invitation to enjoy the process of working on ourselves and notice how we can calm people around us simply by cultivating our own inner calm.
I invite you to be a pillar of calm, work on cultivating our own inner peace, get curious about the ways we can simplify acts of kindness. Connect to yourself, enjoy the process, don't worry about the outcome. You'll bring joy walking into a room because of who you are. You will calm nervous people around you simply for being you.
Simply being a pillar of calm will help others around you.
Jo Jarden is a certified personal trainer and yoga teacher in Christchurch New Zealand and the founder of Heart and Mind Yoga studio. She has 10 years experience in health promotion in New Zealand and Australia including management and promotion of national chronic disease prevention programs. She now helps people one on one with their wellbeing through yoga teaching, personal training, workplace yoga and wellbeing workshops.
See the classes on offer at Heart and Mind Yoga here
Qualifications include: Certified Yoga Teacher Santosha Yoga Institute, Registered Australian Yoga Alliance 2017
Certificate in Advanced Personal Training, Fit College New Zealand, 2016
Bachelor of Science with Honours Public Health. University of Canterbury, New Zealand 2006
Bachelor of Arts Mass Communication and Psychology. University of Canterbury, New Zealand 2005