“The rhythm of the body, the melody of the mind and the harmony of the soul create the symphony of life.”
~ B.K.S Iyengar
I always thought a beautiful life meant having the power to do what I want to do, when I want to do it. In reality it is so much more than that. It is a feeling that you need to create, and one that only you can create. It isn’t until our mind, body and soul are in perfect harmony, that we can experience true happiness.
I used to get upset and disappointed when things went wrong. I started blaming my outer world and finding excuses to make myself feel better. This blame however, is the exact opposite of harmony. Don’t look for the faults around you. Start looking inside you, for unhappiness is not created by events, but by the way you respond to them.
Here are few things that I have learned over the course of my life that I use daily as I work on improving myself to become the best version of myself that I can be.
1) Pause before you act
It is hard when anger and fear suddenly appear inside us. I have learned to pause and stop myself in any situation before I respond. I step out of the danger zone and do one thing that I know will make me feel better in that given moment. When I discovered yoga 8 years ago, it had a huge impact on my ability to control my emotions. It started brightening my mind and I felt less tense in my body. Practicing yoga was one of the things that taught me to pause and let go. When the positive side of me returns, I can rethink the situation and make a conscious choice of how to react. So, find one thing that helps you deflate anger and fear that makes you happier again before you react. The beauty of life is that we have the ability to choose. We are like stars in the universe and can decide in which direction we shine our light, and where we cast our shadows.
“Carmen Lee-Schneider – Koh Samui Yoga Retreat 2015”
2) Life is not all about me
live in the moment with the people who are here before you right now. We need to let go of the idea that we are the sole protagonist and give others a chance to be the main character in our lives sometimes. Listen. Let them feel that you are there for them. I am still finding this very hard at times. We tend to purely focus on our own needs and the things that make us happy. But the moment we start focusing on the needs of others, miracles start to appear, because we are now creating precious moments together that make us feel whole again.
3) Disconnect to reconnect
I truly miss catching up with real people, face to face, and with eye-contact. I slowly realize that we are doing this less and less. But it takes time to nourish a friendship. When we get too busy, we rather send our friends emails, text messages or have a shallow chat on Facebook. We need to learn to step away from technology every now and then to look into peoples’ eyes and have a real conversation. A conversation where we use all our senses, our body language. When you have real conversations with your closest friends again, you will feel revitalized and more connected. If you are looking for more purpose in your life, start with creating more purposeful friendships.
4) Be open to change and question everything you do
Just because we believe it’s right, it doesn’t mean that it’s our best option. Think about the different outcomes you get when reacting to a certain situation in different ways. Expand your vision, look for new angles and greater opportunities. I find surprises and wisdom all around me. Don’t be afraid to try new things. New ways of thinking. Don’t expect new results, if you keep doing things the same way. Be bold and invite change. You can only grow. When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.
5) Never stop challenging yourself
Every day we have the opportunity to make small changes that allow us to become a better version of ourselves. Look at everything you do and consider eliminating one bad habit at a time that doesn’t benefit you. Replace these habits with new ones to fill the void and to avoid reacting in a subconscious way. Do something new every now and then, that will make you feel proud. Something that excites you.
After putting it off for a long time and a big push from my loving husband, I have finally decided to open my laptop and start writing this first blog post. English isn’t my first language, and I never considered explaining myself to others as a strength of mine. So why should I even bother to write? I used to say ‘no’ to anything that I had never done before. Until I started feeling a sense of disappointment inside me because of the lack of excitement in my life. I also felt I wasn’t only holding back myself, but also the people around me that I loved the most. So, here I am writing my first blog post from my heart.
We are solely responsible for creating the excitement in our lives that we all crave. It’s only through excitement that we find fulfillment and joy in life. Let’s push each other and keep rolling together to create the life that we have always been dreaming of.
It really is in our hands.
Namaste,
Carmen Lee-Schneider
