Stop striving.

I came across the following in one of Sarah Wilson’s blogs;

Throughout the class, when inviting us to take a pose further, she repeats this:

“It’s just something to do”

You know, no other purpose. No big aim. No mandate. Just to try it.

She follows with something a few of my yoga and meditation teachers have shared over the years:

“Nowhere to go, nothing to do.”

As soon as I read this I felt a sense of peace and calm come over me. I could literally feel the cells in my body relax and I started to smile.

There are two reasons as to why this struck a chord;

1. I spend a lot of time working with goals, intentions, places and states to get to. Striving – so to speak.

Take a Kinesiology session for instance, as the practitioner I help people get clear on what it is that they want in their life, what it is they would prefer to be experiencing, the place they want to get to. And in my own sessions, I’m acknowledging where I want to get to.

2. Over the past couple of years there has been a lot of movement in my life (of which I am beyond grateful). It has involved a lot of stepping out of comfort zones, stretching boundaries, lots of action.

And I love all this stuff. I love the sense of achievement that people receive from reaching their desired goals and I myself love reaching my own.

BUT – there is somewhat of an imbalance in energy when all we’re doing is striving. From an energy perspective we can’t be all yang and no yin. We need to have an equal balance in order to live with vitality (and for me vitality is happiness).

It was upon reading her blog I realised I’ve been playing with a lot of masculine energy of late. A lot. And what I mean by this is there has been a lot of doing doing doing and not so much nothing nothing nothing. Not the right nothing anyway.

And so the penny dropped and I slowed down. I got back into nature, I made time for the things that soothe me and I began each day with the energy of ‘it’s just something to do’ ‘nowhere to go, nothing to do’.

For me, living this way, brings with it a sense of calm and playfulness. I feel my body relax as a result and life feels precious all over again. A sense of balance is restored.

What do you think? Do you get the same sensation? It takes the pressure off, no?

You can read Sarah Wilson’s blog post here

Clare Woodward is a Sydney-based transformational coach and kinesiologist who believes that really knowing yourself is the key to a happy, self-loving life. Using a combination of powerful techniques, Clare empowers people to lead the kind of authentic, fulfilling lives they want and deserve. She peels back the layers to help them let go and live (consciously and) with intention, and in doing so, steers them towards their very best self – emotionally, mentally, spiritually and physically. In a nutshell, Clare helps her clients to realise and live their potential, every day.