Yoga is a pursuit I took up several years ago when I was working a particularly stressful job. Back then, it was all about finding peace in my frazzled mind. I wanted the strength to deal with my day-to-day challenges, the balance to keep perspective on what was important and what wasn’t, the flexibility to roll with the punches when life tried to… well, punch me in the face.
I don’t know if I found any of that, but I did find that I felt better when I kept up with it, both mentally and physically.
Now that I’m not working outside the house, yoga is a slightly different experience. I don’t enter the studio frazzled, but I often do enter with my mind immersed in characters and plot arcs. Sometimes, I don’t really want to let that jumbled mess of writer head go. Sometimes, the characters ride side-car with my asanas.
Sometimes, I manage to let them fade away.
No matter how it goes, I come out feeling better, with clearer thoughts. I can’t tell you how many times I have a breakthrough later in the day after going through a long yoga practice. There’s something about getting centered and taking time to at least try to focus on nothing.
I seek the strength to keep writing when I feel discouraged. The balance to keep my thoughts present in my real life at the same time that I chart out the lives of my characters. The flexibility to let new ideas surface and take the story where it needs to go.
What do you do to keep your head in the game?