Last week was one of those weeks that felt I was constantly trying to shut my monkey mind off. I can recognise now when this starts to happen & why. Then I can get it back under control quicker. It’s usually when I’m really busy work wise & I’m not getting enough personal down time. It’s a clear message that I need to slow back down & step away from anything that isn’t 100% urgent.
I’d had a pretty big week previously spending a lot of time in the hot room teaching triple yoga classes. This in itself can take its toll on all levels. My desk related work was keeping me super busy too in between classes. My mind was constantly making lists & planning. I’d crack on with a project whilst thinking about the next one on the list. There was a lot going on.
The monkey mind kicked in one morning after teaching a double yoga class. I was excited for a new 12pm class that was starting that day. It was the perfect opportunity for me to teach & practice all in one hit. ‘Do it’ my mind was telling me, ‘it makes sense, you’re here stay for class.’ I should have not listened as my practice class turned into a disaster.
I’d been at a business seminar the night before that ended pretty late to say I needed to be up at 4am. That mixed in with an erratic cat trying to sleep on my head meant I probably only had four hours sleep of which wasn’t good quality. Teaching went fine, I can snap into business mode pretty quickly. My once a fortnight coffee between classes seemed a logical move too. It wasn’t. The coffee came back to haunt me in my practice as did the lack of sleep & water.
My head had been telling me to get in the room to practice. I was so up for it I was ignoring the fatigue that was creeping in & my churning stomach from the far too milky coffee (Time to go black or not at all). I’d already sweated it out for three hours & was not hydrated enough at all. I was probably not on top of last weeks hydration either. I brought a whole new meaning to ‘one hot mess.’
The monkey in my head that told me it was a great idea to get my practice in then turned on me. It started yelling at me to ‘get out of the room, go throw up, lie down & fall asleep.’ It took every ounce of self-discipline not to give in to it. The last 15 minutes of class I spent perfecting my Savasana. It’s all I could do to lie in stillness & focus on calming my mind. Checking out of my head & into my heart space. It was very humbling indeed.
The next day I had a yoga hangover & spent the day hydrating like a mad person. It had taken a lot out of my physically & cemented how important it is to step back to observe a situation from all angles. (And stay hydrated!!) My mind may be telling me one thing but my heart has the real answer for me. I never gave my heart the chance to talk to me as the monkey was so dominant.
Monkey mind came back later that day. I was still feeling a bit knackered & had booked an Xtend Barre class after teaching. During the silent parts of the class the monkey was back! Telling me not to go to Barre & go home to rest. It nearly had me especially after my poor effort the day before at yoga. ‘Maybe I should rest, I over did it yesterday & look what happened’ I started talking myself out of it. I even received a ‘get out of jail free card’ when student after class took so long in the shower it was past closing time by the time they left. If I were to go to the Barre I would be cutting it very fine.
No I would not give into the mind this time. Stepping away from my mind I switched over to my heart (Stillness, deep breaths, eyes closed, inward focus). My heart told me I’d benefit from stretching out & I’d have fun at Barre. With a mad dash I made it. Last one to the Barre but at least they hadn’t started. (I even got my favourite spot!)
I did have a great class. My mind was trying talking me out of a happiness opportunity. The class was just what I needed to shake me out of the ‘feeling sorry for myself’ mode I was obviously in. Being surrounded by happy people with a common goal of having some fun whilst getting fit was just what I needed. The instructors’ cheerfulness was contagious & I could hear my Soul saying ‘I told you you’d have fun.’ If only I’d checked in the day before at yoga I’d probably be told to go home & hydrate or else I’d get sick.
Have you had times when you’ve let your monkey mind take over & block out what your heart if trying to say to only find out the hard way? Please feel free to share in the comments below.
Love K xx
