Reflect:
to think quietly and calmly – to realize, consider
to express a thought or opinion resulting from reflection
I always appreciate when I ask someone a hard question, and their answer is “let me reflect on it and get back to you”. Reflection is such a powerful tool that I personally aim to hone. It promotes the idea of not reacting; of being considerate, thoughtful and authentic in your action or in your response.
It’s hard not to just tumble through life sometimes. Our to-do lists seem massive, desires we may have for certain circumstances to be different cloud our judgment, and as a result we sometimes find ourselves struggling to take our next best step forward. When I feel myself inside of this particular kind of spin cycle, I recognize it as a time to reflect on the beauty around me. It is within those few sacred moments that I am able to carve out of my day where I begin to feel more positivity, more calm and where I can finally access the resilience within myself. Reflection is always the key.
For me, the best way I find to practice reflection is through my writing. I jot down ideas I have – I let dreams come alive on the paper – I write down an inspirational quote that lit me up from the inside and that put a smile on my face on an otherwise difficult day. I write it out as a tactile way to reflect on what is stirring inside because if I try and keep everything in my head oftentimes some incredibly profound, supportive, exciting, nurturing ideas, thoughts or visions – dissipate. I use it as a way to get it out so that I can go back and look at it. I am always pleasantly surprised at how many times I notice or feel something different as I revisit my written reflections. It somehow allows me to build upon it and inevitably lifts my mood or has the ability to guide me in a more positive direction.
Lastly, I always love the cues that Lead Master Teacher Trainer, Katina Griffin, gives to our teachers and owners so that they are able to thread our Word of the Month into their class themes. This helps students feel how focusing on a word supports them in dropping deeper into their practice and deeper into their mind body connection – After all, this is where so much magic happens!
Here are a couple of her examples for us all to think about!
-Reflect for a moment what – if any – obstacles almost stood in your way of taking a class. Be proud and feel successful simply because you showed up! Even 15 minutes of movement can help shift your entire day!
-Reflect on the similarity between you actively stretching while attempting to find both that same EASE and the EFFORT in your life. Notice if there are places in your stretches – but also outside of this room – where you could breathe more space and ease into a difficult moment or tight sensation to discover whether or not it transforms.
-Take a moment and breathe. Drop your weight into the supportive earth and reflect on sections of class – as though they were “sections” of your life – Commit to attend to the ones where you felt a need to go get water, check your phone or to LEAVE the intensity versus to stay with it. Remove ALL judgment and yet see if there is a way, as you leave here today, whether you are able to decide to stick with a challenge you may be facing instead of turning away from it. Remember – Adversity is where our growth is actualized.
Let’s enter June with renewed energy and then fill our beautiful summer with intermittent moments of reflection.
We’ve been through a lot.
Challenge definitely ebbs and flows, yet with our commitment to turning TOWARDS it – we must trust – that we’ll come out on the other side. We all have that power within. We just need to believe it.
Love,
Jill