Don’t Worry, Be Happy

Post Holidays can be a wonderful time of the year. Many of us are still all jazzed up from our New Years Resolutions! We are focused on our health, relationships, and career goals. Unfortunately, the Winter Blues can also set in this time of the year, especially since there is less daylight. I experience loneliness after I spent quality time with my family and childhood friends during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. There is consistent celebration of life, family, and friends, then back to the real world. When these “Blues” show up, I depend on my yoga practice to keep my head CLEAR.

I, like many other people who live in LA, am a transplant. Millions of Angelenos came from around the world before they called Los Angeles their home. For me that was 14 years ago. A I absolutely consider LA my home however, the older I get the more difficult it is for me to visit my loved ones in Cleveland and come back out West. Over the years I have become close to many of my yoga students. I learned that many of us Angelenos are in the same boat. We love living in LA and at the same time we feel so far removed from family and childhood friends.

I am from Orange Village. Orange Village is a small town east of Cleveland, OH where the air smells like sweet rain. I grew up in the same house my entire life. My dad was my softball coach for 9 years. My mom was my second grade teacher. I went to the same school from age 5 until 18 (I had a brief stint in private school but that didn’t work out, I wan’t always this zen). Many of my classmates had the same experience. We truly got to know one another and each others families. Everything is still very familiar when I visit. I find after the Holidays, I feel anxious and sad about not living close to my aging parents and childhood friends. The moments after saying goodbye and walking into the airport are the most difficult. I wave and blow air kisses until my parents can no longer see me.

With that being said, LA is where I have lived since I was 22, I am now 34. I have grown up here as an adult. I know how to get around Los Angeles better than I do in Cleveland. I just came back from winter vacation and oh my, has my blood thinned! Like many of you, I am drawn o this warmer climate. I cherish participating in outdoor activities throughout the entire year. LA is where I have found myself and continue to evolve. Los Angles is where I have fallen in and out of love several times. LA is where I have found my female goddess, my inner strength, and my vulnerability. I am blessed and fortunate to live in a city that thrives on my profession of health and wellness. I get paid to do what I love! The City of Angels is where I am around people who strive for their seemingly impossible dreams and wear their hearts on their sleeves. So yes, I love it here too. I value my life here in Los Angeles, through the great times and the challenges.

Yet, feelings of guilt still creep in me as my parents approach their 80’s. I don’t want any regrets either way. I realize only I can make these important life decisions for myself. That is what we all have to do throughout our journeys. Finding the answers takes an immense amount of internal work. Nothing external can find our truth. We must draw from within.

Worry, anxiety, and internal conflict do not serve us well. Our negative feelings do not help our loved ones, or those around us. Don’t get me wrong, these feelings are natural human emotions. They need to be experienced so we can appreciate the opposite, FREEDOM. It is definitely worse to mask your feelings and pretend they don’t exist.  Negative feelings ultimately come from living in a place of fear. This can take years off of our lives. Yes, fear has a direct effect on how our bodies work.

 

• Worry and anxiety cause shortness of breath. Shortness of breath decreases the flow of oxygen and nutrients to our blood cells.
• Ongoing negative thoughts makes our bodies tense up. The tension constricts blood flow to our vital organs. Lack of blood flow to vital organs weakens our immune system.
• If fear based emotions are chronic or long term serious illness will set in.

This is where our yoga practice is essential to our healing. The asanas (poses), the various breathing techniques, and the inward focus will guide you to a place of understanding. This is a major component of why I have a deep appreciation for yoga.

According to “The Secret Language of Your Body,” by Inna Segal, there are certain parts of the body that store specific emotions. The thighs are known to store worry, anxiety, and a limited point of view. The quads are some of the biggest and strongest muscles in the body. Therefore the body, as clever as it is, feels pretty comfortable storing negative emotions in this area.