On our last day of vacation as we were packing up, I sat down with my coffee and notepad, and tried to construct my typical ‘to do’ list so that I would be armed and ready when we got back home. To mysurprise, there was nothing there – or at least nothing important enough to grace the pages of my notepad except for this – my thoughts about how I had finally cleared the clutter from my mind. I was finally able to let go.
Let go of the many tasks that keep our hamster wheel running. But what about the orthodontist appointments, the scheduling changes, the prescriptions/dry cleaning or organic ingredients to pick up, the people to call. But there was nothing – finally, nothing – a day of peace and we were packing up to go home.
It only took 5 days! REALLY! 5 days. How absurd! How TOXIC! Ok, maybe the first three days I kept checking in at work, checking email, or social media. But 5 days! Sometimes I think we allow our life to control us, not the other way around. We have choices every day in the way we spend our time, money, talents
and gifts. And yes, there are bills to pay and responsibilities surrounding the life we created for ourselves, but in this non-stop world we live in, shouldn’t we create a system, method, or practice that allows us to let go in less than 5 days? Pilates is a mind-body practice that has six key principles – concentration, precision, control, centering, breath and flow. And truly when I am with my instructor, I’m not thinking about anything else but how I control the springs on the reformer and those six principles. So why can’t we take these six elements and apply them the next time we take a walk, or even do laundry – allowing ourselves to be free from all the ‘to-do’s” So challenge yourself – look for key points in your day when you can apply these principles and just ‘let go’.
To quote Joseph Pilates – “Everyone is the architect of their own happiness.”