I had a very wise client that told me she schedules EVERYTHING in order to have more time. I balked at this at this thinking,
how much work is that?!

I decided I'd give it a try because really, what did I have to lose but more time. I found that the more I scheduled appointments, social engagements, work-outs, phone dates et al, the more it did, in fact, leave room for more things including spontaneity which, in this day and age of technology with instant responses and gratification, can be all too difficult to adjust to. I work mostly with busy moms and dads. Their schedule is hard enough to manage and so I must adapt to their ever changing agenda accordingly.

And driving. If you haven't already noticed, it's something I do a lot of and it's where, instead of finding stress, I find inspiration. Inspiration to bring into my classes and into my own life as lessons. Oh, the lessons on the road.

My dad is a driver in NY and I've asked him for tips.
I feel very connected to him when I hit the battlefield daily and ask myself often, what would my dad do in this or that traffic or dicey road situation? The road is where I see my dad the calmest. Its the rest of his life that I see his frustration, but that's another blog.

When I'm on the road with the crazies riding my bumper, literally in my trunk, offering me no dinner or flowers or romance just gettin' on top of me, I take pause.
Leave him room, I think (my dad in my ear).
And when I find myself getting too close to my neighbor in the front, I say to myself, what the heck am I doing, but wasting my gas to ride his tail.
I think, leave him room.

The lesson my dad always told me - while driving - leave a cushion between you and another car. If someone takes that room by cutting into your lane then leave room between you and him.
This helps work with the flow of traffic and not against it. (He's never even done yoga!!)
It might sound like you end up drivin' like an old lady but I swear it works. The more you slow down instead of racing your heart rate and exhaust, the closer you will get to your destination with ease.

Upon leaving my class at Liberation Yoga in Hollywood tonight and driving home to Santa Monica, I noticed this big ol' SUV darting in front of me and others on the road. She weaved in and out for miles and miles. We apparently lived in the same area because after all that hard work, we ended up at the same light in Santa Monica, all the way from Hollywood!
While I was driving and focussing on the road whilst catching up with friends and listening to my Kirtan music she, when I looked over, was smoking an looked like she was about to pass out from stress.
He he.
Blessings to her, I thought. I hope she finds her peace somewhere else.

If you can find your peace driving, I think I you can find peace anywhere. I haven't mastered it yet but I'm applying the lessons from the great drivers (my dad) and yogis that went before me. The yogis in the Himalayas didn't have to deal with traffic in LA!!

Try slowing down, just a little bit and you'll get there faster if not in the same time you would have using your adrenals.
Just try it.
Please?

Schedule some things if you are finding your schedule to busy. You will soon be able to figure out what is important to do and what is not.

Another big lesson I learned, when my dad became sick, was how much I quickly realized what was important and needed to be addressed in the 'now' and what could be put off. I joke (even though it's not so funny) that there is nothing like Cancer to put things into perspective and fast!

I wouldn't go so far as to advise imagining the above circumstance as your own, but imagine if YOU only had a few more days to REALLY live. What do you need to do right now? Are you doing everything you enjoy and love even if it is stressful at times? If not, get rid of it. Why would you need it if you had thousands of days to live? If someone pisses you off today, is it really going to bother you in 3 years? If not, don't let it bother you now.

I had an extremely stressful day last week where I literally had to be in six areas of town for intense meetings within an hour of each other from 8AM until 9PM. It was an insane day that I shared with a buddy who was along for the ride with me or to just witness how insane my days can be. Although I had moments where I thought my head would pop off, I still look back at that day and wouldn't do anything differently. I had prepared myself that the day would be stressful and I rolled with it where I could and when I got stressed, I belted it out like Patti LuPone when I could. You have to just roll with it when it comes.
Like when you are at the beach and you spot a huge wave. You see it coming and if you are in it, you brace yourself for it's fervor or, you just hold your breath and go under 'till it passes. Both are good choices.

Tell people what you think in the moment (unless they are hurtful thoughts and words). If you don't think quick on your feet, take some time to formulate your thoughts for delivery in a kind and gentle way. Being loving and gentle in your delivery will be more effective then speaking in anger or in haste, even if those feelings come up.
If you are too frightened to confront or stand up for what you want, go through, in your mind, the ideal transaction that you would want to have with that individual, with all your kind but specific wants and needs expressed and received.
See how that resonates within your body. Perhaps all you needed was to picture that scene, vent into a notebook, to a friend or to your mom. That might be good enough for you to move on from a tense feeling within or situation with someone else.

The list of to dos will always be there. As long as you are moving, breathing, creating and accomplishing goals, there will be more to do.

So chill the freak out while you are doing your tasks and you will feel a whole lot better. You will feel the same bliss doing your to dos as you do whilst doing your downward dog.
At least that is what I keep trying to do.

That's one of my lessons (to learn AND to teach)

If you are passionate and full of ideas, work through a few of them. Your life may or may not be enough time to do everything you want, but you can try, with zeal, the things that you are drawn to the most.
Trust me, I've tried to do it all. And I'm not even married or have kids. Do the things that make you feel the most free, enabled, healthy and all the rest of the crap will move out of the way. Schedule your life in order to provide it with the room you need for the good things to come in and maybe the stray car, but that's ok. Cause you will leave more room and more room will be found and filled with what you want and what you need.

I have this dynamic girlfriend who called me the other night to work through some things in her life. She had so many questions that I knew she knew the answers to, but I let her work it out. I asked her to try on, like a fabulous new dress, the decision to say no to her situation and the decision to say yes to the situation. See how it looks and feels outside and in. Maybe walk around the apartment for a few days with the dress. Look at yourself in the mirror, at different angles, sitting down, bustin' a move. What FEELS most right will be evident trying on BOTH decisions.

I've done that quite often. Even with dresses I wasn't sure I wanted to keep. And with many other decisions. Let me tell you. I have a lot of returns and store credits. And that's ok.

I'm not the best yoga teacher. I don't know who is. I know I have a great intuition about who comes into the room an what they need. I think it works out most of the time. But, all I really know is what I can give, what I've been trained to do, what I have experienced and the mistakes I've made to learn from and teach from.

I saw this yummy supima cotton t-shirt at Santa Monica Power Yoga. It was forest green with that burn out effect of worn in deliciousness.
At the bottom of the shirt was fancily inscribed, 'my life is my message'. I was instantly repelled. And yet, I know that's all I can do is use my life as my message.
I did try it on. It was indeed yummy. It was also 40$ and the money didn't partially go towards the rainforest or kids in Africa so I passed.
And I'm quite fine with that decision.

Slow down, just a little bit, me and everybody. Take a breath and we'll all get where we need to go faster and in a better state of mind (and with better karma instead of cutting people off). Try on your wants and needs in question.
Be good to yourselves. Drink lots of water and call your mother. If you don't like your mother, call your touchstone. If you don't have one, you can write me.

Jai Ma,
(glory or hail to the divine/mother)
Laurie