What are you unconsciously carrying?

Yesterday, I spent all day looking forward to a Bikram yoga class that I had signed up for. But when I got into my car to head over to the studio, I realized that I was leaving a bit later than I normally would. To make matters worse, the class was at 5:15 PM (earlier than the time I usually take class), and there was some light congestion due to rush hour traffic that I hadn’t anticipated. 

When I finally pulled onto the street where the studio was located, the railroad crossing signals activated and traffic stopped. After the train passengers unloaded and I finally crossed the tracks, the green stoplight ahead turned yellow, then red. I sat, frustrated, with only a few minutes to spare.

Quickly, I parallel parked my car, paid the meter, grabbed my mat, and ran into the studio. When I entered the room, the spot I usually practice in by the front mirror was occupied. I quietly got set up towards the back of the studio and tried to bring my attention to my breath. 

Throughout the class, I found myself becoming increasingly agitated. Despite my best efforts to focus on meditating, my physical practice suffered. 

In life, we often experience setbacks — big and small — that can throw us off balance. When this happens, it is important to pause and consider what it is that we are feeling and why. While it might be tempting to move past the negative feeling and into the next moment, when we don’t stop to sit in our emotions and release them, we can experience mental and physical consequences. 

Have you ever gotten upset at someone only to realize after the fact that what you were feeling was related to something entirely different? This is why it is so important to process, learn from, and release tension and trauma. 

In the physical body, we often store unprocessed emotions in the hips. The muscles deep within our hips are closely connected to the adrenal glands, which are responsible for processing our fight-or-flight emotions. These muscles are also our biggest stabilizing muscles and we may unconsciously clench them when we feel emotionally triggered.

As someone with both incredibly tight hips and a history of trauma, I am currently working on letting go of this stored tension in my personal practice. This takes time, but the first step of any transformation is awareness. 

What are you holding on to?

Is it serving you?

How does what you carry impact your interactions with the world around you?

What can you let go of?

Class Playlist:

Love + light,

Lex