Inner Alchemy - Transformational Coaching

I went to yoga class the other day, but instead of becoming more flexible and fluid in my body, I have become more stiff and rigid.  I’m not sure what I did, but somehow during one of the twisting postures, I tweaked my back.  At the time, I felt a slight twinge, but I figured that I would be able to stretch it out.  I was wrong.  The next day, I discovered that there were very few movements that I wanted to make that didn’t cause me some sort of discomfort.  I’ve been walking hunched over with my hand rubbing my back like an old lady for the past two days.

This has been an interesting experience for me.  I have never had back problems before, and I must admit that I have not had a lot of patience with it.  I want to be able to get where I’m going and do what I have to do without thinking about whether or not a given movement is going to be painful.  This is slowing me down, and that is very frustrating.

So, in my best coaching voice, I ask myself, “Where’s the gift?  What does this have to teach me?”

Here are a couple of things I’ve come up with:

The body is incredible!  It is a finely tuned organism with an almost unfathomable coordination of parts.  If you hurt any part of it, you will feel the effect in other places.  Although different parts of the body have different functions, no part works completely alone.  There is a connectedness.

Hmmm!!  I wonder, is there a metaphor here?

There is a beauty in slowing down.  I’ve found that as my body has slowed down, so have my thoughts.  Without trying to, I’ve managed to slow down my racing monkey mind to match the pace of my slower gate.  How refreshing!

And as I slow down, I start to understand how very ineffectual it is to race through my day.  Not only is it not always very productive to be constantly in motion, it also results in me missing a great deal of beauty and wonder along the way.  This morning I stopped to smell the fall air, look at the fall colors and listen to the sounds of the leaves moving in the breeze.  I’ve been listening better, seeing the little details of things all around me and feeling the joy so many little pleasures in life.

I wouldn’t wish back pain on anyone.  It truly is no fun.  I would, however, wish for everyone the beauty of understanding how taking a slower pace can enrich and enhance your life.  What a gift!

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