Be Patient with Yourself
I won’t lie, this summer has been FULL… not bad, but REALLY FULL. I decided to stay the summer in Sedona to do a bunch of work stuff and focus on my last months of the Clinical Ayurvedic Medicine program at California College of Ayurveda. Which is basically like going to get my Masters in Ayurveda, that’s kinda the equivalent. One of my final assignments was to write a research paper on Alopecia (autoimmune disease that causes hair loss- which is what I’ve been dealing with since I was 5 yrs old) and how it’s addressed through the lens of Ayurvedic Medicine. This was such a fun paper to write because it allowed me to see how far I’ve come on my own journey to address my health and get some beautiful pieces of advice from teachers that have been doing this work for so many years.
The one piece of advice that I heard while I was doing my research was… “BE PATIENT WITH YOURSELF on this journey of reversing your autoimmune disease.” This really resonated with me. I can’t control or change events in my past that lead me to being in a state of dis-ease in my body, but I do know that all the work I’m doing now it helping to stop my autoimmune challenges and reverse it… but the body takes time to repair itself. So this is the part that I have to be patient with myself and the process.
“Let the version of you that you were, teach you. Let the version of yourself that you are currently, comfort you. Let the version of yourself that you are becoming inspire you. You are the version that you need and needed to be in every phase of your journey.” ~ billy chapata (@iambrillyant / Instagram)
What would it look and feel like to truly KNOW that you are the version of yourself that you need to be on your journey of health and healing right now!? This still means you are doing the work to feel good in your body each day through healthy daily habits, choosing foods that are nourishing and energizing to the body and mind, and prioritizing resting or moments of pause throughout the day… but not getting caught in the mindset of wanting things to be anything other than what they are right now. I love this quote by Yung Pueblo:
“Be comfortable with waiting a little longer for the things you deserve.” ~ Yung Pueblo
So if you’re dealing with an injury or ailment in the body, be patient with the time it takes to recover. If you’re having challenging times in your family, being a mother or father with the kids, be patient with your responses to those stressors that come up and try not to judge your reaction to things… watch how you react… or better yet, take a pause before you respond. Watching our responses to life stimuli is a way to see where our nervous system is at any given moment.
Our nervous system is an amazing part of our body. It tells us when we are in danger and prepares the body to fight or flee a situation. It’s amazing at wanting to keep us protected and safe! The challenge in our modern day lives is that it’s staying in that state longer than it should and in some cases never coming back to the resting state, where we allow our bodies to repair from the challenges that life throws us. Getting ourselves to a resting state is crucial to stay healthy in this life. I love this quote about the nervous system:
“Sometimes our nervous system just needs: a hug, someone who understands, a moment in nature, a deep sou-nourishing breath, a little space, to take in the glimmers, a giggle with a friend, a good book, a long soak in a warm bath, some gentle words of encouragement, a pause.” ~ @h.e.l.e.m.a.r.i.e
You know what else is good to calm the nervous system?… you guessed it, YOGA! We use Yoga to address the nervous system by pulling our attention back to the breath, over and over. The breath is the pause we need each day to tell the nervous system that, “for this moment, everything is ok.” One of my favorite breaths to take when I’m needing a little more patience for myself is a 1:2 breath. This is where you take a nice full inhale noticing how long it takes to pull the air into our lungs. Maybe it’s a count of 3, or 4, or even 6. Then you double that count on the exhale, letting everything that’s stressing you feel just a little less intense. Then do that again, take your breath in… and double the exhale, relaxing the shoulders, jaw, tongue. Then do it again… Commit to taking 10 breaths and then see what shifted in your nervous system. Trust me, there will be a shift! See what it looks like and feels like for you.
This month try working on the intention of Be Patient with Yourself and see if there are ways you’re NOT being as patient with yourself as we’d like, either on or off the yoga mat. Then noticing when that’s happening, use the breath to calm your nervous system that in turn creates more patience… for yourself, for those in your life, for the world.
Let’s go on a journey to keep reminding ourselves to be patient… with our bodies as they continue on their healing journey, with our mental chatter that comes up and doesn’t feel super “nice” all the time, and with our emotions as they arise and feel overwhelming. We can create a collective patience for ourselves.
