The unexpected gifts of pain are often overlooked when we focus solely on getting rid of it. Instead of embracing the pain as part of our experience, we resist it and view it as an enemy that must be eliminated. This resistance is rooted in the belief that healing means the disappearance of symptoms. However, healing is not a final destination but a continuous invitation to remember who we are and to love ourselves in every moment.

When we approach pain with love, we give it a home in our hearts instead of attacking it. We hold it in our vast hearts and embrace it for what it is: a powerful expression of life itself, even if it is unwanted or uncomfortable. Pain is not against us but a frightened part of ourselves that needs love and inclusion. It is a teacher that invites us to be present and to appreciate life in all its forms.

Instead of rushing to label pain as negative and seeking to transcend or obliterate it, we should be kinder towards it and get curious about its fire and ferocity. Pain may hold its own original medicine and teachings of slowness and presence, which we need to acknowledge and honour.
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True healing involves being aligned with 'what is' and embracing the present moment. Presence is the greatest kind of medicine, and it frees us from victimhood. When we stop focusing on getting rid of pain and start embracing it as part of our experience, we open ourselves up to unexpected gifts and deeper healing. So let us bow before our pain and embrace it for as long as it is here, knowing that it may just be what healing actually feels like.

Sometimes we need a reminder that it's okay to not be okay. So here it is: IT'S OKAY.

It's okay to be tired, to say no, to cancel plans without giving a reason, and to "just not feel like it." It's okay to not know anything, to leave, to walk out, to take time to decide, and to take space to feel. It's okay to mess up, be awkward, tremble, be down, and feel low. It's okay to rest and embrace the negative, shadow, and unwanted parts of ourselves. These are our friends, not our enemies. And it's okay to learn as we go and be imperfect each day. If you forget who you are and where you're going, it's okay to begin again. Just remember, it's all okay. 

​Meditation involves connecting with life exactly where life is touching you. The goal is not to alter or control your experience, escape from difficult feelings, or access higher states of consciousness. It is about embracing any part of yourself that resists meditation and beginning from there. Take a brief moment now to feel the sensations in your feet and the weight and position of your hands. Observe the sensations in your body. Notice any tension or relaxation in your face, shoulders,  jaw. Acknowledge your unique experience in this moment and bless it with your attention. Remember that this moment is fleeting and will never come again. Fully embrace it.

​If you attempt to fix me, you unknowingly transmit a message to my nervous system that implies there is something wrong with me, and I lack the internal resources to cope with my situation.

Even if your intentions are good, your attempts to fix me can undermine my healing. You hold the knowledge and power and I feel smaller and weaker.

Listen to me and trust me instead of giving me your answers. I am more resilient and capable than you realise.

When you stop trying to fix me and hold space for me, I feel supported and empowered to face my challenges. In this way, I can learn to trust my intuition, feelings, and body, and discover my own inner strength.

By dropping your concepts, advice, and fixes and simply loving me, I can learn to love myself and trust myself.

The paradox of healing is that when you stop trying to fix me, I feel less broken and more capable of healing.

I love this quote by Pema Chödrön, about tending to the first arrow. The parable of the second arrow is a Buddhist parable about dealing with suffering more skillfully. The Buddhists say that any time we suffer misfortune, two arrows fly our way.

The first arrow that hits us (an unexpected event, situation, illness etc) causes pain and hardship, which we can’t ignore.
The second arrow is the suffering we add on top of the pain. It is our reaction to it, and is optional.

The teaching is that pain and hardship are unavoidable for us all, however, we have a choice when it comes to the suffering. Our relationship to pain and hardship are what to a great extent influences our suffering.

When we tend directly to the experience, and turn off the mental chatter, suddenly the experience of suffering that seems to arise from pain will resolve. This has been shown in research using brain MRI scans in mental and physical pain studies. 

Wisdom shared from one of my favourite teachers, Byron Katie.

Yoga gives you the mental space needed to change your perception...

These quotes both contrast and compliment perfectly. 
Take on only as much as you can do today. Be completely present with each thing that you do and find the joy in simplicity. Simple is profound.

There was once a mindfulness institute that placed an advertisement in a daily newspaper and in various social media sites. The short ad read as follows:

One-day Enlightenment. Guaranteed. Call: 0800-Mindful
A woman saw this ad and got very excited. She had been dealing with daily stressors, a new job, and even health issues. She called to get the address and the very next morning she went to the institute and found one of the instructors.

“I saw your ad. What do you mean by enlightenment?” she asked.
“Clarity of mind,” said the instructor. “Also, a sense of peace and inner calm, even in the midst of life’s difficulties. All you have to do,” he explained, “is to follow your breath completely, noticing the in-breath, the pause, and the out-breath—without any distractions for the next seven hours to realise your goal.”

The woman glanced at her wristwatch, smiled and said, “Fabulous, I’ll have my enlightenment by dinnertime! Sign me up.” She was given a cushion to sit on, and so she began. The first in-breath was fantastic, and she was present with it the entire time. Right then, however, a siren blared outside. The woman’s sense of hearing grabbed onto the siren and brought it inside her mind, where it started to spin a story: That’s loud. Don’t they know we’re trying to get our enlightenment in here?

Just then she realized she had forgotten about her breath. And so she started again, noticing the complete in-breath and then being present with the pause. She was just starting her out-breath when a fly buzzed by. She opened her eyes and her sense of sight went and grabbed the fly and brought it inside her mind. Again, the mind spun an elaborate story: I wonder if we’re going to have lunch, because having flies isn’t a good idea. Maybe someone left the window open. Who should I talk to? Finally, she remembered about her breath, and so she started again . . . and again. As the story goes, she was still there ten years later trying to get her seven consecutive hours of breath awareness!

That’s why mindfulness is more accurately called re-mindfulness. It’s totally okay to remind yourself to come back to being aware of the mind and body and environment time and time again. Remember, there’s no being perfect with mindfulness. You don’t have to stop your thoughts, either. Just noticing them is good enough. In fact, when it comes to learning mindfulness good enough is always good enough. Because mindfulness is re-mindfulness, there’s never any failure with it. And it’s why mindfulness is a way of inviting and practicing kindness toward yourself.

Reflections: If you have critical or distracted thoughts during your mindfulness practice, just notice them, smile inwardly, knowing that by noticing thoughts you are actually doing the practice! Then, just think of the words “good enough” to release the thoughts and return to your practice. 

Namaste,
Yoga Wellness Clinic 

(Adapted from: Mindfulness Toolbox)