#63: Transitions

Jan 12, 2023 | Energetic Rhythms, Mindset, Podcast

Transitions all correspond to the rhythms of life, yet they aren’t always fun or easy.

We all go through transitions in life, from the most basic like just waking up each day to the big ones like retirement or menopause.

Transitions are getting you from 1 thing to another, so naturally they are going to feel clunky. They are asking you to do something different than what your body and mind are comfortable doing.

Family & Transitions

  • School
  • Preschool

Energetic Rhythms & Transitions

  • Moon
  • Cyclical Shifts
  • Menopause

Transitions you may experience

  • Daily transitions–waking up, leaving the house, getting kids to leave the house, driving to or from work, multiple little transitions throughout the day while you’re at work, getting home from work, getting everyone ready for evening activities, bedtime, etc.
  • Bigger transitions in life: New job, kids going back to school, separation or divorce, death of a loved one, menopause, what else?
  • Starting any new habit has a transition period until it becomes a habit, right? That point when you’re body-mind has to get used to doing something different.
  • Constantly being exposed to transitions both big and little throughout our days and lives. And many of these transitions we adapt to and move through effortlessly–when you do them enough times, and find the sweet spot of what works, it just becomes effortless action. Often we don’t even realize we are moving through some transitions because they are so second-nature
    • Knowing the exact time you need to wake to get ready for the day
    • If you’re an athlete: Mention hand-offs in track or swimming relays or transitions in triathlons

Tricky Transitions

But it’s not always that easy. Sometimes the transitions are clunky. And they’re clunky for a long time–it takes a while to find that sweet spot, if even you ever do!

  • Bedtime routines with kids
  • Adjusting to an alternating shift work schedule
  • Healing from an injury
  • Menopause can be that way from what I hear…or it can be effortless, depending on your mindset
  • Retirement
  • Getting back into something you’ve been working on every time you’re interrupted by a toddler–HA!

Sometimes it just stinks to go through transitions. You’re not alone

Moon phase

  • Another example of times when we feel transitions but may not actually realize a transition is happening
  • We’re currently transitioning from a full moon to a new moon
  • Things can get icky
  • Life doesn’t always feel as effortless

Mindset

  • Has a lot to do with how we move through transitions

Yoga

  • How you move on the mat is how you move off the mat in real life.
  • If transitions on the yoga mat are challenging for you, they are going to be one of the most challenging things for you off the mat as well.  Transitions can be challenging, but they don’t have to be.

Sun Salutation

For instance, when I’m teaching someone how to do a Sun Salutation, one of the most basic fundamentals of yoga, everyone approaches it in their own way

  • It’s simply a way of transitioning from standing to Downward Facing Dog and back to standing, yet it’s something different so can be challenging.
  • Kinda like transitioning out the door in the morning, where the parts before you get to DFD and after you’ve been there are the transition and the DFD itself is like your time spent in the car driving your regular route each day.
    • It can be like getting out the door in the morning with 3 kids under 6 or it can be like getting out the door in the morning when there’s only you to get ready and care for and you have a solid plan backed by years of experience that works
    • DFD (the posture you are actually going to) then becomes like the sigh of relief that comes once everyone buckled in the car and you’re pulling out the driveway headed to your destination–hopefully it’s smooth sailing
    • But the transition to get there though and out of it can be the hardest part
  • Those with an open mind, pick it up quicker
  • While those that are already sure that yoga is going to be a challenge for them, tend to struggle with it

Yoga Sequences

Remembering the subtleties of how things are strung together in a yoga practice is also a transition that often trips people up

But the more you practice, the easier it gets, just like with most everything else in life

Handstand

Another transition that I frequently help people with on the yoga mat is handstand

This is one I even struggle with on certain days–a representation that no matter where you are in your yoga practice or in life, transitions can still be a challenge

  • It’s a big and tricking transition because it’s asking you to look at life completely different…upside down. AND requires great courage because you re balancing on your hands
  • So my guess is if these are things you struggle with in life, handstand might be more challenging to you.

 

 

 

And that’s OK! We all approach life differently and in our own unique way. you have unique experiences that even your closest family members haven’t had, so if a transition in life feels awkward or clunky for a while, allow it to be.

How you move on the mat through transitions is how you move through transitions in life.

Eventually you’ll find your flow or decide to let it go and move onto a different transition.

Take-away:

It’s OK to struggle; struggling on the yoga mat brings growth and the ability to do something new physically, just like struggling in life brings growth and the ability to do something new or different in life.

 

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