Meditation for Frustration
Yoga sequence to reduce frustration.
We all have times when our emotions take over and we get frustrated. We live in a fast-paced world. I sometimes feel like I just want the world to slow down so I can catch up. When I look back at how busy I was when my kids were little, I can’t believe that I did everything that I did. Along the way I started to realize that I needed a simple way to calm down and refocus when everything felt like too much. I needed a tool that would be quick, simple and easy to use.
I watched the school therapists create ideas, routines and lessons for the kids and parents they worked with. They would write down these ideas and keep them in a folder they called a toolbox. This toolbox was referred to often and the ideas were also put into the student’s individual education plans, IEPs, to share with parents, teachers and staff who also worked with the children. Each child had different needs and abilities, so each toolbox was individualized to meet each student’s needs. This toolbox was a plan with different ideas or tools in place ready for challenging situations. This plan was practiced during calm times. Just like the teachers practiced fire drills with the students, they practiced using the toolbox for difficult situations. When a situation happened there was a tool they knew to use in the situation. The tool needed to be easy to use and give results that would decelerate the situation. This plan simplified the thinking process and helped remove the emotions that can build in tough times.
Yoga is my toolbox is yoga. I use it like the therapist did for their students.
During yoga training, I learned many tools to work with overwhelm and frustration. One is to understand that our minds need to be exercised just like our bodies. We can get stuck in a negative thought pattern which makes our minds stir. To stop we need to focus, change and control the stirring with practice. We are not our thoughts.
Second, I learned that breathwork is the key to connecting with our minds. We can work on our minds using breathwork. Breath is the key to connecting to our nervous systems to either calm down or to energize ourselves. Breathwork practices train us to connect to our nervous system. Then we can achieve the desired behavior that will allow us to work with our minds in a clear focused way. That’s how we can release the thoughts and behaviors that are not serving us. This takes time and patience. Think about making your own toolbox filling it with tools. I was trained to use yoga as a tool for daily life. It took me years to build my own toolbox, and I am still working on it.
The first tool for frustration is breathing. Breath and movement are designed to slow down the nervous system. Quiet time listen to the stirring of the mind. This creates a clear understanding of the mind. With time and focus this will create a way to step back from the stirring and respond with clarity removing the frustration and replacing it with an understanding.
This is a practice I teach my students. Start with a time and place where you can sit and be alone for a few minutes. This can be a bathroom with the door locked, in your car or any quiet place you can be alone.
Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth. Take a few minutes here…letting everything go but this moment and the sound of your breath.
Inhale, stretch your arms up, exhale bring them back down. Repeat 3-4 x. Twist across to your right left hand on right leg, relax your shoulders and face, and breathe a few times. Then repeat twisting across to your left side.
Inhale stretch your chest forward, exhale round your back and tuck your chin toward your chest. Repeat 3-4 x…feel yourself calming down. This is the start of slowing down your nervous system.
Sit breathing in and out. Notice how you feel and what your thoughts are. Let your thoughts come and go without judgment or attachment to any of the thoughts. When your mind wanders or gets stuck on a thought just bring it back…thinking breath in and breath out. This is listening to the stirring of your mind. Don’t try to change is just let thoughts come and go. Sit for 5 – 10 minutes. This is part of getting to know how your mind works. Learning what makes you frustrated and stepping away to take time to deal with your emotions. You are not your thoughts.
Try to sit once a day with the exercise to build resilience. This will help with the next time you get frustrated. You now have a tool. A way to understand yourself and plan how you want to react to it. You might have difficulty sitting some days…don’t give up. Remember to be patient with yourself. This is process of retraining yourself to let go of reactions that no longer serve you.
Want to practice with me? Each week I teach yoga classes which include poses, breathing exercises and meditation like this. Join me in my online studio for yoga sessions live streamed online and join me at the studio.
https://mindbodyspirityoga.heymarvelous.com/shop
Yoga can become part of your daily life and is always available to you. I will teach you ideas, poses, and lessons about yoga that you can use to build your own toolbox. You can have the tools with you wherever you go and use them whenever you need them. I look forward to working with you. Join me in my private Facebook group Yoga Companion for more: https://www.facebook.com/groups/311500903002595
Thank you, Pam