I just decided to cut the routine and go on a trip with my family. Winter felt too long. Spring went by in a hear beat. Summer came and my body got stifled. My brain totally wired. I had no time for my practice. I binged on snacks and skipped the healthy meals. I was too overwhelmed with pain. I felt confined into a tight space and had no room to grow. I am not claustrophobic per se, but felt strongly that things were getting out of whack. I was literally buzzing with stress.

I tried to mitigate the situation throwing some proven stress busters into my yoga practice. But, that too, felt rushed and pushed and way too stressful. I was trying to shed the extra pounds I had gained in winter. Stressing too much about my strict diet got me nowhere. I was borderline maniacal. My work assignments never got done. I was putting everything off for a better time. But that right time never comes until you create more space. So I gave it all up – my work, my practice, and decided to change scenery.

In less than five days I was not only able to reboot, but I got inspired to create a new type of stress-less lifestyle and practice. I would take an hour in the evening when my family went to sleep to get in touch my body’s needs, to find the natural rhythm of my breath, to reconnect with my heart felt desire, to let my ideas surge untamed and go wild. The effect was electrifying. I discovered a new way to practice when I am stressed – focusing on forward bends and deep reclining and supine twists that gave me relief through the fascia and filter organs.

I also rediscovered the power of arm binds and the simultaneous activation of trigger points and meridians. I coupled relishing inversions with some supported backbends that soothed my heart, and freed up my brain. I realized that I needed to break my everyday routine more often, as it had gotten too stale and repetitive. Freeing mental space is like opening your mind’s eye to all the “little big” things that you don’t even notice in life.

I started to focus better. I became aware that I was overwhelmed by my own ambitions to always get things done a certain way – always imposing deadlines on my to-do-list. I also realized the need to change my practice once in a while and explore a completely different route that perhaps did not feel as intuitive, but triggered a different response. The practice mellowed down. The advanced asana was no longer a goal in itself. The pleasure of practicing and tending to my needs came first.  And that changed my world. It completely transformed the way I related to myself and embraced others.

As we make space, we become more in tune with what we really need, and less attuned to the outside chatter of who we ought to be. We detach from our own drama and are ready to explore things away, to try things differently, to change the environment, and ultimately carve our intimate space for insight and creativity.

I just came back from the trip with this extra storage room in my brain, an expanded space for appreciation and gratitude that made me happy and stress-free. Ever since, I have made a pledge to myself. Whenever I feel burned out, instead of greasing the wheel, I will make room for change.

De-Stress Yoga Routine: Make Room (open level)

This yoga routine takes you on a soothing trip of forward bends, inversions and bound twists to help you release mental and physical tension and elicit a relaxation response.