CONTAGIOUS/joy

I was in Tampa last weekend with 40 awesome students who are in The Lotus Pond Yoga Teaching Training. Wow. Amazing. One of things that inspired me from the weekend is “Contagious Joy.” It has become my mantra for the week, and I'm taking it with me into my weekend. Have you ever noticed how joy really is contagious?

The day after the workshop I was sitting outside at a cafe drinking, um, tea. Yeah, tea. There was a couple sitting near me and they were laughing and laughing and carrying on about something. I have no idea what it was about, but I was completely drawn in. I was smiling real big and on the verge of laughing myself. One of them looked up and caught me staring and smiling. There was a moment of pause before we both burst out in spontaneous laughter. We didn't say anything to each other. They carried on with their conversation, and I sat there smiling and chuckling to myself-- about nothing. I closed my eyes and noticed the joyful feeling in my body. There it was that tingling sensation, that feeling of connection.

So, I've been thinking about it. If joy is contagious then it probably means that other feelings are contagious: confidence, peacefulness and love as well as their opposites: fear, negativity and aggression. You probably know people who make you feel good in some way just by being around them; and there are others who make you feel anxious or irritated in some way without saying a word.

We communicate with people in various different ways. In fact, only 15 percent of how we communicate is verbal. The biggest factors are body language, facial expressions and eye contact. Oftentimes, we are not even aware it, which is one of the huge benefits of practicing yoga-- it puts us in touch with our body and gives us access to the feelings that show up. Those feelings that show up in our body can be happening underneath of our conscious awareness and because the body speaks those feelings are expressed and interpreted. Whether we are aware of it or not we easily pick up on what body language. The more you are aware how feelings, thoughts and emotions are expressed in your body the more you start to understand and trust your gut feeling.

What is your body saying right now? Listen. Listen. It's telling you everything important that you need to know.

SIMPLE WAYS YOGA CAN HELP YOU:

Use your yoga practice to cultivate deeper awareness and find balance. For example, If you have a tendency to roll the shoulders forward or you want to be more open-hearted practice more back bends. If you want to cultivate more joy in your life put on some fun music, throw your arms in the air and dance! Let that be your yoga. If you're feeling chaotic or ungrounded practice poses that focus on the feet, forward folds or twists. If you want more adventure sign up for an arm balancing workshop or take a dance class.