Sometimes life is just too much.

There’s too much noise. Too much bad news. Too much drama. Too much crap. Too much to do. Just too much.

Stress has unfortunately become part of our normal lives, but anxiety stems from something far more severe. It goes beyond worry and fear. Sometimes anxiety goes away. It ends the moment we turn in that midterm that we spent all night rewriting after our computer ate it. But, sometimes it doesn’t go away. Sometimes, it’s what keeps us up at night and it’s what eats away at our life, keeping us from joy and stopping us from enjoying anything.

This routine may not be an instant fix, but if the poses are incorporated in a solid self-care plan, it can literally change your life. Keep practicing. Keep trying. Keep showing up for yourself.

The routine is designed to be short, mostly to introduce you to poses that can help you ease into parts of the body where we often hold our stress and tension. Getting into the hips can help us release past hurt we’re holding onto. Holding the elbows and swaying gently in forward fold can help ease open the neck and shoulders, where we often hold our anger.

Be gentle.

Be kind.

Be easy.

Practice these poses every day, keeping the body warm and able. There will be progress. There will be light, so long as you choose it over the dark. Just keep trying. You can’t drown, if you keep swimming. And if you keep swimming, you will make it safely to land.

Relephant: 

A Meditation to Release the Baggage of Your Past.

Author: Stacy Porter

Editor: Travis May

Photo: Author’s Own