find your inner...cat

I walked in on this scene shortly after my new yoga room had been established. It was clear that she was enjoying herself as she didn't move a muscle even after being woken up, pet, photographed and laughed at.

Pure bliss.

It got me thinking about being present and truly relaxed. (My pets can teach me a lot about this!) How easily are we distracted from enjoying life? How often do we worry so much about the future or what others are thinking that we lose track of our peace? Being still might be a little easier during meditation, prayer or yoga practice. In a warm, dimly lit room among others of the same mind set all stretching and breathing slowly and deeply, true peace may come a bit more naturally. But what about when we're sitting in traffic? Or having a truly hectic day at the office? How can we carry peace throughout daily life?

Whether you practice yoga or not, I think it's important to occasionally (without stressing about it) analyze your reactions to stress. How do you handle tension physically and emotionally? Do you buckle down and suck it up? Do you address it head-on (ie. prayer, meditation, counsel)?  From a pesky hole in your sock to being laid off from a job, stress will always be part of life. But how we address it (or don't address it) will eventually have consequences whether we realize it or not.

You can only avoid so much stress. Eventually, stress will find you. But if you work at being well-equipped with a healthy soul, it will show. And maybe it will look something like this cat.

Namaste!