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Hello and happy Wednesday, I hope you’re having a beautiful midweek. To begin on a totally unrelated note - I’ve been curious about my energy levels throughout the week and started a lil informal log to track this. What I’ve noticed is that I start to warm up as we move through the week… Friday and Saturday seem to be my highest energy days, and Monday and Tuesday being my highest crustiness days lol. Do you notice changes in your energy (and crustiness) levels throughout the week? Hit reply and let me know if you wish :) An unintentional intro to “edges” At the start of the pandemic I experienced intense anxiety, and something told me it was time to pay a little more attention to my body. So, I started to explore and experiment with movement practices. It wasn’t until I discovered yin yoga that things really changed for me. I remember I was in a personal development course at the time and a few of the women shared their love for holding certain yoga poses for longer periods of time. They mentioned that it helped them ease anxiety and also spark creativity. So, I took their advice and started holding a child’s pose for at least 5 minutes before doing some writing, and I surprisingly found myself becoming more centered, focused and clear. When I reported back to my classmates, they suggested I look up Yoga with Kassandra - a practitioner who specializes in yin and slower flow yoga sequences. I instantly became hooked on Kassandra’s super accessible and soothing videos, and also began to notice a sharp reduction in feelings of anxiety. For me, the lockdown was the first time in my life where I stopped being “busy” and was forced to be with myself. And this was a lot lol. I remember when I started doing yin yoga, it was extremely challenging but I loved it because it was the only thing that took me out of my head (a really noisy and not-nice place at the time) and moved the focus into my body (because it was hard AF). In yin yoga you hold poses for a minimum of 2 minutes, and up to sometimes 7 or 8 minutes depending on the intensity level. During the practice, Kassandra would often share the 3 principles of yin yoga: Come into the pose to an appropriate depth When you find this edge, resolve to be still Rest in the posture for some time
And she often talked about “finding your edge” and this got me interested… What’s an “edge”? In yoga - our edge is the point in the pose where we feel mentally and physically challenged, but can also access feelings of balance and ease. In the traditional theory and practice of yoga (found in Yoga Sutras of Patanjali), sutra 2.46 explains that every posture should be stable (sthira) and also comfortable (sukha). The territory of an edge might feel challenging, but it’s not meant to feel unsafe or painful. It’s in this space where one need not step totally outside of their comfort zone, but rather simply step away from it’s center. Some examples of edges I remember listening to a podcast episode a while back featuring Michael Eastern - an author and journalist who spent a month living in the Arctic. It was a really thought-provoking episode and he likened his challenging experience to one that helped him cultivate greater presence in life. The fact that he didn’t know whether he’d make it or not (dramatic example I know) challenged him to be more present in his experience. His whole idea (and book) explores how we can use discomfort to access greater health and happiness. Now - before you start looking up flights to the Arctic - let’s get a lil more practical here… After reflecting on this podcast episode I started to think about some times I challenged myself. And these included experiences like: Camping out in a desert for 14 days Taking improv classes The first time completing a full day of Vipassanā (silent meditation) My first ever DJ gig Practicing yin yoga Studying and practicing expressive arts therapy Quitting my 9-5 job to pursue my creative passions full-time
As you can probably see - this is a wide range of events. However, as I reflected on each of these experiences I noticed one thing: Feeling safe enough was part of each experience. Whether it was researching the crap out of what it meant to camp out in the Nevada desert (and having a lovely experienced pal to do this with), to working with a DJ mentor to help me feel ready enough for my first gig, to being behind a screen (and in the comfort of my home) when taking improv classes, to having a plan before actually quitting my 9-5 job. Feeling safe enough was a key ingredient to me actually doing these things - and this is something we don’t talk about enough. Often times we talk about big moments and end points - the big solo trip, the decision to change careers, breaking out of a 20+ year marriage, etc. but we rarely look at how the emotionality of the individual affected the decision making process. Edges > Comfort zones I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen self-help coaches, leaders etc. talk about the importance of moving outside of your comfort zone - without addressing the key role our nervous system has in making any kind of change. Why I really love the idea of exploring edges (over comfort zones) is because edges allow us to challenge ourselves, but also allow us to access feelings of safety. And safety is the major key to most change because… Our brains are wired for survival. And… there is no biohack or mindset shift that can overcome this lol. When we’re pushing ourselves too fast, too far, or for too long this could result in a signal of danger to the nervous system, and this is when we might enter a stress response - fight/flight/freeze (or more simply - run the eff away from doing something, freak the eff out or shut down). So how can we challenge ourselves while honouring our nervous system? Quite simply - we need to learn how to work with our nervous system by: It’s about cultivating our own feelings of safety because we all have different thresholds. Note for my Toronto peeps - I will be facilitating a creative workshop on Saturday, March 5 in partnership with Gladstone House. The workshop will guide you to explore your personal experience with stress and calm, and identify things that can help you come back to feelings of safety (similar to the process described above). I will announce more details this Thursday on Instagram if you’re interested. Why exploring our edges is important In my own experience and research, we actually need to find (safer) ways to challenge ourselves. Our brains need regular resistance for optimal health (if you’re into brain health - this podcast episode featuring Dr. Tommy Wood was super interesting), and challenging ourselves doesn’t have to be elaborate. Dr. Wood mentioned we only need 15-20 minutes a day of doing something “edgy” to keep our brains happy. Things like learning a new language, skill-based movement (i.e. dancing, balancing, etc.), learning a new instrument, and teaching were some happy brain activities he recommended. OK now that we’ve covered the science, let’s talk about the soul benefits… Meeting our edge not only helps us thrive physically and mentally, but when we allow ourselves to (safely) explore our limits, we begin to build a new awareness and connection to our mind, body and soul… and this often helps us feel and experience new things. And new feelings + experiences = growth. Stay edgy (or not) - I still love you the same, B P.S. I would love to hear from you.
Hit reply and tell me what might have resonated.
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