Apr 28

Apr 28 Diving into the Unknown

Hi, I’m Liz Moser, and I'm a Mayo Clinic Certified Wellness coach.

Today I want to take you to my yoga studio. Yes, welcome to Sun Room Yoga!

You’re right; it does look a lot like my recording studio, where I shoot my weekly videos; however, it's also where I ZOOM into my daily yoga classes.

And it’s my office, my reading nook, where I meditate sometimes and my happy place in general.

So, welcome to Sun Room Yoga!

Today I have a little yoga wisdom I want to share with you, inspired by my insightful teacher, Michelle.

After Michelle warms us up with some floor poses, or asanas, we end up at the top of our mats in Tadasana or mountain pose.

Then she invites us to reach our arms up to the sky looking between our hands and as we sweep our arms wide bending at the waist into a forward fold or Uttanasana,

Michelle pronounces, “And now we are diving into the unknown.”

Every forward fold in yoga class is a dive into the unknown. And we do 20 or so of these during every yoga session!

As I dive into the unknown, I close my eyes, get a huge smile on my face, imagine my arms are wings, and I’m souring over a cliff catching an updraft of air.

My unknown in yoga class is a triumphant flight over the earth. I choose that uplifting image of souring instead of plummeting like a stone. Ha! That’s my choice!

This week inspired by diving into the unknown in yoga, I’m exploring a new routine.

Every morning at 5 am as I wake and put my feet on the ground as I dive into the unknown of a new day. I’ve started to declare, out loud, “Today is going to be a great day!”

Today Is Going to Be a Great Day.

I then take my gratitude journal and write today is going to be a great day.

And I list three reasons why.

Quick side note: Despite the positive psychology research (for more details, check out my video and blog My Happiness Hack) showing that we need to periodically change our wellbeing habits because we become immune to their effects over time, I ignored that advice. For the past 2 ½ years, I wrote in the morning and evening in my gratitude journal, 'I'm grateful for' and listed three things.

Now, as of this week, I tweaked that habit and started writing:

Today is going to be a great day because, and I’m still jotting down three things.

A sample of what I wrote this week is:

Today is going to be a great day because I have plenty of food to eat.

I have an exciting book to read.

My toastmasters’ group is meeting today on ZOOM, and I love them!

Today is going to be a great day because I am going to call some of my friends while I take a walk outside.

Then at night instead of writing, ‘I am grateful’ and listing three things I now write:

What went well today? And I list three things.

A sample of what I wrote this week:

I ate three delicious and nutritious meals. Great job!

I spent time in my cozy sun room reading. That went well!

I laughed and had fun at Toastmasters while supporting a friend who gave a speech. Woot!

I took a long walk and spoke to a bunch of friends while enjoying the sunshine and blue sky.

Diving into the unknown is a daily occurrence in normal times, and now is far from normal. We’re diving into the unknown on steroids! Every single day!

I’m curious, how are you reacting to the unknown?

With wings outstretched soaring like an eagle? Are you greeting it with excitement, and positivity? Or are you facing it with anxiety and fear?

I get it. To a certain extent, we're all swinging back and forth between anxiety and excitement, sometimes feeling both at the same time. It can be confusing because both of those emotions are cortisol based, and they feel similar in the body.

At times it’s difficult to discern one from the other, and honestly, it can come down to a conscious choice to feel the more positive emotion excitement while letting go of anxiety.

Part of choosing excitement over anxiety is cultivating routines such as my new habits of starting the day with the declaration that today is going to be a great day and then listing three reasons why it will be amazing while ending the day with three things that went well.

I’m Liz Moser, a Mayo Clinic Certified Wellness Coach, please share in the comments:

How are you diving into the unknown with outstretched wings?

How are you having a great day?

And,

What’s going well for you?

Thanks for reading this blog and if you have any questions about this blog, or if you have any questions about health and wellness or wellness coaching with me, please contact me through my website at lizmosercoaching.com