01. MY THREE POSITIVES.
1. The seminar - something changed inside me again.
2. The good weather.
3. The vacation helped me recover.
02. MY REFLECTIONS AND DISCOVERIES.
In conflict situations, and not only conflict ones, people tend to act in a formulaic way.
For example, someone pushes you, and a reflexive reaction occurs, such as getting indignant, fighting back, hiding, etc.
Almost without thinking, you react immediately, and then you can wonder if you did the right thing.
Apparently, this speed is, or was, important before, for survival, for example, but now it's not always appropriate.
But the problem is that it's difficult to control such a reaction; before you have time to think, you've already reacted.
Practice is needed.
At the seminar, we practiced praktishakti bhavana, and I remembered another approach, from the books of my favorite psychologist.
Imagine this: you're riding the subway, minding your own business, when an angry woman passes by, accidentally bumps into you, and instead of apologizing, she curses you for not being there, glaring at you with hatred.
Your instinct is to tell her what you think of her, what she needs to do, and where to go, but you could try to understand her, to figure out why she's reacting this way.
A happy person doesn't usually behave like this. She's probably struggling with something—work, relationships, health, hormones, etc. Maybe she just found out her husband is cheating, got fired, or something else. Or she's been squeezed by the unbearable daily grind, and her patience is running out.
If she tells you the story that led up to this moment, you'll likely sympathize with her and try to calm her down.
If you don't sympathize yet, imagine that this is someone close and dear to you, like your mother, who's been pushed to her limits. If you were in her shoes and experienced the same events, you would probably have acted the same way, or maybe even worse.
And from an anatomical perspective, when trying to understand someone else, we engage the neocortex more; our reactions aren't as fast, but they're more thoughtful and accurate.
03. MY YOGA INSPIRATION FOR THE WEEK.
Morning practice
04. MY GRATITUDE AND PRAISE.
To those administering exams
05. I WANT TO PRAISE MYSELF.
Finally made it to the in-person class on Monday.
06. PERSONAL YOGA PRACTICE FOR THE WEEK.*
Hatha, Kriya, Mantra, Pranayama - every day
07. DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING.*
Lots of material