Stay curious

“Be infinitely flexible and constantly amazed.”
-Robert Birnberg

When we are walking in the darker moments of life. The challenges. The heartaches. The grief. The loss. Its hard to believe. It seems almost impossible to think or feel like there are possibilities for us to feel good, happy and full of life again.

Yoga for me has been a journey of self discovery while in relation to other humans and the planet around me. I mean this in a very practical experience not a woo-woo, somewhere out there kind of way. For me, it’s a daily practice of physical postures linked to breath (connecting to my body and my breath), it’s meditation, journaling and reading. While doing each of these I am in a process of curiosity (something my cousin and a great psychotherapist taught me). I stay curious about how my body is responding to my physical movement, am I staying connected to my breath? Am I struggling to focus in my mediation or does it come with ease? In my journaling I am asking “where are you at?” and “what do you need?” “what emotions are coming up for you today?” “what thoughts are you ruminating on?” “what is your body telling you?”

As I have asked myself these questions for many years now, I am able to extend this curiosity to others more freely. That’s curious that that person lashed out at me, I wonder what is going on for them. My best friend asked me yesterday “why do you always put yourself in the other persons shoes? Why is it part of your process to see the world from their perspective?” I got curious about myself when she asked that question. Why do I want to understand how the other person might be thinking? It’s a process for me to evaluate when making a decision - am I trying to control this situation or person or am I setting a healthy boundary? It’s staying curious to my motivations.

How can you be curious about yourself today? How can you be curious about others?