I like to pick up Master Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras especially when I’m feeling overwhelmed and off-balance.

I can’t think of a better resource to restore my sense of being grounded.  The following verse is resonating with me this week:

Yoga Sutra 1:31
~ Dukha-daurmanasya-angameja-yatva-shvasa-prasvasa viksepa sahabhuvah ~
duhka, grief
daurmanasya, anxiety, worry
angamejayatva, unsteadiness of the body
shvasaprashvasa, irregular inspiration and expiration
visepa-sahabhuvah, (are) accompaniments of distractions

Grief, anxiety, worry, irregular breathing and a feeling of unsteadiness keep us from yoga, or union with the Divine Self.  I usually experience at least one of these feelings everyday — I’m human after all.  It’s a stressful, crazy world we live in, and it’s not slowing down anytime soon.  Work, family and relationships all require attention.   We spend many of our waking hours worrying about the future or past.  And these days, it’s considered normal to experience stress during sleep.  I’m actually busy in my own dreams!

I live in NYC, a place that can exacerbate a feeling of unsteadiness.  Millions of people anxiously scurry from one place to the next…all day, every day.  I sometimes think if I slow down, I’ll get plowed over.  This feeling of never being able to keep up creates anxiety.

Read more here from YOGANONYMOUS and Jen Kluczkowski!