Life is turbulent, with a myriad of emotional ups and downs. Sometimes we're on cloud nine, feeling light, happy and free. Those moments are pure bliss! Other times, we find ourselves weighed down by busy minds, never-ending to-do lists, and let's not forget the disappointments from others. Ugh, talk about uncomfortable.

One of the main reasons I do yoga is to practice finding comfort in the discomforts of life. I practice it on my mat so that when life throws junk at me, I can bring what I've practised on my mat into the situation.

Recently, I was talking to a friend about how I was trying to change a habit. Changing habits is no walk in the park, right? It's downright uncomfortable. I tell her, "I’m trying to find comfort within the discomfort of changing this habit". And then it hits me — I'm spouting the same wisdom I dish out when teaching a yoga class. Oh, how I love this!

As I'm guiding a yoga session, whether we're holding a position in yin or slowing down the movement in a flow practice, I often say, "Find comfort in the discomfort", and I wanna break down what I mean by that and provide an example:

Picture yourself in a yoga class. Your mind starts doing its own thing, wondering how much longer you'll be holding the pose, or you're mentally drafting your to-do list. Or, you're in a position that's pushing your body a bit, not painful, it's that good kind of stress for mobility and strength, and your mind is asking to move to the next thing but you know that to make positive change, you need to stick with it a bit longer. It's within these moments that we use the breath and other tools to navigate through these discomforts and bring us back to a state of peace. It's a challenge, but we're working on finding calm in the chaos.

This week I heard an awesome analogy relating to this theme on a podcast by Mel Robbins where she referred to a tornado. In the eye of the tornado, it's calm and still, but around it is turbulent and chaotic. That's what I'm talking about. We aim to be that calm eye in the storm of life — at peace and grounded when life around us is unstable.

Now getting there takes consistent practice. That's the heart of any yoga class. Check out the video below where I demonstrate an exercise (less than 10 minutes, promise!) to practice finding comfort within discomfort. Give it a shot and let's ride out life's storms together!

Take a break and practice finding comfort within the discomfort

Note: you will need to turn up the volume; my AirPods didn't pick up my instruction so the sound is quieter than I'd like it to be.