It sounds very nice, but is that true? What it is about, of course, is that you open yourself up to the beautiful things in life, where that beautiful thing can be interpreted very personally. And while we are sometimes still able to be happy for a while, we quickly return to the order of the day. Still, it doesn’t hurt to take a moment to enjoy something you just saw or something that just happened to you. Really think about it for a moment and feel what it does to you.
“Enjoy!”
Recently someone said in a workshop that we don’t enjoy it anymore, not really. And where everyone had to think of a moment when they had really reflected on a beautiful moment and what had opened the heart, it became seriously quiet. An individual who had an experience where he/she took the time to really enjoy the moment and where the heart opened. Where the train of progress had not immediately started again. And that there are so few of these kinds of experiences is strange, to say the least, in a large group of adults. A large group that says they enjoy life.
Time
Time is relative and taking the time to open your heart and commit to something is actually indicating that you are fully absorbing something. Taking the time for something is feeling, experiencing, doing the best / most beautiful / sweetest, shaping it seriously and all this in the NOW. But not everyone can do that and there are some ways that can help. If you also like to exercise, yoga is a way that can help.
Breathe
It starts at the beginning of everything without breathing there is no life and so it is important that it goes well. It is not self-evident that you breathe well, even though we think so. Learning to breathe again is a bit of an exaggeration, but you can change your breathing quickly, as long as you focus on it.
Stand and breathe deeply through your nose. Feel your body expand and your abdomen expand, then exhale through your nose just a little more slowly (than you inhale). Make sure you learn this and even if it only means practicing for a few minutes every morning, it should become second nature and that means you will repeat it. Only then can it become automatic at some point.
Yoga exercises
Open your body while standing
Stand up straight with your feet directly under your hips. Spread your arms out to the sides with palms up and slowly bend backwards in this position as you inhale. Hold for a moment and on the exhale return to the upright position. Repeat this exercise several times.
Open your body while standing
Sit with your legs straight out in front of you and your back straight. Now first spread your arms on an inhalation with the palms up and slowly bend backwards in the sitting position. As you exhale, return to a straight position. Repeat this exercise several times. You can do
these first two exercises every morning (and you don’t even have to get out of bed earlier). Just open yourself up, as it were, wonderful to do this at the start of the day in combination with correct breathing.
Protect your heart (…don’t close it!)
Stand upright with your feet under your hips and your arms at your sides. As you inhale, cross your arms over your chest and place your hands on your shoulders. As you exhale, come into this position with your upper body forward (keep your legs and upper body straight and gently pull your stomach in a little) and return to your original position. Repeat this position several times and pay close attention to your breathing.
Heroism
Stand up straight and take a big step back with your right foot. Bend your left knee until it is at a 90 degree angle (if it is not in a straight line, seek support from a chair next to you). Now place your palms together at chest height and hold this position for a moment. Return to a straight position and now put your left foot back and repeat the exercise. Repeat the exercise several times on an alternating leg.
Conclusion
These exercises may seem quite pronounced, but experience how you feel in the different postures in combination with correct breathing. If all goes well, these types of exercises will help you open yourself (your heart) (you really don’t have to do ten different exercises for that). It may seem as if you are only concerned with your body, but just see how you feel at any given moment. This goes further than just working with your body, but you won’t know until you apply it. And that’s the nice thing about yoga. Anyone can do it, you are busy in a relaxed way, but it still works. You only notice that later.