The Tools In My Toolbox

If you are one of my yoga students, you may have heard my story about the time I got into a car accident. It was dusk in the Spring and I was driving on Rte. 32 going 55 mph. A deer came out of nowhere and hit my car. My car was completely crushed. I pulled over and noticed that my heart was racing. I also noticed that my body was beginning to tense. So, I started practicing Nadi Shodhana, an alternative nostril breath great for relaxation. I felt my body relax and my heart-rate slow down. Then I called the police and a tow truck. Everyone who saw my car, the police officer, the tow truck driver and later the insurance claims adjuster were shocked that I hadn’t seriously injured myself. I know it was the pranayama (yogic breathing) that helped me to conscientiously relax that prevented me from being hurt.

I have been practicing Nadi Shodhana daily for many years. It is one of the tools in my toolbox. Because I practice it daily, I can pull it out of my toolbox in times of stress or emergency and it helps to ground and center me.  I have other tools as well, relaxation techniques, meditations and yogic breathing that help me. I am incredibly grateful for these tools.

The thing about tools is you have to know how to use them. The more you practice the easier it is to access the benefits. A technique becomes a tool when you know it inside-out. This comes from consistent practice. If you use it once in a while it will not be as effective if you are amped up on adrenaline or triggered into fight-or-flight. 

I love teaching my students these tools because they are incredibly valuable. Yoga is really a science. Long-ago the yogis examined and reflected on themselves. Today, science is proving that these time-tested  tools are effective. 

Watch my instructional videos: breathing, meditation and guided relaxation.