Practicing Pause

I feel like I have been in a pause for the last three days. My body has made a strong request for me to pause. Last Saturday I awoke with a sore throat. I knew right away the events and actions I had taken that led me into the state I was. I told myself to stay cool, made a batch of turmeric tea and took off to teach two classes that morning. Afterward I came home with a chill. I went to bed straight away and covered myself with four thick blankets. I rested, sweated, fasted and drank a lot of turmeric tea. Again, the next day I told myself to stay cool, drank more tea and taught another class. I did the same thing the day after. However, after the Monday night class I lost my voice. I had no choice but to stop. The next day I scrambled to get most my classes for the rest of the week covered.

So, here I am sitting on a couch covered with the new bamboo chenille throw I gave to my partner as a x'mas gift. And pondering about the art of pausing. Another interesting event which has nothing to do with my sore throat was that a friend of mine sent me three emails in a row a few days back. Each subsequent note expressed greater emergency. Had I stopped teaching and rested the first day I felt ill would I still be suffering now or as much? Would my friend feel better if she had stopped and waited for my answer after sending her first email?

Often when I teach yoga, I invite participants to create space. Meaning to move slow and to gently expand and stretch physically, emotionally and mentally. This process is identical to pausing. Because when you pause you ease or completely remove yourself from an urgency mode. You actually slow down. This slowing down give you the creative space you need for right actions or no action. I have a feeling that half or more of what I have done in life were not necessary. Like the two extra emails my friend sent me, I have done the same many times. Living fast is opposite to living smart. You can either slow down now or you are forced to slow down later. One is savoring, the other is suffering. Pause and choose.