Flowing Energy = Ease

Which of these two people looks more relaxed and at ease?  Which looks like they are exerting more energy?  We know from the physical law of inertia that an object in motion stays in motion.  We know from the Wizard of Oz Tin Man that stasis creates rust, immobility and rigidity.  It is probably obvious to us that this is true in terms of moving our bodies.  It is also true of moving our projects, activities, processes, etc.

When we are moving our energy into our desired outcomes and completing the work we intend to, we find our minds are freer and more creative.  We notice that we are more flexible in our reactions, more willing to respond to changes in our environment.  We see and grasp more opportunities.  We get into a flow and find it easy to get work done, see the big picture, move effortlessly from action to action.  Our experience is not mired in stress, fear or doubt.

We get stuck and bogged down when we stop flowing, when we resist.  Inertial law has its converse effect.  An object at rest is hard to move again.  Not the rest and relaxation that we all need.  The rest that is dead weight.  Total stand still.  Refusal and inability to move.  How does that look in our workflows (personal and professional)?  It looks like stubbornness  refusing to listen to feedback from around us (colleagues,  team members, bosses, customers, friends, family, selves, surroundings).  It feels like numbness, withdrawal and dis-ease.

So how do we move back into the natural flow of energy and ease that is the state of engagement and enthusiasm?  One method is the ‘pattern interrupt’.  Do something out of your normal routine.  Walk a different way to work.  Listen to a different radio station in the car.  Change one of your minor habits to get out of the routinized flow.  Another is definitely to get moving physically.  If you are an office worker, get walks at lunch.  There are lots of websites that have simple isometric exercises to do in your chair.  Get flowing to get going!  Another is to engage your mind actively in making clear pictures of your outcomes.  Image in, or imagine, success in your goals.  That way your goals can pull you forward.

One thing I have learned from yoga is that there is a blissful balance between exertion and inner focus that leads to a real experience of flowing ease.  Having recognized that, I find it many other places such as riding a bike, playing tennis, walking.  It is a state of being present in ‘the zone’.  The great thing is that I don’t have to be a yoga master to experience.  Being the student is more than enough.