Getting your mind and body into listening and learning mode at the beginning of a lesson can be challenging. As teachers, it's not unusual for us to see clients walking in the door while talking or texting on their cell phones. Mental distractions, tense shoulders, a pulled hamstring, trouble finding a parking space (sorry we don't have more parking!) are all part of normal experience but can also can hinder you from fully dropping into your lesson.
Making the break from ordinary existence to a state where we are as fully present – body, mind & breath - with ourselves requires us to pause. In my teacher training course with Eric Franklin , we opened each day with a one minute exercise. Eric would warn us that it would be the 'hardest exercise you'll do all day". Do you know what we had to do? We had to stand still just to notice what was happening within for 60 seconds. Try it….
This practice of pause-before-go is key in neuromuscular re-education and injury prevention. Once you feel where you are, you are freer to make intentional choices. There are other benefits as well. Jon Kabat Zin , speaker, author of many insightful books on mindfulness including Wherever You Go, There You Are, refers to understanding your capacity for awareness as "falling awake". I encourage you to pause……then fall awake to your full potential!