A literal change in perspective

I’m a big proponent of yoga blocks.

Using them doesn’t make you any less of a yogi. They’re not a hindrance. Quite the opposite, actually. They help you create more space, which is the actual intention of yoga: To create space in the body, and mind.

Blocks bring the earth closer. Allow for more grounding and trust in your practice. I use them primarily on days I want to get extra deep in some of my muscles and joints. When you’re this close to the full expression of the asana (pose / posture), blocks help you get there.

It’s been a tense, busy, heavy couple of weeks. I can very much tell when I get caught up going through the motions and neglecting to pause to get out of my head. (Meditating, yoga, journaling, writing.)

It’s so easy for me to get stuck in this loop: “I just have to get through this one thing. I’ll do the bare minimum of showing up for myself, for now. Then things will calm down, and I can get back into my routine.”

Spoiler alert: There’s always going to be “this one thing.” ALWAYS. And most often, it won’t only be one thing; it’ll be like 27.

My mind was very tightly wound last week, this loop on repeat. But I did decide one morning I was going to force myself to pause and get on my mat, even if for only a few moments.

Like my mind, my body was also tightly wound. I knew it would be a deep stretch blocks day.

I rolled the mat onto the living room floor, and went to grab my blocks. Only, they weren’t in their normal spot.

“Of course,” I said aloud to myself.

I walked through the house looking for all of the normal places I tend to carelessly drop things, and forget their location. (ADHD brain, hi.)

No sign of them.

I took another lap, and still…nothing. By this point I was so anxious and frustrated, my hands fully clenched.

“FINE. I’ll just do it without them!”

*Insert the really angry orange-faced emoji saying all of the swear words.

I placed my body and frustration on the mat.

Deep breath in, failed attempt to breathe angst out.

I accepted that it would just continue to be one of those days, and continued wrestling with my mind as I moved from pose to pose.

Then, a moment so simple, yet remarkable.

I was in humble warrior pose; here’s a visual:

As my head was turned upside down, gazing through my legs, eyes looking for a spot to focus on to assist with balance, I saw them: my blocks.

Shoved under the coffee table.

I plopped onto my butt, and laughed out loud.

With a literal change in perspective — my head flipped upside down — I found what I was looking for.

The reminder was welcomed with open arms: When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.

And for me, when I’m in these spirals of anxiety and overthinking, my greatest weapon is my curiosity. My inner Alice saying to me, “Tori, stop taking everything so seriously. Remember this is all just one big adventure. Stay playful and open.

And flip your damn head upside down from time to time.”

Curiously,
Tori