Butting Heads Have you ever pressed the gas pedal in your car only to find the car won’t move? So you push on the gas again, a little harder this time. Still the car won’t move much. Then you either push the gas again, even harder or you pause for a moment only to realize that your emergency brake is on. So you release the brake and move forward with ease and efficiency.
For more details on our products and services, please feel free to visit us at Yoga for athletes, Dance teacher training & Yoga for dancers “Accept – then act. Whatever the present moment contains accept it as if you have chosen it. Always work with it not against it.” — Eckhart Tolle The emergency brake is there to ensure that the car stays put. To resist any external force that may propel your vehicle in any undesirable direction. It is used to keep the car stationary. At times the resistance created by the brake is very desirable but when you are ready to move forward you have to release the brake. Of course you could choose to keep the brake on but it would definitely get in the way of ease and efficiency and over time would wear the brakes out. Resistance is the ability to prevent something from having an effect. In the case of the car the brake was resisting the force generated by pressing the gas in an effort to move the vehicle forward. Of course, the emergency brake is a fantastic feature when needed. At times it helps to ensure the safety of the vehicle and anyone in or around it. But if you can’t release the brake it will hold you back from moving forward. Much like the car we (human beings) also have an “emergency brake”. It is called your nervous system. One of it’s main roles is survival optimization. And one of its main goals is to reduce surprise and optimize actions. It does this through the sympathetic nervous system with the “fight, flight or freeze” response. This reaction is a form of resistance to ensure survival. And was meant to heighten in times of perceived danger and chill out when life is comfortable and familiar. It prefers the comfortable and familiar. Therefore, resistance to change and the uncomfortable is part of our biological makeup. Much like the emergency brake on your car the sympathetic nervous system can greatly hold you back and definitely wear you out if it is left in its heightened state most of the time. First, understand that this is a primitive response to ensure survival in a primitive world. The ability to sense and react to change, generated by fear, ensured survival in a primitive world. But you don’t live in a primitive world anymore yet you are dealing with a primitive system. One that can greatly hold you back from experiencing life and your fullest potential. So what do you do? Accept the fact that you are wired to resist change. Once you acknowledge and accept this you can now take action. Now this is a lot easier said than done. And if you choose the path of growth and progression don’t be surprised when you find yourself resisting change and seeking comfort and familiarity. When this happens accept it, listen to it and then take action. At times that action will be to seek comfort and familiarity at other times it will be to step out of your comfort zone.