It’s summer, and not only are temperatures rising but so can tempers. With summer comes family vacations, trips to theme parks and trips to visit other family. The saying “patience is a virtue” could never be truer.
Things requiring our patience include: waiting in a long line; traffic; visiting family; waiting for an important call or email; waiting for a late friend or business associate for a meeting; waiting for a delayed plane, train or bus; waiting for a child to express what they want or finish what they are saying; and managing a child that does not want to go to bed or take a bath or eat their food.
Research supports patience is not something we are born with, rather it is something we learn.
Yoga has been a tremendous vehicle for me to learn patience in my life. I still remember my first yoga class- my feet, hot and sweaty, were slipping on the mat in a yoga pose in which I was trying to look good. As I followed the instructor’s many verbal cues: “square your hips, turn your back foot at a 45 degree angle, make sure your front knee is not over your ankle, reach your arms up... and breathe”, I really wondered when I was going to experience the calm everyone talked about!! After ten years of practice, I feel I’ve come a long way and I still find patience is the key to my practice.
I find the patience I practice in yoga follows me off the mat and in the grocery line, in traffic, waiting for someone to get back to me or even teaching a yoga class with several chatty kids.
Here are some ways to practice Patience:
- Take deep breaths.
- Count to ten.
- Practice patience in small increments (either by time such as 5 minutes, the drive from home to office (one day), and/or standing in a line). As you reach those milestones you can gradually build on them.
- Practice empathy. Depending on the situation, imagine yourself in the other person’s shoes. This is a good one to practice with family.
- Notice how your body feels when you are not experiencing patience as well as when you are. Use this information as cues to practice patience.
- Resist the impulse to finish another’s sentence. By listening fully we show our respect and let the other person know they are worthy of our time.
- Give yourself plenty of time to get somewhere.
- Read a magazine instead of watching the clock when at a doctor’s appointment.
- Only do one thing at a time.
Patience is a change in attitude and without patience we experience frustration, become easily annoyed, bothered, irritated and angry. With patience, we become more accepting of what is and we experience ease and a sense of peace.
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