Fight Procrastination With Yoga
When you stand in a hot studio panting, dripping sweat, ready to leave; when every muscle in your body is telling you to quit, a small part of your brain called the amygdala has fired on. This tiny muscle unknowingly guides your every impulse and action. It is responsible for one thing: telling you to quit even when you know you should keep going.
The amygdala is a small structure at the dead center of the brain that regulates emotional reactions and detects oncoming danger. It is also where our brain deals with fear responses. When you hear a loud noise behind you and automatically turn around to see the commotion, it is your amygdala keeping you aware of potential harm. While fear is perfectly normal, an overactive amygdala will not allow you to move forward for fear of the consequences. This is where procrastination thrives. We get the temporary relief of avoiding our problems, but when that big project is due, the outcome is often worse than it would have been if you had started sooner in the first place. After procrastinating this way repeatedly you will condition your amygdala to repeat these same steps every time, because there is a scary outcome. The key to breaking this cycle of procrastination is ignoring your amygdala, being afraid and moving forward anyways. An amazing activity that will improve your ability to shut your amygdala off is hot yoga.
Hot yoga is an amazing workout, but even more so it is an exercise in mental determination. As everything is telling you to quit, you continue anyways. In this act you are defying your amygdala! And everytime you do it, it will get easier and easier to ignore the negativity it imposes on your life. In yoga you must tell yourself one simple thing: “I can.” That is a doctrine that you can take into every aspect of your life. Whether it is a daunting project at work or a difficult conversation with a loved one, exercise telling yourself that everything will be alright, that you are capable, that you can. Each time you choose to listen to the voice ringing out “Keep Going,” instead of your amygdala echoing in the shadows, you are getting better at persevering through any hardship you may have formerly avoided. Each time you step onto the mat you actively make the choice to celebrate your “I can.”
This year say SCREW YOU to all the people who say you can’t do it, even yourself. Step onto your mat, inhale deeply and say, “I’ve got this.”