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Tapping into your Freedom to… Shifting the Mindset
May 22, 2009
Yesterday I did something I haven’t done in a long time. Come to think of it, maybe I have never done it before. Perhaps that explains why I loved it so much. After enjoying a refreshingly vigorous mid-morning Yoga practice downtown, I leisurely strolled over the Brooklyn Bridge. I made sure to stop, like all of the tourists, and gaze up at the skyline awestruck from each and every viewpoint. I then wandered over to DUMBO and sat in Brooklyn Bridge Park for hours, observing and reflecting amidst a backdrop of picturesque NYC scenery. Sitting in my favorite grassy patch at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge, my bare feet in between blades of vibrant green grass, sun shining down warmly on my shoulders, humming along to my iPod, I started to pen this article in my journal. For those that don’t know, yesterday was quite possibly the most perfect day of the year here in NYC, and certainly the best day in a long time. There was not a single cloud in the sky and the temperature spiked to the low 80s with virtually no humidity, a rarity around here. The pictures above are a couple of the many that were captured from my blackberry cam. During this amazing day I had the opportunity to really think. I spent much of my time contemplating the difference between freedom from and freedom to. On the surface the two concepts may seem to be the same and many of you will already be dismissing this as mere semantics. If you crack the surface and delve deeper, you will notice that the thoughts come from two very different places. We all know that where and how you start has a great impact on where and how you end.
Let’s take a step back for a moment and use me as an example. For those of you that don’t already know, I worked in Finance for ten years and recently decided to leave that world (yes, shocking as it may seem, it was completely my own choice). I left to fully focus on my true passions - Yoga and Holistic Health Counseling. You could say I am free from the corporate enslavement, the constraints and restraints of Wall Street, the gender disparities I was confronted with on a daily basis and the stressful lifestyle that went along with it. You could also say I choose the freedom to follow my dreams, live a fulfilled life, seek out and reach for the things that will make me happy and give me a sense of purpose in the world. Freedom from toxic, overly structured dogmatic life vs. freedom to create my own structure in a way that suites my needs and wants. The difference is who has the power. We almost never express freedom from in regards to something that was positive, unless we are being snarky about our significant others or things we thought we wanted and found to be surprisingly unfulfilling. Living in the freedom to, I have the power in my life, I am driving the bus – whatever kind of driver I might be and as you probably know, I am not the greatest driver in the most literal sense. I could easily craft a very lengthy list of what I am free from doing but true happiness will never follow that. Focusing on what I am free to do – travel, practice Yoga, teach Yoga, explore NYC, truly be present in each moment, observe and appreciate my surroundings, read, learn, study, experience and so much more. This I believe, is my path to happiness and fulfillment and it could be yours too. Just to clarify, I am not saying to forget all past life experiences. We certainly want to have a remembrance of our past, the lessons we have learned and the journey we took that lead us to where we are today. Beginning that next step on the positive thought of freedom to, can make all of the difference on the eventual outcome.
Freedom from implies that something negative preceded what is happening now, whether it was oppression, the need to escape or desire to get out. Don’t get me wrong, this may all be quite true, but looking at life in this way can be very disempowering. A positive event in our lives gets tainted and distorted by something less glorious that came before. It gives away that there was something that restrained you, something that had a firm grasp on you. Maybe you were under the thumb of someone or something, you let it dictate your path and now it choose to throw you off in another direction. The current economic environment has forced many of us to confront these issues head on whether we wanted to or not. So many are so unhappy because they are dwelling on what they don’t have anymore, what they are missing is the opportunity to see the possibilities of what could lay ahead of them.
Freedom to starts from a place of empowerment and personal choice. It was something you actively and knowingly sought to engage in. You are free to enjoy, love and live your life in whatever way serves you best. You are the catalyst in our own life, an active participant, you are driving the metaphoric bus, external factors are not the determinate of the outcome and you are not just getting swept along in the current. You are declaring - I choose freedom, I choose possibilities, I want to feel, to observe and to experience what comes my way. This place of choice can be a very dangerous place if you don’t pick wisely, so give ample thought to what you do and the potential outcomes.
The difference between freedom from and freedom to is very simply your own mindset. Shifting this mindset can alter your impressions and outcomes greatly in many situations. Just try this simple exercise during the course of a routine day and notice how differently you may feel. Switch your thoughts and sentences from what you are free from to what are you free to. Are you free from work at the end of the business day or are you free to go out to dinner and a movie with friends? Are you free from school for the summer vacation or are you free to go to the beach and catch up on your pleasure reading? Are you free from having to deal with your significant other when she/he leaves on that business trip or are you free to enjoy some quiet alone time and a watch a TV show that only you would enjoy? Is a wealthy and privileged individual free from the afflictions of poverty and suffering in the world or are they free to make an impactful difference on society by helping others? Is an addict free from abusing drugs or alcohol or are they free to really be present, to enjoy and to appreciate everyone and everything in their life? Simply shifting your perception at the onset can both alter your the experience and the outcome. Imagine how the above scenarios could play out differently based on the originating mindset?
Now let’s bring this concept into our Yoga practice. In our asana practice we often pray for freedom from tight hamstrings, bad knees, weak arms or unsteady legs. Try going into your next class with the thought that you have the freedom to try something new, feel the practice in a different way, to go deeper in the postures and to have a more profound experience. Relinquish the thoughts of freedom from tightness, weakness, negativity and what you cannot do. Open up to the possibility of the freedom to be flexible, strong, positive and open to what you can do. After genuinely shifting this mindset notice the difference in how you think and feel after class. Often times the impression we have of a particular class is clouded by our mindset when we entered the room. There have been times I have thought Wow! That was the best class I have ever been to! Was the teacher a magical Yoga genius with perfect music, timing and sequencing? It’s possible. Or maybe it was because I entered the room open – open to the possibilities, free to truly experience and appreciate whatever was to come, free to be present. As for those less amazing classes – were those bad teachers? Maybe. Or maybe I entered the room preoccupied in my own thoughts of what I had not done, could have done, should have done and would be doing after class. I was not truly present but focusing on all of the things I was free from for that short time. Subconsciously, if not consciously, this led to me to feeling guilt over it and loosing focus and appreciation. Whether it is on or off the mat, try shifting from yourself away from freedom from the woes of the past towards the freedom to overcome your challenges and experience new and exciting things in your future. You never know - it just may shift your perspective and view on the world as it did mine.
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