how do you decide? 5 ways yoga makes sure you got it right

The Stress of Decision Fatigue

​When it comes to making decisions, big or small, have you ever felt overwhelmed by the number of choices you face daily? Right or left, yes or no, stay or go, act or not. Constantly deciding which path to take can exhaust you without you even realizing it. No wonder you feel depleted at the end of the day! 

Wouldn’t it be nice to release the weight of deciding for ourselves…. but also still decide for ourselves? 

Here’s a story that highlights decision-fatigue: 

I recall my immigrant dad telling me of the day he first walked into a supermarket in America. The sheer volume of cereal options was too much. And then in the next aisle, the numerous choices for a can of beans…..oy! He left without getting his groceries. While it might’ve been less stressful to have one cereal and one can of beans, we do gratefully have and want the options– but this illustrates how overwhelming it can be trying to pick the right ketchup, much less the rest of your day!
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Moral of the story: we want options, just not the stress of decision-making.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Decision-making, even for mundane matters, can accumulate and cause anxiety and stress. While some choices are easy and instinctive, others will cause minor agony or demand mental effort. Thankfully, there are those moments when you feel confident and content with your decisions. It’s this experience we are striving for to empower confidence and satisfy the soul.

So how do we get there? 

THE YOGA ANSWER

We all know that yoga serves to increase flexibility and balance, reduce anxieties, and induce calm. It may seem obvious that deciding from a less anxious, more calm space will help you. But, it’s more than that….. Did you know that yoga can strengthen your mental-emotional health, particularly your decision-making skills? 

As a lifelong, self-help junkie, yoga was not on my radar as a way to reduce the stress of uncertainty and self-animosity, until way into my adulthood. I discovered this benefit quite by accident – or perhaps it was divine intervention. 

A few weeks into the practice of kundalini yoga, I was surprised to experience a clarity and lightness that allowed previously-persistent worries and woes to dissipate seemingly overnight. Worrying about all the things that can go wrong makes it really hard to make sensible decisions. Indeed, you heed the fears and decide protectively….often leaving you with a feeling of loss, misalignment, dissatisfaction, and sadness sensing opportunities were missed. Do you know this feeling?

So what was this kundalini yoga? How did it make such dramatic changes for me?

The Power of Kundalini Energy.
Kundalini yoga is known as ‘the yoga of awareness’. The kundalini refers to a latent energy that sits at the base of your spine and represents your unmanifested potential. Through the practice of kundalini yoga, you awaken this energy to coil up your spinal channel, stimulating your body’s main energy centers along the way. These are known as your chakras. 

Imagine. Your lowly, dormant potential…..suddenly awake with expansive possibility! 

Like having been imprisoned in a small area, not even realizing there was more out there. Waiting. For you.

I believe that we know deep down when we’re being stifled. We have an inner sense that we’re deciding from incomplete information. We hesitate to decide because there’s an inner resistance. Often this happens because we are inadvertently going against the natural rhythms of life and of our own alignment; the modern world doesn’t really support this. 

We humans are great at disrupting natural rhythms with our mental clutter – manipulations, distortions, and justifications. Technological inventions play a role in this (--and this is not to say we should deny electricity or computers!). We are intelligent and capable of enjoying ‘advancements’ AND being conscious of the impact it has on the natural order…and on us. It’s about balance.

This is where tapping into and aligning our energy helps us. It’s the power of our expanded awareness and connection to a divine source.

Image by Dee from Pixabay

Your Divine Intuition.
Picture the sun, the moon, the stars, the rotation of the planets, nature….a seamless, harmonious flow. It knows what to do, when. And it acts on it.

This divine wisdom resides within each of us as well. Raising our kundalini energy and maintaining the practice balances, nourishes, guides and supports our highly-intuitive sense of Self. With this elevated energy, we begin to know what is aligned for us and to trust it.

Energy in Thought & Being.
We are all energy, even our thoughts. Negative thoughts, toxic stress and paralyzing uncertainty manifest as blocked energy. When we practice yoga, we practice controlling our breath through pranayam (breathing exercises). This practice helps us to be with our thoughts consciously, both on and off the mat. 

Here’s another image: picture a boulder in a river. A bit of “normal”, stressful thoughts around decisions is like smaller rocks that the water finds its way around and smooths the rocks’ edges as it does. It adds attention, dimension and beauty. This is healthy stress.

When the stone is huge and blocks much of the flow, it creates a back-up and effectively stops movement. The energy is pressurized, uncomfortable and overwhelming. This type of stress around decision-making will create blockage and impact your overall health, much less leave you undecided.

Credit Unknown

Mindful movement and breathwork creates more room for flow and breaks down what’s no longer serving us. 

5 WAYS YOGA MAKES SURE YOU GOT IT RIGHT

Circling back to decision-fatigue and my father’s grocery store experience, when I occasionally fall back into that sort of dizzying decision vector, I know to go to my practice. Find a meditation or a kriya that clears the confusion and tames the overwhelm.
 
Here are 5 ways that my yoga practice serves me in making confident, energized decisions:

1. It allows me to Tune In. I am prompted to be fully present and listen deeply within. It centers me and reminds me that I am connected to a divine source and the answers are inside me.
2. It Aligns me. Energetic alignment is like going to the chiropractor and straightening out the kinks. No more bottlenecks, just the ease and flow of answers that align with my truth. Life feels open to possibility and abundance. I expand.
3. It builds Trust. If I feel supported and connected by a greater power, it is easy to trust in my decisions, knowing it is the right one no matter what. When you know, you know!
4. It helps you Let Go. The thought of making a “wrong” choice hinders the process of deciding. Being able to let that thought go, trust the intuitive wisdom and accept the natural flow of life frees me from doubt.
5. You become Fearless. All of the above allows me to develop a love for my mistakes and challenges because I trust that they came to me as a teacher. A lesson that I needed. And so, I decide and I fear less.

Yoga opens, nurtures and empowers this elevated level of mental strength, fortitude, and trust to fearlessly decide and know it’s right.

I hope this offers you some measure of greater confidence. Decide heartily and wholly and live in your truth– it won’t tire you out!

What are you deciding on today? Does your answer come with ease and flow –and from the heart?

Divinely yours,
Anna SachKiret

PS. Is decision-fatigue a thing for you? How do you combat it, if so? If not, what supports your process? Hit "reply" or "comment" below the post-- I'd love to hear from you!