Where attention goes, energy flows

I recently went on a yoga retreat to the Dominican Republic for 5 days. Now mind you: I am a single mom to 2 elementary school girls with a stretched income, about 1 year out of a marriage that was unhealthy for me. I did not write that last sentence to get a “poor Sofia” reaction from you. But the fact is, I have been through a lot. Making choices for myself now that I have turned towards a new life can be extremely hard.

So I stressed over if I should do this trip. Then once I booked it, I stressed over leaving my kids with my parents. And I stressed over traveling. And I stressed over spending money on myself. I think you get the point.

When I got to our beautiful accommodations, it was a bit of a shock to my nervous system. I realized I felt lost, like I didn’t know what to do with myself, and everything felt unreal.

The next day I could tell I was tense and having trouble letting go and relaxing. This saying popped up into my head: “Where attention goes, energy flows.” I started to unwind. And unwind more, and more. Like a ball of twine tightly wound up but rolling around and coming loose.

I chose to put my attention on my relaxation, giving in to my surroundings. I intentionally made myself lie by the pool. I intentionally made myself eat slow. I intentionally connected with my new friends. Yoga. Yoga is always intentional.

By the time I was home I felt different. It was hard jumping back into reality. But something in me has changed, for the better.

I now know it is ok for me to do things for myself.

That saying of where attention goes energy flows: turns out it is a Tony Robbins quote. But I must have heard it at some point. I am not even a follower of his. Interesting how the mind works, isn’t it?