Bow Your Head to Your Heart

I've been thinking a lot lately about...thinking.

Thankfully, we do it quite a bit. We think about how to solve that nasty issue at work. We think about how we are going to coordinate fixing that dent on our car without needing to get a rental. We think about what we are going to eat for dinner. We think about what we are going to do with our lives.

All of that mulling, planning, and ruminating can take a toll on us. Specifically, our guts.

In yoga this week, the instructor was leading us through a gentle neck stretch, and she gave a simple cue: Bow your head to your heart. 

I've had a pretty rough go of it this summer, the majority of it spent on planes and in hotel beds. It has felt like every aspect of my life has come to a screeching traffic jam in the middle of that horrible intersection where five roads intersect and you never know who has the right of way.

An intersection like that requires some thought. Some strategy.

Now this is not a unique problem. I've felt this way before, but everyone has moments - or long pauses - in which they find themselves at an impasse, or at least a crossroads. When we're in high school, we're trying to determine where we should go to college, and then we have to decide what we are going to major in. Then we have to decide what we are going to switch our major to, after the first major doesn't pan out. Then, as soon as it seems like we have our feet under us with a major we actually like, people start asking us about our "plans".

"What are you going to do with that major?"

"Where do you see yourself after you graduate?"

"What are you going to do with your LIFE?"

I have always considered myself as someone who is naturally inclined to trust her gut, but who has learned and been conditioned to think things through logically and methodically. Do you remember when you had to take the Myers-Briggs test to figure out what your personality type is? Well, one question determined that I am "Thinking" and not "Feeling". One question classified me as a brain girl and not a gut girl.

But when my teacher told the class, "Bow your head to your heart," something clicked in my brain. All of the brain work that I have been doing finally created a coherent thought - it's time to take a backseat to your gut right now.

To be fair, I am not advocating brash impulsivity and wanton abandon when I say I'm trying to trust my gut. I am saying that I have learned  to handle times of stress, uncertainty, and possibly chaos, by rationalizing the issue, and creating an actionable and reasonable plan to get to a better place. Now I'm realizing that if I let my head take over for my gut in too many aspects of my life, it's really easy to feel lost. When my gut isn't part of the equation, I have nothing solid to rely on.

Physical health is all about balance - allowing yourself to indulge while also challenging yourself to make smart choices. Knowing that a rest day does the body more good than going hard eight days in a row. Doing tricep dips as well as bicep curls.

I'm learning that your emotional health is also all about balance. Our guts, hearts, and heads all need to work in harmony. When you are dealing with a tough decision, you can make a list of pros and cons that runs a mile down the road. These are good things to consider and a necessary part of any decision making process. But when that list still doesn't sway you, bow your head to your heart. Your heart will tell you what your brain can't.