When a child is first conceived in the womb, the first organ to develop is the heart. This is beautiful to me. God didn’t decide that during our creation, the brain should come first, but instead he designed us so the heart will come first. The brain and the heart are obviously interconnected, just like most everything in our bodies. One needs the other to continue to function, but what I’ve noticed about myself as time goes on and my brain absorbs more information about the world around me, I live less from my heart and more from my head. What I mean by this, is that I don’t always listen necessarily to what my heart is telling me to do, but instead act in a certain way because my brain tells me it’s safer or more logical. However, when I do live from my heart, I’m happier and have more inner peace. Can you relate?
An example of living from my heart in my life right now is completing my yoga teacher training. I’ve had the dream of becoming a yoga teacher for years. Practicing yoga has been a tool for my mental health, increasing my strength, and reconnecting with my body after decades of having negative body image. Becoming a yoga teacher to me, means that I can pass the gift of practicing yoga on to others in the hope that they find their own connection to themselves through the movements and be the bright light in this world that they are meant to be. If you noticed though, my second sentence of this paragraph says, that I’ve had this dream for YEARS. It has been something in my heart and in my head for years, but I just acted upon it in the last few months? Why is that? Well, simply put, I didn’t listen to my heart, I listened to my head. Any time I explored making my dream a reality, I would logic my way out of it. “I can’t be away from my family for 1-2 weeks (200 hours) to complete the training. That’s selfish!” Or “Why would I spend the money on becoming certified as a teacher? Practicing yoga fills my cup enough. That’s a waste” Or “I have a well paying job and don’t need extra income from a side gig.” Gosh, my brain is so annoying sometimes. But then one day, The Practice (https://www.thepracticebuffalo.com), a wonderful yoga studio near my home, advertised that they were offering the 200 hour yoga teacher training certification. My heart beat fast as I read the info and everything in my being lit up. Just like it had many times before when I believed in my dream of becoming a yoga teacher. I told my husband immediately and he said “do it”.
You’d think that right then and there that I would have signed up for the course, right? But I didn’t. I hemmed and hawed for days debating the time away from my family on weekends. I thought “everyone is going to be more experienced than me and I’ll be the weird one who doesn’t know anyone” since it was at a studio that I’d avoided since having kids, knowing that my core strength was weak and the style of yoga practiced there kicks my butt. About a day later, I saw that the studio was hosting an info session on an evening that week for anyone who was interested to ask questions and chat with the teachers. But my heart said otherwise. So I went and within minutes of sitting down in the space that is The Practice and being around the energy of the teachers, along with the other potential teacher trainees, my heart just knew it was right for me. I signed up before leaving that night before my brain could talk me out of it. And I am so thankful that I did because my experience so far has been exactly what my brain didn’t know I needed, but my heart sure knew I did.
One of my favorite yoga teachers from years ago, pointed out to me that I am drawn to heart opening poses (ex: camel pose, bridge, full wheel, dancer). I have noticed that since I’ve started practicing yoga almost daily doing these poses, I’m more likely to consult with my heart, before letting my head decide something. Living from the heart is harder, I will say. It’s more risky because I find myself being more vulnerable with others, building stronger and real relationships, and connecting more with life than I do when I live from my brain. But isn’t that what life should be? Messy and real instead of methodically planned out? (That’s a hard question for me to put out there as a lifelong planner!) It’s not perfect, but I am happier. I’m more balanced. And it feels good inside me. This holiday season may be a great place to reconnect with listening to your heart. Hearts are more open this time of year it seems, so take a chance, and explore it for yourself!
Suggested Journal Reflection:
- Morning: Where in my life can I live more from my heart today?
- Evening: Where did I truly live from my heart today? How did it feel inside my body?
I love how you mention that the heart is developed first. This is something that really makes sense to me the more I think about it. We usually know in our hearts what is good for us, what we want, our real desires and what we love the most. It is usually the things we don’t have to overanalyze with our brain. We just know. Our intuition comes from our hearts I believe. I am working on listening to that more and following my heart more. My brain likes to tell me all the things I should be doing or the things I can do, but I am trying to focus on the things I can put my heart into fully. This means not doing everything I think I should or can be doing at the moment. When I do things from the heart, I have more joy in my life. It can get messy but it also feels like living. The more we think or worry about something fitting into our current story, the less we live it in the moment. If it doesn’t fit, it’ll leave. It won’t work out. We might as well lean into it when we do feel it because even if we use our brains to overthink it…sometimes the same outcome happens anyway. Things have a way of working out or not working out for us. In the end, we end up where we are supposed to be. If we don’t feel that yet, it’s not the end. Our heart helps us enjoy the present no matter what is to come in the future. God is love and faith. Faith helps us feel calm. It makes us feel safe. So maybe it’s about leading with your heart and having faith. ❤
Such a beautiful reflection Brooke! Thanks for sharing. I feel the same “God is love and faith.”