Imagining Dilemmas By Louise Applebome

By Louise Applebome

During a recent weeklong staycation at my home in Dallas, I was feeling pressured to come up with a remix for my life and my schedule.

Turned out I got some clarity but didn’t require a major reorg.

Sometimes we just have to get out of our own way to solve or avoid problems…or refrain from imagining dilemmas that don’t exist.

Much of what we gain from an ongoing and intentional yoga practice is a greater ability to cope and pivot with calmness and kindness. 

For me, taking time off for a springtime refresh was definitely needed. 

It gave me energy to tend to domestic “neglect.” I cleaned and beautified the outdoor space on the south side of my house and it’s now the perfect area for enjoying spring here in Texas…while the weather is still nice and the mercury hasn’t climbed up into the hundreds. 

What a joy!

I had also let my office/workspace fall into disarray…so much so that I didn’t even want to go in there. Now it’s freshly painted, adorned with new artwork, and rearranged in a much more user-friendly set-up. It’s also a new joy to be appreciated each day.

So it wasn’t cataclysmic to have felt tired and to have needed a break. It wasn’t time to turn my whole life upside down. It was simply the right and sensible thing to do. It didn’t signify that my life was all out of balance and in need of an overhaul. That’s just irrational thinking. It’s also probably thinking informed and influenced by others’ opinions.

News flash!: Outside judgment and criticism are not the rudders we need to find our way. Especially during the “golden” years. 

Instead, I was reminded just how fulfilling my teaching is. And with teaching comes great responsibility. Students come to my yoga classes for in-depth instruction and support. They attend classes often, in part, because maintaining a practice on their own at home just doesn’t happen. I know that I offer a valuable service to my students. I also know that being of use feels great to the giver as well as to those on the receiving end. I can’t deny that I thrive on that synergy. 

I was also reminded that my volunteer work can be draining. I needed a break. But there, too, I enjoy the synergy of helping others and being in community while also keeping other skills and brainwaves fired up. I know it’s not a good idea to let the mind or the body lay fallow. Both need steady stimulation and activity. 

It’s important to come back again and again to finding “balance.” Being too rigid is stifling. Looking for a black-and-white precise solution is futile. Most segments of our lives fall more into a gray area. Blurry edges can be a good idea. We hear a lot about maintaining boundaries. And, of course, that’s important in our relationships and drive to stay sane. But sometimes porous boundaries and greater flexibility are a better answer.

Now that I’ve put teaching and volunteer work back onto my calendar, and I’m accountable for “showing up” and taking some aspects of my life very seriously, I’m so glad and so lucky to have the breadth of dimensions in my life that I do. And along with that renewed appreciation and gratitude, I can also see what needs a bit of tweaking (minus any catastrophizing) and fine-tuning, so that I can continue to give generously of my time, spirit, and energy to others, and do the same for myself.

Namasté

Louise Applebome, 69, is a Certified Yoga Instructor in Dallas. After “retiring” from a vibrant and varied professional career, she became a yoga teacher. She teaches all her classes on Zoom right now and accepts students, young or older, from wherever they are, both geographically and in their pursuit of a yoga practice. Louise will help you stay fit and flexible, and release tension, aches & pains from the body…and the mind. Her yoga studio in Dallas is del norte yoga. You can reach out to her at [email protected].