Published: Jan 29, 2016 by Lucy Tennyson
A tale of lost keys
I was just off to my first class of the week when I realised my house keys weren’t in their usual place. A frantic 10 minute fruitless search later, I had to rush out, leaving the door on the latch. On my return, deep breathing and remaining focused on what I had to do kept the rising panic at bay. 20 minutes of patiently retracing my actions earlier in the day, and I found them sitting on top of the rubbish in the bin outside.
Why multi tasking isn’t good for you
Turning to Google, a search revealed ‘The average person misplaces up to nine items a day, and one-third of respondents in a poll said they spend an average of 15 minutes each day searching for items—cellphones, keys and paperwork top the list, according to an online survey of 3,000 people published in 2012 by a British insurance company.’ The good news: ‘everyday forgetfulness isn’t a sign of a more serious medical condition like Alzheimer’s or dementia. And while it can worsen with age, minor memory lapses are the norm for all ages, researchers say … Stress, fatigue, and multitasking can exacerbate our propensity to make such errors.’
Can yoga help?
Stress, fatigue and multitasking are by-products of our modern lifestyles. When I retraced my steps before leaving the house on Monday, I realised just how many things I was trying to do, all at once, during which time, keys in hand, I rushed outside to put a bag in the bin depositing the keys at the same time. During a yoga practice, we aim to focus our attention on one thing: a particular stretch, the position of our feet, our breathing; or perhaps a mantra if we are relaxing. The brain works at its best when we are doing one thing at a time, and immersing ourselves in that activity.
Try doing fewer things, and allow enough time for each activity
oh …. I’ve just realised … I was in the middle of making myself a cup of tea, when I broke off to write this, and now it’s gone cold!
This week’s class - Warrior 2
