Monkey Brain

The first morning of training we were told to meet in the Yoga Shala at 7:15 am. Excited and full of energy I showed up ready to GO! Jonah Kest https://www.instagram.com/kestyoga/, one of our Yoga teacher trainers explained that we would be meeting every morning at 7:15 to practice a 30 minute silent meditation. Instantly I panicked and thought "What you talking about Willis?!?" 30 minutes of not moving or speaking? In 50 years of life I do not think I have been still and quiet unless I was sleeping! Even then, I may snore sometimes!

Day 1 of meditation was a challenge because my mind was racing aka "Monkey Brain" with so many thoughts. I kept having to bring myself back to the breathing and slow down my brain. I have to be honest I was thankful for my "Monkey Brain" as it seemed to make the time pass faster.

As the days went on I was learning that the meditation was stillness of the mind like a lake with no ripples. Day 5 was harder than I could ever imagine. My legs fell asleep halfway through and I was trying harder and harder to concentrate on my breathing. I thought for sure these crazy trainers were testing us and and making us sit there for 45 minutes. Jonah is sponsored by Nike so all I could think was "JUST DO IT!" Mental Toughness. I made it as I was constantly saying that Nike slogan until the end of the meditation. It was the same 30 minutes as all the previous days.

Just like any sport we all need to practice mental toughness. Train ourselves to balance the chaos in our heads so we can learn how to stay calm in adverse situations. At the end of the day happiness is truly to find balance within ourselves and melt into it.