What’s Your Heart Opener?

Do you have a picture, poem, or podcast snippet you turn to when you need to tune into yourself and open up?
I teach yoga every Thursday night in New York. While riding the subway at rush hour is enough to close anyone up tighter than a cold clam, I knew I needed teach a better class this week. My last class felt unconnected. I had checked emails until five minutes before class and I knew it wasn’t the most “mindful,” thing to do, yet I did it anyway. The class didn’t feel great for anyone, least of all me.
Today, about 30 minutes before class, I parked my butt under a tree and turned to an old favorite, Tony Robbins’ gratitude exercise from Tim Ferriss’ podcast. It’s simple, and takes no more than five minutes. After, I taught one of my better classes. I looked into the eyes of my students and didn’t have the film of distraction or busyness. I got applause and smiles at the end. It felt lighter and more open.
What’s your emergency softener? Something that lets you smile instead of bare your teeth and clench your fists (internally or externally!).
It’s worth the two, ten, or fifteen minutes of effort to allow yourself to ease into the next hour of your life.
