Your attention please. This is yoga.

I'm planning a house move that means that, if it happens, I commute to the studio rather than amble down Gloucester Road.
 
In the daytime, it seems like a great idea - fun, exciting and I'm motivated to make it happen and make it work (if the house-buying gods align).
 
In the evenings I tend towards doubting that it is a good idea at all and that I should just keep things as they are, sit in front of the TV and eat crisps. 
 
I've learned to ignore thoughts after 7pm that seem like new and worrying ideas. I remind myself that it's too late to evaluate anything constructively, and promise that I'll think about it in the morning when I've got more energy.
 
Invariably, I wake up excited about the idea again and full of energy to do it. 

I think therefore I worry. Especially after 7pm.
​

Focus on your little toes
The skill to be intentional about which thoughts I attend to is  cultivated on my yoga mat.
 
When we take a yoga pose with one leg forwards, and then are directed to pay attention to the sensations of pressure in the little toe on your back foot, there is multi-purpose to this.
 
Initially it might feel impossible. You can't even locate your little toe without looking. But with sustained practice, this will develop into more awareness and less noise without overthinking the instruction.
 
It might require more physical effort to create pressure in that long forgotten little toe. Reminding our limbs and joints to talk to each other and remain intact. 
 
I'm also inviting you to direct your mind to a more focused state and practice becoming more intentional about details within your chosen spotlight.
 
Practice placing attention at will. Yoga is an invitation to practice this regularly so you can get better at it and leave the unhelpful stuff behind. Even if your not successful, the trying counts.
 
Thinking about this little toe instruction is very different from doing it. Knowing that difference is everything.
 
Learning that you often have more agency over your mind than you think you do, is invaluable. 
 
 
Yoga develops discernment
I tend to overthink and drift in a generally negative trajectory when tired.
 
In our yoga we learn to notice our patterns and tendencies so that we can use our minds more skillfully. At first by noticing our toes, but this translates into the rest of the day when we might otherwise be at the mercy of our thoughts if we don't pay closer attention to their patterns. 
 

It improves with practice
This ability to notice thoughts, and sustain and direct attention, doesn't happen right away. At first we simply notice how hard it is to locate our toes, to focus, and how incessant our thoughts are.
 
But this is a brilliant skill worth practicing to help navigate stressful times of change. 
 
Next time I offer the direction to focus on something specific, don't overthink it or tell yourself how boring toes are or how impossible the task is. Actually and intentionally do it. Feel it. How do you know you have a little toe without looking at it? It might feel impossible. The repeated attempts are the work. 
 
It is a fruitful exercise that I find makes my mind less turbulent, and my evenings much more enjoyable.