Yoga was on my list of things to do before I die. All I needed was a little more time to fit it in my already busy schedule.
Sound familiar?
My children decided that they had heard enough of this. So with love in their hearts and a giant Tootsie Roll-shaped package in their hands, I was now the proud owner of the yoga basics: bag, mat, and schedule of classes. So off I went attending my first class in early January.
What a life-changer— benefits galore, physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. But the real surprise was that yoga is so connected to what I do for others. As a Certified Life Coach and Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner, I do Core Energy Coaching which is a unique process based on Seven Levels of Energy/Potential; seven ways to choose to be, seven options for responding to any situation.
The following illustrates the correlation and how we choose to use our energy.
Upon first introduction to yoga, people have a tendency to be more in their heads with how to “do” the various poses. One has to think about moving— think about breathing. There may be thoughts of worry or embarrassment along with a need to do it right. Mental comparisons of people’s abilities and people’s bodies might show up, triggering insecurities— even possibly intimidating us with thoughts of, “I can’t do this; maybe I don’t belong.” There is more reactiveness to what is occurring than responsiveness.
Similarly, my clients, after taking the EL Index, learn their percentages of energy in the lower levels of the seven where these same thoughts and beliefs of self-judgment, doubt, worry, frustration, and a sense of “not good enough” reside, they learn how reactivity exists there. It becomes obvious how that limits potential and negatively affects both personal and professional life.
As the practice of yoga continues to develop, a shift occurs toward greater consciousness; less doing and more being. It is choosing the opportunity to join the energy of mind and body through a variety of asanas and to experience the physical and emotional sensations. Judgment of self and competition with others now disappear from this peaceful, yet powerful environment. And although capabilities vary, there is a shared desire that all can enjoy and benefit to the greatest extent possible.
As my clients achieve greater awareness in the Core Energy process, that same shift of energy occurs. A state of being becomes more desirable and productive than a state of doing. There’s an understanding that our decisions, large or small, are made by joining thoughts, feelings, and intuition. One chooses how to respond, not react, and views everything in life, including challenges, as opportunities. Compassion and acceptance for others resonate at these levels replacing judgment, doubt and blame.
Deeper into the practice, the energy of yoga transcends to being the postures, being the breathing, being the meditation, and accessing that state of being at any time. There are no thoughts of past or future; only the present moment exists. And paramount to the experience is the clear understanding and appreciation for the relationship between the earth and all that inhabit it.
Along the same lines, I teach that the choice to live at the highest-energy-levels creates a synthesis, a “what’s right” philosophy, instead of “what’s wrong.” This is where creative wisdom occurs, where being one’s true self produces peace, power, and passion. There is an intrinsic knowing about universal energy and how all are connected by it.
Both my coaching practice and my yoga practice ask for the release of energy behind old thoughts and beliefs that occupy the mind and create stress in the body and to surrender to the possibility that there is another way to be.
Enormous thanks to my children. I am eternally grateful.
Marla Gorlick works with people who are no longer satisfied with looking good on the outside and feeling bad on the inside. She uses her unique multi-step process to help her clients bridge that gap to live a congruent life. Her training comes from the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching. She is a Certified Professional Coach and part of an elite group of Energy Leadership Master Practitioners who administer and evaluate a state-of-the-art assessment designed to measure potential and likelihood for change. She brings decades of personal, familial, and business experience to her practice. She can be contacted at (818) 704-1067 or marla.gorlick@gmail.com.
