Öhrn Life Management

Being flexible is a wonderful thing. It certainly helps you to get in to pretzel like shapes on your yoga mat. And in real life, outside the yoga studio, flexibility helps you respect other people’s opinions, pop last minute fun into your schedule and try new, adventurous things.

Reaching far can make us reach too far. Ask anyone who ever went a little too deep into a forward bend and had to heal a hamstring for 2 months.

In other words, flexibility can draw you in the wrong direction. The opposite direction, the right one being the one that leads to your goals.

Core values are also strongly linked to goals; If your goal is to be a present parent for your children, then family may be one of your core values. Honoring your core value may then mean to say ‘no’ to such tempting things as to a glass of wine after work with your colleagues or to a business trip since you would rather be home with your children.

It may even mean to say ‘no’ to a yoga class if your family needs you more. As Anusara yoga founder John Friend says: sometimes staying off the mat is the most yogic thing to do.

Once you have identified your core values, it will be easier to take decisions in order for you to go in the right direction. For me, respecting my core value ‘Family’ meant leaving my career as a diplomat.

What implications can respecting your core values have?