No Rush. No Distractions.

My oldest daughter turned 16 years old a few weeks ago and last Saturday morning she eagerly awaited her first driving lesson. Now I’ve been teaching for a long time but I never realized what a huge responsibility it would be to teach someone how to drive.

My husband took the first crack at it and brought her to a parking lot to go over the basics. After an hour or so, she wanted to take me around the block to show off her new skills. So I relinquished all control and allowed my baby girl to drive me around for a few minutes. After arriving safely back in the driveway she and I talked about the importance of being a safe driver and how she needed to take responsibility for her actions behind the wheel. I simply told her that as long as she was not in a rush to get anywhere and as long as she was not distracted, that she would be just fine.

Later that night I thought about what I had said. No rush, no distractions, everything will be just fine. No rush, no distractions. I realized that those simple words sum up what I say just about every day when I teach yoga. My teaching mantra is based on reminding Verge Yoga students to slow down and to pay attention.

In simple terms, mindfulness means paying attention on purpose. It means thinking, moving, speaking and acting in an unrushed and deliberate manner. We can practice mindfulness on our yoga mats, our meditation cushions, in our kitchens and in our cars. I was essentially teaching my daughter about being a mindful driver by using a few simple yet powerful principles. And as we all know, these principles can and should be applied to just about everything we do or don't do in life.

No rush. No distractions. Keep your eyes on the road, stay focused and everything will be just fine.