Last Saturday night, my beloved Lions beat Carlton in the preliminary final to secure a spot in the AFL Grand Final. It was a close game and the Lions were down by 5 goals in the first quarter, I had nearly given up before we clawed our way back into the game. I spent 3 hours in a heightened state of anxiety, my body certainly thought I would die if the Lions didn’t win the game. The stakes were high, end of the season or a chance at the ultimate glory.
We won – hooray, what a comeback, so good to have shown resilience and kept our cool under pressure, surely that shows we are good enough to win a premiership. I allowed myself maybe 20 minutes of relaxation (when the photo was taken) before I started stressing about getting to the grand final. Airfares were exorbitant but the car was booked in for a service on Monday, did the car need new tires? Where would we stay, and then that minor detail about how could we get tickets to the most sought after event in the country (not fact checked ).
It is embarrassing as a breathwork, meditation and yoga teacher to admit that I spent all of Sunday scrolling the internet, Facebook, Ticketek, the Brisbane Lions website, texting friends, family and well-connected acquaintances to let them know I was looking for 2 tickets. I basically did everything I could to guarantee a sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight). I had the worse night sleep in 12 months on Sunday night, and by Monday morning, had worked myself up into what was close to a panic attack. I had built this amazing experience into a life and death situation and had to pull myself off the ledge. I needed breath work, I needed surrender, I needed to give myself a good hard talking to and calm the heck down. It is fascinating to me that 5 years ago I was living in this state every damn day no wonder I was exhausted back then. The difference between now and then is that I was able to observe my emotions, was aware of what was happening, and I knew how to regulate, meditation, Yoga Nidra, breaking the bond kriya (a breathwork technique).
I let go of the outcome, I brought my emotions back and I remembered that freedom is my number one value and I didn’t feel free at all. I am blessed to have created the flexibility in my work to be able to take a week off at a moments notice, I was looking forward to a road trip with my Dad (who knows how many more we might have), I was looking forward to catching up with friends and family in Melbourne, I was looking forward to potentially beating Collingwood in another grand final and to relieve the joy of the Lion’s premiership glory of 20 years ago. There was absolutely nothing stopping me from doing that. I didn’t NEED the tickets to have a great experience, so I surrendered, made the decision to drive down and enjoy myself. To hold on tight with an open palm to the prospect of getting a ticket to the big dance.
I am driving down to Melbourne as I write this (well Dad is driving obviously) and we have secured two tickets. By lunchtime on Monday, I had received a text message with the brilliant news. Was it luck or did I create my own luck? Was it because I surrendered to the outcome? Did calming my nervous system allow the energy to flow easier and help the manifestation process (might be getting too woo woo)? I know that I felt exponentially better after regulating my nervous system and I know that using breathwork, Yoga Nidra and meditation to combat the monkey mind and regain focus is a superpower that benefits both individuals and organisations.
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