Why Relaxing is One of Our Greatest Tools to Happiness
A journey to relax from the inside out
VedicSoul - By~ A Bhardwaj has a new book out.🎉 I can’t wait to read. This soul that showed up in my Substack feed months ago is full of lived wisdom.
Lately I’ve been infused and accelerated in my unfolding and waking up brighter with the relax out of resistance idea that I read in one of A Bhardwaj’s notes.
I’ve always approached the world through a “what can I do to make this or that happen or not happen” lens.
And I think this idea to relax out of resistance gives me something tangible “to do.”
Relax is what I do.
Like sitting on a riverbank and watching a river flow by.
Like relaxing in a hammock in the shade of a big old oak tree.
Take the same relaxing energy to the inside.
Relax and watch the emotions and thoughts flow through. Without grabbing hold or pushing them away. Just relax and watch.
And while we’re at it, relax and watch the thoughts and emotions that rise and fall related to an event or relationship interaction.
The event happened already. Maybe it will happen again. Maybe it won’t happen again.
Maybe we will change our reaction or response to a recurring event. But for now, it happened.
Arguing with it will not make it not have happened.
Maybe we feel powerless and we want to do something about it.
And we can.
We can relax on the inside and watch the thoughts and emotions arise and fall. The anger. The frustration. The sorrow. We can relax and allow. And the thoughts and feelings might stay for a bit. And they will also move on.
And we will have clearer access to our true power that now flows through us more freely. And we can respond from this place. And events will shift. We keep showing up differently and so does the life reflecting back to us.
Like last night. We went to see a local theater performance of Matilda the Musical. I was the costumer. I love costuming!
My husband Andrew Baglia ✨⛏️ and I sat together and cracked up the whole time. It was funny and brilliant. The chemistry was amazing. The delivery and timing of ALL the actors was beautiful.
After the show, we mingled and praised the actors. They are our theater family. They reminded us that the audience’s energy feeds the actors, and the actors’ energy feeds the audience. It’s the magical feedback loop of live performance art.
It was the most enjoyable play I have ever experienced. I had SO much fun.
I woke up still in the energy of this collaboration.
Because I’m learning to relax.
On the inside.
When thoughts and feelings come up, especially the judgments that usually show up for me in social settings, I notice them. And that noticing is my reminder to relax.
It’s not a reminder to try to fix it or to feel bad or guilty about the thoughts I’m having. It is simply a reminder to relax and allow.
I had a spiritual teacher tell me one time that we can’t go on vacation and relax if we don’t practice and know how to relax before we go on vacation.
She was right.
And that idea had haunted me for years.
I grabbed at it. Just like I’ve grabbed at enlightenment. Wanting more. Not satisfied with what is. Trying to push thoughts and feelings along so I could feel better.
Now I know relaxing, like all of waking up, is an inside job. And as I deepen my ability to consciously choose to relax and allow, my world is reflecting back the richness I have craved for so long.
Wishing you a relaxation that reaches all the way to the inside.
💚✨ Dancing on the Edge of Enlightened
—Edge Dancer · Connie
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Connie, this is a beautiful reflection. What you call “relaxing” feels less like doing, and more like no longer interfering. The riverbank, the hammock, the theatre: all of it becomes a doorway when the inner grip loosens. That’s the recognition that changes everything without changing a single circumstance.
Grateful for your kind and generous thoughts.
🙏
Ahhh I love this so much, Connie. Absolutely looooving that you were the costumer for Matilda! Gaaah! How EXCITING!
I love that line about, how can we expect to go on holiday and expect to relax if we don’t know how to relax before going. And what a long and winding road it can be to learn how to do that…to learn to how to be at play with life.
The..”I woke up still in the energy of the collaboration…bc I’m learning to relax…inside.” 🥹🪄✨Magic.