With the change of season from summer to fall I know many of us are feeling overloaded and stressed. When we get busy we tend to let go of really important things like exercise, breathing, and doing good things for ourselves. I know, because I have been struggling with this very thing and knew I needed a little kick in the butt. I went searching for a message I could share in my yoga classes about the importance of taking time to breathe and relax and dusted off this poem that I found a while back. I actually used this poem in the very first yoga class I ever taught, so it felt good to come back to it.

I love the message and so did my classes, so I thought I would share it again. Thanks to Aaron Hoopes of The Art of Zen Yoga for these beautiful words.

Too Busy to Relax By Aaron Hoopes

Too busy to relax they say… complaints, excuses everyday
They sound so weak, so stressed, so tired… a mundane world in which they’re mired
No time to sit and just be quiet… their mind’s a rush of thoughts, a riot
No chance they have to hear the sound… of nature’s wonder all around
Of birds and trees and clouds and air… too much work, it’s just not fair
This really seems quite sad to me… so much to do, no time to be

Breathe I say and move a bit
Then after that we can just sit
And watch the world at its own pace
There is no rush, it’s not a race
And if it were, what is the goal?
Where are you going mind, body, soul?

Too busy to relax I hear… these words seem like they’re based in fear
Tired, weak and too much stress… how did our lives turn such a mess?
We don’t need to look above… to find a place that’s based in love
Turn instead and look within… find your self, it is no sin
Forgive, let go, open your heart… it is the only place to start
Think on that and you might find… throughout your life you have been blind

Breathe I say and move some more
Run, walk, jump, stretch on the floor
Move your body, get up and go
Feel the energy, let it flow
Don’t get caught in negative
Habits that won’t let you live

Too busy to relax? Not true! … this hoax must end, it starts with you
If all you do is just the same… you never will escape this game
Do something new, do something Zen… begin right now, not ‘if’ or ‘when’
Do one thing different, or two, or five… change how you live, become alive
Do or do not, there is no try… step off the cliff and start to fly

Begin with this, you won’t go wrong… remember to breathe, deep and long.

Image: Greg Toran