In 2014, I listened to a webinar from the American Association of Health Promotion, called The Purpose and Health Issue with some really interesting people talking about life, health and your life purpose. I recently revisited the presentation and the TEDx Talk by one of the participants, Sarah Susanka, and love her view on patterns, presence and how they impact her life and finding her purpose. She also is a fellow architect who wrote a beautiful book called The Not So Big Life.
Sometimes this can seem like a big bold thing, almost a luxury, to have a purpose. And most people can’t tell you wha theirs is. Without a purpose, your health and wholebeing are greatly affected. The statistics cite that when you lack purpose you have a 2.4 times greater chance of getting Alzheimer’s disease.
So how about you? Maybe you have written out your life purpose. If not, this website, book and app might be fun for you. It’s a graphic novel and cool app called ON PURPOSE.
This is not the stuff of our typical busy, doing, lifestyle. This is not optional. This is the foundation of your life, who you are, and how you recognize what really matters. Yoga and mindfulness have been the way that many, many people have found the clarity to dig deep into these questions of purpose and what you are meant to do with your unique skills and talents.
When I have been really caught up in the hustle and bustle of life with too many tasks and my purpose in life is no longer guiding me, my go to pose is balasana, child’s pose. It’s a complete surrender and a time out to go back to a child-like way of being in the world—to fold in on my body and nurture myself.
Here I can listen more closely, and really see how I can come to, as Sarah Susanks, calls it, life’s invisible feast. I invite you to explore, child’s pose, and your purpose.