Have a “YES! Day”

When our son was growing up, we had “YES! Day.”  Not every day.  And sometimes it was not for a whole day.  We maybe had a “YES! Half-Day” or a "YES! Hour."  I’ve come to understand that these times were extraordinary and freeing for me.  As a full-time working mom, I was often caught up in the all-powerful and demanding schedule.  Time was planned and delineated.  So that when I was asked if I could do something, my initial internal answer would be “No.”  I just didn’t go to “Yes” at first response.  I thought “No” before “Yes.”  So that when there was a “YES! Day,” it was so amazing.  It was freeing and exhilarating to say “Yes” without a thought or justification.  There was a feeling of abundance where all is possible.

Our son and I just played and did whatever he asked during a “YES! Day or Hour.”  I remember this one particular day when he and I were both home together since schools were closed.  We were having breakfast and I asked, “What do you want to do today?”  He said, “Go to the White House.”  I answered, “YES! Let’s go!”  And that is how our day began.  We rode the metro, we walked, we laughed, we played, and we did whatever he asked.  We went to the White House.  We went to the FBI Headquarters.  We went to the Smithsonian Institution.  We ate.  We got tired.  We came home.  Each part of our “YES! Day” was filled with the abundance of knowing all is available, all is possible, and all is within reach. 

As I began my journey and study of Yoga, I became increasingly aware of how this concept of abundance is experienced in my thinking, feeling, and physical bodies.  Yoga brought the understanding of abundance and scarcity mentality as described by Stephen R. Covey, to all aspects or layers of my practice.  Saying “Yes” to something does mean saying “No” to another.  My practice has not been to say “Yes” to everything or everyone.  My practice is to notice and be aware if I go to “No” without considering, discerning, allowing the possibility of “Yes.”  This is where abundance grows and opens…in that ever-so-slight pause before answering or deciding. 

On the mat, this means that I practice “Yes” to what is possible within each posture, each breath.  When thoughts of “No” come in, I pause to determine if this is an old response or habit of thinking.  More often, a new choice is revealed.  A choice of saying “Yes” to being in this moment and experiencing all that is abundantly available in the pose, in breath, and in spirit.  Taking “Yes” off the mat is a practice of observing initial reactions to challenges or the unexpected.  Noticing how thinking, feeling, and physical bodies respond.  Finding the abundance in a situation and not responding from a place of scarcity.  The practice is creating a pause to breathe and to be aware that abundance is found in the stillness.  The practice is knowing that abundance allows and reveals opportunities for actions, reactions, and more than we can imagine possible. 

At the White House