How do you cope with heartbreak? It can feel so debilitating, so consuming and so painful. Everyone always says the same thing, that time heals all. But what do you do in the meantime? How do you wake up everyday and continue on with your life when it feels like its just been flipped upside down? How do you stop the ruminating thoughts in your mind? How do you move forward? How do you cope?
I’ve found that practicing yoga and writing are the two most powerful ways to heal a broken heart, or any type of pain for that matter. In my most recent breakup, I struggled to find answers and had a hard time living in the present moment. I came to Whole Yoga and instantly felt better. Why? Because for the duration of my class, I stopped thinking about my sadness, my breakup and the anxiety I had for the future. Instead, my mind, soul and body were all consumed with one simple task: breathing.
Breathing is healing. Breathing is coping. Breathing is calming. It’s the one thing that I know will guarantee myself a clear mind, even if it’s only for a few minutes. Focusing on my breath, watching my chest move up and down and pushing air out of my lungs are all incredibly simple tasks, but yet we forget about how it can help us find peace and harmony.
The other thing that yoga helped me with was the feeling of opening up my body and my mind to the idea that I had to accept the things I couldn’t change. Instead, I started to fill my mind with positive visualizations. Plastered on the wall at Whole Yoga is the Buddha quote, “What we think, we become.” Every time I’m in the studio I remind myself of the importance of visualization and how the more positive thoughts that I fill my mind with, the more successful and happier I will be.
The last thing that I’ve found useful during this period of time is the power of writing in a gratitude journal. While this isn’t necessarily something that everyone does in a yoga class, it’s a nice way to remind myself of the things going really well in my life. Instead of ruminating about the things going wrong or what I don’t have, I focus my energy and mind on the things that happened in my day that felt really good and positive.
There isn’t an easy way to heal a broken heart. It takes time, patience, growth and a lot of mindfulness to fully feel back to normal, but if I’ve learned anything thus far, it’s that practicing yoga is one of the most helpful things anyone can do to recover. I recommend that anytime you are hurting or struggling to take a few deep breaths, remind yourself that pain is temporary and that things change every day and that is the hope you get to hold on to. Believe in the power of time and continue to be kind to the people around you. Write about what makes you feel grateful before bed, and continue to breathe through the uncertainty. All we can ever do is just keep moving forward and believe that one-day things will inevitably change. It’s the only constant in life so we might as well embrace it – the good and the bad.