After hearing Mike Babcock, NHL coach of the Detroit Red Wings, speak today, I had to immediately put pen to paper for his words resonated with me as a yogini as I'm sure it did for many of the 400+ in attendance even without a yoga mindset.
It often takes a tragedy to stop us in our tracks and allow for a better perspective on life, but Mike Babcock lives each day with a positive attitude and a perspective based on his core values...family. There was nothing he could emphasize more than to cherish each day with those you love.
Yesterday afternoon many lives were touched with tragedy including Mike Babcock. A Russian aircraft carrying 45 passengers crashed just after takeoff outside Yaroslavl leaving only two survivors. Three of the fatalities were affiliated with the Red Wings and Babcock changed his practiced speech accordingly...
"If you live in the present, how could you ever go wrong?", he remarked. It doesn't take years of yoga training and philosophy to realized that if you stop dwelling in the past and dreading the future, you can have a joyful life each day. Some advantages of living in the moment include decreasing mind made suffering, increase in clarity of thought, creating a sense of calm which can eliminate fear, and achieving an emotionally positive mindset.
How does one arrive at such a state, however? Babcock reminds himself each morning of his choice to be positive or not. As he comments about the "Upward Success Spiral", he encourages listeners to "find something you are good at!". If you are passionate about something you are good at you will become great by default. Babcock has one fear. That fear is not to be great. So each morning he stays in the moment and continues on his quest to be the best coach he can be, the best husband he can be, and the best father he can be.
As YogaFit teaches, the essence is as follows: Let go of expectations, judgment, competition, listen, feel, breath, and stay in the present moment. How else could anyone manage the daily challenges, curve balls and temptations we are presented with? His advice was sincere, heartfelt and genuine. May we all live each day as he does and be great at our passions!
"We are not held back by the love we didn't receive in the past, but by the love we're not extending in the present."
Marianne Williamson
