Healthy Life Tip: Leave your shoes outside the door, and your worries too.

Leave your shoes outside the door, and your worries too.

By Mālia Helelā

When I was a young hula dancer, my teacher often reminded us to leave our shoes and the rest of the world outside of the door. We were there to dance hula. Only once we were done, were we to pick everything back up on our way out if we chose to. Whether shoes or issues with friends, we weren’t supposed to bring any of those external things with us into the hālau.

This interesting life lesson applies to all of us, especially those who juggle many responsibilities and wear multiple hats.

This reminder looks different for different people. It may look like a conscious step onto and off your yoga mat. It can happen before walking in and out of Still & Moving Center’s front doors or your home or workspace, lightening your burden first and picking up after yourself. When I perform a Lomilomi massage, it can look like the breath I take before entering the space to set up and the breath I take after I’ve cleaned up and am heading out the door again.

We all have many spaces that we create or are created for us. When we can be aware of how and when we enter and how and when we leave, then we can navigate those spaces a little better.

What spaces do you inhabit? What spaces have you had a hand in creating? What spaces are provided for you? As you make your way through your day, you might be surprised at how much influence and agency you have in crafting your own dedicated spaces.

There’s always something we can leave outside the door, entering the space a little lighter.