the Yoga of Driving

WARNING! this post contains venting, cursing & bold opinions!

Alright Phoenix Valley dwellers, what the hell is up with your driving!?! This shit is BANANAS!
My blog is not intended to carry a negative vibe at all. However, I feel SO DAMN STRONGLY about this commentary I must share it with you.

I am completely disappointed, saddened, scared and bewildered by the extremely poor driving in this Valley of the Sun. I grew up in Iowa and we NEVER had as terrible of drivers as we do here. I was recently in Washington state and drivers actually stopped for pedestrians. They honored the speed limit. They signaled when changing lanes. They waved and smiled and treated each other with respect.

I'm not sure exactly what phenomenon takes place when exiting from the 60W & entering onto the I-10E, but it's as if EVERYONE immediately slows down, gets on their phone and begins a happy hour of Face-booking, texting and God help us, entertaining pornography. Literally, a friend caught a man watching porn on his phone while driving. WHAT IS HAPPENING?!?

I've conducted quite a few of my own social experiments while driving and I've noticed that on average, 1 out of 3 drivers on the road are on their cell phones in some way.

Our vehicles are not running on tracks via auto-pilot. We do not just strap in and sit back, crack a cold one, and browse the web. WE are the ones operating. When did it become socially, ethically and legally acceptable for us to neglect the obvious task at hand? Why is it that we cannot spend 20 min alone in our cars with the best music, surround sound, air-controlled temperature, flat screens, navigation and the convenience of independent travel and STILL feel the need to distract ourselves from being present? How much more do we want? How much more can we stand before we completely crumble as an intelligent human race?

There is a yoga to driving y'all. It's called breathing, paying attention and not being an asshole. It's not okay to cut people off just to get one car ahead at a stop light. It's completely inappropriate to ride someone's bumper and then flip them off because you think they're in your way.
It's not helpful to your neighbor to change lanes without checking your blind spot and forgetting to use the blinker. (The blinker has one purpose....to signal a turn or change in lanes....that's why it's there!) It's not safe for you or anyone around you to run red lights. I know, because someone talking on their cell phone did that to me and T-Boned my car.
When did we get so backwards?

My intention when driving is to be present. I usually chant, breathe or just put a good jam on that keeps me positive and alert. Heck, sometimes I drive in silence just so I can better hear what's going on around me. And I've worked on my driving. I'm not perfect. I'm guilty of getting on the phone here and there, messing with my hair, fumbling around with the CD player, trying to drink coffee and shift gears at the same time. And I was once a rage-filled, fired-up speed-demon who had been in a few accidents, pulled over 25 times or more and was doing stupid shit enough times to know better. So now that I am aware, I try to use my yoga tools when I'm in the car.

If you are wearing your ear-buds listening to an iPod in your vehicle, can you REALLY hear the ambulance sirens encroaching behind you? Are you even aware of your surroundings? Did you even see that car pulled over next to you trying to change a tire when you just buzzed by at 80 MPH without even giving them some space?

Yoga is about creating a connection, and the real power of Yoga shows up OFF OF THE MAT when we apply it into our lives. In this case, it might show up as getting into the vehicle and connecting with the machinery
 ::::seatbelt, check::::mirrors, check:::::gas, check:::::
It might show up as
 ::::::breathing, check::::::calm the thoughts, check:::::::senses engaged, check
:::::phone out of my hands & hands on the wheel, check::::

My invitation to you is to challenge yourself to drive more mindfully.....to NOT TEXT WHILE DRIVING! Try it for a week. Maybe just a whole day is grueling but give it a go. See if you can instead breathe through the urge to check your phone. Stop and think before you make your decisions.

What might shift in your perspective if you pulled yourself away from the distractions and temptations to get mad at others, and instead just breathe? What changes could our entire Valley make it we ALL chose to be present while driving instead of completely disconnected?

Think about your safety....think about the safety of others.....consider your actions and reactions.....
and may a Positive force be with you!

Because I LOVE YOU.....
the wise owl
XOXOXOX