Parking Lot Panic
By Theresa Shay
A few months ago, I experienced an anxiety attack, or as close as I've ever come to something like that. As I've not been prone to these in my life, I'm not certain what to call it. At the time, the body and mind needed no label to deliver the experience.
I was headed to an event with a group I did not know but already respected. I had agreed to lead a couple sessions and felt prepared with my TriYoga® material, albeit new presentations to a new audience.
As I exited the highway, four miles from my destination, I started to feel lightheaded. My stomach got queasy. I noticed I was hot and the car felt stuffy. By the time I got to the stop sign at the end of the ramp, I had clammy hands, sour sweat, tense shoulders, and a very unnatural breath.
I turned left, and my mind started throwing forth thoughts I'd never had before. First the judgement: signing up for this was a terrible idea. Next the strategy: I could turn around now, drive the three hours back home, and just not show. Then the imagination: How bad would it be if I called the organizer to tell her I would not be able to lead my sessions? The final surprise came with a thought I'd never encountered before with my conscious mind: no one cares about your experience, Theresa. You really don't belong at this conference.
The GPS said I was due to arrive in five minutes. I slowed down. I needed more time, but not to think. I pulled into an empty lot. I put my car in park and put my yoga to work.
Shocked I was, even in the middle of the experience, that I was having it. I am a grown, confident, competent woman with material I was eager to share as an expert in the field of yoga. What was the source of this panic, I wondered? I knew something very significant had just dislodged in the terrain of my mind.
This awareness did not interrupt the physical and mental distress, but I was encouraged. I was experiencing with complete clarity two aspects of my mind: the mental prints (samskaras) making my body and mind ready to flee, and the witness that knew I was having a reaction to an unknown, undigested, and very powerful mental print.
The yogis have studied the mind. Ageless yoga texts illuminate the nature of the mind with far more detail than they do postures for the body. I've been studying this wisdom for decades. I was experiencing a teaching I'd heard about many times: seeds of karma will sprout when the conditions are right to awaken them.
Evidently, with this new group and this new experience, I had landed in rich, fertile soil.
I love that ancient yoga texts, written when the world looked completely different, explain how I could be caught by surprise driving to a conference in 2026. Buried mental impressions had met their perfect conditions, and it made sense, given the new community I was meeting.
I knew that whatever was happening was going to help me get clearer, wiser, and less trapped by unconscious thoughts if I could see it through.
Learning yoga does not promise we will live free of disturbing and upsetting moments. Yoga does promise to prepare us to meet whatever rises. When the dormant seeds sprout, it's important to know what to do.
Beginning October 12, I will be offering a 7-day Soothing Anxiety Challenge. I will share practices that help address the anxiety you're already aware of, as well as prepare you for anything you might meet down the road. I will share seven days of practices I have enjoyed over the past 30 years, and show you techniques I used in the parking lot that day to soothe my anxiety.
Through this challenge you will:
Establish a daily rhythm of self-care, gaining experience in meeting yourself consciously in as little as 3 minutes.
Learn what works for you to relax your body and calm your mind so you feel safe even when your mind is spinning out.
Prepare for unexpected moments when conditions are perfect and dormant seeds of karma spring to life. That way you won't turn around and drive back home, but instead, find new freedom.
We'll meet on Day 8 to talk about Living Well with Anxiety. I journey with you, and I look forward to your company.
Theresa Shay is the founding director of TriYoga of Central Pennsylvania, where she teaches weekly yoga and meditation online and trains others to teach TriYoga®. Each week, she shares wisdom cultivated from decades of TriYoga study and practice.
Learn more about her here. Theresa can be reached at Theresa@PennsylvaniaYoga.com. Find her on Instagram @TriYogaCentralPA and @scoliosis_wellness_journey for more inspiration and light.