5 lessons learned from our Digital Detox Edmonton Yoga Workshop..

There was a saying back in the day that "when the going get's tough the tough get going" ..

These days, the tough get going on the internet, or when the going gets tough we goto our digital

buddies i.e iphone, ipad, itouch, facebook, instagram, email.. to distract ourselves from feeling reality.

We have started to use technology not as much as a tool, but a place to put our attention both to create and  to numb ourselves from the pain we feel deep inside about not living the life we know we truly want to live.  ~ Robindra Mohar

Take for example, the office worker who really wants to be a yoga teacher, or stay at home mom that really wants to be a social worker, or the entrepreneur who really wants to make a difference but is "stuck" making a living doing something that makes money but doesn't really make an impact on the planet or support what his/her true gifts are.

We have been taught since a young age that its the external things that matter, you know like the cars, houses,

jobs, while all of these are important to have to some degree true satisfaction comes from something deeper.

The honeymoon period with our new technology devices is now over. It's time to redesign how we use and relate to all of this abundance of technology.  ~ Robindra Mohar

All the cool aha, look what I can do apps and pictures and texting and, and, and, is no longer as cool as it used to be because there are masses that have fallen into new habits of  distraction that aren't serving us very well. Go to any restaurant or cafe and you will see a mother on the phone while her kids are watching her, then later in life the mother will complain that her teenager doesn't get off the gaming or iPad, or you can usually see a couple sitting across from each other not looking into each others eyes, but looking into the glow of their devices.

In addition, trillions of advertising dollars are spent to get your attention. It's becoming more and more sophisticated as we speak. The internet has provide an infinite source of distraction right inside the place where we do most of our work, the computer. Smart phones have made the allure of new information available anytime and anywhere.

Facebook for example doesn't want your attention next week, it makes its billions of dollars off of your attention right here and now.

Myrah and I hosted a digital detox workshop/experiment at Bliss Yoga Spa over the last few weeks of November 2014 to share some of our thoughts, to create new habits and to start a real conversation with real people about what is really happening out there for them.  We had a mother who was worried about her son's use of technology, there was an older woman in her 50's that was looking for herself but finding herself too distracted by the internet to really get clear on what to do about it.

5 lesson's learned over the Digital Detox workshop.

1. Our morning routines have been deeply affected by how we use technology. 

Overall it was eye opening to hear that 98% of the people that came to our workshop used their phones to wake up, then right after, they choose to connect to social media and/or email over tuning into their own voices that day.

2. We are loosing out on serendipity.

The in-between moments, like waiting in line at a coffee shop, or right after yoga, or a meeting have become times to connect to the social web over connecting to ourselves and with the moment. We are more and more losing out on the serendipitous moments of the day, the magic of life by keeping ourselves distracted by technology.

3. Family's and couples are really starting to suffer over technology abuse. 

Whether its your teenage son or daughter, or the father who is on his email all day, we have a problem and we need to own up to it first to start to make a change.

4. We have become really good at avoiding our true feelings. 

We are distracting ourselves using technology when we don't feel good, when something goes wrong, or we just feel a void in life. Instead of going online to figure it out, connect back to your self, go back to the basics, feel good, connect, then take action over waisting more and more time surfing the information super highway.

We learned that this conversation needs to happen more and more as it is a real issue that we are facing.

What we shared primarily in the workshop was to first own the problem, we asked everyone to take 7 days to really understand how they are abusing their relationship with technology. Then we got back together to redesign 3 key areas of everyone's day's that would support them to engage consciously with themselves, life and technology over their default way of being which is the world of reaction,distraction and doing things out of relief.

We are planning several more Digital Detox workshops in the new year. If you are interested in hosting Myrah and I to bring this conversation and program to your school, yoga studio, or workplace, we would be absolutely excited to hear from you. We love this work, we love to help people redesign their lives according to their highest potential.

Robindra Mohar

www.itstimetobloom.com