The Energy We Send Out

This essay initially appeared in the Monday morning newsletter on 12/16/24.

The other week, my Thursday morning CorePower Yoga class was “Eras Tour” themed. I love that CorePower features themed classes from time to time. Usually, it means that the music for the class is curated around a certain musician, holiday or pop culture reference. 

I was looking forward to the class and expecting to hear some Taylor Swift tunes, but much to my surprise, the teacher went ABOVE and beyond. 

The last song to play before class started was “Applause” by Lady Gaga (if you know, you know). She referred to us as “Night 1” of her Eras tour. When a song from Taylor’s first album was playing, I noticed out of the corner of my eye she had a cowboy hat on (haha!). For the songs from Red, she donned the “A Lot Going On At the Moment” T-shirt and black hat. In between excruciating movements on a dark and cold winter morning, I was laughing and smiling and having a great time. 

My good mood carried me home as I excitedly texted a few of my friends about my experience. I felt lighter, happier, joyful. I was so touched the teacher put so much thought into the class! 

Those 60 minutes early in my day had a ripple effect. I moved through the rest of the day in a more open and relaxed way. It felt great. 

A few days later, I had a very different experience. 

I was getting my nails done when a very perturbed customer came into the salon. 

Exasperated, he could not believe he needed to wait a few minutes when he had called ahead to confirm availability. He shared tense words with the receptionist and continued to sigh loudly as he sat and waited. He eventually got seated next to me (of course) and proceeded to speak very rudely to the nail tech, complaining multiple times about his manicure. 

I walked out of the nail salon feeling tense and uncomfortable. I felt icky and annoyed on behalf of the nail techs that they had to deal with customers like that. 

Consider the differences between these two experiences. In both, actions and choices from somebody changed the environment for those around them. In one instance, the environment changed in a positive way and, in the other, a more negative way.  

We hold the power! Through our actions, we can send out lightness and joy and kindness. But, it’s a good reminder, that we can also send out negativity.

I found myself feeling thankful for the reminder, especially this time of year. I can so easily get caught up in going from one thing to another and checking things off efficiently… but what kind of environment am I creating?

So here’s to remembering to say thank you, hold the door, smile or give a compliment to someone today.

You never know the positive ripple effect you may set off through your own actions!