yoga

The soft claw

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People tend to slump over when they meditate. The head drops and shoulders slump. This posture closes the chest and throat in a moment where you want maximum airflow.

Here’s a quick tip:

Halfway through the session take a moment to check in with your posture and body position. After the check-in, if you are feeling constricted then imagine a soft claw coming down from the ceiling. It’s the same kind of claw that you see in the arcade machine that grabs toys, but the grip is so delicate that the toys end up falling.

Imagine the claw slowly grabs your head and starts lifting you up. Your neck extends, your chest opens up, and your spine straightens. Just like in the arcade the claw slips off your head and retracts away. Your posture is now open, upright and relaxed.

Catching creativity

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Creativity sometimes comes in bursts. If I hit a blocker, and there’s nothing – the key is not to get frustrated and contrive creativity. Don’t manufacture something that’s not ready to come out.

Changing my routine, shaking up rituals or meeting with friends is a great way to unblock the flow. When it finally comes, I make the time to capture the creative flow. It’s like building a dam for the melting snowpack. Don’t let the precious water go to waste.

Turn up

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Sometimes in life, you gotta turn up. By turn up, I don’t mean sending thoughts and prayers, flowers or money. I mean physically turn up and be there. Sometimes it’s to celebrate or grieve, sometimes it’s pre-emptive, and sometimes it’s to volunteer. I saw a lot if this happening during the Sonoma fire relief and support. Nurses, doctors, firefighters, chefs, therapists all turned up and offered a hand to people who had lost everything. At one stage people were being turned away before there were too many people to help.

When in doubt – be there. Most of the time you’ll regret not going. But you’ll never regret being there.

There’s no shortcut to mastery

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A black belt in martial arts is earned.

I don’t know if it’s a myth, or there’s truth to the evolution of the black belt…but I like the legend better.  All masters begin their training with a white belt. The belt starts out white, but over time it gets dirtier, and stained with sweat and blood, and eventually it becomes stained black from years of training. In a lot of dojos, you don’t get to train until you’ve proved you are worthy of instruction. Sometimes that means volunteering in other areas and being invited to train after first demonstrating your commitment. It’s not “a pay to play” system. There’s no shortcut to mastery.

Mastering any art is the same. The answer is in the dirt. There’s no shortcut to mastery. Get in there and start practicing. Anyone can buy a black belt, but only some will earn it.

The good night sleep recipe

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Avoid caffeine after lunch. Take it easy on the wine.

Avoid screen time before bed. No Netflix, no Twitter, no email, no Book of Face, no quick flip through Instagram.

Don’t binge watch Netflix in bed.

If you wake up in the middle of the night, resist the urge to fire up your phone. Reading the news, catching up on work, looking at a picture is an adrenalin injection. Not useful if you want to get back into a deep sleep.

Read a book, even if it’s one chapter before bed. Do paper, not Kindle.

Download your brain before bed.

Don’t use your phone as an alarm clock. Get one of those old-school clock radios with a dim light.

Turn your phone on airplane mode. It removes all the vibrating and alerts.

Stick to the same routine. Get up at the same time, go to bed at the same time. Keep the schedule on weekends and vacation.

Dark rooms equal better sleep.

Keep the room cool. Your body temperature drops at night, and it’s confusing if the heat is cranking.

Stretch before bed. The ritual will get you back into your body and start the wind-down.

Exercise daily. Keep a routine.

Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper. Large dinner will keep you up at night. Don’t eat right before bed either. Give your body some time to settle before getting into bed.

If you can’t sleep then surrender to it. Give up, get up and out of bed.  Fold laundry, clean the house, wash dishes, write, feed the cat. Don’t just lie there and fight insomnia. You’ll only get anxious.

Crossing the border

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Shawshank-Redemption-001

“I find I’m so excited that I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it’s the excitement only a free man can feel. A free man at a start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.” – Red in Shawshank Redemption on his way to The Mexican beach of Zihuatanejo, on the Pacific Coast.

What a beautiful quote from Shawshank. Red (Morgan Freeman) has stepped into the unknown. He’s excited about the uncertainty and the friends he’ll meet along the way. In a sense, he’s woken up – and crossing the border from darkness to enlightenment. Love it.

In 2003 a surf trip took me down the west coast of Mexico. I spent some time in Zihuatanejo and thought about the moment in the book where Red walks barefoot down the beach and sees Andy working on the boat.

Get busy living, or get busy dying.

 

 

Toe breathing

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Toe breathing? Yup, your toes breath if you concentrate on them. Ready to try?

Okay. Take a pause. Relax your shoulders, eyes, and jaw. Feel the ground on your feet and wiggle your toes, so you know they are there. Take a deep breath through your nose and feel the air enter your body. Imagine the same fresh air coming your lungs, tummy, legs, feet and finally your toes. Feel the body expanding. It’s like blowing up a balloon. Imagine the clean oxygenated air reaching the very tips of your toes and that everything it touches on the way down is cleansed.

Now exhale slowly. As you exhale, imagine your body deflating slowing and breathing out the stale air. All of the aches, pains, anxiety leave the body with that exhalation.

Is like rinse and repeat. Try it 3 times. Concentrating on the toes will make you breath deeper and slow down the exercise. Remember to the breath through your nose and relax the shoulders and face.

Stay grounded today and enjoy.