Change the question from ‘what can I get?’ to ‘what can I offer?’ Do it every morning you wake up and try to start every interaction in this frame of mind.
yoga
Don’t force it
If you are forcing it then it’s not yoga. Listen to your body
Fit to make a Decision
As we enter the first days of Spring, there’s an urge to make big decisions about the upcoming season. It’s anything from career, family, finances and personal growth. Before we make a big decision, we get physically and mentally fit.
When we are fit we have less stress and are more present. Our muscles and brain are oxygenated and we think more clearly. Worries and fears are less magnified and we have a good sense of what is real vs. imaginary (most of it’s imaginary, by the way).
Going for a walk, meditating, taking deep diaphragm inhales and exhales…as well as toe breathing, where we feel the inhalations inflate our toes – are fun exercises we enjoy to breath more deeply.
When fit, we find decisions emerge from a more grounded and present place.
The word of the day
The word of the day: NOW!
The best time to plant a tree is 10 years ago. The next best time is NOW!
Clean out the Canister
After a stretching session remember to drink a glass of water. Avoid the temptation of drinking while stretching, but stay hydrated before and after the session.
Try the following exercise when you have a drink of water at the end of the session:
Slow down and take a deep breath. Wiggle your toes and feel the floor supporting you. Relax your shoulders and jaw.
Imagine each sip of water swirling through your body from top to bottom.
Focus on the brain with the first sip and feel the water washing through your head onto your brain and the sides of the skull.
The next sip of water washes over your shoulders and into your lungs. The next sip sloshes down your arms and into your finger tips You get the drill? Elbows, buttocks, knees. Rinse out your body. The cold water moves through your body and dilutes the toxins.
It’s like rinsing out a dirty canister.
With the final sip imagine all the water slowing seeping out of your feet and into the floor. Let gravity be gravity. The floor is thirsty and will drink it up.
The exercise slows you down and makes you conscious of your body from your nose to toes.
It’ll clean you out, ground and recharge you.
Guides
When I go for a hike in new territory I take a map or consult a guide. When I’m driving to a new location I pull out my phone and turn on navigation. It makes no sense to get in the car and start driving before I have directions.
When it comes to a spiritual journey most people do the opposite. Maybe they read a book, watch a film or speak to someone who inspires them. They make a decision to investigate and explore which is awesome, but they forget to pick a guide.
If you’ve woken up and are searching for answers, the first step is realizing that having a guide will keep you on track when you lose your way. This path has already been trodden by poets and mystics – take someone’s hand and follow. If you reach out, someone will hold your hand.
Extend and Open Up
Here’s a quick morning stretching exercise. Actually you can do it anywhere, while waiting for a bus, standing in line for lunch or cooking over the stove.
Stand up straight and imagine a string attached to the top of your head. The string slowly tightens and lifts up your head and extends your neck. You are getting taller and taller as your neck and spine extend. Keep your eyes level and shoulders and jaw relaxed.
At the same time plant your feet firmly on the ground and apply pressure to your heels rooting them to the floor. Wriggle your toes and feel the ground.
You now have your head and neck extending like an ostrich and are anchored to the ground like an oak tree.
As you grow taller, every joint opens up from your knees, hips, spine, chest and neck.
Take 3 deep inhales and exhales while in this posture.
Dedicate your practice
At the beginning of a yoga class, the teacher asks us dedicate the class to someone or something. Maybe it’s a place, maybe a person. Breathing, stretching and stillness benefits us, but also everyone else around us. We are all connected, so therefore whatever you do effects me.
Dedicating a class clarifies our intention behind a practice and reminds us that self-improvement is not about the individual, but the collective. This works for any exercise – dedicate a walk, a run, a swim, a bike ride or a breathing exercise.
The act of dedication make us pause and reflect on why we are doing this every day, and that it’s not just about us. Enjoy!
Show up and be
Yoga doesn’t mind about your mood. Its nose doesn’t get put out of joint because your mind is all over the place, or you feel bloated, achy and tired. Yoga doesn’t mind if you are feeling out of sorts.
It’s just asking you to show up and be. That’s all. The rest will take care of itself.
Falling out and learning how not to
Yoga is about gentle balance. A yoga pose is about using body weight and strength to oxygenate. The only way to improve is to gently push the body beyond its comfort level as technique improves. Going beyond the limits means losing balance and sometimes falling out of a pose. Don’t get frustrated when a pose ‘breaks’ and you find yourself flat on the mat. Falling out and learning how not to is the way to improve.
Gently push yourself everyday, and remember if you are forcing it then it isn’t yoga.
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