Hello Vacation

So Vacation? Yes, but apparently a vacation from writing too. It has been a hectic February starting with vacation and then a very sick child, a sick self a sick husband, a week long yoga training and finally a sick child again.

It always amazes me how when I get out of a routine life goes haywire.  A need to stay connected and balanced goes out the window and I often find myself looking at a period of time (this time a month) and wondering what happened.  

After much chaos and conflict, I think we are all back on track.  All working to take care of ourselves and having an opportunity to grow.  For me part of my growth came on the Commuter Rail coming home from Boston one night after an almost 15 hour day of commuting and yoga, and talking about the principles of yoga when I was reflecting on the Yama and Niyama (Part of the 8 Limbs of Yoga).  I had been doing a lot or reading for this training and suddenly I realized that the grounding I needed had been starting me in the face for quite some time.  So I have decided that I will take a few weeks and reflect upon each individually during this journey I am currently on.

Yama - the ethical disciplines by which to live.  Our timeless moral code.

1.  Ahimsa- non- violence, or non-killing

Ahimsa means so much more than, though shall not kill.  It is referring to everyone and everything.  It is about living a non-violent life style. In thought, action and belief.  In yoga, not pushing past what your body can do, being non-violent in the way we care for ourselves and our family and those around us.  And often most importantly, it is about self criticism.  Letting go of the violent nature with which we think about the world and the people in it.  

During the next few weeks I will work to write about how I am following this, and will use the blog as my journal on my journey to growth.

As always I am open to any feed back you may have!

Namsate.

Fear.....

So in writing for the book, I have come across and have been writing about Barriers to balanced living and self care, barriers that contribute to Burnout and I have recently written about Fear.  So I ask, how has fear contributed to who you are, what you do and/or how you do things?

I like to believe that I am fearless, that when something "scary" presents itself, I simply see it as a challenge to over come, and not an obstacle blocking my path, but the reality is that we all have fears.  Including me, my fears change depending on the day.  

For most fear is a natural part of life, our ancestors lived among wild carnivorous and they were often the prey, so the bodies response for fear, the "fight or flight" response serves them well. But currently fear tends to get in our way of happiness. It causes us to not take risks, not live a full life and sit at home, worried something or other will happen.

Fear often causes us to avoid that which we find to be unfamiliar or challenging, opting instead for the known or safe path.  This often does not lead us to happiness, but rather an increase in stress.  The result of giving in to fear is we stay stuck in the same spot, not growing, not moving forward, but simply existing. 

I know for sure that I want my life to be more than just existing.  Fear may cause us to continue to set the same goals over and over and yet not move forward toward completion because of fear.  We may be really good at long term goals, my 10 year plan is......, but not as efficient at the 1 week goals, or due to fear not even make them.


Fear is an emotion that can be used to move us forward (like fight or flight) or hold us back.  Fear is powerful and think if you can harness that fear and use that to fuel the fire of growth how much success and happiness you will find.


How will you use your fear??


Namaste

Stuck in a Rut

Do you ever feel stuck in a Rut. Not sure which way to go, what to do or how to get there.  I sometimes find myself low energy, indecisive, ruminating and stuck in the right now, no longer looking ahead and hopeful. Maybe your trying to lose weight and notice those that last few (or first 20) pounds sticking around and no matter what you do they won't go any where.  And when I sit with it and do nothing and allow it to rule my life, I become irritated, edgy and difficult to be around, and yes, down right pissed at my clothes, like it's their fault they won't cover my ass.  I know shocker!! (There I said it for you!)

How could that be, I eat healthy exercise....well I go to the gym, I drink water...most of the time.  I'm a vegan for goodness sake how can I not be thin and healthy.....oh maybe it's the vegan cookies and cakes, hmmmm.

I have found that regardless of your lifestyle and how healthy you attempt to be, if you are stuck in other areas of your life, or stressed, physically, emotionally, spiritually, we often end up out of balance and stuck in that Nasty old rut!! 

The Definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. I have been there.  So how do you shift it, what can you do to get unstuck??  The Key is CHANGE.  But how, so often we obsess about guilt, grief, fear, anger, sadness, anxiety and the more we focus on it the more entrenched we become.  Our brain begins to rewire itself, thus giving our Rut more power.  If we can begin to turn away, focus on that which is hopeful, positive and uplifting, this will help those old negative connections to fall away, and then we realize we are not in a Rut, just coming over a small bump in the road.

Being around positive, happy people is quite helpful in this journey. It allows us to focus more on the uplifting, joyful aspects of our lives or to create these experiences. Do something new, try on a new way of thinking, ask for help, or help others, move outside of your comfort zone and push your edge, just a little at a time and you will see new worlds opening up for you.  It will get you out of that Rut for sure!

I would love to hear about your journey.

Namsate.

Balancing point

     So finding my balancing point has often been a challenge in my life. I sometimes struggle to stay away from foods that, lets face it we are all better off without, or balance my work and home life, not accepting that my family needs me just as much if not more that my clients do.  And how do I find balance when I feel pulled in so many directions??

     So I placed a challenge in front of me, to post 4 times a week on my blog, the place that helps me put my balance into perspective, and after making that commitment, actually 5 days in, today, I get a message from my BFF, that says "so waiting for those 4".  This is when I know I am not quite balanced.  So I have been writing, don't get me wrong, actually with my ADD, I have been doing a lot of writing, just on 5 different journals and I can't find anything because it is fragmented and I basically have been writing on whatever I can find, good for free writing, bad for blogging when I need to find them to type them in (I know good/bad are judgements, I'm okay with that in this setting).

     So I got back to the idea that I wrote about last week and will try a rewrite here (since I'll be damned if I can find the notebook it is in).

     I began thinking about balance and what it takes. I say in my yoga classes that balance is 85% mind, 15% body and of the body, most of that is foundation.  So physically speaking we work to ground ourselves through the three corners of the feet, with a soft bend in the need, toes lifted activating that mid-body time, then we draw in and up through the core (or belly area), then we express (i.e. lift into half moon, warrior 3, tree or whatever the asana).

     So thinking about this more having to do with the rest of my life I tend to think about: 1 what is my foundation? 2 Where is my strength? 3 How do I share this?  So here are my answers to these questions.

1.  My foundation is me,  my family& friends, my support system, my healthy diet, and my knowledge of self.

2.  My strength is also me, my exercise, yoga, running, Pilates and all the other crazy stuff I do (kick boxing sometimes too), along with my knowledge of self and the human system

3. My expression, this too is yoga, my practice and my teaching, providing therapy, sharing my perspective, blogging, teaching SW and all other means of my sharing of knowledge and self.

     My expression is built on my foundation and my strength. If I do not take care of myself, if I am not truly connected with me I can not help guide or teach others on their journeys which what I get paid to do. Without this foundation, this balance, I am of no use to me, my family and friends or my clients/students!

     Think about it what is your foundation, strength and expression? What is your gift?

Namaste

Family

     Family is a gift to me, having the opportunity to spend time with those that I love.  I had a nice weekend with my sisters and niece and nephews.  Spending time with family helps me to put things into perspective. 

     The newness of experiences that we take for granted, the excitement of falling snow, the first snow boarding trip, the first time sledding.  Winter can be so amazing, so tranquil, and so exciting for Floridians and children.  I enjoy the quite that comes along with the winter, it is calming for me. I'm not sure if it is the fire in the pellet stove and the nice cozy house, the shorter days or the quite outside when I am out there since so few venture out in the cold snowy weather.

    Learning new things and exploring that which we have forgotten.  As a family, we all went sledding and we spent most of the afternoon laughing and enjoying each others company. Not stressing about image or judgement, not worried about behavior, just being able to enjoy the company of that with whom you are with. (and maybe dive out of the way of oncoming nephews.)

     This is a gift. I hope to take a lesson from this experience.  That being in the moment, spending time with those whom you value, and throwing your whole heart and soul into the experience, makes for fun, laughter and maybe a few extra pounds, but who's counting??

     Make the most of each moment, as you never know which will be your finest, and which your last.  Love and peace to you all.

Namaste

Making amends!!

Sorry about the not posting, I have had family here and getting the computer was a challenge although I have been writing, just couldn't post...so here come my 3 from last week....... Enjoy!!!

Getting Moving

The winter months can be tough and I often find myself ( and many of my clients) hunkering down to ride out the winter until sunny days arrive again in the early spring.  This often leads to the blues or depression, an increase in eating thus leading to weight gain and an increase in isolation.  One strategy to over come the winter slump is keeping a watchful eye on self care.  Self care through exercise adn eating healthy.

In my practice I often hear people that want to get moving, taking new classes, going for walks, starting to run and I come across two challenges. The first is getting started.  How do you get up early to head to the gym before work, or commit to going after work, and once there what do you do?? Figuring out what is going to be a comfortable start for you in crucial.  Are you going to be comfortable joining a gym and if so what kind, and will you go alone or with a friend. If not a gym, can you find a walking group or are you motivated to do workout tapes at home? All of these are extremely important in the preparation phase of change.  Having a sold plan will allow you to meet your goals more successfully.

So step 1 is develop a plan, what do you hope to accomplish and how are you going to go about doing that?  I have a very good friend who I have run several half marathon or marathon relays with who has set a plan to run a bunch of half marathons this year and has even gotten a personalized training plan to PB at a local race.  That is a clear and reachable goal, that is what your looking for. 

Now comes the hard part. So okay, I ordered new sneakers, or a cut yoga top and pants and a new mat, and I went to the gym this week now what.  How do you keep going, how do you stay committed? I find this to be the more challenging of the two.  Working in a gym, I hear people that come to class and they say things like, oh don't worry, classes are big now but wait a few weeks and all those "Resolutioner's" will be gone.  Is that what you want, to be known as someone who isn't going to make it through their commitment?  I think not! 

Step 2, This is your chance to keep those gyms packed, but again you have to set a plan, make the commitment and here is the key, make it specific and attainable and then share it with people that will help hold you accountable.  It's easy to say yeah I'm gonna work out, that's vague, what does that mean, I did squats for one minute? I took the stairs? All of that is working out, but the key is to say I'm going to go to the gym for 30 minutes on three days a week. See what classes if any you would like to take and plan accordingly, schedule child care, pack your clothes, bring a healthy before workout snack for late afternoon (or whenever you are planning to work out).  Maybe even hire a trainer.

It's the specificity and the sharing that make our plans successful and not just another failed New Years Resolution.  I know I was there for years, always waiting to start, and now I help people get moving, my how things have chanced. 

How are you going to get moving this winter??

Namaste