One Moment, One Memory

Welcome to summer! It's almost hot enough to cook breakfast on the pavement.

My best advice is to stay in or near a body of water. If a grill and close friends are nearby, even better!

Here's a little something I wrote in honor of this day:

My instructions for this writing exercise were to use this phrase in a story of 100 words or less:

"May I help you, miss? You look puzzled.”

“Mmmm… thank you, I’m just looking for my father. We came in together a moment ago, but he seems to have wandered off.”

One Moment, One Memory

It's a typical July day in Texas, hot and muggy with a slight breeze. White specks color the green hill on the horizon.

Carol checks her purse for a tissue.

"May I help you, miss? You look puzzled.”

“Mmmm… thank you, I’m just looking for my father. We came in together a moment ago, but he seems to have wandered off.”

Carol helps her mom and follows the others. Words are spoken. A flag is presented. Heads bow.

Staring at the tombstone, Carol whispers, "Mmmm....yes. I think you are right. He is not here."

*My father was a veteran but he wasn't killed in action. He's buried in the Veteran's Cemetery in Dallas, Texas.

Stay active, play safe, and enjoy the rest of your holiday!

Check in, Let Go, and Get Off the Couch!

Yea! I found my yoga blog. I've wanted to come back here so many times but I always let something else get in the way.

It's spring. It's time to check in with ourselves. Yes, I know we should be constantly checking in with ourselves and getting rid of "stuff" in our lives that isn't keeping us on the right path. We should be opening ourselves up for new experiences, letting go of those old habits that hold us back.

So what gets in the way?

Everything and nothing is usually my response. Work, family commitments, and other hobbies are the normal excuses.

I've been teaching more classes at Keller Pointe. The members are great and it is a wonderful place to teach. The room is significantly smaller than the group exercise room at LA Fitness so it's easier to feel connected to the group during a class.

I'm teaching a Pilates class and a "Fit & Fabulous" class to a group of VERY fit seniors and not-so-seniors.

I am taking time to continue on my path of fitness by participating in more long distance races and I have started to compete in the sprint distance triathlons. The sprint distance is usually about 300 meters of swimming, an approximately 12-mile bike ride and a 5K (3.1 mile) run. I finish in about 1.5 hours. The duration is similar to a half marathon but it takes me a little longer to run the 13.1 miles.

This spring take a moment to sit quietly and ask yourself if there is something you are hanging onto that you can just let go of and enjoy the freedom and peace that can bring to you.

Finally, don't forget your yoga. There is no rule that says you have to sit down for a long practice. Taking a few minutes to warm-up and focus on a few basic postures with focused breathing can work its magic.

Namaste.

Yoga Off the Mat: Giving Yourself a Bye

I'm a runner. I have a race coming up on July 18th. It's a 15K. It's long enough but not quite as far as a half-marathon (13.1 miles). Last fall and winter, I did two half-marathons and then I backed off on distance training limiting my runs to six miles 3 times a week.

I'm starting to increase my distance again and I'm having a very hard time this spring and summer. It's getting hot and I'm feeling very tired lately. My energy moves up and down like a bell curve.

I don't just want to "finish" the race but I have a time goal in mind. I'm goal-oriented and a bit stubborn and apparently have a hard time practicing what I preach.

What is it that I'm preaching you might ask?

Ahimsa (Ah-him-sah) and Satya (sahtch-ya)

There are two of the Yamas or guidelines for living from *Patanjali's eight limbs of Ashtanga Yoga. Ahimsa tells us to do no harm and Satya tells us to be truthful. Doing no harm also means doing no harm to ourselves and Satya encourages us to listen to our body. I refer to these in every yoga class I teach but I have an incredibly hard time listening to my own body or properly interpreting what my body is telling me.

With six out of seven days of the week doing some type of cardio and my love of running outdoors, I tend to ignore the signals of fatigue and discomfort from hamstring tendonitis and sore knees. I'm not twenty. I can't get over-heated at noon one day and expect to run six miles the next morning. If you're in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, you've probably noticed the increase in temperatures and the decrease in wind. This is not a good combination for outside training runs.

You might say that I could "push through the pain" or "just ignore it and keep going". Yes, those are the tendencies I have but as I've gotten older, pain stays around longer and it gets harder to "push through it". I don't enjoy being constantly fatigued. Maybe I'm getting soft.

Today, I'm letting my body talk and I'm listening. The six miles was only a pipe dream. A quick 40-minute run/walk "workout" was it for my cardio today. In yoga, we have learn to accept whatever our practice brings us. Yoga lessons come off the mat. I'm accepting my "practice" today, giving myself a bye today, and maybe for the rest of the week.

I still plan to meet my goal. I may have to adjust my cardio workout schedule but I can accept that.

Namaste.

*The eight limbs of yoga are described in the Yoga Sutras. They provide guidelines for living in the world while studying to bring the consciousness inward. The limbs consist of social behaviors (yamas), personal behaviors (niyamas), postures (asanas), breathing practice, internalization of senses, focus, meditation, and complete absorption (nirvana or samadhi).

References:
Bachman, Nicolai. The Language of Yoga, 2004 ed.
Satchidananda, Sri Swami. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. 2007 ed.

Yoga Off the Mat - Awareness

Many of us may have shared the experience of going into a retail boutique and having the feeling that the sales people don't think we are worth their effort. These places usually have name-brand items at full retail. In a recent shopping experience I expected to find a couple of college-age kids working in the store. What I got was a couple of older women. They reminded of when I was in college, working at a large retailer, and being mentored by "sometimes crabby" ladies this age.

I don't know if I wasn't wearing the right clothes or maybe my mascara scared them off but it took me a few minutes to warm up to these ladies.

I walked in and was greeted. When asked if I needed help, I said I was "just looking". I started to look around. I found some pants I was interested in and pulled a folded pair off the shelf. Another sales lady comes over to me and was very assertive about helping me with my size. My initial impression was that she didn't want me to take the pants off the shelf as there was no way I could fold them correctly. She would immediately begin straightening everything I touched. It was obvious she wanted to touch them. Maybe my paws were grimy.

Fortunately, that style of pants wasn't what I was looking for so she suggested some others. She didn't seem very warm and friendly. She finally left me alone for awhile and I picked out some things and she took them back to a dressing room, warming up a bit. Maybe she realized I really did want to buy something.

Once I told her I was a yoga instructor, she told me about a special program they have for instructors. That was good. It saved me 30% off full price items.

In the meantime, another lady walks into the store. She was wearing a business suit and lots of make-up. Both ladies were very chatty with her. She left after about 30 seconds.

It's easy to place blame on them but maybe I can look at how I present myself. Each of us has an opportunity to make each encounter pleasant or not-so pleasant so shouldn't we choose the former taking control of the situation as much as possible?

I probably wasn't approachable. When I'm shopping, I prefer to be left alone until I have a question. I realize that I wasn't getting what I wanted and I was reacting to it.

I seemed hard to please. None of the pants she was trying to show me were right. Maybe that was frustrating to her and she was reacting to that.

Maybe she was just having a bad day or a bad moment. I don't have to react to other people's bad moments.

Yes, I was kind of "mad" that she seemed rude but rather than letting myself be managed by this emotion, I distracted myself and stayed focus on what I wanted to accomplish. In this case, find comfortable clothes that I liked and that fit me in this store (I had a gift card). I tried to make myself more approachable, cracked a few jokes, smiled more, and engaged the sales person in conversations about the clothes. It seemed to work. I got what I wanted. She got sales.

Yes, the encounter could have been more pleasant but I'm glad that I made myself aware of my reactions and steered myself in a different direction. There is no blame to assign, just perceptions and reactions to each moment.

Namaste.

Yoga off the Mat - Renewal

Springtime Renewal

Spring has finally made an appearance. Although April is turning out to be a bit chilly, I'm enjoying the longer days and the fortitude of my rose bushes to burst out in beautiful blooms!

Spring is a time for rebirth and renewal. It's time to check in with your goals. Are they still meaningful? Do they need a little tweaking? Align your goals with your strengths as much as possible. You will be happier and more successful. You may also find that a weakness has also improved or that the weakness has become irrelevant in your life. Reduce or eliminate areas of your life that bring out your weaknesses.

Raising our Level of Awareness

How many times do we catch our selves in judgment of others and of ourselves? Probably more often than we realize. Does this give us peace? In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Sutra 1:33 is very meaningful to me as it provides very simple guidance to find peace in our lives. In summary, this sutra tells us:

Be happy when others are happy. Disregard evil. Rejoice when others succeed. Feel compassion for those that are suffering.

Sounds easy?

Well.......For me, this is a challenge.

Don't we sometimes feel jealous when someone else succeeds at something? Or maybe we resent that someone also seems happy when we struggle on a daily basis? Isn't it easier to sympathize rather than empathize and truly feel compassionate when someone is suffering? As for disregarding evil, that's very tough. It's easier to think or say that the person should not have done something. It was wrong. Shame on them. See how easy that was?

Take a moment to rejoice when someone succeeds. Notice how you feel when you do that. Put yourself in the presence of happy people. Find something in each moment that makes you happy. When you encounter something that you feel is wrong or you start to be critical of someone's actions, try to detach yourself from the situation. Think positive thoughts towards the person or situation or, if that is too difficult, replace your thoughts with something completely different. When someone is suffering, be supportive. If they need a friend, be a friend.

I can't tell you that by practicing yoga that you will all of a sudden be able to change your feelings or reactions. During an asana practice, you will learn to be more in tune with yourself. You may be able to find an openness that has been missing or you may experience an emotional or physical release.

Being in-tune with yourself will allow you to notice that you have feelings contrary to the sutra. You have the opportunity to detach and step away. Resist the urge to analyze yourself for having these feelings. Just notice and re-direct the feelings to something more positive.

References:
Larkin, Dr. William K. Growing The Positive Mind. 1st. ed. 2008.
Satchidananda, Sri Swami. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. 2007 ed.

Yoga off the Mat - Balance

How can yoga help us "off the mat" this time of the year? We know how difficult it is to balance life in general but during the holidays it can be even more challenging. Not only do we have to balance work vs. family and time for ourselves vs. time for others, we have to think about how much money to spend, which parties to go to, how much to eat and drink when we're celebrating, etc. All of these things also involve balancing our energy so we have the endurance to enjoy the holiday season without excess fatigue.

If we are actively practicing yoga, we can focus on control and purpose in our practice. We can do this by thinking about what a pose can teach us, staying focused on each pose using deep breathing, and noticing how some poses can make us feel strong and grounded. As we move from pose to pose, making sure we are doing so with control and with deliberate safe movements, using our energy efficiently.

We can also turn towards meditations focused on balance and stability. Bringing these things into our practice should help us prepare for and endure the busy holiday season.

So what if you are not practicing yoga? If you're interested, now would be a great time to get started. If not, you can still apply some of the yogic principles to make this busy season easier to tolerate:

• creating order and structure (getting organized and following a routine),
• giving thanks and staying positive,
  
• being happy when others succeed,
  
• helping and supporting those in need,
  
• being tolerant,
• taking time for relaxation,
• continuing to learn.