Front Porch Yoga » Present Moment

Aging

Grace — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 12:32:34 +0000

“Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they’ve faded.” -The Sunscreen Song

When did I get so old?

My joints creak, groan, ache. Scar tissue accumulated from old injuries whines and complains. Emotional wounds cause prana (life force energy) to stagnate in my body, presenting frustrating areas of tension.

Each morning I have at least one achey spot in my body when I wake up.

I can choose to be gentle with my body: get a relaxing massage, take a calming yoga class, soak in a tub full of bubbles.

But my body will never feel like it did when I first started practicing yoga. I wish I could go back seven years and have a conversation with the girl that I was then, and remind her to be very, very grateful for her strong, comfortable body!

Despite the “old” factor, sometimes when I’m practicing yoga the term “extraordinary machine” runs through my mind over and over again. I can’t help but think how amazing my body really is.

Today, I choose to be grateful for my body, as it is, right now. A big part of that gratitude is taking good care of my body, so it will serve me well in the years to come. One of my tricks is yin yoga*, which stretches and stimulates the joints through long, restful holds.

Are you grateful for your body, as it is, right now?

Choose love,
Grace

*I teach yin yoga at Emerald Necklace Martial Arts on Sunday evenings at 6:30pm. It’s a lovely way to start your week!

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Meditation Idea: Something Beautiful

Grace — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 13:27:33 +0000

I am borrowing the following idea, word for word, from Karen Walrond’s blog, Chookooloonks (say that ten times fast and it sounds like a train chugging along!). This past weekend at a conference in Texas she had the opportunity to meet Mahatma Gandhi’s ( you know, the peaceful activist who said “be the change you wish to see in the world”) grandson, Mr. Arun Gandhi.

“He believes that mental exercise is as important as physical exercise. He mentioned that we do lots of physical exercise to make our bodies beautiful, but we rarely do any mental exercises to make our minds beautiful. He shared another exercise that his grandfather had him do: he was tasked with going to a quiet corner, taking with him something he believed to be beautiful, like a flower or a photograph, for example. His grandfather had him sit quietly and stare at the beautiful object for a minute, memorizing every aspect of it. Then, he had to close his eyes, and keep the image of the beautiful object in his mind’s eye for as long as he could, without letting other thoughts or images intrude. He said at first, as soon as he closed his eyes, he would begin thinking of something else; however, with practice, he was able to hold the image in his mind for longer and longer periods, and he was able to control his mind.”

I love this story because it is very similar to my candlelight meditation idea, but with added emphasis on the object being “beautiful.” It’s also great because everyone thinks of beauty as something different, so your object could be very different than my object (and therefore, our meditations are personalized and unique). Also, there is an unfortunate stereotype that meditation is a chore, so the idea of staring at something beautiful makes it seem less chore-like, don’t you think?

Please let me know if this meditation idea helps you!

Choose love,
Grace

Additional Meditation Ideas:

3 Minute Breath
Walking
Past and Future
Color
Internal Gaze
Candlelight
Smile
Swim
Bridge
Affirmation
Sit Down

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Ear Plug Idea

Grace — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 11:13:48 +0000

One day this past week I wore ear plugs during my morning home practice. This simple trick is an excellent tool to help you focus on your breath. The sound of the breath is amplified, so it’s hard to ignore. It also helps you to distinguish where you tend to hold the breath. We often hold our breath in balancing postures to try to prevent ourselves from falling over. It’s like when someone says “Don’t move!” and we instinctively suck our breath in and hold it! I often tell my students that if you are breathing with awareness, then you are doing yoga (so it doesn’t matter if your asana falls apart, as long as your breath is steady).

My breath observation from this past week was that after chaturanga dandasana I tend to get less air on the inhale when I am lifting from low push up to upward facing dog. Anyone have any suggestions on how to receive more breath in that transition?

Next time you’re at home practicing, put a pair of ear plugs in, and see how that changes your experience on your mat!

Choose love,
Grace

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This Morning

Grace — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:56:18 +0000

“I’ve never met this morning. We’ve never shaken hands. Or hugged awkwardly. Or looked into each other’s eyes. I’ve never experienced this very hour. Or felt this very sunshine touch my skin. Golden. Healing. Warm. The birds. The breeze. My breath. All are NEW. Each ushers in the never imagined intentions and never dreamed of possibilities. So…I CHOOSE to live this day, while also honoring tomorrow. I will live, laugh, LOVE, and practice without leaving a trace. I will ground my feet on my mat, I will s t r e t c h my palms to the sky and I will say:’Hello day! I like you. I’m so happy we’ve met.’ Practice on.”

(Please note: the above quote was borrowed from a Manduka advertisement in the September 2011 Yoga Journal)

I believe I will add this lovely morning salutation to my current ritual.

Choose love,
Grace

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Midnight Tummy Ache

Grace — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 11:47:27 +0000

I woke up suddenly last night at 11:45pm with horrible cramping in my low belly. I immediately took some digestive tonic to soothe the aching (which is my go-to elixir for tummy ailments), and I figured I would just fall right back asleep once it calmed down. But the cramps got worse, and the pain began to have a pattern: it would strengthen and recede, strengthen and recede. Laying down made it more intense, so I had to sit up in bed, propped up against my pillow. I started belching really loudly (I know, gross!). My next plan of attack was to cover my belly with a heating pad to see if it would help release the tension in that area, but that seemed to only increase the level of pain.

At this point, I had probably been up for an hour, and it was technically the middle of the night for me, and I could barely keep my eyes open. I started to feel frustrated that I couldn’t figure out how to ease the pain, and I didn’t really know what was wrong with me. I was annoyed that I couldn’t get back to sleep because I didn’t want to be tired for work the next day. I was looking at the past, and projecting into the future. It occurred to me that I could focus on the present moment, accept what is, and let it go.

So I tried walking around a bit (albeit slumped and hunched over) while breathing into my belly and repeating the phrase: “I am willing to accept myself as I am.”

After all this, it suddenly occurred to me to try some yoga postures for the pain. I blame the reason it took me so long to think of yoga as being that I was half asleep the whole time. I did a few twists, hugged each knee into my chest (appropriately, wind removing pose), and then finished with hero pose. Still hurting!

So I had my special guy (he was an absolute doll the entire time) check out my favorite reference material for when I am not feeling well, You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay.
Probable cause of belching: fear, gulping life too quickly
New thought pattern she suggests: There is time and space for everything I need to do. I am at peace.

I thought it was a bit ironic that this was her “emotional diagnosis” because I haven’t been feeling particularly stressed or rushed these days. But perhaps on some deeper level, I am racing for some imaginary finish line.

Then I figured I’d check “constipation” because it was beginning to feel like that must be the cause of my pain.

Probable cause of constipation: Refusing to release old ideas, stuck in the past.
New thought pattern she suggests: As I release the past, the new and fresh and vital enter. I allow life to flow through me.

Now, I don’t necessarily take her suggestions super seriously, but I just feel comforted knowing some helpful mantras that are available to me. So I repeated over and over in my mind something like this, as a mantra to help me feel better and stop focusing on the pain:

I am flowing through life, with plenty of time, and I am at peace.

The last trick up my sleeve was to drink some detox tea. Now, I don’t know if it was the tea that did it, or if it was a combination of all of these things I had previously tried, but I finally started to feel some relief! And after 2 hours of experimenting, I had finally found something to soothe the pain! I fell asleep within minutes…

I prefer to reflect upon the rosy parts of yoga and life, but I also think it’s important to recognize that there is a balance, and sometimes life is painful. By sharing my experience from last night, I am hoping to offer alternative suggestions to “taking some pills and stifling the root cause of the pain by just attacking the symptoms”. And I also always like to point out that teachers are human, too…

When you’re not feeling well, are you gentle (and kind!) with yourself?

Choose love,
Grace

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