Mental Digest

Mental Digest

Your Mind is What It Eats

It’s a given – Put good things in your body, get good things back. Good health, great skin, stronger bodies.  But have you looked at what you put into your mind on a daily basis?  Each day, we digest images, sounds, words, thoughts and emotions.

Take a look at what you are currently consuming.  When you wake, do you turn on the radio or TV for the local news?  Or do you reach for your smart phone to see who’s emailed or updated their status on Facebook? 

During the day, you engage in conversations with friends, co-workers and family.  How do these conversations affect you?  Do you feel more or less stressed?  Do you take calls and emails while completing projects throughout the day?

On the drive home, do you drive in silence or listen to your favorite tunes?  Do you abide by the “no hand-held technology” rule or do you make dinner plans over the phone?  Perhaps you schedule in a workout that includes running on the treadmill with music and reading a magazine and glancing up at the evening news.  During dinner, you tune into your favorite shows or the news.

With all of this “mental snacking,” when do we have time to actually digest what we’ve heard / seen / read?  Our mind is like a busy airport – constant delays, arrivals, and chaos that’s impossible to find someplace quiet. 

The practice of meditation and actively being present can help bring calmness and organization to the mind.  Being present allows you to focus on one topic at a time, while meditation gives you the ability to become quiet and actually hear the inner voice inside each of us.

Start by turning off all outside noises and setting a timer.  Spend a few moments focusing on your breath as it enters and exits the body.  Thoughts will come into the mind.  Acknowledge them and allow them float by like a cloud.   With each practice, notice how easily your mind jumps into a quiet space.  Then become aware of the images, sounds, words, thoughts and emotions you allow into your life each day.  Only allow good quality and positive mental food into your life.

Summer Vacation Yoga

Summer Vacation

Making Your Yoga Practice Playful

Pack the bags and head to the beach. It’s summertime!  As Mother Nature turns up the heat and humidity, now is a time to turn down the heat on your yoga practice.   

Summon your inner child and find additional play in your practice. We love the afterglow that yoga gives us especially when we’re on vacation.  Take the following suggested sequence on your next vacation or pretend by setting up class on the porch.

Begin by setting an intention for your practice.  “I will go with the flow and trust in my body.”  Breathe in and release the exhalation through your mouth.  Begin your practice.

In the final resting posture, Savasana (corpse pose), roll a beach towel and place it under your knees as you extend long on your mat.  Listen to the sounds of summer around you - waves crashing, birds chirping, and lawn mowers running.  Thank yourself for this mini vacation.

Run for Your Life

Run for Your Life

Yoga Improves Athletic Abilities

I used to be a runner, but my running ceased when I reinjured my left knee over ten years ago.  Back in my glorious high school years, I tore my ACL while playing soccer.  I followed the physical therapists advice and built up all the muscles around my knee to further support it. 

Many years later while living in Cincinnati, I decided to run my first 5k.  I began training by running longer distances and continuing my strength training.  “Crunch!”  That was the sound my knee made a few weeks into the training.  Upon reviewing an MRI, this doctor concluded my ACL had loosened and I have one of two choices – get surgery to repair the damage or stop high impact training like running.

As you many have gathered, I elected not to get the surgery and opened my arms to yoga.  I, like many of my clients, didn’t understand how you could get a great workout if you didn’t leave the gym sweaty and barely moving.  I first tried many hot yoga classes (any style of yoga that heats the room to a balmy 90+ degrees), which left me sweaty, but incomplete.  I wanted more from my workouts.

One day, I tried an Iyengar yoga style class (style known for its use of props to demonstrate asanas correctly).  This class moved much slower, but emphasized what I should be feeling within each pose.  Once I added my mind to my practice, I noticed a complete change.  I didn’t need to feel physically exhausted.  I needed to feel re-energized.

Prana Flow®, the style I currently teach, offers students a way to help let go of their busy minds and find their own flow.  Within one class, I see students who take what I say and make it their own.  One student who needs more movement may take her practice further while another who has dealt with a stressful day may back off and allow the asana to melt the tension.

As an athlete, I challenge you to find yoga not when injury occurs, but before to better protect your body.  Loosen the hips to find more power in your runs.  Open the shoulders and torso while watching your golf ball soar.  Build strength and endurance to complete your bike ride.  Yoga is for every athlete and every BODY.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday!
Celebrating One Year of Teaching Yoga    

Time flies when you are having fun.  It feels like yesterday when I sent my first email announcing that I was starting Limber Llama Yoga.  In one year, the Llama has morphed from a simple concept into an actual business.  I've moved locations, changed logos and toyed with social media.  Owning and operating a small business has opened my eyes to what many of the local businesses in Hagerstown deal with.  From mananging the day-to-day tasks to brainstorming ways to grow the studio, there is hardly enough time in the day to complete everything.  Year two brings about new beginnings with the arrival of our first child in June.  I sure hope our "Baby Llama" is ready for the ride!

In addition to growing Limber Llama, I've also grown as a yoga teacher.   You have all given me great feedback on my classes, workshops and special events.  (Don't stop now!)  I keep a journal filled with ideas for future events and an email folder with client feedback.  As I grew comfortable speaking in front of you, life answered my prayers with a little Llama.  I slowly began to realize I couldn't teach or continue my home practice the same as I had before.  I had to adapt to the changes coming up with new ways to demonstrate cobra, maintaining a rigorous class for my evening devotees and finding energy to teach 6 classes a week.

Surprisingly, pregnancy helped me learn how to be a beginner again.  Stepping forward in lunge with a belly in the way does slow one down.  I learned to embrace props not as crutches but to further enhance my practice.  Using blocks in lunge opened more space in my hips which allowed for a deeper stretch and release.  Not being able to lie flat on my belly?  No problem.  I began practicing other postures like ardha dhanurasana (half bow) on my knees - a pose I neglected in lieu of the full version.  As I've said many times, yoga is for "every" body.  You may only need a few modifications to make it perfect for you.

Open your heart to celebrate each anniversary, birthday or any day that is special to you.  It may be as small as learning how to fix a leaky faucet by yourself to as large as beating cancer.  Celebrate victories, memories and people we love.  Don't let everyday tasks keep you from finding a few mintues to blow out the candles.

Thank you for making my first year as a teacher and Limber Llama Yoga a huge success.  Join the celebration with me on Friday, May 18 from 6-7pm with a free yoga class.  Namaste - the lights in me honor the light in you.

Clearing Out the Cobwebs

Spring Cleaning for the Body and Mind   

Spring is a transitional time of year.  Daffodils and hyacinths dot the highways while peonies barely push out of the ground.  The weather switches from cold to hot, wet to dry on any given day.  Our bodies also feel this shift with mood changes, sleep needs and dietary wants.  For instance, on a cool, cloudy spring day, one may find himself wanting to sleep in later, feeling more lethargic during the day and craving a warm soup for dinner.  However, when the weather changes to to a balmy 80 degrees, one instantly feels energized and may want to fire up the grill with fresh spring vegetables.  This shift creates an unbalance in the body resulting in irritation and possible sickness.

Both Ayurveda and yoga help balance our mind and body.  Right now, many of us are beginning to rake out flower beds, spread grass seed, wash windows and outdoor furniture.  This is a perfect time of the year to clear out the cobwebs within ourselves because our bodies are naturally shedding off excess weight and emotions preparing for a hot summer.

A regular yoga asana (posture) practice will help tone and strengthen the bones and muscles.  Amp up your current practice or add more practices to your schedule at home or the studio.  Now is the time that your body can handle a more intense workout while during the hot, summer months, it will crave a cooler, more gentle workout.  Try incorporating a popular sequence like Sun Salutation A into your morning routine.  It's a great sequence for all body types and can be modified to your level.

In addition to an asana practice, adding pranayama (breathing) and meditation will help calm the mind for the day ahead.  Controlling our breath helps take control of a situation.  Imagine you are driving your car to an appointment.  There is an accident ahead and you will likely be late to your appointment because of it.  Notice how your breath begins to grow shallower and your body temperature rises.  You can take hold of the situation simply by bringing your awareness to your breath.  Start by simply making your inhalations the same length as your exhalations by counting to 3 on each.

Begin your morning with a simple meditation practice.  Whether you have 30 minutes or five minutes, meditation in the morning is possible.  Find a quiet and comfortable space in your home - your recliner, the porch, in front of a sunny window.  Settle yourself into a seated posture - however you can sit for the time you allot.  Set a timer so you do not think about being late for work.  Close your eyes and begin to breathe in and out through the nose.  Notice how the breath sounds a bit like the March winds we've experienced.  Thoughts like to-do lists will pop in your head.  Don't fight the thoughts.  Allow them to appear and float away like a cloud.  With practice, you will noticed how much easier it is to control your thoughts.  Don't be hard on yourself - any meditation is better than no meditation.

Ayurveda, the sister science of yoga and oldest medical system in the world, believes most diseases start with poor digestion.  Eating the right foods for your body will help it function better alleviating symptoms like indigestion, allergies, disturbed sleep and chronic pain.  Twice a year, Ayurveda encourages detoxing to help reset the body's digestion system.  The Himalayan Institute is offering a free guided spring cleanse for those interested in changing their diet.

Take advantage of this time of year.  Experts claim you can create a new habit in as little as 30 days.  Whether you choose one method or all, you will feel lighter and brighter just like spring.

Keep Your Eyes to Yourself

Keep Your Eyes to Yourself
Creating Body Awareness   

Sweat begins to drip from my stiff arms in Warrior 1.  My hamstrings smell like bacon from all of the cooking and holding we're doing.  And why does that one girl in the front have a smile on her face and look like she's attending a spa day.  What am I doing wrong?  Why doesn't my yoga look like hers? Ouch!  I think I just pulled a muscle.    

Recently, the New York Times released an article entitled "How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body."  This was a spin off a highly regarded yoga teacher's new book launch.  First, let's answer the main question - Can yoga hurt you?  Yes, but also note that picking up your laundry basket, walking down a flight of stairs and joining in a pick-up game of basketball can also hurt you.  If you lack awareness of what you are doing, you can harm yourself.

No one will ever know your body better than yourself.  What feels good to one person may bring tears to another.  We all have our strengths and weaknesses.  Some yogis are blessed with open hips while others enjoy a flexible and bendy spine.  Do not get frustrated that your body is unwilling to be in a posture today.  It can take days, weeks, months and yes, years before you feel that certain "Aha" moment.

Listen and honor your body.  During your next yoga practice, take the time to really listen to your body.  Notice the breath while you are holding an asana (pose).  Is it shallow and rapid or long and tranquil?  How should you adjust your body to slow the breath?  That could mean coming down to your knee in a pose or not bending as far.  Next, scan the body for any tension.  Do you feel stress in your low back while pressing up into cobra, or did you skip cobra and race into upward facing dog?  Come back and take the pose from its roots feeling each krama (stage) as you progress.

As a teacher and former beginner student, I know the urge to want to "do it right" and quickly progress to higher levels.  Yoga at its core is about connecting the mind and the body.  Knowing when to push and when to back off is honoring your body.  Letting your eyes gaze over to another mat and following another student's practice is not.  I encourage everyone to remember a time when they were just learning something new - riding a bike, learning a foreign language or setting up a Facebook account.  Understand the little steps you took to finally achieve the task at hand.  Now, take that approach with your yoga practice.  Break down a pose; start from the bottom and work your way up.  Already at the top?  Go back and revisit each stage.  I'm positive you'll enjoy a new experience throughout the body.

Stay safe, and always remember to listen.  You're likley to be right!

Love is in the Air

Love is in the Air
Love Yourself, Love the World   

"Did my heart love til now?  Forswear it sight!  For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night." - William Shakespeare, "Romeo and Juliet"  Ah, February, the month of love and Valentine's Day.  Who tells love better than Hallmark?  Shakespeare himself.  In "Romeo and Juliet," the star-crossed lovers lose sight of all hatred between their families and see into each other's hearts.  They will stop at nothing not even death to demonstrate that love is more powerful than any other emotion.  (Sorry if I've ruined the story for anyone!)  

The Dalai Lama once said anything that is not love is fear.  Seeing this emotion as fear rather than hatred or anger may make it easier to forgive yourself and others.  Often, we feel anger towards another person, but at the root we are fearful of what they say, do or stand for.  Push aside your judgements and hear people as they speak from their hearts.  You may notice they too are feeling the same as you do.

Practice this Loving-Kindness Meditation to experience true love and happiness.   Inhale and exhale through your heart. Recall a moment when you were truly happy.  Savor and experience this feeling as it floods though your veins.  Recite the following:
May I be filled with loving kindness.
May I be peaceful.
May I be healthy.
May I be happy.
Repeat over and over surrounding yourself in loving-kindess.  When you are ready, change the "I" to someone you are trying to forgive.  Set an intention to wrap the person in the love you created in your heart.(source: Yoga International magazine)

"There is no remedy for love but to love more" - Henry David Thoreau.  Create the world in which you want to live in - peaceful, calm, loving, caring - by loving yourself.