WORKAHOLIC MIND

Can you relate to this?

My meditation time yesterday was a mess.  I could not settle my mind for the entire 20 minutes I'd allotted.  One thought after another screamed out for my attention; mostly reminders and 'to-do' list items.   My Monkey Mind was in full swing.

Monkey:  "Milk!  You have to buy milk today.  And a new nozzle for the hose.  Remember to pay the water bill.  I hope my veggies grow. Make sun tea.  Better get it out there on the table.  Wait...I need more tea.  Fruity would be nice.  Buy tea.  It will taste so good while sitting on the deck later.  I wonder if they have that little sandbox on sale anywhere?  Grandkids would love it.  Get online and check.  Sand too..."

And on and on it went.  I realized I was fighting it.  Every thought was followed by a sense of frustration and semi-decision to just get up and go do something.  But I kept sitting and watching it unfold and soon, instead of reprimanding my Monkey, I thanked her.  I told her she was like a workaholic, doing the thing minds do with such great dedication, but man oh man, she was working overtime!  Again!

Then with each new "reminder" I said, "Thank you.  Thank you for reminding me."  As as the thank yous piled up, the reminders became fewer.  My mind started to quiet, if not exactly calm completely down.  It wasn't like the workaholic knocked off early, but she did head to the break room for a cup of coffee.  Some days, meditation is just that.  A slight break.  A time of noticing.  A time of sending gratitude to those parts of us that are doing their jobs.  I appreciate that my mind keeps me on task and takes care of the details of my life.  My job is to encourage her to take more breaks.

Self-compassion takes many forms.  ©

Namaste,  donnajurene

Photo Credit and Resource: http://eocinstitute.org/meditation/how-mindful-meditation-tames-the-anxious-monkey-mind/  Disclaimer:  I thought this article had some good info, but it also links to something called EquiSync and I don't know what that is; I AM NOT ENDORSING THAT.

GARDEN YOGA

FINALLY!!!  We've endured a long, wet fall, winter, and early spring here.  The Puget Sound area set a new rainfall  record with over 44 inches between October 2016 and April 2017 -- more than our usually annual average!  This past weekend the sun came out, the temps soared into the 70's, and every single person who could went outside.

My husband and I spent hours in our yard and gardens.  We have a big yard with many spaces to tend.  We finally prepped our raised beds and got the veggies seeds planted, moved some perennials around, staked the raspberries, made plans for two new patio areas, and, as I write this, my husband is doing an asphalt patch on the cracks in our long driveway.  It feels good to be out, warm, and dry.

I've noticed before how often I am working in the garden and my awareness of yoga poses slips in as I bend, stoop, squat, and straighten up.  Today I was looking over some resources for activities to do in the yard with my grandkids and I came across this great poster.  My granddaughters, ages 2 and 7, love doing yoga with me.  I am eager to introduce "Garden Yoga" to them!

How about you?  Do you think of yoga poses as you go about your daily routine?  There are ample opportunities to incorporate asana practice off the mat.  You might want to start with a stroll to the backyard, gaze up at that brilliant blue sky, take in the fresh green of new growth and do a few simple poses to honor the return of the sun, the return of warmth, the return of long, lovely days of light and vitality as we dive deep into another perfect Northwest summer.

Namaste,  donnajurene

Photo credit: yogaforkids.com free printable poster

YOGA = KINDNESS

Karen saw me jotting down some notes in class on Thursday and she knew I was cooking up something for this blog.  I told her I often have ideas during practice, but by the time I get home and have time to write,  the thoughts have floated away on a wispy cloud (just like we tell them to during meditation) and I have no idea what my brilliant idea was.

Apparently jotting down notes doesn't help that much either.  Here are my notes:  "kindness/yoga"; "edge - place between pleasure/pain"; "listen to breath, body - let go thoughts"; "effort, pay attention."

What did all that mean?  With notepad in hand, I was coalescing random thoughts into a grand topic idea and even conjuring compete sentences, composing a post that felt fresh even though I've previously covered topics about those disparate words.  Now, two days later, all I have are those cryptic notes.  I know I could just dive in and come up with something, but it wouldn't be what I wanted to write and it would feel forced.  Note to Self:  Next time take better notes.

So, let's talk about crying.  Yesterday we had a small class with Elizabeth.  Since she is gifted at gearing the class therapeutically around body issues practitioners might have, she always asks if people need to work on anything in particular. There were several requests, including a question about how yoga relates to our emotions.  Elizabeth explained that some believe that the connecting fascia "holds" emotional energy and when we stretch the fascia it loosens and releases those emotions.  She talked about a practitioner who has a chronic debilitating condition.  Early in her newfound yoga practice, this woman cried, even sobbed, all through the class.  Can you relate?  I sure can!

Maybe it was the power of suggestion, but yesterday after this discussion I found that tears welled up in my eyes several times during class.  Was it the fascia releasing emotional energy?  Maybe.  I had been feeling stiff and sore, inflexible and exhausted lately.  I told myself there was no reason for this so I've been concerned about it.  But as the class progressed, I realized that once again I was judging myself -- not remembering the two-week "vacation" from practice while traveling, the hours of gardening, the days of caring for my two year old granddaughter, the episodes of eating way too many sugary treats.  Naturally I wasn't in peak flexibility and strength form!  But instead of honoring that truth, I had worried that I was sick with some dread disease, or maybe just losing my stamina due to age or sloth, or the extra 5 pounds I've packed on over the winter.  Those anxieties weren't at the forefront of my thoughts, but stored inside my body.  As we worked slowly to release and strengthen our muscles, find proper alignment in our poses, and give ourselves permission to NOT do a pose at all, I found my emotions finding release as well.

I started to pay attention, without effort, letting my thoughts go and allowing my tears to come.  When I expressed frustration with not finding certain poses, Elizabeth suggested to me that my scoliosis and particular body might not "welcome" some poses, so don't do them!  Perfection has no place on the yoga mat; I always forget that and her reminder touched me.

There is an edge between pleasure and pain and it's our awareness of that edge that allows us to grow in asana practice.  I honor that awareness, but too often try to push myself beyond that edge to achieve those poses that my body wisdom knows to reject.  That's where kindness comes in; the kindness of a reminder from a yoga teacher and the kindness we offer ourselves by not judging.

If you see tears in my eyes, you'll know I've found that place of grace on the mat where, yes, yoga equals kindness.©

Namaste,   donnajurene

Photo Credit:  pixabay.com