Category: Healthy Activities

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Healthy Activities Healthy Living

Full moon tomorrow night… ahhh…sigh…the anticipation:)

But that’s not what I wanted to talk about for now. I wanted to talk about New Year’s Resolutions and Will Power. I have no New Year Resolution because I have no will power. I instead have a DAILY “resolution”…it’s not so much about goal setting for me but a daily reminder – it’s kind of like daily prayer or poetry reading for me so … not really a resolution is it? I have set very goal oriented and ambitious New Years Resolution before so I feel I can now speak about it with some frankness. Whenever we refer to New Year’s Resolution, the idea of “Will Power” comes up because the most popular and typical New Year Resolution for many is a challenge to lose weight and exercise more because of the average 2-3 lbs weight gain over the holiday season.

Therefore the local gyms might be packed … and I might implore to you that studies have shown that actually gentle yoga is effective in weight management… seems counter-intuitive but I know this to be true. Why? Because as recommended, it’s closest thing to mindful meditation so beneficial in that “goal” whether to curb your appetite or to let go what’s toxic or harmful to us. Unfortunately, the reason the current craze?, “mindful meditation” does not work or hard to engage in for many is that it’s too … goal oriented. People approach it the same mindset they approach their business or work – setting budgets or targeting revenue goals, etc. and wonder why it’s so challenging to meditate. It’s not the same..That’s right, counting the beans is not quite the same as counting your breath or paying attention. You are sitting there appearing on the surface to be serene in your buddha pose with the single goal to … achieve mindfulness – it’s a contradiction already. You have to let go of that “goal” … and a goal is a little different from setting an “intention”.

As far as will power… here’s an insightful TED talk given by our local yoga instructor and Stanford professor, Kelly McGonigal:

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Beautiful Rituals Healthy Activities Healthy Living Yoga

In case you were wondering…

chakra

The chakras do not exist in the physical body. They exist in the psychic body, which cannot be experienced by the senses. This requires an altered state to be perceived through the mind. In yoga nidra we induce this state of perception by gradually withdrawing the senses during the rotation of consciousness throughout the body and by practicing breath awareness. This induces both pratyahara and deep relaxation. In fact, deep relaxation has been shown to be an altered state of perception…

– Swami Satyananda
ringonokiaomoriThen he goes on to say:

Many, if not all, of the truly creative discoveries in life, such as those of science, art, music and religion, were made during creative “flashes” of intuition which we understand as occurring when the inherent knowledge of the unconscious surfaces into consciousness. There are many documented examples. Newton’s revelations about gravity occurred while he was relaxing under an apple tree. Van Gough said that “pictures come to be as in a dream”. Mozart once composed an entirely new musical composition while dozing in the back of a carriage. Einstein increased his perception of relatively while visualizing himself walking along a sunbeam.

All these people allowed themselves to relax deeply enough, for the images and forms of their unconscious mind to manifest as solutions to their particular problems or quest. It has even been reported that through the use of deep relaxation and visualization, people have been able to diagnose their own particular disease before confirmation by medial examination. These deeper layers of the mind contain the solutions to all our problems, but we have to be able to allow them to manifest while maintaining complete detachment. One of the hallmarks of a genius is the ability to produce imagery in great abundance. Children also possess this ability, which usually becomes repressed as they are conditioned by worldly experience.

… fascinating.

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Beautiful Rituals Healthy Activities Healthy Living Yoga

Reverie…

Cocooning, Incubating, and Integrating … a Luscious Me-time:)

yogabrain
– Illustrations by Timmy Kucynda

More cocooning, better chance our chrysalis will transform into a even more beautiful butterfly:)
Let’s relax, restore and renew …

All the while holding fully supported yoga poses for spinal and internal organ health.
Each Pose is a “Meditation” … the ultimate ART of DOING NOTHING and LET IT BE GOOD FOR YOU:)

• Light “warm-up” of stretches to soften tightness and melt away tensions – it’s not Yin.
• Recover flexibility nano-millimeter at a time.
• rediscover how your body can feel more expansive and spacious, freed of blockages, the knots, the tightness.
• You find your healing breath that rejuvenates.
• Your sub-conscious mind to merge with your conscious mind yielding more creative juices to flow – inviting yourself to tap into your own pool of …nectar. Sweet:)
• Virtually a Dream state …No longer disconnected, Mind & Body finds peace within and harmony with what’s outside.

The regeneration of organic Self through this quiet practice of utter self-awareness…

I love this practice because…I have always felt we needed a safe sacred space, what you might even call a refuge for reflection, quiet, rest and mindfulness in our hearts and minds.

I too grew up to feel guilty about resting – we have been taught that resting is not essential. That, it’s boring, and the amount of shame and guild felt when we are imposed with the push to always get things DONE – to be productive and achieve. And if there should be any spare time during your 24/7 commitments, we need to be WORKING more and more and if not, either we are lazy or even sick. In fact, for some of us, we are only allowed to rest (not the same a sleep) when we are sick. This is when YOU = what you do, rather than, YOU = what you are.

Think we can give ourselves at least once a week, time to thoroughly digest, nourish and rest. It’s probably the most anti-aging medicine out there that you can dispense yourself. I say this as I listen to a lady tell me how sitting still is SO hard for her and that soothing, reflective, quiet time she found to be VERY challenging & asks me – why? I suggest – How about a sweaty Ashtanga class then ? – she quips – Yoga is just not for me – she continues – I need it to be fun and constantly be moving to beat – need to be more non-stop active! I NEED a WORKOUT ! she flung both arms up with shoulders up to her ears, looking very Nixon-esque as she said this… I noted how absolutely exhausted she looked. It’s interesting that despite looking so worn out and aged, she is driven to do more, rather than slow down and take care of our biological, primal need to move with grace, then, rest. Rest so that … we can again be the best we can be when it matters.

iRest because I deserve that “delicious idleness” purifying my senses to live more fully during the wakeful hours.