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I know people who claim they cannot sit still; with sense of humor, suspect undiagnosed adult ADD or ADHD-ish tendencies… They know meditation is the key but revved up, they cannot sit long enough to wind down, let alone, for the brain waves to settle.  They worry Yin or Restorative yoga may be too boring as the thought of holding a pose; staying still seems so excruciating.  Their meditation requires guided visualization to give mind something to follow and think about or … otherwise their mind fills up “My Cup Runneth Over”, racing with one thought after another.

Physically, they have to be on the move or else… they get the blues or feel frustrated and their mind will … again drift off and wonder, cranking out one noise after another.  These people must work tirelessly and if they were to do any yoga(usually they don’t because they are in “tougher” fitness programs with incessant LOUD BEAT), they have to work hard at a sweaty hard class filled with challenging poses struggling to somehow strike that magazine cover pose as though in some contest for the most bendy prezel pose or the most amazing flight. Usually they are in pain but push themselves with great effort.  Believe it or not, I am actually describing a bit of myself; or former me.  I love “tough” “hard” “challenging” “sweaty” classes and used to scoff at anything using props thinking that use of props meant you are not “advance” but somehow either a “beginner” with all the help you can get or have some physical limitations requiring aides like a disabled person needing crutches or braces.(& isn’t that great?)  I also used to get “stressed” and “upset” if I could not do an advance pose … beating myself up for not being able to do this or that pose and going to one workshop after another to master “it”.

What changed for me?.

What changed me?  How did this change in mindset take place?

Mind tamed, I now see yoga more a method of all-encompassing self-care and also as … service.  All encompassing because it’s not just caring for the body but also the mind and spiritual well-being (praying alone does not help for many).  Now I see yoga props as supportive friends  – they allow the pose to blossom and open without the strain, allowing the wholesome balance to take place without any stress, while getting the same benefits without the muscular tension.  Your tendons and connective tissues, facia are all allowed to relax and thereby increase the range of motion.  All this, while your muscles are eased and flexed with tenderness. When people treat themselves with more kindness, self-love and compassion; they will treat others with more kindness and compassion.  That has a multiplier effect I think.  This world will become a better place to live for all of us and for our children and their children.  When you are relaxed and renewed with serene mind, your ego does not play part in shaping your thoughts in a manner that is hurtful.

Yesterday I was in a “tough” “hard” (but now “fun”) class and the instructor said “you cannot master yoga because it’s not a place you are striving to get to.”  Reminded Yoga is not something you master.  I am blessed with many amazing teachers – we learn a lot from each other.  Yoga is not a quest – there’s nowhere to reach.  It’s all within your grasp within us.

No more 6:00pm classes – no more commuting…

“Most people think relaxation is is very simple; just recline and close your eyes.  Yet, excepting the scientists, nobody understands what relaxation really means.  You are tired so you go to bed and think that is relaxation.  But unless you are free from muscular, mental and emotional tensions, you are never relaxed.  Despite a superficial sense of well-being, most people are full of tensions all the time… Even while sleeping, thoughts and worries revolve in the mind, so that the tense person wakes up feeling exhausted.  In order to relax completely, the inner tensions of the body, emotions and mind must be released. Then the actual state of relaxation dawn.

… Yoga Nidra is a more efficient and effective form of psychic and physiological rest and rejuvenation than conventional sleep.  Those who adopt this technique in their daily routine soon experience profound changes in their sleeping habits.  The total systematic relaxation of a yoga nidra session is equivalent to hours of ordinary sleep without awareness.  A single hour of yoga nidra is as restful as four hours of conventional sleep. This is one of the secrets of the superhuman efficiency and energy of many great yogis, past and present, who have managed to achieve so much in one short lifetime.”

– Swami Satyananda Saraswati

I mean sole…  “on average we take 10,000 steps a day, logging some 115,000 miles in a lifetime, the rough equivalent of 4 times around the planet… with 26 bones, 33 joints, and more than 100 tendons, muscles and ligaments per foot” – soles of your feet are referred to as your second heart for a good reason.  Caring for them and practicing standing poses gives you strength and stability. In fact, according to a reflexologist, walking barefoot in the grass (or how about sandy beach:) decreases anxiety and the blues by as much as 65% as that sensation releases those feel good endorphins… so there’s so much to be said for yoga toes – spread them out and feel the earth beneath you.  It’s so grounding.  Ever since I saw a documentary on NHK (kind of like PBS of Japan) about the benefits of reflexology I had been intrigued… so this yet another bible:)  Thank you BFF for always knowing my interests and aiding my explorations.

Wildcrafted soaps with beautiful scents of the outdoors… of the trees, the forest.  If you can’t get to the forest for your sanity, then at least these scents and  your imagination can take you there. While at it, how about a Tree Pose?  Last night, Vinyasa yoga and today Moon Yoga… practice, practice… Then a practice of no striving with Restorative… Get your yoga in – even 20 minutes… it’s all good.

Siskiyou?  Mt. Shasta is in Siskiyou county of California. “Although the meaning of the name Siskiyou is uncertain, it is believed to be a Cree Indian word for bob-tailed horse. ”