Work Toward Emptiness

To find balance

O.k. I must admit that walking the middle path can be quite frustrating at times. Most of the time. Pretty much all of the time.

The middle path is the one between your spirituality and the rest. It is the act of being "in the world but not with the world." It is the balancing act between the muggle world and the magical.

Of course the key is to meld the 2. To carry yourself strong and peacefully moving from the quiet wisdom of the center & speaking the truth of the greater Self.

But, truth be told, it is hard to hold the balance. It is hard to stay away from the drama of daily work life. And floating in yoga all day is just not in my cards at the present.  So... i must walk the middle path.

Lately this has been difficult to say the least. & i find that i have been experiencing  crazy new sensations. Panic attacks and gastrointestinal disturbances. Yeah. I'm laying it out here. These sensations are simply new & are usually most severe before and during my work day & then later in the evening before bed.  I have always been a go with the flow kind of person. Maybe too much flowing not enough standing up for myself? Or possibly the internal resistance to surrendering to the insane weirdness of the most modern day workplaces. I really don't know.

I do know this - my personal practice, no matter how minimal, is becoming more & more dear to me. The challenge, truthfully is finding the time & letting go of the idea that there is "not enough time."

Yesterday morning, the struggle to maintain my breath and calm the racing of my heart as i prepared for work helped me to step on my mat. My time? 10 maybe 15 minutes. My practice? A (for me on that day) short series of strong standing postures that helped me to ground and find my center. My meditation was a Qigong style qi  energy movement meditation.

Remember - practice safely & mindfully. And check with your doctor before venturing into any exercise program.

Hold each posture for about 7 - 10 breaths or whatever helps your mind to quiet.

tadasana (mountain)
vrksasana  (tree)
virabhadrasana 2 (warrior 2)
viparita virabhadrasana ( reverse warrior)
parsvottanasana ( pyramid pose)
virabhadrasana 1-( warrior 1)
prayer twist
crescent warrior
standing split
Tadasana (mountain)
Repeat on other side

Tadasana with arms overhead opening into a backbend.
rolling into a squat
sukhasana

meditation
Make the akash mudra.
Place left hand at the second chakra
Right hand chest level
Relax the eyes, settle into the breath
move the qi from the bottom hand to top and top hand to bottom.


Namaste

a simple sequence for the back and shoulders

Here is a simple restful warmup sequence that i find helpful to ease an achy back and cranky shoulders.

Let me know what you think. Feel free to leave comments.


Remember - practice safely & mindfully. And check with your doctor before venturing into any exercise program.

Peace.


Lie on your back. Bend the knees and line the heels up w/ the hips.
Place your hands on the hip bones. Let the back surrender to the floor, the shoulder blades sink with heaviness.
Breathe.
Inhale deeply filling the belly. Exhale relaxing the spine.
Notice the movement of the body, the gentle rocking of the pelvis with the breath.
And deepen the breath.
As you inhale, the belly inflates, the lower back arches as the pelvis tilts towards the back of the body.
As you exhale the lower back rests into the floor as the pelvis tilts towards the front to the body and the tailbone lifts ever so slightly.
Be here. Coordinating movement with breath. Pausing at the top of the inhalation and at the bottom of the exhalation.
Stay with this movement as long as you wish.

When you are ready, move back to the starting point.
Separate the feet a bit more than hip width apart. Let the arms fall away from the body.
 Begin to slowly move the knees from side to side. There is no goal of getting a knee to the floor. Simply relax into the  feeling of the hips beginning to open.
Again, let the breath guide the movement.
Stay with this movement as long as you wish

Bring yourself back to the starting point - knees bent and heels in line w/the hips.
Place the hands, palms down, on the floor beside the hips.
As you inhale, press evenly into the feet and begin to peel the spine off the floor inhaling up just a little bit vertebrae by vertebrae. Then exhaling down the same way.
As you feel comfortable, you can roll up a little higher working up to the shoulder blades.
Allow your breath to guide this movement 6 - 8 times

Lifting the spine with the inhalation again, this time lifting the arms and bringing them to rest beside the ears.
Exhale - roll the spine to the floor and bring the hands beside the hips.
Repeat this motion 3 x.

Again, peel the back off the floor & bring the arms beside the ears with the inhalation. With the exhalation move the spine to the floor and the hands beside the hips. This time, at the bottom of the exhalation, bring the knees into the chest then roll the chest & chin up towards the knees. Take a breath here. Follow the inhalation back into bridge posture - lifted spine and arms beside the ears.
Repeat 3x

Once more lift up through the back and bring the arms up beside the ears.
Then hold the posture.
Press down evenly through the insides and outsides of the feet. The thighs should be parallel with one another.
Lift up through the fronts of the thighs and the pelvis, moving the chest towards the chin. Keep the neck natural.
Stay here in this variation of setu bandha sarvangasana bridge posture  for 5 breaths.
Slowly lower down.

Drop the hands away from the body just a little bit. Spread the feet a little wider than the hips and rock the knees side to side.

Draw the knees back to center line the heels with hips. Reach the arms up towards the ceiling. Bend the right arm and hold it right above the chest then bend the left arm and place it on top of the left (think of making a "basket" with your arms.) Keep the arms connected as you drop the left elbow towards the floor and the knees to the right. Hold here for about 5 deep breaths.
Then move back to center. Switch the arms and repeat - dropping the right elbow towards the floor and the knees to the left. And hold here.

Pull back to center. Release the arms. Roll the body to right as though you are rolling over in bed. Mindfully lift yourself  and come into simple sitting, sukhasana. Bring the hands to the knees and rotate the body 3x in one direction & 3x in the other.

Come back into the quiet of  sukhasana. From here you can continue on with your practice or sit quietly for few minutes then continue on with your day.


Namaste

Stress & you

I found this article on Huffington Post. I think it's worth a gander. In my opinion, it's another reminder of why a regular yoga practice is so important. If yoga is really not your thing, try Qi gong, tai chi, tensegrity, walking mindfully, laughter or whatever will bring your body & mind together in a compassionate mindful way. No time for movement? Then simply try sitting and breathing for 5 minutes.

If we don't learn how to manage our stress, our stress will manage us. Stress has been linked to a horde of conditions including Alzheimer's. This is what the aforementioned articles says about the hippocampus and its function:

"This is a crucial area of the brain that helps with memory -- it doesn't actually store all the memories, but decides where you will store what. "It's the director of the orchestra," Sood says. But when excessive cortisol (a stress hormone) is in your system, it can kill the hippocampus nerve cells, causing memory problems (that's why you can never find your keys when you're perpetually frazzled). The good news is that you can get those nerve cells back. What works? Meditation, relaxation, a generally healthy lifestyle and cultivation of compassion, gratitude, forgiveness and acceptance."


"The good news is that your can get those nerve cells back." 

The good news is that we don't have to be victims of our hectic lifestyles. 

I Tell You

I tell you, deep inside you is a fountain of bliss, a fountain of joy. 

Deep inside your center is truth, light, love, there is no guilt there. 

There is no fear there. Psychologists have never looked deep enough. 

~Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

(found in "Yoga For Depression" by Amy Weintraub)

Feeling stressed at work?

The 10 things you’ll do once you start yoga (that have nothing to do with yoga). ~ Lee Anne Finfinger

The 10 things you’ll do once you start yoga (that have nothing to do with yoga). ~ Lee Anne Finfinger