Why You Need a Daily Practice

I'm not a morning person, as much as I try to be, it's a major struggle to peel myself out of my warm cozy bed. My daughter recently started school so I need to have her at the bus stop by 7:15, which means my day starts at 6, or if I want to get my yoga practice in, 5:30. Yuck.

Deciding that 5:30 just wasn't for me I let my daily practice slide for about two weeks. It was a rough two weeks. I was irritable and my fuse was short. I wasn't as happy and calm about things as I ususally am. I didn't like feeling rushed from the second I got out of bed till I fell back in it at night. I wasn't starting my day with calm so the choas I created in the morning seemed to stick with me all day. All the little aches and pains I woke up with progressivly got worse throughout the day. I felt emotionally and physically worn out. It was time to bring back my practice. A daily yoga practice is like a morning cup of coffee (feel free to inject whatever your morning beverage is here). When you don't get your coffee you are tired, have a headache and your whole day seems off. God help me if I miss my coffee and my yoga practice!

A daily practice is a great way to start your day. It allows you to slowly wake up the body with suble movements and gives you a quite moment to say good morning to yourself. You can check in and see how you are physically and emotionally. It's like a little self evaluation. Your brain can start on a quiet note rather than a got to go now mode. Your practice can be something as simple as 15-20 minutes (that is the extent of mine as getting up at 5am, well that's just not physically possible for me right now) or it can be a full length practice of 60-90 minutes.

A good daily practice should include enough poses to generally warm up the body and stretch all of your trouble spots. For example, I wake up with tight hips and shoulders. So I incorporate poses into my practice that will help open those areas up. Also allow at least 3-5 minutes (more if you can) of meditation or savasana to allow your body to get set for the day.

Mornings are the best time of the day for a daily practice, it gives you a quiet, solid start to the day. I find when I say I'll practice later, I never do, something else comes up. You will want to practice before you eat and try to do your morning constitution before practicing as well. Wash your face and brush your teeth so you feel fresh as you practice. Try going to bed a half hour early. Getting enough sleep is essential so you may have to adjust your schedule a bit. Belive me, it is worth it.

Below is a sample of my morning routine. It is very simple and can take 15 to 20 minutes. I usually hold each pose for 3-5 breaths, longer if it feels really good. Giving myself that little bit of time in the  morning, no matter how hard it is to get out of bed, is so worth it the rest of the day. No matter how rushed I am for time, I'm able to hold on to the sanctuary of calmness that I created with my morning practice.

Morning Practice: Move with your breath, focus on alignment. You can click on the links below to get more details on the poses. Try to keep your mind focused on the breath and the movement, you have all day to think, take this time to just feel and be present.

1. Repeat this sequence 3-5 times.

Childs Pose
Down Dog
Plank
Up Dog
Down Dog

2. Repeat on each side.

Down Dog, inhale right leg up
Low Lung
High Lung with back bend
High Lung with opposite arm arching over (if your right leg is in front, your left arm and side body arch over to the right)
Intense Side Stretch
Plank
Cat/Cow Pose
Up Dog
Down Dog

3. Repeat of each side.

Down Dog
Warrior II
Extended Side Angle
Triangle
Plank
Up Dog
Down Dog

4. Do each pose once.

Supine Twist: Lay on your back with your knees bent, arms extended out to the side. On your exhale drop your knees to the right, relax. Inhale bring the knees to center, exhale drop them to the left, relax.
Four Square: Lay on your back with your knees bent. Place your right ankle on your left knee. Reach through your legs and grab your left shin. Pull your left knee into your chest. Repeat on the other side.
Happy Baby
Savasana

Brahmacharya: Getting Rid of All the Clutter

I opened my kitchen drawer this morning to find my avocado slicer. I found it next to the pineapple cutter, hamburger press and the melon ball slicer. I had a little chuckle when I realized how many kitchen gadgets we had acquired over the years. Although handy, these gadgets were a bit excessive.

Brahmacharya is one of the yamas and means nonexcess. Cutting out all the things in your life that aren’t essential. It doesn’t mean that you have to live like a monk, but along the lines of mindful living and spending. Do you really need that cute shirt in four different shades? How about all the wonderful things from Sky Mall that lure us into thinking the more gadgets we buy, the easier our lives will be (insert use of avocado slicer here)? By cutting out all of the excess in our life we will be conserving our energy that can then be applied to other things like a daily yoga practice. 

Excess can apply to things other than possessions. Food is something we often eat in excess. Restaurants servings are huge and we end up eating the entire meal leaving us feeling crappy. When we are bored we snack, when we are sad we seek out comfort food. This is all excess food our body doesn’t need.

Relationships can be in excess as well. I think about those weddings where there are 8 bridesmaids. I’m sure you are friends with them all, but are you that close that you need them all in your wedding? Are they genuine friends who you talk with daily and turn to in a time of need?

Emotions can be excessive and only become an issue if they start to rule our lives. Depression, anger, frustration and even happiness. One would think too much happiness would be a good thing, however anything in excess leads to imbalance. Life is all about balance.

To find out if your life is full of any excess take the time to evaluate. Start with your living space. Is your attic full of boxes of stuff you just can’t seem to let go of, but never go up to see? Is your closet full of clothes you never wear? How about the things around your house? Do you have so many things that you can’t really see what you have?

The digital world is a lovely tool. Take pictures or scan all of your favorite drawings from your kids. The same applies to any medals or other such items around the house or in a box in the attic. Take the pictures and make a photo book out of them that you can leave on the coffee table. Not only will you make room in your attic, but you will have a nice memorable photo book that you can look at often.

Clothes, nick nacks and other items that you haven’t used or looked at in years put in a box. Take the box down to your basement and leave it there for a few months. Set a time limit. After that limit is reached if you haven’t wanted or needed any of the items donate them. Give them to someone who will use them. As for your display of various things around the house, take a hard look and see which ones you really adore. Make a space just for those and put the others in a box to give away later.

As for your relationships, take the time to list who is in your life. Make three categories, the people in your life that build you up, the people who just kind of exist and the ones that tear you down. From there focus your attention on strengthening the relationships with the people in your life that build you up. You don’t have to let go of the other people, just don’t let them suck any extra time out of your life. For example if you have had a long week and just want to relax when you get home and you get a call from someone who falls into your "just kind of exist" list, feel free to say no and that you'll get together some other time. 

When you choose to live your life in nonexcess you will find that you have more clarity and peace in your daily life. You literally have more space to breathe. Next time you are at the store or someone offers to give you something, take a moment to think if you really need it. If you meet someone new and they want to hang out with you again, evaluate the situation to see if you feel it would be an asset to your life or if it would just drain time you don’t have. It is ok to say no to things and people. You will be honoring yourself by keeping your physical and emotional space clear of clutter.

Who's Pain is Worse, Yours or Mine?

Pain is pain. No matter what the severity or cause. The person who is suffering it is feeling it fully and it may take over their perspective on things. To an outsider it may appear trivial and they think that the person is blowing it out of proportion and may recall a time when their sickness, injury or emotional event was much worse and that the person should just suck it up.

However it isn’t that simple. I’m finally starting to recover from a bad head cold. A few days ago I was feeling pretty sorry for myself. I was grumpy, tired and my nose leaked like a faucet. I couldn’t think straight to save my life and of course I had a very busy week ahead. While all this is going on I get a call from my mother, her MRI had come back with some issues, they needed to run more tests. Suddenly having a bad head cold didn’t seem so dire.

As humans we like to be noticed for our pain. My five year old loves to tell me about her little cuts, ones she often can’t even find to point out to me. When I recognize these owies, no matter how small, you can see the look on her face of appreciation for being listened to. Even as adults, no matter the size of our boo boo’s, we like to be noticed.

So what to do when your pain isn’t being recognized or in my case when my mother’s situation is obviously more serious than mine? The first thing is that your pain is real and you are experiencing it. It is not something to be dismissed just because someone else is worse off. That being said it is important to be respectful of the other person as well. Be considerate for what they are going through. You don’t need to minimalize your pain but you also don’t need to shout from the roof tops to be recognized. Sometimes we feel guilty about feeling bad. We think that we shouldn’t feel as awful as we do because others are worse off. But you can feel like crap, it’s ok. The key is not to linger. In order to heal you need a positive outlook and truly believe it.

When I was on the phone with my mom she caught on to the sound of my voice and the constant blowing of my nose. She was able to look beyond her diagnosis to ask how my health was. In respect to her feelings I thanked her for asking and kept my answer short, said it was a bad cold but I’ll be on the mend soon. I then proceeded to ask more questions about her. The fact that she thought to inquire after my health, considering her recent diagnosis, meant the world to me and I wanted to offer her that same recognition.

We're all different, some need more love and care when they are sick than others. Being able to read people is an essential tool. Keeping your ego in check but not letting yourself fall into the shadows to be forgotten about is important. Like I said in the beginning, we all like to be noticed for our suffering, it’s about receiving and giving. If no one notices that you are sick, notice yourself. Give yourself a sick day to recover. Next time a friend or family member is sick, take the time to notice and ask if there is anything you can do. In the end we will all feel better.

Roll Out Your Mat to Sucess

I went to the Grace Potter concert this weekend with my husband. If you  have never seen her in concert, or heard her music, you are missing out. One of the things that I love about her is her spunk. When she is on stage she gives it her all. It doesn't come off as a fake act, but as someone who is genuinely in love with what she is doing.

I'm always inspired when I see her. She makes me want to dust off all my old ideas that I let go of and give them another try. Making it in the music business is no small feat. It takes hard work, determination and a strong will to stay true to yourself. This rule applies to everyone, no matter what you are trying to achieve.

Self doubt and frustration can stop anyone from achieving all that they want. The difference between someone who is successful and someone who isn't, is believing that they can do anything and not being nieve that it will always be easy. When self doubt creeps into your life it can wreck the best laid out plans.

Whether your plans are simple, like to start a daily yoga practice, or bigger such as getting that career you've longed for, you need a plan. Just thinking about things in your head won't bring anything about. You have to write it down and make it happen. Start with the small stuff and work your way up. There are times when I'm horrible about my daily practice, especially when my schedule gets hectic, but that is when I need it the most. Even if I can only practice for 5 minutes, that time I give myself, along with the satisfaction of knowing I'm sticking to my plan to practice every morning makes my day better.

We all hit a wall, I'm sure that Grace Potter hit many, but we need to go on. Success isn't handed to you, you have to achieve it and work for it. You have to dust yourself off when you get knocked down. I once read that implementation is the key to success. Every day you must work towards your goal, even when you don't want to. You have to define what success is to you and then plan out the steps to get there. The space you create on your yoga mat offers you the time to think about your life and put it into perspective. It calms your mind so that you can think clearly, it allows you to let go of judgments and builds encouragement. It's like having a daily meeting to check in on how your plans or life is going.

When you are stuck, roll out your mat and decompress, it will get the creative juices flowing. As you move through your practice set an intention. Perhaps it is to think about what your life plan is, what are your goals and how can you get there. One sun salutation at a time you will get closer to where you want to be.

Asteya: Don't Take What Isn't Yours

I remember vividly the moment I learned about stealing. I was four and grocery shopping with my mom. She was in the cereal aisle picking out our Coco Puffs and I was wandering nearby. A bin of candy caught my eyes, it was like Halloween, candy for the taking, so I did. I stuffed a handful of chocolates in my pocket, thinking nothing of it. When we got to the car I started to munch on my candy, enjoying the yumminess of it all when I got "the look" from my mom. She marched me back into the store and had me hand over the contraband to the store clerk. I was mortified. Lesson learned.

Stealing has its shades of grey. It can be anything from taking something from a store, a friend or stealing an idea or identity. No matter how little or insignificant the thing is, if it isn't yours and you don't have permission, it's stealing.

Asteya is one of the yamas, it means non-stealing. We know the obvious ones, but what about the not so obvious things that we steal. Like the shirt we borrowed from a friend and just never got around to giving back? You may not think much of it, but I guarantee every time your friend opens up her closet looking for that shirt she does.

Stealing, especially when it comes to identity, not as in identity theft, but in following another persons ways instead of being true to yourself, is subtle but can have its affects. It is important to be authentic. Be true to who you are, don't take your cues from someone else, following the cool crowd just to fit in. Talking how they talk, wearing what they wear. Instead find out who you are, not who you think people want you to be. It may not be the easy road, but in the end you will like yourself more.

Everyone has their guidelines on what they believe to be stealing. Those who were raised in a strict religious household feel guilt over any type of stealing, while others may not see an issue with taking something, like the extra pens at work. It's all about how you were raised and what your conscience believes. You can live firmly in your beliefs, as you choose your life and how you want to live, but you can't change others.

When you see someone stealing something it may rub you the wrong way, but it isn't up to you to tell that person that they are wrong, there are of course exceptions to this depending on the thing that is being stolen, more action may be appropriate. Confrontation on the small stuff can potentially lead to a fight. People may not care that they are stealing, but they certainly don't want to be called out on it. Instead lead by example. If it is an issue that keeps happening over and over again, try to find a nice way of pointing it out. Don't blame, but perhaps just question. Find out why the lady in your office keeps taking the pens, perhaps she doesn't think of it as stealing, perhaps she isn't paid enough and she thinks it is her right.

People like to watch and judge other people. If you are living in a way that sets an example that you are proud of you can go through your life happier as you have nothing to worry about. Your beliefs are solid. Some people will figure things out, others never will and you have to be ok with that. As much as you are willing to change, unfortunately not everyone is as pliable. Live with an open heart and an open mind. You'll be a lot happier. Karma will take care of the rest.

Satya: Give It To Me Straight

The truth isn’t always an easy thing to hear. This realization of truth may be coming from another person or from you. For example, I don’t always love to teach yoga. The first time I realized this truth I felt pretty awful. How could I not love yoga, all the hours I’ve spent training, all the students who I’ve helped. How could I not love it?

Satya is one of the yamas. This one falls in the category of how you treat yourself, the people around you and the planet as a whole. Being truthful is so important because dishonesty ties into guilt and we all know that guilt can eat away at us till we are empty inside.  Even the smallest of guilt, although not always in our forethought, can have repercussions. If we don’t resolve this guilt, our body will store it and it can affect the rest of our koshas.

One of the first steps to truthfulness is to figure out why you are being dishonest. You obviously have your reasons, or maybe you don’t, but in order to become honest you will need to do some digging. Journaling and meditation are great for this. If seated meditation isn’t your thing, try a walking meditation.

Allowing your mind to focus on one thing, and one thing only, will give you the time and space to find the root of the issue. When I sat with why I didn’t always love teaching I found out that during the times I wasn’t loving it, I was usually really busy. I saw teaching as yet another thing that was zapping my free time and energy. I still loved yoga, but it was adding stress to my already busy schedule. When I became aware of this I was able to shift my thoughts from not loving teaching to taking the times that I teach to slow down. The time I spent in the classroom teaching didn’t have to be a time sucker, but a time for me to stop and take a breath, to draw energy from the yoga. I found the positive in the negative because I took the time to find the truth.

Dishonesty generally stems from a situation we find ourselves in that we just don’t like. We want to make it better so we lie. These lies can be little white lies all the way up to a major one. No matter the size, it is still a lie. Telling the truth can be scary. You never know how the person that you lied to will react to your sudden telling of the truth. There may be consequences. The best you can do in these situations is be honest with the person, tell them why you lied and that you will be honest with them in the future. If they get so upset that they cut you out of their lives, perhaps they have some truths that they need to face themselves.

Life is full of situations that are constantly challenging us. The yamas and niyamas give us pause, allow us that split second to make a decision that is ethical and will give us peace of mind. Peace of mind gives you peace of body. Your relationships will be stronger because your family and friends will know that you are who you say you are and that when you speak, it is always from truthfulness.

Rejection Sucks!

At some point in our lives we've all been rejected. Whether it has been in a relationship, a job or anything else that was important to you, it just plain sucks. Lots of emotions come up when you are rejected. Anger, frustration, confusion and doubt, just to name a few.

As much as rejection hurts, it's a good time for self evaluation. When I get rejected the first thing I want to do is blame the other person. I will think awful things about that person, like how could they be so naive not to notice how great my work was and what an asset I would be! I choose to blame because it is easy, it's a lot harder to look to myself for the reason I was rejected. Just to be clear, it isn't always your fault that you were rejected, sometimes it is the other person. However, for the times when it is you, self reflection will help you to better understand the situation and come out of it a better person.

In order to really reflect on a situation you will need to shut off your inner critic first. Our critics are loud talkers, they interrupt and will speak over our voice of common sense. So instead of just thinking about why you were rejected, write it down. Write down all the reasons you think the situation didn't go your way. Write everything down that comes to mind, no matter how small and trivial. Set a timer and write for at least 5 minutes. This will make you think more about it when you otherwise may have stopped. Don't just write the faults of the person that rejected you, but yours as well. You can do cluster writing, which is just random words that come to mind.

Once you have it all written down, circle the words that stand out to you. Begin to notice if there is a pattern. If you notice one, especially if it is about you, journal on that. Dig a bit deeper. For example, as a writer I get rejected all the time. I often get mad at editors because most editors are grammar geeks who can't write to save their lives. They love to pick things apart and in the process can lose sight of the heart of the story. If I'm really evaluating myself I will see that this comment is broad and mean. That perhaps they are rejecting my story because the content is either not what they are looking for or they don't like the way it is pieced together. I could journal on how to take criticism better and make it more constructive. I could give up writing for that company or I could work harder to conform to their writing styles.

You will come to a point when you are rejected that you must decide what is important to you. What you are willing to change in order to be accepted and what you will not budge on. Journaling will help you with this. If you do decide that the rejection was caused by something you've done, then it is time to put your ego in check. Chalk it up to a learning experience. Get the most out of it that you can. Don't let it be a thing that drags you down but something that lifts you up and makes you a better person, so that next time instead of getting rejected, you will be accepted.