Yoga Life

Off to teach my Sunday morning class.  Here's my real life so far today...my little son woke me up at 5 AM and I was not happy about it.  Suffering...what does it mean?  Why do we experience it?  Age old mystery.  Breathing helps.  

Then I got to the studio and used the tool where you do what's good for you even if you don't feel like it.  Below are some "be real" scorpion at the wall attempts

Being a Yogi Today

I'm into yoga.  If you know me, you probably already know that.  It's a whole kind of lifestyle system, and I find it really helpful and cool.  But if you don't know much about it, yoga can seem strange, mystical, boring, unattainable...lots of things.  Traditional ways that were once revered and followed (and still are by many) are now becoming out of sync with the way we see things in the modern world.

So, here's me, being a yogi, every day for the next year (or as often as I can manage in my real life).

Some notes:
I don't like the word "yogini" so I don't use it.  Sounds like a bad cross between yogurt and linguini to me.

About hurt feelings:
I'm not out to offend or shock.  However, I will not be limiting myself to fit in.  I am being authentically me. There are seemingly unlimited places on the internet to get information or be entertained.  If this is not one that suits you, that's ok.

Brief intro: I am 33 and 3/4, a scorpio, an ex-christian-fundamentalist, a mom of one, a political progressive, pansexual and proud, a sign language interpreter, a student of yoga and restorative body work, Taoism, Thich Nhat Hahn, and lots of other things.  Everyone has many nuances, influences, labels, roles.    I might say things some find offensive. (See yogini comment above).  I deeply respect that each person has their own perspective.  I share mine to participate in human culture, to support causes I believe in, and to be expressive.  Most of all in this endeavor I want to be real.  Real human life in the western world is a wildly varied experience.  This is a peek into mine.

Enough with the intro.

August 16, Saturday
Got to sleep in.  This is me being very serious in tree pose.  And then realizing if I turned my head I could look like I was eating light.  Or shining light out of my mouth.  Either way.  #YogaLife #BeReal

Human Needs

Some thoughts on taking care of ourselves.

Basic Human Needs

Water-
By the time you are thirsty, you are probably already dehydrated.  Your body needs lots of water!

Signs of dehydration
Tiredness
Dry Skin
Headache
Constipation
Lightheadedness
Dry Mouth
Thirst

How much water daily?
Multiply your weight by .5 to find the baseline amount of water you need daily.
add 8 oz. to this total for every caffeineated beverage or soda you drink.  If you find plain water boring or difficult to drink in large amounts, check out the caffeine-free herbal tea selection at any grocery store.  There are many flavors to choose from, you can boil a cup or two of water, add several tea bags and steep, then add water and ice to make a gallon that is ready to drink from all day.

Food-
There is no one right diet plan for every body.  As a basic start, fill the bulk of your diet with whole foods, as unprocessed as possible.  Sugar, MSG, and white flour are at the top of my to-avoid list.  From there, be kind to yourself!  Pay attention to which foods make you feel terrible, and eliminate or greatly reduce those.  If you do want to indulge in one of those foods, take the time to sit down in a relaxed environment and slowly savor a small portion, noticing the smell, texture, and being very present with the taste through the whole experience.  If you want some help on how to get started with that concept, the Center for Mindful Living downtown offers mindful eating sessions, as do I.

Touch-
Human affection and connection are crucial to our well being.  Whether partnered or not make sure you accept affection from the other loved ones in your life, as well as from yourself.  This includes self-massage, and giving yourself the time to get a massage or other hands-on therapy, even if it is trading with a friend.  If possible, massage therapy and reflexology are great as well.

Attention-
It is important to feel that you have sources of healthy attention.  Practice deep attentive listening in your relationships to encourage that pattern between the two of you.  Also, meditation can be a wonderful way to sit down and fulfill this need for yourself, to observe your own thought stream with rapt attention.

Participation in community-
If you feel a lack in this area, there are may avenues to find a group of people that you can join.  Check meetup.com, Facebook groups that also meet in person, local events, faith based groups, volunteer groups and so on.  It can be difficult to find a good fit at first, but it is worth the effort.  Keep trying!  Look for people who are comfortable accepting you for who you are right now.

Guidance-
You may have wise and trusted older relatives or friends that can offer their wisdom.  If you do, lucky you!  If not, a religious leader in the community may be able to help with guidance.  However, the truest teacher is Within yourself.  Practice listening to your intuition, trusting the impressions you get, and acting on the needs you see in yourself.  Also, take a look at the book list in this packet for books I have found particularly helpful for guidance.  You may enjoy all, some or none!  Check the library self-help and spirituality sections for books more to your specific situation.

Altered states of consciousness-
In spite of what you may imagine when you see that phrase, what I am referring to is "transcending the ordinary" and accessing a deeper/higher type of awareness.  Mindfulness based practices can help, meditation, bodywork, and whatever it is for you that makes you feel blissful and timeless.

Healthy sexuality-
We are sexual beings, and are meant to maintain a balance of this aspect of our nature neither depriving ourselves or overindulging.  If you have tended toward deprivation, explore healthy outlets for your sexual energy.  If you have had little to no sex drive, spend some time investigating the causes, and supporting yourself in this area.  Whether partnered or not, women especially benefit greatly from regular solo self-love sessions.  If you tend towards overindulgence, support yourself in reflecting on why that might be so, and what you can do to bring balance.

Emotional balance-
Our emotions are an integral part of the human experience.  If you have a tendency to "stuff down" or ignore your feelings, consider some safe ways you can start to pay more attention to this part of your experience.  Whether you have been ignoring feelings or hanging on to them, even difficult feelings are temporary, experiencing them fully allows them to dissipate or integrate more readily.  Journaling,  talking to a counselor, meditation, inner child work and yoga therapy can all help.

Unconditional Love-
We all have a deep need to love and be loved.  A crucial piece of feeling fulfilled and loved is to actually begin to deeply love ourselves as individuals.  When you commit to listening to yourself, to doing what you need for your well being, that is a powerful path that will change your life.  Think of it like when you have a new romantic partner.  It seems so easy to love everything about that person, to overlook small flaws and to be impressed by simple things that make them who they are.  You feel exhilarated to do things for them, happy to find out what their wants and needs are so you can participate in fulfilling them.  In a similar way, if you begin to looking at yourself as a person worthy of ecstatic unconditional love, and start establishing habits accordingly, you may notice very real changes happening.  This shift can also lead to working on loving relationships you have with others, and all of these connections point to, and are part of, our connection to Divine.

Listening (to myself)

My old habit was that I spent a lot of my time and energy filtering everything about myself through what other people expected, thought, taught, demanded or my perception of what they wanted or required.  Know thyself...wise words that are simple but not easy.  I am creating new habits and courageously going Within to set aside patterns no longer serving me and to remove those filters. It isn't about shocking people or any other reaction others may have- it is about getting to know Me, the one-of-a-kind God-expression that experiences life in this body. My body is the temple that I worship in, where I encounter directly the inhabiting of Spirit.  My individuality is a gift that brings something unique to this life dance. If I spend my efforts trying to alter that based on other people's unique God expression, I do us all a diservice and I miss out on the intimacy of Loving Myself as a tangible way to experience and love God. So. The first step for me in speaking my truth is to listen to myself. All others and especially certain Others have wisdom, and I honor the Divine experience of all, but I must be my own first, truest source of living wisdom. In turning within I can begin to notice and honor all aspects of my incarnation, to fall in love with my life, to bring myself deeply into the experience I am having moment by moment, authentically and unafraid.

Speak Your Truth

I haven't [posted in a while, I have been in a quiet lul and preparing for my 3 week intensive yoga training.  Today is the day I start that journey in earnest, and I have come to recently understand that I need to focus on "speaking my truth".  I am not yet sure exactly what that means, but I know it involves overcoming a lot of fear.  Fear of what I might find if I'm totally honest with myself, fear of what others with think/say/do if I'm an open book, fear of letting go and surrendering to what I find in myself and in life as I immerse myself in this new idea.  But I know that fears can be gently, powerfully transformed with love.  I committed to myself a couple of years ago to face whatever WHATEVER comes up in me that isn't serving my highest good or that is keeping me from being my best self.  So- speak my truth it is.  In an effort to get started, I'm looking into what it means to speak your truth.  This is excerpted from an article that can be found at: http://www.expresswhoyouare.com/2013/04/10/12-questions-to-help-you-speak-your-truth-liberate-your-life/

Speaking your truth to yourself
1. Are you being honest with yourself about how you’re feeling?
2. Are you being honest about what you (and your whole body) genuinely need?
3. Are your being honest about what you value and what your priorities are ?
4. Are you being honest about what you want for yourself and how you want to live ?
Speaking your truth to others
5. Are you tuning in to your inner self before you express yourself ?
6. Do you speak from you authentic self, rather than reacting from your thoughts?
7. Do you know what it feels like in your body when you’re speaking your truth (and when you’re not)?
8. Do your honour other people’s truths as much as you honour your own?
Speaking your truth through your life
9. Are all parts of your life aligned with your core values?
10. Are you honouring your unique gifts and talents, and sharing them with the world?
11. Are you actively bringing your wants, dreams, and desires to life?
12. Is your life growing and evolving as you are?

Mothers' Day

Becoming a mother brings a new perspective of reality, a joining into a continuation of a pattern of relationship as old as humanity, a coming around the circle from being a child of a mother, to being that mother.  It is a relationship in which mother and child dance a primal dance together, grappling with what it means to be human. 

With great difficulty and love and amazement, we learn from one another, gudie each other as teacher and student simaltaneously.  It is a sacred experience, in that all of life is sacred, but the divine aspect is perhaps more than usually emphasized in the intimate role we play in the life of our mother, she in ours, we in the life of our child, they in ours. 

We are given a mantle of responsiblity, the weighty, joyous task of peering into the wide eyes of this little human and discerning what is needed, what inner passions exist, what potential lies within, what direction can we offer to help this person unfold.  In return that ancient-new wise-innocent gaze offers to show us day by day how to become the guide that is needed, offering moment by moment lessons in becoming a human worth being a leader, a mother. 

And in becoming a mother, we are able to look with great compassion and gratitude to the one who mothered us, and who mothered her, and her, back through the generations of humanity and know that each of us is doing the best we can from our level of understanding.

Accepting Love

“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” ~ Rumi

 

In spite of being surrounded by other humans, a pervasive sense of loneliness seems to be a common human experience.  It can be frustrating to try to form deep connections that feel fulfilling, to feel like the other person sees who you are, and accepts you for that person.  In return, our own expectations and personal ideas about what love and true understanding look and feel like can keep us from seeing the love available to us.  Everyone has the same desire to love, to be loved.  Think about that.  If every person in your life feels the same ache of longing for love and understanding you do, what does that mean for our relationships?  I have been thinking about this idea, of working on learning to accept the love that people have to give, not the love I think they should give.  If I hold it against someone that they can't "love" me the way I expect them to, and in return if I close myself off to receiving the love they do offer, I am the one keeping myself from love, not the other person.  I am working right now at listening to myself as though I am my own beloved (because I am!), and if I struggle daily to give myself the kind of true love I want from someone else, how can I be surprised that I don't receive that love from others?  If I judge someone else and find something lacking in the level and quality of their love then perhaps what I am looking for is not something in them, but something in me that needs my own attention and love.  Love is patient.