Give thanks in all circumstances. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Thanksgiving is a great reminder to give thanks for all the blessings in your life. Even if the chips are down, you can still find aspects of your life to be grateful, even if it's just your breath.
So on your next inhale, say THANK YOU and smile.
As you can see, I haven't written a post in a while. I could blame several components of my life, including new ones taking up more of my time, but are they really to blame? I've obviously had some free moments (hello, TV?) where I could've logged in and written a little ditty, but I haven't. So why haven't I? Is that the proverbial procrastinator's question?
After doing a bit of yoga this morning, I made the connection that writing is a lot like yoga. Just like you have to return to your mat on a regular basis in yoga, you have to return to your pen, keyboard, etc. to write... and I haven't been. Call it what you will, but I haven't made time for my writing, and like yoga, it is another outlet for me to connect with my passion and my higher self. I believe it's one of my callings. So if I don't use it, I kind of lose it.
Therefore, today I'm returning to my yoga of writing, one keyboard stroke at a time. It may not be pretty, but at least I'm doing it. ;)
Have you been procrastinating or avoiding something you love? Tell me about it.
By Guest Blogger Mary Ward
Meditation is what helps to keep many people centered and focused. This is the most basic form of relaxation and though it is simple, it can take some getting used to at the beginning. Many people have a spot in their homes that they like to meditate and that they are quite comfortable in. It usually takes a special designated spot to get started so that you can tune out the outside world and focus on your breathing. Initially it may seem that meditating anywhere but the quiet sanctuary of your own home is virtually impossible. However, once you get into meditation and understand how you can make it work for you and your mental well being, you will quickly see that it can be done anywhere.
It’s All About the Focus
The key to meditation and what makes it such an excellent relaxation technique is that you can focus. You can get in touch with your inner self and concentrate on nothing but your breathing. Once you determine and understand that it is truly all about the focus, the location becomes far less important. If you can learn to tune out the outside world, no matter how distracting it may be, you can master meditation from anywhere. This takes some time and serious discipline, but you will quickly find that meditation can take place from anywhere that you allow yourself to truly focus.
Make a Safe Spot
Whether you’re at a friend’s house for the weekend, at a hotel, or in an unusual destination, the key is to find an appropriate spot to meditate. A spot in which you can tune out the outside world, focus without outside interruptions or distractions, and do nothing but breath. There is always a spot to do that, even if it’s in a bathroom or hallway, and as you practice meditation you will quickly see just how easy it is to tune out the distractions of the world around you. Initially though, finding a spot conducive to meditation can be quite helpful.
Breathing Makes a Big Difference
Meditation is not only about gratitude, but also about the breathing techniques that you practice. Learning to breathe deeply and hold these breaths can come in handy in the most stressful situation. You will quickly see just how meditation can help with the stressful situations that present themselves in everyday life, and you may just find that you are meditating in the most unusual spot without even thinking about it.
Mary Ward writes about various healthcare career topics, including how to choose among online surgical tech programs.
Good quote today from Abraham (receive the daily e-mail here). Reminded me of where I'd been that seemed so in despair and horrible at the time and now it's led me to the open house party of Yoga Patch. Without being in the car accident, I probably wouldn't have discovered yoga and fallen in love with it so deeply, now sharing it as an instructor in a brand new studio right by my house.
During a Unity sermon I sat in a few years ago, the reverand once said "horrible" events in our lives are either to bless us in some way later or for us to be a blessing. Maybe both happened in this situation.
If you're in Kansas City, hope you can join us for one of the events this weekend.
"There will be a time, not so far from now, that you will look back on this phase of your life and instead of condemning it or beating up on it... Instead of blaming or guilting, you will feel appreciation for it, because you will understand that a renewed desire for life was born out of this time period that will bring you to physical heights that you could not have achieved without the contrast that gave birth to this desire."
--- Abraham
Comment about your favorite yoga book and have a chance to win a copy of Enlightenment for Idiots.
After you make your comment with your first name included, send me an e-mail to Rama.Mama@live.com. There will be a drawing of all commenters, and I will e-mail you if you win to ask for your postal address. I'll do the drawing in two weeks, Aug. 7 and will announce the winner afterwards.
A few months after having Brijin, I finally read a fiction book again. For those of you who have small children, you understand how difficult it is to fit a small pleasure like reading a novel into your life.
To multitask, I read Enlightenment for Idiots; not only was it about yoga but was silly and entertaining like a beach novel. A perfect combo for this yoga teacher / gossip magazine addict (I actually don't have any subscriptions anymore, but my friends keep giving me their old copies of USWeekly and People. What's a girl to do? It's recycling.).
The author, Anne Cushman of Enlightenment, contacted me via this blog and said she'd give me a copy of her book to give away to one of you. So tell me about your favorite yoga book, fiction or nonfiction, now.
I'm also giving the copy of the book Cushman gave directly to me away at the grand opening of Yoga Patch at 7108 Wornall Rd., Kansas City, Mo., next Friday, July 31. Read more about Yoga Patch, the new studio I'll be teaching at beginning August 10 (see the schedule).
Cute newspaper column comparing running and yoga. Totally from my perspective, as someone who prefers the ease and relaxation of yoga to the anxiety and tension running long distance gives me (Sorry Dad, who has long coached cross country, but you know I can't run longer than a 400.).
Figure if you're going to exercise - and yes, yoga is much more than "just" exercise - might as well do what you enjoy, right?
"If we were talking to you on your first day here we would say, "Welcome to planet Earth. There is nothing that you cannot be or do or have. And your work here—your lifetime career—is to seek joy.
'"As you think thoughts that feel good to you, you will be in harmony with who-you-really-are. And in doing so you will utilize your profound freedom. Seek joy first, and all of the growth that you could ever imagine will come joyously and abundantly unto you."'
As the USA, the land that I love, celebrates its Independence Day tomorrow, it reminds me to celebrate my own personal freedom by choosing to think thoughts that feel good, no matter what's going on in the outside world.
NOTHING is so horrible it's worth feeling bad because it throws you off your connection to higher power, whether you call it God, Source, the Universe, etc.
This week at my "corporate gig," things have been tumultuous; co-workers are scared, sarcastic, angry, mean... all of the above. I admit to letting it get to me, which obviously felt horrible. Yet, I give myself some credit because in the past, before practicing yoga and knowing what I do from teachers like Abraham, I would have let it destroy me completely and attract even more negativity. Now I know that it's my indicator this is what I don't want so now focus on what I do. It is my choice. My independence to choose.
So make this upcoming Independence Day a reminder of your OWN freedom. You have a lot of power in that mind of yours. Choose your thoughts wisely and think on the empowering, joyful, uplifting side of life.
