Yoga for Fun

So for today, I mustered up my energy after a long drive and went to yoga. And the yoga instructor was luckily gentle with us and even passed out little twinkly lights. I love those! So for my Fun-A-Day today, I went to yoga. The end. :)

Here is a flashback from last January when I incorporated yoga into my Fun-A-Day as well.

Soften to Pain

This past week I was reminded to soften when faced with pain and discomfort. I did not feel my best, I have to admit, but my symptoms are much, much better now than two years ago when the Nutcracker Syndrome first roared its painful head. In moments of experiencing pain last week, I remembered an important tip I heard in yoga to soften my face. This is a phrase I have heard when holding the downward dog pose, because it can be very easy to hold your breath or clench your teeth in this position. Normally I squeeze my face into a big grimace when I feel pain too, as many of us probably do, and I unintentionally tighten most of the other muscles in my body as well.

But when I remembered this tip and tried focusing on softening my face this past weekend, I found it very difficult to keep the grimace and I began to relax more in the moment. Relaxing in the moment and embracing the pain provided me with some relief, for which I am very grateful. Once I could relax a little, I could think more calmly and clearly and be more proactive or distract myself from the fiery sensations I was experiencing.

I have read about embracing one's pain from Pema Chodron and in other Buddhist writing, but I didn't quite know how to actually go about doing this until now. The idea of literally softening all the muscles in our face and forehead when in pain is fairly easy to try and practice, is something we have some control of and is a very practical remedy to the stress that pain can cause us. 

I have found in the past two years that my pain has been greatest when I am most stressed out, so I find the idea of softening and relaxing quite refreshing, compared to my automatic response of tightening, resisting what's happening to me and stressing about what is going on in my body to cause all this pain. That way of thinking doesn't help relieve the pain; it only exacerbates it. It feels almost counterintuitive at first, but it is so valuable to remind yourself of this in a painful moment. I think this practice could be applied to emotionally painful moments as well, although I haven't tried it in that way specifically yet. Please keep me posted if it works for you!

All it took for me was one little phrase and listening to my inner wisdom in that moment to bring me a glimmer of relief in a painful situation. I hope this post brings at least one person the same relief I experienced.

Chipping Away at the Walls Around Us

Have you ever felt stuck and couldn't quite figure out why?

Sometimes we find ourselves going along in life, growing and changing and enjoying the process and then all of the sudden, we feel like we've hit a rut.  Why?

There is a chance that we may have at some point on the journey been hurt or fearful or betrayed and begun to put up a wall somewhere in our life to protect us from the outside world and sometimes even from ourselves, maybe without even realizing we did so.  In order to move forward again in our life, we need to start chipping away at that wall, brick by brick until we feel it start to budge a little--or a lot, if we're lucky.  Even a slight move can be enough to jumpstart our enthusiasm and get us out of the slump we were stuck in.

How, you might ask, can we move the walls we've put up around us?

I think we can literally start moving our physical bodies and get out of our heads in order to start wiggling the protective wall.  Probably for some, running works.  For others, dancing.  (That has been my experience in the past.)  For me, most recently, it was yoga set to joyful music and reflective writing.

But why would we even want to jiggle this wall out of place that has been supposedly "protecting" us from harm?  That may sound kind of scary, like taking the shell off of a snail.  Ah, but this is where the richness of life lies.  Once we wiggle free from this wall that's been holding us in place, we can begin to feel life again.  We may feel some sadness or confusion or frustration at first but with time and reflection, we can realize greater vulnerability in our relationships with ourselves and our loved ones and a greater understanding and appreciation of our situation and our journey.

For me, the first step is recognizing I have constructed this wall in the first place.  With awareness comes understanding and thankfully wisdom to start chipping away at the protective wall that is not only keeping away potential dangers but also potential joys.  I noticed that I had this tough wall up around me this past weekend while attending a workshop on fear.  This one-of-a-kind workshop was held in a yoga studio and involved many creative activities, such as writing, singing, dancing, doing yoga while singing, listening to joyful music and reflecting and sharing on some very deep and important topics.  This was also the first time I tried yoga since my surgery last year and I am happy to report that I was able to do most things, although I did feel some interesting sensations around my scar during the child's pose, normally my favorite yoga pose.  But I noticed the sensation and stuck with it, which was important for me in beginning to regain my courage and take back my former zest for life before my surgery last year.  This inspiring yoga/writing workshop on fear was created and presented by the amazing Jennifer Pastiloff.

In the process of writing and reflecting on what moves us and who we're grateful for in life, I realized I did not feel as moved as I normally would with such a powerful topic.  And my first reaction was, what is wrong with me?  Why do I feel so cold?  But I quickly realized that this "coldness" was the wall I had put up to protect me from past hurts and that this wall was preventing me from feeling my true, joyful, emotional self.  Just by recognizing this, I began to warm a little.  Not as much as I normally would, but that is why I use the word "budge" and "wiggle" because after constructing such a strong, protective wall up around you, it takes hard work to knock it down.  We must begin to first wiggle and nudge it out of its secure location so that we can begin to move forward again and feel fresh and energetic and hopeful again.  Even one brick chipped from the wall can make a world of a difference if we are aware of the progress we've made in taking that brick down.  Because we are the ones who are responsible for its construction and demolition.  We have the power to take down the walls around us so that we can truly experience life and love with our hearts wide open.


To read more about how important being vulnerable truly is, I highly recommend reading about Brene Brown's work, Pema Chodron's writing, any of my favorite creative author, Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy (SARK)'s books or take an awe-inspiring workshop on manifestation from Jennifer Pastiloff.