Category: Meditation

Posted on

Cool-Headed amidst CoronaVirus

Dear dears,
during these uncertain times (a common phrase right now, I’m sure!), I would like to be barer of pragmatism in the hope to help those in my community to be able to stay in one’s centre and personal power. 

To not succumb to fear and its effects on our health; mentally, physically, socially and economically.  By writing this I’m not meaning to ignore advice about not spreading this further, or to undermine the awful wave of deaths across the globe but, to remind us all, that worrying literally does nothing.

Cool-headed

Despite statistics and educated opinions, we actually cannot predict the future. We have an idea. There are many speculations on why this is happening, and where it is going, but this is based on the fact of the known, but the unknowns are plentiful and we will never actually uncover all of them.

All we can do is to stay present and aware so that we may be able to respond as best we can, not from a place of fear and over-thinking, but from a place of being rational and cool-headed amidst coronavirus unnerving times; responding as and how changes occur. Without our presence, we can jump to panic and often very much disempower ourselves and those others trying to help (see nurses reaction to empty shelves with all this panic buying). In scary times, we can often want someone to take the reigns and tell us it’ll be OK, to look for advice in the opinion of another (simply as I state here, just my opinion but I hope it to empower individuals, not to take away). but really, who knows for sure?

What can we do to quell the nagging anxieties telling us we might be housebound for 6 months? Or that everything may go to rubbish?!

What can we actually find safety or confidence in? The only sure ground anyone has is one’s sense of centre. As we practice in Pilates, meditation or yoga (and beyond, this is simply my remit), to find balance, to find that strong, easy place, to be where we can continue to breathe normally, despite the external factors and pressures. THIS is the only secure place for us, even the strongest house will crumble in time.

I wish to offer my services and experience as a means to help keep those around me empowered and centred so that as a whole community, we may each make the best decisions regarding ourselves and others, as opposed to reacting on fear of the unknown and massive speculations. 

Thus, I’ll be offering zoom or Skype sessions, open Pilates/meditation/yoga depending on what I feel like and what’s requested/I hear around me. Also, I’ll be continuing to offer private sessions via this medium. All sessions will be based on donation, as in, if you’re still receiving payment from your employment, or not, anticipating your fairness for us both (my work is usually all face to face and 99% of my employers ceased my employment as soon as they’ve closed their doors). Please do get in touch via my contact form if you wish to know more.


Let’s all stay in our personal power of clear minds, decisiveness and health in physical, emotional and psychological regards. 

With love, Christine

Posted on

Confidence at the heart of it

confidence

Confidence, has a lot to answer for..

I used to get so embarrassed about messing up what I was saying and teaching in front of a class, which in turn would make me stumble more and more over my words and delivery.  Especially when in front of a new group of people (teaching or otherwise).

I’d chastise myself for messing up, cursing the dyslexia, my nerves and my decision to choose a job so demanding for the confidence I was lacking.  Nearly 6 years on, I thought I was pretty ok with confidence, well with teaching I’m a lot better, but in personal situations, I seem to have regressed some how (thinking perhaps I haven’t regressed but become more aware of what past awkward feelings and missed interactions have been all about).  This few months rehab period, has been just the ticket to digest and process those difficult interactions and feelings, which I’d previously pushed or distracted out of my way.  It’s left me acknowledging and accepting whole new parts of myself, uncovering different layers where massive confidence issues were lying in wait, to come up and sabotage my interactions with the world at any step..  “You can’t do that..  ..They don’t like you..  You’re weird.. ..People will laugh at you.. ..You don’t have the xxx for that”  I’m sure there’s a lot more you could write here.

Last week I was walking to the tube and passed this guy, he rushed past but seemed to want to say ‘alright?’ to me.  I’d met this guy in the tattoo shop a few months before, we had chatted a lot and he asked for my number.  I wasn’t that interested in him, but having just split up with my ex, I was happy for a distraction and a boost in my confidence from his attention; he was well dressed and spoke well, so why not?  We kept trying to make a date but we were both hard to pin down.  But 2 weeks before last we accidentally met on the street, he expressed keenness to meet up, said he’d message me.  I was on my way back from work at the time, wearing trackie Bs, a baggy jumper and had freshly washed so totally fluffy and crazy hair.  He didn’t ever text me after that, or respond to the text I sent him.  This left me feeling shit, as I already was hating the way I looked that day, well, most days my hair is unruly and sticks out, so most days have been a challenge to completely like the woman in the mirror.

On the train, just after this most recent sighting, my phone was on shuffle for a chillaxed playlist and a meditation came on, it’s about sitting with challenging thoughts/feelings and then dropping into the body to witness how they resonate there. My thoughts were around feeling unattractive and messy, nearly 33 years old and still, unable to master my own hair (and wardrobe at times).  I know I’m fundamentally beautiful but, the world is a harsh place, and not being one of those people who take extra time to make their appearance perfect (or are blessed with easy hair lol), I see the way some people look at or treat me on occasion. I mean, I take great care of myself from the insides out, ensuring my natural attributes are shining; just don’t ask me to straighten my hair everyday, wear fake lashes, tan, etc.

During the mediation, dropping into my body, it was the front of my left, slightly tighter, and lesser functioning shoulder which spoke up; it rounds forwards a bit more than the other, like when you’re hiding a bit from the world and trying to look small.  In Yoga, the left side also relates to the feminine side of you, and it’s this for which I’ve sometimes been ashamed of, not being as well polished or feminine, as much I notice in others or how I used to be at 16.

By identifying that sense, and breathing with it, I was accepting my differences.  Accepting that I don’t want to spend an extra hour getting ready like when I was a teenager, I am enough with my nourished skin, and fine golden hair.  I see all the ads with the models looking great, after 3-4 hours of make up and styling, I choose not to buy into it, and to not be ashamed of myself for it anymore.

If someone wants to judge me for how I look, then I’m happy not knowing them.  Seeing now, how I had put the power of my confidence in someone else’s unwilling and unworthy hands..

By the time I’d arrived at work I felt a lot better, acknowledging and accepting feelings which felt so difficult just one hour before.  I went to teach and I know people always love my classes (the regulars at least), but still I give myself a hard time for not being fun, strong, clear or creative as I want to be. But this realisation and meditation on accepting my crisis in confidence, let me teach without giving myself such a hard time, and everything flowed with much more ease.

We need to be our own best friends rather than worst enemies – if we took out our internal dialog and heard it through the tongue of another person; is that the type of person we’d be friends with?

 

Then I remember, I am who I am, and I accept myself.
I sometimes feel insecure, and I accept myself.
I feel a mess at times, and I accept myself.
I would rather be chilled than always preening, and I accept myself.
I am beautiful as I am, and I accept myself..

 

Posted on

Let’s talk Yoga, not Fashionista, Contortion, or Stretch Fads

This has been one of the hardest things I’ve written, yet.  I’ve spoken to students and other teachers about this many times and the generalisation of the issue I pose, generally, centres around individuals and groups whom from the outside, have a lot in common with I.  Thus, when criticising something which looks so close to home, one has to first have looked long and hard in the mirror – actually, criticising anyone is usually a call to take a long hard look at oneself.  But, let’s talk yoga..

 

However, I’m aware buttons may be pushed for some readers, do comment below, make suggestions for improvement, create a discussion if you disagree or agree.  By no means in this 7 short years I’ve been practicing and studying yoga can I say I have read all the philosophy, solely studied it with intensity or fully embodied it; however, I have had the privilege of having some amazing teachers (taking many forms of actual teachers, students, injuries, etc) and the practice of what has been delivered to me as ‘Yoga’ has literally, saved my life.  The basterdisation of ‘Yoga’ doesn’t feel good to me, it feels the opposite of what I’ve grown with and thus, for current students (including I), future students and many more beings in and around this practice; I feel a need to challenge some of the bullshittery around the Westernised version also known as ‘Yoga’, or Voga or WTF ever..
yogaaa

 

I was teaching less and less ‘yoga’ last year, still had a couple of consistent classes and clients but generally; I had been put off even telling anyone I teach it, even today my introduction doesn’t include ‘yoga teacher’ due to the connotations around that being in their abundance.  My practices continues to evolve, in a profound way, this too can make it hard to share and sometimes, one needs to take time to fully embody what it is that’s happening as the internal and external world change alongside the practice, thus being mindful to not share a confused message..  Of the yoga classes I teach, it’s taken a long while to move into a place (with some of the regulars) where the space is available to offer more alternative ways to be in Asan (the ‘steady’, comfortable postures), allowing in the potential to drop concepts and conditionings around the general consideration about harder, faster and stronger being the better or only way.. 

 

The other reason I’ve found it hard to teach and focused more with Pilates has been this portrayal of the skinny/slim white girl bending over backwards, posing on Instagram, putting legs behind the head and calling it yoga.  Even to view some websites when I’m looking for workshops to attend, WTF – really, why would I want to learn yoga from this person making shapes but somehow feels so far removed from the practice?..  Where’s the self-love and reflection?..

 

OK, so what makes me any different?  Why criticise this?  I’m different because I don’t give a fuck TBH about how my hair looks in asan, I’m not going to buy into the £100 legging fad, my main care is comfort not contort.  I don’t have an Instagram account and I don’t see the point to post endless selfies trying to prove something.  I did make a demo video a couple of years ago to help a friend with a project and have had requests to make them by other friends and companies, so I’m working on it, but I really don’t understand how you can transpire some of the teachings via non-face to face, energy to energy contact..?  But let’s see, this isn’t a diss on technology!

 

I’ve heard so much from students, studio managers and other teachers about people getting taught ‘yoga’ by someone doing a headstand in front of the class before they’ve even begun, ‘the young 20 something slim girl coming back from a 200 hour training and taking all the yoga teaching jobs’, students getting Pushed or encouraged to Push themselves into Asan, workshops actively encouraging taking of selfies during the workshop in various poses…  Need I go on..  And all under the umbrella of ‘Yoga’.  THAT is the kind of ‘yoga’ I don’t want to be associated with; I teach intuitive movement perhaps I’ll say instead, or Pilates and mindfulness..  Yes, I too started with a 200 hour course but this was just The Start.  Hats off to anyone who can get onto teaching classes after that brief introduction (unless perhaps already with a vast amount of practice in more than just asan and education in A&P) but it’s not real.  And it’s giving ‘yoga’ a really bad reputation among people who actually give a shit about the connective, expansive and life changing side of this beautiful ancient tradition.  I know I’ve only less than a decade of experience here but I won’t claim to be anything more, I teach modestly and am quite open about my limitations, then if people return they can listen to how I can point only back to them for them to learn what it is they’re looking for.

 

For a simple example, paschimottonasana, seated forward bend; can you hold your big toes? How does holding your big toes make your WHOLE spine, shoulders, feet, etc feel?  Do you have a feeling of length through out or did you have to compress and contort something to get there?  I.e. is that congruent with your whole?..  Can you still breathe?  Does it even matter that you have your toes?!  Some hips and spines are that open, TBH, I don’t see that many in classes I teach; general bodies have been long deformed by chairs, sofas, cars and society.  Does YOUR body need to be in a deeper bend than him or her?  Do you need to master this posture to post it onto your or as a response to a celebrity teachers’ instawank?  Is that 5 seconds of pain necessary to inflict upon yourself?..  Are you enough aware about how to listen to yourself so you can hear how your body responds to this posture?  So you are aware if that’s the right place for you to be right now?  Or sorry, were you just after a stretch class?
fallingyoga
Picture of me on old yoga photoshoot punching above my weight trying to pose for pinchamayurasana – just in case things needed lightening up 😉

 

It’s the drive to go deeper into posture without regard for causing damage to the body; which for me, has been one of the most powerful realisations (which I keep coming back to!) about how the path of yoga moved from an exercise class (yes, this is how it started for me) into something a lot more.   Saying that, yes, I know by teaching the way that I do, I run the risk of bastardising some of the lineages of Asan; but for me, not taking into consideration that our overly sedentary Western bodies have simply (most of us) had different experiences during the formative years than past yogis, is bastardising the Yamas and Niyamas..  Social media has a lot to answer for about portraying a distorted view on what bodies ‘should’ look like and be capable of doing; smiling contortionists, getting all pretzeled up, just for the shot..  Unless you’re a dancer, gymnast, martial artist, moved properly your whole life (and have some degree of hypermobility) how really can one be able to sit comfortably and breathe in some of these postures?..  Hats off to those who can, love it!  But this doesn’t make up the majority in my UK based circles.

 

Too often I’ve seen and heard people aggressively being pushed or pushing oneself into postures, throwing our cells around and blaming yoga for our getting injured.  It troubles me to hear from students talking about teachers who are regularly showing off their postures, head standing in front of everyone before class has even begun, FFS, really?!  Whilst of course wearing the latest ‘in’ lycra, all a part of the modern ‘yoga’ brand.  Although I am in one vein, criticising this, in the other I hold space for it, as I’ve been there too.  Feeling the pull to go there still now at times (yes I appreciate aesthetics and pretty things!), it feels good to wear nice things!  But as teachers at least, I encourage you to question your motives sometimes.  It’s hot, I want to wear my abs out..!  Hmmm, yea but then those people who come to my class who aren’t all day movers get a distorted perception of healthy body image..  Those who maybe can’t afford much more than their gym membership get the feeling they don’t have enough money to buy into the ‘yoga’ world of looking good?..  Why and when did yoga become so exclusive?  When did all this get so mixed up?   Again, FFS..  I wear all sorts, but if I want to look sexy I keep it for my free time with the someone I want to look sexy for, not people who are coming to learn something with such a transformational edge with, it gives totally (for my style at least) the wrong impression.  Students are already at one’s mercy due to the set up of teaching, keep it pure, keep it real, keep your freaking EYES wide OPEN.  I’ve recently started teaching yoga classes to banging tunes, requirement of the particular studio, the message still transpires; breath in the asana, not just pushing the painful posture; banging beats, whale noises or silence..

 

For the past 7 years or so I tried so hard to fit into the yoga world, causing injuries, ignoring my desires for other pursuits and trying to keep up with the trends.  Now I say fuck it.  Fuck the clothing companies (I actually wrote to one about only having size 6 models and was told this is protocol.. Sweaty Betty your response was pretty lame and unsatisfactory), fuck the “I can touch my big toe”, fuck the contortion, fuck the perfect alignment, fuck the competition; give me the sensing, inside out awareness with less headfucks and back aches.  Each of those has it’s space in the world, let’s celebrate the differences for what they are?  Rather than what they claim to be..?

Love

Posted on

Heart Listening Meditation

 

heart-med

Photo Credit Miguel Echievera

This Heart Listening Meditation can help you to release fears and anxiety, tune into your true self and express the best of you.  Whatever the struggle, these past few years have had the propensity to make or break many of us.  Many have left this Earth, left relationships, ‘stable’ careers, and homes; many changes still seem to be happening too..

Physically and physiologically I’m in better shape than possibly ever before; psychologically and emotionally possibly also too but, recently I’ve noticed the heavy feeling in my heart.  Perhaps this is from before but I wasn’t quiet enough to listen to it, or perhaps it’s more recent that my heart is feeling pained as I only came to notice it when sitting down for a few minutes self-healing before leaving to teach.

Your physical heart resides in the left hand side of your chest, the emotional or energetic centre in more in the middle of the chest at the bottom of the sternum (breast bone).  The left side is side to relate to the right side of our brains, which is said to be related to our more feminine, quiet, and intuitive qualities; for me, this left side has generally been a bit more disturbed on comparison to the right.

Once I had settled into my seat, it was almost like a firework of realisation went off in my mind!..  When did I last truly listen to my heart?!.  I realised I still was in need for some deeper introspection to move in beyond the pull of thoughts, judgement and the mind.. The mind is very smart, I thought I was feeling, but  this is different to actually feeling, listening, sensing and being aware of the more subtle layers..

The heart meditation my heart shared with me is too good and too easy not to share.

Sit, lay down, or however you can be comfortable and about 80% relaxed, so there is still an edge of alertness present.  Lightly place your hand on your heart (just above left boob or nipple is probably the easiest place to sense it, and see if you can follow your heart beat..

If you can’t at first it’s important to breathe and be patient, these things can take time..

Simply stay with that and send the intention of love from your hand(s) to your heart.

See if you can tune into the connected nature of it all through your physical body.  If that evolves to more subtle systems then allow whatever comes. If you wind up thinking then notice your thoughts, if it’s a story about hurt, love, pain, fun or anything else then notice it, and come back to listening to your heart beat. If anything keeps pulling at your attention then explore it at will, or simply write it down to make a note, but be conscious you’ve distracted from the listening.  For how long you want to do this is up to you.  Start with 5 minutes is my suggestion.  Try it and let me know how you get on!

Posted on

Fighting Monkey (Copenhagen Workshop 2016)

For 4 days I’d had my mind blown
Head fuck extraordinaire..  Fighting Monkey Copenhagen 2016, Monkey Mind doesn’t stand a chance..

IMG_3482

Jozef and Linda share about moving in a way which is not only palatable but accessible and really freaking exiting.  Moving with your whole organism, opening up or enhancing ones ability to respond to oncoming challenge, moving harmoniously within your natural organism and within your environment. Assertive yet open encouragement to break out of preconditioned patterns and models, and providing the space to entice every cell of your being to work at it’s best. To keep moving, using the constant current of life and your universal vibration in order to respond to unknown variables. Coming out of the prefrontal cortex, the analysis part of your mind, and coming into the space of infinite potential; thus allowing a maximal harmonious play with your environment, whatever that may be..

For me, being a mover for a lot less time than most of those who were also attending the workshop, I found it highly demanding but very accommodating and encouraging to allow my mammal organism to move more freely and more ease fully than ever before, with a consciousness beyond the basic mind control, tapping in ever deeper to ones central channel. The principles they use are delivered in a manner such that I believe anyone can gain, whatever their background; however to have a good awareness of ones mechanics beforehand is a must to enable safe and optimal participation.

I trained intensely before this workshop, mainly working on strength and balance; this was a wise impulse for me to follow as you need to have at least a certain amount of balanced perception of strength and flexibility in order to progress through the games architecture offered. My journey with movement clearly started when I was created in the womb, but due to my path in life, movement took a sideline for schooling, university and the inevitable working at a desk for several years; following the path I assumed to be the one I needed to follow..  No matter what your background, if you’re reading this, you have a body (however that has manifested it’s unique and wonderful self) and to have a body means you NEED to move it.  Use it, or lose it.. 😉

Having a few year experience with martial arts (kick boxing mainly) and more recently with Pilates and yoga put me in good stead to keep up, awareness and knowledge of biomechanics has also been fundamental in allowing me to move in way which has reduced the stress on my body and thus increase its desired output. As when you move with poor form, this not only stresses your joints but also your nervous, energetic, emotional, digestive and other biological systems; don’t get me wrong, any movement is better than no movement but let me just drop in the word ‘optimal’ to marinade on one’s brain..  Once an awareness about basic mechanics has been embodied these proposers of fighting monkeys blow all of that out of the water. When I work with people who don’t move enough or don’t have enough awareness of their body and I can see why my other teachers have placed such strong emphasis on ‘correct’ movement; I.e. Offering movement tasks to people which can help them to stabilise and open up joints in a safe manner. This is not the only way. The joints and structures need to be allowed to move in such a way which challenges them, tests them, not only supporting them.  I can see from a general teaching stance how these techniques of basic linear alignment can help in general classes with people who aren’t so interested in movement per se and perhaps, need to first build up their basics and manage general and obvious pathologies; but I’m very happy to redefine, rebuild and reimagine what these blessed bodies can do..

Linda’s smooth and elegant yet super strong movements inspire the sense of grace and ease with the vibration of each and every one of your cells.  Jozef’s apparent background with martial arts often brings in the element of fighting to the games he shared, or I guess this could be put as, the need to respond to irregular happenings in the environment, as it’s generally not the case that our every step and every interaction will only be challenging us in a uniformed way. Therefore our body requires the neural, biochemical and physical ability to adapt constantly. How do we do that if we have only ever moved in a regular fashion?

All weekend, and in the weeks leading up to this I’ve felt energised, waking up early, until my head has been hitting the pillow (sometimes) being alive.  Now I feel I could sleep for the next month, or two..  So much demand on the systems of my organism, finally catching up with me.  But I wouldn’t change this for the world. I can feel those hard to reach areas are now pulsating with life, even if my muscles are intensely aching and my head is heavy.

The most nourishing part for my spine from the games of the fighting monkey was working a lot with moving my head with the balls.  I’ve discovered or reinforced in my brain where it is I have been having less than complete systems of movement, for me.  I can see, even though I live in a city I need not be holding myself in this bracket and boundaries anymore- mindset is of great importance. Confidence in movement is of great importance too.  I’ll admit, I’ve been quite scared of moving in certain ways as the body I have is an amazing tool for learning; the amount of eccentricities it’s shown me to work through can be pretty tiring but it’s been so refreshing to smash the shit out of what I thought it could do and open up my imagination more to what it’s built to do.

Thanks, respect and big up to Jozef and Linda x

Posted on

Meditation in Daily Life – A Space to meditate

A Space to Meditate

Two things I hear quite often from people are “I haven’t got time for meditation” or “I have nowhere to meditate”. Generally the obstacle of not having anywhere to meditate is based on the person’s idea of what are essential meditation prerequisites when in reality they may have a perfectly suitable meditation space in their own home. Furthermore, the problem of not having the time for meditation is then resolved when the person realizes that they don’t need to travel anywhere to meditate as they can do it in their own home 🙂

There is a lot of information around regarding the ideal meditation space. However not many people have this ideal situation with a room that can be dedicated solely for meditation and completely free from any distractions. This post
“Meditation in Daily Life – A Space to Meditate” will hopefully give some useful information and suggestions to create a great meditation area with whatever space you have already.

Association & Location
It’s easy to understand why the location is important for meditation but what’s this about association? Well, unless you have a room that you can reserve exclusively for meditation, then that room will have other function(s). Take for example your bedroom as maybe it’s the only private place you have. For most of us it’s mainly a sleeping place but it may also be where you work, read, watch TV or anything else you wish to do in private. What we need to achieve is a meditation area within this busy room in order to be able to ignore all of the other associations with other uses when we meditate.

Firstly find a space on the floor for a meditation cushion or a chair that gives a clear space in front of you. You can also use a meditation or yoga mat to mark out your meditation area which will help to create an association with meditating in that space. If it’s your bedroom and you haven’t got the floor space then the edge of your bed is fine but ideally you would still use a cushion to sit on. Make sure you remove any clutter or unnecessary distractions from your peripheral vision. Assuming we are meditating on the breath then this is enough to start with but if you are using a physical object for your focus, such as a candle or image then also have a clear non cluttered area around the point of focus.

If you are going to meditate in your living room then again use a mat to mark out your meditation space. Face a blank wall rather than one with pictures and ideally avoid facing towards the television. If possible don’t meditate in thoroughfares, keep away from draughts and try to have as much free space as possible around you. Natural light is the ideal although if you haven’t got a window in your room then switch on the light as it is much more beneficial meditating in a light space rather than a dark space. Once you have found what you think to be the most suitable space then stick with it and before long it will become a relaxing area where your mind starts to calm itself even before you start meditating.

Location: Interruptions and Distractions
Whilst noise such as traffic or the neighbor mowing the lawn can be distracting, after a little practice we start to get used to this type of noise to the point that it doesn’t detract anything from our meditation. However what’s a little more difficult to get use to is someone interrupting your meditation, infact even the thought that your meditation may be disturbed can hamper the meditation. Thus if you have to make the choice between assured privacy or some inevitable background noise, choose the latter. We will talk in more depth about this subject in a later post “Meditation Techniques”.

This is a basic guide to help create a meditation space in your own home. As your meditation practice develops your surroundings become less important to the point that you can meditate virtually anywhere. However, until then having a comfortable space to meditate will really help you develop your meditation practice.

 

Previous post by Mike “Meditation in Daily Life – Calming the mind“

Posted on

Meditation in Daily Life – Calming the mind

mike1

There are many types and styles of meditation all of which are practiced for a variety of reasons.  These reasons span from simply finding a calm space in a hectic world to actually changing ones view of how one perceives the world.  Whatever your motivation or reason to meditate then hopefully you will find some useful information and guidance within the following series entitled Meditation in Daily Life.

Meditation & Calming the mind

Whether you are a complete beginner to meditation or an experienced Buddhist practitioner the first goal in meditation is to calm the mind.  There are several techniques to help with this although by far the most common way is to have something to concentrate the mind on, like a point of reference or a focus point.  Whilst this may sound a little contradictory when you say calming the mind by focusing on something, it may help to understand that as well as calming the mind, when meditating we also need to be fully aware and consciously working with our mind otherwise we may as well just be asleep.

Meditating on the breath is one of the most popular methods and especially easy for beginners to practice.  This involves focusing on the breath, not forcing the breath but just being aware and conscious of our breath; ideally using the stomach to control your breathing and inhaling and exhaling through the nose.  Perhaps just try this for a minute before you move to the next paragraph and see how it feels.

Before talking in more depth about meditation practice, maybe it would be helpful to explain how having this focus helps to calm the mind.  We all have distracting thoughts to contend with whilst meditating, no matter how much meditation experience one has.  The difference is that the more you meditate the less the thoughts distract you.

To analyse thoughts is sometimes referred to as contemplation and whilst this can be positive in some situations, it is not particularly beneficial for calming the mind.  Neither, on the other hand, should one try and block these thoughts as this will just dull the mind and in the end make you feel quite tired.  What we do when a thought pops into our mind when we are meditating is simply acknowledge the thought but then let it go without judging or focusing on it; give it the least amount of energy possible.  Then we return to our focus, in this case our breath.  Without something to return our focus to it would be difficult to steady and calm our mind as it would soon start to follow its own picture show and before long we would be off on a daydream.

There are many scientifically proved benefits from meditating and calming the mind that we start to experience as part of our daily lives:  It is known to increase our ability to focus and concentrate, increase our self awareness, develops a real sense of well being and calmness and if this is not enough, extensive research claims meditation leads to an increase in happiness!!

The next article in this series talks about practical aspects of meditation such as where and when to meditate along with useful tips to help motivate you to get your bum on the cushion 🙂

Posted on

Mindfulness & Meditation

meddi1

What is Meditation?  How do you ‘do’ meditation?  What is mindfulness?

I want to clear my mind, so why do I want to be mind-full more than now?!..

I don’t have time to sleep, let alone meditate!..  It all sounds a bit stressful?!..  ..Anything sound familiar?

I guess the best place to begin, is to highlight, for me, what the benefits of meditation are.  Of course, this will vary from person to person, but I’ll substantiate with some science from studies further down the page; as there seems to be much correlation with what the scientists are finding and what, I, as an individual, am living..

  • Better focus and concentration on task in hand.  I.e. able to cut some veggies up, without cutting myself..
  • Feel calmer, able to manage ‘stress’ more easily
  • Not so worried about what others think of me
  • Getting to sleep easier and better
  • Improved relationship with myself and my body
  • Better relationships with other people
  • Enhanced creativity and allowing my own ‘spark’ to shine

..Thus, to name but a few reasons why life feels better since including mindfulness meditation into my personal practices..

Mindfulness seems to be the meditation technique to best suit my personality, so far; from what I’ve explored meditation wise.  There are many other techniques one can use to get to know ones self, different techniques to suit different people at different times; as if a specific technique doesn’t feel right, listen to that inner voice and change course if necessary.  As Ekhart Tolle describes in his book, “The Power of Now”, everything is about this moment; whatever it is we’re feeling, living, exploring, it all happens right now, and mindfulness is a great way to get you into that space of the Now.

Through being mindful, we can pay attention to what is going on internally, in each moment, and therefore respond to external events in a way which is more congruent to our core beliefs; rather than perhaps to fall into habitual patterns and not knowing what is right for us.

Paying attention to the present moment not only helps our response abilities, but it also gets you out of worries, regrets, fears, anxieties and judgments.  None of these exist in the present moment, right now, how are you?  Where are you now?  Why worry about what’s not happened  yet, or, what you can’t change from past happenings.  When living in this moment, worry cannot exist.  Judgement comes from comparison and unseen dark corners of ourselves, by highlighting these corners, and taking time to presently explore how you feel about certain things, let emotions run their course, and, bring a whole new wealth of understanding of yourself, to yourself.

Mindfulness in the moment = You + Extra Space + Extra Time = Relief from the confines of the thoughts in your mind

Have a holiday from self-limiting beliefs and raise the roof on what you think is possible for you…  Breathe..

Resources:

 

Posted on

Easy Breathing Meditation, Relaxation

breathin med

This breathing meditation is simple to do yet effective at its head-space creation capabilities.. You can vary the length/counts for your breathing to suit you in that moment..  It’s also a great pre-cursor to the Yogic Breath technique.

Meditation or Mindfulness can help you to:

  • Feel calmer, happier and more content
  • Sleep better
  • Be more able to deal with difficult situations
  • Increase attention span
  • Have improved immunity, better health and less signs of aging (as are bi-products with stress reduction techniques naturally)

Safety points, if you suffer from heart conditions, are pregnant then it is NOT advised that you hold your breath between your inhale and exhale, otherwise, see how it feels and only include it if it works for you in any given moment…  Also, always inhale through your nose, to allow for better filtration of the air you intake, especially when in built up urban areas. Optimally, also exhale through your nose but this need not be so strict.

How to :

  1. Sit comfortably, preferably on a thick cushion or pillow on the floor.  If your knees don’t allow this then sit in a chair but with your spine self supporting, away from the back of the chair, or lay down on a mat or rug – or, of course, standing or walking can work too – main point is that your spine wants to be softly straight.
  2. As you breathe in, count how long your inhale takes.  As you breathe out, count your exhale duration too.  Do this for a few rounds of breath to get an idea of your normal.  You want to aim to fill up and empty your lungs with each breath a bit more each time until you reach your comfortable capacity.
  3. Next we want to lengthen and moderate the inhalations and exhalations.  Aiming to make them both the same count can help to regulate not just the breath but your awareness about how much and how quickly you take things in and how you let them go again.  A good starting point might be:
    • Breathe in (inhale) through the nose and down into your belly for a count of 3,
    • Breathe out (exhale), completely empty your lungs, through the nose for a count of 3.
      (I.e. Count to 3 in your head, slowly whilst you’re breathing..)
  4. After a few breaths if it feels OK then extend your breathing to a count of 4 inhaling and 4 exhaling.
    • If filling your belly and emptying your lungs doesn’t happen for you at first then play with it.  It may feel strange to begin with, but, if it feels too hard, not beneficial, or you get a headache; try making less effort with it, keep the practice simple and easy!..
  5. Repeat this pattern for at least a further 10 cycles (don’t worry if you loose count of something, it all takes practice, be kind to your learning process)
  6. To advance (if none of the conditions mentioned above):
    • Pause your breathing after you’ve filled your lungs.  Hold your breath for half the count of your inhale.  E.g. Inhale for 1, 2, 3, 4.  Hold for 1, 2.  Exhale for 1, 2, 3, 4..
    • And/Or extend the count for each part of the breath to a point you can manage easily. In more advanced yogic practices the ratios of inhale, exhale and holds do vary, so if you feel comfortable then be playful with this practice.  If you’re unsure it’s always best to seek some face to face guidance from a teacher you trust to check your technique, as we’re not all made the same, therefore it’s not one glove fits all for something as vital as our breathing..

Personally, I do this while on the train, walking, i.e. Pairing the count with my steps or, waiting in line or before any situation which might feel frustrating or bring me anxiety.  Or simply to remind me about the here and now.. This is my intention at least lol, as being human and fabulously imperfect, life doesn’t always happen as planned 😉

And that’s it, your mindful and meditating..!  Be kind to yourself and if you get frustrated trying to do this then keep it simple and take it back to counting your natural breath pattern with no intent to change it, simply count it.

Get out of your head! 😉

Love

Posted on

Why is Yoga so Popular?

bc a

No doubt about it, every where you go, there is someone who practices, or has attained their Teacher Training for yoga (even if not using it).  Yoga seems to have become one of the world’s major commodities, yoga clothes, equipment, sessions, classes, training courses, retreats, workshops, holidays, studios, you name it!..  It’s easier in some places to do your TT than to study anything else which has such a powerful return..  I’m not saying I agree with the way all teachers come through, especially considering (when applied as intended, rather than as a fitness regime simply taking the name of Yoga..) the emotional, physical, energetic and psychological transformations that go on in class and session.  But, what is going on?..

For me, and many others, the journey into yoga has been profound, to say the least.  Through practicing yoga (considering of course the broad perspective of meditation, asana, pranayama and ways of discipline) I have not only saved myself from another potentially brutal surgery, addictions and an eating disorder but I’m continuing to unfold the rich tapestry that is life, and why it would seem, to me, we’re here having this set of experiences in the first place..

Previous to teaching yoga, my training was all in workings of the body, mind, computers and maths; science explored with hard evidence.  I would pick up the odd self-help book to help me to make a little more sense of the muddle of life (although a well paid job and lovely friends and home) which would just seemingly happen around me.  Through my ‘formal’ education, there was little to NO ‘soft skills’ , ‘life skills’ and not enough support with those huge questions such as, what is the meaning of life?  Or, how can bad things happen to innocent children?  What is the point of me being here?!  And, how do I process these feelings?..

Along comes yoga.  It was and still is tough, it got to my ego how weak I had become through sickness and lifestyle.  I was hooked on getting stronger.  But the more I took the time to listen to my teachers about the breath work, the meditation and intentions during physical practices, the more my curiosity and excitement grew for the broader subject of yoga.  Asking questions to my teachers, taking time out in India, reading more and more about the origins of yoga, and how others have interpreted that, I became aware of and interested in that part of myself which connected me to something bigger..  Coming from Catholic schooling if I ever heard the word God before, then I would turn my nose up and laugh..

The more I unfolded within myself, the more I noticed the needing to witness what’s going on around me, rather than getting caught up in it so much.  I see now, how much we are all connected, even though our personalities might be the furthest thing apart.  The more this connection strengthens between myself and all that is, the more I want to share this with others.  As surely, when all living beings recognise their own greatness – then the power struggle, greed and fear can stop, and I feel, ‘bad’ things will stop happening to innocent men, women and children through more willingness to share and love..

How many other ‘main stream’ jobs, classes, activities or lines of inquiry offer this?  How many other jobs push you to explore the deepest darkest parts of your psyche?  What else is there to help you unfold in a friendly, fun and loving atmosphere?  Unless you go into other therapies such as body work or psychology of sorts then there is no onus to develop ones self beyond the text book; even then, I’m not sure of how many disciplines of the mind have you exploring the soul and the body at the same time..  AND, yoga has become so accessible to study..

It doesn’t surprise me how so many people are hooked on yoga.  I’d say if you have discovered you like it, doing the teacher training is a great way you can do to form a better relationship with yourself, even if you don’t want to teach (or, even easier, a regular yoga and mediation practice with a dedicated teacher where there is space for you to ask questions and interact).  Hearing some reports, it may not sound like all training courses support students the same..  The main reason I advocate yoga so strongly is because I’m not sure how many other disciplines incorporate such depth of self-discovery?  Or, offer support through a change of perspective and the openness to challenge old beliefs..?  Martial arts are also a beautiful discipline but again, can be questionable as to it’s path also into spiritual growth..

Choose your guru or teachers wisely, find ones which speak to your heart in a very pure sense..  There is no greater feeling than that of self-liberation, self-empowerment and realising you are a part of something greater, together..