Before starting your morning, set aside 15 minutes just to be with yourself.
Start by sitting and observing your breath for a few minutes. Then, let your body start to move around. Do any stretches or movement that feels good. After about 10 minutes of moving, finish by sitting and observing your breath again.
Being there for yourself in a healthy and gentle way can do wonders for your soul and spirit. Try it and see what happens.
The best part about breathing consciously is that you can use it anywhere, anytime. It is especially useful and effective when you are having trouble sleeping.
All you need to do, is put your attention on your belly, and let it fully relax. As you breathe in through your nose, feel the belly as it expands gently. As you breathe it, notice and feel your belly relax. Keep this movement of your belly and your breath the center of your attention.
Try this for about 5 minutes and notice a difference in your entire being. You should feel more calm and relaxed. You may even find that something that was stressing you out, no longer affects you in the same way.
Keeping one teen in juvenile hall costs $500,000 a year. 75% of those released end up back in juvenile detention. Mind-body breath practices can help 2,000 kids a year make better choices… for what it costs to keep one teen in detention for a year.
Last week, I decided I would give up sugar for 10 days, just to see how I would feel and to give myself a break from it. I never thought of myself as someone who eats a lot of sugar, but as I went about my day, I realized how many things have sugar in it, and therefore, how many things I had to turn away. The first few days were tough, but it got easier, and I could feel my energy levels change after the fifth day.
So for the next ten days, give up something that you feel attached to. Even if you don’t think you consume too much. You might surprise yourself once you fully drop it for a few days.
All you need is 10 minutes out of your day. Five in the morning before getting out of bed, and 5 minutes before you fall asleep.
The instruction is to bring your awareness to your hands, and observe sensation in your hands. Try not to look for a particular sensation. If you do not feel anything, just notice that you do not feel anything, and hold your attention on your hands. If you do feel something, just observe whatever you feel without trying to analyze or pass judgement. Read more…
I read about a woman who went on a 40 day meditation retreat. One of the meditations she was instructed to do was to hold her palms in front of her chest, keeping them slightly open, and gaze into the space between them and for 11 minutes, she was to choose a person to focus on, such as her significant other, or someone she loves, and imagine them happy–really, really, happy–allowing whatever images to come to her mind. Of course try to stay with your breath too, so that you feel connected to your body. By the end of the course, and when she was to go home and interact with her husband, she could only feel extreme gratitude and unconditional love for him. She realized that she did not need to change him, but rather she changed, her perspective changed as her heart opened up.
Try this meditation everyday for the next week, and just see what happens!
This week we will practice observing sensations on the top of our head.
Remember, do not look for any particular type of sensation; merely place your attention there and watch; whatever arises, just watch without judgement; at the same time, keep some attention on your breath.
Suggested practices :
Beginners: 5 minutes in the morning and evening, adding one minute each day
If you have a formal practice, try doing this for 20 minutes, both in the morning and evening, adding on a minute each day.
I feel as if all of these years I have taken Cat/Cow pose for granted. Now that I know what it is like to be severely injured, and to realize that just because a pose seems easy, it does not mean it is not valuable, I have been practicing cat pose, and appreciating it a lot more.
Practie: 5 rounds
Finish in Balasana, child’s pose for 10 breaths
If you are unfamiliar with Cat/Cow, please click on link below
On Saturday I went to a great workshop, Yoga for a Healthy Posture, at Uptown Yoga in Oakland. The instructor was Simona Balan, and she was very knowledgeable about the body and specifically the spine. She opened up the workshop with a great reminder, that our emotions affect our posture, and vice versa. Read more…
