CREATIVE PAUSE

It seems there’s a great deal buzz in the media now about achieving what’s being called the “creative pause”. Someone has been credited for discovering and naming a phenomenon of taking time away from distractions to inspire creativity. Edward de Bono, founder of this wonder, says “creative pause” is “the shift from being fully engaged in a creative activity to being passively engaged, or the shift to being disengaged altogether”. To achieve the creative pause one is encouraged by Edward to take a shower because it generates a type of “white noise” to block out distractions. Indeed there are benefits to showers. Hey, you can multitask – get clean and simultaneously allow yourself time for pause. Only in America – do we multitask in our search for peace in our lives. Here are the suggested elements to follow for creative pausing.
Find a place where distractions are minimized, including noise
Let the body engage in a monotonous, mundane, or repetitive activity and free the mind
Change your environment
Ok yogis, I am sure you have come to the same conclusion. I hear you. This is MEDITATION, a timeless, age-old, peace creating tradition. It’s powerful, costs nothing, relaxes your body and you don’t need to shower at the same time. You just need a quiet place and your breath. It is simple, natural, timeless beauty. If you have not allowed yourself time for this beautiful practice, give yourself the gift. If you have gotten away from your practice, come back.
Sit comfortably, spine straight, close your eyes, breathe. You may want to repeat a mantra to yourself if you need to calm your mind. Choose something simple that resonates with you. Perhaps on the inhale – you say “love yourself” as you inhale with each syllable. On the exhale; say to yourself “love others”. Sit for a few moments with your breath and your mantra. Notice how you feel after just a few minutes of simple breathing. It’s all the “buzz” right now and more importantly it is life changing.
Namaste (Laurie W.)

The Power of Yoga

You know that yoga makes you feel good.  The power of the practice is undeniable.  What price would you put on a bottle of “yoga state of mind” that follows a soul stirring class with a relaxing savasana?  There is scientific proof to support what you feel in your body as a yoga student.  EEG’s and brain topography scans provide physical evidence of the correlation between mood and brain function.  There have been many scientific studies of the brain over the past 30 years and now there are brain maps that indicate areas of happiness in brain function. If you are new to yoga, hopefully you will find this information to be priceless. If you have practiced yoga, you don’t need a picture of your brain to know that your body, mind, and spirit are affected positively from the ancient practices.  You probably know that texts written thousands of years ago providing principles of meditation and yoga practices were written from an extended study of the nature of the mind. These ancient texts are the oldest forms of neuroscience know to man. With all this supportive evidence, why do we sometimes deny ourselves the opportunity to experience something so powerful?  The answer is humanness.

Of course there are many reasons within this answer.  Whatever the reason may be for you, if it has been a long time since you have experienced the power of yoga; your bottle of “yoga state of mind” is always waiting for you. Treat yourself now and often.  Sometimes when we are the busiest, those are the times of real need.  Join in sangha (community) with your fellow students at Community Yoga. Bring a friend who may need yoga too.  (Doesn’t everyone?)   The more you put the ancient principles into practice, the better you will feel.  You know it.  Your yoga sangha will smile when they see you and so will your instructor who will be glad you are taking care of yourself. Sangha will help you to slow down and tune in to what is important. May it be so!

Lokah samastha sukhino bhavantu. May all beings, everywhere, be free from suffering.

“Act As If”

Lets try this; an experiment in “acting as if”.  Let’s treat people as if they are doing the best that they can. Imagine what it would look like. Imagine what it would feel like.

How would it feel if someone treated you that way?  Picture this: a situation in which you believe you have disappointed someone. See yourself telling the person how sorry you are.  Maybe you are saying you can’t make it to a meeting or you are going to miss a deadline – whatever it may be for you.  How do you feel when you imagine hearing a negative reaction? The person is angry or sad, at the very least disappointed.  What if you heard instead: “I understand, I know that you are doing the best you can do.” Now, how does that feel? Are you breathing a mental sigh of relief?  Does your body feel relaxed?  What a gift you have received!  Give this gift to someone.  You know how it will resonate with them.   Your connection will be stronger and your heart will be lighter.

Leaning Into the Sharp Point

Pema Chödrön ordained nun, author, and teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist lineage  talks about “leaning into the sharp point” as a metaphor for facing our fears and insecurities with courage.  Ani Pema is the first director of Gampo Abbey, a monestary for western monks and nuns in rural Nova Scotia.

Chödrön writes “…feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we’re holding back. They teach us to perk up and lean in when we feel we’d rather collapse and back away. They’re like messengers that show us, with terrifying clarity, exactly where we’re stuck. This very moment is the perfect teacher, and, lucky for us, it’s with us wherever we are.”

Lucky is not the first word that comes to most peoples’ minds when dealing with bad news or any other negative emotion.  Nevertheless when we are irritated or resentful, we do “perk up” don’t we?  When we are embarrassed, we feel fully human, vulnerable and yet ready to react to the emotion.  We may want to run away, yell or blame. We are definitely moved.  Do we lean in when we experience anger, resentment or jealousy?  Do we see clearly?  Do we thank the messengers that can provide insight to our character?  Are we willing to sit with our vulnerability? These moments can be our teacher just as a spiritual leader can be a guru for us.  When we gather our courage to lean into the sharp point of the negative emotion instead of numbing the feeling and rejecting how we are stirred; we give ourselves a gift, a growth opportunity.  The moments are always ever present. The actions we take can define our character.

Meditation is a wonderful tool for sitting with our emotions, welcoming our teachers without self judgment.  Breathe in self compassion.  Breathe out disappointment.  Breathe in peace.  Let go anger.  Breathe in love.  Breathe in love.

Namaste.

Laurie W

A Calming Breathing Practice for this Season

Autumn is characterized by cold, dry, light, rough, and clear. A cup of tea, bowl of soup or stew and a soul stirring visit to Community Yoga all help to keep you healthy and happy!
A nice yoga practice for this season is a Three-Part-Breath. It is warming and nurturing for the body and spirit. The deep and slow breath sends a signal to your body that you are safe and happy.
Start the practice by sitting or even lying down. Keep the spine erect, shoulders relaxed. You could use a blanket to cover your body or wrap around your shoulders.
Place your hands on your belly. Exhale all of your breath. Begin taking a slow, deep, breath through your nostrils. Feel your belly rise with your breath. The lower part of your lungs expands and creates a type of internal massage.
Move your hand from your stomach to your ribs as you continue to fill with air, feeling the ribs expand with your inhale. Move the breath all the way up to your collar bones.
Exhale naturally until you return back to the bottom of your belly.
Begin again, breathing in very slowly starting with your belly first, moving up to your rib cage, then to your collar bones. Practice 3 rounds and sit or lie quietly for a few moments before arising. Smile and give yourself a hug for taking a few moments to relax.



Why Yoga Isn’t Just For Girls?

Why Yoga Isn’t Just For Girls?

by: Michele Mathiesen, RYT

What do these men have in common: Matthew McConaughey, Sting, media mogul Russell Simons, NFL’ers  Eddie George, Tony Parrish and Roger Craig, and Shannon Sharpe, baseball’s Barry Zito, NBA stars Kevin Garnett and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, NHL’s Sean Burke, tennis greats Pete Sampras, Andy Roddick, boxing’s Evander Holyfield and teams such as the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trailblazers, Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles, and the New York Giants?

They are part of the 3.5 million men who practice yoga, but yet there is still a reluctance of some people, men in particular, to practice yoga.   When asking facebook friends why they didn’t do yoga answers fell into 2 categories:  too girly /“New Age-y”, or based on a some harsh inner critic — I’m not flexible, it was too hard, I looked stupid, I can’t do it as well as them, etc.  In response to some of these points I thought it was time to de-mystify the yoga class and give you a reason to try yoga.

You don’t have to be flexible to come to a class.  In fact the less flexible you are the more important it is to come to a class and work on your flexibility.  We all know how important strength is for our bodies, but what many Westerners (as opposed to Eastern philosophies of the body) have failed to realize is strength without flexibility is not healthy and, in fact, as we age can be quite detrimental.  Too much flexibility, on the other hand, requires greater strength than average to prevent damage.  Like most things in life, this is a balancing act.

No one cares, that you can or can’t do something.  Yoga is a private practice.  You might be in a large class, but this is not the aerobics class of old, where it was as much about what you wore as it was about the exercise you were doing.  This is about you and your mat.  It is always there to support you and it doesn’t care if you are wearing the right clothes, are the right size, or even if you brushed your teeth.  Even though the room may be full of people doing yoga, they are doing their yoga.

“I’m too…. !” (fill in the blank)   We all are of different sizes, heights, shapes, weights, with different flexibility and strength levels that vary from one side of our own body to the other, let alone amongst different people.  To compare bodies and abilities is such a waste of your time. A good teacher can teach anyone, anywhere, with any ability level.

“I want to start with a video”..  Videos are no substitute for an Instructor, until you are comfortable doing yoga on your own.  You are missing the key components of group support, the yogic teachings, and learning how to do the poses correctly so you don’t hurt yourself.

Everyone is welcome, every time, always.  Good teachers can teach many levels of student proficiency in the same class without boring those more advanced students.  A class is like a good movie, you pick something new up each and every time you watch it, even if you have seen it a dozen times.

“The poses are too weird”.   Some poses are strange looking, but usually it is because it is so advanced.  Many of the functional exercises (not machines) you already do have their roots in yoga.  Plank/push up is part of a series of moves called Chaturanga Dandasana, Inch worm is similar to down dog, the Warrior series is a basic set of lunges.

I hope you decide yoga is worth a try.  Who knows you might even like it!

Michele Mathiesen, BS, is a Registered Yoga Teacher and is a Nationally Certified, Licensed Massage & Bodywork Therapist (NC 6472).  Michele ha been a Massage Therapist for 7 years working primarily in the medical field.  She is a highly skilled rehabilitative soft tissue practitioner, and has taught at the collegiate level is Massage Therapy.  Michele also has over 20 years of experience in yoga, and custom designs home practices for clients with special needs.  Michele’s expertise in postural analysis and biomechanics is incomparable amongst both Massage Therpaist and Yoga Instructors.  Michele’s has articles published in John Upledger’s most recent textbook, Workings Wonders as well as a number of publications in the Lake Norman area.  Michele can be reached by e-mail at barefootyoga2@yahoo.com or at Precision Fitness in Cornelius at (704) 895-2857.