Day 340 Intention ~ Take a breath...or several

Day 340 Intention ~ Take a breath...or several

Long, slow breaths are so healthy for us. They help the heart rate go down, can lower blood pressure and calm the nervous system. This can allow us to sleep better and yes, calm the mind. 

Today I will be teaching people how to breathe. I still get a little nervous (good nervous) going into situations with people I've never met, and leading a group. I think that is normal, and believe me, in middle & high school, even most of college, the idea of talking in front of the group would give me heart palpitations that could be heard in China. So, I feel like I have grown in that respect. Ironically, practicing the same thing I am going to teach these folks today will allow me to be calm when teaching them!

Lots of it is yoga, lots of it is learning how to breathe. 

Let's go over just a simple breath that you can take with you if you are ever feeling stressed whether at work, driving, at home or if you can sleep. 

Ujjayi breath, which means victorious breath, starts by sitting or standing up, nice and tall. (If you can't sleep, you can still do this laying down, but be sure you are laying on your back.) Lift the pelvic floor and let the shoulders draw back and down, the chest will lift. The head and neck are in line with the spine with the top of the head drawing up toward the sky. 

Start to breathe in and out through your nose. Find a constriction in the back of the throat in the glottis. With the mouth closed, start to pull the air from the throat although you are still breathing in and out from the nose. The breath will become audible. Some compare it to the ocean, some compare it to Darth Vader, but just know, you will be able to hear it. It does take practice though. Feel your body open and expand with the breath in and contract with the breath out. Practice 10- 40 rounds of this breath. You can even count the breath in and out, trying to find the same count or trying to find a longer count for the exhale. 

Happy breathing!

Til tomorrow...

Shanti,

Marcia

Day 339 Intention ~ Plan Ahead

Day 339 Intention ~ Plan Ahead

I am not one to map everything out in my life or world. I admittedly get a little lazy about it and fly by the seat of my pants at times. 

Tomorrow I am leading a wellness day for a community group that I have been very excited about. Sure, I've known about it for months. Sure, I've had an idea of what I have wanted to do since learning of this event. And, no, not til this afternoon, did I type it all out and get it together. 

What's funny is that the past two nights I have dreamt of this event and me leading it and, well, it all going well. But, the fact that I am dreaming about it lets me know that I am actually concerned about it more than I consciously feel like I am. 

So, even with my vague outline in my head, today, I planned this event. I typed it all out & am ready to roll with it come tomorrow. 

And guess what? I feel more relaxed now. 

A Malian proverb from today's African proverbs calendar reads, "Those who accomplish great things pay attention to little ones."  So, perhaps this outline and plan for me are the "little" things, but to someone who reaps its benefits tomorrow, it could be considered great. 

Til tomorrow...

Shanti, 

Marcia

Day 54 Intention ~ Don't Over Think It

Day 54 Intention ~ Don't Over Think It

Just do it. Sometimes when I get a little anxious about something, I completely psych myself out and then 1. I completely blow it because I'm nervous or 2. it all goes fine and I was upset over nothing. 

So, this morning, when going to sub for my amazing teacher, I started to psych myself out, thinking that people will be disappointed she wasn't there. I put myself through this every time I sub for her and it's exhausting. So, when that anxiety started to hit me this morning, I stopped, took a breath and had a little chat with myself. Stop thinking about it and go do it. It's 75 minutes of this long life and not worth the stress. I already had a class ready to teach and the reality is, I know what I am doing! 

So, I got to the studio and people were all friendly and everything went great. Once again, stressing for nothing. So, from here on out (hopefully!), don't over think it and just go for it! 

Til tomorrow...

Shanti, 

Marcia

Day 6 Intention ~ To Remain Calm & Breathe

Day 6 Intention ~ To Remain Calm & Breathe 

In the airport. Don't get me wrong, flying is not what gets me unnerved when traveling. It's the airport, the hustle and bustle, the delays, the cancelled flights, the possibility that something could go wrong. 

This anxiety is really not unwarranted. Several years ago, when still living in Colorado, my husband and I decided to make the trek back to Rochester to see my family for the holidays. At first, our flight was delayed because of a snow storm in Cincinnati on the first leg of our flights. Then, the delay was so long, we were going to miss our connecting flight to Rochester. So, they switched our flight to a different airline and sent us to Atlanta on Christmas Eve. Luckily, my brother lives there, so we actually got to see him and his family for the holiday. Our next flight, sent us to Philadelphia, where we would get to fly to Rochester. Unfortunately, the baggage folks on that particular airline went on strike Christmas day, so although we made it to Rochester, our bags did not. It goes on from there, but I won't bore you with anymore details. 

A positive that came out of that was that we got a free flight anywhere domestic from the first airline. So, we used it for our honeymoon to get to Florida, where we had to catch a little plane to the Caribbean that we could only get on Saturday. Well, lo and behold, there was a computer problem, so our flight to Florida was delayed so we wouldn't get there to make our flight. After many lines and phone calls, they shuffled us around & got us there to get our flight.

Soooo, once on the plane. I am good. Rereading this, I feel like a complete whiner, I mean, really- I know that I have been lucky to get to go to these beautiful places and see my beautiful family and that the hassle was worth it in the end. I also learned that although my husband doesn't practice the physical yoga asana practice, he handles these stressful situations on a much more enlightened and yogic way than I do. 

The biggest lesson I learned from these two crazy trips is to breathe. My yoga practice on the mat & definitely in my life have evolved greatly since those trips 7 years ago, but there is still that part of me that feels anxiety until I see that plane on the tarmac and we are boarding. 

Until that moment, just breathe.

Shanti, 

Marcia