ESC - Extreme Self Care

As the gym members gather in the group exercise room and start to set out their yoga mats a few minutes before class, I converse with them about their day.  I also ask them what they need from class.  Everyone comes to class for a different reason. Some are there to relax. Some to work on a pose that has challenged them for a long time. Others just want to keep their bodies in motion so that as they age they will be still be able to move about.  I organize the class in my head to address their needs.  Their attendance is part of their personal self care program though many of them may not consciously think about it in that way. 

It's true that most people are always taking care of a lot of things and people and some take pride in their "extremely busy" life.  We give and we run and we check things off the list and then we make another list, flopping down in exhaustion on the couch at the end of the day.

When is the last time you truly took care of you?  When is the last time you took the time for a luxurious bubble bath? When did you last sit down at a table to enjoy your favorite meal, savoring every bite instead of a rushed meal standing over the counter?  When have you treated yourself to a glass of champagne at a fancy restaurant toasting all the goodness in your life with every sip just because?  A walk, a new outfit, quiet time to read - the list is endless of all of the ways you could take care of you.

It is important to take care of yourself so that you can really be there for others and be able to take care of the things you need to do.  A coaching instructor pointed out the ESC key on our keyboard and told us to think of it as standing for Extreme Self Care

- and to remind ourselves every time we glanced at the key to really embrace that phrase.

What will you do to really take care of yourself?   I invite you to turn off your computer and take care of yourself now.

Breathing Easy

Have you ever put too much into an activity or your work and ended up exhausted? I am sure it has happened to most of us at one time or another.  I used to work in the power industry.  When it was regulated we would have to reconcile our costs yearly with the Public Utility Commission.  As I was the coordinator, it required very late nights for several weeks to provide all of the required information within the deadlines.  It was always an adrenaline rush that I enjoyed, then a crash.  I would end up exhausted.  I am sure if I could have stepped back and looked at the situation from the outside looking in, I would have seen alternatives.  But it is difficult when you are in the middle of the excitement.

In yoga, the most important part of the practice is your breath.  You breathe in and out of your nose.  I remind everyone that if you start breathing through your mouth - (I imitate gasping and heavy breathing) - you are working too hard.  They laugh but inevitably they end up making the sounds I just gently warned them to avoid.  Sometimes we finish a challenging pose and I hear their breath release at the end .  Busted!  "You were holding your breath - weren't you?!", I exclaim.  And they laugh as they admit it.

Pay attention to your situation.  Assess what is happening within your body as well as around you. Adjust as needed.

Here's to breathing easy!

Upside Down Is Right Side Up

Ah! The sweet sounds of summer and packed classes at the gym with all the students out of school heading to the gym for fun, fitness and socializing.  The energy in the room is exciting. As we wait outside the group exercise room for the class before us to end, people are lined up along the ramp and railing for yoga.  There are some timid people trying class for the first time and I approach them, offer them a yoga mat, answer any questions they have and encourage them to be easy on themselves and enjoy the experience.  Others are energized and excitedly talking to their friends (must have been a great day!).  When the doors finally open and we are allowed inside for our class, long time members make their way to their favorite usual spots while the student groups huddle in various areas of the room. 

They look and feel like a frisky bunch so I challenge them with extra push-ups and flowing sequences.  I decide that upside down poses will be the best way to go with this group and we work with handstands, and headstands. Some of the acrobatic yogis are upside down in the middle of the room while others are timidly trying to balance up against the wall. All is good.

A few days later it was a quieter crowd. There is usually quite a difference between the night crowd and the Saturday morning group.  They've just woken up and crawled to class or had time for coffee and the paper - but are still not at their peak.  So we move slowly through some warm-ups but I decide things need to change.  I have them partnering with other people in the room and show them how they can do a handstand on top of another person. I move about the room helping partners who are working with the challenge. One woman was up for trying but seemed a bit nervous.  I gave her some simple instructions and stayed right next to her, helping her get her feet on the upside down person that would serve as the base.  She made it and squealed with delight as her feet went up in the air. When she came down she was almost jumping up and down with excitement. She had never tried anything like that in her life.  That is why I love my job.  You could hear the energy level in the room rising as more and more people enjoyed our adult playground.  The energy was definitely up as they left to go about their day. 

"Thank you for letting me play with you", I said as I ended class.

How is your energy?  What does it need?

First - we need to be present and aware of how we are feeling. Then we need to decide what kind of change we would like to make - where do we want to go and how are we going to get there? Are we tired and need perking up or are we stressed and need calming down?  Be your own observer and make the energy change to get yourself in the place you want to be in.  You may find that turning yourself upside down is just the thing to make things right side up!

A Community of Yogis

I attended an awesome rocking yoga class when I was in San Francisco for a conference a few years back.  There was live music, high positive energy, a heated room and a challenging workout.  I enjoyed it so much I make it a point to attend the owner's class whenever I am in San Francisco. It is called Urban Flow. 

The first night I attended I didn't know a single soul in the room.  I am a friendly person and started to chat with those on the mats around me as we awaited the start of class.  But, I really appreciated it when the instructor put a "shout out" to get up and move about the room and get to know someone you haven't met before.  I got up and started walking about three rows back - catching the smile of a lovely young lady and sat down to get to know here. She ended up walking to and riding the train partway back home with me.  We were in a part of town that one doesn't typically want to walk around in by yourself late at night so it was comforting to have someone that knew the area to travel with for the journey back to my hotel.  I keep in touch with her and let her know whenever I return to the Bay Area.

That simple encouragement to get to know someone new can create a lifelong friend or a moment of brightness in a lonely day for someone.

I want my yoga classes to continue to grow as a community.  Members generally talk freely with those around them and their friends - but I want to encourage them to reach out even more - especially to those that might be trying yoga for the first time and may need some encouragement.  I think I will try the Urban Flow request tomorrow in class.

Where can you create greater community in your work or personal life?

Isn't Life Grand?!

“Isn’t Life Grand?” – my dear friend I've buddied up with since meeting in first grade exclaimed in her latest e-mail response to my birthday celebrations.  I was spoiled with a trip to the Grand Cayman Islands and still had five days at a beach house to look forward to after I returned from my tropical paradise.  Work in between was crazy but the escapes were worth every late night at the computer.  Yes, that month, life definitely was grand but sometimes it is harder to think that way. 

Such a positive attitude she exemplifies. In spite of all the common struggles we encounter with work and life, she chooses to respond to it with “isn’t life grand?!”  Her life has not been without troubles, true for all of us, but her attitude remains one of “isn’t life grand?” 

I was visiting my father at his assisted living facility in Michigan a few years back.  We were playing a game in the common area and a gentleman came dancing down the hall.  He was greeting everyone he came across with a cheerful attitude as he walked the halls without a cane or any type of assistance.  He was such a charming man and I am sure his attitude positively affected his health all these years.  It is amazing what perspective can do for you physically and mentally. 

A new member joined my yoga class recently.  I was talking with her after class the other morning and she commented about how hard some of the poses were for her.  "But," she said - "no matter how much I struggle in class when I get home it feels so wonderful - like I just got a total body massage".  "And that is a good thing".  Isn't yoga grand?!

I would like to suggest we try to adopt my dear friend's outlook.  When we think positively we focus on the positive and things turn out positive - it's just how it works.  Isn't Life Grand?!

Balancing Your Life - Yin-Yang

Yin-Yang - an ancient concept and symbol referring to complementary opposites, such as light/dark.

I am planning my next yoga class and have decided to do a little more Yin-Yang than usual. Some people like yoga slow and enjoying struggling to hang out in a pose for five or more breaths.  Other people like to speed flow through warm-up poses like a rock star on "Red Bull" (i.e. Mick Jagger comes to mind jumping all over the stage!). Some people like all instrumental music while many enjoy my classes because of the occasional rocking songs that flow with the moves like "Get Down On It" for squats.  We actually Yin-Yang through every class - whatever goes forward must go backward, whatever goes up must go down. I think I will just make it a little more obvious in the next session. Here's to five breath or more poses - we'll see how it goes tomorrow.

As you consider Yin-Yang - think about your life.  When you are running at top speed to get a million and one things done on your to-do list, do you also take time later that day or week to relish in your accomplishments and just sit back and relax?  Know that when you are down you will come back up, and when you are up - relish the experience. 

Relative levels of Yin-Yang are continuously changing. Normally this is a harmonious change.  Here's to keeping the sweet balance of Yin-Yang in our life!

Skipping Stones

I've always had Alaska on my bucket list and was fortunate enough to end up with a recent business trip to the state.  My husband and I were able to stay over after my work was done and participate in many adventures including bike riding, mountain and glacier hiking, a helicopter ride to the top of a glacier with a dog sled camp and a day long cruise.  The cruise was on a boat that held about 150 people and allowed us to see wildlife up close. We encountered killer and humpback whales, sea otters and sea lions, Dall's porpoise, and a variety of birds. We were also able to get up close and personal with a tidewater glacier as the glacier ice in the water clunked up and under the boat. We could hear the thunder and see the splash as part of the glacier slid into the water - "calving".  The scenic views were magnificent.  The tour ended on a private island called Fox Island for an all you can eat Alaskan salmon and prime rib meal. 

The beach near the shore was covered with millions of flat rocks perfect for skipping.  My husband was able to skip them like an expert getting a dozen or more skips per stone. Mine were a little less impressive.  A few managed four or five skips while the most of them just made a loud kerplunk as they hit the water and then sank.  I loved to watch not just the skipping (of my husband's work) but the reverberating waves that resulted from each skip.  They headed out to open water and toward the shore affecting more than the small spot where they initially hit. 

Just like the skipping stones, we affect those around us and that energy spreads like wildfire. 

In yoga class I try to spread peacefulness, fun, positive energy and delight in the moment. 

What are you spreading?