Just When You Think You Are Getting Close

There is a park fairly near our house called the Sylvan Rodriguez Park.  It was named after distinguished journalist Sylvan Rodriguez.  The majority of his TV career was spent in Houston at KHOU and KTRK.  It includes a walking/jogging trail, a crescent shaped man-made lake, a playground and lacrosse fields and is always expanding.  I occasionally offer yoga in that park on the hill by the lake.  My favorite part of the park is the labyrinth that overlooks the lake.  It is a brick laden path, winding back and forth within a circle, that ultimately leads to the center. There are no dead ends like a typical maze.  As you walk, you navigate turns that take you in different directions. Once you reach the center, you follow the path back out. 

There is something about the center.  I have walked the labyrinth many times at different speeds.  When I arrive in the center I pause and reflect. Sometimes to enjoy the view of the sun setting over the fields, other times to settle my head from the back and forth motion of traveling if I took the labyrinth at warp speed that day. Sometimes there is a cool lifting feeling, similar to the one you get when you set down your weights after several exerting repetitions at the gym. Sometimes it is just the quiet. It always come with a feeling of accomplishment though the maze is not a competition.  Then I turn and head back out the path.  

Yoga is similar to the labyrinth. Our practice winds back and forth but always make progress. We practice poses in yoga. When we first start yoga we may not be very flexible, strong or able to balance, but as we continue to practice we gain  in each of those areas.  Some days it feels like we have gone completely backwards and lost a lot of what we worked so hard to gain. But remaining steady on the path will ultimately bring us to our reward.  

It is so true in life also. 

Setting An Intention

I recently read an article in the paper about a female Chief Financial Officer retiring from a major oil and gas company.  In retirement, she was looking forward to working more with the not-for-profits that were close to her heart, pursuing new corporate board appointments and having more time with her family, her tennis game and books.  She had an impressive resume including being the highest-paid female executive of a Houston based public company. As I read the article I decided I would like to send her a congratulatory cookie bouquet. A cookie bouquet is like a bouquet of flowers - but instead it is made up of decorated cookies on sticks. I imagined one cookie being the bouquet company's signature bear with a tennis racket in its hand for her hobby. I could picture her delight upon receipt of the bouquet from a stranger wishing her well.  

As I wrote my letter to her to accompany the bouquet I asked myself what my intention was for sending this gift to her. What was I really wanting out of the connection?  Was it just to congratulate her? Did I want a business meeting? Advice?  I decided that since I coach young female professionals as part of my business, what I really wanted was an opportunity to meet or speak with her about any tips she might have for young women as they navigated the corporate political jungle.  That was it - the letter was finished, sealed and attached to the bouquet ready for delivery. (I'll let you know what happens later).

I have attended yoga classes in hundreds of different venues with as many instructors.  At yoga studios (as opposed to a gym) the instructor will start the session advising you to set your intention. What is the reason you came to practice yoga today?  To de-stress? To work on a particularly achy part of your body? For general all around health?  To work hard and send your energy to someone that really needs help or healing?  There are many reasons we practice and it is an important part of that practice to set your intention as you begin to maintain your focus and obtain the results you are looking for.

As in cookie bouquets, in yoga and in life - set your intention before you begin a journey - short or long - and note the difference.

Jump Right In!

I was discussing teaching yoga with another instructor at the gym.  We were lamenting our struggles when practicing difficult poses.  She commented that she really needed to work on some poses before she shared them with her yoga class.  She was only going to have them do what she was able to do.  I replied that I have trained for years in a number of yoga styles and have received instruction on many poses I am not yet able to do.  But, I have the knowledge to assist others in practicing the poses.  I know the steps to take, the things to practice and can work with them to help them succeed.  Even though I can't do all of the poses, I usually have someone in the room that can get pretty close or do it - so the members have a visual.  And I practice along with them, letting them know we are on a journey and yoga is a practice, not a performance. 

I see this reluctance to move forward in many areas of people's lives.  From a yoga pose in class, simply speaking up in a meeting, to avoiding taking on a major project at work because we aren't sure of everything.  If we wait until we are completely sure or know everything - we will never move forward.  

Like the Zac Brown Band says "Jump right in!" - There are numerous resources and support all around just waiting to help you be successful.  

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?