Kicking the Bucket List

I taught an indoor cycle class for another instructor earlier in the week.  I always check in with everyone in the room and ask new people to identify themselves so I can give them tips and check them out on the bike.  One young lady told me she was new. I felt her uneasiness and asked if she was a little nervous. She admitted she was but also very excited about being there. Taking this cycle class had always been on her bucket list and she was finally here to check it off the list.

Wow. I had to pause for a few seconds and think about that one. Bucket list: a list of things one hasn't done that they want to do before they "kick the bucket"!  Typically people have things like climb the Great Pyramids or walk the Great Wall of China.  I hadn't come across anyone with cycle class on their list.  Then I thought - how cool - I get to be a part of this very special moment in this person's life.  She commented how serious everyone in the class always looked and how they would come out of class soaked with sweat from head to toe.  It was a fear she wanted to conquer.  

So, I encouraged her, gave her some tips and started the music and the ride. Part way into class I thought she might like to have this recorded so I asked if she would like me to take her picture with her phone so she could savor the memory. She was delighted and smiled for the camera through her grimace.  

At the end of class she was practically jumping up and down with delight that she had survived and I was so thrilled to have been a part of a bucket list kicking. 

The same thing happens in yoga class.  People see poses and either dismiss it as something they will never be able to do or consider it as a possibility some day and put it on their "list".

What's on your list?  Do you even have a list?  What is stopping you from doing the things you know would have you jumping up and down - silently inside or physically outside?

Take the first step - the year and the week are young and the moment is now.  

Force vs Flow

Force vs Flow

I recently started with a personal trainer, a treat to myself.  I never had one before.  It might seem a little silly to some people; after all, I am a fitness instructor and have trained other people.  But, I've never been able to do a pull-up and I wanted to kick up my strength a notch.  That is my real goal - to be able to crank out some pull-ups on door lintels (top part of the door frame).  

My personal trainer and I play with yoga after our weight lifting session.  He comes to my classes and knows where I want to progress in the poses, so we are good partners.  I was working with him on handstands today. To practice, you place both hands on the floor with your feet down and your body in an upside down V-shape.  Then you lift one left up. Gently bending both knees slightly, the practice work is in kicking the top leg up until the bottom foot starts to lift off the floor. The ultimate handstand is a graceful controlled lift to an upside down vertical position.  My trainer is a very strong guy and tried to muscle it up on the first one, knocking the wall with his feet. We both laughed as he dropped his feet back to the floor.  On his second attempt he let it flow and was able to lift up without torturing the wall.  It looked, and felt (he said), so much better.

Where are you "pushing" when you need to ease up and let things come to you?

Relax, breathe, know that you've taken all the right steps to get to this place and let it flow - onward and upward.

 

Bring It On Back To You

I attended a recent business lunch and presentation for women in the energy industry.  The speaker was a very professional, knowledgeable and personable young lady - probably in her mid thirties if I had to take a guess (which I don't usually do because I am usually wrong).  As I listened to her speak I found myself thinking about myself as a young professional in the power industry.  I thought about the opportunities I had, the people I worked with, and how fun my work was. I would have enjoyed the position and the work the woman was describing.  Then the shoulda, coulda, woulda started to speak within me.  I caught myself and focused back on what I had, where I was and how much I enjoyed what I was currently doing - bringing it on back to me.

The same type of thing happens to people in yoga class.  They are working in class moving through the poses doing perfectly fine and then they start to look at the people around them. There will always be someone who can go a little farther in a pose or flip upside down with the greatest of ease while you struggle to touch your toes.  The best thing to do - and the only thing to do - is bring it on back to you.  Relish in the feeling the yoga is producing in your body, congratulate yourself for coming to class and the progress you are making and know that you are in the right place for you and they are in the right place for them.

Bring It On Back To You.

The Squirrel Whisperer

I decided to add an occasional walk (working up to more frequent) in the park to my routine. Working out of the house, there are some days I don't get out of the house until late afternoon to run an errand or teach a fitness class, unless I have a scheduled business event. I figured it would be a good way to get motivated and energized for the day.

I drove over to the park (I suppose I could have run - but I quickly nixed that idea!), closed the top on my convertible since it looked like rain was a possibility and started walking briskly along the one mile path surrounding the main part of the park.  There are some beautiful trails in the woods but those paths are reserved for days when I have a buddy with me for safety reasons.

My focus for my park adventure was to be more present in the moment and to practice that out in nature.  As I walked about the park I noticed the variety of trees, the empty picnic tables, the tennis players, the sounds and the sights. Suddenly there was a shrill voice coming from the middle of the park off the trail.  It was a woman speaking very loudly, like she was calling out to her missing dog.  "Come here fella", I thought she said.  Her monologue was consistent and purposeful, shaking the peacefulness of my mindful walk.  She was carrying a plastic bag that swelled at the bottom. As she came closer I realized she was talking to the squirrels.  She was wishing them a good morning and calling out to them with "hello's" and "come here guys" in a constant chatter.  While she wandered with purpose she intermittently tossed something from her bag toward the animals.  It must have been some kind of squirrel chow that included peanuts in the shell (I noticed some on the ground as I made my rounds on the trail).  I laughed as I looked back at the path behind her and saw a half dozen squirrels munching away at whatever  treat she had tossed. Maybe they were used to that voice calling out good morning to them, or maybe they just smelled food and came running. Whatever it was, she left a bunch of happy squirrels in her path.  Her voice drifted away into the background as we moved farther and farther from each other, heading in opposite directions on different missions.  I did run into her again as we converged near the other end of the park. This time I did not bristle in reaction to the sound of her voice, but was entertained by the squirrel whisperer and her trail of happy new friends.

As I walked, I realized that I had come to the park to be present and had fallen into the habit of looking only at the ground as I contemplated certain issues or situations silently in my head, checking for unevenness in the pavement or staying focused on all things low. Her voice made me look up from the path as I walked around and around the park.  I stood up straighter and returned my focus to all of the beauty around me.  

In yoga, we start our practice frequently in mountain pose - a simple standing pose to ground our feet into the earth, lift our hearts and open our chests.  We can sometimes sink low in a pose, stare at the floor or forget to stand tall and look forward as we struggle in a pose.  It is okay to look back occasionally to see where we have come from, to focus briefly on what we have accomplished (i.e. progress in a pose), but I encourage you to charge forward with conviction like the squirrel whisperer - moving forward and leaving a trail of happy people you have encountered along the way.

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.