Dropping In

Learning to breathe is something we, as Yoga Practitioners, understand as a powerful and transformative life lesson. As beginners- we come to appreciate that breathing with our entire torso is something we may not be used to doing. As continuing practitioners- we practice finding a smooth steady full torso yoga breath and maintaining that throughout asana, pranayama, meditation and more. With continued practice it becomes easier to just Drop In to that smooth steady breath. 

When we sit down in class, after rolling out our mats, and begin to breathe becoming present to begin our asana practice together- we are trying to go from our outer world of to-dos and what's next to the present moment of just being with our breath. Sometimes it takes a few breaths, sometimes it may feel as if we never quite get there- point being, we practice finding our smooth steady full torso Yoga breath and practice is key.

Here's a new audio clip for you to download or to listen on iTunes that will help you continue to practice this Dropping In to your smooth steady breath at any time. With practice, it becomes easier. With practice, you will no longer need my prompts but be able to do it all on your own- again establishing the EMPOWERMENT piece of your Yoga Practice.

Find it on iTunes here.

Download mp3s here.

Enjoy and Rock Your Practice!
^o^

Breath Core of Practice: Breathe Into It

This morning I woke with an angry kink in my neck. Movement created pain and spasticity from the top of my right shoulder to my ear. It happens- I slept wrong. I thought about getting pissy about it but realized that's going to help nothing except ruin my day so instead I decided to welcome this growl, invite it into my day and be present with it sending it loving kindness every time it shrieked at me. I will breathe into it.

Breath is amazing! I find my breath can carry me through most anything- good, bad and any where in between. All day today I was reminded to take care of my pain in the neck. I'd stretch and breathe (note: there was not a large range of motion happening for a few hours) into the painful area until it began to ease and I was able to move a bit more. On the bus to an appointment, I stretched by tilting my chin up, down, sideways and breathed until it eased a bit. I was breathing into it.

Then I missed my bus transfer for my appointment and was stuck downtown without an alternate route. I, again, thought about getting pissy but realized that's going to help nothing except ruin my day so instead I decided to welcome this growl, invite it into my day and be present with it sending it loving kindness every time it shrieked at me. I decided to find a quiet spot and do my appointment over the phone. I breathed into it.

Then during the phone call my phone kept breaking up so we couldn't continue and had to reschedule anyways. I ended up sitting there momentarily feeling defeated, achy and pissy but realized I had the whole afternoon to myself regardless so instead, again, I decided to welcome this growl, invite it into my day and be present with it sending it loving kindness every time it shrieked at me. I breathed into it. 

This cycle of choice continued for several hours as I lost my phone and wandered downtown retracing steps to eventually find it in a bathroom stall waiting for me. I could feel my body and mind getting worked up, frustrated, becoming the growl itself but each time it rose I smoothed my breath, imagined breathing into it and regained my peace of mind.

In asana class- I often ask students to become aware of the area where they feel the stretch and to imagine as if they can breathe into that area. To imagine the expansion of the inhale filling and expanding that area and to imagine the release of the exhale softening and relaxing that area. "Breathing into it" is something we can do with emotion, sensation, frustration, over-abundance, stress, asana and more. If we breathe into it- we bring our attention to whatever it is, we bring our breath to a smooth steady place and imagine breathing into it and easing, releasing and smoothing the challenge.  Some people say Lean Into It- I say Breathe Into It!

Personal Yoga Practice builds Core Strength. The very heart of your Being. Core strength to weather any storm, to stand firm when others may bring you down, to remain pure at heart and in spirit regardless of what anyone else says, does or believes about you.

Rock Your Practice! 

^o^

Gentle Reminder- Download the Body Scan Meditation to practice any time and subscribe with i-Tunes for new Yoga Empowered Podcasts! 



 

Meditation: an Incomplete List

Art by Ciou

One of my favorite artists! 

Meditation: A one pointed focus.  

        to Meditate: the action/ practice of meditating; of keeping awareness/
                               mind focused on one thing.

        a Meditative state/ quality/ feeling:  euphoric, calming, grounding,
                                                                         contented, cultivated.

Meditation is Not: ceasing thought

                                 zoning out
                                 sitting while letting mind wander

Meditation is Practice: noticing a wandering mind, thought or distraction, making no judgment, returning to one pointed focus again and again and again... 

Meditation Techniques (an incomplete list)

Breath Focused:

Focusing on inhale and exhale. 

Focusing on 4 parts of the breath. 

Inhale- Light, Energy

Exhale- Releasing that which no longer serves you, releasing, letting go. 

Inhale naturally.
Exhale- saying silently to self I Am Home or Let It Go.

Counting the Breath: From 1-10 or from 10-1, 

                                                 1-27 or from 27-1,

                                                  1- 54 or 54-1. 

Guided Meditations: 

At the beach

Flying on a giant sparrow

Imagining self breathing as a mountain or lake

Yoga Nidra

Body Scan - Imagining light/ prana or heaviness/ relaxation. 

Smiling Buddha- Inhale naturally.
                              Exhale- let the corners of your mouth turn up into a little grin.

For depression- Inhale- clear clean light/ energy/ life force/ prana

                             Exhale- smoke, fog, that which no longer serves



Object Meditations: 

Watching candle flame
Looking out window at one point (a leaf on a tree for example)

Mindfulness Meditations: 

Placing focus on being aware of all that's happening in this moment. Using all 7 senses- sight, sound, hearing, taste, smell, touch and intellect. Endless variation here and my favorites. 

Brushing teeth: Mindful of each movement made, the sight of the action, the sounds of the action, tastes, smell, feel and intention. 

Standing in place/ Mountain pose: Mindful of feet rooted to the ground, lifted heart, tall spine, breathing, heart beating, aware of all sensation of lack of sensation in that moment. 

Washing Dishes

Eating

Cooking

Playing an Instrument, Writing, Creating

Listening- to music, to a friend, loved one, student. 

Walking Meditation- to breath, to foot falling on ground, to foot lifting or
                                     all three together. 

                                     Aware of 7 senses on walk about.

You cannot meditate from a book, blog or video; you can learn a meditation technique and how to meditate but you must practice meditation. It must be practiced and with practice you will begin to learn, understand and master meditation.

Read more about why + how meditation helps living with Chronic Conditions from a scientific perpective!

As with breath, you can begin any where and any time; how about now?!

^o^ 

Note: Several of these techniques can fall into all of these categories rather than just one. 

(Recommended) Meditation books that Inspire my Personal Practice: 

Wherever you Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat- Zinn
Happiness: Essential Mindfulness Practices by Thich Nhat Hahn

  

Yoga Empowered Podcast! is Up

Check out Yoga Empowered's new Podcast! I hope to get videos and audio up once a week or so to help you continue to develop Your Personal Yoga Practice! I'm just getting started and will be posting to i-Tunes eventually for free downloading.

You can follow from the link above for now. I've added a Page here for easy access. I'll be sure to let you all know when it's available on i-Tunes. Look for Guided meditations coming soon.

Thank you for demanding more!

Rock Your Practice!

^o^

Suz

Ritual: In Being

 

Core strength deepens this week. I think some of your abs are fully aware of this as we continue building physical core strength in classes.  :o) 

I spent the day with a friend learning, cooking, nourishing, accepting and being in a beautiful space. I ate flowers off chive plants for the first time. I learned what Kale is and how to steam it. I was pretty much convinced that pizza, soda and chocolate were all I needed to survive at one point not long ago. Today, I ate fennel and tempeh and it was really good. My stomach didn't hurt and I wasn't even aware of the digestion process. It reminded me of how rare that is these days. 

Ritual is the deepest, most personal piece -the core strength- of a Personal Yoga Practice. The things that speak to your heart. It's different for each of us. We've all been conditioned in different ways, and become who we are now. I won't always be as I am now. Some people find that frightening- I find it fascinating. Personal Yoga Practice is about being Your Best Self. Practicing to bring yourself to a greater place of balance and ease. 

Learning how to develop my Personal Yoga Practice is the best thing I could've ever done in this life. I still practice and I will until my dying breath. That's right folks, I know I'll be present for my dying breath! Living with Chronic Conditions presents unique challenges to practice Yoga often. I've always been a person interested in self betterment- way before I came to know what Yoga was (asana, pranayama, meditation, self study and ritual - in a very small nutshell). So many opportunities to practice, so many opportunities to succeed and grow. What are you doing now? Try some arm sweeps linking to your breath & movement.... 

Practicing asana while linking your breath and movement forces body awareness. Bringing your awareness to maintaining a smooth steady breath in asana forces you to listen to your body. Listening and bringing your breath to a smooth steady place allow you to witness what's happening enough to not be so reactive, to be compassionate and to decide what Yoga tool you can use to bring more balance. 

Thing is, my consistent Yoga Practice has lead me to want to continue to be my Best Self. I never wanted to be a vegan-hippy-nutball-buddha-on-the-mountain-top-pretzel-person - I just want to enjoy the ride, man! I get this one life that I know of right now and I wanna enjoy it. I'm an individual, while a part of the whole, that feels better when I practice Yoga. Glam it up if you like but that's really all I needed.

Personal Yoga Practice builds Core Strength. The very heart of your Being. Core strength to weather any storm, to stand firm when others may bring you down, to remain pure at heart and in spirit regardless of what anyone else says, does or believes about you.

Rock Your Practice! 

^o^

 

  

My gorgeous friend Sharon and her Chive plant. Visit Sharon at www.theartofnourishment.com.