I've been doing yoga for about a year and a half now and I've always enjoyed the physical aspect of how it makes my body feel. Recently, I've been getting more interested in how it also calms my mind and focuses my energy. I decided to explore this further by reading the book "The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga" by Deepak Chopra. It was a great read, I definitely recommend it!
I always get books from the library because I don't typically re-read books. However, I think I might actually go buy this one because I folded down the corners of probably 75 of the 200 pages indicating parts I wanted to remember. There was so much great information that there is no way I can share it all, but here are a few things I took away.
Yoga is much more than a system of physical fitness. It is a science of balanced living, a path for realizing full human potential. In these tumultuous times, yoga provides an anchor to a quieter domain of life, enabling people living in a modern technological world to stay connected to their natural humanity. Yoga offers the promise of remaining centered in the midst of turbulence. The essential purpose of yoga is the integration of all the layers of life - environmental, physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual. The word yoga is derived from the Sankrit root yuj, which means "to unite." At its core, yoga means union, the union of body, mind, and soul; the union of the ego and the spirit.
Yoga philosophy begins with the spirit. Getting in touch with your spirit is the true goal of yoga. It occurs naturally when your mind quiets and you are able to access the inner wisdom that emerges from the deepest aspect of your being. There are three key questions that help shift your internal reference point from ego to spirit. They are: Who am I? What do I want? How can I serve? Whether or not you are aware of it, these questions are directing your choices in life. Regularly bringing your current answers to conscious awareness enables your to be alert to the opportunities that resonate with the needs of your soul. The true purpose of yoga is to discover that aspect of your being that can never be lost. Your job may change, your relationships may change, your body may change, your beliefs may change, your desires may change, but the essence of who you are is the continuity of awareness that has no beginning or end.
During your yoga practice, the Law of Giving and Receiving is lively in every breath you take. With each inhalation and exhalation, you are exchanging ten billion trillion atoms with your environment. Right now, take as deep a breath as you possibly can and hold it. Hold it as long as you can, and notice how uncomfortable you begin to feel when you are holding onto something that is meant to be released. Now, exhale as fully as you can and hold your breath with your longs fully emptied. Again, feel the discomfort that arises when you are resisting taking in something that you need. Whenever you resist the Law of Giving and Receiving, your mind becomes anxious and your body becomes uncomfortable. Anytime throughout the day that you feel resistance in your body because things are not going the way you think they should, bring your attention to your breath and use it to regain your sense of effortless receiving and releasing.
The Law of Detachment teaches us that in order to acquire something in this world, you have to relinquish your attachment to it. This doesn't mean you give up the intention to fulfill your desire - you simply give up your attachment to the outcome. Attachment is based on fear and insecurity. When you forget that the only genuine source of security is your true self, you begin believing that you need something outside yourself in order to be happy. You may believe that a certain amount of money, a new car, or losing ten pounds may result in greater feelings of security within yourself. Unfortunately, whenever your happiness is based upon something other than your true self, insecurity arises because you know at a deep level of your being that whatever is bringing you happiness can be lost and therefore has the potential to bring you pain. According to the principles of yoga, the only true security comes from your willingness to embrace the unknown, the realm of uncertainty. Practicing detachment and embracing uncertainty, you relinquish your need to hold on to the past, which is the only thing that is known. Being open to what is happening rather than trying to control how things unfold, you experience the excitement, adventure, exhilaration, and mystery of life.
This is getting long, so that's all I'm going to share right now. Go check out the book!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
end of class, start of play
Tomorrow will be my last tennis lesson - it was fun and I learned a lot, but I'm glad it's over. The indoor courts were great for the springtime, but now that we're heading into summer it's time to get out and play for real!
Here are a few things I learned over the past six weeks:
Here are a few things I learned over the past six weeks:
- Grip size matters! I bought a racket based on the brand and the price without realizing the grip was too big for my hand. It felt okay while I was holding it, but every time I played my hand would start cramping up and then my hand & forearm would be sore the next day. I just figured I needed to build up my endurance. I finally uncovered the problem when Marc got a new racket so I tried out his old one which happened to have a smaller grip. It instantly made a difference in my play and I didn't have any pain anymore.
- Tennis skirts aren't just cute, they are also functional. One time I wore capris to class and I quickly realized I didn't have anywhere to stash tennis balls...oops! With a skirt, you can easily tuck a spare ball in the shorts that are under the skirt. This makes for less having to run around picking up the balls off the court.
- Getting your racket restrung periodically helps to keep the responsiveness of the racket. This makes sense to me in theory, but I still have been to lazy to do it. It's okay though, it gives me something to blame when I miss a shot!
- Playing with people who are better than me was a great way to challenge myself, but it was also frustrating at times. I just chose not to keep score in my head so we were just playing for fun rather than competition. They may have been counting, but I wasn't. When I had that mindset, it made playing a lot more enjoyable.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
missing yoga
After running the half marathon on Sunday, I was torn on whether or not to go to yoga in the afternoon. Part of me was exhausted and didn't need more exercise, but part of me thought that it would feel really good to stretch. I ended up not going and relaxing on the couch for the rest of the day.
My muscles and my knee were pretty sore so I was expecting to be even worse on Monday. However, I actually felt pretty good so on Tuesday I went back to yoga. I only took a couple days off from class, but I could tell a big difference in my body.
Then I was out late and busy with other things, so I missed class again yesterday & today. I definitely want to go tomorrow morning because I'm going to be out of town for the weekend.
I miss yoga! I liked going every day - I don't like this twice a week thing. It's funny to see how quickly excuses and obstacles come up when I'm not focused on a goal. It was easy to go to yoga every day when I made it my priority, but now that I have an attitude of "I'll go when I can," it seems like there is always a reason that I don't go. Next week I will start going every day again...I'm really looking forward to it!
My muscles and my knee were pretty sore so I was expecting to be even worse on Monday. However, I actually felt pretty good so on Tuesday I went back to yoga. I only took a couple days off from class, but I could tell a big difference in my body.
Then I was out late and busy with other things, so I missed class again yesterday & today. I definitely want to go tomorrow morning because I'm going to be out of town for the weekend.
I miss yoga! I liked going every day - I don't like this twice a week thing. It's funny to see how quickly excuses and obstacles come up when I'm not focused on a goal. It was easy to go to yoga every day when I made it my priority, but now that I have an attitude of "I'll go when I can," it seems like there is always a reason that I don't go. Next week I will start going every day again...I'm really looking forward to it!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
ready or not, here I run
The Kirkland Half Marathon has come & gone! I'm happy to say that I survived in one piece :)
The weather was beautiful and I loved the route. This was my second half marathon - the first was the Seafair Half Marathon in June 2008. I liked this one much better! That route was on a lot of arterial streets, so it wasn't very scenic. The only cool part was that we started at Husky Stadium and crossed the 520 Bridge. This route was much nicer - it went along tree lined streets and residential neighborhoods, and then the last few miles was along the waterfront and through a park. The other thing I liked better is that there were a lot less people - I didn't feel like I was going to get run over, and I wasn't having to weave in and out of groups of people.
Here are the highlights:
Starting line - there were two groups: the slower group started at 7 a.m. and the faster group started at 7:30 a.m. I went with the slow group, partially because I was anticipating having to walk some of the course, and partially because it was FREEZING cold and I wanted to get moving as soon as possible. Right at mile 5 the lead runners began to pass me. That was pretty incredible realizing how fast they were running to make up the half hour head start I had.
Mile 8 - I saw a woman running while pushing a stroller. I was impressed - that's a lot of extra work especially since there were a lot of hills! A minute later I saw a guy running barefoot. I've heard about people doing that, but seeing it in person was shocking. It made me laugh at any thoughts of foot pain I was having.
Mile 9 - I was getting tired and my left knee was hurting pretty badly. We turned a corner and the waterfront & mountains came into view right at the same time a man with a prosthetic leg passed me. I was so inspired that I literally started crying! Here I was thinking about my knee pain and along comes a guy who didn't even have a knee and he was leaving me in his dust. Sure puts things into perspective - so cool!
Mile 10 - I ran into my father-in-law. He lives in downtown Kirkland so he came out to find me. I didn't know he was going to be there, so I was pleasantly surprised. It gave me a little boost of encouragement for the last 3 miles.
Mile 12 - On the last big hill I saw a woman running up with two huge dogs. No fair - they were pretty much towing her up the hill! I laughed thinking I might have to borrow some dogs next year.
The finish line!!! Yay, I made it! I grabbed a bottle of water and some food, and then overheard the name of a friend over the loud speaker (they were announcing names as people finished). It was a friend I hadn't seen since high school, so I ran over to say hi to her. So fun to see her after all these years! (12 to be exact)
All in all it turned out to be a great day! I'm so happy that I did it :)
The weather was beautiful and I loved the route. This was my second half marathon - the first was the Seafair Half Marathon in June 2008. I liked this one much better! That route was on a lot of arterial streets, so it wasn't very scenic. The only cool part was that we started at Husky Stadium and crossed the 520 Bridge. This route was much nicer - it went along tree lined streets and residential neighborhoods, and then the last few miles was along the waterfront and through a park. The other thing I liked better is that there were a lot less people - I didn't feel like I was going to get run over, and I wasn't having to weave in and out of groups of people.
Here are the highlights:
Starting line - there were two groups: the slower group started at 7 a.m. and the faster group started at 7:30 a.m. I went with the slow group, partially because I was anticipating having to walk some of the course, and partially because it was FREEZING cold and I wanted to get moving as soon as possible. Right at mile 5 the lead runners began to pass me. That was pretty incredible realizing how fast they were running to make up the half hour head start I had.
Mile 8 - I saw a woman running while pushing a stroller. I was impressed - that's a lot of extra work especially since there were a lot of hills! A minute later I saw a guy running barefoot. I've heard about people doing that, but seeing it in person was shocking. It made me laugh at any thoughts of foot pain I was having.
Mile 9 - I was getting tired and my left knee was hurting pretty badly. We turned a corner and the waterfront & mountains came into view right at the same time a man with a prosthetic leg passed me. I was so inspired that I literally started crying! Here I was thinking about my knee pain and along comes a guy who didn't even have a knee and he was leaving me in his dust. Sure puts things into perspective - so cool!
Mile 10 - I ran into my father-in-law. He lives in downtown Kirkland so he came out to find me. I didn't know he was going to be there, so I was pleasantly surprised. It gave me a little boost of encouragement for the last 3 miles.
Mile 12 - On the last big hill I saw a woman running up with two huge dogs. No fair - they were pretty much towing her up the hill! I laughed thinking I might have to borrow some dogs next year.
The finish line!!! Yay, I made it! I grabbed a bottle of water and some food, and then overheard the name of a friend over the loud speaker (they were announcing names as people finished). It was a friend I hadn't seen since high school, so I ran over to say hi to her. So fun to see her after all these years! (12 to be exact)
All in all it turned out to be a great day! I'm so happy that I did it :)
Thursday, May 6, 2010
lessons learned
Looking back at the last 60 days, I think the biggest thing I learned is the power of commitment. I had a lot of goals during these 60 days (aside from just yoga), some I accomplished and others I didn't. When I look at which ones were successful, they were the ones that I fully committed myself to with no exceptions. The ones I didn't achieve were goals that I thought "oh wouldn't it be nice but it probably won't happen."
Getting through 60 days of yoga definitely wasn't easy - there were days when I would have preferred to sleep in an extra hour, or stay on the couch and watch more TV, but it was never an option because nothing was going to stand in my way of making it through all 60 days of yoga.
A big part of being successful was planning ahead. I always tried to look a day or two in advance to decide which classes I was going to attend. I put them in my calendar like I would with any other appointment, and I scheduled the rest of my day around when I was going to yoga. Life is always going to get in the way somehow - there were definitely times when conflicts would come up and I would have to find ways to work around them. I found that there was always a way to get to class - even when I went out of town for three days, I looked online and found a studio to attend while I was gone.
Not having a set plan was a big part of why one of my other goals didn't pan out..."train for a half marathon." Ha ha, even just by saying the goal, I can clearly see that it wasn't specific or measurable so no wonder I didn't stick to it. I just thought to myself "I should start running more so I'll sign up for the half marathon and then I'll be motivated to start training." Well that didn't exactly happen! There was always an excuse - the weather is bad, I'm tired, I'm hungry, I got invited to X and that sounds more fun, etc. I didn't make running a priority - it was just something on the back burner that I treated like something I could get to later, but not now. Well 'now' is here...the half marathon is on Sunday and I'm totally not prepared. Yikes!
Anyway - the point is that I could have just as easily committed to running and scheduled it on my calendar like I did with yoga, but I just didn't do it. Clearly that was the reason why I slacked off and let it fall by the wayside. Which is fine by the way - there is no reason to be disappointed about it, or mad at myself over it. It's just the way it happened, and next time I know what to do differently in order to achieve the outcome I desire. I will inevitably be paying for my lack of training...come Monday I'm anticipating sore muscles on every inch of my body. I'm sure there will be some complaining...but mostly I will just laugh at myself and shrug it off as just a painful lesson learned :)
Now back to what worked for me...here are a few helpful things that kept me on track for all 60 days of yoga: First and probably foremost was proclaiming my goal publicly. I told all my friends and family about the yoga challenge so people were constantly asking how it was going. I didn't want to have to say "oh I gave that up" so the fear of publicly admitting failure was self motivating. Second was having other people doing it with me. The most helpful part of that was having a board posted on the wall at the yoga studio where we put up a star for each class we attended. It sounds silly, but there really was something rewarding about getting to tack on that star every day. Third was keeping a blog. I have never really blogged before, so I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into. I actually ended up really enjoying it! It was great reinforcement when someone would say to me "oh I loved what you wrote about on your blog yesterday, I totally could relate to it." Since starting this challenge, one of my friends has signed up for a mountain bike race and she's keeping a blog about her training. Knowing that I inspired other people to try something new was really rewarding for me.
So what's next??? I am going to keep attending yoga classes regularly but not every day. With the weather getting nicer, I'll want to be outside more so that will cut down my available time. I will still go on weekday mornings before work, but I will not always go on the weekend. Other than that...assuming I survive the half marathon with my body intact, the next big event I'm going to do is the XTERRA off road triathlon on August 1st (1000 meter lake swim, 15 mile mountain bike, and 6.2 mile trail run). I have been thinking about doing it for the past three years, so this is going to be the year I finally do it. There, I said it! I've announced it publicly so there's no going back...now I'm off to formulate & commit to a set training schedule :)
Getting through 60 days of yoga definitely wasn't easy - there were days when I would have preferred to sleep in an extra hour, or stay on the couch and watch more TV, but it was never an option because nothing was going to stand in my way of making it through all 60 days of yoga.
A big part of being successful was planning ahead. I always tried to look a day or two in advance to decide which classes I was going to attend. I put them in my calendar like I would with any other appointment, and I scheduled the rest of my day around when I was going to yoga. Life is always going to get in the way somehow - there were definitely times when conflicts would come up and I would have to find ways to work around them. I found that there was always a way to get to class - even when I went out of town for three days, I looked online and found a studio to attend while I was gone.
Not having a set plan was a big part of why one of my other goals didn't pan out..."train for a half marathon." Ha ha, even just by saying the goal, I can clearly see that it wasn't specific or measurable so no wonder I didn't stick to it. I just thought to myself "I should start running more so I'll sign up for the half marathon and then I'll be motivated to start training." Well that didn't exactly happen! There was always an excuse - the weather is bad, I'm tired, I'm hungry, I got invited to X and that sounds more fun, etc. I didn't make running a priority - it was just something on the back burner that I treated like something I could get to later, but not now. Well 'now' is here...the half marathon is on Sunday and I'm totally not prepared. Yikes!
Anyway - the point is that I could have just as easily committed to running and scheduled it on my calendar like I did with yoga, but I just didn't do it. Clearly that was the reason why I slacked off and let it fall by the wayside. Which is fine by the way - there is no reason to be disappointed about it, or mad at myself over it. It's just the way it happened, and next time I know what to do differently in order to achieve the outcome I desire. I will inevitably be paying for my lack of training...come Monday I'm anticipating sore muscles on every inch of my body. I'm sure there will be some complaining...but mostly I will just laugh at myself and shrug it off as just a painful lesson learned :)
Now back to what worked for me...here are a few helpful things that kept me on track for all 60 days of yoga: First and probably foremost was proclaiming my goal publicly. I told all my friends and family about the yoga challenge so people were constantly asking how it was going. I didn't want to have to say "oh I gave that up" so the fear of publicly admitting failure was self motivating. Second was having other people doing it with me. The most helpful part of that was having a board posted on the wall at the yoga studio where we put up a star for each class we attended. It sounds silly, but there really was something rewarding about getting to tack on that star every day. Third was keeping a blog. I have never really blogged before, so I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into. I actually ended up really enjoying it! It was great reinforcement when someone would say to me "oh I loved what you wrote about on your blog yesterday, I totally could relate to it." Since starting this challenge, one of my friends has signed up for a mountain bike race and she's keeping a blog about her training. Knowing that I inspired other people to try something new was really rewarding for me.
So what's next??? I am going to keep attending yoga classes regularly but not every day. With the weather getting nicer, I'll want to be outside more so that will cut down my available time. I will still go on weekday mornings before work, but I will not always go on the weekend. Other than that...assuming I survive the half marathon with my body intact, the next big event I'm going to do is the XTERRA off road triathlon on August 1st (1000 meter lake swim, 15 mile mountain bike, and 6.2 mile trail run). I have been thinking about doing it for the past three years, so this is going to be the year I finally do it. There, I said it! I've announced it publicly so there's no going back...now I'm off to formulate & commit to a set training schedule :)
the big Six-Oh
Woo hoo, I made it!!! Today is day #60!!! I have learned and accomplished so much over the past 60 days - much more than I ever thought possible. So what am I going to do to celebrate??? more yoga :) Tomorrow I'm going to a workshop at Om Culture - it's a 2 hr Vinyasa class with live music. I'm so excited!
Yesterday in class, Whitney set the intention of 'patience.' Whew - this is a tough one for me! I really like instant results and accomplishing things NOW. Why do I have to wait??? (says my inner two year old)
This morning Angie said something along the lines of "each breath is a new moment in time...let go of what just happened, it is in the past...experience the present without anticipating the future." I can see how I anticipate during class - when you have been going to yoga for a while and you get used to the styles of different teachers, you start to expect what is coming next rather than waiting to see what is going to happen. When you know what is coming, it's easy to jump ahead or fast forward to what is next. It takes more to be patient and wait expectantly.
I've been trying to be patient with myself in learning hand stand. It's hard to wait - I just want to be able to do it now! I can hold it for 4 seconds and I was aiming for being able to hold for 5 seconds by today. Today isn't over yet...so maybe I will still get there, and maybe I won't. But even if I don't get it today, I know without a doubt that I will get it eventually. So what's the big deal? Why am I so focused on doing it now? Even if it takes another day, week or month, it will be just as much an accomplishment then as it would be now. I will be just as excited and proud of myself, so it's really no different. So what's the rush???
Even though it makes sense in theory to accept where I am and be patient with myself, it still doesn't make the feelings of urgency go away. I still am obsessed with doing it today! sigh... Uh oh, now I am conflicted. Part of me wants to just try over and over again until I get it today...and part of me wants to learn the patience lesson by not even trying a hand stand today and purposely making myself wait until another day. I'm not sure which side is going to win this battle...I guess I'll have to wait until I get home tonight to find out.
Yesterday in class, Whitney set the intention of 'patience.' Whew - this is a tough one for me! I really like instant results and accomplishing things NOW. Why do I have to wait??? (says my inner two year old)
This morning Angie said something along the lines of "each breath is a new moment in time...let go of what just happened, it is in the past...experience the present without anticipating the future." I can see how I anticipate during class - when you have been going to yoga for a while and you get used to the styles of different teachers, you start to expect what is coming next rather than waiting to see what is going to happen. When you know what is coming, it's easy to jump ahead or fast forward to what is next. It takes more to be patient and wait expectantly.
I've been trying to be patient with myself in learning hand stand. It's hard to wait - I just want to be able to do it now! I can hold it for 4 seconds and I was aiming for being able to hold for 5 seconds by today. Today isn't over yet...so maybe I will still get there, and maybe I won't. But even if I don't get it today, I know without a doubt that I will get it eventually. So what's the big deal? Why am I so focused on doing it now? Even if it takes another day, week or month, it will be just as much an accomplishment then as it would be now. I will be just as excited and proud of myself, so it's really no different. So what's the rush???
Even though it makes sense in theory to accept where I am and be patient with myself, it still doesn't make the feelings of urgency go away. I still am obsessed with doing it today! sigh... Uh oh, now I am conflicted. Part of me wants to just try over and over again until I get it today...and part of me wants to learn the patience lesson by not even trying a hand stand today and purposely making myself wait until another day. I'm not sure which side is going to win this battle...I guess I'll have to wait until I get home tonight to find out.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
so hum
I spent a lot of time yesterday reading about mantras online. I found lots of great options, so it was hard to choose just one. Some of them were quite long and complicated, so I decided to start with a short mantra that will be easy to use & remember. "So hum" is going to be my mantra - it means "I am that." (So = "that" Hum = "I am")
This mantra is said to be the natural sound of the breath; if you observe your breathing you'll hear "so-hum" as air moves in and out of your lungs. As you inhale, the sound of that vibration is "so." And as you exhale, the sound becomes "hum."
I tried it out before class yesterday. I was there about 20 minutes early so I had time to myself. I spent a couple minutes in still meditation repeating So Hum (in my head), and then I continued it as I began moving. I was working on hand stands again, so I said So Hum in between each attempt as well as while I was in the hand stand. It definitely helped focus my efforts and control my breath. I did my longest hand stand yet - 4 seconds!!! My goal is to do 5 seconds by Thursday because that is the last day of my 60 day challenge. That's three more days, including today, so I know I can do it!
I definitely think there is something to this mantra thing...I had my best Hatha class in quite some time. I was holding poses longer and with less effort/struggle. Class flew by and after class I felt like I could have kept going through another hour. This was exactly what I needed this week. I was starting to feel like I was dragging myself to class every day - now I can't wait to go again! I feel refreshed and motivated, like I can't get enough and I love it :)
This mantra is said to be the natural sound of the breath; if you observe your breathing you'll hear "so-hum" as air moves in and out of your lungs. As you inhale, the sound of that vibration is "so." And as you exhale, the sound becomes "hum."
I tried it out before class yesterday. I was there about 20 minutes early so I had time to myself. I spent a couple minutes in still meditation repeating So Hum (in my head), and then I continued it as I began moving. I was working on hand stands again, so I said So Hum in between each attempt as well as while I was in the hand stand. It definitely helped focus my efforts and control my breath. I did my longest hand stand yet - 4 seconds!!! My goal is to do 5 seconds by Thursday because that is the last day of my 60 day challenge. That's three more days, including today, so I know I can do it!
I definitely think there is something to this mantra thing...I had my best Hatha class in quite some time. I was holding poses longer and with less effort/struggle. Class flew by and after class I felt like I could have kept going through another hour. This was exactly what I needed this week. I was starting to feel like I was dragging myself to class every day - now I can't wait to go again! I feel refreshed and motivated, like I can't get enough and I love it :)
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