Happy New Year! In the time of the stillness and sleep of the earth, it is a great time to go within and think about what you would like for your new year. What does your heart need? What would make you feel better?
Next, go ahead, make that resolution. Turns out they actually make a difference. Clinical psychologist John Norcross was interviewed on NPR, and his research says that 46% of people who make a resolution actually follow through with it through 6 months. If you actually make a resolution, you are more than twenty times more likely to follow through with it than if you just think about making a change. You have a great chance here to step into a new part of yourself.
Write it down, or take a moment to sit and close your eyes and tell yourself, "this is my resolution". Telling a friend your resolution and having them ask you about it over the next few months makes a big difference with whether or not you'll follow through, according to this research.
Also, the more specific and realistic the goal, the more likely you will keep it.
So get excited about the possibilities, and write them into your life. If one of your goals is to feel better, to have more energy, to have more peace in your life, I would be happy to help you create a plan to bring this shift through bodywork and breathing.
Have fun thinking of what you want in your life! Here are some good examples of health related goals.
* Take that wonderful outside walk 3 times a week - write it in your schedule
* Schedule your self care and massages regularly - get them on the calendar!
* Schedule an appointment with a nutritionist, get some solid ideas about eating well (www.healthyhabitscoach.com)
* Plan technology-free evenings or weekends - peace and quiet
* Start Pilates work to strengthen your core - Jeanne Marie Manning is wonderful jeanne-m@sonic.net - 538-2268
* Drinking 8 glasses of water a day
* Create a schedule for a time of meditation or creativity (sketching, journaling) in
your week
Monday, December 29, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Three Breaths
Happy Solstice this weekend! Happy Christmas, Hanukkah, Season of Lights. And along with the happiness of the season comes a lot to do. So as you are getting into your car to accomplish many tasks, and go into a world where patience is worn thin by long lines in big stores after working a long day, I have a suggestion that can shift your mood.
As you sit in the car and put your seat belt on, take three breaths before you start the car. Three breaths that start in your belly, rise up to your chest, and slowly release. This takes about 30 seconds. It feels like a long time when you have a lot to do, but it's a small investment for a nice benefit. These three breaths are like a re-boot for your mind and body. A chance to shift your focus to something more pleasant, something of the moment - the way the sky looks, what it feels like to be alive at this very moment, this day of December in 2008. Here you are.
These three deep breaths give your body and brain an extra jolt of oxygen. If they could sell breathing they would, but it's free and it gives you energy and clarity! So simple, and you don't have to wait in line for it. Your body might even keep it up for a while, these deeper breaths, seeing how good it feels, how it feeds your cells, even as you drive. (When you're thinking a lot, or stressed out, it's easy to take shallow breaths, and the brain and body are working with less fuel.)
If you want to take this one step further, try driving silent - no radio or music. You may notice some beautiful things. Parents walking their kids home from school, a pretty tree with bare branches, some ways to participate in your environment rather than just sailing through in the car. You may find yourself receiving, which is wonderful when you are giving so much of yourself.
So: Thirty seconds and three breaths = feeling awake and clear for the next part of your day.
Enjoy these dark, long nights. May you sleep long and replenish!
As you sit in the car and put your seat belt on, take three breaths before you start the car. Three breaths that start in your belly, rise up to your chest, and slowly release. This takes about 30 seconds. It feels like a long time when you have a lot to do, but it's a small investment for a nice benefit. These three breaths are like a re-boot for your mind and body. A chance to shift your focus to something more pleasant, something of the moment - the way the sky looks, what it feels like to be alive at this very moment, this day of December in 2008. Here you are.
These three deep breaths give your body and brain an extra jolt of oxygen. If they could sell breathing they would, but it's free and it gives you energy and clarity! So simple, and you don't have to wait in line for it. Your body might even keep it up for a while, these deeper breaths, seeing how good it feels, how it feeds your cells, even as you drive. (When you're thinking a lot, or stressed out, it's easy to take shallow breaths, and the brain and body are working with less fuel.)
If you want to take this one step further, try driving silent - no radio or music. You may notice some beautiful things. Parents walking their kids home from school, a pretty tree with bare branches, some ways to participate in your environment rather than just sailing through in the car. You may find yourself receiving, which is wonderful when you are giving so much of yourself.
So: Thirty seconds and three breaths = feeling awake and clear for the next part of your day.
Enjoy these dark, long nights. May you sleep long and replenish!
Monday, December 8, 2008
Tree Meditation for Grounding and Belonging
Welcome to this blog! It's going to be all about simple, powerful things we can do to be more alive; to have a peaceful, vital life.
Last night I sat at the base of the tree in my backyard. This is something I have started doing this year after my son died, to release fear, to let the powerful sensations of anxiety and grief in my body have a place to go, and they go into the earth. I sit at the base of the tree and I feel myself breathe in, I feel myself breathe out. I imagine the deep roots of the tree, I let my consciousness go down with the roots, into the earth. The earth is steady. It holds us up. It is happy to take our stress. It takes the hum of the computer, the electricity all around us, the frustrating conversations, and soaks them up to be shifted. It gives us the minerals of the soil, the comfort of womb-like darkness.
I come back to myself, back to my heart. Then I breathe into the branches of the tree, I let my consciousness go into the sky, reach up like the branches for the moisture in the air, the sun, or the moon, all the universe that is above and around us. I breathe into my body and imagine all of the stars, all the space that is there. I feel like I am part of something grand. To feel rooted and expanded at once is amazingly helpful. It helps me remember who I really am. A child of the earth, a child of the universe, with access to all of its energy and wisdom.
To do this tree meditation:
1) Sit at the base of a tree, or lean onto a tree 2) Breathe in and out deeply for several minutes, into your heart 3) Send your consciousness down to the roots of the tree, allow your stress to flow out through the 1st chakra (bottom of pelvis) to the earth, be nurtured by the minerals and soil 4) Breathe in and out deeply, into your heart 5) Send your consciousness up to the branches of the trees, be nurtured by the air, the sun, the sky, sending you light 6) Come back to your heart
This meditation reminds us of the abundance of the universe, and that we belong to it. We can get help from something as simple as a tree. It allows us relieve ourselves of feelings, thoughts, stress that don't serve us. To hold in these feelings is to become tired, to become ill, to become stuck. Breathing deeply against a tree, or with feet on the earth or a stone, will help bring us into our bodies, our hearts, and not so completely in our heads. From this place of belonging and balance, we have so much to offer.
I'll be updating this blog about once a week. I look forward to questions and comments. Blessings!
Last night I sat at the base of the tree in my backyard. This is something I have started doing this year after my son died, to release fear, to let the powerful sensations of anxiety and grief in my body have a place to go, and they go into the earth. I sit at the base of the tree and I feel myself breathe in, I feel myself breathe out. I imagine the deep roots of the tree, I let my consciousness go down with the roots, into the earth. The earth is steady. It holds us up. It is happy to take our stress. It takes the hum of the computer, the electricity all around us, the frustrating conversations, and soaks them up to be shifted. It gives us the minerals of the soil, the comfort of womb-like darkness.
I come back to myself, back to my heart. Then I breathe into the branches of the tree, I let my consciousness go into the sky, reach up like the branches for the moisture in the air, the sun, or the moon, all the universe that is above and around us. I breathe into my body and imagine all of the stars, all the space that is there. I feel like I am part of something grand. To feel rooted and expanded at once is amazingly helpful. It helps me remember who I really am. A child of the earth, a child of the universe, with access to all of its energy and wisdom.
To do this tree meditation:
1) Sit at the base of a tree, or lean onto a tree 2) Breathe in and out deeply for several minutes, into your heart 3) Send your consciousness down to the roots of the tree, allow your stress to flow out through the 1st chakra (bottom of pelvis) to the earth, be nurtured by the minerals and soil 4) Breathe in and out deeply, into your heart 5) Send your consciousness up to the branches of the trees, be nurtured by the air, the sun, the sky, sending you light 6) Come back to your heart
This meditation reminds us of the abundance of the universe, and that we belong to it. We can get help from something as simple as a tree. It allows us relieve ourselves of feelings, thoughts, stress that don't serve us. To hold in these feelings is to become tired, to become ill, to become stuck. Breathing deeply against a tree, or with feet on the earth or a stone, will help bring us into our bodies, our hearts, and not so completely in our heads. From this place of belonging and balance, we have so much to offer.
I'll be updating this blog about once a week. I look forward to questions and comments. Blessings!
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