Last weekend, in the glorious September sunshine, a small group of women were practising self-care. These women were participants on my yoga retreat in the beautiful Sussex countryside. The over-riding theme of the weekend was Ahimsa. Before I explain the relevance of this theme I should offer a little background information on the meaning of this Sanskrit word..... Our yoga practice follows the 8-limbed path as set out many centuries ago by Patanjali in his book of yoga sutras (see my blog post here to learn more about this great sage and his work). In the western world our yoga tends to focus on the third limb, asana - the physical postures of yoga, with a little less focus on the following 4 limbs: Pranayama - breath control, Pratyahara - withdrawal of the senses, Dharana - concentration and Dhyana - meditation. The first two steps on the path of yoga are the Yamas and the Niyamas. The Yamas are five principles that form an ethical foundation to live by and the Niyamas are five practices of personal discipline to help know the Self better. The first of the five Yamas is Ahimsa, which translates as non-harming or non-violence. Ahimsa asks us to offer kindness and compassion to all living beings including, and especially, to ourselves. We must learn to live in a way that causes as little harm as possible - to others, to the earth we live on and to ourselves. If we take care of ourselves we feel better and life flows better - the world around us feels our good energy and responds to it in a positive way. If you are a regular reader of this blog you will know that I am an advocate of taking time to pause in your busy day for a mindful cup of tea, to take a bath, do your yoga practice, have a massage and get outside in the natural world. All these things are your practice of Ahimsa. Other, more subtle ways of practicing Ahimsa might include making healthy decisions about what to eat and drink, spending time with people who lift you up rather than drain your energy, noticing how you manage your time and not allowing others to steal it (it's precious) and noticing negative, harmful self-talk and choosing to replace the critical words with kinder ones. Noticing the areas in which you tend to get stressed can be really helpful - you can then do something to change the pattern. Do you leave yourself enough time so that you are not rushing? Do you put off doing things which really need to be attended to? I mention these two harmful habits because I have struggled with them in the past. They caused me personal stress and anxiety but I was also causing harm to others - indirectly and non-intentionally but they had an impact nevertheless. Through mindfulness towards Ahimsa, and the other teachings of the eightfold path, I have become more aware of doing what I can do to protect my energy, and be kinder to myself and others. The work is never finished though - us human beings have a tendency to forget then remember, then forget and remember again. So let your yoga practice serve as your reminder to take care of yourself and therefore others. Sometimes a gentle nudge from a loving friend or family member, some journal writing, a timely blog post or a weekend yoga retreat will help too. Which brings me back full circle to that lovely weekend of yoga, good company, warm sunshine, beautiful surroundings and a small group of women doing a fabulous job of practicing Ahimsa :-)
If you're inspired to pay more attention to Ahimsa why not take a relaxing bath before bed using just 4 simple ingredients. Lavender and Peppermint Bath Salts 1 cup of Epsom salts (you can buy this in the chemist, health food shop or online) 5 drops of Lavender essential oil 5 drops of Peppermint essential oil 1 tablespoon olive oil (optional) Pour the 4 ingredients under the running tap, and swirl them around in the water. Step carefully into the tub (the olive oil can make it slippy) and relax for at least 15 minutes. To keep the bath as natural and effective as possible don't use any soap or other man-made products. The Epsom salts naturally contain magnesium which is a wonderful muscle relaxant and will leave your skin feeling smooth and soft. Magnesium is vital for "strong bones and teeth, balanced hormones, a healthy nervous and cardiovascular system, and well functioning detoxification pathways." (click here to read more about magnesium from the Weston A Price Foundation). Bathing in Epsom salts is a good way to increase your magnesium intake as well as provide a relaxing bedtime ritual to help you get a good night's sleep - double Ahimsa value!
Continuing our journey exploring the teachers who have influenced yoga as we know it today, we take a massive leap in time to the late 1800's when the first yoga teachers started coming to the west. Swami Vivekananda was the first to share the teachings in the US and England but, again, they were philosophical and religious teachings rather than the practice of physical postures. It wasn't until the 1920's when Tirumalai Krishnamacharya opened the first Hatha Yoga School that the physical practice of yoga became more widespread. Through his dedicated work at his school, and through many lectures and demonstrations around the world he transformed Hatha yoga from a dying art known only to a few monks into a holistic healing system practiced by thousands. Some of Krishnamacharya's students, namely Pattahbi Jois, BKS Iyengar, Indira Devi and his own son TKV Desikachar continued his work to promote the benefits of yoga - we'll take a look at them next week. They developed their own styles and schools which form the basis of the many different types of yoga that we can choose from today. Whichever style you practice, it's a safe bet that it has it's roots with the teachings of this one man. If you'd like to know more about T. Krishnamacharya take a look at this in-depth biographical article here.
Krishnamacharya
And finally, two videos for you to enjoy....
Take care of yourself - go have some fun!
Take care of others - consideration and compassion for all beings
18 September 2015
The Bag - A Story About Clutter and Procrastination
This is The Bag. Or rather, this was The Bag. The Bag is
no more, and I’m feeling good about that.
For over a year The Bag
contained various garments that needed mending or altering – a missing button
on a pair of my son’s shorts, a pair of trousers that were too long, an
unravelling seam in a Roman blind.
The Bag sat in the corner of my office awaiting my attention.
Each time I went into my office it did catch my attention and a small
flash of irritation with myself would occur. I would promise myself that I’d
get to it next weekend, but that never seemed to happen and so The Bag
remained.
I had good intentions to reuse, recycle and restore all these
things to their former glory, and I really didn’t want to just throw them in
the bin. However, intentions weren’t enough and I didn’t actually do
anything about it. The contents of The Bag grew gradually over the period
of a year and my excuse was that I really needed a whole day to sort the thing
out once and for all. Alas, that day never presented itself – I was busy
elsewhere.
The Bag became such a familiar presence in the room that I
started not to notice it on a daily basis, only focusing on it when I had to
pick it up to sweep the floor. When I did see it, The Bag produced a sort of
heavy feeling in me. The undone tasks hung over me and I was frustrated
with myself for not dealing with them.
Sometimes, somebody else can see a solution to your problem more
clearly than you can yourself. This happened to me last week when I was
encouraged to shine a light on an area of my life where I was a little stuck. I
assigned a set day and time to take the first steps – emptying out and sorting
through The Bag. So I divided the contents into 3 piles – things that could be
thrown away, things that could go to the charity shop (those shorts belonging
to my son no longer even fitted him!) and those tasks which I needed to
actually do. Then I put The Bag into the recycling bin! Instant relief!
The Bag would no longer be “watching” me from the corner of the room, reminding
me of my unfulfilled intentions.
The pile of tasks was smaller than I remembered and not quite as
overwhelming as I feared. I chose 2 easy tasks to deal with straight away and I
felt a great sense of satisfaction when they were done. My next date with my
sewing machine is tomorrow and I’m going to be very mindful that as well as
intention there has to be action – I don’t want to get stuck again. The great
yoga master BKS Iyengar tells us that “the very heart of yoga practice is a
steady effort in the direction you want to go”. This wisdom applies both on the
mat and off it - and most definitely when dealing with sewing tasks!
So I’d like to pass this positive, cleansing practice on now and
ask you some questions: do you have a “Bag”? Is there something you’ve
been putting off? What is stopping you? Could you break it down into more
manageable tasks so it doesn’t seem so overwhelming? Take one small step, then
another, then another and, with that steady effort, you’ll feel the sense of
heaviness lift as you create a clearer space for yourself. Please leave a comment and share your experience - I'd love to hear from you.
Sorted!
How to Make Ginger and Lemon Tea
As we move towards the colder weather it's a good idea to turn the thoughts to boosting the immune system to avoid those winter coughs and colds. Ginger and Lemon Tea is traditionally drunk to soothe a sore throat but if taken on a regular basis its many nutrients can have a preventative action against ailments too.
Although you can buy Ginger and Lemon tea bags in the supermarket, the contents have been dried and have been sitting around for quite some time with their nutrient value decreasing. If you make your own fresh Ginger and Lemon tea the nutrient value is so much higher.
So why is this tea so good for you? Here's the science bit:
The root of the ginger plant (or more correctly, the rhizome) has been used for centuries to treat gastrointestinal problems. It is known for its abilities to both relax the intestinal tract and soothe stomach pains. It is widely used as a safe and effective treatment for morning sickness in pregnancy, and also at alleviating motion sickness. Ginger contains very potent anti-inflammatory compounds called gingerols which, new research suggests, reduce inflammation and help improve joint stiffness and discomfort for those with arthritis. Ginger is warming and can help promote healthy sweating, which is often helpful during colds and flu. It is also rich in anti-oxidants which protect cells and the molecules inside them from free radical damage.
If you'd like to look at a detailed analysis of the nutrients that ginger provides click here.
Lemons contain a mega-dose of Vitamin C. They have strong antibacterial, antiviral, and immune-boosting powers and are a digestive aid and liver cleanser. Lemons contain many substances - notably citric acid, calcium, magnesium, vitamin C, bioflavonoids, pectin, and limonene - that promote immunity and fight infection.
If you'd like to see the nutrient analysis for lemon click here.
Here's how to make your own Lemon and Ginger Tea.
You will need:
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
1-2 cups of boiling water
1-2 teaspoons raw honey or pure maple syrup
½ lemon, juiced
Peel a small piece of ginger root with a peeler. Grate the ginger with a grater/zester. You can thinly slice it too. Put the grated ginger in a small bowl and pour 1 cup of boiling water onto it. Let it steep for 10 minutes. Strain into a cup to remove the bits of ginger. Add fresh lemon juice and a little honey or maple syrup if you like. Stir and enjoy! If you want a cold tea, let your tea cool down, store it in the fridge and add ice cubes before serving.
How Yoga Has Evolved Through The Centuries - part 3
The earliest references to yoga as we know it today, ie. a practice centered on physical and mental wellbeing, are found in Buddhist works dating from the eighth century. In the 15th century, Swami Swatmarama wrote the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, which is considered to be one of the most important yoga manuals ever written and forms the basis of the yoga practice we know and love today. Hatha yoga combines elements of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras with posture and breathing exercises. It purifies the physical body leading to the purification of the mind (ha), using an awareness of prana, or vital energy, (tha).
Regular meditation is the foundation for mind-body wellness and a consciousness-based approach to life. The daily practice can improve quality of sleep and relationship skills, enhance concentration, reduce stress, and provide a deeper connection to spirit.
However, daily meditation doesn’t have to mean sitting passively. Walking meditation, also known as mindful walking, is an active practice that requires you to be consciously aware and moving in the environment rather than sitting down with your eyes closed. It’s a simple and comfortable form of meditation that can be particularly valuable for newcomers or anyone who prefers a more active form of this practice.
Mindful walking can lead to a unique set of benefits compared with its seated counterpart. The practice brings you closer to nature as well as your body. Here are nine reasons to try mindful walking.
1. It Connects You More Deeply With the Environment
Walking meditation produces the opposite of the sense withdrawal, known as Pratyahara, that we experience during a seated meditation practice. In mindful walking, all of our senses are actively engaged in the experience of walking. We are deliberately being mindful of the earth beneath our feet, the air flowing in and out of our lungs, the sights, sounds, smells, and even tastes that we experience as we walk.
This practice helps us to feel more connected to the environment of which we are an inseparable part. This environmental connection also cultivates situational awareness, in which we put all of our available attention on our surroundings rather than mindlessly walking from place to place.
2. It Gets You Out of Your Head
Taking a walk outdoors can break you out of a mental fog or a perpetual train of thought. This interruption may only be a change of scenery, which might be all you need to shift your awareness out of your conditioned mind and open you up to a more universal perspective.
3. It Allows You to Commune With Nature
Provided you’re outdoors, mindful walking is an excellent opportunity to commune with the natural world. Free from the internal dialogue of the ego, the natural world provides a seamless channel to the realm of spirit. Spending time in nature can be healing for body, mind, and soul. As you walk through forests, parks, mountain paths, or near bodies of water you immerse yourself in the primordial purity that is also at the core of your being.
4. It Helps You Get to Know Your Body
Many of us are so alienated from our bodies that we don’t feel truly connected with our physical selves. Even worse, we may hold our bodies in contempt rather accepting ourselves and having a loving and intimate in-body experience.
Walking mindfully establishes a deeper connection between mind and body, helping you to embrace your body as it moves through space. The practice fosters an expanded awareness of how you carry yourself as you walk. Your posture, gait, and balance all tell a unique one-of-a-kind story in the way you physically express yourself as you walk. These details can give you valuable insight into how you can move with greater ease and comfort.
5. It Slows You Down
Slowing down is a natural byproduct of moving mindfully and consciously. When you focus on the countless details involved in taking each step with care and awareness, your movements become more deliberate, graceful, and measured. There’s no need to race to get anywhere. This moment, this step, this breath is all there is, and you embrace it in all its richness.
Enjoy the opportunity to not have to reach a destination. Mindful walking is about taking your time, all the time you need. Remember, it isn’t about how fast you go, but how deeply you can feel.
6. It Strengthens Concentration
Seated meditation is practiced in a subdued, quiet surrounding. Mindful walking takes place in an environment filled with potential distractions. Nearby traffic, fellow walkers, weather, birds, insects or other animals all add to the regular stream of thoughts and bodily sensations fighting for your attention.
As each of these distractions come into your awareness, you repeatedly bring yourself back to the present moment and the practice of walking. The continual process of attention drifting away and coming back strengthens the mind’s ability to remain focused on the task at hand. With time and repetition, this exercise builds the mental muscles that make one-pointed focus a more regular experience.
7. It Increases Your Awareness of Intention
In yoga philosophy, the refined control of attention and intention is known as Dharana. Through Dharana we learn how to harness the power of our awareness and desires to bring about transformation in life. By walking mindfully, we cultivate a deeper understanding of our intentions through conscious movement, one step at a time. Each walk begins with an intention; each footstep also begins with intention. And if we practice walking with attention and clarity of desire, we can more easily choose transformative intentions that bring the most fulfillment and happiness into our lives.
8. It Expands Everyday Mindfulness
Walking meditation is a practice; it’s a skill that develops over time. The more you do it, the more it becomes a part of your being. This integration of mindfulness starts to spill over into other areas of your life, infusing them with deeper awareness.
And since walking is a basic activity that most of people engage in on a daily basis, you can practice any time you get up to take a walk, whether it’s for 30 seconds or 30 minutes. This regularity helps this mindfulness become a part of everything you do.
9. It Helps You Connect to the Present Moment
As you walk and become increasingly aware, the mind grows quieter. On occasion, that quiet becomes deeply profound. Your awareness goes beyond the walking, the breathing, and the passing scenery into the boundless field of pure awareness.
Such transcendent moments feel as if time is standing still as the walker, the process of walking, and the environment merges together into one. In this eternal present, there is no past or future, only the infinite now stretching out forever. Moving into this unbounded realm beyond thought, time, and space allows us to experience Atma Darshan, or a glimpse of our soul.
Finally, I think I may have shared this video with you before but it's worth a second look. It's about being comfortable in your own skin.
As you move back into the routine of things after the summer break you might be feeling the sense of new term - new start. This feeling of fresh beginnings is often heightened if you have school age children. As they go back to school with their new uniforms and timetables, there's the desire to get organised, learn something new and maybe to set some new goals for yourself. But it's so easy to pack yet more stuff into our busy days without letting something else go.
Leo Babauta from Zenhabits.net has written this post about managing tasks. I found it a really helpful way to think about things. I hope you do too....
Too Much to Do, Not Enough Time by Leo Babauta from zenhabits.net
One of the biggest frustrations many of us feel is having too much to do, and not feeling like we have enough time to do it. We are overwhelmed.
Of course, having “not enough time” is just a feeling — we all have the same amount of time, but we often fill up the container of our days with too much stuff.
The problem is having too much stuff to fit into a small container (24 hours). If we look at task management and time management as simply a container organization problem, it becomes simpler.
How do we fit all of the stuff we have to do into our small container? By simplifying. And letting go.
I promise, with this two-step process, you’ll be able to deal with the problem of “too much to do, not enough time.”
Simplifying Our Tasks
When we realize we’re trying to fit too much stuff (tasks, errands, obligations) into a small container (24 hours), it becomes obvious that we can’t get a bigger container … so we have to get rid of some stuff. It just won’t all fit.
We do that by simplifying what we have to do.
Mindfulness is a helpful too here: pay attention to all the things you do today and tomorrow, and try to notice all the things you’re fitting into the container of your day. What websites are you going to in the morning? In the evening? What games are you playing on your phone? What are you reading? What busy-work are you doing? How much time are you spending in email, on Facebook, on Twitter, on Instagram? How much time on blogs, online shopping sites, Youtube? How much TV are you watching? How much time do you spend cleaning, maintaining your personal hygiene, taking care of other people? How much time driving around or commuting? What are you spending the valuable commodity of your attention on?
What you might realize is that you’re fitting a lot of junk into the container. Toss some of that out. Ban yourself from certain sites or apps until you’ve done a few really important tasks.
Notice also that you’re committed to a lot of things. Those commitments are filling up your life. Start getting out of some of them, and saying “no” to new ones.
Now look at your task list: how many of those things can you reasonably do today? I say three.
If you could only do three things today, which would be the most important? If you’ve ever played baseball, and swung a bat, you know that what matters is not so much how hard you swing, but hitting the ball with the sweet spot of the bat. What you need to do with your task list is hit it with the sweet spot of the bat — find the tasks that have the most impact, that matter most to your life. Choose carefully, because you only have so much room in your life.
Now ask yourself this: which task would you do if you could only do one task today? That should be what you put your focus on next. Just that one task. You can’t do your entire list today, and you can’t do your top three tasks right now. So just focus on one important task.
Clear everything else away, and focus on that.
By picking your tasks carefully, you’re taking care with the container of your time. You can pick important tasks or joyful ones, but you’re being conscious about the choices. You’re treating it like the precious gift that it is: limited, valuable, to be filled with the best things, and not overstuffed.
The Art of Letting Go
What about all the other stuff you want to do (or feel you need to do)? What if it doesn’t fit into the container?
This is where the joyful art of letting go becomes useful.
You have too many things to fit into your container, and you’ve decided to only put the important and beautiful things into the container. That means a bunch of things you think you “should” do are not going to fit.
You can get to those later. Or you can not do them. Either way, they won’t fit into today’s container.
This in itself is not a problem, but it only becomes a problem when you are frustrated that you can’t fit it all in. Your frustration comes from an ideal that you should be able to do it all, that you should be able to do everything on your list. Plus more: you want to travel, workout, meditate, learn a new skill, read more, be the perfect spouse (or find a spouse), be the perfect parent/friend/sibling, draw or create music, and so on.
Your ideals don’t match with reality — the reality is that you can’t do this all today, or even this week. You can choose to do some of them, but the others will have to wait, or not get done at all.
Since you can’t get a bigger container, you need to adjust your ideals. The ideal you choose to have can be this: that this moment be exactly as it is. The old ideal is one that you can toss into the ocean, as it was harming you (causing frustration). Let it go with joy and relief.
The new ideal is that this moment is perfect, and it deserves to be in your container.
I have another avocado recipe to share with you this week - who knew they were so versatile? I don't really like avocado pieces in my salad as I'm not keen on the texture but I'm finding that I love it when it's mashed, mixed or blended with other ingredients. I've been using it in my green smoothies too and it gives a lovely creamy texture.
This recipe comes from the Hemsley and Hemsley cookbook. Jasmine and Melissa Hemsley are two sisters who are making healthy food fun, fresh and funky. You can take a look at their website here: www.hemsleyandhemsley.com.
The mousse is very quick and easy to make and makes an ideal dinner party dessert - you could even add a splash of amaretto to make it feel even more luxurious.
Avocado Chocolate Mousse
makes 4 espresso cup servings
1 frozen ripe banana peeled and sliced into circles 3 tbsp cacao powder (you can buy this in health food shops - it's very rich in anti-oxidants)1 chilled ripe avocado 2 tbsp raw honey (I didn't have any raw honey so I used a delicious, non-mass produced runny honey instead) 1 tsp lemon juice 1 tsp vanilla extract 2 tbsp chilled water a tiny pinch of sea salt
Blend all the mousse ingredients together in your food processor until smooth. Add the cacao powder first and, as you blend, have all the ingredients to hand in order to adjust the ratios slightly as the size of avocados and bananas varies so much. The perfect ratio in order to avoid the dish tasting too much of either is to use almost equal amounts of both.
Spoon into little cups or shot glasses and enjoy!
How Yoga Has Evolved Through the Centuries - part 2
In my last post I wrote about Patanjali, the great sage whose wisdom is still studied today in the form of the Yoga Sutra. Skip forward a few years(!) and the next great philosopher to influence yoga as we know it today was Vyasa. Also known as Krishna Dvaipayana, he lived in Nepal around 5000 years ago. He wrote a vast amount of literature including the 100,000 verses of the Mahabharata, the largest single piece of literature ever produced. He also wrote the Brahma Sutra and the Bhagavad Gita.
The Bhagavad Gita is considered to be one of the most important spiritual books ever written and is revered in India. It is the story of Arjuna, a warrior about to face family members in the opposing army, and his concern about his moral dilemma. He is offered wisdom by his guide Shiva, to make the right choices and find inner peace. It's message is still relevant to us today - it symbolises the battle within each of us as we try to live our lives well and choose the right path through the uncertainties of life.
Vyasa also produced a commentary of Patanjali's Sutras which is still used to this day as it helps us to understand what Patanjali meant when he wrote his rather cryptic work.
The Bhagavad Gita is such an important book that it is usually required reading for those embarking on a yoga teacher training course. If you'd like to read it too you can buy it on Amazon, but I really don't know how you'd choose which version would be the best one for you - on the first two pages alone there were 29 different publications of it!!
A traditional depiction of Vyasa
Finally, on the subject of new terms, learning new things and teachers who share their knowledge, here's a video to make you smile. I haven't shared a Kid President video for ages ....enjoy...
