Yogic Wisdown From Unexpected Sources: Part 1, Sawyer

"I heard once Winston Churchill said he read a book every night. Even during the Blitz. Said it made him think better."

That's a quote from Sawyer in an episode of LOST (clip below). Dude always got the best lines. But this one struck me and stuck with me because we all have that tendency to push through problems or projects when it might do us more good to step away, read a book... or do a little yoga.

It's not easy to take the Sawyer (Churchill) approach. Twice a week I encourage my Workplace Yoga students to step away from their desks to attend my classes. Yet, I still hit that same wall of internal resistance when faced with my own mounting pile of Stuff That Must Get Done.

So the goal for today? Be more like Sawyer (er, except his lyin', cheatin', and stealin' aspects, that is). Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to read a book.

Good Read: The Downside of Constant Connectivity

This New York Times article highlights one family and the effects that electronics addiction has on their lives. It's a great motivator to step away from your screen and rewire those blackberry-addicted brain circuits with a little yoga.

In my workplace classes we often focus on chest openers to counteract Office Chair Slouch. But just as importantly we focus on focus itself... cultivating the ability to be still without the urge to fidget or reach for your blackberry. It's quite a workout for the brain!

Here's an excerpt from the article (sadly, it's now archived, which means you must be a member to view it):

SAN FRANCISCO — When one of the most important e-mail messages of his life landed in his in-box a few years ago, Kord Campbell overlooked it.

Not just for a day or two, but 12 days. He finally saw it while sifting through old messages: a big company wanted to buy his Internet start-up.

“I stood up from my desk and said, ‘Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God,’ ” Mr. Campbell said. “It’s kind of hard to miss an e-mail like that, but I did.”

The message had slipped by him amid an electronic flood: two computer screens alive with e-mail, instant messages, online chats, a Web browser and the computer code he was writing.

While he managed to salvage the $1.3 million deal after apologizing to his suitor, Mr. Campbell continues to struggle with the effects of the deluge of data. Even after he unplugs, he craves the stimulation he gets from his electronic gadgets. He forgets things like dinner plans, and he has trouble focusing on his family...

Sunset Yoga Starts Tomorrow!

Ahhh... watching the sun settle gently over the West Hills. It's one of my favorite things about living in Portland. That's why I've decided to take Nature up on her generous offering and teach Sunset Yoga classes in Wallace Park every Wednesday evening throughout the sunny summer.

Please join me for the first class tomorrow at 7:45pm! And bring your friends. It'll be a lot of fun, and a beautiful way to wind down the day.

*NOTE: If you don't have a mat, I do have lots of extras!

Details:
Sunset Yoga
7:45pm - 8:45pm every Wednesday
Wallace Park, NW 26th and Raleigh
Map to Wallace Park  
Map of yoga location within Wallace Park.
$5 suggested

Here's the flier.... yep, that's an actual photo from the 7:45 sunset in Wallace Park.

Exploring Your Footprint with a Two-Minute DIY Practice

In this week's Sunset Yoga class we'll be exploring our footprint on the earth. (Our physical one, not our carbon one.) It's a theme inspired by this quote I stumbled upon while shopping for a greeting card last week (hey, inspiration can come from anywhere!)...

"Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair."
- Khalil Gibran 

Mmm... isn't that some lovely poetry?

If you want to get started on this week's theme, here's a little two-minute DIY practice you can do while walking through the grocery store, on a hike, or even through the hallways of your office building:

• Start just by noticing how your feet fall when you walk. Do they flop? Do they thud? Do they turn in our out? Which part of your foot lands first? Do you tend to put all your weight on the outside or inside of your sole? Just notice.
• Now begin to incorporate your breath and your brain power for some mindful movement. Inhaling, lift one foot. Exhaling, plant it in front of you mindfully, seeing if you can gently distribute your weight evenly across the sole as you step. Inhaling, lift the other foot. Exhaling, step it in front of you. And so on.

You can choose to use this mindful walking practice for three distinctly fantastic benefits:

• Simply to cultivate a healthy gait, which can support your spine and alleviate much lower back pain.
• As a stress-relief tool, focusing the mind and deepening each breath to calm the central nervous system. 
• As a meditation, exploring the attitude with which you step forward and the impression that you leave.

Take what serves you. Leave what doesn't. It's all good.

photo: creative commons license, ezioman

This Week's Theme: Listening

This weekend I found myself reading a bedtime story called "Quiet Bunny" to two very sweet little girls. Quiet Bunny, it turns out, is a pretty yogic little dude. No, he doesn't do warrior poses or floppy-eared headstands. What he does do is listen. In fact, he delights in listening to the whole symphony of forest sounds - especially the night song at sunset.

People are not Quiet Bunnies. People are loud. Even when we're not making noise, there's still a lot of it buzzing around in our heads. One of the most important tools we cultivate in yoga is the ability to quiet down our noisy brains and listen. We use the breath and the postures to get there. To tune back in. To listen not just with our ears but our heads, our hearts, and our whole bodies.

And then we can hear the whisper of an ache in our muscles, and address it before it becomes a screaming pain. Or we can be more present and less strung out. Or maybe...maybe... we can even become like Quiet Bunnies, so absorbed in the moment that we delight in all the sounds around us - whether they be the rustling of leaves in the night song at sunset, or the tapping of keys in our offices.

In this weeks' classes we'll focus on Listening. I hope you'll join us.

Two-Minute DIY Practice: Listening

If you want to get started on this week's theme, here's a quick DIY practice that's great for stress relief. You can do this while at your desk, in the laundromat, or wherever. Preferably somewhere you can stand or sit still...

1. Begin by either closing your eyes or just fixing your gaze gently on an object.
2. Just start to notice all the sounds around you - beginning with the ones farthest away. Maybe it's outside of your building: a train whistle, a dog or the buzz of traffic. Notice these sounds in detail, but don't hold onto them for long. In one ear, out the other... mindfully.
3. Now gradually start to narrow the scope of your listening. Down the hall. In the other room. Right next to you. Eventually, seeing if you can bring your focus to just the sounds inside your own body - the rise and fall of your breath, the soft swish each time you swallow... and whatever else you find. Notice the sounds, acknowledge them with a smile, and then let them go on their merry way.
4. When you're done, open your eyes (if they were closed), take a deep breath, and just for a moment notice any changes in your mood or the way you perceive your surroundings. (Maybe there are changes. Maybe not. Either way is okay.)

This short exercise can be useful in a couple of ways:

• On the mat: To feed your yoga practice, allowing you to better hear your body's needs as you move through the poses. Listening will not only help you avoid injury, but might also help you get into some cool poses you didn't even know you could do!
• Off the mat: To lessen the stress of distractions so that you can focus and be present in whatever you're doing. Or to calm your nerves when your brain has gone into its stressed-out, noisy state.

As always: take what serves you, leave what doesn't. It's all good.

Creative Commons photo by ky_olsen

Relax the jaw...

Just a funny sidenote: I love it when yoga teachers cue the class to "relax the jaw." Not only is it a helpful reminder (we often overlook how much tension we hold in the face), but I also get a little giggle because it reminds me of this "relax the jaw" clip from Perfect Strangers...


"Hello! My name is Cousin Larry Appleton..."