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May 3rd, 2012 Yes, I said burp. And the funny thing is, I mean a real live burp. I’m not making an analogy here. I’m talking about using and mastering the amazing art of burping. A skill we were taught the very first day we were born. There is a reason moms burp babies. The reason is to remove the trapped air in a baby’s stomach that will cause the baby pain and nausea if it’s allowed to linger in the abdomen.
From my very first yoga class I observed the hard and fast rule of light food two hours before class. I still experienced a lot of nausea in the first few months of my practice, until I discovered the “burp”. I began doing forced small, quiet, “burps” during the warm up poses, and continued to sprinkle them throughout the standing series. My line of thinking was that I was getting rid of any left over food and it was really helping. The nausea went away.
It was only in the last month that I began to rethink this. While engaging in a conversation about whether or not to eat before class, I heard myself say, “The food I eat at 7am is all gone before 9am and safely in my bloodstream to keep my glycemic level even during class.” Then it dawned on me. Why am I burping during class if the food is gone? Why is the burping keeping the nausea at bay?
I watched each pose, and looked for the effect each warmup pose had on my stomach. During the pose air was building in my lower abdomen. If I didn’t release it between poses, it took up room and made me feel not only nauseous, but like I was suffocating, too. It was creating a ballon in my stomach. By doing small, slight burps between the poses, releasing this trapped air made room to take in more air, made normal breathing through the nose effortless, and that, in turn, kept my heart in check. The burping not only eliminated the nausea, but really made breathing very easy, even on the hottest and most humid days. I realized food was a non-issue. It was the trapped air causing both the nausea and breathing problems.
If you are plagued by nausea and/or breathing problems during class, give the burping a try. Such a small thing has alleviated so much discomfort for me, that I rarely have classes I don’t enjoy.
Taking it outside the studio:
How many times is a small fix to a big issue right under our noses? Putting aside the frustration of not having something work right, and using a little keen observation to discover why it’s not working, leads to many ah..ha moments that make life easier.
And so, as another day goes by, moms always do know best, and …I have written.
May 2nd, 2012 Today I went to 4pm yoga. Forced myself to go to 4pm yoga, I should say. I didn’t do a whole lot today, but last night I was up at 2:15 am. I lay in front of the tv for an hour, then finally got up and went downstairs. I sat in my rocking chair and listened to music. I felt hungry (which is very odd in the middle of the night). I made a waffle and settled back in my rocking chair and suddenly my mind went back some 30 years and I was thinking how I sat in this very chair many nights from 2 to 4 am rocking and feeding a baby, and finally, at about 4:30 I’d put the quiet, sleeping baby back to bed. That’s what last night felt like. I went to bed at 4:30 am and tried to sleep fitfully.
Morning came, I got up at my usual time. Was too tired to go anywhere, but pushed myself to drive up cape to bible study. Bible study is just as important as yoga and not to be missed just because I’m tired. Today’s video and discussion were on forgiveness and planted seeds in my brain that I was just too tired to cultivate today, but will be needed in the future. Even my prayer time left me anxious. Something was going on with someone somewhere, so I carefully prayed for all those I love. After bible study, I sleepily went to the hospice office for a meeting, then dragged myself home. Ate, napped (which did no good), and then it was 3:30. Time for yoga. I just didn’t pay attention to my exhausted body and jumped into the car and went.
As I lay on my mat in the hot room (and I mean really hot – I knew this wasn’t going to go well today) before class, my friend’s husband came and put his mat next to me. He’d been an avid follower of my mindful experiment last week, so he asked me if my mind was here today. I laughed and said, “Absolutely not, today. It’s anywhere but in this hot room.”
Then I thought about it. During the time I was driving around tired I actually said to myself, “Well, you were up with the baby all night.” This was an odd, unnerving feeling that had my thoughts at loose ends and my stomach feeling shaky and nervous – like jelly all day. I just couldn’t find a place of peace, no matter what I did. And now I was lying on this mat dreading the work this class was going to be.
We were through the standing series and headed for the floor and I hadn’t even drawn a deep breath yet. On the floor I began to get a little thirsty, but I stood fast to my belief of no drinking during class. By the end of the floor series I found my body totally sinking into the poses and going deeper than I did all week. After camel, I lay in savasana and realized the jelly-belly was gone. I was relaxed, settled, centered, and – the best – part – not tired anymore. I finished strong and drove home feeling better than I did all day.
I knew pushing through all the excuses my mind and body were giving me not to go, was the right thing to do. I stuck to my rule – if I’m in town and don’t have something to go to, I am in that studio. Tired, ate too much, didn’t hydrate enough, etc. – none of it cuts it. And the yoga didn’t let me down. I’m home, showered, relaxed and “me” again.
Sometimes we need to follow the rules we make for ourselves, even when we don’t want to. That’s why we create the rules in the first place – we already know they’ll be days where our body and mind will try to take advantage of a weak moment, and we know pushing through is what’s best for us.
Think about a rule you might have made for yourself. Do you follow it in times of weakness? Try to – it’s a wonderful way to take care of yourself when your mind and body are checking out and leaving you hanging. The rule is meant to be your safety net.
And so, as another day goes by, that “baby” better sleep tonight, and…I have written.
May 1st, 2012 I have a general philosophy about remodeling that has developed over 37 years of remodeling four homes. My tried and true principal is: do not remodel and try to change the way your family lives. Always look at how your family lives and moves throughout their day and remodel accordingly. If the kids drop their book bags and coats just inside the door, that would be the optimum place for hooks and storage lockers, not their bedrooms because you can cover their walls with hooks which will do no good if the book bags never make it there. If your husband uses the laundry room for his closet, that would be the place for hangers and a hamper, as opposed to the bedroom if his clothes never seen to find their way up the stairs.
Before I redo a room, I watch my husband and family’s use of the room and place storage and organization right at the tip of their fingers. They become neat and organized creatures and I didn’t have to retrain them to do it. Same thing with furniture placement. My husband will sit in whatever chair is directly facing the tv. If I place his chair at an angle to the tv, he won’t sit in it. I always found a cleaner, more organized home came from changing the home, not the people who live there.
The same goes for remodeling our physical and emotional landscape as well. We all have our own unique psyche. If you look up the meaning of the word psyche it says:
“that which is responsible for one’s thoughts and feelings; the seat of the faculty of reason; the immaterial part of a person; the actuating cause of an individual life; i.e. soul”
Our psyche is our own individual way of thinking and navigating through our days. For me, the keyword is a daily routine. First I get up, get ready, and go here. Then I come home and do this. Everyday, Monday through Friday, it needs to be the same for me. Weekends have to be separate. Weekends have to contain a “treat” in the sense I need them to be something I look forward to. To try to introduce any changes in my life that goes against that landscape will result in failure. Vowing to do seven days of yoga won’t last beyond the first or second week because it’s just not how my psyche operates. Same with my diet. Foregoing weekend treats of a few glasses of wine or a slice of pizza will just make me crazy and sabotage all the great healthy eating and water drinking I do all week. In the diet and food world, eliminating fun foods, things we crave, or a whole food group such as carbs, for me, is just a prescription for failure. It goes against my “grain”; my personal psyche. The same goes for exercise. I knew, this time last year, when I found myself with 15 extra pounds from a 3 month depression spent in a chair, that I had to add an extra afternoon exercise routine in addition to morning yoga. I tried a lot of things. Running didn’t work, because all my life I could never see the point of it, it hurt my knees, and it was not fun. Anything not fun does not fit into my psyche. Now, I don’t mean it has to be easy to fit into my daily routine, but it has to be challenging in an enjoyable way – such as the yoga is. Then I tried small machines. I was headed for shin splints. Clearly that was not a fun road. After 6 months, I found the perfect CD. A light cardio circuit that’s challenging and fun, only takes 20 minutes, and I can do it easily at home in my yoga room. It follows my “grain” and fits in my psyche perfectly.
If you are thinking of changing something about your life or your home, take time to watch and assess yourself. Figure out your landscape and the way you navigate it, then make changes according to how you operate. Sometimes deciding you’re going to get up 30 minutes earlier every morning to exercise sounds like an admirable change to make, but if you’re not a person to move very fast upon getting out of bed, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Pay attention to who you are and how you work. Figure out which way your “grain” goes. Then the remodeling you want to do will be a true challenge, one you enjoy, that will really accentuate change, instead of forcing you in a direction you are just not capable of going, setting yourself up for failure.
May first. Everything is growing and changing. You can, too.
And so, as another day goes by, I leave you with a wonderful poster my yoga teacher posted on Facebook today, and…I have written.
April 30th, 2012 Christian Grey, in 50 Shades of Grey, is such an enigma, I don’t know where to begin. I should start with the author, EL James, that created this character. I am in awe at the portrayal of Grey through the eyes of Anastasia Steele. In the first book, you become Ana and feel the fight or flight….or love reaction. But the author always keeps little pieces, here and there, sprinkled along the story line, that lets you know Grey is an okay guy….despite. I can’t go into the despite part in case you haven’t read the book, but I will expound some more about Christian Grey.
I was reading “50 Shades of Grey” while I was reading TD Jakes’ book “Let It Go”. I came upon a story he told in there. It was about a child, who for some reason didn’t live with her family. They would come and see her, spend time with her, then she would stand at the gate and watch them drive away. She would wish and wish they’d turn around and come and take her home with them. But they never did. This left her waiting at at the gate her whole life. She grew physically, but emotionally stayed a child.
“She was successful, smart, charming, strong, and compassionate. She lights up a room and people like her. Her life is one that you or I might envy, unless we knew her heart is still at the gate. To this day she finds it difficult to invest in relationships because she feels that if she brings her full self to the other person, she risks being abandoned. So instead she doesn’t make the proper investment to have a strong relationship with anyone. She allows herself to go only so far, metaphorically to the gate, before she detaches and withholds her ability to commit.
I’ve watched her date handsome men who were strong and gentle. They are attracted to her vivacious personality and attractive figure, but once they begin to date her, they find the container is opulent, the box is empty. The contents of human character, love, and human connectivity don’t seem to exist in her.
Because I know her story and the fragility of her heart, I know differently. I see the small child trapped inside the body of a beautiful woman who finds herself perpetually at the gate again, watching the car leave. Her fear of abandonment has become her master and she it’s slave, shackled by her unwillingness to connect with the strength of attachment necessary to build a healthy, trusting relationship. I cannot tell you how many disappointed wounded men have been trampled over in the process of trying to find someone to love them without ever knowing that they are seeing someone who is seeing them forever from the gate.”
Jakes calls this type of person an “insulator”. “The insulator wraps herself up in such a disguise that no one can access her heart and hurt them again. Insulators hide within layers of emotional armor in an attempt to prevent anyone from seeing who they really are. They go to work wrapped in insulation; they get married wrapped in insulation; they interact with people through thick pads of insulation. It is not the individual with whom they find themselves conversing that they are committed to warding away, but it is the fear that what has happened in the past will inevitably happen again that causes them to smother all possibility for human intimacy.
However, if we take time to peel away the layers of foam around the insulators, we find the layers are shielding the person out of fear. They cannot commit to other people because they remain committed to protecting the child within who has grown physically, but remains dwarfed emotionally. No one knows that these persons live their lives as little boys and girls with thumbs in their mouths, tears in their eyes, living, loving, dancing, and doing business from the gate of a traumatic experience that they say nothing about.”
I present to you Christian Grey. What a love story between him and Anastasia, who figures out and fully understands the love of her life is stuck, forever at the gate. Across three books, can she unwrap the insulation? It’s slow. Each step microscopic. One micro step forward, three backward. Can Ana hang in? Get 50 Shades of Grey by EL James and find out.
And so, as another day goes by, I close the cover of yet another amazing trilogy, and….I have written.
April 29th, 2012 Yesterday was shop Ikea day, so today was put it all together day. If my daughter and her roommates were impressed with my ability to read Ikea directions a month ago, they should’ve seen me today. I put together not only a bed, but a dresser, a nightstand and…are you ready for this one….an armoire. Yes, if there were a reality show for putting together Ikea furniture, following what my daughter calls a coloring book for directions, I would certainly win.
I love days like this. Put Neil Sedaka radio on Pandora, gather my tools, and dive in. There’s something about huge physical tasks around the house that give me great joy. So far I’ve painted every room inside and my eaves all around the outside of my house last fall. Moving ten yards of bark mulch rates right up there with these. Guess what the best part is? The mindless wandering of my brain from things that are bothering me to things that are pleasing me, and back again. Tension is eased from the physical part of the task and problems turn into solutions in the mental part. If I’m working with my husband, our pleasant banter gets a lot discussed, problems solved and plans made. We’ve owned 4 homes and 3 apartments in our married career and some of my best times spent with him were doing these huge, and sometimes much huger projects around the house.
Now, at the end of a day like this, I sit pleasantly tired, showered, after a wonderful dinner, and the last of the Pino Grigio to pull the weekend to a slow end. Tomorrow my body is going to revel in the hot room. I can’t wait for Monday morning.
Tonight I feel like this is the way life should be lived. Grateful for the things God gave me to take care of, like my home, and joyful in the extreme satisfaction I get from doing it. I was at lunch last week with a couple friends and they both pointed out that I truly loved working on my home. I never thought about it, but they were right. I remember my mother always saying how she loved fixing up her house, and every time one of us got a new home, she got such great joy from coming to see how we “fixed it up.” I guess I get it from her. Thanks mom, for instilling in me the innate desire to work on my home. It is only lately that I’ve become aware of the joy and relaxation I really do get out of it. No wonder I’m always involved in my children’s moves, too. Like mother, like daughter, and, yes, like my own daughters, too. The trait has been passed through the generations.
And so, as another day goes by, the garage is filled with Ikea boxes, the bedroom is beautiful, I’m tired, but truly mindful of the joy I experienced today, and….I have written.
April 28th, 2012 Today was Ikea shopping day. Off to buy furniture for the redone bedroom. I sat in the truck in our driveway waiting for my husband to rummage through the shed to find his bungee cords and such to tie the furniture onto the truck. It was a long wait. I was cold, and starring up at the new leaves on the trees, it dawned on me how hard waiting is for me. As I sat there, my waiting song sang through my head:
“They that wait upon the lord, shall renew their strength,
They shall mount up with wings as eagles,
They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint,
Teach me lord, teach me lord, to wait.”
Today involved a lot more waiting since Ikea was packed. I think everyone is redoing rooms this weekend. There was waiting to get help, waiting to checkout, and once again, freezing, while waiting with the loaded cart for my husband to go get the truck.
Upon arriving home, getting the furniture inside, and finally, six hours later, I get to flop into my chair with my left over Pino Grigio. I’m sitting here now waiting for dinner. My husband left to go to the store and bring it home. I figured I’d read some recent blog posts of some of the other blogs I follow while waiting. I opened up the first one and the title was: “Don’t Despise the Process”. Hmmm…I wondered what the process was. The author started out with this quote by Hammond/Cameneti.
“There are some people whose personalities need to be changed and rearranged before they can fit into the place where they have been called. If you sow time waiting in God’s presence, you’ll reap the results.”
I guess my message from God and the universe today can’t be much clearer. I really have to reign in this aversion to waiting. I have situations in my life that I want settled right now. I want to stamp my feet and yell at God, “Now! I want it now!” You, me and God know that just ain’t gonna happen. May is going to be “Linda is going to learn to wait month.”
I’m going to hate this and fight it all the way. I want my house done. I want my book published. I want my writing career to gain momentum. I want a relationship fixed. I want…I want…. I want everything, but I don’t want to wait for it. I know I’m just not ready yet for some of these things to happen. Like it says above, my personality is going to have to be changed and rearranged before I can accept graciously and flourish in the things I want. To get them prematurely would be certain disaster. Nothing works to the good if the timing isn’t just right. I know this. You know this. Most of all, God knows this.
Just because we all know it, it doesn’t mean I have to like it. It says I have to “sow time in God’s presence”, not like time in it. There are times we are called to sit in God’s presence and it isn’t going to be pleasant. It’s going to be work. Necessary, satisfying work; like that of running a marathon or doing a triathlon. Hard, painful, but when we cross the finish line – oh so worth it. I picture the runners I saw last week fall over the finish line in the Boston Marathon. When they hit the pavement, hands and feet splayed out in all directions, they knew, at that moment, they were just where they were meant to be.
I just looked up from my phone and my eyes fell on my mantle and settled on a mug I have on there. The mug says “relax”. Relax. Wait. Don’t despise the process.
And so, as another day goes by, a new month, with new lessons, is on the horizon, let the waiting game begin, and…I have written.
April 27th, 2012 Today I started out strong being mindful and “in the moment”. Yoga class was great. I paid attention to every pose, didn’t get lost in brain flight, and even checked in to discover new things happening in my body at the end of a second five day week. The room was extra hot when I got there, but I had my breathing in check and the heat wasn’t a consequence. I was well-hydrated, so muscle fatigue wasn’t a concern either. I truly, truly, appreciated and was aware in every minute of class today.
Going out to my car I noted the feeling of the cool sea breeze and wish I’d worn my vest because it’s going to be a cold walk into the grocery store. I thoroughly enjoyed my drive down 6A to my local Stop N Shop. Being mindful on my drive I was enchanted by the sight of two huge swans with five new babies on the pond. This is going well. I’m gaining confidence. In the grocery store parking lot I appreciate the sight of my favorite size shopping cart already for me in my parking space. In the store I take note of all the special kiosks and summer gear beginning to appear. On my way back to my car, pushing my little cart, I take a moment to savor being able to grocery shop along side the canal, smelling the ocean. Driving home I sigh when I stop at the stoplight to realize the quaint beauty of a town I can call mine. Pulling into the driveway of my tiny seaside dwelling, I really, really find joy and gratitude for being so blessed to live here.
I get out of the car, reach into the backseat for my yoga bag and mat and – oh no! No mat. In my being mindful of my surroundings leaving the studio, I left my mat there. And it’s Friday. And the studio is closed. My mat is heavy with sweat and cannot stay there until Monday. There’s a 4pm class which means at 3:30 I’ll be going back to the studio to retrieve my heavy, wet mat.
Just when I thought I was gaining on this mindfulness stuff, once again it contributed to my mindlessness. I think I’ll take the weekend off. This mindful business is a lot more work than it’s worth. Thank goodness it’s Friday, and a Lean Cuisine pizza and bottle of Pino Grigio are in my radar for dinner this evening as I wait for my dear husband to arrive. (And maybe take my mind off of my mind.)
And so, as another day goes by, I wish one of you would try this paying close attention to what you are doing every moment of one day and let me know if it’s as hard for you, as it is for me. Bring on the weekend…and …I have written.
Happy weekend…isn’t this the most beautiful pencil drawing you ever saw? 🙂
April 26th, 2012 After my second day of practicing mindfulness, I have come to the conclusion that mindfulness is a major contributing factor to my mindlessness.
Yoga, today, as far as being mindful goes, was a joke. I cannot believe what happened to me. For the last two days, I have caught myself setting up for the wrong postures, but today I actually stayed in balancing stick on my right leg, hanging there not like a broken umbrella, but stretched into a perfect T as in Tom, while the rest of the class came out of the pose and was fully into it on the left leg, before the teacher pulled me out of it. She couldn’t get over how deeply I was in the pose. I had NO idea the class had moved onto the left side. Now, you might think this was because I was so deeply focused on what was happening in my body – you know – being really in the present. The true fact is that I was actually deep in thought about a box of Snackwells cookies I had bought the day before. I was thinking how I bought them for afternoon coffee and contemplating if this was a wise idea, when the teacher called my name and pointed out the class had moved on and left me behind. The worst part was that she held the entire class, for what is only supposed to be a ten second pose, until I changed sides and got into it myself. She said, “Don’t worry, they’ll wait for you.” Good thing red cheeks don’t mean anything in the hot room. ( Oh Joel and Donna, if you were ever next to me, you’d have fallen out of your pose laughing.)
Now that I’m noticing extreme changes just by trying to be more mindful, I wonder if I should keep pursuing this. Trouble of it is, the changes are occurring as a result of my resistance to it. Yes, my resistance. You see, all along I have been against it. I don’t really want to think about the toothpaste foaming in my mouth or the feel of the dishwater on my hands. For me, as I go about mindless tasks I get a lot of productive problem solving and planning done. It’s been an immense waste of time starring at the blanket over my legs – trying to stay in touch with the moment feeling its fuzzy warmth. I have always thought of my ability to mentally disengage from menial or routine activities as an asset. My household and yard tasks are more enjoyable and fulfilling than if I stop to consider the moving of the wheelbarrow across the yard. My ability to conquer brain flight was paramount to mastering the hot room. I don’t know. After trying it on for a few days, I’m not sure mindfulness is a good fit for me. I seem to be happier and function better in the land of mindlessness.
Maybe the idea of life being made up of drama-free, simple tasks is a bit boring and unproductive. To me, my mindlessness is not really mindless at all. It is imagination and thinking; the letting in of ideas, as Brenda Ueland describes in this passage from her book “If You Want To Write”. (see below)
I kind of like Napoleon’s “moodling about”. I think we should all practice more moodling so our own ideas have a chance to “come in and develop and gently shine”. Maybe there should be books and even classes on how to moodle more.
And so, as another day goes by, the sun sets on yet another mindless day, mindfulness is once again pushed aside – this time in favor of moodling, and…I have written.
April 25th, 2012 This morning I made up my mind to begin my practice of mindfulness. I walked my mind downstairs and promptly attended to my morning pages. Kept my mind dutifully on what I was writing until the three pages were finished. After that I turned on the news. Not such good luck here. Within three minutes of watching the newscast, sipping my tea, my mind was elsewhere. The news went on for a half an hour and I had no idea what had happened overnight.
At my women’s Bible study I was thoroughly in tune to the video and engaged in wonderful conversations (a check in the positive column), although on the drive there I had to pull my mind back into the car and check what town I was in three times. .
As you can see, this mindfulness practice is not going well and it’s only lunchtime. I had lunch at a little café, while I finished reading 50 Shades of Darker (which we will discuss another day). My mind was thoroughly engaged in the book for the whole 45 minutes. The book was riveting, so lunch gets another check in the positive column. Next on today’s agenda (which, yes, I created while brushing my teeth) was errands at the mall. I found myself so totally engrossed in the errands I needed to do, that I didn’t notice one store, person, or kiosk that I passed.
This afternoon was yoga. I vowed to make a really serious attempt at mindfulness here. I made up my mind that I was going to concentrate on my body and how it felt in every pose, and not let my mind leave the room. The room was hot, so that lasted for approximately 3 poses. By the time we were on the floor, my mind was racing away, thinking about people far from here. My mind was so totally disengaged on the floor series, that I caught myself setting up for the wrong pose twice. So much for mindfulness in the yoga room. Chalk up yoga to a real case of “mindlessness”. The drive home was not much better. My mind was once again not in the car. Today a dear friend fell ill and was in the hospital. I thought of her and prayed for her on the entire ride home. Since this was a prayer, I’m not sure if it counts. (This mindfulness has its confusing moments)
My shower was not a mindful success either. I was aware of neither the water soap or shampoo because my mind was busy composing this blog. Next was dinner, while watching DVR’d shows. You would think eating and keeping my mind on the TV show in front of me would be a sure bet for another check in the positive column. Um..no… I put down my plate, picked up my phone, and I’m writing this blog as the TV show plays on in the background. I don’t even know why I bothered to record it.
I seem to remember a year ago when I tried to do a “silent” day. This is working just about as well as that did. No wonder there are mindfulness classes and books, and you actually have to “practice” it.
Stay in the moment, they say. I’m beginning to think there’s something wrong with my moments – I’m not too keen about staying in them.
And so, as another day goes by, I need to rethink this whole “being present” thing – although, that phrase “life is about a lot of simple, drama-free things” still rings in my brain, enticing me to keep trying…maybe…one more day…and..I have written.
April 24th, 2012 Being mindful. Practicing “mindfulness”. These are the the phrases that have have been hitting me from all sides this past week. From celebrities on the talk shows, to books on the morning news, mindfulness has been the topic of late. Then yesterday, and again today, two different blogs that I follow were about being mindful. Being mindful? Yes, say the blogs, attend to what you are doing at the moment. Uh, isn’t being mindful just paying attention to what you’re doing? As I recall, parents and teachers have been telling me to keep my mind on what I was doing since I was seven years old. Now, it’s a thing. There are books about it, classes to take on it and you “practice” it.
I admit, for two weeks I’ve really been stumped by this concept. What is all the big to do about keeping your mind on what you’re doing at the moment? Out of all I’ve seen, heard, and read, this is all I’ve gotten out of this topic. Then finally, today, I read a blog about mindfulness that I actually understood. There is a point. It’s a good one.
Leigha Hall talked about a mindful moment that I, myself, experience every morning-brushing her teeth. She explained how while brushing her teeth, her mind always wanders far and wide. Since she’s been practicing mindfulness however, she really tries to keep her mind on the up-and-down motion of the brush and the feel of it on her teeth. I empathize. Every morning while brushing my teeth, I stand in front of a window. As I brush my teeth and look out into the tree tops behind my house, my mind wanders far and wide, too. To me, this is very relaxing. I like looking out at the trees outside the window, my mind wandering through things that I may do during the day today. The up-and-down, back-and-forth, moving of the brush is very soothing, while I’m gathering inspiration and energy for my up-coming day. When I am done, my thoughts are all in order and I’m ready to bound out the door and take on the first thing on my list. This business of being mindful, and keeping my mind just on my toothbrush and what it’s doing to my teeth, instead of organizing my day, appeared very confusing to me.
Then, Leigha, in her blog, My Bikram Yoga Life*, said:
“I found I’m learning to recognize life for what it really is – the moment we are experiencing right now. Which means life is about a lot of simple, drama-free things like washing my hands, walking the dog, making dinner and checking to see how my peppers and tomatoes are growing. I am happier when my brain is not making up stories about what is going to happen next week.”
The line “life is about a lot of simple, drama-free, things” caught my attention. It made me feel instantly calmer. Then, “My brain is not making up stories about what is going to happen next week.” Hmmm… keeping my mind on what I am doing right now, lessens worry and anxiety about what is going to happen in the future. I like this mindfulness concept. I think I’m going to make a concentrated effort to “practice” this thing for the next few days, and monitor my worry/anxiety level.
And so, as another day goes by, I’m rising up from the chair…my feet hit the cool hardwood floor…I take three steps toward the kitchen…oh..uh..what was I going there for? Uh oh, maybe for me the correct term is “mindlessness”…and…I have written.
*Leigha’s blog can be found at:
http://mybikramyogalife.wordpress.com/2012/04/24/all-youve-got-is-now/
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