Seeking Sleep

It's been a full week of working our annual tennis tournament. Up at 5:15 am most mornings, home somewhere between 6-8:30 pm for six days straight and then onto a somewhat lighter schedule for the weekend of finals.

It's a week where I feel that I "power through it" and at some point during the week, I hit the wall. Having run the tournament for six years now, I've come to expect the impact. What I've also come to learn is to respect what it means...staying with my yoga practice to keep me calm, energized and able to endure. That's not to say that moments don't pop up that I want to scream or collapse, but I've been using my yoga tools all week.

I have continued my morning meditations, packed healthy snacks for the day and brought along two yoga blocks to open my chest and stretch my back during moments of relative quiet (that are sometimes infrequent...but they exist). I also take a deep breath when confronted with someone who challenges me, try to make eye contact with people as I greet them at the desk and feel gratitude that so many people want to be part of this event.

One of the most beneficial practices is getting to bed early and getting the sleep I need to fuel me throughout the long days. It takes discipline and organization to do it, but the pay off is noticeable.

And that leads me to my thought of the week...it's bedtime!

A view of the local San Jacinto mountains from Mission Hills Country Club, home to the Babolat World Tennis Classic.

This week we are hosting the Babolat World Tennis Classic, a large event seeing some of the best senior tennis players from across the country in action.

This annual event has grown in size since its inception but one thing has remained constant; the need for volunteers to assist in the running of the event.

My thought for the week is around those who donate their time and energy to helping others, whether it be for a tennis tournament, for charity or during a disaster, such as the recent floods in Australia. A few people may be recognized as the organizers or directors, but it does take a village of people for things to run smoothly.

I hold a deep sense of gratitude to all the people who step up this time of year and assist in making our tennis tournament possible. I have always held a strong sense of independence. So strong, that asking for help from someone else was always difficult as I felt it was either a weakness of mine or an imposition on someone else.




The great lesson that our volunteers have taught me over the past seven years is that THEY get enjoyment out of the process as much as I need their helping hands.



I try to apply this idea outside of the annual tournament in allowing myself to ask for help when I need it, and in asking others to help in relation to causes that are more dramatic or emergent than tennis. It IS ok to not be superwoman and able to do it all by myself. Besides, that can get lonely...



Thank you many times over to all who support us, now and throughout the year. We really couldn't do it, without you.

Cleaning Up Our Act

It seems that with the onset of the new year, I keep hearing the word cleanse, not only in conversation but in the media as well. It's almost as though the volume on cleaning out our own systems is really loud at the moment...has this always been the case?


My thought for the week is how the idea of needing to undergo cleansing is so intertwined with many other fibers. As our awareness around illness not only to people but to the planet grows, we begin to look at what's making us sick. Why are water filtration systems everywhere? Why are there more kids with autism and behavioral disorders? Why is it that one out of two men and one out of three women will have some form of cancer diagnosis in their life? Why are green apples in the supermarket so shiny?


As one tries to make sense of, and answer, these often overwhelming questions, many people point to toxicity in our environment. Our food is only as good as our soil. If the soil lacks nutrients then so does the food that grows in it. We are dumping tons of waste and chemicals into our environment on a daily basis. Where does it go? For many of us, the awareness is limited to once it leaves our hands, we have no idea where it goes. If we have unused pharmaceuticals from a surgery that we no longer need and toss it in the trash can...what happens to it? If we use bleach to erase an unsightly stain, does the bleach create an environmental stain somewhere else down the line?


In our quest to provide food to more people, chemicals are added to slow down the deterioration process. The same applies to chemicals we put in ourselves via Botox or other "anti-aging" compounds. They are simply different forms of preservatives.


With our communities becoming toxic waste dumping grounds in the most subtle ways, it's no wonder that the conversation circles back to the idea of cleansing.


So what does cleansing look like? Here are some simple things to begin bringing into our awareness:


1. Movement. By moving our bodies as we are meant to (we evolved by being ambulatory) our internal systems function as they are supposed to. Our heart beats, pumping blood throughout the body carrying nutrients and oxygen. Our lungs exchange vital gases. Our immune carrying lymphatic system is activated. Our tissues, muscles, ligaments and bones carry, bend, extend, compress and stretch helping them to maintain their natural integrity.


2. Food. Clean water is vital for optimal health as are nutritionally viable food sources. Cleansing from this perspective can range from partial fasting (to give the digestive system a reprieve), to eliminating alcohol, sugar, caffeine, gluten, meat and dairy for one or more consecutive days allowing the body to re-calibrate.


3. Environment. Gravitate towards natural and organic cleaners for all surfaces...floors, countertops, clothes, body, face etc. Mindfully dispose of items that are difficult for the environmental landfill to digest (paint, oil, medication, plastic, glass).


4. Breathe. Our breath is the connector between our inner and outer physical environments. Obviously, smoking and air pollution challenge our ability to always take a fresh breath. What does that mean to you? Quit smoking? Drive less?


5. Relax. My final point is to do what you can. Small things add up to big differences. If all of us increased our awareness just a little bit, our need to cleanse our systems might become an easier thing to do.


As my Mom used to say, "now...go clean up your room!" Thanks Ma!

Community

When I was studying yoga therapy at Ananda Seva in Santa Rosa, California I had a conversation with the 22-year old son of the couple that ran the center. He was teaching yoga classes at the local community college and I asked him, "How many people do you get coming to your classes?". He replied, "Oh it can get up to 40 people a class...not always, but that's not unusual." I then said, "Wow...I'm happy if I have four people in my class. It would be so much easier if I were teaching yoga in a community where it seems like everyone is doing some form of yoga."


And then I realized that perhaps part of walking my yogic path was to build a yoga community in my own small city where golf and tennis are king.


It's been a long building process. At times I have sat on my mat at the front of an empty yoga studio waiting for a student to arrive. I felt sorry for that first person that walked through the doors as I would be like a hyper zealous used car salesperson and pounce on them..."HI! How are you? Welcome! Can I help you set your mat up? I'm Jayne....blah, blah, blah".


The wonderful thing about being part of this growing experience is that since yoga isn't just a physical practice, people can stay connected to it through conversation, the Internet, thought, reading and breathing. As you read this weekly e-newsletter, you are participating in this community. If you take even one fully conscious breath, you are breathing with intention as are the millions of other yogis throughout the world.


The importance of being part of community is well known. The communities of The Blue Zones (Lessons For Living Longer From People Who've Lived the Longest by Dan Buettner), are people living vibrant lives well into their 80's, 90's and 100's and are part of a bigger community. Common denominators include: vigorous physical activity, spiritual connection, a largely plant-based diet and social engagement. Sounds similar to the intentions of a yogic-based practice. It does take a village to support our wellness on all levels and with our world facing seemingly insurmountable challenges nothing could be more powerful than a collective consciousness of positive intention and peace.


So thank you for being part of this growing community and staying connected to this vital and expanding social network. Simply by being part, not only are you helping to make the world a better place, but the quality of your own life will truly be enriched.


Pass it on. Pay it forward. Keep the ripple expanding outward.

Resolution Time...Again.

I've already heard the words being spoken, those words that seem fundamental towards the end of each calendar year. "In January, I'm going on a diet! That's my resolution..."

When we make a resolution, we are making a promise to ourselves with the intention of doing something that yields change, generally in the direction of self-improvement. The fitness industry banks on us making these promises and anticipates the January onslaught of new member enrollments. They often will tempt us with a great deal for the entire year and in actual fact, know that a large percentage of the new members will stop attending within a few months. If people were able to hold onto their desire for change as of January 1, there would be more people than gyms could manage.

Why is it that we have such great intentions only to realize a few weeks later we've lost our way?

My thought for the week is to offer ourselves more compassion when trying to make a change. It is said that permanent change takes anywhere between 21-30 days to take hold. That translates into it taking time. We often lose our way because we become impatient with the process and perhaps don't see any change in the time we expect.

Change also takes conscious and consistent choice and practice. If we want to create a new way of being or doing, we need to practice it over and over again. You know, try it on. See how it fits. We need to shift the unfamiliar feeling to a familiar one and that takes repetition.

One of my favorite sayings is, "consistency is the key". If we go to a yoga class randomly, then what we get out of it will likely be momentary. If we want to invite a more centered way of living into daily life, we have to create ways of doing that...DAILY! The magic happens in the doing.

So if you are thinking about making a resolution I would suggest being clear on ONE thing. Design a plan that fits into your life and stick with it, without excuse, interruption or hesitation for at least a month. Avoid the trap of letting what you would like to shift, move down your list of priorities. Keep it in the top position until you feel that it's embedded--like brushing our teeth every day.

And if now isn't the time, then go easy on yourself and ask the inner critic to keep the noise down. In this moment, we are all as we should be; beautiful, unique beings with nothing that needs to be fixed.

Center your awareness into the middle of your heart, breathe into that space deeply and notice how incredible you are!

Happy New Year and may 2011 hold peace, growth, good health and deep joy for all of us.