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I offered something in classes this past week that I've never done before and not only have I enjoyed exploring this, but based on student feedback they have as well. At the beginning of the practice, I set the Insight Timer to randomly ring a bell throughout the practice. The instruction is to go into a resting pose whenever you hear the bell, take three breaths, and simply notice where you were when the bell rang. One aim of the practice is to do so without judging how you were doing when the bell rang.
The inspiration for this came from the Vietnamese Buddhist teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh. As a peace activist, he was exiled from Vietnam during the war and ended up establishing a monastic community in the south of France, at a place called Plum Village. In the movie, Walk With Me, based on Plum Village, we are granted a window into the daily lives of the resident monks and nuns. Every 15-minutes, a bell rings throughout the community and as people hear it, they stop whatever they are doing and take three deep breaths...then they resume whatever task was at hand.
Plum Village allows visitors at various times throughout the year and one of these times some visitors were enjoying the surrounds and listening to a string quartet of monks and nuns playing. Mid-song, the bell rang so the musicians put down their instruments, focused on their three breaths, then resumed playing. At the conclusion of the film, a friend of mine said, "I need a bell in my life..." and I thought to myself, "Yes! So do I". Hence the inspiration for trying it on in classes this past week.
What I noticed as we did this "pausing practice" was that many students were already quite present in their experience. One of the places where we allow ourselves to be present and release our connection to the daily grind is during our time on the mat. Where this practice is truly useful is "out there" in the real world. Imagine pausing when you're stuck in traffic, rushing to get something completed or meeting a deadline, having an argument, or embarking on a trip to someplace new. Wouldn't it be helpful to have a mindfulness guardian angel sitting on our shoulder, at the ready to ring the bell when things start to draw us away from our center?
The beauty of this practice is that it brings us back to the present moment, the one and only place where life is really happening. The more frequently it's repeated the stronger we connect to our spiritual muscle. Can you envision a life lived that never hears the bell of the present moment? It would be as though we are missing the sweetness of all the experiences that constitute what it means to have a fully awakened human experience.
When we pause, we notice whatever may be happening. This includes pleasant, agitating, loving, or prickly experiences. We see it all with the same openness and as Thich Nhat Hanh says, "In mindfulness, compassion, irritation, mustard green plant, and teapot are all sacred." It allows us to open the pathway and view the entirety of our lives as a sacred experience, rather than one we miss through our distraction or busyness to be elsewhere. I feel excited by this awakening to my own life and the chance that despite what might be difficult or beautiful, it's all a part of me. I don't wish to get to the end of my time without knowing that all along it has all been a sacred journey.
Set a timer to remind yourself to be radically present and savor every moment of this one, human, precious existence.
Back in the early 1990s, I was at a place in my life where I had some blank pages. I had resigned from being the head gymnastics coach at the club I was managing and gave myself a year to say yes to anything that came across my path (within reason of course). One of those opportunities was working at a popular pub in Melbourne, called The Geebung Polo Club. I had been recruited, somewhat by chance, by the manager to work in their bistro, preparing and serving food. And for a while, along with teaching aerobics classes, as I became more skilled in the kitchen even contemplated changing course altogether and becoming a chef. Yet my main motivation at the time was to save as much money as possible to enable me to launch into some worldwide travel so the culinary academy got placed on the back burner (no pun intended!).
After traveling for 12 consecutive months, I landed back in the States needing to refill my coffers as quickly as I could so that I could get back to backpacking. I worked five jobs simultaneously (yep...I was a lot younger then) one of which was as a physical and hand therapy aide. I had graduated with my bachelors in Physical Education and was a perfect fit for this private practice. I loved it, and after six months I had saved enough money to head back on the road but before I did I got raving letters of recommendation with the intention of applying to a physical (physio down under) therapist school upon my return.
I applied and had great expectations of getting accepted...except I didn't. I was disappointed and confused, wondering how someone with glowing reviews, graduating with a physical education degree with distinction and having real-life work experience in the exact field I wished to pursue could possibly get turned down. But I did and after many days/weeks of shaking my bewildered head, decided to change course. It was during that time that I went to graduate school and deepen my own field of study through exercise and sports science. And so I did.
Looking back now, I feel as though the timing for my PT ambitions simply wasn't meant to be. Perhaps the intervention of not getting into PT school came through the force of divine timing. Had I become a PT, I most likely would have stayed within the paradigm of that profession and, in hindsight, I realized that a deeper part of me wanted to connect to and teach a deepening of consciousness. As I sit typing, I realize that my path would've looked quite different to what has now manifested in my own business where I have complete freedom to express, share, learn, and expand what's sitting in my heart.
My thought of the week related to perfect timing is also expressed through the eight-limbed path in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, in particular, the final Niyama known as Ishvara Pranidhana, surrendering to a higher source, God/Goddess, Universal light or whatever moniker you wish to give that "beyond us" realm. Basically, we can practice austerities and set intentions that will lead us to become the best version of ourselves, yet in the end, we need to let go of all of it, surrendering to any expectation of what the outcome needs to look like. We might have an image of what that is, but it actually might look quite different to anything we could ever have imagined.
Do your practices and let go of wanting a particular result. It doesn't mean giving up or not setting goals or having dreams, but instead, do all of that and stay open to what manifests.
I had my eyes on the target of becoming a physical therapist and when that didn't happen, I created my own suffering. Of course, in reflection, I'm quite pleased with how things have turned out as I have a career that I love and feel deeply passionate about. I hope that I have gathered some wisdom along the way to remain open to the divine timing of my own life and to allow what is waiting in the wings to appear when it's good and ready.
Breathe in, let go and trust that you will be exactly where you are meant to be.
This past week we have been experiencing a convergence of energies that all relate to this week's theme of "Bringing Life". Add together Mother's Day, Beltane (the halfway point between the Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice), the recent honoring of Earth Day, and a powerful New Moon last weekend you might have been feeling the call to merge the energies of the mind and heart!
It's a powerful time for experiencing what has been brought into life. In the desert, we experienced a spectacular spring bloom with heavy winter rains. It was as though Mother Nature exploded in all her glory and now other parts of the Northern Hemisphere are awakening with signs of plants bursting into life with warmer and longer days beckoning us to get outside and commune with nature.
The Celtic honoring of Beltane connects us to the fiery energy of this time of year, the birthing of the spring with gusto. And Mother's Day connects us to the energy of the divine feminine as we celebrate the Mother, she who births all of us into existence. The New Moon inspires us to set intentions, send our dreams and desires out to the Universe and await their manifestations that we see by the light of the Full Moon. It may take many cycles of New Moon to Full Moon to see what comes to fruition, but staying connected to the intention and continuing to nourish enables us to eventually see what we've planted. The moon's energy is seen as being feminine and paying attention to her cycles connects us to the feminine aspect within all beings. Complementary to that, the masculine energy resides with the sun and the two need each other for any manifestation to happen. The masculine provides the proverbial seed and the feminine is what drives things to awaken, bringing to life whatever is laying within.
This week we've been taking both a retrospective view of what we've brought to life so far along our individual journeys and what is yet to come. Take a moment to reflect on what you've created in this one lifetime...perhaps you've brought a child into the world, nurtured a deep relationship, built a business based on the foundation of your individual purpose, created beautiful pieces of art, photography, or writing. Take a moment to celebrate all of these things you've manifested so far in this life. And now, take a moment to project into the future. What's sitting in front of you over the next week, month, or six months? Sit or stand in a strong pose of facing what's to come with the intention of courage even though you may not know how it might actually turn out.
I've frequently written about staying in the moment and not getting too entangled with past or futuristic thinking. However, we do need to check in with that part of our timeline to know if the present moment is lining up with what we desire, and if not, to make a change to point us in the direction that serves us and others. Have you ever done something you really didn't care to do? I remember working at Carl's Jr (a fast food restaurant) when I was about 16 years old. The first week felt exciting and by the second week, I was wondering why I was putting my time into something that I really dreaded. I can still remember some of those moments and re-live the uncomfortable embodied feeling of wanting to get out of what I was doing.
Thankfully, I have since uncovered what I believe to be my dharma or purpose and it feels deeply gratifying to step through the doors of my own yoga studio every day in order to serve my purpose and support others on their own personal journey of awakening consciousness and feeling at ease in life. So, one of my questions to you this week is, "Are you putting energy into things on a daily basis that is connected to your deepest intention? Where did you spend your energy today?" If it feels as though you too are having a Carl's Jr moment, then perhaps today is the day you reset your compass and make a change.
The incredible thing about having people reflect on what they have so far brought to life through their own personal lens is that everyone may have things in common, but nobody's offering is the same. We filter through our own hearts what matters most to us and put it out into the world. We are all leaving our own energetic fingerprint through the actions we take and I trust that if it's coming from a loving heart, it can't help but make a positive impact!
I have decided that throughout the month of May to focus on the practice of mindfulness and mantra. Why not dedicate an entire month teaching something that can foster a greater sense of ease and connection? So, we began this past week with a theme inspired from the realm of Zen Buddhism, that of peaceful simplicity. I can't help but think of a minimalist aesthetic set in Japan when I think of the word "Zen".
When Ed and I traveled to Japan in 2016 one of the highlights was a short temple stay in the small secluded town of Koyasan, a challenging place to get to as it's perched high in the mountains. Mount Koya is the center of Shingon Buddhism, an important Buddhist sect which was introduced to Japan in 805 by Kobo Daishi (also known as Kukai), one of Japan's most significant religious figures. As we arrived at our temple stay, we were greeted by a bowing monk who asked us to leave our shoes at the entrance and showed us to our room. As we first saw the room, my immediate reaction was one of a peaceful simplicity with a single low table with a hot pot of water for making tea and two low chairs virtually requiring you to sit on the floor. The room also had a TV which seemed out of place (we never turned it on) and simple decor. When we returned to the room after a beautiful vegetarian dinner prepared by the monks, our low table had been pushed to the side and two futons had been made up for sleeping. It was so simple and completely inviting to rest and relax. In the morning, we meditated with the monks and spent the days walking through the streets and visiting many of the local temples and sacred sites. The entire enclave was based on peacefulness and quiet, inviting those visiting to slow down and be in the moment.
Mindfulness can be thought of as being fully awake and aware of the present moment, no matter what you might be doing. Whether it's washing the dishes, folding laundry, sitting in rush-hour traffic, or facing a challenging moment, paying attention to the experience is practicing mindfulness.
One way to promote a greater sense of ease in life is to simplify it. I see chaotic times as being fed by many different energies, like an octopus juggling. Think of the energy it takes to create an event or get a big project completed with many moving parts...it can often lead to a feeling of being overwhelmed with an overstuffed to-do list. The act of removing complications from our daily lives can lead us to experience more moments of peacefulness.
Over the past two to three years, I've been studying and trying to enact a simpler and more intentional way of living through decluttering and slowing down. The desire is to invite a sense of ease into an abundance and full life, decreasing complications and possessions. Decluttering for me has been a slow and steady practice which is as much about not only deciding what items I love and bring me joy but also about not buying more stuff to replace what I've eliminated. It's been about the recognition to focus more on experiences and relationships than the accumulation of goods.
I'm currently reading the book, "The Minimalist Home: A Room-By-Room Guide to Decluttered, Refocused Life" by Joshua Becker. I was stunned to read a statistic that said the average number of items Americans own is set to be around 300,000. Yep. You read that right. The more stuff we have stuffed into our closets, cubbies, and storage units, the more we have to manage. And for many of us, it can be stressful and overwhelming to deal with all of our stuff. More stuff=more stress=poorer health over the long-haul. The thought of having less, clearing the clutter and opening up space in our lives is a popular theme these days and it's easy to see why.
My thought for the week is to look at what we're ready to release whether it's decluttering, taking something off our daily to-do list, driving the speed limit, slowing down, and inviting a connection to self. And this weekend I have my eye on the linen closet...watch out, I'm getting better at letting things go!
