Grumble, Grumble

This past week I invented a new word..."Grumbletude". It came about as I was sorting through the mental bombardment which seemed to trigger a realization that I was pulling up a list of grumblings. This list included: things that needed to be accomplished within a narrow time frame; people who said they were going to do something, then didn't do it; fear of not reaching my goals; lack of sufficient sleep...dare I go on?

As I sat musing, the solution began to arise within me to battle "grumbletude". Change it to gratitude. I allowed myself to take a moment to realize that the feelings that were arising were simply part of my processing, my way of recognizing what was in the present moment and honoring it without attaching to it.

The practice of yoga has taught me that in such situations that I have a choice. I can either continue along the path of thinking that my life is full of challenges or I can switch to thinking that my life is full of opportunity. It was incredible to experience this shift. As soon as I recognized the grumbletude dialogue, it was as though my deeper inner voice rapidly shifted to all that was in my life and in that moment to one of gratitude. I explored this process further by seeing gratitude as a vehicle for effecting change. Although I had some hurdles to leap over, so what? These obstacles are simply a way of looking at all that goes into the evolution of a solution.

We become educated to the whole rather than to a singular goal and in this offering is a chance to learn more than maybe we thought possible. If you find yourself in an attitude of grumbletude, notice it as part of being human. And realize that this is the work of our own transformation, of changing how our inner dialogue begins echoing within ourselves and eventually reaches beyond our own physical boundaries into the greater collective. Cultivate an attitude of gratitude. It's a choice we all can make.

Everyday Is Earth Day

Today, Sunday April 22 is the 42nd year of celebrating Earth Day. From a yogic perspective, every day is Earth Day with the practices of yoga evolving from a connection to as well as a reflection of the natural environment. We salute the sun and bow down to the earth, stand like a tree or mountain and recline in a restorative posture named "flowing mountain brook".

With the availability of electricity and artificial lighting, we began to fall out of sync with the ebb and flow of natural light that in the past indicated when to go to sleep and when to awaken. As the earth has become more populated with the development of concrete and skyscrapers, we have lost our connection through bare feet into the earth. And as we live in noisy and busy environments, we often miss the sounds of the natural world. Earth Day is a vivid reminder to honor Mother Earth (Gaia). That we, as humans, walk upon this larger planet with its own living energy. That Mother Earth is here to support us in every way.

Earth Day is another opportunity to reflect upon how we individually impact the planet. What type of footprint are we leaving? Are we able to elevate our own level of consciousness to lessen that impact?

Here are a few reminders as to how we can continue to show compassion to Gaia and in doing so, we show compassion towards others as well as ourselves.

Tips:
1. Carry your own water bottle to avoid using plastic, one-use bottles.
2. Have your own multi-use lunch set for heading off to work, to avoid using one-time, throw away containers.
3. Remember to bring your own shopping bags to the store.
4. Check the tire pressure in your vehicle to enhance miles per gallon.
5. Use multi-use dryer balls in your dryer rather than a fabric softener in the wash or throw away dryer sheets. I use earth-friendly dryer sheets that go, with the lint into my compost. Or line dry your laundry.
6. Create your own compost for your garden. (and add your earth friendly dryer sheets into it!)
7. Buy phosphate-free laundry detergent.
8. Turn off your tap when brushing your teeth.
9. Turn off your computer at the end of each day.
10....Send in to me any tips that you do in order to be part of the buzz around reduce, reuse, recycle and sustain!

Since I originally posted this list two years ago, we have installed solar energy and bought a Toyota Prius. It all adds up as I want my footprint on the planet to be as little as possible. Thank you Gaia!

The Comfort Zone

One day I was sitting in class waiting for all the students to arrive. As is often the case, I have many interesting conversations during this settling-in period and had one on this day. I was remarking to one student how working on my fundraising effort was challenging for me as it had me undertaking things that pushed me right out of my comfort zone. She replied, "I have that experience as I'm working on my breathing as I'm swimming...that's really challenging to me". To this, I replied, "Wow...now I would find THAT comfortable" and she replied, "Wow...I would find undertaking fundraising comfortable!". We then both replied, "maybe we could switch!"

I guess that's why it's called the comfort zone. It made me realize more fully how some people would find marketing, sales and delegation a breeze. For them, it's easy and fundamental whereas for me it's a monumental hurdle. On the other hand, my life has been littered with physical experiences of movement and exploring the outer edges and limitations of my body. Working on breathing during swimming is easy and fundamental in my life.

This challenge continues to open my eyes to a broader understanding of other people's experiences and expertise. It reminds me that we can all possess the mind of a beginner no matter what our chronological age might be and that our learning never ceases.

What impresses me are those people who continue to open their minds and hearts by endlessly seeking to learn and expand their own experiences. I feel fortunate that I have three nanogenerian (in their 90's) clients. They all have a few things in common. The most noticeable is that they are all still fully engaged in life, both mentally and physically. Two of them still play tennis, one of them is still working and all of them possess this sense of curiosity about how their life continues to unfold.

It's a great lesson that's written in the yoga sutras, that of self-study or svadhyaya. It can be interpreted in many ways, but it reveals itself to me in the form of always being open to learning. To consciously take action in seeing what lies within and what is next in our lives. It's the commitment to learning that opens the doorway to fully understanding ourselves and perhaps challenges our belief system of who we believe ourselves to be. When we begin to ask these deeper questions, we begin to open up the possibility of knowing our true self.

This leads me to my thought of the week. Challenging myself is an opportunity for growth and, although it might have prickly moments, in the end it will lead me to a deeper understanding. So off I go, to spread the word about the cause I'm supporting, to ask for assistance and be open to what unfolds.

What a great adventure!

Time To Make Hay

All the signs are there. I have a cold. I am sitting amongst a fortress of stacked papers. The to-do list isn't consolidated in one place, so I actually have to add, "consolidate to-do lists" on my list of things to do. My taxes are waiting to be done (ugh). I am just now writing emails that I wanted to respond to earlier in the week. The tomato plants need trimming. I haven't done a full workout in two weeks. These are the signs-it's peak season.

It's an abundant time for the seasonal desert community. The weather has shifted out of the winter chill, flowers are in bloom, the streets are crowded and sometimes you have to look around for a parking space. For self-employed people like me, this is the time of year to "make hay while the sun is shining".

But add to that, taking on a new challenge (the Global Seva Challenge India 2012 for me) and trying to socially connect with the seasonal snow birds it makes for quite a hectic time. Hence some things simply don't get tended to. So, how does a yogini with a slight OCD for order go about being OK with it all?

I try these things to maintain an even keel:

1. Keep my sacred time, sacred. I begin each and every day with a morning meditation. No exceptions.

2. Set aside time to attack what is on my to-do list. And stick to it. If it isn't at the top of the list, it can wait. This means prioritizing what needs to be completed today.

3. Sleep. Maintain a regular sleep habit. Bed at the same time, rise at the same time. If I'm feeling really pooped and have a small window it's either a restorative yoga pose or a wee nap for 15-30 minutes.

4. Humor. I'm busy. You're busy. It doesn't mean we need to lose our sense of humor. I take time to either listen to comedians on Pandora or watch my favorite sitcom (I find Modern Family hilarious).

5. Gratitude. I try to keep things in perspective this time of year. I feel blessed to have so much work, such great friends from all over the country that spend time in the desert and a true opportunity to make a difference.

6. Breathe. It's simple. It's available in this very moment. It can calm me down in a matter of three deep conscious breaths.

It's busy and I'm really happy that this is the challenge that I face. I love what I do and will put up with a bit of excess clutter to do so. It's no biggie...I've always got my breath!

How Do You Hear "No"?

This Global Seva Challenge has me doing things that I've never done before. I am undertaking my own process of stepping out of my shadow and into the light of stuff I'm unfamiliar (and uncomfortable) with. Things such as asking for donation prizes for an upcoming raffle. How do I just walk into a local pet store and ask for something for free? I begin by having a conversation with myself in the car on my way..."Ok, so you know this is for a cause that's bigger than you. You know that you'll be helping out people who are less fortunate and have no voice. Be brave. You can do this. The worst is that they'll say "no". Then why do I have this familiar feeling of nausea in the pit of my stomach?".

This is my self-talk. The two Jaynes chatting away before doing something which I don't feel comfortable doing. So, being a yogini who strives to continuously evolve, I decide to delve deeper. I have been asking myself the question, "what is it about asking someone for something that makes you uncomfortable?". The answer I have come up with is hearing the word "no".

There it is. It's out there. The fear of hearing "no" for an answer. I realized that I've held this fear for quite some time. In fact, I have been so fearful of the "NO" answer that I will often not even bother to ask the question, just in case I hear "no". Wow! What a revelation!

Part of my own growth is getting to the root of what holds me back and this journey along the path of raising $20,000 this year is not only about the money. It's about discovery and about truly embracing my own role as a conscious leader. It means I have to take risks and one of those perceived risks is being told "no". Being told I can't do something. That gets to me (obviously as it's held me back from asking in the past!).

Now that my fear of hearing "no" has stepped out of the shadow and into the light, a couple of things have happened. The first is that I'm not taking the "no" answer personally. I just have to wait for the "yes" and trust that the right people will say it. The second is I wonder what else is lurking in my shadow. What else will I uncover as I step not only off my mat, but back onto it again and again.

Now I just feel curious more than fearful. AH! I think that's called a shift or even better...transformation.

What's hiding in your shadow? How will you bring it into the light so that it's no longer scary? I have one suggestion. Know that it's there and know that by stepping onto your mat and into your practice you can make friends.

Let the light shine!

Calm Before the Storm

Have you ever had one of those experiences where things were growing in chaotic intensity and someone standing next to you asks you to do something that you've never done before?

This has happened to me, like the time I was looking after my infant niece whilst my sister (an optometrist) was giving an eye exam to our mother. It was the weekend and we were alone in her office and I was outside of the exam room with my niece whose diaper became soiled. Pinching my nose, I yell through the closed exam door, "Karen...Laura needs to have her diaper changed!". And my sister yells back, "Well...go ahead and change it!". Not having birthed any children of my own, I was in a place of not knowing and had to stumble my way through the task (holding my breath) and praying not to make it a bigger mess than was already in front of me. This was not something I was proficient at doing yet we all got through it (even though my niece was sporting a diaper that was slightly off-center).

This brings me to my thought for the week, that of practice, particularly as it pertains to the breath. Sometimes when I ask a yoga student what they got out of the last session they reply, "Well, I haven't done anything this past week but be more aware of how I'm breathing". To this I reply with great excitement, "Excellent!". Yoga is about the breath. It is the specific practices around breath awareness that differentiate yoga from other endeavors. If we can breathe, we can be fully in our yoga practice. The power of how our breath can alter how we feel, often within seconds, is an undervalued asset until you start to experience its effects.

If the only thing you take away from reading this blog is how to calm down through breathing, then excellent! We undertake breathing practices when we are in a calm place so that we can readily call upon them when we perceive something as a threat or stressful. If we haven't practiced tapping into our breath, there is little chance we will be able to do so in an emergency.

I love sharing the story of when my husband Ed, who had been practicing yoga for a few years, had a heart attack and subsequent open heart surgery. When he was in the hospital and experiencing pain, I could lean down to his ear and say, "slow down your exhale" and voila...he knew exactly how to do that despite being connected to tubes, machines and in an unfamiliar experience.

You can begin now. Sit in a relaxed position. Take a deep inhale over four counts, pause and exhale for six counts. Pause. Repeat. When we make our exhale longer than our inhale, the effects are almost immediate and shift us from overdrive into a lower gear.

And if the need arises where you have to change a dirty diaper remember this tip it will come in handy!

Selfless Service

I loved the movie "Pay It Forward", where the main theme was if somebody did something for somebody, largely unexpectedly, that they in turn did something for somebody else. That the good deed forward was passed along and paid forward. This idea has the potential to create an infinite flow of outpouring that comes from a selfless place. It becomes truly selfess when it arises from a deeply heart-centered place with no strings attached: with no expectations.



It simply feels good to participate in small random acts of kindness. Those times when as you exit the off-ramp and see a hungry homeless person you give them the banana you didn't eat at lunch; when you let someone with two items go before you at Trader Joe's; when you pay the toll for the car behind you; when you help a senior by reaching for an item on the top shelf. You get the idea. The little things that can restore a sense that people are generally good and generous.



But what if you're in a position to do more? What if the acts of kindness perhaps aren't random or small?



As I begin my year of aiming to raise $20,000 for the Global Seva Challenge to India, as part of Off the Mat, Into the World, I am sitting in a place where I have a voice to do more than my small, random acts of kindness. I have become part of an organized cause where not only my efforts count, but they synergize with others participating in the challenge. Collectively, we become a much bigger voice for bringing awareness and support to an often silenced population.



I take my hat off to the many people that I see in my local community who give so much to others. They are performing their own forms of SEVA (selfless service) and although they may not have any association with yoga, they are living part of the yogic philosophy in doing so.



Stepping into my own practice of seva, I realize that I need to ask for help from others. This is not a natural part of my being as I still possess a piece of that stubborn two year old who says, "I can do it myself!". But what I am coming to realize is that when I ask for help, I can do more. When people offer to be part of my seva team, collectively we turn up the volume on the issue. They in turn participate in their own seva by helping a cause greater than themselves. They begin the process of paying it forward.

This seva challenge IS way bigger than me. It reminds me how much one person can do, but also how much more a conscious collective of people can alter the quality of other peoples lives. As my involvement deepens, I step more and more into my own power. It's an exciting challenge that has ignited my passions and I invite anyone who is seeking to have their own spark ignited to join me.