utah hills (4 of 13).jpg

utah hills (4 of 13).jpg, a photo by jruda8 on Flickr.

Today I was drinking coffee and thinking about coffee. And looking at the beautiful photo above (copyright James Ruda). This led me to think about the simple pleasures in life. What I mean is, those moments when you're so present and so aware that being in the moment is positively intoxicating.

In positive psychology, this is sometimes referred to as a state of "flow." As the ever-reliable Wikipedia tells us: "Flow is the mental state of operation in which a person in an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity. Proposed by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, the positive psychology concept has been widely referenced across a variety of fields.[1]


According to Csíkszentmihályi, flow is completely focused motivation. It is a single-minded immersion and represents perhaps the ultimate in harnessing the emotions in the service of performing and learning. In flow, the emotions are not just contained and channeled, but positive, energized, and aligned with the task at hand. To be caught in the ennui of depression or the agitation of anxiety is to be barred from flow. The hallmark of flow is a feeling of spontaneous joy, even rapture, while performing a task[2]


I've noticed that I often experience this state of flow while doing "flow" series in yoga. Coincedence? I think not. I believe that one of the aims of yoga is to cultivate this state of being. As I practice being peaceful and aware throughout a 90 minute or so practice, this awareness can begin to trickle into other areas of my life.

It seems to me that there is almost something mystical about being in a state of flow, whether that is on or off the mat. At any moment, when I am living in peace, everything seems to just click. Amazing ideas come to me. The right people show up. Everything that I need is provided to me. Work doesn't feel like work. It just feels like another action through which to express love.

yoga in provo, UT here!

Optimism, music, creativity secret to woman’s long life

Optimism, music, creativity secret to woman’s long life: CEDAR CITY –Adeline Lamick Harvey turned 103 years old last Friday and was serenaded by a string quartet and issued a certificate by the mayor, but it was Adeline herself who was the star of the show...

This article made me so happy.

Click the link above to read it.

Outdoor Yoga

yoga kolob (10 of 11).jpg, a photo by jruda8 on Flickr.


You know what I love? Doing yoga in the dirt. Actually it's usually red sand, in my case.


People may try to believe that they are an island, that their decisions don't affect others and that they are alone, yet all that needs to be done to disprove this belief is to take off your shoes and stand in the sand. 


Oh what a catastrophe, what a maiming of love when it was made personal, merely personal feeling, taken away from the rising and the setting of the sun, and cut off from the magic connection of the solstice and equinox! This is what is the matter with us, we are bleeding at the roots, because we are cut off from the Earth, and sun, and stars - and love, poor blossom, we plucked from its stem on the tree of life, and expected it to keep on blooming in our civilised vase on the table. (D.H. Lawrence)


I challenge you to find out what phase the moon is in tonight. Not by looking it up on the internet, (come on!) but by going outside and observing the night sky. 


gobodhiyoga.com

Peace Love Run Yoga

As I am training for a half-marathon right now, I have been running anywhere between five and seven days a week.

I am surprised and thrilled to see how the combination of running and yoga has improved my awareness of my body. My primary dosha being vata, I have a tendency to not being grounded in my body, like a kite that is not tethered to anything.

For Yogis: Why Start Running?
The first, and maybe even most important reason is because yoga does not provide cardiovascular or aerobic training. Regular cardio workouts are important for a healthy heart. The health researchers at mypyramid.gov recommend that people engage in moderate to vigorous aerobic activity for 20-60 minutes, 5-7 days a week.

Aditionally, I find running to be a beautiful extension of my meditation practice. Often, while running, I will chant mantras in my head. The continual repetetive motion provides a wonderful opportunity for me to observe my thoughts as they go by. At other times, I will pray, give myself affirmations or list things I'm grateful for.

For Runners: Why Practice Yoga?
Overall, running greatly improves physical health, yet it is easy to get out of balance or "run yourself into the ground." Each time a runners feet hit the pavement, the runners hamstrings respond to the shock by tightening. The result of doing this hundreds and thousands of times as a regular runner can be painful. The limited flexibility not only limits range of motion, (especially as we age) it also increases risk for running injuries, such as shin splints. Thus, yoga.

Yoga is not only a wonderful way to improve flexibility, it also improves muscle strength, especially in the core and arms, which may get neglected in a focused running lifestyle.

Most importantly, yoga provides a sanctuary of peace in a world that can seem hectic. It is an opportunity to slow down, listen to your thoughts, listen to your breathing and know that you are doing something incredibly nourishing for your body and mind.

Multitasking: Efficient or Myth?

"People can't multitask very well, and when people say they can, they're deluding themselves," said neuroscientist Earl Miller. And, he said, "The brain is very good at deluding itself."

Miller, a Picower professor of neuroscience at MIT, says that for the most part, we simply can't focus on more than one thing at a time.

What we can do, he said, is shift our focus from one thing to the next with astonishing speed.

check out the source and story here

another good resource here


Multitasking, or more accurately, switching focus quickly and repeatedly is an ingrained part of our society now. Not only is multitasking the norm, it has come to be expected.

Okay, this is getting boring. Let's switch focus for a minute and take the...

                                              Multitasking Quiz!

• Do you have more than three tabs open right now?
• While reading this blog, are you also checking your email?
• Are you on the phone?
• Are you also checking your facebook every few minutes?
• Are you in the midst of a texting conversation?
• Are you drinking coffee or other stimulants so that your brain can keep up with all the pressure you are putting on yourself to multitask?
• Are you also listening to music? Downloading music, perhaps?
• Reading a magazine? Online or print?

If you aswered yes to any of these questions, then it is the year 2011, just like I thought it was. Now that that's settled.

A study from the University of Michigan found that we may reduce our productivity by 20 to 40% by attempting to multitask because the brain actually pauses briefly each time it has to switch focus. We also retain less information while multitasking and struggle to apply the knowledge to other situations. It's like we're trading relevancy, context and wisdom for a flood of information.

Aside from issues of productivity, multitasking affects mental health. Some of the effects include: shortened attention spans, difficulty listening, stress, agitation, the release of higher levels of adrenaline and even anti-social behavoir.

For most of us, however, multitasking is not just something we do occasionally, it is a lifestyle. So essentially, we are making a lifestyle of attempting to force ourselves to do something that is often impossible and rarely helpful. No wonder it can be hard to live up to our daily expectations of ourselves.

Dharana is the sixth step of the yogic path. Dharana means focus, or concentration. It involves not only doing one thing at a time, but also thinking about one thing at a time.

While working in wilderness therapy, I had a client (we'll call her Jenny) who was extremely scatterred and unaware. It was not unusual for her to take two hours to prepare for a hike. This process involves packing a backpack and filling up waterbottles. The other clients would finish within thirty minutes or so. Jenny would wander around camp, pick up her waterbottle, walk over to the water and then walk away to put her jacket away. After her jacket was packed, she would walk over and fill her first water bottle. Then she would get involved in a coversation. Then she would look for her next waterbottle, but while doing that would realize that she didn't know where her hat was. So off she'd go, in search of her hat. I created an intervention for Jenny in which she said out loud what she was doing as she did it. She began to learn how to focus her attention on one thing at a time.

What Jenny didn't know was that I set up a similar intervention for myself. Dharana is a struggle for me because I love to run around in circles, accomplishing very little and appearing to be very busy and important. Now, on days when I have alot of tasks that I need to complete, I write down what I am about to do, right before I do it. The idea is that I won't do anything else until that singular task is complete.

I believe that through practicing dharana, we can calm our minds, become more efficient, achieve our goals, and feel good while doing it!

some tips for practicing dharana:

•  Turn off unnecessary technology. Enjoy one form of media at a time. Close extra tabs and windows (your computer will run faster too).
• Engage in conversation without the distraction of texting other people at the same time.
• Listen to mantra, instrumentals and classical music without words while engaging in activities that involve verbal and language skills. ie. writing a paper, email, conversations
• Steadily perform one task at a time.
• Remember to exhale.
• Enjoy focusing on the flavor and texture of your food. Sit down to eat.

Oh and of course, practice yoga! While practicing, try to observe the physical and mental experience of the asanas.

get funky

I have been in a funk lately. A yoga funk, specifically. This funk initially seemed to be random, accidental and uncontrollable. Like a bird pooping on my head. No one's fault. Certainly not mine.

After all, I was just trying to discipline myself to have a daily practice so that I could be a good person, obviously. Did I say discipline? What I meant was force. I was forcing myself to practice yoga. This involved unrolling the mat and actually setting a timer on my watch so that I could ensure that I practiced for an hour and a half. I would then berate myself if I felt like stopping after 30 minutes, or if it seemed that my heart wasn't in it.

To be a good person. I was raised in a culture that has a slight issue with perfectionism. Oh yes, I learned from the best, although my perfectionism manifested in different ways. I have a slightly obsessive habit of creating to-do lists. I am even more obsessed with crossing things off of my to-do lists. Indeed, I will write something that I have just completed on my list, just so that I can cross it off. It is so satisfying.

So here I was, putting yoga on my daily to-do list along with other joyful tasks such as do laundry, scrub toilet, 40 minute run, grocery store, etc. So that I could be better! And then I randomly, accidently caught the yoga funk. I do not feel like doing yoga.

I had to arrive at this shocking point before realizing that this may not be fair to myself. That maybe I am already okay and that accomplishing things may enhance my life, but it does not change who I am. I do not need to prove anything.

Then, I took a day off! I did not do yoga, I did not do laundry, scrub the toilet, go running or go to the grocery store. Much to my surprise, all my morality and personhood did not disappear (that I'm aware of). Instead, I hung out at a coffee shop/ used bookstore all day. It was deliciously counter to the way I typically run my life. While at the bookstore, I bought a Shiva Rea yoga DVD because she is a spontaneous Shakti non-dogmatic yogini.

Today, I awoke and asked myself what I really wanted to do today. Turns out, I wanted to go running, do laundry, do the dishes and enjoy some funky (in the other sense of the word) Shiva Rea yoga! What a lovely surprise.

I didn't even make a list.

gobodhiyoga.com

On Acceptance

It occurs to me that as long as I refuse to accept life on it's own terms, I will suffer. As important as it is to accept life as it is, it is also important to take responsibility. When we take ownership for what we create in our lives, then we have freedom to create something different. When we are victims, everything happens to us and we have no options to create the life we want. We do, however, get the fabulous license to complain loudly and hint to others that they might alleviate our suffering for us if only they really cared and really knew us.


At the same time, sometimes I feel like there is just no explanation for what happens. Sometimes there seems to be no imaginable reason why. Then I think, well Victor Frankl found meaning in his experiences in a concentration camp, even though at times his only reason was to bear his sufferings honorably. And at times that just feels like blasphemy to hear. This is meaningless! There is no reason for this unspeakable horror! There is nothing we at times hold onto more tightly than our own misery.

Acceptance can be an instant process or a long one, depending on the person and the situation. If I go to the coffee shop and they inform me that they are out of my favorite roast, I can probably immediately accept that. Okay, I'll take the light roast, no big deal. I recently found out that the lighter roasts actually have more caffeine, anyway. That seems completely counter-intuitive. Stronger coffee should equal stronger caffeine, yes? No.

I went to a fabulous outdoor concert recently. I was near the front of the crowd and a couple began to set out chairs for themselves next to me. A man working security immediately approached them, “Excuse me, if you are going to use chairs we need you to go to the back row so that you're not blocking the view.”

They looked at him incredulously, “Are you f-ing kidding me?” They literally said that.

“No, we need you to move to the back.”

After the man left, they commenced muttering obscenities amongst themselves. It took them a good ten minutes to accept that they needed to either move, or not use their chairs.

On the other hand, when my mom told me that she was afraid that her brain tumor may be back, I absolutely refused to accept it. I did not even cry because I would not believe it. Rather, I came up with a myriad of possible solutions. I sat on the living room floor grinding my teeth. I told her that I would move home but keep working full time and I would give her half of my income to help with medical bills and teach her yoga and pranayama and clean the house. I would take care of everything. I convinced her to have a cat scan done.

There were no abnormalities in her brain and no growth of the dead tumor from over ten years ago.

Ah but in that moment I just wanted a feeling of control. The reality is that I cannot influence whether she develops a tumor. My vain grasping for strands of control kept me stuck in non-acceptance. As long as I refused to accept the possibility that her health may be in danger, I had to live by just going through the motions of life. I went to work. I pretended to be involved and engaged in helping the troubled kids there, when in reality I felt incapable of caring at that moment. I couldn't. I was stuck in pretend life until I heard the news that my mom was healthy and had no tumor growth.
 
It is in situations of any type of grief or loss that acceptance becomes more difficult and can become a process. Acceptance does not mean that you are happy about whatever has happened, it just means that you know that it is what it is instead of using a myriad of methods to convince yourself that it's not what it is.
 
I love this quote by Pema Chodron:
 
"As human beings, not only do we seek resolution, but we also feel that we deserve resolution. However, not only do we not deserve resolution, we suffer from resolution. We don't deserve resolution; we deserve something better than that. We deserve our birthright, which is the middle way, an open state of mind that can relax with paradox and ambiguity."

gobodhiyoga.com

Mantra

Let me just start out by saying, I cannot sing.


Okay, that is a complete lie. Let's put it this way: I tell myself that I "cannot" sing, because I'm not good at it and who wants to do anything they're not good at, right?


Right? A little habit I have that doesn't really serve me so well is my habit of avoiding things that I do not excel at. As fabulously ego-enlarging it was to only do things that I could do well, so that I would always appear on top of things and recieve praise, there is just one (in the ballpark of one) problem with this model. Aside from the trouble of my ego becoming terribly bloated and swollen, I also was not learning anything new. I was stagnant because I would not put myself out there and risk failure. The upside was that I DID NOT fail-ever. Unfortunately, I did not succeed either.


So, when my yoga instructor Syl Carson introduced us to mantra and chanting, I effectively closed my throat and refused to open it. In public. But one mantra in particular got stuck in my head and I found myself singing it in the car, naturally in the amazing accoustics of the shower, while vaccuuming and anytime that I thought no one could hear me.


This particular mantra goes as follows:
"Om Namah Shivaya"


There is no direct translation of this mantra. There are several ways of looking at it:

"Om and salutations to that which I am capable of becoming."


It is an invokation of God, calling God into your life and at the same time, moving toward the Lord. Therefore, it is a bowing to the Divinity outside of oneself and to the divinity and potential for divinity that is inside of oneself.


There are many mantras, with many meanings. I think of mantra and chanting as singing prayer and praises. It is devotion out loud.

The progression from my refusal to EVER sing or even chant in public to singing mantras and kirtan in front of groups of yoga students was so slow that I didn't even know it was happening. I just knew that it felt so good.

My very important busy life

Typically, I am very busy. My life is filled past the brim with deeply important things to fill every moment of my days. I am so busy, in fact, that if an entire day stretches before me, requiring nothing of me, I will make up errands to run. I will suddenly decide that it is absolutely imperative that I read the entire encyclopedia, run ten miles, get a massage to pamper myself, eat a granola bar and stand on my head for at least five minutes while chanting "Om Shanti." If I fail to complete any of these tasks, I will berate myself incessantly.
Then it occurs to me, "Wait, I didn't have to do ANY of that stuff!"

Ah. The things we do to avoid just sitting with ourselves.

gobodhiyoga.com