Tag: Niyamas

Getting Rid of Excess

May 12, 2016

This week in my Yoga class (that I really wasn’t in the mood to go to) the instructor talked to us about Excess. Every week as class begins, the instructor speaks to us from the book The Yamas and the Niyamas.  Excess can rob us from our Joy. Excess can be in the form of sleep, sugar, clutter in life, food, activities, weight, or anything.

That very same day I took a walk instead of a run and listened to a new podcast called The Coach Jenny Show. It was Episode 6 and the topic of the episode was Six Ways to Declutter Your Life and Improve Your Performance. Bingo! There was the affirmation that I was meant to be at that yoga class that night. If I stayed home I would have missed the message meant for me.

The reason why I didn’t want to go to yoga was because I wanted to be home with my family. I had been feeling down for over a week. Not just down but significantly blue. I was afraid that depression was creeping in and I was losing control over my emotions. The weather the week prior was grey, cold and rainy. I was starting to go crazy. But by Sunday afternoon the clouds finally cleared up and the sun came out. It was such a treat! Sunday was Mother’s Day so I made sure I got in a run for myself and did things that I wanted to do. Then we visited my mother-in-law, and then had my mother over for a tea party and dinner. I wanted to take a walk with the family before dinner so we could enjoy that sunshine and some fresh air. We had all been stuck indoors for so long and needed to get outside and move.

I was glad that I went to the yoga class because in addition to the word “excess” that I had been thinking about since Monday, the exercises she showed us were different. We did more work with opening our shoulders and also used the wall for support. When I woke up the day after, I felt sore, which was the kind of sore that is good.

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I had to teach a class on Tuesday and I was feeling anxious about it, but after being a yoga I was able to calm my thoughts and help myself to remove the excess anxiety with meditation.n I am noticing that I am applying meditative practices to my every day life.

With the new podcast I listened to, Coach Jenny was talking about moving into the new year and finding ways to renew, regroup and reinvent ourselves. She challenges us to make a small habit for yourself that speaks directly to you, and get rid of something that is weighing you down or zapping your energy so you can make room for something new. When I got back from my walk I felt renewed and when I got back from yoga I felt even better.

I made a decision at that point that I was going to stop letting the excess feeling of sadness or confusion or overthinking take over my thoughts and I was going to set daily and weekly goals for myself. I was able to determine that when I don’t have a deadline or a direct goal in my calendar then I tend to go astray, lost motivation and focus.

This week I am now setting up small goals for myself that I can focus on and when I set myself up with a “Power Hour” to do things I get things done and I feel better for accomplishing my tasks. So what else do I have to get rid of? Stuff… I have too many closets! Too many clothes, too many shoes…. you know the drill. It’s time to purge, do some Spring cleaning. I am going to make it a priority over the next few weeks to remove any items that I haven’t worn in a year. I already have one laundry basket full of clothes.

So I have had a lot of time to think about some things. I had been worried that I was getting very depressed but then I had an immediate turnaround where something clicked for me and I’m feeling a lot better, more focused and determined.  Progress not Perfection.  That is my motto this week.

Yoga Class Week 4 – Purity Through Breath

March 14, 2016

This week’s class theme was about Purity or Saucha.  Each week our instructor has been providing us with a theme or a word related to the Yama and the Niyamas.  These are ethical codes that make up the first two limbs of the eight limbed path of yoga.  All of the paths work together to help us enter a state of yoga or union with the mind, body and spirit.

The Yamas Include:

Ahimsa ~ Nonviolence
Satya ~ Truthfulness
Asteya ~ Nonstealing
Brahmacharya ~ Nonexcess
Aparigraha ~ Nonpossessiveness
The Niyamas include:
Saucha ~ Purity
Santosha ~ Contentment
Tapas ~ Self-discipline
Svadhyaya ~ Self-study
Ishvara Pranidhana ~ Surrender

The other six limbs include the postures, breathing exercises, going inward, concentration, meditation and enlightenment.  Margie recommends this great book about The Yamas and the Niyamas.

Last week we talked about letting go of things that weigh us down or not worrying about things from the past or coming up in the future.  Today we talked about purity and how to rely on our breathing to help us relax.  She taught us to focus on diaphragmatic breathing so when we encounter a stressful situation we can stop holding our breath and scrunching up our shoulders and focus on our breathing.  No one needs to know that we are doing it either.

In yoga, the breath is described as the essential, life-giving flywheel of the nervous system.  What does that mean? Your nose cleans and warms the air before it enters your body.  It enters and exits your body to sustain your life. Breathing through your nose helps you reduce the speed and efficiency of breathing.  Smell is also a major element when it comes to breathing.  When you breathe through your nose, you smell the odors and it improves the sense of taste.

Surprisingly, breathing stabilizes our emotions and nerves.  Have you ever noticed that when you are stressed you are breathing shallow from your chest?  If you feel uptight, take 3 deep breaths to lower your heart rate.  If you can’t fall asleep, focus on taking deep breaths into your abdomen.

So to sum up the definition of Saucha, it is the practice of knowing very well what is our objective in this particular moment in life.

We did some warrior poses in tonight’s class, the chair pose, the bridge and several twisting poses.  She told us that twisting is a great form of detoxifying our body.  I like that feeling of stretching out and opening things up during a twist.  It pushes me beyond my limit is such a gentle subtle way where there is no harm.

At the end of class we participate in Savasana and today Margie played Liquid Mind music which immediately brought me to when I was in labor with Kevin for 3 days.  I played that music in the hospital and it was very peaceful.  I felt like I went back in time almost 9 years!  It was very strange, emotional, yet relaxing at the same time.  I felt emotional because I couldn’t believe that it was already 9 years ago that he was born.  Time is going by so quickly; but I didn’t think about things that we haven’t done yet or had any guilt.  I just realized the time and let that thought float by.   A couple tears were shed because I miss the baby years and that music has a very strong connection with me and my babies when they were younger.  Sometimes the older years are hard; but the newborn days weren’t the easiest either!  Being a mother, parent, wife, employee, daughter, person isn’t easy.  As I learned tonight, the objective is to be aware of where you are in this moment in life.

This year I have been focusing on mindfulness, wellness and finding joy.  I think the yoga has been a very helpful tool with mindfulness.  My essential oils are also helping me find balance and wellness.

I can’t wait to find out what we will learn about in week 5!  Sadly, the instructor will be on vacation next week so I may need to resort to a youTube version of a yoga class next week to keep me grounded!

 

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