This is timely for me today. I have to go to court this afternoon to deal with some of the mess my ex left behind (see Clean Up, Aisle 5). I’m scared. I don’t know why. This is a known and limited threat, yet I am anxious. I am going to begin my day with my own tip to bust through fear: a long run. Somehow the combination of repetitive movement, fresh air, and an exhausted body help to calm my mind. I plan to follow that with some meditation before going to the courthouse. Oh, and I guess I’ll take a shower too:)
Try these tips when you feel fear whispering in your ear and trying to control your thoughts,
Don’t worry, the monkeys didn’t get me. Not that they didn’t try…
Thursday was one of those days. If I hadn’t made a public commitment to meditate for 28 consecutive days, I am afraid that Thursday would have marked the end of my streak.
I have pretty much established the routine of meditating for around 20 minutes in the morning before work. Thursday’s schedule was off because my boyfriend was out of town, which leaves me with morning dog care. I elected to not get up earlier (5:00 am is early enough on the day I teach two extra classes) and to meditate after work. When I came home that afternoon to find my boyfriend’s car unexpectedly in the garage, my first thought was, “Yeah, he’s home,” followed by, “I need to make sure I don’t neglect meditation tonight.” He and I do not get much evening time together between his martial arts and work schedules and my inflexible teaching hours. That time we do have is precious, and I want to take advantage of it.
So, here’s how Thursday night went down. After a warm greeting, small snack, and quick chat, I went to change into workout clothes. I had already decided to run 3 miles that day along with 10 100-yard sprints, so I headed to the park to make it happen. The running went well and allowed me to discharge the yuck from the day (Thursday’s are especially yucky, thus the intensity of the sprints was needed).
Then, a short drive home was followed by a second snack (dinner in 3 stages), and a shower. My boyfriend was interested in trying (together) an 8:00 pm yoga class at our gym, which left me with about 30 minutes to myself before we would have to leave. Now, at this point in the day, I had literally only sat to drive to and from work and to ingest food. I had spent my day meeting the needs of others, which the exception of the run. I was exhausted, physically and mentally. All I really wanted to do was collapse and read for those 30 minutes. But, I had made a commitment.
It was not a successful meditation as far as my mental focus was concerned. But it was still a success for me. First, I didn’t neglect the practice on a day when it would have been so easy to do just that. Secondly, I noticed that, even though my mind was frenetic, my breathing was deep, even, and calm. That is major progress.
We enjoyed the yoga class, and I even managed to sneak in a mini meditation during chavasana, with was made especially nice by the instructor’s expert classical guitar playing.
A small monkey. Singapore. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
On Friday, I was back into the groove of my morning practice. Or so I thought. I used a guided meditation podcast that I had downloaded a few days prior. I failed to notice that the playback speed was set to 2x. Now that makes for an interesting meditation. I guess it is one way to fit in it to a hectic schedule, but I must say, I wouldn’t recommend it.
So, the lessons from days 8 & 9: commit even when the practice isn’t perfect, meditation changes your breathing even when your mind isn’t aware of it, and check the playback speed before getting your om on.
We often give more conscious thought to clearing out our physical surroundings than we do our emotional ones. Just like your home gets cluttered (or your computer desktop if you’re like me!) and needs a periodic purging, your mind can benefit from this cleaning as well. Do you hold negative thoughts and emotions that are no longer serving you? It’s time to pick up that broom and sweep them away.
A new study suggests that consuming intensely flavored, such as pungent cheeses or spicy foods can help you eat less. This principle is true with any sort of intensity, whether it be diet, exercise, or emotional in nature. By definition, something that is intense is strong, pushing itself to the forefront of your consciousness. This makes it hard to ignore and brings forth mindfulness of the action, something which may not occur with more sedate stimuli. Intensity also cannot be maintained for long, which can be used for your benefit. Here are some suggestions on how to use intensity to improve your well-being:
Diet: Think of ways to pump up the flavor in your dishes. Add spices, hot sauce, olives, or strong cheeses in small amounts to bring forth stronger, more noticeable flavor. This makes it much harder to overindulge; just think about the difference between eating milk chocolate and dark chocolate, the latter being much more intense. I used to be the queen of bland food, but I have found the joys of small nibbles of big flavor.
Exercise: Try interval training. Personally, I find that I get much better fat-burning results from a 20 minute sprinting session, Tabata sprints, or kettlebell intervals than I do from hour long steady-state runs. Think about how you can pump up the intensity in your own workouts either by limiting rest time or working harder.
Emotions: Sometimes we try to avoid feeling an emotion intensely and we end up feeling a low level of it for a long time. There is nothing wrong with letting yourself feel strongly, and you will probably feel better for it. (Note: Anger is one emotion that may need to be doled out or carefully expressed to avoid harming yourself or others). I know I often feel purges and refreshed after an intense cry, whereas if I avoid the cathartic tears, I just end up feeling “blue” for several days.
Even though intensity can be uncomfortable, it will make you leaner, stronger, and more balanced in the end.
A seat graphic on a Song airplane. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I came across this article on Mind Body Green tonight and, boy, did it ever strike a chord. Just last week, I was in yoga class. This class is a bit advanced for me; there are often poses that I cannot fully acquire and that I am working towards. The instructor had us move into some bind (I don’t know the name, but we got there from a revolved crescent lunge). I found myself getting frustrated; my hips were tight and not allowing a full twist, I couldn’t figure out my left from my right (gotta love the Twister-effect of those binds), and I couldn’t manage to get the strap I was using in both hands at the same time. Eventually, I froze. I stopped breathing. My mind locked and the body followed. Luckily, the instructor saw me and provided assistance. I was able to complete the full pose on the other side with little trouble.
I saw this same response in one of my students today. She was struggling with the math. Eventually, she froze. She stopped breathing. Her mind locked and her body followed. I was more patient than I may have otherwise been, remembering my recent experience. Anytime we are facing something unfamiliar and uncomfortable, it is easy to respond this way, but easy does not mean best.
Next time I am in a bind, I am going to try to breath and surrender rather than get stuck in an upright and locked position.
Lessons From the End of a Marriage 