Tag: relaxation

Monday Meditation: The Consequences of Meditation

Posted on by Joy Held

Monday Meditation: The Consequences of Meditation

There are five primary areas of practice to the Writer Wellness plan. Every other week I will post an idea for relaxation (Monday Meditation,) creative play (Tuesday Tickle,) fitness and exercise (Wednesday Workout,) journaling and misc. (Thursday Thought,) and nutrition (Friday Feast.)

Things change. Whether we want them to or not, everything changes. To bring this to the attention of myself and my students, I close every yoga class with these words:

“With every breath we grow. With every breath we change. Every breath is precious. Until your journey brings you back to me, remember to breathe. Namaste.”

It’s my way of saying, “Change is a natural part of our existence. Fighting change causes stress. Embrace the concept of change and you will know less stress.” But how do we “embrace” change? I don’t have a practical answer, but I do have qualified experience because I practice yoga and meditation regularly. One of the consequences of regular meditation practice is the ability to readily embrace change and not be as stressed about it. The more you practice watching things come and go during meditation, the easier it is to watch things come and go in life. We may not wish to see things come and go, but it happens. One of the consequences of meditation is less stress because we understand that everything comes and goes, and it isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

One of my favorite descriptions of the sensations of living as the result of meditation and yoga comes from yogi Mukunda Stiles in his book “Structural Yoga Therapy.”

Symptoms of Inner Peace

1. A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than from fear

2. An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment

3. Loss of interest in judging others

4. Loss of interest in judging yourself

There are other symptoms or consequences of meditation listed by Stiles. Just as everyday is a beginning, so is every meditation practice. It’s a place to start learning to watch things come and go without fear or stress.

Have you noticed any consequences as a result of your meditation practice?

Happy Note: Book signing and hatha yoga demonstration Saturday, June 25 at Borders in Vienna, WV, 2-4 p.m. Will I see you there? Bring your yoga mat!

Meanwhile, remember to look for a digital or print copy of Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity at Who Dares Wins Publishing, http://whodareswinspublishing.com.

And check out these great blogs for ideas to keep your writing and publishing healthy and prosperous.

http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/ Bob Mayer

http://jenniholbrooktalty.wordpress.com/ Jenni Holbrook

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/ Kristen Lamb

http://inspiration4writers.blogspot.com/ Inspiration for Writers, Inc. 

http://pentopublish.blogspot.com/ Natalie Markey

Have you subscribed to this Writer Wellness blog yet? Get email updates when a new post is added. Click “subscribe” and leave your email. That’s it and thanks in advance!

Be well, write well.

Monday Meditation: Memories and Meditation

Posted on by Joy Held

There are five primary areas of practice to the Writer Wellness plan. Every other week I will post an idea for relaxation (Monday Meditation,) creative play (Tuesday Tickle,) fitness and exercise (Wednesday Workout,) journaling and misc. (Thursday Thought,) and nutrition (Friday Feast.)

As I sat on the meditation cushion one day last week counting breaths and truthfully minding my own business, a memory from my childhood popped up out of nowhere. I was around eleven years old and my precious Grandma Joy was staying with us as she did on a regular basis. Many of us have a “traveling granny” who lives out of a suitcase from house to house checking in on her children and grandchildren. In this memory, grandma was angry with my father for some reason. I don’t remember why or if I ever knew. I witnessed them exchange sharp words for the first time in my life and watched my dad leave the kitchen by way of the sliding screen door onto the back porch. My grandma picked up an unopened bag of sugar from the counter and hurled it at my dad just as he closed the screen. The bag bounced off the screen and splattered sugar all over the floor. I swept it up while marveling at grandma’s arm, and she got her suitcase to the front porch to wait on my aunt to pick her up. This scene replayed itself in vivid detail during my meditation and needless to say, I lost my train of relaxed consciousness and ended the sitting with a deep breath and a “Namaste” immediately. But the long, and I thought lost, memory contained a message for me. This isn’t an unusual circumstance. Meditation is often a time of revisiting memories and not all of them are pleasant.

Like dreaming, meditation allows our brains to soften and it sometimes takes the opportunity to “clean house”, do some necessary filing of information collected recently, or present us with a memory that gives us the chance to understand something  presently going on in our lives. After several days of thinking and wondering why my brain chose this particular memory to replay at this particular time in my life, I have decided it was meant to remind me that my father was a stern man and set in his ways. And he was seriously outnumbered by estrogen in the family dynamic. Lots of strong women in my family on both sides. Poor guys have trouble sometimes getting a word in edgewise. My father died four years ago and lately I’ve been trying to come to terms with the way some people have differing opinions about him. It’s a long, long, long, long story, but not everyone remembers my father like I do. None of us are perfect. And that is what I think the memory, as unsettling as it was, meant to remind me about. Love is not dependent on the perfection of self or others. It’s about acceptance as difficult as that may sometimes be.

What do you do when a memory bubbles up to the surface while meditating? Allow it to happen but above all simply witness the memory. Don’t get embroiled in old dramas. Just let it flow by. Thinking about it later is possible but not necessary. Most important, don’t allow memories to keep you away from the meditation cushion. Be brave.

Have you ever experienced a memory during meditation practice? What happened?

Meanwhile, remember to look for a digital or print copy of Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity at Who Dares Wins Publishing, http://whodareswinspublishing.com. 

And check out these great blogs for ideas to keep your writing and publishing healthy and prosperous.

http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/ Bob Mayer

http://jenniholbrooktalty.wordpress.com/ Jenni Holbrook

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/ Kristen Lamb

http://inspiration4writers.blogspot.com/ Inspiration for Writers, Inc.

http://pentopublish.blogspot.com/ Natalie Markey

 Have you subscribed to this Writer Wellness blog yet? Get email updates when a new post is added. Click “subscribe” and leave your email. That’s it and thanks in advance!

Be well, write well.

Wednesday Workout: 7 Habits of the Highly Successful Workout

Posted on by Joy Held

There are five primary areas of practice to the Writer Wellness plan. Every other week I will post an idea for relaxation (Monday Meditation,) creative play (Tuesday Tickle,) fitness and exercise (Wednesday Workout,) journaling and misc. (Thursday Thought,) and nutrition (Friday Feast.)

Habit 1: Make a Plan

Physical activity and exercise are essential to our health and well being. Our bodies have innate schedules we are born with such as digestion and sleep patterns. Exercise is most successful when we plan to exercise and we stick to it. It is super beneficial to exercise close to the same time every day as much as possible.

Habit 2: Set a Goal

Create a general and realistic desire for a physical activity plan such as maintaining good health. Exercise is part of that goal. Go ahead and set weight loss goals or plans to exercise 30 minutes six times a week, but be cautious about setting goals that create unrealistic expectations. This creates stress and exercise is supposed to help alleviate stress.

Habit 3: Do What You Can Do

Start every workout with the mind set to only do what your body is capable of doing that day. Some days are better than others. Learn to listen to your body’s signals. “Today I feel good enough to run two miles.” Sometimes you will hear a different message. “Today I need to take a long, slow walk and do some gentle stretches.” It’s all good.

Habit 4: Reward Yourself In Healthy Ways

Pre-arrange to reward yourself with recognition for sticking to the exercise plan. It’s perfectly fine to celebrate a month of not missing a single exercise date with a tiny splurge. And for those folks who exercise a lot, taking a few days off now and then is also healthy. Moderation is the key to all the habits.

Habit 5: Listen to Qualified Guidance

Every workout should be the result of your active choice to gather good information before hand. This means reading several books about the exercise styles that interest you, taking classes with a good instructor, or finding an exercise buddy to workout with.

Habit 6: Be Open Minded to Change

Your body and your exercise regimen will and should change on a regular basis. Don’t get in a rut by doing the same things over and over. Your mind will lose interest and tempt you with ways to avoid exercise. Keep it interesting with a variety of fitness choices every week. Mix things up with yoga twice a week, walking twice a week, strength training once a week, and sprinkle in some cardio on the exercise equipment.

Habit 7: Be Kind To Yourself

It’s very possible to overdo it with physical activity and exercise by not listening to the signals or setting unmanageable goals. Be kind to yourself if something happens to set you off course in some way. Always, always, always support your workouts with positive self-talk. Your body hears what you say and think, so keep it positive!

Meanwhile, remember to look for a digital or print copy of Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity at Who Dares Wins Publishing, http://whodareswinspublishing.com.

And check out these great blogs for ideas to keep your writing and publishing healthy and prosperous.

http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/ Bob Mayer

http://jenniholbrooktalty.wordpress.com/ Jenni Holbrook

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/ Kristen Lamb

http://inspiration4writers.blogspot.com/ Inspiration for Writers, Inc.

http://pentopublish.blogspot.com/ Natalie Markey

Have you subscribed to this Writer Wellness blog yet? Get email updates when a new post is added. Click “subscribe” and leave your email. That’s it and thanks in advance! Like this blog? Share it with someone you think would like it as well. 

Be well, write well.

Monday Meditation: Time and Herding Cats

Posted on by Joy Held

 

There are five primary areas of practice to the Writer Wellness plan. Every other week I will post an idea for relaxation (Monday Meditation,) creative play (Tuesday Tickle,) fitness and exercise (Wednesday Workout,) journaling and misc. (Thursday Thought,) and nutrition (Friday Feast.)

“Time management” is an oxymoron. We can’t possibly manage time. It does what it wants regardless of our efforts to wrangle it into submission. It marches on no matter what. Trying to manage time is frustrating because it’s a little like herding cats or nailing Jello (trademark) to a tree. Time has a mind and a mission of its own. Time cannot be told what to do and it cannot be beat into submission. But time rules the world and we will continue to know frustration until we develop a different relationship with time.

We can either work with time or we can compete against it. The competition idea is largely responsible for our feelings of frustration. “There is never enough time to get everything done,” we say out of habit. “I make lists, but there isn’t enough time to get it all done in a day.” While lists are a proactive method for dealing with our frustrations about not enough time, they too can cause us to “grrrrrr” at the end of the day’s allotted time when we realize how much of the list did not get accomplished.

Try feeling time instead. It’s a practice born of meditation’s ultimate lesson in patience. Begin by, and I hesitate to say it, setting a stop watch or timer when you practice meditation. Do not set the timer for ten minutes, close your eyes, and breathe until the timer goes off. With the timer at zero, first close your eyes, then push the button, and breathe. Meditate until the feeling arises that the session has come to an end. Open your eyes and see how long you have practiced. Regardless of how many minutes have passed, end the session. Do this daily and the time you meditate will gradually increase on its own in a natural way. Putting a time limit on your daily meditation practice is contradictory to the purpose. The purpose is to love your time here, not manage your time here. 

Meanwhile, remember to look for a digital or print copy of Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity at Who Dares Wins Publishing, http://whodareswinspublishing.com 

And check out these great blogs for ideas to keep your writing and publishing healthy and prosperous. 

http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/ Bob Mayer 

http://jenniholbrooktalty.wordpress.com/ Jenni Holbrook

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/ Kristen Lamb 

http://inspiration4writers.blogspot.com/ Inspiration for Writers, Inc. 

http://pentopublish.blogspot.com/ Natalie Markey 

Have you subscribed to this Writer Wellness blog yet? Get email updates when a new post is added. Click “subscribe” and leave your email. That’s it and thanks in advance!

Be well, write well.

Monday Meditation: The “Easy” Pose

Posted on by Joy Held

There are five primary areas of practice to the Writer Wellness plan. Every other week I will post an idea for relaxation (Monday Meditation,) creative play (Tuesday Tickle,) fitness and exercise (Wednesday Workout,) journaling and misc. (Thursday Thought,) and nutrition (Friday Feast.)

 In yoga, life is considered a series of “dukha” or sufferings one after the other, but the lessons of yoga are principally about teaching us to cope with suffering through relaxations or “sukha”. This is the art of relaxing and to yoga this means being comfortable and at ease. It means stillness (sukha) in the body and mind purposely practiced to counter act the opposite feelings of stress (dukha.) Therefore, the “easy pose” is taught as a physical position to take when trying to relax. But for some people the “easy pose” is anything but easy, so why is it called “easy”? The “easy” translation simply means being the opposite of uneasy or busy and stressed. Although the specific sitting position known as the “easy pose” is traditional, the mere act of sitting or semi-reclining and being motionless can be considered an easy pose. After all, not everyone can sit on the floor with their legs crossed at the ankles for an extended period of time. It would take human or mechanical intervention to get some of them back to standing contradicting the “easy” part.

 An “easy pose” is one that allows us to be at ease with ourselves without the urge to fall completely asleep. Most of us are conditioned to begin snoring within a few minutes if we find ourselves lying flat on our backs. Happens all the time in yoga. Corpse pose at the end of class is regularly mistaken by some exhausted individual as nap time and the rest of us are serenaded by the heavy, unburdened breath of someone who has fallen asleep on the mat. That’s okay, but as I’ve said before, sleep is not meditation. Sleep is sleep and meditation is an easy, comfortable state of relaxed alertness.

In meditation we are without the normal business of our bodies and minds (thoughts, movements, sounds.) Instead we are physically still. The only movement is what’s necessary to breathe. And our thoughts are fewer and slower. Thoughts are normal but they bring with them varying degrees of stress, so during meditation the fewer the better. It requires a low level of consciousness or awareness to “quiet the mind” as desired by meditation. The lack of thoughts equals fewer opportunities to be stressed by thinking which equates to feeling at ease—without stress. An easy pose is one that is comfortable enough to bring on the sensation of ease without allowing us to fall asleep.

Sitting cross-legged on the floor, a stack of blankets, or a meditation cushion IS a comfortable pose for some. Others may need to sit in a chair with feet flat on the floor or lie back on a stack of pillows or a bolster to keep the body from lying completely flat. As long as we are physically at ease, our breath and thoughts will eventually join in and calm down. This is “sukha” or being without the suffering implied by the stress or “dukha” of physical movement and mental stimulation.

The honest challenge is developing the stamina to remain in this position of ease for a particular length of time. Practice, practice, practice and the body will gradually remember its state of comfort and be more cooperative when asked to be still. Remember our bodies and minds are very practiced at zooming all the time. The opposite is challenging (dukha) but rewarding (sukha.) This is balance.

What is your “easy pose”?

Meanwhile, remember to look for a digital or print copy of Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity at Who Dares Wins Publishing, http://whodareswinspublishing.com.

And check out these great blogs for ideas to keep your writing and publishing healthy and prosperous.

http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/ Bob Mayer

http://jenniholbrooktalty.wordpress.com/ Jenni Holbrook

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/ Kristen Lamb

http://inspiration4writers.blogspot.com/ Inspiration for Writers, Inc.

http://pentopublish.blogspot.com/ Natalie Markey

Have you subscribed to this Writer Wellness blog yet? Get email updates when a new post is added. Click “subscribe” and leave your email. That’s it and thanks in advance!

Be well, write well.

Thursday Thought: National Poem In Your Pocket Day

Posted on by Joy Held

There are five primary areas of practice to the Writer Wellness plan. Every other week I will post an idea for relaxation (Monday Meditation,) creative play (Tuesday Tickle,) fitness and exercise (Wednesday Workout,) journaling and misc. (Thursday Thought,) and nutrition (Friday Feast.)

 Even if you aren’t much of a poet yourself, you can take part in the very civilized and very literary National Poem In Your Pocket day today (April 14, 2011.) The promotions explain it this way:

 The idea is simple: Select a poem, pocket it, carry it, and share it with family, friends, and coworkers throughout the day.

 The Academy of American Poets sponsors this activity and have free poems to download just for your pocket.

http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/406

 Here’s what I’m carrying in my pocket today:

“To Save The Glen”

How soft the morning mist of Glens,

How quiet the raging, howling winds.

The Id repose to praise and thanks,

But all are not amiss these ranks.

La Sola rise to mark the start,

In trade and deed to show our smart.

September 11 steals the stage,

The Universe convulsed with rage.

A mighty clash of dark and light,

The former struck, the latter fight.

Visions and words impart the horror,

Innocence and peace denied the Moor.

Thy sheath is bared; they steed is clothed,

Our light is set to right the loath.

The Glen erupts, the light blaze bright

Now Heavens ROAR with rockets might.

So, Id must choose twix light and dark—

To save the Glen or lose our mark.

~George A. Gunter, Jr. (1933-2007)

 What poem will you share today?

Meanwhile, remember to look for a digital or print copy of Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity at Who Dares Wins Publishing, http://whodareswinspublishing.com.

And check out these great blogs for ideas to keep your writing and publishing healthy and prosperous.

http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/ Bob Mayer

http://jenniholbrooktalty.wordpress.com/ Jenni Holbrook

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/ Kristen Lamb

http://inspiration4writers.blogspot.com/ Inspiration for Writers, Inc.

 http://pentopublish.blogspot.com/ Natalie Markey

Be well, write well.

Wednesday Workout: Yoga Is Accessible

Posted on by Joy Held

 

There are five primary areas of practice to the Writer Wellness plan. Every other week I will post an idea for relaxation (Monday Meditation,) creative play (Tuesday Tickle,) fitness and exercise (Wednesday Workout,) journaling and misc. (Thursday Thought,) and nutrition (Friday Feast.)

The physical component of yoga is called “hatha yoga.” The word “hatha” is Sanskrit for physical. There are essentially 24 basic poses in yoga and many, many variations on them thus creating hundreds of poses all together. There are also ways to modify the basic poses so anyone can participate in some level of hatha yoga. This is where yoga therapy comes into play. All yoga is therapeutic in a sense because of the breathing, stretching and mental practices, but the physical acts of the poses, also called asanas, can be changed up slightly to make them accessible to some persons with disabilities.

Disclaimer alert: this article is not meant to replace the guidance of your health care practitioner. Always consult such persons before engaging in activity to be sure your condition warrants participation in an organized exercise regime of any kind.

That said, besides talking with your doctor first, here are three books to give you an idea of what might be available to you.

Recovery Yoga, A Practical Guide for Chronically Ill, Injured, and Post-Operative People, Sam Dworkis, Three Rivers Press, New York, 1997. This book covers breathing and movements in a variety of positions. Once you have understood any limitations your doctor recommends, you can choose exercises done sitting, standing, lying down, and on the floor. Dworkis is an Iyengar trained yoga teacher and the B.K.S. Iyengar tradition of hatha yoga originated the practice of modifying yoga poses through the use of props such as chairs and bolsters. His program is called Extension Yoga.

http://www.extensionyoga.com/

Yoga As Medicine, The Yogic Prescription For Health and Healing, Timothy McCall, M.D., Bantam, New York, 2007. McCall is a doctor and a yoga practitioner and the medical consultant for Yoga Journal Magazine. It includes practice routines and advice on using yoga to help with several conditions such as back pain, cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, fibromyalgia, and multiple sclerosis.

http://www.drmccall.com/

Yoga for Movement Disorders, Rebuilding Strength, Balance and Flexibility for Parkinson’s Disease and Dystonia, Renee Le Verrier, BS, RYT, Merit Publishing International, Florida, 2009. The author of this book suffers from Parkinson’s Disease and practices what she preaches. Every pose is prop assisted and the system is explained very clearly. The photos are very clear and the poses are adaptable to more than Parkinson’s. Highly recommended.

http://meritpublishing.com/

My book Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity includes chapters on yoga for writers. Basic poses like Triangle are shown modified in Writer Wellness for use by persons other than writers. Best wishes to you for continued health through movement. Have you found an interesting way to keep physically active?

Meanwhile, remember to look for a digital or print copy of Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity at Who Dares Wins Publishing, http://whodareswinspublishing.com.

And check out these great blogs for ideas to keep your writing and publishing healthy and prosperous.

http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/ Bob Mayer

http://jenniholbrooktalty.wordpress.com/ Jenni Holbrook

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/ Kristen Lamb

http://inspiration4writers.blogspot.com/ Inspiration for Writers, Inc.

http://pentopublish.blogspot.com/ Natalie Markey

Be well, write well.

Monday Meditation: Am I Meditating?

Posted on by Joy Held

There are five primary areas of practice to the Writer Wellness plan. Every other week I will post an idea for relaxation (Monday Meditation,) creative play (Tuesday Tickle,) fitness and exercise (Wednesday Workout,) journaling and misc. (Thursday Thought,) and nutrition (Friday Feast.)

“Success is never a destination—it’s a journey.”                                ~Satenig St. Marie,

Unless we have a homemade brain wave monitoring machine, we usually don’t have the means to measure our level of success with meditation in a scientific sense. We can feel certain changes and measure them to a degree. The average meditation journey should experience three specific measurable stages:

1.Tension-this is where we notice just how tight our jaw bones are, how sore our backs are and how busy our minds tend to be

2.Letting go-this is when we notice some of the tension releasing and our breathing is slowing down

3.THERE-this is when we become aware of very few things, less and less bothers us physically and mentally we realize our thoughts have slowed down, and we can control whether or not we want to follow monkey mind down its ragged path. We do not follow monkey mind.

These stages coincide with brain wave activity.

Tension = Beta (busy, busy, busy mind)

Letting go = Alpha (focused awareness on our breath and what it’s doing, fewer thoughts)

THERE = Theta (just about to cross the hazy boundary into slumber-ville)

Sleep isn’t meditation as I’ve said before, and theta is the gatekeeper of sleep so the goal is to remain relaxed and aware at the alpha level. Regardless of how messy the day has been, a successful meditation session need only give us a conscious pause from the issues we’re dealing with and that’s enough. Yep. It only takes a few minutes a day to meditate successfully. But what does a successful meditation practice “feel” like?

This brings up the question of goals. Should we have goals where meditation is concerned? Is it better to let things take their course and follow along? Like yoga, meditation is a blend of healthy balance. It’s right to set a goal to meditate for a specific amount of time each day. It’s right to practice particular habits like sitting still and watching breath flow. But it isn’t right to set expectations beyond the realm of the realistic. Why? Because unlike measuring the fact that our brain activity actually slows down during meditation, it creates more stress to attach a measurement or a benchmark for meditation. “If I don’t find perfect peace in my life in three months of meditating, I failed and will give up meditating.” Or “I should notice a major shift in my actions in a set period of time, and if I don’t I will stop meditating because it just isn’t for me.” These are normal examples of our “quick fix”, I-want-it-now mind sets and this doesn’t work with meditation. With meditation, the less you expect, the more you receive.

To answer the question of what successful meditation feels like, beyond the physical and mental releases (which may not feel gigantic, but they occur,) the positive results of regular meditation show themselves in our everyday actions. We are more patient. We smile more. We laugh bigger. We appreciate little things more. We share more. We hold the door more often. We focus better on other projects when our brains are challenged. We are healthier. We are brave. We trust more. We think the best first. We are less critical of ourselves and others. We are more accepting. We are more loving. We are more truthful. We are more understanding. We are more creative. We are more of who we were meant to be.

But it’s a long journey worth every step. Do you have any meditation stories to share from your journey?

Meanwhile, remember to look for a digital or print copy of Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity at Who Dares Wins Publishing, http://whodareswinspublishing.com.

And check out these great blogs for ideas to keep your writing and publishing healthy and prosperous.

http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/ Bob Mayer

http://jenniholbrooktalty.wordpress.com/ Jenni Holbrook

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/ Kristen Lamb

http://inspiration4writers.blogspot.com/ Inspiration for Writers, Inc.

http://pentopublish.blogspot.com/ Natalie Markey

Be well, write well.

Monday Meditation: Lessons In Living

Posted on by Joy Held

 

There are five primary areas of practice to the Writer Wellness plan. Every other week I will post an idea for relaxation (Monday Meditation,) creative play (Tuesday Tickle,) fitness and exercise (Wednesday Workout,) journaling and misc. (Thursday Thought,) and nutrition (Friday Feast.)

We are each living our daily lives as we would like to experience our deaths.

“Whoa! Hold on,” you’re saying. “I don’t like to think about dying. I’ll deal with it when it happens.”

It happens a little to everyone every day. Awareness of that tiny fact creates a huge relief in those who notice it. Yoga has a particular gift in this area. It’s a pose called ‘Savasana’ which is Sanskrit for ‘corpse pose.’ The end of every decent hatha yoga class is spent in this one pose for up to 20 minutes. My students call it “the present at the end of the yoga workout party” because with practice ‘Savasana’ is truly a gift on many levels. One of those levels is the practice of our death.

“Okay, too morbid for me. Next blog, please.” 

That’s the normal reaction to a discussion of death. But this is a discussion of the appreciation of life.

I was raised in a ballet school and had to perform on stage quite a bit. Recitals, “The Nutcracker”, and benefit performances used to make me nervous. As a young dancer, I sometimes got so ill I couldn’t go on with the show. Nowadays that’s called “performance anxiety” and the study of it has shown that sufficient preparation and practice of an activity completely alleviates the stress caused by having to perform in front of an audience. I taught myself to practice more often and rehearse my dances in my mind over and over by visualizing the movements night after night before falling asleep. When it came time to perform, no sick stomach or sweats, just a great experience for me and the audience. The dedicated repetition in the studio and in my mind gave me the confidence to perform without tension and without worrying about the expectations. I knew I was doing the best job I possibly could because I had practiced a lot. 

In his brilliant book The Inner Tradition of Yoga, A Guide to Yoga Philosophy for the Contemporary Practitioner, author and psychotherapist Michael Stone explores some of how ‘Savasana’ is an honest, stress-free practice of “life structured by death.” In a pure and simple sense we all make daily living choices that lead us along the path of how we will experience our endings. In the regular practice of corpse pose we gently, slowly, and gradually choose in a small way to live and pass peacefully and with respect toward our world and others. Relaxing deeply in the gift of corpse pose at the end of a good hatha session is an opportunity to make a tiny practice about how we would like to leave this existence. It’s normal to resist death but the miniscule and regular practice of accepting it peacefully builds a reserve in our mind. We can call on those peaceful reserves when faced with stressful expectations and the results will be better for all concerned.

According to Stone, “Yoga teaches us that the dance of all we perceive happens in front of awareness, not inside or behind it.” Yoga helps us practice the dance in front of the audience and with repetition we are not afraid. About the two arenas of life and death he adds, “The ‘practice of dying’ is a matter of learning to live the tension ‘in between’ these two dimensions of existence.” Corpse pose enables us to experience a small death with appreciation for living because after the pose we are graciously given the opportunity to stretch our arms and legs, take a deep breath, and go back to our world. The idea is to take the appreciations learned on the mat in corpse pose and practice those lessons in our lives off the mat.

Visit Michael Stone

http://centreofgravity.org/

Learning to appreciate corpse pose as more than a physical relaxation is learning gratitude for life. Don’t be afraid.

Meanwhile, remember to look for a digital or print copy of Writer Wellness, A Writer’s Path to Health and Creativity at Who Dares Wins Publishing, http://whodareswinspublishing.com.

And check out these great blogs for ideas to keep your writing and publishing healthy and prosperous. 

http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/ Bob Mayer

http://jenniholbrooktalty.wordpress.com/ Jenni Holbrook 

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/ Kristen Lamb 

http://inspiration4writers.blogspot.com/ Inspiration for Writers, Inc.

http://pentopublish.blogspot.com/ Natalie Markey

 Be well, write well.