How can Vulnerability Help Me Connect with Others?

We all want to connect with other people but sometimes it can be hard.  We are afraid – afraid of failure, afraid of what other people might think of us, afraid of being vulnerable.  According to Dr. Brené Brown, a research professor at the University of Houston, Graduate College of Social Work, vulnerability may be the key to connecting with other people and living an authentic life.  Rather than playing it safe, we need to let go of shame and fear and take a chance. 

Yoga can help us to accept ourselves as we are now.  Breathing and meditation can help to calm our anxieties and allow ourselves to be vulnerable.

Click on the link below to watch her Tedx video for a light-hearted explanation.  Enjoy.

Brene Brown Tedx Houston

 

“Someday” Papers

I had a few comments from my last blog about what to do with those “Some Day” papers.  In case you missed the post, these are the pages that we accumulate (mostly from magazines) with inspiration, great ideas and items for our to-do list.  Examples of my own papers include the latest fall trends in fashion and home décor, yummy looking recipes, how to put together an emergency kit and the current best 25 foods to eat.   It’s often the case of my eyes being bigger than my stomach.  The idea looks great but the actual doing gets lost in my to-do list.

So what to do?  Here are some tips which I am planning to follow myself;

·  Before ripping that page out, what are you going to do with it?  Be realistic here.  Do you have the time to actually make that gourmet meal?  As amazing as those stuffed mushrooms look, do you even eat mushrooms?  Is this information that you already know and don’t need to have in paper form such as the fact that broccoli is a super food?

·  Schedule the page in your calendar.  Add the recipe to your meal plan or the must-have jacket to your seasonal shopping list.  Put the great new book on hold at the library or order it online.  Try out that interesting yoga tip and if you like it, add it to your practice.

·  If this was a page that you ripped out for someone else, scan it, email it and trash it.  Do it now!  The longer it sits on your desk, the less likely you are to do it.  Then it’s just clutter.

·  Create “Collection” files.  I have a file for Recipes to Try and another for yoga research that I plan to incorporate into future classes.

How do you deal with these papers?  Post any suggestions in the Comments section.

The Simplicity of Yoga

I have been enamored with books about Simplicity lately.  One of my favourites is Leo Babauta’s book “The Power of Less”.  Many books about organization and simplicity talk about organizing financial records in files and getting rid of clothes.  However, none of them tell me what to do with all of those pages that I have ripped from magazines.  Each page has a great idea that I’m going to get to “someday”.  Anything to do with yoga goes into my “someday” pile.  All of the clutter adds complexity to my life – both physically and mentally.  Yoga is a wonderful way to deal with the mental clutter.

Yoga is a model of simplicity.  It requires no special clothing, equipment or space to practice.  Blocks can help to do a pose properly and bolsters are certainly helpful for relaxation in a restorative pose.  Books, pillows and bathrobe belts can easily be substituted in as yoga props.  Yoga mats aren’t even necessary.  However, my mat is one accessory that I probably wouldn’t give up.  Knowing that I’m not lying on a dirty floor in Savasana definitely helps me relax. 

Yoga can be done anywhere – inside, outside, Canada, China, hot places, cold places, on the floor and in a chair.  I sound like Dr. Seuss now.  But it’s true.  People practice yoga in studios, offices, their homes, nursing homes, hospitals and jails.  Any place is a good place.

The reality is that I don’t need anything to practice.  Simple.

P.S.  Please don’t tell my husband that I don’t actually need my lovely Lululemon clothes to practice yoga.

Fall Yoga Classes starting Sept 13

3 great classes at Breathe Into Motion located at 25 Milling Road, 2nd Floor (Hespeler)

Yoga For Anxiety Reduction - Tuesdays at 7:30 pm and Fridays at 9:30 am - 14 week session starting Sept 13.

Prenatal Yoga Classes – Tuesdays at 6 pm – 14 week session starting Sept 13.

Register at www.breatheintomotion.com.

Yoga on a Surf Board?

Continuing on styles of yoga … this isn’t exactly a style but definitely a new twist.  A Collingwood studio, Buddha Rider, is offering Stand Up Paddle Board Yoga.  Check out this link for some pictures.  Haven’t heard of stand-up paddling?  It’s a long forgotten Hawaiian sport that has supposedly just been rediscovered.  You stand on an oversized board that is bigger than a surf board and use a long paddle to propel yourself around – no need for waves.  I have seen people doing this at Wasaga beach and it is the latest celebrity craze in California. Experts can also surf the big waves when they come along.

The yoga twist is to paddle out into open water and practice various yoga poses on the board.  While I haven’t tried it yet, I can see that it is definitely a test of balance and would develop strength as well.  I don’t know whether I will brave this one or not.  Please let me know if you try it and what you think.

How Can Yoga Help Me?

Let me count the ways.  According to Timothy McCall, M.D. in the book, Yoga As Medicine, there are at least 40 ways that Yoga heal can us.  I won’t list all 40 here but will give you my top 10 from the list. 

1.       Increases flexibility

2.       Strengthens muscles

3.       Improves balance

4.       Improves immune function

5.       Improves posture

6.       Strengthens bones

7.       Promotes weight loss

8.       Relaxes the nervous system

9.       Lowers levels of the stress hormone cortisol

10.   Encourages involvement in your own healing

The wonderful thing about yoga is that these benefits are available to all of us no matter our age, shape or size.  I have personally experience all 10 of the above benefits.

How has yoga helped you?

Digital Yoga

I’m in the midst of reading a book that talks about how the internet and the net generation have changed our world.  This is as true for yoga as well. 

While the fundamentals of yoga have not changed, the presentation and knowledge availability has.  When I started practicing yoga, I learned the poses from books and classes that were taught in person.  Video tapes and DVDs were the next steps in the knowledge available although their numbers were limited.  Today, there is an abundance of information available on the internet about every possible type of yoga philosophy and pose.  With blogs and You Tube, we can now learn from all of our favourite teachers around the world at any time of the day.  If you aren’t able to make it to a yoga conference, there’s a good chance that someone has posted some content from it online.  If you have questions, you can pose them on social media sites or blogs.

I love reading about different yoga philosophies and approaches to poses on the internet.  I have also learned many new approaches and variations on poses through You Tube.  Anyone can make and post a video online which is both good and bad.  The good side is that you don’t need to be rich and famous to share your yoga skills.  The down side is that there really is a lot of content to sift through, some better than others.

As much as I love all the information out there, it doesn’t take the place of personal one-on-one attention from a yoga teacher.  The small adjustments that my yoga teacher makes during class have made a huge difference to my alignment and enjoyment of the poses.  The personal touch of a hands-on adjustment is also valuable in reinforcing what is being taught.  There are a couple of adjustments that my teacher often makes in Savasana that can never be replaced through the internet.  And they really do make a difference to my enjoyment of the class.

I’m always looking for great sites.  What are your favourite yoga blogs and You Tube videos?