A Beginner's Mind

“If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything, it is open to everything. In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's mind there are few. ” 
― Shunryu Suzuki

I recently started running. It's really hard. One would think that because I do yoga I could just get up and run a couple of miles, right? No way. I am using this iPhone training app that talks you through a run-walk routine 3 times a week. The idea being that you can eventually build up to longer runs. We will see.

During this first week of running,  I've been thinking a lot about when I was just starting yoga and how hard and daunting it seemed. I was thinking how it's not the yoga that has changed or even that I've progressed really in my practice. A lot of it has to do with how well I know my body and how it responds to certain poses. I know, for example, that my left hip is tighter than my right. So in pigeon pose, I sink into my left more. I know that I have 'weird' knees that sometimes hurt when I shift weight onto them suddenly, so I take it more slowly when I am asked to do that in class. I know all of these things through continuous and consistent practice.

With running, I am now a beginner again and I'm trying to understand how my body responds to running - what pace is right for me, how to move my feet and legs and what do with my arms. How to 'stride' and move comfortably through the streets and sidewalks. It all seems so foreign and difficult. I feel like everyone that I run by is looking at me while I am red-faced and gasping for breath - sound familiar?

I think it's important to always remember what it was like to be a beginner no what level you think you are at in everything that you do in life. I think that continuing to have this 'Beginner's Mind' opens up so many possibilities to what you can do and where you can go.

If you think you've already gotten there, what is there to strive to do?

My Summer Body

I have a secret to share. I hate Summer. Every year about this time I begin to fret over a summer wardrobe, particularly over the SWIMSUIT. I become annoyed and jealous of the women that just casually pick up a cute bikini from Target without a care in the world about hiding dimples, stretch marks, and fat. About this time, every year, I think to myself, why didn't I go on a diet, why didn't I start that running routine, why didn't I do more crunches?

Not this year. This year I have resolved to do away with the body issues. Yes, that's right, simply do away with them and push them aside. I am not spending one more minute of my life trying to live up to some pre-conceived, media-driven ideal about how my body should look. Think of it as a diet for the mind. Every time I begin to think and worry about the first time I wear a swimsuit this season, I decide, that instead I'm going to think about the strength that I feel in downward dog, that sense of lightless-ness in a handstand, that euphoria that comes during savasana. My yoga practice has made me strong and fearless in a way that I haven't ever felt in my 38 years of life.

Long ago, I cancelled my subscriptions to the the women's "health" magazines that don't tell you that you are beautiful the way you are, but convince you that you need 'work'. They tell you that you need 3 weeks to get into a bikini, they tell you that you need a juice cleanse in order to 'restart' your metabolism, they tell you that you are fat and ugly. They tell you that simply by putting an unattainably beautiful, photo-shopped girl on the cover. Stop reading those magazines. Don't let people convince you that you need 'work'. You need to live in your body for the rest of life. It is the vessel in which you get to take you through this life. If your body doesn't feel good, if you are not healthy, you know what to do - eat better and exercise. Educate yourself, but don't be fooled by the fake imagery and barbie doll ideal that our society convinces you is the only way your body should look. It's complete nonsense and you know it, so stop believing it.

I know that I am happy, healthy and lucky to have a strong body. I have a body that has birthed two beautiful children, that has stretch marks, cellulite, hips, a pot belly and my husband thinks I am beautiful. I'll bet that someone in your life thinks you are beautiful the way you are too, so don't let 'body image' bring you down this summer. Wear what you what, be comfortable, practice yoga, truly believe that little voice inside your head that tells you that you are an amazing creature just the way you are.

Oh, and make a bonfire on the beach with those magazines.

The Rarity of Disconnection

I went to lunch the other day with my husband and the guys that share his co-working space in Wicker Park. Most of these guys work in the technology industry and the main point of conversation during lunch was the new Google glass. Being the first time I had really heard about this, I was shocked. Why would anyone want to wear glasses around and constantly be 'connected' to emails, texts, the internet? Are we not connected enough already? Then they started to talk about a contact lens that would go in your eye and also connect you to the internet - literally, a computer connected to your body.

All this started me thinking about how rare 'disconnection' is becoming. The times in our everyday, waking lives where we are not checking emails, texts, surfing Facebook is becoming less and less. I would venture to say that the average person probably doesn't go more than 2 hours a day, if that, without being 'connected' somehow. Looking to the future, I anticipate that the experiences that allow this disconnection will become more and more valuable. Right now, the value is placed on connection - Wi-fi, faster internet speeds, more wires, cell phone towers. I believe that in the future, that value will be placed on disconnection - internet 'dead' zones, retreats, getaways, yoga classes. This disconnection will be become more and more elusive and we are going to crave it in our lives even more.

A Guest Blog: A Lesson in Perfection

Written by Becca Wise about her experience with our 30-day challenge......

Life, by nature, is challenging enough.  Once we button up one problem, another is sure to replace it fairly quickly.  Or sometimes, just as we’re feeling so completely overloaded, another bomb drops and we’re forced into a deep dark place we never even thought existed.  I guess I feel pretty fortunate that striving for balance is a main priority in my life.  And this balance comes in the form of yoga, lots and lots of yoga.  So when I was presented with a challenge to attend one yoga class each day for 30 days at Tula Yoga Studio in Logan Square, I thought, “Sure, why not?”  The reward offered by the studio for completing this challenge was a waived monthly membership fee, but I should’ve known that the lessons would reach far beyond this monetary incentive.  The takeaway helped me better understand the concepts of the spiritual practice, including translating the equanimity I take with me after class and back into the real world, which isn’t always filled with sunshine and rainbows, especially during the brutality of winter in the Windy City…

The best part of the challenge was that each and every day, no matter how strong or absent-minded I felt during class, I felt good simply knowing that I was working toward a goal and that I hadn’t given up.  Even when my mind would wander, exacerbating feelings of negativity, blame and guilt, I still had my practice-one thing to feel good about each and every day. The strength of mind and character that I built during the challenge carried over into my real day-to-day life, offering me courage, insight and wisdom.  I was able to challenge myself to say the hard things, to speak up and be heard.  I also began to feel steady progress physically as well.  All of a sudden, I could touch my head to the floor in a wide-legged forward fold and even push my legs up into a headstand!  The more challenging my personal life got throughout the 30 days, the more I went into my breath during practice, keeping my eyes closed through most of the poses and feeling that I was really “getting” what this whole yoga thing was all about.

It shouldn’t have surprised me that my life would continue to balance itself throughout the 30 days.  All of the warmth and positive energy I created inside the studio was counter-balanced by the difficulties presented outside the studio.   There was no reserve of serenity, my life off the mat had literally soaked up every last drop of yoga bliss, pulling me off-center and taking me to a dark, unfamiliar place.   At the time, I felt like my commitment to the 30-day challenge was almost all I had…my only chance to feel good each day.  And I learned that no matter how much yoga I do, nothing will ever be the exact way I want it.  I remain who I am: perfectly imperfect.  The more I struggle for perfection; the more my life pulls me back into reality, wakes me from the unrealistic notion that I can do it all seamlessly, if only I practice yoga each and every day.

Now, after the dust has settled and I am back in a balanced place, I see the effects of my sustained effort much more clearly.  It was a life lesson.  A deep yoga practice doesn’t prevent us from the natural ebbs and flows of life.  Couples have challenges.  Work can be intense.  The magic of yoga lies in the fresh, clear perspective it offers.  If we can learn to accept challenges in our lives and look at them as opportunities, we start to gain wisdom.  And when we truly understand that the one thing for sure in life is change, we’re golden.  Until the next challenge, that is…then we start fresh and learn it all over again.

Perceptions are Reality

In life, our perceptions color our reality. Everyday and in everything we do. We have an initial reaction to something and pre-conceived notions about it immediately. This is hard-wired into our brains and it's how we look for patterns in the world around us. Without patterns, we would need to relearn things over and over each day. On it's face, to say that everyone has perceptions (that may be entirely false) about things or people, sounds like a bad thing. It sounds like something that we need to work on and transcend somehow. But we are all human and this is how we work. Perceptions shape who we are, how we learn to react to things, how we act. In essence, our perceptions create our reality. The key is to recognize that everything is always seen through the individual, unique colored lenses that we each wear and to respect and honor that THAT is what makes up reality.

 

Gettin' Happy

We recently had a screening of the movie Happy in the studio. Really great movie and I highly recommend it to all! Some of the things that I found most fascinating are these:

- 50% of a person's happiness is genetic! What?? I had always believed that we were solely in charge of our own destinies, but it turns out that some people are pre-disposed to be unhappy. But don't despair, there are plenty of things that you can do to turn it around!

- Only 10% of a person's happiness is determined by external factors such as wealth & social status. In fact, they say that once all basic necessities of life are taken care of such as food, water, shelter, the greater wealth you accumulate has little to no baring on whether or not you will be happy in life. The movie cites a stat that says that the difference in happiness between someone who makes $5000 a year and $50,000 a year is exponential, but there is no difference in happiness between someone that makes $50,000 and $50 Million.

- A full 40% of a person's happiness is determined by what a person intentional does in life, how they decide to spend their days and how they think about things. It other words, is completely determined to you.

- Want to be happier? The happiness researchers in the movie suggest 4 things -

1. Exercise regularly - it increases dopamine in the brain and highly contributes to feeling happy.

2. Invest in your community. Again, when people collaborate with one another (on anything positive) and help each other, dopamine secretions skyrocket in the brain! Just getting out, talking with people and being involved in your community can create a feeling similar to a drug-induced euphoria!

3. Meditation - The simple act of turning inward and training your mind to calm down and reflect can leave you with feelings of contentment and general well-being.

4. Finally, there are small things that you can do everyday to increase your overall life happiness - naming one thing that you are grateful for everyday, committing a 'random act of kindness' - like helping an elderly person across the street, feeding an expired parking meter or picking up your neighbor's mail.

So here's to gettin' HAPPY.

Why Every Mom should do Yoga

Parenthood is hard. It can be overwhelming and is all-consuming. Parents are constantly bombarded with media (and friends and family) giving us advice about every aspect of of children's life from the correct shoes to the right schools to healthy foods. Until I had my children, I had always felt confident in the decisions I made, after I had children, I was consistently doubting myself and confused.

I discovered yoga after the birth of my second child. Yes, I was looking for a tighter butt, BUT I was also looking for an outlet to find and center myself with out the demands of motherhood and everyday life. All day and night I was worrying about my children, wondering about the best diapers to use or whether they were eating enough - I needed to take a time out.

After I started to do yoga, these questions and problems that I felt torn about seemed to just melt away. I was more able to connect with my intuition as a parent and know that whatever decision I made was the right one for my children. Yoga connected me with myself. Yoga quieted the noise and advice from the outside just long enough for me to uncover what was already there - the answers.

I think parents (especially moms) make the mistake all the time of wanting or feeling like they need to be with their children 24/7. They think that their children need to be with them all the time. They say they are too busy to take time to do yoga or anything else that involves a certain level of selfishness. Let me tell you - what your children want is for you to be happy. In relationships, we hear the advice that you need to love yourself before you can begin to love anyone else. I think that the same is true in parenthood. You need to take the time out for yourself to be the best parent you can to your children. You need to back away and reconnect with yourself to be better able to make clear parenting decisions and to be able to juggle the demands of children and family life.

So, my advice, take the time to get to yoga class. Connect with your breath, your body and your mind. Do it for yourself and your children.