I looked at the calendar today, and lo and behold, the 2-day Avon Walks’ for Breast Cancer are right around the corner!

As a survivor, I have to do my part and put this reminder out there.  The first weekend event is scheduled for April 4-5 in Houston, Texas.  There are nine events scheduled across the nation, including: Washington, DC; Boston; Chicago; Rocky Mountains; San Francisco; Los Angeles; New York and Charlotte.

The money raised goes to breast cancer research, and helping under-insured women and men receive the care they need.

To learn more and sign-up (please!), go to Avon’s Walk for Breast Cancer website. 

Thank you for your support and peace.

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Post from: Blisstree

Your Chance to Help Fight Breast Cancer is Coming Soon!

“Bellyfit: Strong Women, Strong World.”  I love it!  I am sad to say that this fitness phenom is not available in the U.S. (girls, can you send it south?). 

According to the website, “Bellyfit is the fusion fitness experience for women that blends the power and wisdom of ancient cultures, with the research, technology and trends of the modern world.” 

During the first half hour of a Bellyfit class, instructors mix belly dance, Bollywood, Bhangra and African dance. The second half of class focuses on Pilates moves, yoga stretches and Mudra meditation.  How awesome is that?

Bellyfit is based on the principle of diversity, and was created by a woman who left an abusive, difficult life and developed this unique and inspiring program.   So jealous my Canadian friends can enjoy this, wish we had it in the states, too.

To learn more about this unique workout, click here.  I may have to drive across the border to get an
up-close look at what this is all about.  Anyone out there who has tried it, I’d love to hear more about it.

Sounds like a really fun, great idea.

Peace.

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Post from: Blisstree

Bellyfit–I Want It!

Want a great stretch that focuses on the feet?

It’s easy, quick and effective, and if you run or walk a lot, it’s a wonderful way to stretch your heels.

Downward Facing Dog–Heels Down

-With your back facing the wall, bend from the Downward Facing Dog, bringing your heels up against the wall

-Adjust your feet so your heels press into the wall, and your toes remain on the floor

-Don’t worry if your feet don’t completely touch the floor at first, they will get there over time

-Press your pelvis and tailbone up into the air and towards the wall

-Make sure your weight is evenly distributed between your hands

-Continue to keep reaching your chest toward your knees

-Hold the pose with your legs up one minute or longer

-When you’re finished, bend your knees and return them to the floor

Just like the Hamstring Stretch, this is a great pose for runners, especially if your heels bear the brunt of your runs.

You’ll find your feet feel nicely stretched and relaxed in no time.

Peace.

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Post from: Blisstree

A Great Stretch for Your Feet

I’m getting ready to run a half-marathon in May, and even though I am not going all the way this year, I am finding that running and yoga are not only a great fitness combo for health, but some of the stretching and yoga poses really come in handy during training.

Even to this day, my legs tend to get stiff after a long run.  I thought that after a few years of this, the stiffness would go away, but it hasn’t totally.

One of my favorite stretches for my legs is a Standing Hamstring Stretch.  Here’s the run-through (sorry, bad pun):

-Place a chair in front of you

-Raise your right leg onto the seat of the chair, with your knee pointing upward, hips level, and quadriceps fully engaged

-Deepen the stretch, leaning forward from the hips into the bend

-Hold anywhere from 30 seconds up to several minutes

It’s that simple and that easy.  I now do this before and after my runs as part of my warm-up and cool down.

See ya on the road!

Peace.

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Post from: Blisstree

Running and Yoga: Stretch Your ‘Strings

Do you experience tenderness or pain along your sciatic nerve?  It’s not an uncommon pain.  The longest nerves in our bodies, there are two sciatic nerves, one in each of our legs.

These nerves originate from several nerve roots that exit the spinal cord.  Whether you’re active or not, at some point along the way you might feel the discomfort that comes from these nerves being aggravated in some way.

Here’s a post that can help.  It’s the Simple Seated Spinal Twist:

-Sit on the floor cross-legged

-Keep your right knee pointed forward and on the floor

-Bring your left leg up, bending at the knee 

-Lean slightly to the left, distributing your weight equally onto both sitting bones

-As you twist to the left, gently pull your left knee toward your right chest, resisting the pull by pressing your knee into your hand

-Hold this pose from 30 seconds up to several minutes

That’s it.  Work this into your practice if you are experiencing discomfort in your sciatic nerve, and you will soon see some relief.

Peace.

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Post from: Blisstree

Feeling Sciatic Pain? Try a Simple Seated Twist

It makes sense, but this I did not know.  The most productive time for us to try and detox our bodies is during a full moon.

Why?  Because the full moon pulls not only at the waters in our oceans, but also those within our bodies, which makes this an easier time for us to release toxins.

The full moon is also believed to be the best time for us to begin a spiritual practice.

To see a calendar of the full moons through 2010, click here.  You’ll find the dates and the specific times of day when the moon enters this phase.  Our next full moon is March 10, so you have about 10 days to plan your next detox!  Talk about a healthy “save the date..”

Peace.

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Post from: Blisstree

Trying to Detox? Shoot for the Moon

Ever wonder why you feel bloated, have acid reflux or indigestion?  Well, to a certain extent it’s because you’re not digesting your food properly.

Here’s a little yogic tip that might help you ease some of these symptoms before you eat.

Breathe.  That’s right, breathe.  We’re all rushing around most days before we sit down and eat, which pushes our nervous systems into the “fight or flight” mode.  Unfortunately, for a lot of us, actually sitting down and eating a meal is a luxury. That’s just not healthy, and can leave you feeling quite uncomfortable.

But when we feel safe and relaxed, we’re better able to do a lot of things, including digesting our food properly.

So before you begin your next meal, sit down, relax and take several deep, diaphragmatic breaths.  You’ll find you digest your food more easily, and experience far less bloating and indigestion.

Peace.

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Post from: Blisstree

Sitting Down to Dinner? Take a Deep Breath!

I am constantly in a battle with myself, over myself.  Seriously.  One minute, I am feeling strong and confident, but the next–after listening to someone else’s negative interpretation of a situation–I find myself slipping right back into the negativity.

I know I shouldn’t, I know it is a lot of noise I should just tune out, but It can be challenging to do so.  I can attribute this bad habit to a small extent to being single and living alone–at least that’s part of it. I often sink into deep thought about work, my life, etc., because I lead a quiet, thought-filled life.  But that’s a good thing, too.  I just need to train myself to think and focus on the positive more than I do.

Meditation is helping me with this.  I am allowing my mind to take me wherever it wants to go, and logging those thoughts as i go.  It is very revealing.  Based on my “thought logs,” I have been able to detect which situations bubble up to the surface the most to my conscious mind.  I have disciplined myself to then sit down and really think through each item, and how it could manifest in my life–both good and bad–and what steps I can take to help guide myself to a more positive outcome.

I don’t know about you, but my brain doesn’t seem to ever turn off, so I have a lot to work with   It really is making a difference, though, and is making me a lot more effective when it comes to dealing with difficult situations in my life.

I really encourage you to give it a try.  So often our thoughts can incorrectly direct us to a less than positive outcome, because we allow them to overwhelm us, and become self-fulfilling prophecies. 

Instead of tuning them out, work with them.  It can be a little scary sometimes, but it is so much better to take a solutions-based approach to managing your emotions and thoughts than to allow them to shape your destiny in a less than desirable way. 

Peace.

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Post from: Blisstree

Turn Down the Negativity

It’s human nature to bristle against change.  Whether you’re facing a job loss, illness, or the death of a close friend or family member, change can be tough.

But meditation and focusing on the present can really help.  Helping yourself adjust to change can be as easy as making a list.  Think about what has changed in your life over the past six months or even days.  You can probably come up with a number of things.  They can be as simple as losing a few pounds, changing your hairstyle or a new friend that you’ve made. Life changes, and we should become comfortable with it, not push against it.

The concept of nonattachment goes directly to this concept of change.  Learning not to become attached to people, situations, anything is healthy.  You might think it’s important to develop attachments, whether it’s to the people in your life, your job or even your car.  And even though nonattachment sounds sort of unappealing and scary, it can be very fulfilling.  It releases you from the limits that normally surround us, and allows us to see life as a force that moves through us, not something we must expend our time and energy trying to control. 

When we embrace impermanence or nonattachment, we embrace the concept of no self–which helps us lose the egotistical ”I.”  It will take some time to get there, and many never will.  But our pursuit of this less self-centered approach to life is healthy either way.  To ultimately lose the “I” means we have reached nirvana–and that would be a truly beautiful thing.  But sometimes the getting there can be just as rewarding. 

Peace.

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Post from: Blisstree

Move Into the Present–Embrace Change

We all know our lives can be stressful.  We all realize activities like yoga, meditation, exercise and pursuing hobbies help us reduce our stress.

But in some areas of our lives, stress is inescapable.  Mindfulness and awareness aside, we all need a little help recognizing these stessors so we can cope with them in a healthy way.

I’ve talked about journaling here from time to time.  And because I try not to think about work 24/7 (though it is not working lately), I didn’t make the connection to my journaling about it and focusing on it in my practice so clearly until recently.  A health scare, and the subsequent–and stern–advice from my physician and a nurse practitioner to remove myself more from such stressful situations as much as possible is something I personally need to take a lot more seriously.

So I am.  Where does journaling come in?  Well, the journaling is helping me recognize what Buddhists call the “spark before the flame,” or that point before I switch into hyper-stress mode, stop myself, and decide whether or not I really, truly need to react. 

Yoga and meditation both help with this as well, and I would not be able to effectively stop myself many times if I had not built a strong practice of patience through both of these activities. 

I think we do need to stop ourselves.  Often we suffer from moving too quickly in this fast-paced world, making hasty, emotional decisions and often paying a price for them.  Sometimes a heavy price.  It is tough not to get stressed, but getting to know ourselves, and really approaching our individual practices of mindfulness and awareness in a methodical way, like writing down our thoughts and how we feel at just that moment when stress climbs on board is critically important.  If you really want to get to know yourself and improve your lfe it’s something you have to teach yourself to do.  It’s that simple.  And it can begin with a pen and a piece of paper.

It’s working for me.  I think it will work for you.  Afte all, I was about four years old when my mother first told me she was going to get me a string of worry beads to run through my little fingers to help me relax.  If a lifelong worrier can help themselves, than you can too.

Peace.

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Post from: Blisstree

The Spark Before the Flame