Olympic Summer Here we go!

Image compliments of DepositPhotos.com 

http://depositphotos.com/1900259/stock-photo-Flowers-as-a-symbol-of-Olympic-rings.html

It's an Olympic Summer and I'm an official Olympics addict.  I've created a fun wellness program for my company (day job) that I'm going to give a trial run.  I've set a goal for the next eight weeks to get myself ready for my favorite sporting event and I will be tracking my progress here.

My goal: To get my heart pumping every day.

 I want to be clear about what that means.  I'm going to get my heart pumping every day to the best of my ability.  Should life get in the way, I'm going to make my best effort.  If I can't get all the way there on a given day, it's probably because I'm stressed and running around and working too hard!  I'm going to give myself credit for taking care of my stress on those days.

My first task is to choose a non-profit to get a nominal donation if I make it all the way.  This will help me get out of my chair and get moving for at least a good ten minute session.  By doing my best, I am also supporting Central Vermont Home & Hospice Services.  I'll be making a donation to them at the end of the program.

Day 1 was yesterday... I pulled up to the gym after a day of meetings with only ten minutes before I had to leave to pick up my son at daycare.  So, I walked the parking lot for ten minutes.  Later I walked a huge hill on my road.  It was a nice way to digest dinner.

I haven't posted about yoga at all!  I'm still doing yin, kundalini, bikram, meditation and more... when life allows!  Peace, all.

Edited to add... Day 2: 10 minutes on the stair climber!  Ouch.  How am I dripping with sweat and can hear my heartbeat in my ears from 10 minutes?!?!

Intrinsic Thinking

image compliments of wikipedia

It's been a long busy while between postings!

Manny is now almost 10.5 months old and is no longer a baby... he's a little boy.  He's his own post, so let's just call him and motherhood amazing (most of the time.)

I went to a fabulous conference in Vermont, the Governor's Awards for Worksite Wellness - this is the annual de facto wellness conference for all of Vermont.  The keynote speaker was Dr. Rosie Ward (http://drrosieward.com/) and she talked a lot about the difference between telling people what to do vs. leading them to their own wisdom in a collaborative environment.  The first treats others as inferiors and oneself as superior, the one with the expertise.  The second way invites a partnership of equals, in which the student is thought of as whole, and contains the knowledge and directions to get where he or she wants to go.

I hope to use some of these leading questions as I teach and as I work with myself in my own practice.

Recently, my practice has been such a boon for me.  I have started doing an hour of yin yoga whenever I can squeeze it in.  Yin is a practice of holding floor poses for 3-5 minutes at a time.  It really puts me into "receiving" mode (as opposed to should/doing/thinking mode, which is absolutely my default.)

Once I quiet down, I find that I can connect with my breath and get into a meditative state through Yin practice or through meditation itself.  My bikram practice has been more spotty recently as I haven't been able to get to the studio as much as usual.  However, the work I've been doing, which I would have thought before as "not doing much" - lying around on the floor yoga takes a long time and doesn't burn calories (but it does tone the organs and stimulate the flow of energy!) has cleared my mind and allowed me to fall into the flow much more than anything else I've ever done.

I find myself more relaxed and less attached to creating the outcome I desire.  

Any time I find myself thinking of what to say next as opposed to listening in a spirit of service these days, I try to breathe and get back to center.  

Progress in lotus and splits!!