Yoga in November
week beginning Monday 4th November
Namaste all,
Yoga this month will be focussing on the moments of stress and anxiety that generally arises with the forthcoming emergence of winter and of course the inevitable Christmas festivities which can become the cause of many stresses and strains!
If we prepare in advance however connecting to body, breath and mind we can make a difference to ourselves from ourselves!
For that reason I am running a restorative yoga day retreat on Sunday 1st December. See flyer for details and do let me know if you are interested via email asap as places go quickly!
What Happens to the body when we feel anxious or stressed and ow else can we help ourselves during stressful times?
When we are stressed or experiencing difficulties consider the following:
What happens in the body?
What happens in the mind?
What happens in our actions?
We get hijacked by the amygdalae and have no choice when the chemicals have been triggered but to go into the fight, flight or freeze response in the body which in the long term will cause damage to the organs of the body and the body itself.
Before we get hijacked by the amygdalae and before the primitive part of our brain fires the chemicals in the first place what can we do to help ourselves?
How can we help ourselves and can we use mindfulness?
Mindfulness means that we have to notice first of all where we are feeling the stress – where is the stress signature in the body being felt?
What sensations are in the body and can we be with the sensations of discomfort without being drawn into them?
If we can get that far can we then notice where are thoughts are and what they are doing again without getting drawn into the thought traffic – is it possible to just observe our thoughts like traffic on a busy road?
Then finally, can we notice the breath?
Where is the breath being felt most easily in that difficult moment?
Is the breath fast or slow, shallow or deep?
Can you feel the pause at the end of the in breath and the end of the out breath?
Can you allow the connection to the breath to continue for several moments?
Can we turn towards the difficult feelings, allow them to be there and BREATHE?
In short can we BE rather than DO (try to fix the difficulty)?
After all we are human beings not human doings!
Can we learn to CHOOSE to RESPOND rather than auto-pilot REACT?
In the words of Rumi can we;
“Welcome and entertain them all even if they are a crowd of sorrows”
We can but practice using the tools of mindfulness to help us first of all to NOTICE that we have habitual patterns of thought and our habitual REACTIONS. The more we practise noticing our patterns the easier it becomes to change the patterns – after all
“Pain is only a thought! Just a thought and I can change a thought”
This was said to me many years ago by my then 19 year old son and it has stayed in my thoughts since then – a thought is just a thought! And yes, thoughts can be changed and if we practice noticing them to begin with then we can release them of their power and change our thoughts!
So, let’s begin! Where are you feeling your body sensations in this moment? Where is your mind? Where is your breath?
Happy Mindful Awareness! Happy being able to connect within and Happy breathing into calm!
Namaste
Sue xx