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Summer vacations are all about good vibes, right? Well, hopefully, but they often bring unpredictability and challenges. Here’s how practicing 1-minute of mindfulness can help you manage the unexpected.
Manage your expectations and reality. Often, we set ourselves up for failure — especially when an experience does’t happen the way planned. Tuning into reality fast will help you adapt.
Mindfulness helps us manage irritations because it brings the present moment to focus. Tension creates problem-solving opportunities. Showing up with compassion is extremely helpful when dealing with family members.
Here are five 1-minute practices to help you get started:
1. Focus on your breath to calm your automatic responses to tension. Dropping the sarcasm and edge in your tone of voice takes practice — so breathe in and breathe out — before you speak.
2. Start your day (and end your day) with a self-hug and an audible, “I love you” says Dr. Shauna Shapiro in her book, Good Morning, I Love You. This cultivates self-love and it just feels good once you get the hang of it.
3. Let it RAIN - Tara Brach created the acronym, RAIN, which cycles through, recognize, allow, investigate, and nurture the moment you are experiencing.
4. Sleep tight with a body scan to help you feel grounded and ready for a good night’s rest.
5. Call it woo-woo, or call it effective, because the Loving Kindness meditation can be beneficial in stressful or anxious times. It begins with repeating this phrase:
May I be happy
May I be healthy
May I be loving kindness and peace
Research shows these meditations change the perception of positive experiences — so you can remember the good stuff and leave the bad bits behind. Happy travels!
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A reminder to parents laboring long summer days…boredom has its virtues. Why experts are saying let the kids get bored this summer. It’s good for them — and you too! Turns out boredom is informative, creative and fulfilling — IF you can bust it! Here’s how it often goes at my house:
Kid: “I’m bored!”
Me: “Oh, goodie!” What a great problem. How will you solve it?
Kid: “I don’t know. There’s nothing to do.”
Me: Okay, nothing is good. If you change your mind, there’s always something to do! Some kids…read, write, dance, craft, make music, do puzzles, play with toys, go outside, meet friends, create something or clean something. I can’t wait to see what you will do!
My children would either come up with something on the spot or sulk away, but they would not come back because they knew boredom is their problem — not mine — and it’s a problem they can solve themselves. It’s also an essential skill because research has shown that without positive outlets, people can be more inclined to engage in harmful behaviors.
Another layer of this challenge is they may ask you to play with them. If you are able to, allocate 10 minutes for this activity, but have them decide what you will do together and give them 5 minutes to prepare for you to arrive. This helps them take initiative and delay gratification. (Use a timer to keep yourself accountable.)
Ten minutes is all you, and they, need to feel connected every day. Of course, there’s always yoga online if you want to move and play together. This way everyone wins. I’ll see you there!
Independence Day is July 4. In the US, we commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States of America — our freedom from dependent rule. Yet, we struggle to uphold the agreement’s tenets for equality and the pursuit of happiness. Women warriors fight for autonomy over their bodies. Thankfully, Juneteenth (June 19th) commemorating the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans is a now a US holiday and Pride month in June supports the LBGTQIA+ community and their freedom to be.
Beyond governments, we each have an opportunity to free ourselves. Yoga is a way to feel free in your body, mind and heart. It breaks patterns of movement and behavior that bind us. It builds strength and stamina, stretches the body and mind, and grows compassion for self and others.
More than a pose on a mat, yoga reveals a range of emotions from anger and sadness to relief and joy! I leave it all on the mat. My frustration, and my worries. Breathing through discomfort and being fully present with myself is required. Otherwise, I fall! And when I do, I get back up.
Sometimes it’s hard to get to class, but I never regret going. Yoga provides me the opportunity to meet myself — where I am — to unite and untie the knots that constrain me. With that openness, I can eliminate blame and elevate my game. I accept what is. I build the courage, resilience and confidence to pursue my happiness off the mat.
You can too. Learn with me in classes or training so you can feel healthier, happier and more FREE!
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Pride! Be Who You Are Happy Pride! Every June, in honor of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, people across the country come together to celebrate the lives and experiences of the LGBTQIA+ community. This year, a record number of anti-LGBTQIA+ bills have been introduced in state legislatures. This threatens equal rights.
I’ve worked with thousands of young people for 18 years. I’ve seen them find their voices and express who they are. Yoga helps us accept ourselves, and others, for who they are vs. who we, or society, wants them to be. How?
Physical practice - yoga gets us into our bodies. It’s an opportunity to get to know yourself, your limitations and your aspirations. Knowing your body helps with acceptance and transformation through strengthening postures. Knowing yourself = loving yourself.
Mindfulness practice - attention to what matters to you also comes with yoga. Tuning into your senses brings awareness to all that you do. The yoga sutras are practices to live by beyond the mat like truthfulness and ahimsa which is: do no harm.
Meditation practice - sitting in stillness creates a space to listen to your inner self vs. being ruled by the outer world. Tuning into your breath and allowing your intuition to guide you creates a sense of "Knowing” where your instincts can help you lead a fulfilling life.
These practices are a way of life. They can lead us to our personal purpose and power to achieve and lead our lives individually and collectively - a life of acceptance that honors diversity and unites us. Love is love, and that starts with you.
