Letter to a new meditator

Dear friend,

You are looking for a way to calm your mind. You have admitted and realized that your mind is like a spinning top and it only stops when it hits a wall. Congratulations - you have made the preverbal first step - admitting you have a problem.  So, what do you do? How do you meditate? You have heard the word but what do you actually do? Sit down and clear your mind, right? Sounds easy enough...until you try it. The spinning top is more prominent than you thought and you give up. That sucked. Game over. Lets get back to doing the dishes, or was it the laundry....mmmmm peanut butter. Oh, crap, we were talking about meditation...

Well, I have some words of hope and wisdom for you.  You need tools. 

First, you need to realize that if you know how to worry, you know how to meditate, or at least focus. You are just focusing on bad things.  The past, future and the past again - then the future... worrying about things that don't matter and will probably never happen. 

Second, you need a place. Find a quiet spot in your home (this can be the bathroom with the door locked and the fan on - I promise nobody will bother you).  Sit, relax, be comfortable and take a short 10 minute break. 

Third, you need to breathe. Deep, long inhales (let your belly go!) and longer exhales are key to quieting the mind.

Next (tired of counting now!) you need to focus on something. One single thing. What is this object of attention? It is not your to do list honey, you can count on that. The object is up to you. What is the basis of choosing the object? Choose an object with an appreciation of your potential at the present moment. Begin with a less complicated object - then as time goes on you can focus on something more complicated. 

Are you able to contemplate an ocean wave? A tree? A candle flame? A simple mantra such as peace?

At the heart of it all this is what we are seeking - peace. So focus on what brings you peace. 

There is much more to this subject, so dear friend, I will continue this letter to you later.

I am off to my quiet place for about 20 minutes.

Namaste,

Heather 

Acupuncture - my Qi is stuck.

I am in love with acupuncture. I think its the best thing since sliced bread. It does not hurt that my acupuncturist is really cool and really knows her stuff. Most people are afraid of acupuncture because of the needles. When I recommend acupuncture to someone, they ALWAYS ask "doesn't it hurt?"
No. The needles do not hurt. There is sometimes a sensation after the needle (which is about as thin as a hair) goes in - and that is your Qi moving, or changing or something like that. The sensation sometimes feels like an electric shock, warming, really good or sometimes it hurts (but only for a second).


I can hear you saying "Hello Heather~~~~~ I took health class in high school and I don't remember anything called a Qi." Well smarty pants, that is because its not recognized in American medicine - but Qi (pronounced chi) is the foundation of Chinese medicine and can be compared to Prana in Yoga.  It is your life force, your energy, the stuff that we can not pull a vile of blood and see how your Qi is doing....but believe me, you and your body know when your Qi/Prana is out of sorts.


This energy runs along meridians in your body and it gets stuck, festers, gets stagnant, over produces or is just plain out of whack. This is where the tiny little needles come in - stick the needle in at the EXACT right place and the Qi moves or calms down or whatever its supposed to do.
Beyond that - you need to talk to an expert about Qi because I understand the concept, but I can not explain it further without royally messing something up.


I do know that one of the best spots to heal your kidneys is in your chin/calf area. I also know that one time when Shams (my acupuncturist - I sound very possessive here, but I will share!) put a needle in the back of my knee I felt a lightening bolt of energy shoot all the way through my big toe. Every time I get acupuncture, I leave feeling as though I got a massage - or better. I normally feel very, very relaxed and kind of tingly in a good way. Amazing stuff.
So for more professional info - click here for Shams's website. 


Shams told me that that I have stagnate liver qi. She recommended some herbs for this and acupuncture once a week till I get the liver qi moving again. So, me being me, I had to look up what she actually means by stagnated liver qi. This makes no sense to my American medicine brain. The symptoms included something that knocked me out of my chair: a constant lump in the throat. I HAVE HAD A LUMP IN MY THROAT FOR OVER A YEAR. It drives me nuts. Nothing I can do about it. I have tried tea, burping, not talking unless necessary, somebody recommended crystals and I have meditated and practiced pranayama trying to make it go away. The pranayama (breath work) did the trick for a day or so, but it always comes back. So annoying. I am thrilled that these herbs and the acupuncture will hopefully get it to go away. Whooo hooo!


till next time...


Love and Light -
H

Blood, Hot Showers and Breathing

My sis, Hailey, finally went home after recovering in the hospital from chemo for a week. She finally got the blood transfusion that she needed. She was not even making red blood cells anymore, her white blood cells were long gone. She had the biggest racoon eyes I have ever seen, and she had no color to her skin. She looked like a vampire, minus the sexy. After she got the blood she looked better. She perked up and was ready to GO. My hubby and I wheeled her out of the hospital at 10:30 PM and she was so happy to be free. We called mom to make sure that the heaters were on in the bathroom so she could take a really hot shower when she got home. Unfortunately, her beautiful hair is starting to fall out already. I hate that. I love her hair, I always have. She hasn't but that is what happens when you have wild curly hair and all you want for it to be is straight and shiny. Believe me, she loves it now. She hates being bald and she is going to need a lot of sock hats for the winter. Poor baby.

There are some interesting things I am noticing through this process. There are 2 common denominators in our life, no matter who you are, what color you are, sex, creed, age, etc...

1. Blood - I find it fascinating that my sister may have been getting blood from a man, a man of a different race, that grew up in a totally different city, with totally different parents...and her body just accepts it. It makes me think that our brains should be the same way. God made our bodies to accept just about anybodies blood, the life force in our veins, in order to keep us alive - and when it comes down to it all the other junk and funk we get so tied up in as people just dissapears when it really matters. We are all the same underneath. Makes me think of the U2 song One "we are one, but not the same, we carry each other...one"

2. Breath - you guys know that since I teach yoga, I focus on the breath a lot. I tell Hailey to just keep breathing, just keep breathing. I know it hurts, but just keep breathing. When all else fails, our breath is still there. Its automatic, but so vital yet we never think about it. Practicing pranayama (breath exercises/control) will show you how very important and life changing our breath can be.

3. Sometimes a really hot shower is the best thing on the planet.

Just Breathe...

How many of us think about our breath on a daily basis? Unless you have some kind of breathing disorder like COPD, you probably do not think about your breath too often. It's automatic, natural and we do not have to think about it. However, our breath is the bridge between our mind, body and spirit. So, our breath is vitally important to our inner being. In a yoga class you typically hear the teacher reminding you to breathe through the poses and make sure you do not hold your breath. Sometimes, more detailed instruction such as when to inhale and when to exhale in a pose are used as well. We also have something called pranayama in yoga. This is breathing exercises you can do either while performing a yoga posture (asana) or after your asana practice while seated. Pranayama is very powerful. It affects our deeper structure, our organs, helps with anxiety, depression and can balance our entire system. Think about it, when we get all frazzled and really stressed - our breathing gets all out of whack and we breathe faster, shallower and we may start sweating etc... When we are relaxed, we tend to breathe slower and feel a sense of calm. Also, animals that live longer, take fewer breaths per minute than animals that have a shorter life span. Take an elephant vs. a dog, a dog pants and breathes faster than an elephant, the elephant takes much fewer breaths per minute and lives longer. To see a great blog on this topic click here.

The breath is of utmost importance in yoga. The breath is called our prana, our life force. Without it, we will die. There are no ifs ands or buts about that fact. Our breath is a gift from God.

The breath is very important in the Bible as well. Take this passage from the book of John:
Again Jesus said, "Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." 22And with that he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
In the KJV of the Bible the word - breath - appears 42 times, breathe - appears 4 times, breathed - appears 4 times, breatheth - appears once, breathing - appears twice.

So, take a deep breath, relax and possibly live longer. Sounds nice, right?

Namaste and deeeeeeep, long, cleansing breaths to you all.