Today I am sharing a yoga practice with a chair. You don’t have to be a yogi to do this!
Please join me for centering, letting go, and getting a good stretch. You can even do it at your desk.
Let’s find our middle ground together!
Chair Yoga with Val from Val Boyko on Vimeo.
May you find peace today and everyday.
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
I came across this earlier post … and boy did it take me back. May we all find grace by connecting to the most vulnerable part of ourselves … our heart.
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
“How dare you!!”
Come into the present moment and notice
the pounding head, the clenched jaw and hands in fists
the thoughts that spark like fiery daggers
“Don’t control me! I don’t want this! I don’t need you!”
Feel the tears and absolute frustration
the vulnerability at being in this place of hurt and loss.
Loss of control. Loss of connection. Loss of understanding.
Become that wee girl too young for words
She knows this place. This sheer frustration. Hurting and not knowing why.
Let this rage turn into one of your biggest breaths ever
Open your mouth and gasp like a fish
take in the air that nourishes and calms
Let it out with a cry from your very soul.
Let the tears roll. Feel their heat running down your cheeks.
Breathe
Feel the energy dropping through you like a stone
allow it to release and pass through the mesh that’s your body
Feel the unburdening and letting go
notice the softening in your body, your thoughts and your being
Say hello to this vulnerable part of you
Feel the relief and the love
You are still here.
And now you are ready to talk about what just happened.
Namaste.
D.H.Lawrence described humanity as being like an uprooted tree with its roots in the air.
“We are perishing for lack of fulfillment of our greater needs.
We are cut off from the great sources of our inward nourishment and renewal.
We must plant ourselves again in the universe.”
I think many people feel like uprooted trees in today’s world.
When we make the decision to plant ourselves once more we become nourished, rooted and interconnected.
Each of us can do this for ourselves and support others in finding inner nourishment, renewal and connection to our life source and Spirit.
I call it Findng Your Middle Ground.
Namaste
Its fun to look back and find the right advice on my blog. Enjoy this re-post!
Angry people are in a triggered reactive state.
The ability to listen or think logically diminishes with the rise of strong emotions.
The animal or limbic brain takes over control from the reasoning pre-frontal cortex.
Evidence also shows that when we grip our jaw, we are less able to listen through our ears.
Be careful of those buts.
Wait until the person has calmed down before trying to use reason.
Photo by Trace Hudson on Pexels.com
~
“Conscious deceleration” is a term I came across in a report from The Future Laboratory which identifies macro trends and new directions in the Health and Wellness industry.
The bottom line is: We are being bombarded with new ways to achieve fitness goals and to be less anxious. A recent study by researchers at Yale and Oxford found that too much exercise is worse for mental well being than no exercise at all. People, especially Millennials, are getting burned out trying to avoid burn out. Everyone is getting more stressed out about how to de-stress!
The pendulum has swung too far and we are out of balance.
We must consciously slow down and create some calm in our every day. We need to take time to pause as a counter balance to the busyness and constant demand for our attention.
Having a regular practice of mindful breathing, yoga and meditation are ways to consciously decelerate and can become a haven in the world we live in.
Research is now being done about how music and vibrations can recreate the same calm state of mind as regular gentle yoga and meditation. You may want to experience crystal singing bowls at 432Hz or listen to binaural acoustics that induce a Theta mind state. Its already here and more in coming.
What was once rooted in the sacred past of yoga and meditation is now being developed using new technology to reduce stress and bring more peace into our lives.
May you Find Your Middle Ground in this new decade and beyond.
Namaste
Photo by Tobias Bjørkli on Pexels.com
Every Step is Holy
By Danna Faulds
The journey from the known
to unknown, from the
unreal to the real, is rarely
revealed in advance.
The potholes, detours,
false starts, and quick retreats
are each honorable,
and even needed in the bigger
scheme, in the forest that can’t
be seen between the trees.
It took years for me to realize
that the very twists and turns
and shadows I labeled “problems”
were really sacred ground
grace disguised as obstacles,
the whole pass a pilgrimage,
mysteries baring themselves
before me all along the way.
Grace disguised as obstacles as we step together through our lives of potholes and detours… walking each other home.
Being there for our selves and others on this journey is the ultimate in grace.
Namaste
Photo by Luis del Río on Pexels.com
~
Find your Middle Ground is about stepping away from stressful days and anxious minds, and taking time to pause.
When we are mindful of the present moment and simply allow it to be, we open a door to our natural state of being – accepting, loving, peaceful, kind and content. There is room for fear here. Most of us are so distracted and moving so fast that we get caught up in the world of “doing” or worrying about what we should be doing next.
Too much doing and thinking disconnects us from our sense of “being”and who we really are.
I write about finding this place of connection, contentment and peace in the highs and lows of life. I call it our Middle Ground.
Namaste
Photo by Gerd Altmann on Pexels.com
There are so many diverse people and approaches to blogging in the WordPress community.
It makes me reflect on what my motivation for blogging has been, and to be curious about how others have experienced blogging. (Please add a comment below if you would like to share here)
I started blogging as a way to express myself and to share my message to more than one coaching client at a time. Back in 2014 and 2015, the posts I wrote were to provide new insights to specific clients and others wanting to see things more clearly or to bring about change in their lives.
It was also a way for me to become known and a platform for sharing what mindfulness, yoga and Finding Your Middle Ground was about.
Here, my passion grew and blossomed as I found community with like minded people around the world. It became an opportunity to educate and inspire others to find contentment and peace in stressful times, and to explore our spiritual journey and awakening.
I never thought of myself as a writer, poet or photographer, but I have discovered these aspects of myself along the way.
Blogging is an evolution … if you stay with it.
If you come to blogging with the intention of promoting yourself, or manipulating others, getting the most “likes; and “follows” then you are giving yourself short shrift. There really is so much more here.
Blogging is about connection, being inspired and nourishing each other, building community and finding like-minded souls.
Some times the connections fade or disappear. Other times a new voice and talent emerges and brings new perspectives, inspiration and joy.
Thank you for being here and making it all possible. You are the inspiration.
This is a timely re-post for the Holidays. Whenever you see twinkle lights, let your joy in that moment come to life … and share it ✨🙏✨
“Twinkle lights are the perfect metaphor for joy. Joy is not a constant. It comes to us in moments – often ordinary moments.
Sometimes we miss out on the bursts of joy because we’re too busy chasing down extraordinary moments. Other times we’re so afraid of the dark that we don’t dare let ourselves enjoy the light.
A joyful life is not a floodlight of joy. That would eventually become unbearable.
I believe a joyful life is made up of joyful moments gracefully strung together by trust, gratitude, inspiration, and faith.”
~ Brené Brown
What a lovely reminder to find some twinkle today ✨
Here is the latest update on my teaching schedule.
Good Karma Yoga and Barre, 55 State Road, Media (at the corner of S Overhill Road),PA
Hummingbird Yoga and Massage 940 Haverford Road, Bryn Mawr, PA
Monday
9.30-10.45 Mindful Hatha at Good Karma Yoga, Media, PA
Tuesday:
11.15-12.30 Dynamic Gentle Yoga at Hummingbird, Bryn Mawr, PA
Wednesday:
9.30-10.45 Mindful Hatha at Good Karma Yoga, Media, PA
Friday:
9.30-10.45 Dynamic Gentle Yoga at Hummingbird, Bryn Mawr, PA
Saturday:
Once a month – 9.30-10.45 Mindful Hatha at Good Karma. This class is followed by Restorative Yoga or a Kripalu Yin Workshop.
11.00-12.15 Other Saturdays I teach a Gentle Yoga class at Hummingbird and offer Kripalu Yin workshop for each season of the year.
Sunday:
9.30-10.45 Gentle Yoga at Hummingbird, Bryn Mawr, PA
Take time out after the Holidays to restore and nourish yourself.
♥ Restorative Yoga and Yoga Nidra at Hummingbird in Bryn Mawr on Saturday December 28th from 12.30-2.00
♥ Restorative Yoga at Good Karma Yoga on Sunday December 29th from 11.30 – 1.00
Spaces are limited, so please reserve ahead of time, via the website or on the MindBody app.
In the New Year I will be offering a weekly Gentle Yoga with Chair class at Hummingbird in Bryn Mawr.
This differs from most Chair Yoga classes as we focus on three specific areas:
Photo by Life Of Pix on Pexels.com
~
I wrote this haiku a while ago and it hit home. It was definitely a message for me to listen to. This is such a simple and practical idea, but putting down our devises isn’t so easy.
I have been experimenting with less online activities, including blogging. There is so much coming at me and trying to grab my attention. It takes me out of balance and out of my Middle Ground.
Technology allows us to connect to hundreds of people in any one day. Not long ago, we were reliant on physical contact, phone calls and mail. And yes – we had to go out to meet people and shop in stores.
Of course, having the smartphone within hands reach has become a habit. I used to leave it in the kitchen while I was in my office, only to find that companies wanted to text me with security codes and confirmations.
Are my devises running my life now? Could I function without the apps on my phone?
The answer is probably…..
What I am doing is being more and more aware of how these devises seem to be taking over my time and energy. It is up to me to be able to switch off.
Right now I don’t take my phone to the bedroom and switch it off when I teach or practice yoga. That’s my true Middle Ground time.
Without external distractions, we can come home to ourselves.
When we come home to ourselves we no longer feel so distracted, separate and lost in the world.
