breathe, repeat

at the risk of sounding dramatic (who me?), my thursday morning yoga class picks me up and carries me through the remainder of the week.  it recharges me and when i miss it, i feel off.  i have been going to the same class for long enough now to really see visible progress in my practice and i leave every week wanting more. 

yoga keeps me from feeling like this:

and helps me feel more like this:

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so basically, me taking yoga is good for everybody, mkay?

 

as challenging as some of the most absurd poses can be, my biggest obstacle in the entire practice is my brain.  turning that sucker off is nearly impossible.  i have a couple of tried and true strategies that i turn to regularly that i'll share with you.  but i am really writing this post for you to share your tricks with me! 

do you meditate?

how do you quiet your brain?

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1) ocean waves.

i imagine my thoughts as writing in the sand.  with every inhale, i imagine a gentle tide pulling back toward the ocean.  as i exhale, the tide comes in as a wave to wash all my thoughts clean.  the noisier my brain, the stronger my waves.  last week, my waves were crashing all over the place.

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2) white board.

i learned this strategy from an old friend who is now a life coach (yep, that's what i said. check her out here).  acknowledge the thoughts as the pop up in your brain.  write them down on a whiteboard (a whiteboard in your mind, not in reality), and erase them. 

 

courtney also advises to remember that you are the host.  you can politely invite your thoughts in, offer them tea if you'd like, then show them to the door.  you are the host, you are in charge. a polite "hi" and "bye" will suffice.

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ha!  is this post too new agey yet?

 

3) silent film.

my yoga teacher told us to pretend that our thoughts are a movie playing on a giant screen in our head.  except there is no sound and we have no idea the plot.  the movie keeps playing but we can't follow along.

this year my practice landed on 9/11.  i wanted to use that time to remember, not the awful images that we all have of that day, but of something peaceful.

so i thought of this:

i am dying to know, how do you quiet your brain?

 

chris wakes up early to meditate and we both swear it helps with mood and anger (i happen to love my sleep more than meditation).

do you?  if so, how does it help you?

how do you turn down the volume?

 

thanks for participating in my little research project :)

 

love,

coco