This has been a tool in my toolbox especially when I am feeling anxious or overwhelmed. I hope it can help you and your students/kids find a moment of pause to reconnect with breath, body, and mind.

The video below will show an example of how to lengthen the exhale.

• Inhale deeply to fill the lungs to their maximum capacity
• As you exhale concentrate on lengthening the exhale
• Inhale for the count of 4, exhale the count of 6 or 7. Play around with numbers that work best for your lung capacity
• Although this tool helps in moments of stress it is helpful to practice when we are not stressed

I’ve been learning about what happens to the brain when we are feeling anxious or panicked. It has helped me understand (to simplify) that the part of my brain that is involved in thinking clearly and making good decisions goes offline when I’m anxious.

I’ve noticed that when I am overwhelmed with emotion I am not kind. I am not kind to myself, saying things like ‘just get over it, snap out of it, why can’t you do ______?’ or I’m unkind to other people, ‘way to cut me off’ ‘could you drive any slower?’ ‘Nice outfit!’ Finding something to be grateful for just seems absolutely unattainable, especially when I am angry!

So what can we do when we are having feelings of anger, anxiety, overwhelm, etc?

Be with the emotion: 

It seems the hardest thing to do is to be with what you are feeling instead of trying to change it or fix it. What would happen if we let ourselves feel angry for a little while? Is it ok to see into the darker side of ourselves for a little bit? We are not bad if we are not feeling peppy, happy and excited!

I’ve noticed that when I’m not feeling the way that I would like to feel I get angry or I want to change it IMMEDIATELY.  I wish I was feeling happy and free but I am currently sinking into this moment of boredom, irritation, jealousy and anger all combined into one.

I was at a party this weekend where everyone was drinking, letting loose and having a good time! My feet hurt, I was irritable and uncomfortable in my body and I just felt SO incredibly BORING! Typically I would notice these feelings and have a few drinks to help me shift my mood so I could ‘keep up’ with everyone else.

What would happen if we allowed ourselves to be how we are without trying to change it or fix it? This is a question because I am still wondering, practicing and exploring. The practices of yoga and mindfulness help increase awareness and give us tools.

What if we let emotions come in as they do. Notice what it feels like in our bodies and minds then find a tool to help alleviate the pain? I feel like it is giving me a sense of resilience that I’ve never had before. Finding compassion for the moment instead of feeling like the way I am feeling is wrong or bad.

I will get back to you on this experiment! 🙂 What has worked for you and your process?

Photo courtesy of Pixabay.com

Upcoming teacher trainings in Denver, CO and Portland, ME

I’m participating in a 21 daily meditation program. The other day I asked my husband if he would like to join. He replied ‘I don’t think I can hold the word in my mind that long’.  He thought that in order to participate he needed to do this ‘the right way’. I replied, ‘you don’t need to say the word over and over the whole time, I can’t do that either. You can gently bring your mind back to it when you feel yourself getting distracted by thoughts, noises or physical sensations. It made me think about this idea of meditation being this thing that we achieve with an end goal and how so many people (myself included) feel like we are doing it wrong, then don’t participate.

If you are struggling to start/continue a meditation practice because you feel like you are doing it wrong, you are not alone. Here are some tips that have helped in my seated meditation journey:

1. Find a space where distractions are as minimal as possible.

If I have a cell phone near me I will be tempted to look at my email or check my text messages. By eliminating distractions I am able to thoroughly sink in and allow myself to detach, truly bringing my awareness to the present moment.

2. There are different types of meditation; Choose the one that speaks to you.

Meditation apps that offer guided meditations help me the most. If you choose to go this route make a conscious commitment to keep your phone as a meditation tool only rather than checking your phone for other purposes. I have ADD so I know that distractions can get the best of me. I know I need to use this time as a dedicated sacred space for myself and my mental health. Having this self-care perspective gives me the willpower to put my life on hold while I meditate.

Gaiam, (http://www.meditationstudioapp.com/) headspace (https://www.headspace.com/), Insight Timer (https://www.insighttimer.com/) are all apps that support my meditation practice. I have a hard time meditating without some support so I found that having someone guide me helped me stay focused.

3. Sitting for one minute can be enough

I had an expectation that when I wanted to meditate I needed to sit for at least 5-10 minutes for it to be effective. If I couldn’t be still in lotus pose, seated with finger to thumb creating a blank mind then I wasn’t meditating. I had no idea that mediation could simply be watching my thoughts move in and watching them move out. I realized that the less I attached a number to meditation or the perfect position with my body/mind, the more I enjoyed it. Even one minute of being quiet and still can be enough.

4. Mindfulness meditation doesn’t have to be done seated

When I am out for a walk I like to notice the clouds, breathe in the fresh air or notice nature. I also brush my teeth and when I feel myself getting distracted with my ‘to do’ list, I bring my awareness back to what I am doing. I am brushing my teeth, I feel the toothpaste on my tongue and the toothbrush moving around my mouth. If you have a hard time sitting still, mindfulness can be more of a helpful tool/type of meditation than seated.

 

 

I’m 5 months pregnant- First time, with a boy and so incredibly grateful and excited and well, all the feels. Letting the emotions flow through me daily- a constant practice.

Before I got pregnant I was having multiple panic attacks a week. If I didn’t have a Xanax on me at all times the thought of not having one would send me into an anxious state. I won’t get into why the anxiety crippled me, but what I did know is that there was some trauma that had been kicked back up and I needed to find new coping strategies to come back to a grounded state.

That’s where I’m at today— Learning new coping strategies. I teach youth how to calm their bodies and minds and how to connect to their feelings. Now, I’m diving into the next layer of learning, growth, and practice.

After getting pregnant my anxiety started to subside. There was this knowing deep within (or maybe it was the hormones pumping?) that I need to take care of myself. Not just take care of myself, but REALLY slow down, be present and nurture my heart, soul, body, and mind. I am practicing what I have been teaching youth for 11 years. To be still, connect to the moment, find a coping strategy that resonates and listen to the body/mind.

This anxiety disorder has taught me a lot. When it is kicked up I know that there is something in my life I need that I am not getting for some reason or another. It could be a steady place to live, more time with friends, play and laughter, exercise. The list could go on and on.

If you are going through an anxious time these three things have been a helpful practice. Everyone is different so

*Adding fish oil supplements to my diet: This normalizes dopamine levels in the body helping to regulate the amygdala (fight/flight center in the brain).

*30 minutes of exercise a day: Stimulates the release of endorphins, dopamine and serotonin levels in the brain- which can boost mood and overall sense of well-being.

*Self-Compassion: When noticing anxiety, gently place your hand over your heart, take a breath and say something kind to yourself. Remember that you are doing the best you can.

I need to remind myself daily that all of this involves enormous amounts of patience. I am the type of person who wants things to happen immediately. “I’m being mindful, why am I not feeling improvement immediately?!” Patience. Compassion. Time– Helps us heal from the inside out, children and adults alike.

*Every body and mind is different. Consult a specialist before making any significant changes to your diet/exercise/mental health routine.

I had a panic attack yesterday on my way to teach counselors how to bring yoga and mindfulness into their camp. My stomach was upset, jaw tight, heart pounding and breath shallow. Although I KNOW all the tools that I should be using, sometimes they don’t come naturally. Deepening the breath is very hard when you are in moments of panic/anxiety.  Ironically, I am teaching adults how to find their deep belly breaths, how to be in the present moment and where in the body they hold stress and tension. I teach this because I wish I had tools as a child to navigate some serious anxiety.

The more we can share tools that help build self-awareness, the easier it will be to access these calming techniques when we are in moments of panic. I wish I had muscle memory that when I started to feel anxious, the deep breaths, the sitting with the discomfort and not running away, the guided visualizations would help me get back to baseline.

The training went really well. I got out of the car, breathed in the smell of pine, did a few yoga poses and shook it off. I told the group that I am still learning and consistently practicing all these tools. I got to eat lunch with everyone in the dining hall and one counselor said to me, “it’s nice to know that the mindfulness instructor needs these tools, too!” Every.single.day. Truly grateful for the practices of yoga and mindfulness. They allow me to be my authentic self, to tune in and figure out what I need in order to put my best foot forward. We are all human, we make mistakes, we say things we don’t mean and do things out of reaction. When we find practices that increase self-awareness, it gives us the power to choose. Without self-awareness, we don’t get the choice.

The next time I am feeling overwhelmed I will try to:

• Pause + notice
• Root my feet into the earth, soften my shoulders away from my ears and be with whatever feeling has arisen
• Take 3-5 deep breaths
• Massage my temples, jaw and shoulders
• Send myself compassion and love for this tough moment
• Let it go