Saturday, August 20, 2011

Sittin' Pretty





Summer vacation is coming to an end.  This means I will have my day times available once again for working.  This next week will see me preparing to present myself as my own brand.  I will get my business website up and running, get brochures made for yoga and doula work, create a database of OB/GYN, midwife and pediatrician offices where I will distribute the brochures, update my resume, and write a proposal for the local hospital (they currently have no perinatal fitness classes).  In order to get this all done I need to focus.  This focus will consist of visualizing what exactly I'd like to accomplish, setting out my intention and creating a wave of positive energy that flows between myself and the community. 
Now as many of you know I'm no stranger to starting over again and again and again....  Each time has been a learning experience.  I've been able to narrow down what I'm offering so that I'm a unique entity in the yoga market.  I went from being a general yoga teacher to focusing on the specific genre of childbirth.  Teaching yoga to prenatal and postpartum mothers, their babies and partners paired with my experience as a doula makes me an invaluable part of the perinatal community.
In order to obtain the focus needed to get the ball rolling I will be taking a seat for much of my practice.  This week will find me working on my meditation and visualization skills.  When meditating the sadhaka (yoga student) sits in Sukhasana (http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/2481 Yoga Journal, 2011) or easy pose.  This pose allows the sit bones to ground making an energetic connection to the world around the sadhaka.  The purpose of this pose is to come to a relaxed place of being rather than a place of doing.  In this pose one strives to quiet the mind while energizing the body.  The goal of quieting the mind is many times more challenging then most of the hardest yoga poses.  The mind, with is many parts, is always rambling from one thought to the next, sometimes contemplating multiple thoughts at once.  In order to reign the mind in one should find a single point of focus or sabija (http://sabija.com/ ThriveInside, 2009).  Sabija could include a sacred sound (om), a mantra (om namah shivaya) or a visual point like the flame of a candle.  For my sabija I will visualize what I hope my next business venture to be like.  I will envision positive feedback from prospective employers, the right amount of work so that I'm not overextending myself, the pay that I hope to receive and the opportunity to grow.  I will endeavor to put these positive thoughts into action.  I will see it all in my state of "being" so that I will be more efficient in my state of "doing". 

Thursday, August 11, 2011

The Area of a Triangle






A triangle has 3 points and 3 sides.  It seems that many of my relationships have held to the triangle standards.  Mind you this is not to be confused with the 6 degrees of separation.

Take for instance my husband, it was the third place we shared connections that we actually met.  We could have met in Maine while he was attending the nearby college where I would often visit friends.  We could have met in Massachusetts where I was attending college, he had transferred and we once again had friends in the same place.  But no it was in Colorado on Halloween night many years ago when we were each out with 2 friends and a strange turn events between 2 of those friends that brought us together.

Friends of my single days came by way of jobs.  My friend Denby, who is in the above photo, came my way due to our connection via working at Nine West.  First the job was the catalyst that got our friendship rolling and then our friendship became that open flood gate to the world beyond.

Currently in the land of mommyhood many of my friends came to my not by my own doing but more due to the direct connection of my daughters.  The friendships that my daughters formed in turn led me to my own.  One of my best friends in MD was a result of my oldest daughter's desire to do Girl Scouts.  Had this not been the case the triangle would not have been completed between myself and Karen. 

This week in honor of all those simple connections that have been initiated by simple and direct lines the pose is Utthita Trikonasana or triangle pose (http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/494 Yoga Journal, 2011). It's a lovely pose with a broad, strong foundation. One must press the feet gently away from each other and yet at the same time draw them in and toward the groin.  This helps to engage the core and increase a sense of balance.  The shoulders release down the spine to ease any tension in the upper body.  The chest expands and the heart opens.  The head is poised lightly extending through the crown while comfortably turning upward toward an open hand.

Utthita  Trikonasana is one of my favorite postures.  I find the sense of stable sturdy legs paired with the open heart most comforting.  I'm always amazed at how easily I feel that I can settle into the pose all the while breaking it down in micro movements to open, extend and hinge deeper.  My mind rarely wanders in triangle pose because it is busy noticing the small adjustments that I can make to take myself further in the posture.

The same holds true for all of those triangular relationships in my life.  My mind rarely wanders from them but instead is constantly making small adjustments for the relationship to go deeper, to take it to the next level.  I find it comforting to know that all of my relationships as well as my Being in triangle posture are a work in progress.   

My lovely model doing the pose with me this week is none other than the world class Denby Bruzas.