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Deanna Black, MT, RYT |
June 20, 2007 |
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Volume 1, Issue 3 |
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I am back from Costa Rica. What a trip! Read on for insight into what it was really about. You'll also learn a tip for better sitting, find out about a couple of great events coming up, see why 108 is such a significant number and visualize your way through fear. As always, please don't hesitate to share what you'd like to see in future issues and let me know how I can help you in your journey.
Namasté,
Fears Associated with Traveling. It started the moment we stepped on the plane. For one it was the first time she had been away from her husband in 30 years, for another it was the first time leaving the United States let alone landing in a country in which English is not the first language. Now, of course, these were decisions made by choice. But how is it being out of your comfort zone when it is not by choice? Many of us were faced with airport issues: birds flying into the engine, fog, turbulence, holding patterns, trying to land then pulling back up, refueling/rerouting to Nicaragua, Panama, Miami, and Houston. Then after all that, was there going to be someone at the airport to pick us up since the flight(s) were delayed—some over 24 hours? Ah, but the beauty and serenity of stepping onto the deck at Samasati Nature and Yoga Center made all those memories disappear. The lush, tropical jungle, the sunshine, seeing the Caribbean off in the distance as we sat atop hillside (some may classify it as a mountain since we did need a 4x4 to get from the road to the retreat center), being away from it all...some would call it heaven.
Fears Associated with Bugs and Animals. Then you are greeted by
lizards, spiders, mosquitoes, beetles the size of ping pong balls, ants
that sting, cockroaches 3 inches long, cats and dogs. So cats and dogs
don’t seem so bad until you find out the reason for so many dogs is to
keep the snakes away! And, of
Fear of Heights. The first excursion was a canopy zip line tour in the rainforest. We had a helmet, gloves and straps around our legs and waist which then attached to a cable. We were to have one hand on the cable behind us to keep us from spinning out of control and monitor our speed. Just sit and go! Zipping hundreds of feet above the forest! Well, in some places it seemed like 100’s of feet!
The next day we trekked to a waterfall and some of us faced the fear of
heights again as we jumped from behind the waterfall over 16 feet above
the natural pool which had to be no more than 7 feet deep! For some of us
it wasn’t really the fear of heights but the fear of jumping (not
slipping) out far enough so we didn’t hit the protrusion of the cliff.
They say that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Face your fears. My favorite is the reply Mother Theresa gave after someone told her that God only gives you what you can handle. And she said, “I wish he didn’t trust me so much!” So in those moments of fear, those times you are scared, adrenaline is building, allow yourself to be completely in the moment, without thinking what may happen or what has happened in the past. Breathe. Be present.
The way I see it, stress and anxiety—whether
it be from fear or not—only
occur during 2 situations:
Right now, everything is fine. Ask yourself, is the fear that you have
protecting you or holding you back from your potential?
Functional Energy...Make
your activities of daily living easier How often do take the time to actually sit up? We are so concerned with finding a seat and sitting down. And if there is a back to the seat, it is natural to lean back and feel the support. But are you really supported? Is the seat ergonomically designed specifically for your body? Test it out. Lean back and feel the back of your chair. Now, do you feel your tailbone connect more to your seat or your sit bones? How much space is between your last rib and your hip bones, the anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS). Now sit as tall as you can and ask the same questions. When you sit UP, see if you can keep the weight on your sit bones, thus the reason they have this nickname. Stand up and note the distance between your last rib and your hip bones (ASIS). See if you can maintain this distance when you sit. When you do this you automatically engage the abdominal muscles as well as other muscles supporting the torso. Develop these muscles so that eventually this will be effortless, and you will have beautiful posture!
Lunar
Rhythms: Yoga and the Feminine Essence
Current Class
Schedule
Many are familiar with meditation beads consisting of 108 beads which are used during japa meditation. In this style of meditation, a mantra or a phrase is repeated over and over again 108 times. 108 is an auspicious number relating to numerous things.
Did you know that the diameter of the Sun is 108 times the diameter of the Earth? And that the distance from the Sun to the Earth is 108 times the diameter of the Sun? Then, of course, what I am sure is the reason 108 is so important: there are 108 stitches on a baseball! To learn more about the significance of 108, visit Swami J's site.
I wish I could say the next time you get scared, just stop and take a moment to breathe. However sometimes it is an emergency situation—your fight or flight response has been activated. You just react or respond. But if there is a moment in which you choose to face your fear—maybe it is a conversation you are avoiding, an athletic competition, or a new direction you’ve wanted with a career—ask yourself, “Have I prepared myself for the situation?” If yes, you have nothing to fear. Go for it! If no, go for it! I say this so you stop holding yourself back. Now be mindful, mind you! Don’t ski down a double black diamond if you have never been on skis! Maybe going for it today is taking the first step of preparation. Your mind can play games with you. Have you ever jumped back because of a snake you saw in the path only to find out it was a stick or a branch? So use your visualization skills. See yourself facing your fear. See yourself standing up to your fear. Visualize yourself with strength, courage, and will power. Visualize yourself successfully conquering your fear. My first yoga teacher training had a saying, "Crawl, walk, run." And in "Life's A Dance," John Michael Montgomery sings, "...you might have to crawl even after you walk."
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©2007 Deanna Black. All Rights Reserved. |
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course,
the morning alarm clock set around 4:30 a.m., awaking to the overwhelming
deep guttural calls of the howler monkeys. The first morning it sounded as
if 100 of them had surrounded our tree bungalow. As the week went on
either we got used to them, or they became quieter since we were no longer
new to their territory. While horseback riding on the beach, one of the
riders got bucked off. What do you do? Get right back on! So for those who
had a fear of wild animals and bugs, the parks and nature centers like
Samasati in Costa Rica are perfect places to face this fear.
Some
break down the number and explain 1 as only God—only
one higher truth, 0 as the never ending circle (How
often have you heard in a wedding ceremony the exchanging of the rings and
how the ring symbolizes everlasting love?), and 8 representing infinity. 
