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Mindfulness and Your Perfect Weight

17 Feb

Check out my latest blog post on truebodymindsoul.com!

Whether you want to lose, gain, or maintain weight, or simply enjoy your food more, Mindfulness can help!

http://truebodymindsoul.com/mindfulness-and-your-perfect-weight/

Moderatism- Better than Minimalism

5 Feb

Somewhere in between the starkness of Minimalism, and the burden of Maximalism, there is Moderatism, the middle way.

http://truebodymindsoul.com/moderatism-better-than-minimalism/

Mindfulness Explained

29 Jan

If you have been wondering about Mindfulness and mindfulness meditation, what it is, why it’s useful, and how to do it, then check out my post on my new blog truebodymindsoul.com!  Mindfulness can improve health, decrease stress, and bring more joy and happiness to your life!

http://truebodymindsoul.com/mindfulness-explained/

A New Home for TrueBodyMindSoul!!

25 Jan

 

Hello friends and followers!!

I am excited to announce a new home for True Body Mind Soul!

I have purchased the domain, and started a new blog (well, a continuation of this blog!) at truebodymindsoul.com

I hope you will come check out my new site for posts about yoga, meditation, mindfulness, health and happiness.

Here is one post, for example, that you should definitely read : )

Ten tips for starting a hot yoga practice (2)

http://truebodymindsoul.com/ten-tips-for-starting-hot-yoga/

Hope to see you soon!

Best,

True Soul
(Amber)

365 Challenge Day 303 – Meditation

5 May

After many months of a break, I feel like I’m finally coming back around to silent meditation.  I’ve just been craving it.  Like a vegetarian who eats meat for a while but then craves the healthy clean feeling again of eating veg.

I don’t aspire to make it a daily practice, I just want to incorporate it into my week, along with yoga, and dance, and work and kids, and everything else I do.

Last night I had insomnia, which is very unusual for me.  I decided to use that time to meditate because I didn’t want to get up out of bed.  I did a body scan starting at the top of my head.  At first my attention didn’t stay long because my mind was racing so much I’d be off in thought, but soon I was able to stay focused on the sensations in the body, calm the mind, and feel a sense of peace and relaxation.

I hope to sit again tonight.  I miss it!

365 Challenge Day 273 – Acceptance

28 Apr

I’ve spoken before about my “spiritual crisis” of feeling like I couldn’t connect to the Buddhist community, possibly the Buddhist practice, and needing to explore other practices. There were several things that made it feel like a “crisis”. I didn’t like the uncertainty of not knowing what would come next, and I felt a certain amount of resentment that the community was not what I wanted it to be.

But recently I’ve begun to feel a big shift, an acceptance.  I don’t feel that resentment anymore.  I feel like I got a lot out of that practice and that community, and now it’s time to move on.  I can look back at those years with gratitude, not resentment.  I can even imagine going back there again someday, at least to meditate, but not to try to build community.

I’m even finding my way a bit back to the practice.  The teachings all still resonate with me, but I need to apply them in a different way.  A way that’s more integrated into life, not about retreating from life.

365 Challenge Day 225 – The Body

31 Jan

I came across this quote today, and I love it:

“If you are divided from your body, you are also divided from the body of the world, which then appears to be other than you or separate from you, rather than the living continuum to which you belong.”

This is by author Philip Shepherd, from his book New Self, New World.  I hadn’t heard of him before, so I looked him up.  There is a five minute video in which he explains the premise of the book, and I find it fascinating.

This really resonates with my experience and my understanding of how detrimental living from the “brain” can be, when not connecting to the body.  This is one of the main reasons I switched my primary practice from sitting meditation to yoga.  I heart yoga ❤

365 Challenge Day 199 – Focus

30 Dec

It’s been a while since I’ve written about yoga!!  That’s because it’s become such a good “routine”, that I just go to class several times a week, and don’t even think much about it.  But I do actually have a lot to say, and I don’t want this to turn into a blog about saving money (my most recent goal.)

Since my background is in silent meditation, and I’m going to yoga as a form of meditation, it was tricky for me to figure out how to direct my attention.  I’m used to having one “anchor” in meditation, for example the breath, and the practice is simply to stay on the anchor, notice when you’re off, and then bring your attention back.  Over, and over, and over.

In yoga, I would bring my attention to the breath, the ujjiyi breath, but then feel like I was being “interrupted” when the teacher would give instruction or talk too much.  I’d get annoyed, thinking, Why won’t they be quiet so I can focus on my breath?!?  AND, then there are all the other things to focus on, such as drishti (the focused gaze) the bandhas, oh yeah, and the postures!  The more I tried to focus on all these things, the more confusing I found it!  I’d wonder, How am I supposed to keep my attention on all these things, AND listen to the instruction at the same time?  It’s impossible!!

Well, I finally got a chance to ask my teacher, and I’m kind of embarrassed that I didn’t figure it out on my own.  You are supposed to focus on all those things, but NOT AT THE SAME TIME. It is more of a sequence.  This makes so much sense!!  This way of practicing doesn’t develop the kind of one-pointed focus that I’m used to in a meditation.  BUT, that is the beauty of it.  This is why I am doing yoga instead of silent meditation.  This is a practice that teaches you to “let it in” and stay focused, not “block it out” and stay focused.  See what I mean?  This makes a world of difference when you are trying to practice in a way that is more integrated into life.  For example, this is what teaches me to switch my focus between what I am doing, and responding to my kids, without seeing them as an interruption, but rather as part of the flow of practice, of life.

 

365 Challenge Day 190 – Silent Retreat – Day 8

23 Dec

Last Day of an 8 day Silent Meditation Retreat

Woohoo!!!  This is what I wanted to yell out at the top of my lungs when the silence was broken at the end of the retreat. But, being a good yogi, I sat still and quietly turned to my neighbor who smiled and said, “That was not what I expected.”  Apparently a common theme for everyone.

I will have to really reflect on this retreat.  I’ve done about 20 retreats in the past 15 years, and this was by far the most challenging, because of the difficult emotions, resentments towards the center, and doubts around the practice.  At this very moment it’s hard for me to even remember what I have loved so much in the past that has kept me coming back year after year!

One good thing that really came out of it is a deep deep appreciation for my children, and everything that comes with having kids.  Being in this quiet, serene, tranquil, perfectly orderly environment did not feel beautiful or ideal.  It felt sterile, lifeless, and oppressive.  I realized how much I want to “embrace the mess” that comes with having kids.  Even though I’m always fighting against the clutter and chaos at my house, I’ve seen the extreme lack of clutter, and realize I don’t want that either!!

Bring on the chaos!!

365 Challenge Day 189 – Silent Retreat – Day 7

23 Dec

Day 7 of an 8 day Silent Meditation Retreat

The relief of having talked to my teacher lasted throughout the day.  I felt at peace.  I continued with the Gratitude practice, and some meditation that I call resting in the abiding awareness.  It was a very long day though.  I felt very ready to go home.  I was just about counting the hours until the retreat would end.  I felt like I had been there a month!  Even though most days had been fairly pleasant, those two really challenging days really colored the entire retreat and felt like they lasted about a week each!

My energy felt very low though.  I tried to do yoga all week, and I did, but each day I did less and less.  My theory is that because I am extremely extroverted and derive a lot of energy from human interaction, that being on the silent retreat really drains my energy.  I think if I did the retreat center’s three-month retreat I would slip into a deep depression or a coma!  I don’t mind the silence, but in the moments I have some form of human interaction I notice it’s like having a double espresso!  A burst of aliveness and energy!  In fact, now I’m remember that on day 6 (my meltdown day) I had the thought, What if silent meditation is only beneficial for introverts, and for extroverts it’s really a slow form of torture and punishment?

Anyway, almost done, just a few hours left.  I miss my kids.