There are 8 Limbs (or steps) in YOGA: Ethics, Self-care, Asana (the poses), Pranayama (the breath), Mindfulness, Concentration, Devotion, and Union.

Saturday, April 11, 2015

Making Cherry Juice

Life gives you lemons? Make lemonade??
That which does not kill you, makes you stronger???

Above, two contemporary memes that seriously annoy me. There are more, but those two shall suffice for my point today: Don't eat the sugar! 

. . . in lemonade? Don't add to that which nature has sweetened. 
. . . in Nietzche's quote? Such a lovely sentiment, all this hell we've gone through making us even more able - to suffer some more??? Reminds me of someone's god not giving me more than I can handle. 

Lately, I've had two big sicks. One acted like The Big Influenza. The other like the 24-hour stomach flu. Both brought serious joint pain, fatigue, and never-ending nausea. At this point, all tests ordered are in and I'll see my primary care person Tuesday. I'm guessing she'll use the word "inconclusive."  

In the meantime, I'm adding anti-inflammatory foods to the diet. BEST NEWS is Tart Cherry Juice, concentrate. Mix with water. Do not add sugar. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

It's not that I don't appreciate binging on Mad Men but honestly I do not like missing work - or play! So I push myself, try to make myself get better! ARGH!!! 

Uh oh, wake up June Beck! Time to practice what I preach: It's not how FAR you go, but HOW you go; Sidle up gently to limitation and be loving and kind; Never push into pain; Engage in positive self-talk. 

Last night my knees hurt so badly I couldn't do a "proper" - read: the way I did it last time - forward fold. Soooooooooo I did a PERFECT forward fold instead. 

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Colors!

I now know how to customize colors! As soon as I get some time, I will update this blog site to match my logo and website. So exciting, this STEEP learning curve.

Sometimes, it's just tedious.

~namaste!

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

This smallBusiness woman, this household yogi, yoga teacher, English teacher, C.A.P.A.B.L.E. human being on the planet, cannot get the logo sized correctly on this frickin' blog!

Ya know?

I have choices. I always have choices. Here are a few:

  • Escalate frustration tizzy style
  • Feel stupid and let myself know through negative selfTalk that I am, indeed, stupid, old, lame
  • wRiTe aBoUt iT. 


wRiTiNg aBoUt iT requires a reality check and that encourages me to ask for help because that's not the only thing I need to learn and fast. Bumping the yoga teaching into Yoga4Geezers LLC demands much learning of new skills.

Here's what I'm telling myself:

  • I can do this.
  • Learning is good for me.
  • My designer will help me.
Pa dum pum.



Friday, January 24, 2014

Let's Do Some Chair Yoga!

Seated Mountain Pose

Surely you have a chair that has no arms like this one from IKEA?

Get in that chair and have someone read this to you. Go slowly. 


Place your feet flat on the floor; hip-distance apart; ankles under knees; arms down by your sides.
Rock your pelvis forward and back. See if you can end with a neutral - or upright - pelvis. This usually means the genitals feel a bit smashed onto the chair. Good.
Lift your shoulders high up, near your ears - get 'em all shrugged up. Be gentle but feel the tension? Now, draw them gently and slowly - mindfully - down toward your back pockets. Relax those shoulders down, away from the ears.
Rock your head slowly and gently forward and back. Notice how heavy it feels? See if you can find the sweet spot where your head feels light, almost weightless.
Engage both arms all the way from your shoulder to the tips of your fingers by reaching gently for the floor. Feel your arm engaged. Breathe into that feeling.
Tuck your chin just a bit and lift your spine from the crown of your head, as if someone were tugging on a high ponytail. This engages the spine.
If you want more, press gently down onto the floor with your feet, attempting to press evenly, ball and heel, while still being able to lift the toes.


This is the only photo I could find that shows what I'm talking about. 

The first one on the left: Seated Mountain Pose. 


3 to 4 second inhale. 3 to 4 second exhale. Follow the breath from the back of your throat all the way to the pelvic floor. Feel your body expand on each inhale. On each exhale, lift gently up through the crown of the head, relax the shoulders, relax the belly, relax the pelvic floor.
Hang out with yourself, watching your breath, doing the work on the exhale. Hang out until you don't want to do this anymore.
And release.

Namaste,

june

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Why Chair Yoga?


  1. Some people can't get down on a mat, or if they do, they have a heck of a time getting back up. 
  2. Pain in the body keeps so many underactive, meaning sure, they could move and groove but it HURTS. 
  3. Yoga sounds too scary. 
Can you think of other reasons to do chair yoga? 

Harold, not using real names here, has neuropathy, or numbness, in his legs. He's 91 years old, by the way. Gladys is in a wheelchair and tethered to her oxygen supply. Frank can't straighten up. He walked in bent over, his angle about 90 degrees. Now it's 45 degrees and shrinking. 
 
Chair Yoga teaches students how to modify poses so the benefits can be received. Chair Yoga poses teach students how to listen to the body, accept limitations, and respect them. It's never about how far into the pose you can go; it's about moving and breathing mindfully. 

Pushing into a limitation such as tension, inflexibility, or pain is contrary to yoga practice. Oftentimes, the most flexible miss out on the journey because it's so easy for them to accomplish the full expression of a pose. Be grateful for your limitations. They are your teachers.