Born To Run

I just finished an incredible book called “Born to Run” by Christopher McDougall. 

Although this book is about ultra running and barefoot running, it is also about so much more – like life, spirit, community, human evolution, and inherent human skills all but forgotten.   Not to mention that it is a book that meets my top criteria of being entertaining, inspiring, and thought provoking and was a page turner that I couldn’t put down.

Aside from simply recommending a great book, I chose to blog about this particular book for the take-aways – those inspiring thoughts or life lessons one walks away with from an experience. 

My biggest take-away from this book is the idea that if I’m working too hard, something isn’t right.  In the book, this lesson is primarily referenced in learning how to run in a fashion to give stamina for long endurance runs that are also filled with joy instead of the drudgery of a simple goal or task.  It is a concept that on a larger scale mirrors our run through life.

To have the stamina and joy of the Tarahumara runners, the author is taught two main lessons.

The first lesson is “don’t fight the trail.  Take what it gives you.” 

When we fight the inherent nature of ourselves or our surroundings, all we get is pain, frustration and effort.  None of which fits into my personal values of ease, flow and balance nor are experiences many of us want.

The second lesson is “think easy, light, smooth and fast.  You start with easy, because if that’s all you get, that’s not so bad.  Then work on light.  Make it effortless, like you don’t  give a shit how high the hill is or how far you’ve got to go.  When you’ve practiced that so long that you forget you’re practicing, you work on making it smooooth.  You won’t have to worry about the last one – you get those three, and you’ll be fast.”

For me the fast in this example translates from the running example into life as success.  My job is not to focus on success or harmony or happiness.  Rather, I simply need to approach life first from a place of ease, then lightness, then smooth and the rest will take care of itself.

While both of these are lessons I know from yoga, it was nice to be reminded of them again.  And to help me stay connected to these ideas, I have posted the two lessons in quotes from the book above my desk – the place I seem to end up working the hardest when I really don’t want or need to!

If you read or have read the book, I’d love to hear your take-aways so feel free to share.

Re-Connecting With The Unlimited Possibilities Within Yoga

Over the past couple weeks I had been having trouble with my right hip and low back.  Despite a chiropractic adjustment, an acupuncture session, posture modification, and regular stretching, I was still being bothered by pain and discomfort.  Feeling frustrated, I took the problem to my inner guidance during Corpse Pose.  I relaxed my body and mind, threw the question out to the universe, and literally laid back waiting for the answer.

And the answer I received was “go back to the Asthanga standing pose series”.  For those of you unfamiliar with the Asthanga yoga tradition, the standing series is comprised of 18 poses with sun salutations done in between each of the poses.  It is a very strengthening and aerobic series but also increases flexibility and opens up much of the legs, hips and back. 

For the past six months, I have been doing more quieting yoga poses and longer meditation – which apparently haven’t been enough to support the time I’m spending at the computer and my other daily activities which tighten me up.  So I decided to go back to my roots, as I started my yoga practice with the Ashtanga tradition, and re-ground myself with this fabulous series.

And after just two days, my hip pain was gone!  However, I also noticed in doing the series just how tight I was in some areas and how weak my balance seemed to be.  Yikes!  It was a wake-up call that I need to pay this old yoga friend a more regular visit just to make sure I keep things open and flowing, strong and balanced.  That said, I’ve decided to do the series once a week and blend it in with my other days of gentle stretching and longer meditation and some days of specific Kundalini yoga sets.

And this is what I LOVE about yoga – there are so many ways to support myself on all levels of body, mind and spirit.  It’s simply knowing and remembering what tools to pull out of my tool kit at the different times.  And it was a great reminder that there is no right or wrong, no better or worse when it comes to the different yoga styles and traditions.  Rather each style has its own unique gifts which serve us at different times.

So thank you hip pain for re-connecting me with all that yoga is and thank you to all the teachers who have shared with me the possibilities so that I can support myself at any time.

Woman in High Gear

After a lovely five days of vacation, I am back home and am a woman in high gear.  My inner batteries are re-charged and the vacation days of relaxation have left me ready to roll.  My first day back I whipped out two loads of laundry, cleaned out the refrigerator, unpacked, sorted mail and emails, and cleaned the house and my office piles.  By day two, I was a busy bee in my office taking care of both home and business projects.  Gone was my lethargy, the project fatigue, and the dullness.  And I am once again reminded that to fuel my cycles of high activities, I need to make time for the flip side of renewal. 

This is the power of rejuvenation.  And we all need some time to get it.  But too often in this busy, fast-paced modern life, we don’t make time to let go, to recharge, to rejuvenate, to renew.  And instead, we end up with more fatigue, tension and stress, and chronic conditions of imbalance.  Our health statistics reflect this with 1 out of 2 Americans having at least one chronic health condition and 2/3 of Americans being on some form of regular medicine.

Remember not to set yourself up for failure with unrealistic expectations such as a long vacation, or a full week off, or feeling the need to have to spend money.  No matter what your time or financial circumstances, there are ways to create the space for recharging your batteries.  If you have the time, great.  If not, shorter breaks can also be effective.

Here’s a few ideas to get things started for recharging options.  Remember to find the outlets that fit your personal needs for renewal.

• An afternoon off with a favorite book or a movie matinee
• An half or whole day in nature
• Mini home spa day
• A day or weekend visiting friends – just getting out of your home environments without all the demands is incredibly refreshing
• Home exchanges – there are very good, safe options that make vacations more affordable.  My favorite is Home Exchange

As always, it nurturing your health doesn’t have to be big or expensive – but you do need to do it!

I’d love to hear what helps you recharge – so send me an email or note to share your experiences.