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A Meditation in Walking

meditation in walking
Contrary to popular belief, meditation doesn’t have to happen alone in a room, in full lotus, body silent and still.

No, in fact sometimes the most satisfying meditations happen on your feet, outdoors and covering ground.  Certainly, by now, we are all aware of the benefits of walking.  It has been the foundation to many a weight loss program as it’s inexpensive, outside of a good pair of shoes, it can be done anywhere and anyone can do it.  But can we truly achieve a meditative state by doing it?

Many of us already enjoy walking for some meditative benefits already.  Communing with nature, enjoying fresh air and clearing one’s head, all wonderful aspects to a low-intensity, heart pumping activity that can be done right outside your door.

Up until about two years ago, I walked as I run, not to the beat of my heart or to the sounds of the surrounding outdoors, but to the ear-splitting tunes filling my head.  I will likely always need music to help move and motivate me through a run, but it only took one walk without my earbuds to convert me to the centring, perspective gathering benefits of a brisk walk in peace and quiet rather than a brisk walk, thoughts and mind overwhelmed by the intense beat of drums and base.

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Look and Feel Younger… Anti-age With Yoga!

Use yoga to stop the clock!

Slow the signs of aging and feel younger with a simple yoga regimen. These are huge claims, but as someone who has had, shall we say, an undulating habit of practice, there’s nothing like the feeling of a body fresh from the mat.  And the various positive effects last throughout the day.  Without a doubt a regular practice has effects that extend far beyond just the hours following….

Eight years ago, when Sharon Gothard Weisman turned 40, backaches, dark undereye circles, forgetfulness, and fatigue made her feel more like 60. In the hope of finding anti-aging relief, Weisman took a yoga class. An hour later, she felt more relaxed than she had in years. She’s been doing yoga three times a week since and says, “I have more energy, strength, and flexibility than most women half my age.”She recently ran into an old high school friend who asked, “Don’t you get older like the rest of us?”

Many women try yoga for stress reduction, but they stick with it because it makes them feel–and look–younger, says Larry Payne, PhD, a yoga director at Loyola Marymount University and coauthor of Yoga Rx. Unlike traditional exercise, yoga blends anti-aging moves that improve circulation, balance, flexibility, and strength with meditative techniques such as deep breathing. “My students call yoga a natural face-lift,” he says. “It cleanses, relaxes, and restores.”
Read more of the advantages of yoga….

Weightloss and Fitness… The Yogic Connection

yoga for fitness and weightloss

We often hear about the benefits of yoga as it pertains to spiritual and mental health, but is there a tangible connection to one’s fitness and, more specifically, can I lose a few pounds doing it?

I already enjoy the stress busting aspects of a regular… OK, semi-regular… practice, but how much of what I’m doing actually targets my trouble spots- those zones of frustration such as my tummy and thighs… OK, and bum and perhaps, and the fleshy wings accumulating under my newly minted 40 year old arms?

Well, those of us who would like to look to a less intense, non-impact method of achieving a level of fitness, can take heart.  Studies show that yoga lowers levels of stress hormones and increases insulin sensitivity–a sign your body reads to burn food as fuel rather than store it as fat.  Yay!

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Cool Summer… Lazy- I Mean, Crazy- Summer

I can’t believe summer is already half over! And what have I done? What has become of training? What has become of yoga practice?

Ack!

Well…. let’s see. There’s been camping. There’s been managing kids and whatever school we are squeezing into our days. There’s been lots of company. And recently, there’s been work- yup, paid work. I’ve been shooting a lot! And of course… there’s the beach. We go to the beach. That’s it in a nutshell. And currently, we are entertaining more company… Oh, and potato chips. Yes, lots of potato chips!
However, despite a crazy, busy work week ahead (causing me to bail on half-marathon as I booked a wedding that same afternoon and thought it best not to run almost 13 miles beforehand lest I puke on poor, unsuspecting bride) and a hectic visit to hubby’s hometown in Northern Virginia, I am going to implement change.

Documented here. Yes, here. Change. OK. Not great, fundamental change. But after I booked the gig for next weekend, I pretty much gave up training, in any form. Over the past three weeks I have done largely nothing of a physical nature.

So, MommyOm to the rescue. Good eating… yoga practice… walking and/or running… and hey, five pounds, to boot, happens here. Motivate me, Mommy Om… I’m relying on the power of public record….
Heeeeere we go!