Thanksgiving
October 13, 2008 at 11:49 am | Posted in daily practices, meditation, taking care, Uncategorized, yoga | Leave a commentTags: Add new tag, libre
today i give thanks for all the support i receive in this world. My Mom has been to visit and i am thankful for our time together.
as i begin to see my own harvest i am willing and eager to manifest my dreams, to be all that i can be.
yoga routines help me heal any lingering wounds and now with my new business venture I happy to have a focus to bring ‘tea moments’ to all who enjoy loose leaf tea.
these two paths of business and yoga are the intersection of nirvana for me and i am grateful for the opportunity to serve this cosmos is some productive fashion.
having been just involved in Yoga Month festival in Vancovuer I am so pleased to move forward with these two passions. Already my first yoga studio/tea room is involved and now am connected wtih the Yoga Alliance of BC.
Thanks be to the universe for providing so abundantly.
note to self: meditate and do yoga daily to remember the abundance
Relaxation and Wellness
April 29, 2008 at 12:03 pm | Posted in aging, conscious living, daily practices, health, taking care | Leave a commentTags: conscious planet
I’m an advocate for relaxing as when our bodies and internal cels are relaxed we experience little fear and joy has a opportunity to arise. As well when our physical body is relaxed there is a greater opportunity for personal awareness and expanding consciouness.
In addition to physical relaxation for our cells i am also very interested in enhancing our wellness through basics like what we eat and what nourishes our cells. The cellular ‘intelligence’ we possess can be enhanced through nutrition for our physical wellness, relaxation excercises like yoga for our emotional wellness and increasing our consciousness for our spiritual wellness.
I have signed up for some nutritional supplements that affects physical and spiritual/consciousness wellness. The product line is based on hemp – a food my body enjoys and assimilates well – and the mineral supplement is what i will try out first. The theory is based on David Hawkins work that all substances have a conscousness level and the more exposure to higher consciousness we experience the more light and consciousness we generate.
So all the producst contains substances with a high conscousness rating. Hemp is a high consciousness food and all the product is based on hemp. It contains omega 3 and 6 in the right proportions for the body to effectively absorb.
I will provide updates to what i notice as i begin the mineral supplements.
The company is Conscous Planet and after meting a representative at a community ’earth day’ celebration i perused the web site and then listened to the founders video. It is clear the principles under which the company operates and its goals are compatible with my ever increasing want for more conscious living.
all for now
Wendy
Bedtime and Yoga
December 12, 2007 at 5:35 pm | Posted in breathing, daily practices, relaxation, sleep better, taking care, Uncategorized | 2 CommentsGetting a good night’s sleep at this time of year can be a challenge – so many ‘to do’s’ and so little time. We gear ourselves up with expectations and invariably our mind is way too busy trying to be one step ahead to get it all done.
This leaves the question – how to relax and go to sleep.
Yoga at bedtime – try it out. There are many types of yoga and kinds of postures. Those that help bedtime relaxation are not meant to get your energy going. They are meant to allow your parasympathetic nervous system to activate. We are often full of andrenylin throughout the day so being in touch with our ‘calming nervous system’ is not easy nor engaged without some attention.
I’ll be posting some pictures of the postures I will describe but in the meantime I recommend the folllowing postures with attention at all times resting on your breath (if thoughts enter your mind, acknowledge them and let them go). This routine can be done when you are all ready to go to bed.
1. legs up the wall – - lie on your back so that your buttocks touch the wall and your legs are resting up the wall – straight up or knees bent out with soles of feet touching (creates a diamond shape), arms are relaxed at your sides, palms up. try 10 breaths or more – slowly in and out – belly rise, belly fall:)
2. knees to chest – still at the wall – bring your knees to our chest and hold onto shins or wrap arms around them – lighting holding – in breath allow expansionof the chest, out breath pull inwith the arms – try 10 breaths here.
3. forward fold – get into bed sitting up with legs open in a ‘v’ and pillows in front of you between your legs. Allow your torso to drape over the pillows leaving your face clear to breathe. Give your attention to on your breath and breathe into the back of your lungs (i.e. your back) – exhale very slowly and completely. Breathing 10 times.
4. lie down on your back – head on low rise pillow, arms away from your body with palms up – connect with your breath and breath into your belly feeling it go up,and then down on the exhale, feel each body part sinking into the bed and being supported by the mattress
5. do not move and repeat quietly to yourself – “My body is relaxed and comfortable, I am resting and peaceful”
Shhhhhh…good night.
Try it for several nights in a row. The more similar the routine of going to bed is – activities and timing – the more your body will know it is time to go to sleep.
Sweet dreams:)
A Massage for Couples
November 12, 2007 at 10:43 pm | Posted in aging, massage, relaxation, sleep better, taking care | Leave a commentAt Harrison Hot Springs we were celebrating our anniversary and so what better way to relax and be romantic than a couples massage. We had been in the hot pools ‘softening up’ for the experience.
Once at the spa (a few steps from the hot pools) we were led to another room – soft music and lighting – with 2 massage tables set-up and we each had our own massuese – very experienced with one of us wanting a deep tisssue massage and me a relaxation massage. What a great experience, to be in each other’s energy while deeply relaxing and surrendering our bodies to the massaging hands.
It certainly was a unique event and romantic – we finished up an hour later and put our bath robes back on and wandered to the lobby for a lite dinner. Although robes are fine in the lobby they are not ok in the lobby lounge. So luckily we brought some clothes, got changed and had a slow and enjoyable dinner before retiring for the evening.
Had a marvellous sleep that night, our second night and final night. Two nights makes all the difference – so much space and time to relax into with no other agenda.
I hope we can make this get away a tradition for our anniversary – such lovely memories and not stress!! I can certainly understand how this state of bliss could lead to a youthful outlook, even the lines of life were receding from my face.
Relaxing at Harrison Hot Springs
November 7, 2007 at 10:38 pm | Posted in aging, health, massage, meditation, relaxation, taking care | 1 CommentI really must talk about this more as it was such a treat and i think a very healthy time away. relaxing in the hot pools 2 to 3 x per day for 3 days was so therapeutic. even my mind is clearer and my energy is calmer all round. We went to Harrison Hot Springs Resort see yesterdays post for the link.
I am noticing that my skin all over is much softer and my face brighter. Being a spa kind of place i thought i would bring my own mini spa supplies – french clay masque, shea body butter, sloughing lather and pumice stone. After a couple of my hot pools i showered and used the supplies and then the shea body butter mmm… feels so good.
Also had massage. Very experienced staff and thought the massage was excellent.
We had a couples massage – 2 massueses in 1 room with us each on our own masage tables – very intimate…sort of…not sure what to make of the experience…it certainly was something new to enjoy together. Would do it again for a romantic occassion.
Our massage was at 6pm so after we put on some clothes and went to the lobby bar for a relaxing drink and very light supper….excellent salad and presentation.
Speaking of the lobby, many people would wander the lobby in ther robes. Every room has robes that all where back and forth to the hot pools. Very relaxing to stop in the lobby by the fireplace in the big comfy chairs on the way top the pools.
So bliss it was for 2 nights and 3 days….trying to keep the feeling alive with meditation and yoga in the morning now. But my oh my i hope to do that again within 6 months or next year for our anniversary again. Sounds like a tradition in the making.
Relaxing Harrison Hot Springs
November 7, 2007 at 9:12 am | Posted in aging, health, relaxation, taking care | Leave a commentJust returned from 2 days at Harrison Hot Springs - a jewel of a place 2 hours east of Vancouver. I don’t know what they put in that water:) The mineral content is high so it just infuses the body and balances the system. My body felt significantly more relaxed and looser every time i sat in those pools for a while.
There are 3 hotpools i enjoyed each with increasing temperatures from 98 degrees to 104 degrees farenheit. The beautiful outdoor setting of the hot pools within the hotel area is stately and relaxing. The hotter pool is indoors in a facility with a spa as well as a separate facility that included a pool, hotpool and changerooms with steam rooms!
We were there for 2 nights – saturday and sunday – the former quite busy with a conference and also the traditional Haney to Harrison run. Sunday was much quieter although throughout the day there were many people around lunching and walking.
This hotel sits on beautiful lake front with glacier views and hills rising up on all sides of the lake. Many people come for the summertime fun however i am recommending it in the off season (an internet special room rate). The cooler air temperatures really adds to the enjoyment of the hotpools.
My whole body feels looser and my mind clear. What an amazing way to spend a couple of days if the goal is true relaxation.
More Relaxation Benefits – boost your IQ in the workplace
October 27, 2007 at 8:34 am | Posted in health, massage, relaxation, taking care, workplace | Leave a commentTags: IQ, massage, relaxation, workplace
Just last week there was a link on this blog about the relationship between IQ and relaxation. Here is more evidence: (from Globe and Mail newspaper Oct 27 online edition). In the study below, massaged workers, solved math problems in half the time with half the errors after the 15 minute massage!!!
Stress is known to be affecting the productivity of the workplace - “More than 78 per cent of Canadian employers identified work-related stress as the biggest threat to their employees’ well-being in a survey by Buffett & Co. Workplace Wellness Ltd. last year. And that isn’t good for business: Work stress costs Canadian employers billions a year, from problems with absenteeism and turnover to payments for benefits and services.
One 1996 study by the Touch Research Group at the University of Miami put 26 employees in the chair for 15-minute massages twice a week and another group of 24 who were just asked to close their eyes and relax in the massage chair.
They were monitored with an electroencephalograph machine, completed depression and anxiety tests and provided saliva samples. The results: those who were massaged reduced their stress more and improved performance more than the control group.
Not only that: The massaged workers completed math problems in half the time and with half the errors they had before they were massaged. The math skills in the control group did not improve.”
moving on with vim and vigour
August 13, 2007 at 10:04 pm | Posted in aging, daily practices, personal growth, relaxation, taking care, yoga | Leave a commentI believe i have come to the end of my obsession with relaxation – life is becoming full and it seems i now need to integrate relaxation into my being.
Maybe this is the testing phase – thinking i have got something pretty well accomplished yet the reality that it is integrated is yet to come.
I am in the midst of starting a new business, taking courses, and teaching yoga. Also a friend and I have committed to losing a few pounds and getting fit. We have objectives, goals and baseline measures for the body and the weight. Look forward to my ‘last’ chance at a great body in the latter half of my 40′s before the unrelenting aging process causes me grief.
How to be relaxed in the flow of life as it happens – the next phase.
The centre of me is in the relaxed part – ahhhh to remember and reconnect often.
For now i am finding more fun with uploading pictures and a new ‘header’.
Maybe now it all gets ‘real’. Thanks goodness for the ‘categories’ about which i blog – great reminders.
Morning routine – yoga and relaxation
July 24, 2007 at 12:40 pm | Posted in aging, book referral, breathing, daily practices, meditation, relaxation, taking care, yoga | 3 CommentsI have recently read the book ” A Spiritual Response to Stress”. As we all know stress is an everyday feature of life. In addition to being aware how we create our stress we can prepare ourselves to start the day from a solid and grounded place so we can respond to ‘stressors’ with less energy.
This book talks about practicing a regular morning routine. This helps me to connect with myself and know my inner place of relaxation before the day gets going. The routine can be a combination of some yoga and/or stretching follwed by a brief quiet time. The author suggests that he really wishes he had discovered this routine much earlier in life. In the few days since i have started I get a felt sense of starting the day from a very different place. he suggests that the routine effects cumulate over time as the body and mind know that this is the way the day is going to start.
My routine starts before i get out of bed -
1. I pull up one knee at a time and hold it close to my chest ( or as close as it goes;). I take 3 breaths while holding each knee. The breath is not one of effort it is one of awareness – so focus on the breath just gently coming and out. With each exhale the knee can drop a little closer to the chest. I then hold both knees and slowly rock side to side still focusing on my gentle breath for five breaths.
2. Then slowly, rolling all the way to one side I rest and then gently bring my feet and legs over the side of the bed and raise my self to an upright position with the top arm helping to push me up slowly. With feet on the floor I place one hand on the opposite knee and slowly look around to that side of me ( a gentle twist). I hold this gentle twist for 3 breaths on each side.
3. Then i push myself up to standing. With arms overhead I reach for the ceiling on an inbreath and stretch fully upwards. Then raise one hand over head and reach towards the ceiling to stretch out each side. Hold this position for 3 breaths on each side allowng each exhale to open that stretched side a little further.
4. Slowly with feet hipwidth apart, a flat back and abdominals engaged i bend forward holding onto either elbow. Let the head drop naturally – stay in this positon for 5 breaths ( forward bends are very relaxing). With each exhale allow your front body to come closer to your thighs. Slowly come back up with abdominals engaged to protect your lower back.
5. Standing upright raise your shoulders to your ears on the in breath and let them down with a heavy sigh on the exhale. Repeat 5 times. Slowly roll your shoulders forwards then backwards 3 times – feel the shoulder muscles relax and the shoulder blades rest comfortably down the the back.
6. With hands on the waist slowly rotate the hips in a circle – one way then the other 5 times. With toes on the floor and heel lifted rotate the ankle of each foot slowly 5 times, one way then the other. Focus on your breath that probably will get deeper the further into the routine you progress.
7. Stand still with arms draped by your sides and palms out and focus on your breath and scan your body for tensions. Breath into that area and consciously suggest relaxation to the tension. This can be for 10 to 15 breaths.
8. Thank your body for its ability to allow you out of bed and the movement it has provided.
9. Now it is time for a short meditation – sit comfortably, relax your facial muscles, unfocus the eyes and allow them drop nto the back of you head (imagination is a great tool for relaxation).Focus only on your breath for a few minutes – hopefully 5 and maybe 10 or fifteen. If thoughts enter allow them to leave.
10. When you are naturally complete with the process wiggle your fingers and toes stretch your arms overhead. Greet the day with appreciation for another opportunity to be here.
This routine can take 20 to30 minutes to complete and any gentle moves can be incorporated depending on how your body is feeling – listen intently to your body and appreciate the opportunity to move into the day feeling grounded and relaxed.
Any day is good to practice, everyday and your body will love the routine and attention.
Good morning:)
Relaxing – after San Juan Island
July 3, 2007 at 7:38 pm | Posted in daily practices, health, personal growth, relaxation, taking care | Leave a commentWe are finally getting summer here on the ‘wet coast’ and the heat is on.
We are lucky to have a backyard that is shady and perfect for relaxing and cooling down. (I’ll get some photos here soon of the picturesque place). .. and just ‘hanging out’. I had a lot of reading to do today as I started a course at UBC. Being ‘task’ oriented usually I focus on ‘getting it done’. But the backyard was calling. I had been in transit a lot of the day, living a ferry ride away, and so hadn’t really soaked up time in the out of doors and cool shade in the quiet ….So reading time outside totally comfortable, surrounded by nature!!!
I pulled out the chaise lounge and made myself a refreshing beverage and brought out the book. So although it was a ‘task’ I managed to integrate it into a relaxing context. My resentment at having to read 120 pages before tomorrow on this lovely day and travel 4. 5 hours for the course seemingly dissapated. This allowed me to feel taken care of which ‘begat’ more good intentions - went onto to do an hour of yoga in the backyard and then an hour of grocery shopping and dinner prep… all proceeded calmly.
Can you integrate a relaxing context into your daily to do’s?
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