Emotions are like blood sugar

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emotional sugar cubes

Since I was a kid, I’ve had to ‘watch’ my blood sugar. If I don’t eat regularly or try to maintain a healthy level, I can get quite cranky. In fact, an ex of mine used to joke that if I didn’t get fed when I was hungry, our whole relationship was on the rocks.

It’s well known that the key to maintaining a healthy weight and eating regimen is keeping blood sugar even.  If you don’t, it can drop.  If you eat the wrong foods, it can peak and send you crashing later. It’s the same thing with our emotions.

Emotions can peak and valley superficially depending on the story we attach to our feelings, and our ability to recognize when they’re ruling us.

The old adage ‘this too shall pass’ is something we often bring to mind when something terrible has happened. But, an astute teacher once told me that we should exercise the same recognition of fleeting feelings of happiness.  Not in a doom in gloom kind of way, but rather noticing that feelings are transient.  It’s when we attach our story to those feelings that the out of control ‘emotional blood sugar’ takes over.

Our minds have a fascinating way of taking us on a roller coaster ride, if we let them. The key is training your mind not to indulge in every pleasingly sugary experience or ride the hill of fear at the detriment of your peace.

Know what you feel, and that you feel, and that feelings are finite.  Know that you are bigger than your emotions and there is peace in riding them to the shore.

Namaste.

- Your Charmed Yogi

(Photo: Pinterest)

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Even nonaction has its consequences

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Reblogged from Amanda Green YOGA:

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“Prana” posted a really good question on last week’s blog.  Something like--What happens if you are on the receiving end of actions by someone who has a penchant for being agreeable and also prefers to avoid confrontation or action? I’d have to say, there must be times that it is really nice and times that it probably sucks.  Because I've been on both sides of the matter, I’ll imagine I’m in a relationship with myself… Say some change of plans comes up for the Amandas-- highly inconvenient. 

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“Recognizing Purpose”

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Reblogged from Engaged Dharma:

Talk given at the Buddha Center, Second Life
by Wayne Ren-Cheng

Intent is essential to the cultivation-authentication process, the practice requires cultivation of mindfulness and authentication of HOW you are.  Many people don't often think about their intentions . . . that is until something happens and they find themselves saying, “That wasn't my intention”.  It is human nature to look at intent when things have gone badly but rarely when things are going well. 

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You have an infinite capacity for gratitude

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gratitude tattoo

gratitude by Fancy Hunt on Flickr

When I was little, I’d say my prayers before bed.  ”Now I lay me down to sleep….” I’d ask God to bless and watch over my mom, dad, gradmas and grandpas, aunt and uncle, brother, dog, cat, friends, anyone I didn’t know and everyone I forgot to mention.

I believed that I had to squeeze it all in during that prayer or someone might be left unprotected. As  a child, I had no parameters for what I asked of God.  As I got older, ‘the list’ became more condensed as if there were only so much room to ask God for a favor.

I used to think about Gratitude kinda the same way, like I had to find only the most prolific or beautiful things to be grateful for.  As if there were somehow a limit on gratitude or that unpleasant experiences weren’t worth considering.

But, I’ve come to realize that just like our hearts have an infinite capacity for love, there’s no limit to how much you can express gratitude for, and nothing is too trivial.

You can be grateful for the big ones, the obvious ones like, “I’m grateful for my health, and the health of my family, and my job, and my home, etc.” and those are great.  But it’s also OK to express gratitude for the little things or oft forgotten things like toilet paper, clean water, green lights, toast, toothpaste, not stubbing your toe on the table again…

And, it’s particularly liberating to be grateful for the not-so-awesome things that happen in our lives like people who drive us crazy, traffic or pain.  

When you begin to find ways to be grateful for everything, you can begin to let go of assigning value judgements like good or bad and take the ‘me’ out of what happens.  It just happens.

How many things can you be grateful for today?

Namaste.

- Your Charmed Yogi

(Photo: Fancy Hunt / Flickr)

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Follow those thoughts, and step on it!

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In yoga, we often talk about non-attachment, particularly when it comes to our thoughts. But, sometimes it’s great to do some investigative reporting.

As is customary, I am reading several books at once.  One of them is Buddhist Bootcamp, by Timber Hawkeye.  As is also customary, I often highlight or capture in a journal those statements or quotes that I find compelling and transformative.

I find it refreshing that he suggests we f0llow our thoughts out of curiosity.

“Habitually contemplate whether your thoughts stem from love or from fear. If your thoughts originate in love, then follow them. If they originate from a place of fear, then dig deep to find the root of your fear.  Only then will you be able to finally let go, so fear no longer limits your possibilities.”

It’s quite fascinating when you follow your thoughts, judgements and emotional responses like a curious cat.  You may find that what you think may be a root cause for a preconception or fear, isn’t at all.

I’ve been trying to take Timber’s challenge a step further, and I pass that onto you.  Rather than stopping at finding out the source of your fear, continue your journey and see if you can find the source below the source.  See if you can illuminate the darkness with compassion.

For example, if you find yourself glowering at someone who’s annoying you, dig deep to find out what that feeling is really about.  Have the courage to look into how you may possess those qualities, accept them and find a wellspring of compassion.

It’s there.  I promise.

(Photo: Flickr / Dominique LaTour)

Namaste.

- Your Charmed Yogi

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You are bigger than your wheel of emotions

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wheel of emotion

Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions

Lately, I’ve incorporated a new ritual into my morning practice.  As soon as I wake up, even before I’m out of bed, I recite a set of affirmations from A Journey into Wholeness given to me by Benita Esposito.  One of those affirmations is, “I find myself big enough to contain my emotions, and know that I am larger than they are.”  It’s an interesting approach to bringing awareness to emotions as part of our being.  Similar to Rumi’s guest house.

Understanding our emotions helps us process them on a conscious level, so our bodies don’t have to experience them on a physical level.

Robert Plutchik, a psychologist and professor at the University of Florida developed an evolutionary theory of emotion supposing that emotions have an evolutionary history. He believed there to be eight primary emotions - anger, fear, sadness, disgust, surprise,anticipation, trust, and joy. Like natural selection, he believed that our emotional responses adapted overtime, and were passed on as part of the psychoevolutionary process.  Think the psychological version of Darwin. He even developed a ‘Wheel of Emotions” graphic to illustrate how nuanced our emotions can be.

He suggested 8 primary bipolar emotions: joy versus sadness; anger versus fear; trust versus disgust; and surprise versus anticipation. Additionally, his circumplex model makes connections between the idea of an emotion circle and a color wheel. Like colors, primary emotions can be expressed at different intensities and can mix with one another to form different emotions.

The theory was extended to provide the basis for an explanation for psychological defence mechanisms; Plutchik proposed that eight defense mechanisms were manifestations of the eight core emotions.

I find the theory fascinating, particularly how he incorporates the light and the dark aspects of emotions like surrender.  Even though it’s quite colorful, it’s still a little two ‘defined’ for my taste.  It would have been great (if he were alive) to see a collaboration between he and Eckhart Tolle.

The point is, no matter what emotions you experience, you can ride them out by being bigger than they are.

“Rather than being your thoughts and emotions, be the awareness behind them.”

- Eckhart Tolle

Namaste.

- Your Charmed Yogi

(Photo/Quote: Wikipedia)

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Let’s pretend life is a cassette tape

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mixed tape

If you’re over the age of 25, you probably remember listening to music on cassette tapes and the awesomeness and tribulations that went with it.

Skipping forward wasn’t as easy as pressing an arrow, there was skill involved.  Go too far, and you missed the awesome intro of Danger Zone.  Stop short, and you’re playing a game of trying to find the exact end of the song.

The beauty was that we didn’t realize how life was pacing us vs. today, when we try to out-pace life.  You appreciated the next song and the anticipation WAS the journey.

So, just for today, see if you can bring awareness to the times you’re trying to ‘skip to the next song’ and allow yourself to wait it out.  I promise, the next moment is there – live in this one.

Namaste,

- Your Totally Awesome Charmed Yogi

(Photo: Mark Wisz)

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Beautiful: Yoga is for Everyone - Sarah Shaffer's Story on Yoga with Down Syndrome

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Reblogged from Christa in New York:

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Too much of the media circus around yoga leads people to believe that it is a practice exclusively for super models and contortionists. Nothing could be further from the truth. U.S. News & World Report ran a story about Sarah Shaffer, a high school student who practices yoga to relax and improve her running.

The full story is below but the last line is the one that got me choked up.

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Solar eclipse yoga (and a new moon too)

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solar eclipse

Today, we’ll experience the annular solar eclipse.  The moon will block part of the sun today for a sensational celestial sight for those who can see it.  So what does this mean for yogis?

Like during a full moon, energies fluctuate greatly during solar and lunar eclipses . Emotions can be heightened, and we can feel overwhelmed or even drained — even for several days before and after the eclipse.

We, ourselves, may feel these shifts intensely or we may simply feel the effects of everyone and everything around us in heightened states. Like full moon yoga, there are many different interpretations of what, if any, yoga to do.

For me, I’m often so full of energy that I’m buzzing like a kid on sugar only to crash from the overwhelming build up within me.  So, I tend to get on the mat and practice a steady vinyasa flow FULL of breath linked with movement.  This both helps to release and draw on some of the amazing energy circulating at the time in a healthy, productive way.

It’s also a great time to experience connectedness, and with the new moon, it’s a great time to shed what’s no longer serving you mentally and spiritually, and start anew.

Here’s a practice you can do for the next few days in celebration of the solar eclipse and new moon.  I recommend focusing on your breathing, flowing from each pose to the next on an in breath and out breath.  Feel free to sneak a vinyasa or your favorite transition in between the standing poses and inversions.

1. Kapalabhati Breathing - Here’s a video for those unfamiliar with the practice

2. Gentle warm-up – Whatever creatively moves through you to get the energy flowing.  Perhaps some cat cow, or hip circles or even some meditative, child’s pose to release tension.

3. 3 – 5 Rounds Surya Namaskar A Sun Salutations – There’s  a chart within this post if you need a reminder of the poses.

4. 3 -5 Rounds of Chandra Namaskar (moon salutations) – Here’s a post with a chart if you’re unfamiliar with moon salutations.

5. Tree pose - Hold for 5 breaths on each side.  Don’t be surprised if you’re wobbly, just stay with it. If you topple out of the pose, just get back in and laugh.

6. Child’s pose – Hold for as long as you need

7. Inversion of choice – You may want to pick something like headstand or shoulderstand.  If you’re energy is off and you’re feeling weak, go for supported shoulderstand with a block under your sacrum

7. Gomukhasana Cow Face Pose - Hold for 10 – 15 breaths, and switch sides

8. Savasana - Give yourself 10 minutes to integrate your practice

9. Meditation – If you have a meditation practice already, try doing 15 – 20 minutes.  If not,  you may choose simply to sit still and allow yourself to be present; you may choose to silently repeat a mantra or send an intention out with the new moon.  Or you could try this Solar Eclipse Kundalini meditation by CatalystYogi.

Enjoy your practice whatever you do, and take time to observe the energy swirling around you and within you.

Namaste.

- Your Charmed Yogi

(Photo: Colleen Pinski / Caters News) 

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Take fear into your infinite heart

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buddhist meditating on heart

Our hearts have an infinite capacity for loving, healing, learning, and illuminating. When we’re angry, we can feel our hearts close, and when we forgive we can feel our entire bodies soften.

When we are in pain, we can let down the walls around our hearts and let others in.  And, when we are afraid, we can open our hearts and let it swallow our fears, only to shine brighter after.

To fight pain, fear and anger is to give those things power, to deny part of ourselves. Instead, take those things into your heart where they are acknowledged, welcomed, accepted, comforted and transmuted.

Namaste.

- Your Charmed Yogi

(Photo: Tumblr/Ozone Baby)

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