There are NO Coincidences

September 3, 2010 at 4:52 am | health and happiness, on the peaceful side |4 Comments »

With very little time to spend at the computer, I randomly opened to a page of my desk calendar and it opened to one of the mom-isms.  It says (as if it knew what I have been focused on all week):

“Count sheep if you’re having trouble falling asleep.”

Why it’s true:  ANY ritual or mantra that distracts you from your worries and anxieties will help you to fall asleep.  Paying close attention to breathing or to relaxing every part of your body also works for some people.

It could have said ANYTHING in the world about parenting, but it said that.  I am sure this happened just to remind me THERE ARE NO COINCIDENCES!  I hope that this week allowed you to think about the importance of JUST SITTING!

Have a great Friday, the kickoff to a long holiday weekend.  Make smart choices.  For yourself.  For your loved ones.  For all of those around you.  We are all connected.

The Ever Present Balancing Act

September 2, 2010 at 5:58 am | fitness, health and happiness, vegan thursday |2 Comments »

Here it is September.  My plan is to keep summer going as long as possible.  No small wonder I love living in Florida.  Though the pool temperature is dropping a bit, my hope is to continue doing laps every other day until I just can’t tolerate the water.   Good for both my body and my mind,  I am really enjoying the swimming.  I find it somewhat meditative as it’s rather mindless just swimming back and forth.  I mention this because meditation does NOT have to be quite so formal as we have been discussing this week.

I often feel Pilates is meditative because you cannot focus on anything else when all your thoughts are so focused on your own body.  One of my students suggested that when she does needlepoint she is so focused on it that it, too, is like meditation.  For me, however, there is something about just SITTING that is extremely comforting and desirable.  It’s the very important balance to my day that is filled with non–stop movement!

Vegan Feast Thursday also gives my week balance.  Being an empty nester, Mitch and I have quiet dinners together most every night and as a rule they are pretty simple.  No complaints.  Thursday night the house lights up with youth and energy.  Tonight will be a breakfast for dinner night.   Since we are trying to keep things on the healthy side, I am planning on adding some bonus veggies to the tofu scrambles and sticking with the grainy bagels.  The faux bacon is probably not so healthy, but the kids do love it, so its a treat for them (and me!).  A big bowl of grilled potatoes and  lots of summer fruit.  Maybe some homemade muffins.  It’s a meal!

For now it’s meditation time.  Funny, but Blaze is into it as much as I am.  It’s incredibly awesome that he just lays down beside me and knows, after just one time, that he is to do nothing but lay there.  An over-kisser, he seems to understand that it is not the appropriate time for kissing, playing, petting, etc.  Animals are so incredibly intuitive, it never ceases to amaze me.  We have SO much to learn from them.

Have a great VFT.  I hope you will make some compassionate food choices, at least for this day.  What is good for YOU is good for the world, as well.

*For those of you who have emailed me about classes, come and check them out!  I look so forward to meeting you in person.

The Aspiring Heart

September 1, 2010 at 4:13 am | quotes |2 Comments »

~ “We meditate for various reasons. Peace of mind we all badly need. Therefore, when we meditate, either consciously or unconsciously we aim at peace of mind. Meditation give us peace of mind without a tranquilliser. And unlike a tranquilliser, the peace of mind that we get from meditation does not fade away. It lasts for good in some corner of the inmost recesses of our aspiring heart” ~ Sri Chimnoy

Sit Still, Part 2

August 31, 2010 at 5:22 am | health and happiness, on the peaceful side |No Comments »

I am thrilled with the feedback I am getting from so many of you regarding positive changes you are experiencing in your life.  It really is incredible how clean eating, regular exercise and meditation can lead to a balanced, peaceful life journey.  Personally, I am excited to be revisiting my own meditation journey a little more seriously as the benefits are “off the chain, ” or better than we can imagine!

Meditation helps restore balance between the left and right sides of the brain.  The left side deals with thinking, speaking, writing…the right side, intuition, imagination and feeling.  Our hectic lifestyles find us spending my time using our left side, emitting “beta” waves and spending much time in the past and future.  When we allow ourselves to slow down, the brain emits “alpha” waves, allowing us to be much more open to our feelings as we live in the moment, or the present.  In that state, everything takes on new meaning.

Though all this might sound like a bunch of hocus pocus to skeptics,  the science behind the positives of meditation are endless.  Here is a partial list of benefits that are derived from just SITTING:

Lowers oxygen consumption

Decreases respiratory rate

Increases blood flow and slows heart rate

Increases exercise tolerance in heart patients

Leads to a deeper level of relaxation

Good for people with high blood pressure as it brings the B.P. to normal

Reduces anxiety attacks by lowering the levels of blood lactate

Decreases muscle tension (any pain due to tension) and headaches

Builds self confidence

It increases serotonin production which influences mood and behavior. Low levels of serotonin are associated with depression, obesity, insomnia and headaches.

Helps in chronic diseases like allergies , arthritis etc.

Reduces Pre- menstrual Syndrome

Helps in post-operative healing

Enhances the immune system. Research has revealed that meditation increases activity of ‘natural-killer cells’, which kill bacteria and cancer cells

Also reduces activity of viruses and emotional distress.

Additionally, clinical studies in to the effects of meditation have shown a reduction in migraines, insomnia, irritable bowel syndrome, panic attacks and lower levels of stress hormones.  In the office, studies have shown not only increased work performance, but also increased job satisfaction.

Time for me to relieve the left side of my brain and go ignite my right side.  I am off to SIT.  I’ll be at Bally subbing for Carol today- 11:30 Senior Fitness.  12:30 Yoga.  Tonight I’ll be at TFC– 6:00 Cardio combo.  7:00 Yoga/Pilates fusion.  Expect some meditation at the end of all of those!

I just can’t help but feel if more people would meditate, less people would need to medicate.  That’s what I call HEALTH CARE REFORM!

“All you need is deep within you waiting to unfold and reveal itself.  All you have to do is be still and take time to seek for what is wthin, and you will surely find it.” Eileen Caddy