StrengthFinder 2.0 in Yoga

"If you spend your life trying to be good at everything, you will never be great at anything.  While our society encourages us to be well-rounded, this approach inadvertently breeds mediocrity."   Strengths Based Leadership, Tom Rath and Barry Conchie.

34 Strength Capabilities.  The tool evaluates and returns your top 5 Strengths.  Everyone has 5.  I knew that going in and yet, the first time I got together with my coach to discuss the results, I said, "Ok, Pat.  I get that I have these 5 Strengths (and oh-by-the-way one of them is wrong -- which is a different story!) but what are we going to do about the 29 weaknesses?"

The premise behind the StrengthFinder assessment is that by identifying and investing in your strengths, you will be happier, more confident and more effective.  On the flip side, if you focus on shoring up your weaknesses, it drains your energy and causes you to lose confidence.  "At a very basic level, it is hard for us to build self-confidence when we are focused on our weaknesses instead of our strengths."

Let's take that philosophy to our yoga practice.  In the asanas we practice tonight, think about the source of your strength in each pose and build the rest of the pose from there.  For example, in Ardha Chandrasana - Half Moon Pose, does your strength lie in your ability to really extend cultivate muscular energy in your legs, extending down into your standing leg and out through your back leg making it arrow straight and incredibly firm?  Or is it in your strong, stable core that allow you to extend up through the arm, out through the head, down into the ground and out your back leg?  When I do this pose, I immediately want to get right to improving my ability to turn my head, extend my arm more and  face up to the ceiling.  BUT...the minute I focus on that, I lose my connection in the middle, my back legs sways, my arm drops forward...you get the picture.  The pose falls apart.  When I bring my focus to my strength, my really strong and long legs and the ability to extend them, the pose comes together very differently for me.  I'm able to add on the other components in the pose by continuing to build on my strength.

It's Official!

Insurance.  Check.
Business Cards.  Check.
Checking Account.  Check.
Ready to Teach.  Check!

It Does Not Matter

'nuff said.  Do some yoga.

Namaste

Easter Meditation

Joy.  
We can accept the world for the way it is and live our lives for the love that is in it.  We can choose whoever we want to be, do whatever is within our capabilities and learn to transcend our own limitations.
You are being asked to find the light in your life and embrace it.  The tools of healing lie within - in the love that transcends everything.  

Hmmmmm....this is not the first time I've drawn this card and it's not the first time I've drawn this card when I've asked for Grace in the same specific area of my life.  As I placed my hand on the deck and closed my eyes, I thought about the enlightening, heart-opening practice that I had with Carmen this morning and asked silently what it is that I need to focus on to move forward in my relationships with my sisters and my mom.  I'm a person who is biased towards action, towards fixing, towards moving forward.  The thing I struggle with is how to be accepting, especially where the same attitudes and behaviors are repeated but different outcomes are expected.   It's not my style to repeat-again.  I'm a tweak-and-try-again kinda girl.  In a family where apologies are rebuffed, sides are picked, and blame is laid, I feel inadequate to try to fix situations or mend relationships.  I think the Universe is being deliberate in re-handing me the lesson that it's not always about tweaking and trying again.  Sometimes it's about focusing on your own joy, your own light, and being who you are.  And leaving other people the space to do the same.

I also have to smile that this beautiful hummingbird representing healing comes on the day that Todd and I rescued a beautiful Red-tailed hawk.  Putting aside our own fears and uncertainty, not ignoring a spirit in need of help, being persistent and not saying "oh well, we tried and it wasn't there when we looked the first time".  Helping is healing to both the helper and the helped.  I also can't overlook the fact that we always talk about my dad's spirit being a Red-tailed hawk, which I think might be why my eye is quick to spot them.  As I struggle with family dynamics, I've been thinking about him a lot lately, especially in the quiet times:  like when I'm driving home at the end of a day and I see a Red-tailed hawk, standing injured, along the road.

Namaste

Preconceived Ideas: What Makes A Yogi?

I officially taught my first yoga class today.  Whoa.  I OFFICIALLY TAUGHT MY FIRST YOGA CLASS TODAY!!!  Actually, I taught my first two classes and I loved it!  I want to bottle up the experience and carry it around my neck like a jewel...it feels that precious.  Ahhhh...on this rainy dreary Saturday morning, I'm planning to bask in the radiant happiness the rest of the day.

The theme I used was about not bringing preconceived ideas about what it means to be a yogi or a runner.   Looking at the cover of a Yoga Journal or Runner's World can be inspirational and intimidating.  Beautiful, limber, strong, experienced practitioners.

Then there's the rest of us.  Most of us find challenges in simple aspects of our practice.  Straight legs in Utanasana (Standing Forward Fold) is tough for a lot of people, especially for men.  Arms extended so biceps are by the ears in Warrior I can be a challenge if shoulders are tight or muscular.  But, when the gun goes off, everyone who runs is a runner.  When we come to our mats and begin our practice, we are yogis.

We set an intention for the practice to bring only ourselves to the mat and by doing that, we are yogis.  Virabhadrasana  (Warrior) I and II sequences, Crescent Lunge (Deep Lunge), Parsvakonasana (Side Angle Pose), and Sun Salutation series at the end of class with Salabhasana (Locust) and Dhanurasana (Bow) added in after the Cobra section, and then finishing up with Setu Bandha (Bridge) and Paripurna Navasana (Boat) poses made a class that was focused on building strength.

We ended class with the following blessing, which I think is beautiful for runners and yogis.

The Runners Blessing
May you have cool, still nights
and the promise of clear, endless morning.
May the sun rise to greet you with open arms;
and the horizon bow deep beneath your feet.

May you always have water to quench your thirst,
Air to fill your lungs and joy to lift your heart.
May your feet carry you wisely
Swift or slow, towards home.

May you always have heart for your fellow travellers,
and the rhythm of the road to guide you;
May you know the sweetness of victory,
The sorrow of loss and the surrender of both.
--Hannah Broom

Namaste

What to do while waiting to discover your life's purpose

FINALLY.  I finally had the chance to catch-up by phone this afternoon with one of the smartest, most energetic, creative, funniest (and also fun-est which isn't a word but she's super fun!) women I know and am lucky enough to have as an amazing friend.  One of the things that always makes me shake my head in wonder at is how through time and space, we can be on the same telepathic wavelength.  Out of the blue I'll be thinking that I really need to catch up with her...and the next morning, I'll have a text from her saying "we need to catch up".

When we do finally create a time to catch up, it's so incredibly uplifting.  We do a check-in to see who needs to go first, then we're off.  Talking, laughing, musing, figuring, plotting.  The best part is when we get to the kernel of something that we've been wrestling with on our own but got stuck in.  It's such a gift to have someone who can add their brainwaves to your own to think about possibilities for "what's next?".

The idea of how to find your life's purpose has been a recurring part of our discussions over the years.  Sometimes we're moving so fast we can't think about what else it is that we should be doing.  Sometimes we have too much time on our hands and not enough answers.  In our conversation today, she made this amazing statement that just made me think again about how brilliant she is.  She's in a place right now where she has time available and wants to know - NOW - what is her life's purpose.  She's been watching, waiting, following a few things, but nothing is emerging.  So what she said was this:  "Eventually I know that all of these random orbs will draw together and the purpose will appear.  Until then, I'll keep putting myself in situations to create more orbs.  So, if today there are 10,000, then I'll create 50,000 and there will be more likelihood that they will come together."  It's that perspective that I just love about her!

If you are searching to discover your Dharma, your life's purpose, instead of just waiting,  make more orbs...and catch up with a great friend.
Namaste

Situation "Meltdown"

Scene:  Command center of a submarine, middle of the Indian Ocean, depth 1500 feet.
Scenario:  Routine mission, all systems appear to be functioning normally, just a "day in the life", when...
Action:  A *ping* is heard in the command center and a tiny *blip* slings across the green screen.  The sonar officer checks the status of the equipment.

"Everything appears to be functioning normally", he reports matter-of-factly to the Commanding Officer.  For a moment, all attention is focused on the sonar screen waiting to see if another *blip* occurs.  Eyebrow raised, the XO issues the order.   "Run routine diagnostics and report."

"Acknowledged.  Sir, pressure in tanks appear to be at critical levels and rising.  All missiles are engaged and hot.   We appear to be at full alert and on the verge of an imminent meltdown!!  There were no warnings.  The command center was not notified that there was a "situation" in progress.  Orders, sir, we need orders now!"

And then, the command that the crew dreads:  "EMERGENCY BLOW...NOW!"  aahh-ooogga  aahh-ooogga  <red lights circle the control room as a flurry of activity begins>  With one last hesitation, the sonar officer hits the button and with a rapid blow, releases all ballast from the tanks.  The result is an immediate, rapid ascent and an impressive display of waterworks as the sub suddenly breaches the surface of the normally placid blue sea.

End Scene.

And that, my friends, is how an Emotional Meltdown occurs.  Seemingly out of the blue, it is really the result of an escalation of emotions that are being managed below the surface.  As little things come up, we poke a cork into the tiny leaks as they spring up.  And the internal pressure starts to build.  We tell ourselves that we can handle it...it will settle down in time.  Then, something (or somethings) pops up on another front...at work or at home or in a relationship or somewhere else in our life.  Another cork and the pressure gauge goes up.  Symptoms that "somethings up" get brushed aside.  *ping* Not sleeping well = lots of things to do.  *blip* Headache = lots to think about.  *ping*blip* Nervous stomach = just anxious about trying something new.

Yoga is about aligning our inner and outer selves.  Asana practice links our physical body with our emotions. I first experienced this link when doing "Torturasana" (as we fondly call the Intense and Torturous Quad Stretch at the Wall) and the emotions of agitation and anger that came up for me.  I had noticed in Savasana before...to some extent...when I would feel anxious and my mind would wind its way through a maze to find the source.  But this time, once the corks started popping out, baby, there was no stuffing them back in (not that I didn't give it a completely ineffective try).  Grace lead me to a time and place to be wrapped in love and support when *splat* I hit the wall with an "impressive display of waterworks".  That's what yoga gives us.  Support that needs no thanks.  Friends that mop up the waterworks.  Warm hugs that pop the corks at just the right time and in just the right place to help us get through something we didn't know how to manage through on our own.  Yoga shows us the way.

Namaste