Just Do It

How do you know what good feels like if you never feel bad?

I like yoga because you stretch yourself beyond your edge, your heart starts racing from a simple long hold, sweat starts streaming and then you stop.  The teacher says lie on your belly and do nothing.  There is a god.  

The beauty of doing nothing.  You can't know it if you are never busy.  You can't appreciate it if you are never stressed.  Embrace it. 

Digital Detox

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Back from a few days with family in Tennessee.  Stayed at Montgomery Bell State Park.  My idea of camping.  Beautiful place, modern cabins, inexpensive and plenty of room for kickball and dominoes.  We will be back.  Taking time away from all social media, digital devices, and whatever work you do, truly recharges you to have more energy and more creativity for it.  

On a smaller level, you can carve out this digital detox and time for thinking, doing, and planning NO THING daily in a 1 hour yoga class or a 20 minute meditation.   Start small at 5 minutes and work your way up to 20 minutes.  It is a practice.  

If it's your first time sitting quietly in meditation, you may find you are physically and mentally very uncomfortable.  Yoga Asana or the physical practice of yoga can get your body ready to sit comfortably in meditation.  Asana means comfortable seat in Sanskrit.  If you're in pain, there is little else your mind will focus on.  But if your body is a friend and accomplice, you can let go. 

Find a spot to sit quietly, cross legged or in a chair if needed, spine erect.  Close your eyes and watch the thoughts pass by.  When your mind wonders, note it and come back to QUIET.   Work to slow the fluctuations of the mind.  Meditation can reduce stress and anxiety, mood disorders, insomnia, and hypertension.