Pure Bliss
How do you know that your body needs a break from physical and mental activity? Do you experience certain signs of burnout? Is your mind cloudy? Does your sleep suffer? How about the foods that you eat, does it go downhill quickly? Do you feel like running away from life, traveling to another state or country and recharging?
Recently, I blissed out at the best yoga nidra session ever. I allowed myself to “let go”, to thoroughly relax, to stop thinking.
When was the last time that you participated in an activity that left you feeling like you’d taken a three hour nap or awakened from a full eight hours of sleep feeling refreshed, relaxed and peaceful?
My friend, Stacey Gibbons teaches slow flow or Forrest yoga at Wild Heart Yoga. Forrest Yoga is intense, in my mind, and not for the faint of heart. When I walked into the yoga studio, I knew what to expect from the yoga and to be gentle with my tight hips, back and neck. What I did not know was that yoga nidra was part of the savasana.
On May 3, 2003, I was officially exposed to mindfulness for the first time. The date stands out in my mind as it was when the old man of the mountain fell at Cannon Mountain. I was enrolled in a stress management course as part of my master’s in health education and the instructor took us through a guided meditation to the ocean. It was euphoric.
I vowed that day to learn how to provide others with this same experience and have succeeded in calming quite a few minds and bodies.
If you haven’t experienced mindfulness, you must try it. Yes, I know what comes next, the excuses. Here are a few that I have heard: I can’t quiet my mind, I don’t want to fall asleep, I can’t lay still, it won’t work for me, I am too anxious. The list goes on.
For all of those reasons, you must try a guided meditation. Here are a few reasons why:
Mindfulness can reduce pain by 50%.
Mindfulness can improve decision making.
Mindfulness can increase creativity and problem solving.
Mindfulness can improve your attention.
Back to yoga nidra….Yoga nidra is a type of meditation that can be traced as far back as 1000 B.C., when the Sankhya philosophy emerged. “Experts have suggested that yoga nidra may improve sleep by activating the parasympathetic nervous system.” Another source states “it offers tools that help us break old thinking habits and encourage new positive thought processes—all for a calm and receptive mind.”
After moving through our slow flow practice, we were guided to relax and experience yoga nidra, to listen to Stacey’s voice. My mind drifted in and out of consciousness and the feeling was one of floating. The practice was roughly 20 minutes long yet when we were guided back to the present, I felt like I had awoken after 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep.
There are varying types of meditations and on August 4th, we have an opportunity for you to participate in engaging your five senses by participating in a Lavender Serenity sophisticated plant-based dinner. Your sense of smell will surely be engaged by the scent of flowers, fresh cut grass and delicious food. As you glance out at the mountains, experience the beauty of the mountains. As you walk through fields of lavender, your hands reach down to run your fingers through the lavender allowing them to emit their fragrance.
This particular day is rainy and allows us to slow down, to reflect. Tell us, what have you experienced recently that you did not know that you needed yet it was perfect timing?
I encourage you to be open to new experiences this summer and to notice that which is around you.