For the Grownups: Breathing In Calm

Its been a busy week for those of us on the east coast. Not only are we preparing for a new school year, but now also a huge hurricane. This followed by an earthquake a week ago. Nerves are being rattled as Mother Nature seems to be testing us at every turn.

Tempers are rising and stress is increasing as thousands are evacuated, businesses are boarded up, ball games and outdoor events are cancelled, gas stations run out of fuel and long checkout lines and empty shelves greet us at the grocery store. We are emptying out our basements and ground floors of valuables & family artifacts in case of flooding. We are glued to the TV, radio and Internet weather channel. Fear & panic sets in deeper with every news report. We are told to prepare & stay calm...

Stay calm?! You've got to be kidding me!!

There are many tools for creating and maintaining calm in the midst of chaos, but one tool in particular is by far the simplest, the most effective and the most overlooked: your breath.

As adults, we take on average about 22,000 breaths a day. Within all of those breaths is tremendous potential for creating a relaxation response that will not only physically relax the brain and body, but will empower you mentally & emotionally to handle any situation with a calm, deliberate demeanor. The 3 tricks are to practice daily, practice often and practice before chaos strikes. I know what you are saying: you  are saying that you are way too busy & stressed & don't have time to practice anything.

If your & your family's well-being and quality of life depended on it, would you make time? It does, and you will.

We tell ourselves (and others) about how busy we are and that we have no time to learn anything-even relaxation techniques that will help us-we can't make 15 minutes a couple times a day-but this just the story we tell ourselves. If you are telling yourself this story, then you need to learn this technique.

Calm is our natural state. The truth is, we tend to get used to and then even begin to like our stress. It makes us feel temporarily 'important', and gives us something to identify & connect ourselves to others with. We try to outdo each other with how much more busy & stressed we are than the next person. I like to call this the language of  'stress-ology' and its really odd & illogical behavior  if you think about it. But we all do it to some degree, even if you are denying it to yourself at this very moment.

But if you have time to read this post, or time to update your Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter status then you have time to learn this.

I want you to think of a color. The first one you think of is the right one.

Now imagine on your next breath, as you breathe in slowly, your whole body fills up with this color-starting down at your feet. The color is carried into your entire body on your breath. Picture this in your mind.

Exhale slowly and release this colorful breath into the air.

Repeat 14 more times.

If you start thinking of all the stress you have, 'breathe it out' with your next exhale. Keep 'breathing it out' until you can inhale-exhale 10-15 times and just imagine that colorful air filling up your body and the atmosphere.

When you can do that, Imagine you are breathing in 'peace' or 'calm' or 'strength', etc. and exhaling the thoughts & stress you don't need in the colored air.

Practice 3 times daily in a quiet place and as needed. (sometimes the quiet place is the bathroom or in your car. This will work.) Practice until you can do this for 10-15 minutes. After one full day of conscious effort, you will start to feel calmer about everything going on around you. After one full week, others will act more calmly when they are around you, especially your family. After 2-3 weeks this will become your new habit. After a month, you will know instinctively when and how to apply this technique in every situation.

We cannot help our kids or those who need our support, through rough situations unless we know how to stay calm & cope ourselves. Take the first step now to lead by example, by making the time & committing to practice 'Breathing in Calm'.

For yoga-based stress management techniques for children and adults visit: http://www.bodylogique.com/



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September = Yoga Outside

September marks the beginning of my favorite time of year. With  the start of school & end of summer there are many new opportunities to move & be outside in the cooler fall air!

I love taking my yoga practice outside whenever I can, and September is a time for me to do this in a more quiet and reflective way that summer does not allow me.

September is also a time when I like to teach my children's programs outside to not only change the scenery, but to have a natural backdrop and "props" for teaching such as flowers, leaves, rocks, sticks and an occasional interesting bug. (Besides, its just so much more fun!)

September is also the official observance of  "National Yoga Month"  as designated by the Department of Health & Human Services.

This campaign was designed to build awareness of yoga's proven health benefits for everyone & provides children, youth & adults everywhere with instruction, education, guidance and holistic tools to empower them to take control & responsibility of their own physical, mental and emotional well-being.

National Yoga Month focuses on prevention and healthy lifestyle choices & introduces yoga to individuals by offering a 'One Week Free' new student program at participating studios across the country. (To find a participating studio in your area see link at end of article.)

Since my program is mobile, I cannot offer a free week of yoga.

However, to support this national effort to continue to promote healthy lifestyles and movement education for children of all abilities, I am participating by offering a limited number of free children's classes (ages 5 & up) to *local  public & private schools, daycare centers, learning centers, libraries & other venues for the entire month of September! 

*(Local area within 40 miles of Quakertown, PA. 1 hour classes-Adaptive and non-adaptive programs available.)

I bring a specially designed children's program (age appropriate) that uses creative kid & teen-friendly stories that engage the imagination & come alive with movement games & art to make yoga fun! This is a great opportunity to introduce, preview & share a healthy, dynamic children's program with your students, indoors or out, and learn some tricks & tools to reduce anxiety, stress & keep them calm & engaged during the upcoming school year!

Interested?

Please post in the comment section below OR send me an e-mail at: Barbara@bodylogique.com briefly describing how many students in your class or group, their ages & why you'd like to bring a yoga program to them.

Please don't forget your full name, tentative class (city) location & contact information!!

Your entry will be printed out and your name placed in an entry box. I will randomly select 9 entries on September 3, 2011 and then contact you for a schedule! (If selected your free class must be scheduled between September 7- October 15, 2011 or be forfeited.)

Do you live outside of the local (40 mile) range? You can participate too!

Send me an e-mail as described above & in the subject box type: "Free Yoga Booklet" and I will send you a copy of  "The Sun Stretch" - (A beginner's Guide to children's Yoga that will allow you to facilitate  fun yoga based activities for your students, even if you have no prior yoga experience at all! )

(*E-mail must be received by September 30, 2011 to receive free booklet.)

Questions? Please contact Barbara@bodylogique.com

The Yoga Month campaign is produced and administered by the Yoga Health Foundation, a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization registered in the State of California.

Mind Over Body

This weekend I was out with my daughter looking for a baby shower gift. In our travels we came across one of those blood pressure machines you see in pharmacies. (She has always been fascinated with those for some reason! ) She asked if she could take her blood pressure and told me in a very authoritative way,  "You should check yours too mom!"

I decided to use this as a teaching moment.

Although my daughter (soon to be 12 years old)  is a fun loving free spirit, on occasion she tends to get stuck on memories of upsetting situations. I have taught her imagery techniques to help with this, but as she gets older she is becoming resistant to my help. I don't think she really 'believes' that these techniques can really help or that they have any scientific validity and that I'm just another grownup trying to gain 'compliance'. I decided I would show her how well imagery works so she could see it with her own eyes.

I let her go first, (Her reading was 'normal' but her heart rate was slightly high, most likely because we had been walking for a while. )

Then I sat down and told her that I could control my blood pressure with my thoughts. She laughed. So I  told her to push the button and start the reading. First I just sat there quietly & did a regular reading - 120/75. (She understands what 'normal' blood pressure is.) I told her this is a 'baseline' reading. (120/80 or lower is normal blood pressure; 140/90 or higher is high blood pressure.)

I removed my arm, sat still a moment & told her to repeat the test. This time, I talked about every person who irritates me & every upsetting memory-past and present- I could think of off the top of my head, like she does sometimes when she comes home from school. (She started laughing because apparently I was making my angry face too which she finds not only unnatural to me, but hilarious!)

The machine finally stopped. The reading was 146/90. She knew this was high & she was concerned. (Side note: I am 46 years old and going through biological changes and have been working to maintain a healthy weight. She was concerned because she hears other people & family members taking about 'getting old' and she associated this high reading with me getting 'old'. She has lost close family members when she was very young & now at the age she is this is all very scary. When someone says 'old' and she hears 'sick/death'.)

I reassured her and told her that I am not 'getting old' - and that I was not sick. I made my pressure go high with my thoughts. I told her to remember the first reading & compare.

I took my arm out, walked around for a moment and sat down again. This time when she started the test I spoke in a quiet voice about all the fun things I've done-many with her-and I imagined our favorite place-the beach and resting in the sand (Much like my Starfish Imagery.)

When the test was finished, the reading was 111/72. A significant drop. She was speechless.

I realize that this was not exactly a controlled experiment or ideal environment, but for my purposes, my point was made. With daily practice, you can feel calm and relaxed, and keep your body's reactions under control no matter what is occurring around you. Most children can learn these same relaxation techniques and how & when to apply them when they need to.

Your mind-your imagination- is the most powerful tool you have. It can and does have control over your body.

The good news is, you have control over your mind.


Find the Starfish Imagery  here to start practicing!


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No One You-er Than You

“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”  ~Dr. Seuss

So this evening at yoga, we misplaced one of the children's name tags. (The child happens to be the only boy in the class. ) The others were helping me look for it and we couldn't find it. So I apologized & jokingly offered him MY name tag and asked him if he wanted to be me for the night.

He shook his head, said "No way!" and quickly gave me back my name tag.
 
One of the other students said she would like to be me-because I know so much about Yoga. Then another said she'd like to be me too because I'm kind of funny. Another said I'm very funny and then another argued that I am silly rather than funny.
 
The banter went on until the young boy spoke up again. He said "I want to be me-but I still think you're cute!" ( As you can see, this one is a charmer-he knows just when to give a compliment. Its not easy being the only 6 year old boy in the yoga class!)
This exchange was so telling. It tells me that first, they are really paying attention even when you think they are not. It also re-enforces how important an adult's influence can be on a young child, and that we as educators cannot ever take that responsibility lightly.
 
It also drives home the importance of allowing children to develop self-confidence & to be their own person. The way that we do that the most effectively? By allowing them to do things-to succeed- and also to fail-and to learn from their mistakes. This helps build not only confidence, but characteristics they can identify with.
 
Too many times we are quick to "help" our kids avoid pain or circumvent uncomfortable situations. We let them win at games, do not allow them to experience consequences and do not effectively teach them how to handle anger & conflict.
 
The truth is, the world is not always a friendly place. There is competition, corruption and lots of frustrated people running around looking for a target to vent on. We can implement all the Anti-Bullying and Character Ed programs we want-but this will not ever teach them how to be confident in themselves. It will teach them the concepts-but not the lesson. The lessons are learned and character is built only through experience.
 
We cannot protect our students & children from or isolate them from every last bully, bad influence or friend who will use them. Instead, we have to be right beside them & give them skills to confidently navigate through the unpleasantness they will experience; we have to let them know we trust them to make choices and to set boundaries and if they make a bad choice they can change it. At the same time, we need to remember to show them how to still embrace, appreciate and look for the fun, adventure & beauty of Life.


They need to know that we are there to help if they need it and we will come to a point where we will have to be brave enough to let go and let them fly. If we show fear & frustration they will only learn to be afraid & frustrated. If we show confidence, then they will learn to be confident.
 
Tonight, every child who said they'd like to be me, for the reasons they perceived to be fun, or as good qualities, also told me that they would only want to be me for maybe just the class or maybe a day, and then go back to being themselves. I'm so glad they said that. That shows that they are supported & that they "get it."
 
And I'm thinking I would like to be more like them when I grow up.
 



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