18. June 2010 by admin.

Giving and receiving does not always come easy and naturally for some of us. Sometimes we make a conscious effort to reach out and open up. We may share a difficult challenge or feeling with a close friend, or we can look into ways to volunteer and share our resources with someone in need. Other times, the situation finds us without us looking for it. Maybe a friend, neighbour or family member needs our help. I’ve recently experienced this. My husband sprained his ankle playing sports. He couldn’t walk on his left foot for a while, he had to wear a brace and he couldn’t drive his standard car. He was upset that it happened right at the beginning of summer. He felt incapacitated and annoyed that he had lost some of his independence. He had to adjust to a new schedule filled with physiotherapy sessions, stretching and sitting, while letting go of high impact sports. In the beginning, he resisted the new situation. He tried to control it by looking for everything available under the sun that could help his ankle recover to perfection. It was hard for him to let go and accept help, as well as to accept help the way it was given, rather then his perfect idea of what it should be. I took on additional responsibility and took care of him the best I could. I had a hard time accepting his feelings and I tried to distract him or “fix” the way he felt. We both learned valuable  lessons and we managed to eventually be there for each other that brought us even closer. He got used to rely on others, being more acceptant of things outside of his control and me finding a way to just hold the space for him with love and compassion without rushing the recovery process or trying to make the pain/suffering go away. Once you open up to receive, you are more willing to give in return and to be grateful. Once you start giving, you become more compassionate with yourself as well.

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4. June 2010 by admin.

I am always on the lookout for new modalities of bringing fun and relaxation into my life.  Recently I had the opportunity to try out Laughter Yoga.  I was intrigued.  The class starts with some light stretching, then goes into the so-called “fake” laughter.  Prompted by the teacher we begin laughing for no apparent reason. The more you look at the other participants and see them laugh, the more you feel “real” laughter coming out.  There is clapping laughter, cell-phone laughter, bow and arrow laughter, party laughter. When the class was done, I felt happy and relaxed “for no reason”.  Check out laughteryoga.org for laughter clubs in your area.

Posted in yoga, joyful living, Self care, Family Life | No Comments »

28. October 2009 by admin.

Fall is the perfect time for indoor home improvements.  The dark forces us inside early on, the weather turns chilly and windy and rainy.  Getting busy with putting down hardwood floors seemed like a good idea… a couple of month ago! I started to plan this at the end of August. I took out the carpets in September and I thought in a couple of weeks I will have brand new shiny floors. Well, the deeper I got into the project, I realized there is more to it then meets the eye, more details that became apparent along the way. Things like washing the floors, leveling the floors, buying hardwood that matches the existing one (not available at brand name stores anymore), decisions, cutting the planks to snug around the existing moldings. I started to feel overwhelmed, discouraged and impatient. The project became a chore. I thought to myself: How can this be fun? What is the positive side of what is going on? Well, if I release the resistance I have towards the situation and accept that it will take longer to get done, maybe I can relax and enjoy it more.  Also, spending time together with my husband, working as a team, learning from him, getting things accomplished, praising each other and acknowledging the progress we make every day will be true gifts for me. Letting go of the resistance to change allows us to notice and enjoy what we appreciate in each moment.

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18. September 2009 by admin.

Did you ever worry in anticipation of an event, only to realize later on that you had nothing to worry about, that everything went smooth? It happened to me.  I was quite aprehensive about my out of town in-laws coming to visit for a few days.  It is a rare event and I found out only a day in advance. My first thoughts were: “Will I be up to snuff? Will I meet their expectations? Will I entertain the right way? What if I feel tired? Where are the extra pillows?”.  I noticed the more I thought like that, the more tight my muscles became and my breath more shallow. I took a deep breath and I stopped. I decided to get a different perspective. How about just be myself and cut myself some slack. How about I do my best and be ok with things not being perfect. I started to relax and kept my intention throughout the visit to focus on enjoying and relaxing together, rather then keeping up appearances and being anxious about being perfect. It turned out we all had a good time.

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