Where Digestion Begins - Jodh Kaur

You are not alone

5/29/2020

You aren't alone if:

you wake up feeling anxious or filled with dread
you haven't been as productive during quarantine as "people" on social media, your friends or family have claimed to be
you feel blue, down or sad
you feel disappointed that you weren't as fearless as you thought you'd be through this time of uncertainty
you're tired

You can also start to take steps to shift how you are feeling...

Reassure yourself that you are doing just what you need to do
Stop comparing yourself to others
Move your body every day, start today
Work with your breath, breathing long and deep for a few minutes each day makes a difference
Allow yourself time to relax

Walking

5/27/2020

I've been walking about 3 miles every morning. It is a glorious experience. I typically walk and listen to a podcast or audio book and use the time as my exercise, fresh air, self care and personal development time. I love walking the same route and taking in the subtle changes that occur from day to day. Seeing the trees blossom and then turn bright green, smelling the fresh cut grass, watching the birds sail around - all of this makes me feel both free and connected to God and Mother Earth. I feel elated, connected and whole. Walking is gentle and I'm appreciating that gentleness as I engage my senses and connect with what is happening around me.

Self Care Creates Space

5/26/2020

I talk, teach and write about self care because I have struggled with it and I see your struggle too. Self care, actually the lack of self care, is what brought me to Kundalini Yoga when I felt like my life was falling apart. All my life I found myself with opportunities to serve and take care of others - I was the oldest child, raised Catholic, with a parent who was an alcoholic, and as an adult, I became a Social Worker. Helping and taking care of others fulfilled my need to matter, and taught me to be selfless, but at a price. While I found and created opportunities to serve others in my life, I rarely even considered myself.

This is not uncommon. If you are good at taking care of others, if you enjoy being of service, if you identify as being a helper - it is likely that you find yourself struggling to care for yourself, to know what you want, to attend to your own needs, to make time for yourself. But you can. My teacher told me years ago, if you want to continue on this path, you have to find a way to take care of yourself.

So I say to you, if you want to continue on this path, you have to find a way to take care of yourself.

Allow that to cut through your inner resistance, negotiations and reasons why you will start once school ends, in June or tomorrow. Don't wait for crisis to be the catalyst for you to make a change. Just make a decision to start now.

It can be very simple:

Tune into yourself and ask yourself, "What do I need or want?." Then ask for it.
Say no to the things you don't want to do.
Ask for help.
Take breaks or step away, even when you feel like you don't have time.
Engage in enjoyable, self soothing activities.

The bottom line is: self care creates space for you to have more energy & passion, knowledge, love & trust for yourself so that you can be that force that you dream to be.

Reset

5/23/2020

In life you can always hit the reset button.
Simply take a deep breath in and exhale. Each breath offers a fresh start. A connection into the here and now. A new opportunity to be.

Deep listening

5/19/2020

When you listen deeply, what do you hear?
When you go deep within, what do you witness?
When you are quiet with yourself, what do you feel?

Allow yourself to be still. Hear your thoughts, feel your feeling, notice what you are experiencing. Get quiet. Be with yourself.
When you are with others, offer space for sharing, listening, expressing and be-ing with each other.

Compassion

5/15/2020

Compassion is everything.
For yourself.
For others.
For healing.
For the planet.

More on anxiety

5/13/2020

Anxiety inhibits problem solving.
When you are worried, you are less likely to find positive solutions.

If you CAN change something, problem solve and take action.
If you can't change it, it isn't worth worry about.

Close your eyes, inhale deeply and stiffen every muscle in your body like the tin man.
Hold for 20 seconds.
Then exhale and relax, become like the scarecrow with relaxed breath and body.
Repeat this exercise.
Bring your focus back to your task at hand with a calmer mind and relaxed body.

How to be present

5/12/2020

Uncertainty delivers us the opportunity to be present.

The next time your thoughts are spinning or you are feeling anxious, angry or worried, here are 4 simple steps to bring yourself into the present moment (as a matter of fact, go ahead and try them now 😉):

1. STOP and take a long deep breath in (through your nose). Bring the breath down past your diaphragm, feel the belly then ribcage expand. Now slowly exhale through your nose. Feel the chest drop down and gently draw the navel back toward your spine - exhale completely.
2. Close your eyes and take 2 more long deep breaths.
3. Open your eyes and engage your senses. Immediately identify something you can hear, see, taste, touch and smell. No need to over think it, just name what you are sensing.
4. Close your eyes and take 1-3 more long deep breaths.

You can practice this exercise anywhere at anytime. Engaging in your breath helps you to slow your mind, stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system and the vagus nerve bringing a wash of calm and wellbeing. Engaging your 5 senses roots you in the here and now, brings you out of your head & thoughts and connects you with the beauty & life around you. If you are feeling overwhelmed you may feel like your senses have dulled. Engaging the senses again will reinvigorate them and allow you to feel more connected, restored and alive.

The purpose of karma yoga

5/11/2020

Karma yoga has unfortunately been described as service, but it is not so. It is a way of undoing the impressions that you have gathered. If you can joyfully involve yourself in any activity, that is karma yoga. If you do it with great effort, only karma will come, no yoga will happen!
Generally it is through various activities that you perform that you get entangled and enmeshed with life. But if the activity becomes a process of liberation instead of entanglement, it is karma yoga. Whether it is work or walking on the street or talking to someone, the nature of the activity is not important. When you do something only because it is needed, where it does not mean anything to you but you are capable of involving yourself as if that is your life, it transforms you and action becomes liberating.
—Sadguru

Mornings

5/8/2020

Mornings are all about me. I take my time in the morning to nourish myself with self-care. I wake up early to do this, but it's worth it as it gives me the time I need to be with myself and my thoughts, to have some peace and to work on myself. I start with yoga and meditation. My pup Ollie is always by my side and our cat Cody recently started lying on my lap during meditation. I love having their presence during this time of morning. I end by journaling and after my practice, I feed our animals and then take Ollie out. If he is up for a walk we go for a long walk, but often he isn't so I return him home and head out on my own. I have been loving my morning walks and I use this time for mindfulness, observation and reflection. I also like this time to listen to an audio book or podcast which helps me set my mind for the day. Once I return home, I may have a little breakfast, depends how I feel, and then I start work. By the time I start my day, I have often spent 3-4 hours pouring into myself which allows my jaw to soften, allows me time with my breath and my thoughts and allows me to be able to serve others as I have already served myself.