Taking a Vacation from Your Vacation by Judy

Have you ever needed a vacation from your vacation? That feeling of utter joy and exhaustion after the trip you spent coordinating your time off from work, spending your savings, and maybe a bucket list check off? And why does it seem to take twice as long to get somewhere you have never been, but yet you get back home in a flash? It’s all perspective from your bodymind.

What is your bodymind? We all have one, and in fact, it’s the only one you have. Recently, there is a lot of conversation around mindfulness – by controlling your mind you can control your life. Yes, that is the “pot of gold” at the end of the rainbow, however the bodymind’s priority is to work together as one unit. Imagine having the car of your dreams and you only maintain the engine but not the tires or the body – like us, cars are made to move.

Understanding that issues are in the tissues, everything is held in the cells of the bodymind, you can begin to create a deeper sense of self by feeling what is happening - feeling the space between your thoughts gives you the ability to choose your bodymind responses. Close your eyes and think back to a favorite memory - can you feel this in your bodymind, not just your thoughts? Now think of a stressful memory. What just happened in your bodymind – did your heart rate elevate, breathing changes, tightness in the chest, did you feel sadness, anger, anxiety or any other emotion? This is the bodymind communicating with you.

Learning to feel how energy follows thought, you begin to self-regulate your bodymind’s responses to those thoughts – what thoughts are you acting on and what thoughts do you let pass by. The practice of Y.O.G.A. connects you on a deeper level to your bodymind. Y.O.G.A. is “Your Own Growth and Awareness”SM and can be found with a mindfulness practice of conscious breathing synchronized with concentration and movement, along with a seated meditation practice. The bodymind is made to work in harmony together, rather than separate, for the maximum health and wellness of YOU.

Conscious breathing is the awareness that you are breathing – inhaling and exhaling with the least amount of effort and stress. You can lie down with your legs straight or bent knees, or sit comfortably with a tall spine. Focus on the inhale and exhale without concern of the how. Once you feel comfortable with conscious breathing – place a hand on your belly and a hand on your chest and feel how you are breathing by noticing as you inhale which hand moves first and then when you exhale, which hand moves first – belly or chest.

When you feel comfortable, notice if your hand on your belly moves away from the spine first when you inhale and then moves towards to the spine first when you exhale. Continue for as long as you feel comfortable – possibly a few minutes. Again, just breath and feel what is happening with your bodymind without expectations or judgement, this is being present in the moment – it is physical.

Enjoy the practice and I look forward to bodymind tweaking with you very soon.