Sometimes, I forget how to breathe. Does this ever happen to you? Most often, this happens when I am concentrating on my breathing, like during the opening Bikram breathing exercise. When it is at its worst, I sometimes have to take a quick in and out breath while I am waiting for others to finish exhaling. This is especially true when the teacher is a slow counter. Rarely do I lose my breath to that extent during the rest of class, although sometimes in camel, but that’s another story.
I am sad to report that I can no longer comfortably wear my most favorite pair of summer pumps. They are gorgeous. They are Prada. And they were very expensive! I always liked to wear them to show off my Bikram yoga calves, but alas, they are no more. My feet are too big! Too wide to be exact. Is this from the yoga?
Today we are starting a new feature on Hot Off The Mat entitled Interesting Reads. In Interesting Reads, I will periodically share my thoughts on recent books in the yoga and meditation realms. If you have any suggested books, please let me know in the comments. I am looking forward to sharing this with all of you.
I just finished an interesting book on meditation entitled 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works. It was written by Dan Harris, an ABC newsman, who details his transformation from meditation skeptic to author of a book on the subject. It is a fun and quick read as he shared interesting anecdotes from his life and how they led to his inquiry into and eventual adoption of meditation as a daily practice. Thank you to Souzapalooza for suggesting the book to me! Continue reading
We did an interesting exercise at my recent yoga retreat that I wanted to share with all of you. It is called The Circle of Life and it is a great way to take stock of where you feel that your life is on several dimensions, and then use that knowledge to identify one or two aspects of your life for improvement. I found it very interesting.
Here is the diagram which I borrowed from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition‘s website. As you can see, it is a circle divided into 12 slices, each labeled with an aspect of life: Creativity, Finances, Career, Education, Health, Physical Activity, Home Cooking, Home Environment, Relationships, Social Life, Joy and Spirituality.
Here is how it works. Continue reading
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