Every Thanksgiving, we travel from NYC to visit my husband’s family in California. It is a lot of fun, bustling with cousins, good food, and festivity, but it is also a long trip for a relatively short period of time. It is amazing to think that I have been doing this for twelve years (since my daughter was born), but each year the three-hour time change has gotten a little harder for me to stomach. Getting older is no fun…
Thanksgiving is always a good time to take a step back and remember how fortunate you really are. It is a time for fun and family, but also reflection and gratitude. As the holiday approaches here in the United States, I find myself increasingly grateful for my Bikram Yoga practice, the release and peace it gives me, and the numerous health and mental benefits it provides. Thank you all for reading and for sharing your experiences with me! Happy Thanksgiving!
I found meditation at a Japanese Buddhist Zen center in Crestone Colorado during a one-week yoga retreat. I had struggled with incorporating meditation into my daily life for several months, but for some reason, this retreat broke through. Maybe it was because the procedures were laid out so clearly up front. Since many of the attendees were new to meditation, the head monk gave a short talk on meditation the first night. He demonstrated how to sit, how to hold your hands and gave us three simple rules to follow.
1. Don’t move.
2. Don’t scratch.
3. Don’t invite your thoughts to tea.
Simple right? Not so much. Each rule, while simple in and of itself, encompasses an entire philosophy. Brilliant.
I like a hot Bikram Yoga class — the feel of the sweat on your skin, your pores opening to let out the toxins (kind of), and your muscles stretching farther than they would normally go. But the humidity – you can keep it. Maybe it is the changing of the seasons, but class has felt incredibly humid lately. This is good news for the overzealous ladies who set up in the hottest corner of the room and blast the humidifiers into their face throughout class, but not for me. I like a more modestly humid class, so I can focus on the postures and my meditation instead of simply trying to breathe.
To wipe or not to wipe, that is the question. Now, don’t panic, I am talking about sweat! In Bikram yoga class! Sheesh. I am a closet wiper, but only on my face at a few key moments in class, otherwise I leave the sweat alone, letting it do its job to cool my body naturally, which is the recommended method. I would prefer to leave the sweat alone on my face as well, but sometimes self-care takes precedence.
Hot Off The Mat ™ 