Why Yoga?

Today is International Day of Yoga.

The United Nations General Assembly declared June 21st as International Day of Yoga in 2014. In one of the videos I saw of people around the world celebrating this day, the Prime Minister of India states that, "Yoga is health insurance with zero budget."

Isn't that important?  Our health.  Our wellness.  Our well being.  And reduction of costs.

Health insurance, absenteeism in the workplace, health care - it's all expensive.  Our systems focus on taking care of the symptoms.  Workplaces spend resources measuring absenteeism and developing and enforcing policies to try to reduce absenteeism. Health care, although wonderful, puts bandaids on wounds.  Of course, once an illness is present, the symptoms need to be addressed.  BUT... what if we had an opportunity to reduce sickness... reduce illness?

Yoga is a practice that is accessible to everyone at no or limited cost and could save money in workplaces and in healthcare.

Yoga is the union of body and mind.  Sure, yes, it's a physical practice.  But it's a physical practice that anyone can access.  There is advanced yoga, of course, and we see lots of pictures of yogis in pretzel like poses.  But there is also chair yoga, gentle yoga, and other forms of yoga that do not require the kind of flexibility you see in many of the images in the media.

No matter what type of yoga you practice, the physical practice allows your body to be more mobile and stronger.  The physical practice enhances digestion, circulation, and respiration.  The physical practice improves balance and flexibility.  If you are not flexible, yoga is a solution for you to become more flexible!  And, yes, yoga can help with weight loss.  It also improves athletic performance, and many famous athletes practice.

But there is something else to yoga.

Yoga brings mental acuity.  Calmness.  Compassion to self and others.  Clarity.  Insight.  Creativity. Focus.  Yoga brings harmony to the chaos in life.

Yoga is your attitude and your lifestyle.  A smile.  An act of kindness.  Cooperation.  Forgiveness.  Gratitude.  Silence. Integrity.  Contentment.  Vitality.  Devotion.

Yoga brings wellness and is an inexpensive way to help treat and prevent illness.

On this International Day of Yoga, I challenge you to find something in yoga that can bring wellness to your life, to your workplace, to your community.  Here are 12 suggestions:

• Find a yoga class in your community or on You Tube and do it!
• Sit for a few minutes in nature and enjoy the sounds.
• Do a random act of kindness.
• Contemplate on what is important to you.
• Call someone who needs an ear or a shoulder.
• Spend face to face time with your partner.
• Run barefoot in the grass.
• Forgive someone.
• Focus on your breath for five minutes.
• Complete a few sun salutations.
• Join my Living Your Yoga Facebook Page
• Sign up for my summer yoga classes at tina@pomroy.ca
• Tuesdays, July 5-Aug. 30, 7-8 a.m. - Gentle Morning Yoga, Yoga Kula Coop
• Tuesdays, July 5-Aug. 30, 12-12:50 p.m. - Lunchtime Flow, Quidi Vidi Lake, near bandstand
• Tuesdays, July 5-Aug. 30, 7-8:15 p.m. - Mixed Level Hatha Yoga, Yoga Kula Coop

The list is endless.  I would love to hear what you find and what you experience.  Yoga is also about inspiring.  I am always inspired by my students' and yogi friends' stories.  I encourage you to share yours on my Going Om Facebook page!

Namaste <3 

Why We Opt Out of Self-Care

"Take care of yourself first."

"If you don't take care of yourself, you won't be able to take care of others." 

"Focusing on self-care changed my life."

"Take time for you."

"Self-care is self-love."

Have you heard any of these things or anything similar? We all believe them.  We all agree.  But why don't we follow this advice?

Well, some do.  And they got it.  They have found their balance... until tomorrow when things change and they have to find a new balance.  Some will fall over then.  But some continue to find a new balance each day, riding the oscillations of life.  They may not need to read this post... of course in mindfulness, we are always curious and approach things with a beginner's mind, so maybe they will anyway:)  

Others continue to do their best... sometimes taking a walk in nature... sometimes drinking lots of water... sometimes eating healthy.... sometimes being very prepared for each day... sometimes getting enough sleep... sometimes exercising regularly... sometimes meditating.  That kind of describes me... the 'sometimes' girl.

Here's some of the good news... This is OK.  Because life is a roller coaster.  Life is not about staying the same each day.  Nothing is constant but change.

We find something that works, and then we have a month of kids' concerts, and work deadlines, and maybe the seasonal flu goes through your entire family.  And you feel like you've lost it.  You spend so much time caring for everyone else and barely getting enough sleep that you have lost your self-care.... and self-loathing may even seep in.

What if I told you caring for others CAN be self-care.

It's about how you approach it all in your mind.  When we have a lot on our plates... kids, jobs, activities, wellness, special occasions, etc., etc., etc.... we tend to let our self-care activities and attitudes go and then stress about letting them go.  This stress causes suffering, and this suffering heightens our lack of 'self-care'.  Yeah... beating yourself up about not taking care of yourself results in taking even less care of yourself.  It's called 'feeling bad about feeling bad' in my mindfulness training.

However, what if taking your kid to her soccer game was part of your self-care?  What if cooking supper for your family was part of taking care of yourself?  What if meeting a work deadline was a piece of fulfilling your passion, hence self-care?  

So many of my coaching clients get caught up in the busy-ness of life and create the idea that, 'I don't have time for self-care'... hence, are not self-loving... which just results in a spiral downwards. This is the advice I give to them (if they want advice).  Your life is full of your choices.  Lots of things are not in your control, but you can choose how you perceive them.  You may choose to dislike the fact your kids activities or work deadlines are taking you away from the gym or your time cooking a gorgeous supper from 'Oh She Glows'... or you can choose to like the fact that you value giving your kids these opportunities or you value putting your full energy into your work that you love or you value giving others your attention. 

This IS self-care.  

When you are behaving aligned with your values, you are caring for yourself. I'm not saying eat crap and never exercise.  When I ask a room full of people at my workshops what they value, pretty much everyone says family and health.  So, physical care (and mental and emotional care) is part of self-care because it pretty much always is a personal value.  But when you stop expending so much energy on beating yourself up for not going to an exercise class or not having enough time to cook a good supper or having to take care of your family so you cannot attend a weekend retreat... you then have more energy to be physically healthy and you will enjoy (or at least find contentment) in all the activities and deadlines that you believe are taking you away from your wellness... because they are actually part of your whole wellness.  How you treat your mind and how you manage your emotions are part of your self-care.

So the key to self-care is being aligned with your values and knowing it.  Knowing it and finding joy in it.  Understanding your attitudes and managing them.  When life gets busy, taking on an extra fitness class may not be the answer, but changing your mindset can change everything (and just may allow you to take on that extra fitness class:).

If you DO have time to attend a retreat and tend to yourself a little this Nov. 20-22, check out Tina's Unleash Your Creative Spirit Retreat in Ochre Pit Cove, NL (1hr, 45 mins from St. John's).

If you'd like to realign yourself with your values, check out the next workshop on Re-Creating Your Vision on January 14th, 2016, in St. John's, NL.

Life's Worth

My mother-in-law passed away last week.  Everyone experiences this kind of loss at some point.  It is never easy.  But I have to believe the difficulties life brings are worth something.

After a four year struggle and many near death experiences, she lay in her hospital bed for over three months.  We noticed her decline on every visit.  She was in pain.  She eventually did not get out of bed.  She eventually accepted her fate.  She did not go home again. She slowly lost interest in all things that brought her happiness.

But...

Her eyes smiled when her 4-year old granddaughter jumped into the hospital bed with her - the last time being two days before she died.  As time passed, her feeble arms getting weaker, she continued to share food - dessert usually - with the little girl that brought her joy.  On every good-bye with her children and their spouses, she said, "Loves ya!"  The nurses were always "some nice."  She was present even when she was tired, until she fell asleep.  She befriended her roommates when she could.  She exuded love even as her body deteriorated and she could no longer take part in this thing we call life.  She had birthday cards for her loved ones until the very end.  She gave.  She loved.

Some say her life wasn't worth living in the end.  She was in a great deal of pain.  I want to believe it was worth living.  I want to believe her final days were worth something.  I want to believe she felt loved and enjoyed something out of the final time she spent here on earth... and it meant something.

I wonder if the worthiness had nothing to do with her own life and everything to do with everyone else's.  She touched people's hearts.  She was adored.  Because she was a decent human being. She put others before herself.  Always.  She is an example to the human race.  She accepted life as it came.  She never judged others.  She gave whenever she could.  She gave extra attention to those who needed it, to those who were down on their luck, to those who others may not have given the same attention.  She was happy.  She was content.  She continued to love even when she was in a great deal of pain.  She continued to bring a smile to others' faces.  She continued to bring her family and friends joy.

She had many visitors in that hospital.  My daughter pranced the halls and played tea party with the ladies who were deteriorating with dementia.  Her visitors were often jovial.  Her daughters helped the staff.  Maybe the worth was there.

Peace quickly came upon her when it was time.  Her children surrounded her.  You could not express the love in that room during those minutes.  Everyone was one.  Any differences of opinion or belief did not matter.  There was a tiny moment, a glimpse, of pure love.  Nothing mattered. Nothing at all except peace.

Impact.  That is what she did.  She made an impact.  She did not try to make an impact.  She did not purposely set out to find her purpose and fulfill it.  She just did.  She was authentic and simply took on whatever crossed her path.  She never announced her successes or difficulties.  She did not desire for things to be different or to stay the same.  I am sure at times she had desires, but they did not stand in the way of her contentment.  She loved her community, her friends, her family, and her life. And she influenced how others live their lives.  Her legacy will live on. People will remember her kindness and it will influence their actions.

Even in the end, when pain overcame her, her life was worth something.  She was in pain, but her suffering was limited.  Because she accepted life as it was presented.

And that is the most worth a life could have.