Reiki Music and the Wonders of Nature

Woke up this morning out of sorts and behind the power curve already.  What great music to set me straight!  Brought to my attention by Starfloating at Tumblr

The Best 5 Pounds I Ever Gained

When I began to teach yoga I was thirsty for knowledge.  I checked every book out of the library, went to other local libraries for more, and perused all of the bookstores.  One book sticks out even after all these years.  The content was not for me, but the pictures remain in my mind to this day.  One of the models for the book was a heavy woman.  She was amazing!  It was so clear how her body moved.  She could do everything.

For years I told students what matters is how you move what is under the skin.  Your weight does not matter for yoga.  I believed it, but never had to live it.  This year (yes, 2012) I put on a few pounds. All in the belly.  Though I hope it’s gone soon, what a gift it has been for me!

Yesterday’s yoga class was a revelation.   The class focused on being in the present in every pose.  Each pose was held for a long time with attention to the small details.  In pigeon pose forward bend this was expressed in square hips and internal alignment.   As I performed the pose, yes, my belly was touching my thigh the whole time, but all the internal parts were in the right place.  Low belly lifted, though no one could see it.  What a great moment of validation.

Of course I hope to regain my former figure (and quickly mind you!).  Not sure I believe that everything happens for a reason, but I do know that there is something to be learned from each situation we encounter.  I am grateful for the opportunity to experience from the inside what I have always taught.

Just a Bit More Joy

     As I was doing my morning prayers, I came upon another great expression. “Shout out in triumph on this joyous morning!”  I am glad there are poets who can express my feelings.

I Arise and Greet the Day

                Some mornings I get up knowing there is nothing that cannot be fixed by the dawning of a new day.  Yesterday was fraught with phone calls and decisions and running about.  This morning as I complete to morning rituals of showering and preparing breakfast all of the pieces fall into place. How could I have missed this thought yesterday?

     
          This is captured  by the picture above and one of my favorite hymns from the Liturgy of the Hours.  This song has been ascribed to St. Patrick:           

I sing as I arise today!

I call upon my Creator’s might:

The will of God to be my guide,

The word of God to be my speech,

The hand of God to be my stay,

The shield of God to be my strength,

The path of God to be my way,

O Father, this we ask be done,

Through Jesus Christ, Your only son,

Whom in the Spirit we adore:

One God who reigns forevermore.

Amen
My prayer for all is that this is your experience as well.  Blessings, Pam

Entrainment- or How to Make Others Happy Just By Being

                Why is it that when the teacher explains that math technique in class it is so easy, and then when you get home, it is so difficult?  When the yoga instructor makes one subtle adjustment and everything works, but it is so hard to find at home?  When being with someone you love makes you happy, but being alone is morose?  The answer is entrainment.

                Here is Van Morrison’s musical take on entrainment.

  He describes how another, in their happiness and joy of life entrains him into a trance.  The physical expression of this was described by physicist Christian Huygens in 1666, after he noticed that two pendulum clocks had moved from out of sync into the same swinging rhythm.  One clock “taught” the other into rhythm.

                As a scientist at heart, I love finding evidence that validates what I “know.” Right now there is some interesting research proving that entrainment exists between people, even at a distance.  My personal favorite is from IHM Director of Research Dr. Rollin McCraty. He measured the connection between his son Josh and the boy’s dog, Mabel.  When Josh loved Mabel, it changed both of their electrocardiogram readings. They became similar in a very good way, becoming more coherent.  Here is the full article http://www.heartmath.org/templates/ihm/e-newsletter/article/2010/spring/pets-making-a-connection.php.

                In my practice I see so many people who feel underutilized, like they are not making a difference in the world.  They have not cured cancer, or started a charitable organization, or have a high-powered job.  It turns out to change the world, you don’t have to do any of these things.  The Beatles got it right, all you need is love. 

Love Meditation

“

LOVE MEDITATION

Deep within the centre of my being is an endless source of love.
I allow this love to float to the surface.
It fills my heart, my body, my thoughts, my consciousness, my being itself and shines out from me in all directions and returns manifold to me.

The more love I use and give, the more I have to give.
The supply is endless.

The use of love makes me feel good. 
It is an outward expression of my inner joy.

I love myself, therefore I take loving care of my body. 
Lovingly, I feed it with wholesome food and drink.
Lovingly, I clothe and care for it and my body reacts lovingly to this with sparkling good health and energy.

I love myself, therefore I provide myself with a comfortable house, which satisfies my every need and in which it is pleasurable to be.
I fill the rooms with vibrations of love, so that all who enter, myself included, shall feel this love and be nourished by it.

I love myself, therefore I have a job that I truly love doing and in which I am able to use my talents and creativity.
It gives me a good income whilst enabling me to work with and for people I love and who love me.

I love myself, therefore I think and behave in a loving way, because I know that what I give will be returned to me manifold.
In my world I attract only loving people, because they are a mirror of what I am.

I love myself, therefore I forgive the past and all past experiences.
I let everything go, so that I can be free.

I love myself, therefore I live in reality, experiencing every moment as good and knowing that my future will be glittering, joyful and secure, because I am a beloved child of the Universe and the Universe takes loving care of me now and forever.

That’s the way it is.

”

—

“Love Meditation” by Louise Hay (via day355 on Tumblr), one of my favorites.  Another way of looking at the heart.  This one is particularly good for people who have a problem charging for their reiki services, since reiki is a gift from God.  As they say on the airplane, you have to put the oxygen mask on yourself first before you help others.

Expand Your Heart

                As I was ruminating on this post today, I was given such an opportunity to practice what I preach.  I was driving a “new to me” car and was unsure just how much gas might be left in my tank when the gas light goes on.  So I pulled into the nearest gas station.  The station has 18 pumps and 25 cars jockeying to get in first.  I’m not sure if I have the gas to go anywhere else, so I resolve to wait (with patience).  As I sat there in line, giving plenty of room for cars to pull out, a little car zooms in and cuts us all off.

                Now there are several possible reactions to this and much as I hate to admit it, I took the least attractive option.  I gave the car the evil eye and proceeded to get a good, righteous anger on.  In the midst of this revving up to ramming speed, I remembered my blog post and changed my attitude. At first I just released caring, but then moved on to loving all of the people at the gas station.  They weren’t any different from me.  We all just wanted to get gas quickly and get out of there.  As I pulled away with a happy heart I realized the whole maneuver had taken just over 11 minutes.  Definitely not worth losing your inner harmony over.

                In yoga we do heart openers, in BioGenesis creating we feel the warmth of the heart, in HeartMath we focus on heart coherence, but where to begin to find this feeling place?  How to find ease and harmony with any situation?  Though I had heard all the words before, tried meditation, practiced yoga, read the books, the first technique that ever worked for me came from Dr. Amen’s HeartMath.  What follows is a summary of his Quick Coherence Technique and this is a link to the webpage  http://www.heartmath.org/free-services/tools-for-well-being/quick-coherence-adult.html.

1. Heart Focus. Focus your attention on the area around your heart, the area in the center of your chest. If you prefer, the first couple of times you try it, place your hand over the center of your chest to help keep your attention in the heart area.

2. Heart Breathing. Breathe deeply but normally and feel as if your breath is coming in and going out through your heart area. As you inhale, feel as if your breath is flowing in through the heart, and as you exhale, feel it leaving through this area. Breathe slowly and casually, a little deeper than normal. Continue breathing with ease until you find a natural inner rhythm that feels good to you.

3. Heart Feeling. As you maintain your heart focus and heart breathing, activate a positive feeling. Recall a positive feeling, a time when you felt good inside, and try to re-experience the feeling. One of the easiest ways to generate a positive, heart-based feeling is to remember a special place you’ve been to or the love you feel for a close friend or family member or treasured pet. This is the most important step.

I am a scientist at heart so I have included a small explanation of why this works below, copied directly from the HeartMath store website http://store.heartmath.org/.  Please feel free to skip it if this is not your thing, but give this wonderful method a chance.  It can change your life.  The least that can happen is restore your peace of mind and that is no small thing.

                 

The heart is a primary generator of rhythmic patterns in the human body, and possesses a far more extensive communication system with the brain than do other major organs. In addition, the heart plays a particularly important role in the generation of emotion. With every heart beat, the heart transmits complex patterns of neurological, hormonal, pressure, and electromagnetic information to the brain and throughout the body. As a critical nodal point in many interacting systems - physiological, cognitive and emotional - the heart is uniquely positioned as a powerful entry point into the communication network that connects body, mind, emotions and spirit.

Doc Childre and the research team at the Institute of HeartMath (IHM) have shown that techniques which combine intentional heart focus with the generation of sustained positive feelings lead to a beneficial mode of physiological function they have termed psychophysiological coherence. Correlates of psychophysiological coherence include a sine wave-like pattern in the heart rhythms, increased heart-brain synchronization (alpha rhythms become more synchronized to the heart) and entrainment between heart rhythm patterns, respiration, blood pressure rhythms and other physiological systems. Although psychophysiological coherence is a natural state that can occur spontaneously while people are feeling genuine positive emotions and during sleep, sustained periods are generally rare.

 As an interesting side note, my husband had a great example of the difference between our "normal" state and coherence.  I love some of the songs from The Pogues, a celtic punk band.  One day my husband played me some of their other music...
Here are The Pogues

Here are The Pogues on HeartMath. Reach inside and expand your heart.