Give Presence

This time of year can be hard. There are parties to go to, trips to pack for, presents to buy, cards to send, decorations to hang, the list goes on and on. Often times we rush around for weeks before the holidays, only finding peace and relaxation once they are over.

For me I stress a lot about gifts I am buying for friends and family. I want the gift to be special and meaningful. I want the receiver to open the gift and smile, not because the gift is the newest, trendiest item, but because the gift has some sort of personal meaning and was well thought out. Don’t get me wrong, the gift doesn’t have to have some profound deeper-meaning, I just like it to be personal and show that I spent at least a few minutes thinking about that person before I whipped out my credit card.

If you follow Lululemon on any form of social media you are probably well aware of their “give presence” campaign. They are urging people to try and be present in whatever they are doing. Whether it is in a yoga class, at your child’s school play, at lunch with a friend, they want people to focus on exactly what they are doing and who they are with at a certain moment, rather than all the other distractions that we are often bombarded with. This is hard. I have tried it, and it’s hard. Even if you fully prepare yourself to do this by putting away your phone or ignoring your emails for an hour, how do you stay present at lunch with a friend if they are still doing all those things?

This holiday season I urge you, along with the other gifts you give, to give presence as well. Engage fully in your conversations, breathe deeply in your yoga classes, and spend some an extra minute enjoying your surroundings.

Photo by: Jessica Jenkins

Even Santa struggles giving presence

-Ali

“The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.”
― Thích Nhất Hạnh,

Bodhi & MInd Yoga

It has been way too long since I have posted on the blog, but better late than never I suppose! So much has been going on the last few months, one of which is I have enrolled in yoga teacher training at Stil Studio. So far it has been amazing and I cannot wait to continue learning and practicing with the amazing community that exists at Stil. Anyways, I wanted to use this post to totally take advantage of social networking. Last night Jen and I went to a benefit class for Bodhi & Mind Yoga, an organization that provides private and group yoga classes to women during all stages of breast cancer. The story behind this organization is inspirational, and I urge you to read about it and spread the word to your yoga communities. I have included the link to both the facebook page as well as the website. Please check it out if you have a second.https://www.facebook.com/bodhiandmindyoga

http://bodhiandmindyoga.org/

-Ali

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”

-Mother Teresa

Happiness

If you have a few minutes watch this awesome TED talk about Happiness.  Very entertaining and interesting!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXy__kBVq1M

“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.” ~The Teaching of the Buddha

Strength and Softness

This weekend at Stil Studio during Kevan’s morning class he focused on the idea of strength and softness. I immediately was reminded of a  blog I wrote earlier in the year about these two opposing feelings. Our practice is always a combination of both. It has to be in order to be effective. When we are in a physically challenging pose we need our strength to get into the pose and we need softness in order to remain in the pose.

A member of the Stil Studio community has recently had to test her ability to combine strength and softness. Ali Barton was recently diagnosed with a serious heart condition and was told she needed a heart transplant. Since she is pregnant she had to choose to either abort the baby, or wait another five weeks until the baby can be delivered, and then she will be put back on the heart transplant list. She will need strength and softness to get her through the next few weeks. Although I am sure I have probably been in class with Ali before, I have never actually met her. It is clear though, from the outpouring of support, that she is an amazing person who people love. The studio is holding a benefit class for Ali and has set up a site for people to donate to help offset her medical costs during this time. Please keep Ali and her family in your thoughts and prayers throughout the holiday season.

http://www.gofundme.com/rally-for-ali

-Ali

Soft nature of a person does not mean weakness, Remember : Nothing is softer than water, but its force can break the strongest of rocks. ~ Author Unknown

 

Go figure

Had the best yoga class of my life today…go figure

Thanks Stil Studio, Kevan Gale, and Betty Riaz

-Ali

“The expected always happen”
-Benjamin Disraeli

Right as Rain

On Thursday in Boston it poured rain for ten minutes harder than I have experienced in awhile…it happened to be the ten minutes that it takes me to walk home from to my apartment from work. Luckily a few days before I had purchased the “right as rain” jacket, which definitely did its job. Although I was soaked from the knee down, the rest of my body was dry and warm! Definitely a MUST purchase item.

-Ali

Letting go of summer…

The small town in Cape Cod that I escape to every summer weekend is the place I really consider home. I am having a hard time trying to grasp that weekends filled with boating, beach runs, and family barbecues are behind me ):

-Ali

“You can decorate absence however you want- but your still gonna feel what’s missing.”
-Sioban Vivian

15 Love

This weekend I went to a 15 Love trunk show in Cape Cod. If you haven’t heard of this line you are missing out! The clothes are great quality and are super cute and comfortable. A few years ago I bought a few of the tanks and they wear really well, plus you can switch out the straps for a new look in only a few seconds. Genius! There is an awesome sale going on right now on the website so check it out.

Stop Stressing!

In class a few weeks ago Rebecca talked about how yoga is a way to let go of stress and forget about obstacles that exist. She talked about how we often create stress for ourselves without even realizing it, and  our yoga mat is a place where this should not occur.

A month ago me and a group of friends went to Nashville Tennessee for a country music festival. I have been a few times and it is a blast. This year more of my friends decided they wanted to come because they kept hearing how much fun it was. As the trip approached more and more people began booking flights, tickets, and hotel rooms. I was stressed. I didn’t want to have to wait for people to get ready every morning or argue about what our itinerary would be each day. The week before the trip I felt anxious rather than excited. A getaway that was planned as a way to escape the stress of my daily life had become the opposite.At the end of the weekend I couldn’t have imagined the trip without the entire group. I cannot believe I created anxiety for myself about this! I was in Nashville listening to awesome music with literally all of my closest friends!

When Rebecca started talked about creating stress in class the week after I returned from Nashville I laughed to myself. Why do we do this to ourselves all the time? It’s like we feel like we need to be stressed at all times or else we are doing something wrong. There was no need for me to turn this trip into something stressful, yet I did. Sometimes I do this is a yoga class. I find myself stressing about how much time is left or if I am going to be able to balance in half moon for the amount of breaths the teacher instructs us to. This is so dumb! Yoga is a way to relieve stress, not create it. A fun trip with your friends is supposed to be just that, not something that raises our blood pressure. Next time you are stressed I challenge you to really think about what you are worrying about. Is it worth it? Should you really waste energy on stressing about? Is the situation intended to be stressful or are you supposed tobe relaxing in Shavasana and instead going over your to do list?

Moral of today’s class: There is enough stress in our lives and in the world. Don’t create it in places where it shouldn’t exist.

-A

“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another”

William James