Dancing to the beat of your own drum

I participated in a drum circle at my yoga studio today. Drum circles are meditative, soothing,though a bit loud. As I was thumping along to the lead drummer, lost in the beat and the rhythm, it dawned on me how different each drum sounded. There were at least 20 of us. We all sounded different following our own cadence even though we had a similar groove going on. I starting thinking about how important it is to find your own pace, your own harmony, in life...to live according to your own beat. Life is a symphony filled with rich sounds, melodies and harmonies. It can be easy to get caught up in the noise of what other people are thinking or how they are living. With all the distractions we face on a daily basis and obligations we must attend to, it seems simpler to go along with what everyone else is doing. But we all have an internal beat, a voice that says follow your own heart, explore who you are and live from that truth. It can be scary because what if it goes against what you've always been taught, or what you've done for the last 30 years. But just like the constant steady pace of the drum leader, that internal beat just won't stop calling you to follow your own pulse, cadence, and flow. Quietly singing to you to live from who you really are. Someone once said, "Nothing pays like being yourself". In my opinion that's the best music of all.

Grocery Day

Well, today is Friday and it's grocery day in my world. I have two teen boys and if I am even a day late on groceries, I hear about it! So before I began to write out my meals for the week, I ran across an article on the Wasted Food blog. I was floored to read how much food is wasted in America. Apparently Americans waste 40% of their food supply; up from 28% in 1974. That's 96 billion pounds of food, 1400calories per day per person. Wow. And we all know about the hunger problem in American, let alone in other parts of the world. Light bulb moment. I went to the fridge. Not completely full, but plenty of leftovers. Freezer. Full. Freezer in the garage ( I know, but like I said I have two teen boys) Full. Full of random stuff, that I have not bothered to figure out what to do with. I bet I could make a two day menu just from what I have in my pantry. I throw away, or let rot, too much food, sad but true. But the first step in changing is awareness. I'm going to challenge myself to use everything in my fridge and make meals based on what I already have. The great side benefit to this challenge is it will save tons of money. It's good to try and be part of the solution rather than the problem.

You know how one good thing can lead to another? Recently I came across a blog called Zenhabits written by Leo Babauta. I spent hours reading it-fascinated and nodding my head as I read his words on simplicity, productivity, frugality and creativity, but it was the postings on minimalism that stopped me in my tracks. Leo writes that minimalism is "a way to escape the excesses of the world around us-the excess of consumerism, material possessions, clutter, having too much to do, too much debt, too many distractions, too much noise. But too little meaning." What a revolutionary concept-but not really. We all know money can't buy happiness, but we are surrounded and immersed in a media culture that does everything in its power to distract us from that truth. One thing I've decided to do is go on a media fast and spend that time instead on decluttering my home, reading, and meditating. The idea of minimalist living is very appealing to me because I am easily stressed by too much stuff and noise. I think better when there are clear open spaces-I feel more human. If you get a chance, check out Zenhabits and mmmlist.com. It could be life changing.

Meditation for Cardiovascular Health

I love to meditate. In fact I consider walking my dog Sam a meditation practice. It helps quiet and relax my ever racing mind. I also practice a sitting meditation, just listening to my breathing, or repeating a mantra or saying. Lately I've repeated the words "Peace" on the inhale and "release" on the exhale. I do this for about 15 minutes every morning. I've discovered meditation podcasts on Itunes and those are wonderful for a change of meditation pace.

Recently the American Heart Association released the results of study of 201 African American men and women who were asked to make some lifestyle changes or begin a meditation practice. The meditators had a 47% reduction in deaths , heart attacks and strokes. I happen to be an African American female and I know that's big news since cardiovascular disease and stokes are a big killer in our community. Of course meditation can benefit you whatever your ethnicity, but you have to do it to receive the benefits.

On a earlier post I described a rain meditation. But there are so many different types, it's best to check out a few and find the one that resonates with you and stick with it for awhile. Sometimes people think that meditation is against their religion, but I counter that all the great religions have meditation rituals. You can meditate on the aspects of God such as love, joy,peace and faith. Those are big ideas that no one religion can claim. But meditation can just be done simply for the sake of health, stress relief, and peace of mind with no religious labels at all. Right now I am reading a book called Commit to Sit: Tools for Cultivating a Meditation Practice. This book is great and it gives all kinds of different meditation techniques. Whatever method you choose, you can't go wrong taking a few minutes out of your day to relax and quiet your mind.

Flexibility

I usually walk my dog Sam in the morning. It helps set my day and clears my mind. I tend to be very routine driven. Today though I could not walk Sam in the morning. I was tempted to just chuck everything...after all if I could not walk Sam in the morning as usual then the whole day was shot! Crazy I know. Instead of giving in to the circumstances that held me and Sam back from walking in the morning, we took our walk in the evening. That in and of itself is not a big deal, but it did get me thinking. I am a yoga teacher teacher, but flexibility is not a strong suite for me outside the studio. While walking Sam I began to realize how stuck in my routine I have become....must be age! I am going to make it my goal to change something about my usual routine daily. I tend to eat just about the same things, read the same websites/blogs, dress pretty much the same way and respond to my husband and kids the same way everyday. Variety is the spice of life, so I am going to change it up and I will start by changing the route that I take walking my dog Sam.

Rain Meditation

Today is a rainy day where I live, in fact 16 of the 26 days this month have been raining here. It was too wet to take Sam for a walk today, so I decided to meditate on the rain. I am trying to establish a regular meditation practice and so far the concept of concentrating on a sound or object seems to be what works best for me. My mind has a huge tendency to become distracted. A quote from a book I am reading, Mindfulness in Plain English, says it this way:"The essence of our experience is change. Change is incessant. Moment by moment life flows by, and it is never the same... a thought springs up in your head and half a second later, it is gone. In comes another, and then that is gone too." That pretty much sums up how my mind works! But meditation helps me stay focused longer. I'm not sure if the rain meditation is an actual official type of meditation, but it calms and stills my mind and that's all that matters to me! The next time you find yourself at home when it's raining outside try the rain meditation:

• Sit comfortably, with your spine tall, but not rigid. You can sit against a wall, in a chair, or on the floor.

• Take several deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth to relax the body and mind.

• Begin to focus your attention on the sound of the rain. Really tune into the rush of water, the steady drops, or the intermittent showers.

• Hold your attention to the sounds, and if your mind wanders just smile to yourself. This is normal. Gently bring your mind back to the sound of the rain.

• Meditate for as long as you like. There is no required amount and there is no time limit.

Hopefully the next time it rains where you are, you will find a moment to meditate and concentrate simply on the beauty of the sound of rain. Here's hoping for clear skies tomorrow so I can once again walk my dog Sam.

photo courtesy freestockphoto.com

Accepting what is

All kinds of thoughts come to me while I am walking my dog Sam. It must be the fresh air, or the change of scenery. Today while I was walking I was wondering where this low lying anxiety comes from that creeps up on me sometimes. My life is great, I am very happy. I have no real complaints at all. But there are times when I catch myself saying things like "I am so overwhelmed, I just don't have enough time to do it all" (I have yet to figure out what it all is anyway.) "What is wrong with me, why can't I get it together." "My house is a mess, I am so disorganized." When I catch myself having these thoughts, I try an step back and figure out where they are coming from. Often it's just how life is. Things don't always work out the way I want, kids make messes, and unexpected things come up to cause upheaval in life. Usually my expectations are completely unrealistic. One thing I am working on is being less attached to results and outcomes and going more with the flow of life...which is always changing. I find when I do that things work out better, or at least I don't cling as much which makes me feel much better. Now if I could only remember.