Anticipatory Grief
The response from the past few missives tells me that it can be really helpful to name what’s been happening in our lives in terms like grief and loss.
Here's another aspect of this emotional puzzle you may relate to: anticipatory grief.
Monotony Survival Guide
This week I made a Monotony Survival Guide for myself.
It could also be called Reminders for Nervous System Freak Out or Cabin Fever. It is similar to the Invisible Loss Guide.
Invisibility
It dawned on me last week that there’s a nuance to why life is so stressful in these days of the pandemic: We are all trying to avoid something that is invisible.
June Fortify
On the mat, is your approach to your practice and your body fortifying? It's possible, dare I say not uncommon, for us to actually harm, hurt, let down, neglect or discourage (all antonyms of fortify) ourselves physically, spiritually or psychically on the mat. We have been well-trained to do so (no pain, no gain).
What would it be like to use the question, "Does this fortify me?" as you move through an asana (pose) practice? Let that inform the decisions you make.
No Justice, No Peace
And right now, Shiva is dancing wild, hair whirling, flames flying, trampling on the demon of ignorance.
The fire of fighting for justice has been burning for centuries. This is a time of staggering pain and requires all of us to participate. In particular, white folks have work to do.
It's Not Hard, It's Uncomfortable
Forever I have told myself that "the spiritual path is hard."
Taking the "high road," deep interior focus, doing the pickaxe work of facing false ego stories and programmed identity -- all hard. I've worn this like a badge.
Yoga Sutra 2.1
Commit your attention and take action, increase your knowledge and understanding through this awareness, and then surrender.
This is the wisdom of Patanjali’s Sutra 2.1: tapah svadhyaya ishvara-pranidhana kriya-yogah
This means...
The myth of trying harder
Here's the message that is running through my head on repeat:
You can't do it by trying harder.
Whether it's a yoga pose or healing a heart.
Ways to practice together
Many of us are wanting individual holding, to be witnessed and supported through our specific experience. If that is you, I'd love to be with you in that way. Let's get your nervous system regulated so that everything else is not as hard…
Learning curve
So there's a learning curve to this technology thing :)
Let's go into a little more detail on how to find the morning meditations:
Let's be together
In response to some requests I’ve been getting, I’m excited to share two regulation tools, immediately available. Things are really hard right now. Scary, confusing, disappointing, frustrating and so much more. So much unknown. We all know panic doesn’t help your immune system, nor your state of mind.
Two crappy choices
A lot of people, likely including you, are having to make hard decisions right now.
Should we cancel the trip?
Should I keep my kid home?
The both/and world we live in
I'm finding it so hard in these days of devastation, for some reason now more than other times, to talk about "regular stuff" and just go on about my day. I mean, there are wonderful things going on -- winter is my favorite, it's the start of a new year, a new decade, I have so many fresh business ideas…
My Underworld Story
At 42, three months into a new relationship, I found out I was pregnant. Seeing that “+” symbol on the First Response stick would have been surprising enough given these circumstances, but the fact that I’d struggled with infertility in my 30s and was told I couldn’t get pregnant without medical intervention made this news just completely unbelievable.
Grief -- the long haul
When we are a little further down the grief path — this may be months or years of calendar time — the focus shifts from surviving to acknowledging other aspects of life and thinking about the future. You may still be trying to make sense of this new life, you may feel a desire to start putting pieces together.
Looking for magic
One of the most wonderful things about this season is that it is the only time of year when we are collectively encouraged to believe in magic. Flying reindeer, elves in a workshop at the North Pole, a man in a red suit coming down the chimney to leave presents. Isn't it fabulous? Maybe you've heard…
Already vs Only
Did you wake up this weekend and think, "It's already December!?" I did.
Worse, I was saying it even in the last days of November. Nothing like giving away time.
Then I decided to swap one word out of that sentence and everything changed. Try it with me.
It's not like in the movies
These were the words of my 23 year old stepdaughter at lunch last week:
"It's not like it is in the movies!"
She was talking about love.
What really matters
Last week's post on creating a bigger container seemed to resonate with many people. Grief and loss touch all our lives and remind us of our togetherness.
When you need a bigger container
Well, last week we wrapped up the filming of Yoga for Grief, which will air in November on Yoga Anytime. (If you want to check out their top-notch content then or before then, use the code MICHELLE for a 30-day free trial.) I will, of course, let you know when it comes out. I am beyond excited to share it.