A Haiku is a Japanese poem that has 17 syllables. The 1st line has 5 syllables, the 2nd line has 7, and the 3rd line has 5.
We aren’t truly limited. We are limitless. It is our perceptions, many times born from past pain, that cause us to think we are limited.
When it comes down to changing limiting habits and attitudes it can be helpful to make a list. I used these headings:
Limiting Habits
Limiting Attitudes
Mapping them out like this makes them easier to see. It is also easier then to see what path healing needs to take, or how to change our subconscious programming.
Breathing with the large diaphragm muscle in the middle of our body is what babies do naturally. With age, we can “forget” this very natural rhythm.
In supine position (lie on your back), pull your knees up and place your feet by your buttocks.
Placing your right hand on your abdomen, see if you can breath by only using your diaphragm. Your hand should rise and fall with your breath.
Place your left hand on your upper chest and see if you can prevent your left hand from rising and falling as you breathe.
Make a steady rhythm with your breath, counting to three on your inhale and to three on your exhale. Increase the count, as you are comfortable, to a count of ten.
Tacos have been a long-time summer favorite. They’re easy to make and there are so many different ways to make them from veggies to fish.
Another way of coping with the summer heat is with Sitali Pranayama (cooling flow) or taco breath. Sitali offers quick cooling during hot days and can also help with hot flashes and pitta imbalance. In addition, it can be helpful with fevers, bad breath, fatigue and high blood pressure.
To prepare for this pranayama, sit in a comfortable position with your spine straight. Inhale and exhale deeply through your nose a few times.
Making an O shape with your lips, roll your tongue upward like a tube or taco. Sticking your tongue out between your lips, inhale slowly like you are sipping air through a straw. Let your breath fill your chest and belly. Hold for five seconds.
Withdrawing your tongue, close your mouth and exhale through your nose. Slowly empty out your lungs, drawing your bellybutton toward your spine.
If your tongue does not curl, try Sitkari Pranayama instead.
For sitkari pranayama, you can rest the tongue against the inside of your bottom teeth and closing your teeth gently, inhale through the gaps between your teeth. This makes a hissing sound. Closing your mouth, exhale through your nose.
You can also extend a flat tongue and rest it on your bottom lip. Practice the same inhale and exhale exercise you would do with sitali.
Make sure and moisten your tongue!
Try practicing this technique for 3-5 minutes or gradually work up to 10!
Sitali and sitkari pranayama both reduce body temperature so they are best done in hot weather or after exercising.
Growing up, my mother read to me for hours. We got lost in the classics: Charles Dickens, Wilson Rawls, Charlotte Bronte, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Kenneth Grahame, Fred Gipson, Daniel Defoe, Laura Ingalls Wilder and so many more! We spent hours on grand adventures, cried over sick or missing dogs and over the plight of princesses and orphans. We dreamed through secret gardens and were in awe as Ebenezer Scrooge met his ghosts.
Then I read to my children. I started to record books for them so that when I was busy, they could still be following along with their books.
They are all grown up now. I find I miss both being read to, and reading to others. This is a little bit different from Dr Seuss, but inspiring, I hope.
Even though the title says “women” I think the message is relevant to men as well.
When I first started meditating and journeying, I would get very uncomfortable. My legs would fall asleep and I was constantly fidgeting. I would sink into meditation, then find that leg pain or numbness would distract me.
A Zafu is a meditation Pillow
Before beginning meditation it is helpful to know what posture will be comfortable and what will work best for you. The spine needs to be erect with the arms and legs settled comfortably.
Breathing begins with the physical posturing of the body.
For example: try breathing from a slouched position. Which part of your lungs feels restricted? Diaphragm (belly), rib cage, upper chest? How many seconds can you inhale and exhale? How did you feel when trying to breathe in this way?
Now try this with your spine erect which allows for proper breathing. Leaning forward even slightly can restrict your breathing capacity.
Despite the common vision of a monk sitting as still as a rock for hours on end in meditation, sitting too rigidly can shut off body awareness and can stress the cushioning of bones and muscles.
If you feel any pain or numbness, reposition your body.
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