by Vicky Meikle | Feb 16, 2016 | General
Imagine how it would feel if you could shift the way you were feeling when you get caught up in the day to day overwhelm of your life – the traffic jam making you want to scream, your boss showing you up, that comment that digs deep or the stupid argument you had before you left home.
Guess what – we all have the capacity and power within us to shift these feelings, to ease the racing thoughts and worry and transform our state to welcome calm, its all in your beautiful breath……….
Did you know that breathing techniques (like ones we use in yoga, pranayama) can positively affect your actions and thoughts? Thats because every thought we have changes the rhythm of our breath. You might have noticed that when you feel happy you breathing is easy, relaxed and if you really pay attention (we don’t often notice out breath though do we!) that its rhythmic. I bet you’ve noticed though that when you are stressed when you feel like you need to count to 10 or take deep sighs that your breathing is really irregular and interrupted or you may even hold your breath! Tune in next tim your remember to watch your breath in different situations, this is the first step to really understanding the power of your breath.
This is why yoga is so special…… we give ourselves the opportunity to bring breathing techniques into our day so that we can create calm in our lives. Its not just limited to a yoga mat though – you can just do this walking down the street and you’ll get the same impact.
You could try out this technique where I offer you a simple approach to finding a place of calm when you need it. See for yourself how it makes you feel HERE
by Vicky Meikle | Sep 1, 2015 | General
OK hands up I fell hook line and sinker for this over the last few weeks – its sucks all the energy from you, it lurks in the background making you feel pretty rubbish and I want to share it with you because I bet you’ve caught this once in a while!
Comparisonitis is a dreadful condition. It causes havoc with our minds and our general wellbeing, sending us into a spiral of negative thoughts. Its our ego’s way of being heard, causing immense discomfort about who you are and an overall dissatisfaction with anything that you’ve accomplished. Sound familiar?
Ever noticed yourself thinking how well everyone else is doing, they seem further along than you, having more fun than you, making more money, living the life that you believe you should be. Maybe you start to feel guilty because you think there is something wrong with you and that you need to be doing more.
Comparionsitus can come in many shapes and sizes. It can be a full blown knock down causing massive amounts of negative thoughts, berating yourself, not thinking you are good enough or just a slight dissatisfaction, not lasting long of wishing you could be more like whoever or whatever you are comparing yourself too.
I’ve been pretty active on social media lately, for me this is the one place that I can get sucked into thinking I should be doing this, I’m not doing enough or I’m not good enough to do that! Ok so there are times when looking at how others are doing can be totally inspiring, I get that and I love technology for this as it allows so much more to be seen, but I have a tendency to be overwhelmed with choices, ideas, thoughts – I need to keep it simple and keep my focus (complete monkey mind!) otherwise it can only take one old belief pattern/thought to rear its ugly head and it sends me into a mini or full blown spiral of comparionsitus!
I’m moving out the other side of this little episode (totally laugh about it now!) and each time this happens, I know I’m not focused on what is, I’m focused on what I think should be happening, what I should be doing, what I should be experiencing. All that does is create more anxiety, more guilt, and more frustration about where I’m not, instead of appreciating where I am.
Awareness is absolute key. If you know this is your tendency you can totally nip it in the bud or at least be aware thats why you are feeling the way you do. This is why I include practices in my day that create more awareness, that get me out of my head and peel away the layers of old stuff, old beliefs and patterns. I’ve grown to cherish my yoga and meditation practice as an opportunity to become more aware, to be more present and to approach my days with more ease and flow.
by Vicky Meikle | Aug 11, 2015 | General
Getting the right balance – what does that mean to you? Balance between work and life, moving and being still, eating healthily & indulging, resting and working out, stress and calmness.
I spoke with one of my yoga students last week about balance – they love the workout they got with the practice and then also the opportunity to rest afterwards to balance out the session – for me yoga is the real deal – the complete package between effort and ease, strength and flexibility, mind and body, rested and alert, awake and relaxed.
It can mean many different things to each and everyone of us. What works for one person will be completely wrong for another – there is no hard and fast rule to stick by. Maybe thats why it’s hard to find balance as your balance is unique to you. Its also a daily practice – its something that we will always need to do.
Take a look at your day and see if there are ways you can bring balance::
- Sit at your desk all day? Every 30 minutes, get up, take a walk and do something completely different for 5 minutes to get your body moving and mind rested from your PC or work. Make a cuppa, grab some fresh air, stretch.
- Cardio or weights every week? Add in some downtime for stretching and resting – this will allow the body to balance out the high intensity workouts and let the body recover.
- Stressful day? – Take some time to sit/lie and be still. If your mind is on overdrive its exhausting. You could try a guided relaxation or meditation to help alleviate the stress and feel more relaxed.
- Family filled day? – its important to take some time for you each day, whether thats a few minutes or longer – read your favourite magazine/book with a cuppa, take a bath with plenty of bubbles.
Wouldn’t it be so much easier if we were told exactly how to find balance – like a step by step process you could follow – we wouldn’t have to think for ourselves, just do it……. but then its not a conscious choice and we’d all be lie robots doing the same old thing!
I’d love to hear how you find balance in your day, let me know in the comments?
