Anniversary.
Episode 36.
Anniversary. Marked as a day of importance. Marked in celebration, in reflection, in grief, in remembrance. We look back. We value connection. We sentimentalize. We glorify. We view time in a capsule, or in warp speed. "I can't believe it's been a whole year since...", "How has it only been a year since..." We recall memories with hope or with pain. We share and we feel.
This week marks an anniversary. One year since my last in-studio yoga class. One year since I practiced in a studio. One year since I taught in a studio. I use this as a mark of shift to pandemic life. An abrupt, unprecedented, forced pivot. A day, a decision, a moment, a mindset, that shifted from life as I knew it, to an unfolding of life as it would be.
365 days into this pandemic, and many additional pivots later, most just as abrupt and unannounced and unpredictable as this anniversary moment... the vastness of this full human experience is something too large to even reflect upon in words on this page.
So, this SHIFT will share some posts from this week, one year ago, as an anniversary mark, and also, as themes we may still find useful in our current state of relentless pivoting, unraveling, uncertainty, and coping.
Deeply feeling the persistent suffering in the world, I offer these thoughts, practices, and succinct directives as an invitation to turn toward healing and connection...
Love through this year, and beyond... 365 days of virtual classes...I am still Here for you.
Jessica
“This is the time to steady yourself- and it affects everyone else.”
- Jack Kornfield
”Be peaceful so you can be useful.”
- JA
13 March 2020
A commitment to health and wellness has solidified my decision to momentarily suspend my studio teaching, as I am taking all measures to flatten the curve. As a healthcare provider, I see the impending burden on hospitals and healthcare as something we each have the responsibility and the obligation to minimize. We can do this by extreme measures of social distancing. This is not dramatic or sensational- it is a momentary shift in way of life, and it is a critical practice. I am committed to my community of yogis, athletes, patients, and humans. I am here for you as a teacher, guide, therapist, and friend. These times of uncertainty and unpredictability are our harsh reality, and we need to breathe through this with mindfulness, now, more than ever. I will be posting some yoga class videos and meditations for your home practice. I will also offer some creative ways to engage us as a community, as I shift to remote classes for the moment.
Much Love,
Jessica
March 2020
In the current climate of social distancing and isolation, we may be longing for community more than ever. I know my yoga students are devoted and committed to practice and this is an integral part of staying healthy- physically, mentally, and emotionally. I am here to support in any way. Please don’t hesitate to send me a message any time. In this climate of distancing, I am working to build deeper connections. Are you joining me?....
Here. More together than alone... More community... More connection... More love... More moving... More breathing... More light...
March 2020
Meditation. Framing this Moment. Choosing Love. Acknowledging anxiety and fear. Being present to choose- either give in to and get lost in the anxiety or take this as a retreat to steadiness and inner freedom. So many concerns and worries. All very real. We can recognize our ability to hold at once joy and sorrow; to feel our connection as common humanity, to cultivate compassion as we are all being affected. It is easy in these worried moments, to be pulled by news or thoughts. Practice being centered in the reality of the present, and at the same time, part of something much bigger. This humanness. The depth of our experience. Our imperfections. Our love. Our fear. Our joy. Our passion. Our shame. Our light. Our hope. Appreciate the marvelous nature of our human connection. Love what is here, in this moment. Breathe. Inhale. Exhale. Create space. Feel tenderness. Know kindness. Be Love.
March 2020
Meditation for Uncertain times.
In this very moment, you are ok. This is a reminder. This is reassurance. We all need this in certain moments. To hear, “You are ok”.
Especially now.
Especially in this time of uncertainty; this unprecedented global pandemic; this unknowing; this unpredictable state of life.
Undoubtedly, our status quo has shifted, our normal has become sidelined, and our routine has been decimated. Our response may be in our minds- with worried and fearful thoughts; in our bodies-with anxiety-laden biological manifestations; in our behaviors- with stress, anger, or fear-driven reactions.
These are all showing up as a storm of emotion. Maybe overwhelming, as if a snow globe was just shaken violently. In the midst of this chaos and commotion, the grounding practice of meditation may help reset our nervous systems, bringing us from fight/flight to focus/flow. This practice is not some mystical state to achieve, but a showing up as you are and allowing your body and mind to realign and recalibrate. Although this is a stillness practice, it is not a doing nothing practice. This is a disciplined, powerful, deliberate non-doing. Meditation is practiced among the elite- The Seattle Seahawks, Kobe Bryant, George Lucas, LeBron James, Jeff Weiner, Adam Robinson; and the skeptics- once me!
The benefits are wide-reaching- a heightened sense of focus and well-being, reduced stress, weight regulation, anti-aging, improved sleep, mental resilience, reduced inflammation, performance enhancement, overall health optimization.
Meditation. For uncertain times. For now.
This is not about enlightenment, but lightening up.
This is a reassurance from the inside that “You are ok”.
This is grounding in a sea of unpredictability.
This is being. Here.
Meditation.
March 2020
Moment to Moment. Mindfulness.
In the face of this collective loss.
Grief.
Touching every one of us, across all dimensions.
Loss of physical connection. Loss of routine. Loss of work. Loss of touch.
As we face this place of loss and fear and worry, we are all needed. We are all participants in this global unfolding of our world. We are all feeling through each moment.
Right here, in this place, can we come together and talk about Love?
Can we see Love as the greatest source of strength that we have?
Love as the springboard for cultivating compassion, for connecting with calm; with peace.
Because the more peaceful we can be, the more useful we can be.
Can we find hope in humanity because were designed for connection?
Can we virtually hold each other’s hand?
Buddha taught, our fear is great, but greater yet is the truth of our essential connectedness.
Meditating on the hope of a connecting Love that will bring us through these moments.
Love is bigger.
March 2020
This global crisis is asking us to be home. To find stillness. How can we find inner refuge in the center of this storm? We clean our hands. We can also clean our minds. How? Bring attention to the thoughts you have. Notice them as thoughts. With mindful attention, you can then choose to give yourself space, to do things to nurture your self.
Practical ways to calm down your nervous system and reduce activation of fight, flight, freeze...
Breathing- deep and slow. (Practice: inhale 4 seconds, hold 7 seconds, exhale 8 seconds)
Grounding- Feel your feet on the ground. Press your hand on your heart.
Moving- stretch your body, feel your breath, dance, open yourself.
This mental training is just like physical training- it is critical right now. An untrained mind can be terrible company. These times are challenging us all, as our thoughts arise and compete for our attention. Keep recognizing. Keep coming back to your breath. Keep focusing on love. Be well in your mind.
I am here. For you.
March 2020
Flow. State.
Not some enlightened woo-woo place for monks. Not some out of body experience you must muscle through to achieve. Flow is being absorbed completely in what you are doing while you are doing it. Flow is mindful attention. Flow is being. Flow follows focus.
And now, more than ever, we are seeking refuge from the anxious, worried state of our mind. So, how do we drop into stillness and quiet? Flow is how. We engage in this physical practice of yoga. We move and breathe together so our bodies become energized and connected, and also wrung out and open to a deep dive inward. When we reach the final pose of class, we are primed to sink-in and induce a shift in our state of consciousness; to elicit a relaxation response, with pointed focus. We take away the struggle. We simplify the approach. We feel a tangible benefit. We access flow state.
Here.
One inhale. One exhale. Flow.
Connection. Now more than ever. Breathe. Move. Together.
Do it all with Love. Nothing is promised. But everything is workable.
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