Lifestyle & Wellness - Ananda Wellness

The Sage Patanjali says that to bring peace to the mind, watch and regulate the breath. In the practice of Hatha yoga, this is one of the main aims: to control the movement of the Prana, through breathing. To practice, begin with a deep inhalation and exhalation and then watch the breath move in and out, slowly. This is an observation of prana-apana - the force moving up is prana and the force moving down is apana. Both ayurveda and hatha yoga focus on the balance of these two forces to find equilibrium and peace

As we move through what seems like an endless loop of lockdowns it is easily to feel flat, disappointed, worn out and lacking motivation. Remember that not every day will be the same - today may be low, tomorrow upbeat. Remind yourself ‘this too shall pass’; remember the journey is never linear - in fact most times it is the opposite, and listen to what your body and mind are asking you to do to keep life light even in the smallest way…

The year 2020 taught us how to find peace and balance even when the answers seem totally unknown. Uncertainty and a need to know right now, to do away with the ‘grey’ is a challenge for most. So being forced to look uncertainty in the face and sit with its impact for the most part of 12 months, will have strengthened this psychic muscle.

In the spirit of venturing forth with this learning in place, here are some thoughts on intention setting and getting in ‘flow’ for 2021…

Part 2 of my post on sitting through and resetting from unpleasant feelings. (Part One is here).

To recap, we can release the ‘grip’ of unpleasant feelings that sometimes gets stuck within us and flattens us for hours or days by using awareness and release. This helps to loosen this grip within minutes by tapping into our neurobiological response whilst experiencing them and riding out the waves. The feeling of Vulnerability, Embarrassment, Disappointment, Frustration - just like this described in yesterday’s post - are usually experienced as being unpleasant and negative. In this light, most of us reach for distractions to avoid or suppress them. To help work through them a simple body scan can help at the outset, but at a deeper level it is important to acknowledge that these feelings need not necessarily or inherently be bad or negative but simply unpleasant and uncomfortable.

In honour of World Mental Health Day 10.10.20 I will be sharing a 2 part piece and a more specific blog post to help you identify these feelings and release them. This is part one, highlighting some of the feelings that can come up and lead us to use one or more forms of distraction to avoid or suppress them.

Lockdown again. What uncertain times we are in. Reaching out today to share in the collective feelings of frustration and trying to stay clear-headed in response to a phenomenon that is not really up to us. A few things going through my mind today..

1. How connected are we as a species, no matter how remote or isolated? Seemingly unconnected actions weave around us like a web, really driving home the point that we are One, pulsating, connected whole. Waves belonging to one ocean, truly.

2. If we can hang tight for another 6 weeks by doing the right things and adhering to what is set out for us as a community we can minimise the spread and get out to the other side sooner than if we kept delaying and furthering the uncertainty.

3. Nothing is really certain, so while we make plans we must also plan to be open, receptive and responsive to the moment. This means letting go of our most treasured hopes and plans if we must, by placing trust and faith in a bigger truth than we can conceptualise in our minds