The Practice for a Lifetime

Beautiful Soul,

For years I have had a daily practice. But that doesn't mean that I do yoga poses every day. Most days, at least one or two will invariably sneak in - this body loves to move! But doing poses isn't the most important element of "practice" to me.

For me, daily practice means taking time to connect with me. Every. Single. Day.

And to be present with myself and with what is.

I call it my 'daily connection practice'. And it is what keeps me practicing yoga for now over 30 years! I feel it is essential to my life and living fully. Not only that, it helps me to remain sensitive and responsive to what's going on inside of me. It keeps me more awake to what's happening in the moment and creates space in which I can make choices about what's next more clearly and easily.

Daily connection can take many different forms as far as the technique or the details of how the practice takes shape. But it always involves me being consciously and intentionally with me. And it means that my practice is fluid - it changes according to what I need most each day.

Oftentimes my daily practice looks like sitting in the hot tub where I like to meditate. I feel the warmth of the water on my body, the buoyancy and lightness of being mostly submerged. I focus on my breath and practice being 'with' myself. I practice letting go of judgement and my ideas about how things should be, and simply be with what is.

Sometimes sitting still to do that is difficult. I might notice that my mind is busy trying to make sense of things or to figure out a problem or answer a question that I have. These are days that movement can really be helpful.

Sometimes takes shape as moving through a series of yoga asana exploring the strength and mobility of my body. Feeling into what it is to keep my balance. Sometimes movement is a walk in nature, it could even be as simple as doing some push ups at my kitchen counter.

But I don't move to get my mind to be quiet. I move to make space for my questions. To physically feel in my body whatever is presenting itself as a problem. To opening myself to sensation and experience so I can stay flexible, not just in my body, but in my mind too.

Another daily connection practice I love is the Goddess Rinse. It’s a gentle touch and movement practice that helps to really bring me home to myself and,as Mary Oliver recommended in the poem Wild Geese, "let the soft animal of my body love what it loves".

Regardless of which practice I am doing, my intention is to be present. Without an agenda or a preference about how things should be. Simply noting how things are. Once I am in touch with that, then I can take those observations into a conversation with my heart, or with my soul. Of course that conversation is not much like when I sit down with a friend for tea - rather it is a slow, deep listening. Sometimes there are words. Sometimes not.

The most important thing is that I am not judging myself or what is happening.

At the same time, I can bring into the practice things that I know help me feel balanced and centered. Focus on the breath. Light touch. Movement. I follow the impulses of the moment and see what happens.

Here’s a very simply connection practice that you can try if you aren’t already including some daily time to be with you:

Lie or sit quietly, with either eyes open or closed, pay attention to your breath for 3 – 5 minutes.
Feel the sensations of breath coming in through your nose and out through your nose..
See what else you notice about the breath and sensation in your body.
Notice too, any thoughts about how things should be or any sense of liking or not liking what you feel/sense.
Practice setting those preferences aside and simply be present with how the breath is showing up.
It can be helpful to set a timer. When the timer goes off, place your hands at your heart center and offer yourself a namaste.

Take a few moments to make some notes. What did you notice? What difference does it make for you when you let go of judgement and notice what IS without analyzing it?

It doesn’t matter when you do this practice – you can truly do it anywhere (just be sure if you do it in your car or when walking, you stay alert to what is going on around you!) You may find it helpful to set a consistent time each day to practice, like as soon as you wake up in the morning or right before you go to sleep so that you build the new muscle of connecting more quickly! You can also use it any time you are feeling disconnected or uneasy or simply because you feel drawn to it. Regardless, have fun practicing and let me know what happens

And if you want to try the Goddess Rinse, I have it on Youtube from a session I shared with my Sanctuary students earlier this year.
You can view that here!

Try out one or both and come back and leave me a comment to let me know how it went. I love hearing from you!

With love,