Welcome to Week 1 of Yoga - Relief from Anxiety

Before you begin, make sure you have a notebook, and a pen or pencil… oh and some sticky notes!

This week is going to begin with a meditative visualization to learn about how our brains create thought pathways, then we will dive into some work on identifying the thought patterns we want to let go of and how to replace them with the ones we would like.

Meditation through visualization 

Imagine the most gorgeous garden, full of fresh fruit, blossoming flowers. It is lush and full of all of your favorite botanical. Then on the other side of the fence is a weed garden, plants growing uncontrollably strangling each other to be the most dominate weed. Smell of rotting and death fills the area. Now imagine yourself in a field of tall grass, so tall you cannot see above it. You know you want to go to the garden of fruit and flowers but you have only ever been to the rotting garden. You see some of the grass is beaten down to create a pathway. So you take that path, it’s the most clear path, it’s been used so you think it must be right. , Before you know it the path opens up, you look up from the ground with excitement and see the path has led you to the garden of weeds. ,So you walk back along the path but in reverse to go back to where you began. When you look closely and mindfully, you begin to see the slightest resemblance of a path. So you take it! It is your first time on this path so you have to stomp on the grass, brush it to the sides with your hands and create a new path. It isn’t easy but you make it to the end. The path way begins to open and with hope you look up and see the garden of fruit and flowers, you’re over come with gratitude for your perseverance.

 The mind is much like the tall grass. Which ever thought pattern we have is like a path way. The more often you think that way the more beaten down, clear, and easy that path becomes. So why not keep taking it? Well, you need to be the judge of which paths you want to create in your own mind. Just like the path to the garden it can be difficult when you begin but you will be overcome with gratitude once it leads you to the life you want to have.

Story time- I used to own a couple yoga studios. At the one we would do child minding during the odd class. Some kids had no trouble but others had never been away from their mothers before. This made the task of taking care of them difficult. Saying to them “It’s okay, mommy will be back later” didn’t help much. Some times there mothers would say to them “don’t cry” so what happens… they cry. Not to defy their mothers but because that is what is now in their heads. The best way to ensure they are having a great time is to redirect their thoughts to something you would like them to do, like playing with the other kids, showing them a toy, colouring, or looking out the window. Now, it is your time to become a master of redirection in your own mind. If I said don’t think of a green ball… what are you thinking about? I bet it is the green ball! Now what if I said each time you think of a green ball imagine a blue box. The first time might take a few seconds but eventually it will happen with out any effort at all.

Take a few moments to write down some of the thought patterns you would like to let go of. I recommend choosing 3- 5 If you are unsure look through the list below to see if any of them happen in your mind. Often anxiety disguises its self as criticism. It’s as if criticizing yourself will protect you from the outside world. In reality it is the internal critic that is the source of most suffering.

I am a bad _______ (mother, sister, aunty, friend, employee). I am not good enough at ________. I don’t like the way my _______ (stomach, thighs, arms) look. ______ isn’t perfect. What if I am not ______ enough. I can’t do ________. Nobody cares. I am embarrassed about ________. I am disappointed in myself because of _______. I am not as good at ____ as ______.

(1.1)

 Next write the negative self thought down, and then next to it write the new thought pattern that you would like to replace it with. Example below:

I am a bad friend - I am loving and supportive, I am a good friend.

(1.2)

Now take the second sentence using the example above it would be “I am loving and supportive, I am a good friend” and write it on three different sticky notes, do this for all of your sentences and place them around the house where you regularly go. Examples: Mirror, closet, key jar, fridge, tv remote.

This week become mindful. When you are opening a door, feel the sensation of the handle in your hand, notice each muscle that fires in your body to turn the handle, become aware of how smooth, stiff, heavy or light the door is. Become so mindful that each time you do anything do it as if it was the first time and be completely engulfed with that action, that moment.

You are not getting out of bed to go make breakfast you are first removing the covers observing the weight of the covers shifting, noticing the temperature changing, feeling the textures change. Noticing what happens to your body when you do that, does it get tense, is it still sleepy, what has happened to your breathing? What thought entered your mind? Then move to the next task; Planting your feet, walking, opening a door… when you do each activity do it with your whole being. Mindfully aware. This is difficult. When you notice that you have been mindless it is totally okay. Just say “oh well” come back to the moment you are in and begin again. This week is all about mindfulness and discovering yourself, you’ll notice patterns in your body, in your mind and in your breath. Notice them, with out judgement. They are not good, they are not bad, they just are. When you notice them you can then decide, is this something I want to keep or is it something I want to replace. If it is something you want to replace add it to the list 1.2. To help you come back to the present moment we have a technique of the week below the class. Be sure to check it out and incorporate it into your life!

You can begin to build mindfulness during your first of two yoga practices this week below:

Technique of the week - Count up to 10 and down again…

Breathing. Notice the air coming in your nose, is it warm? Cool? Dry? Humid? Thick? Light? Smooth? Choppy?

Notice how it feels when it reaches the back of your throat and into your sinus. Notice your lungs inflating with air. What is happening when in the rest of the body when that is happening?
Can you feel the need to exhale begin to surface? When do you first feel the air again when you’re exhaling? Become aware of the feeling after the exhale.

Our inhale is naturally energizing, invigorating. The Exhale is naturally calming, and soothing. We cant have one with out the other, they balance each other.

Take a long slow inhale. Now slowly let it out. Continue in this way for a few cycles. Becoming mindful of how you feel while taking long slow breaths in and out of the body.

We will now begin to label our breath with a number. Taking a full, long and slow inhale and silently say to yourself “one”. Slowly and mindfully exhale the breath while silently saying to yourself “two”. Even though you are giving them a number keep the breath slow and steady. Continue to label each half of the breath up to ten and then go backwards back to one.

Notice, how do you feel? Is it calmer than before? Repeat as many times as you need or as you would like.

This week try to practice this technique a minimum of once in the morning, and once in the evening each day.