How to Respond to This Moment

It's a busy world, & we tend to react to all that goes on around us. Can we instead learn to respond in a way that is more present? To be more present in the moment so we can respond in a way that works for us instead of against us?

Last week I sent a blog on This Moment Matters, to show what the focus of my classes will be this fall. The idea is present moment awareness. To learn to be more present to being instead of doing. In the classes I started this week, we began by using a Mantra (a word or phrase that is repeated as a point of meditation). We will be using this mantra next week again to reinforce these ideas to make them part of our practice.

I AM HERE NOW IN THIS.

We repeated the words in our minds & connected them with our breath I (inhale) AM (exhale) HERE (inhale) NOW (exhale) IN (inhale) THIS (exhale)

The reason this mantra can help us, is it is difficult to be in the moment & when we are, we can feel so much that we would rather dwell in the past or jump forward to the future. It helps us to stay present to each breath, each word & allow the thinking mind to fall away. When the thinking mind falls away, we are able to feel. Feeling is the way through to developing our capacity for felt perception. To get better at feeling, which is a way to healing. Here is a bit of my last blog to help with this idea (in case you need a reminder or didn't get a chance to see it last week) See below. In the weeks to come, we will be looking more & more about the difference between REACTING & RESPONDING. While we are working on this process, it is useful to be gentle, patient & consistent. Things will come up that are uncomfortable so be gentle with yourself. When you fall back into old patterns, be patient with yourself. Above all be consistent, doing it daily. In The Presence Process Michael Brown encourages a 15 min breath practice 2x/day. In the am & pm. It is a specific breath through your nose, without pauses. For now, find a natural breath & you are welcome to lie down if sitting is uncomfortable. Find an easy breath & with the rhythm of your own breath, repeat the mantra. Start with 5 min if 15 min seems to much. But be consistent & soon 15 min will not seem so much, then you can aim to do this practice 2x/day. I am a work in progress, as we all are. Let's practice together & find our way through to a more meaningful, healthy life. https://www.acyoga.net/single-post/2017/09/02/This-Moment-Matters "In our busy culture, we tend to live in the past or the future, but to be in this moment can be hard. The moment we pause into stillness, a thought of past experiences can come in & we can get stuck in the story of it. So we come back to our breath & remind ourselves that to come back to or breath & this moment. But soon after we think this, we might begin to think about the future, “ If we do this, this will happen, but what if we do that, that will happen". We don’t mean to, but we are again disconnected from this moment. So our efforts to be in the moment, seems to go to the wayside again & again. But the point is to keep trying, to keep coming back the distractions of the past & the future.

As some of you know, I have started Level I of a 2 yr, 4 level training on Conscious Breathwork with Trevor Yelich http://www.trevoryelich.com In my own practice I was needing a way to help work though the things that arise in me when I am in the present moment. These discomforts, fears, traumas that come up when we are still. Patterns of our past that resonate into this present. As part of my studies I am reading The Presence Process By Michael Brown. He speaks of the difference between reacting & responding. Reacting is making a decision based on what we think happened yesterday & what will might happen in the future. Responding is making choices based on what is happening in this moment & drawing on the wisdom from our past experiences. We become reactive most the time because of the trauma that is embedded in us. Our practice is to help to acknowledge what is felt & to learn the way out is through. Not to run away, or avoid, but to meet & more through in a compassionate & loving way.

So this Fall I will sharing my perspective of this journey in The Presence Process in a way that can be applied by each one of us. The first week of the practice there is a mantra that is to be used “This Moment Matters”. I look forward to helping each one of us see how much the moment we are in matters & how to be there more & more in our lives. With this we can help to integrate all of our self as a way through to our most authentic Self.

I challenge each one of us to see how this idea of being in the moment can transform our lives & the lives of those around you. Just like a waterfall that is made of drops of water, as we come together, one by one, we can affect not only ourselves but the world."

If you would like to join me on this journey, here is where I am teaching this Fall:

YogaMcc 2028b 33 Ave SW http://www.yogamcc.com for more info or to register

Wednesdays:

9:30-11am Gentle Yoga for Strength (drop-in)

12-1:30pm Customized Yoga Therapy (registered starts Sept 6)

Thursdays:

6-7:20pm Healthy Backs Yoga (drop-in)

7:30-9pm Customized Yoga Therapy (registered starts Sept 7)

Workshop:

Body Positive Yoga @ YogaMcc Explore Ways to Move Your Body That Feel Good

with Anne Cox E-RYT 500 & Carol Fredrek Registered Psychologist Saturday October 21, 1-4pm $60 + gst

Yoga is about feeling good in our bodies. There isn’t just one body shape that is right for yoga.

Body Image exists on many levels. Visual, cognitive, emotional, historical, and kinesthetic. In this class. we are going to focus on the kinesthetic level. This level allows you to have a sense of body awareness.

You are using this sense with anything that requires body movement. It is focused on the body’s internal events.

Body Image and weight obsession in our culture is rampant. About 91% of women are unhappy with their bodies and resort to dieting to achieve their ideal body shape.

In this workshop, you will move from Body Loathing to Body Love.

We will incorporate: • Yoga poses • EFT Tapping • Visualization • Writing

EFT Tapping can reduce the intensity of feelings that may come up as you move your body in different postures, visualize, or write. Through these practices, you will see that your body is perfect the way it is. You just have to learn to work with it, & not against it to become your best self.

Together we can learn new ways to help you change your unhealthy habits into new ways of living a healthy life. YOU are worth it!

Carol Fredrek, Registered Psychologist has been working in the areas of body image and disordered eating for over two decades. Carol has overcome her own challenges with bulimia and body image and that is why she knows you can too. She uses EFT Tapping in her work with clients and has found it to be very effective.

Anne Cox E-RYT 500 started yoga in the mid 90’s & soon realized that she did not have the typical “yoga body”. Being curvy & inflexible, it seemed yoga wasn't for her. Over time she’s learned yoga wasn’t about fitting into a mould, but using your own body to shape the poses. In the process learning to be comfortable with her own body & self image. Now a Yoga Therapist, she encourages her students to find their own way in their practice to become stronger, more flexible & to see yoga is not about our outer appearance, but about finding your own True Nature.

Knox United Church 506 4 St SW https://www.acyoga.net/classes for more info or to register

Tuesdays:

12-1pm Lunchtime Healthy Backs Yoga (registered starts Sept 12)

Frank Wills Memorial Hall 405 1 St E Cochrane https://www.acyoga.net/classes for more info or to register

Mondays:

1-2:15pm Core Yoga Therapy (drop-in/registered starts Sept 11)

Tuesdays:

7-8:15pm Gentle Yoga for Strength (drop-in/registered starts Sept 12)

Private Yoga Therapy in Calgary & Cochrane https://www.acyoga.net/classes for more info or to register

To help deepen your practice or to address some specific challenges, private therapy can be a great resource.

Private Conscious Breathwork in Calgary & Cochrane https://www.acyoga.net/classes for more info or to register

To help you to more through unhealthy patterns as a way to become more present in your life. First session is FREE