How rock climbing teaches us to meditate

How does one meditate without sitting still? This is the myth of today's mainstream idea of meditation - MUST SIT STILL. Although yes, sitting still and quiet is a wonderful way to find the breath, it is not the only way. A few days ago I accompanied a few rock climbers to a hidden gem in our own backyard. A patch of rock that has seen and experienced many personalities, many intoxications, many chalky hands over the years - we even saw some graffiti dated back to 1948! As I chose to be a spectator that day, I drew my hammock a few yards away and began to observe. Here is what I learned about meditation and rock climbing.

The trek was a firm designated pathway that showed signs of wildlife, years of footpoints, bugs, and plants - an beautiful opportunity for mindfulness. Being mindful is simply shifting our focus to the present sense of sight, smell, hearing, touch and taste. In this case I was mindful of my environment, the warmth of the sun, the hobo's den deep in the woods, the windy path we followed to get to our destination, the smell of summer and the sounds of creatures. When we arrived to our location, rock formations unfolded in the beautiful rays of sunlight. The rocks glistened with graffiti artwork, broken glass and the remains of many fires from late night gatherings. (Can I point out that at this moment in my journey, all my worries from the day, and life had disappeared).

The cargo for the day's' activities were crash pads carried like backpacks; black with outlines of sweat, dirt and chalk - they had seen many falls. A cleaning brush that would wipe away broken glass, twigs, rocks and other earthly elements not kosher for the backside. I also noticed a can of WD-40 and a lighter. This would come in handy later! Bags of chalk that climbers use to pave the way with traction and fashion. One was plain Jane, black and white, nothing fancy, but the other, a panda vomiting rainbows. I assume this is the feeling one attains upon climbing his route. These chalk bags are tied to the waist of each climber and is the glue - an unconscious dip as the eyes peruse the next path of transition. The shoes - oh those fancy shoes! Tight, uncomfortable, painful, and necessary. Mind over matter.

Upon the first climb, one will lace up, chalk up, brush away the unwanted debris from the earth, then throw down the crash pad. The mind has been cleared, it has been offered the treasure of the breath, the present moment. It is now engaged in timeless joy, the top of the rock, the visual queue of the path of most resistance is the way. The inversions, the grabs, the holds, positive and negative just like the way life shows up for us. In any given moment we can be faced with what we don't have control over - just like the way the rock forms. The meditation practice has begun, and we may not even be aware of it. The climb begins on mother earth, back to dirt, root to roots - the grounding. A climber hangs on with an invisible thread, and as each new transition unfolds it mimics the challenges of life. Just like when we want something to change we often are let down - the climber goes for the next hold and he wasn't close enough, or his foot slips, a spider jumps out and he screams and falls to the mat. The meditation is that times will be tough, climbs will be challenging, and we keep breathing - we stick with it. Because to get better is to practice and to practice is to just do it.

The day was full of laughter, consciousness, breathing, letting go, focus, concentration and presence - the main elements of mindfulness AND meditation. Whether sitting still on a cushion or following a route to to the top of a climb, one can participate in the presence of the moment. To just be. So go forth and climb - make it your meditation of the day.

Click here to join the Mindful Tribe

The things you are passionate about are not random, they are a gift

I was reminded about my own passion, helping others help themselves. I do this by coaching, teaching mindfulness and breathwork and sharing my personal experiences. I recall what led me to Life Coaching, and it's not about the money, the prestige or the fame - it's about how I feel when my client finds a way through the thickness of ego, takes the leap into a new career, finds a balance with life and work by making a few simple changes or publishes the book she couldn't find time to write. It's a feeling of gratitude, excitement and happiness. My clients felt stuck, they didn't know where to start first, or which project was most important. The Breath of Wellness coaching program allowed them to explore their challenges, create doable steps to move forward with their vision and it gave them the tools to maintain success. These are the moments that remind me why I do what I do.

Life coaching is synergistic relationship that helps you tap into your fullest potential. It is a conversation that identifies what goals are important, what tasks are priority, and a partnership that objectively challenges you to dig deeper, work harder, and take the risk that will get you to the next level. 

My personal experience with life coaching has been true success. I started working with a life coach almost 4 years ago, and as a result I created a mindfulness practice that works for me, went back to school, started my own private practice and built a foundation of emotional awareness by learning self-compassion. Now, I may add this is all a work in progress.  My coach asked me those deep meaningful questions that ignited my creativity and offered me the space to decide what was most important to me.  I continue to work with a Life Coach on a monthly basis as it is important for me to grow professionally and personally. I often complete one project and quickly find another one ready to be explored. Two heads are better than one they say, and I have been able to make my dreams come true with having a Life Coach. 

These are just a few reasons my clients have chosen A Breath of Wellness, Integrative Life Coaching as their encouraging foundation of success. 

• Gaining financial security and independence (want to save for that summer vacation)
• Balancing your professional and personal life (if only there were more hours in the day)
• Communicating with friends, family or colleagues (building the relationships you want)
• Making that ideal career change (you know the one you would do if money were of no value)
• Identifying your values and passions in life (are your hobbies on the backburner)
• Getting organized (is tax season giving you anxiety)
• Becoming more relaxed (trouble sleeping at night, monkey-mind)

Life Coaching allowed me to expand my passion and my gifts, it changed my life, and now I am able to bring the same blessings to my clients. By asking one question at a time, by taking one breath at a time together we partner an investment. An investment in you. Find your passion, find your gift, it's been there all along. 

Join the Mindful Tribe

A Breath of Wellness, LLC

Holistic & Integrative Life Coaching

www.abreathofwellness.com

3 ways to take care of our minds

It has been some time since I've written to you, as some of you may know the last few years have been dedicated to studying the latest evidence-based data, writing research papers, conversing with classmates through discussion posts, and yes learning how to bring you the latest and most efficient method of life coaching, mindfulness and breathwork.  The good news,  I've completed my graduate program and earned a Master's degree in Health & Wellness Coaching!!  I couldn't be more grateful. It was a ton of hard work, and it was all worth it! I write today not to spread my ego, but rather to share with you what I learned. The biggest lesson was to take care of my mind.

What I learned is to let go of what I can't control and to accept myself exactly as I am. Adding hours upon hours of coursework, pro-bono coaching, over extending myself in a new way of employment, all was very challenging and my mental and emotional well-being was beginning to decrease. It was easy to not eat dinner, not stay committed to my meditation practice, and engage in negative self talk. These things offered me no strength, motivation or willpower - ALL the things that are supposed to keep us moving ahead. So what I learned is to take care of myself, and here are 3 of the ways that I do just that: trust life's process, meditate, and journal my thoughts.

I have a mind that likes to wander and engage in worry and fear, and I have fought with it for years. These past 3 years were no different.  I overworked myself, then beat myself up because I was exhausted, my meditation practice would cease for days even weeks at a time, and I would get angry at myself, and I neglected to write (hence the first sentence of this blog). All the things that I know keep me happy, motivated and calm. It was a struggle.

So what do I do differently now? I commit to 3 simple things every day:

1. Trust - This is a fact of my life. Trust is about shifting worry, anxiety and doubt into faith, believing that all that I need is ALWAYS taken care of. This is a daily practice of letting go, accepting life's challenges as they show up and leave the results to your belief system whether that is God, the Universe or Nature. When the thoughts of fear arise, find an affirmation to recite over and over again. Mine is, "the Universe has me exactly where I am supposed to be." This way I can focus my attention on the beauty directly in front of me, or on a solution that I'm faced to ponder.

2. Meditate - I must recommit to meditation often, and this is something I share openly with my clients. Meditation is a practice and it's challenging. I consciously breathe with focus and intention 20-30 minutes a day (at least 7 minutes a day on a not so good day).  Meditation helps me learn how my mind operates, where it goes and how to sit in discomfort. The quote, this too shall pass is the mantra for many of my practices. The thoughts will keep us wanting to stop, and we learn to sit through it. Changing our thoughts one thought at a time.

3. Journal Writing - This is probably my favorite. Each morning when I wake up I have many thoughts, some good some bad, and depending on my hormone level or how life is currently showing up for me, will determine whether they are good or bad. What I have found is that if I write 3 pages every morning of just stream of consciousness (no agenda, just write what shows up), I am able to go about my day without worrying about it. Most of what happens in my head is just story and never really happens, so I write it out, just like a story and then as I re-read it, I chuckle because of the irrationality of what I am making up in my head. Does this make sense? Try it for a few days and see what happens.

Overall, these small 3 steps (along with many others) have allowed me to change the way I think. This in turn gives me control over what I have control over - my attitude and my behavior. It a slow but sure process. Stay with it and keep breathing consciously.

What are you grateful for?

Gratitude - an expression of acceptance of the things we have, and to fuel our experience of love, selflessness and service. I awake this morning full of gratitude and wanted to share my hearts perception on how this beautiful concept has changed my life. For years I was ungrateful on every level. I had so many beautiful people and miracles happening in my life, however I could not grasp the concept of what it meant to be grateful. I ALWAYS WANTED MORE! More of everything. If I had a brand new car, I wanted a different color; when I bought my house, it was just a matter of time when I wanted a bigger house, the job - well I was never satisfied (problems with authority in my younger years gave way to a much bigger problem here). And the non-material items, the fact that I woke up every morning and was able to take another breath never phased me. The point is no matter what I had I wanted something more. It left me feeling lost, crazy and spinning out of control.  I am here to share some basic ideas of how I remain grateful.

When I awake in the morning, I at most times have immediate thoughts of impending doom - that I am struggling in every aspect of my life. Thoughts such as I can't make enough money, how will I get through the day, this meeting I have at noon is going to ruin my life, etc. You get the idea. Your thoughts may be the same or may be different. Either way they are there - they are strong, all consuming and they have been known to set the tone for my entire day. Well there is hope! Gratitude has saved my sanity and brought peace back into my life. How does this concept work? I had the same question, and believe me even after all these years I still forget at times.

For me this is taking out a piece of paper and a pen, pencil, marker, or a computer - whatever captures your artistic spirit and I start writing. I write the question bold and underlined at the top of the paper or the screen - What in my life an I grateful for? What people, places, things and most importantly what experiences! I've learned that material possessions have not given me happiness in my later years of life. It is the love of people in my life, my awareness of life and the ability to be awake and living a life of purpose that makes me grateful. I may add I am extremely grateful for the roof over my head, the food in the fridge and the ability to make money to fund those hobbies of passion. The point to all of this is to rid our thinking of "what more do we need" and to begin shifting into "the gratitude for what we have."

Take some moments today, tomorrow and everyday to follow to find gratitude for your life! By doing this I promise you will find increased happiness. I'd love to hear how your practice gratitude - please share you journey!

Namaste
Erin

www.abreathofwellness.com

Being Present - what does this mean?

"If you are depressed you are living in the past. If you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.” - Lao Tzu

 How do we live in the present moment? Lao Tzu expresses this phenomenon quite beautifully. Reliving something from yesterday brings us a state of depression as we sit and muddle in what we should, could or would have done differently. We cannot change what happened yesterday, what we can do is accept ourselves exactly as we are, and be mindful on where we are right NOW. Worries about tomorrow bring us anxiety. Thoughts such as what if he doesn't like me, what if I don't get the promotion keep us from experiencing what is happening in this moment. Ask yourself, what Power do you have in making all the results from these circumstances happen? Can we make people like us? Can we ensure that technology is going work, can we make our boss like us? Generally not. This creates a fight or flight response created by ourselves. A zebra is calm, collected and just doing his thing in the safari, he doesn't live in constant fear that he will be chased by the lion, UNTIL the lion is presently chasing him. We unlike the zebra tend to live in this fight or flight response all throughout our day. The common result is constant stress which brings on disease and illness and imprisons our minds to insanity. There is hope! Although we cannot change people, places and things, we do have the capacity to change how we react to them. With a quick change in perception -we can change our entire view of the world. So how do we do this? We control how we respond, we change our perspective, we do the next right thing. We breathe. By bringing ourselves back to the moment, we can let our mind rest or pause thus giving us the space to take action mindfully. Taking 3 deep belly breaths can instantaneously stop the negative thoughts that get us nowhere. This takes practice - constant practice - over and over again. Whenever these thoughts come up, we immediately turn them around with a positive thought. "Change your thoughts, and you can change your world" - Norman Vincent Peale www.abreathofwellness.com

We have a choice

“Mindfulness is simply being aware of what is happening right now without wishing it were different; enjoying the pleasant without holding on when it changes (which it will); being with the unpleasant without fearing it will always be this way (which it won’t).” – James Baraz

We have a choice, a choice to be free, to be peaceful and to hand over all our worries. A recent struggle allowed me to find this balance. It was a soulful surrender to the declaration of "I don't know." I think I know what I want, I want to know what's happening each future minute, and I want to know how it will all end up. Truth is I don't know anything. The Universe puts me exactly where I am supposed to be, every minute of every day and the realization is I don't know where or what this is. This is called living in the present moment and being mindful that what ever life throws at me whether good or bad I have a choice in how to respond. This is the only (I repeat - the only) attribute I have total control over. I can't make the sun shine for my birthday party, I cannot make a person like me, I cannot bring back a deceased parent. The point is I cannot control or change anything that universally happens. 

For example I received a letter in the mail informing me of the loss of a fairly large sum of money. I cannot change that I have "just" lost it, what I can do is pause, breath, invite a Power greater than myself to guide me into doing the next right thing - this we call action. Action is the place where my anger tends to arise. It is not merely the loss of money that I become resentful at, but the fact that I must act to fix or "handle" the situation. When I let go of how it all is supposed to look like, I can then and only then bring myself to the present moment, accept what is and then take action to make the most of the situation. Back to the letter - my next right thing was to write an appeal letter and hand deliver it to the office requested. At the time of arrival and date stamp of receipt I was told that it will take 75 days to process. Still I have no control. I just do the next right thing. 

The quote as written above mentions fear, and fear is what drives all these crazy monkey thoughts we have in which we think we can change the past or that by worrying about it will make it look different. I have learned that it doesn't work this way. I choose today to be happy, joyous and free and when I find myself in worry that happiness, joy and freedom is immediately taken from me - by my own choice! 

So today I invite you to handle each situation as it arises, if it is unpleasant be mindful not to worry about the results, but only focus fully and in complete presence on how to do the next right thing. Try this for a week and see how you feel. If it doesn't work for you, you can always go back to doing it the old way. 

Namaste

Self love, presence.

Self love comes in many glorious forms, but what is it that makes it so difficult?  I lay in a purple room with the support of my breathworker and I begin breathing, naturally. I have a tendancy to want to control the breath, however this time I was invited to breathe naturally. While still brething integratively I began to notice that the outbreath left a feeling of a void over my heart, as if the breath was separating and moving around my heart. I was comforted and asked what I was a feeling. I could relate to the feeling like many times before, that I need to love myself. It was a profound feeling, stronger than before. My body was telling me to focus, to recognize, to feel. Tears began to fall from my eyes, and this energy started to flood my entire being.

The awareness of beating myself up over thoughts, actions and more specifically creating expectations have often left me feeling overwhelmed and lost. The experience offered a place for my heart to talk to me, to guide me, to give me a reason to love myself.  Self love is not necessarily a lesson or a conscious practice. Sometimes being in the moments that life offers us is the best place to be, and to see love and joy within every moment.