Happy Holidays
Happy Holidays, Friends.
I wanted to share an experience I had the other day that I found to be a very helpful reminder for this time of year.
I have a yoga client I meet with virtually twice a week. She is an older woman who is very active and very dedicated to her routine. She loves to challenge herself, and takes pride in her 4.5 mile walk she takes daily, no matter the weather conditions.
I’ve grown accustomed to our typical sessions which can include weights, balancing, and gentle inversions, and the energy level of my client being energetic and enthusiastic.
This past week however she was experiencing debilitating vertigo, and we needed to modify the practice to account for intense dizziness, nausea, and general discomfort.
I was aware of the tension she must be holding in her body and mind around not knowing how long this might last, and that she could be more prone to falls.
We did some gentle movement standing, and then the rest of the practice in a chair. The majority of the practice wound up being gentle pranayama (breathwork), and meditation.
While we have incorporated these components into prior practices, I am always trying to meet her high energy and avoid lingering in anything that seems too slow or quiet for a sustained period.
It was remarkable to watch the shift in her energy.
She sat on a chair with her back supported by blocks. We did some box breathing (inhale, breath retention, exhale, and holding breath out all for the same duration of time- typically around a 4 count), then alternate nostril breathing (Nadi Shodhana), with her arm supported by a prop, and then a seated meditation.
She was able to settle her energy, and find a stillness I’d not witnessed from her before.
In the midst of everything appearing and feeling like it’s churning and swirling, she found an inner calm and stability, and actually wound up continuing the practice well after we had ended our call.
I was left with that impression for some time, and have since been considering the impact and potency of these seemingly simple practices.
And how by slowing my breath, and bringing attention to the stable aspects of support around me, both literally and within my life, that I might find some peace during a time that feels very swirly and unsettling.
And so for you, I hope this finds you in a place where access to a quiet seat and a calm, slow breath is accessible.
Where in the midst of travel, gatherings, holiday indulgences, and departures from routine, you might have a moment to return to the stillness within… to regroup, to ground, to reconnect to your Self.
Some recipes for calm:
