Pockets of Peace
By Lynn Felder, RYT
February is here, and we've hardly had any winter. (I'm dreaming of a white Valentine's Day!) We love the cold/warm days. The chill and foggy mornings burn into toasty afternoons. Joggers bare their knees. Songbirds frolic.
Luscious, carnelian-colored quince set their flowers even earlier than usual.
Winston-Salem really is like a city in the woods. From any vantage point - the overlook at Reynolds Auditorium, Broad Street in Washington Park, one of the rooftops at Baptist Hospital - we can see acres of trees.
The fact that our city is blissfully bucolic provides us with many advantages over those who live in concrete jungles. Nothing against big cities. We love them, but we also love being close to the Earth as we can be in Winston-Salem. And, of course, we're a relatively short drive from fabulous parks and recreation areas.
Amid the beauty of nature, how are you doing with your New Year's resolutions? Are you taking care of yourself so that you can care for others? Are you eating right, drinking lots of pure water, getting fresh air and keeping up your Yoga practice?
If you've fallen off the health wagon, you can get back on by carving out POP's for yourself. POP's are Pockets of Peace. Commercial advertising tantalizes us with POP's: "Calgon, take me away." "Take a puff; It's springtime." (Remember that one?) "L'Oreal, because you're worth it."
But we don't want to escape the moment - no matter what is happening - we just want to be able to be in the moment peacefully instead of frantically.
Feeling overwhelmed is a symptom of our vatta-deranged lifestyle - too many to-do's and not enough us. "Too many activities, and people, and things," Anne Marrow Lindbergh wrote. "Too many worthy activities, valuable things, and interesting people. For it is not merely the trivial which clutters our lives but the important as well."
You can create your own POP's that are long-term healthy and specific to your situation. Here are some quick fixes for this chronic problem.
- Turn off the TV. Turn off the phone. Turn off the computer. Turn down the lights. Either lie down or sit down for 15 with your eyes closed - an eye pillow makes it even better.
- Do all of the above and practice Legs up the Wall for 10 minutes.
- If your mind starts buzzing as soon as your eyes are closed, then play some non-linear music - Steve Halpern is one of our favorites - or use a guided-relaxation tape.
- Take a hot bath (Calgon was right).
- Take a walk in Nature.
- Have a cup of herbal tea - but no caffeine when you're in crisis. (Remember, you're already over-stimulated; you need to relax, not rev up.) And stare out of the window when you drink it, not at the TV.
- Pet your pet.
- Drive to one of the vantage points listed above or find your own. Or zip up to Pilot Mountain. Nothing improves our perspective like - perspective. Think Eagle Pose, or better, practice it.
- Call somebody loving and dependable. Reaching out and making a connection is a great stress-buster.
Don't wait for the stress and overwhelm-ment to hit. Practice pre-emptive Yoga. Practice pre-emptive Peace.
Copyright by Lynn Felder February 2012. Lynn Felder is an award-winning journalist, a yoga teacher registered with the Yoga Alliance and the author of the DVD “Gentle Yoga for Cancer Patients,” available at www.artsofyoga.com.
You’re welcome to “reprint” this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the “about the author” info at the end), and you send a copy of your reprint to lynn@artsofyoga.com and link to www.artsofyoga.com.