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ObDo you ever find yourself so paralyzed by the impossibility of getting everything done that you don‘t do some of the essentials? It’s happened to me: When I had an outdoor pool, we didn’t manage to get the thing shut down and covered for the winter one year until nearly Thanksgiving, which means we had to scoop away a 3-inch sludge of fallen leaves first! The frustrating thing was that by avoiding that chore for too long, we made even more work for ourselves.
As the seasons shift into autumn, our To Do lists grow longer and longer. Suddenly we are faced with those end-of-summer chores: Putting away lawn furniture, getting windows weatherized against the chill, moving cold-sensitive plants indoors. And this is on top of all the everyday stuff we already have to keep in mind. How to get it all done without going into overwhelm?
Here is some liberating help for all of us. Discover two magical keys that help solve the problem of endless lists of chores, and take the Priorities Quiz to make everything simple and do-able! It’s all here:
The keys are to prioritize and to be realistic and let go.
1. To help you Prioritize, try this Priority Quiz:
Start by writing down a list of all the projects and must-dos that face you, in no particular order. (Getting that list off your mind and down on paper is a great step in relieving any anxiety around doing them!) Next, ask yourself the following questions around each item on your list:
a. Will not doing this now impact negatively on my family’s health or welfare?
b. Will not doing this now mean more work later on?
c. Would doing this now give me real pleasure and add joy to my life?
If the answer is “yes” to any of these three questions, then mark those items with a star! They are your real To Do list. Everything else can go on hold until you have the extra time and energy to deal with it.
2. Be realistic and then let go. Even that essential To Do list needs to be broken down into manageable bites, and that has to be based around what you are realistically capable of accomplishing, given the constraints of work and family responsibilities, as well as your state of health and energy. Nobody can manage to do everything at once, not even those of us with the urge to be all and do all. The most important thing you can do for your own peace of mind–and the well-being of your family and home–is to let go of your inner perfectionist. Set yourself realistic, achievable goals for every day or every week, depending on how busy you are.
It can help to make a list and give yourself the satisfaction of crossing off each item you manage to do. And be sure to factor in rewards for yourself, or be aware of the rewards inherent in the job done. For instance, all of the rain we’ve had recently flooded the basement, so now I have to go through bags and bags of old clothes to see what’s usable and what’s not, before they mildew. (This would not only be a waste of clothing, but mold and mildew would be a bad thing for our health, so it’s on my really essential To Do list.) To make this chore less irksome, I’m turning it into a kind of treasure hunt: I may rediscover a whole new wearable wardrobe! At the very least, I’ll have the satisfaction of donating and jettisoning stuff that has been a useless space-clot and energy drain. Because I’m too busy to do it all at once, I’m giving myself the very do-able goal of going through three bags a day–and I’ll be done in no time. As for all the other projects I had in mind to do before the cold weather sets in, they can wait: I’m practicing letting go. So can you!
I'm always amazed when asked to list the most important areas of life, some folks put areas like career, finance, relationships, etc, ahead of that all important "h" word - health!
It even, on occasion, misses the list altogether!! Yet without good health we simply don't function. Without being considerate and giving our body exactly what it needs to work at its optimum level how can we expect to get up and go anywhere?
Whatever plans we may have laid will be thwarted by lack of energy, because let's face it; what "oomph" we need normally is doubled at times of change.
Get Up and Go
 But how can you implement health as an important area in your plans to recharge? Firstly by acknowledging that optimum health can exist, but doesn’t just "happen."
Let's face it, good health and limitless amounts of energy was something we enjoyed as teenagers, but now even though it's still possible to feel that same sense of vitality and stamina, nowadays it will usually be the result of a bit of a plan.
"Life leaps like a geyser for those who drill through the rock of inertia."
Alexis Carrel
Question Time
- What plan for health do you have at the moment?
- Are you a member of a health club?
- Do you swim?
- What about nutrition?
- Do you eat your five portions of fruit and vegetables a day?
- Do you take supplements?
- What do you do to improve your work-life balance – meditate, practice yoga or tai chi?
And we haven’t even mentioned alternative approaches yet. Take a moment to write down your current physical shape.
Are You A 10 Out Of 10?
How would you rate your overall level of fitness (between 1 – 10, where 10 is tops)? Ask yourself:
- What physical exercise have you done during the last week?
- How many hours did you exercise for?
- How would you rate your current diet (1 -10)?
- When did you last eat your five portions of fruit and vegetables in one day?
- What feelings or thoughts do you attach when thinking about all of the above?
Change the Frame
Richard Bandler, one of the founders of NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) suggests that what we associate to something is the defining factor to how we feel about it. For example, if I say "London," some of you might think "interesting, fun, beautiful," whereas others might think "dirty, busy, and dangerous." Yet you'd both be talking about the same place.
The difference would be your interpretation; how you frame London in your mind. So, if I were also to say the word "healthy lifestyle," some might think "vibrant, sexy, having the 'wow' factor," whilst others would associate "boring, restrictive, or no fun at all."
Raise Your Game
Looking back to the answers concerning your current levels of fitness, and how you answered and subsequently thought about you and your health, did you feel good, or not so good about it?
How would you feel if you raised your game on what you thought concerning health and fitness in the future?
If you were to start a new fitness regime, or recharge the one you already have, how would you feel about it. Or what would you have to feel about it in order to increase your desire to do it? What frame are you seeing now? Is it the "oh, my gosh" picture, or one saying "bring it on"?
If the former and the prospect of moving up a gear turns you off, ask yourself what you'd have to think in order to change that belief?
Could you include something along with it that you already like?
For example, if you don’t like the thought of running alone ("boring, lonely" might be your association), what about running with a friend? Imagine the chatter you could get up to.
Accentuate The Positive!
Or maybe you could join a health club and watch Oprah whilst doing your 10km on the treadmill three times a week – as thousands already do.
The thing is, to give whatever you decide to do in life a chance of succeeding, you have to attach as many positive thoughts on to it as possible.
So, in the future when you think "running" you think "best friend, beautiful park, favorite TV soap," not to mention loads of "newfound energy and enthusiasm," which soon take over as the primary factors once we've got through the first couple of weeks.
Think ditto for eating habits, sleeping, meditating, etc. Healthy equals sexy, fun, friends, interesting, energy - the list really does go on. Stodgy food would also however, equal "heavy, bloated, and lethargic" – and I'm sure you don't wish to feel anymore of that.
"Each one of us has a fire in our heart for something. It's our goal in life to find it and to keep it lit"
Mary Lou Retton
A+B=C
So, why is the subject of health so important, especially when you want to recharge our life? Simply because to succeed and find that new burst of enthusiasm and energy for life you have to begin with good foundations.
The thing that will get us out of bed in the morning is a good night's sleep. What gives us energy for the day is optimum nutrition. Yet it's having a healthy body that will allow both to happen.
You don't have to be Olympian, just upgrade a few notches from where you are now and believe me; you will feel the difference within a few days. And with that new burst of energy you will see that re-charging the rest of you life is absolutely 100% possible!
 For the past three months in Dominator Magazine, we have explored various ways that yogacan be practiced. This month, we are revisiting the essential benefits of choosing to add yoga to your physical regiment, regardless of the variety you favor. Spring is the perfect time to evaluate your “health care” plan. What are you doing to ensure that your health is in good hands? Could yoga bring added vitality and energy to the life you are living?
The Benefits Yoga Brings.
- Increasing Flexibility. Yoga has positions that act upon the various joints of the body including those joints that are never really on the ‘radar screen’ let alone exercised.
- Increasing Lubrication of the Joints, Ligaments and Tendons. Likewise, the well-researched yoga positions exercise the different tendons and ligaments of the body. Surprisingly it has been found that the body which may have been quite rigid starts experiencing a remarkable flexibility in even those parts which have not been consciously work upon. Why? It is here that the remarkable research behind yoga positions proves its mettle. Seemingly unrelated “non strenuous” yoga positions act upon certain parts of the body in an interrelated manner. When done together, they work in harmony to create a situation where flexibility is attained relatively easily.
- Massaging of all Organs of the Body. Yoga is perhaps the only form of activity which massages all the internal glands and organs of the body in a thorough manner, including those – such as the prostate - that hardly get externally stimulated during our entire lifetime. Yoga acts in a wholesome manner on the various body parts. This stimulation and massage of the organs in turn benefits us by keeping away disease and providing a forewarning at the first possible instance of a likely onset of disease or disorder.
- Complete Detoxification. By gently stretching muscles and joints as well as massaging the various organs, yoga ensures the optimum blood supply to various parts of the body. This helps in the flushing out of toxins from every nook and cranny as well as providing nourishment up to the last point. This leads to benefits such as delayed ageing, energy and a remarkable zest for life.
- Excellent Toning of the Muscles. Stress is like an enclosing wall all around us. Yogic deep breathing and yoga stretches create a genuine sense of inner and outer space. Tightening deadlines, conflict and other stresses will lose their grip as you learn to breathe and stand your ground.
 Power yoga is a general term used in the West to describe a vigorous, fitness-based approach to vinyasa-style yoga. Most power yoga is closely modeled on the Ashtanga style of practice. The term "power yoga" came into common usage in the mid 1990s, when several yoga teachers were looking for a way to make Ashtanga yoga more accessible to western students. Unlike Ashtanga, power yoga does not follow a set series of poses. Therefore, any power yoga class can vary widely from the next. What they have in common is an emphasis on strength and flexibility. The advent of power yoga heralded yoga's current popularity, as people began to see yoga as a way to work out. Power yoga brought yoga into the gyms of America.
Who Invented Power Yoga?
Two American yoga teachers are most often credited with the near simultaneous invention of power yoga: Beryl Bender Birch, based in New York, and Bryan Kest, based in Los Angeles.
Not coincidentally, both these teachers had studied with Ashtanga master Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. Using the term power yoga differentiated the intense, flowing style of yoga they were teaching from the gentle stretching and meditation that many Americans associated with yoga. Another name often associated with power yoga is Baron Baptiste. Baptiste has his own method, which is only taught by teachers he certifies.
Is Power Yoga for You?
Power yoga classes can vary widely from teacher to teacher. However, power yoga will most likely appeal to people who are already quite fit, enjoy exercising, and want a minimal amount of chanting and meditation with their yoga.
 What is Yin Yoga? This question is asked a lot by students who have been practicing yoga for a while but have never come across this particular challenging style. Simple answers such as "It is the balancing practice for your yang style of yoga" or "It is yoga for the joints, not the muscles" are not overly satisfying. If students haven't heard of Yin Yoga, they won't know what a yang style of yoga is. And isn't all yoga good for the whole body, including our joints? To really answer the question and get to know Yin Yoga requires a fuller explanation. This part of our journey provides a deeper look into Yin Yoga and begins with an explanation of what it is, how it evolved, and its benefits for the whole body mind.
Yin Yoga has the same goals and objectives as any other school of yoga; however, it directs the stimulation normally created in the asana portion of the practice deeper than the superficial or muscular tissues (which we are calling the yang tissues). Yin Yoga targets the connective tissues, such as the ligaments, bones, and even the joints of the body that normally are not exercised very much in a more active style of asana practice.
Suitable for almost all levels of students, Yin Yoga is a perfect complement to the dynamic and muscular (yang) styles of yoga that emphasize internal heat, and the lengthening and contracting of our muscles. Yin Yoga generally targets the connective tissues of the hips, pelvis, and lower spine.
While initially this style of yoga can seem quite boring, passive, or soft, yin practice can be quite challenging due to the long duration of the poses. We can remain in the postures anywhere from one to twenty minutes! Yin and yang tissues respond quite differently to being exercised. You need to experience this to really know what Yin Yoga is all about.
The old adage states that the group that plays together, stays together. This may well be true. But in the era of deadlines and cut throat competition, are there really the resources and time available for what used to be know as “team building” time? Science has shown us in recent years that these activities are of far more than merely social value. Here are just a few reasons why offering corporate yoga in your office is an idea too valuable to ignore.
- Fewer sick days lost. Yoga revitalizes the immune system and the major organs of the body, removing waste products such as alcohol up to three times more quickly. Improved immunity means less workdays lost through colds, fatigue and other non-specific illnesses.
- Less back pain. An extensive number of sick days are lost because of back pain each year. The stronger, healthier backs that result from a regular yoga practice will significantly lessen the number of days missed in your company. Count them.
- Better problem solving skills. Yoga harmonizes the left and right sides of the brain so logical and creative thought come together as one. Flashes of inspiration should become increasingly common.
- Quicker response time. By training you in the art of single pointedness, yoga immediately improves mental concentration and focus.
- The ability to Stay Cool. Stress is like an enclosing wall all around us. Yogic deep breathing and yoga stretches create a genuine sense of inner and outer space. Tightening deadlines, conflict and other stresses will lose their grip as you learn to breathe and stand your ground.
- Happiness. Yoga physiologically transforms apathy and depression by oxygenating the brain and increasing the endorphins in the blood.
- Energy and Vitality. Yoga awakens hidden reserves of energy within your nervous, endocrine and cardiovascular systems so drowsiness and fatigue are replaced by alertness and aliveness.
- Improved Self-Esteem. People work better when they feel good about themselves. By carrying out demanding physical yoga postures, your confidence will grow - even after your first-class.
- Stronger Team Bonds. Taking yoga classes together is a way to build better communication and trust between members of a team and even have fun.
 For four days in October, Las Vegas was not a mecca of excess, but an oasis of tranquility. The first annual Art of Vinyasa Conference was held at the Green Valley Ranch Spa. This truly exquisite location proved to be the perfect stage for an exceptional yoga experience. This event was attended by yoga enthusiasts from across North America and a handful of diehard yogis from Europe. Team Dominator was thrilled to participate in this inspirational and educational gathering and look forward to the Midwest Yoga Conference in late May. We invite you to join us there! More information regarding this valuable opportunity will be available in next month’s edition of Dominator Magazine.
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