“Even if you could take a simple three minutes of self care every a.m. – to start your day, to nourish your soul…”

Here’s what Day 291 in our calendar year… on our matt looks like for me

Candle lighting, setting sankalpa

Spiritual reading – The Book of Awakening, The Bhagavad Gita, Earth Medicine, Yoga Sutras

3 1/2 Cycle Laya Yoga Chant

Breath of Fire

Surya Namaskar A (twice).

Surya Namaskar B (twice)

Surya Namaskar C (once)

Surya Namaskar C with free flow interpretation

The Bodhisattva Prayer for Humanity

Resurrection breath

Bhu mudra

Namaste

Peace, love & dogs,

Linda Benton

Do you even have a lunar self-care? What does lunar self-care mean?

Lunar care is not only important to aid in protection and nourishment of the body and a good nights sleep but also aids to support a strong immune system. Washing your hands, feet and face right before bed will rinse off samskaras in nerve endings. This has such a therapeutic impact on our nervous system. In summer use cool or cold tap water; in winter, warm water.

Pandit Rajmani Tigunait gives a great understanding of samskara’s – https://yogainternational.com/article/view/what-are-samskaras-and-how-do-they-affect-us

In today’s busy world, it can be almost impossible to find even five minutes for yourself. But could you take even three minutes every day to renourish your soul just before bed?

Just three minutes ~

~ seated in the moonlight or perhaps as the sun sets, in a comfortable position with left hand spread across your heart, right hand across your lower abdomen, gaze at low lids or eyes closed.

Invite a pause.

And for just three minutes, soak in the rays of the moon….. there may be no moon, but a sky sparkling with brilliant stars. Bring every inhale into your soul and every exhale dispersing this peace throughout mind, body and soul.

and then

repeating this mantra silently to yourself……

“My soul in not in my body, my body is in your soul. I am beautiful ~ from the inside out”

And if the mind is racing with too much chitta (aka chatter), practice this version of nadi shodhana pranayama. This version of alternate nose breathing will inhale thru the left nostril and exhale through the right nostril.

~ fold the index and middle fingers inward until they touch the palm at the base of the right thumb (Vishnu mudra). You will alternately use the right thumb to close the right nostril and the right ring and pinky fingers (together) to close the left nostril.

~ start with taking two to five normal breath cycles

~ on your next inhalation, use the right thumb to close the right nostril and inhale through the left nostril, deep into the belly allowing the breath to travel upward along the left side of the body. Pause briefly at the crown of the head.

~ next, use the ring and pinky fingers of the right hand to gently close the left nostril and simultaneously release the right nostril while exhaling through the right nostril, surrendering the breath down the right side of the body. Pause gently at the bottom of the exhalation.

This completes one round of nadi shodhana. You can take two normal breath cycles inbetween repeating this pranayam or just continue the same pattern; inhale through the left nostril, exhale through the right nostril…. slow, long and smooth.

Repeat this alternating pattern for several more rounds, focusing your awareness on the pathway of the breath—up one side of the body (from the pelvic floor to the crown of the head) and back down the other side of the body (from the crown of the head to the pelvic floor). Keep the breath slow, gentle, fluid, and relaxed throughout the practice. If this pranayam causes any discomfort or anxiety, go back to a normal breath pattern.

Nadi shodhana can be immensely rewarding, even when practiced for as little as three minutes on a regular basis.

Other suggestions for your lunar care are applying organic sesame oil in the navel – this supports the digestive fire. The belly button is a marma point for digestive fire.

~ 100 steps under moonlight to build kapha and support digestion

~ watch the dusk bringing contemplative pause with self-inquiry

~ apply organic sunflower or organic sesame oil in palms and foot soles. Rub a marma stick on palms and foot soles. This is good for arthritis and restless leg syndrome AND it calms the nervous system. If you don’t have a marma stick, simply rub palms and soles.

~ apply organic sesame oil in nose aka nasya. Put 1 drop in the nostril or dip pinky finger in oil and run into nostril (I use a q-tip). This eases the mind. Organic sesame oil in all seasons; ghee can be used in the summer. Oil both the nose and the inside of the ears (again, I use a q-tip).

~ to calm pitta and vata in eyes, take cotton pads and pour ghee over it to soak. Put cotton pads on eyes and lay down for five minutes. Take off cotton pads and wipe off the eyes.

~ as you lay down to sleep itself, scan thru the body – the six zones ~ feet, pelvic region, abdominal region, chest region, throat and skull.

Nighty, night….

Peace, love & dogs,

Linda Benton

Scientific studies have found that chanting can decrease stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms, in other words it slows down the thinking mind, as well as increase positive mood, feelings of relaxation and focused attention. Chanting also improves one’s memory and power of concentration. It improves our breathing – deeper breath in and deeper breath out.

Research has also proven that chanting and performing various mudras simultaneously, stimulates both the left and right hemisphere of the brain which in turn promotes not only relaxing (alpha) brain waves but also aids in slowing cognitive decline as seen in dementia and Alzheimer’s. Singing with hand movement (mudras) concurrently slows this decline.

Meditative Mind out on YouTube has some beautiful music. And if your into chanting, here’s one I highly recommend. Enjoy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAZcgCKLJU0

Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo or Adi Mantra refines the energy around and within us

“Ong Namo: I bow to the creative power – divine energy – force, that created this entire universe, this cosmos
Guru Dev Namo: I bow to the great divine teacher that is within me.”

I chant this in a seated posture with palms open on my thighs (receiving), to bringing my hands crossed on top of each other over my heart center and bowing into my divine light before I start the chant again – I’m moving my palms to be open to receive to moving my palms to cross over my heart center to seal this into my soul.

As this description states
– understand
– meditate
– chant
– cultivate mindfulness

Peace, love & dogs,
Linda Benton

stop     and       pause

reframe

But our untrained minds are swirling with thoughts and chitta chatter.  And thus, the stress hormone of cortisol elevates the “fight or flight” response to our sympathetic central nervous system.  (Cortisol is our body’s main stress hormone controlling mood, motivation and fear.) 

So with humor, how can we calm the sympathetic nervous system?  How can we put more humor in our life?  How can we lighten up? How can we let it roll?  How do we even start to reframe?

One of my favorite reads is “The Book of Joy” by Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu.  In Chapter 3 – “Humor:  Laughter, Joking is much better“ the Archbishop writes:

                ~ “Come stand next to me and let’s laugh at me together, then we can laugh at you together. It does not belittle either of us but uplifts us, allows us to recognize and laugh about our shared humanity, about our shared vulnerabilities, our shared frailties.  Life is hard, you know, and laughter is how we come to terms with all the ironies and cruelties and uncertainties that we face.”

                ~ “I believe very fervently that one of the ways of getting into the hearts of people is the capacity of making them laugh.  If you are able to laugh at yourself, then everyone knows you’re not pompous.  Besides, you hardly ever knock down someone who is knocking himself down.  You’re not likely to clobber someone if they’ve already, as it were, self-clobbered.”

                ~”So learn to laugh at yourself.  It’s really the easiest place to begin.  It’s about humility.  Laugh at yourself and don’t be so pompous and serious.  If you start looking for the humor in life, you will find it.  You will stop asking, Why me? and start recognizing that life happens to all of us.  It makes everything easier, including your ability to accept others and accept all that life will bring.” 

One of the songs in one of my playlists is “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” by Whitney Houston.  Who has watched the Seinfeld episode of where Elaine is dancing at a Company party?  Have you seen Elaine dance?  It’s hysterical – I also love Seinfeld – good clean comedy.  So every time I hear this Whitney Houston’s song, I think of Elaine dancing and kinda wanna join in…. J LOL!

How we take care of ourselves is our issue – not just the physical body but as important is the energy body, the mental body, the intellect.  It is by beginning this process of awareness and acceptance that we change, grow and heal.  Purify, not only the body but the mind and emotions as well so the light in the heart can be experienced.  Laughter allows the heart to blossom.   

I’ll leave you pondering to yourself “What can you do for yourself to stop, ponder and reframe to bring more humor into your life???” 

“I have chosen to be happy because it is good for my health.” ~ Voltaire

Peace, love & dogs,

Linda Benton