Posts In: everyday spirituality

by Amy Caldwell

One morning, while I was practicing in my usual spot outside on our back deck, I took a photo to see if the backbend looked like it felt. In the photo, I see strength and openness, I feel presence and persistence. I also see and feel a place adjacent to my heart that is challenging to bend.

I’ve been focused on the physiological theme of back-bending and its alignment: long torso on all sides with balanced core engagement. The corresponding mindfulness theme I am exploring is conscious participation:

How can we arrive in the present, allow ourselves to be OK with what we are feeling, then to engage in the next moment with openness, curiosity, presence, and kindness?

As I physically and energetically explore opening my heart, there is intense love intermingled with fear. Not fear of my own death or harm, but fear that the safety of my beloveds is out of my control. We continually seek to be equally grounded and spacious, strong and open, balanced with present moment awareness and love. As we age, we have to work harder at both – not to become set in our ways, closed and rigid.

“Every movement toward flexibility, there must be an equivalent movement toward strength.”

– Diana Beardsley

What is it that you need more of in your practice? In your life?

How can we metaphorically open our hearts while remaining strong and grounded in the present?

How can we stand up for what we believe is true and right, while simultaneously loving our adversary as a fellow human who is also doing what they believe is true and right?

As Pema Chödrön advises, we can let go of fear and control… even while embracing the groundlessness of being human. Sometimes the way forward is not without, but within.

Amy Caldwell
Contributing Writer

Amy (E-RYT 500) has dedicated herself to the practice, study and teaching of yoga since discovering its joys and benefits in 1997 while backpacking throughout Asia, Australia, and parts of Europe. Amy is a Co-Founder of Yoga One and lead teacher for their yoga teacher training program.

1. How does yoga show up in your life right now?

Yoga is like a longtime, dear, best friend to me, always there through both good and challenging times. I’m grateful for Zoom and the opportunity to connect online with my students and fellow yogis. It’s not the same as in person, but I know in the future it will be all the sweeter when we get to be together again.

These days my practice is teaching me presence and patience. I learned the pauses in my practice: the pause after a pose, or a sequence, or the inhale-pause-exhale-pause. I try to sit with the pause, however difficult or uncomfortable or scary it may feel.

I’m applying that to my life now, this pause in our regularly scheduled life. It’s a time to tune in and explore the inner landscape. A time to sit in the pause and feel the sacred space between. Yoga has always been preparing us for this uncertain time. Here and now we get to put these tools of patience, practice, presence to work.

We often forget that we have the tools. I do all the time. Then I come back to my mat, to my breath, and remember.

2. Where are you experiencing growth as a yoga teacher and/or practitioner?

I’ve grown technologically since mid-March. I remember the first Zoom class I taught on March 15. It felt so odd to have my students in the living room with me! My lighting was way off and the sound wasn’t good.

I’ve since moved my yoga space into a guest bedroom with abundant natural light as well as studio lights borrowed from Nam Chanterrwyn. We put the bed and furniture into storage and my kids bought me a microphone for Mother’s Day 🙂 

I’ve also become much more dedicated to my home practice. Now that I have the space set aside, I wake up each morning and go to my yoga loft. I read from my yoga texts or draw an angel card and sit to meditate; then I transition into a physical practice for however long I can. Some days it’s just a few minutes, other days I spend 2 hours doing my home practice. 

3. What’s your favorite kind of burrito and why?

I love a good bean and cheese burrito with chips and guacamole on the side ?

guest post by Heather Fenwick

How does your meditation practice look and feel? We’re highlighting stories of meditation in everyday life to help de-mystify this life-changing practice and share simple meditation techniques with those just getting started. Share your experience in the comments or by email, info@yogaonesandiego.com

My meditation practice lately is not as regular as you might think – some days on, some days off. I meditate for up to 20 minutes, or as little as 3 minutes. Even just three minutes, (as Amy Caldwell reminds me, “any amount”) is helpful.

I have a meditation altar, which I love. It’s a place that always invites mindfulness when I see it. Kuan Yin, the goddess of compassion, sits atop the triple India guide book throne. The Dalai Lama, Chinese medicine accoutrements, and Himalayan salt lamps (to neutralize the ions put out by electronics) complete the scene.

Sometimes I just observe the monkey mind in disbelief (when your thoughts are restless and swirling) and I try to cultivate amusement or acceptance, or some combination of both.

Other times, I drop into a breathing practice that I learned from Sarah Clark:

Breathe in and feel the height of the inhale in the upper palate, lifting to the crown.
Exhale, engage a light root lock, feel the seat heavy on the ground.

Breathing is so simple and so profound.
~ Heather

Even just enjoying a conscious  breath can be meditation. Give it a try?

guest post by Irene Jones

How does your meditation practice look and feel? We’re highlighting stories of meditation in everyday life to help de-mystify this life-changing practice and share simple meditation techniques with those just getting started. Share your experience in the comments or by email, info@yogaonesandiego.com

These days, my meditation practice is me waking, taking my time, checking in with my emotions, my physical self, and my breath (when I remember, because there is a tendency for the cogs in my brain to start gaining momentum pretty quickly.) I do a little yoga in bed. Nothing strenuous, a few yummy stretches, cat cows and twists and neck attendance to loosen up any stiffness.

I brush my teeth, drink some water, and soon enough I sit comfortably on a cushion facing my window that opens out towards spaciousness and the natural elements. Just before this, I light some incense. I sit nice and tall, roll my shoulders back and lift my heart, starting with a good posture. Of course, it relaxes as I meditate and from time to time, I gently reset the weight in my sitting bones and lift the crown of my head.

Grounding first, I encourage my lower body to be heavy and my pelvic floor to relax. I check in with the Manomaya Kosha, the mind sheath, or how we process our thoughts and emotions. I rest here for a while scanning my entire body head to toe.

I check in with my breath and follow it with my awareness until I get distracted and then I gently bring my awareness back to my breath again.

Most importantly, for me these days, in my meditation practice is opening to my emotional self, so I feel-in. I ask myself, “How am I feeling?” “How am I?” and I patiently wait and open to my experience as it unfolds. I meet myself with kindness and permission for whatever is there and for whatever wants to come to my attention. I hold the sensations of my inner experience in a very sacred and tender embrace. This is my practice.

I rest here for as long as I like. I can then move on to my mental space, check in, honor my mind and all that it does for me and for all its potential. I ask myself, “What would peace feel like in this moment?” I rest in patience for a sense, if it comes to me; if I can cultivate it this morning, if not, no judgement. I rest in the light of my own awareness. Every day is different. 

I especially love when I can get outside early in the morning, when it’s quiet so I can meditate in nature; I’m not sure if there is anything more lovely. Maybe I’ll do some yoga or qigong too. I am blessed to have gained these skills over the years, practicing on and off, making a gradual home for my expanding awareness and my inner peace.

Meditation in itself is not a difficult thing to do – however, to commit to a daily practice, even if just for a few weeks or months can be challenging. Though the rewards are worth it. Meditation can make a huge difference to how we approach ourselves and others; gifting us with opportunities to experience space and patience and self-acceptance while in relationship, it is a fantastic teacher.

Ultimately, we are listening to our own inner teachings and wisdom. I recently heard, that if we can think of it like brushing our teeth, then it will be an easy habit to begin. Five minutes every day is all you need. For me, it depends on how I feel, 20 minutes, sometimes longer, sometimes less, and sometimes I incorporate meditation into my daily activities themselves. Just being present and mindful in each moment is a practice in itself.

by Olivia Cecchettini

“Living Your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life”

by Judith Hanson Lasater

Summary: You don’t have to go to a mountaintop in order to have a spiritual experience. Living Your Yoga makes it clear that spirituality can be encountered anywhere, at any time. I appreciate that this is the biggest lesson Judith Lasater wants to share because it is simple and profound.

Lasater provides examples of everyday situations that become the basis of lessons, learning and growth. Honoring the wisdom of the Yoga Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita, Lasater shares off-the-mat practices to guide you into deeper relationships with yourself, your family, friends, and the world.

Why I Love It: Living Your Yoga is a beautiful reminder to slow down, stay present and practice gratitude. In our fast-paced world, life can so easily feel overwhelming. It is more important than ever to meditate and discover the place of wisdom within. This book reminds the reader that there is nowhere you can physically go to find that place. Instead, you can use the tools of meditation and present-moment awareness to rediscover what is already within you.

Recommended For: This book is a great foundation for individuals starting the yogic path; someone ready to cross the bridge from the mind of yoga into its heart.

Living Your Yoga was given to be by a friend during my first Vinyasa 200 hour teacher training and I absolutely loved it. It opened my eyes to new ways of being compassionate with myself and taught me how to access a place of spirituality more readily in my everyday life.

I hope you enjoy it and I invite you to pass it along when you’ve finished. Just the same way it came into my life, let’s keep the spirit of giving going. Ciao!

Olivia Cecchettini
Contributing Writer

Olivia’s yoga journey began in 2003. She is certified in Vinyasa, Hatha, and Aerial Yoga and holds a Masters degree in Spiritual Psychology. She believes the mind, body, soul connection is sacred and encourages her students explore and expand within their own bodies and consciousnesses.