Sometimes...
not very often,
we are moved beyond our own understanding.

Energy is communing so purposely within us,
we just do
or say
or sit
and listen

To a moment perhaps so important,
nothing stops its momentum
and nothing should

For these moments are pure,
and true
and full.

Allow yourself the grace,
to rejoice in that which has moved you

Allow yourself
to rejoice,
in this ongoing procession
of Love.

forget chocolate

Really, we just want some oxytocin for Valentines Day.

If you aren’t giving birth, nursing, or getting busy, here are a few quick, easy ways to increase oxytocin (trust/bonding hormone, love molecule, empathy's bff, pain reliever, calming chemical, craving reducer, immunity booster) into your system:

Hugs. 8 hugs a day is optimal, according to Dr. Paul Zak. If that sounds like a lot, think quality not quantity. Researchers have determined that after 20 seconds of hugging, oxytocin begins to secrete.

Get a massage. Just book one for yourself!

Dance. Whether you are in your car, in the kitchen, or playing Just Dance with the kiddos, shake it up!

Prayer and Meditation increase oxytocin.

Sing in a choir.

Hang out. Share your company over a meal or a cup of tea.

Pet your pets.

Enjoy the feeling of connection provided by social media.

Enjoy the feeling of connection provided by eye contact, "listen with your eyes".

Do something nice for someone with no expectation of anything in return.

Cheer on your favorite team or do something thrilling like ride a roller coaster with someone.

Offer a sweet kiss.

But, enjoy the oxytocin increase while it lasts because the half-life is only 3 minutes.

So consider giving the gift of oxytocin this Valentines day to yourself and to others. The more you practice increasing oxytocin, the easier it becomes released in your body and you will receive more benefits from this natural wonder molecule.

Share the love!

Happy Valentines Day!

Yoga-ing

I yoga’d twice this week and I’m sore in places I’ve longed to be sore. My lower abs, between my shoulder blades, the back of my mom-arms, all sore. Not sore in an Advil way, more like, “Hey girl, just a friendly reminder to stand a little taller.” And I find myself replying by cutting back my dessert intake. 

Yoga has been patiently waiting at the bottom of my to-do list, forever. If someone mentions yoga I hear myself saying, “I KNOW…I LOVE YOGA” shamelessly emphatic, as if I have a practice of my own. Truth is, I love the idea of yoga. Yogis seem to have a serene secret I’m curious to learn about. It’s as if they have keys to a portal entering another world, where a different language is spoken, and cell phones are like cigarettes smoke.

“Opening, surrender, presence” are words my body understands before my mind analyzes them, and if you have an instructor with a sultry rasp to her voice and a smile that makes you feel connected, you get transported quickly.

I’ve been pounding pavement with running shoes for years, impassioned by endorphins and a calorie deficit. Readying myself for a run takes me 5 minutes, blindfolded. But when it came time for yoga, I felt lost. What do I wear? Is this a make-up kind of workout? Running shoes seem cumbersome but it’s too cold for sandals. I showed up without much fuss and it turns out, that’s all it takes.

I obviously don't know much about yoga, but I know what it's like to be new to yoga so I have a few heads-up:

Being on time to class actually means be there 10 minutes early to set up and settle in. 

Wear snug fitting clothes so you don’t flash your neighbors while in downward facing dog. Chances are they aren’t looking at you, but still.

I’m pretty sure that when you suddenly forget how to breathe rhythmically, you have found the start line.

Bring your own mat because you will smell it and your pores will make-out with it. You'll want any germs to be your own.

Wear your ponytail either high up or down low so you aren't wobbling your head on the ponytail axis as you lie on your back.

Even though you may be able to run 10 miles or lift a barbell over your head, opening your body and heart to receive takes a new kind of strength.

Google “Namaste”.

Enjoy the figurative language and poetic sequence of poses.

I found that leaving my cell phone in the car is a practice within a practice.

Don’t be judgmental about the way you look in the mirror. Quickly dismiss thoughts like, “I look like I’m squatting over a port-o-potty”.

Don’t wear a bra that has a raised clasp in the back, ouch.

When you feel grace fall upon your pose, I’m pretty sure you should accept that it is.

Don’t be alarmed by the feeling of your mind spinning a little slower for hours after you leave class.

 

At the end of classes last week, I looked around the room and saw something more than bed headed hair and stretchy clothing, and it made me feel comfortable. I thought to myself as I rolled up my mat and exhaled, this is nice.

Church is everywhere

I woke up yesterday in the serene, charcoal shades of early morning. I was in bed drifting in that space between sleep and wake, the marrow of consciousness, where thoughts weave like lucid dreams. I heard the sound of rain and a giddiness rose from inside of me. It seemed as if hope and relief from the threat of drought to California were now tap dancing on my rooftop. Please don’t stop, I whispered to the rain. And for hours, it didn’t stop, and I let my own soul become saturated.

It was Sunday, and I thought today rain is church. Windshield wipers are church. The gentle sound of tire spray through new born puddles, church. The stop sign I frequent, became a drizzled work of art. The silhouette of barren trees on the lowered gray sky, more church. The white picket fence winked, charming me in a way it hadn't before. Even the playlist on my car radio- Liz Longley, David Gray, Jack Johnson, and Dave Mathews all sounded more intimate against the backdrop of rain. By way of gravity I suppose, the rain grounded my floating thoughts, swaddling them closer to my heart, and I felt all of them more purely.