Monday 15 April 2013

"app4Mind" & Embodiment

Hey all

Thanks to those of you who got up at sparrows to come out to class this am. Monday flow classes can be very challenging. Remember, if you have any questions around any aspect of your yoga practice, give me a shout out, I'll give you tips and any info I know to help you out.

I promised to share the app4Mind principles with you, so attached is the PDF sheet with the summary on the four M principles... This is simply just too good not to share with everyone.

App4Mind by Susan Alexander:
 "Everything we do is behaviour.  Our behaviour  in large part, makes us who we are. The problem is that we don’t know how to change our behaviour when we need to, or want to. So we’re stuck doing behaviour that doesn't serve us, and in some instances, hurts us. It doesn't have to be that way. Because now there’s an app for that.
Brilliant and helpful. – Edward Hallowell, M.D.
app4Mind distils into 4 principles what actually happens when people make sustainable change, fused with the world’s wealth of research and insight on behaviour modification."
You can read the rest of the article here: http://app4mind.com/about-app4mind/

Reminder:
This Thursday the 18th is the talk on conventional confusion; common nutritional myths and mistakes and how to correct them. Be sure that you have booked your seat. If you have replied to the Facebook event, they have already booked your seat for you. If you have not replied on Facebook, I would just give them a call to book your seat. (Details are on the attached flyer).
This is going to be a really great talk, Dr. Greg is as big on stepping up the quality of day to day life as I am... Check out his post to get a taste on what he'll be addressing: Conventional Confusion

Interesting Food For Thought around "Embodiment":

I've Been on a very interesting journey over the years when it comes to my own body. We all have our personal journeys when it comes to our tangible selves. I'm starting to fuse the idea that I am not separate from my body. An obvious thing right?  Why is it then, that we choose to treat it so poorly and expect it to perform for us?
For example; If you are not currently happy with the performance output your body is giving you, & if I were to challenge you to record all the food that passes through your mouth in a day for a week, what do you think that would look like at the end of that week? Do the same for your emotional and mental health... and you'll eventually put the puzzle together on why performance is mismatched to one's expectations.
OR
If you've been living with some sort of pain, annoyance, discomfort etc. in your body for a while, Why aren't you doing anything about it... Are you ignoring it until it gets bad enough so that you cannot ignore it any more? Are you waiting for it to go away or self correct?

I'm sure you can come up with your own personal example.

Now I'm a big believer in self rehab, because the body has an innate ability to reach a state of homoeostasis (balance), but if you have whiplash, you'll need help. Yet again.. we tend to think that drinking that magic pill will make it go away... Yet again, another way to drown out the body's intrinsic wisdom for correcting the source of the problem.

Pain is there for a reason. Its a protective mechanism, a warning system if you will... It's not meant to be ignored. this is why I love yoga. Apart from the stretching, Yoga holds will illuminate the things that are weakest in the body. It also MAKES you sit through a tough hamstring stretch where one would usually give up before any benefits form doing it in the first place will start manifesting. It makes you OWN your body... Cause no one else is going to take responsibility for it while your breathing there on the floor.

So back in high school I messed up my feet. Every time I run, the nerve gets pinched at the metatarsals as my foot rolls onto the ball of the foot. To describe the pain: it feels like blood fills  the toe and wants to shoot out through the end of my toe... (sorry for the visual LOL) now I have that in both feet, but its prominent in the one foot... Guess how long I chose to ignore that for???

10 YEARS!!! Now I have a range of different injuries and have been saved and rehabilitated from a few by doing yoga. I've also been injured by doing yoga (because I was a stubborn-dumb-ass) and I have rehabilitated my right shoulder rotator cuff doing yoga. You can injure yourself doing anything... But what's worse is being sedentary and ignoring the relationship you have with your body.

After having my son, I hit an all time low with my fitness & mental health. The two are inter-related. Ignore the one aspect, it will flair up in the other. They are not separate.

The visual I have that keeps me reaching for my goal is this: I picture a strong capable body, that is absolutely powerful, agile, free in all its own unique ways. I imagine feeling vibrant, energetic, strong and charged. I keep asking myself... what's it going to take to make that a self-fulfilling prophecy? What do I need to get in touch with to show myself that, that potential can be my reality? What habits are keeping me stuck instead of moving me forward? How much much do I actually value this body of mine and what can I do better to serve it instead of just taking/demanding from it?

I.O.W. How can I make sure I'm nurturing myself well enough in working my way to my envisioned potential?

I'll leave you with a similar thoughts from someone I look up to:

"Most people have a strange relationship with their bodies.
They live separately from their bodies. They ARE and their body IS but not together.
Modern lifestyle has brought us to this point, technology, society, comfort, modern food & jobs, etc.
It is funny to hear the phrase 'my body betrays me' - it is YOU who betrayed your body FIRST.
But the disconnect is so strong - we feel as if the body lets us down. We take no responsibility.

For all of you who have such a relationship with your body, I suggest you treat your physical
and Movement practice as EMBODIMENT. Its a word I learned from my good friend Aaron Cantor.

What I mean is that Movement can be used to reconnect with your body. To take responsibility. To become whole again.
And you know me - I don't think some 'fitnessy' 45 min X 4 times a week training session is going to do it - it will have to be a comprehensive Movement solution. A paradigm shift. It has to be in your mind all the time.
You have to incorporate it into your life. In your job, with your children, with your loved ones, when eating, when waiting, when answering the phone, etc... Movement is all the time there - its just a question of which type, its effects on you and where you want it to take you.
You design your new body and mind - with every moment's decision. It is happening NOW.
Good Movement practice should be helping you with Embodiment, but many Movement practices (mostly coming from the Fitness world) work exactly the opposite - they further distance you from your body. You may be sweating and burning calories but you are mindlessly working into oblivion. BE WARNED."
 ~ 
Ido Portal, Movement Culture


Do some homework:
We all have something to improve... that's just how we were made... we want improvement, but being stuck is way too easy.

Sooo, check out the app4Mind chart I've got a picture of it in one of my earlier posts, check it out here! Then head on over to the website and  read up some more about it. There is a detailed explanation behind it, and Susan (the creator of app4Mind) has tons of useful posts to get you started on tackling your goals, whatever they are, see how you can apply these principles with your goals.Mindset 101: Why The Biggest Change Is Also The Easiest

The ball is in your court...

Head on over to the Mad About Yoga Facebook page here, or post a comment below, letting me know how are you deciding to step up the quality in your life or share with us what actions you've recently taken that's helped you to do just that!

Here's to your ultimate health and well-being...

Love Madelain