Mindful Moments
I started teaching an 8:45 PM candlelight yoga class a few months ago, and there’s something so beautiful about flowing in the dark—it lets you hone in on what you’re feeling rather than what you’re seeing. Pretty candleLIT, am I right?
Whether you’re meditating in stillness or practicing a moving meditation, mindfulness is the perfect way to ground down and cultivate more awareness. Here’s some tips to get started:
All the Meditation
PSA: there’s no right way to meditate. I go back and forth between sitting on the floor, on my bed, or in a chair. I encourage you to just go with the flow rather than being attached to a certain way of meditating. Try out different apps like Headspace and Calm, sit in silence, and see what works best for you.
When a thought floats through my mind, I simply acknowledge it without attaching an emotion to it. This practice of letting go and releasing allows me to recognize a thought in its purest form, beyond the typical reactions that go along with it. After awhile, I relax into a rhythm of inhaling and exhaling.
My roommate Olivia (my kale sister) and I meditate every morning together and it’s the perfect way to start the day! We sit cross-legged on our beds in silence until one of us starts to reawaken our bodies (aka inviting in all the snaps, crackles, and pops into our bodies). I also love to meditate before any stressful situations like midterms and finals because it grounds me down and clears my mind.
All the Yoga
If you haven’t already seen me profess my love for this practice, there’s plenty more in “Namasteeee on my mat.”
I (along with seven other lovely humans) teach a class on happiness at Cal! I always love to start off by leading a meditation, since I believe that cultivating more awareness is the root of other mindful traditions like yoga.
Although there are many benefits to detaching emotionally in traditional forms of meditation, I do use yoga as a space to feel exactly what I’m feeling. Rather than suppressing my emotions at the door of the studio, I embrace everything on my mat. Whether I’m laughing or crying, I welcome that vulnerability into the four corners of my mat. Let yourself flow through what you go through!
All the Mindfulness
A combined meditation/yoga practice allows me to create a balance between feeling and letting go. I’ve found that I feel my best when I practice both rather than one or the other. Hence, all the mindfulness!
Let me know if you practice any other forms of mindfulness, have questions, or just want to say hi! I’m here for it all.
