5 Actions at or near your computer to help you
Feel
Better Now
by Gary Halperin
1. Smile. Turn up the corners of your mouth for 2 to 20 seconds.
2. Move. Choose one or two of these movements or create your
own:
Lift your arms over year head
Dance in your chair
Stand up and do a yoga posture
Stretch in anyway that feels good
Walk around your office or to another room
3. Drink 8 ounces of the best tasting water you to which you
currently have access.
4. Take 5 deep breaths of the freshest air available. Open
the closest window or go outside and breathe.
5. Think of 5 things you are grateful for in this moment.
("5 actions" adopted for computer use and modified
from this article)
Why Wait? Feel Better Now with Yoga and Meditation
by Gary Halperin
I teach Kripalu yoga classes and lead meditation groups in Sarasota. Lately, I have participated
in several versions of the following conversation:
"I really want to start yoga. Right now my life is so crazy though. When things calm down, I will
come to a class."
"Really?" I reply. "May I make a suggestion?"
"Sure."
"Giving yourself the gift of an hour a week of yoga class may be a help in calming your life down."
"That is a good point. Thank you. I will think about that."
And off the person goes. About 1 in 5 of these people come to a class. I hope the rest find what
they need elsewhere.
People often express to me that they will start yoga or learn to meditate when their life feels
less stressed. What happens is that eventually their life will calm down, and then they think "Look at that. I did not need
yoga or meditation after all. My life is in control."
Unfortunately (and fortunately), the roller coaster ride of life will continue. Yoga and/or meditation
can help you balance out the peaks and valleys. If you have an inclination to try yoga or meditation, the time to start is
now--however you are feeling in your life.
I have such respect for anyone who goes to a yoga or meditation class for the first time. In my
opinion, these are special souls on the cutting edge of personal transformation in our society. To try a class, you must first
have the thought that yoga or meditation may be good for you. Then you have to use will power and strength to overcome the
understandable fear of trying something new with a group of people you don’t know.
My favorite yoga and meditation classes are those in which getting to class is the hardest part
of the class. Once you arrive, you are invited to listen to your body, go at your own pace, and have your own private, personal
experience. You are invited to practice trusting your intuition
I encourage you to trust your intuition right now. So if the voice inside is telling you to try
yoga or meditation, get up and find a class. Now.
The Essence of Kripalu Yoga
By Gary Halperin
I am often asked, "What is Kripalu Yoga?"
Kripalu Yoga teaches breathing, stretching, and relaxation techniques while emphasizing the practices of being
present, listening to one’s body, and accepting where one is today in terms of flexibility, strength, and alignment.
I know that a person can really only know the essence of Kripalu Yoga by experiencing a Kripalu Yoga class.
Below are excerpts from my own Kripalu yoga class to give you a glimpse of a Kripalu experience.
Imagine yourself in a peaceful yoga studio hearing these words:
"In this class, we are going to be feeling sensations in our bodies, we are going to be breathing, and we
are going to be hearing my voice. The idea is to keep our attention and focus in this room—to pay attention to things
that are happening now. When you notice that your mind has wandered to something that is not happening now, bring your mind
back to something that is."
"If there is something in the class that does not feel right for your body, then wait for the next stretch
that does feel right. This is your own private, personal experience. No one is judging you."
"We are consciously creating sensations in our bodies and bringing our awareness to those sensations."
"Part of doing yoga is doing things we don’t normally do with the body and then noticing what that feels
like."
"This is your last chance at this moment—see if you can be fully present in your body."
"As you lie on your back, give yourself full permission to do nothing in this moment."
Any yoga class will give you the benefits of strength and flexibility, Kripalu yoga also teaches you to love
and accept yourself.
"Words of Wisdom"
I...why?
O Wind, If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind? (Shelley)
Simplify, simplify (Thoreau)
There is a certain slant of light winter afternoons, that oppresses like the heft of cathedral tunes (Emily Dickinson)
To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle, Every cubic inch of space is a miracle (Walt Whitman)
A miracle drug is any drug that will do what the label says it will do
It is not wise to be wiser than is necessary
Life is what happens when we make other plans
Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at all.
(Emily Dickinson)
Better is the enemy of good (Voltaire)
There is no great genius without a touch of madness (Seneca)
To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children...to find the best
in others...To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded. (Emerson)
The uncertainity you feel inside is the doorway to wisdom (Deepak Chopra)
Patience is genius
Believe in yourself. Someone has to make the first move.
And in the end, the love we take is equal to the love we make (the Beatles)
For us, there is only the trying, the rest is not our business (T.S. Eliot)
My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness (The Dalai Lama)
Character is how we act when we think no one is looking
What is the thing called health? Simply a state in which the individual happens transiently to be perfectly adapted to
his enviroment. Obviously, such states cannot be common, for the environment is in constant flux. (H.L. Mencken)
Measure your health by your sympathy with morning and Spring. (Thoreau)
The things which hurt, instruct (Benjamin Franklin)
What doesn't kill you will make you stronger
Don't take anything too seriously
Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others can not keep it from themselves
Often action leads to motivation, not the other way around
Beauty is Truth and Truth is Beauty and that is all we need to know
Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them. (Shakespeare)
Be bold and the universe lines up behind you
Every moment is a gift--that is why it is called "the present"
Feel the fear...and do it anyway
Ships in harbor are safe but that is not what ships are for
PLEASE EMAIL ME TO SUGGEST YOUR OWN FAVORITE QUOTE(S) TO ADD TO THE LIST
