Sunday, March 23

The power of now will set you free

"There is no fear of the cycle of birth, life and death for when you stand in the present moment, you are timeless."
~Rodney Yee, YJ's Yoga for Relaxation and Meditation dvd

Armed with two bags full to the brim with at least twenty pounds of books, I ventured to our local-used bookstore. And yes, probably not smart of me to carry so much weight since I'm almost eight months pregnant, but I'm nesting and need to make room for baby! This must have been the first time I actually sold books at this particular store because they totally jipped me.

"Your total trade in is $7.50," said the store employee.

"Uh, so what books aren't you taking?" I inquired.

"That's for all books..." he replied. In my mind I wanted to FREAK out about how they were taking advantage of the process, but then I reminded myself of the heaviness of the books and lugging them into and out of my car. Not to mention how much room getting rid of them would save. After taking a deep inhale, I said, "Thank you" and took my pathetic amount of cash where I spent it times four in the store. BASTARDS! I need to open my own used bookstore, man!

Enough of my self pity, however notice how I practiced presence (kind of) and didn't allow my pain body to show up (if you're reading Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth you'll know what I mean). Let's return to the quote at the top, which I heard in one of my purchases at the used bookstore - yoga dvd "Yoga for Meditation" with Rodney Yee. Even before I began reading A New Earth, I wanted to dive deeper into the seventh limb of yoga, meditation or dhyana. But due to the words in Tolle's book, I am convinced of its power. Here's a quote from A New Earth that really conveys the potential behind being present/meditation:

'"Be aware of your breathing as often as you are able, whenever you remember. Do that for one year, and it will be more powerfully transformative than attending all of these courses. And it's free."'
~ Eckhart Tolle

To make meditation a daily habit (now doing three to five times per week), I'm exploring various ways to instill the practice into my life. This morning I watched Yee's "Yoga for Meditation" and am a bit disappointed it doesn't allow to skip through the various yoga and seated practices Yee includes to get to the specific parts you want. However, if you are just beginning meditation and want to try different seated positions and are looking for a very easy-going yoga practice prior to the meditation, it's a good start.

After practicing the first segment "Mountain" and viewing a few of Yee's seated postures, I ended the practice with "Wind" and "Sky." At the very end, he said the quote above, and it really struck me because the last few days I've begun FREAKING out that I'm not prepared for our upcoming arrival in late spring. Up until a few days ago, I think (maybe that's the operative word) I was doing relatively well staying present and stress free about the whole thing. Yet now it's two months away (or less!), and I'm starting to feel very worried about finding daycare, finding a new car so I won't wrench my back from putting the baby in its car seat within my two-door vehicle, etc.

But what's worry going to do? Both Yee and Tolle reminded me there's nothing to fear, even childbirth, if I remain present ... life will continue to be. Not that I should neglect finding a new car (hopefully not a minivan!) or a daycare or whatever need there is. However, I need to return back to the now with the aid of my breath and focus on what can be done now versus focusing on what I didn't do in the past or about what possibly can't be done in the future. That will get me nowhere but into a negative space.

So take a deep inhale with me in this present moment - "All is well." ~ Louise L. Hay

Below is a brief video (not the same as the dvd mentioned above) with Yee on meditation.

Namaste.

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