Mudras

While driving one day I looked down at my hands that rested on the steering wheel of my car. They were the hands of a mature woman. I noticed the bulging veins, excess skin, and wrinkles; the curve of the nail bed, the knuckle knots caused by arthritis. My aging hands, those old friends, prompted me to think about all of the amazing things that they have done for me over the years. Clapping, scratching, and rubbing came to mind immediately, but there are hundreds of other uses for my hands - many of which I had taken for granted. How many nights did I pat my daughters butts while rocking them to sleep? How many times did I dry tears - theirs and mine? How many times did I change the volume on the TV or radio?  How many times did I fold my hands in prayer? How many times did I move the Hat or the Scottie dog around the Monopoly board? How many times did I play Jacks or Pick-Up-Sticks?

As I pondered the many uses of these amazing instruments, I recalled a recent yoga class. While there I used my hands for balance, (I still can’t stand on one foot), to achieve the perfect form, for meditative postures, and Mudras. But what is Mudra? Mudra is a Sanskrit word meaning gesture. It’s a way of holding your hands, or more specifically your fingers, as a means to direct or channel energy flow throughout your body. Yoga philosophy says that different areas of the hands stimulate different areas of the brain. So, I did some research and found loads of information about the four most common types of Mudras - Gyan, Shuni, Surya Ravi, and Buddhi. These Mudras, or gestures, can be done at any time and at any place - some place quiet where you can relax and focus. Along with Pranayama (your breath regulation), Mudras should be held for a few seconds or longer with both hands simultaneously. The rest of your fingers should be straight, but not rigid. Don’t forget to breathe!

Gyan Mudra is known as the Seal of Knowledge. This Mudra involves the thumb (symbol of divinity), and the index finger (the symbol of humanity). By lightly placing the tips of these two fingers together you can inspire creativity, increase concentration, empower the mind, nervous system, and the pituitary gland, which produces critical hormones that control various bodily functions. This simple gesture moves energy to your legs and lower back, calms your mind and encourages wisdom and expanded consciousness.

Shuni Mudra is know as the Seal of Patience. Place the thumb (divinity) lightly against the tip of the middle finger (Aakash or the space element within the body). This is meant to encourage patience, discernment, focus and discipline. It’s benefits include helping to encourage patience and the courage to fulfill one’s responsibilities. It also helps to promote noble thoughts by turning negative emotions into positive ones. This Mudra is intended to give the sensation of stability and strength.

Surya Ravi Mudra is known as the Seal of Life. It symbolizes and encourages energy, balance, health and vitality. By lightly pressing the tips of the thumb (divinity) and the ring finger (earth, energy, strength and endurance), together, this gesture helps to build and invigorate bodily tissues and speed up metabolism. It promotes positivity and intuition and helps to encourage positive change in your life.

Buddhi Mudra is known as the Seal of Mental Clarity. This gesture involves lightly pressing the tip of the thumb (divinity) against the tip of the pinky finger (the symbol for water and communication) and is meant to symbolize and encourage openness and fluid conversation. It’s benefits are clear and effective communication, gaining higher understanding and discerning intuitive messages to gain knowledge.

So, now you know that your hands can be used to help things on the inside of your body as well as for things that occur on the outside of your body. These Mudras are hands-down (no pun intended), a fine practice on your spiritual path. 

Goodreads.com

Goodreads.com is a website that allows users to search an extensive user-populated database of books, annotations, and reviews. I sometimes use it to search for that perfect book, but I use it mostly to keep track of the books that I have already read or those that are on my wish list. How many times have you opened a book and started to read only to realize that you've already read it? I have on numerous occasions, but not any more! I write a little review along with my likes and dislikes about each book, rate them, record my finish date, and then file it all away on Goodreads.com. Very handy indeed! Goodreads.com keeps me straight, in a literary way, and is something that fulfills that little thing in me that needs to be book-organized.

At the end of last year, Goodreads.com challenged members to set a goal as to how many books they wanted to read in 2015. I took that challenge and set my goal at 12 books, one per month, hardly unreasonable. Just last week I increased my goal to 15 books and am happy to report that I have already read 10 books simply by making reading a priority. I've cancelled many magazine subscriptions so that I can focus on book reading. This challenge also gets me to the library more often - a place that I love to visit.  I'm pretty sure I was a librarian in a former life because I love to walk among the tomes, searching the titles, reading the excerpts, re-shelving books that are out of order. I always leave there - reluctantly - with a bag full of books that I can barely lift because I have a hard time settling on just 4 or 5. How about you?

Do you take the time to read? What is your personal reading goal? What is your favorite genre? How many books can you read in a year? Join the challenge - you will not regret it.

No Set Schedule

My mother always did certain things on certain days of the week. Wednesday was laundry day, Saturday was the day to change the sheets on the beds and empty the trash, Thursday was grocery shopping day. I have always tried to make that type of routine work for me, but clearly, it never has. Left feeling inadequate and guilty because my house did not hum the way my mother's did, I decided, after 40 some years, to finally let it all go. It's okay to not have the neatest or cleanest house; it's okay to take time for myself. Ah, with age comes wisdom.

Like many of you, my day shifts from one task to the next and not always seamlessly, I might add. I don't always wake up on Monday morning feeling like I want to clean the bathroom. Sometimes I wake up feeling like I want to do the laundry, clean out a closet, or bake bread. Sometimes one of my daughters will call and suggest an outing with the grandkids. Sadly, in my mother's world that never happened and just as sadly, as a young mother, I followed in her footsteps. I always put the house before my own enjoyment, spending time with the kids, enriching myself, or strengthening friendships. Boy we both missed out on a lot of really important and fun activities.

It's never too late to teach an old dog new tricks so I am happy to throw routine out the window and take each day as it comes. As a good friend once said, "let the day unfold upon itself."  Sounds good to me.

Joining the Y

It's been quite some time since I posted on this blog, but believe me, it's not because I haven't wanted to, it's because things have been mucho crazy and as usual the things I want to do seem to always fall to the bottom of the list. I've always been that way, how about you?

I'm so happy and excited because I've taken what I see as the first step in no longer putting myself last. I've joined the YMCA and am elated to be sharing this news. Why, you might ask? Well, (here goes, wait for it), it's because I always felt guilty about spending money on myself! OK, so there, I've said it! Like so many of you, I did not feel worthy. But, hey, I did it this time and that's why I'm so giddy.

I joined the Y on Monday and have only taken one class so far - Core Conditioning, on Wednesday. Believe me, I am feeling it today. I hurt in parts I didn't even know I had. I also signed up for three sessions with a personal trainer which cost even more money. Have I lost my mind? The best part of this is that it's prompted me to do other things that are for ME. One, I'm eating better - less junk, more nutrition, smaller portions. Two, I went for a walk today which is something I always want to do, but always find excuses not to do, and three, I told a friend "no" when she made a request that went against a decision that I had already made for myself. Gosh, this just might become contagious. I feel like I'm stepping out of my comfort zone and I love the feeling of adventure that comes with this new-found freedom. I hope it lasts because it feels liberating, and right, and necessary in order for me to grow and change. Wish me luck!

Invictus - By William Ernest Henley (1875)

After taking a poetry class one summer at Towson University I learned a lot about poetry and how to read it. The most important thing I gleaned from the class was that I didn't necessarily have to understand what the writer meant when he/she wrote the words. Instead, all I needed to note was how the words resonated with me, the reader. I love this poem because it speaks to me in more ways than you can imagine. How does it speak to you?

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the buldgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

The Art (and Grace) of Positive Thinking

I was very inspired by a New Jersey man that I met one day in the waiting room of Johns Hopkins Hospital. I was there for a follow-up oncology appointment and he was there because his first 3 bone marrow transplants had failed. As a BMT patient myself, I was more than interested in what he had to say. As we chatted away, the thing that struck me most was his unwavering positive attitude. He swears it is what continues to get him through. Being a positive person myself, I couldn't agree with him more.

He was called for his appointment and I was called for mine, so I was never able to tell him just how much he had moved and inspired me. It would have made me happy to express my feelings to him and his wife who is also a very positive person. And who knows, it might have made him happy to hear that he had inspired me. So, in the future I've decided to be sure to express myself while in the moment. I am going to say what is in my heart even if it feels a little awkward or uncomfortable at first.  In my humble opinion, the world doesn't do enough of that sort of thing.

Staying In The Moment

I just saw an ad on TV for the brand new Windows Phone. It shows people tripping over one another, falling down stairs, and generally mis-stepping in hilarious ways. Everyone is so focused on their cell phones that they're not paying the least bit of attention to what is going on around them. What makes the ad so funny is that it's actually true! Everywhere you look these days, people are fiddling with their phones. Thankfully I'm not a phone-fiddler, but I used to be an e-mail junkie. Fortunately, I broke that habit when I realized that I was missing out on lots of wonderful and beautiful sights and sounds all around me because I was spending too much time in front of my computer. I vowed to become more mindful of how I was traveling through life. I did not want to miss a single minute.

All that being said, I do fall off the wagon now and then. I often feel like the little girl in the children's book, If You Give a Pig a Pancake, by Laura Joffe Numeroff. The little girl is tormented by a very challenging piglet whose never-ending wishes take them from kitchen table to bathtub to backyard, leaving everything in their wake a total mess. By days end, the poor little girl was exhausted. That is so me. For instance, I went to my closet to get a sweater and see that the hook that my pj's hang on is loose, so I went to fetch a screw driver. While I'm upstairs getting the screw driver I decide to put in a load of wash. When I go to put the laundry detergent in I spill a little, so I grab the paper towels and the next thing you know I'm wiping finger prints off the door frame and smudges from the window panes. It just goes on and on until I've totally forgotten about fixing the hook in my closet. I go back downstairs and the hook still hangs askew. I lost my focus.

So, if you feel side-tracked by your phone, or your chores, or a pig that wants a pancake for that matter, it's okay - we've all been there. Next time, try to be more mindful - that's all you can do, really. Be thankful for the life you're living, try to find ways to appreciate your surroundings and the people you care about and when it happens the next time, laugh about it and move on.