Presence

I was leading a chair yoga practice at the hospital today and we started off with our regular mindfulness check in. I encouraged the patients to think of a goal or intention they hoped to see manifest in their life, whether in the short or long term. I thought about this question for myself and the answer was obvious: for my partner to find a job. (He is newly unemployed and suffering greatly about it). I was thinking about all that I wanted to have happen for us in the near and far future (settling down, buying a house, raising a family) and realized that I wasn't being fully present in my practice. My mind was on the future. I came back to the present moment and reflected on how I could continue to be present in this moment, as opposed to daydreaming about the future. I realized that this period of uncertainty and waiting is a time where I can truly cultivate and nourish the seeds that I will someday (soon, hopefully) be able to plant and watch grow. For now, I must be present in what I am cultivating and nourishing (thoughts, words, habits, etc.) so that when it is time to plant my seeds, they are truly positive and able to grow with love and passion and strength. When my mind becomes distracted and wanders away to a daydream, I will continue to come back to the present moment and focus my attention on what I have control over now in this moment.

#Mindfulness #Presence #Yoga #yogatherapy #MentalHealth

“Whatever you are physically...male or female, strong or weak, ill or healthy--all those things matter less than what your heart contains. If you have the soul of a warrior, you are a warrior. All those other things, they are the glass that contains the lamp, but you are the light inside.”
- Cassandra Clare

Wildlife photography has been my way to enjoy the present, to focus in on the wonder of nature and see it in its purest form. In mother natures arms there aren’t the human constructs we are bound by there is no time, no expectation, no judgement, no fear, no insecurity nor need to identify and control just a place to be, to be me connected to all things and free of thought and full of life. Man have I felt my pain body calling me of late, showing me all the many dark and negative sides, urging me to fall so it can feast but in existence there is always polarity so for every negative thought there is the light of the now, there is a way. Remember always and right now that you are more than your mind, more than your illnesses and struggles the light of existence is in you all. When you feel yourself falling into a cycle use that as a trigger to remind yourself of your blessings, to be present and connected. It’s so easy to surrounder to the notion your life story is written in the pages of your past but we can turn the page, change the narrative and trust the journey.

I wish every single one of you happiness and joy

#Depression #Anxiety #Hope #Presence #Serenity #mind