I'm not supposed to covet, right?
But I want one.
THIS WAS SO MUCH FUN.
First off was a dawn sitting. 30 minutes of sunrise meditation at 6 am with Sharon Fruchtman. Sharon is an amazing yogi who has studied for years with Beryl Bender Birch and also has an extensive Ashtanga background. I hope to take a weekend workshop with her this winter. We sat in silence (3 of us) for 30 minutes, facing the ocean as the sun rose, the warm rays beginning to shine on our face. One friend has just come back from an all women Kundalini workshop at Omega. They rose each day at 4 am for Sadhana.
As I've mentioned elsewhere in this blog Sadhana simply means daily spiritual practice. You can do it at any time of day, yes, so why was she doing it at 4 am? The belief is is that roughly 2.5 hours before sunrise is the most powerful time of day to connect to the higher planes. This time of day is known as Amrit Vela, when the veil to the the Divine is the thinnest. This time is sacred, this time is precious. The sun is at a 60 degree angle to the earth, so you are picking up the solar energy or waves as they are rising. The belief is that anything that you do during this time of day is more powerful, or has more powerful results. My friend (Kimberly) said that those who are up during that time are the first ones to harness the suns energy, they have more of it to themselves, they benefit from it the most.
I can tell you that even at 6 am the serenity and calm was outrageous. The surf was pounding. The birds calling to one another. My mind was still. The breeze a whisper in my ear. The day felt full of possibility, but I loved the idea that I had nothing to do, nothing at all to do but simply sit and receive. I could just be an empty vessel for that 30 minutes. Being outside blew away my usual indoor meditation. The quiet background noise of the beach was the perfect foil to the thoughts that would float in and out of my mind. It contrasted sharply to the much quieter/nearly silent environment that I meditate in at home. I see why I have been gravitating towards those nature sounds app's lately in meditation, and I know now that I will continue to use them, and call and response music. This simply calls to me, it works for me, it stills me. We moved from there into a beautiful vinyasa practice. It was a flow unlike any I have ever done ~ I had to practice it on my own later to make sure I remembered it! We ended with forearm balances and dropped back into wheel, I hadn't included that in my practice in a while and it was very liberating and powerful, today, outside, on the beach, in the shifting sand. I had tears in my eyes, tears of gratitude, during shavasana. I hugged her at the end of practice. I will be back tomorrow.
After practice I biked home and fed the kids a big pancake breakfast. They got on bikes and rode down to the cove while I ran the .75 miles with them. I let them explore on the long rock jetty while I practiced the vinyasa sequence, memorizing it into my body so that I could use it later. It was such a beautiful, dance like flow. So tranquil, so fluid, so innate to the breath, and so able to change into so many different variations. Practicing on the jetty, wind blowing hard at my body, nothing but ocean in front of me, was gorgeous. The lighthouse was my drishti, and I felt strong and lucky and serene.
First off was a dawn sitting. 30 minutes of sunrise meditation at 6 am with Sharon Fruchtman. Sharon is an amazing yogi who has studied for years with Beryl Bender Birch and also has an extensive Ashtanga background. I hope to take a weekend workshop with her this winter. We sat in silence (3 of us) for 30 minutes, facing the ocean as the sun rose, the warm rays beginning to shine on our face. One friend has just come back from an all women Kundalini workshop at Omega. They rose each day at 4 am for Sadhana.
As I've mentioned elsewhere in this blog Sadhana simply means daily spiritual practice. You can do it at any time of day, yes, so why was she doing it at 4 am? The belief is is that roughly 2.5 hours before sunrise is the most powerful time of day to connect to the higher planes. This time of day is known as Amrit Vela, when the veil to the the Divine is the thinnest. This time is sacred, this time is precious. The sun is at a 60 degree angle to the earth, so you are picking up the solar energy or waves as they are rising. The belief is that anything that you do during this time of day is more powerful, or has more powerful results. My friend (Kimberly) said that those who are up during that time are the first ones to harness the suns energy, they have more of it to themselves, they benefit from it the most.
I can tell you that even at 6 am the serenity and calm was outrageous. The surf was pounding. The birds calling to one another. My mind was still. The breeze a whisper in my ear. The day felt full of possibility, but I loved the idea that I had nothing to do, nothing at all to do but simply sit and receive. I could just be an empty vessel for that 30 minutes. Being outside blew away my usual indoor meditation. The quiet background noise of the beach was the perfect foil to the thoughts that would float in and out of my mind. It contrasted sharply to the much quieter/nearly silent environment that I meditate in at home. I see why I have been gravitating towards those nature sounds app's lately in meditation, and I know now that I will continue to use them, and call and response music. This simply calls to me, it works for me, it stills me. We moved from there into a beautiful vinyasa practice. It was a flow unlike any I have ever done ~ I had to practice it on my own later to make sure I remembered it! We ended with forearm balances and dropped back into wheel, I hadn't included that in my practice in a while and it was very liberating and powerful, today, outside, on the beach, in the shifting sand. I had tears in my eyes, tears of gratitude, during shavasana. I hugged her at the end of practice. I will be back tomorrow.
After practice I biked home and fed the kids a big pancake breakfast. They got on bikes and rode down to the cove while I ran the .75 miles with them. I let them explore on the long rock jetty while I practiced the vinyasa sequence, memorizing it into my body so that I could use it later. It was such a beautiful, dance like flow. So tranquil, so fluid, so innate to the breath, and so able to change into so many different variations. Practicing on the jetty, wind blowing hard at my body, nothing but ocean in front of me, was gorgeous. The lighthouse was my drishti, and I felt strong and lucky and serene.
From there the kids rode and I ran home. I packed up their lunches (they were heading out to a picnic lunch at the lighthouse that had been my drishti!) and Nate and I got ready to head just out of town to the marina just over the bridge for our Stand Up Paddle/Yoga session. It was AMAZING. I had expected it to be much harder, but you get the hang of it very quickly. It was a 90 minute session that turned into 2 hours ~ starting on your knees you quickly get up to standing. Paddling from side to side, the board is easy to control and plenty grippy. We floated as we began our practice, cat/cows, down dogs, three legged dogs, lunges, crescent lunges (kneeling and standing), working through some balance poses, pigeon, shoulder openers, and in between we would drift, so then paddle back to the middle of the inlet where we wanted to be (dear LORD the horseflies would get bad if you drifted too near land). We ended with fallen angel on each side and then headstands, and then a forearm balance. It was amazing. You really had to engage your bandhas to get the strength and focus that you needed to slowly and carefully come up onto your toes, then gracefully lift both toes/legs up as one unit to midway, then up all the way straight up into headstand. Coming back down forced the same sort of engagement, engaging mulabandah, shifting your butt out slightly, and carefully balancing down with straight legs slowly and with control until the tips of your toes came down onto the board as one unit. As the tide was moving the board it required immense concentration and engagement and focus on breath. I kept thinking how strong my practice would become if I practiced on those on a regular basis! Talk about requiring 100% concentration! Nate did great with the paddle board part and did a bit of the yoga, and he enjoyed it every bit as much as I did. Its a fun date!
We are all in bed :) The kids are napping and this is my nap. It was a busy morning! We are off to Wildwood for an evening of roller coasters and good times at around 4. Dinner out tonight, extra ice-cream, and three very happy kids.
I feel so excited about the new sequence I learned today. Getting to study under great yoga teachers is a gift, and its a gift I cannot be grateful enough for. My excitement for the fall continues to mount.
Do you meditate best in silence or with noise/music/chanting/something in the background?
Have you ever tried a stand up paddle board? I admit that they always looked boring to me until I saw the yoga element thrown in. THEY ARENT BORING!
I saw you were doing SUP, but didn't realize it would be yoga on the board. That sounds amazing and challenging. Love that Nate tackled it with you. What a fun date.
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