Moving into stillness and then maybe a little wildness....as 2012 draws near

Imagine if all the tumult of the body were to quiet down, along with our busy thoughts. Imagine if all things that are perishable grew still. And imagine if that moment were to go on and on, leaving behind all other sights and sounds but this one vision which ravishes and absorbs and fixes the beholder in joy, so that the rest of eternal life were like that moment of illumination which leaves us breathless.

– Saint Augustine

                                                                         

Take a few minutes right now to breath and relax your shoulders and face and jaw. Just breath and relax and listen to this song as you gaze at the utter stillness of the water in this photo taken in Nova Scotia. 


Then - get wild tonight with some crazy dance and laughter and good love all around...order a round of good love for everyone or set up love shots on the house and hold hands in a circle and sing a Scottish song in a Scottish voice really loud - 


                                           Fir ald lang syn ma dear
                                           fir ald lang syn,
                                           will tak a cup o kyndnes yet,
                                           fir ald lang syn


HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE!

Bring it on!!! Ha! Ha! Ha!

I did not have the time to blog yesterday. This little guy, 1 year old grandson Luke is the wonderful reason why.

*********************************************************************************

From Clarissa Pinkola Estes book, Women Who Run With the Wolves


A desert is a place where life is very condensed. The roots of living things hold on to that last tear of water and the flower hoards its moisture by only appearing in early morning and late afternoon. Life in the desert is small but brilliant and most of what occurs goes on underground. This is like the lives of many women.


The desert is not lush like a forest or a jungle. It is very intense and mysterious in its life forms. Many of us have lived desert lives: very small on the surface, and enormous under the ground. 


A woman's psyche may have found its way to the desert out of resonance, or because of past cruelties or because she was not allowed a larger life above ground. So often a woman feels then that she lives in an empty place where there is maybe just one cactus with one brilliant red flower on it, and then in every direction, 500 miles of nothing. But for the woman who will go 501 miles, there is something more.


I have loved my one cactus with the one brilliant red flower on it. I've stood under it for years. It's held me there enchanted, enjoying the coolness of its shadow, its prickly spines, the way the birds, bats and insects drink its nectar, the dozens of petals and stamens, its thick skinned body. But now I want more.


More. As I approach 60 I realize that my creative psyche wants more. I want to write and paint and spend a lot of time looking at sunsets and snuggling with babies and laughing and eating brussel sprouts and sweet potatoes and dark chocolate and breathing clean air and teaching yoga and I don't know what else. I'm on a 1000 mile quest, way past the 500 miles of nothing to find out what exactly that is.

                                                                       Daybreak
                                                             Hallandale Beach, Florida*


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From Self-Awakening Yoga, The Expansion of Consciousness through the Body's Own Wisdom by Don Stapleton

Front Extension Postures
Opening the Inner Thighs - Frog

*Come on your belly into Sphinx position (place a pillow under your belly if you feel any discomfort in your lower back)

*Positon your legs wider than your hips - even as wide as they will comfortably go

*Bend your knees to bring the soles of your feet together behind you. The wider your knees, the easier it is to bring your feet together

*Place an imaginary paintbrush between your feet and paint a circle on the wall behind you. Reverse the direction of the circle. Now make figures 8's

*Keeping the soles of your feet together, lower your inner ankles toward the ground, touching the ground if you can. This is Frog pose. Go as far as you can.

*When moving in this position, don't hold your body still, let your back and hips move and notice new sensations.

*Breath and hold and pull your belly in and relax your neck and shoulders. Notice new sensations. Breath.

*Press back into Child's pose

This is a great opener for the inner thighs - a group of muscles that we tend to ignore.

Enjoy! Open up to new horizons, new possibilities, new loves, embrace old pain then leave it behind in the desert.

Love to you,
Donna Rae

This was taken on the coast at Mendocino, California where seconds after I left this spot where I was breathing in the fresh, moist, sea air and loving the sound of the water crashing up against the volcanic rocks, a huge water spray that would have violently knocked me down came spewing out of the giant hole you see. Danger, danger!!! There may be danger along this journey! Ha! Ha! Ha! Bring it on!  

Finding My Age 60 Wild Woman

View of Long Lake in Harrison Maine - from our dock at sunset. The White Mountains are way off in                                   
                                                                        the distance




"The great work before us is to learn to understand what around and about us and what within us must live, and what must die. Our work is to apprehend the timing of both; to allow what must die to die, and what must live to live."
                                            Chapter - The Howl: Resurrection of the Wild Woman
                                            Book - Women Who Run With the Wolves
                                            Author - Clarissa Pinkola Estes, PH.D.



It's hard to believe that there are 3 days left of 2011 and then we will start a whole new year. For me it's a time to explore.

I have such a wonderful life.

I've been married to Henry for 19 years and we've been soul mates for 42 years. He is a lively, fun, devoted, tender husband. I am lucky.

I have many good hearted, kind friends that I cherish.

I have a big family that I love with lots of colorful folks that make me laugh and sometimes cry.

We have abundant health and plenty of money (in fact, we wish we were paying more taxes so the children in our county would have a more solid education).

I'm human so naturally I have sorrow and pain and worry and hang ups and disappointments and all the rest of the things humans have. That's part of life.

 But.........there is something missing in my life. For several years I've been trying to define what it is.

I've decided to hire a Life Coach to help me carefully explore what I can't seem to do on my own.

When you need help, it's important to ask for it.

I'll be blogging about this process in the days ahead. Giving myself one entire year to explore what must live and what must die - to explore my age 60 Wild Woman.

What about you? Have you been on a similar path before? How's your Wild Woman feeling? Wild? Bored? Would you like to share your experience with me? Don't hesitate to send me an email if you'd like to share.

Exercise Tip Of The Day

Stand tall. Plant your feet firmly on the ground or in your shoes. Move your toes around, lift them up, press them down. Become aware of your toes.

Pull your belly button in and lift your rib cage up off your waist, lengthen through your lower spine.

Pull your shoulders blades together in the back and broaden your chest.

Relax your neck.

Breath in in in, breath out out out.

Press into your right foot, contract your thigh and butt muscles. Shift your body weight to the right.

Lift up your left leg and begin writing the ABC"s with your foot, bending your foot at the ankle. See how far you can go.

If your balance is off, place one or both hands on a chair or the wall or the grocery cart. Try to take one hand away and then hold on with as few fingers as you need. For more of a challenge if you can do this little exercise without holding on - shut one eye or both if you are steady.

As we age we lose our sense of balance. The good news is that it will improve with some simple balance exercises.

Try this at the grocery story, while you're brushing your teeth or any time.

Much love,
Donna Rae

Doin' "The Hip Thump".....Sexy, Sexy

                          Buddha with candles and crystals on my woodstove at our cottage in Maine

This is a great exercise -

*Lie down on the floor. Notice the way your head, back, hips, heels connect with the floor. Take a moment to breath and settle your body down. Press your lower back toward the floor - feel your lower ribs press down

*Slide your right foot along the floor up toward your buttocks, your knee will be pointing toward the ceiling now. Notice how that changes the connection of your back to the floor. Notice the contact your foot makes to the floor

*Inhale and press into your right heel to lift your right hip up off the ground (do not let the left hip come up); exhale and let your right hip thump down to the ground. Feel the entire weight of your hip thump down

*Continue - inhale - press into the foot - exhale - let the hip thump down. Pick up the speed  - pressing/lifting/thumping and always breathing with it

*It is very important to initiate the movement by pressing into the foot.

*Move to the other side taking time to connect with the floor on the left side

*Once you've done this for awhile, play with it - start alternating sides. There is a lot of movement in the body with this exercise, a rocking sensation and thumping and breathing all at once. Go with it.

*When you've completed the exercise, relax with your knees up and feel the great sensations in your pelvis.

I love this exercise because it feels good, it brings wonderful awareness to the hips and to the movement of the hips. It also helps move lymph around in the area. We have an entire system of lymph vessels and lymph fluid that circulates throughout our bodies without the help of a pump like the heart. This thumping really gets that lymph moving.

For those of us approaching the big 60 and older - you can add a little pelvic floor strengthening component to this exercise by tightening your pelvic floor muscles (like you are stopping the flow of urine) each time you thump!!! Release when you lift and contract when you thump. It will help to keep those muscles strong! We need those muscles strong. I'm not ready for Depends and I love good sex. This helps to keep all those muscles toned. Yeah, man.

When you've finished this exercise, bend your knees and pull both legs up into your chest for a hug. Breath in/breath out.

Enjoy!

Namaste,
Donna Rae

What are you struggling against?

I practice yoga every morning at around 5:30. Before starting my practice I read from one of my yoga books. The passage that spoke to me this morning is from B.K.S. Iyengar's Light On Life, The Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace, and Ultimate Freedom

Yoga tries to help us to truly innovate, to develop the intelligence that allows us to create a new relationship to our ego and our world. This new relationship is dependent on perceiving the world objectively and truthfully and on making choices, discerning what is best. 

Mr. Iyengar makes a clear distinction between being inventive (producing a different variation of the old) and innovative (introducing the new, engaging in a process of change).

I dedicated my practice to this idea of being innovative. I meditated on what that might mean to me. I don't know. I truly don't.

The purpose of this blog is to explore and define this new, engaging relationship I am morphing into with my ego. What the heck does that mean? It means that I am changing - my consciousness is shifting, my relationship to my children (I have 5 and 3 grandchildren) is new, the work I want to do in this world is new (I don't know yet what it is).

I have been a nurse since 1974. That's 38 years. I'm also a yoga and Pilates Teacher and a Personal Trainer. By nature I'm a caring person who has spent a ton of time thinking about other's needs. Both of my parents are deceased. Taking this time to write this blog all about my journey into my 60's has been a funny experience to me. Spending this much time with "me" is a funny feeling. It's good....but, different.

In the past when I have meditated I have simply sat with my self and stayed with the breath best I could. With the help of Tibetan Buddhist nun Pema Chodrin's teachings, I am now meditating with a focus. I'm blogging today to share with you this wonderful meditation technique.

Meditation Practice

Find a comfortable seat on the floor or in a chair. If you are on the floor sit with your legs crossed and your hands placed comfortably on your knees or wherever you would like them to be.

Lift your chest up and lengthen you spine. Pull your shoulder blades together in the back. Let your neck be loose. Keep your chest lifted, so that you don't cover over your heart.

Don't cover over your heart.

Take a moment to scan your body from the bottom of your feet to the top of your head. Relax your feet, your knees, your hips, pull your belly in, lengthen your spine, relax your neck muscles and the muscles of your face, even the space between your eyebrows.

Gaze about 4 feet in front of you. Let your gaze be soft. Let it be soft.

Notice your breath. Simply notice it. Air goes in, air goes out.

Feel unconditional friendliness for yourself. Respect all parts of your being - your physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual being. Feel kindness toward yourself.

Now - focus on your out breath.

Inhale - dark/damp/confining/uncomfortable
Exhale - flash of light/new light/ good light

Stay with your breath and with this image of dark and light

Spiritual Practice


Keep your breath steady - stay with your breath. Simply breath goes in, breath goes out.

Think this -

*You are not alone with this confusion (or whatever you are working on), there are hundreds and thousands of people that share this _________." This alone is a powerful and comforting mantra.

Then think this -

"May we all be free of this struggle and the root of this struggle." I love this mantra. It's liberating.

Then this -

"Since I'm already feeling this _________, may others be free of it."

Then sit for a while and just breath and listen to what your intuitive self might have to offer you. It's important to -

Get Grounded by sitting, Be Present, Stay With The Breath, Look Inward and Listen for your inner wisdom to pop out.

If your mind wanders (which it will), no worries. Bring it back to your breath, your mood, your focused thoughts.

YOU -


Of course, you will substitute the word "confusion" for whatever is on your mind or in your heart. 


Sometimes the wisdom that is brought to my consciousness does not happen on the mat - often I'll wake up in the middle of the night with an important insight. Or when I'm peeling carrots or folding clean laundry, ping - there is it. And I always say to myself, "Wow!"


This entire meditation can take 10 minutes or 30, whatever suits you. Amazing things happen no matter what. I've meditated about many things this way and have been surprised by the positive outcomes every single time. It's magical.


It's almost a new year. It's a great time to be morphing and pinging.  


Peace and love,
Donna Rae

Open your hearts

                                                 Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!!
                                                       (photo from my daughter's home)


Check out these "Rules for Getting Well" from Dr. Jensen's Nutrition Handbook, a great little book I read this summer while I was on retreat at the Omega Institute in New York.

*Learn to accept whatever decision is made
*Let the other person make a mistake and learn
*Learn to forgive and forget
*Be thankful and bless people
*Live in harmony
*Do not talk about your sickness
*Brush your skin daily

Is there one in particular that speaks to you?

They all speak to me but.......as I approach 60, I'm tired of the "do's" and "don'ts" list. I think what all these folks are saying when they list all these great things is this -

OPEN YOUR HEART. OPEN YOUR HEART RIGHT ON UP TO GIVE A BUNCH OF LOVE AND ALSO TO RECEIVE A BUNCH.

Opening your heart can be the best present you give yourself and the best one you can give the universe (meaning people we know, don't know, animals, plants, and beyond).

I'm opening mine up right now and sending it out to all the good nurses and docs and other health care workers that are taking care of people in the hospital on this holiday. Sending some love right to all of them, right on out - and to you too, reading this blog.

In Peace,
Donna Rae

Mistletoe-ing on Xmas Eve

How Do you like my Brussel Sprout Christmas Tree?  We'll be roasting those puppies tomorrow! Ha!

Mistletoe-ing on Xmas Eve

I don't know about you but I'm planning to stand under some mistletoe today.

In the book Fantastic Voyage, Live Long Enough To Live Forever, Terry Grossman (my friend and anti-aging guru) suggests one way to live more fully and even live longer is to "give yourself to someone". When we are involved in activities with people we are close to we secrete higher levels of the hormone oxytocin. It's linked with trust and bonding and love.

Touch with feeling -  Your brain receives information from thousands of touch detectors and temperature sensors. The secret of touching with feeling is an attitude of staying in the moment of the touch. You know people that give you a hug and mean it - a nice long hug..... it's as if there is nothing more important in the world at that moment. They are using their sense of touch and their open sensitivity to closeness to zero in on you, the most important person in the world. They are spreading some love. Their oxytocin levels are soaring - sending a great message to every cell in their own bodies. A message of peace and contentment.

What's on my mind today at 59 ...........enjoying some laughing, kissing, romancing, hugging and holding. Touching some folks I love and receiving back some love from them. It's essential. We'd all die without love.

This is a dessert I'm making today. This recipe offers a high level of nutrients and antioxidants as compared to most desserts. It calls for squash, pears, oats and some whole wheat flower, along with spices and nuts. Adjustments have been made (by the folks at the Kardea Kitchen) to the ingredients in the original recipe to cut down on simple carbs and half of the sugars are natural to the fruits (pears and dates), not added.

Butternut Squash, Pear and Date Crisp from the Kardea Kitchen

This smells so good while it is cooking. Permeates your entire home with goodness.
Filling:
2 C butternut squash, 1" cubes
1/4 c maple syrup
2 T lemon juice
1 T dark brown sugar
1 T cinnamon
1/4 t cloves
1/4 t nutmeg
1/4 t ginger

1 1/2 C water

3 pears, peeled, cored and cubed 1/4 " cubes
1/4 c chopped dates

Topping
1/3 C old fashioned oats
1/4 C pumpkin seeds
1/4 C walnuts
1 egg white
1/8 C dark brown sugar
4 T canola oil
3 T whole wheat flower

In large saucepan - squash, water, spices, maple syrup, lemon juice
Cover and simmer until tender, about 6-8 min.
Add pears and dates
Cook uncovered 10 min.
Strain mixture, reserving syrup
Reduce syrup in pan for about 4 min. or so - until you have 1/2 C syrup
Put in pan

Combine oats, pumpkin seeds and walnuts on a sheet pan.
Bake 350 F oven 10 min. or until lightly toasted
Remove from pan and cool
While cooling - Add to food processor - egg white, brown sugar, oil and flour
Pulse mixture until just mixed
Combine oat mixture with food processor mixture
Place  on sheet pan and bake 15-18 min.
Remove from oven, let cool and break into lumps

Sprinkle crumb mixture evenly on fruit

Enjoy every single bite!

Check out the links to Terry Grossman's wellness clinic and to the Kardea Kitchen.

Sending you a big, long warm holiday hug! 

My 59th birthday party was celebrated doing yoga with 12 wonderful women I know, including my two daughters (very special). We gathered at 6:00 on a bunch of all different colored mats. With candles lit and the sounds of James Taylor and Nora Jones and George Harrison, we moved together doing qi gong and lots of Warrior poses......staying grounded, staying present and staying with the breath best we could. Each person found a place where their bodies, minds and spirits were one  and collectively we breathed for happiness and wholeness and sat with our fears that we know are shared with hundreds of millions of people all over the world. We asked that those fears leave us. Leave us and liberate us. Then we went and drank wine and ate vegan cupcakes - we went out to play.

Play today. Find some moments to play.

Time To Play

A busy executive was speaking to her six year old niece at the end of a particularly frustrating day. She'd spent the better part of the day trying to get a new printer installed. Nothing had worked, and she was exhausted and very frustrated.

On the phone with her young niece, she described in general terms how frustrated she was.

Her niece asked, "Did you try hard?"

"Yes," she replied.

"Did you try really, really hard?"

"Yes I did."

"Well then," said the six year old, "now it's time to go out and play."

                                                      Copied from the book Perseverance by Margaret J. Wheatley

YOUR BEAUTIFUL BODY - A LITTLE GIFT YOU CAN GIVE IT........


POSTURE

How much do you think your head weighs? 

The average head weighs 15 pounds!! It's your brain, your skull, your eyes and teeth - everything from your neck up. That's a lot of weight sitting right on top of your spine. Next time you're at the grocery store pick up a 15 pound bag of potatoes - that's what your head weighs! 

Because your head weighs so much, over time it's easy to get out of alignment. 

So many people have developed "forward head". It's caused by poor posture while doing computer work or anything that places your head in an unnatural forward position in relation to the rest of your body. When that happens it throws your entire body out of balance and can cause all kinds of neck problems and back problems. 

THE STICK EM UP

This is a simple and great exercise to help prevent forward head and help restore posture.

*Go to a wall. Place your back up against the wall with your shoulders and low back pressed into the wall as much as possible

*Bring your arms up to the side in "stick em up" position - your arms will look like little goal posts. As much as possible make sure your arms and hands are touching the wall

*Now, slowly, I mean slowly, scooch your arms up along the wall until your hands touch above your head

*Slowly return them down to goal post position.

*If your arms want to leave the wall, it's OK. At the point where they want to leave the wall, take a moment, pull your shoulder blades together in the back and stretch those tiny muscles in your back, your shoulders, your neck

*Do this exercise 3 times - it will help to keep your head over your body.

It will help you have good posture and good poise and help you to feel good because it will help you to hold you head high folks.

Blogging out grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr - DR

          Be playful today! (notice arms are almost in "Stick Em Up" position - elbows a little too high)                     

59 years old............




I want to share with you the poem that my husband, Henry, inserted in my birthday card that I opened this morning early after snuggling in bed for.... not long enough. It is by Jane Hirshfield. It sums up how I feel turning 59 today and looking toward 60 next year.

I Ran Out Naked In the Sun

I ran out neaked 

in the sun

and who could blame me

who could blame 

the day was warm

I ran out naked

in the rain

and who could blame me

who could blame

the storm

I leaned toward sixty

that day almost done

it thundered

then

I wanted more I

shouted MORE

and who could blame me

who could blame

had been before

could blame me

that I wanted more

In one year, which seems so short but really is made up of lots of months and weeks and days and minutes and seconds (36,536,000 seconds to be exact) and a multitude of breaths and thoughts and connections with life - strangers and dear friends and relatives, some I love a lot and some not so much but that doesn't matter because you can't have one without the other - anyway....In one year, I'll be 60. What is the "MORE" I want? I'm not sure. But I am sure that I'll find out along this way, this journey, this year to explore and renew and plan for the next phase of my life which I define as the time between 60 and 70. Big to me and tiny, teeny small amoung the gallaxies and multi-verses that we know now exist. 

STRESS REDUCER - Wow, it's a crazy holiday time of fighting traffic and last minute shopping and dressing up when maybe you'd rather be in your favorite jammies. Take some of the stress out. December 23-December 26 mark your calendar - make an appointment with yourself - 10 minutes, just 10 minutes, of sitting quietly with yourself and listening to your breath. Sit on the floor or in a chair, sit up straight with your spine long and your face lifted slightly so that you don't fold over, covering your heart and hiding your stress that's sitting in there somewhere wishing you'd let it out. Don't cover over your heart. Open your heart with your shoulders back and your chest lifted ever so slightly. At first just listen to the natural rhythm of your breath. Notice the inhale and notice the exhale and notice the little space at the end of each inhale and exhale. Do that for about 2 minutes. Then pay close attention to your exhale. Exhale, let go, exhale, let go. Even say those words in your mind or in a quiet whisper, "Let go". Sit there for about 8 minutes. If your mind starts thinking - don't worry about it, just bring your thinking mind back to your exhale and your message to your beautiful body and mind, "Let go". At the end, take a really deep inhale, hold your breath for a moment and then exhale long and slow. Then when you think you've finished exhaling - exhale the rest of the air out. It's called the "echo exhale". Just sit there for a few seconds now with your normal breath going and and going out and notice the difference in how you feel. Please do this for the next 3 days. And let me know how it goes. You can email me at donnaraesmith@yahoo.com or post a comment on this blog.  Do it folks. It will be your birthday present to me! And I'll re-gift it back to you and we'll go on and on like that. Ha!

Welcome to my blog - 


This is the longest night of the year - December 21st! And the last day in my life that I will be 58 years old! More tomorrow..................