This might be the cutest thing ever...

Things have been a little rocky in third grade lately, and the thing I have come to recognize is that my students feel stressed out just like I do. I decided to share a little guided meditation with them, and they LOVED it!  Here's a few pictures:

Aren't they cute?!?  They sat there with their eyes closed, listening to the voice guide them through the the meditation. Once we were done one student said she felt like she was floating. Another said he felt so much better and asked if we could do it everyday :). I guess we all need a bit of peace and quiet in our day, even 8 year olds. 

I am really grateful that I embarked on this journey (not that it's done). I would not have discovered this if not for it. 

Serenity Now!

I am still on the hunt for a yoga studio that I get a good vibe from that will let me bring Hazel to class with me.  I'm not sure why it's so difficult.  Maybe I am too picky.

I have been using the calm.com app, which I really like.  In fact, today was a truly crazy day at work, and during my grade level collaboration I took one look at everyone's faces, listened to a few comments, and realized they were all feeling as stressed as I was.  So naturally, I busted out my app and did a quick little 2-minute guided meditation with the group.

I don't know what my principal would have said if she had walked in on us at that moment.  Four adults, sitting at a table in a third grade classroom, eyes closed, listening to the gentle sound of waves, and a soothing female voice instructing us to "be aware of yourself and your place in the world".  Maybe she would have joined us?  All I know is that after the meditation session we were able to get back on track and have a productive meeting.

I think I'm going to project it up on my screen and have my class meditate tomorrow.  As difficult and stressful as it has been for me, it has been just as hard for my kids.  I think they'll enjoy it, and hopefully, it will help them refocus on learning.

Is this endeavor doomed?

When I last checked in, I was excited to attend another yoga class, this time with my daughter, Hazel.  She is (gasp!) a teen now (13 does count) and not always jazzed to spend time with mom, so when she mentioned that she wanted to go with me I jumped at the chance.  We got her a yoga mat (see previous post for the story behind that), she checked with me 3 times to make sure her outfit was appropriate (she's not a fashionista, or a diva, but she was nervous and wanted to fit in), and we made sure she had her own water bottle.

I had a few concerns about her age, so I tried to call the studio and confirm that she could attend, but they never answered.  I decided to roll the dice and just go.  It's not like she's 5, I rationalized.

When we showed up at the studio, the instructor called the owner to make sure that Hazel could practice with us.  Apparently, her insurance only covers people 18 and over, so no yoga that day.

We were pretty bummed, and in the back of my mind, I wondered if my goal to explore yoga was doomed.  Pretty much every roadblock you can imagine keeps popping up.  I'm not quite ready to give up yet, but I'm am having doubts.

Where are all the damn yoga mats??!!!!

Joke:  How many stores do you need to go to to find a yoga mat?
Answer:  I haven't figured that out yet!

Hazel said she wanted to go to yoga with me, which was awesome, but we needed to get her a mat.  Bright and early Saturday morning we took a family walk to Hight for the 5th grade Pancake Breakfast fundraiser, then I planned to go buy a yoga mat and take Hazel to class.

First stop, RiteAid.  I figured that Hazel didn't need a high quality mat (does that make me a bad mom?) so the local drug store would probably do.  Nope, no yoga mats.

Next stop, Safeway.  I've seen them at Raley's before, so I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.  Too bad because my prayers were not answered.

Next stop, Raley's.  I'm starting to panic a little at this point.  The restorative class is pretty involved.  Lots of props and set-up, so I definitely don't want to be late.  Plus, I think they lock the door once class gets started, which I get.  I mean it's supposed to be relaxing.  The last thing you want is someone coming in in the middle and distracting you while they set up.  I go straight to where they have always had the mats, but they've remodeled and NO YOGA MATS!  I'm pushing it now.  Do I go for help, or try Target?  I look for help, but by the time they walk all around the store, only to inform me that they must not carry them anymore it's way to late to make it to class on time.

We can try tomorrow.  Crossing fingers for a smoother, more successful excursion.

Diving Back In

I took a break from yoga for a few weeks.  I came down with a nasty bug that held on for almost 2 weeks and somehow attempting to hack up a lung during restorative yoga (aka group nap time) didn't sound like a successful idea.

So, in order to continue my pursuit of learning new things I decided to put my money where my mouth is and check out some guided meditation sites.  I found one site that listed/reviewed their choice for the 12 best meditation sites.  It was very helpful for a complete novice like me because it gave extremely helpful information in a clear, concise manner.  If anyone else is interested in looking into meditation here's the link -  http://herohealthroom.com/2014/12/08/free-guided-meditation-resources/

I looked at many of the sites listed, but the one that I settled on is calm.com.  Right away it soothed me.  I had to wait for a while (30 seconds to a minute) for the page to load, but they designed the page to make it a non-stressful experience.  Here's a screen shot:

Imagine the blue dot gently circling at a very relaxed pace.  See, I said it was soothing.  Once the page loaded this is what I saw:

I liked the way it was set up.  It was simple and non-intimidating for the completely inexperienced, and gave choices like how long I wanted to meditate for, if I wanted silence or guided, and what background picture I wanted.  It also had a free app I could download on my phone so that I could meditate (or try to at least) from where ever I was.

I started with 5 minutes, chose the guided option (because I have no idea what I'm doing) and kept this serene image and clicked start.  I really worked to clear my mind but I'm not very good at it yet. Just another thing I'll have to keep at and learn.

Tomorrow I go back to my yoga class.  Super excited about that.  Especially since my older daughter, Hazel, said she wants to try it out with me! :)

Learning a new game

Took a break from exploring yoga to focus on learning something else new, a game called "zoo". My grad study group and I played in the library. They had to remind us to quiet down, oops ;).  I guess I need to work on my hand-eye coordination.

Let's Try This Again

When I went to the gentle yoga class on Monday I discovered that they had discontinued the class THAT DAY. Talk about karma for my procrastination. 

So now on to plan 2. I searched restorative yoga classes in Sacramento. Not as easy as it sounds. Turns out there aren't that many, although having now gone to my first class I can't imagine why (more on that in a bit).  Given that I work during the day, have classes 2 nights a week, 2 school aged daughters, and a wonderful husband who needs at least a little of my time and attention finding a class was quite a challenge, but I did it!

Just finished my first class and the jury's still out on if it will help with my frozen shoulder, but it was awesome anyway. The class lasted an hour and a half and we did 3 poses with props. Lots of props. It was like guided community nap time. I'm a huge fan of the nap and each pose was more comfortable than the next. Judging from the gentle snoring I heard from others I wasn't the only one who felt that way. 

It was quiet and peaceful and although I was made aware of many aches and tightness when I first got in each pose, they would gradually ease and I was just so relaxed. If I had the time, flexible schedule, and of course money, I would do this all the time!  Yoga is expensive!

The other thing I started to reflect on is that maybe I should be exploring meditation instead of yoga. My brain never turned off (except for maybe that brief period where I drifted off just a bit😌).  No matter what I did my brain was going. I thought about being in the class, if my pose was correct, what I was going to write in this blog post, ect...

I'm going back to try a few more classes. Maybe one that is a little more active, but I definitely want to do restorative again!  Then I'll see. 

You can't tell from the outside, but it was very peaceful and tranquil, just like you would imagine a yoga studio to be. 

Stay tuned for further adventure and thanks for sharing the experience with me.