Faith Hill and a lesson in breathing

When Faith Hill sings the words to the song, "Breathe," she made famous in 1999, I'm sure she wasn't referring to yoga breaths.

"Just breathe," she sings, referring to the love of her life.

"The whole world just fades away," she says, only hearing the beating of his heart, not her own. Such a beautiful love song, and also stereotypical about how we get caught up in other people's lives -- sometimes at the detriment to our own.

"Just breathe" has a different meaning for me since I started taking yoga a year ago. Now beginning to see the effects as it automatically, yet gently, brings me back to a safe place during times of stress, I see this time to stop and breathe as another form of the bike ride.

Taking time to "just breathe" is my time. It's time for me to stop and be present where I'm at in that moment. It's not about anyone else -- not a lover, not a spouse, not the children. It's not about an argument, a mistake, a worry.

Just breathe. Just me. The two phrases can be interchanged.

Don't worry, it's not an ego thing. It's a self-care thing. For the remainder of this week, when you run into some challenge, something that upsets you, even if only slightly, see if you can remember to stop and take time to breathe deep breaths. In and out. Just for you.

JUST FOR FUN
When you hear the words to a favorite song of yours, what phrase most sticks out in your mind. What thoughts does it conjure up?

Blogathon Day 2: Food for thought

It's only Day 2, and I'm just starting to dig in to the 250 or so bloggers involved in this year's WordCount Blogathon, but already I'm seeing variations of the BIKE. To give you other ways to process the philosophy, here's more food for thought. Remember, I told you we'd get to know the other bloggers through BIKE WITH JACKIE. I wasn't kidding.

A short curated list for you: 

To be your Best self, access your Inner strength, and to develop those Killer instincts, you may need to learn when to let go -- What does that look like? Lady Moxie gives you an idea from her yoga class.

You use your Expressive voice not only when you stand up for yourself, but also when you can laugh at the oddities of life's everyday moments -- or the not so everyday rewards. At Still Living the Dream, we learn this because of a winning outfit. Prepare to smile if you read this one.

Holding yourself accountable also works wonders when on the mental BIKE ride. You'll find a great example of this over at Let's Walk and Talk, where blogger Glenneth Reed composes her list of things she's expecting to accomplish in 2012 -- and admits what she hasn't yet begun. She put it out there for all the world to see, and that will help her progress. That's also about being your Best self. You don't have to do everything right. But you do something.

One step at a time, and you'll get wherever you're going. It's about moving forward.

What have you committed to act on today? To help hold you accountable, you can post your comments here.

Yoga balls, massage and other forms of cleansing

I've been experimenting with various forms of body cleansing lately--and, no, I'm not talking about bathing. I'm talking about clearing out the negative energy from the body. Life, in general, deals us a lot of "stuff" to figure out on a daily basis. Some of it, as you may already know, is more difficult than others. Some of what we have to deal with isn't something that can be handled in a day. For the lingering challenges in our life, we need ways to cope. I'm finding that cleansing the body of mental stress, worries and fatigue is imperative to a healthy overall existance. And I like the idea of cleansing out the negative energy.

My first exposure to this concept--and that of an energy balance AND the belief that it even existed--happened on a trip a few years ago to Sedona. Since then, when I learned that I may have blockages, I've let my mind be open to the possibility, no matter how sad it sounds. I'm blocked? It sounds unhealthy.

Guess what? It is.

So I've been reading and learning more about the seven energy spots in the body, called chakras. And I've purchased some yoga CDs to learn some yoga moves. I was recently given a package of yoga cards so I could explore this further. And just this week, I purchased two CDs--one has to do with Qigong and the other involves yoga balls. Both are used to cleanse the body of toxins and that nasty old negative energy.

Click on the links above if you want to begin learning more about this for yourself. But know that this form of self-nurturing that I've been doing has been so stress releasing. I'm learning how to breathe properly, how to stretch for full benefit, that you can literally push negative energy right out of your body, and that rolling around the floor on little balls can give you a really good massage. At the same time, this is all improving my circulation and digestion.

If you already believe in using yoga and other forms of spiritual cleansing, what's your preference? Post a comment and share your thoughts.

All my best,
Jackie

Let's talk exercise

Even if you think you abhor the word, keep reading.

Exercise, of course, is a good thing. I know you know that, but let me share with you a story that might nudge you a little bit closer to getting on that bike, going for that walk, or digging out those yoga tapes.

I've mentioned that I found my special brand of BIKE while going through my divorce. I found it while riding an actual bicycle. A year on an old Huffy (and then two years on the Trek 4300 when I wore the Huffy down) taught me many lessons. One of the more important lessons learned came from this story:

The year before chaos hit at my house, I had gained 40 pounds. Some of you may not think that's a lot, but on my tiny frame, that was a lot of excess weight to carry around. And I felt it. I felt heavy. I felt unhealthy. I felt, well, I felt fat!

And when you feel fat, you start thinking fat. Even my son made fun of the size of my butt. And I'd laugh it off. Sometimes, that's how you deal when you're not really dealing. My head was telling me, "Oh, what's the use? It's too hard to try to do anything about it." I know some of you have felt like this, and it's not a good place to let your thoughts wander. That's dangerous territory -- physically, mentally, spiritually, and even sexually.

You don't have the energy to exercise, so you don't. You let the negative self-talk override anything that could be positive. You're probably not praying or feeling anything remotely close to faith in a higher power. And sex? If you're not in line with the prior three, the later is probably not even close to happening. And if it is, it's probably not very satisfying. So what's the point, right?

The point is that you're missing out.

I know. Because I was that person. I was missing out. It was as if I'd flat-lined on a gurney. I mean, there was nothing going on in my life. If there was joy to be found, I sure didn't know where to look.

I was too busy opening cupboard doors.

Even though I'd never been a snacker before, I was snacking during the last year before my marriage ended. Things were falling apart at my house. I had become a woman who was turning to food for the comfort I wasn't getting from my spouse at home. He was hardly home, anyway. And even when he was home, he wasn't. What was even worse was this: I wasn't paying attention. I was ignoring. And I was telling myself that things would get better. But I was NOT doing anything to make it better. I was simply getting by, biding time, waiting things out. Waiting for what, exactly, I don't know. But my head was not in an active mode, that's for sure.

There's more to the story than this, but I started to become more aware the day I stepped on a scale at the gym and saw that number. It was 40 pounds more than I'd ever weighed, and I knew then that something was wrong. An alarm went off inside my head that warned, "Jackie, you have to admit, that's not good."

When I started riding, it wasn't long before I started to notice the changes -- not just in my body, but in my head.

Within two months, I could see the belly bulge disappearing. I realized I no longer felt the skin around my middle smacking my leg as I pedaled. I knew that was a good thing. It felt like progress.

I could think clearer, I had more energy, and I felt lighter.

That was in 2002. Here it is 2007, and I still remember what it felt like to not only feel sluggish but also to behave sluggishly. I am now aware of what my body feels like when I'm not taking care of it. I now know I absolutely do not like that feeling. So when I have my moments of inactivity, when life feels too rushed to find time to exercise, it's not long before I notice that familiar slug-like feeling. That's enough to motivate me to get back on the bike, get back on a routine hiking schedule, or hop on the exercise ball. I'll do anything to avoid moving backwards for long. I do not ever want to return to where I was at. It was not a good place to be, not for anyone.

But some of us have to know what the bad feels like before we can appreciate the good, I guess.

So I now pay attention to how my body feels. I pay attention to what I'm doing to take care of it, and I know when I falter, the faltering moments won't last too long.

That's what BIKE is about. It's not about being perfect. It's about realizing when you're not doing your absolute best -- because you know yourself well enough to know what that really is -- forgiving yourself when you falter, and getting back on track. The special brand of BIKE that I'm sharing with you offers you not an excuse to make mistakes but an acceptance of those mistakes and a reason to move past them...simply because you can and because it's the best action to take.

Your mantra today: I am human. I make mistakes. But I still know how to move forward.

All my best,
~Jackie