goodbye mountains, hello naps
to say yes, you must also say no
Hello and happy Sunday. We’re getting ready to start our journey back to the east coast. We’ll be taking a week off to unplug and wander into the wilderness and I can’t wait.
This year, I’m having a lot more sadness about leaving the mountains than past years. I’m ready to float in the ocean and looking forward to warm Charleston beach days, and I don’t want to leave Utah yet. Two feelings at the same time - rather than letting them battle against each other, I’m allowing both to be true right now.
I think my resistance against leaving is because my nervous system needed the simple lifestyle we have out here more than I realized.
So - I’m making a few commitments to myself to try to keep this mountain grounded feeling going as I re-enter our more regular routine.
Use this as a reminder to take vacation like breaks, even when there is no vacation.
To say yes to something you have to say no to something else. This yes could be a weekend wandering the woods near your home or shutting your phone notifications off and listening to an audiobook for a bit.
Time is the excuse we so often give for not being able to slow down, rest, and simplify. If we try to do it all, it’s true - we do run out of time.
I don’t want to spend my life chasing time and (here’s this two opposing truths at the same time thing again) I am someone who pushes incredibly hard. I am a DOER. I have a million ideas, and I want to put energy into each of them.
But I don’t have enough time.
So - one of the commitments that I’m taking back east with me is to say YES to naps and NO to doing every once in a while.
Even though it’s spring, generally a yang season - my body and spirit are giving me the feedback that I need more yin in the season I’m personally in. I’m trying to listen and naps are something I think I can say yes to (I’m not a napper typically).
Is there something that you want to say yes to more often? Can you think of something you could try saying no to so that you could have that occasional yes?
Practice:
Malasana // Optional props: block (books if you don’t have a block) or a wall
You can come into this pose from standing and lowering to a squat or from downward dog and stepping your feet up to the outside of your hands, then lowering to a squat.
Once you’re in position find your breath. Start to gently press your elbows into your knees, grow tall reaching the crown of your head toward the sky and lengthening your spine.
Find a down and in energy as you breathe out.
Find an up and out energy as you breathe in.
Stay for 1-3 minutes.
Modifications and options:
Sit on a block (or stack of books) to take some of the tension out of the hips.
Stay higher up finding a sumo squat with the hands on the inside of the thighs if lower all the way is too much on the knees.
Find the sumo squat variation with your seat (bum!) against the wall to ease up on the low back.
Malasana is a great pose for grounding and slowing down. (And it’s another one of my commitments I’m bringing back east with me. More Malasana!)
2 Quotes:
“On this path no effort is wasted, nor is there any danger of adverse effects. Even a little practice of this Yoga protects one from great fear. On this path.”
- The Bhagavad Gita
“Take parts of things you like and leave the rest. Be careful to not throw out an entire body of work or experience or program because you disagree with a facet of it or even a lot of it. Make your journey your own, built from the experiences you’ve had along the way”
- Holly Whitaker, Quit Like A Woman (referencing sobriety tools but I think it applies in many more ways)
3 Resources:
Substack: Human Stuff by Lisa Olivera (This is my new favorite Substack and this article is a beautiful reflection on practicing loving kindness towards all our past and future selves. All are true.)
Video: The Power of Saying No with Dr. Gabor Maté (His work on trauma, healing and holistic life is worth a deep dive. This is a great clip to get started with.)
Music: feat. Nature (A new project by a group called Sounds Right where some great artists offer up their songs to be remixed with the sounds of nature. 50% of the royalties go to conservation efforts. There’s a playlist on Spotify and this London Grammar track will definitely be making it to some of my class playlists soon!)
That’s it… just one more Marley in Utah photo to close us out this month.
With love,
Lily
Thanks for this! The idea of taking what you like and leaving the disagreeable things is something that is really quite revolutionary when I think about it! Enjoy your digital break. Hopefully you don't see this message for a couple more days :)