2023 is Off and Running
How did you leave 2022 and receive 2023? Here's some of my practices. This is a good time to start yours. It is not too late...
There are lots of difficult things going on in the background as we all enter into the new year; for me, there is turbulence, distress, grief, anger. It is during such times that I rely heavily on the practices of self-care and self-awareness that I have already established and let them carry me and nourish me. When I sat with the challenges recently, the words that came to me were radical self-care, so I have doubled down on some practices and added some new ones that I will share with you in this newsletter as we glide through January.
What Anchors Me
A practice I have been doing on and off for a few years has finally taken hold consistently. It could be that the recent challenges has caused me to double down on my practice. My mind has been very preoccupied. I woke up one morning in December, and the 5 Tibetans came to mind. I have been doing them every morning since then. Here’s a clear short video if you want to try them yourself. I am up to 15 of each. I immediately feel energized upon doing them. But, I do caution you, only do this practice in your pain-free range of motion and connected to your breath. Of course, if you have read my book or taken a class with me, you would expect me to say that. And if you have glossed over those words before, please heed them now. There is little to gain by doing the 5 Tibetans while holding the breath or grimacing in pain. Take them slowly and leisurely. Start with 3 reps of each. Add two more each week according to how your body is feeling/responding. I know it doesn’t sound like much with this small number of reps in the beginning. But, listen to your body, and stay curious. You may be surprised at how you feel.
I am hopeful as I continue to do this practice. I know I am going to need all the help I can get. Just saying. Do yourself a favor, and start now. I’d love to hear how it goes for you.
The Cold Spell
If you are from the Eastern United States, you will know that we had a brutally cold few days leading up Christmas and beyond. Actually, the whole country was unseasonably cold. Despite having heat and electricity at my house, we still had layers and coats on inside the house. It was brutal. That said, I am grateful to have a house with heat that works (most of the time). I am finding that I have less tolerance for the winter unless I have a comfy couch and a fireplace to curl up in front of and a good book to read. Hibernation seems like a really great idea at the moment. Katherine May’s book, Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times, has been resonating with me. She mentioned a practice that I have tried and liked – cold-water swimming!
Given the thoughts I just shared about winter, it might surprise you that one of my self-care practices is hot/cold therapy. Instead of the swimming (as May describes in Wintering), for me, this usually means a really hot shower followed by a cold-as-I-can-stand-it shower for a few minutes.
There are lots of benefits to this practice. I was introduced to the concept when I was in Russia several years ago on a study tour. I was staying in a rural town several hours by train from Moscow. Our host had a banya. Banya is a common practice in Russia, dating back centuries. A full banya experience is usually in someone’s home. Think of the hottest steam sauna you have ever experienced. Add some birch branches strapped together and used to flick water on the participants and to massage one’s back. Just at the moment I thought I may pass out, I was ushered into the next room (rather unsteadily). There was a simple wooden bench. As I sat there recovering from the heat, a kindly Russian woman, my host, coached me in breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth and pantomimed that she was going to douse me with water on the count of three. Except that the water came on two when I was inhaling. So, I gave a blood-curdling scream on the exhale just to “protest” the icy cold water. But, she held up two fingers (for two more pails of icy water) and, unbelievably, I nodded my consent. It was the most invigorating, yet calming experience of my life, which is no small thing to say from someone who has focused on restorative yoga for the last 10 years of my 20+ years of yoga practice. I have been trying to replicate it ever since. Hence, the hot/cold shower – only a distant cousin, for sure. But, I have no plans to go back to Russia anytime in the near future.
Pittsburgh Peeps
Luckily for me – and for you if you are in the Pittsburgh area – this experience of banya has come to us at the new Sneha Collective in Lawrenceville. Massage therapist/body worker/entrepreneur, Eva Trapp, is the founder of Sneha Collective (SC). They opened their doors just three months ago, but Eva told me it has been a long buildout process. The SC includes an apothecary, a yoga studio, a workshop space, multiple body-working treatment rooms, and most importantly, a sauna and cold-plunge room. I visited the studio in December to attend a sound bath with Brooke Smooklin. It was fabulous.
While touring the SC after Brooke’s class, I learned about the Sacred Self-Sauna and Cold Plunge space. I signed up immediately. I decide to make it my last self-care practice of the year and enjoyed a 20-minute sauna and 5 minutes of cold plunge on December 31. It was a brilliant way to close out the year and make way for 2023. I highly recommend this practice. The space is beautiful down to every detail. If you want to experience nervous system regulation (and not just learn about it and talk about it), then sauna and cold plunge is a great way to do that. If you don’t have access to the SC, I think the next best thing is a hot shower followed by a cold shower. Just give it a try, and let your neurobiology take over (not that you have a choice). It is truly refreshing and exhilarating.
Practice with Me
Another way to energize yourself is Bellow’s Breath. Here’s a 3-minute video to show you how.
As you step into 2023, let’s all lean more towards kindness and love. To do this, nourish yourself – keep it simple. The plain truth about being well is that self-care is your job. Do it like your life depends on it, because it does.
What I Am Working On
As this newsletter hits your inbox, I am putting the final touches my new yoga card deck. It will be available in April. But, look out for pre-ordering available on Amazon soon. I will be asking for volunteers to be part of the launch team in a month or so. Let me know if you are interested in participating. I will give the specifics soon, but it is safe to say that being part of the launch team will mean learning and doing the practices on the cards together!
A poem to kick off the year:
My Living Testament by Joanne Spence
I work hard to love and accept my body
With all its beauty and flaws.
I do not have low self-esteem.
Even so, I swing wildly between acceptance
and self-loathing.
Mostly towards acceptance.
But there are times I truly can’t stand myself.
Lest you try and rescue me too soon
Sit with the discomfort
Is it not familiar to you too?
My inner pettiness outweighing my generous spirit.
The contradictions are endless.
Then I pause and remember those who have come before me.
Grace abounds in the contradictions,
Even in the paradox.
I do see and marvel at God’s handiwork in me.
Aren’t we each our own miracle?
That we even came to be born,
And in our particular circumstances.
What does it mean to be me?
To live in the sacredness of my own body…
Beloved…
Healing…
Whole…
Trying to age with grace,
Mind, body, and spirit.
I once again decide to love all of her,
All of me
Even the unreconciled parts.
It’s my life, after all!
Engage With Me
As always, here are some ways to connect with more of my work:
Group Class: Tuesdays 8-9 AM ET Zoom Gentle Yoga Class
Click here for details and to sign up.
Buy my book: Trauma-Informed Yoga: A Toolbox for Therapists: 47 Practices to Calm, Balance, and Restore the Nervous System.
Individual Sessions
Yoga Therapy
Embodied Spiritual Direction
I have limited time slots available due to my writing commitments, but I still have availability. I do my own scheduling via email or text at Joyogi5 at gmail.com or 412.287.4591, so call or email me to schedule an appointment.
For more details on the above sessions, click here.
Once again, if you made it all the way to the end of this newsletter – thank you for reading it. My hope is that you will engage in some portion of it, or at least try one of the practices for yourself.
I say: 2023 – game on!
Be well!
Hi Joanne- I hear your voice as I read your words. I am encouraged by your talking about self-care. I’m working, struggling, to actually be a human being rather than a human doing. Thank you for gentle reminders and offerings. 💕