Jiggling into July
If you haven’t heard of Joy Jiggles, please let me show you (below). This Joy Jiggles practice is one of my contributions to your wellness this month and is a personal favorite of mine.
I am recently back from a week of teaching in the Berkshires in western Massachusetts. Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health is a truly amazing place to visit and teach. I was co-leading a workshop called “Trauma-Informed Yoga to Manage Your Mood” with veteran yoga teacher and author, Amy Weintraub. One of the very first practices I shared with the class early in the week is a shaking practice. I call it Joy Jiggles. It is featured as an energizing practice in my new yoga card deck/book. Need a little pick-me-up? Practice along with me now.
Several of our students commented on this practice in particular. One student remarked that it was her favorite practice to take home and do with her kids. I find this practice a good way to meet an anxious mood. This may seem a little counterintuitive because I feel my energy go up in the aftermath of Joy Jiggles. However, soon thereafter, the unsustainable high energy of anxiety drops to something that feels a little more manageable and even. If you try this practice, I would love to hear how it affected you.
A Haiku (upon waking this morning)
A new day ahead
I see trees and blue sky now
Deep breath, let’s begin again!
Have you ever wanted to write a poem and didn’t know where to start? Then haiku might be for you. There’s more than one version of haikus, but my tried-and-true format is three lines: the first line has five syllables, the second line has seven syllables, and the third line has five syllables. Often a haiku is about nature and the present moment. Sometimes, I simply look up, notice what I see or feel, and attempt to write it down. You might be surprised (and pleased) at what shows up on paper.
Cold water swimming
In the last month, I have had the chance to swim in a mountain spring-fed creek in my home state of Pennsylvania (Clear Creek State Park) and in a Lake Mahkeenac in the Berkshires. The water in both was somewhere between 45 and 55 degrees. Ok, so it’s not so fun getting in, but my goodness! Once you get your head under and start moving around, it feels amazing. When my body adjusts to the cold, I love to float for about 5-10 minutes. If you really don’t think you can get your whole body underwater, perhaps just paddle your feet, then lie in the sun to dry off. The National Health Service in England prescribes cold water swimming for depression and anxiety.
What I am writing
Last month I mentioned that I am writing a book about trauma-informed yoga teaching with Catherine Cook-Cottone. It’s done! We are now in final editing mode. It feels good to give the manuscript some air and space. It will be a year or so before it is available.
Now that the above-mentioned manuscript is done, I can turn my mind to poetry. For my doctoral work, I’ve decided to write a poetry memoir of sorts. You’ll hear more about this work and my process in the next two months. I may even publish some tidbits as the manuscript develops. Right now, my working title is “Sitting in Stardust: on Remembrance, Loss and Grace: A Memoir in Poetry, Prose, Practices, and Prayers.”
Where you can find me over the summer
As I mentioned last month, I am taking a break from seeing clients and teaching classes this summer to lead some workshops and take some downtime to enjoy the summer. When the weather allows, I love taking my yoga practice outside. There’s nothing quite like Tree Pose under an aging Oak or a colorful Maple. When I teach yoga classes at the Chautauqua Institute (in August), we will take our mats lakeside and enjoy the beauty.
Chautauqua Institute
Click here for the Special Studies Catalog. Look for me on page 36: Embodied Writing Practice and page 27: Kind Yoga.
On writing a short review
Lastly, thanks for reading this far. I am glad you are here and sharing in some of the ways you can take care of yourself better. If you are able to free up ten minutes (or less), here’s a link that takes you to my linktree profile. From there, it is a matter of clicking each link to write a 1-2 sentence review on Amazon, Goodreads, and/or Barnes and Noble. You do not need to have purchased the card deck book to write a review. It really is a huge help to authors when you take the time to do this.
Tip: If you are not sure what to say, try this: hold the card deck book in your hands. Get quiet and still for a few moments, then flip the card deck book open to any practice. Read it, then try it out. Write what happened and say how you feel. That’s it. Of course, you can say more if you wish, but that’s all I mean when I ask for a short, honest review. If you don’t have the card deck book, you can go to my YouTube channel and watch one of video clips of me leading one of the practices.
For those of you that prefer to listen to books than read them, did you know my book is available on audio? The linktree profile above has the link to the audio book too. Additionally, it is available on most audiobook platforms (including local libraries). I love listening to audio books. If you haven’t tried it yet, perhaps add it to your next car trip. My favorite time to listen is when I am preparing dinner.
Many, many thanks.
Jiggle well!
Joanne