The First to Forgive

 

BECAUSE LIFE WOULD BE REMARKABLE IF WE DID SO. We need to discover what prevents us from doing this and remove those obstacles - What would life be like if you were always the first to extend compassion and understanding, to offer the "olive branch" of peace, and to give others the benefit of the doubt?

On this day of your life

 

I believe God wants you to know ...   ... that Life is conspiring in your favor.   It may not always look that way, but it is, I assure you. Everything that is happening, is happening just the way it must, in order for you to have the opportunity to create the experience of your Self for which you yearn.   The idea behind all of this is to give you a chance to become and to know, at the highest level, Who You Really Are. This is God Work we are up to, you and I.   So keep on.

Exercising Flexibility (OM)

 

Having a flexible mind makes navigating life much easier, as you are not thrown off course easily.     Flexibility is the capacity to bend without breaking, as well as a continual willingness to change or be changed in order to accommodate new circumstances. People with flexible minds are open to shifting their course when necessary or useful; they are not overly attached to things going the way they had planned. This enables them to take advantage of opportunities that a more rigid person would miss out on. It also can make life a lot more fun. When we are flexible, we allow for situations we could not have planned, and so the world continues to surprise and delight us. Since reality is in a constant state of flux, it doesn’t make sense to be rigid or to cling to any one idea of what is happening or what is going to happen. We are more in tune with reality when we are flexible. Being in tune enables us to adjust to the external environment and other people as they change and grow. When we are rigid or stuck in our ways, we hunker down, clinging to a concept of reality rather than reality itself. When we do this, we cut ourselves off from life, and we miss out on valuable opportunities, as well as a lot of joy. Just as we create flexibility in our bodies by stretching physically, we can create limberness in our minds by stretching mentally. Every day we have the opportunity to exercise our flexibility. We can do this in small ways such as taking a different route home from work or changing our exercise routine. On a larger scale, we can rearrange the furniture or redo a room in our house. If these are things we already do regularly, we can stretch our minds by imagining several different possibilities for how the next year will unfold. As we do this, our minds become more supple and open, and when changes come our way, we are able to accommodate and flow with the new reality.

When the Nervous System is Tired: a Quiet Yoga Practice for Menopause.

 

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Menopause has a way of changing how the body responds to effort.

Practices that once felt energizing can suddenly feel overstimulating. A faster pace, deeper stretch, or stronger breath may leave the body feeling more wired instead of more relaxed.

Many women notice this shift and assume they need to push harder to regain their old resilience.

But often the nervous system is asking for something else.

Not intensity.

Simplicity.

During menopause, practices that emphasize rhythm, repetition, and gentle pacing can help the nervous system settle in a way that more demanding approaches cannot.

Yoga, when practiced quietly, can offer that support.

Not as a workout, but as a place to let the body soften.

Below is a short practice that can help create that feeling of steadiness.

A Simple Practice for a Sensitive Nervous System

This practice can be done on the floor or seated in a chair. It isn’t meant to be perfect or structured—just slow and steady.

1. Begin with Stillness

Sit or lie comfortably, and allow your eyes to soften or close. Take a moment to notice the natural rhythm of your breath without trying to change it.

Often the nervous system settles simply from being given a moment to pause.

2. Gentle Breath Awareness

Place one hand on your lower ribs. Let your inhale arrive naturally. Then allow your exhale to drift out slowly.

There is no need to force a deep breath. A quiet breath is often more calming than a big one.

Continue for one to two minutes.

3. Slow, Repetitive Movement

Begin with a small movement, such as:

>> slowly lifting and lowering your shoulders

 >> gently turning your head side to side

 >> rocking your knees from side to side, like windscreen wipers, while lying down on your back

Move at a pace that feels almost too slow. Repetition can help the nervous system feel predictable and safe.

4. Supported Rest

Finish by lying down or sitting quietly for a few minutes. If you have a pillow or blanket, let your body feel supported.

There is nothing to accomplish here. Nowhere to be, nothing to do.

Just allow your body to rest.

A Different Relationship with Practice

During menopause, yoga sometimes changes shape. It may become less about stretching farther or holding longer, and more about noticing what helps the body feel settled again.

The practice becomes quieter.

Simpler.

More patient.

And in that quieter space, many women discover something unexpected: the nervous system does not need dramatic interventions.

Often, it responds best to small moments of calm, repeated over time.

Menopause might not ask us to stop practicing.

But it may invite us to practice differently.

~

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Fay Dwyer  |  Contribution: 1,620

Fay Dwyer lives in Vermont and loves skiing and wild swimming. She is the founder of Pure Yoga Therapy. Through her online yoga therapy practice, Fay helps clients find relief… Read full bio

author: Fay Dwyer

Image: miraalou/Instagram

Editor: Nicole Cameron

God Had No Place in This. {Poem}

 

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God Had No Place in This

I cannot see beyond
the painted fringed outlines of my grief
And the rage that incites, it
supplanted niceties of hope
Ties visions of the world together in
One jagged and forlorn sonnet

Green grass grows nice from grief’s tears
I know this
But the ions once conjoined
To make up the pretty image of the world
I once knew
And staked my claim in

Are blown apart like
some recent dreams
bayonetted by the realities of daily life

Grace is shrill and hard to come by
Flames of pointed mustard gas
seep into pores
longing for the relief of forgiveness …

Has the world always been this hateful? Spiteful,
Thoughtless skirmishes
Belie the bitter truth:
hucksters of this vicious consciousness
Have cratered confidentiality
But their forlorn MO has always been the same.

Jaded, I pick scraps of
this elemental and fruitless rage
up off the forest floor.

I’ll use this, for something, better
In some expected and soon-crowning tomorrow
We all still yearn so deeply for.

~

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Claire Boyce  |  Contribution: 4,825

Claire Boyce is a writer, poet, and visual artist who revels in the way her soul dances as she embarks upon myriad creative endeavors. She recently published her first collect… Read full bio

author: Claire Boyce

Image: Feyza Altun/Pexels

Editor: Molly Murphy