Slowing down

"Be conscious of your breath, follow its journey into your body as you breathe in the air through the nostrils, down the throat into the lungs and deep into your belly. Your belly rises with each inhale and falls with each exhale. Ride the waves of your breath."

I coached the ladies laying on their yoga mats to be aware of their breath. Some women were in their late forties like me, many trying yoga for the first time. Two sisters, young women in their late teens, had brought their mother to the workshop with them "because she needs to relax" they said. The poster advertising this free Sunday morning workshop entitled "Yoga for Busy Women", showed a picture of a frazzled woman multi-tasking aspiring to be a calmer woman sitting quietly and meditating. The workshop description read as follows:

If you have always wanted to try yoga but didn’t know where to start, this class is for you. Join us for a beginner yoga class that celebrates diversity: all ages and fitness levels. Learn basic postures and breathing exercises that will help you regain balance and a sense of calm in your busy life.

When I pitched the idea to Chris, the Fitness Coordinator at a local Recreational Activity Centre way back in August, he was intrigued with my approach.

I said "I know many women who would like to try yoga but don't sign up for a class because they believe that if you don't look like Lady Gaga in spandex and can't contort your body into a pretzel shape like Rodney Yee, you are not meant to do yoga. Plus, there is the guilt factor that prevents these women from coming to class. They don't get around to signing up for classes because they put everybody else in their family first and find it difficult justifying taking an hour or two away from home for themselves. And it is a real shame because they are the type of women that would benefit most from yoga."

(Can you tell that I am pretty passionate about this? As the saying goes, "you teach what you need to learn". I am definitely a Type A personality, a woman who runs around multi-tasking with a perpetual "To Do" list. I did not know the meaning of slowing down until a few years ago when my body just gave up and forced me take a long hard look at myself. I had to stop and take stock of the impact that my life choices were having on my health: physical, mental and spiritual. I decided to change my ways, slowly but surely. I still have lots to learn though...)

"So if they haven't been coming to our yoga classes so far, how are we going to recruit them now?" Chris asked.

"What if instead of putting the emphasis on fitness by teaching a long list of challenging postures, we put the emphasis on how to apply what yoga teaches us in our every day life? I could teach participants easy basic postures they can do while sitting at their desk at the office, or while standing in the kitchen in the middle of all the hustle and bustle of home life or just before bed as a way to decompress. The emphasis would be on the breath and on the body awareness - our core and our centres of energy. The class could be part yoga practice and part support group. We could build on women's need to be part of a community by opening up each class with a cup of green tea and a casual dialogue. We could create a safe place for women to chat and learn from each other. They could share their tips and tricks and not feel so alone when dealing with all the craziness around them."

"That might just work you know" said Chris. "I am game to try it out if you are. Let's start with a free class as a pilot to gauge interest and we'll take it from there."

"If you build it, they will come" Kevin Costner's character said in the movie "Field of Dreams". That is what we did. We chose a date, put up the posters, and made the offer. "Busy women, give yourself some "me" time to get acquainted with your body and learn ways to take care of yourself."

And the women came. We had a full class and they loved it. After class, they marched to the Customer Service Desk and asked that this class be part of the regular offering of classes at the centre. I do hope that management will head to their requests. Busy women need a time and place where they can just "be" with themselves in the here and now.

Wouldn't it be cool if we started a bit of a new trend in fitness centres...classes for the body, mind and spirit of participants.

What do you do to recharge your batteries?

Do you permit yourself to pause and listen to your body.

Do you practice staying still long enough to quieten the constant babbling of your mind?

Do you check in with your spirit from time to time to become conscious of your state of being? Are you happy and content? Or are you sad and uneasy?

What does your soul have to say? What is your purpose and are you aligned to it?

What are ways that you can slow down the frenzied pace of your life this week?