Today is an ommazing day! I turn 55! That’s 55 trips around the sun.
Whew! Yesterday on my last day of 54, I decided to take on a challenge. I’m going to complete a biathlon at the age of 55.
I was in training for my first biathlon when I took my first yoga class over 20 years ago.
I remember that first class like it was yesterday. It was at Union County College, in a cold dance room, next to a loud gym and when I left that class and was walking to my car I felt like the sidewalk was moving and I was standing still. I was hooked with just one class! Yoga found me!
Yesterday on my last day of 54 I committed to completing a biathlon, close to home, January 2019 to celebrate 55 trips around the sun.
It is going to take time, commitment, training and determination. All things that I love!
But wait it gets better. Last night at dinner I told my husband that I want to see the Grand Canyon. I want to stand on the edge of amazingness and breathe it in to my soul. I want to experience amazing beauty! I want to take a road trip across country and see places I’ve never seen.
And I want to do it midway through this 55th year.
Midway is May 5th. That’s 5/5!
OK, so wow. This all led me to doing a little research on the meaning of the number 55. Here’s what I learned:
Number Meaning Is Derived From Number Essence
A number’s meaning can be thought of as the number’s basic tone or vibration. As an overview, the numerology number 55 represents is a composite energy containing the ideas of:
Independence
Exploration
Self-determination
Freedom
Adventure
“The essence of the numerology number 55 is independence, self-sufficiency, aloneness, curiosity, and self-determination. It is witty, keen to explore new things, and adventurous with a focus on expression of personal freedom. Imagine being truly self-sufficient and independent with the freedom to do and explore and experience anything and everything you are curious about.”
That’s 55.
Need I say more? I’m all in for my 55th year around the sun.
Exploration, new experiences, curiosity, determination, and training my mind, body and spirit both on and off the mat so that I can focus on personal freedom.
AND I may even get another tattoo to celebrate…I can see it already…that Sanskrit symbol for Moksha, which in English refers to various forms of emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release …nothing more liberating than time on the mat and a road trip.
Time to get up and not just see it, but to be with it. It’s time to brush off the cobwebs of winter and get into the great outdoors!
A great way to do that is to take your practice outside. There is no better yoga mat than Mother Earth.
There are many reasons to shake things up and take your practice outside . . . here are just a few of them:
Earth. Water. Fire. Air. Space.
Earth’s energy is grounding and stabilizing. Water’s energy reminds us to be fluid and creative. Fire’s energy helps us to burn through the impurities and toxins. Air’s energy is light and airy. Space reminds us of the vastness within us and all around us. When we practice outdoors we can breathe them all in and embrace the beauty of nature.
An opportunity to tune all our senses into the rhythms of Mother Nature.
Taste. Smell. Hear. See. Touch. Nature’s beauty abounds and seeps into all of our senses when we begin to pay attention. Taste the salt air. Smell the tide. Hear the constant rhythm of the ocean waves rolling in and out. Tune in to the sounds of the birds. Touch the earth on your hands and feet.
Inversions are ommazing outside! The earth is up and the sky is down! Talk about seeing things in a new way!
You live in the PERFECT place to take your practice outdoors, and this summer we have several opportunities for you!
Beach and Inlet Yoga
Wednesdays at6:00 am
Beach Access #3 on the south side of Garden City Pier (off of Waccamaw Drive in Garden City)
Fridays at 7:00 am
Join us on the boardwalk behind Morse Park nest to the Hot Fish Club in Murrells Inlet (off of Business 17 in Murrells Inlet)
Sundays at 7:00 am
Beach access #53 North Litchfield Beach. (off of Parker Drive in Pawleys Island)
Occassionally the weather interferes, so please like us on Facebook and check the schedule page on our website before heading out in case of cancellations due to weather.
So many obligations take our time and our energy. It’s not that we don’t love doing all of these things, but why it is so much easier to take care of others rather than taking care of ourselves? My teacher, Deepak Chopra has a term that really resonates with me, Radical Well-being!
That’s want I want—not just to live well—I want radical well-being! But how do we get there?
I believe there are five pillars of radical well-being:
Get enough sleep
Get outside in nature and move!
Meditate
Eat fresh, real food
Cultivate healthy emotions
Here’s why:
Sleep is so important. It’s where your body regenerates, restores, and repairs. I’m not talking about just a few hours of sleep a night, I’m talking about a good solid 6 to 8 hours where you go through the different stages of sleep, from wakefulness, light sleep, REM sleep, and deep sleep. Each stage has it’s own benefit and spending time each night in each stage is important to our radical well-being. So shut your electronics off early and set a sleep routine that sets you up for a successful night’s sleep. If you have trouble sleeping, never forget the power of a good nap!
Getting outside in nature allows you to breathe and move into the five elements that are around you AND within you! Take your shoes off and go earthing. Connecting to the Earth’s natural energy is foundational for vibrant health. When you make direct contact with the surface of the Earth your body receives a charge of energy that makes you feel better, fast. Take a walk by the ocean and listen to the sounds of the waves. Feel the warmth of the sun on your body. Ride a bike and feel the wind on your skin. Listen to the primordial sounds of nature: birds singing, waves lapping, leaves blowing. Feel the incredible amount of space around you and within you! And lastly don’t forget to look up at the night sky, it’s so beautiful!
Meditation is a wonderful way to find stillness and quiet the non-stop conversations inside your head. Although many think that there is complete silence in meditation, it’s a misnomer. Meditation is not complete silence, but rather time where you recognize the thoughts that you have and find the stillness between them.
I’ve heard that prayer is where you talk with God, and meditation is where you listen.
Food is an important part of radical well-being. Fresh food found in its most natural state; non-processed, non-packaged, non-altered. I’m looking forward to our farmers markets opening soon so I can support our local farmers and eat local produce! I love this quote from Hippocrates: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”. My Ayurveda training has helped me to understand this so much better.
Lastly, cultivating healthy emotions is an important part of radical well-being. Gratitude is the single greatest way to cultivate healthy emotions. It’s a powerful practice that we can use to expand our happiness, create loving relationships, and improve our health. When you’re feeling down, take a few moments to think about what you are grateful for in that moment. It takes practice, but it’s truly worth it!
I’d love to hear how you’re creating radical well-being in your life!
Namasté-
Maribeth
P.S. Are you looking for a way to jump start your radical well-being? Join me and a wonderful group for an Ayurveda Retreat at theBeach, April 27-29th. When you take time away from your every day routine and all of your commitments, to take time for YOU- you begin to create radical well-being.
There is no better time or place than right here, right now!
Space is limited – only 1 bedroom is currently available. Commuter spots are available. Get everything included in the retreat, with the exception of the accommodations.
Ah, spring is nearly here! With the changing of the seasons, It’s a wonderful time for letting go of the old and welcoming in the new. What better time to detox and declutter your mind, body, and daily life? As life gets busier and busier, we tend to get distracted and before you know it, the house is a mess, we’ve forgotten about our meditation practice, and we’re feeling tired and anxious all the time.
Don’t worry, it happens to the best of us!
Here are some simple things you can do to get back on track and get started with your spring cleaning, Ayurveda style:
Home
Start with your closet. Go through each and every item of clothing and donate anything you have not worn in the past year. Take the time to try things on and donate the items that do not currently fit you or your style. Store your winter clothes neatly and in an organized way so it will be fun to take them out next year. Bring out your warm weather clothes and arrange them so they can be easily seen and accessed.
Move to the common areas. Your goal is to clean and declutter as you go. Move your knicknacks and furniture while you clean and think about what you can live without. Donate anything that is causing you distraction and overstimulation; anything that is not positively serving you. Create a peaceful space that allows you the space to breathe easily.
Organize your papers: bills, coupons, books, other paperwork. Shred and recycle anything you do not need and organize using a filing system.
Mind
Spring is a great time to begin, or restart, your meditation practice. Once you have your house in order, designate a specific space to meditate. This could be as simple as placing a pillow on the floor, or creating a space with decorations that make you feel good. This space should be kept orderly and neat. Set an intention to spend at least 10 minutes meditating each day.
Challenge yourself to a week-long media fast. Eliminate social media, tv, social calls, text messaging, or other ways that you connect to technology. This is a great way to de-clutter your mind, creating space for a more peaceful state of being.
Body
Take time to move your body this spring. The temperatures are warming up and the days are longer, so make a conscious effort to get outside and play whenever possible. Find some form of exercise that you enjoy like running, walking, hiking, swimming, biking, dancing, or yoga and commit to doing some form of movement for at least 30 minutes a day. Ayurveda suggests that the best time to exercise is in the early morning, before you eat breakfast and shower. The next best time is in the early evening, before dinner. Choose a time that works well for you and make yourself a priority.
Challenge yourself to a simple detox. For example, for one week try eliminating anything white, like sugar, dairy, and flour. Instead, eat organic fruits, vegetables, and healthy grains. Sip herbal teas and water throughout the day.
You don’t have to do it all at once! Take small daily steps to create more space in your life this spring. If you feel like you need a deeper dive into how to de-clutter your mind, body, and spirit the Ayurvedic way, join Maribeth this weekend for her workshop “Ayurveda: It’s Time to Spring Clean”.
You’ll learn Ayurvedic practices that help clean out the heavy energy of winter and make way for the fresh, fertile ground of spring. The workshop includes an Ayurvedic lunch.
Click here for more information and to reserve your space.
Ayurveda is a mind-body health system developed thousands of years ago by Indian sages. It is a science of life (Ayur=life; Veda=science or knowledge) that is more than a system for treating illness. Rather, it focuses on expanding personal awareness, bringing it into balance, and then extending that balance to the body.
According to Ayurvedic philosophy the mind and body are intextricably connected. Because of this deep connection, nothing has more power to heal the body than the mind.
For example, when you meditate you are using your awareness to restore balance in your mind and (since the mind and body are inseparable) that balance spreads to your body. Your heart and breath rate slow, your body decreases the production of stress hormones, and you increase the production of neurotransmitters than enhance wellbeing. This means you literally have the ability to change the functioning of your body in a healthy way!
Ayurveda offers many practices for expanding self awareness and inner balance. Here are a few of them that you might consider incorporating into your life:
Identify and understand your unique mind-body type.
Ayurveda is a personalized approach to health. Knowing your mind-body type can guide you to make the right choices for diet, exercise, supplements, and all other aspects of your lifestyle.
Eat a colorful, flavorful diet.
Foods that are blue, purple, red, green, or orange are plentiful in antioxidants and nutrients that enhance immunity and health. To enure that you are getting a balanced diet, it is also recommended that you include the six Ayurvedic tastes in each meal: sweet, salty, sour, pungent, bitter, and astringent.
Get enough restful sleep.
When we sleep, our body is repairing and rejuvinating itself. To support your body, it is recommended that you get between six to eight hours of un-aided, restful sleep each night. If you wake up feeling energetic and vibrant, you know you had a restful night’s sleep.
Live in tune with nature.
What you need and what you want should not be in conflict. When you are in balance, you desire the things that nurture your health and life in a positive way. You focus on what you need in order to stay in harmony with your body and mind.
Tune into your body.
Tune into the messages your body sends you. Pay attention to your comforts and discomforts, to how your body feels. Consider what choices you should make, based on what your body is telling you.
Strengthen your digestion.
When the body is able to regularly and completely digest the nutritional, emotional, and sensory information it takes in, it is happy and healthy. Good digestion improves perception, physical strength, and immunity and creates feelings of vitality.
Just be.
Do not waste your energy by struggling or trying to force things to go your way. Let love motivate your actions. When you let love guide the way your energy will expand and you will have more of it.
Join your friends at Inlet Yoga for the “Ayurveda: It’s Time to Spring Clean!” workshop on March 17, 2018.
AND I may even get another tattoo to celebrate…I can see it already…that Sanskrit symbol for Moksha, which in English refers to various forms of emancipation, enlightenment, liberation, and release …nothing more liberating than time on the mat and a road trip.
