Yoga for Your Feet to the Rescue!
Let's talk about toes!! Although not a cure-all for all that ails the feet, yoga goes a long way in addressing the overall health of our feet, both maintaining and improving it. The asana practice, done typically in bare feet, helps to keep the nerve sensors of our skin turned on, improving our proprioception (our sense of where our body parts are in space), a great way to reduce the chance of falls.
Yoga practice moves toe, foot, and ankle joints through their healthy range of motion. The poses encourage both flexibility and strength and help maintain good circulation of blood and lymph fluid in and out of the feet. Even our mindfulness practices can have the benefit of tuning us into the more subtle sensations that are arising in the feet, providing us with the opportunity to respond sooner than later when things start to feel out of balance in our feet. Finally, studies show that yoga is generally beneficial for arthritis, and the feet certainly are affected by that!
Happy Monday dear Yogis and anyone else who is affected by stress in their lives. Oh, that's not you? Yes it is! We are human. So, please, read on. Marianne Williamson provides our "grounding" quote.
Everything we do is infused with the energy with which we do it. If we’re frantic, life will be frantic. If we’re peaceful, life will be peaceful.
— Marianne Williamson
Next up, my youngest brother John likes to share his secret to contentment.
Whatever I do, whatever event I go to, I expect nothing. If the activity is good in some way, I gained more than I was expecting, so I'm at peace."
My brother John is a pastor and chaplain, so I listen! Interestingly, this week CALM, the very popular meditation app, talks about the nature of expectations. This time it poked a few of my buttons. We expect the best and may get the worst. What if we expect nothing and get... a little bit more than that? Here is the article I am sharing with you today. It's worth a read.
Do You Have An Expectation Hangover? How To Identify & Cure It in 4 Steps
If you’ve set yourself goals or resolutions for the start of the year and have already abandoned them (join the club!), you may be suffering from an “expectation hangover”. Find out whether you’re experiencing one and learn how to cure it in four steps.
There’s one type of hangover that most of us have experienced, and it doesn’t involve any alcohol. An “expectation hangover” is the disappointment and/or grief that comes up when a desired outcome you had about an event, situation, or relationship isn’t met.
“Some of our greatest suffering happens when our realities don’t match up with our expectations,” says author Christine Hassler. And this suffering can manifest as hangover-like symptoms including:
a sense of regret
a headache from all the thoughts swirling in our mind
lack of motivation
diminished creativity,
depression in some circumstances
Our brain actually experiences disappointment and physical injuries equally so it’s important to meet disappointment with the same care and attention you’d give to a physical injury.
What’s Causing Your
Expectation Hangover?
Expectation hangovers usually come on after one of these three situations.
Something didn’t turn out the way you planned Ex: You don’t get that promotion you’ve been working towards, you aren’t in the relationship you thought you’d be in by a certain age, or a trip or event you were looking forward to gets canceled or is delayed.
Everything happened as expected, but you don’t feel like you thought you would Ex: You do get the promotion and then feel busier and more unhappy, you finally get into the relationship you wanted but you still don’t feel fulfilled, you go on a big vacation and feel stressed the whole time.
Or maybe life threw you an unexpected and unwanted curveball your way Ex: You get laid off, your relationship ends, you or someone you love gets diagnosed with an illness.
These endings, losses, and perceived failures can bring up all sorts of feelings for us. Like the kind of hangover we get when we drink too much, an expectation hangover can leave us feeling sad, stuck, stale, and unmotivated. Except water, rest, and greasy food don’t really fix it. So, what can you do about it?
Your 4-Step Hangover Cure
Next time you find yourself knocked out with an expectation hangover, try this 4-step cure:
Step 1: Move into acceptance
Try to stop fighting against the truth of what’s happened; spending your time wishing it was different. This doesn't mean you have to like or agree with your circumstances, it just means that you acknowledge that it has happened. A lack of acceptance can cause us suffering, on top of an already painful experience.
Step 2: Ride the wave of disappointment (with compassion and gratitude)
Acceptance typically gives way to some tricky feelings. Most of us want to skip over this part but it’s more beneficial to stick with it. Learn to walk (and feel) your way through the emotions in order to get to the other side. It can be helpful to remind yourself that disappointment is like a wave. Hold yourself with gentle self-compassion as you ride the waves until they pass. And they always pass (even if they bubble up again later…).
You may want to try writing down your thoughts and feelings, which has been shown to help you recover more quickly and improve your overall mental health.
Another balm to the pains of disappointment is gratitude. Studies show that expressing appreciation to others and focusing on what we do have in our life helps us to more easily bounce back from setbacks.
Step 3: Diagnose the source
After allowing yourself to move through your feelings, spend some time trying to understand why your expectations fell flat. Ask yourself:
Were they tied up with someone else?
Were they connected to a standard that you set?
Were your goals realistic? It’s okay if they weren’t!
As humans, we’re generally not great at predicting what will make us happy. That means our expectations may lead us to pursue a goal we think will bring joy or contentment, when in reality, it doesn’t. This is normal.
No matter the cause, locating the source of your failed expectations can help you determine if the “let down” was unavoidable, or if you might be able to set yourself up better next time.
Step 4: Manage future expectations
Unrealistic expectations are unhelpful expectations, and we’re all prone to having them at times. Clear and accurate expectations, on the other hand, are useful for making good choices and help us learn from our experiences.
As you move into your next chapter, be kind to yourself, but also be realistic. Stay connected to yourself (and reality) with the following questions:
“Does ______ help me be who I want to be?”
“Does it help me go where I want to go?”
“Is it aligned with what I care about?”
If the answer to any of these questions isn't “yes”, it’s probably an indicator that you need to reassess your expectations.
A special thanks to Calm, the #1 app for mediation, for this excellent information.
Peaches, my dear grandpuppy, who now lives in Tennessee, sets an excellent example of expecting nothing but extremely appreciative when the outcome is positive.
She also knows how to chill after a long day of fun or, simply to chill.
Sukhasana pose (left)
Savasana Pose (right)
How are you feeling right now? Would you like to get into a new yoga practice? CHECK OUT THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE! FEBRUARY 6-11, 2023
CLASSES
MONDAY 12 p.m.
Delicious Deep Stretch
TUESDAY 12 p.m.
Perfect Posture Yoga
WEDNESDAY 12:15 p.m.
Delicious Deep Stretch
FRIDAY 10 a.m.
Half & Half Yoga
HALF & HALF will satisfy almost everyone’s need for strength training and deep stretching. This class is definitely becoming a new favorite. I love that the wrists get to take a rest while the core continues to rock on. At 10 a.m., we do standing stretches and warrior poses. At 10:30 a.m. we take a quick water break and then proceed to the floor. Relaxing, delicious, restorative poses follow. Live in studio & live via ZOOM. I'm sending out the link each morning. Let me know if you'd like to get the link but somehow are not.
PRIVATE SESSIONS THIS WEEK
Yoga by Dayna Private Sessions Schedule
Feb 6-12th, 2023
MONDAY makes me smile
8 a.m. OPEN!
9:15 a.m. Judy & Andy ZOOM
10:30 a.m. Christine ZOOM
12:00 p.m. Delicious Deep Stretch *
1:30 p.m. Chris & Carol
3 p.m. OPEN!
TUESDAY totally rocks
9 a.m. Christina
10:30 a.m. Brookdale Living
12:00 p.m. Perfect Posture Yoga*
1:30 p.m. Meghan (Welcome!)
4:30 p.m. Susan and Paula ZOOM
5:45 p.m. Christopher @ studio
WEDNESDAY wows
9:00 a.m. Chris & Carol (on location)
10:30 p.m. Jenny (on location)
12:15 p.m. Deep Stretch *
1:30 p.m. OPEN!
3:15 p.m. Brookdale Nursing (there)
THURSDAY thrives
9 a.m. Judy & Andy ZOOM
10:30 am Belmont! (there)
1:30 p.m. OPEN!
3:00 p.m. OPEN!
FRIDAY flies
8:30 a.m. Paula and Susan
10 a.m. Half & Half Yoga
11:15 a.m. Christina
12:30 p.m. OPEN!
SATURDAY shimmers
8:00 a.m. Practice run for the Capitol 10K
1:30 p.m. OPEN!
To all of you in the Austin area: Bless you. My sister informed me that she was without power almost all week. I know that Spicewood, Cardinal Hills, Apache Shores, Lakeway, and Hudson Bend all suffered power and/or wifi loss. I hope all of you are warm and cozy tonight. Talk about expectations. Yes, we expect our power and wi-fi to be there for us!
Also, thank you for your loving spirit. You make my job a wonderful experience every single day. When I can make a positive difference in your life, I've fulfilled my purpose. I've opened a few slots this Saturday and Sunday for those of you who can't come in during the week. These are for privates only.
Dayna Culwell, C-IAYT
Owner & Instructor, Yoga by Dayna