Color Your Memories with Positivity

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You are what you eat, which is why you would pick up a firm, crisp apple, but a bruised, rotted one, no way. Translate that to thought. Why do we continue to consume negative, fearful, anxious thoughts, when positive, uplifting, and gracious ones also exist?

It’s not entirely your fault. Our brains have a natural bias to shade our implicit memories in a negative light even though for the most part our experiences are actually positive. You can think of implicit memories like the residue of past experiences. Implicit memories remain primarily below the surface of awareness yet they shape the inner atmosphere of the mind. Our brain is actually trying to protect us by constantly scanning, registering, storing, recalling, and reacting to unpleasantness, but because of this we unknowingly internalize those memories instead of the positive, carefree, and overall safe experiences that we also have each day.

How do you color your memories with positivity? Your brain is acting as it always has, therefore to interrupt its daily exercise, you need to be mindful of internalizing positive explicit memories, memories that are entirely conscious recollections of specific events. These are the memories you have a bit of control over. To actively shape the brain, you need to solidify these positive experiences, by seeking them out, savoring them, and allowing them to sink in.

Look for the good news that surrounds you, find the joy in each moment, allow yourself to see the bright side of a dark day. We sometimes struggle with this physical exercise, so allow yourself to acknowledge how tough it may be to find the positive. It’s okay if it’s a struggle but persist. You are actively changing your neural structure. Pain today breeds more pain for tomorrow, the converse is also true.

Once you find the positive, focus on it for at least ten seconds. Allow it to sink in. Feel the residual sparks of happiness coursing through your physical body. Really allow yourself to feel content. Try to locate and identify that feeling and sensation in your body. The longer something is held in your awareness, the more emotionally stimulating it is, the more neurons will be firing, and the stronger the trace (implicit) memory will be. Focusing on this momentary contentment increases dopamine release, which encourages your mind to stay focused on this experience allowing for more positive neural associations in your implicit memories.

Now that you have a handle on internalizing positive experiences, you can use them to balance out your negative ones. When experiences are lumped together in your memory, they take with them whatever else is in awareness or on your mind, especially if dealing with intense emotion. This means you can actively infuse positive material with negative material in order to cultivate a neutral or positive implicit bias in your mind. Think about the comforting feeling of being nurtured by a friend when you’re experiencing profound loss. You friend isn’t taking away the pain, but their soothing presence helps to balance out the grief you are experiencing. Now you will see how to use your positive memories to soothe your negative ones.

Basically, you want to intently focus on a positive experience while the painful experience is sensed dimly in the background. When negative material rises, bring to mind emotions and perspectives that work as its antidote. Whenever you have a positive experience, allow it to sink in, soothe, and replace old pains.

Maybe you had a really fantastic dinner with your parents. Allow yourself to be fully immersed in the experience. Listen to the conversation, inhale deeply and smell the fresh flowers in the center of the table, close your eyes and really taste your meal, allow yourself to preserve the positive emotions you are feeling. After dinner, recall a negative memory of a family dinner, while still allowing yourself to feel the warmth, happiness, and contentment from the positive experience. Allow your positive memory to begin to flush out the negative memory.

When your brain recalls a memory, it draws on key features, not specific events, it fills in details with simulation, and it does it so quickly that you don’t even notice it. This rebuilding process is what gives you the opportunity to color your memories with positivity. When a memory is activated, a large-scale assembly of neurons and synapse unfold into a pattern. If other things are also being held in your mind, in this case, positive memories, your amygdala, and hippocampus (regulators of emotions and memory) will automatically associate them with the neural array and when you stop recalling the memory, it will be lumped in with those other associations, in this case, the positive family dinner.

Coloring memories with positivity takes time and effort. Repetition is required. Be mindful of the deep roots of reoccurring pain and upset within you. Try to identify the tip of these roots, maybe planted during childhood or a particular relationship or traumatic event. Deliberately propel your positive experiences towards these roots to displace them. Fill that space with positive emotion. Know that this exercise can also work in the opposite direction so if you find yourself dwelling on negative feelings, you may not be ready for this exercise.

Each time you work on taking in the good or positive, you flex your brain muscles. You build up a little bit of neural structure and encourage your brain to continue seeking out contentment. Coloring your memories with positivity a few times each day for months will turn into years, and will gradually change your mind and the way it operates, therefore affecting how you feel and act, in far reaching ways.

Taking in the good is good. You are building up positive emotions that will benefit your overall physical and mental health. The point is not to ignore painful experiences or grasp after positive ones but to internalize the good and work on accepting the difficult while comforting yourself with soothing thoughts and feelings. Not only will you shift the way your brain works, but you will also be a grounding and positive force for those around you. Anxious and overwhelmed people will seek refuge near you as you’ll be a source for comfort instead of added anxiety.

How To: Start a Gratitude Habit

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There is good news for the grumpy among us. An attitude of gratitude can be learned. One way to inject your existence with more gratitude is to intentionally create a habit surrounding it. Habit creation can be broken down into a couple of simple steps and integrated into one’s daily life. Begin creating a gratitude habit today that becomes automatic tomorrow. Okay, maybe not tomorrow, but by Thanksgiving, I bet you’ll be thankful for how thankful you are.

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What Are Mala Beads?

Sarah has plenty of meditation toolkits in her shop right now. Handwoven pouches, hand-rolled cedar incense, and beautiful malas all from Nepal.live seasoned mala pouch-1

Meditating with mala beads :

Mala beads are prayer beads similar to a rosary. Mala means garland and they are used to keep track of prayers, mantras, and chanting. On each string of mala, you’ll find 108 beads and a central larger bead or tassel known as the guru bead. Once you reach the guru bead, you turn the mala strand around and start again. Working through as many rounds as your practice calls for.

I find that using mala beads while meditating grounds me both mentally and physically by chanting and touching the bead. It’s a way to direct the mind towards something instead of away from something. The mala bead meditation is most helpful when I am really struggling emotionally. If you are feeling down or you find yourself ruminating, this is a great tool to use. If you do not have mala beads or you’re without at the moment, use your fingertips as a tool to work your way through several rounds of mantras and breathing.

Choose your mantra or intention :

Choosing a mantra or meditation is simple. Don’t let it be anything but. Sometimes I shift the language to be more affirmative or encompassing.  This happens in the beginning, middle, and sometimes near the end of a mantra practice. That’s okay. You could also skip the mantra and focus solely on the breath.

  • First, clarify your intention, identify the present conflict or imbalance and work to heal that.
  • Affirm what you have forgotten. Invite what you are lacking. Use it as a tool for forgiveness. Dedicate your practice to someone by sending them love.
  • Choose your words or mantra for the in and out breath.
  • Soften your gaze or close your eyes.
  • With an even breath, move your thumb over the beads one at a time while silently saying your chosen mantra.
  • When you reach the guru bead or tassel, flip the mala and complete one more round.

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Mantra suggestions :

(Inhale) In forgiving others (Exhale) I forgive myself

(Inhale) Inhale gratitude (Exhale) Exhale thanks

(Inhale) I am a human being (Exhale) Not a human doing

(Inhale) I love (Exhale) I am loved

(Inhale) Empathy (Exhale) Compassion

(Inhale) I am (Exhale) _________   (insert affirmation, desire, etc here)

I am love

I am strength

I am valuable

I am resilence

I am healthy

It’s up to you! If you’re struggling with something specific and want some help, you can email me at liveseasoned@gmail.com.

If you’re looking for a set of malas or other meditation tools – you can find them here.

Grateful For What Isn’t

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Being grateful for what isn’t is a simple mindfulness exercise I created to cultivate gratitude even in the shittiest situations. Sometimes it feels absolutely impossible to be grateful and that’s okay! I totally get it. That’s why, during those instances I choose to be grateful for what isn’t. Here is why it is important to be grateful for what isn’t:

  • How we focus our attention and how we intentionally direct the flow of energy and information through our neural circuits can directly alter the brain’s activity and its structure.
  • Even fleeting thoughts and feelings can leave lasting marks on your brain. Think of wax dripping down the side of a candle, each drip follows the path of the last one making the trails thicker and longer.
  • Each thought makes an impact, shift the flow of energy and emotion to create new pathways. If you’re continuing to feed into the negative you’re deepening those trails. If you’re shifting the thought process you’re working on building new pathways, new trails, new thought patterns.
  • We are building mindfulness by noticing the negative narration in our heads. We are giving ourselves the power to try to change the voiceover every single day.
  • Each time you decide to be Grateful For What Isn’t, you are shifting your brain’s ability to see situations as neutral or positive instead of negative.
  • Without going into too much neuroscience, neurons that fire together, wire together. Meaning by increasing the excitability of active neurons, you are strengthening existing synapses (connections) and building new ones while also weakening past neural networks that don’t serve you, i.e. constantly looking for negative outcomes. (Buy this book if you want to know more) – or shoot me an email and I’ll chat with you about the neuroscience I’m referencing for the basis of these exercises.

You probably get the hang of it, but here’s how to be grateful for what isn’t: You find yourself in a crappy situation.You can’t find anything to be grateful for so you decide to be grateful for what isn’t.

Example: Your flight is delayed by ten hours. Here are a list of grateful for what isn’t possibilities:

  • I am grateful I’m not traveling with kids.
  • I am grateful I don’t have health aliments to complicate things.
  • I am grateful I don’t have to catch another connecting flight at my next stop.
  • I am grateful my plane is delayed to be repaired instead of flying in disrepair.

If you’d like to take a listen, here’s a link to the meditation ‘Grateful for what isn’t. By adopting this mental exercise, we’ll begin to transform our mind. We’ll shift from seeing things as negative to neutral. We’ll flex those brain muscles intentionally until one day they take the initiative and start flexin’ for good on their own.

 

Meditative Mondays – Episode 1

Hey babes! *Years* ago I thought about creating a weekly email newsletter to cultivate a more regular meditation practice and that was before I knew anything about meditation. The only thing I was certain of was that it made me feel good. Since then, I’ve read countless mindfulness texts, completed my 200-hour yoga teacher training and stuck to a consistent meditation practice each week so today I’ve finally gon’ and dun it. I sent out the first Meditative Mondays newsletter.

You can sign up for the email here & learn more about what they contain here or you can say screw all that and simply listen along below for a quick Meditative Monday session.

 

If you want to be super helpful you can tell me how to get rid of that underlying fuzzzzzz sound in my audio. I think it’s picking up noise from my DSLR. Do I need a deadcat wind muff? Should I not use this Rode mic? Should I use a lav mic instead? Is that crazy? I don’t want you to be able to hear me swallow like on Ted Talks. I find that creepy. And you thought you read this blog because I had the answers, nope! I know practically nothing and that’s after graduating with a degree in Journalism where I actively gathered news via audio and video for four years. Help.

Reconnect Retreat in Tulum, Mexico

Happy Monday babies! Last night I finally bought my flight to Mexico. I’m hosting a meditation and movement retreat in Tulum from Oct 19-24th.  I’m heading there a few days early and staying through Los Día de Muertos and initially, I had this hesitation about missing Halloween (my favorite holiday!), but how often will I get the chance to celebrate Dia de Muertos in Mexico, ya know? I made the right choice, right?

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After I bought the ticket, I had this insatiable urge to know everything there is to know about Tulum. I’m arriving three days early, but I’ll want to get a good headstart on all the eats, shopping, sipping, and such so I can give my guests great recommendations. As a seasoned traveler, I know this notion of knowing where to go ahead of time is ridiculous. There’s no possible way to know exactly where to go, what to eat, and what to do, but I gave it the old college try and so here I sit, three hours later at nearly 5 am still reading about Tulum. I’ve found what I always find when researching a destination, an endless hamster wheel of the same exact recommendations from bloggers. Either these places are the tops OR everyone reads the same blogs and constantly recycles recommendations, never straying from what was introduced to them on the internet. Ah, the traps of travel in the twenty-first century.

After seeing the same restaurant pop up on every list, I made a mental note to look into the back story after all my general Tulum researchin’ had commenced. Funny thing, the very next Pinterest image I clicked on was actually a Conde Nast photo story about the American couple who runs said restaurant. Maybe I’ll go, wait in the two-hour line and report back, but maybe I’ll opt for a nameless cart on the roadside that’s been around for decades before all the tourists (and NY expats) flocked to Tulum to open restaurants. Depends on how hangry I am, but I’ll report back on that.

Besides all the restaurant recs, I’ve read up on biking Tulum, visiting ruins and cenotes, and of course SHOPPING! For the past few hours, I’ve imagined wandering around Tulum town with my sweet little retreat guest as we fill our bags with colorful handmade goodies. I’ve pictured us waking up early to salute the sun before heading off to the ruins, followed by a dip in the sea and a barefoot wander down the jungle beach road. I see us all with hands full of tacos and smiles on our faces. Laying on the sand and in colorful hammocks and poolside with midday cocktails. I see the beauty and balance that comes when we decide to take a moment to care for ourselves like we’re the most important people on the planet if only for a few days. Then we can get back to the emails, texts, phone calls and favors, but for retreat week, we’ll have to slow down, forget the wifi password, and work on reconnecting with the ones sitting on the beach beside us.

Here’s a link to my Tulum, Mexico Pinterest board if you want to see all the tasty taco stands I want to try out during my trip & here’s a link to the Rest + Reconnect Retreat that I’ll be hosting. We have a couple spots left if you need an October getaway!

*Photos by my sweet & savvy travelin’ friend Erin.

Rishikul Yogshala 200hr Yoga Teacher Training – Pokhara, Nepal FAQ

Hiya! WTF is this post about? Let me decode that title. Rishikul Yogshala is the school in India where I was formally trained as a yoga teacher. I’m an RYT or registered yoga teacher with a 200-hour certification. Although Rishikul’s founding school is in Rishikesh, India, the birthplace of yoga, Rishikesh holds teacher trainings in many places. I completed my training in Pokhara, Nepal in 2015.
Since that time, I’ve written a post about my experience during the 200hr teacher training. I get dozens of emails each year from prospective students, all over the world, asking all kinds of things. I thought it’d be cool to outline them all here as a guide for future students and a reference for anyone thinking about participating in a yoga teacher training. The following are all questions I’ve received. If there’s something you’d like to know that you don’t see, just ask and I’ll add it to the list.
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Water Meditation

Interested in mindfulness and meditation? Check this out.

Sup pups? I wanted to kick off the week with a Monday morning meditation. A few weeks ago we focused on the trees and this week I’m thinking water.  Remember, our goal is simple mindfulness or awareness. We’re noticing the sensations in our mind, heart and body in the present moment. Watching without judgment. If you can watch yourself and your actions you can control them or at least begin to understand them more fully.

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Similar to the tree meditation, we simply want to notice water. Recognize the significance of water in your life. If you think you’re already there, try giving thanks or offering gratitude each time you receive the positive benefits of water. It’s practically impossible, yeah? It would consume your whole day. Afterall we are more water than blood.

After you finish reading this post, be mindful of your interactions with water today. Think about how you’ve already made use of water. Did you brush your teeth? Make coffee? Wash your face? How will you use water during the next few hours? Maybe you’ll flush a toilet, wash your hands, or do a load of laundry. Beyond using water today, what are you wearing, eating and using that has already consumed water? It takes 1,800 gallons of water just to grow enough cotton for a pair of blue jeans and that doesn’t take into account the rest of the process. A single pound of meat takes more than 2,400 gallons of water to produce. Water is our lifeblood and yet we take it for granted.

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We tend to only pay attention to water if there’s a problem or scarcity. Water is seen as expendable and probably will be until shortages impact each of us directly. We water lawns, wash cars and maintain golf courses in the desert. We are running the earth dry and it’s starting to become apparent, just read about the disappearance of the Aral Sea pictured above.

Embrace the precious nature of water and treat it accordingly. Katie and I have a sister between us, Kristin, and her and her husband Ryan had a very touching elopement ceremony in which they incorporated a glass jar of water. A few of us were gathered in the snowy Pennsylvania woods one February while Kristin and Ryan held up the glass jug and explained the importance of water in their relationship. Water to them is symbolic of life. When they share their water with each other or their friends, they are quite literally offering them life. Kristin and Ryan never take their offering of water for granted and in turn are touched each time they share sips. Then they each took a sip of water before passing the jar around to each of us in attendance. After hearing Kris and Ryan explain it this way, I’ve never looked at water any differently. Each time someone offers me a sip of water, I find it to be a deeply meaningful gesture. An offering of life.

We all know that water is significant, but do we recognize it fully? Are we grateful? Do we do anything to ensure clean water for our future besides paying the water bill? Try your hardest today to begin to simply appreciate the role of water in your life. No matter the beverage, with each sip, stay present with how the water in it nourishes your body. When you wash your hands, really feel the water on your skin instead of rushing to dry it off. When you move throughout the world today notice the water around you whether it’s a miniscule amount in a plastic bottle or the coastline of the Pacific, but most of all notice that it’s there. Consider yourself lucky. Over 700 million people world-wide do not have access to clean water. Notice the abundance of water in your life and recognize that you are privileged.

 

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Yoga Postures for Sleeping

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Good morning! Did you get a good sleep? I’m the best sleeper I know, always the last to drag myself out of bed. I think of sleep as a great luxury in life and I treat it as such, treasuring each moment. I love you sleep. There, I said it.

Moving on.  Often times when I lay down in bed at night, I assume a yoga position to fall asleep in. Nothing crazy like a headstand, more like the postures that are meant for rest, I bet you can think of a popular one… ding, ding, ding, shavanasa better known as corpse pose. Let’s start there:

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