Are You Ready to Make Meditation a Family Affair?

What is the difference between a moment and a minute?
Is there a difference?
If so, then how long exactly?

Let’s break this down briefly, like we would break down an advanced asana.

A minute is exactly 60 seconds. That’s it.

A moment is a defined as a “portion of time”, which could stretch from seconds to hours, depending on the “conspicuousness” of it. And yet, the busyness of life disables many of us from being present for so many of the magical moments happening to, for and around us. It’s like Ferris Bueller said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.”

So let’s focus together on just a minute or two, and use these 2 steps to turn them into moments of meditation.

Find a quiet place – it can even be during your shower.

Take a few deep inhales in through your nose and open your mouth and exhale out. Do this 3 Times, each time filled your lungs a little bit more and with each exhale breathing out until your lungs are empty.

In honor of the beautiful season of Autumn, a time for change, picture yourself walking down a long cobblestone path filled with trees on either side. You’re walking along on top of the leaves and you feel them crunching underneath your feet. A gust of wind breezes by and the leaves scattered before you begin to dance. One of the leaves catches your eye, floating higher and higher, independent of the others.

Imagine for a minute, you are the leaf.

Repeat to yourself: “I AM A LEAF ON THE WIND. WATCH HOW I SOAR.”

I use that technique often at home and at work, which makes sense because my home IS my work. I am a Stay-at-Home, Home-Schooling, Yoga-and-Meditation-Teaching Mom. My awesome kids, Kalia and Korbin (ages 12 and 8, known to many as Kai and Kori), keep me grounded in many ways BUT just like anything and everything else, our minutes and moments aren’t perfect. I regularly need to catch my balance and find center – and so do they.

I teach my kids and incorporate meditation into our school and life routine. When Kai asked me “How do I turn off my mind mommy?”

I knew one of my “jobs” was to find an answer.

First, I soothed her soul a bit, letting her know that we don’t really turn off our minds when we meditate. We acknowledge our thoughts and allow them to pass by – like a cloud on a summer’s day or a leaf on a crisp fall afternoon.

Second, I promised her that meditation is a practice. It takes time to learn and not every technique works for every person. When it comes to kids, I find guided imagery works best. Kai and I co-wrote a lovely guided Mermaid Meditation, to inspire and empower young girls to be strong and confident in their own abilities.

Finally, I worked with both of my children to set aside dedicated space for our meditation and yoga. Today we have a room in our house that always provides quietude and calm, when any one of us needs to step away to reconnect with the present moment.

Yoga, meditation and focus on experiencing the minutes and moments offered to us in this beautiful life make my family stronger. Our bond has truly become a pranic power force to reckoned with. The positive vibration we’ve built together assures me that our world can transform.

As Lee Iacocca once said, “The only rock I know that stays steady, the only institution I know that works is the family.” Strong families build strong communities. Strong communities build a stronger nation. But it starts at home. It starts with us.

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Shellini “Shelli” Spencer (RYT 200) After leaving the corporate IT world, she became a wife and mother. She spent 6 years volunteering in the Matawan / Aberdeen School District, before becoming a homeschooling mother of 2 awesome children. Her first experience with yoga was in the late summer of 2013 at Tula Yoga and she was hooked. Interested in teacher training, she wanted to offer family yoga classes to promote holistic health, wellness and family bonding to the local community. Shelli received her 200 YTT at Tula Yoga in Jan 2017 and is registered with the Yoga Alliance. While in training, she enjoyed all types of yoga, and quickly discovered her passion for Restorative, Yin Yoga, Hatha, Meditation and Reiki. She is grateful to have learned from some of the most amazing teachers, while having the utmost support and enthusiasm from her family and friends. She is a Reiki Master Teacher and loves to incorporate the use of essential oils, temple massages, Reiki and even a little Native American Flute and Steel Tongue Drum playing into her classes. She firmly believes, it’s ok to laugh and have fun while doing Yoga. She believes in the healing abilities Yoga has to offer the mind, body and soul. She wishes to pass along that sense of calmness and mindfulness to her students when they leave her class, so they may take that feeling with them for the rest of the day and into their lives. Her style of teaching comes from the heart and a place of happiness and deep relaxation. Additional Scheduled and Completed Yoga Trainings / Certifications for 2017-2018 Barre Teacher Certified – September 2017 FPY SUP Fitness / Yoga Certified – Aug 25-27 – Completed Restorative Teacher Training @ Kripalu w/ Judith Lasater – Nov 3-10 – Completed Advanced Yoga Teacher Training (300 hour) – Oct 13 thru June 9 – Scheduled [/box]