Category: body

Testing, testing…audio file on the way

~ meximinnesotana ~ Leave a comment

Hello Friends,

Hope your month of June has. been lovely and that you’ve got plans for some rest and relaxation in the summer. I’ll be going on a week of vacation at the north shore and visiting Thunder Bay, Canada for a few days. I haven’t been to Canada in over three years! And it’s time we re-aquainted ourselves, friends.

As always, Natalya did an awesome job!

I don’t like to think about the U.S. becoming anything like the “Gilead” of Margaret Atwood’s creation, but she was prescient in so many ways. Women’s basic autonomy and body sovereignty have been eroding in recent years and this SCOTUS decision really isn’t a surprise to those of us who have been paying attention. For my unfiltered opinion on this matter, feel free to check out my YouTube video. Or if you’re weary of the discussion, skip it for now.

I’ve been working on a launch of my new podcast, Somatic Wisdom! I’m excited that it appears it was approved by the “big” platforms. After using Descript to edit and add music, I have a few more episodes ready, mostly to cover topics I wrote about in my book, and that can be useful for my coaching clients.

It’s been so fun to do this, especially because I have a number of podcasters I’ve admired since 2016. I began to realize how fun it was to choose my podcast content rather than listen to the radio and being at the mercy of the programming of someone else. It felt like a more proactive way to select what I wanted to learn and hear.

If you might be willing to give me a few early listens (it’s short form, trying to go for less than 10 minutes per episdoe) I would truly appreciate it. And if you’re not a podcast listener, I am curious about whether you are a YouTuber or you just prefer quieter media.

Be well, Amigas! And vote Pro-choice in your elections this year. It’s important!!

Somatic wisdom (video)

~ meximinnesotana ~ 2 Comments

As I was coaching client teams online the other day, I realized I needed to “pandiculate” out of my highly focused state starting at a screen and focusing to a more relaxed state (taking a little walk and getting fresh air).

I was inspired to create a small video on this, and next month I am planning to offer a series of short (20-30) interactive “break-shops” on somatics. The idea that it is short enough for your lunch break or coffee break.

Many people take “stretch breaks” in their day but without understanding the somatics and leaning into the tension and then releasing, we can have stretch reflex that actually cause muscles to tighten even further.

A snip of the video from my “dining room” studio. 🙂

See the short (3 min) video here.

Much love,

My book will contain links to audio and video content that can help my intended audience to embody the practices I advocate. Creating those materials is really fun for me, almost as much as writing the first draft. I guess I’m a teacher at heart… 😉

Cristy

P.S. I am not as actively maintaining this blog, as my client list has started to expand. If you want to receive an occasional (usually 1-3 times month) email with free resources like workshops and other sources of inspiration to embody greater joy, ease and fulfillment in body and soul, sign up here.

Why did it happen this way?

~ meximinnesotana ~ 2 Comments

It did not have to happen this way. But a lack of competent leadership will do that. The U.S. has about a quarter of the worldwide COVID-19 cases. This puts “we’re number one” in a new light, no?

Daily cases July 16, 2020
Snapshot from Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center 7/16/2020

Don’t do it for yourself. Masks are not worn to protect you. Masks are worn to protect your community from small micro droplets that are released when you talk, cough or sneeze.

They don’t protect people completely, but they do slow the spread. And the main reason we want to slow the spread is so that hospitals are able to deal with the influx of cases. Also, maybe some of us care about human life and dignity.

My sister is a nurse. I don’t want her to have to deal with the results (y)our carelessness. Rural hospitals do not have the supplies that leaders claimed they would have. They must reuse the supplies they have. This is not a good situation.

Humans have difficulty with exponents. We think in linear ways, so these “hockey stick” curves work are not easily grasped. We saw this with the last big recession in 2008-2009. One minute it seemed things were fine: everyone was making money on flipping houses. And the next minute: financial disaster. Some saw the signs and warned us. But most people partied until they got laid off.

I get it. Or I try to be patient anyway.

Things don’t become serious until they are, well, SERIOUS. 

With nearly 14 million cases as of this writing, and almost 600,000 deaths so far attributed to this virus, one might think we could get a clue.

I know this is a rant.

I try to be more measured than this most days. My anger and disgust at the self-centered behavior I keep seeing, particularly in national leadership, is usually something I control. I’m a yoga teacher, for cripes sake. I meditate daily.

And yet.

My rage at incompetent leaders. Cannot. Be. Contained. Some days.

Wear your mask, wash your hands, keep your distances when possible. 

Your community thanks you for thinking beyond yourself.

***

cristy@meximinnesotana.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unwinding white body supremacy

~ meximinnesotana ~ 2 Comments

Friends,

I write with a sad heart and an all too familiar feeling of distress at the news of another unarmed black man being murdered. His name is George Floyd. I support the Black Lives Matter movement. I believe we all need to become aware of our privilege and how white body supremacy has functioned since the early days of this country’s history. It will help us understand what keeps happening.

Resmaa Menakem

Last summer I read a book called “My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies.” It helped me to see and understand the deeper historical forces at play within white bodies, black bodies and police bodies.

As a yoga practitioner I appreciate the exercises that Menakem offers for the body, to be done alone and in trusted communities. He writes sections in the book for black bodies, white bodies and police bodies. A couple days ago I realized he also has a free e-course on Racialized Trauma, offered by the Cultural Somatics Training & Institute. While it is a 5-day course, each of the videos are only 10-15 minutes, and it introduces the major themes covered in the book.

I highly recommend the course or book, as I think Menakem helps us to understand how we swim in a larger system of injustice. While we are not personally responsible for creating the system (and there are historical factors that are larger than us) we are responsible for dismantling and slowly unwinding it.

While I don’t claim to know anything more than what I have observed and absorbed over the years, racism can be subtle poison. Current times are revealing how black and brown bodies and women’s bodies are subject to even greater risks for the COVID-19 infection.

I have no answers. I am a white person. Other voices need to be heard and highlighted. All I know is that I’m going to keep doing my personal work in bodyful and somatic ways with self-compassion and love for all those that are hurting. Hopefully I can connect with communities that also want to engage in these efforts.

Stay safe. Be kind. Wash your hands. Wear your mask.

cristy@meximinnesotana.com

Mother’s Day virtual retreat

~ meximinnesotana ~ 1 Comment

Hi Friends,

My mother’s day virtual retreat may have an international audience! So far a couple of my yoga students are inviting daughter or family members and right now it looks like we may have one participant from Mexico and one from Portugal. I’m so honored. I also may have a cousin from Alaska and from Oregon there, I’m psyched!

But still, there is room for a few more, and I had such a great response to my last offering of this kind, I’m humbly putting out the invitation again. The special offer is to buy one registration (sliding fee: $12-25) and send the link to a family member or friend who also wants to have a Sunday (Re)treat with you! Physical distance plus social presence! Everyone can benefit.

This 90-minute yoga experience is video optional via Zoom. We will start with soma yoga, a gentle practice of movement to release tension in our spine and joints. We then do some yin yoga, longer-held poses to work with the fascia. We end with restorative yoga, some long-held poses to calm the nervous system. I will cue the entire practice so that you can be eyes closed and relaxed onto a mat, the bed or the floor. Bring blankets, pillows and towels to help “craft” the supports and I will show you those as well.

Sunday Retreat Mother's Day edition

Cheers, and hope to see you there! Happy Mother’s Day! For the link to register, see this page. Thanks in advance for supporting Healing Within Acupuncture & Wellness Studio.

-cristy@meximinnesotana.com

P.S. If you sign up by 6pm on Saturday I’ll have the best likelihood of sending the Zoom link on time. And if you’ve never tried a yoga experience with me, and have some financial hardship, email me to let me know and I’ll send you a free “coupon” if you join my mailing list.

Untamed

~ meximinnesotana ~ 5 Comments

Oh, the beautiful and joyful experience of being on vacation and devouring a new book by a favorite author!

Untamed
Received Wednesday; finished on Thursday

I typically read books I love more than once. This one made me close my eyes at times, and just breathe in the wisdom and the impact of the words. Glennon has a way of speaking to my soul. One of my many favorite passages:

“The blueprints of heaven are etched in the deep desires of women. What women want is good. What women want is beautiful. And what women want is dangerous, but not to women. Not to the common good. What women want is a threat to the injustice of the status quo.”

Like Love Warrior, Untamed is a book I will read many times because of the ways it made me laugh and brought tears to my eyes.

Thank you, Glennon.

***

cristy@meximinnesotana.com