Friday 23 May 2014

Breathe......

Be Still 52 Week Two

This week Kim wrote about mindfulness, meditation and focusing on breathing ...... things I'm used to as a yoga-lover :-) We often practice a form of pratyahara which is a kind of sensory deprivation.....thereby helping us to focus on our inner sounds and breathing.
Try it by covering your eyes with your flattened fingers, at the same time covering your ears with your thumbs to cut out all sights and sounds. As you breathe deeply, the sound becomes very relaxing.

Ujjayi breathing is also useful for concentrating on the breath; it takes a bit of mastering, but it makes a lovely sound. In fact it's sometimes called 'ocean breath'. Here's how to do it.....
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-5823/8-Reasons-Why-We-Use-Ujjayi-Breath-in-Yoga.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ujjayi_breath

When I was teaching I often used to end the day with a form of meditation with the children. I'd put a drop of lavender oil on the back of their hands and ask them to gently stroke it into their skin whilst breathing in the smell. They loved it. And parents often thanked me for the calm and peaceful way their children left school.....bonus!!  ;-)
I daresay it would be 'banned' nowadays for all sorts of stupid reasons. I always asked parents' permission at the start of the year and no-one ever objected.....but times have changed and sadly, a lot of the fun has been taken out of school-life.

For my photo I chose lavender and rosemary....two of my favourite plants from the garden with lovely scents to breathe in.
I used Kim's textures 'magicscratches' and phoebe'. I may make this into a card and see how it looks.....



And finally.....what's on my desk?  

Planning new collages
Photo taken using Hipstamatic app on iPad.
(Lens 'John S' and film 'Dream Canvas')




14 comments:

Julie said...

Children must be missing out on so much these days in our so-called 'nanny' state. Lavender oil is so very relaxing and as far as I know completely innocuous. Your lavender photo is lovely. x

Diana said...

So lovely. Visiting from Be Still 52.

Heather said...

Thankyou for that breathing technique link - I think I am gradually banishing my tension and anxiety but it's always good to discover another technique. I love the 'breathe' image - it would make a beautiful card, and the new collages look beautiful too.

Beverly said...

LOVE your blue pot, and lavender is right at the top of my favorite plant list. In fact, I bought a new one this week. The lavender oil on the skin sounds like a very relaxing and peaceful. Oh yes, a card would be perfect!

Shanna said...

Visiting from Be Still 52 - Enjoyed your post and just looking at the lavender was relaxing:-)

Jan said...

your collage planning appears to be on the right track as far as I can tell. All would be beautiful. I hope you are feeling calm and peaceful with all that lavender around you.
Many of the changes to this day are sad reminders of our lost innocence and yet we also make changes for the better in our enhanced awareness of consequences. I hope the good over balances the bad.

Barbara said...

Love the whole series, the final approach to the simple lavender is just wonderful and as a lover of blue simple awesome.

Nina said...

Lavendel oil to the hands of children sounds lovely . . . activatin all senses - the smell of lavendel is pure and relaxing ...

Maggi said...

Such a pity that something like that would be frowned upon today. Children need to experience calm amidst this frenetic world.

Love the photo and it certainly would make a fantastic card.

Your desk definitely looks inspiring.

Anonymous said...

beautiful combinations Linda. I can smell the plants together right now. What a great teacher you were and yes, today someone would most surely object to something or other....sad truly. xox

Lynn said...

Love your lavender photo Linda, and such a lovely thing to do for your pupils , I bet you were an awesome teacher :) I saw on tv a private school here teaching the young children yoga , and how the parents said they benefited from it. I think all children should be able to meditate too , but that's just me . I didn't know about these things when my girl was a child.
I enjoy all of your photos , and thanks for sharing the yoga links. I like to try all the breathing techniques :)

Iz said...

I'll have to try that sensory deprivation thing, to get my mind to shut up! I've now got the photo app but need to play - looks fun, and very effective.

Kim Klassen said...

lovely... Linda... i love that you gave your students such an amazing gift... truly brilliant.... I often think of what a gift mindfulness would have been to give my kids when they were small.... so much easier to take forward into life.....

love your lavender image....

xo

Anpurna Pandey said...

Thanks great article I really like your article you can also visit Ujjayi Pranayama Thanks

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