Yoga is an Inside Job supporting the art of Caregiving

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“Caregiving is done with a lot of love and affection, but there’s a lot of loss involved,” said Carey Wexler Sherman, a gerontologist at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research interviewed for the article https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/04/health/caregiving-alzheimers-isolation.html.

This statement is true if you care for someone who is aging, care for someone in active or recovering addiction, care for a child or family member with any struggle from learning disabilities to physical illness.  Love knows no bounds but can still be crippling when our love exceeds the capacity to pursue our own self-care. 

How does a consistent and regular yoga practice help Caregivers?  The mat becomes a magic carpet that can transport the busyness and stress of a mind dealing with strict, rigid, or emergency schedules into a haven of presence.  The reality of NOW allows Caregivers to minimize the worry and guilt that often rise up with thoughts that question: how to best help and how to best cope.  The inside effort of a yoga practice can help one change those anxieties into acceptance knowing that what we do in any given moment is always our best.  The inside practice of yoga helps regain what is lost of the self in the self-less act of caring; a centeredness and balance of life.  As Caregivers are better able to make space for themselves the circle of love can widen – including once again a community (maybe of other yoga practitioners) because rather than be stuck on the internal track of struggle the Caregiver is secure enough to reach out for small kindnesses and assistance. 

This article talks about the shame of taking a deteriorated mind out in public – the shame experienced by penetrating stares or inappropriate requests of others.  A Caregiver practicing self-care yoga might be able to navigate these bumps by understanding that there is no shame in the love they display for themselves and the ones they care for – leaving the feelings of others with the others and not taking those on as their own.

Yoga for Recovery Foundation, Inc has a team of caring instructors that know and have experienced these same Caregiver traumas.  Our own pursuits of yoga became a game-changer and we are now bringing this experience to the community we most want to serve – YOU and your LOVED ones.   Donations help us expand our offerings with more instructors, workshops, scholarships, and programs. 

Consider donating through one of our many fundraisers by following the links – https://yfrfoundation.org/donate-volunteer/ or https://www.customink.com/fundraising/yoga-for-recovery-foundation-fundraiser?share=2051579400046754&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=mobile-campaign-page-share&utm_medium=social&ref=facebook_social_mobile-campaign-page-share&utm_content=yoga-for-recovery-foundation-fundraiser&side=front&type=2&zoom=false&fbclid=IwAR1uqxyB1lCuTgo1vV93I1r2q7hy_pVQ0fv2Y0YxFTL3_Ky7EgSBgiRRkcM

Action over Perfection

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by Alexander Japit

As practitioners, we all have our own unique reasons to start and continue our practice and training. Maybe we practice for better peace of mind, better physical health, look better, nail that handstand, have fun, or even a resolution or promise.

            Reasons for practice and training are varied, and like everything else in our lives, change over time. Our reasons and goals are often very ambitious, and while setting a goal is a great first step to creating change, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by an ambitious goal and find ourselves in a rut where we simply can’t start.

            Should you ever find yourself in such a position, understand that you are not broken, you aren’t missing a quality that other practitioners may have, you are not less motivated, and you are not less capable.  We are imperfect by design and if we were perfect there would be no need to practice.

            To reach a big goal – ACT…not plan. Imperfect action is better than perfect planning. This is not to say that planning is pointless, but without action, planning can only go so far, especially if your goal is to learn a physical skill. Nothing happens without action, without trying.

            One action, however small, every day, leads to great strides in acquiring any goal, be it physical or otherwise. Every small action, no matter how imperfect, leads us ever closer to our goals. Perfection is simply a measure to strive for, the lack of perfection should never be a reason not to act.

            Strive to do something, even if it’s small.

            Every. Single. Day