Inside Edge: A Yoga Secret to Staying Present in the Now

Yoga has become a staple in my fitness/movement regimen. A great mix of strength, flexibility, and quiet.

On a good week, I can hit four classes. When I miss a week, my body feels it.

In addition to keeping my body right, yoga helps keep my mind right.

I’m no expert in yogic traditions, but yoga carries a strong component of spiritual training that has been passed along for eons. Life lessons are often sprinkled into a yoga class.

As your physical body is stretched to the limits, your mind is forced to move to the present.

A great supplement to meditation.

A small comment from the instructor this week stuck with me.

“As you practice your forward fold, shift your weight to the ball of your feet – focus on grounding the inside edge of your foot. When you do this, your mind will be forced to stay present in the Now.”

Balance is crucial in yoga (and life). Your body has a tendency to shift your weight to the outside edge of your feet as you try to maintain balance in difficult positions.

When you focus on shifting your weight to the inside edge of your feet, you get a deeper stretch (in many positions), and you work against your default mode. You force your mind to focus in the moment – presence, awareness, Now.

This presence is the essence of meditation.

Perhaps the essence of spirituality.

A simple shift of your weight. A shift that is applicable at any moment in your day. A physical shift that also triggers the most fundamental mental shift.

The Inside Edge of Life. My new secret to staying in the moment.

Everyday Mobility: Every Dude Needs to Move

Mobility: The Dude Abides

As you may recall, I plan to live to 137.

To make that journey worthwhile, I’d like to make movement a prerequisite.

In order to maintain, said,  movement, we need to move. Everyday.

I’ve mentioned the idea of “mobility” a few times:

  1. Take Care of Yourself
  2. Best Exercises to Keep a Dude Healthy
  3. Dude’s Flow: Off the Reservation
  4. You Should Stand More

Mobility has become a part of the Dude’s everyday. Not even in my vocab a few short years ago, but now it’s daily go-to. We gots to move.

But here’s the catch, Mobility is not a quick fix. It’s a marathon. We’ve done years of damage to our bodies. It takes time and consistent focus to get back on track.

I squeeze my mobility into the early AM routine, before the young’ins start to get too crazy. A little meditation, some movement…recipe for a great morning.

Here’s a quick rundown on some sweet mobility ideas I’ve been digging lately:

  • Becoming a Supple Leopard
    • Great mobility “bible” written by the rad mobility guru Kelly Starrett.
    • Best advice I’ve seen about this book is don’t try to do it all at once. Choose a muscle group and focus on slow, consistent improvement.
    • Read the first few chapters. It will change the way you move everyday, in every way. Do you squat right? Probably not.
  • Mobility WOD broken down by muscle groups
    • Awesome library of Kelly’s mobility YouTube videos categorized by muscle group. Seriously good resource. Hat tip Bryce Lewis putting it together.
  • 5 Things You Should Do Everyday
    • Bret Contreras is a rad dude. Worth following for fitness and mobility ideas.
    • Squatting everyday is one of the best things I’ve started to do…and one of the most difficult. Seriously, as simple as lowering you butt into a squat and holding it for 30+ seconds will rock your world. I’m a believer this will help me hit 137.
  • Sarvangasana(shoulder stand)
    • Loving this classic inverted yoga pose. 10 reasons you should too.
  • Circling Hands
    • Sticking to the classics, here’s a perfect start for Tai Chi beginners.
    • Tai Chi Circling Hands offers most of the potential health and healing applications available in tai chi–without the complex choreography.
  • Boomerang pose rocks.
  • Thoracic Bridge – rockin’ fo sho. Hitting some hard to reach spots. Especially for you desk sitters.
  • Hips don’t lie
    • His and shoulders are key. Hinges that allow you to move. Open ’em up!
    • Great ideas to gain strength and mobility in your hips
  • Test your mobility skills
    • Some good tests to see how mobile you are and to track your progress.

Get to moving.