9 Ways to Mindfully Exercise

9 Ways to Exercise the Living Stress Free® Way   1. Exercise Needs to Fit your Lifestyle   Exercise cannot be a burden or a chore. If you avoid it or dread it, you will not continue with it. If you have a very hectic lifestyle, the type of exercise you choose should fit your lifestyle. If you are highly motivated and driven, you may want to engage in high impact aerobics, spinning or running. If you are a casual, more sedentary person, yoga or palates would be a better choice. Don't go against the grain.   2. Success Through Synchronizing Mind and Body   As you participate in the exercise of your choice, stay fully present. Feel your body move instead of thinking about other things. Stay focused on the now. The connection between your mind and your body will bring about a greater experience with tangible results.   3. Perceive your Current Body Shape as Temporary, not Permanent   This is extremely important. Everything in life changes, nothing is permanent. If you see your body shape as transient you will remain open to the possibility of change, which will lead to achieving your desired weight and body shape.   4. Think Movement, not Exercise   Think of exercise as "movement". If you set a goal to "exercise", it is easy to fall into certain stereotypes and expectations that come from the connotation of exercise. If you set a goal for daily "movement", you open the door to possibilities beyond the rigid definitions of the mind.   5. Establish a Ritual   Rituals are routines that are mindful, deliberate and sacred. The care and love that goes into performing a ritual makes the result much stronger and sustainable. If you think of exercise/movement as a ritual, you will find improved results.   6. Do Not Compare Yourself to Others   Never, never, never compare yourself with others. Your body is unique and needs to be perceived as such. How you move your body for exercise is unique as well. The results are specific to you and your particular body structure and metabolism. Comparing yourself to others is a detriment to success.   7. If you Resent it, Forget it   Sustainable success is not possible when there is resentment, negativity or pessimism. It is better to skip exercising on a particular day to enjoy another activity and return to it the next day than to trudge through it with resentment. Sometimes we need to alter our plans to keep ourselves balanced.   8. Change it Up   If you jog, try bike riding; if you use the treadmill, switch to the step-master; if you do yoga, try swimming. The body thrives when it is used with balance in mind. Changing up your exercise routine will keep it fresh, use different muscle groups and prevent boredom. It needs to be fun! 9. Movement Everyday  If you set a goal to "move" for exercise every single day, you will be more likely to keep up with the routine consistently. If you miss a day here or there, it won't matter. If you set a goal to exercise 3 days per week, it is inevitable you will miss a few days which results in sporadic exercise patterns.

MA photo project continues ...

January 12, 2014 - In Between the Light

Before the Christmas tree came down, the space in between each glowing light created a canvas to shine. The eye is drawn to the light and the various objects on the tree because of the space surrounding it.

January 13, 2014 - Night Vision

MA is with us all the time. The light is only effective if there is the contrast of darkness. Night driving is successful when we look between the lights, driving in the designated space. If we only focused on the light we could not drive.

January 14, 2014 - Sand Dune Fence

I could not take a photo today so I found this image I took 8 years ago on Assateague Island. It is a perfect example of formlessness and form.

January 15, 2014 - January Snow Melt

When the two feet of snow that visited our area melted, the landscape demonstrates a sublime example of space amidst substance. You can really get lost in the sky.

January 16, 2014 - Untitled

This is a perfect MA challenge. It is so easy to view the branches with their various sizes and shapes. Allow your awareness to rest on the space surrounding all the branches. The sky invites you there.

The Daily MA Challenge - 4 More Days of MA

Photography as an Art and a Spiritual Practice

The Daily MA Challenge

As a creative and spiritual practice for 2014, I am taking a photograph each day representing MA.

This ritual reinforces my awareness of perceiving MA throughout the day. By noticing the visual spaces it is easier to hear the silence between sound and the space between the breath. This quiets the mind and cultivates living stress free.

See all photos here

January 8, 2014 - Morning Drive

On the way to work, driving through Genesee Valley Park, the space of the road is the guiding path to the destination.

January 9, 2014 - Sashimi Art

Unable to photograph today, I chose a photo I took in the past at a local Japanese restaurant Kobe. Not only do I love sushi/sashimi as a food, the presentation is an art. It is easy to focus on the fish and vegetables in this image, but look at the empty space surrounding it, framing the items perfectly.

January 10, 2014 - Light Play

This simple image is a perfect example of MA. Look at the space surrounding the lamp, especially with the lighting effects and shadows. The mind stops as you gaze at the space.

January 11, 2014 - The Beauty of Winter Trees

A friend of mine recently stated " I've never thought of the space between, and now instead of feeling a loss over the lack of leaves and color, I will look for the peace between the branches of the trees". That says it all. Winter trees help us accept things as they are.

January 6th and 7th - MA Photography

MA Photography:

January 6, 2014 - Below-Zero Parking Garage

We have been experiencing sub-zero temperatures in Western NY. Walked the dogs this morning with -3 degrees, without the wind chill. On my way home from work I noticed the spaces within the framework of this parking garage. Noticing MA with potentially stressful driving conditions is a great way to remain centered.

January 7, 2014 - Between the Trees

A wintry night, blowing snow, sturdy hardwoods standing guard; notice both the trees and the space between.

January 5th MA Photo

January 5, 2014 - Winter Tree

When practicing the art of perceiving the spaces between things, winter trees provide the most perfect subjects. This is one of the trees I stroll by almost every day when walking my dogs. Looking at the emptiness between the branches has an opening effect, expanding the inner vision.

MA photography Jan 3 & 4

I wanted to pay more attention to MA in my life on an everyday basis.

As a creative and spiritual practice for 2014, I am taking a photograph each day representing MA.

This ritual reinforces my awareness of perceiving MA throughout the day. By noticing the visual spaces it is easier to hear the silence between sound and the space between the breath. This quiets the mind and cultivates living stress free.

January 3, 2014 - By the River

Along the Genesee River in Genesee Valley Park near the University of Rochester is a magnificent tree that split in half a few years ago. The space between the massive limbs remains as a pathway to the park. 

January 4, 2014 - Abandoned Gazebo

Along the Lake Ontario shoreline in Greece, NY was a popular restaurant called the Crescent Beach Hotel. It closed down over a year ago. The beautiful parcel of land awaits a new business. Here is the isolated gazebo in the back, surrounded by empty space. 

Living Stress Free through MA

'MA' (pronounced "maah") — is the pure and essential void between all "things." It is the interval which gives shape to the whole. 

It is the space between objects, the emptiness of possibility.

MA is a holder within which things can exist. It is the complete lack of clutter.

MA is in the purposeful pauses in speech which make words stand out. It is in the quiet time that makes our busy lives meaningful, and in the silence between the notes which make music.

MA is the space between each breath; the gap between each thought.

Isaac Stern described music as ‘that little bit between each note – silences which give the form’. 

When the Japanese are taught to bow in early age, they are told to make a deliberate pause at the end of the bow before they come back up — as to make sure there is enough MA in their bow for it to have meaning and look respectful.

A tea break in a busy day has to be in a quiet place, away from the routines of work — so that one can soak in the serenity of MA before getting back to busy life.

As a Living Stress Free® technique, no matter how little time we devote to any task, it must have a deliberate beginning and a deliberate end. Otherwise, our time goes by filled with one thing after another, an endless energy output that can leave us drained, tired and stressed.

Photography as an Art and a Spiritual Practice

I wanted to pay more attention to MA in my life on an everyday basis.

As a creative and spiritual practice for 2014, I am taking a photograph each day representing MA.

This ritual reinforces my awareness of perceiving MA throughout the day. By noticing the visual spaces it is easier to hear the silence between sound and the space between the breath. This quiets the mind and cultivates living stress free.

I invite you to join me in these simple, informal practices.

• Notice the space between form. 
• Listen to the silence in between sound.
• Feel the stillness at the end of each breath.

2014 MA Photography

 

January 1, 2014 - The Magical Fireplace

Sitting by the fire on New Year's Day was a sublime way of experiencing the birth of a new year. The space between the logs, the emptiness between the flames, a perfect reminder of the balance needed to embrace the new circumstances about to unfold.

January 2, 2014 - Driving Home

We had a significant snowstorm today bringing at least a foot of sparkling snow blanketing the earth. The spaces in this photo are not only between the trees but also within the distance between the water droplets on the car window.