Resilience & Grace

Are you struggling to stay calm and serene?  Mary shares her self-care routine encouraging you to reflect and remember the practices that bring you joy, peace and ease.   

Learn how to extend more love to yourself and others with this short Metta meditation.

You can sit in a chair (or on the floor) or lie down for this practice.

Metta is Loving-Kindness. 
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be safe.
May you live with ease.

Send loving kindness to:

• self
• someone who has deeply cared for you
• someone you care deeply for
• community members, neighbors, acquaintances
• animals
• someone you have difficulty with
• everyone and everything in our world.  We are one.

Follow your breath as it moves through your body.  Traveling your inhale down to the base of your spine and back up to the crown of your head with an exhale.  Rest in the ceaseless stream of breath.

Learn how to practice Alternate Nostril Breathing also known as Nadi Shodhana.  This practice brings balance to your physical, mental, and emotional well-being.  It activates the parasympathetic nervous system, also known as "rest and recover."  It enhances respiratory functions, increasing our respiratory strength and endurance.  It improves our ability to focus the mind and restores balance in the left and right hemispheres of the brain, clearing the energetic channels.  

Mary shares tips on creating a yoga practice at home.  Consider your environment, intention and if you want to be teacher or self guided. Create a space that feels soothing and calm to your mind and body.  

Learn how good sleepers get their rest. Mary shares helpful tips to go to sleep and wake up feeling rested and ready to start your day!

I attended Yogarupa's online Parayoga weekend workshop, "Uncovering the Secrets of the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad: A Parayoga Immersion Weekend" online via Zoom March 20 - 22, 2020.  In this episode I share my reflection of the teachings.    

Can I really meditate? Who has time for that anyway? Won't my thoughts make me feel more anxious, stressed and worried? What is the point? How do I begin? Do these thoughts come to mind when you think about starting a meditation practice? Do you feel like you don't have time to add one more thing to your daily routine?  Listen in. 

Learn about four key areas you can do to positively impact your brain's health and resilience.  In the March/April 2020 Yoga Journal Magazine, an article was written titled, "Mind Games."  The author, Tasha Eichenseher wrote, "Resent research studies have demonstrated how yoga (i.e., asana, meditation, mantra, and mindfulness) can improve health and happiness.  Now, scientists are uncovering how these practices can help prevent memory loss and delay the onset of more serious and scary cognitive impairments that often come with age."  

Listen in and find out how YOU can make small change to your daily routine positively affecting your brain's health and resilience.  

To strengthen the mind, you can practice a 12-minute Kirtan Kriya meditation. It is a meditation to help with memory and practiced by many.

1. Find a comfortable seat and bring your internal gaze to your third eye.
2. Place your hands in the Gyan Mudra, arms straight with backs of your hands resting on your knees.
3. Touch the tips of your thumbs to the tips of your index fingers gently and say saa (representing infinity, the cosmos, and beginning of time).
3. Touch the tips of your thumbs to the tips of your middle fingers and say taa (life and existence).
4. Touch the tips of your thumbs to the tips of your ring fingers and say naa (death, change and transformation);
5.  Finally touch the tips of our thumbs to the tips of your pinky fingers and say maa (rebirth). 

The 12-minute practice
(Combine finger connection with sound)
2-minute normal voice chant: sa, ta, na, ma
2-minute whisper voice chant: sa, ta, na, ma
2-minute silent chant: sa, ta, na, ma
2-minute whisper voice chant: sa, ta, na, ma
2-minute normal voice chant: sa, ta, na, ma
2-minute sit in silence

You can listen and practice along on my "Mary McCarthy Reslience & Grace" Podcast Episode #11 or on Nirinjan Kaur's YouTube Channel.