Day 11 of 21: Releasing Anger, Reinforcing Self

(I'm writing this Saturday morning so we should call it 11.5)

Fridays I lead two classes: Chair Yoga with "seniors" and Chair Yoga with clients of Regional Center (adults with ID/DD). I have been working on affirmations/meditation with both groups, to not only practice what I'm learning but also impart the lessons that I'm finding so rewarding. Also, to try to finish this week with consistency (each week I try to have a theme in classes). 

I wanted to truly bring home the idea that affirmations, when applied with mindfulness, can work. For the first class, I repeated the meditation, partially, from yesterday (see day 10 of 21) about releasing tension from the belly. For my personal journey, I am finding it necessary to consciously work towards releasing not just tension, but frustration, negativity, and anger that hold me back from being productive, from feeling joy, from wanting to get out of bed in the morning on some days. These affirmations have been pivotal in helping me reset my sense of self, and realizing that I can choose to liberate myself from the roiling and raging in my own head.

For the seniors chair yoga class I used EFT and my personal affirmation was "I release anger."

For my gentle yoga class, I used the Havening gestures. I thought it might help everyone remember how to utilize the practice if I created a rhythmic repetition like in the ETF. So, we did the four Havening moves in sequence while repeating our affirmation, and did five rounds with breath. I have to admit as I'm writing this 18 hours past so I cannot remember and that shows me I wasn't sincerely focused. (My purpose was to impart the idea to the class and I was unable to settle on a focus point for myself this time.)

What I wanted to emphasize was that affirmation are to uplift, to enhance, focus, ground, release, relax, restore, balance. Whatever is needed, the individual has the capacity and power to create it. The hand gestures can help soothe the nervous system and reinforce the message when it's hard to sit still for a "traditional" meditation, and actually enhance the affirmation message by tapping (literally) into the subconscious.

By the end of class everyone just wanted to socialize, so I think they were feeling pretty good. Mission accomplished :)