Category: mindfulness

In the News: Project Calm, Mindfulness through Making

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A few months ago I was approached to contribute to a new magazine titled Project Calm, a mindful magazine for creative types. Project Calm is all about “mindfulness through making”. It was an honour to be asked to contribute as mindful creativity is to close to my heart and soul. It’s also serendipitous that the magazine was launched during the Slow Living month focused on nurturing, given the magazine aims to help busy folk slow down and nurture themselves through craft, encouraging us all to channel our energies into creating mindful beauty.

Bringing mindfulness to craft and creativity is so important (which I wrote a little about here, in relation to picking flowers and making flower crowns), both in terms of the personal, spiritual and mental health benefits of mindfulness, but also the environmental benefits of being mindful about how and what we create. I am always inclined to create from natural materials as much as possible, so that our projects have no waste from packaging and is fully compostable (for example, Ro’s halloween Mother Nature costume, made from real leaves, or our holiday Botanical Advent).

For this first issue of Project Calm, I contributed my Real Flower Temporary Tattoos tutorial. It is so exciting to see my work in print!

GIC_08_p8-9_naturenews_72dpiCopies are almost sold out, so if you’d like one order soon. They are available for purchase here.

Here’s a little sample of what you’ll find in the issue among the four sections covering Home, Nature, Travel and Mind & Body:

  • Paper-based crafts to make, colour & create
  • Positive features to inspire and enrich
  • Case studies and profiles of successful creatives
  • Travel, retreats and courses to try
  • Papercutting template on card
  • Paper animal kits
  • Poster with floral illustrations

Or, you can take a look at the preview here…

 

Thank you to my friend Erin, the florist, who collected discarded petals and flowers for my tattoo project. And, thank you to Kate for connecting my work to the folks at Project Calm.

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Danielle Chassin Mama Mala Thief and Bandit

Motherhood is Magic: Yoga, Meditation and Mindfulness

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Danielle Chassin Mama Mala Thief and Bandit

Motherhood is magic. It really is. It’s also really hard, most of the time. But those moments of magic remind us of how special motherhood is, of how fortunate we are to share our lives with children. In my view children are the best teachers, showing us the everyday magic around and within us. They show us how to forgive and forget quickly. They show us how fascinating life is. How special a flower petal is or how inspiring a stick is. They show us how we can live life full to the brim with curiosity and joy. Children are magical beings, full of wonder and belief. 

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In reality, all this magic I’ve described, the things I’m calling magic are the simplicity and yet deep complexity of the natural world and human perspective – which we are too often closed to. Magic, essentially is about bending reality against the normally understood rules of the universe. With magic, things do not go as planned, our expectations are challenged. I suppose this is the magic of motherhood: things do not go as planned. But when we open our perspective to the beauty and potential of the unknown, the unplanned, to the awe of the moment and the complexity of life, we are opening ourselves to everyday magic. We’re encountering reality with a fresh perspective, one that does not repeat stereotypes and closed perspectives. With magic things appear very simple and yet are actually very complex. This is the same as nature. Nature, its scale, diversity and complexity are truly mind-blowing, and yet nature appears to be the simplest of things. We can find the magic of nature in ourselves and around us, with the help of a child’s perspective.

As mothers and primary caregivers we are fortunate to be part of that magical world children see, spin and invite us into. A large part of this magic comes from living present in the moment, opening our perspective to something new, rather than applying existing expectations to a situation. Children are expert at being here now. Opening themselves up to all the opportunity and wonder available in front of them and inside of themselves.

I was asked to share a yoga, meditation or mindfulness practice as part of the Motherhood is Magic week, and I couldn’t think of better inspiration than children. Below you’ll find easy instructions for a simple meditation you can do alone or with children.

 

 

Motherhood Is Magic Graphic

My friend Heather, from Mama Malas, has organized a week long challenge celebrating presence and intention in motherhood through yoga, meditation and mindfulness. Starting this past Monday, a simple challenge is shared by one of the hosts each day, a yoga pose, a meditation or mindfulness exercise to help mothers. Although Monday has passed, it is not to late to join in! We know mothers are busy people, so join in when you can. Participants in the challenge who follow the hosts and sponsor accounts and share a photo on Instagram will be eligible to win prizes. { update: winners were drawn and notified on March 14, 2016 }

Here’s how to participate:

  1. Find the hosts on Instagram and follow them to get notified of the daily challenge: Hosts are: @coldcupoftea, @ameliakyoga, @hippieindisguise, @mamamalas, and @namastetiff.
  2. Find the sponsors on Instagram and follow them to be eligible for prizes!
    1. @BYogaNow is a Canadian yoga mats, accessories and apparel line that is eco friendly! B Yoga Now is offering a B YOGA Mama Pack, a B Mat Strong (6mm) – extra cushioning and thickness for Mama’s comfort, and 2 B Blocks- for support and modifications for Mama, plus a surprise Pre-release B Yoga Product
    2. @kanthabae is an American textile inspired brand making gorgeous handmade designs for women and babies. Kanthabae is offering a stunning RingSling
    3. @thelovemoreshop is an American shop selling products inspired by love, encouraging others to love more. They share the profits with couples to help them nurture their relationship by sponsoring date nights. The Love More Shop is offering a Gift Certificate
    4. @mamamalas  is a Canadian company making mindfulness jewellery. Mama malas is offering a mala of the winner’s choice
  3. Repost the challenge image (see above) on your Instagram account OR tag a few friends on the Instagram image and ask them to join you, link to the image here
  4. Post a photo of you on Instagram completing any (or all!) of the daily challenges and tag #MotherhoodIsMagic and the hosts and sponsors

Join in as often as you can!

So, here’s my challenge to you: 

I have found profound benefits through meditation and mindfulness practice, especially since having children. I like meditation because you can put just a little time in a get a lot of benefit out of it. At first, I was thinking of sharing a meditation practice that I do with my children, that is relatively simple and enjoyable, but I was really inspired by the simplicity of the challenges shared by Amanda (a mindful walk) and Amelia (savasana/corpse pose) earlier this week, so I wanted to share something everyone could accomplish. Often, for the uninitiated yoga, meditation and mindfulness can seem complex. On top of this, mothers and primary caregivers usually don’t have a lot time or energy to spare, so I wanted to share something that anyone could fit into their day. (However, if you are craving a slightly more involved meditation with children, check out this post here, where I explain the Sa Ta Na Ma meditation I practice with my children and myself.)

Tea Meditation

My challenge to you is to find the magic in a moment, an ordinary moment, by bringing your full attention to it, by connecting to the present. This means focusing on now. Be here now. Be where you are now. Be here in space and time. Leave out thoughts of things to do later today or tomorrow. Leave our regret of things past. Just be in the moment. Do this alone or with your children. Try to spend 5 minutes just living now, only now. As I said above, children are very good at this so don’t hesitate to include them.

If you haven’t done this sort of mental exercise before you may find it challenging. Your mind will wander forward and backward in time. Your mind may be drawn to check your phone, to pay a bill or to compose a grocery list. You might imagine yourself in a different room or outdoors. When it wanders just gently bring your focus back to the present. It will really help if you have something to easily focus on in the present.

Making yourself a warm cup of tea before you start will help. Start your five minutes with your hands gently hugging the mug, feel the heat, the sensation will keep you in the present moment. Feel your skin against the mug, feel the gentle vibration between your hands and the mug. Observe the smell, observe the steam. If you find your mind wandering hug the mug with your hands, remind yourself to be here now, be present. (If you don’t like tea, substitute another drink, if you like cold drinks that works too). It may help you to gently, slowly repeat the mantra “be here now” aloud or in your mind.

This meditation encourages mindful presence and connection to the moment. Children really enjoy this, so feel free to include them in it, with their own cup of (luke warm) tea. And, of course, you can choose something else to focus on, tea is just an example, but a tasty one!

Mama Mala with lavender tea
I hope you enjoy this challenge and find a way to practice it not just today, but everyday. Five minutes of pure presence will be greatly beneficial to your mental energy and your feeling of inner calm. This sort of active meditation can help reduce stress and anxiety and encourage compassion, patience and understanding. Enjoy!

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Long time readers of this blog might remember that I’ve interviewed a few of the mothers hosting this challenge. If you’d like to know more about @Namastetiff read an interview with Tiff here “Empowering Motherhood” (and see some stunning photos!), @mamamalas read an interview with Heather “Malas and Human Connection” here, @coldcupoftea (and @thelovemoreshop owner) read an interview with Amanda about the Love More Stories here.

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Mindfulness & Making a Flower Crown

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I had planned on sharing photos, of our recent trip to the United States, in chronological order. But as I was biking home from work today, I was struck very strongly with the urge to share our experience making a flower crown with Kaity Ferrell while we were in Nantucket, which happened closer to the end our trip. I hadn’t planned on writing a post about making a flower crown, since it was a spontaneous activity, but it was such a lovely, mindful learning experience that I wanted to give it it’s own space on the blog.
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Now, first off, for those of you who don’t know me very well, I do not let my children pick flowers, pluck leaves from trees, tear at grass, or in anyway take the lives of plants needlessly or for aesthetic reasons. This is not because I have any special knowledge of what a plant death is like, but out of an interest in living consistently and holistically, as much as possible. We do not eat animals or animal products, and limit the inclusion of animal fibers in our wardrobe, including them only when they are the more environmentally friendly option. We do this because we don’t think it is our human right to take life. Animal life or plant life. Having said this, we know that, however mindfully and carefully we tread upon this earth, we do take lives. We eat plants plentifully to nourish ourselves. And we certainly indavertently and accidentally take the lives of countless animals, mainly insects, as we go about our lives. However, when we had children we decided that we wanted to be as consistent as possible with our children in terms of the belief that taking a life is not a given right, a life should not be taken lightly, and a life should never ever be something we take “just because we can,” because we are a dominant species. Picking a flower is easy to do, a young child can do it with little effort. If and when our children do take lives we want them to be mindful about it and always limit it as much as possible. Enough of a diversion into our flower politics…on to making a crown.

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When we arrived on the island of Nantucket our first host, the absolutely divine, Kaity Ferrell, along with her son Iley, greeted us at the port. Their big smiles and sweet souls wrapped hugs around us as though we’d been friends forever. It was a beautiful welcome. Kaity took us to a favourite beach and then after some time in the sun and a dip in the ocean we returned to her beautiful, simple homestead.

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I am not someone who plans their day, even while on travel. I really like to be spontaneous and go with the flow of where things take me. So, of course, upon arriving at Kaity’s we had no particular idea of how we would occupy our time. While Sen and Iley set to playing with Lego, Ro and I were curious to see Kaity’s garden, where she grows fruits, vegetables, flowers and herbs. Given that Kaity’s garden is source of ingredients for her foods and the goods she sells, we were surprised by how much space was afforded to growing flowers. I asked Kaity what she used them for and if she sold them at the farmers market. She replied “I sell some, not many, but they are just beautiful to have around, right?” Yes! I felt a little silly for assuming that she would necessarily pick or cut them for her products and goods.

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As Ro and I admired a bouquet of flowers, that was now a few days old, sitting on Kaity’s dining table, Kaity suggested that we make a flower crown. Not surprisingly, we have never made one, since we would never happen to find and collect enough fallen flowers (with stems intact) on a given day to make one. In that moment, I instantly felt as though this was the right time and place to make a flower crown. Kaity’s reverence and connection to her garden and the lives she grows there assured me that if ever there was a time and place for respectful, mindful picking, it would be done here, with Kaity as our guide. My intuition also told me this experience would deepen Ro’s respect for plant life and wouldn’t lead to a slippery slope of picking flowers for aesthetic purposes.

Ro and I followed Kaity around her garden as she gently cut a few flowers, naming them as she did and talking about her experience growing them. Once she had a small bouquet cut, she sat with Ro and started to braid the flowers, explaining to Ro how to continue the braid and how to handle the flowers with care. Ro took the flower braid and continued until all the flowers had been used. Then Kaity looped the braid back on itself and tied it securely with some kitchen string. The braid was the exact right length for Ro’s head, with no wasted flowers. It was as if it was meant to be! But I also knew there was some sort of deep embodied knowledge in Kaity that allowed her to know exactly how many flowers to cut, and how the braid would come together.

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Overall the experience of making a crown with Kaity was wonderful. While on an intellectual level, I have to admit that cutting flowers was a conflicted experience for me. On a bodily level I feel at peace with the experience. Ro wore the crown for the rest of the day and evening, and Sen, without any prompting asked to wear it too! We saved the crown during the rest of our travels gingerly protecting it in our picnic basket, and it will, in its dried form, hang on the wall in Ro’s room (see it here), as a reminder of our experience with Kaity, but also as a reminder to live mindfully and with respect for all life.

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Thank you very much, Kaity, for hosting us in Nantucket and for sharing your positive energy and kindness with us. Readers: you can read more about Kaity in my interview with her here and please find her on Instagram @fareisle and on her awesome website www.fareisle.com and her blog here.

Clothing details: Canadian-made merino tops worn by Ro and Sen by Luv Mother; Ro’s plaid tunic by Kids on the Moon; Ro’s dijon skirt from Little Heirloom; Sen’s organic striped leggings by Mabo; Ro’s sandals from Mini Mioche.

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Sa Ta Na Ma Meditation

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When I was asked to be one of the hosts for a mindful parenting challenge organized by Bendi Baby, I knew exactly what I wanted to teach — children’s meditation, specifically the Sa Ta Na Ma meditation. I learned this meditation from Shakta Kaur Khalsa with whom I completed my children’s yoga teacher training over ten years ago. Yes, before I had children! At the time I had been practicing yoga for about five years, taking classes in all styles and traditions available around town. I had experienced profound benefits physically, recovering from dance injuries that I had thought would be with me for life, but even more so, I experienced benefits mentally. I knew I wanted to bring my children into a family that would include yoga at its foundation.

Ro practicing the Sa Ta Na Ma meditation. Raglan "All You Need is Love" tee by Pop Kids USA.

Ro practicing the Sa Ta Na Ma meditation. Raglan “All You Need is Love” tee by Pop Kids USA.

Inexperienced in teaching yoga to children, I expected my children to take greater enjoyment from the physical postures (asana) than from meditations. In my experience, most adults find asana more interesting than meditation. I naively expected the same of children, particularly since children often bear the stereotype of having a hard time sitting still. In practicing with my own children, my experience has been the opposite of my expectation; they most enjoy the meditation part of the practice.

Ro in the Na hand position. "Cuter on a Scooter" tank by Pop Kids USA.

Ro in the Na hand position. “Cuter on a Scooter” tank by Pop Kids USA.

I began practicing yoga with Ro soon after her birth, but I didn’t introduce her to meditation until she was almost three. I began with a simple gong meditation, where she would focus on the sound and observe how long she could hear it. She really enjoyed this, and so I decided to take a leap and teach her Sa Ta Na Ma, which is significantly more complicated for a child of that age. After a few minutes working with her she understood the mudra pattern (hand positions) and was happily continuing on all by herself. At first I felt a little regretful that I hadn’t taught it to her sooner, since she was clearly ready. But then I decided to award myself some “mother’s intuition points” instead, telling myself that I had chosen today, because today was the right day. Until around 4 years of age I would have to remind Ro of this meditation in order for her to practice. Then, without my noticing, there came the day when she started doing it on her own, when she felt a need or desire herself, and I haven’t reminded her since.

I will never forget our first parent-teacher interview, when Ro joined public school in Grade 2. Her teacher couldn’t wait to tell us about how she had observed Ro, more than once, meditating during the chaos of recess. She was rather amused by it. I, on the other hand, felt pride, because she had developed a practice she could go to in times of imbalance and overstimulation.

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Ro in the Ta hand position. Organic Zebra shirt by Filemon Kid.

So how does the meditation work? (Please see photos below for visual aid):

Find a comfortable seated position, crossed legs, lotus, or otherwise. The meditation involves 4 hand positions (mudras) that are synchronised with 4 sounds (mantra). Show your child the hand positions first: thumb to pointer finger, thumb to middle finger, thumb to ring finger, thumb to pinky finger. Do a few repetitions through the finger positions. Next add the sounds. Sa (thumb to pointer finger), Ta (thumb to middle finger), Na (thumb to ring finger), Ma (thumb to pinky finger). Complete a few repetitions of the mudras and sounds working together. Once the child is comfortable with this you can ask them to close their eyes and continue. With children who may have a hard time keeping their eyes closed you can place a focus object in front of them, something gentle and soothing like a flower or a soft toy. Start by repeating the sequence for 2 minutes, then gradually lenghten the time; you will probably be pleasantly surprised by how long children can carry on with this meditation.

Sa Ta Na Ma meditation: hand positions and sounds

Sa Ta Na Ma meditation: hand positions and sounds

One variation of the meditation includes starting off quietly then raising the voice slowly with each repetition, and then declining in volume once the chanting has become loud. Another variation is to begin by voicing the sound, slowly becoming quieter until you are simply saying the sound in your mind. There are a number of You Tube videos that demonstrate the meditation and are useful for hearing the tones for each sound, just search “sa ta na ma meditation.”

There is much written about this meditation, from the Kundalini tradition, that suggests the meditation has a balancing effect. I can’t speak authoritatively about the benefits neurologically and psychologically, but I can tell you that this meditation has been very satisfying for Ro and is a practice she comes back to time and again. I can only hope and imagine how this practice will support her through the teenage years and into adulthood when stress and challenges to our inner balance are a daily encounter.

Thank you very much, Bendi Baby, for asking me to participate in this challenge. Please visit Bendi Baby’s Instagram account to find the other challenge hosts and lessons that were shared or check out the hashtag #MindfulMamaBendiBaby.

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