Back when I wrote freelance for Edge Media, I would get DVDs to review ñ some of which were fun (and then-expensive) such as a full season three of ‘Cheers’ that brought me way back to my childhood. (I was team Diane during her whole tumultuous run, as a prim and proper Virgo would be.)
One of those DVD sets was a compilation of Aaron Star’s ‘Hot Nude Yoga’ series, which was exactly as billed: a bunch of men doing nude yoga in their birthday suits. When it was released literally a couple of decades ago, it was relatively new and the gay man angle was a refreshing glimpse of what was happening far from the confines of upstate New York. While the scandalous notion of full-frontal male nudity may have been the main drawing card and point, the yoga practices were perfect for a beginner like myself, and I have been using the ‘Virgin‘ sequence on and off ever since. The days of me doffing clothing and joining in the naked method as prescribed have passed; I just can’t be bothered to get my kit off, especially in this winter-like weather, but the practice remains, and this past week I found myself returning to the poses and the deep breathing and the opportunity to add an hour of mindfulness to my day.
There was a time when I would automatically turn to a cocktail for help and support, especially during stressful situations. It’s been well over five years since I took a drink of alcohol, and my go-to stress-relief these days is meditation. The past few weeks have found me sleeping poorly and feeling stressed out more than usual, and I only noticed this in retrospect as I was on my third day of yoga. Somehow, without fully realizing or being cognizant of what I was doing, my coping mechanisms have evolved naturally into meditation and mindfulness. That’s a happy place to be, even in troubled times.
It’s also a place anyone can find if they work at it a bit every day. I started my meditation journey by doing it for two minutes a day. The trick is to be consistent, make it part of the daily routine, and build from there. After a week of two-minute daily meditations, go for three minutes. I was surprised how easily it came to increase my meditation time this way, and sitting in stillness and silence for fifteen minutes a day is a comfortable and quite welcome pause in the madness.
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