the benefit of the doubt

Blog

Category:

the benefit of the doubt

July 5, 2017 in Blog

by Jill Sockman

I’ve been wanting to write about this topic for awhile now. I’ve even started the entry a few times, but have never gotten much further than “Hey! Do you think we can all just give each other a break?” and left it at that. About a month ago, Carrington and I were having a little brainstorming session on my living room floor and when this topic came up she said, “that would be a good newsletter idea!” at which point I committed myself that this would be the month. So, thick is the irony, and so very appropriate that I was on the receiving end of this advice just this morning…

We’ve all been there.… Read the rest

A more potent practice

May 31, 2017 in Blog

A More Potent Practice

by Jill Sockman

I’m working with a student currently in the midst of some big life transitions who is using her meditation practice to help manage the anxiety that so often accompanies major change. She opened a recent session with “Am I doing enough?” That question resonated with me so deeply, as I’ve heard it many times before from others and have asked the same question myself. Once you have experienced the truth that every visit to the mat, every minute in meditation, every prayer uttered is a step in the direction of clarity and peace, it’s not surprising we question what else we can do in times of overwhelm and struggle.… Read the rest

what feeds you?

April 25, 2017 in Blog

What Feeds You?

by Jill Sockman

Namaste!

It was quite a few years into running blue lotus when I met someone who asked me what I did besides yoga. I remember being flustered in the moment and disturbed after the fact that I had to search long and hard to offer a pretty lame response. In retrospect, the answer I gave was a list of things I generally liked in the world, rather than anything I was passionate about, loved, or had spent any time actually doing in the previous five years. In a way, I made up an answer to make up for the fact that I wasn’t and hadn’t been doing much of anything besides working.… Read the rest

what are you avoiding?

April 2, 2017 in Blog

What are You Avoiding?

by Jill Sockman

I’m a professional list maker. You know, the sort that adds an extra task that I have already completed to an active list just so I can cross it off. For those who have been tuned to this channel for a while, it relates to my “productivity = value” equation/dysfunction. It is great way to keep track of what I need to put my attention on, but it’s also a useful tool for observing where my priorities are, because procrastination is a Real Thing. It’s fascinating to watch what tasks are rewritten from one list to the next, ever dropping to the bottom.… Read the rest

space with nothing in it

March 1, 2017 in Blog

Space with Nothing in it

by Jill Sockman

A quote from my teacher that I often share with students is “empty space is better than anything you can put into it.” A bit of unscheduled time provides an incredible release from the pressure cooker of life. It can be an experience of spaciousness and freedom that often cracks open the window of insight to see just how overly busy most of us are, most of the time. Just how disconnected we are from source. Just how far away we are from center. And just how perfect and beautiful the present moment is when we can completely drop into it.… Read the rest

tic-tock

February 1, 2017 in Blog

Tic – Tock

by Jill Sockman

In a recent conversation with a dear friend, I was told “time is on our side.” As soon as the words hit the air, I recoiled. I’ve never particularly felt like time was on my side. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that I often view time as the enemy. A wily, rogue-ish sort. Utterly uncontrollable and demanding beyond reason. Her inconsistent metronome ticks out minutes and days at her whim: sometimes in quick bursts, impossible to grasp, and other times painfully slowly, drop by heavy, ineffable drop.

While it’s likely the “not in my control” part that vexes me the most about time and her ways, I can recognize there is some space between “there’s all the time in the world” and my usual M.O.… Read the rest

letting go

November 29, 2016 in Blog

Letting go

by Jill Sockman

At the end of Patanjali’s list of niyamas (personal observances) is ishvara pranidhana. I tend to believe it was placed at the end for a reason — a culmination of sorts, and some great commentators on the Yoga Sutras argue if one can master this niyama, there is no need for anything else. No surprise then, that perhaps it’s the hardest to do.

As with everything else in Sanskrit — and yoga for that matter — there are many definitions and interpretations of ishvara pranidhana. To wrap them up, boil them down, titrate to the essence, I offer you this: to dedicate our efforts to present moment awareness without attachment; to be in a continual state of offering our actions to something bigger than ourselves; to ever surrender our small, individual will to that which is greater — whatever your personal interpretation of “greater” might be.… Read the rest

vata season again – keep calm and swaddle

November 2, 2016 in Blog

Vata season again – keep calm and swaddle

by Jill Sockman

Oh, friends. It’s vata season again. How can I tell? Certainly not by the weather, most days. Although despite our oddly warm weather, Mother Nature still seems to know it’s time to shed the old, as the leaves are slowly turning, falling.

It’s not by another page of the calendar flipping over, or even the coming holidays. I know, with 100% certainty it is fall because I can’t sleep. I can’t keep a routine for more than two days running. Regularly, it will be 3:00 pm and I’ll pause and wonder…Have I eaten today?… Read the rest

honoring who you are

October 4, 2016 in Blog

Honoring who you are

by Jill Sockman

I go on a lot about honoring where you are and the importance of in-the-moment acceptance of yourself at any given time. Whether acknowledging anger and disappointment or recognizing success, tiredness, overwhelm — the list is endless — there is value in shifting out of the ongoing internal dialogue we engage in about what is, and into feeling it in the moment and letting it go.

Alongside the development of mindfulness as a practice of self-care is the task of accepting yourself as who you are. I haven’t yet decided if one is easier or harder, or if one should come before the other.… Read the rest

put your inner critic in the corner

September 1, 2016 in Blog

Put your inner critic in the corner

by Jill Sockman

My inner critic has a strong voice. Maybe she was a cheerleader. Or lead vocalist in a metal band — the kind where it sounds like a lot of angry screaming instead of singing. I’ve worked hard, and I mean really, really, really hard in the past few years to put her in her place. And please note I said put in her place — removed from her throne — not banished from the kingdom of my inner world.

Because she absolutely does have a place. The benevolent(-ish) side of that inner critic is the instigator for much that I have accomplished, and is in part responsible for making me who I am.… Read the rest