DOWN DOG

You may think I am about to write of just how wonderful my new puppy is? Not this time but I am sure he will make many appearances on the blog as the time goes. This is about another kind of dog, yoga down dog.

Just a couple weeks ago I had the incredible opportunity to attend Barefoot and Free Yoga Festival at Proud Lake Recreation Area south of Milford. I have been in attendance for all 4 years it has been running and this year I got to attend but also had a chance to present!

Best Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - Dr Erica Peabody - Down Dog

I am still trying to unravel all the learning and feelings surrounding that weekend and put them into words. It has taken some time to really digest it all but I will do my best.

When one of your passions in life meet and hit a crossroads with another, it is the best feeling! I had been brewing a class in the back of my mind for years and I call it “Yoga as a Prescription: How Asana Heals”. In the back of my mind it worked perfectly, but what happens when the rubber meets the road? Will anyone be interested in this topic? Will anyone join in to listen and participate?

I committed to the festival months ago, and par for the course right now with life, it all got out of control with timing and I ended up putting the final nuts and bolts of the course together all the way up to the moment that I presented.

Best Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - Dr Erica Peabody - Down Dog

Barefoot and Free Yoga Festival is a 3 day event starting on Friday and finishing in the evening on Sunday. Each 90 minutes, there are 5-10 classes being offered in everything from yoga (of course) to essential oil classes, herb walks, nature walks, stand-up paddle board yoga, meditation, Ayurveda, human connection classes, dance…and so much more. It is a fabulous venue that offers many locations for these classes to be happening concurrently.

When I found out my time and then the location, I took a LOOOOONG walk out to the yurt I would be teaching inside of. From the center of the festival grounds, it was a 20 minute walk through the woods to get to the location.

Like anything else in life that we do for the first time, I was super doubtful that anyone would want to learn that and then to have the long walk as another obstacle to deter students, I just thought I would be teaching to the inside of an empty yurt.

Sunday morning, following the first class of the morning, I made my way to the location. As I was walking that way, many people were just finishing up with other sessions and were heading back. “Great! Exactly as I suspected. Nobody will be here.” was my thought pattern. HELLO NEGATIVE SELF-TALK!!!

Best Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - Dr Erica Peabody - Down Dog

But as I descended on the yurt, 2 people were quick to follow me. I set up my mat and my props in the front of the yurt with space for what I thought would MAYBE be 10 people or so.

Others started to show up. Then more people and I kept shifting around and moving to squeeze more people in. By the time I was to begin my presentation, there were close to 40 people packed mat to mat inside of that little yurt. I won’t share all the details of the class, maybe another blog post, but it went off without a hitch and was SO MUCH FUN!!! It was exactly the class that I had planned for a few years in the back of my mind and it hit just the right ears.

Prior to class starting, I thought to myself “how in the world am I going to be able to fill up 90 minutes?” (again, enter negative self-talk). By the end of 90 minutes, I had only covered about 1/3 of the total content I had prepared and didn’t even get to tap some of the potential for what I have to share. The feedback from the participants was “Next year, can you ask to have 5 hours instead of just 90 minutes?” LOL!!

Being a yogi for going on 23 years, in combination with my private chiropractic practice for 15 years which I use “Yoga as a Prescription” inside of on a daily basis, OF COURSE I have a lot to share and I am beyond happy to give that gift and love and serve the people in any way that I can. ESPECIALLY when I am able to give, love and serve my yoga community that has given so much back to me.

Those of you who attended my class, thank you for showing up!!!

Those of you, students and especially my teachers, who inspire me daily and weekly inside of my round robin of yoga studios that I attend on a weekly basis, THANK YOU!!!

To my patients that are always open to learning a new pose to help with their healing journey and who trust the care of their entire family’s health to me and my team, we have only scratched the surface, thank you, you are all so precious to me. 🙂

To my personal yoga practice and the sweat and tears that get absorbed by my mat over and over and over and over again, I am forever grateful. I am one who really truly looks forward to every class. Another day, another down dog.

THE HARDEST DAY

“It is hard to prepare for the hardest day of your life when you have no idea about what the hardest day in your life will be like.”Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - The Sidelines - Dr Erica Peabody

That was a quote from my brother, Garrett, last night as I sat in my office with 3 women who will be heading to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in 2 months.

Since my trek, many local (semi-local in the region) people have stepped up to ask what it is like to do that climb because they are heading that way within months.

“How did you train?”

“What did you bring?”

“What was the most used piece of gear that you didn’t expect?”

“What about medications?  And which vaccinations?”

“What is the bathroom situation when you are climbing?”

“What did they feed you?”

“Tell us about summit night…

“What do you mean ‘Don’t die with your day pack on?'”

The last one was the best one.

I walked and talked these ladies through my entire trip last night over 2 hours of conversation.  They are bringing their husbands and teenagers with them.Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - Surrender Hikers - Dr Erica Peabody Mt. Kilimanjaro

As we were going through all the details, I realized just how amazing the trip was doing it with an incredible group of women.  I remembered around any corner, if anyone needed anything, someone had extra of it and was willing to share.  What could you possibly want that one of the 31 women didn’t have...I mean half of them were moms and MOMS ARE PREPARED!!!

We all suffered a lot during the trip but, and this may be a major over-generalization and stereotype (sorry, not sorry), women are pretty graceful at dealing with suffering and moving forward anyway.

When Kelly and I headed over to Kilimanjaro, WHOA Travel gave us a packing list and sort of an idea about the trip with the FAQs of course, but we didn’t have anyone to sit down and have this kind of conversation with, which looking back was a blessing and a curse.

How did I prepare for dealing with having to go to the bathroom out on the trail?

How did I clean my body and what was it like to use wet wipes as a “shower” every morning and night for all those days?Dr Erica Peabody - A Month Later - Chiropractor Fenton Michigan

How did I manage my period that started on day 2 of an 8 day trip and summit on the day of highest level of anemia in oxygen levels half the normal of sea level?

What about the hole in my heart and the decreased oxygen levels that I experience at sea level just walking around much less 19,341 ft above sea level.

How did you manage the 10 day trip with a total of 24 hours of sleep?  How did you function like that?

What did you do at night when you were unable to sleep?  and then the next night?  and the next?  How did you keep hiking 6-7 hours per day with such little sleep?

How did you keep your clothes in good working order and what materials did you prefer to wear up there?

How do you manage temperatures from 90 degrees at the bottom to below zero at the top?

Were you bored out on the trail during the days?

How do you hike 15,000 ft to 19,341 on the final day with barely anything to eat or drink (due to my own specific circumstances) while having 3 bouts of massive diarrhea and having to still manage your period sitting and squatting on porous lava rocks at zero degrees?

What do you mean your porter had to help your every single step for the final 100 yards to the top?

It seems so strange that going down is actually harder than going up?  A walking boot for 6 months following your trek?  Still not healed?  How is that even possible?Dr Erica Peabody - Best Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - The Hardest Day

There was a real thought on my plane ride over there that it is possible, possible anytime of course but more possible than anything I had done before, that I wasn’t coming back.  Of course that wouldn’t have been ideal, and I am glad that it didn’t happen and I lived to tell all these stories, but truly that trek is quite dangerous.  The trail is relatively safe but exposure to the different elements, not to mention 19,341 ft elevation, can cost you your life.  I am not sure they ever really considered that deeply…maybe they have but I think they were caught off-guard that I would speak about it so casually.

I also remember, when I had that thought I mentioned above, that I was okay with how my life had been and how much I have done and accomplished and just how many lives I had helped to make a difference, big or small.  Because life is truly about contribution.  When exposed to cultures like what was in Tanzania, and spend those 10 days with them, life gets really simple.  Clothes on their backs, shoes on their feet, roof over their heads, foot to eat and family and that is true happiness.  Truly.  <<<—-THAT is the simplest thing of all.

So how do you prepare for the hardest day of your life….put a smile on your face, look around, be sure you packed the right layers and take in every last moment because your life will FOREVER BE CHANGED…for the better.  Best of luck to that group, I am sure you will all have massive success and I am excited for the report back when you are done!  <3

 

 

 

#YOGAEVERYDAMNDAY

As a compliment to my calling as a chiropractor, I am yogi and have been for decades now.  If you are in the yoga community, you know that there are online yoga challenges happening all the time, all over the world.  I finally decided to join one called “#yogaeverydamnday”.Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - #YOGAEVERYDAMNDAY - Dr Erica Peabody

The point of this challenge is have yoga as part of “every damn day” no matter what.  It doesn’t mean to strike a pose and take a picture (although to some people it does).  Yoga is a way to mindfulness…or is it mindfulness is a way to yoga?  To me, they are one and the same.  To me, it also means to move the body in some mindful way to bring our awareness and existence back to the present moment.

Every day I would find a bit of time, some days was a little and some days was a lot, to do some form of yoga and then share a bit about that day.  (It is all on Instagram @drericapeabody)
Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - #YOGAEVERYDAMNDAY - Dr Erica Peabody

I have been a yogi for over 20 years.  In a past life, I taught yoga for years inside of a gym setting (have I told you that in said “past life” I was a group fitness instructor?).  I also took Yoga Teacher Training with Ethos Yoga about 4 years ago.  I didn’t take the teacher training curriculum in order to teach yoga in my current life, it was more about bringing even further awareness into my own personal practice, I don’t have the ability to commit to more in my regular week at the current moment.  Who knows, maybe someday.  Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - #YOGAEVERYDAMNDAY - Dr Erica Peabody

You also probably know about the walking boot I am currently wearing that I discussed in one of the “Sitting on the Sidelines” blog posts.  My physical yoga practice has taken a back seat to my healing and I haven’t been able to attend many classes since June.  Following my summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in March I was fine while taking a yoga class, but after class my foot would start screaming and I decided was not doing it any favors to continue so I took a break.  Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - #YOGAEVERYDAMNDAY - Dr Erica Peabody

September rolled around and one of the people I follow on Instagram, Rachel Brathen aka “Yoga Girl”, decided to do her “Yoga Every Damn Day” challenge for 30 days.  I needed a little shift for myself and decided I would join.

After decades of yoga, I like to attend very specific hot, intense and sweaty classes with specific instructors.  I am reminded of the irony of having rigid guidelines of classes and instructors as I practice more and more yoga…seems it should be the other way around.  Honestly, if I am going to be in class, I want to spend my time exactly how I want to practice and I have my favorite instructors all over the region, just depends on the day and time for which one I would attend.

Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - #YOGAEVERYDAMNDAY - Dr Erica Peabody

I also love yoga for the community aspect of it.  Doing yoga with other people has a very different feel than practicing solo, or at least in my mind.

I am currently limited in my range of motion as well as the ability to get into different postures.  But inside of the the 30 day challenge framework I just mentioned, I learned so much.Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - #YOGAEVERYDAMNDAY - Dr Erica Peabody

During the month I did make it to a couple classes, having to modify almost every posture…I learned new modifications.

Some days I felt like I am all the way back to square one with my practice, a beautiful reminder of all the progress i have made.

The only way in and out of the postures is through breath and where in my life can I take some deep breathes?

As the 30 days progressed, I relished going back to the basics and cherished the strength I have built in my core.

My movements were slow and very deliberate.  Where else in my life can I be slower and more deliberate?

I had to change many of the transitions in and out of postures.  Are there other paths in my life I can or should alter?Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - #YOGAEVERYDAMNDAY - Dr Erica Peabody

As I look around in life, I see so many ways yoga has opened my eyes and offered me different perspective on life outside of the yoga studio.  That is the whole point of yoga and is one of the most powerful parts of having a regular practice.

Of course there is also the part about being flexible so as life comes at me, I can bend instead of breaking.

Thank you #yogaeverydammnday challenge, i have learned more in the past 30 days about myself and my life and how to alter and modify things and be ok with doing less than I am used to.  In the end, I am so very very grateful that my body even allows me to move around like this at all…and I am (fingers crossed) can announce that I am on my way (although slow) back to a BOOT FREE LIFE!!!!

 

A TINY HOME

I have a very tiny home that I go to about 4 days a week.  It is about 2 feet by 6 feet and is easy to transport and move from place to place.  This tiny home is my yoga mat.

As I enter the yoga room, I always find myself gravitating to the same location on the floor.  In one yoga studio is is one particular location, in another studio it is another spot and the third is still quite a different spot.  There is a feel to the location in the room and is all very much part of my process.

I usually arrive early, sometimes 30 minutes early, because I want to be in that same spot.  It may be a location where just a class or 2 before, I found myself staring at a ceiling tile and bursting out laughing.  It may be a spot that just the day before, I left a huge puddle of tears on the floor.  It may be a place that a week prior I had such an awesome flow and was really linked in to whomever was practicing next to me…either way there is a reason, and I cannot always put my finger on the why of my choice in locations.fenton chiropractor yoga room

When I arrive at the perfect place for my tiny home, I line my mat up perfectly parallel to the planks of the wood floor, fold my hand towel in half and put it near the top of my mat and find the ideal un-kick-able spot for my water bottle.

As I am laying on my mat waiting for class to start, I spend a little time observing others as they walk in to find their “spot” to set up their tiny home for the next 60-75 minutes of their lives.  It is interesting the process they go through.

Some walk in confidently, drop their mat, roll it out, set up their water, climb on and lay down to meditate.

Others set up their tiny home, lay down, get back up and move to the opposite side of the room with a “something about the mojo of that spot isn’t quite right” tone to their walk.

Still others will stand by the door and survey the scene to decide their plot before making a move and others will stand and have a discussion with their friends about perfect location for their tiny homes.

There is such a magic to all the happenings.  People arrive at different times for different reasons but one by one we all stake our claim to a 2 feet by 6 feet plot of wood floor to set up our tiny home and by the time class is about to start…it is all in perfect order.

The floor of the yoga room is covered in brightly colored mats of all shades, big towels, little towels, water bottles of all shapes, sizes and colors, and beautiful bodies of all shapes, sizes and colors that have found a “tiny home”.

The dance begins.  The music fills the room.  The sweat pours onto the mats.  There is reckless abandonment during the flow…a vulnerability that you would only find if you were inside your own home and no one was watching.  The bodies turn and twist into all kinds of shapes and forms and the energy is indescribable.

The classes I attend are taught with such incredible intensity that it sometimes takes everything I have to keep breathing just to make it through the next movement.  When I am physically working that hard, there is no time to play with other thoughts in my mind and it is a 60-75 minute moving meditation.  The only goal ever set out by the instructor is to “keep breathing and stay on your mat”, in other words…”stay in your tiny home”.

At the end, everyone lays down on their backs and melts into the floor.  All the hard work, the physical, mental and emotional garbage has a chance to settle out and be absorbed by the floor of the tiny homes we have set up for ourselves.

When all is said and done, we all roll up our tiny homes and head out into the world.  It is the feeling that has filled the body at that very moment that gets us all to come back time and time again for years.

Our tiny homes find their usual spot in the back seat or trunk of our vehicles waiting for the next 2 feet by 6 feet plot of wood floor in another yoga room to stake claim of next time the chance arises.

The tiny home that I go to on a regular basis, though exposed to the elements of the room and surrounded by people within inches, is a profound place of peace for me.  I hope you have a place like that for yourself somewhere in your life as well.  Namaste.

YOGA TEACHER TRAINING

As many of you know, I practice yoga…a lot. I have been committed to cultivating my inner yogi for the past 4 years and spend 2-3 nights at Ethos Yoga Studio in Holly http://www.ethosyoga.net/.
It is one of my passions and helps to make me a better person in this world. My usual classes are Monday and Wednesday night over at Ethos and Friday afternoon either there or down at Center For Yoga in Birmingham http://www.centerforyoga.com/. It is therapeutic for me; mind, body and spirit. It is absolutely one of the greatest things I have added to my life and spend a lot of time talking about it during the day at the Cafe of LIFE. In order for the body to be and stay healthy, it needs to move. I haven’t found a better way to move the body than to flow and twist and turn in a yoga class and would highly recommend it in some way to everyone.
Tomorrow starts a new phase of yoga for me. I am always on the hunt for rich, rewarding experiences and I will begin a Yoga Teacher Training course over at Ethos Yoga. The course is 3 months long and is designed to immerse trainees in the yoga philosophy. We will be practicing yoga on a daily basis on our own or in a class. We will develop a personal meditation practice on our own and in class. We will change our eating habits to vegetarian or vegan. So this is going to be in addition to what I already have going on which is running a really fun chiropractic practice, hosting an amazing Book Club, giving Half Hour to Health lectures, participating in an awesome Walking Club, being a dog mom, and a runner amongst many other activities I am involved in. It means getting up an hour earlier and time managing a little better. It means studying and spending a lot of down time reading and writing. I look forward to it. I will keep you posted during the process.
(pictures are right off Ethos website; Kel Leigh Coale photography)