Exuberant Giveaway

After all this meditation talk, I'd like to take an off topic day. As I mentioned a week ago - I've reopened my Etsy Shop Mayhem Arts, and I've been filling it with eye pillows that I make myself. This post is primarily about a specific pair of eye pillows. They're not sold as a pair, but they inherently exist together.

I have two eye pillows listed under the "Upcycled" category in my shop - they're hand tie-dyed organic cotton (not dyed by me) and they once led a completely different life. Well not completely different. Before they were eye pillows - they were my favorite pair of yoga pants. Shining Shakti "Exuberant" pants in bright yellow and pink. See, I love my Shining Shakti pants. I own a couple different pairs, but the Exuberant pants were too long for me. I chopped off the bottoms to a more appropriate length and was left with a fab pair of pants and two circles of fabric. I wasn't sure what I'd do with them - I figured I'd wear them as headbands or something, but I set them aside because I felt like the answer was something other than "chuck em". Finally one day after I'd started on this crazy eye pillow-making spree I came across them again and realized that they were the perfect size to make eye pillows! That was that. The Pink and Yellow Shakti eye pillows are the softest in my shop and I seriously considered keeping them for myself.

In non-me news - The Dainty Squid is having another giveaway! This time she's giving away something from someone else's shop, but it's still amazingly cute stuff, so check it out. Here's the details:

What? $25 gift certificate from This and That from Japan. They sell tons and tons of super cute crafting supplies including fabrics, Japanese craft books, trims, clay molds and more!

When? October 25th- 28th

How? Leave a comment telling us what your favorite thing in the This and That from Japan shop is! (Make sure there is a way to contact you if you win!)

Extra entries? Of course! You can earn one extra entry by posting about this giveaway on your blog, tumblr, myspace, twitter, etc. Just leave a SEPARATE comment with the link for each place you mention the giveaway.

Who can win? ANYONE, anywhere in the world!! Winner will be announced Friday morning.

GO HERE TO ENTER

P.S. I'm Sick. Have been for a couple days, and I don't think it has peaked yet. Blech. Think I'll lie around and watch scary movies all day.

Time for Meditation

Another frequently asked question regarding meditation when outside of a class setting is - "How do you time yourself?". To me, timing yourself doesn't really matter as much later on. For myself I keep a cell phone nearby so I can glance at the time just as I'm going to begin, and again when I'm done. Just for curiosity's sake and to see if I'm meditating for a longer or shorter amount of time than yesterday. Overall I don't think the actual TIME you spend meditating in a given session is all that important. The very fact that you're meditating counts and is progress.

In the beginning, however, it can be helpful to keep up with time because you may have an initial goal of, say, 5 minutes. If 30 seconds in, you feel like it's been 30 minutes - and you keep checking the time - you're going to defeat the purpose and just irritate yourself. Setting a timer can be helpful. There are special meditation timers all over the internet that will play bells, chimes, or nature sounds to gradually draw you out of your meditative state, but they are crazy expensive. If you're going to be a few rooms away from it - a kitchen timer could work in a pinch. Just don't be too near it or it will startle you when it goes off. The same goes for most alarms.

When I need something like this timed I occasionally use the husband. Sometimes I find myself being paranoid that he's gotten "into" what he's doing and isn't paying any attention to the time, but I figure worst case I'll get a few extra minutes meditation or Savasana and that can only be a good thing. Another method I've employed is to listen to a playlist that I am familiar with. Most songs are about 3 minutes long, so if I can sit through 3 songs then I'm right around 10 minutes in. If I get all zoned out then great - I'll just pick up counting where I left off. 

Once you're sitting for at least 5 minutes just fine - you can pretty much stop timing yourself if you want. I like to set an intention to sit longer today than yesterday, but I listen to my body more than anything. I time myself these days by checking the time, beginning meditation, and staying under as long as my body can take it. When my legs eventually become uncomfortable I remind myself that "It's not pain, it's just different" and this buys me some more time. Eventually I say - it's just different, but I can't take it anymore! and I slowly draw myself out and straighten my legs out in front of me. This method has helped me to lengthen my comfortable sitting time (most days) from 5 minutes to 30.

On another note, there will be new items listed in My Shop every morning for the next 3 days!

Mayhem Arts Grand Reopening

You may or may not know that a couple years ago I ran an Etsy Shop called Mayhem Arts - where I sold fantabulous handmade malas for meditation and general accessorizing. I had an entirely different blog at the time too, so a lot has changed since then. Nonetheless, I've recently been busy making eye pillows of various sorts and have decided to Reopen My Shop.

Eye pillows are a must have for any yoga studio, practitioner, or anyone that just wants to truly relax for a bit and destress. There are currently 3 different types of fillings and 3 different colors to choose from. They vary in weight and price... and there are more options coming soon. This is just a starting point, so please check out Mayhem Arts and contact me if you want different colors, certain fillings, or a bulk order.

That's all for today - but tomorrow I shall return with a little chit chat about meditation!