Yoga Glimmers Seekers

Triggers are stimuli or events that evoke strong emotional reactions or memories in individuals, often associated with past trauma or negative experiences. On the other hand, "glimmers" could be seen as stimuli or events that evoke positive emotions, feelings of inspiration, or moments of clarity and joy.


Most of us are familiar with a “trigger”, which is a cue from your environment that activates your body, via the nervous system. Based on your knowledge and past experiences, your nervous system moves into a stress response when it senses danger to help you fight, run away from, or freeze in the face of a threat. Things like increased heart rate and breathing, and muscle tension and trembling help you jump into whatever action is needed in the moment. 


These responses are helpful if we are facing real danger, but less so when the threats are based on memories, future worries, or day-to-day life stress. Unfortunately, living in this chronically stressed state in our bodies is a one-way ticket to burnout. 


But did you know there’s a different kind of cue that can move your body out of the fight/flight/freeze state, aka your sympathetic nervous system, and into a rest/digest state, or your parasympathetic nervous system? It’s called a “glimmer”. 


Glimmers can be a huge support to recovering from the daily stresses that lead to burnout, and even help us to gradually come out from more chronic stress, anxiety and depression. Luckily, you have the power to invite them into your life anytime, anywhere. It just takes a little bit of focus. 


The word glimmer is defined as a “faint or wavering light”, which points to the difficulty we may have seeing these moments if we aren’t paying attention. But with a little focus, we’ll see they are all around us, all the time.


Whatever negativity we have in our minds is there; uprooting it is not easy. To reduce the power of negativity or triggers we can work to fill our minds with more positivity and glimmers, so much that the negative portion becomes insignificant. 


The idea is that positive experiences and memories can counterbalance the negative effects of triggers. We can develop coping strategies that involve focusing on these positive glimmers to manage stress, anxiety, and emotional responses triggered by negative events.


It’s all in the small things… For example, while working our stressful accounting yesterday afternoon pouring over numbers while sitting on our balcony, the sun was shining on my face… I closed my eyes just for 10 seconds and enjoyed the feeling. I opened my eyes and decided to try to stretch this pleasant feeling and glimmer of joy for a bit longer and I closed my eyes for another 20 seconds. These half a minute really helped to carry me through the day with a more positive and optimistic attitude. 


Glimmers like this are everywhere, and to create the change we want to see in our minds and our lives we need to look out more closely for those beautiful opportunities of uplifting joy.


They say that the neighbour's grass is greener, but the simple truth is that the grass is greener where we water it. Pay more attention and give more energy to the glimmers rather than the triggers and happiness will grow and flourish again in our lives.


In most ways, it is that simple.

You must believe in the magic. Even on the dreariest of days, when light is scarce. You must leave space in your heart for the good stuff to thrive. LET IT IN. Look for it. Send it an invitation and pull out a chair at your table. Beautiful moments are everywhere, waiting to be seen. And each time you see one, amongst the mire, you’re reminding every cell in your body that life is so much more than days in a week and chores on a list. It is a patchwork kaleidoscope of absolutely everything. And you are a fascinating complicated part, of that art.
By Donna Ashworth

 

Bring: Notebooks (or paper and big stapler) and pens or texters

 

Positive Storytelling

We spend so much time analysing and even obsessing over what's going wrong in our lives, but it’s not our fault. We actually have an inherent bias towards negativity.  That’s what kept us safe when we were cavemen; if we didn’t remember that there was a Sabertooth Tiger outside the cave when we stepped out, we would be eaten. Our brain is designed to focus on danger and focus on the negative.

So one of the paths to health and happiness lies in our choice to override that negative bias and look for the good in our lives. This is where glimmers come in.

It takes work to go against this current and create the happy life we want for ourselves. But it’s easy work if we just do it one little tiny thing at a time…

Triggers are stimuli or events that evoke strong emotional reactions or memories in individuals, often associated with past trauma or negative experiences. On the other hand, "glimmers" could be seen as stimuli or events that evoke positive emotions, feelings of inspiration, or moments of clarity and joy.

Glimmers are micro-moments of joy that help calm the nervous system. They can really support our mental health and direct us to find joy and peace even when we feel down.

It can be easier to feel joy in big life moments or exciting events like celebrations, concerts and vacations. But there are a whole lot of moments in between where we also deserve (and can choose) to feel the goodness around us. 

The word glimmer is defined as a “faint or wavering light”, which points to the difficulty we may have seeing these moments if we aren’t paying attention. But with a little focus, we’ll see they are all around us, all the time.

What creates these small moments of joy will be different for every person given their past experiences, but they all share the small glow or burst of extra energy, we feel when we come across them. 

Some examples of a glimmer could be:

  • Seeing a beautiful nature scene or an animal playing
  • Smelling a relaxing or nostalgic scent
  • Hearing a child laugh or you favorite song in a store
  • Tasting a comforting or delicious meal 
  • Feeling cozy under a warm blanket or in a bath

These moments may be fleeting, but taking time to acknowledge the glimmers starts to gently string together a larger sense of happiness, joy, and calm in your body which will help you develop a less overactive nervous system, and even reprogram your brain towards ease and rest over time. 

Looking for glimmers is never about covering or stuffing your emotions. But on a bad day, they can offer a reset to your nervous system and provide extra support to help you get through. And on a good day, they can heighten the positive emotions you feel, contributing to an even better day. This will help nourish you when you hit your next inevitable hard day. 

Are you ready to be Glimmer Seekers with me?

Gather in a circle and take turns telling short, positive stories or memories. Tiny things that made you feel a moment of bursting joy in the last day or week or month or year…

The goal is to make yourself and each other smile and feel happy with that small memory.

We are wired for connection, and habits can be easier to stick to (and more fun!) together!

10 Minutes

 

I See Beauty Sun Dance

Make a Sun Dance sequence using this meditation throughout the practice while doing the following variations in different poses; most poses can move in all of those directions - Be creative!

It is a meditation from the Native American traditions where we can pause at any time and look for beauty (glimmers) around us in all 7 directions, so while in each pose, follow these movements while looking for beauty in that direction and repeating our load or in your heart the phrase “I see beauty”:

  1. “I see beauty in front of me” - Do the basic variation of the pose and look for something beautiful in front of you
  2. “I see beauty behind me” -  Twist (to both sides) in the pose and look for something beautiful behind you
  3. “I see beauty on my right” - Side Bend to one side while in that pose and look for something beautiful on your right
  4. “I see beauty on my left” - Side Bend to one side while in that pose  and look for something beautiful on your left
  5. “I see beauty above me” - Back Bend in the pose and look for something beautiful behind you
  6. “I see beauty below me” - Bend Forward and look for something beautiful below you
  7. “I see beauty within me” - Close your eyes and look for something beautiful inside of you

You can continue and look for beauty in all 7 directions also at ANY OTHER TIME during the class to remind your students to look for glimmers. this throughout the class.

10 Minutes

Glimmer Poses

Which yoga pose makes you feel good?

Do that pose now.

It is okay to also change from pose to pose while we do this exercise.

Try to look for what feels good in your body… Is it stretching? Is it being strong? Is it relaxing?

Focus on that good feeling in your body. If your mind wanders away, bring it back to that pleasant sensation.

Bask in the glimmer, extend it… So that it leaves a deeper impression in your mind.

Even after the class, when you do come across a glimmer in your day, allow yourself to stop and really take it in. 

Tune into your 5 senses to explore all that you are experiencing in the moment. Acknowledge why it feels good to you and what’s happening in your body. 

Remember, and remind your students, that the advanced version of any pose is to DO IT WITH A SMILE!

So I want to see on your faces now how much you are enjoying the pose that you are doing.

If the pose stops feeling good switch to another pose… You are a Glimmer Seeker - Look for that glamorous feeling!

10 Minutes

Glimmer Creations

Create a list of "happy" items or glimmer experiences (e.g., a rainbow, a hug, a favourite toy, a sunny day).

Ask students to pair up with a classmate that has a similar glimmer trigger to theirs.

Give all the pairs about 5 minutes to create a sequence of poses that will show how good that specific glimmer makes tham fill, no matter how small it is.

You can use drama, dance, A LOT of yoga of course, but no talking.

After the creations are ready, each pair takes turns performing their Glimmer Creation in front of everyone else.

If you are handy with Spotify, try to find songs that will fit the specific glimmer each pair is showcasing.

Big cheers after each performance please!

15 Minutes

Compliment Chain

Sit in a circle again and start by giving a compliment to the person on your right.

The next person continues the chain by giving a compliment to the person on their right, and so on. 

Make a few rounds of it if it feels good.

5 Minutes

Glimmers Yoga Journal

Give each child a notebooks (or A4 papers folded in half and stapled in the middle) and pens or texters.

Take the time now to decorate your very special Glimmers Journal. 

Every day, starting now, write at least one thing that made you feel lit up that day, or something you did or said to light someone else up. You can also use it to write down ideas for helping you and others around you to find the glimmers. 

Remember, you are a Glimmer Seeker now!

Keep a log of all the glimmers you discover throughout the day and reflect on how they made you feel. Also explore how the practice of noticing them affects your mood or day in general. 

When you purposefully notice glimmers, and how you feel when you do, you will naturally begin to see more (remember? The grass is greener where you water it!). This will help you make a long term habit that will boost your mental health and wellbeing. 

10 Mintes

Glimmer Relaxation

Make fists with your hands and keep your wrists very loose while you tap all along your body. Start with your feet, climb up your legs and arms, tap on your tummy, your back and your chest, tap on your neck and shoulders and head and even finally on your face with your fingertips now (take 2-3 minutes to do that).

Without talking now lie down and notice all of the sensations in your body.

Enjoy this feeling. Enjoy your body, and your mind, glimmering.

Glimmers live in the present. If you’re spending most of your days focusing on the past or future you won’t be able to spot all the good around you. So stay right here and now with this feeling. The world can wait.

Tell yourself in your heart again and again “if this is not happiness I don’t know what is”.

Happiness is inside of us and outside of us and all around us all the time. It is not just in the big experiences… It glimmers to us in all of the little things. And there are SO MANY of them.

We need to recognise and acknowledge those beautiful Glimmers more.

Focus of that good feeling and also it to grow.

There was a time in my adult life when I didn’t see any Glimmers, everything was dark and grey and I forgot what happiness felt like.

But then I realized, YES I CAN! Even happiness is a skill to learn, I can practise it, develop it,  I can grow my Glimmer muscle and the more I use it, the stronger the Glimmer muscle will become and the more joyful I will be; this is neuroplasticity.

So start to do just that, to practise paying attention and notice that everything is a gift, the present moment.

Keep practising, and your glimmer muscle will get stronger.

It’s easier to start with nature. Look at the sky and clouds and tell yourself how beautiful it all is, then feel the feeling, breathe it in, then become emotional about it, shed a tear of joy, (yes you can cry about a cloud!).  

The more you practise the easier it will be to feel it.

You are in charge, you can lift yourself up anywhere and anytime, one little glamorous step at a time.

Stay here for a short while, then stretch and yawn and sit up and be ready to shine!

5 Minutes

 

Want to learn how to share yoga and mindfulness with your children at home or with your students at school?

Join one of our Rainbow Kids Yoga Teacher Trainings today! Click here to sign up!

 

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