Yoga Balances the Mind as Well as the Body

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Sheryl Checkman

yoga meditation pose at sunset

I’ve been feeling a bit off balance lately. My left shoulder started bothering me back in the fall. I first noticed it while swimming laps. I thought it would go away but it didn’t. So after going to the doctor and getting an MRI, I learned that I have severe tendonitis and a bone spur that is aggravating it. The prognosis: “If I were a betting man” said the doctor, “I’d say you will need surgery to shave the bone spur down.” Not wanting to jump into surgery (I’ve had enough of that lately!) he has me on an anti-inflammatory and will be starting physical therapy. I see him again in 6 weeks and then we’ll re-assess. I’m not sure, but I think as soon as I had a diagnosis, I started to feel worse! I can’t swim – not supposed to lift my arm over my head (hard to swim the crawl with one arm!). And what about yoga? I don’t want to give up the one thing that makes me feel grounded and peaceful!

I was able to ski last weekend though. As long as I avoided the bumps and anything that would put a strain on my shoulder I was good. But, as most of us in the East know, this hasn’t exactly been a stellar year for skiing! What can I do to keep balance? I went to my 8:30 am yoga class this morning hoping I could find enough modifications to make my practice work for me. Suzanne, my wonderful instructor was back from a month-long retreat and she made some suggestions for modifications. I avoided the poses that I knew would hurt my shoulder (chaturanga, knees, chest , chin, shoulder stand) and I modified my arm position for the other poses, avoiding stretching my left arm over my head. After shavasana I stayed for the meditation. The end result? I walked out of class feeling balanced both in body and mind!

A Feature and a T-Shirt Giveaway – Life is Balance!

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Sheryl Checkman

Happy New Year everyone! I am thrilled to be featured this week on Shauna Oberg’s Satori Design for Living blog this week. What a great way to start the year! Oh and did I mention I am offering a Life is Balance® t-shirt as the feature’s giveaway as well? Shauna is dedicated to providing readers with decorating, organizing and DIY ideas for their homes. She also shares fabulous finds, a look into the projects that she’s working on, as well as life inspiration – that is, anything she thinks will inspire the lifestyle you deserve. She likes to take a holistic approach to design, her philosophy being: “When we put life into our homes, our homes will give us life.” Now how great is that? So after you read her feature on me and enter the giveaway, stay a while and browse through her blog… you just might get inspired!

Head on over to enter starting Monday January 16. Entries close Thursday, January 19 at 8 pm MST. The winner will be announced on Friday, January 20! Click on the logo below to go now:

Snow in October…and a shift in the balance

Posted on November 1, 2011 by Sheryl Checkman

My backyard garden on New York's upper East Side

My backyard had no idea of the destruction that was to come.

This was the way my garden looked last summer, and the summer before that. The big wild black cherry tree that sat in my backyard for as long as I’ve lived there reached out its branches to shade my Rhododendron and lent a branch to hold up a lantern or two as well. But last Saturday, the fine balance of tree and yard came to an end when during the freak October snowstorm, the mighty tree fell, right before my eyes. I was sitting at my window talking to a friend, commenting on how I hoped the snow on the tree still laden with leaves, wouldn’t break any branches, when I saw the tree fall over. It seemed to fall in slow motion and barely made a sound. I couldn’t believe it! It totally up-routed itself, taking along my deck and fence and laying to rest across three other building yards. I am thankful that no one was outside when it fell and it did not fall onto any buildings.

My fallen tree

However, I am saddened by the loss of this great tree. The tree man who came to assess the damage told me that probably no one planted it, that most likely it just grew on its own. It stood for well over the 30 years that I had come to know it. It was witness to many a garden party and evening gathering.

So what did I learn from this experience? Nothing is permanent. There is a fine balance in life which sometimes tips one way or the other. We can’t always be prepared for the tip, but we can learn to re-set the balance. My deck will be rebuilt (hopefully insurance will help with that), and it will probably feel a bit more spacious and be sunnier. I may even be able to plant those flowers that never would grow before because they needed more sun. But still, I will miss that great old tree.