The sign said

long-haired freaky people need not apply(1).

(This post continued from previous post)

{Hummingbirds represent a visit by a loved one and an ability to find positivity amidst challenges}

The other day was a beautiful morning; we have been having a late summer early fall sunny blast here in Victoria. So I decided to sit underneath the house overhang on the deck under the hummingbird feeder. I’ve sat underneath the feeder before in a chair just to relax and enjoy the sun. But once I felt a splash on my forehead and I wasn’t sure if it was sugar water, hummingbird bird pee / poop or all three. So I don’t usually sit underneath the feeder anymore.

However on that beautiful morning I sat directly underneath the feeder, back against the wall, underneath the kitchen window, facing east, sun on my body, locked in padmasana (lotus posture). On days when I only do pranayama my legs and knees have not had a chance to warm up. So it’s harder to get my legs locked into padmasana (age contributes). I had to pry and pull my legs into position. But once locked in I’m good to go.

On that day when I started Bhramari (bee breath); last part of my pranayama (breathing) practice. I was joined by a hummingbird above my head. Bhramari is inhaling and then exhaling with a humming sound, like a bee. If done correctly it causes your sinuses and the chest to vibrate. This causes a dislodging effect of mucus and activates the vagus nerve. That activation has a calming effect on the nervous system and the benefits of that are many.

And I found it interesting that as soon as I started humming a hummingbird showed up (I could hear it). Gotta be something to that right – a sign? I didn’t feel a specific presence other than the bird itself but what it represents certainly got me thinking.

Afterwards I spent lots of time thinking about who that loved one could have been that visited me. It was better because after, instead of one presence, I thought about lots of loved ones whom I wished were visiting me. Maybe that was the intention.

But I’m a very practical person and I live a practical life. I live within my physical constraints mostly caused by MS and in some part by my age. Lots of easy things I used to be able to do I can’t do anymore. But I’m not constrained mentally (touch wood) and I still partake in the belief in the superpower of my mind. It’s still full of motion. Lots of stuff still buzzing around up there.

And when I started my yoga practice over twelve years ago I had no idea I’d still be at it and that it would affect how I process life. And in those twelve years I’ve been through some difficult life challenging events and still was able to revive and want to continue my practice. The wanting to continue is the biggest sign of all.

I still respect its influence on all aspects of my health (physical, mental, spiritual). That is an actual consideration that I process. And it’s shifting towards a more internal endeavour. It’s been shifting for a very long time. And I pay attention to all those “signs” in whatever form they may appear. I notice them(2).

So when a hummingbird shows up at the exact moment I start humming in Bhramari I pay attention. You don’t have to believe but there are moments while life moves and you cross something and say wait a second; did that happen for a reason. It could be an event, nature, a person etc. When it happens I notice and say yes.

Positivity amidst challenges.

Ahimsa

(1) from the song Signs by Five Man Electrical Band
(2) when I wrote that line a voice inside my head said how come you don’t notice when the garbage can is full – ha.