Scratchy Sweaters, Covid-19 and After the RAIN...

Every year I use spring as an opportunity for self-growth. Partly because my birthday is in March, and partly because spring just seems like a good time to revamp both my inner and outer worlds. Usually, as spring nears and I begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel (I live in the Midwest after all) I embark upon cleaning my home, yard, and yes, myself. Sometimes it’s through diet (I have grown extremely fond of the Perfect Bar) or getting rid of clothes I no longer wear for a fresh new look. 

But this year spring has taken on a whole new hue, one of sharp contrasts and textures like the warmth and comfort of a wool sweater that is also scratchy and rough. Looking at life through a Covid-19 lens has brought me to bouts of happiness and in a matter of seconds to utter sadness. Or on the rare occasion, a feeling of itchiness so deep it penetrates my soul. I was thankful and relieved when a friend and colleague posted on Instagram about her uncomfortable emotions. She wanted to share that it was okay to have bad moments and acknowledge that as difficult as feelings get, they are never wrong.  

Her words stuck with me, the other day, as I drove to get groceries and rejoiced as the sun made a sudden appearance. I felt its momentary warmth on my face and felt at peace, if not happy. As I turned into the parking lot, I noticed a line outside of Trader Joe’s. People donning masks and gloves waited the proper social distance of 6 feet apart. The happiness I had felt moments ago was replaced with a clenching in my heart. I had to catch my breath as I allowed tears to stream down my face, the same face that was rejoicing in the sun’s warmth moments ago.  

Much like spring brings rain showers, Covid-19 brings RAIN showers in all caps. Psychologist and meditation teacher, Tara Brach, uses the acronym RAIN in her book Radical Compassion to draw attention to our inner world and how it communicates with our outer world. “R” stands for recognize that we have challenging emotions, “A” for allow as we digest what is being felt, “I” for investigate where we feel the discomfort in our bodies, and “N” for nurture, whether that is breathing deep breaths or a gentle hand to the heart, it is “calling on the most wise or compassionate part of our being,” says Brach. 

Instead of wriggling out of this discomfort, Brach encourages us to feel the pricks and nubbins and nurture rather than push them away. While I’m looking forward to putting away my winter sweaters this spring for softer less scratchy ones, I plan to keep noticing where I’m being challenged—to recognize when I get that familiar rub.  Whether it is in allowing for a full range of emotions to tumble out of me or simply noticing the sunshine after the rain (RAIN) has passed, I look forward to these moments of getting to know myself a little better, nubbins and all.  

Jill Griffiths

HUM A HAPPY TUNE THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

When I was pregnant with our first child, my husband and I took classes to guide us through a natural childbirth. We chose the Bradley method a 3-month long class, meeting once a week, to go over breathing and massage. I thought this was a great gig, of course, I was the one getting the massage.

As the due date neared, then passed, my doctor set up an appointment for me to get induced. I knew that getting induced would intensify the contractions, and this was not part of the plan. To be clear, I don’t have anything against epidurals, but as crazy as it might sound, I wanted to experience the pain, provided there were no complications. I believed the pain was my guide, and I probably read somewhere that it would shorten my labor, again, good plan.

When the day finally arrived, and the first big contraction hit, my husband cracked his knuckles and puffed his chest. This was the moment we had all been waiting for—his well-rehearsed massage. But the moment he touched me I spewed profanities at him, all of which I do not remember. To this day when he tells the story I think he’s making it up.

Instead, what I did do, to manage the pain, was spontaneous and without provocation, unless you consider the drip of Pitocin provocation, I began to hum. This was my body’s natural response to pain, it provided relief, a moment of sanity, enough so that I didn’t find the need to spew anymore profanities at my husband, or anyone else for that matter. The relief it provided was not as strong as an epidural, but it helped me relax enough to let my body do what it instinctively knew what to do.

Later, when I became a yoga teacher and learned about chanting, I remembered this episode. It turns out humming, chanting or singing trigger the vagus nerve. A nerve that turns on our parasympathetic nervous system, the system in charge of our reproductive organs. When we are in fight, flight or freeze mode our vagus nerve shuts down, so does our parasympathetic nervous system.

In fact, Time.com reported that singers had lower levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. Furthermore, group singing (or group humming, um, chanting) released endorphins and oxytocin, the bonding hormone.

So, if you’re feeling a little stressed or blue this holiday season and don’t trust your vocal abilities to belt out a tune, no problem, next time you have the opportunity to “om” in yoga give it a try and see if you have an extra zing in your step as you leave the studio.

Jill Griffiths

A letter to my nephew...

My nephew visited me in September, before he went off to college in London. I was excited to explore Chicago and downtown Naperville doing touristy things I don’t usally take the time to do unless, well, I’m with tourists. Aidan was like a little kid. Almost nineteen, he felt like a 9-year-old as he raced off to check out sights I had never really taken the time to admire. At one point, he stood in front of a mural that I was convinced must be new. He looked for a date, 2012. How was it possible that this mural had been at a location I’ve walked past hundreds of times and never noticed? Another time he jumped up on a statue to shake hands with a bronze veteran. I laughed and took a picture, but instead of walking away I decided to take the time and read about the 5 veterans, who were friends and went to Naperville High School and all came back from World War II with honors. Then there was the stained glass wall at the parking structure on Van Buren. I knew better to assume it was new as I stopped, this time, to take it in.

In the almost 15 years of living in Naperville I hadn’t really taken time to look at certain aspects of my own town. How was it that I had missed so much important stuff? And what else am I not seeing that’s right in front of my eyes? I wondered if this habit stemmed from not wanting to be seen? Like a child playing hide and seek in plain sight, but closes his eyes, surely no one can see him?

How often do we do this? How often do we close our eyes to ourselves because we are afraid of being seen? My nephew left to attend Goldsmiths Univeristy in London—where he will be for the next 3 years. And while I would’ve loved to give him some words of advice, it seemed he already knew. Allow yourself to not only see the world, but allow yourself to be seen by the world.

So, thank you Aidan for opening my eyes to the world. You are one special kid, and that I see very clearly.

Your aunt,

Jill

Move Over Golden Rule

By Jill Griffiths

I recently attended our daughter’s college orientation in Boston, which involved a day of back to back lectures from morning until evening. Sitting among a sea of parents, my morning coffee long worn off, I had flashbacks of my own college days as a freshman. Having gone to a large school, with 500 students in a lecture hall, paying attention was often a struggle. Come sophomore year, I realized I needed a wake up call, literally, and made a pact with myself to sit as close to the teacher as possible. I chuckled now, noting that I was sitting in the balcony.

As the speaker began talking about the school’s code of ethics and expectations, I admittedly started to drift until I heard something that caught my attention; the Platinum Rule. And whether it was the words that caught my attention, or the enthusiasm in the speaker’s voice, I perked up. Unlike the Golden Rule, which encourages us to treat others as we would like to be treated, The Platinum Rule, she explained, encourages us to treat others as they would like to be treated. Hmmmm, I liked this evolved way of thinking. I was suddenly feeling better about the tuition check we just wrote.

In fact, many of us already know this rule, especially if we’ve been in a romantic relationship. My husband and I have had our fair share of ups and downs resulting in a marriage counselor or two (or seven). And while each counselor had a different piece of advice, they all seemed to want the same thing; for us to be able to communicate better. And part of that improved communication was getting us to understand what the other was trying to say. You’ve heard of the popular phrase ‘love language,’ where you try to identify how your partner is expressing love. Well the Platinum Rule is not very different, but it goes beyond gestures of kindness to understanding why people do what they do and how we can shift our perspective to better understand their motives.

In fact, I remember thinking when my own marriage was under distress, how it felt as if we were speaking two different languages. I felt my husband was misreading what I said or did. I wanted to record our conversations for proof in case I needed to defend myself later. But instead, I chose kindness over the need to prove myself (I guess the seven therapists paid off). And once the negative energy lifted, it was as if we were finally graced with the same language. Because love, thankfully, is a universal language and difficult to misread when it is genuine.

Treat others as they want to be treated, means understanding where they are coming from. It means shifting your perspective so that you can hear what they are saying and look at them with fresh eyes. That shift means being utterly present to the moment without an agenda, past reference, or getting ready for the rebuttal. That tiny shift, by the way, is cataclysmic in effort.

When practicing yoga this shift in perspective is also challenging. Imagine being in a balancing pose teetering on the edge, about to fall, unable to peel your gaze from the floor, because you are afraid of losing your stance and the firm ground you stand on. If not yoga, consider another form of workout or situation where you are afraid of falling. Where you don’t have something firm to grasp. This is called fear. And fear is at the core of most of our challenges. But like any challenge the reward is substantial.

This willingness to let go of fear can also be described as groundlessness. The Buddhist nun Pema Chodron says, “keep your mind open and always question and explore. When you feel yourself getting triggered or hooked, see that as a warning sign that you’re holding onto something and be curious. Step in a little further. That’s what I think counteracts it.”

Platinum is more durable than gold. It can withstand more stress. So next time you find yourself in a challenging situation or yoga pose, remember the Platinum Rule and lean into fear rather than away from it. The more comfortable we get with this feeling of “groundlessness,” the easier shifting our perspective becomes. And that is how we get along with people who think differently, act differently, dress differently, talk differently or even pray differently. It’s not a cause for fear, but celebration because it expands our capacity to love, or be in that yoga pose just a wee bit longer, until we find our edge, our true power.

The more comfortable we get with this feeling of “groundlessness,” the easier shifting our perspective becomes.

360 Studios Naperville

New name, new look — same place.

First off, thank you all so much for your support throughout our many years of growth. We couldn’t have done it without all of our amazing teachers and members! As we continue to grow and offer more styles of classes, it was important to us to label ourselves as a studio.

We are excited to have TWO studios (right next door to each other) one offering Yoga classes and on the fit side you can enjoy Barre, Cycle, Personal Training, Small Group classes and more!

NEW SITE AMENITIES

1. You can sign up for classes / register easily from the top menu bar now! Just click “SIGN UP” and navigate to your desired option.

2. We also have a menu bar at the bottom of our site. There you can find things like FAQ, Press, Testimonials from clients, if we are hiring + a gallery where we will update / add pictures from events, classes and more!

3. We also have linked our Instagram account to our homepage. There you can see any pictures we post daily and also click on the images to get to our Instagram page and follow along! If you ever post a picture of 360 Studios, make sure to use the hashtag #360studiosnaperville so we can see them!

4. THE BLOG — how fun is this? Here we will be able to share lots more with you and you will be able to share it as well if you choose. We plan to a “instructor of the month”, client stories, new classes we are offering, re-caps of our events and more!

Thanks again for all you ALL do! Our studio is what it is today because of each and everyone single one of you.

Cheers,

Nicole