I trust
that what is happening right now
is a sacred plea
to allow me to see
and steer me free
I am willing to invite the quiet
to revel in the teaching
and I hear
with certainty
the necessary truth
beckoning from inside of me
Try this.
Take a comfortable seat.
Close your eyes.
Feel your breath in your body as your own simple presence, as your patience, as your peace.
Allow your outer ribs to expand wide out to the sides as they rise. Fill the back of your lungs with breath so that they broaden and expand. Allow the fullness of your breath in your diaphragm to support the opening and lifting of your heart.
This conscious act brings you to an experience love, to hear the voice that is love, to experience the breath as love.
Dwell deeply in your love, in this place of wholeheartedness. Bathe yourself in love. From your toes to the top of your head, fill every cell with love and light.
Slowly open your eyes. Rest in the grace that is always yours.
How we talk to our bodies matters. Our thoughts matter.
Whether you have a skin grievance or stomach pains, a compulsive habit or a self-perceived flaw, directing your own energy of love into what ails you has the power to HEAL YOU.
The treatment: Combining your loving attention with the ancient art of Reiki (a light hands on approach that encourages access to your primordial consciousness).
The practice: Use your right palm (the right palm represents giving, the left palm receiving) and place your hand face down over the area of body that needs care.
Believe in yourself. Visualize the transformation you'd like to occur. See yourself happy, whole, perfectly imperfect, and lavishly loved.
What would need to happen in order to feel yourself healthy, happy, and whole? What would change in your daily experiences and interactions? What if you felt perfectly loved?
PRIORITIZE the power of a peaceful sleep....
SPACE :: Clear your space and create a calm place to rest. When our outer environment is cluttered, we lack the space inside that we need to let go and unwind. And, make it dark. Any amount of light signals our brains to stay awake. If that’s not possible, wear a sleeping mask. If it’s noisy where you sleep, try using a white noise machine to neutralize sounds.
SATURATE :: Drink water often — and early in the day (so you’re not up all night going to the toilet). Aim for a little more than half your body weight in ounces daily. When you’re dehydrated, you tend to feel wired when it’s time for bed and tired when you wake up in the morning.
SITUATE :: Get in bed 8 1/2-9 hours before you have to wake up. This gives you time to relax and fall asleep. Most of us need 8 hours (a very small percentage of the population needs less).
SYNERGIZE :: Turn off your TV and shut down your phone and other devices an hour before bed. This is very important. Read a book instead (not on your kindle — again, the light disrupts our sleep hormones).
SYNCHRONIZE :: When you get in bed, place your hands on your belly and begin the “same breath” practice. Inhale for three counts, and exhale out for three counts. Repeat this for a total of five breaths. Then, try inhaling for four counts and exhaling for four — for a total of five times. Move on to five counts, five times. Then move back to four counts, and finally back to three. Feel your mind clearing and your body relaxing deeply.
*If you tend to wake up in the middle of the night, try the breathing practice above or do some gentle stretching like child's pose and cat/cow until you feel sleepy again.
YOGA, put simply, is the way in which we experience the world.
It is our Inner State in any given context.
In other words, yoga is the inner lense through which we view our self and consequently how we perceive everything outside of us.
So the way we see ourselves is the way we see everything — because we are not separate from A N Y T H I N G.
When we are living our yoga, the relative world state in which we are experiencing our self and our connection to our supreme inner contentedness are one in the same.
Yoga literally means YOKE, to join together the personal identity with the Universal Interconnectedness.
What does this mean exactly?
According to my meditation teacher, Thom Knoles, it means YOU ARE THE UNIVERSE (!!!)
If you are the Universe then you are also not your suffering - because the Universe is not suffering. The Universe is Bliss. YOU ARE BLISS. WE ARE ALL BLISS. Come home to your birthright.
You are the contented and unbounded silent state of being that you experience from practicing on your mat, or when you are breathing deeply, or simply sitting quietly letting go of your identity.
*NOTE :: ASANA, meaning posture, is the physical act of poses practiced on a mat. ASANA is designed to produce YOGA.
To Be in the Energy of Self~Love means being K I N D T O Y O U R S E L F.
Notice your internal dialogue when you wake up, when you are going to work, before you eat a meal, when you are done for the day and going to bed.
How do you speak to yourself on a consistent basis? What are you telling yourself all day long?
Practice thinking and speaking positively about yourself (to yourself and others).
When you have a negative thought, try stating the complete opposite sentiment.
For example, 'I am not worthy'' becomes 'I am worthy'
How does your internal chemistry change?
LOVE YOURSELF.
TRUST YOURSELF.
BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.
BE YOURSELF.
Because the world is built on this kindness.
“Our first and last love is self-love.”
PRASARITA PADOTANASANA :
Wide-Legged Forward Bend
MANTRA: I AM SURRENDER
ESSENTIAL OIL: Arborvitae
Arborvitae invites you into our higher energy centers, so that we may learn to live with peace and joy by trusting the abundant flow of grace. It is also a grounding oil, which helps you to find balance in our lives and know what you should hold close and what you should release.
Arborvitae means "to sacrifice." This oil encourages you to sacrifice your personal will and ambitions in favor for a far more fulfilling way of living. By surrendering to the greater Intellect, your mind relaxes and your soul experiences harmony and peace. It asks you to take a deep breath, and trust in the flow of life.
CHAKRA: This quieting pose helps to bring energy into your crown chakra, or the gateway to the subconscious.
I love this pose to pause any time of day and reset my nervous system. It's like a magic elixir when I'm feeling anxious or drained and I only have a minute. It doesn't even require a mat or yoga clothes. Not only does this posture create length and space in the spine, the physical act of bowing in is a means of self-honoring.
BENEFITS: This quieting pose helps to:
- CALM your mind
- BOOST your energy and mood
- CREATE clarity for more creativity to flow
- RELIEVE mild backache
- EASE headaches and insomnia
- STRETCH your hamstrings, calves, hips and spine
- TONE your legs while stimulating your liver and kidneys
Your presence is your BEAUTY.
Your real task is to SIMPLIFY because your attention is only that of quality when we focus on one thing at a time.
It is only when I place my entire self into the task at hand that I am able to finish it with simultaneous ease and integrity.
The quality of our attention in any moment determines our level of comfort, capacity, and capability.
To bolster your productivity, to increase your own momentum in total alignment, challenge yourself to DO ONE THING AT A TIME and finish it before moving on to the next.
Each morning I CHOOSE MY STATE.
I sit quietly, close my eyes, and state out loud my DIVINE purpose and intention.
Purpose: To help others DISCOVER their most VIBRANT health and well-being.
Intention: To access my Highest Self with love— and with kindness — and make choices that support my own RADIANCE all day long.
Why do this? So that we may ELEVATE OURSELVES HIGHER and become present in the moments when we forget — so that we may fulfill our divine purpose on this planet each and every day.
When I stay connected to my purpose, it brings me back to the source of it all. I experience life entwined in gratitude and grace. It helps me smile and remember who I am, why I'm here. This remembrance informs my choice of actions, thoughts, words, and movements. I am one with ALL. And that, by definition, is YOGA.