First Class Free

February 13, 2011.  Day 4 of Love Blogging 21 days in 2011.  Here is a super simple fact about energy: It is attracted to the same kind of energy.  Like energy attracts like energy.  When we breath, feel, live from our heart energy we attract more of the same. And I can prove it.  (Science supports this too.) This is otherwise known as the law of attraction.  And interesting enough when you feel good you are more attractive. Yoga teaches us that our natural state is one of happiness.  We are born that way and meant to live that way.  There is nothing wrong with enjoying life!

A great way to test this out for yourself is to practice SMILING MORE.  This was #11 on my list of 11 Things to Say Yes to in 2011 (an earlier blog posting).  Develyn Steele says, "Smiling changes your attitude, raises your confidence, and makes you more attractive."  Whether you believe it or not smiling changes how you feel.  If you doubt this then start smiling and thinking positive thoughts and see what develops.  You will find that you can't help but have a more elevated attitude (Pratipaksha Bhavana) when you smile or even think about when you were last smiling.  Today we practiced a guided visualization with our left side to experience what it feels like physically to smile with each part of our body. Then we could sense for ourselves how the right and left sides of our bodies felt differently from one another.  From there we used different types of movement (both jala water influenced flow and fire agni) to see what impact both had on our feeling state as well as how planting a smile here in there influenced the poses like plank.

You see smiling affects our emotions because of a body-brain connection.  It triggers scientifically measurable activity in the left frontal cortex of the brain where happiness is registered.  And what is even more fascinating to support this theory of the law of attraction or how we attract similar energy is that of the 44 muscles of the face that allow us to create more than 5000 different types of expressions, each of those expressions will have a unique affect on the way you feel and how OTHERS feel about you.  

When you smile with your heart and with your thoughts you cultivate a naturalness towards positive thinking at the same time. Here's a real life example: I didn't always believe in green lights.  Then I practiced smiling more both on the mat and off.  All of a sudden I started to believe in the possibility of green lights.  From there through the power of positive thinking I started to believe I should receive Green Lights everyday, not just sometimes.  And eventually I grew even more confident and started putting out to the universe that I deserved to Green Light my LIFE.  

That is how profound an impact this practice can have on your life.  I know because it's had this amazing impact on changing my life for the better and best.  I smile more and I laugh all the time and truly I do get green lights. And you can too! Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia

PS Join me on retreat this year www.alchemytours.com

Favorite passage about gratitude in book, Be Happy by William Holden. May this inspire your life as it has mine! Love and light, Silvia

1. Proactive gratitude – Gratitude is conscious reaction to things, people, situations, and outcomes that you deem to be good or positive.  This attitude of gratitude is mostly reactive. That is it exists because something happens first.   But PROactive gratitude is based on a decision to enjoy something BEFORE it happens.  Mantra:  I intend to appreciate and give thanks for today, no matter what happens. 
2. Unconditional gratitude – Gratitude based on a faith that everything that happens or doesn’t happen in your life is for your own best interests.  That we live in a purposeful universe.  Life is always for you; it is never against you.  It is a fact that blessings sometimes come wrapped in fear, pain, and tears.  In choosing to practice unconditional gratitude you are choosing to trust the process, to honor your feelings and to place your faith in an outcome of inevitable grace.
3. Gratitude as spiritual realization – Gratitude stems from revelation that you are what you seek.  This type of gratitude is based on deep spiritual realization that you are created perfectly, and that everything you have chased after and longed for – love, happiness, peace, is already yours.  It is therefore a homecoming and a chance to finally rest.  This real gratitude is based on a thanksgiving for your true identity. It teaches you that happiness does not leave its source.  In other words, happiness does NOT COME AND GO; what comes and goes is your awareness of happiness.  It also teaches you that what is truly valuable already belongs to you.  

NOVEMBER 23, 2009: This practices teaches us that YOU ARE ASKING FOR WHAT YOU WANT THROUGH YOUR DOING. This life we are living right now is NOT as participants. This is not a passive endeavor where life is being done to us. Instead it requires active living where life is being done FOR US.

This is behind the idea in yoga of Tapas. Tapas helps us to take action to fully participate and be awake to our lives. To be active means we must articulate our intentions and practice with a solid determination to hold true to our dreams and visions for ourselves. Through yoga which is a system for mental, physical, and spiritual health we have full, democratic participation. On the mat we don’t even have to push ourselves to excel, all we have to do is show up and do the practice as best we can with full hearted effort. Just take part in your life make it active, keep it active and forget about the over perfecting it.

So where in your life have you been less than active or just plain stuck? I can tell you I came to realize this week for me it is in my extended family Thanksgiving. I am still at the kids table which I never want to leave. I’ve lost two cousins to the grown up table already through the years and don’t want any more to go. At the grown up table a lot more is expected of you. You are required to be more active so I’ve been hanging back. Now I like the kids table with my adult cousins, its cool, its casual. But this year I am thinking I might ask my Aunt and Uncle who host Thanksgiving for the Mordini’s every year about what I can help with. Now don’t get me wrong they will have to take me kicking and screaming away from the kids table when I’m ninety-five and not a moment sooner but I can still take a more active role.

You see this practice readies our bodies, hearts and minds for the deep work of active living. Yoga gives us the energy and clarity we need to create the lives of our dreams. And I’ll tell you as we go into the home stretch of the year and need the yoga the most, that’s exactly when many of us will fall away from active practice. Well that’s not good enough. To receive the benefits you have to keep showing up and doing the work. Living in alignment is not passive. Just like conscious breathing is not passive. We have to breath on purpose. We have to live on purpose. Life is active, Love is active. On the mat when we inhale we prepare, as we exhale we deepen our pose. Off the mat our active living requires we inhale fully and as we exhale we wake up to the best parts of ourselves moment by precious moment. Join me for more yoga, stay active. Big love! Silvia