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"Attend the birthing of the radiant light within you" - Vijnana Bhairava Tantra

JANUARY 12, 2010:  I was recently thinking of the game TRUTH OR DARE that we all played as kids.  Wondering if you were someone who chose dare or truth more often?  Me? Well I consistently chose Dare. I was more than a little afraid of the truth – I’d have to tell the 11^th grade boy Ben I was in love with him or maybe admit I really wanted the lead role in the next musical or that it hurt my feelings when I only got 2^nd chair in Symphony orchestra last week.  You know the important stuff.  The dare was a whole lot easier….I would rather take my chances and eat a bug than let everyone else know my truth, and reveal my heart. 

Well what you choose now as an adult? Truth or Dare. And more importantly why. 

Yoga helps to reveal the self to the self and we wake up to our own truth.  As John Donohue writes, “Awaken to the mystery of being here and enter the quiet immensity of your own presence.”  So really Yoga is asking us to DARE TO TELL THE TRUTH.  First to ourselves then to be that real person out in the world.

Tapping into your own creative potential and full-filling the purpose for why you are here is what Yogis call “Sva-Dharma. This means self-duty. 

I can’t think of a more DARING thing to do!

"Your own duty done imperfectly
is better than another man's done well."  

-Bhagavad Gita 3:35

Yoga is Truth and Dare.  And when we each are following our true paths we are at peace with ourselves (no more pretending, no more 10^th grade self afraid to show others how you feel).  And from daring to fulfill our duty we give permission to everyone else to be themselves and the world finds peace.  This is not easy. So on the mat we try out new poses, we hold poses or we sustain a flowing sequence to experiment with daring ourselves to learn more about who we are. And the way we practice our yoga becomes the way we live our lives.

This year accept the Dare and stay connected to your intentions for meeting the destiny for which you’ve been called to in this life.  Follow your svadharma and go beyond your fear and what you thought possible. Don’t hide behind work (that’s the adult equivalent of eating a bug because you don’t want to be honest) and get on with it!  Be the peaceful warrior you are. Act as if your life depended on it….for it does.  Let the lovefire burn bright! Silvia

"Look to your own duty;
do not tremble before it;
nothing is better for a warrior
than a battle of sacred duty." -Bhagavad Gita 2:31

FEBRUARY 21, 2009:  Our foundation both physical and spiritual provides us the opportunity to be ourselves. The stronger our foundation then less inclined we are to be pulled away from our center when we face obstacles.  The objective of yoga as is written in the Yoga Sutras is to remove the divisions within yourself so that you can immerse yourself in the beauty and goodness that is you.  This is the spirit of sutra chapter 2, verse 46.  In the Bhagavad Ghita chapter 3 it is is said, "it is better to fail at yourself that it is to succeed at being someone else."

Thing is, it is a whole lot easier to be ourselves than it is to be who everyone else wants us to be. 

So ask yourself, how do you see yourself right now?  How can you be more you today? 

I truly intend that this practice helps you build such a strong self-esteem and sense of self that you will be able to make all future decisions independently.  That you will do what is most right for you in the face of life's obstacles.  Sending you your best courage and wishing you your own best strength! Peace out, Silvia

FEBRUARY 5TH, 2009:  It is easy to see everything as flat and "ok" but that means we really aren't paying attention. This is when we aren’t really awake for if we were living in the moment (where true happiness lies) then we'd see the depth, like the mountain ranges I experienced last weekend.  It really is just that SIMPLE.  As is written in the Alchemist, “It's the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary; only wise men are able to understand them.” 

When we are present, our minds become clear and still.  This is a fundamental truth from the ancient writings of yoga.  From the Bhagavad Gita 6:19-22, translated by Eknath Easwaran: The mind is unwavering like the flame of a lamp in a windless place. In the still mind, the Self reveals itself. Beholding the Self by means of the Self, we know the joy and peace of complete fulfillment. Having attained that abiding joy beyond the senses, revealed in the stilled mind, he never swerves from the eternal truth. He desires nothing else, and cannot be shaken by the heaviest burden.  Two of my favorite writings about being present are offered below.  Enjoy!  BE PRESENT. LOVE LIFE.  PEACE TO YOU, Silvia

Look to this Day! - an inspirational poem -

Look to this day!

For it is life, the very life of life.

In its brief course

Lie all the verities and realities of your existence:

The bliss of growth;

The glory of action;

The splendor of achievement;

For yesterday is but a dream,

And tomorrow only a vision;

But today, well lived, makes every yesterday a dream

of happiness,

And every tomorrow a vision of hope.

Look well, therefore, to this day!       - Kalidasa - 5th century Sanskrit Poet

By Thich Nhat Hanh titled Twenty Four Brand-New Hours from Peace in Every Step:

"Every morning, when we wake up, we have twenty four brand new hours to live. What a precious gift!  We have the capacity to live in a way that these twenty-four hours will bring peace, joy and happiness to ourselves and others.

Peace is present right here and now, in ourselves and in everything we do and see. The question is whether or not we are in touch with it.  We don’t have to travel far away to enjoy the blue sky.  Even the air we breath can be a source of joy.

We can smile, breath, walk and eat our meals in a way that allows us to be in touch with the abundance of happiness that is available.  We are very good at preparing to live, but not very good at living.  We know how to sacrifice ten years for a diploma, and are willing to work very hard to get a job, a car, a house and so on.  But we have difficulty remembering that we are alive in the present moment, the only moment there is for us to be alive.  Every breath we take, every step we make, can be filled with peace, joy and serenity.  We need only to be awake, alive in the present moment.  This is an invitation to come back to the present moment and find peace and joy.  Peace is every step. We shall walk hand in hand.  Bon voyage."

AUGUST 18TH, 2008:  Two key readings from the ancient writings of yoga inspired me today for our practice. 

“It is better to fail at yourself than it is to succeed at being someone else.”

Bhagavad Ghita Chapter 3 that the yoga is about being true to who you are.  It talks about being authentic.

“Objective of yoga is to remove the divisions within yourself so that you can immerse yourself in the infinity that is you.  sthira, sukham, asanam”

Yoga Sutras Chapter 2 Verse 46

We started by doing our Favorite Pose.  Then we all did our Least Favorite Pose.  Then we paused to contemplate: HOW DO YOU SEE YOURSELF RIGHT NOW?

Key Learning Points From This Practice:

·         We always have opportunities to be true to ourselves

·         You don’t have to do anything heroic

·         THE GOAL IS AWARENESS!

·         Sometimes we end up not being true to ourselves in our work, in our relationships but when you want to shift YOGA WILL HELP YOU FIND YOUR STRENGTH to be authentic.  And then life gets a lot better and a whole lot easier.

·         The shift is towards who we really are were we can let go of self-imposed limitations and negative self-talk:

1.       I’M NOT STRONG ENOUGH

2.       I LOOK RIDICULOUS

3.       I FEEL CLUMSY

4.       I CAN’T DO THIS

5.       EVEN DELUSIONAL THOUGHTS, I’M GOING TO DIE, THIS POSE IS GOING TO KILL ME

So you see it is vitally important to be who you are fully because there is not failure in being you. (We could only ever be the second best anyone else anyway). And when you are not being true to yourself and try to hard to please others it takes you away from your heart.  Which isn’t worth it as the words of Hafiz remind us, “It is all just a love contest and there are no losers.”  I hope you stay the course and allow the practice to help you build your self-esteem in ways you never thought possible!  Love, Silvia