First Class Free

Why Restore?

 

By Laura Mills

 

Earlier this week I attended one of TBY's Restorative Yoga classes. I don't often practice Restorative, but this particular day I happened to be at the studio at just the right time. I love how I feel after a Restorative class, and I know I would definitely benefit from more frequent practice of it. But given a choice between Restorative Yoga and a more-quickly-moving Vinyasa flow, I opt for Vinyasa most of the time. As someone who can barely sit still even when tired, the thought of holding any pose longer than a few breaths doesn't thrill me and the thought of practicing supported, long-held poses for an hour or more actually intimidates me quite a bit.

But I suppose this is just where an opportunity for real yoga arises, since Restorative Yoga invites me to nudge myself just outside my well-established comfort zone. It asks me to open a little bit more than usual, both physically and mentally, and to balance my own practice with a style that soothes in an entirely different way. Yoga as whole is, after all, all about openness and balance, and the way I feel after a Restorative class shows me Iím on the right track.

 

Calendar Caution

  By Laura Mills

   With regards to the passage of time, in my experience two categories of people exist: those who dread it, and those who welcome it. I’ve known people who refuse to discuss “next month” or “next year” for fear of what the future may bring, people who view the world as an inherently dangerous place in which nothing ever goes right. On the other hand, I’ve known people who anticipate the future as an opportunity for further fullness of life, people whose “What if…?” questions end with positive words, hopeful smiles and playful laughs.
   The most interesting thing to me, here, is that in one way or another both categories of people believe anything is possible. We all consider the unknown ahead and sense that it’s loaded with possibilities; at some level, we all have that openness that allows practices like yoga to change our lives. But if we automatically dread those possibilities, I think we close doors that just might present us with the path we’ve been looking for all along.
   As we continue to move forward through days, months and years, none of us will succeed at keeping all doors always open. But we are capable of considering the unknown ahead one day at a time, breathing, and remembering we at least always have a choice.    

By Laura Mills

“Every breath is another opportunity.” It’s one of my favorite things to remind my yoga students; it’s one of my favorite things to remind myself. The words are not mine, at least I don’t think so-I honestly don’t know where they came from, whether I heard them somewhere or read them in something. But one day they rose from the reaches of my memory to the front of my mind, and I said them to my students just before Savasana.

The more I think about the expression, the more I like it. Of course, it applies to the tiniest pieces of a yoga practice: we inhale to lift arms, exhale to bow, inhale to lift half-way, exhale to fold…. But we also inhale and exhale as we roll our mats, find our shoes and leave the studio; we inhale and exhale as we enter our cars, leave the parking lot and turn out at the light into the rest of our day. Every inhale and exhale is an additional moment of choice and possibility—even with regards to the smallest, most seemingly-insignificant things—and as long as we’re breathing, it’s never too late….

Your next breath may be your best yet.

April 21, 2011.  Today's mantra is: I am dissolving. 

Looking out my garden today I saw a bunch of dandelions and realized I hadn't done enough work lately to remove the weeds so that the greater beauty of the garden could be revealed.  The same is said for why we practice yoga and our opportunity to weed out the negative thoughts in the gardens of our mind.  Emotions like revenge are unhealthy and unproductive.  Holding onto grievances which are just weeds (and what happens to weeds when they are left unattended...they duplicate!)  So today make a pledge to forget about replacing lost money, ignore people who hit below the belt, overlook trivial annoyances, never try to second guess illness. Instead remain dignified and peaceful. Unproductive emotions are weeds and serve as blocks in the road to progress. They limit our ability to move forward, to focus, to think positively, and to act creatively. 

And as a result time is wasted.

On the mat acknowledge your emotions like anger, hurt, criticism, frustration, but don't dwell there.  Love is contagious and more effective over the long haul. So when choosing make love a priority.  Especially since obsessing about grudges keeps them alive and only love forces them to die - like pulling weeds from the garden.  This dissolves lifes bitterness and allows us to see lifes great beauty!  Today make the beauty in your life even more evident - weed out the garden of your mind. Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia

 

CLASS PLAN HIPS/TWISTS/CORE CLASS

 

OPENING:

Supine Cobbler

Supine Cobbler abs: Double pulse, single pulse

Bridge Prep: Single then double pulse

Bridge Prep Bike Twist: Knee, head, hold, twist

Apanasana: Supine lunge, Supine twist

Double Lunge (happy baby)

Double twist

 

WAVE 1:

Twist 

Bharavajrasana side bend lift up

Arda matsyendrasana

Lounge lizard

Malasana

Lounge Lizard

Arda matsy

Bharavajrasana

Twisting Dog

 

WAVE 2:

sun salutation c

pyramid

revolved triangle

cow

seated cow

bharavajrasana

 

 

WAVE 3:

baby cradle

Sundial

double pigeon

arm balance - twisted crow etc.

supine double balance - pigeon abs

 

CLOSING:

supine cobbler

supine cobbler abs

supine twist

apanasana

Savasana

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February 25, 2011:  The second agreement is not to take anything personally.  Don Miguel Ruiz explains this, "Nothing other people do is because of you. It is because of themselves.  All people live in their own mind; they are in a completely different world from the one we live in.  When we take something personally, we make the assumption that they know what is in our world, and we try to impose our world on their world. If someone gives you an opinion don't take it personally, because the truth is that this person is dealing with his or her own feelings, beliefs and opinions.  If you do not take it anything personally, you are immune to it."  

This is one level of understanding so on the mat we let everyone do their own yoga. We don't worry about whether someone next to us can do a deeper variation of a pose, it's not about us. They are practicing their own yoga and we should focus on our own yoga.  Now the other level of this experience is as Ruiz says so well, "even the opinions you have about yourself are not necessarily truth; therefore, you don't need to take whatever you hear in your own mind personally.  We have a CHOICE whether or not to believe the voices we hear within our minds. The mind can also talk and listen to itself." So be careful and choosy about what you listen to in your own mind.  Let go of the old stories that don't serve you that hurt you that keep you from being more of your potential.  

What we experience if we Don't Take Things Personally is, "you avoid many upsets in your life. Your anger, jealousy, and envy will disappear, and even your sadness will simply disappear if you don't take things personally. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering."  

And of course it always comes back to LOVE.  "If you keep this agreement, you can travel around the world with your HEART completely OPEN and no one can hurt you. You can say, "I love you." without fear of being ridiculed or rejected. You can ask for what you need. You can say yes without guilt or self-judgement. You can choose to follow your heart always!"  I love all of you and hope you can embrace this agreement to love yourself, love your day, love your life!  Silvia  

February 18, 2011.  The choice to be FREE requires an enormous amount of inner strength.  It asks that we be courageous and believe in our own right to be free.  Yoga Sutras Chapter 2.26 talks about how if we believe we are limited, you will be limited; if you believe you are free, you are FREE.  In yogic terms Freedom is known as Jivamukti.  For whatever reason or reasons you feel trapped in your life know you have a choice to free your mind and heart.  It is always there.

Yoga teaches us that we are sovereign over the democracy of ourselves.  Living in a democracy we all can appreciate a thing or two about Freedom.  So ask yourself what kind of freedoms do you encourage in your life?  Are you afraid to stand up for your rights?  Do you promote shared responsibility amongst the constituents of your limbs, breath, mind and heart?  Do you keep yourself shackled to workaholism or do you imprison yourself with worry or self-doubt or critical self-dialogue, do you allow someone outside yourself to run your life?

In my personal work the greatest prisons I've experienced have been those of my own making.  It has been through the yogic practice that I started to place more daily importance on liberation. With time I embraced how crucial it is to find peace and happiness from the inside.  As we study ourselves the yoga helps us explore through movement a freedom in our bodies and a kind of flowing meditation where we can find peace and tranquility in our minds.   

So right now, sit in a way that elongates your spine and let’s your breath travel more freely.  As you free your breath you liberate your mind.  As the mind opens the heart opens.  You being to realize that you can choose to draw upon your own fortitude to free your heart from pain, to free your body from long held tension and to free yourself of unhealthy mindless habits (samskaras).  It is going to look different for everyone.  And it is a constant practice to remind ourselves that we alone are the most responsible in keeping the peace and joy within the democracy of self.  "You see the wider practice of yoga is not about arranging our life so that it is perfect and easy and non-challenging. Rather it is about using the discipline we find in asana practice to be able to remain “easy” in the midst of difficulty. That is the true measure of freedom. When we learn this then everything we do and everything we say becomes an “asana”, a position of body, mind and soul which requires the attention that brings us into the present."  I know what it’s like to feel imprisoned. I also can tell you I know what is it like to break free.  It’s not easy but I believe all of us can do it. So here I leave you with a final poem to inspire you to free yourself, love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia

"May you listen to your longing to be free.
May the frames of your belonging be large enough for the dreams of your soul.
May you arise each day with a voice of blessing whispering in your heart
...something good is going to happen to you.
May you find harmony between your soul and your life.
May the mansion of your soul never become a haunted place.
May you know the eternal longing that lies at the heart of time.
May there be kindness in your gaze when you look within.
May you never place walls between the light and yourself.
May you be set free from the prisons of guilt, fear, disappointment and despair.
May you allow the wild beauty of the invisible world to gather you, 
mind you, and embrace you in belonging."    
-  John O'Donahoe

TODAY'S PLAYLIST:

Flow, Sade

Outta Control, 50 Cent

Xoxoxo, The Black Eyed Peas

Au Pays De Gandhi, MC Solaar

Groovejet (If This Ain't Love), Spiller

15 to 20 (Den Haan Remix), The Phenomenal Handclap Band

Black Horse and the Cherry Tree, KT Tunstall

Every Breath You Take, The Police

Lumière [MAIN], Blue Scholars

Revelation Dub, Kabanjak

Twin Blue, Millions & Millions

Shavasana/Deep Relaxation, Shiva Rea

February 16, 2011.  We have a CHOICE: As you think so shall you be.  What we tell ourselves is reflected back to us by the world.  How we see ourselves in term of the quality of our thoughts and healthy choices determines how others see us and how the world responds.  We actually are a sum of our choices. Eleanor Roosevelt said, "In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves.  The process never ends until we die.  And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility."  Or in the song BIG BANK HANK by the Blue Scholars "Whatchya gonna do today?"

The yogic teachings on the mat remind us that within every moment we are faced with making loving choices in how we breath, how we stand, how we act (or react) to a new pose or sequence or teacher. We can walk in the path of darkness or choose the path of LIGHT. We can choose negative thoughts or positive thoughts. We can choose Fear or LOVE. And if we can practice CHOOSING LOVE in every pose then we'll stay with it off the mat. This is the yoga of knowing your heart well enough to choose wisely and from love.  And the fact is that all in all we don't have that long in this earthly body to choose the happiest life ever or as Robert Braul puts it, "Life is short, God's way of encouraging a bit of focus."

And every time I step on the mat I am reminded of this gift of asking myself "whatchya gonna do today", what am I choosing.  I hold to the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson "Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year." And how do I translate this yoga into the yoga of life? I have been driving what is commonly referred to in Seattle as "the Mercer Weave" and moving across 3-4 lanes of traffic in 2 minutes to get to my exit into the city has been a practice of either choosing loving, positive thoughts (that on-coming traffic will let me cross over) or of expecting the worst and seeing those other cars as out to get me.  The more I consciously choose loving thoughts the better and smoother it goes.  But that's only one small example. We have opportunities every day and in every moment to choose love and happiness.  

The point being that we allow ourselves to keep making our own choices. Sadie Nardini wrote in her book Road Trip Guide to the Soul "Our biggest mistake as humans is to look at our destructive, habitual patterns and think we cannot choose again, because we have fallen prey to the illusion that what we have chosen repeatedly is how we are stuck with being.  You ALWAYS have the POWER - and the RIGHT - to CHOOSE again."  This is why today after some Sun Salutation A (the gold standard) we moved into variations of poses to feel that we can always keep experiencing other choices.  

You might wonder what suggestions I might have for choosing love?  Good news is that the Yoga Sutras tell us.  They actually give us the 4 keys to happiness - how to choose love.  The way to live with an open happy heart is nurture these attitudes in choosing "whatchya going to do today?":

1. Kindness and friendliness to those who are happy
2. Compassion for those that are suffering or less fortunate
3. Respect for those that who embody noble qualities and inspire us
4. Equanimity for those whose actions oppose our values

At first these attitudes that enable us to choose love in all circumstances seem easy.  But applying these in day-to-day life is more challenging than we think.  But all we can do is take responsibility for co-creating our life saying to ourselves "I choose to be happy. I choose love” and let the rest unfold.  Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia

 

 PLAYLIST FEBRUARY 16, 2011

Gobinday Mukunday, Spirit Voyage Artists

Cafe Noir, Akmusique

Song for You, Alexi Murdoch

It Iz What It Iz            , M.I.A.

New People {Empire Remix}, Blue Scholars

Hate It Or Love It (Remix), 50 Cent & G Unit

It Takes a Muscle, M.I.A.

The Fire, The Roots Feat. John Legend

BIG BANK HANK, Blue Scholars

Xoxoxo, The Black Eyed Peas

Waka Waka (Time For Africa), Shakira/Freshlyground

I Know What I Know, Paul Simon

Walk Like an Egyptian, Buckley

Don't Rock My Boat, Bob Marley

Redemption Song, Richard Bona and Michael Brecker

Ganapati, Girish

Don't Give Up, Peter Gabriel/Kate Bush

I Shall Be Released, Buckley

Guru Mari, Shri Anandi Ma

 

DAY  6 BLOGGING 21 IN 2011 ABOUT LOVE.

February 9, 2011.  I don't mean this to be dramatic or morbid but if I died today could I say that I've lived well.  And more importantly could I say that I've loved well.  You see today is the anniversary of my Father's death. Enrico Mordini died on this day many years ago, too many to even begin to want to count.  And yet the hardest day of my life is also a day of inspiration.  It is a reminder every year to ask myself am I loving enough?  Am I Creating more love in the world, not just following love but leading the way for love as a Love Warrior so to speak.  

For it's not enough to think about it or follow the leader in love it is also our responsibility to make more love in the world.  Today more than ever!  And yes for me this is also tied up in wondering on this date every year "is my Papa proud of me and how I'm loving my life." Would he think that I respect love enough to salute it every day (like a sun salutation)?  I have to believe he is proud of how valiant my attempts are regardless of the results which are sometimes messy and pretty often imperfect.

Funny thing about death is that the anniversary keeps coming back every year and reminds us that we don't know how long we have on this earth. So if you are thinking about getting started in loving more, creating more love, talking to love, talking about love then you should get started NOW.  Yesterday, in meditation I decided to turn up the volume of love in my life, mostly because I don't feel like I'm yet "doing" enough to promote love.  If I am a Love Ambassador (kind of like a Lululemon Ambassador) I have to get out there and keep the "brand image" of LOVE on the forefront.  I have to take more responsibility.  So I have pledged to write/blog/meditate about love for 21 days in a row (the length of time some scientists agree it takes to build a healthy habit).

Those of you who know me might think this will be an easy love assignment for me, but being actively pledged to love is not easy. It is simple.  Just not easy. That's a long time to be in love with love and maintain a fruitful, spiritually mature dialogue.  I say this because when my Father passed away the first person I was angry with was Love. I screamed and cried and shouted at love in my thoughts and out loud, because I couldn't understand why love would take away the first person on this planet who loved me (along with my Mama too).  Love seemed so unfair to me then.  So you see I haven't always been on good terms with Love, we've argued before and sometimes it's not been pretty.

But here I am, ready to really try to be the Love Ambassador that I want to be and that will make my Papa proud.  You see Love is a skill.  If you practice love, move like love, think love, behave in a loving way then we're bound to get good at it, just like anything else we practice (sadhana) repeatedly over time.

Eknath Easwaren says it like this “Love is a skill, a precious skill that can be learned. There are many other skills that are useful, even necessary, but in the end, nothing less than learning to love will satisfy us. The saints and mystics tell us that life has only one overriding purpose: to discover the source of infinite love and then to express this love in daily living. Without love, life is empty; without love, life is meaningless. The only purpose which can satisfy us completely, fulfill all our desires, and then make our life a gift to the whole world, is the gradual realization of the Self (LOVE) within, which throws open the gates of love. We cannot dream what depth and breadth of love we are capable of until we make the discovery that this divine spark lives in every creature.” 

And today as I dream of love I am just so grateful to breath and welcome a way that promotes living the biggest love possible. So happy am I to have another chance to love more! It comes down to a simple choice (here I really should tell you that my "not so secret" ulterior motive is to build an army of Love Ambassadors worldwide) and I'd like to recruit each of you.  The oath is easy.  You just say to yourself and then to everyone: I CHOOSE LOVE.

May you love yourself more, love your day more, love your life more! Silvia 

OCTOBER 18, 2010.  The Universe has a great sense of humor!  The humor is often wacky, weird, unexpected.  And our human being job as the divine manages making things funny, is to laugh.  

I just spent weekend laughing with our most amazing new teacher trainees!  And we talked about the importance of elevating our attitude to unlock our happiness in yoga.  And even how laughing relaxes your diaphragm.  

Laughing for 3 days straight reminds me I find humor everywhere.  In college my favorite thing to teach was ab work during group fitness classes.  Working our abs makes me giggle! So we did some seriously unserious core cultivation and I got to play some awesome hip hop tunes, which makes me feel great that anything that wakes us up to who we are is yoga.  Yea for Michael Franti and Blue Scholars!

In this performance of life there are plenty of scripts (almost on a daily basis) that are humorous (sometimes a bit dark comedy) but still funny nonetheless.  And as we go out on stage we can shine out recognizing the choice we have in every moment to see the good, the funny, the beauty or to contract.  We can either light up or lessen the energy of our own aliveness.  This is something of the inside. Yoga teaches us that how we see the world is from the inside out.  We look for humor and it is there.  It is always there beneath the surface.  And as Jeff Brown writes, "below the surface we are all sacred dynamite."

When I laugh that's exactly how I feel.  Dynamite! Fantastic! Energized! Bright! Light! Strong.  It is from and to that inner strength of our own unlimited potential that this practice taps into. So pratipaksha bhavana dudes.  Cultivate that spiritual dynamite and show up to your life with a full blast effort!  We don't get to do today over again, so we might as well find it funny (funny weird, funny wacky, or just plain funny!)  Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia

 

PS you know what's funny? Doing yoga in you swimsuit December 8-12 with me in Haramara Resort (well swimsuit part is optional...I mean you can wear your normal yoga clothes too!) Friend me Alchemy Tours www.silviamordini.com

October 3, 2010:

What is your most common knee-jerk reaction?  Is it impatience, anger, gossip, worry, self-cricism? Well through the mindfulness practice of yoga I want to help you replace all that by choosing happiness as your automatic reaction, response to all things, situations and people.  How do we do this?  The Yoga Sutras tell us.  They actually give us the keys to happiness.  The Yogic model proposes that the four keys to an open happy heart are to nurture these attitudes:

1. Kindness and friendliness to those who are happy
2. Compassion for those that are suffering or less fortunate
3. Respect and honor for those that who embody noble qualities
4. Equanimity for those whose actions oppose our values

At first these four keys to help enable us to retain our inner peace in all circumstances seem easy.  But applying these in day to day life is more challenging than we think. We often fool ourselves into believing we are kinder than we really are and can use this practice to really see where our actions are not aligned with what we believe ourselves to be.  Most of all this teaches us that we are responsible for co-creating our life. We have the four keys to our happiness.  Love in all ways, Silvia

So first step is to create some space. Here at the start of a new month let's just empty and let go of all the grievances, grudges we kept up with throughout September.  As the bible says Love keeps no records of wrongs.

You have a choice.  You can say to yourself "I intend to allow more joy into my life" or "I choose to be happy."  Just five words if you want to keep it really simple!  And notice the power of intention is not placing prerequisites or conditions but just doing it right now.  I know these four keys to happiness seem easy, but applying them to day to day life is pretty challenging because of that knee-jerk reaction, the old way of thinking and doing things.  But you have a choice and can change.  You are happiest when you think yourself happy.  And ultimately you are responsible for co-creating your life.  You have just this one lifetime and there are no do overs. So why not choose happiness starting right now?  I know you can do it!    Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia

 PS - We practice Mandala Namaskar 1 (Salutation) to help us see the power of our own choices!

Mandala Namaskar I 

INHALE -- Eka Pada Adho Mukha Svanasana (1 Leg Downward Dog)

EXHALE – Anjaneyasana (Lunge)

INHALE – Parsva Anjaneyasana (Side Lunge)

EXHALE – Skandasana (Transverse Lunge)

INHALE – Ardha Anjaneyasana (Low Lunge)

EXHALE – hands down

INHALE – Ardha Plank (1 legged Plank)

EXHALE -- Chaturanga Dandasana

INHALE -- Urdhva Mukha Svanasana

EXHALE -- Chaturanga Dandasana

INHALE -- Plank

EXHALE -- Adho Mukha Svanasana 

 (To create circular pattern, Mandala, go through series right foot, right foot, left, left)

 

September 25, 2010.  Vairagya is the sanskrit for letting go. Or relinquishing attachment to what actions we've already taken directly or indirectly.  It is by letting go of the past that we create space for right now our our future intentions.  This time of year is an excellent reminder because nature shows us that everything changes and comes to its natural end.  The leaves are falling, nights are getting longer, days shorter.  It is a unique time where we look back at the year and recognize all that we got done and all that we didn't and have to decide what we want to let go of.  

I was speaking to a friend who is moving and since I did so in June she asked my advice how to prepare.  I advised (1) pack the things you absolutely love and want to take with you first in your best boxes and (2) choose those things that you know won't serve you in your next home and let them go (don't deliberate, just decide with heart).  Try not to grip at all of it for that will make the process more difficult and by releasing some things you create space for what you really want that fits your situation today.

This is an art form.  This is yoga, knowing your heart well enough to choose wisely.

This practices goes on to challenge us to let go of the emotions associated with those things that didn't go the way you wanted them to.  As Teitur says, all my mistakes have become masterpieces.  Everything actually becomes the fertilizer for your best life.  Instead of replaying old stories or reacting to past issues find a way to let go of attachment and create the space for your best life! Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia

SEPTEMBER 17, 2010.   

In 1948 a study began known as the Framingham Heart Study.  It was the most comprehensive of its kind.  Now 60 plus years later scientists have studied other aspects beyond just heart disease.  One of their findings ins related to happiness theory.  And of the factors studied a key part is that happiness is being connected to other people.  We experience happiness through social connections.  And therefore are very much influenced by clusters of other people around us.  Check this out:  a change in one person effects you and all in the cluster, your probability for increased happiness improves 15% if your most immediate friend is happy, 10% if a friend of your friend is happy, and so on until four degrees of separation. 

They are figuring out and measuring what yogis have known for thousands of years:  happiness is contagious.  

This means everyday we have the opportunity to save someone's life.  You practice yoga today, so you can practice tomorrow.  What you do to manage your thoughts to create happy cells impacts not only you but those around you.  In this way we are creating our world thought by thought, day by day.  And it can be heaven on earth!  Maybe it is.  The sutras spell out that if we are imbalanced mentally, physically, emotionally which means we are not living our true nature - which is naturally happy then we must practice chapter 2.33 Pratipaksha Bhavana.  Engage happy thoughts.  So simple.  It is our Namaste:  Seek the still point where the words "you" and "I" lose meaning, where we meet and merge as one. 

Try this breath meditation when you need to elevate your attitude. And be the change you want to see in the world (Ghandi). Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia

 

Inhale: I welcome happiness,

Exhale: I am grateful

Inhale:  I welcome inspiration

Exhale:  I am grateful

Inhale:  I welcome love

Exhale:  I am grateful

Inhale: I welcome hope

Exhale: I am grateful

 

“Heartfelt gratitude really is the fastest way to experience happiness now.  It is impossible to be truly grateful and neurotic; it is impossible to be truly grateful and not happy.”  (Happiness coach Barry Kaufman author of Happiness Is A Choice)

SEPTEMBER 14, 2010.  "The moment when you first wake up in the morning is the most wonderful of the twenty-four hours.  No matter how weary or dreary you may feel, you possess the certainty that, during the day that lies before you, absolutely anything may happen. The possibility is always there.  ~Monica Baldwin

Nothing has expanded, bloomed or grown from contemplating the impossibility of things.  If you tell yourself something is impossible the law of attraction will deliver this to you.  This practice reminds us to be careful for what we ask for in our thoughts and even more fundamentally that you are responsible for the quality of your life, the quality of your intentions.  This currency of believing in the impossibility of things sets humans apart from other creatures.  And the fact that all in all we don't have that long in this earthly body is a pretty solid boundary. Robert Braul says it like this, "Life is short, God's way of encouraging a bit of focus."

"Waste not the smallest thing created, for grains of sand make mountains, and atomies infinity.  Waste not the smallest time in imbecile infirmity, for well thou knowest that seconds form eternity."  ~E. Knight

When we practice breathing and moving through the poses we start from small and simple movement to larger and more complex recognizing how we can create art, movement, sensation, and emotion by our own efforts. And the more heart and practice we put in the more we expand and we see the changes within us.  The back of our eyes start to see the external world as filled with potential.  For how we experience the world is based on how we see it on the inside first. And then all of our breaths become yoga whether on the mat or off.  And then from there the eyes of our hearts open slowing and we proudly stand up in the world with heart wide open to the possibilities that exist to "make a new happy ending."  

I used to say I could never bend my knee parallel to the ground in Warrior poses.  Then the universal intelligence that is embracing us had me see that I was doing it. And just like that my disbelief vanished!  

“The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes.” -Frank Lloyd Wright

I stopped backing off from life and realized how precious it is to have this one chance.  And that being human like this, right now may never come again.  And every time I step on the mat I am reminded of this gift.  I hold to the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson "Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year."  And how do I translate this yoga into the yoga of life?  I kiss more, I hug more, I enjoy the beauty of food more, I explore more and I say I love you more.  I keep expanding....and the thing is I want that for you too.  So what are you waiting for? Start now. Believe in the endless possibilities for living the life of your dreams! It is possible. Anything is.  Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia        (PS Read the book A Year to Live by Stephen Levine)

Today I meditate on this poem about Freedom. In yogic terms known as Jivamukti.  For whatever reason or reasons you feel trapped in your life know you have a choice to free your mind and heart.  It is always there.  Wishing you courage to choose wisely.  Love and peace, Silvia

"May you listen to your longing to be free.
May the frames of your belonging be large enough for the dreams of your soul.
May you arise each day with a voice of blessing whispering in your heart
...something good is going to happen to you.
May you find harmony between your soul and your life.
May the mansion of your soul never become a haunted place.
May you know the eternal longing that lies at the heart of time.
May there be kindness in your gaze when you look within.
May you never place walls between the light and yourself.
May you be set free from the prisons of guilt, fear, disappointment and despair.
May you allow the wild beauty of the invisible world to gather you, 
mind you, and embrace you in belonging."    
-  John O'Donahoe

JANUARY 21, 2010:  This is the year and decade we stop analyzing everyone else around us trying to figure out who WE are by what other people do or don't do.  The first chapter, first verse of the Yoga Sutras: “With humility and an open heart and mind we begin the study of Yoga. This study is using the Self to study ourselves first.” 

"The proper study of mankind is man." (Alexander Pope) from my new book News of the Universe (Poems of Twofold Consciousness chosen and introduced by Robert Bly). That's what we do in yoga.  We are when we come to the practice essentially making a commitment to get a PhD in our own Humanness.  Nischala Joy Devi says "As students of life we often need to look at where we have come freom to see where we are going. Our present position has been determined by the past - all those crossroads where we made decisions, each path we've taken that brought us to our life as it is."

Blaming other people for the choices we've made or how we came to be what we are won't help us evolve towards greater happiness. We have to accept accountability and just look inside.  Rumi writes:

"If you're lugging a heavy bag,

don't fail to look inside it

to see whether what is inside is

bitter or sweet.

If it's really worth bringing along,

bring it;

otherwise, empty your sack

and redeem yourself from

fruitless effort.

Only put into your sack

that which is worth bringing."

When you think about it what do you keep lugging around that is weighing your life down?  Unless you start looking inward and stop blaming others for the quality of your life, it won’t change for the better. Maybe in the past you thought “I'm not something enough” to do this important work of self-exploration and self-discovery. BUT NO MORE. Be honest with yourself: you are young enough, old enough, smart enough, rich enough and you have enough time.  If it is really important to you to set positive intentions for yourself you have to slow down enough to look inside.  Take to heart the words of Rumi:  "There is a life-force within your soul, seek that life. There is a gem in the mountain of your body, seek that mine. O traveler, if you are in search of That don't look outside, look inside yourself and seek That.”  Yes, SEEK THAT.  In the new year, a time of setting intentions just remember this – it is near impossible to set an intention for your life until you study yourself and where you’ve come from first.  Otherwise it’s like trying to get a PhD when you haven’t finished First Grade yet.  And in this PhD program, there are no grades, it is simply pass/fail.  And this subject (YOU) is not one you want to fail at.  Life is too short to fail at being you.  So starting today get real, look at your life, study yourself as you really are and ignite the beauty of who you are yet meant to be! Love in all ways, Silvia

 

JANUARY 20TH, 2010:  We have a CHOICE.  What we tell ourselves is reflected back to us by the world.  How we see ourselves in term of the quality of our thoughts and healthy choices determines how others see us. Our view of self sewn together thought by thought creates the sacred garment we are always wearing around. This garment then is what other people see. So ask yourself what does your garment look like today?  Have you arrived into this day wearing something that is torn and beat up because that is the way you are talking to yourself through your inner dialogue?  Or have you chosen thoughts and actions with meticulous care like you would choose the best quality fabrics, rich textures to sew together a beautiful costume?  

Now I have to tell you when I first started practicing yoga some years ago I would wear to class my loosest crappiest stuff.  I figured if I looked like I didn't care then the expectation would be lower from the teacher and other students since I didn't know what I was doing. I certainly didn't want to look like I cared or that I was trying my hardest and really wanted to get it. I know I had a choice but my choices were conflicted.  I wanted to make my life a work of art (Thich Nhat Hahn) but I didn't want to admit that out loud. But deep inside was this quiet voice that insisted on trying to be my potential.  The more I practiced yoga the louder that inner voice got and the wierdest thing happened...I changed what I was wearing to class. I know it seems trivial but it was indicative of a bigger choice and change going on within me.  My self-confidence grew with my self-expression.

Today, I dress up for yoga class. I bling it out. I make the choice in my thoughts, in my actions, in my words to aspire to greatness. I am not afaid to reveal my choices and the world treats me differently because I treat myself better.  Sadie Nardini wrote in her book Road Trip Guide to the Soul "Our biggest mistake as humans is to look at our destructive, habitual patterns adn think we cannot choose again, because we have fallen prey to the illusion that what we have chosen repeatedly is how we are stuck with being.  You ALWAYS have the POWER - and the RIGHT - to CHOOSE again."  

On the mat each pose is simply part of the creation (shakti) of the garment we are choosing to wear and represent ourselves with in the world. In Vinaysa Flow yoga the breath serves as the thread that sews each pose seamlessly to the next, stitch by stitch.  The way we practice our yoga truly becomes the way we live our lives and how the universe is reflected back to us.  And the more we take ownership of our choices the more beautiful this energetic garment we wear becomes and we get excited to wear it around. We have purpose.  This practice in a real sense helps us get all dressed up AND have someplace to go!  Loads of love, Silvia

NOVEMBER 12, 2009: A sweet friend turned me on to the website www.thefuntheory.com The site is dedicated to the thought that something as simple as FUN is the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better. Be it for yourself, for the environment, or for something entirely different, the only thing that matters is that it’s change for the better. They present on the site why don't folks do more of those things that we know are good for us. And if we make those things fun can we get folks to change their behavior? The answer this initiative sponsored by Volkswagen is presenting is yes. Go to their website to see how they got folks to take the stairs instead of the escalator and other playfully brilliant examples! Caution this site will make you SMILE.

The yogic teachings remind us that within every moment we are faced with making healthy choices in how we breath, how we stand, how we act (or react). We can walk in the path of darkness or choose the path of light. We can choose negative thoughts or positive thoughts. We can choose Fear or LOVE. And if we can make choosing LOVE fun then maybe, just maybe we'll stay with it.

When you come to class this is offered to you in the form of Vinyasa yoga where we are moving at the pace of breath, dancing, laughing, sometimes singing but all in an effortless effort to enjoy the experience of yoga which we know is healthy for us. From this my hope is that we can live our lives the way we practice our yoga: choosing the path in the light in spite of the challenges life puts in front of us. Today, choose FUN, and in that choose LOVE. Wishing you a day of healing, love and light, Silvia

OCTOBER 23, 2009: 

Namaste Friends on the Path,

Why is it so hard to stay on the path of wellness and optimal health?  For instance, why is it so hard to keep a regular yoga practice?

Seriously life is so inconvenient. 

"Life is simple not easy" says Jon Kabat Zinn. Nothing is promised to us as easy.  Life requires effort and discipline mostly because we have a lot working against us in keeping us mindful and present, more all the time to be honest.  So a certain amount of work is required.  And this is what inspired me today.  When Pema Chodran says Life is so inconvenient I said to myself YES! that’s true. I just never heard it said so straightforward like that before.  The word inconvenient is very different than something like saying life is hard.  And what I’ve also found to be true is that following our hearts, love itself is inconvenient.

Pema Chodran writes, “when you hear some teachings that ring true to you and feel some trust in its being a worthwhile way to live then you’re in for a lot inconvenience.  From an everyday perspective it seems good to do things that are kind of convenient; there is no problem with that. It’s just that when you really start to take the warrior’s journey – which is to say, when you start to want to live your LIFE FULLY, when you begin to feel this passion for life and for growth, when discovery and exploration and curiosity become your path – then basically, it you follow your heart, you’re going to find that it’s often extremely inconvenient.” 

This single teaching continues to resonate with me, not just the first time but every day.  To read more check out her book The Wisdom of No Escape. Hey I know it's hard to keep doing things that are healthy for ourselves because "we're just so busy."  Ok but what I really think that means is code for "It's inconvenient to make time for myself on the mat."  Once we give up the yoga then we don't feel like our best selves: the insomnia comes back, the GI issues return, we feel tired but anxious, we get impatient with our partners or family members and on and on.  If you stop loving yourself (even if its inconvenient) you give the world permission to treat you the same way.   So stop making war with reality: Life is Inconvenient. Follow your heart anyway.  It is simple, just not always easy and that's what makes it all an adventure! Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia

PS: Take time to enjoy some of our FREE events: October 23rd 7:30pm FREE Sun Salutation Workshop with Silvia; November 1st 2pm-4pm FREE Acupuncture Happy Hour with Carrie Wilhelm, November 13th 7:30pm FREE Yoga & Journaling Workshop with Silvia   

 

AUGUST 15th, 2009: 

“Happiness Prayer”  (From the book Be Happy by Robert Holden)

Dear God,

So far today I’ve done all right.

I haven’t gossiped.  I haven’t lost my temper.

I haven’t been greedy, moody, nasty, selfish or narcissistic.

And I’m really glad about that.

But in a few minutes, God, I’m going to get out of bed,

And from then on I’m going to need a lot more help.

Thank you.

Amen

We have another 24 brand new hours before us says Thich Nhat Hanh!  And again a choice to choose happiness.  The more you choose happiness the more you see the potential for happiness that is all around you.  You find happiness because you choose happiness.  Emerson said words to the effect that everyday when we make our bed we have a choice to make up our minds about the kind of day we’re going to have. 

 

Yes, in every moment there is a choice, sometimes our choice is to choose happiness other times our choices block happiness. The good news is that the more you choose happiness the easier it gets.  But how?

 

BE PRESENT

 

Could it be that easy?  Yesssss!  Begin now by asking yourself:  How can I enjoy this moment?

The more you are wiling to enjoy the moment the more beautiful each moment of your life will be.  Essentially you are choosing life. And Jon Kabat Zinn says that the more you say yes to life, the more life will say yes to you!  And if you think about it life only happens one little moment at a time. So put yourself into the smallest things you do.

 

The bigger goal is simply to SHOW UP and BE PRESENT.  Be authentic.  Be you! (Or as Russell Simmons puts it in the title of his yoga inspired book “DO YOU”)

 

So starting in this moment remember to enjoy the miracle of existence today, appreciate your breath and in that breath choose happiness.  Love you all, Silvia

 

AUGUST 8, 2009:  What I meditate about today is FAITH. Faith in the unknown and what comes next, a hopeful positive expectation for life.  Life is funny, it offers us a constant stream of challenges so we have an endless opportunity to demonstrate Faith in the flow of grace. Fundamentally the truism is that change is inevitable so that even the greatest challenges won’t last forever.  As Sharon Salzburg says, “No matter what is happening, whenever we see the inevitability of change, the ordinary, or even oppressive, facts of our lives can become alive with prospect. We see that a self-image we’ve been holding doesn’t need to define us forever, the next step is not the last step, what life was is not what it is now, and certainly not what it might yet be.”

 

“It is not easy to keep your heart open in the face of the trials of being human.  Life can so often be difficult, disappointing; our dreams are so easily broken.  How precious, then, those shafts of sunlight that sometimes break through our daily preoccupations, our anxieties, and reveal the beauty that was there all along.”  - Roger Housden 

                                                                            

The next step is not the last step…

 

“When we finally stop struggling with life, stop wanting it to be anything but what it is now – not giving up but giving it over – then our heart will indeed fall open, and we shall know beyond all doubt that, however dark the night, all is already well.” – Roger Housden

 

And the moment we let go of fear or the darkness of lost hope or peace of mind the sooner we find ourselves immersed in the journey of Faith once more.  She will always take us back all we have to do is say “I choose life, I align myself with the potential inherent in life, I give myself over to that potential.” It means being present.  That is what Sharon Salzberg in her book titled Faith speaks to when she writes, “With faith we can draw near to the truth of the present moment, which is dissolving into the unknown even as we meet it. We open up to what is happening right now in all its mutability and evanescence. A pain in our body, a heartache, and unjust treatment may seem inert, impermeable, unchanging. It may appear to be all that is, all that ever will be. But when we look closely, instead of solidity, we see porousness, fluidity, motion. We begin to see gaps between the moments of suffering. We see the small changes that are happening all the time in the texture, the intensity, the contours of our pain.”

 

During the course of our practice on the mat we flow and breath to remind us that faith in change is right there all the time inside our breath. One inhale leads us to the exhale and on into the next breath.  Faith in our own breath reconnects us to trust in our lives. 

 

“No matter what is happening, whenever we see the inevitability of change, the ordinary, or even oppressive, facts of our lives can become alive with prospect. We see that a self-image we’ve been holding doesn’t need to define us forever, the next step is not the last step, what life was is not what it is now, and certainly not what it might yet be.  Without faith in change we would be compelled to repeat patterns of suffering at least reassured by being able to predict mortification and pain. Without a sense of possibility, we would be stuck—isolated, hopeless, and unspeakably sad. No matter what is happening, whenever we see the inevitability of change, the ordinary, or even oppressive, facts of our lives can become alive with prospect. We see that a self-image we’ve been holding doesn’t need to define us forever, the next step is not the last step, what life was is not what it is now, and certainly not what it might yet be.  Without faith in change we would be compelled to repeat patterns of suffering at least reassured by being able to predict mortification and pain. Without a sense of possibility, we would be stuck—isolated, hopeless, and unspeakably sad.”

 

So I hope this inspires you all to step into the flow of grace.  Believe that grace is always there the current gentle to swoop us up in our most challenging moments or as Rumi writes, Be helpless, dumbfounded, unable to say yes or no. Then a stretcher will come from grace and gather us up.

 

Hope you can join me at 9:15am this morning for a sweet quiet practice of Faith.  Love, Light, Peace and Hope, Silvia

 

JULY 16th, 2009:  The very first principle is opening to grace.  We invoke the idea of expansion – to be alive in joy!  The beating of our hearts reminds us that there is this constant opening and contracting pulsation.  The yoga teaches us to wake up to this pulse.  "…you can live a whole lifetime, without ever being awake" —Way of the Peaceful Warrior

 

The door of happiness does not open away from us:

We cannot rush at it to push it open.

It opens toward us and,

Therefore, nothing is required of us.

Soren Kierkegaard (1813-55) Denmark

 

I found yoga intriguing because it was like this.  It was unconditional love. None of us have to meet any pre-requisites to practice. We just show up ready to expand.  We open to grace and see that the door of happiness is constantly opening toward us. I shared in class a story of a student I had with a frozen shoulder as they lacked trust in others, in life, they find themselves in a state of contraction choosing not to open to healing from others.  This only worsened a condition that if they had allowed the door of happiness to open towards them they would have seen many were standing there to help them.  I want us to learn from that so we can make a better choice. 

 

Fully Alive By Dawna Markova USA 20^th century

I will not die an unlived life

I will not live in fear

of falling or catching fire.

I choose to inhabit my days,

to allow my living to open me,

to make me less afraid, more accessible,

to loosen my heart until it becomes a wing,

a torch, a promise.

I choose to risk my significance;

to live so that which came to me as seed

goes to the next as blossom

and that which came to be as blossom goes on as fruit.

 

Are you choosing to see the open doors available to you? Or do you look around your life and see yourself as a victim of the universe attracting further drama?  Do you have an addiction to the closed doors which represents itself in life as inability to re-regulate?  Let go of dramas of your life of the hurt feelings.  Forgive and begin again to see the doors opening towards you!  You see the thing is this is nothing we have to seek out.  The door of life and love is always opening towards us.  Love you all, Silvia

 

 

JULY 3, 2009:  At the beginning of July I’ve always had this feeling of making a fresh start or new beginning - like we are on the threshold of something greater.  Maybe I feel like this because it is my birth month and our birthday’s are like our own new year’s eve or maybe because we’re exactly halfway through the year.  I’m not sure really.  I just know that I intuitively want to think about the choices I’m making.  I use this time to face my fears and celebrate my accomplishments.  In the Alchemist it says “It was my fear of failure that first kept me from attempting the master work.  Now, I'm beginning what I could have started ten years ago.  But I'm happy at least that I didn't wait twenty years.”  The important part is to begin again, just get started and take a small step.  None of us are being asked to jump off a cliff, this is a practice of millimeters that eventually builds quiet momentum.

 

As you breath and enjoy this holiday weekend make time to set an expectation for your life this next half of the year.  Are you on the right path so far?  And whatever you decide just know we are all evolving in the direction of happiness. It is our right.  Freedom and the pursuit of happiness is your destiny!  It is like what’s written in the Alchemist, “Making a decision was only the beginning of things. When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision.”  And when you need time to reflect on where you’ve been and where you want to go join me on the mat where you’ll always discover you have the power, the heart and the energy to achieve anything you want!  Love the day, love your life! Silvia

 

JULY 1, 2009:  Now I understand what its like to live life like a prisoner of your own fear, your own mind.  Years back I kept myself trapped in a prison of my own making (I separated myself from love and from this direct experience I promise no good comes of that). I also have some sad examples in my own family of this same thing. I think of my Uncle Victor who was a lover of FREEDOM and a lover of life yet became trapped by his own fears and anger.  Life is not always fair.  You can get sick, cancer can eat your brain, it can take over your organs, you can get run over by a car, you can lose your dad at the age of twenty-five, you can love and lose love but none of this is an excuse to give up and throw away the key.  We do not have to imprison ourselves let alone sentence ourselves to solitary confinement.  This only serves to punish needlessly thereby moving away from the very thing we long for…FREEDOM to love more and find mental peace.

 

So take to heart the words of Joseph Campbell who said, “Life is not about the meaning. It’s about the feeling.”  The Feeling of life even the hard stuff is the beauty.  Tantric views ask us to accept the full spectrum of who we are, denying none of our feelings.  So on the mat we practice feeling the poses.  And the poses are not easy.  Yoga is challenging but as we embrace the feeling of life (even the anger, the fear, the worry) we come alive again and realize the key is in our hand to free ourselves from suffering.  Pain is part of life but we don’t have to suffer endlessly. 

 

Feelings really are more powerful than thoughts and it is through feeling we are one step closer to freeing our hearts.  Those of you who are on the razors edge deciding whether to stay in the prison of your own making or come out the other side please know this, The deeper that sorrow carves into your being the more joy you can contain.”  Kahlil Gibran.  You know then you have the capacity to be joyful and FREE!

 

Will we have sometimes sorrowful days, months, or years, maybe. But it’s been my experience that even that demonstrates to us that sometimes its necessary to love peace so much that you are willing to sacrifice for it.

 

So today have the courage to set yourself free!  For Stress paralyzes life; love releases it. Worry confuses life; love harmonizes it. Anger darkens life; love illuminates it.  As Augustus William Hare writes, “The feeling is often the deeper truth.”  Embrace your truth, embrace what you feel and free your soul for love and peace!  With humble gratitude for life, Silvia

 

 

MAY 17, 2009:

 

MAY 12, 2009:  I had this illuminating conversation with an old returning client this morning.  They had been away from yoga for 6 months and were coming back today to take one class.  I bow to their quiet courage to begin again. The first step towards changing your life is the most difficult. I know this.

 

At the same time you guys I asked why not make a bolder decision and see themselves of deserving of one hour per week from this day forward, whether it’s yoga class or a cup of tea or reading a book. From my heart I tried to encourage them to see that they are deserving of at least this I am sure they didn’t believe me (yet).  Because the gosh honest truth is that if you want to STOP THE NOISE in your head and find clarity, more importantly MAINTAIN mental and emotional clarity well you need to make a commitment of more than one hour every 6 months. 

 

It does take courage to change your life.  And no matter how badly I want it for you. You have to do it yourself. You must take action.  This is karma.

 

You must stand up for your rights as Bob & Ziggy Marley sing. If there is anything worth committing to it is your right to be peaceful and happy.  It is your choice.  Rascal Flats in this utube clip below puts it like this, “I hope the day comes easy and the moments pass slow and each road leads you to where you want to go and if you're faced with the choice and you have to choose I hope you choose the one that means the most to you.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_zi4OxJpY0&feature=related

 

The key thing here is to make the commitment to yourself to turn inside so you can stop all the EXTERNAL NOISE long enough to realize what changes we want, which choices, which roads mean the most to us.  I truly hope we can all find the courage within ourselves to heed the advice of the Yoga Sutras that ask us to observe within our hearts are we  “running away from the life we’re afraid of or are we running towards the changes that bring about the peace and health we want instead.”  STOP THE NOISE, get on the mat. Make healthier choices through your courage to change! Love yourself, Silvia

**Rumi says STOP THE NOISE**

MARCH 29, 2009:  Namaste and happy Sunday to you!  Let me ask you guys what was your first reaction when you saw the snow today?  Were you filled with childlike delight of oohs and aahs or did you say to yourself holy CRAP I can’t believe this is being done to me?  Did you pick a fight with the snow?  Or did you see that nature itself is magnificent?  Did you see the beauty outside?  Because the thing is the Yoga Sutras say there are really 2 ways to see life.

 

One would be a darker view...that at any moment something could go wrong and the world is making war with you. The other would be a brighter view...what amazing miracle might take place today?!  This ability to choose to see the beauty is the practice of peace.  We come to the mat to recognize the splendour of life itself. 

*The seer dwells in his own true splendour. (Yoga Sutra 1.3)

*At other times, the seer identifies with the fluctuating consciousness (the negative). (Yoga Sutra 1.4)

 

In today’s turbulent times it is important to keep practicing to stay positive and peaceful, to see beauty.  From a peaceful center we can respond instead of react.  With a peaceful heart whatever happens can be met with wisdom.  It's a choice, we can view ourselves at war with life ("fluctuating consciousness.") Or we can practice the art of peaceful perception, the ability to see beauty and weave the feeling through the conflicts we face. Kahlil Gibran says it like this, "When you reach the heart of life you shall find beauty in all things, even in the eyes that are blind to beauty.”

 

For me then the question is not about the choice in front of us, I get that. But it becomes then why don’t we always see beauty first?  Well we get bogged down by stress, negativity and worry (fluctuating consciousness) and this puts a layer of grime over how we view things.  The yoga on the mat helps us to clean off the mucky muck so we can reveal the beauty within us for how we see the world is not about what’s “out there” its always about our perspective and how beautiful we see things inside us.

 

If this morning at 9:15am you were enjoying the snow then join me at 4:30pm today for a really beautiful, rich practice (yes its Level 1-2 but don’t be afraid and get caught up in the darkness, its only a number). Think of yoga as philosophy in motion and today’s focus is beauty.  Be the beauty you wish to see in the world! Love, Silvia

 

 

PLAYLIST FOR TODAY MARCH 29TH, 2009:

Operator	Toby Lightman
Talk to You	Tracy Chapman
I Don't Care About My Baby	Jackie Greene
Promised Land	Grateful Dead
Sita Ram	Girish
Down on the Corner	Creedance Clearwater Revival
Feeling Alright	Joe Cocker
Domino	Van Morrison
Stand By Me	Various Artists
Let's Stay Together	Al Green
Crazy Love, Vol. II	Paul Simon
If you Want to Sing Out, Sing Out	Cat Stevens
Like A Star	Corinne Bailey Rae
Youve really got a hold on me	Smokey Robinson
Misunderstood
Blind Willie McTell	Bob Dylan
You Are So Beautiful	Joe Cocker

 

 

NOVEMBER 4TH, 2008:  Please vote today: show up, participate, share responsibility. It's just like being on the mat - the more you put in the more you get out of it.  Thank you.  (And for inspiration a Poem sent to me by one of our TBY yogis)

Election Promises

I hear the polls
are going to be open on Tuesday.
All day.
Good.  I certainly intend to go to them.
I certainly invite you to go go them and vote too.
But today I say the polls
are not just open on Tuesday.
I say they are open every day.
Every hour.  Even here.  Even now.
Right now I am going to vote
for the robin's egg sky,
the vanilla clouds,
the purple shadow spreading
under the ginkgo tree,
I am going to vote for tulips and redbuds.
I am going to vote for love
that does not have
to run in someone else's circles
in order to be love.
I'm going to vote the homeless into homes.
I'm going to vote the uneducated into classrooms
that teach them in the way they learn best,
not the way that would be most convenient.
I'm going to vote the sick into healing.
I'm going to vote the lost into belonging.
I'm going to vote, right now,
for the right to dream of a world
where the word politics
doesn't stop me in  my tracks,
and where the word honor still
has a few good meanings left.
I'm going to vote right now
for the power of free people
to actually be free,
no matter who they are,
no matter who has abandoned them,
no matter who hates them.
I actually am going to vote for love,
I am going to vote for truthfulness as the norm,
not the exception .
I'm going to vote for a world
that doesn't vote for killing, control and swagger,
I'm going to vote for you.
I'm going to vote for me.
Right now.  Right here.  Silently.  But for real.
 
-by Mark Belletini

NOVEMBER 4TH, 2008:                                      BELL GATHA

Body, Speech, and Mind

In perfect oneness,

I send my heart along with the sound of the bell.

May all of us who hear it

Awaken from forgetfulness

And realizing our true home,

In the here, In the now,

Transcend the path of fear and sorrow.

 

REMEMBER yourself and remember that you follow your OWN CHOICES.  Don’t feel guilty about a decision or agonize about how bad it is for you.  Why? This ruins the enjoyment of the moment and encourages negative effects on your health. 

 

GUILT OPPOSES SPIRITUAL GROWTH.

 

Regret and Guilt are just different forms of yearning – the yearning for the past, the yearning for another chance at a decision.  Today make a break and free yourself.  Do this and you will find yourself relaxed in your heart.  Don’t do this and then the body will grow tense and tired as will the mind.  Begin the next chapter of your life today, in a newly relaxed way free of guilt, free of regret, free of worry!  Love to you.  Make it about you.  Find the way.