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So TAPAS helps us to be awake to our lives and articulate our intentions.  In practice the determination to hold true to our dreams or visions for ourselves is Tapas in yoga.  It is like this poem below:

"Only as high as I reach can I grow,
Only as far as I seek can I go,
Only as deep as I look can I see,
Only as much as I dream can I be."
-Karen Ravn

So today challenge yourself to show up.  Whether this means showing up for yoga class or just showing up for what makes you excited about your life.  What is your vision for your life?  Not just the idea but what can you resolve to make happen, to be with day after day until you see the fruition of your dream. Leonardo Da Vinci once said, "A good painter has two main objects to paint, man and the intention of his soul. The former is easy, the latter hard."

Ask yourself:  If he would paint your portrait would DaVinci see that fire in your eyes?

Resolve starting now to find the inner strength and quiet determination to hold true to your biggest dreams.  Big Love! Silvia

"Let no doubt into your dreams and intentions. The dreamers are the saviors of the world. Be one of those dreamers." (Dr Wayne Dyer)

JUNE 18, 2009: 

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.  ~Leonardo DaVinci

When in Tuscany I was surrounded by the heart of what DaVinci was trying to share.  The sophistication was in the simplicity of eating, walking, being present the easy beauty of conversation.  We can find this anywhere, if we slow down.  Otherwise, we are all pulled in so many different directions hour to hour, day to day, juggling a million things that we start to literally speed up to get it all in.  I’m as guilty as anyone in trying to do multiple things at the same time (checking email while shopping at target, watching tv and reading a book, and you all know the especially naughty ones too).

This way of living complicates our lives instead of making them easier because we lose our center. The multitasking dumbs us down. 

In Italy, instead of complicating food or pleasure with doing too much there is always simplicity that is honored.  Ingredients are few, tastes are vibrant but not complicated (truffle infused pecorino cheese, porcini mushrooms with picci pasta, zucchini with garlic, oil, salt.)  For fun we walk slowly, or we sit and observe, talk is steady but not ever like machine gun fire.  There is sense that time is big!

So today try to simplify the practice by choosing just one thing to focus on.  Let your breath be that ever most simple thread that connects one moment to the next but can only ever be enjoyed singly at a time.  Befriend the breath to let go of the complexities of your life and hone in to the core of who you are. 

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent.  It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage - to move in the opposite direction.  ~E.F. Schumacker

More than anything I hope this practice helps you simply the monkey mind that up and down all over sort of feeling so you can savor just the richness of each moment individually.  May you find the ease life is waiting for you. Try it this week: eat simply, live simply, dress simply.  Love the day, Silvia

Eliminate physical clutter.  More importantly, eliminate spiritual clutter.  ~D.H. Mondfleur