WHY ARE YOGIS MORE ATTRACTIVE
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
TAKE TURNS WITH YOUR EMOTIONS
MARCH 9, 2010: So I read this great article abou Gary Lauder's clever idea to reduce traffic accidents: a traffic sign that says "Take Turns". I love this. It's solo yogic! It's simple, cheap, smart and kind. And if 50% of traffic accidents happen at intersections it could save lives. The yogi in me takes this suggestion and applies it to our emotions. So imagine you approach the intersection of your emotions (just like you would in your car) and you look around and politely allow the emotion you are feeling to cross over. Then the next emotion takes its turn quite politely. Splendid!
Yet as human beings we often push back our feelings creating in the flow of our lives a flood at some point of pent of emotions. Or we deny what we are feeling trying to run away from it. Neither of these works. When we allow our feelings to take turns we are really CARING FOR OUR FEELINGS. As Rumi writes; "It's good to leave each day behind, life flowing water, Yesterday is gone and it's tale told. Today new seeds are growing."
This is really getting to the heart of a Tantric practice which encourages us to embrace all of who we are. The sadness and the joy, the tiredness and the vigor, the fear and the love. This is a nondualistic approach to see that there is not a winner/loser or bad/good that we don't have to battle our emotions, thoughts or feelings any longer. Running away from what we feel will only prolong it. And all of our feelings can be put into 3 buckets: pleasant, unpleasant and neutral. So as hard as it might be to heal and remain in a state of being healed we are taught through yoga to embrace your feelings, care for them.
A great meditation from Thich Nhat Hanh suggest we take a feeling, let's say sadness, and talk to your feeling: say to your sadness "breathe - I am taking care of you now." Acknowledge this feeling is you and as you breath out, let it go. Then allow for the next moment to unfold and the next feeling. Breath into that one. Take one at a time and stay with the flow taking turns. Most importantly know that whatever you're feeling is part of your humanness, love and hurt co-exist, one is the compliment to the other so to prevent staying in a state of suffering it helps to embrace all you feel and care for yourself. We literally learn about ourselves as we experience emotion, feeling and thought. We also become expert through this in the human experience. We can by caring for our own feelings learn how to care for how others feel.
If we can take turns in our emotions we can allow others to feel what they need to feel and take turns appreciating them too for their humanness. Through this we create a more polite world. A world of peace and authenticity. Love yourself, Love your life! Silvia
THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON STRESS…BURN OUT PREVENTION WITH YOGA
February 8, 2010: Tonight in classes want to address the theme of what Stress does to our brains and how burn out from Stress can be prevented from a yogic perspective. I’ll offer healthier and more conscious ways to confront the challenges of daily life.
Yoga is a holistic science of human nature, which teaches us how we can better understand our bodies and minds. By observing our fears, expectations and desires, it is possible to recognize and transform unhealthy and unsustainable patterns of behavior.
We will learn and practice simple breathing techniques and poses so that deep relaxation on the bodily and mental levels can be experienced. The full benefits of these “Yoga Tools” learned will be realized through regular practice and implementation in everyday life even if for just 7 minutes per day.
I have experienced Burn Out when in the corporate world and I know what stress can do to the brain. Yoga exercises and philosophy plays an everyday role in my life to keep me healthy so I can maintain my equilibrium. I want you to experience this same healthy solution to the stressors of life. Peace in all ways, Silvia
“ABOUT THE BRAIN: (From the book Yoga: A therapeutic approach by Gary Kraftsow)
- The brain stem and cerebellum are involved in the mechanical and usually Unconscious processes of regulating and processing the sensory, emotional, autonomic, hormonal, and motor functions of the body.
- The cerebrum is involved in Conscious processes such as intellectual thought, the processing and comprehension of sensory input, coordination, and the storing and processing of long term memory as well as conscious sensory and motor memory.
- The limbic system is concerned with learning, memory and the emotions and their related behavioural drives. But of even more importance to our consideration of Yoga therapy, the limbic systems provides the LINK between the Conscious , intellectual functions of the brain and the Unconscious, mechanical functions of the body.
STRESS AND DISEASE:
The bodily response to stress initiated in the hypothalamus (cerebellum) knows as fight or flight response, involves a chain reaction of chemicals released into the bloodstream, as follows: corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) is released from the hypothalamus; CRF then triggers the release of adrenocorticotropin hormone (ATCH) from the pituitary gland; and finally ATCH triggers the release of adrenaline and cortisol from the adrenal glands. The results of this chain reaction are increase in heart rate, blood pressure, respiration and in increase in the peripheral circulation of blood to the skeletal muscles, as digestion stops and the flow of blood is directed away from the stomach and a whole range of other bodily changes.
Through this mechanism, the body is able to cope with stress and therefore survive. However, if through chronic physical or mental stress this mechanism s habitually engaged, the result is a depression of the IMMUNE response and weakening of the entire system. But whether the source of stress is internal, external, psychological, physical or some combination of these factors it is clear that the link between conscious mind and unconscious body responses work in both directions.”
IN A NUTSHELL: You guys what this means is that where brain activity can trigger emotional response and emotions effect a physical change, changes in our physical selves can trigger emotional responses that influence our thoughts. Poses and conscious breathing can heal us of stress.