INNER STRENGTH
May 19, 2010, Tonight we focused on hugging in to our center. To cultivate that awareness of our own best strength. And what is inner strength really? Well it is love, that’s all. "We are kept from the experience of Spirit because our inner world is cluttered with past traumas....As we begin to clear away this clutter, the energy of divine light and love begins to flow through our beings." -Thomas Keating
We experienced this return to ourselves through a series of poses and mantras flowing through the elements such as:
Earth: I am grounded
Fire: I am rising
Air: I am free
When our minds and hearts are scattered in their energy we lose track of self-love and it always starts there in laying the foundation for a healthy life. So we come to the mat to rebuild. Beginning with the earth element and drawing nutrients and support from the earth to help us return to stillness. The healing then expands and as we return to our center by engaging principals of alignment such as hugging to the midline and muscular energy we return to our most powerful selves. We feel the confidence and enthusiasm of the third chakra. There is an aliveness and energy that expands out and up! And from there we connect to the air element of the fourth chakra feeling the lightness and freedom that are our true nature. We are once more in the home of our hearts, we are in love with ourselves and with our lives. You see inner strength is love…that’s all. With metta, Silvia
HUGGING
DECEMBER 18TH, 2008: I was reflecting on what it means to be balanced. So I looked up Balance in the thesaurus and it said: stable, steady, together, middle, centered. The opposite is unbalanced, unequal, uneven, lopsided.
What I love about balancing poses is that if we are not focused to our center we fall over. That's what’s so great, there is an unavoidable immediacy to balancing related to meeting ourselves. In other words there IS NO FAKING IT. Or I like how Laura Yeshe puts it, ‘If you expect your life to be up and down, your mind will be more peaceful."
How does this help us in life, well the yoga helps us practice strengthening our connection to the midline so that we get real about responding appropriately to both sunny days and stormy times. This comes about as we HUG IN.
And what is a hug? A hug between two people demands trust. It is an extremely skillful way of focusing on our humanness in all its messiness (wrinkles, hang ups, talents). It is real – it is not just some concept. So right now, take 60 seconds to be fully present with another human being. Try this from Thich Nhat Hahn:
Before hugging take a couple breaths to bring yourself fully into the present moment so you can really be there for that person.
On the first in breath we say to ourselves “Breathing in, I am aware that you are alive & in my arms; Breathing out, I am so happy”
On the second breath we say to ourselves “Breathing in, I know that I am alive and in your arms; Breathing out, I am so happy”
On the third breath “Breathing in, I am aware that we are both alive right now and embraced in each other’s arms; Breathing out, I am very happy.”