First Class Free

  By Laura Mills

  Since I started practicing yoga I’ve developed a keen appreciation for parts of me that I never thought much about before: the muscles between my ribs, for example, and the joint between my palm and first finger. Recently, I discovered the importance of the fourth toe on my right foot.  

   It happened when I opened a heavy door into my foot. Since I was barefoot, and with the way I was standing at the time, the door scraped the top of that particular toe. It wasn’t a huge injury; a few extra minutes and paper towels later, I thought the ordeal over. But I attended a yoga class the next day, and I winced the first time I breathed forward from Downward Dog into Plank. Other than not clenching my toes, I’ve never thought much about them during a yoga practice…but that day I started. In fact, I thought about my fourth toe every Plank, every Upward Dog-into-Downward Dog, pretty much throughout every Vinyasa. And I thought about it every time I stepped my right foot back to a lunge. And of course, I thought about it as it throbbed all during Savasana, too.

  We talk a lot in yoga about honoring ourselves and awakening the divine within. Sometimes I have a hard time seeing anything about myself as divine, but on this occasion, my toe reminded me not to forget it.    

  By Laura Mills

   I recently heard about the passing of a person in his mid-50s. It happened at home; as far as I know, he hadn’t been sick and hadn’t shown signs of trouble before one night his heart just stopped beating. The grief, the shock, the inexplicable emotions of his family and friends, I can only imagine….

  We all know that the circumstances of life often defy explanation. We can plan, schedule, and prepare; we can visit our doctors or healers on a regular basis, eat all organic, and never touch alcohol or caffeine; we can bathe in hand sanitizer, run twenty miles a day, and use chemical-free cleaners at home. But in the end, of course, we don’t know. We never know; at some point, no matter what, life WILL take us by surprise and—perhaps, for some of us, quite literally—leave us breathless.

  If it’s not already part of your practice, discern what really matters to you today, and embrace it. Then do the same thing tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. Especially as Valentine’s Day approaches…what better time to start gifting yourself with a sincere appreciation of the value of your unique and precious life? And remember: even along the timeline of this one chance we’ve got, it’s never too late to try again. Start now. 

By Laura Mills

Weekends I frequently find my husband and me at a coffee shop, where one of my favorite drinks to order is a latte. This past weekend, though, on a whim, I ordered a cappuccino. Now basically, both drinks include espresso and steamed milk; the only major difference as far as I know is that a cappuccino includes a foam cap while a latte doesn't. The drinks may be served or presented differently, depending on the restaurant or venue, but once a customer sips past the top of the mug the basic beverages taste more or less the same.

What I find interesting here is that merely the addition of that foam cap is enough to create a completely different menu item with a whole new identity. I'm guessing baristas will tell you some customers only ever order lattes and some only ever order cappuccinos; is it truly because theyíre particular about the presence or absence of foam? Why else might a customer prefer one over the other?

Speaking for myself, I realized this weekend that I've usually ordered lattes simply because it's what I've always done. I actually enjoy cappuccinos just as much. It's a small realization, yes, but still a clue that maybe I should take time to look past something's name and the top of my cup at all the wonderful stuff that's really out there.

All-Over Adjustment

  By Laura Mills

   My adulthood so far has consisted of two phases: “Before Yoga” and “With Yoga.” In the first phase I worked a fine job and maintained my home life and body in the way I thought best for me. The plan worked, for a while, but by my late-twenties I had wedged myself into a meltdown between grief and confusion. In its midst, yoga seemed like something worth trying…and thus began the second phase. Since then, I’ve learned what changes to make and how to make them, as well as how to coexist with all aspects of my life (even those that didn’t turn out the way I originally wanted). I’ve also learned to honor myself ALWAYS as a unique and beautiful being. 
   Whether or not a yogi’s story involves major life alterations, at some level the practice changes all of us. Even if we only try yoga because it looks fun, or we want to someday balance on our hands, the practice leaves us in a place different from the one in which we began. I consider all the yogi stories I’ve heard since I started my own practice: among many others, stories involving stress reduction and recovery from tragedy or illness; stories of yoga as a hobby, as cross-training for other sports, as a component of an overall fitness program; stories about yoga feeling good, teaching people about themselves, and enabling them to meet their spirituality. I love yogi stories. To me they represent the tremendous spectrum of human experience and the fact that, no matter who we are or where we come from, we all revolve around the same amazing center. 

Password: EffortEase
 
  By Laura Mills

   Technology-loving friends chuckle at my techno-phobia. I present a classic case: I understand next to nothing about finer online search strategies and the fancy ins-and-outs of social networking. I longingly remember my box of cherished cassette tapes whenever I attempt to download a new song. As time has passed I’ve found myself farther behind, and I’ve struggled with balancing adaptation to technology with acceptance of my jitters. On one hand I want to keep up with the world, but on the other I’m frustrated that as soon I acclimate to one technological marvel a new, more advanced one appears. (As I type this, my computer is downloading automatic updates and my security software is scanning. Yikes!)  
   Happily, though, I find encouragement in the yogic idea of combining effort with ease. On our mats as well as off, we are called to find the point at which we have strength and softness, the place at which we can strive as well as let go. The gurus teach us to breathe through sensations until we reach our edge, but then we relax and open to the reality of what exists for us in the pose—or, off our mats, the reality of what exists for us in the circumstance. Easier said than done, I know, but we learn from our yoga practices with time. And with time, just like in our yoga practices, we travel deeper.
   We already know the way.   

April 9, 2011.  ‎"If I knew that everything I believed and more was true-I'd wake up and let life take me as its own." 9:30am and 12pm at hauteyoga Queen Anne focused on Trust, Unconditional Gratitude and Letting Love in. Danna Faulds goes on to write, "I'd welcome whatever came next and know that love could change me forever if I let it."  I have a confession to make, I have trust issues.  One example started when I was run over by a car as a pedestrian over 10 years ago.  Since that point whenever I'm walking I still feel my breath tighten and my skin constrict as I get ready to walk across the street.  The fact of the matter is that when I was involved in this hit and run accident (as the one that was hit) I was a step away from the curb on the other side of the street.  I saw the car coming on a sunny Sunday morning.  And I didn't feel afraid because there was no way they would drive on the WRONG side of the street and hit me. I was so close.

Anyhow, the reality of the matter is that the car did cross over.  And ever since I work on trusting that even if I have the right away as a pedestrian that the car will stop for me.  Living in Seattle has brought me great healing towards rebuilding my trust because the law and the culture here are pedestrian, cyclist friendly.  Even if a car has been stopped at a stop sign and you start walking they still give you the right to walk safely.  And everyday I heal this trust issue I have between cars and people a little bit more.  But its not easy and I still have to remember to keep breathing through the mental inconvenience of changing my thought patterns and old belief.  In any spiritual practice we all have to make the choice to trust in what is important to us and believing in something doesn't make it easy.

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 – then basically, it you follow your heart, you’re going to find that it’s often extremely inconvenient.” 

"If I knew that everything I believed and more was true...." So what it is that you trust as true?  If you've had your heart broken will you take the steps to try again even though putting yourself out there is inconvenient?  If you've attempted an arm balance and it didn't work the way you thought it would can you reestablish trust in the Earth to hold you up?  Today find something you trust, even if it as fundamental as air and earth and from there keep expanding your circle of trust. "Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back-- Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too."  - GOETHE

When trust is difficult I practice Unconditional Gratitude inspired by the book BE HAPPY by William Holden who defines Unconditional Gratitude as follows:

• "Gratitude based on a faith that everything that happens or doesn’t happen in your life is for your own best interests.  That we live in a purposeful universe.  Life is always for you; it is never against you.  It is a fact that blessings sometimes come wrapped in fear, pain, and tears.  In choosing to practice unconditional gratitude you are choosing to trust the process, to honor your feelings and to place your faith in an outcome of inevitable grace."

And why bother healing the trust issues we develop in life?  Because if keep constricting through mistrust then love can't come in.  Either we trust everyone and everything that happens to us whether difficult or easy or we don't trust anything.  We either trust the process and believe the universe knows what it's doing or we trust nothing.  Learning to trust and when necessary rebuilding trust opens our hearts and allows love in.  Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia

April 4, 2011.  As an adult I started yoga because I got hit by a car. It was part of my physical therapy.  I love the physical part of yoga. And for a long long time that was all I knew.  And I'll tell you I still love sweating and moving and breathing.  I have never gotten "past that" nor do I want to evolve to a point where I can't enjoy the movement.  

As a more experienced yogi I eventually found out from my teacher Shiva Rea that Yoga is for the Mind.  Who knew? (Well ok if you did, I didn't)

So how does this work exactly if the practice is so physical? Well scientists agree that the best form of exercise is that which involves learning complex movement, including balance and coordination.  That sounds like yoga.  Western science also goes on to say that MOVEMENT provides physiological release that we need to bring our body back into balance while at the SAME time it is also good for our brain where moving helps form more connections between the neurons in our brain.  Other benefits of learning coordinated movements which in yoga we call Vinyasa Krama include: improved mental well-being; increased neurotransmitters; mood regulation; anxiety control; ability to handle stress better; better socialization; ability to better process more information; enhanced attentiveness and improved ability to choose appropriate responses. 

Of all those benefits and ways yoga helps the mind I like appropriateness the best.  I struggled for a long time as an overly sensitive person in appreciating how not to over-react to what others did or said.  Yoga calms my mind and makes me better able to not take things personally (Rule #2 in Miguel Ruiz book The Four Agreements).  I make better decisions when the noise in my brain quiets after practicing yoga.  I need the yoga to impact the ventromedial portion of the frontal lobe of my brain!

Studies show we have too much brain power.  We easily catastrophize and react rather than respond.  When I am on the mat learning, following, trying out a sequence of physical poses and coordinating my breath into that movement I somehow learn how to sequence the thoughts in my mind when not in a pose.  And it's true the primary motor cortex and cerebellum which coordinate physical movement also coordinate movement of thought.  In yogic practice we have then 3 movements:  physical movement (and inside that isometric movement as well as action) and pranic movement (breathing on purpose) and also thought movement.  One impacts the other and managing one fluidly teaches us how to sequence the other.  So that's the scoop, just as we order physical movements in something like Sun Salutation A or Dancing Warrior 1 (which we practiced tonight) we learn how to best order the sequence of our thoughts for thinking our best lives ever. Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia 

Sun Salutation Series A – Overview

Start standing at attention, bringing awareness to your body and posture.  Feet rooting down, inner edges of feet together, lift sternum upward, pull belly in (abdominal lock called uddiyana banda), tilt pelvis pointing tailbone down slightly, knee caps pulling up, inner thigh spinning outward, engage quads and press leg bones down, pull shoulders back relax them away from ears sliding shoulder blades down the back, head centered, ears over shoulders, neck neutral, gaze soft and relaxed

Dancing Warrior 1

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

EXHALE -- Place foot down, prepare foundation for Vira I

INHALE -- Virabhadrasana I (Warrior 1)

EXHALE -- Chaturanga Dandasana

INHALE -- Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward Facing Dog)

EXHALE -- Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Facing Dog) (Repeat #1-5, left side)

*DW courtesy of my teacher Shiva Rea

April 2, 2011.  Count how many times you’ve set an expectation in the last 24 hours?  About the weather, your job, your partner, your children, your family? And then compare that to how many times the reality matched your expectation.

How did that make you feel?

When we have decided in advance how someone else is going to act or how a situation is going to be we open ourselves up to suffering when the reality doesn’t match our expectation.  In yogic philosophy this attachment to expectation is a root cause of human suffering.  

Focused inward another name for expectation is Self-Judgment. This critical prism of judging ourselves in advance of the outcome and again with the result only brings more disappointment.

We would do well to heed the advice of Eckhart Tolle in the Power of Now who writes, “When you surrender to what is and so become fully present, the past ceases to have any power.  The realm of Being, which has been obscured by the mind, then opens up.  Suddenly, a great stillness arises within you, and an unfathomable sense of peace.  And within that peace, there is great joy.  And within that joy, there is love.”  This practice on and off the mat helps us to see clearly without making happiness dependent upon our expectations.  This acceptance for sure brings about inner peace, joy and love.

So that no matter what the world presents we know we can manage remaining quiet and centered at our center.  "Accepting means you allow yourself to feel whatever it is you are feeling at that moment. It is part of the isness of the Now. You can't argue with what is. Well, you can, but if you do, you suffer." (Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth)

Who goes on to write “To offer no resistance to life is to be in a state of grace, ease, and lightness. This state is then no longer dependent upon things being in a certain way, good or bad. It seems almost paradoxical, yet when your inner dependency on form is gone, the general conditions of your life, the outer forms, tend to improve greatly.”  Try it for a week or even a day where you surrender your heavy expectations of yourself and others and live with less resistance to this isness of now and then decide if its worth going back to again living with the burden of expectation for even a day longer.  Love yourself, love your day, love your ilfe, Silvia

TODAY’S SWEET PLAYLIST

Gobinday Mukunday, Spirit Voyage Artists

In Another Time, Sade

Miss Teardrops, Felix Laband

Allah Hoo, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

Yara Seeli Seeli, Lata Mangeshkar

Express Yourself, Mocean Worker, Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street

Mr Big Stuff, Jean Knight

In The Colors, Ben Harper & The Innocent Criminals

Blind to You, Collie Buddz           

Jet Lag, Joss Stone

Butterflyz, Alicia Keys

In A Sentimental Mood, Nancy Wilson with Hank Jones

Shavasana/Deep Relaxation, Shiva Rea

MARCH 19, 2011: This time of year as we transition from Winter to Spring our To Do Lists seem overstuffed. While we have more ways to make our lives easier through technology we insist on overwhelming ourselves on purpose by engineering these massive lists of stuff “we have to do” this Spring.  

So today I invite you to create a TO BE list. 

Say to yourself “how am I going TO BE no matter what gets done, or the outcome of this situation.” 

When we focus on a TO BE List it is giving ourselves permission to do the hardest pose of all which is TO BE YOURSELF. And I can promise you that being yourself is the most important decision anyone can make. There is a serious paradigm shift that must take place especially if you’ve been used to trying to be who everyone else wants you to be.  And as a result you will temporarily disappoint some people. Especially if you have been consumed on making your To Be Lists to prove your self-worth to other people. 

To me the motivation for moving away from To Do Lists towards To Be is that it returns us to place where we can make peace with ourselves.  That space of radical self-acceptance that demonstrates unconditional self-love.  We are all a work in progress but that awareness of letting ourselves be who we are is vital to positive mental, emotional and spiritual health. Eckhart Tolle in the book A New Earth says it like this on page 184:  "Accepting means you allow yourself to feel whatever it is you are feeling at that moment. It is part of the isness of the Now. You can't argue with what is. Well, you can, but if you do, you suffer."

This is isness of now is where we allow ourselves to surrender into being: no fighting, no resisting, no arguments.  I can tell you during times of challenge the mat was the only place I felt like I could BE myself. And I mean my real self. And where I felt safe to laugh or cry or both at the same time.  And the more we accept ourselves in this state of beingness the more we know how to accept others being themselves.  It is a straightforward spiritual law.  You cannot offer to others what you don’t practice for yourself.  If you don’t have peace you can’t make peace, if you don’t love yourself you can’t really love someone else, if you don’t fully accept how amazing you are, you WILL NEVER accept others, if you don't know how To Be you won't allow others To Be either.  

So today practice making a To Be List. And the first thing on that to be list is BE YOU!  Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia

PS If you need time off to help your To Be List then come on retreat with Alchemy Tours. Allow us to support you unconditionally. It will transform your life!  www.alchemytours.com

March 29, 2011.  The practice of yoga is not about doing more or asserting more effort it is actually an experience where we try to make the smartest least effort or effortless effort.  There is this space in a pose where we find that sweet space of "doing nothing." That is something I know well from my Father who was born in Italy and the Italian people have a deep respect for the philosophy of enjoyment. This is the idea of IL BEL FAI NIENTE which means "the beauty of doing nothing."  Remember this passage from Elizabeth Gilbert in Eat, Pray, Love "Generally speaking, Americans have an inability to relax into sheer pleasure.  Ours is an entertainment-seeking nation, but not necessarily a pleasure-seeking one.  Americans spend billions to keep themselves amused but that's not exactly the same thing as quiet enjoyment.  Americans work harder and longer and more stressful hours than anyone in the world today.  Of course we all inevitably work too hard, then we get burned out and have to spend the whole weekend in our pajamas staring at the TV in a mild coma (which is the opposite of working, yes, but not exactly the same thing as pleasure.) Americans don't really know how to do nothing. But against the backdrop of hard work, il bel fai niente, has always been a cherished Italian ideal. The beauty of doing nothing is the goal of all your work, the final accomplishment for which you are most highly congratulated. Anyone with a talent for happiness can do this."

"My own ambition, my deepest and truest ambition, is to find within myself someday, somehow, the ability to do likewise, to do NOTHING - and find it enough."  Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey

Another way I personally experience this doing of nothing is going to Moab. Utah.  When I am there I understand what Edward Abbey is writing about since that is where he wrote the book Desert Solitaire.  There is a quiet in the desert unlike anything I have found elsewhere in the world.  And the joy of mountain biking or practicing yoga there feels so in the flow of this effortless effort that you come away from any excursion with more energy and calm.  I can't wait to return April 16-19 to introduce a new tribe to the beauty of Il Bel Fait Niente!  Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia

*To join us in April or in October in Moab visit www.alchemytours.com or www.silviamordini.com or facebook Alchemy Tours

March 20, 2011.  I often ask myself what is the true test of my Spiritual Growth? Or more simply put I meditate on the question "Am I still growing?"  When I was little my Mom measured us (me and my brother) against the door in our house and marked the little lines proving I was actually growing physically.  You did that too, right? Well, I loved that.  I was sad the day she stopped doing it and I stopped growing.

Well that's speaking to physical growth.  I am as tall as I'm going to be (although to be honest by practicing yoga I've gotten a little taller, just a quarter inch but that's pretty cool).

However what I'm speaking about is emotional and spiritual growth.  My aspiration continues to be that I grow into the BEST version of myself.  And that's what I hope for you too. 

Or as True Nobility is defined: it is not about being better than anyone else, it is about being better than you used to be, much better.  This is the barometer of our ability to raise our spiritual energy. Are you better than you used to be?  Are you growing?

"The only difference between a flower that is alive and one that is dead is that the live flower is still growing."  - Dr Wayne Dyer

For me I received so much nourishment, like a flower, from my daily yoga practice that I wanted more. That's when I started taking yoga workshops: first they were the 2 hour kind, then the half day, then the full day, finally entire weekends both locally and eventually I started traveling all over the U.S to attend 2-3 day trainings and workshops until I went all the way by signing up for a one week yoga retreat in Italy with Sadie Nardini.  Well that did it for me. I could experience for myself that to keep growing I had to keep investing in myself and more time dedicated to evolving my consciousness was required to do that.  And traveling to new places and exploring new territories externally matched the growth I was making internally.  They went hand in hand.

And that's when I made the commitment to start leading yoga retreats combined with other ways to express one's yoga and vitality like cycling and hiking. I want to give everyone a chance to really invest in your own growth and raise your energy by visiting places that support your evolution.

You see, until the last breath, I don't buy into wellness as defined by the AMA as the "absence of illness". I believe in the potential for radiant health (shakti) as the World Health Organization defines wellness.  I am growing! And I am learning. And the higher my vibration the softer I get on the outside. I am kinder, more patient, nicer and easily more loving.  I think we all are when we're growing.  So make that commitment to yourself keep affirming your life! Love yourself, love your day, love your life, Silvia

In the words of Lao Tzu, 

"At birth all people are soft and yielding

At death they are hard and stiff

All green plants are tender and yielding

At death they are brittle and dry

When hard and rigid we consort with death

When soft and flexible we Affirm Greater Life."

March 11, 2011.  There is this spiritual alchemy where we move beyond wanting life to be different and begin to feel the surrender that allows what is being offered.  We practice ishvara pranidhana as we trust the universal intelligence that hugs us from all directions to know what it's doing.  And once we find this trust we begin to believe that beauty and goodness are within us flowing nonstop and there is no reason to stop this flow for its natural current is to align with the current of grace that is everywhere outside us.  

Beauty becomes our way of life.  Happiness becomes our natural spiritual alchemy when we practice ishvara pranidhana. 

You see when we come to the mat we are like the Alchemist in his laboratory mixing ingredients.  For us as yogis our laboratory is our mat and the ingredents are our bodies, our poses, our breath, our thoughts and the mixing it all together creates a result every time.  For me the hardest practice is wanting to rewrite the past instead of just letting it go.  I waste time wishing things had been different which pulls me out of the present.  And when we are not living in the present there is No trust for other people or the universal energies that support us.  This really messes with my people relationships and so I come to the mat to get beyond this.

 "Sometimes in order to be happy in the present moment you have to be willing to give up all hope for a better past."

Can we practice our life in a way that if something doesn’t work out the way you want it to we don’t fall apart? Can you endeavor to life your best life without attachment to the outcome but instead a trust for what is?  Or as Judith Lasater puts it, “The best practice is that that asks us to believe without proof of the future, without confirmation that the outcome will be what we want it to be. It just is, it is a state of being. A place of being present and allowing the next thing to unfold. Yoga teaches us that place of not knowing.”

This is the idea that we can practice experiencing each moment not needing it to be different but to trust what is unfolding and enjoying it fully in that state of trusting a greater energy, Ishvara Pranidhana. Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia

Join me on a yoga retreat www.alchemytours.com stay connected on facebook friend ME! 

OCTOBER 31, 2010.  During some Yoga class you will hear these words from your teacher, "honor your body" or "honor yourself." But what does that mean exactly? When I went to military school during high school years I had a very well-defined idea of honor because of the honor code that was part of the school's commitments. Then in college I was in a sorority and we too made a serious pledge to an honor code of sisterhood.

As we mature no one is giving us a written honor code and we have to define and refine it for ourselves. Time on the mat is where I practice honoring what I think and feel and how my actions are a result of that. Do I make sensitive adjustments? Am I respectful of myself when I'm tired? How do I appreciate and thank myself for trying my best? Am I consistent in integrating the practice in my body? Am I reverential towards the blessing it is to move and breath? Come to think of it, isn't to honor part of what Namaste means? So when it comes down to it, am I living my Namaste? And in honoring myself and do I honor, respect, appreciate all those I meet? If you are practicing yoga you are holding yourself gently and aspiring to live an honorable life. You are Dignified and Noble. Bring that today as you love yourself, love your day, love your life, Silvia

"Though it may be difficult to find the words for what you feel,

May you find ease in that awkwardness until gradually from beneath the gravel of stuttered sounds the pure flow of you emerges.

Be gentle with yourself,

Learn to integrate the negative,

Harnessing its force

To cross the boundaries

That would confine you.

Love the life of your mind

Furnishing it ever with new thought

So that your countenance glows

With the joy of being alive.

Be vigilant

And true to an inner honor

That will not allow

Anger or resentment

To make you captive

Always have the courage

To change, welcoming those voices

That call you beyond yourself

Beyond your work and action

Remain faithful to your heart,

For you to deepen and grow

Into a person of dignity and nobility."

By John Donohue

OCTOBER 15TH, 2010  In simple words, Yoga is the science of happiness.  We walk in stressed out, upset, negative and we leave the practice lighter, refreshed, more positive, in a nutshell, happier!  I can't say that even after all these years, over 7,500 hours of teaching, and gosh who knows how many hours of practice that I fully understand the alchemy.  It's like magic.  

What I do get on some level both intellectual and emotional is that walking in we are like the decorator crab: collecting all these issues, stories, dramas and if we don't let something go we will literally suffocate under the weight of it all.  Maybe we'll still be walking around but we certainly won't be happily human which is our birthright.  The decorator crab does that: it collects all the stuff it finds and keeps putting it on its back until it can no longer swim to the surface and dies under the weight.  The work we do on the mat is about personal growth.  It is making space so we can  is let go of what is negative.

 Every day we have a chance to either have our lives serve as a WARNING or an EXAMPLE to others.  The decorator crab is our warning.  Let's learn something from it.  The opinions or judgments we have of external stuff are just that - they do not impede our ability to remain happy. Happiness is an inside job.  And the person responsible for being happy is YOU.  Yoga teaches self-responsibilty, non-judgment and seriously radical self-acceptance by accepting the full spectrum of who we are (anger, worry, fear).   The mat is a truth serum that helps us realize the truth and allows us to clear the space for living a more joyful life.  And that life is moving forward, with us or without us.  

 "Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that but simply growth. We are happy when we are growing" — W. B. Yeats

Yoga gets us UNSTUCK and then we can't help but grow and evolve. We not longer hold ourselves back from those things that crash our internal hard drive.  And we leave the mat remembering how happy we really are.  We start to celebrate the best parts of ourselves.  And that, is why yoga is the science of happiness.  Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia

OCTOBER 8, 2010.Yes we are in the season of Change.&amp;nbsp; Everthing around is us evolving from one thing to another and yoga philosophy reminds us that change is an inherant part of life. Life will move forward nonetheless so for us it is a choice as to how we align with that forward momentum or fight what is here now.&amp;nbsp; This transition, as all transitions in life, is more challenging than actually arriving at one's destination. And during times of transition a more easeful yoga practice is helpful.&amp;nbsp; This is when amadhurya, the "sweetness" of universal intelligence, is calling to us to take our experiences and churn them in the beehive of our hearts.&amp;nbsp; While your heart and mind churn the honey in the beehive you can be more gentle with yourself, allowing the practice to nourish you as things change around you and within you.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;</p>
<p>&lt;p&gt;I hope to see you return to your yoga practice to nourish the parched places inside and to help you be as elegant as you are in navigating the currents of grace and change herself! Please bring a friend and they will &lt;strong&gt;receive 30 days UNLIMITED yoga for $30 &lt;/strong&gt;and YOU get entered to win 2 months UNLIMITED yoga.&amp;nbsp; The more friends you bring, the more lives you change, and the more times you get entered to win!&amp;nbsp; Help us share more yoga this month.&amp;nbsp; Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia&lt;/p&gt;</p>
<p>&lt;p&gt;*And don't forget $350 off trip to Moab November 4-7, 2010, Alchemy Tours&lt;/p&gt;</p>

SEPTEMBER 13, 2010.  As I sit here sweating and itching discovering new mosquito bites by the minute, I cannot help but slip away to the idea of the snow.  Don't be fooled - I adore the summer.  But something about the winter, the glittering snow on the trees, sitting in warm hot springs on a cold night, the mountain peaks, and snowboarding with friends pulls at my heartstrings.

I love snowboarding equally as much as I love yoga (and that is a whole lotta love).  This is my story of snowboarding, a practice that is now one of my greatest forms of meditation and prayer.  A friend of mine likes to say, "Snowboarding is my prayer and the mountains are my chapel".  This I wholeheartedly agree with. This has not always been the case, not even close.  Just like when you first tried handstand perhaps you were extremely afraid to go upside down, couldn't get your legs up or just all over the place and toppled over in a big pile.  I was like that when it came to snowboarding.  Years ago, I decided to go with my brother and his friends to Upper Michigan to learn to board-I figured I was with a bunch of guys with no fear who knew what they were doing.  They would help me out and it would be awesome.  Wrong!  The first time I did not get it at all.   I'd go an inch and then crash, go another inch and then crash again and best of all my brother's friend (on accident) hit me in the head with the snowboard edge which resulted in a lovely gash on my forehead to bring home as my souvenir (I still have the scar - ask me about it and I'll be glad to show you).

Do not be deterred by this story.   With practice I was finally able to link turns.  And the feeling was like nothing I had ever experienced.  It changed my perspective and I was hooked. It was not until I truly made the commitment, relaxed, slowed down, checked my ego at the chair lift that II was able to connect with the board and surf the mountains.  Or in yoga terms that I was able to do that handstand with grace, ease and control.  Believe me I have put my whole heart and soul into this love of mine but not until I surrendered did I find the pure joy of this meditation.  Frederick Lenz in his book Snowboarding to Nirvana puts it like this:  "When you snowboard...your thoughts stop and you rise above time.  You enter into a timeless dimension where you experience great joy.  When you rise above ego, you experience the pure joy and ecstasy of the web of life."

I have many other stories like the first time I learned to board but I have even more stories of the true awesomeness snowboarding allows.  I've come a long way since that first day.   I've lived the dream in Aspen, CO; I've competed; I've trained; I've done ski patrol on a snowboard; I've traveled the world; I've taught; I've visualized; I've taken gnarly falls and gotten back up again; I've ridden backcountry; I've connected with mountains; I’ve driven for hours all night long to be able to ride; I’ve ridden powder and ice and the list goes on and on.   But above all, the mountains and the board continue to teach and humble me, and it’s with great respect for both that I write this.  

Yoga has truly enhanced my snowboarding and life as it yokes my mind, body and spirit.  How you may be wondering?  Yoga conditions your body to be strong and flexible allowing better form and technique so you can ski or board with grace and flow with the mountain rather than resist and attack it.   It can be scary out on the snow covered mountains when you are first learning or if you’re a veteran when you are pushing the edge.  The breathing techniques you learn in yoga allow you to relax the muscles and mind when you face a situation where you need to be calm.  And one of my personal favorites, yoga lessens the risk of injury and quickens your recovery time.  This means you can get out on the mountain day after day feeling good each time.  So as I sit here on this hot summer day I am quietly preparing full of excitement for the snowboarding season that lies ahead.

Keep exploring and living your dreams,
Kendra Charts

If you have always wanted to learn to snowboard or ski or already know from experience what I am talking about please consider these amazing adventure Yoga and Snowboarding retreats with Silvia, Jacob and myself.  We’ll combine yoga, hot springs and boarding/skiing in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, December 9 - 12, 2010 or Banff, Canada, February 23 - 27, 2011.  Visit www.alchemytours.com for more information.  And if you can’t wait until then please join me for the pre-season Yoga for Snowboarding and Skiing workshop at Total Body Yoga, October 24, 2010.  You may contact me at kendra.charts@gmail.com.  

SEPTEMBER 2010.  The theme tonight was LOST & FOUND. Really this gets to the heart of what nondualism means in seeing the world holistically, its challenges, and its ease.  In yoga can we be sthira and sukhum at the same time instead of pitting strength and flexibility, effort and happiness against one another.  We can apply this to all aspects of our lives: for instance how do we forgive when we are hurt, how do we balance strength and flexibility in the poses, how do we stand bravely but with heart? 

It’s as Einstein said:  “The rational mind is a faithful servant. The intuitive mind is a sacred gift. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.”  

In this example even Einstein is saying to us that we shouldn't be all or nothing, a dualistic philosophy.  Instead as much as you engage your rational mind stop being mindful of the gift of your own intuition. Tap into both at the same time and realize one is not better than the other and we need not pick only one.  The same then can be applied to what happens we get lost.  And if you're honest with yourself we ALL get lost sometimes.  We lose track of where we are in our lives and why we are doing the things we do.  This is also what Elizabeth Gilbert comes to play out in her book Eat, Pray, Love.  She has everything she could want and is lost within herself.  The difference between those of us practicing yoga, meditation, mindfulness is that we are seekers.  We see we are lost and want to be found.  We don't punish or judge ourselves when we get lost we simply do the work for reconnecting to who we really are.  

You see being lost is not bad in and of itself.  It is just part of the whole spectrum of who we are. Perfectly imperfect and simply amazing human beings!  So take the time on the mat to help you find your own balance - more ease, more playfulness, more discipline, more strength....find both.  Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia

Music tonight 6:15pm Yoga included: Dream Machine by Mark Farina, Ancient People by Nas, Damian Marley, In Another Time by Sade, Outre by M.Ward, Salsoul Nugget, even some Blue Scholars and Trevor Hall. 

“The art of living does not consist in preserving and clinging to a particular mood of happiness, but in allowing happiness to change its form without being disappointed by the change, for happiness, like a child, must be allowed to grow up”  - Unknown author

AUGUST 30TH, 2010.  Today my meditation focused on what combination it takes of Directing and Allowing in your life to achieve ordinary happiness.  To me it is like Alternate Nostril breathing.  The inhale is a directed effort but then we allow the exhale to empty and there is that pause at the end of the out breath that purifies that allowing.  You must wait for it to occur for extraordinary change is within that pause.  Now at the same time we surrender to the changes that are outside our control we exert effort in directing our lives.  This is a nondualistic happening: one not more important than the other.  Directing and allowing, allowing and directing.  Inhale, exhale.

"One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular."  -Tony Robbins 

The challenge is the constant sensitive adjustment necessary to manage especially the directing side of life.  It is too easy to let life be done to us and give up all control of plans for the best life ever.  I know this, we get on the treadmill of daily life (work, home, sleep, work, home, sleep) and convince ourselves to not make time to focus our attention.  The time on the mat in yoga class or going on retreat is that period of directing our thoughts and processing what we are allowing for in our lives.  So today engage more directly with yourself. You are the audience and the actor on the stage of your life and this is on a daily basis the performance of your life!  "In essence, if we want to direct our lives, we must take control of our consistent actions. It's not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently." -Tony Robbins 

And just like we learn to refine our awareness of breathing we can refine the consistency of how we direct our lives.  Go big, dig deep and go for it!  Love yourself, love your day, love your life!  Silvia

"Whilst on a lonely beach in Tasmania, three days hike away from any form of civilization, alone,Brent Morton had an epiphany: “No matter where I travel, however far away I get from civilization, how high of mountains I climb, one thing always remains the same: Me.” This began a 180 degree shift from exploring the physical world to a deep systematic journey into the inner world, which has continued intensively to the present day." - Brent Morton

AUGUST 8TH, 2010.  These are the words of a lovely teacher I have just met.  It speaks to so much of what I hope this practice brings to light for you sooner rather than later.  However, the difficult part of exploring the inner world and taking this inward journey of self-exploration is making time.  And when we are in our day to day world of grocery shopping, laundry, working, oil changes it's hard to make that time.  Yes, it is hard.  So for me the catalyst for inner change has often come as a result of traveling somewhere (maybe not as far as Tasmania!) but someplace where I could feel time as BIG.  And in that space, the changes in my outer world would almost force me, encourage me to go inside.  So here I am writing this from far away as each day I have my ecology of mind refreshed and look at ME.  No excuses, nothing more to do but see who I am and why I am.  

The longer my days, the more I find myself wanting to help others to do this too.  To facilitate inner healing and self knowledge by traveling away from the old paradigms even if for just 4 days or a week.  Join me in Tuscany October 24-30 or Moab November 4-7 or Pagosa Springs or Hawaii in December.  Love yourself, Know thyself.  

Peace out, Silvia  (Facebook Alchemy Tours or visit www.silviamordini.com)

"Take the attitude of a student, never be too big to ask questions, never know too much to learn something new." -- OG MANDINO

AUGUST 3RD, 2010  This practice of yoga has taught me above all else how to be a better Student of Life.  No matter how you might judge me as a "yoga teacher" or "life coach" I can honestly say that my best skill set is of being an amazing student.

I AM TEACHABLE.

I never for a moment assume I know too much. Actually ever year of this practice I learn more and realize how little I actually understand. My time on the mat reminds me to stay thirsty for knowledge.  It inspires me to get off my mat and apply this "TEACHABILITY" off the mat.  And I do.  Of course not without some lifted eye brows and sometimes harsh criticism from some folks.  

I take great honor in saying every year I take time off from teaching and go to study with my teachers.  I sit in the SEAT OF THE STUDENT an open vessel soaking in the open hearted wisdom of my teacher.  This last week has been an amazing experience studying Vinyasa Yoga with a great teacher of yoga and life.

I have been inspired, and challenged and prodded and supported in new ways.  I want to say thank you first to all those that would judge me for making time for myself to be a student.  You too have been some of my greatest teachers. For without your friction I would not have had to dig deep to still do what I knew was best for me.  And to all my students, friends, clients who have kindly supported me every year to keep learning I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for being my root chakra when it would get shaken and I'd wonder should I make time for me or not?  

There are wisdom teachers everywhere and as Students of Life the point is to be open to seeing the teachings that surround us every day of our lives both formally and informally.  Sometimes our most difficult teachers are our best teachers.  And that's ok: pleasant, unpleasant, neutral.  It's all good.

And finally what I hope everyone learns no matter your opinion is to step outside your comfort zone and KEEP LEARNING. Do not atrophy.  REMAIN TEACHABLE.  

Teachabiilty and being lovable are intimately linked as sweethearts.

May you all find the courage to expand your knowledge!  With compassion and peace to you all, Silvia

PS - Join me for my certified yoga teacher training program starting October 15th, 2010 at total body yoga

JULY 18, 2010:  So if you are interested in becoming a CYT 200 Certified Yoga Teacher recognized by the Yoga Alliance you much complete a CYT program that they approve at the 200 or 500 hour level.  See www.yogaalliance.com for the complete list.  We have finished our fifth year of training and are starting our 6th.  TO APPLY PLEASE COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING:

Send completed application and materials via email to:

trainings@silviamordini.com

 BACKGROUND

Please include: name, emergency contact, address, city/state, zip, day/night phone, cell phone, and e-mail address.

STEP 1:  PLEASE TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR YOGA PRACTICE
-How long have you been taking yoga classes and/or practicing?

-Who have been your most influential teachers and why?

-List any trainings, intensives or retreats attended and why?

-What style(s) of yoga do you practice?

-How often and how long do you practice?

STEP 2:  WHY DO YOU WANT TO TAKE THIS PROGRAM?
-Why do you want to be a certified yoga teacher?

-What are your expectations for the training? What do you hope to gain, learn, or improve? 
-Do you teach yoga now? If so, please describe in detail. 
-If you plan on teaching after completing the program, why do you want to teach yoga? 

STEP 3: WHAT DOES YOGA MEAN TO YOU?
-Describe how your life has been impacted by practicing yoga.

-Tell us about your hobbies, interests, community service, etc.

-Describe your physical health (major illnesses, surgeries, physical conditions). 
-Tell us about your emotional and mental health. 

-Do you have a support network of friends or therapist?

-Does your family support this journey you've decided to take? 
-This program requires a significant time commitment. Do you have any other major commitments (grad school, 2 jobs, etc) that would prevent you from participating fully?

Monday May 17, 2010, SO WHAT COMES NEXT? I am so inspired by life, my students, my friends to bring the best yoga ever this week! I thought we'd dedicate this week to The Power of Grace and how we can tap into our own inner strength to face the unknown of life. Marianne Williamson says: "When we surrender to (Grace) we surrender to something bigger than ourselves - to a universe that knows what it is doing."

The key words I’m meditating on this week are:

GRACE
INNER STRENGTH

UNKNOWN

This idea of Opening to Grace is a term often associated with yoga practice. It is a way of living life with an open-hearted attitude of infinite possibility and universal support.  A way of seeing the world as being on our side and not against us.  I especially like this expression of "Opening to Grace" from Marianne Williamson's book, "A Return to Love".

"To open to Grace is to ask that only loving, helpful thoughts remain in our minds, and all the rest be let go".  When we surrender to (Grace) we surrender to something bigger than ourselves - to a universe that knows what it is doing. When we stop trying to control events they fall into a natural order, an order that works. We're at rest while a power much greater than our own takes over, and it does a much better job than we could have done. We learn to trust the power that holds galaxies together can handle the circumstances of our relatively little lives".

So you see this is a yogic paradox, to open and let go all at the same time. But it makes sense, we have to create space for what comes next but none of us knows exactly what that is. We are for sure co-creating with the universe but even with our hand on the tiller going along in our little boat we don’t know what the current of grace has in store for us. It requires a great deal of our own best strength to commit to participating in our lives with both feet in and simply believe that that in if we wake up the dream will be our reality.  Or in the words of Krishna Das, “Grace wakes us up when we are asleep, brings light to where there is darkness and removes obstacles from our path”. us up when we are asleep, brings light to where there is darkness and removes obstacles from our path”.  Join me and take that next step into your best life ever!  Love yourself, love your day, love your life, Silvia

May 14, 2010, “It is dark. Eyes closed, we lie as if asleep, dreamless, ignorant of all around us. Floating in a sea of emptimenss, we are cradled in darkness – unseeing, unknowing, at peace.  We breath slowly, in and out, in and out, stretching and relaxing our bodes as we settle into the warm, peaceful darkness inside.  We are home.  We are safe.  We are deep within ourselves, feeling, hearing, being – but not seeing.

Somewhere in the darkness, we hear a sounds a distant note, a voice, a scuffle of movement.  We feel the flutter of a breeze upon our face, feel a warmth upon our shoulders, feel the pull to rise and flow and follow but we know not where.  Our bodies cannot see and dare not move.   They are dark and still.  They call to use for direction, wisdom, guidance.  They call to intelligence, they call to memory, they call for clarification of the pattern.  They call to light.

We hear this call and our own mind hungry for answers, quests outward.  We long to see, to know, to behold at once the wonders that surround to.  To fill our minds with recognition, the certain steps of knowing, the safety and the peace that light, too, can bring. 

WE OPEN OUR MIND. WE OPEN OUR EYES. WE LOOK ABOUT.  THE MIND OPENS AND RECEIVES.

But there is too much and the light is blinding. We call to the dark to shade us, to temper, to bind the patterns into meaning.  And the dark comes softly hand in hand and shadow to the light, defining, shading, intertwining, ordering. What do you wish to see? What do you call forth to your inner vision?

From inner vision, insight revealed, nothing can remain concealed. From inner vision reaching out, seeing truth, removing doubt. Inside we open, watch, and wait, while wisdom’s visions spin our fate. Illumination shows the way, our inner light turns night into day. Within our minds, we light the way!”  --By Anodea Judith, Wheels of Life: A User’s Guide to the Chakra System (and one of my favorite books of all time)

If you take one thing away from this practice of Ajna is that once you start paying attention and honing the power of intuition, this inner seeing, then you understand how to influence your reality through creative visualizations and meditations.  You create your reality.  While holding a difficult pose you create a story in your mind of easeful power and then the pose becomes what you want it to be.  And even taking this a step further. “To hold an image in our mind increases the possibility it will materialize.”  Think about that.  Say it aloud, write it down, repeat it.  If you see something in your mind you will manifest it.  But if you don’t know how to harness the power of your mind into that image and stay with it then you water down the opportunity to tap into your greatest potential.  Today, tell yourself the story of the next chapter of your life, outline your intentions but then talk yourself through what that looks like in your life and see for yourself the magic of the 6^th chakra at work!  Love to you, Silvia

April 13, 2010:  Yoga is funny in that it is a great paradox. We feel this in the physical sense in the juncture point of the waistline where pelvic loop and kidney loops originate. Both draw back the side bodies but the the energy splits up. The pelvic loop draws waist back and DOWN and kidney loop draws the waist back and UP.  Yoga helps us to explore how to live with what the world is offering us and receive it gracefully while at the same time figuring out how to turn what is being offered into an empowered experience.  But this isn't the cliché of lemons into lemonade which is just plain annoying isn't it?   

Nope this is about staying centered within ourselves to a place of great depth and tranquility and remain steady no matter what life has served you today - when you most want to shut down, to remain open hearted by holding onto to that calm center.  And at the same time this is in no way apathetic. We are meant to action our lives and keep evolving towards greater and greater happiness.  

So we have to create an alignment between our desires and aspirations and what's really possible for us today, in this moment.  If what we want and what we do and what we think are out of alignment then suffering ensues.  This life of ours is asking that we learn how to hold and release and reach and expand all at the same time.  

Today, how are you doing? Can you live with what the world is offering you?  Peace in all ways, Silvia

MARCH 22, 2010

March 20th was Spring Equinox, and we know intellectually this means that the shadow of Winter moves on.  But still that lingering bit of heaviness continues to remain, we are still wearing all our layers of warm clothing and you can feel the tiredness in the air.  We have had a 2009 that was colder than usual, a lost summer and finding the getty up and go this Jan/Feb/Mar may have seemed insurmountable because of the record breaking number of grey days.  So let's acknowledge the darkness and see it as the fertilizer making our souls more fertile for the new beginnings of Spring.  We only make a new beginning by acknowledging the endings in our life. 

Often/sometimes/who am I kidding most always challenge rides along side positive change (paraphrased from Sadie Nardini).  Instead of denying we still feel a bit peaked let's stoke our fire gently.  Think about how you want to share in the new beginnings of Spring.  Do you want to see your life from a new perspective? Do you want to make a fresh start of things?

On the mat we practice in waves that each have a beginning, middle and end to feel this natural cycle.  For many of us endings are harder than beginnings. Or maybe you think they're both hard.  I get that.  We have even in each breath a CLEAN SLATE to breath in fresh air and rejuvenation.  And yet so often our human tendancy is to RECREATE THE PAST (breathing in an old way, thinking in old paradigms, living the old stories). Just know you don't have to.

To begin again, to start afresh isn't always popular.  As you change your energy impacts those around you and if they are resistant they may not see you as the superstar you are.  This doesn't mean we have to keep doing what everyone else is doing and letting your life decisions be made by default. That way of life is staying in the Dark. It is living life unconsciously.  Let go of making the opinions of others more important than your own. You're never going to get everyone to agree on how you should live your life anyway.

I didn't transition into teaching yoga to be popular or to be controversial, I simply taught because doing so brought me into full alignment with living a more loving life. When I made this new beginning one Spring many years ago I certainly was going against the grain of popular opinion (why leave a highly paying, glamourous corporate job with international travel for less money, less time, less travel?) But I had to follow the light and make my own choice. Our lives belong to us and so do our decisions. And eventually friends/family who really love you for you will appreciate any new beginning you wish to make.

Know this, when you come to TBY, we come together in Satsang (community) that is like minded. You will be with other people who want to make richer discoveries into who they are and through this self-discovery make more conscious choices.  And that is the well-spring of all new beginnings!  Love your life don't wait. Peace out, Silvia

FEBRUARY 19, 2010:  So today in class some of you are going to think this is the easiest class ever (and you'll blame it on me) and then others of you will think this is the hardest class ever (and blame it on me).  And to complicate matters those of you who might think it easy love that and others will think that's just not so good, and those that think it the hardest class ever will call it your favorite class ever while others will rate it as your least favorite.  What is this about?  Well its about our perspective.  In this practice we see our old mental habits and see what areas we are holding ourselves back from forwarding our lives because of self-limiting belief. Time on the mat helps us to contemplate why we think the things we do.  Do you, for instance, allow yourself to from time to time refresh the way you think about yourself?  It's like wearing the same t-shirt from 8th grade...maybe its time to try something else on?  This practice is neither hard or easy it is often our perspective that is making it more or less difficult. 

There is this story about The Problem with Human Compassion by Author Shankar Vedantam about why a dog tugs our hearts more than a distressed nation of millions that makes this point about Perspective.  "On March 13, 2002, a fire broke out in the engine room of an oil tanker about 800 miles south of Hawaii. There were eleven survivors and the Captain's dog, a terrier named Hokget. The crew were rescued but as the rescuers pulled away they heard a dog barking. The captain's dog had been left behind on the tanker."

So long story made shorter, money, people, energy poured in to save the dog.

"The philosopher Peter Singer once asked if you see a child drowning in a pond - and you would ruin a fine pair of shoes worth $200 if you jumped into the water - would you save the child or save your shoes? Obviously a child's life is worth more than a pair of shoes. But if this is the case, Singer asked, why do large numbers of people hesitate to write checks for $200 to a reputable charity that could save the life of a child. Psychologist Paul Slovic at the University of Oregon asked two groups of volunteers shortly after the Rawandan genocide to imagine they were officials in charge of humanitarian rescue effort. Both groups were told their money could save 4,500 lives at a camp, but one group was told the refugee camp had 11,000 people whereas the other group was told the camp had 250,000 people. Slovic found that people were much more reluctant to spend the money on the large camp than they were to spend the money on the small camp."

So in our poses on the mat we learn about our personal perspectives and can view how we react or respond and whether or not it makes intellectual sense.  This gives us the insight to make better choices.  To have a more holistic perspective broadens our scope of knowledge so maybe we would want to save 250,000 people and not just the 11,000 if given the choice.  We will learn Mandala Namaskar in order to help us find this global view within ourselves.

The other take away is that based in sutra 2.46 we can only really teach what we know, what we have integrated and processed for ourselves in this life.  So what you learn on the mat you not only apply in your life but through your actions teach others. This is not a case of do as a I say not as I do.  But all I ask is that you join me today and just learn to be conscious of what you say YES to and equally what you say NO to, and why.  May all beings everywhere be peaceful and free, Silvia

FEBRUARY 9, 2009:  I love that it snowed all day today! It means that every single person in Chicagoland is practicing YOGA! I couldn’t be happier about that. Everywhere I went I saw folks SLOW DOWN and PAY ATTENTION.  When we have nature asking us to practice patience we should listen.

So today my theme is Patience. From yogic teachings this means that we find equanimity towards all objects, situations or things - be they joyful or sorrowful or easy or hard, snowy or rainy.  When we find our yoga we enter a state of calmness and clarity that reflects perfect presence within the chaos or tension, even a snowy day.  It is that feeling where we are in sync with what is going on and don’t feel compelled to fight the situation.

Joan Baez said, “you can only decide how you are going to live.”

So when we are faced with the snow, we are reminded to slow down and be mindful.  It is actually then that we realize the snow is just water and has no agenda for or against us. Yoga teaches us that the ANTIDOTE to impatience is "going with the flow". To be in sync with the way things are happening remembering that whatever the present situation we know "it will change."  Snow is water, water is flow and it will eventually melt and move onto a different form. 

If you need more patience instead of fighting or getting mad at the snow just slow down, keep breathing and enjoy.  The time you spend in your car then becomes an oasis from the chaos of life instead of a prison.  Make this the best Winter EVER!  And remember, “love is patient, love is kind.”  Love to you all, Silvia

JANUARY 19, 2010:  This is dedicated to Todd Bauschke, who suddenly passed away at the age of 56 years old on January 18th, 2010.  Todd was a dedicated student at TBY and because he applied himself to the practice he got really good.  In recent times he had to step off of the mat and do his yoga without the benefit of group classes because this last two years his health was suffering and he couldn't even breath.  "He finally got his diagnosis in early November 2009. It’s a rare disease called Amyloidosis. It can attack different organs. It attacked Todds heart.  The irony is that he was scheduled to have his stem cells harvested and transplanted next week. It was to be a three week hospital stay."

Yoga helps us all remember that our time here is brief even in the best of scenarios....and all to short for Yogi brother Todd.  Please stop any all excuses for why you aren't living your best life. WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?  Get to the mat, and free your heart so you can embrace the life you are meant to be living, right now.

"Your body is free but your heart is in prison. To release your heart, you simply reverse the process which locked it up. First you begin to listen for messages from your heart—messages you may have been ignoring since childhood. Next you must take the daring, risky step of expressing your heart in the outside world. . . . As you learn to live by heart, every choice you make will become another way of telling your story. . . . It is the way you were meant to exist. If you stop to listen, you’ll realize that your heart has been telling you so all along.  (Martha Beck, "Finding Your Own North Star")

What do you plan to do with your one precious life?

If you can't hear your heart talking to you then consider your time on the mat a mini-retreat. A time to refresh your spirit, rekindle your passions, and cultivate balance in what you think, what you say and what you do with your life. This practice peels back the layers to help us move from self-doubt and uncertainty to a feeling of empowerment and a willingness to at least try at our lives.  Like Todd, if we stay with it and practice moving in and out of these poses or shapes we create with our bodies you will achieve things you thought were impossible. This encourages us to see past our self-limiting beliefs and discover the power within us to realize that nothing is impossible! 

But no one can do this for you, you have to take time for yourself.  And if a yoga class isn't enough then do what I do go on a Spiritual Retreat.  Take a time out for 4-7 days where you don't feel so rushed and you can step off the tread mill of your life to really feel and open up to the changes you want to make in your life. If you don't even know how to start then plan to join me in Moab in April or Tuscany in June or find enough space where you can tap into how to express your feelings and reconnect to your own inner wisdom. The insights are there and self-expression evolves to self-understanding.  But really, DON'T WAIT.  This is the year we have all run out of excuses. All you need to live the life of your dreams is a willingness to grow an open heart and a playful curiosity wouldn't hurt either.  What do YOU plan to do with your precious life?  Love in all ways, Silvia

This is the idea that we can practice experiencing each moment, not missing a thing, not missing the pretty colors, people and blessings right in front of us. On the mat we use the body to observe where we are, making sensitive adjustments to stay tuned in, and then allow the unfolding.  This keeps us mindful  to the moment rather than the goal or outcome.  The Yoga Sutras speak to this as vairagya (non attachment), chapter 1 verse 15. 

Key things to know include:

Non-attachment is not suppression: Non-attachment is not a mere personality trait that one practices in dealing with the other people of the world. It is very easy to fool oneself into thinking that non-attachment is being practiced when what is really happening is pretending to be non-attached. It is like saying that you have lost your inner craving to some object while inside you are longing for it intensely. Non-attachment is not a process of suppression or repression of wants, wishes, desires, thoughts, or emotions. It comes by the ongoing practice of awareness of the existence of attachments (kleshas, 1.5, 2.3) and gradually letting these weaken (2.4).

Non-attachment is cessation: If attachment does occur (whether attraction or aversion), wherein attention wraps itself around a deep mental impression, the ensuing non-attachment comes from the cessation of mental clinging, not from an act of prying attention away forcefully. It is easy to hear of the philosophy of non-attachment and then mistakenly walk around lying to ourselves, internally saying something like, "I'm not attached; I'm not attached." This is not non-attachment. It is better to see realistically where our minds are attached, and then learn to systematically release that coloring through the external and internal practices of yoga meditation.

Non-attachment is not detachment: It is not mere semantics to say that non-attachment is different from detachment. Detachment implies that there is first attachment, and that you then apply some method or technique to disconnect that attachment. It implies an act of doing something to cause the separation to occur. Non-attachment, on the other hand, means that the connection simply does not occur in the first place. Non-attachment is not a case of doing something, but is instead a non-doing sort of thing. It means that your attention does not grab onto that impression in the mind in the first place.

Non-attachment deepens through all levels: Patanjali explains that non-attachment applies to progressively deeper levels of our being. While we might begin with our more surface level attachments, such as the objects and people of daily life, the practice deepens to include all of the objects or experiences we might have only heard about, including the many powers or experiences of the psychic or subtle realm. We gradually see that even these are nothing but distractions on the journey to Self-realization, and we learn to set them aside as well.

Let go of it all. Just remain in the center

Watching, and then forget you are there.” 

-Baba Hari Dass

I’ve been meditating on what it means to be “centered” and as much as I often think about this in terms of finding one’s center for me its become more a matter of keeping to my center.  When I first started yoga I didn’t quite know what it meant to be centered quite frankly I hadn’t ever even thought about it. I just got on the treadmill of life and just kept pushing myself to achieve and move on from stage one to stage two, excellence in High School, transferred into excellence in College and then trying to keep this going in the corporate world as well.  I was just going going going, almost like I was running around center but never pausing long enough to really be there.  Asleep or working a million hours per week (or playing hard) were the only two speeds I knew. 

Then through yoga and quiet time of self observation (svadhaya) on the mat I started “To Know Thyself” as Socrates put it.

It started as all spiritual practice does, not looking for answers but simply trying to ask better questions.  So I ask you take 3 minutes write down what does CENTERED mean to you?  To me it means balance, peace, happiness, a oneness with others instead of a tug of war, compassion, patience and most of all BEING PRESENT.

It is that “isness” of now that Echkart Tolle writes of in A New Earth.  Or in the Yoga Sutras the hope for all beings to find and hold happiness knowing this is only possible in the moment.  So meditate on the words of Jack Kerouac:

Not with thoughts of your mind, but in the believing

sweetness of your heart, you snap the link and open the

golden door and disappear into the bright room, the

Everlasting ecstasy, eternal Now.” 

Take time on the mat to be here now, to find and hold onto your center that place of sweetness where we feel the sacredness of living in oneness, one family, one heart, one love, one soul all in the light of center.  Hold fast my friends and keep making those sensitive adjustments to keep returning to center moment by moment.  Love you all! Silvia

JULY 21ST, 2009:  This class tonight is dedicated to our friend John Palmer whose participation in sailing team Intangible contributed greatly to their first place finish this weekend!

So we focus on Namaste, Nama, Namaha and all its variations to honor John’s accomplishment and use of yogic breathing and meditation as handy tools when needed most.  To me Namaha is a remembrance and appreciation first and foremost.  Voltaire said, “Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.”  So John’s success is our success.  Instead of seeking separation Namaste brings us into Yoga or union as one world, one people. We honor the sacredness of all. 

Namaste is a blessing.  It strikes the perfect chord.  Having grown up in a musical family and having played piano and clarinet for 13 years I have always felt music was a blessing.  Yoga like being in a chorus or a band or any sort of tribe helps us to work together as a beautiful symphony.  We feel this symphony of the body when we practice poses (asanas).  And just like playing a musical instrument the more yoga you practice the more efficient you get.  Over time you feel the harmonies.  No single player more important but everyone equally important. This is a nondualistic view of life.  Where we acknowledge that everyone is valuable in their own way, that we all contribute to make wonderful music.  This is why I always say in class you are like family to me.  I see us as co-creating something amazing each time we come together.  Just like in scriptures, “The diversity of the family should be a cause of love and harmony, as it is in music where many different notes blend together in the making of a perfect chord.”

Namaste is a remembrance.  Wolfgang Von Goethe writes, “Remembrance of what is good keeps us high in spirit. Remembrance of what is beautiful is the salvation of the mortal man. Remembrance of what is dear will be happiness, if it remains alive.”  So we unite our hands or think to ourselves Namaste and remember how amazing life is.  It is a respect for our breath, for life itself.  When we share this with another we are saying that WE ARE ONE. That we are all love and truth, freedom and strength, light and peace.  So to each of you from my heart, Namaste!  Love and serve all ways, all days, Silvia

Namaste - The ancient Sanskrit blessing defined

We can perceive the unique thread that connects us all with the Universe, and all its Beings along with the source of that interconnection. Accepting Oneness, we are accordingly receptive to knowledge that comes to us in the form of examples, advice, and direct teaching. One may awake to the wisdom that opens our eyes to new worlds of possibilities.

When we assume everyone we meet is special and unique in its essence we should always show to all people the same generous level of kindness, care, compassion, and understanding without any thoughts of self-interest or ulterior motives above paying respects wholeheartedly, the way we live our daily lives has an enormous impact on those around us.

Instead of clinging to what separates us, Practicing Namaste enables us to feel less alone in the world. We begin to understand that we must treat all people for what they are, family. We are one with the cosmos whether we realize it or not. Practicing ONENESS we gain consciousness of the more subtle aspects of our being, with the ultimate outcome being a complete identification with the light body.

May all beings find and hold happiness. May they all be free from suffering and sickness. May we all look in the mirror see all others reflecting back. May we be all with one, living in oneness, one family, one heart, a glowing heart of the brightest light of compassion. NAMASTE

From Wikipedia, freely adapted and edited http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namaste

1. If you knew what was going to happen to your life would you trust it to be the right thing for you?
2. If you know what’s good for you do you take that action or avoid it

If someone told you this is exactly what will take place in your life even then would have so much fundamental trust in the goodness of life and the desire of the universe to work on your behalf that you’d ride the ride? Or if some of the stuff wasn’t what you had envisioned for your life would you rebel towards it? Because the thing is either you TRUST the universe and see all as good that will unfold in your life or you see it as an enemy not trusting spirit.  These are mutually exclusive. 

 "Through my inner trust for my life I choose to embrace the unfolding of my future."

And it’s ok right not as you think about this to say I don’t know if I trust in the good.  Trust is so much about the future and those things we don’t know.  All we can do is try and open our minds and hearts to the potential for life to evolve in the direction of happiness. To believe that the universe really is working on our behalf (even if it doesn’t make sense).  Mahatma Gandhi said it like this, “Glory lies in the attempt to reach one's goal and not in reaching it.”  So just trying and making an effort is TRUST (no matter the outcome).

So if you take the second question, if you know what’s good for your life why do we so often look the other way? Why do we avoid the TRUTH? I mean it’s ok to go through the vetting process and get others opinions but ultimately we have to TRUST our own truth of what we know to be the way.  Shakespeare said, “Learning to trust ourselves is a worthy practice, the practice of authenticity. This is the work of aligning the standards we have for ourselves with our deepest passions and dreams. It’s the work of making promises to ourselves and keeping them. It’s the work of creating and discovering the kind of resources that can and will support our success. It’s the work of knowing who we are without judgment.”  We have to look inside, we can’t approach our lives from the outside.  As Rumi says, “Knock and you shall find you have been inside all the time."  I just wish it was easier to look inwards when we’re so good at the external stuff.

Ultimately trust is about LOVE.  Dr Joyce Brothers says the best proof of Love is trust.  Yeah I see that, feel that, live that.  Life wants us to love more but loving more means first we must trust more.  The tough part is that there is no guarantee that we won’t get hurt (well actually of course we will).  But we must trust that as Cheryl Richardson writes in Unmistakable Touch of Grace, “Every event we experience and every person we meet has intentionally been put in our path to help raise our level of consciousness.  When we awaken to this fundamental truth, life becomes a true adventure, a spiritual adventure.  The failed relationship that left you broken hearted is no longer a source of bitterness and pain.  Instead it’s seen as a blessing in disguise, a gift that makes you stronger, more conscious, and ultimately, more alive.”  No matter what you relationship with trust today, let’s strengthen the love and peace in our hearts.  Let’s start with making love a new way of life, so that we may live in love and trust the unfolding of the rest of our lives.  Be love, Silvia

JULY 18TH, 2009:  Good morning!  So today I passed out a handout with the suggested foot alignment for all standing poses.  We started by really talking about the detail and precision as well as precise modifications for all fundamental standing poses like Pyramid, Lunge, Warrior B, Triangle pose and Wide Standing Pose.  With that said I wanted to make the point that if we only emphasize technical precision we can get overly self-critical, perfectionistic and even downright militant.  The yoga practice can be used in an unhealthy way becoming way too constrictive and goal-oriented.  So as we focus on the elegant principles of alignment we also emphasize gentleness.  Otherwise the yoga can be a means to create more stress in our already stressful lives.

Our physical focus today was the psychological triggers of back pain.  In the book The Mind Body Connection by Dr John Sarno he argues the cause of back pain is usually entirely psychological.  He says back muscles go into spasm and cause pain because of mental tension and that if you can get to the root cause of the tension the pain will disappear. With yoga we can heal back pain by calming down our overactive stress response system.  The greatest tool we have to do this is the breath which is why we link breath with movement leading to muscle relaxation and mental quiet. A personal favorite breathing mantra to practice in and out of class is this:

Breathing in, I am aware I am breathing in

Breathing out, I am aware I am breathing out

Breathing in, I calm my body.

Breathing out, I calm my mind.

Practicing slow deep breaths triggers the "relaxation response" the antidote to flight or flight response. The focus on all three parts of the lungs (especially deep abdominal focus on exhalations) helps bring in more oxygen.  And the wave like undulation of deep inhales and exhales gently massage the spinal column which brings nutrients to our spinal disks.

The poses we practice today were specific to stretch all major muscle groups around the hip joints including adductors, quads, rotators, and hamstrings. What happens is that when our Hip rotators are tight they hold the pelvis too much and the force of movement transfers up to the low back putting strain from there on up the spine.  It hurts!  We held poses working on precision but then we also put a simple routine together you could practice at home for 5 minutes per day at a one breath per movement ratio, letting go of perfection.  This way we improved overall circulation that brings nutrients to the intervertebral disks while removing toxins.  The thing is that disks don't have an independent blood supply therefore they depend on movement of the surrounding structure to aid in the delivery of nutrients.  Movement causes the disks to be compressed which squeezes out stale disk fluid and then to expand bringing in fresh supply.  Judith Lasater says, “In the majority of cases back pain can be prevented.  The majority have to do with how we use our bodies."  We don’t hurt anymore!

Altogether we used this practice to learn how to manage addressing our mental and physical tensions so we could find stillness and gentleness by the end. The whole class intended to help us get to the final pose of Savasana where in the words of Eckhart Tolle in his power Practicing the Power of Now we experienced a feeling of letting go.  I hope you find this background on healing back pain helpful and healing. Love the day! Silvia

When you surrender to what is

and so become fully present,

the past ceases to have any power.

Suddenly, a great stillness arises within you,

An unfathomable sense of peace.

And within that peace, there is great joy.

And within that joy, there is love.

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

Donald Walters says, “There are realities we all share, regardless of our nationality, language, or individual tastes. As we need food, so do we need emotional nourishment: love, kindness, appreciation. We need to understand our environment and our relationship to it. We need to fulfill certain inner hungers: the need for happiness, for peace of mind for wisdom.”

We all need to be nurtured. If you look up Nurture in Webster’s dictionary it defines it as a “form of nourishment” and to “educate”.  These are both spot on with the philosophies of yoga.  In class teacher to student we are educating you on techniques you might use how to self-comfort yourself.  The flow of this self comforting is love.  Love is the capacity to take care, to protect, to nourish. If you are not capable of generating that kind of energy toward yourself- if you are not capable of taking care of yourself, of nourishing yourself, of protecting yourself- it is very difficult to take care of another person. “In the Buddhist teaching, it's clear that to love oneself is the foundation of the love of other people. Love is a practice. Love is truly a practice.” [Shambhala Sun March 2006]

We all deserve to love and be loved. 

Love is a form of nourishment. It requires action in thought in words and movement. 

So we meditated together on how we might nourish our spirits through our inner dialogue, how to speak words of kindness to nurture others, how to take actions in honoring our bodies as sacred, nourishing their health.  For a healthy heart lives in a healthy body.  We spoke of the junk food of life things like gossip or complaining and that these do not nourish us but leave us empty and drained.

I so want you to appreciate the forms of nourishment: Breath, Thoughts, Words, Actions, Sleep all of which make for a sweeter life!  Please let your time on the mat be that opportunity where you learn how to nourish yourself with bigger breaths, poses and self-observation. All of this leading to greater and greater self-growth!  Happy National Sleep Better Month!  Love you all, Silvia

MARCH 30TH, 2009:  I really believe that we are all benefited by words of inspiration.  Today I am meditating in my own life in trusting that I will have enough.  Enough of what?  Well, enough courage, enough inner strength, enough wisdom, enough energy, enough love, enough happiness, enough peace.  When life becomes intense it is easy to convince ourselves through the prism of mental scarcity that we aren’t going to have enough of anything. More than anything else, even more than love, what I wish for all of us is that we have Enough FAITH.

Through FAITH we can see that although heartache or hurt exists in the world with Faith we will recover.  Helen Keller says it like this, “Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.”  How do we trust in enough? Well first it is to accept that Faith is active, it’s something we have to participate in.  We can’t expect our healing to happen if we aren’t most interested in ourselves first.  I believe Jon Kabat Zinn defines trust as “spiritual and emotional maturity”.  Right on.  I love that. 

At some point in our spiritual evolution we realize we don’t need more and more of anything. Instead having just enough is plenty.  So on the mat we do enough and we save a little for next time. We don’t have to do it all.  Mostly because aren’t you tired of being perfect all the time?  I am. So we appreciate the messiness of life and with just enough faith we let go of unrealistic expectations and let our story unfold.  The universe if we have faith enough to trust in her wants us to be happy, to be courageous, to be loved, to be peaceful.  So I wish you all enough (not more, not less).  With faith in love, Silvia

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.
I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough.

MARCH 22, 2009:  I read this article this morning and it is by a great dear friend and teacher Todd Norian, who I dearly respect.  He visits us once/year and will be end of June 2009. Save the date.  Basically he takes a verse from the sutras and interprets it from a Tantric perspective.  Chapter 1 verse 2 yogas citta vritti nirodah (from April Fit Yoga). 

The summary of the article is this:  When you say NO to something by doing so you are automatically saying YES to something else. 

In class today I contexualized  this during the course of the asana practice and brought in my own analogies and examples.  Here I offer you the straightforward article and leave it for your own meditation.  Just know this, I am always saying YES and will support you if you want to live this way too! Love you all, Silvia

ARTICLE:  “We assume you can say “no” to something. But in doing that you are automatically saying “yes” to something else.  In tantric philosophy we want to start with “YES”, to open, soften, and receive what the moment is offering. Then, after taking a moment to reflect, we can say “no” as a boundary to what is NOT life enhancing.

Yoga is learning to align with nature rather than resist or control it. Instead of viewing our challenges as separate from you and a problem to be solved, the Tantra sees them as a gift of embodiment, the pulse, the very essence of the flow that arises from desire.  Instead of being part of the problem, desire becomes the source of the solution. 

The tantrikas believe the universe is made up of desire. The universe desires to be known by becoming you.  Everything in this universe is awake, which includes the ripples of the mind, like waves on the surface of a lake.  The key is to see beneath the ripples to the bottom of the lake, the deepest essence of self. However the self also appears in the surface waves. Instead of going against the waves we learn how to surf.

This is very helpful in navigating the ups and downs of life – learning how to flow with them, embrace them, and know exactly what you’re saying “YES” and “NO” to, rather than pushing them away in the name of freedom.”

MARCH 18TH, 2009:  We sat in Vajrasana, rubbed our hands together like to two sticks of wood to create friction/heat and then cupped our eyes. We used this as an opporturnity to open our eyes and look at our hands which acted as a mirror.  Asking ourselves in our outward reflection what did we see? Who is the person staring back at us?  Then we closed our eyes in the warmth of our hands and turned our gaze inwards to view the inner reflection and ask what is our purpose?  Who are we?

And this means it is something more than the role we play at work, the labels we wear like son, daughter, partner, parent.  As a human creatures who are you?  As Stephen Covey writes, “We are not human beings on a spiritual journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey.” So as a human being what is your Lifes Purpose or Dharma?

For its more than what job title we have on our business card or the label people know us by.  Woodrow Wilson, the 28^th President of the United States said it like this, “You are not here merely to make a living.  You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.”  So how do we do this?  We get to work on the mat, anchored in our body to try to peal back the layers to look inside where all the answers already exist.  As the Buddha says, “Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it.” 

For that’s the practice knowing our Dharma and contributing in a positive way to the world.  So we partnered in handstand tonight to help us experience this directly.  We also used a variety of flowing poses to help us face our fears such as balance poses and hip openers.  Because that is the harder practice to keep coming back to our purpose and living our Dharma not just for one day, or one week or even one year but forever, in spite of the fear we sometimes face.

Best said is motivational speaker Earl Nightingale who says, “Don’t let fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might as well put that passing time to the best possible use.”  So go inside, see your dreams, believe me when I tell you that you already have all the time, money and energy you need to make these dreams a reality and shine out your Dharma to the world!  Love to all, Peace to All, Courage to all! Silvia

Love is the capacity to take care, to protect, to nourish. If you are not capable of generating that kind of energy toward yourself- if you are not capable of taking care of yourself, of nourishing yourself, of protecting yourself- it is very difficult to take care of another person. In the Buddhist teaching, it's clear that to love oneself is the foundation of the love of other people. Love is a practice. Love is truly a practice. [Shambhala Sun March 2006 ]

We all deserve to love and be loved.  Love is a form of nourishment. It requires action in thought or word or movement.  If you look up Nurture in Webster’s it defines it as a “form of nourishment” and to “educate”.  These are both spot on with the philosophies of yoga.  In class teacher to student we are educating how to self-comfort. We hope to create such a safe and nurturing environment that as students in the kula it is easier for us to nourish ourselves with breath, poses and observation. All of this leading to greater and greater self-growth!  The sweetness of life is YOU!  Love, Silvia

FEBRUARY 27TH:  Hi Friends! This note came to me from my friend and fellow teacher at total body yoga Mary Scudella this morning.  I thought you'd enjoy it!  And don't forget Mary teaches Yoga for Children Teacher Training Workshop this weekend and there are two spots left!

Can you believe Spring is less than a month away? The Spring Equinox occurs on Friday, March 20. Before our snow the other day, I observed my crocuses starting to creep out of the ground. The earth is preparing for Spring. What are you doing to prepare for Spring?

This past Saturday we began preparing for the arrival of Spring in our yoga practice. We flowed through a detox practice which stimulated and refreshed the liver and kidneys. Forward bending and backwards bending not only aligns the spine, but helps us to cleanse our system through nourishing our organs that process waste. At home, try poses like high lunge and pyramid, Warrior 1 variation arching backwards and standing splits. Even strong backbends like bow can be combined with child's pose, as long as you move cautiously from one to the next. It you'd like to add a further cleansing effect to the body, add in some twists like twisting lunge or revolved chair pose to wring out what is weighing you down. Don't forget to come back to center in downward facing dog or child's pose, feel the breath and release what binds you.

The seeds, bulbs, and roots beneath the surface of the earth are readying themselves for Spring. They have stored up energy from the fall, taken in water and minerals for nourishment and are awaiting the gentle warming ahead. Spend some time readying yourself for Spring. Through your yoga practice and through your diet - shed off the winter quiet and prepare yourself for the glory of waking up to the sun that lies ahead!

Namaste, Mary

FEBRUARY 26TH, 2008: 

NOVEMBER 22^ND, 2008:  I was thinking about Thanksgiving coming up and how we either made or received an invitation about Thanksgiving, right? Well, Yoga is an invitation. The practice is an invitation to affirm your choice to live fully each day.  Coming to the mat and opening your heart is a way to accept the invitation. 

What else do we do on Thanksgiving?  We nourish ourselves in community.  Well yoga is about loving ourselves. What does this really mean?  NOURISHMENT.  It is no different than Thanksgiving where we’ll nourish ourselves with food.  But there are other forms of Nourishment as well.

BREATH AS NOURISHMENT

·         Breathing is a method of nourishing the body with air. We breath oxygen into our lungs where it is carried in the bloodstream to nourish all our cells.

·         Without oxygen we feel tired.

·         With oxygen nourishing us we perform at our PEAK level, full of energy, vitality and confidence!

NOURISHING THE SPIRIT

·         Yoga is learning how to love yourself first.

·         Yoga is soul food. It provides us with all of the essential spiritual vitamins, minerals, and nutrition we need.

·         We require spiritual nourishment because otherwise stress can make us sick.

·         If we nourish in our thoughts and actions things like Kindness, love, and compassion these will expand and return to us (if we grow hatred, anger, isolation these will expand and poison us)

Now is the perfect time to open your heart, be sweet to yourself just as you are.  Please join me on the mat and allow this practice to revitalize, rejuvenate you and nourish you!  The cool thing is when you feel nourished on the inside you’ll more easily nourish those around you.  Love in abundance! Silvia 

NOVEMBER 10^TH, 2008:  Last month after Todd Norian was with us for a weekend intensive he sent a thank you note with these words, “May you rise with courage to meet the challenges of this current time. May you do yoga to strengthen your core and nourish the source of your being. May you stay in your heart and give away love, kindness, and compassion to those in need. Yoga and giving are two of the best ways to weather the storm. Dedicating yourself to a deeper purpose will absolutely guide you through to success and freedom. – Todd Norian Workshop 08”

This has served as a wonderful reminder of how Courage is a quality that comes from the heart.  Judith Lasater a personal hero of mine says, “Courage is the second most important quality to cultivate in life. (Right after love).”  Winston Churchill goes as far to say, “ Courage is the first of the human qualities because it is a quality which guarantees all others.”  For me the way I’ve come to understand courage day to day is that it is not really about undersatnding what is right or wrong but it is the strenght within us to choose the right course of action in any circumstance.  Now recently a public figure had a mantra of Yes, I Can.  I would like to suggest a modification to practice at home of, “CAN I? YES!”.  So keep asking yourself today, What is possible for me? And then courageously listen to your heart to take action.  Wishing you all your own best courage!  Sat Nam, Silvia

AUGUST 3RD, 2008:  When I first started practicing yoga I dressed like an Eskimo.  I was all covered up, dressed head to toe in black.  In the corporate world I had similar “armor” I wore with the black power suit, serious glasses, hair, briefcase (for those of you who remember briefcases).  Then as I practiced I started to let go of my own defenses and relax a little bit being “me”.  It was not easy taking off my external layers to experience the freedom of not hiding behind any barrier whether it be job title, clothing, or lifestyle.  But it changed my life. 

As we practice yoga it is important to remember that we are not practicing to be perfect. We are simply practicing as we are in an effort to reveal our most real selves.  In each time on the mat I wish you enough so that you not expand too far to fast.  Take your time, don't rush it. Love, Silvia

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.
I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.
I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.
I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.
I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I wish you enough.

JULY 30TH, 2008:  It never ceases to amaze me how good we all are (and I mean gold medal good) at making the questions of life super complicated.  The good news is that regardless of how complex we make the questions, the answers are simple.  So I pulled together a simple list of 5 of these answers based on my lifetime of yogic readings and experience to share with you.

 1. CHANGE IS CONSTANT – GROOVE WITH THE FLOW

The teachings of yoga include a view called parinamavada, the idea that constant change is an inherent part of life.  Therefore, to proceed skillfully with any action, we must first assess where we are starting from today; we can’t assume we are quite the same person we were yesterday.   Emerson says it like this, “There are no fixtures in nature. The universe is fluid.”
In life, change is constant. Things are always beginning, dissolving, dying.  And we are usually most aware of life’s ever-changing nature in the gut-wrenching moments…loss, death, heartbreak. In a nutshell we can respond to change in 2 ways.

1. One response is to race against time in an effort to accomplish as much as possible. When you realize “life is short” and no marriage, no person, nothing lasts forever, you want to squeeze it all in. This response is fun and exhilarating but ultimately can wear you out. “Time--when pursued like a bandit--will behave like one. Always remaining one county or one room ahead of you…slipping out the back door just as you’re banging thru the lobby with your newest search warrant.” (Elizabeth Gilbert)
2. The yogis prescribe another approach to best ride life’s ever-charging flow. By learning to relax, surrender, and let go, you realize that stillness is a magnet for contentment. As the German author Frank Kafka said, “..be quiet still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.”
    

2.  IT’S OK TO ADMIT WE DON'T KNOW 

In reality, we DON’T KNOW WHAT COMES NEXT.  Just like there are poses in this practice we don’t understand, can’t yet do, may never be able to do or if we can perform have no idea why or how… 

·         When we practice Yoga we are really acknowledging that we are on the ROAD OF LIFE.  The path unfolds in this moment and in every moment while we are alive. And we don’t know what comes next. 

·         This means in part, even at most crucial times, acknowledging that we really have NO IDEA WHERE WE ARE GOING OR EVEN WHERE THE PATH LIES. 

·         We are not meant to understand why all things happen, we may never understand.  All we can do is keep flowing forward…

3. BE PRESENT

"We crucify ourselves between two thieves: regret for yesterday and fear of tomorrow."  -Fulton Oursler

What’s so important about being in the moment? Yoga teaches us that the present moment is the source of healing, love, inspiration, passion, creativity. In fact, the purest form of strength is that which is found in the present moment. The yogis call this power of presence shakti.  But to reap these benefits, one can’t just have fleeting moments of presence. We have to stay long enough in the present moment that we can really soak in its cleansing, healing, loving energy.

4.  LIVE FULLY NOW

“You live longer once you realize that any time spent being unhappy is wasted.”  ~Ruth E. Renkl
Steve Ross, LA Yogi and Author puts it like this:  "You are always already happy. The reason you don't experience it is that it's covered up by layers of suppressed emotions and negative thoughts. Shift your attention and your inherent happiness flashes forth."

5.  GET ALONG – SEEK HARMONY

A human being consists of 75 trillion cells each with a very specific task necessary to sustain one's life. Scientists and doctors are likening the 75 trillion cells to musicians in a giant symphony. The conscious human being could never possibly conduct this symphony, but the conscious human being is absolutely responsible for providing a harmonious environment in which the symphony can play without interruption. The paradigm for health is already shifting.  We can see it moving its priority from "fit body" to "open heart." The truly great workout of the future will not be "How far can I run" but "How best can I serve?"

My favorite advice is from Sri Swami Satchidananda

"Whatever you do, let it be a perfect act. What is a perfect act? It harms nobody, it brings at least some benefit to somebody. If you have control, you can use anything and everything to achieve some good purpose. Keep that in mind as your goal. Whatever you think, whatever you say or do, ask yourself: 'Will it harm anybody?' The answer should be, 'Absolutely no.' The next point is, 'Will it at least benefit somebody.' The answer should be 'Yes.' If it is not benefiting anybody, it is a waste. So, no harm to anybody, at least some benefit to somebody."