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MARCH 10, 2010:  As you know I just put my house on the market. As part of this process the experts encourage you to simply, streamline, neutralize and otherwise declutter your living space. So I had this big indoor plant that got moved into the garage, then a week later I felt bad so moved it into the basement from the garage (mostly because you know plants do like light) well then I forgot to water it because it was now in the basement. This all went on for a month, just last night with the help a dear friend finally moved it outside in our 60 degree temperatures today. It finally got light, water and is not forgotten. 

This plant had a strong intention and desire to LIVE! After all I put it through and changed about its surroundings it kept steadfast to the intention of surviving and thriving.  I have to believe that if a plant can stay single minded in its intention we can too. So today ask yourself:  HOW DOES THIS CLASS INSPIRE YOU TO BE MOVING TOWARDS MEETING YOUR EXPECTATIONS? 

When we begin class and take our hands together at our hearts we create SANKALPA MUDRA a Mudra of internal commitment, a gesture of commitment in outer form and everything that goes into it is our intention.  Intention is defined as setting an expectation for yourself, an expectation to your OWN GROWTH AND EVOLUTION.  

Take a moment to think about deepening your breath into the commitment you've made to grow.   The breath expands our connection to this promise we have made ourselves.  And what I wish someone had told me a long time ago was to expect that there will be times that will be a little challenging – this is part of the growth process.  Spiritual maturity comes as a result of using our expectations as little markers demonstrating our progress.  And we have all COME A LONG WAY ALREADY.  So on the mat we keep breathing to deepen our commitment and our intention whether the poses are easy or hard or whether we hold them a breath or a long time.  We stay focused on experiencing ourselves. 

The power of our intention is that focus on one clear thing. Not 50 things at the same time. It is like the Buddhist parable of how to dig for water: it is not fruitful to dig 100 holes when instead we should focus and dig 100 times in the same place and then for sure we'll strike water.  So we took time to think about one pose from this practice that we woudl want to develop mastery of and promised to do it for 1-2 minutes per day for 28 days, a minimum of 28 minutes total to see if we could develop mastery in this pose and stay with one intention for this period of time.

So today, refocus your promise to yourself and the kind of life you want for yourself. And with Spring approaching let's really grow in our lives what is most important to us, to our health, to our hearts, to our peace of mind.  Love the day! Silvia

PS - My plant is doing great!

JULY 7TH, 2009: 

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

It is great to spend time in self-reflection looking back at our lives but equally as important is looking forward. And it is through the Power of Intention we realize our dreams!  It all starts with a thought.  Here are four key elements in forming strong intention for yourself.  To begin just bring your hands together in SANKALPA MUDRA (a Mudra of commitment with everything that goes into it as the intention).  So just begin to breath here and as you breath in setting this intention know in some sense you are setting an expectation for yourself  - an expectation to your own growth and evolution.  As you deepen your breath really deepen your connection to the promise you are making to yourself.

FIRST – DEFINE YOUR INTENTION.  Use the time in Yoga to go inside yourself and explore the hidden chambers of your heart to find your TRUE self. This is really the 1^st step in yoga. From there the next step is bringing forth from within our highest potential our best self that we discovered within and sharing it with the world. So right now through your attention and breathing do the following no matter where you are:

·         Give your heart attention

·         Give your heart nourishment

·         Give your heart energy

SECOND – EXPECT BEAUTY. Show reverence for all life by expecting kindness and love along with beauty in your life. This is different than habitually looking for ways to be hurt, angry or offended.  You can’t access your intention if you’re thinking about the impossibility of what you want to manifest. 

THIRD – MEDITATE ON APPRECIATION. Cherish your body, your breath. Really acknowledge that you were chosen to breath today and having another day to be alive means another chance to focus on our intentions.  Take a moment to appreciate your life and use this practice to deepen your commitment to promise to grow.

FOURTH – BANISH DOUBT.  Doubt diminishes our creativity and potential.  Shakespeare said, “our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.” 

APRIL 2 2009:  One of the first things we do to begin class is often take a comfortable seat.  It is on purpose.  There is a point to how we sit so as to improve the ability of the body to breath better.  Then we bring our hands together, palm to palm in prayer. This is known as Sankalpa Mudra or Anjali Mudra.  Mudra means gesture of commitment.  We are doing something with our hands on purpose.  There is a point to Sankalpa Mudra, it is our opportunity to set an intention, a dream, a wish, a vision.  Really when we set our intention it is setting an expectation of ourselves.  There is a point to our practice.  And each time we rejoin our hands we remember to remember the promise we made to ourselves as to how this time for us is meeting our expectations. 

It is like a commitment ceremony at the start of every class.  And every breath will deepen your commitment to your intention on and off the mat.

The key thing to know is that there is a point to it all.  Even when we don’t understand why things are happening in our life we can rest assured as Sadie Nardini says, “alongside positive change, challenge appears.”  Yup.  So what is the greater point to spiritual practice?  To help us PAY ATTENTION.

The Yoga Sutras say “enjoyment is the sweetness of noticing your life right now – smell, taste, feeling, sensation” This is the answer to why pay attention, in that we don’t get to do today over again.  Therefore as a result of your intention you can observe your progress towards the promise you made to yourself. And know you have come a really long way already before you even step on the mat.  So once we realize that the point of the practice is to pay attention, to be present we stop trying to redo the past.  We see we are here and now just all doing our best in appreciating how precious life really is.  So tune in, love your life and trust in the process.  Love to you all! Silvia                                                                                                       

AUGUST 6TH, 2008:  Every time you come to class, send me an email, or call me, you make my dream come true.  My greatest aspiration is to help you articulate your dream and encourage you to go for it!  I wholeheartedly believe in the words of Don Miguel Ruiz, “Every human is an artist. The dream of your life is to make beautiful art. And this is the main art that we have: the creation of our story.” 

VOICE YOUR DREAM – YOU HAVE CHOICES!

In every pose we have choices to make…how we breath, how we unite breath with movement into a happy marriage, how we place the body, how much effort we make, how efficient the effort, how much we let go at the same time we make the effort. We constantly get to choose for ourselves.  Are you making the most of your options?  Are you open to choosing what might be deemed by some as "mission impossible."

Today do me this favor:  Create a list of one or more dream projects that you would love to complete. Then take the first step in your own great adventure – BEGIN.  In Yoga we call this your "intention" or Sankalpa.  As sweet motivation take to heart the inspiring words of Louisa May Alcott “We all have our own life to pursue, Our own kind of dream to be weaving, And we all have the power to make wishes come true, as long as we keep believing.”   So my friends I hope the time on the mat gives you each the opportunity to further refine your dreams and strengthen from within your resolve to become immune to the opinions of others so that you never, never, never give up!  BIG LOVE! Silvia