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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

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February 25, 2011:  The second agreement is not to take anything personally.  Don Miguel Ruiz explains this, "Nothing other people do is because of you. It is because of themselves.  All people live in their own mind; they are in a completely different world from the one we live in.  When we take something personally, we make the assumption that they know what is in our world, and we try to impose our world on their world. If someone gives you an opinion don't take it personally, because the truth is that this person is dealing with his or her own feelings, beliefs and opinions.  If you do not take it anything personally, you are immune to it."  

This is one level of understanding so on the mat we let everyone do their own yoga. We don't worry about whether someone next to us can do a deeper variation of a pose, it's not about us. They are practicing their own yoga and we should focus on our own yoga.  Now the other level of this experience is as Ruiz says so well, "even the opinions you have about yourself are not necessarily truth; therefore, you don't need to take whatever you hear in your own mind personally.  We have a CHOICE whether or not to believe the voices we hear within our minds. The mind can also talk and listen to itself." So be careful and choosy about what you listen to in your own mind.  Let go of the old stories that don't serve you that hurt you that keep you from being more of your potential.  

What we experience if we Don't Take Things Personally is, "you avoid many upsets in your life. Your anger, jealousy, and envy will disappear, and even your sadness will simply disappear if you don't take things personally. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering."  

And of course it always comes back to LOVE.  "If you keep this agreement, you can travel around the world with your HEART completely OPEN and no one can hurt you. You can say, "I love you." without fear of being ridiculed or rejected. You can ask for what you need. You can say yes without guilt or self-judgement. You can choose to follow your heart always!"  I love all of you and hope you can embrace this agreement to love yourself, love your day, love your life!  Silvia  

February 7, 2011.  Carlos Casteneda in his book The Teachings of Don Juan offers a great suggestion for considering what choices to make. To me this is speaking to the heart of the yogic definition of HAPPINESS.  “You must always keep in mind that a PATH is only a path; if you feel you must not follow it, you must not stay with it under any circumstances…any path is only a path, there is not affront to yourself or others in dropping it if that is what your head tells you to do. But your decision to keep on the path or to leave it must be free of fear or ambition.  Look at every path closely and deliberately. Try it as many times as you think necessary. Then ask yourself, and you alone, One question…it is this…DOES THIS PATH HAVE A HEART?  Does this path have a heart is the question. If it does, then the path is GOOD; if it doesn’t, it is of no use. Both paths lead nowhere, but one has heart and the other doesn’t. One makes for a joyful journey; as long as you follow it you will be one with it. The other will make you curse your life. One makes you strong, the other weakens you.” 

Each individual can judge for himself which path has heart for him and invite happiness every step of the way.  Today I am thinking of Yoga as the Science of Happiness. This has me thinking about ancient Yogic writings like that of the Bhagavad Ghita where it talks about  “the only real happiness in life is living with an open, loving heart.”  “It explains the nature of happiness, emphasizing that all those things that are obtained in the world are transitory and if we define success by material stuff we limit ourselves and miss out on life because there is not substitute for peace, love and happiness. At the same time it’s not the stuff that’s the problem the problem is the belief that stuff is the solution to the aching soul.” (Judith Lasater, Living Your Yoga)

This science of happiness we call yoga makes space so we can  is let go of what is negative and stay tuned in to our own contentment.  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.  

"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 moves us on only those paths with heart and then we can't help but grow and evolve.  And we leave the mat remembering how happy we really are and even more joy is yet come.  Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia

November 25, 2010.  

Beautiful Namaste Friends, 

I learned early on in my yoga practice that you have to decide whether you want to go about faking your life or whether you really want to live Your life FULL BLAST. A Yoga teacher friend said to me "REMEMBER TO HOLD THIS TRUTH: YOU CAN NOT FAKE PRANA, FAUX PRANA IS VANITY WHICH LEADS TO INSANITY."

Either you are breathing for real with total consciousness, or you are trying to fake it, doing your life (even your breath) based on what it looks like to other people.  So look for all the ways you are faking your life: do you dress differently from how you want to; do you fake your talk; do you fake the music you tell people you like; do you fake your political opinions; do you fake your love, in yoga class do you fake savasana (final relaxation)?  I can tell you from personal experience that it's not worth it. Pretending to live life will lead to insanity because it is not natural. Remember you can only ever be the 2nd best at trying to be someone else; you are always #1 being YOU.

Either you are kind, loving, real or you're not.  You can't fake it.  So today stop faking it with your friends, family, colleagues.  And you'll find your truth.  Folks ask me "how can you do that pose" like the one pictured above and I tell them the answer is I'm just being me full hearted, open and real and then all of the poses are yours to experience as you.  The poses are like truth serum, the body never fakes it.  The heart always knows!

Love yourself, love your day, love your life, Silvia  

**For active life coaching join me and Alchemy Tours on retreat.  Make the change to be YOU in 2011, no more waiting, no more faking it.  Visit www.alchemytours.com or my personal website www.silviamordini.com

"Let go of your worries and be completely clear-hearted, like the face of a mirror that contains no images. If you want a clear mirror, behold yourself and see the truth." - RUMI

OCTOBER 10, 2010

The mat serves as a mirror for each of us.  The opportunity to let go of anger, fear, stress allows us to open up to our happiest selves.  This process requires we see ourselves honestly. Its easy to stay upset and hold on to grudges and muddy up the picture of what we really feel or who we are.  So this experiment is quite radical if you're used to masking or hiding from your truth.  

There is a Chemistry to Truth.  And we have in every moment a choice about how to influence the balance with the chemicals of our thoughts and our breath.  If you do not breath out fully you are in fact poisoning yourself.  Or if in your thoughts you are self-critical or judgmental this drama is creating a stress and hormones like cortisol are being released.  

Writes Donna Farhi, New Zealander yoga teacher, in Holding Your Breath (Yoga Journal, April 1996): "Stress may be real or imagined. Just imagining a stressful event can reduce inhalation volume. When we are continuously exposed to stress, then the body just forgets to relax." Obviously, the breathing pattern changes, and "it just might become a statement about what happened in the past rather then what is happening to us in the present".

Every exhale, every pose can help us relieve the past and be more conscious of the moment we are living.  You can by breathing wisely and thinking healing thoughts dilute the concentration of the harsh chemicals in your body.  But first the practice of studying yourself, svadhaya, asks that we see ourselves truthfully.  You engage when you hold your breath, where you get overly dramatic for no reason, where you are making yourself TOXIC.  And the diluting can be accomplished through mantra as well, what you are thinking on purpose. A favorite of mine is the lovingkindness meditation:

Think of yourself, offer healing and a way to let go of sadness, anger, worry saying inside:

May I be happy

May I be peaceful

May I be loved

Then think of a challenging person, who you need to heal the relationship and say to them inside:

May You be happy

May You be peaceful

May You be loved.

Then think of how to influence the chemistry of the world (of which you are a part of) by saying to all people:

May We be happy

May We be peaceful

May We be loved.

The answer to stress, anger you feel towards a situation or a person or thing is not eye for an eye. Fighting is only going to make it more acidic, more poison will kill us eventually.  The only answer is love.  Love dilutes the pain, the worry and relieves us of this toxicity.  And in that truth we see our best most beautiful selves!  Love your day, love your life, love yourself!  Silvia

SEPTEMBER 28, 2010.  My favorite class to teach is where we start by meditating on our open hand.  That in this simple gesture we have the paradox of yoga: to open and to surrender, at the same time.  If we close our fist we are not able to let go of the mental agitations that heavy us.  If we close our fist we are clearly not opening to a greater force beyond ourselves.  

“Grace wakes us up when we are asleep, brings light to where there is darkness and removes obstacles from our path”. -Krishna Das

To Open to Grace, is the first principle in Anusara Yoga, but it applies to all spiritual practice.  To open requires the courage to not remain closed or tight hearted or asleep to our lives.  It is an awakening!  To open to the light of grace and love that exists everywhere as universal support.  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".   

The concept of Surrender in yoga is really in two parts.  

1.  When we surrender to Grace we surrender to something bigger than ourselves.  Ok that seems to make sense for just about anybody. But the next part is harder for the cynical mind...

2.   When we surrender we do so to a universe that knows what it is doing. 

To trust that what I AM OPENING INTO will love me without conditions and has my best interests at heart is a larger leap of faith.  But it is exactly when we stop trying to over control events when they fall into a natural order, an order that works. At that moment where we allow a power much greater than our own to take over we begin to trust that the power that holds galaxies together can certainly handle the circumstances of our relatively little lives".

So the practice today is to peel back the layers, let the light in, OPEN UP to the truth of who you are and how you want to be living your life.  This requires that you surrender and let go of the past, of the hurt and create space for what comes next.  Even though none of us really knows exactly what comes next.  We must just believe as we co-create our lives with the universal intelligence of love that spirit has our best interests at heart.  We are loved, we are love.  So today take comfort in loving yourself, loving your day, loving your life! Silvia, Anusara Inspired Yoga Teacher, ERYT

"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. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way."  - GOETHE

Naked Yoga on Thursday's!!

Okay, now pick your jaw up off the floor and get your head out of the gutter!  We should all come to class fully clothed as usual.  What I'd like us to shed before we come into the studio are the labels, the roles, the responsibilities, or anything else that we let define us.  These things, these unnecessary garments, hide the true spirit inside each of us.

We often let the labels weigh us down, and because of them we may experience guilt, the feeling of not being good enough.  We make excuses for not being able to live up to some impossible stantards based on who we, or someone else thinks we should be.  In the real world, excuses are generally unacceptable.  In the studio, they are not even necessary!  We don't have to be anything other than who we are-perfect in our imperfections, and loved deeply for what lies beneath our bodies, beyond the roles we play.

When I as you to show up "naked", it means show up as the true you.  Come tired, come sad, come sore, elated, complacent, excited, bored, angry, or whatever.  Just show up as whoever you are in the moment.  We'll work on peeling off our metaphorical clothes in a sweet, self-loving flow that allows our light to shine bigger and brighter than ever.  See you guys soon!

Love in all ways,

Andrea Harris

SEPTEMBER 21, 2010 (the night the lights went out)

“In a plain piece of metal, all the molecules are in chaos facing every which way.  A magnet is a similar piece of metal in which all the molecules are perfectly aligned – the north pol,es facing one way, and the south poles facing in the opposite direction.  Because of this alignment, the magnet gains the power to attract and hold other objects.  If you stroke the ordinary metal and the magnet together in one direction only, the magnet will align all the molecules in the plain metal with itself, causing a second magnet to emerge.  The power to attract and hold has been transmitted from one to the other, while amazingly enough the initial magnet retains its full strength.  As we align our energies this way through regulating our breath we maintain calm through the ordinary emotional rollercoaster rides we encounter each day.  We find that when we are upset, everything around us reflects the same disturbance, as if it is somehow contagious.  When tranquility prevails, it magnetizes everything with the same sense of calmness.” (Story from The Secret Power Of Yoga.) 

I teach yoga to be a magnet for all my students.  I pass on to them what has been shared with me by my teachers who served as my magnet.  I want all that come to my classes to feel the power they hold within themselves to attract their best life ever.  We accomplish this by organizing our breathing, our thoughts in a way that designs the future that serves our truest potential.  In my classes you do NOT hide from who you really are or your untapped strength, courage or visions for your life.  I don't teach a physically challenging class I teach a mentally and emotionally challenging coaching experience.   

Is this for everyone? No, not everyone is ready. Some people in our lives will never be ready and will leave this earthly body thinking it was all just some rehearsal.  Those are not my students.  You are my student if something I say resonates with your most authentic self from my most authentic self.  And you leave inspired to gain back your power to do good in this world, to live kindly, to be your most extraordinary self on even the most ordinary days.  Yoga helps us harness the power of intention.  Infinite love and gratitude as Dr Darren Weissman speaks about is universal energy.  In other words as is written in the Alchemist, the universe is on our side.  So as the wind blew a mighty storm this night and we practiced in candlelight, me and my 30 yogi friends tapped into what it means to be driving along in life and see up ahead of you a stop light and intend it to be green, then to drive further and see that one is green, and by golly if every single stop light you approach is green.  

You know you are a magnet when you "green light" your life.  

And no one wants that more for you than me.  Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia  

SEPTEMBER 4, 2010:  From the teachings of yoga a teacher shared with a teacher that shared with a teacher that shared with teacher Pamela Bliss who shared with me, "One of the most profound bits of wisdom shared with me in a teaching yoga is that procrastination is severely detrimental to one's development on the spiritual path."  For me the truth of Yoga is that if you practice regularly you see swift changes mentally, emotionally and physically.  And if you step away from your practice chances are inertia takes over and it is epically difficult to get back on the mat again. Or as Jon Kabat Zinn says, "not practicing is a form of practice."  And the follow up from my friend Dr. Gregg "so how's that working for you?"

"The fault is in the one who blames. Spirit sees nothing to criticize." RUMI

This is not about blaming ourselves for our shortcomings. Not at all. Instead just think of yoga as TRUTH SERUM (SATYA SERUM).  The body doesn't lie.  When you are on one leg balancing and your mind is in a million places you will fall out of that 1 legged balance for sure.  If you are in a warrior pose and your leg is shaking after not practicing yoga all summer well, not doing something has resulted in your muscles responding by shaking when they didn't do that when you took action and came to class 3 times per week.  On the other hand your life is not a dress rehearsal so be happy you are pushing all your poses to that point you call the soft edge.

To me there are 2 kinds of procrastinators: (1) those that have gotten off the couch and attempted and (2) those that have never fully tried.  Interestingly, just because you might fall into category #1 of procrastinators doesn't guarantee you momentum.  For that you have to stay engaged.  So whether you've tried a little, a lot, or not at all procrastination in any of its forms will stunt your spiritual development.  You will forever stay a Spiritual Baby and never evolved towards spiritual toddlerhood or adolescence or adulthood.  The path is sequential.  

I have healed myself of procrastination is through yoga and my spiritual practices that support my yoga, because I grew up enough to ask for help from the universe.  The reason I would often get paralyzed by procrastination was I was afraid of having to do everything by myself, I even felt like I had to always offer my prayers for others but never for me.  "Where did you get that idea you aren't allowed to petition the universe with prayer? You are part of this universe. You're a constituent - you have every entitlement to participate in the actions of the universe, and to let your feelings be known. So put your opinion out there. Make your case. Believe me - it will at least be taken into consideration."  -Elizabeth Gilbert from Eat, Pray, Love

So start now or reboot, or restart today. Stop blaming, stop waiting for everything to be perfect, stop postponing your happiness and just ASK FOR WHAT YOU WANT!  And keep asking, continue the momentum. And if you want a really easy way to to keep up with yourself and your intentions well then make regular, consistent appointments with your yoga mat and I promise you will see your life blossom beyond your wildest intentions!  Love yourself, love your day, love your life!  Silvia
PS if you need a quicker kick off then join me on Retreat for a 4 day adventure in Moab, Utah or Pagosa Springs, Colorado this Fall come November and December. www.alchemytours.com

AUGUST 5TH, 2010.  What would you say to your best friend, partner, loved one, boss, enemy if you knew they were the last words they were going to hear?

The thing is and what yoga reinforces over and over is that we don't know when the last time it going to be exactly so it is vitally imperative to treat every interaction and every day as the most important.  What would you say?  What have YOU not been saying to the people in your life?

I think of my last conversation with Uzma and how excited she was to share photos of Tuscany with your Tuscany Family of retreat goers and how excited she was to take another trip with us!   What a blessing!!

So in her memory please take a moment and say what you have to say.  Don't hold back.... for we never know when our last chance to say what we mean really arrives.... Love to all, Silvia

TO BE WITH UZMA'S FAMILY SATURDAY IN HER LIGHT

Here is the schedule for Uzma’s ceremonies tomorrow (Sat):

Viewing at 12:15PM

Burnett-Dane Funeral Home120 West Park Ave.,LibertyvilleCorner of 176 & Milwaukee847-362-3009

Service from 1:15-1:40PM

Islamic Center Mosque1751 North O’Plain Road,Libertyville847-406-3730

Burial at approx 2PM

Highland Memorial Park Cemetery33100 N. Hunt Club Rd.Belvedere Rd and Hunt Club Rd.Libertyville847-362-5260

Everyone is welcome to attend any or all of the events.

Uzma has touched many more hearts that I am even aware of, so please forward this to anyone you can think of.

Thanks a lot,Nadeem.

April 28, 2010 Today is a full moon! The moon as you know is a reflection of the sun. The moon's trajectory is very complicated. It follows the Sun's trajectory, only 6 months later; the full moon in winter comes as high as the Sun in the summer. And it takes the Moon 18.6 YEARS TO FULFILL ONE COMPLETE ORBIT!  

Gosh if we were only so patient with ourselves.   

We all have stuff hidden inside us.  Who are we to think we are going to reveal this all in one yoga class or two or 10 or even 100. Heck the moon takes 18.6 years!  But yet often we come to the mat as the quick fix. It's not going to work like that. Heed the words of Tantric scholar Christopher Tompkins, "Don't try to fix shit during yoga, just try to be with how you are now."  

There is plenty of stuff to uncover by the time we start yoga.  There is stuff of the past we need to heal and let go of, there are the future plans or goals we are afraid to actually speak out loud, there is actually being yourself as you are today.  There is so much that I strongly encourage you to take your time.  Allow what is embedded or hidden to be reflected as you feel comfortable doing. And believe me if you stay with this practice it will come out...it just takes time my friends.  Quite frankly, let's all agree right now to give it 18.6 years at least.  

Love and light, Silvia  

APRIL 5, 2110: This is according to the author the most important one and most difficult to honor. It is to be impeccable with your word.  He writes, "through the word you express your creative power. It is through the word you manifest everything. Regardless of what language you speech, your intent manifests through the word.  What you dream, what you feel and what you really are, will all be manifested through the word."  

What I want to point out is that we are not talking about just verbal language here. Although it is curious that of all animals on earth we are the only one who speaks.  But think of internal dialogue that becomes external expression. 

"The word is not just a sound or a written symbol. The words is a force; it is the power you have to express and communicate, to think and thereby to create the events of your life."   "The word is the most powerful tool you have as a human; it is a tool of magic.  But like a sword with two edges your word can create the most beautiful dream or your word can destroy everything around you.  Being impeccable with your word is not using the word against yourself. If I love myself I will express that love in my interactions with you, and then I am being impeccable with the word, because that action will produce a like reaction. If I love you, then you will love me.  If I have gratitude for you, you will have gratitude for me."   

"Being impeccable with your word is the correct use of your energy; it means to use your energy in the direction of TRUTH and LOVE for yourself."  

In yoga this concept is known as Satya.  When we are able to live with integrity always speaking with loving truth to ourselves and to others we will immediately realize an experience of lightness and ease. Every pose on the mat is a chance to practice being honest with ourselves. The power to live in truth is the same as the power to live in love.  So may you be happy, may you be peaceful, may you be loved! Sat Nam, Silvia (In Truth and Light)

"Attend the birthing of the radiant light within you" - Vijnana Bhairava Tantra

JANUARY 12, 2010:  I was recently thinking of the game TRUTH OR DARE that we all played as kids.  Wondering if you were someone who chose dare or truth more often?  Me? Well I consistently chose Dare. I was more than a little afraid of the truth – I’d have to tell the 11^th grade boy Ben I was in love with him or maybe admit I really wanted the lead role in the next musical or that it hurt my feelings when I only got 2^nd chair in Symphony orchestra last week.  You know the important stuff.  The dare was a whole lot easier….I would rather take my chances and eat a bug than let everyone else know my truth, and reveal my heart. 

Well what you choose now as an adult? Truth or Dare. And more importantly why. 

Yoga helps to reveal the self to the self and we wake up to our own truth.  As John Donohue writes, “Awaken to the mystery of being here and enter the quiet immensity of your own presence.”  So really Yoga is asking us to DARE TO TELL THE TRUTH.  First to ourselves then to be that real person out in the world.

Tapping into your own creative potential and full-filling the purpose for why you are here is what Yogis call “Sva-Dharma. This means self-duty. 

I can’t think of a more DARING thing to do!

"Your own duty done imperfectly
is better than another man's done well."  

-Bhagavad Gita 3:35

Yoga is Truth and Dare.  And when we each are following our true paths we are at peace with ourselves (no more pretending, no more 10^th grade self afraid to show others how you feel).  And from daring to fulfill our duty we give permission to everyone else to be themselves and the world finds peace.  This is not easy. So on the mat we try out new poses, we hold poses or we sustain a flowing sequence to experiment with daring ourselves to learn more about who we are. And the way we practice our yoga becomes the way we live our lives.

This year accept the Dare and stay connected to your intentions for meeting the destiny for which you’ve been called to in this life.  Follow your svadharma and go beyond your fear and what you thought possible. Don’t hide behind work (that’s the adult equivalent of eating a bug because you don’t want to be honest) and get on with it!  Be the peaceful warrior you are. Act as if your life depended on it….for it does.  Let the lovefire burn bright! Silvia

"Look to your own duty;
do not tremble before it;
nothing is better for a warrior
than a battle of sacred duty." -Bhagavad Gita 2:31

FEBRUARY 7, 2010:  So here's what is at the heart of yoga: Yoga is the practice of revealing yourself to yourself.  Our time on the mat is an experience of pure self-exploration.  And although we often begin the practice with familiar poses or sequences from there we expand and create something unique and never before experienced.  As much as we think we know exactly where we are going, as Martin Buber says, All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware. 

I just got a Mac. I’ve been a PC girl up until this point in my life. I have been very afraid of exploring new territory in this way.  I knew it could be better but the mediocrity of how my PC worked was fine.  What’s weird is that I’m not like this anywhere else in my life.  I will happily travel to new places, try new foods, experiment with creative flow of poses, I’ll seek out the next spiritual adventure! But not when it comes to my laptop.  Then I think of RD Laing’s words, “Creative people who can't help but explore other mental territories are at greater risk, just as someone who climbs a mountain is more at risk than someone who just walks along a village lane.”

Life is too short to just keep walking on the beaten path. I know I could see more if I opened my eyes to being at the top of the mountain.  Yoga inspires us to reveal our fears or hesitations so we can grow beyond them into new uncharted potential.  The way yoga has changed my life is that it made me realize the briefness of our life as human creatures.  There is not time to waste.  We must keep exploring!

“After sleeping through a hundred million centuries we have finally opened our eyes on a sumptuous planet, sparkling with color, bountiful with life. Within decades we must close our eyes again. Isn’t it a noble, an enlightened way of spending our brief time in the sun, to work at understanding the universe and how we have come to wake up in it?” – Richard Dawkins

I believe as Neale Donald Walsch writes, “Every decision you make - every decision - is not a decision about what to do. It's a decision about Who You Are. When you see this, when you understand it, everything changes. You begin to see life in a new way. All events, occurrences, and situations turn into opportunities to do what you came here to do.” I came here to make a difference and trying out new poses on the mat during yoga class gives me the opportunity to explore myself more deeply.  From there I’ve realized anything is possible.

This combined with the support of dear friends, one of whom in particular was vitally important in encouraging me to adventure away from the PC world into Mac land.  They saw before I did my ability to enhance my ways of working, my way of being.  And the decision I made to take this risk is a reflection of who I am in the world, just like trying new or challenging poses in class offers me the same opportunity.  So don’t hold back don’t get stuck in the SMART goals (specific measurable achievable realistic) break free of that crap.  As is written in the book How We Choose to be Happy, “When you step away from the confines of realistic you become an artist painting your own masterpiece, an explorer charting new territories. You are creating new ways of looking at situations; you innovate at work and at home..  It’s impossible to be bored with your life.”  Love your life! Silvia

OCTOBER 23, 2009: It is a Spiritual Truth that TRUE HAPPINESS REQUIRES HONEST SELF-REFLECTION. THE MORE HONEST YOU ARE WITH YOURSELF, THE GREATER HAPPINESS YOU WILL EXPERIENCE. So let’s start by simply blessing ourselves for being present enough to give thanks for the opportunity to be ourselves. Enjoy these words of John O’Donohue.

I give thanks for arriving
Safely to a new dawn,
For the gift of eyes
To see the world
The gift of mind
To feel at home
In my life

I often say in class the hardest pose we do is being ourselves. The body does not lie so in a pose on the mat its just us, we have no one to point fingers at we can’t make excuses there is nowhere to run. We have to come home to our lives in that moment. And whether its hard or easy is irrelevant. The greater purpose is through the breathing and postures are you learning how to be honest with what you are feeling instead of denying it. The sooner we are courageous enough to be our TRUE SELVES then this inherently is being our BEST SELVES. And the more we are ourselves the greater happiness we will experience. Start today, love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia

A great exercise I offer you from Robert Holden who wrote Be Happy is this:

1. Self-Awareness. You will always feel like something is missing, you will always feel inadequate until you learn to know yourself better. Life isn’t about getting more it is about being more of who you really are. Authenticity is the perfect antidote to split desires and to negative comparison. And the more real you are with yourself, the more you will realize what you really want. This is important because as Eric Hoofer put it “You can never get enough of what you don’t need to make you happy.”
2. Self-Acceptance. For as long as you do not accept yourself, you will always want more than you have. If you will not accept that happiness is your true nature, you will search for happiness for the rest of your days. And if by chance you discover some happiness, you will not let yourself enjoy it unless you have learned to accept yourself. The fact is, more of anything or everything will not be enough until you choose to be happy.
3. Self-Accountability. If you think something is missing from your life, it is probably you. The idea that something is missing in your life, in your relationships, in your work is a projection. This projection is based on the fact that you are not fully present. True happiness requires you to participate fully in your life now. Do a self-inventory based on three questions: 1.) What am I not being? 2.) What am I not giving? 3.) What am I not receiving?

SEPTEMBER 21, 2009:   Dear Friends Happy Namaste!

Ok, it’s Monday.  So my question to you is can we get out of our “Monday Mind”.  You know, that mind that says to us this is going to be the same week as last week and feelings of boredom, worry get all stirred.  So to get out of the Monday mind join me tonight at 6:15pm or 7:30pm for yoga to cut through the crap and get to the Truth of your experience. That truth is ours to face and then influence to evolve so we don’t replay this same pattern of Monday Mind every week.

So as meditation today try saying to yourself:

I AM READY FOR CHANGE

This is very 3^rd chakra work and being on the mat will reveal what is necessary for us to allow our evolution to unfold.  We get to see where we have resistance to change.  Or where we doubt ourselves or hesitate which are forms of resistance.  We all know what we want, what we need, what we are ready for and often replaying Monday Mind only serves to “hold us back”. 

So today start the week off in a positive way by saying I AM READY FOR CHANGE.  I don’t want any of us to hold ourselves back from life.  Why?  Because who are we to think that we can be ecstatic LATER if not now?  What we get later is what we DO now.  We set the tone through our dreams and intentions for what we want for our life.

Now I know this is challenging.  I have faced the fear of making positive changes in my life many times over (both work related and personal).  I have tried the avoidance of making a healthy change and sat on the razors edge for far too long.  And that’s not a good or comfortable way to live life.  It all begins with a dream, some call this the power of intention, I AM READY FOR CHANGE. 

With the courage that comes from the strength of your heart can you speak to yourself of your SECRET HOPES AND DREAMS?  Make a list of your dreams, add to it.  We just don’t make enough time for dreaming. Mark Twain said, Optimist means Day-dreamer more elegantly spelled.  I know it seems kind of silly at first, but believe me until you start actually writing out your dreams you aren’t fully admitting them not even to yourself. 

A friend asked me if we are limited in the number of dreams we have and what happens when they come true?  I said to them our dreams know no bounds, they are limitless.  There is no stop to the flow.  I know this because as I said to another friend (and I hope you don’t mind my sharing my thoughts here):  “For me as a lover of nature I look at mother earth and I see her dream of change in seasons, colors of leaves changing, she dreams of rebirth in the Spring, of being comforted and blanketed in the winter, of children playing in the waters of the oceans of winds blowing and reaching amazing heights to the tallest mountains.  If the earth is in a constant state of fantastical dreaming then I can be too.  She doesn’t seem to stop dreaming, manifesting and hatching new dreams.  So I believe I can live the rest of my life (a day, a year, 60+ years) always dreaming, planting new seeds, believing in them, seeing them come to fruition and making new dreams my realities.”

I would love for you to understand that YOU CREATE YOUR REALITY.  Your Monday Mind can influence the week in a dark way or change it out and dream big and each day of your life becomes as Rumi writes “a day of festival!”  Yes, it really will if you allow yourself to keep evolving in the direction of happiness which the yoga sutras say is our natural state.

Start now…I AM READY FOR CHANGE.           

Love to you, courage to all of us! Silvia

OM NAMO NARAYANAYA

This mantra is said to take the sayer to sublime spiritual realms where spiritual questions are answered and great TRUTHS are revealed.  The word for truth in Sanskrit is Satya.  In India the even hold a universal truth ceremony called Satya Narayana Puja.” (Healing Mantras by Thomas Ashely-Farrand)

We started class in seated meditation and I sang this mantra so we could all feel the vibration and set the tone for using the practice to delve deeper into revealing our unique truths. I know this concept is not “new” to you.  I too grew up with the idea of honesty. But the way I learned it was fear based this presentation of Don’t Lie or you will get into terrible trouble, no one will like you and you will be sent to a horrible place. As a kid this gave me nightmares and I can tell you I was a very good kid but I didn’t really need to be scared into embracing honesty.

So as an adult in my more mature spiritual practice I often dedicate my meditation to the basic TRUTH of my life.  I sit and attempt to “get real” with myself.  It started years ago with just the question “what is real” as I tried to figure out where in my life I might downplay things or where I might overexaggerate stuff.  Through this observation I found the middle path, the truth.  And each day along this path I say to myself “I AM STILL LEARNING” these are the words Michelengelo spoke at the age of 87 and my friend Liz gave me to wear as a bracelet on my left wrist, the receiving side of the body.    

This idea of still learning has helped me hold myself more gently.  It has allowed me to be more honest about who I am, what I need, what I feel. It helps me to look at old mistakes, times of self-neglect and even old hurts so I can move forward more honestly but always with love and more love.  Fearful intentions don’t work for me.

Spiritual Truth:  TRUE HAPPINESS REQUIRES HONEST SELF-REFLECTION. THE MORE HONEST YOU ARE WITH YOURSELF, THE GREATER HAPPINESS YOU WILL EXPERIENCE.

A great exercise I offer you from Robert Holden who wrote Be Happy is this:

1. Self-Awareness. You will always feel like something is missing, you will always feel inadequate until you learn to know yourself better.  Life isn’t about getting more it is about being more of who you really are.  Authenticity is the perfect antidote to split desires and to negative comparison. And the more real you are with yourself, the more you will realize what you really want.  This is important because as Eric Hoffer put it “You can never get enough of what you don’t need to make you happy.”
2. Self-Acceptance.  For as long as you do not accept yourself, you will always want more than you have.  If you will not accept that happiness is your true nature, you will search for happiness for the rest of your days.  And if by chance you discover some happiness, you will not let yourself enjoy it unless you have learned to accept yourself.  The fact is, more of anything or everything will not be enough until you choose to be happy. 
3. Self-Accountability.  If you think something is missing from your life, it is probably you.  The idea that something is missing in your life, in your relationships, in your work is a projection. This projection is based on the fact that you are not fully present.  True happiness requires you to participate fully in your life now.  Do a self-inventory based on three questions:

1.)     What am I not being?

2.)     What am I not giving?

3.)     What am I not receiving?

 So today my dear friends please take time to reflect on your own truth and through this may you find the greatest happiness within your heart! Let’s imagine a world where everyone is living as themselves and that world is bright with no more war or conflict just pure truth and love.  Sat Nam (in truth and light), Silvia

SEPTEMBER 3, 2009:  Grounding into 1st Chakra

I dedicate this class to all those friends, students and unknown hearts that are feeling uprooted or ungrounded in life right now.  To you I say, “I know” I’ve been there.  And by learning more about the power of the Root Chakra, which is our foundation for life, we can regain our sense of security, internal power and stability.  You can believe in your choices with greater conviction once more.  Most of all to me the root chakra reminds us to accept the TRUTH of who we are.  This truth of our own specialness and uniqueness keeps us connected to the present moment.  Otherwise when we lose our center it is so often because we are trying to be what someone else wants us to be and as a result we feel unstable. 

We used a series of poses to till the soil of our bodies warming them up so we could be in our own skin. Inside ourselves we find an inner security and stillness. A quiet peace that is unrelated to circumstance or others opinions. I mentioned how I love photography and collect cameras.  That the 1^st chakra when balanced brings us clarity no different than holding a camera, setting up the angle, moving yourself or the subject around and then refining the focus of the picture by growing still.  This crystal clear clarity on our decisions is based in strongly rooted self-worth.  If you know who you truly are then taking action on your personal pilgrimage towards what’s important to you is a whole lot easier. 

I guess all that I want any of us to do is be present to the loveliness of our lives and claim our place in the world.  Through yoga you can regain your stable center and assert yourself with lovingkindess: strong get gentle.  Join me on the mat to experience more of the root chakra.  Wishing you your best courage! Silvia

SEPTEMBER 2ND, 2009:   I wake up in the morning and I journal in my mind or on paper. Either way I think about what is important to me on that day.  Then recently in the book Be Happy by Robert Holden I found a metaphor that best describes what I’ve been doing.  In the book he talks about a great daily spiritual practice to help us focus on what is most important to our happiness.  He describes, “The Spiritual Front Page”.  The idea is that each morning you visualize the front page headlines of what is truly most meaningful to you to living the most joyful day ever. This helps us figure out and articulate our Truth.  It gives positive intention to our actions. 

Instead of focusing on what is unimportant (our headlines would not read Do Laundry, Dishes Put Away) we’d share the real important stuff with not just ourselves but these front page headlines would like a newspaper be easier to distribute to our friends, colleagues and family members so they know our big news.  How often do you major in the minor stuff?  How much of your time is spent hiding the big headlines (focusing on what really matters) until the very end of the day when tired and out of juice?  I know I’ve been there.

So for me this time on the mat in yoga class helps me to make sure that the Spiritual Headlines I’ve chosen reflect the TRUE me. And once I’ve written them for the day I stick to them.  It’s too easy with technology these days to keep changing it up or giving up. Instead we maintain the discipline that once its in writing we will do our best on this day to follow through.

Equally, once the day is done, the newspaper gets recycled.  What’s done is done.  And tomorrow we have another “24 brand new hours” to live in JOY!  Love your day, Silvia

*Reference to Thich Nhat Hahn

What is the most truthful thing you’ve said today? 

What have you lied about?

Which voice is more powerful within you?

I have been meditating a lot about Sayta, (Truth) and how when we are aligned with our own truth our hearts open up.  In yogic terms Truth can be defined on three levels, the first deals with communication: that we tell the truth about what we see, what we feel and what we need.  When we feel out of control it is usually where there is a conflict between what we think and what we feel.  Then we suffer and our actions fall apart. 

Chapter 2.36 presents to us that if we are “dedicated to the truth and integrity, our thoughts, words and actions gain the power to manifest.”  (Translation Secret Power of Yoga).  If we are founded in the truth then we actually “Change our relationship to relationship itself.”  That is real Shakti! (power). What I love about this practice is that it uncovers our real truth whether we want it to or not.  We put ourselves in these interesting poses and come face to face with all the stuff we’ve stored in our tissues.  Without a doubt whatever we feel in our bodies is OUR TRUTH.

Judith Lasater says, “our bodies which are the storage unites for our feelings simply cannot lie.”

This awakens us to our own best courage to be honest and forthcoming.  Dag Hammarskjold puts it like this, “Life only demands the strength you posses, Only one feat is possible – not to have run away.”  So on the mat all we have to do is show up.  Then as we experience the truth of the body we more fully realize what we feel and need in our lives off the mat.  I wish you all your own best courage to not turn away from yourself but to remain true to your heart. Love the day, Silvia

AUGUST 12TH, 2009: 

How do you know if you are happy?  And if happy what makes you happy?  When’s the last time you had a conversation with a friend or family member about happiness? Hmmm, I know interesting huh?

In Yoga the practice of self-study is known as Svadhyaya it is one of the Niyamas or fundamental philosophical tenants of the practice.  How this applies as we breath and move is through the relationship we have with each pose.  Just like we can observe how we relate to people in our lives (past and present) because every relationship has a purpose. All of this to help us better feel our TRUTH so that when chaos surrounds us we are able to remain grounded 

HAPPINESS IS THE WILLINGNESS TO CHOOSE THE TRUTH

I have a lot of books on happiness, my newest one I love is “Be Happy” by Robert Holden.  So during the course of the practice today I offered for your contemplation questions related to Happiness and our Mothering/Fathering Influences.  The right side is the solar or masculine side, the left side of us is the feminine or lunar.  So we played this out between right, left all in a practice to arrive better to the TRUTH of our center and learn more about ourselves.

So think about this:

·         Your relationship to happiness is influenced greatly by your family’s story about happiness

·         Your family story is about how your family expresses its joy

·         What is your mother’s definition of happiness?  What is your fathers definition of happiness

·         How does your mother’s definition of happiness influence your life?  How does your fathering influence impact your life?

·         When is your father happiest? 

·         When is your mother happiest? 

·         Growing up what did your mom (or mothering influence) teach you about happiness? 

·         What did your father teach you about happiness?

·         Who is the happiest member of your family?

·         Who is the unhappiest member of your family?

I hold dear this from Robert Holden, “The joy of relationship is found in deep acceptance, in unconditional love, in really seeing each other, in valuing each other, in offering mutual support, in showing appreciation, and in giving trust. Happiness is found in loving the truth in people.”  Observe your TRUTH and you change your life.  Love the day, the night, your life, yourself!  Silvia

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.” 

JUNE 28, 2009:  Martin Luther King said, “In every age and every generation, men have envisioned a promised land. Some may have envisioned it with the wrong ideology, with the wrong philosophical presupposition. But men in every generation thought in terms of some promised land.”  This promised land is freedom and yoga teaches us that it is here right now inside us.  All that is necessary to FIND IT is to choose love, to allow yourself to feel more and think less.

Get on the mat, feel the breath, feel the sensations and let your mind unwind.

So today have the courage to set yourself free!  For Stress paralyzes life; love releases it. Worry confuses life; love harmonizes it. Anger darkens life; love illuminates it.  As Augustus William Hare writes, “The feeling is often the deeper truth.”  Embrace your truth, embrace what you feel and free your soul for love and peace! 

Lokaha Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu (May all beings everywhere be happy and free and may the thoughts words and actions of my life contribute in some way to that happiness and freedom for all!)

With lovingkindness,

Silvia

He said that “our lives either serve as an example or a warning to one another.” 

The first part of my adult life was a warning.  I worked too hard 76-80 per week, didn’t make enough “me time” was constantly striving to meet everyone else’s expectations (parents, partner, boss, colleagues).  I didn’t eat well, I didn’t sleep well, my health suffered and I was lost.  My creative powers of being TRUE to who I am were dwindling away to nothing.   However to the outside world everything looked great! According to the title on my business cards I had achieved a high level of status in the corporate world at an impressively early age and I was making an embarrasing amount of money at the time. It looked like I was on top of the world.  A number of situations “woke me up” from my stupor.  Including a 25 year old staff member in San Jose calling me on the phone from the emergency room worried about project deadlines as they were having a heart attack. 

The second part of my adult life and the rest of life for that matter is dedicated to serving as an example.  I have taken an oath that I will be true to being me. It started for me by making “dates” with the yoga mat to go to class.  This was the me time I needed to come back into my creative power and erase the doubt that had plagued me and had kept me living life for everyone else.  Being honest with oneself is not easy. I won’t kid you. It’s hard work. It requires immense amounts of courage.  You will experience failure and heart break (or life experiments as I call them).  But if you stay the course saying to yourself day in and out, “I WILL NO LONGER DOUBT MYSELF” then life will no longer feel like its being done to you but instead it will feel like its for you. 

We are all here to contribute honestly by enjoying our gifts and sharing them with the world.  Or Woodrow Wilson, 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."

Remember this the universe is on your side and wants you to be at peace with the truth of who you are. So today acknowledge that you did your best, you made an honest effort at breathing, loving and living and that is all any of us can do.  And then quietly ask yourself, is your life as you are living it right now serving as a warning or as an example?  The honest choice is yours. And the sweet reward is a happier more peaceful life on YOUR TERMS.

Sat Nam (in truth and light), Silvia

MAY 14TH, 2009: When you think about it doing what feels good should be pretty easy.  Two of my friends at dinner last night were sharing stories of their kids: 1) her son was on stage in second grade and front and center put his hands down his pants until he caught his Mom’s eye and realized I probably shouldn’t do that here. But he had a point, it felt good to him so why resist. 2) Another friend’s daughter as a tiny tot at dance recitals liked to lift her dress all the way up over her head. No fear, no doubt, just felt good to do it so why resist. 

Yet as adults if feeling good is natural then why do we stay in hurtful relationships, jobs we hate, drive commutes that make us nuts, live where we don’t like the weather, edit who we really are for the sake of our neighbors?  Why do we resist life’s natural inclination to move us towards happiness?

Can you imagine the energy you’d have if you stopped resisting life and lived without apology, without any embarrassment whatsoever?  So when you come to the yoga mat I urge you to stop over thinking and begin feeling more.  For if we are to live more authentic lives and begin to realize how Futile Resistance really is it has to happen from the inside out.  Have the courage to acknowledge the person standing in our way is ourselves. 

A friend recently gave me the book “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield and the author starts off by talking about those activities that elicit Resistance including but not limited to: “Any health regimen; any program of spiritual advancement; any program designed to overcome an unwholesome habit; Any act of ethical courage – including the decision to change for the better some unworthy patter of thought or conduct in ourselves; any act that entails commitment of the heart.” Well, if you look at the list that’s pretty much what yoga touches upon in every class. 

So for me the question is then what is resistance?  Sadie Nardini writes “Resistance happens any time we stand in the way of our own forward momentum. We block ourselves from real happiness, love and fulfillment in countless ways.  There are the obvious ones, such as self-doubt, but also the more covert, including procrastinating, rationalizing and engaging in drama.  Resistance is the destroyer of dreams. And we must weaken its power over us or it will paralyze us.” 

How do we address our resistance?  It is the first principle of Anusara yoga, to open to grace.  We soften, we say Yes, we expand into the flow of love.  Otherwise when we resist or fight life we stop ourselves from LOVE, we stop the flow of all good things coming into our lives and instead build up walls.  This spiritual practice takes down the walls so we can align again with love.  Through love each and every one of us has the power to TRIUMPH over resistance!

What is resistance?

Pressfield says its invisible yet it has the power to distract us, prevent us from doing our life’s work. He calls it the enemy within. You know the one that is obsessive, constantly worried, filled with anxiety, overthinking. It is fueled by fear and we feed it the more afraid we are of admitting our fears. I believe it is most often fear of being really happy that is at the heart of resistance – at least this is what I’ve found in my life.  Ask yourself, if everything you ever wanted came true tomorrow, how would your life be different?  How would you live?  Resistance is felt as UNHAPPINESS. This is why it is the enemy of love. If you are honest with yourself are you standing in your own way today of being happier, more peaceful more in love with life? 

To overcome resistance in the body we have to stop forcing, fighting or holding ourselves back.  Instead practice from softness, desire, gentle courage and resistance is futile in the face of you Being Love, Being Beauty, Being Happy! What am I suggesting?  At a minimum I am promoting you get RADICAL! That you start a revolution from inside to overthrow the invader of resistance because it is NOT YOU.  Will this be scary? Yes. Is that reason enough not to do it? You have to decide the life you want to live. For me the answer is easy, I want to be peaceful.  And by facing what scares me I am starting a revolution I’d like you to join within yourself.  Love to you all, Silvia

May 3, 2009: 

Ok you guys, I’m a little embarrassed to admit I used to be one of those people that would take forever to order food at dinner. I’d be at the table waiting for everyone else to order first because I didn’t have the confidence in the truth of my first instinct in what to order for myself.  Now this may not be a big deal at dinner but it’s a tough way to go through life being indecisive or confused to the TRUTH of who we are (starting with what we want to eat).  Why didn’t I order what I wanted to?  I was too afraid of disappointing someone at the table because they wanted me to order something different than what I wanted or I felt guilty ordering something too expensive.  Really in all honesty I was just afraid of standing up and being myself, declaring to the world “Yes, this is what I want based on who I am.”  This is me remaining true to my truth.

This is how I was living life at the time.  I felt constant guilt over what everyone else wanted me to be.  So I tried desparertly to be who they wanted me to be by wearing that costume.  I never felt like myself inside the costume and the longer I wore it the more itchy and uncomfortable it became until I just couldn’t deny any more that the costume was NOT ME.  My soul was sweating and dying inside from not revealing the true me.  So my spiritual practice evolved and I stopped trying so hard to be who other people wanted me to be. 

I realized that I was trying to be a photocopy of someone else and as we all know photocopies are never as good as the originals.  I would only ever be the second best someone else.  The only person I could be the best at being was ME.  In Yoga that’s known as Satya, “Truth and authenticity” of acknowledging our unique humanness.  I don’t to want to be a PHOTOCOPY PERSON.  Do you?  Because take it from me, you don’t have to be.

In yoga we peel of these outer layers or costumes, masks we wear to rediscover our TRUE selves.  It’s not always easy work, there are tears, laughter, sweating, sometimes even a bit of pain.  But overall it’s a whole lot easier than trying to wear an ill fitting costume the rest of our lives.  And it makes ordering dinner much easier too!

So how do we maintain it?  Well what we are talking about here is a daily spiritual practice (known as Sadhana) where you make time to stay connected to your own truth otherwise the resistance monsters of fear, doubt, guilt come back.  And it is achieved through self-love, seeing who we are is just perfect (without condition) we are each vitally important to the world as we are true.  This is where we found ultimate freedom from mental torture and stress.

Does this seem a little self-centered? Of course, it should.  As Sadie Nardini says, “spiritual disciplines like yoga are built around this concept of moving into and from our center.”  The cool thing is by being more authentic we give everyone else around us permission to be themselves.  There is no pretending and relationships deepen.  It’s a neat way to live, really the only way to live.

The alternative it seems is to keep wearing the costumes, building really great “Life Resumes” as if you were trying to apply for the job of your own life.  I did that.  I put together a Silvia Resume (didn’t really feel totally like me because I was trying to impress everyone else).  Then through yoga funny thing happened.  As the true me was allowed to shine out I realized I already had the job of being Silvia.  And I was only going to get this one chance, this one lifetime to enjoy remaining true to my own truth. 

Today, even for a little while take off the costume, be your funky self!  So you’ll love yourself more, love your day more, love your life more! Silvia

MARCH 3RD, 2009:  “Satya” is the Sanskrit word for “Truth.” The word “Graha” means “holding to.” Through yoga we anchor ourselves in the body to reduce the fluctuations of the mind in order to appreciate our feelings, emotions and sensations more honestly.  It is really easy to disconnect from our truth.  It is easy to deny ourselves pleasure or happiness or even freedom.  But in all honesty the more we turn inside to the seat of our strength and where our peace lies then the more we can be our real selves without apology.  Being ourselves by grounding into this inner sense of truth may be the most courageous act of all! 

So as you breath today feel how the universe is trying to support you, how the earth and gravity allow you to walk freely in any direction you choose, how grace herself is breathing you when you forget.  The universe is on your side and wants you to be at peace with the truth of who you are. So today acknowledge that you did your best, you made an honest effort at breathing, loving and living and that is all any of us can do.  Sat Nam, Silvia

JANUARY 11TH, 2009:  Yoga can make everything in life easier, even though everything else in life makes our yoga harder.  Yoga itself is full of lessons for life and rest assured when we practice stuff will come up.  When you want to get into a yoga pose, feeling the alignment, feeling really good and studly and all of a sudden something lines up and you’re in that place of bliss (ananda)!  However before we get to the BLISS state there are a lot of other cycles.  

You can apply this to the daily To Do List you have going.  It likely is ginormous.  What happens to the way you feel if you don’t get the things done on your list?  Really the fact is we have little control over what gets done.  We like to think we have more control than we do.  WE can work hard and show up consistently to cross stuff off but the extent of our own authority ends with us. The outcome is beyond our jurisdiction.

From this often conflict arises since we are not playing a game of solitaire here in the real world.  So what do we do?  We should, instead, focus on what we can control.  How we are BEING is the only thing that we can do something about.

THIS HELPS US MANAGE ANY CONFLICT 

Try my favorite mantra when you face conflict something like "I am at peace, no matter what goes on around me,"  or, "I choose peace instead of this."

Don’t deny the conflict, face it see it and consciously take control of your own actions. That’s all you can do.  Courage, strength and love to you all, Silvia

DECEMBER 8TH, 2008:  “Through my inner trust for my life I choose to embrace the unfolding of my future." – Story Waters

If you can keep your head when all about you, Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream -- and not make dreams your master; If you can think -- and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster, And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken, Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
   And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
   And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
   To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
   Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
   Or walk with Kings -- nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
   If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
   With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
   And -- which is more -- you'll be a Man, my son!     Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936)

DECEMBER 5TH, 2008: If you’ve ever visited a topless beach there is a period of time where you get really self-conscious like folks are looking at you. Eventually you realize no one is looking at you and then you chill out.  Doing yoga with other people is a little like that. At first you are totally self-conscious thinking it’s all about you and that everybody is checking you out: your hair, your body, your pose.  Reality is, not really.  What I want you to realize about yoga is that the hardest part is it asks us to BE OURSELVES, without reservation, without conditions.    

This means it really is helping us be at home in our bodies and honest in our emotions.  And until we get in contact with our true feelings – fear, upsetness, grief, joy, silliness we won’t be able to build healthy relationships.  I’ve tried it the other way, it doesn’t work.  So today I hope to inspire you to be true to yourself by really getting totally fascinated with your body, your sexiness, your playfulness, your heart and see what happens next in your relationships. I know they will blossom!  Love in all ways, Silvia

SEPTEMBER 15, 2008:   My personal philosophy formed from these last 15 years of yoga practice is “LOVE EVERYONE AND TELL THE TRUTH.”

To me these things go together and if you tell the truth you not only have fewer conflicts but those that do arise are more easily able to be resolved.  

When we tell the truth we want to love more. 

When we love more we find it easier to tell the truth

AUGUST 18TH, 2008:  Two key readings from the ancient writings of yoga inspired me today for our practice. 

“It is better to fail at yourself than it is to succeed at being someone else.”

Bhagavad Ghita Chapter 3 that the yoga is about being true to who you are.  It talks about being authentic.

“Objective of yoga is to remove the divisions within yourself so that you can immerse yourself in the infinity that is you.  sthira, sukham, asanam”

Yoga Sutras Chapter 2 Verse 46

We started by doing our Favorite Pose.  Then we all did our Least Favorite Pose.  Then we paused to contemplate: HOW DO YOU SEE YOURSELF RIGHT NOW?

Key Learning Points From This Practice:

·         We always have opportunities to be true to ourselves

·         You don’t have to do anything heroic

·         THE GOAL IS AWARENESS!

·         Sometimes we end up not being true to ourselves in our work, in our relationships but when you want to shift YOGA WILL HELP YOU FIND YOUR STRENGTH to be authentic.  And then life gets a lot better and a whole lot easier.

·         The shift is towards who we really are were we can let go of self-imposed limitations and negative self-talk:

1.       I’M NOT STRONG ENOUGH

2.       I LOOK RIDICULOUS

3.       I FEEL CLUMSY

4.       I CAN’T DO THIS

5.       EVEN DELUSIONAL THOUGHTS, I’M GOING TO DIE, THIS POSE IS GOING TO KILL ME

So you see it is vitally important to be who you are fully because there is not failure in being you. (We could only ever be the second best anyone else anyway). And when you are not being true to yourself and try to hard to please others it takes you away from your heart.  Which isn’t worth it as the words of Hafiz remind us, “It is all just a love contest and there are no losers.”  I hope you stay the course and allow the practice to help you build your self-esteem in ways you never thought possible!  Love, Silvia

JULY 19TH, 2008:  “Satya” is the Sanskrit word for “Truth.” The word “Graha” means “holding to.” Satya Graha, commonly translated as “Truth Force,” is the name that Mahatma Gandhi gave to his movement of social change through nonviolence.  In class today we focused on the muscular action of Hugging In (or holding on to) so that we might feel more grounded in the Truth of our own experience. 

We are surrounded today more than ever with the gratification of dishonesty. We see folks on TV rewarded with money and prizes for being the most adept at lying.  This will change us as a society if we let it.  So we dedicate our yoga practice to TRUTH, Satya.  This means truth in our bodies - recognizing what they most need today, observing the truth of our breath (what does it reveal about how you are really feeling, not how you are pretending to feel), and ultimately the truth of our hearts and minds.  

The yoga is always transportable so the we apply this self-awareness to all the choices we make: in how we eat, what we buy, who we spend time with.  This is how we LIVE our truth.  And it is not always that easy to "hold onto" as the truth of of our own intentions.  So join me, take off the masks you might wear, see yourself as the amazing, gifted person you are and let the yoga of holding on to your Truth help you be MORE YOURSELF!  As Neem Karoli Baba says "Love everyone and tell the truth." Jai! Silvia

JULY 17TH, 2008:  I love movies!  A new movie releasing August 1st called SWING VOTE with Kevin Costner talks about how a presidential election comes down to one person's vote.  So that got me thinking...I really want you to enjoy your practice and feel that every single pose, every breath, every vinyasa on the mat is deeply meaningful. It is easy to get caught up in the cyncism of today convincing ourselves that what we think and what we do doesn't matter.   This couldn't be further from the TRUTH. 

Today more than ever before every single breath, every gesture in a pose makes a world of difference.  So do your best to make everything count. Your contributions are vitally important!

For take home practice think about all those that contribute to the sweetness of your life:  the truck drivers bringing food to the Jewel/Dominicks; the urban planners who organized our stop lights and roadways for ease of travel; the Policmen & Policewomen and Firefighters that keep us safe, the Farmers that grow our food, your employer who provides a place to earn a living and most of all your Family & Friends.

Now think about all the things you did today to make the life of another person a little easier or more peaceful:  a kind compliment; an email; a phone call; giving up your parking space; a small gift; a card, just a loving thought.  When you reflect on the importance of others in your life and how much of a blessing you are to others it is easy to appreciate our connection to one another...Remember LIFE IS NOT A GAME OF SOLITAIRE.  

JULY 15TH, 2008:   Today is my birthday! So I've been even more self-reflective than usual and lately through my yoga practice I've had some really deep break thrus resulting in sweet insights.  I have been thinking about what I wish for.  When I was a little girl I don't remember really wishing for stuff.  I just knew I brought my family great happiness and I think I thought that was plenty.  Now in college, during some especially boy crazy years, my wishes all had to do with being liked by a particular boy & living happily ever after. But as an adult my wishes have evolved into a daily practice, not just saved for one time a year.  Now when I wake up each morning I say to myself "I choose peace" and I use this as a gateway to aligning with my heart's innermost intentions (a fancy way of saying wishes). 

So I look back not year to year as much as I do now day to day asking myself "Am I living my best life? And as a result are my thoughts and actions helping bring peace into the world?" I totally see how I contribute to making my wishes come true.  Gandhi says it like this, "Be the change you wish to see"

So really what do I WISH for?  My wish for my birthday (and every day) is I wish for PEACE for all people everywhere and I wish for truth.  The best present I can ever hope to receive is your personal donation to helping my wish for peace come true.  It costs no money to selflessly serve humanity...this is known as Seva. Please join me towards collective healing & peace for ALL! Peace in all ways - all days, Silvia