First Class Free

April 11, 2011. Change is happening all around us.  And it’s easy to convince ourselves to go faster and do more, collect more in order to feel like we can control the changes happening.  But at the end of the day, end of class, end of our life: the person with the most poses doesn’t win anything more than anyone else.  The same can be said of life. If we insist on speeding up and collecting more work hours like we collect poses or we focus on doing more and faster we won’t get anything in particular for our super human efforts.  We need not push or shove or pull at change but learn how to get along with it keeping our hand on the tiller so to speak but without it letting it speed us up into hysteria or confusion.

Slowing down in sanskrit is SHANI. 

And science tells us straight out that our brains function at a faster frequency than our bodies. It’s like being in the same car with two radio stations dialed.  The noise of listening to two different types of music simultaneously can give anyone a headache. This is what is made more obvious the more stressed out we are.  Our minds get faster and faster, our bodies more tired and slow.

Yoga is that practice of bringing things into balance and tuning our dials.  Chapter 2.46 in the yoga sutras talks about this as sthira and sukha this balance between effort and letting go, doing and being, stability and freedom, steadiness and sweetness.  If the mind is spinning wildly then we come to the mat to slow it down, shani dude.  And if the body needs to energize we learn to move through poses.  Yoga dials us into the same radio station and the breath is that link to slow down the mind and encourage the body away from inertia.  Mindful moving helps us leave in a sweet state of SHANI. 

Today we used balancing poses to help us focus the mind more quickly and get our bodies going straight from the start.  And by the end you could feel the effect of the practice.  Savasana was sweeter than ever. Ah yes! Mind and Heart and Body as one again.  Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia

 

TODAY’S PLAYLIST

Chandra (The Moon), Michael Mandrell and Benjy Wertheimer

Child's Eyes (Jenny's Song), scott Cossu

The Hill, Markéta Irglová

Big Medicine, Mari Boine

Lumière [MAIN], Blue Scholars

Nungabunda, Ganga Giri

Grid Lok'd, Govindas

Diarabi, Issa Bagayogo

Pitchblack Darkness (feat. Reazun, Paradox), Kyteman

One Moment More, Mindy Smith

Wonderwall, Ryan Adams

Wash Away, Joe Purdy

Samba Sadashiva, Donna De Lory

 

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! 

February 18, 2011.  The choice to be FREE requires an enormous amount of inner strength.  It asks that we be courageous and believe in our own right to be free.  Yoga Sutras Chapter 2.26 talks about how if we believe we are limited, you will be limited; if you believe you are free, you are FREE.  In yogic terms Freedom is known as Jivamukti.  For whatever reason or reasons you feel trapped in your life know you have a choice to free your mind and heart.  It is always there.

Yoga teaches us that we are sovereign over the democracy of ourselves.  Living in a democracy we all can appreciate a thing or two about Freedom.  So ask yourself what kind of freedoms do you encourage in your life?  Are you afraid to stand up for your rights?  Do you promote shared responsibility amongst the constituents of your limbs, breath, mind and heart?  Do you keep yourself shackled to workaholism or do you imprison yourself with worry or self-doubt or critical self-dialogue, do you allow someone outside yourself to run your life?

In my personal work the greatest prisons I've experienced have been those of my own making.  It has been through the yogic practice that I started to place more daily importance on liberation. With time I embraced how crucial it is to find peace and happiness from the inside.  As we study ourselves the yoga helps us explore through movement a freedom in our bodies and a kind of flowing meditation where we can find peace and tranquility in our minds.   

So right now, sit in a way that elongates your spine and let’s your breath travel more freely.  As you free your breath you liberate your mind.  As the mind opens the heart opens.  You being to realize that you can choose to draw upon your own fortitude to free your heart from pain, to free your body from long held tension and to free yourself of unhealthy mindless habits (samskaras).  It is going to look different for everyone.  And it is a constant practice to remind ourselves that we alone are the most responsible in keeping the peace and joy within the democracy of self.  "You see the wider practice of yoga is not about arranging our life so that it is perfect and easy and non-challenging. Rather it is about using the discipline we find in asana practice to be able to remain “easy” in the midst of difficulty. That is the true measure of freedom. When we learn this then everything we do and everything we say becomes an “asana”, a position of body, mind and soul which requires the attention that brings us into the present."  I know what it’s like to feel imprisoned. I also can tell you I know what is it like to break free.  It’s not easy but I believe all of us can do it. So here I leave you with a final poem to inspire you to free yourself, love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia

"May you listen to your longing to be free.
May the frames of your belonging be large enough for the dreams of your soul.
May you arise each day with a voice of blessing whispering in your heart
...something good is going to happen to you.
May you find harmony between your soul and your life.
May the mansion of your soul never become a haunted place.
May you know the eternal longing that lies at the heart of time.
May there be kindness in your gaze when you look within.
May you never place walls between the light and yourself.
May you be set free from the prisons of guilt, fear, disappointment and despair.
May you allow the wild beauty of the invisible world to gather you, 
mind you, and embrace you in belonging."    
-  John O'Donahoe

TODAY'S PLAYLIST:

Flow, Sade

Outta Control, 50 Cent

Xoxoxo, The Black Eyed Peas

Au Pays De Gandhi, MC Solaar

Groovejet (If This Ain't Love), Spiller

15 to 20 (Den Haan Remix), The Phenomenal Handclap Band

Black Horse and the Cherry Tree, KT Tunstall

Every Breath You Take, The Police

Lumière [MAIN], Blue Scholars

Revelation Dub, Kabanjak

Twin Blue, Millions & Millions

Shavasana/Deep Relaxation, Shiva Rea

February 16, 2011.  We have a CHOICE: As you think so shall you be.  What we tell ourselves is reflected back to us by the world.  How we see ourselves in term of the quality of our thoughts and healthy choices determines how others see us and how the world responds.  We actually are a sum of our choices. Eleanor Roosevelt said, "In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves.  The process never ends until we die.  And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility."  Or in the song BIG BANK HANK by the Blue Scholars "Whatchya gonna do today?"

The yogic teachings on the mat remind us that within every moment we are faced with making loving choices in how we breath, how we stand, how we act (or react) to a new pose or sequence or teacher. We can walk in the path of darkness or choose the path of LIGHT. We can choose negative thoughts or positive thoughts. We can choose Fear or LOVE. And if we can practice CHOOSING LOVE in every pose then we'll stay with it off the mat. This is the yoga of knowing your heart well enough to choose wisely and from love.  And the fact is that all in all we don't have that long in this earthly body to choose the happiest life ever or as Robert Braul puts it, "Life is short, God's way of encouraging a bit of focus."

And every time I step on the mat I am reminded of this gift of asking myself "whatchya gonna do today", what am I choosing.  I hold to the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson "Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year." And how do I translate this yoga into the yoga of life? I have been driving what is commonly referred to in Seattle as "the Mercer Weave" and moving across 3-4 lanes of traffic in 2 minutes to get to my exit into the city has been a practice of either choosing loving, positive thoughts (that on-coming traffic will let me cross over) or of expecting the worst and seeing those other cars as out to get me.  The more I consciously choose loving thoughts the better and smoother it goes.  But that's only one small example. We have opportunities every day and in every moment to choose love and happiness.  

The point being that we allow ourselves to keep making our own choices. Sadie Nardini wrote in her book Road Trip Guide to the Soul "Our biggest mistake as humans is to look at our destructive, habitual patterns and think we cannot choose again, because we have fallen prey to the illusion that what we have chosen repeatedly is how we are stuck with being.  You ALWAYS have the POWER - and the RIGHT - to CHOOSE again."  This is why today after some Sun Salutation A (the gold standard) we moved into variations of poses to feel that we can always keep experiencing other choices.  

You might wonder what suggestions I might have for choosing love?  Good news is that the Yoga Sutras tell us.  They actually give us the 4 keys to happiness - how to choose love.  The way to live with an open happy heart is nurture these attitudes in choosing "whatchya going to do today?":

1. Kindness and friendliness to those who are happy
2. Compassion for those that are suffering or less fortunate
3. Respect for those that who embody noble qualities and inspire us
4. Equanimity for those whose actions oppose our values

At first these attitudes that enable us to choose love in all circumstances seem easy.  But applying these in day-to-day life is more challenging than we think.  But all we can do is take responsibility for co-creating our life saying to ourselves "I choose to be happy. I choose love” and let the rest unfold.  Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia

 

 PLAYLIST FEBRUARY 16, 2011

Gobinday Mukunday, Spirit Voyage Artists

Cafe Noir, Akmusique

Song for You, Alexi Murdoch

It Iz What It Iz            , M.I.A.

New People {Empire Remix}, Blue Scholars

Hate It Or Love It (Remix), 50 Cent & G Unit

It Takes a Muscle, M.I.A.

The Fire, The Roots Feat. John Legend

BIG BANK HANK, Blue Scholars

Xoxoxo, The Black Eyed Peas

Waka Waka (Time For Africa), Shakira/Freshlyground

I Know What I Know, Paul Simon

Walk Like an Egyptian, Buckley

Don't Rock My Boat, Bob Marley

Redemption Song, Richard Bona and Michael Brecker

Ganapati, Girish

Don't Give Up, Peter Gabriel/Kate Bush

I Shall Be Released, Buckley

Guru Mari, Shri Anandi Ma

 

DAY  6 BLOGGING 21 IN 2011 ABOUT LOVE.

Living, Loving & (most importantly) Laughing

By Julia Jonson Cohn

1/16/11

Our recent weekend of studies delved into The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, which are the ancient texts that are more about life philosophy than physical poses. Deep stuff, right? Yes, for sure…  yet, we students spent the better part of the weekend laughing.

One of my many takes on why yoga = happiness is this: Yoga makes me feel great in my physical body, loved and accepted by the people who teach me and practice with me. Add learning life lessons that are “in your face,” but that totally make sense and you have solved another happiness equation. It is a major shift in perception that makes me feel good and able to laugh at some of the silliness in life. Our teacher, Silvia, compared the racing thoughts in our head to a washing machine. How funny, but how true! The washing machine spins and agitates, much like the human mind, until we find stillness and see the quiet inside that already exists.

Fellow student Rachelle Green (btw, one of the oldest souls I’ve ever met and she just graduated from high school) puts it like this: “Yoga has changed my outlook on so many simple things (accepting things the way they are, being happy and grateful for whatever comes my way). If I heard someone say that a few years ago I'd want to punch them in the face, but over the last year I've grown so much as a person and am truly happy. Yoga helps you create the ease that you've always desired in your life.”

By day three we were giddy. Fellow classmate Ric Saquil observed that we were much like old friends at a high school class reunion… and we were.

Laughing is not just fun, it’s important. You have to be able to laugh at some of the garbage that life dishes out and turn it into something, well, better than garbage. I think that happiness turns up wherever you let it emerge. After one of the most awesome weekends I’ve had in a long time, the trickle down effect is amazing… since then, it’s been one great day after another (even with the garbage).

Wishing you immense peace and never ending laughter!

p.s. One of my favorite Sutras is I 33, The Four Keys to Happiness

 

NOVEMBER 11, 2010.   Sit down, DROP IN, TUNE IN, BE PRESENT.  That's it.  This is yoga!  And this yoga can be practiced anytime, without any warm-up, anywhere, with anyone or by yourself.  I know you were probably thinking it would be harder or more complicated?  But nah, Yoga teaches us that when we are not present our minds become totally distracted and our thoughts are all over the place, starting stopping, wandering from one thing to the other at often break neck speed.  If we pay attention we harness the power of our thoughts.  As a human being this is what distinguishes us from other creatures and is our GREATEST STRENGTH.

Forgetting to pay attention happens to the best of us. 

The Yoga Sutras say “enjoyment is the sweetness of noticing your life right now – smell, taste, feeling, sensation”  You see in times of doubt 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.” This is why the greater point to spiritual practice is simply to drop in, tune in and PAY ATTENTION.  

My teacher Shiva Rea says, "All beings have their yoga. This insight comes from a profound contemplation by Abhinavagupta. [He was] a prolific 12th-century scholar. He has this great axiom about yoga which is “tuning ourselves into our essential vibration.” We are learning how to tune ourselves into being present.  This is why we go a yoga class. We feel out of tune. We start to feel in tune after the practice. I think only human beings distort ourselves to be something that we already are, our essential selves. For instance, a tiger essentially knows its nature; where as human beings have this incredible capacity to forget who we are and then have to search for ourselves."

Or as one of my favorite quotes reads "When you come to the edge and are about to drop off into the unknown, one of two things will happen:  There will be something solide to stand on or You will be taught to fly."  

I know from my own practice that the most powerful thing we can do is just be present to whatever is happening, tune in and trust that ability to focus one's thoughts will be enough to bring the clarity you need for the next moment. And we only live one breath, one moment at a time.  Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia

PS Join me on a Yoga retreat with Alchemy Tours and without distraction really tune in to what you want for your life!

October 23, 2010.  Today painting a picture with the words:

Deliberate 

Self-study 

Practice 

Intention

We all had other places we could be today but we chose to be on the mat. This was a deliberate choice. Just like what we say or eat or do or think is deliberate.  In yoga we make a deliberate choice to show up and take responsibility for our actions where we place our hands, our self-talk and we study ourselves Svadhaya to learn about ourselves.  This may be a huge paradigm shift as most of us go about life studying what everyone is doing to learn about ourselves.  Or we are more interested in what everyone else has to think about us than we are of our own opinion.

The practice of yoga is defined in the yoga sutras is something that is practiced over a long time, repeated without break (consistent) and practiced in earnestness.  A sort of serous studentship.  And behind that practice is the power of intention.  Intention is on purpose.  It is in other words deliberate.  

So you see how this creates a healthy feedback loop and helps to give us the means to end our suffering and come into our true nature which is joy and ever expanding happiness! You have the ingredients in deliberate self-study practiced with intention.  Now all it takes is you.  Love yourself, love your day, love your life, Silvia

OCTOBER 22, 2010.

A quick summary of the highlights about Pushing and Pulling, Dvesa and Raga.  Take to heart the words of Judith Lasater who writes, “in life we are pulled between trying to get what you want and trying to avoid what you don’t want.  Pulling and Pushing away both limit our freedom.”  What is freedom? To me is about learning to BE. The aspiration is towards beingness.

Yoga Sutras Chapter 2, Verse 7

Excessive fondness for pleasant experiences causes longing.  Attachment (Raga) which is PULLING

Yoga Sutras Chapter 2, Verse 8

Excessive avoidance of unpleasant experiences causes disdain.  Aversion (Dvesa) which is PUSHING

 

On and off the mat we can be aware of what we are thinking:

Where are your thoughts PUSH energy.  Push thoughts are things like “I don’t want to hold this pose, I don’t want to try this new or difficult variation”.

Where are your thoughts PULL energy.  And pull thoughts might be things like “I want another Sun Salutation, I should be able to do 35 vinyasas per class no matter what. Bring on side 2, I'll take it on.”

And the way this travels with you into your life is how you treat your family, your friends, you partner.

Every time you push your partner, he or she must pull back, and the pressure is now on them to not only react to your pushing, but to do so with accuracy, without overcompensating for the initial push, in order to come back into balance. Think if you just stopped pushing or pulling at your partner how the beingness would be so much easier.

Peace out, Silvia

Happy Day Friends!

So thankful for all of you who shared your practice with me this morning and can't wait to see you Friday 9:15am Level 1-2 and 6pm Level 1; Saturday 9:15am Basics or Sunday 7:45a Level 1-2 before my flow takes me to Europe and back.  

The meditation in my heart is about why some pull or push in life when the experience of just "being" is so much easier.  And so I went back to the source, before I learned about the yoga sutras, I learned really great rules about not pushing or pulling in Kindergarten.  I share these inspiring words from Robert Fulghum and hope you can join me for loving, easeful practices where we do it together because really "when we go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together."  Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia   (Hey don't forget to friend me on facebook, like me under Alchemy Tours or Alchemy of Yoga)

 

ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN

All I really need to know about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand pile at school.

These are the things I learned:

• Share everything.
• Play fair.
• Don't hit people.
• Put things back where you found them.
• Clean up your own mess.
• Don't take things that aren't yours.
• Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
• Wash your hands before you eat.
• Flush.
• Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
• Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
• Take a nap every afternoon.
• When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.
• Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
• Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup - they all die. So do we.
• And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK.

Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.

Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm. Think what a better world it would be if we all - the whole world - had cookies and milk at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess.

And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out in the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

[Source: "ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN" by Robert Fulghum.  See his web site at http://www.robertfulghum.com/  ]

www.silviamordini.com

www.alchemytours.com and www.alchemyofyoga.com

My Tribe

By Julia Jonson Cohn

10/17/10

I hugged them, said goodbye and actually got misty-eyed at the thought of not seeing them again for ten days. Thing is, I only met them last week! My new tribe, as our leader calls us. My fellow yoga teacher trainees, who I will be learning and growing with for the next several months, made an imprint on my heart.

We are a diverse bunch. Our ages span 50 years. Our occupations range from dog groomer to doctor and the tribe has an array of talents and interests -- we have musicians and runners, one who has a green thumb and another who has studied to be a monk.  Some of us are parents and there are group members who were born in other countries and we all share a love of yoga. Over the course of 4 days we shared what makes us awesome, finessed each other’s poses and literally sat on each other’s lap (while tweaking Utkatasana or chair pose). We laughed a ton and some of us even cried a little, but mostly we grew.

Each training session began with taking a yoga class. Then we’d come back to our classroom, sit in a circle and talk about our practice.  The bulk of early learning for our tribe, as teacher Silvia calls it, came in the form of self-work. Silvia told us she wanted to build us up and she did. 

She taught us that yoga and meditation will help us clear away the chitti vritta, or chatter in the mind.  We were encouraged to feel deeply, live fully and love completely. Our foundation is one of self-love and how you are the lover of yourself as well as the beloved.  Silvia used tons of humor and amazing analogies to drive home the point that the more open and seeking you are the more potential you have to recognize your greatness (because we are already great she told us!).

 I witnessed myself and my tribe transforming -- we went from being a group of acquaintances to trusted comrades sharing a common mission in life… the desire to help humanity through yoga. Author Jane Howard says “Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.”

Ultimately, the most profound lesson I learned in my first four days of training is that I am already perfect and whole and that my path as both a teacher and student will be more joyful and fulfilling if I am kind to myself and others. I think my tribe would agree.

Namaste!

 

OCTOBER 14, 2010.  The breath accepts us unconditionally. It is always all forgiving and accepting.  Think about it, we ignore our breath, treat it with total disregard, prevent it from entering our body by holding our breath out when stressed, we behave casually towards it making little to no commitment.  If we were a lover and the breath was our boyfriend, he'd leave us!  

But not our breath. It lovingly accepts our human imperfection and gives us another chance, and another, and a million and more.  There is a lesson here: when we breath we have another chance to try our best, We are not practicing to be perfect.  We are practicing to make real, to realize the beauty of our humanness.  Yoga philosophy helps us to see that we are perfectly imperfect.  Eventually the more you practice becoming enamored with your breath you allow it to become your best teacher.  And a shift happens.

As the breath accepts you, you start to accept yourself.  Then as you practice this advanced yoga of self-acceptance you become more compassionate and forgiving of others, just as you are towards yourself.  If you love yourself, you know how to love others unconditionally.  And even when other people in your life make mistakes, you appreciate their imperfections and give them a second, third, millionth chance.  

 "You see the wider practice of yoga is not about arranging our life so that it is perfect and easy and non-challenging. Rather it is about using the discipline we find in asana practice (and in the other practices of yoga as well) to be able to remain “easy” in the midst of difficulty. That is the true measure of freedom. When we learn this then everything we do and everything we say becomes an “asana”, a position of body, mind and soul which requires the attention that brings us into the present." And in that present moment there is perfect presence.

Practice breathing on purpose today.  But pranayama is not about belittling the breath or forcing or making it perfect.  The literal translation is below.  And it doesn't say anything about perfect.  It says conscious, deliberate. So we try.

Tasmin sati svasa prasvasaho gati-viccheda pranayama

Pranayama is the conscious, deliberate regulation of the incoming and outgoing flow of breath replacing unconscious patterns of breathing. It is possible only after a reasonable mastery of asana practice.
- Patanjali Yoga Sutra 2.49

Our key breath learning in this practice was about chest breathing.  I have included a quick summary for you below.  The greater take away is how the breath accepts your imperfections, it knows you will forget and will welcome you back to try and in that trying may you be PRESENT.  Love yourself, Love your day, Love your life!  Silvia

 

CHEST BREATHING
This is probably the most common breathing pattern in today's stress-filled society. Also known as paradoxical breathing, it is a natural reflex when we are suddenly startled or frightened. We gasp, pull the abdomen in and breathe high into the chest. The lift of the abdomen and pelvic floor prevents the diaphragm from descending completely as we inhale. Chest breathers restrict breath movement in the abdomen, forcing it higher up into the chest, while shoulders move up and down.

Effect on mind/body
Chest breathers rely on weak upper body muscles. Thereby developing chronic tension in thoracic spine, shoulders and neck. Moreover, this tension is resistant to massage or any other relaxation therapy as it recapitulates the moment the person resumes chest breathing, which is an incredible 22,000 times a day! Since we can't breathe in fully, we can't breathe out fully also. So we resort to breathing more quickly to make up for lack of oxygen. Scarier still is the fact that it sets the stage for an even more serious breathing problem: hyperventilation. Chest breathers normally sit on the edge of their seats and exude anticipation in their entire bearing. They never seem to have enough time to do all the tasks they set out on and often experience a chronic, free-floating state of anxiety. Scientific evidence now points to the connection between chest breathing, heart disease and high blood pressure.

Identify it
Place one hand on your abdomen and the other on your chest. Observe the movement of both. If both your shoulders and chest are rising, you are probably not a chest breather. A chest breather suppresses breath in the lower abdomen, forcing it to move higher up into the body.

How to let go
Relax your shoulders and upper back. Consciously follow normal breathing pattern. Mentally assess yourself without judgement.  Ground yourself in the present.

(If you want to explore deeper learnings join me on retreat, yoga vacation www.silviamordini.com or www.alchemytours.com)

Namaste Yogis, 

Have you ever thought in class or in life, "no I can't do this...this is too hard.. I am too old...my hamstrings are too tight..etc?" I know I have, especially when a yoga teacher makes something look so easy when I find it so hard. But my thoughts can either hinder or help my ability to move forward in my practice. I've realized the worst thing I can do is to not try. Please join me tomorrow when we will dive into ourselves to uncover our own power and potential through some core cultivation. Oh no, I just lost some of you...no this doesn't mean crunches...it means cultivating a connection to our source, enjoying our power all the while with a calm mind and open heart. It is through the trying, the laughing, and the believing in ourselves that our practice deepens in our bodies, minds and hearts. 

In specific, we'll talk about Yoga Sutra 11.33: When presented with disquieting thoughts or feelings, cultivate an opposite, elevated attitude. I think about this sutra often when I find myself experiencing frustration, irritation and anxiety, on and off the mat. No longer can I tell myself that it is the situation at hand that is causing me to feel the way I feel. I now know that it is my reactions to life that are creating my experience. This sutra is telling us to cultivate feelings and actions that fill our hearts to combat the times we feel off. So when we experience frustration, this sutra is suggesting we try to focus on ease. If we are tied up in fear, we can elicit courage. And if we are filled with anger, the answer is always to fill with love. This is not to deny our feelings but to remember that we have the ability to change our attitude. This is what tantra philosophy is all about: EMPOWERMENT!

So whether you feel fantastic and want to celebrate your power or if you need a little action and empowerment to remember your own unlimited potential, please come join me for class tomorrow. Level 1 at 11:00 and Basics at 12:30. Also wonderful David Romanelli is back for a weekend of yoga fun at 4:30 on Saturday, all levels.

Namaste! Mara

www.totalbodyyoga.com 

**Don't forget your October Special:  Refer anyone new to TBY and they can receive 30 days unlimited yoga for $30 and YOU get entered into raffle for 2 months of Unlimited Yoga!

May 10, 2010, Gosh when you think about the biggest obstacle to feeling happy is letting our minds get all dirty with worry, stress, fear (basically all the unhappy thoughts).  If you think of your mind like a load of laundry and yoga is the washing machine we come into the practice to engage our breath which is like the detergent that cleans us on the inside.  Today, how big a load of laundry do you have to do?

Start there.

Then we have a better idea of how much work we have to do in order to Yoga citta vritti nirodhah, to calm the disturbances or dirtiness of our minds.  This is Yoga Sutra chapter 1 verse 2.  If you can engage in mindful movement connected to your breath you slow down and help your mind from being so agitated.  Otherwise, the mind stays in this cycle of obsessive churning and never actually let’s you get clean and easeful in your thoughts. And our thoughts are the predecesors to all our actions as Einstein says.

The biggest obstacle to a happier life is our own busy mind.  Once we access that contented, peaceful state that yoga brings where we no longer struggle in our thoughts then we can actually remember we have the key to our happiness and joy.  Or as Danna Faulds puts it so poetically,

“Within us lie the answers to our deepest questions and the antidote for all our fears.

The divine is not an abstraction – it’s as clear and intimate as a heartbeat or a whisper.

 

No matter how identified we’ve become with mind and body,

we can release the thoughts that blind us to the truth. 

Seek the still point where the words “you” and “I” lose meaning,

where we meet and merge as One.” 

 

May 10, 2010 Nischala Joy Devi puts it like this, “We miss life if we allow others to dictate the direction of our thoughts and feelings.  But when our heart guides the focus of our consciousness, love is ever present in our life.” So whatever the question you are struggling with is in your life the answer yoga teaches us is simple. LOVE IS THE ANSWER. 

If you can accept and embrace that our true nature is joy beyond the ups and downs and complexities of our humanity we are meant to live in love.  In yoga Bhakti means love.  Bhakti is love in ACTION.  Love is active. 

Right now you could be living more in love with your life.  There is no reason to wait for your life to be better when it can be better right now. So why delay? Well what often happens is we start to identify with our grumpy selves or sad or angry or critical selves and even come to believe that it us.  It is not us.  Those are just some fluctuations. To get back to our true nature we have to do something. Love is active.  (Chapter 1 Verse 4)

The Yoga Sutra this is based on is Chapter 1 Verse 3 United in the heart, consciousness is steadied, then we abide in our true nature, joy. The expansion of this joy is infinite LOVE, which encompasses and then transforms everything it touches.  Everywhere we look, we see the reflection of our joyful nature.

Make the practice of Bhakti of actively living in love your experience this week and see what happens, I know what happens…for that’s how I’ve chosen to live every day I have in this earthly body. I don’t want to waste a moment and hope you won’t any longer either. Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia

APRIL 9, 2010:  The fourth agreement is ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST.  Don Miguel Ruiz says, "Under any circumstance, always do your best, no more and no less. But keep in mind that your best is never going to be the same from one moment to the next.  Everything is alive and changing all the time, so your best will sometimes be high quality and other times it will not be as good.  When you wake up refreshed and energized in the morning , your best will be better than when you are tired.  Regardless of the quality keep doing your best."   

That's the part I love the most that our best requires a constant sensitive adjustment.  That it is different moment to moment.  This also correlates to yoga sutra of:  

Sthira Sukum Asanam.  (Effortless effort)  

This fundamental Yoga Sutra of Pantanjali has many interpretations one of which is that the asana/poses should be steady and comfortable. That we find an effortless in life whereby the pose we take (walking, talking, sitting, driving) be so elegant that the body is made more easy and attractive to the flow of prana/breath.  This practice of graceful effort means that some days it might be more difficult and some days it's easy, just like life is filled with joyousness and setbacks.  But the point is to keep going.  Ruiz puts it like this, "If you try too hard to do more than your best, you will spend more energy than is needed and in the end your best will not be enough.  When you overdo, you deplete your body and go against yourself and it will take longer to accomplish your goal. But if you do less than your best, you subject yourself to frustrations, self-judgement, guilt and regret."  

Remember the Story of guy that goes to a Master asks about how long must he meditate to "transcend" or become happier, more enlightened. The most important lesson from this was when Ruiz writes, "You are not here to sacrifice your joy or your life. You are here to live, to be happy and to love. If you can do your best in two hours of meditation, but you spend 8 instead you will grow tired miss the point and won't enjoy your life."  

You see how yogic this is, that we manage our energies all to cultivate our own best happiness right now, right here in the present moment. And as part of this we go easy on ourselves never to a point of exhaustion whereby we might "miss the point" of life.  Some say the highest practice of yoga is this form of radical self-acceptance, "When you do your best you learn to accept yourself. Learning from your mistakes means you practice, look honestly at the results and keep practicing."  

"The best way to say thank you God is be letting go of the past and living in the present moment, right here and now. When you let go of the past you allow yourself to be fully alive in the present moment.  Letting go of the past means you can enjoy the dream that is happening right now." Embrace your life. Let yoga help you learn how to surrender to the happiest life ever!   

"You were born with the right to be happy. You were born with the right to love, to enjoy and to share your love. You are alive, so take your life and enjoy it. We don't need to know or prove anything. Just to be, to take a risk and enjoy your life, is all that matters."   Love to you all. Courage to you all to JUST BE, Silvia  

March 11, 2010:

"Be water my friend" says Bruce Lee http://www.wimp.com/brucelee/  

With all the rain we've had we allowed water and the flow of surrender to inspire our practice today.  When we have the courage to surrender we find our highest potential reveals itself.  Like water cleanses us, and washes away the dirt we wash away through breath and asana the outer labels of limitation. We put aside the self limiting beliefs and go beyond limiting perceptions and old stories.  

Chapter 2 Verse 1 of the Yoga Sutras: Tapas svadhaya isvara pranidanah kriyah yogah.  

The translation of this sutra means: "This letting go focuses us on the process of practice rather than the goals of practice."  

May this practice help you practice how you want to live your life.  If you aspire to live a life of beauty, graceful and courageous then your life becomes that. Like the Bruce Lee clip suggests that water takes the form of the container it is in.  If you want the container of yourself to be beauty you then embody beauty. If you want to live in love then move like love, breath like love, flow like love.  Be like water my friend! Become that which you want and the process of experiencing yourself courageously is the life practice.  Love yourself, your your day, love your life! Silvia

FEBRUARY 15, 2010:  Today's class is dedicated to three of my friends and longtime TBY students Ashley, Jennifer and John all celebrating birthday's today and yesterday!  Our birthday's serve as a positive reminder that we didn't just arrive to today out of the blue.  We had to take many steps in our personal journey's to be where we find ourselves in this moment.   

Other people's birthday's remind us too to take stock of where we have come from, take responsibility for it (gosh that part is hard), stop trying to rewrite the past but simply acknowledge what steps have been walked and then make a conscious choice of the direction we want this next year to go.   

The very first Yoga Sutra Chapter 1, Verse 1 states "Now begins the study of yoga" or put in real person yoga terms..."Once upon a time."  The story begins where we are but for any and all of us the book of our lives has fallen open to the book of our life already in process.  Now it could be chapter 10 or 29 or 39 but wherever it is the story has much more to be written.  That's where the yoga really comes into play.  And I mean play.  If you believe that our true nature (which yoga suggests wholeheartedly) is to be happy the the world is our playground.  Where do you want to see yourself playing your life story out next?  

This philosophy of starting where you are and building from there STEP BY STEP is one definition of Vinyasa Krama as a life philosophy and a sequencing technique.  Take downward dog for instance.  This one pose is an important step in preparing us for a million or more than a million other yoga poses.  For instance, handstand! But don't freak out...this doesn't mean that the same day we learn downward dog we race to learn handstand within 30 minutes.  This is a step by step process and it takes time.  Yoga is not a quick fix.   

So this week please join me Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday where during each of my classes we will take the foundational steps through the embracing and practicing of downward facing dog to prepare us for taking the step of Handstand maybe in this lifetime or in the next one.  This allows us to work at our own pace and my teaching methods and techniques will be customized to class level, time of day, and what everyone's energy feels like too.  So don't stop taking steps because you read handstand and get scared.   

Don't panic.  

Whatever challenge, hurt, difficulty you are facing in your life please use this practice on the mat to come with you to help you take one step at a time in moving your life forward in the most positive way!  Love to you all, Silvia       

 

(And I want to say a special thank you to my brother Fred for his continued grounding and my best friend for their undying support and love. What I learned from you both even just today I offer with an open heart to all my students)  

JANUARY 28, 2010:  Yoga helps us to believe in the impossibility of things.  That nothing is impossible.  This practices helps us to expand beyond our preconceived limitations into limitless possibility.  We do this every time we meet the sensations in our bodies and the associated emotions. So tonight we focused on inversions (the upside down pose family).  We faced our fears going upside down and if we can do that, gosh we can do anything!

“Don’t worry about making a mistake, you definitely will.  Nothing bad will happen to you.”  -Rimpoche

So the pressure is off.  The upside of facing our fears is that there is nothing left to be afraid of.  Once we dissolve the barriers to ourselves our potential is tuned into forever.  This is written about in Chapter 2 of the Yoga Sutras that speaks to how dissolving the 5 Kleshas or veils brings forth the radiance of our most beautiful self.”

1. Avidya – our forgetting, because we are forgetting we start to identify with things ever changing rather than the stillness of our HEART.  We want stuff and then we get it and these are like snowflakes that melt when they hit the ground instead of finding that inside at our center is stillness and peace always
2. Asmita –our self esteem is based on things outside ourselves and other reactions
3. Raga – excessive fondness for fleeting pleasures
4. Dvesa – excessive avoidance of unpleasant experiences causes disdain
5. Abhinivesah – elusive awareness of immortality – instead live in the now.

 

Your task is not to seek for love,
but merely to seek and find
all the barriers within yourself
that you have built against it.

--RUMI

JANUARY 22, 2010:  At those times in my life where things haven’t made much sense whether it be the passing away of my Dad at a young 59 years old, or seeing the beloved grandmother of a friend ill with cancer or the injustice of nature made disasters like in Haiti.  The torture of trying to understand such things with the limitations of our human mind are not the answer.  Consciousness is united in the heart say the Yoga Sutras in the first chapter!  Our minds yoga teacher/poet Danna Faulds says “may never find the answers they seek so save your energy to swim with the tide.”  If we attempt to solve the incomprehensible with our mind we will simply go in circles maybe into madness.  The way to keep flowing, to keep living is to let the mind rest and listen with your heart. 

 

“Go to the truth beyond the mind.

Love is the bridge” (Stephen Levine)

 

The challenge of our humanity is so often we again forget the heart consciousness and go back to trying to make sense of why things happen with our mind. Here for a moment imagine your mind like a lake.  The heart under the surface of the water wants your mind to remain like a quiet lake.  But we allow our minds to get highly disturbed and the waters grow so rough that we lose clarity.  A smooth surface of water can reflect the outer world clearly (like trees or birds or clouds reflected in the mirror like surface of water). However if the surface is chopped up we cannot reflect the sky nor can we see under the surface deeper within ourselves.  The yoga will help you as does all meditation to quiet the water and dive into the heart.  That way you can understand not with your mind but with your heart. Then the heart’s wisdom is viewed as the quiet on the surface of the lake in our mind.

Emotional upheaval just churns up the water. But even in the washing machine at some point the machine stops and the clothes get to rest. So my friends come to yoga class and rest your mind.  Try not to over understand the why of things happening around you nor trouble the mind by over thinking the decisions you are making for yourself.  Instead just listen to your heart.

And remember that all is eternal. We are all but waves…and change is constant.  Love in all ways, Silvia

 

“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.   (Jack Kerouac)

JANUARY 21, 2010:  This is the year and decade we stop analyzing everyone else around us trying to figure out who WE are by what other people do or don't do.  The first chapter, first verse of the Yoga Sutras: “With humility and an open heart and mind we begin the study of Yoga. This study is using the Self to study ourselves first.” 

"The proper study of mankind is man." (Alexander Pope) from my new book News of the Universe (Poems of Twofold Consciousness chosen and introduced by Robert Bly). That's what we do in yoga.  We are when we come to the practice essentially making a commitment to get a PhD in our own Humanness.  Nischala Joy Devi says "As students of life we often need to look at where we have come freom to see where we are going. Our present position has been determined by the past - all those crossroads where we made decisions, each path we've taken that brought us to our life as it is."

Blaming other people for the choices we've made or how we came to be what we are won't help us evolve towards greater happiness. We have to accept accountability and just look inside.  Rumi writes:

"If you're lugging a heavy bag,

don't fail to look inside it

to see whether what is inside is

bitter or sweet.

If it's really worth bringing along,

bring it;

otherwise, empty your sack

and redeem yourself from

fruitless effort.

Only put into your sack

that which is worth bringing."

When you think about it what do you keep lugging around that is weighing your life down?  Unless you start looking inward and stop blaming others for the quality of your life, it won’t change for the better. Maybe in the past you thought “I'm not something enough” to do this important work of self-exploration and self-discovery. BUT NO MORE. Be honest with yourself: you are young enough, old enough, smart enough, rich enough and you have enough time.  If it is really important to you to set positive intentions for yourself you have to slow down enough to look inside.  Take to heart the words of Rumi:  "There is a life-force within your soul, seek that life. There is a gem in the mountain of your body, seek that mine. O traveler, if you are in search of That don't look outside, look inside yourself and seek That.”  Yes, SEEK THAT.  In the new year, a time of setting intentions just remember this – it is near impossible to set an intention for your life until you study yourself and where you’ve come from first.  Otherwise it’s like trying to get a PhD when you haven’t finished First Grade yet.  And in this PhD program, there are no grades, it is simply pass/fail.  And this subject (YOU) is not one you want to fail at.  Life is too short to fail at being you.  So starting today get real, look at your life, study yourself as you really are and ignite the beauty of who you are yet meant to be! Love in all ways, Silvia

 

JANUARY 13TH, 2010:  Yoga is about wholeness, healthy & vital living in the body, mind, & spirit.

The foundation for this is based on fundamental yogic philosophy written in the Yoga Sutras Chapter 1.30 to Chapter 1.33.  The sutras speak about the potential imbalances we may encounter on the physical, mental and emotional levels.  They obscure the knowledge of our true nature, which is happiness.  Offered are various ways to prevent these imbalances as well as ways to regain balance if lost.  They show why the peaceful path is often like walking on the razors edge. The most practical advice teaches how to “informally” integrate these suggestions into everyday life in addition to the “formal” practices of doing yoga poses, breathing techniques and meditation. 

The Yogic model proposes that the four keys to an open heart and calm mind are to nurture these attitudes:

1. Kindness and friendliness to those who are happy
2. Compassion for those that are suffering or less fortunate
3. Respect and honor for those that who embody noble qualities
4. Equanimity for those whose actions oppose our values

At first these four keys to help enable us to retain our inner peace in all circumstances seem easy.  But applying these in day to day life is more challenging than we think. We often fool ourselves into believing we are kinder than we really are and can use this practice to really see where our actions are not aligned with what we believe ourselves to be.  Most of all this teaches us that we are responsible for co-creating our life. We have the four keys to our happiness.  Love in all ways, Silvia

 

JANUARY 8^TH, 2010:  I was feeling bad for resistance.  I think it usually gets a really bad reputation when maybe we aren’t giving it enough credit. In chapter two of the Yoga Sutras there is all this talk of working towards balance and harmony in our lives.  One example for instance of using the breath is that it has the same “effect as combing our energy” on the inside just like we have to comb our hair on the outside when we wake up. Nischala Joy Devi says “with rhythmical breathing we align and comb our energy, it becomes smoother, calmer, and more focused.”

So it occurs to me in order to brush my hair I have to use some muscular energy in holding the brush and sometimes really work hard to get all the knots out and retame my long hair in the same direction.  The use of the brush is an example of positive resistance.  The chaos of the hair needs to be focused otherwise it is all over the place.  We use the poses and the breath in the same way on the mat.  They teach us there are consequences. Rolf Gates when visiting TBY last year said something like "if we avoid our consequences we won’t wake up and we wouldn’t love as well.”  In life even difficult people serve as a form of positive resistance to help us align our energies in a more focused way towards love and peace.

Another great example comes from nature. You’ve heard or seen stuff about Biodomes right? (And not the movie with Pauly Shore). Well tree’s inside the biodome won’t stay upright without any wind.  They NEED the wind to be held accountable.  In a really great harmonious ecosystem there are consequences.  Some negative resistance might serve as warnings while positive resistance serve as examples.  This is like listening to someone who has a teaching story to tell about how they went wrong, we learn from this and better appreciate why it’s important to comb our energies in a loving way in order to avoid those same consequences. 

I especially can relate to this story from The Secret Power Of Yoga. I hope you get as much out of it as I always do!  Love and peace, Silvia

“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. If you now take the two magnets and stroke them so the repelling poles are facing each other, the strength of each will diminish.  The power to attract and hold is gone.  We can see the benefit of being with those that support us rather than neutralize our power (satsang). 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.”

 

NOVEMBER 25, 2009: On this day before Thanksgiving we are focused on Receiving. That may sound strange as tomorrow is a day about giving but let me offer this from William Holden, PhD who says in the book Be Happy, “RECEIVING is a prelude to giving. Receiving and giving are two sides of the same coin. In other words, your capacity to receive is what determines your capacity to give. If you are not good at receiving, you will not give yourself fully to a relationship or to a job, because you will be afraid that giving will deplete you. The only way to keep giving and not receive is to be in sacrifice. And that can only last so long before you feel like you have nothing left to give. Also in truth no one can give what he or she has not received.”

So today what can you do to receive more?

On the mat you can practice by saying to yourself “How does this pose help me? What gifts does it have, am I receiving them with an open heart?” Allow each pose to be your teacher and before you know it you will find that you grow better at receiving. And with time we all learn to just feel grateful for this immersion into receiving and giving. That the universe is working on our behalf to offer us love and help inside every moment. And as my healer Laurie at Holessence says, “If you don’t take time for wellness now, you’ll have to make time for illness later.” So today begin with yourself as sutra 2.35 encourages us to embrace love for all, starting with ourselves. And as we learn how to receive we then fully realize what it is to Give. Big love to you all, Silvia

NOVEMBER 9, 2009:  I wake up each day and begin with a gratitude meditation.  The meditation follows my breath and goes like this: 

Inhale: I welcome happiness,

Exhale: I am so grateful

 

Inhale:  I welcome inspiration

Exhale:  I am so grateful

 

Inhale:  I welcome love

Exhale:  I am so grateful

 

Inhale: I welcome clarity

Exhale:  I am so grateful

 

"Feeling grateful or appreciative of someone or something in your life actually attracts more of the things that you appreciate and value into your life." Says Christiane Northrup.  So begin now, ask yourself as you breath what you are grateful for and if you experience any struggle with this then hold close these words of the Buddha:

Let us rise up and be thankful,
for if we didn't learn a lot today,
at least we learned a little,
and if we didn't learn a little,
at least we didn't get sick,
and if we got sick,
at least we didn't die;
so, let us be thankful.

You see gratitude changes our attitude and helps us to stop feeling victimized by life.  This is Yoga Sutras Chapter 2.33 “When presented with negative thoughts or feelings cultivate an opposite, elevated attitude. This is Pratipaksha Bhavana.” If feeling down, hopeless, worried, doubtful then to bring the glow of positivity back all you have to do is practice gratitude.  And watch for those habits that detract from a gratitude habit such as:

·         Reverse any tendency you have to make comparisons.

·         Quit talking about what you don't have compared to what you have;

·         Stop complaining about how you are doing career-wise, relationship-wise, or any other-wise.

·         Instead, concentrate on finding whatever is good in every situation, saying to yourself from morning to night “I am grateful for…”

 

And I promise you will discover a life filled with gratitude wakes up and nurtures your soul and brings quiet happiness to even the most challenging days.  And know I am grateful to each of you deeply and truly.  Love, Silvia

 

 

From the Book A Year to Live by Stephen Levine – Essential Gratitude Meditation

“How very fortunate we are to have this moment in this body.   Even with the difficulties, even with the confusion, how blessed we are to be here. Grateful for the kindness of loved ones. Grateful for the moments of joy. Grateful for the clarity that arises even during pain.  Grateful for the blessings, great and small. Grateful that our pain is no greater than it is.  Grateful for our inheritance of happiness, that joy is our birthright.  Grateful for the sense of presence. Gratitude for simply being. Gratitude for the process.”

 

OCTOBER 31, 2009:  So last Friday night for a Halloween Birthday Party for a friend I made butternut squash soup for the first time.  Amazing recipe given to me by a dear student.  Now this was quite something for me to attempt to cook something new, but knowing that someone else had made it before and was encouraging me to try for myself helped immensely.  Yup, that sounds pretty much like yoga.  You may not know the poses but rest assured that your instructor has years of experience in the poses and wants to help support you as you try for yourself.  And yes it can be a bit scary.  But we learn from this practice that we don’t have to do it perfectly the first time and the whole reason for coming together to practice in a group is to have the group encouragement along with that of your teacher.  Like family and friends that serve as the container of our greater life experience the kula embraces us.  And we always know we are safe within the container of this sacred space of the practice room. 

 

In this safety we can realize that as sutra 1.30 says “The Perception of our true nature which is peaceful joy is often obscured by physical, mental, and emotional imbalances. 1.31 These imbalances can promote restlessness, uneven breathing, worry and loss of hope. 1.32 These imbalances can be prevented from taking over our lives by consistently practicing yoga.” 

 

Knowing I have a place to go when I need to replenish and address these imbalances has saved my life many, many times over.  I could come into the practice room, into the group energy and be contained within myself so I could process whatever was going on in my life.  I could let it cook and as a result feel more healthy upon leaving class.  Speaking of containers I had to go out and buy my first crock pot at the Target on Friday (what an amazing selection!) because I realized once I made the soup I would need something safe to carry it in to the party.  The container served to hold what I had personally created (along with help from my friend Janet dressed as Pee Wee Herman at the time) and as she drove us to the birthday gathering she made sure we were safe in her car until we arrived into the warm embrace of gentle friends.  The whole thing was about containers.

 

We serve ourselves as that container of peace and love within and we connect to others in groups, tribes, families contained in that same way.  So from my heart to yours know when you come to class you are safe, you are cared for and you can take time to feel all that is good within you.  I hope you enjoy this recipe as much I did and just like doing a yoga pose, I will be making this soup for years and years to come.  Love and light! Silvia

 

 

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup From Don P.

 

This recipe makes about 3 1/2 quarts which is about 18  6 oz portions so feel free to cut this recipe in half.  It freezes well however so you can save it for a super quick lunch or dinner.   I freeze this in 2 or 4 serving size containers let it cool before you freeze it.

 

2 Tblsp  unsalted butter

2 Tblsp good Quality Olive Oil

4 cups yellow onion med dice

1 tblsp Curry Powder ( The curry is an interesting flavor combo that adds depth but you could substitute a 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon and nutmeg if you dont like curry)

5 lbs butternut squash

1 1/2 lbs McIintosh Apples

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 cups water

2 cups apple juice or cider.

 

Heat the butter and oil in a large stock pot over med heat,  add the curry and the onion to the pot and cook for 15 min stir the misture a few times and scrape the bottom of the pot.  Peel the squash cut in half and remove the seeds with a spoon or the handle of your peeler and  cut into 1 inch chunks. Peel quarter and core the apples and cut into 1 inch chunks as well.

 

OCTOBER 24, 2009:  “Awaken to the mystery of being here and enter the quiet immensity of your own presence.” (John O’Donohue)  What an amazing practice and I thank each of you from 9:15am for your honest beautiful sharing related to how you see the world and what you are grateful for right now.  I mentioned how in talking to a friend I had said to them “gosh I am so lucky, then they responded that they felt lucky too. And together we then created this feeling of gratitude for each others friendship.  Our perspective was that we were fortunate to know each other in this moment and by recognizing and seeing the other we were both totally present.

 

This yogic practice discussed in Chapter 2:26 “The means of attaining cessation is the unceasing vision of discernment” challenges each of us to SEE what is HERE right now in front of us and INSIDE us.  However, we often go so fast speeding up life or making unimportant things important that we can’t hear the secrets of our own hearts from the inside and as a result are blind the blessings in front of us. 

 

We can even have a perspective of majoring in minor stuff!

 

When we do this it means we are clinging to a singular view and we end up limiting ourselves from seeing what is before us.  Judith Lasater in her book Living Your Yoga says it like this “Enlightenment in fact is nothing more and nothing less than a radical change in perspective.  Life will continually challenge us. If we pay attention those challenges can broaden our perspective.”  So this means that if our perspective is one where there is only one “right answer” or one singular outcome and then this doesn’t happen we feel like a failure.  The reality is that none of us can control the outcome of any situation and whatever happens happens and if its hard well then use that challenge to broaden your perspective.

 

On the mat that’s why we move and breath and then we pause to step back and reevaluate.  As much as I love being in the water, swimming around we all have to come up for air.  Funny thing is that when you are the bottom of a pool looking up through the water it is a totally different perspective than when you are floating on top of the water looking up at the heavens.  So your life is as it is, how you feel about your life is up to you, no matter what life is serving you for dinner tonight.

 

“May all that is unlived in you blossom into a future graced with love!”  Own your perspective live in love, Silvia

 

OCTOBER 3, 2009:  In my role as a Love Anthropologist it’s been my experience that the most loving people. You know those folks that sparkle and are excited about life, loving towards everyone they meet, fun to be with…well what makes them unique is that they are PRESENT.

 

Good news is we can all cultivate this ability and yoga helps us do so.  This is supported in the yoga sutras Chapter 1 verse 23 “Boundless love unite us with consciousness.” 

 

This means be present, awake (conscious) turns us on to being more loving. And that love is infinite. We don’t have to pick and choose or dole it out conservatively. We can literally love everybody.  When we are present we see people, I mean we really see them through the eyes of compassion.  As the Dalai Lama says, “through compassion you find that all human beings are just like you.”  So start today.  Get to the mat and practice being more present and then just see for yourself, using your own life as self-study that in order to love more, we need to be more present.

 

As I’ve spent my whole life studying what brings others together in loving ways, I use this practice to explore myself and as I am present and accepting of who I am I naturally evolve into a more loving human being.  Please join me so we can transform ourselves, transform the world. Love everybody, serve everybody! (words of Neem Karoli Baba)  Love in all ways, Silvia

 

SEPTEMBER 28, 2009:  I am inspired by this beautiful poem called The Awakening.  It fits in perfectly with our dedication this week to the importance of dreaming and envisioning our lives as we really want them. All we have to do is stay the course with this amazing practice of yoga so we can see through the Kleshas or veils that build up and stop us from dreaming as big or bold as we did when we were in love with life with less complications. It can be that way again.  May this time on the mat help you “remember everything!”  Love and light, Silvia

 

 

The Awakening

"In the early dawn of happiness

You gave me three kisses

So that I would wake up

To this moment of love

 

I tried to remember in my heart

What I'd dreamt about

During the night

Before I became aware

Of this moving

Of life

 

I found my dreams

I saw how my heart had fallen

On your path

Singing a song

 

Between my love and my heart

Things were happening which

slowly slowly

Made me recall everything"

 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2009:   It has been my personal experience that when we grow up under the paradigm that we are "born imperfect, flawed" then we create this mistaken belief that we must earn happiness.  That we have to do, achieve, complete something (everything) before we can BE happy.  The doing of stuff comes before the being happy. We can convince ourselves this just means we have a strong work ethic or we are really helpful to our friends. But it doesn't matter because happiness becomes a by product of our effort.  It is essentially saying that we don't deserve happiness unless we can prove we are worthy of it.

This makes happiness unnatural, and certainly not democratic (only for the elite that can work themselves to death).  It is really saying that we have to EARN happiness just like a PAYCHECK.  No pain no gain mentality.  The biggest application is that we have to postpone being happy until we've put in 60+ years or working and can retire...then we finally have proven our value and can get the reward of happiness. 

HAPPINESS IS NOT A PAYCHECK. 

Once the reality of this sinks in, your life is transformed forever!  May you be happy as you want to be, as happy as you are!  Love and light, Silvia

 

SEPTEMBER 15, 2009: 

SEPTEMBER 14, 2009:   Today I realized as I was driving home after yoga class and my mind was freed up that I uncovered another Samskara.  Part of me said UGH! Not this again. And yet the other part of me after I stopped crying was like ok let me care for this and before I fall into the proverbial hole in the sidewalk (that I've been in before!) let's see what I can change.  But let me say seeing it doesn't make it easier to change especially as it relates to love it just makes you more responsible for yourself. And yup sometimes that's harder.

 

As is written in the Secret Power of Yoga my favorite translation of the Yoga Sutras, "our thoughts and feelings form these clusters of habitual patterns, tendencies and potentialities called Samskaras. These Samskaras accrue by the constant churning of our thoughts and emotions.  Whenever any thought or feeling is encountered it is easily fed into one of these patterns.  Then our habits and patterns become set.  The pattern of HABIT or samskara is difficult to change, as our consciousness is often unable to reconfigure the obvious."

 

You see our thoughts (all 60,000 per day) are trained by habit to flow in predictable patterns.  We are tuned out to most of these habits, especially the Unhealthy ones.  The practice of yoga inspires us to recognize who we really are, our true selves and we begin to see our "MINDLESS HABITS" (Samskaras).  We then begin making more conscious choices.  It is like we wake up.  Chapter 1.50 When experiencing the absolute true knowledge all previous Samskaras are left behind and new ones are prevented from sprouting. 

 

In the yogic model, two reasons exist for remaining stuck in negative emotions or unhealthy actions:

• The first is samskaras, or karmic knots, that develop over time.
• The second is a lack of prana, or vital life force, oxygen in our bodies. 

How yoga can help:

• Releases emotions/stress locked in the body.
• Brings in more oxygen/prana or life-force. (For instance we learn when we hold our breath)
• Balances the brain.
• Calms the mind and develops the “witness” - we see our thought pattern or physical habit.
• Helps us reconnect, become more awake or conscious. 
• According to Stephen Cope, MSW, LICSW, a psychotherapist and author of Yoga and the Quest for the True Self (Bantam, 1999), hatha yoga's postures improve mood by moving energy through places in the body where feelings of grief, stress, worry or anger are stored. "Hatha yoga is an accessible form of learning self-soothing," he says. "These blocked feelings can be released very quickly, [creating a] regular, systemic experience of well-being." 

So today let's dedicate the metta meditation to where we are personally stuck in an less than healthy samskaras (patterns) and let's offer this practice to someone in our life that is living in the darkness, someone who doesn't see they are repeating the same negative cycle over and over again.  As I said to a friend yesterday, it is like being in a dark room and you have to first want to find the light switch, the thing is the light switch is always there on the wall (it doesn't move around) and it may take some crawling around to find it but all you have to do is flip the switch and all in your life will be illuminated! Sending you all courage to change your life for the better!! Love, Silvia

 

METTA (LOVINGKINDNESS) MEDITATION

May I be happy, may I be healthy, may I be peaceful and free

May you be happy, may you be healthy, may you be peaceful and free

May we all be happy, may we be healthy, may we be peaceul and free

 

SEPTEMBER 12, 2009:   What is anxiety?  Doctors say it is sadness or fear.  So how do you disappear it? 

 

Well through my practice what anxiety feels like to me is going to pieces.  The remedy has been reconnecting to my center so that I can again find Peace. Peace is bringing the pieces back together.  Now for a long time I looked outside myself for the answer to anxiety. After I was attacked over 15 years ago I suffered from anxiety attacks, panic attacks and I was afraid of everything. I felt like I was going to pieces. I lost my center and this is no way to live.

 

I would have paid any amount of money, done anything, gone anywhere to find a relief. But through yoga this last 15 years I discovered no one can relieve anxiety for us.  Peace is the opposite of anxiety. And we ourselves have peace within us at all times.  This seems almost impossible to believe at first because the last thing you want to do is sit with yourself when anxious. 

 

In yoga we can go into the quiet of our own stillness and healing, facing the fear of anxiety. Or it will overtake us.  Anxiety is only the surface of the mind, we must go deeper through our tissues, into our heart and we DISAPPEAR IT FROM THE INSIDE OUT.  We can vanish it like light being shed in a dark room.  In yogic terms Asmita are the outer layers that we remove to reveal the inner wisdom from our heart. 

 

Anxiety is of the head

Peace is of the heart

 

There is no greater expression of happiness than peace.

 

I am here to say that if I can do this you can too.  Your life is a work of art waiting to reveal itself!  “In yoga we are both the masterpiece and the artist painstakingly working to uncover the hidden work of art that is within all of us.” (Secret Power of Yoga book)  If you are experiencing anxiety in your life please give this practice a chance to help you look within to pull back to your center.  May you peaceful, may all beings everywhere be peaceful and FREE!  Love you, Silvia

SEPTEMBER 11, 2009:   This week is devoted to core cultivation. For me the main reason to better understand why yoga is so core centric is that it promotes grace, coordination and balance.  We all need these things both energetically and physically and I don’t know which is more challenging: maintaining life balance or physical balance; keeping our energy graceful so that we don’t fall apart from tiredness or spin out of control in hyper speed mode. 

 

Hatha yoga increases energy by aligning our phsycial and subtle energy bodies, through physical poses (asana) and enhancing our life force through breath practices (pranayama) and encouraging our sense inward through deep relaxation. (Pratyahara).  The word Hatha means Ha (sun, solar qualities, doing) and Tha (moon, lunar qualities, being).  We need both and they come together in our center.

 

Chapter 2.46 in the yoga sutras talks about sthira and sukha this balance between effort and letting go, doing and being, stability and freedom, steadiness and sweetness.  To find our center we need to move otherwise we remain distracted when it comes time to rest.  As a result we use rhythmic breathing coordinated with movement to help release blockages and allow our life energy to flow.

 

If you take one thing away from this practice it is to breath into and from your center on purpose.  Holding the breath gives our nervous system a distress signal. Allowing our breath to flow evenly makes us more relaxed.  Yoga teaches that our mental state effects our breathing but breathing can impact our mental state.  So today practice Alternate Nostril Breathing like we’ve been doing in class to promote a return to your center to live in grace with improved coordination and life balance.  Love the day! Silvia

 

SEPTEMBER 10, 2009:   The choice to be FREE requires an enormous amount of inner strength.  It asks that we be courageous and believe in our own right to be free.  Chapter 2.26 talks about how if we believe we are limited, you will be limited; if you believe you are free, you are FREE.  Henric Frederic Ameil says “the one who has no inner life is the slave of his/her surroundings.” 

 

Yoga teaches us that we are sovereign over the democracy of ourselves.  We are the kings and queens of the kingdom of our lives.  So ask yourself what kind of leader do you want to be seen as?  Are you afraid to stand up for your rights?  Do you promote shared responsibility amongst the constituents of your limbs, breath, mind and heart?  Do you keep yourself shackled to workaholism or do you imprison yourself with worry or self-doubt or critical self-dialogue, do you allow someone outside yourself (your kingdom of self) run your life and keep you in prison?

 

So right now, sit in a way that elongates your spine and let’s your breath travel more freely.  As you free your breath you liberate your mind.  As the mind opens the heart opens.  You being to realize that you can choose to draw upon your own fortitude to free your heart from pain, to free your body from long held tension and to free yourself of unhealthy mindless habits (samskaras).  It is going to look different for everyone.  Freedom doesn’t appear to take the same priority.  It is a constant practice to remind ourselves that we alone are the most responsible in keeping the peace and joy within the democracy of self.  This territory you care for is most vitally important to you. 

 

In the end I hope that as we make liberation important we find from the inside the peace and content with ourselves where we discover joy (Santosha) has always been our natural state (sutra 2.42).  It was waiting for us to break free of our chains, our shackles and the prisons of our own making or imposed upon us by others.

 

I know what it’s like to feel imprisoned. I also can tell you I know what is it like to break free.  It’s not easy but I believe all of us can do it.  And if you want more of my story just call or email or sit and chat after class. I’d be happy to share more.  In the meantime here is a final favorite story to take to heart, to free your heart, to live in love!  Silvia

 

A final story I want to share with you from the Secret Power of Yoga “In ancient Egypt after death, the heart was removed from the body to be measured against the weight of a feather.  If the heart was found to be heavier than the feather’s weight, the person was considered not ready for admission for heaven.  The scale, was thought to reveal the degree of emotional heaviness held in the heart.  The LIGHTHEARTED were presumably permitted entry through a special ritual as their physical heart was given a place of honor in the burial plot.”

 

 

SEPTEMBER 9, 2009:   We started class by making ourselves more awake to our breath for a few minutes.  Just this alone can in the words of the sutras help us “to feel our wholehearted dedication to the light within us.”  Breathing on purpose requires action.  Kriya Yoga is known as the YOGA OF ACTION.  By sprinkling life with dedicated action each and every moment we can transform the moments of full hearted joy into minutes, into hours, into days, into weeks, into months, into years, into a lifetime! Tapas is that inner strength and determination that helps us show up to take the action.  And doing the poses and breathing helps us to be ourselves. 

But sometimes the question arises how long do I need to practice to see a transformation, to feel different.  Well, this commitment or devotion to practice known as Abhyasa (Sutras 1.13 and 1.14 for reference) is a life long dedication.  There is no formula.  What we do know of spiritual practice is that it takes more than just a single repetition. There is a steadiness of kriya yoga, continuous action over a long period of time. Tapas is the enthusiasm to keep going especially if the changes you aspire to aren’t yet as obvious as you’d like. 

 

My favorite peace activist Michael Franti shared this story at a concert recently (thank you to my dear friend for bringing this to life for me).  Franti's story went something like this:

“There’s a story I like to tell about a butterfly sitting in a tree, and a bird flies up to the butterfly, who lives his whole life in 5 days, and the bird says – “Mr. Butterfly, you’ve been living up here your whole life, there’s one question I’d like to ask you, IS THIS TREE ALIVE??” And the butterfly looks at him and says “You know Bird, I’ve been sitting on this tree my whole life, all five days, and I have yet to see this tree move one time, and from that I scientifically conclude without a doubt that this tree is dead.” … 

But the bird flies back to the tree in five years and sees that the tree has taken in the water and the roots have dug in deep to the soil and the tree has bared beautiful fruit and the animals of the forest have shared that fruit, and the seeds of the fruit have planted new seedlings and those seedlings have grown roots that have grabbed onto the roots of a bigger tree creating a whole family in the forest. And in fact the tree was ALIVE.”

 

I think that this points to the fact that CHANGE is a long-term process and that social change requires intention and action. 

 

Well, Franti is talking about social change but as a big yoga practioner he is promoting the change within the singular self that transforms the world.  The real yoga we all practice is most often invisible.  But that doesn’t mean that we aren’t making forward progress towards our intentions (the tree is NOT dead).  So what I am asking for us to consider is to be political.

 

What does political mean really?  Sharon Gannon says “to be political means to care.” 

 

If we care about our lives: our own transformation and that of the world; then we will take the healthy actions required to change the world through the experience of our own humanness.   And all I ask of each of you is don’t give up. Don’t give up on yourself, don’t give up on your loved ones, don’t give up on making the world a better place.  Please, please stay political…please keep taking the actions (kriya yoga) that show you care.  With heartfelt courage, Silvia

 

AUGUST 24, 2009:  I asked myself today these questions: Why practice yoga?  What about practicing yoga today seemed like a good idea?

I want to share with you what I discovered.  For me I come to the mat sometimes to celebrate, to do some deep thinking, to remember myself, to feel more…but really more often than not I come to the mat to LET GO.   

I practice yoga to let go of the pain caused by someone hurting my feelings so I don’t consume myself with replaying them over and over. I let go of worry (everything from what the weather will be like for the Cubs game on Wednesday to how will the rest of my life turn out). I let go of worldly pressures, to decompress from stress.  The practice helps me let go of the seriousness of meeting life’s challenges.  I come to let go of the complexity of life.  On the mat all we have to do is one pose at a time and breath while experiencing it.  I come to let go of self-doubt and regain clarity. 

 

What about practicing yoga seems like a good idea?  I find my best self and let go of all those things that might cause me to lose sight of how important my life is and that the person who must appreciate it the most – is me.

 

In the Yoga Sutras Chapter talks about what we can do to maintain equanimity and inner joy.  On the mat we let go & practice the following:

1.30 Perception of our true nature (joy, peace) is often obscured by physical, mental, and emotional imbalances.

1.31 These imbalances can promote restlessness, uneven breathing, worry and loss of hope.

1.32 These imbalances can be prevented from taking over our lives by consistently practicing yoga.

1.33  To preserve openness of heart and calmness of mind, nurture these attitudes:

·         Kindness to those who are happy

·         Compassion for those who are sick or struggling

·         Honor and appreciation for those who we admire

·         Equanimity to those whose actions oppose our values.

 

Week of August 17th-August 21st:  Well we took the Yoga Sutras and started with chapter one, verse 1.  "Once upon a time" and then continued from there this week to Chaper 1, verse 4.  This is the foundation for the study of yoga.  I hope presented sequentially it helped each of you get rooted in your life practice. Love and light, Silvia

Monday:  1.1 We begin the study of yoga. Making ourselves the subject of our study, of our observation.  Are we telling ourselves the Truth (Satya) about our feelings, thoughts and actions? Chapter 2.36

 

Tuesday:  1.15 Remembering the Self (Waking up from being half unborn), Variagya and 1.2 Yoga is the uniting of consciousness in the heart.

 

Wednesday: 1.2 Yoga is the uniting of consciousness in the heart.  Discomfort as way to come alive rather than escaping life

Thursday:  1.3 United in the heart, consciousness is steadied, then we abide in our true nature, joy.  The expansion of this joy is infinite LOVE, which encompasses and then transforms everything it touches.  Everywhere we look, we see the reflection of our Divine and joyful nature.

 

Friday:  1.3 and 1.4 Sometimes we identify with the rays of consciousness which fluctuates and encourages our perceived suffering

 

AUGUST 21, 2009:  What came to me in my morning meditation today was the word Ananda.  This means bliss. I honor the universe for whispering my heart to me loud enough so I could hear it.  From that place of love is my inspiration to teach and share today.  Let’s being slowly take in a few deep breaths. As you exhale let your breath out very slowly and with it slowly relax. Take another breath and let it out even more slowly.  Feel yourself relaxing more deeply.  Place the awareness of I in the CENTER of your heart.  Ask yourself who am I, paying attention to how you feel, living from your heart.  We miss so much of life if we stay asleep to our own hearts wisdom (as Stephen Levine says, "living half unborn.") Nischala Joy Devi puts it like this “We miss life if we allow others to dictate the direction of our thoughts and feelings. But when our heart guides the focus of our consciousness, love is ever present in our life.”  I hold this as true and so simple.

 

YOGA SUTRAS FOR TODAY:  1.3 United in the heart, consciousness is steadied, then we abide in our true nature, joy.  The expansion of this joy is infinite LOVE, which encompasses and then transforms everything it touches.  Everywhere we look, we see the reflection of our Divine and joyful nature.

1.4 Sometimes we identify with the rays of consciousness which fluctuates and encourages our perceived suffering

 

This means that as we come to understand that our nature is joy and love suffering can’t take over our lives as easily.  Now we will in our humanness continue to experience some fluctuations (ebb and flow, up and down). What this sutra is saying is that if we “identify with grumpy, negative, fearful, angry thoughts the mind BEAMS them outward to the universe and those same thoughts and grumpy, negative, fearful, angry people are attracted to us like a magnet.”  (Translation from Secret Power of Yoga) 

 

What is the answer?

Love is the answer. 

Bhakti is love.  Bhakti is love in action.

Love is active.

Yoga is active, yoga is love in action. Yoga is bhakti.

 

Ask yourself are you living from your heart?  Are you actively living from love?  Are you waiting before you listen to your heart?  Well, there is no reason to wait when your life can be better right now.  This is not a rehearsal.  This is your life and each day we only ever get to do just once!  Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia

 

AUGUST 18, 2009:  I remember as a little girl loving the story of Sleeping beauty.  I wasn’t so into Snow White, that story freaked me out. And Goldilocks was too much unlike me so I couldn’t relate. But Sleeping Beauty, I understood.  Now I tried living my life literally to this story, waiting for my prince to come, to get married and have all my problems solved.  That didn’t work out so great.  The prince was there but problems remained or grew worse.  So for me the practice of yoga taught me that there is no prince (as in another person coming to make us happy, saved, peaceful, etc). We are the lover and the beloved in yoga. We use the poses to and breath to wake up our sleeping limbs and awareness. 

Yoga kisses us awake one way or the other.

 

Stephen Levine in the book Be Happy puts it like this:  “Most of us live life half unborn”  It is an in your face way to phrase this concept of what we call in the yoga sutras “remembering the self” Vairagya (Chapter 1.15 for reference).  Remembering is waking up to who we really are and how we want to live our lives.  And quite frankly you have to ask yourself don’t you want to complete your birth before this ride is over?  As Gabrielle Roth writes about in the book Sweat Your Prayers we are giving birth to ourselves.  YESSS! To see some folks that are totally awake check out this clip that inspired me today:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpacvA_ZQQc 

• So right now in this moment what will it take to free up your life? 
• On a scale of 1-10 how resistance are you to life? 
• Are you afraid of what others will think of you if you start to live life on your terms? 
• Are you afraid of being happy?

Well it is not too late, as long as we are breathing to begin to remember it can be better.  Even the Buddha said, “it doesn’t matter how long you have forgotten only how soon you remember.”  And for how much you’ve forgotten well let the poses tell you that.  As it says on page 26 in the book Secret Power of Yoga (a translation of the Yoga Sutras, “We are all in a constant state of grace, yet how often do we remember?”

Starting today let’s be more awake to every moment.  You have the power to change your life!  Love yourself, your life, you day! Silvia

 

AUGUST 17, 2009: 

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 16TH, 2009:  Beauty is everywhere!  Meditating today on Yoga Sutra 2.18 this idea that “if we trust our intuitive wisdom of our hearts the truth is that everything can be enjoyable because we have found the MAGIC WAND to convert everything that life brings into joy.” 

 

I was at the Chicago Art Institute yesterday and so inspired by the beauty of the art, the people looking at the art, the kindness and respect of folks enjoying this sharing together.  Just amazing.  But what touched me most was outside the art institute in Millenium Park the tons of folks with an old blanket, bread, cheese, drinks just kicking back and making their experience a feast!  That to me speaks to this sutra that we all have the magic wand to free ourselves from suffering by changing the way we think about what is being presented to us in each moment.  Hmmm I can change the way I think about something? Yes, that’s it.

 

No different than invoking “wonder twin powers” to change the form of yourself into something else but in this case the change is mentally how we think about a person, situation or thing. You wave your wand and presto!! The way you think about it changes your response, your emotions and your reality.  The sutra reads formally “when understood as illusory (Maya), nature (seen) and her attributes the gunas exist to serve the Divine Self (seer) with both enjoyment and liberation.”  Our nature in other words is to be happy.  This is our way of being. The illusion is to delude ourselves into believing that we want things to be different all the time and are in this state of stuckness.  Nope, no need to preoccupy ourselves like that. Instead be with what is and wave your wand turn all things into joy. Turn some bread and cheese into a party!  See that beauty is everywhere inside you, outside you and in all things (difficult or sweet).  Love your 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

 

AUGUST 11, 2009:   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 we appreciate it wasn’t right for us anyway? Can you endeavor to life your best life without attachment to the outcome?  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. So another name of courage is Faith.  Faith like yoga is unconditional without prerequisites or judgement.  It just is, it is a state of being. A place of being present and allowing the next thing to unfold. Courage is that place of not knowing yoga teaches us.”

 

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.

AUGUST 2, 2009:  How we THINK about ourselves, our world and other people is more important to our happiness than the circumstances of our lives.  The Yoga Sutras put it like this, “what we are looking for in everything is JOY. But joy is within you. Look for it in your own heart.”  So turn your eyes around and look inside right now and let yourself be as happy as you want to be. REMEMBER JOY IS WITHIN.  HAPPINESS IS NOW.

 

Now I clearly remember the first time I heard this teaching.  I didn’t understand it.  I thought happiness was based on getting good grades, getting engaged, getting married, getting promoted, getting more money, getting new house, bigger house, etc.  I was in a constant state of acquisition that felt like I was treading water using up all my energy to get more stuff rather than celebrating life in the moment. 

 

Another way to think about this is what the yogis called bliss-counsciousness.  That when we wake up and start celebrating our lives we find that inside each of us exists unlimited potential for love, truth, compassion, joy and courage.  We create our own reality and all we have to do is celebrate life! 

 

 “The mind is its own place and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.”  John Milton wrote in Paradise Lost

 

Time on the mat is where we have the opportunity to recognize our capacity for happiness. This is really the first step in yoga. It reminds us that the universe intended for us to have a joyous experience on this earth right now, no waiting and without any prerequisites to be met. So today may you feel the shakti power of being present to the happiness inside you that is then reflected in being awake to the many blessings in your life in your external world. Or as Rumi says, "hear blessings dropping their blossoms around you." 

 

And what if you aren’t feeling this inner ecstasy?  Then practice Gratitude.  For gratitude is the antidote to negative emotions a neutralizer of envy, hostility, worry and irritation.  The world’s most prominent researcher and writer about gratitude Robert Emmons, defines it as “a felt sense of wonder, thankfulness and appreciation for life.”  He’s saying celebrate your life regardless of what challenges you face.  Sally Kempton puts it like this, “It is actually possible to feel happy regardless of how the world is treating you, or how horrible your childhood was or the fact that all your friends are more successful than you are, you can even be happy when you’re failing something or when you’re sick.” 

 

So join me on the mat to awaken and illuminate the joy within your heart.  Celebrate and heal your life and you change the world!  Love the day! Silvia

 

 

HAPPINESS MEDITATION:

Close your eyes and remember a time when you felt really happy. Then take yourself into that moment, see if you can get a feeling sense of yourself in the situation. Stick with it until you actually feel happiness, then remove the details or memory of the scene and just keep the feeling. Find the place in your body where the feeling is centered then let it fill you up.  Sit with this feeling of happiness. See if you can hold it. See if for this moment you can let the happiness beocme your primary feeling. This is a glimpse, however small of your TRUE reality.   (This meditation is from old issue of Yoga Journal Magazine)

 

Dear Friends, This is the week of my birthday!  I am speaking ever more clearly from my heart.  I hope you can celebrate part of my birthday by joining me in class. It would mean a lot.  The themes for classes include:

Spiritual Adventure: Facing our fears

Gratitude Habit for Healing

How to Relax

The Safe Zone: When we're Stuck in a Groove

Love is Inconvenient, Keep at it anyway

The Door to Joy is Open

This Life is Fleeting - Live Passionately Now!

 

JULY 11TH, 2009:  Are you doing things because you love to do them or because you feel like you have to do them.  What percentage of the time would you say?  Well if you are spending more of your time doing stuff because you feel like you have to instead of wanting to then this is a formula for misery.

 

Trust yourself create the kind of life you will be happy to live with all your life.  Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into the flames of achievement. – Foster McClellan

 

The purpose of life is a life with purpose.  This is one of my most favorite quotes from the Monk Who Sold his Ferrari.  So to honor this.  We took time tonight as you could right now wherever you are when you read this to write out what you’re passionate or excited about.  Why write it if we can just think about it?  Well science tells us that by writing out your desires and goals on a piece of paper you send a red flag to your subconscious mind that these thoughts are more important than the other 59,999 ones you’ll have today!

This helps us to filter out what is unimportant and focus only on the important.  We will enjoy life more fully if we stop focusing on the minor stuff and figure out what we want to major in life.  And the greatest thing is that we can have fun while we’re progressing along our path.  We can reclaim the joy of waking up each day excited about our life!  Don’t you want to wake up filled with energy and enthusiasm?

 

I was thinking as I was preparing my class about having a passion for adventure and facing one’s fears about the movie Into the Wild. You may remember it  was the true life story of Chris McCandless. McCandless graduated from Emory University in 1990, gave away his savings, burned the rest of his money, and stripped down to the bare essentials before winding up in the extreme wilderness of Alaska. His was an inspiring journey on many levels and regardless of how it turned out for him I think one of his greatest lessons was about living an inspired life.  McCandless wrote, “It is the experiences, the memories, the greatest triumphant joy of living to the fullest extent in which real meaning is found.” 

 

Even when it’s scary the unknown in life is what makes it an adventure!

 

So ask yourself right now: Where are you going, what path are you on, is this the right direction for you, if I could choose any path which direction would you go?

 

Or as Pantanjali says in the Yoga Sutras, "When you are inspired by some great purpose all of your thoughts break their bonds; your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world!"  Be the cause of your own future happiness! I hope this next half of the summer is a wonderful adventure for you doing what you love!

 

And take to heart, 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.” 

 

Here’s to first steps!  Love you all, Silvia

 

JULY 6, 2009:  In life change is constant.  There is a beginning, middle and end to everything.  We see this as we enter every breath, each new day.  Things are always dissolving, dying, being born.  And if we are lucky enough to wake up sooner rather than later we can stop taking even a single day for granted.  

 

We have the power to make ourselves.

 

So for your contemplation - Q:  If you were dying, what would you wish you had done that you are not doing now? Why aren't you doing it?

Or as Pantanjali says in the Yoga Sutras, "When you are inspired by some great purpose all of your thoughts break their bonds; your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world!"  Be the cause of your own future happiness! 

And please know the universe loves you, nature loves you, your friends and family love you no matter what.  This is unconditional.  And you don't have to apply for the "job" of living your life.  You have the job so you have nothing to prove to anyone but to be true to your own heart.

 

Changes in relationship with our jobs, homes, partners can be progress for all involved, regardless of the outcome.  As author Brian Tracy writes, "resolve to be a master of change rather than a victim of change."  We may not be able to control the situations which force us to think differently about the way we do things, or to respond differently but we can continue to stay involved in the process to make sure good comes of it all.  Take to heart the words of Mary Engelbreit, "If you don't like something, change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it"

 

You see life is constantly evolving in the direction of happiness.  What this means is that we are always changing. Sometimes we change in the same way as those we love and sometimes the hurt happens when we don't change in the same direction. There are no bad people, no bad experiences just constant evolution. Have faith that whatever changes are taking place in your life are for the best for all involved.  Allow this quiet time on the mat to help you connect with you’re your truest essence, in yoga philosophy your soul is known as Atman. That way no matter what changes in your life you will always remain truthful, steadfast and real.  Love yourself, Love your day! Silvia

 

"Only as high as I reach can I grow,
Only as far as I seek can I go,
Only as deep as I look can I see,
Only as much as I dream can I be."
-Karen Ravn

Namaste Dear Friends!

Last week we added Video titled "Stress Management 101"  and today we have added another new Video titled "Are you a Serious or Casual Student of Life?"  Check them out and send them to your friends, spread the good vibes you guys.  I am so proud of these and think they are getting better and better! 

Would love to hear from you what key messages you'd like me to speak to happy to include those in next Video shoot.  And of course this couldn't be done without Ned Miller, Scott Fell and Vicki Frank. I humbly offer 108 deep bows to them from my heart! Love the day, Silvia

MAY 24, 2009 

Do your practice and all is coming.” -- Sri K. Pattabhi Jois

 

As I mentioned yesterday I had this idea that with spiritual seeking I was meant to “figure it all out then practice it.”  The yoga world was greatly influenced and saddened by the passing away of Pattabhi Jois this week through his teachings like “Do your practice and all is coming.”  If we get on the mat day in and day out and simply practice (Abhyasa) we will experience the knowledge we are seeking.  We are not going to get all the answers we seek about the challenges of life but we will gain the discipline (vairagyam) to help us keep going and stay present to all of it.  The practice is then the opportunity to BE PRESENT.

 

It is only in the present that all the grace and beauty of the world find union (yoga) with us. 

 

In the ancient writings one of which is known as the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali teaches us that a practice will have a strong foundation if it’s supported by these 4 qualities:

1.       practice for a long time – dirgha kala

2.       continuous practice  – nairantarya

3.       positive attitude (faith) – satkara

4.       enthusiasm (we want to do it) – adara

 

We can apply these to learning how to be present to the details of our lives.  My friend David Romanelli once said something like, “if you jump in and out of the shower you get wet but not clean, if you jump in and out of the present moment you have a moment of clarity but not long term peace”  So for us on the mat we practice and practice to not just jump in and out of the present moment but to be there for a long time, with enthusiasm and as a result of our faith it is possible.  That’s what I hope for us all. End the mental torture, the disease of worry and join me in practicing being present.  Be strong! Silvia

 

 

MAY 11th, 2009:  I want to thank a new friend who shared inspiring conversation to help me take this meditation into a more formed perspective. This is what I'll share with you tonight.

Are you stuck in the past? How do you know? Well let’s watch our thoughts and see as we count them for a minute if you have more thoughts of the present, future or past.  Research shows you have about 60,000 thoughts a day.  That means the thoughts you counted you experience 60,000 times per day.  Now Multiply that by seven days a week.  Then multiply it by fifty-two weeks.  Multiply that by your age.  WOW.  You get a real picture of the influence you have on yourself in creating your reality.  Everyday yoga tells us that we can move our mind state from one of "nidra" sleep to "Buddhana" awakening.  The practice encourages us to be MORE than aware, but really awake.  So you have a chance to do something more than just using 20% of your mind as a means to look backwards and instead really engage 60-80% of your mind to wake up and focus on forward moving “future” intentions.  This is how you propel yourself forward and co-create with life!

           

Even Winston Churchill speaks to this when he said, "The price of greatness is responsibility over each of our thoughts." The Sutras Chapter 1 verses 2, 3, 4 really get to the heart of this.  Here is a traditional translation and explanation.

1.2  Yoga is the settling of the mind.	The goal of yoga is attained in stages as you develop the ability to be directly aware of all thoughts and images of the mind and voluntarily settle these thoughts into intention.
1.3     When the activity of the mind has settled, we are established in our essential nature, which is intrinsically peaceful unbounded consciousness.	Learning to keep the mind silent and tranquil is the necessary prerequisite for being aware of that aspect of ourselves which is naturally calm, peaceful and fulfilled at all times.
1.4     Our essential nature is usually overshadowed by the activity of the mind.	If we only focus our attention on the thoughts and images of the mind we come to believe that all we are is the physical body, thoughts, emotions, or moods. When the mind is silent we become directly aware that we are also “awareness” itself observing the body and mind. This awareness has the nature of being permanently peaceful.

 So the question is are you ready to accept the challenge of focusing your mind to thinking forward not backward?  Even when it’s hard? Even when you fail, will you begin again?  Are you sure you can focus so much that you reinspire yourself and grow passionate again about life?  So what is your intention, what makes you wake up and roar?  Take time right now for five minutes.  Follow the advice of Carl Jung, "your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. 

Or as Pantanjali says in the Yoga Sutras, "When you are inspired by some great purpose all of your thoughts break their bonds; your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world!"  Be the cause of your own future happiness!  Remember it’s not about your IQ, your job, your car, your house, it is about your I CAN, I WILL, I INTEND. That will lead you to the best life ever! Love, Silvia

WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT WE ARE AND WHATEVER WE WISH OURSELVES TO BE, WE HAVE THE POWER TO MAKE OURSELVES – SWAMI VIVEKANANDA

 

MAY 10TH, 2009:  I remember when I was a kid my family and I visited Iceland during the period of the year when they experience 24 hour daylight!  Very cool.  You could hear folks partying all night long because you get lost in the activity of the daylight.  This is too much Rajas.  Then of course other time of the year they have 24 hour darkness, too much tamas.  During the course of the class you will be served a whole experience – Some rajas and some tamas. I liken this to being served a whole meal. Now it’s for you to know yourself enough to figure out how much of each course you should take and when to pull back a little bit.  This is like life itself. We can’t control what is offered to us any given day (the weather, the choices others make) but we can manage our responses and what we need to do to stay balanced.

If we honor who we truly are then love, peace and clarity is ours! During class I spoke to what variations of each pose were more Tamasic and which were more Rajasic so you could choose appropriately.  This is spoken of in the yoga sutras comprised by Pantanjali as follows:

 

Chap 1.16 When consciousness unites it remains clear and unaffected by the external changes of nature and things that happen around us, the Gunas.  This is the ultimate freedom.  Freedom is love.

The Gunas are the three universal attributes of nature that inhabit and influence the essence of all beings and material objects. Although one of the gunas may predominate, these three forces are in constant flux and interplay. The three gunas are:

Tamas: the energy of stability, solidity, inertia, darkness, confusion.  Tamas inactivity – manifests as inability to make decisions, immobilizes us through fear or fatigue – if healthy, allows us to draw inwards and sleep deeply

Rajas: the energy of activity, dynamism, vibrancy, change, passion, excitement.  Rajas overactivity – manifests as good to help us explore many things but too much we burn out

Sattva: the energy of luminosity, light, clarity, balance, contentment.  Sattva balance means dynamic stillness

 

The world and everything in it play between these 3.  If we can remember who we are, what we want from life then these are not able to influence us and throw us off our game. As long as we promote balance we can observe the changes but transcend them. However if we identify with the gunas rather than with ourselves the mind and our emotions are like a constantly changing rainbow (feeling blue, seeing red, turning green with envy)

We need all three gunas in nature. Tamas is the inert energy needed for sleep, rest, and stability. We need tamas for strong, dense bones. We use the energy of tamas in our asana practice for grounding and stability. Rajas is the energy of motion. It helps us move from a dull, lethargic state to a place of clarity and intelligence. In asana and pranayama, we use rajas to move and breathe with full awareness - channeling energy to develop and expand our consciousness. We need rajas to quickly adapt to new situations and to act rapidly in emergencies. Rajas is also the force of creativity and vitality. Sattva is the energy of light, when it shines we can see with clarity and we enlighten our true Self. We are sattvic when the body and mind are clear, alert, tranquil and spacious, whether this happens in meditation, a focused asana practice or in our daily life. In yoga and ayurveda, we always want to move toward increasing sattva, as this state of balance provides the space necessary for healing to occur and for the true knowledge of the Self to be revealed.

The gunas can also have negative aspects. When tamas is out of balance we may become dull, dense of mind and unable to see or remove obstacles. We become ignorant, pessimistic and doubtful. Tamas predominates when a person is depressed. They have no energy to work or to get out of bed. When rajas is out of balance we are hyperactive, turbulent, and agitated. We act without awareness, such as, an angry outburst at the slightest infraction by others. We can be overly rajasic when we overschedule our lives so much that we have no time for reflection. This can also be a way to avoid or deny our issues, which can only lose their power once they have been embraced. Sattva does not have a negative aspect as it is the healthy energy of a balanced state.

So the question is, how did you do today? Did you make choices that bring balance to your life?  And are you prepared to make the active sensitive adjustments to keep your personal sense of balance?  I hope the answer is YES! and more YES!  It is this way that you find love in yourself, your day, your life!  Peaceful courage abounds! Silvia

APRIL 5, 2009:  I humbly suggest everyone take a Peace Break everyday.  I time we disconnect from all media and all noise of any kind.  Even if its just for 5 minutes.  Now when you first start being "by yourself" in quiet it can be scary.  It's like when we were kids taking our first camping trip and we were freaking out because of all the wierd nature noises around us.

Thing is, the biggest noise of all is in our own heads.  The only way to hear the noises and shed light on them is to quiet the external noise. Then we can identify and name what noise we are experiencing in our brains.  You take away the power unpleasant emotions have by seeing them rather than ignoring them and allowing the pretend drama of them to overtake you.

Two key areas of noise are written about in the Yoga Sutras as Attachement and Aversion.  Chapter 2.7 says excessive fondness for pleasant experiences causes longing and Chapter 2.8 excessive avoidance of unpleasant experiences causes disdain.  So the noise in our heads develop from either pushing thoughts away or pulling thoughts in to avoid other stuff.  If we can stop pulling and pushing we will find peace within.

All you have do to is really want peace.  So say to yourself, I CHOOSE PEACE INSTEAD OF THIS.  No matter the thought you're having and see if that doesn't start to quiet your mind.  I know it will just stay with it for 2-3 minutes and breath!  Love your day, love your most peaceful self.  Silvia

 

 

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                                                                                                       

 

MARCH 29, 2009:  Namaste and happy Sunday to you!  Let me ask you guys what was your first reaction when you saw the snow today?  Were you filled with childlike delight of oohs and aahs or did you say to yourself holy CRAP I can’t believe this is being done to me?  Did you pick a fight with the snow?  Or did you see that nature itself is magnificent?  Did you see the beauty outside?  Because the thing is the Yoga Sutras say there are really 2 ways to see life.

 

One would be a darker view...that at any moment something could go wrong and the world is making war with you. The other would be a brighter view...what amazing miracle might take place today?!  This ability to choose to see the beauty is the practice of peace.  We come to the mat to recognize the splendour of life itself. 

*The seer dwells in his own true splendour. (Yoga Sutra 1.3)

*At other times, the seer identifies with the fluctuating consciousness (the negative). (Yoga Sutra 1.4)

 

In today’s turbulent times it is important to keep practicing to stay positive and peaceful, to see beauty.  From a peaceful center we can respond instead of react.  With a peaceful heart whatever happens can be met with wisdom.  It's a choice, we can view ourselves at war with life ("fluctuating consciousness.") Or we can practice the art of peaceful perception, the ability to see beauty and weave the feeling through the conflicts we face. Kahlil Gibran says it like this, "When you reach the heart of life you shall find beauty in all things, even in the eyes that are blind to beauty.”

 

For me then the question is not about the choice in front of us, I get that. But it becomes then why don’t we always see beauty first?  Well we get bogged down by stress, negativity and worry (fluctuating consciousness) and this puts a layer of grime over how we view things.  The yoga on the mat helps us to clean off the mucky muck so we can reveal the beauty within us for how we see the world is not about what’s “out there” its always about our perspective and how beautiful we see things inside us.

 

If this morning at 9:15am you were enjoying the snow then join me at 4:30pm today for a really beautiful, rich practice (yes its Level 1-2 but don’t be afraid and get caught up in the darkness, its only a number). Think of yoga as philosophy in motion and today’s focus is beauty.  Be the beauty you wish to see in the world! Love, Silvia

 

 

PLAYLIST FOR TODAY MARCH 29TH, 2009:

Operator	Toby Lightman
Talk to You	Tracy Chapman
I Don't Care About My Baby	Jackie Greene
Promised Land	Grateful Dead
Sita Ram	Girish
Down on the Corner	Creedance Clearwater Revival
Feeling Alright	Joe Cocker
Domino	Van Morrison
Stand By Me	Various Artists
Let's Stay Together	Al Green
Crazy Love, Vol. II	Paul Simon
If you Want to Sing Out, Sing Out	Cat Stevens
Like A Star	Corinne Bailey Rae
Youve really got a hold on me	Smokey Robinson
Misunderstood
Blind Willie McTell	Bob Dylan
You Are So Beautiful	Joe Cocker

 

 

MARCH 26TH, 2009:  Yoga for me from the beginning, after coming to it seeking physical healing from injury was about self comforting.  I wanted to heal.  I intrinsically did not want to accept what life had served me as a car accident and major life change.  I just was not going to accept limitations!  I now know this was the universe whispering to me to dream of optimal health and to not give up. 

In the Yoga Sutras HEALING is written about as:  A process of rejoining; A rejoining body to heart; A rejoining of spirit to consciousness.

 

What does HEALING mean to you? 

 

What it means to me is a letting go of hurt or angry feelings, an absence of conflict, relief from pain, and a belief in miracles - that things WILL GET BETTER.  Too often we get bogged down in thinking we are alone and stuck in the pain forever, or as Author Alice Walker says "we are being consumed with our suffering."  But we don't have to be.  Yoga gives us that opportunity to realize the healing for ourselves, to self-comfort.  Even right now take 5 breaths and use your thoughts to keep your energy on healing whether it be directed at physical or emotional healing or both.

 

This will go far to remind us that miracles are happening all the time.St Thomas Aquinas writes "MIRACLES ARE SIGNS NOT TO THEM THAT BELIEVE, BUT TO THEM THAT DISBELIEVE.

 

So where does healing come from?  It comes from that still place inside, in the quiet chambers of our hearts.  This time on the mat helps us to hone our visions for our lives.  Ultimate healing is that feeling that we are co creating with the universe and are partnered together in all good things.  At the end of class we then ask ourselves from our own healing, what do you want to bring out into the world? 

 

How do begin the healing process?  Join me tonight on the mat.  We will start with the breath, as we inhale we will say to ourselves inside LISTEN, LISTEN and in the exhale we will start to hear ourselves respond with healing intentions.  A very sweet practice, perfect for you to realize your dreams of peace.  We all deserve a life of serenity and please don't think this excludes you.

 

Love and peace to you all my dear, dear friends,

Silvia

 

 

 

MARCH 25, 2009:  Now as Spring has started is the perfect time to go back into training if you stopped along the way this Winter.  What training you ask? Well, HAPPINESS TRAINING.  That's what I like to call Yoga.  Just like if we were training to run a marathon happines takes practice and training. 

Now although the two have a lot in common where they diverge is that if you practice, then run the marathon it is completed. With happiness training, the training never ends.  It lasts a lifetime!  Why do we need training in happiness? Because most of us don't wake up happy every day.  Even science says that our braings are wired to look for what's wrong. According to Martin Seligman in the book Authentic Happiness this is known as the catastrophic brain.  He goes on to say that in neurological testing humans viewing unpleasant images showed activity in the primitive parts of the brain. Humans viewing pleasant images showed activity in more recently evolved parts of the brain.

So we are at the the cutting edge of our evolution!  The great news is that you can start training anytime.  In the words of Lama Yeshe, "it is never too late. Even if you're going to die tomorrrow, keep yourself straight and clear and be a happy human being today. If you keep your sitatution happy day by day, you will eventually reach the greatest happiness of Enlightenment."

So join me on the mat for continued practice reversing the negative stories we tell ourselves and strengthening ourselves with a positive life perspective.  As Thit Nhat Hanh says, "people deal too much with the negative, with what is wrong. Why not try to see positive things, to just touch those things and make them bloom?"

May all beings be happy, loved and peaceful! JAI! Silvia

 

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.”

 

FEBRUARY 28TH:   In the Yoga Sutra’s Pantanjali gives us a four part process to help us clear our hearts of any negative energies as a means for quieting our minds and reconnecting to the deepest reservoirs of unconditional love.  The sutras advise we:

1.       cultivate maitri (friendliness) toward pleasure and friends;

2.       karma (compassion) for those who are in pain or suffering, yourself included;

3.       mudita joy for those that you are happy and whom we admire;

4.       and upeksanam equanimity toward those who have hurt us.

 

So simple. Try it this week as we learned it in class today and see for yourself if this doesn’t indeed change your life!  May you feel the power of transformation grow.  Peace to you, Silvia

 

FEBRUARY 26TH, 2008: 

 

FEBRUARY 25TH, 2009:  Tonight we talked about how yoga reveals our true nature, which is that of JOY!  We all have the right to be happy, to be loved, to be peaceful.  There are no conditions to meet or pre-requisites.  Do you believe you deserve to be happy?  Most of us come into the practice not really buying this completely, or at least that's been my experience this last 15 years of practice and teaching. 

So how do we move from a state of disbelief to believing the best is possible, joy is here for us?  The role of the teacher mentor is that of someone who wants to facilitate helping you rediscover your fullest potential.  I see in you your greatest capacity for love and peace. I will believe in you until the day you believe it for yourself.  Then we will celebrate this together!

The best explanation of the teacher's role is from Donna Farhi who puts it like this, "the teacher mentor assists the birthing of the student's dreams, visions, and hopes, and most important, what the student has not yet dared to imagine.  A mentor moves the student from disbelief to belief and in the process continually affirms the student's self-worth."  I want to make your learning easier by sharing with you all that I know. Now I can only make part of the journey with you. The deepest places you must discover within yourself are places only you can travel.  In the meantime, I will do my best to make the journey FUN, PLAYFUL, INSPIRING and SAFE.  That is my promise.  I love you all my dear students.  Peace, Silvia

*Reference Yoga Sutra 1.40

 

FEBRUARY 23, 2009:  My teacher Shiva Rea says, "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."  So when we step into the current of grace how can we manage to do our best – no more, no less, keeping in mind that doing our best is never going to be the same like our breath.  The Yoga Sutras suggest each pose be Sthira Sukham Asanam, steady and pleasant. More importantly in the incessant changing stream of life can we just keep trying?  The more you practice yoga the more you will respond YES!

 

The great thing is that when we DO OUR BEST then we give no reason for self-judgement, blame, guilt, negative self talk of any kind.  There are no regrets. 

 

To me doing our best is kind of scary.  From a western view it pulls us into that “no pain, no gain” mentality that life must hurt.  But that’s not it at all.  Doing our best means we are living our lives fully, in the present moment with enormous intensity because we want to be good to ourselves.  We want to make life all it can be aspiring to co-create with the universe for our optimal productivity.  Doing our best makes us connect to our innate happiness!  Why? Because it demonstrates our LOVE for life!

 

LOVE IS ACTIVE,

YES IS ACTIVE

DOING OUR BEST IS ACTIVE (INACTION IS THE WAY WE DENY LIFE)

Today we keep making the soil of our souls more fertile by contexualizing through asana practice the theme of "Always Doing Our Best.”  I hope this inspires you to make sensitive adjustments as you enjoy each and every breath.  All of this to make the space for the dreams you wish to hatch come the first day of Spring, March 20th!  My dear friends you were born with the right to be happy and as Deepok Chopra suggests why not then make Happiness the Goal of ALL other goals, and just do our best with this.  Please love your life, don’t let another breath pass without making it your best breath.  Love to you all, Silvia

FEBRUARY 21, 2009:  Our foundation both physical and spiritual provides us the opportunity to be ourselves. The stronger our foundation then less inclined we are to be pulled away from our center when we face obstacles.  The objective of yoga as is written in the Yoga Sutras is to remove the divisions within yourself so that you can immerse yourself in the beauty and goodness that is you.  This is the spirit of sutra chapter 2, verse 46.  In the Bhagavad Ghita chapter 3 it is is said, "it is better to fail at yourself that it is to succeed at being someone else."

Thing is, it is a whole lot easier to be ourselves than it is to be who everyone else wants us to be. 

So ask yourself, how do you see yourself right now?  How can you be more you today? 

I truly intend that this practice helps you build such a strong self-esteem and sense of self that you will be able to make all future decisions independently.  That you will do what is most right for you in the face of life's obstacles.  Sending you your best courage and wishing you your own best strength! Peace out, Silvia

 

FEBRUARY 10TH, 2009:  It is interesting that we just had the full moon yesterday and on December 31st of this year it will also be a full moon.  Is this the year that you no longer sleep walk through life and just make it ok?  Do we commit to waking up and being present, taking back our thoughts and owning our life?

YES!  Even Winston Churchill speaks to this when he said, "The price of greatness is responsibility over each of our thoughts."  Everyday yoga tells us that we move our mind state from one of "nidra" sleep to "Buddhana" awakening.  The practice encourages us to be MORE than aware, but really awake.  So you have from today until December 31st, same full moon to do something more than just using 20% of your mind as a rest station of awareness but instead really engaging 60-80% of your mind to wake up to the blessings of life.  Remember:  Your I CAN is more important than your IQ.

So what is your intention, what makes you wake up and roar?  Go inside and figure it out. Take time right now for five minutes.  Follow the advice of Carl Jung, "your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart.  Who looks outside: dreams; Who looks inside: awakens."

Or as Pantanjali says in the Yoga Sutras, "When you are inspired by some great purpose all of your thoughts break their bonds; your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world!"  Be the cause of your own future my firends. Wake up and start living!  Love, Silvia

See posting for January 28th below to explain where I am being.

JANUARY 28TH:  I am out of town for four days (1/29-2/1) in Colorado "yogaing" and skiing and taking time towards looking within myself to seek a deeper spiritual meaning in my life.  The Sutra that inspires me is Chapter 1, Verse 3: the the seer abides in his/her own true nature which is JOY.

I am a spiritual person by nature. I seriously felt this even as a little girl and it took until I was 25 years old before I even began spiritual babyhood.  Before then I had not given birth yet to my Spirit.  I was really in a gestation period the first 25 years of my life.  As you know many circumstances that brought me pain took place during that gestation period to help reveal who I really am, that sense of wholeness that yoga teaches is within us if we just remove all the outer crap.  But with that said I want you to know that I have never experienced failure at life because there is no such thing, however I did get stuck many times along the way in a state of suffering.  Yoga tells us pain is part of life, YUP.  But suffering is optional.  REALLY?  Yes. Judith Lasater says, "suffering is caused by the emotional reaction we lay on top of our pain."

So I became a spiritual seeker and it wasn't until I was 30 years old that I started to say that out loud.  Before that I was too embarrassed to admit it for fear of what other people would think of me.  I really was afraid folks would think I was a freak or I'd lose "popularity" from more traditional friends.  Then another event happened in my life which resulted in FINALLY accepting responsibility for myself and I officially entered Spiritual Adolescence and finally Spiritual Adulthood where I've been for a while now. 

This trip, as my daily practice does as well, helps me stay connected to what is important to living spiritually.  Some mantras I speak to myself from my hero Judith Lasater are:

*I am my own authority

*All the answers are within me.

*Life is practice: practice is life

So this trip is my practice.  Hope to see you upon my return where together we will keep at this work in progress.  Please live in the moment, love life fully for this is the performance!  Silvia

JANUARY 28TH:  I am out of town for four days (1/29-2/1) in Colorado "yogaing" and skiing and taking time towards looking within myself to seek a deeper spiritual meaning in my life.  The Sutra that inspires me is Chapter 1, Verse 3: the the seer abides in his/her own true nature which is JOY.

I am a spiritual person by nature. I seriously felt this even as a little girl and it took until I was 25 years old before I even began spiritual babyhood.  Before then I had not given birth yet to my Spirit.  I was really in a gestation period the first 25 years of my life.  As you know many circumstances that brought me pain took place during that gestation period to help reveal who I really am, that sense of wholeness that yoga teaches is within us if we just remove all the outer crap.  But with that said I want you to know that I have never experienced failure at life because there is no such thing, however I did get stuck many times along the way in a state of suffering.  Yoga tells us pain is part of life, YUP.  But suffering is optional.  REALLY?  Yes. Judith Lasater says, "suffering is caused by the emotional reaction we lay on top of our pain."

So I became a spiritual seeker and it wasn't until I was 30 years old that I started to say that out loud.  Before that I was too embarrassed to admit it for fear of what other people would think of me.  I really was afraid folks would think I was a freak or I'd lose "popularity" from more traditional friends.  Then another event happened in my life which resulted in FINALLY accepting responsibility for myself and I officially entered Spiritual Adolescence and finally Spiritual Adulthood where I've been for a while now. 

This trip as my daily practice does as well helps me stay connected to what is important to living spiritually.  Some mantras I speak to myself from my hero Judith Lasater are:

*I am my own authority

*All the answers are within me.

*Life is practice: practice is life

So this trip is my practice.  Hope to see you upon my return where together we will keep at this work in progress we call life.  Please live in the moment, love life for this is the performance!  Silvia

 

JANUARY 3RD, 2009:  So this morning I was engaged in my regular ritual of making chai tea but as I was doing so I was also preparing my practice, finding smarties for class, you know I fell into that trap of multi tasking.  As I was going about this I forgot for just a moment to pay attention to my tea and it spilled over.  Forgetting to pay attention happens to the best of us. 

WHY PAY ATTENTION?  Because we aren’t going to get to do TODAY over again.

 

That’s why its important to be here NOW, right HERE, right NOW.

 

THERE IS NO WAITING.

We can begin right now paying attention to our own enjoyment or capacity to enjoy life:  The Yoga Sutras say “enjoyment is the sweetness of noticing your life right now – smell, taste, feeling, sensation”

 

In class we each had 3 smarties to experience for ourselves how paying attention is a bit of a skill and we can improve it.  This comes as a result of using the science of yoga breathing to train the mind in concentration while radically improving our ability to use the energy we receive from the air we breath. Equally we learn what paying attention is not:  which Sean Corne says so well,  *Well what it isn’t is trying to rewrite the past, we can learn something (even from those that have hurt you or things that didn’t go the way you wanted them to) and move on.”

 

So today really use the practice to quiet your mind by paying attention to what you can let go of. (Judith Lasater)  And most importantly releasing your mind from constantly wanting your situation to be different.  There is no reason to make war with what you feel, see or experience.  Just open your heart to what you might be missing and repeat this mantra:  My life is precious and glorious!  Love to you all, Silvia

 

NOVEMBER 15TH, 2008:  Last night watching again the movie Indestructible I am deeply touched by Ben's desire to find inner happiness in spite of what is happening to his body that is out of his control. The Yoga Sutras speak to this directly. 

Sutra 1.30 The perception of our true nature which is JOY is often obscured.  AND Sutra 1.24 The divine consciousness is self effulgent like the SUN.  We are self effulgent like the sun!

Now what interests me the most about Happiness is that we aren’t going to run out of it.  There is no HAPPINESS LOTTERY with only an occasional lucky winner.  Yoga teaches us that joy is the true nature of each of us.  So today and moving forward we no longer have to limit our perspective of happiness or decide only some of our family members get to be happy and the rest don’t. Everyone can be joyful.  Here’s the challenge, can you wake up every morning and choose to be happy?  Can you face conflict and choose not to get totally upset.  And if you do get upset, can you choose to feel happy again?  I say YES!  But it takes practice and what we practice we strengthen.  So keep planting positive thoughts at least as often as you refresh your email or check voicemail.  And as an at home practice try this Happiness Meditation:

Close your eyes and notice your breath entering and exiting. Count 10 deep breaths and then relax deeper into your seat. Allow the breath to move freely in and out. Move your awareness to the word "HAPPINESS".  See it printed on the back of your eyelids. Hear it spoken by your inner voice. Feel it connected to your breathing. As you breathe in say "HAPPINESS"; as you breathe out say "WITHIN". Repeat with each breath: "Happiness - Within". Continue this breathing meditation for a few minutes.

Just five minutes into your meditation notice a shift in your attitude. Maybe you can't put your finger on it but it's definitely there. You realize that you feel better, you feel happy just because you chose to. It's within you all the time. So when in doubt: BREATH HAPPINESS – WITHIN.

OCTOBER 6TH, 2008:  Where there is FAITH, there is LOVE; Where there is LOVE; there is PEACE; Where there is PEACE; there is SPIRIT; Where there is SPIRIT; there is BLISS.” –Sri Baba

 

There are really 2 ways to see life. One would be a darker view...that at any moment something could go wrong, we could get run over. The other would be a brighter view...what amazing miracle might take place today?!  These are spoken about in the Yoga Sutras.

The seer dwells in his own true splendour. (Yoga Sutra 1.3)

At other times, the seer identifies with the fluctuating consciousness. (Yoga Sutra 1.4)

 

In today’s turbulent times it is important to keep practicing to stay positive and peaceful.  From a peaceful center we can respond instead of react.  Feel as you say these phrases this sense of calm radiate from your center. 

Breathing in, I calm my body

Breathing out, I calm my mind

May I be balanced

May I be at peace

 

With a peaceful heart whatever happens can be met with wisdom.  It's a choice, we can view ourselves strapped to the whipping post of a "fluctuating consciousness." Or we can practice the art of peaceful perception, the ability to see the eye of the storm, and weave its splendour through the conflict. To find peace we have to let go of our struggles, to stop making war with life.  This is going to require quiet courage and action.  As Sri Baba says, “ “It is only when you have both divine grace and human endeavor that you can experience bliss, just as you can enjoy the breeze of a fan only when you have both a fan and the electrical energy to operate it.”

OCTOBER 5TH, 2008:  Today our practice was focused on learning more about Attachment and Aversion by experiencing our breath, thoughts and physical sensations.  It was also inspired by the book “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” by Robert Fulghum.  You remember stuff from that age things like no pushing, no pulling, biting, or grabbing.  Well this was yoga.  Who knew!? 

Yoga Sutras Chapter 2, Verse 7

Excessive fondness for pleasant experiences causes longing.  Attachment (Raga) which is PULLING

 

Yoga Sutras Chapter 2, Verse 8

Excessive avoidance of unpleasant experiences causes disdain.  Aversion (Dvesa) which is PUSHING

 

As Judith Lasater writes, “in life we are pulled between trying to get what you want and trying to avoid what you don’t want.  Pulling and Pushing away both limit our freedom.”  Now this doesn’t mean that we don’t have preferences of course we do!  Attachment happens when we don’t get our preference.  The still meditation allowed us to let our minds rest away from the push-pull energies that drive ego.

 

We started class with Pranayama geared towards observing our breathing patterns especially to see if we are “Breath Grabbers”.  A single breath really has three parts: exhalation, PAUSE, inhalation. Breath grabbers tend to grab the next breath without taking the pause. This pause is where we experience a quiet sense of peace and relaxation. Breath grabbers often feel that if they don't grab what they want, then they'll miss out or be left behind.  For the breath grabber time is always running out which cultivates a constant feeling of anxiety. In practice it causes folks to speed up and run out of breath.

 

In feeling out poses (asana) we took our time building each wave to its peak with time to focus on where our thoughts might have that “PUSH” energy and where they have that “PULL” energy.  Push thoughts are things like “I don’t want to hold this pose, I don’t want to try this new or difficult variation”.  And pull thoughts might be things like “I want another Sun Salutation, I should be able to do 35 vinyasas per class no matter what.”

 

Ultimately I hope this practice gave us time to stop bullying ourselves in poses like a bully on the playground pushing or intimidating folks and that it also helped us lessen our attachment to doing the practice in the same way (only vinyasa’s plank chatarunga, up dog, down dog a million times) like a lovesick second grader chasing after a crush.  I wish that today helped you find the stillness that comes from finding the balance between the push and the pull.  

Stay sweet and steady my friends!  Silvia     (www.robertfulghum.com)

SEPTEMBER 22, 2008:  “Some psychologists, most notably Martin Seligman in his books Learned Optimism and Authentic Happiness, argue against the existence of an unalterable happiness set point. Seligman maintains that working with our own thoughts and feelings can radically change our capacity for contentment." WOW! 

 

The key word here is working. Seligman's underlying point—and here, psychology aligns itself with the wisdom tradition of yoga—is that contentment is something that has to be practiced.

 

Most of us know how to practice discontentment. We routinely sabotage our good moods by worrying about the future; bitching about our bosses; comparing our achievements, looks, and body weight with those of others; or telling ourselves negative stories about our lives and relationships. The yogic practices for getting to contentment are simply tactics for reversing these tendencies, for retraining our minds to view life from a different perspective. And these techniques are universally applicable—they can work for you whether you practice yoga or not.”

 

This is why I teach yoga.  I think of it as HAPPINESS TRAINING. I wholeheartedly believe that we are co-creators with the Universe and what we say to ourselves on the inside is what we see on the outside. The world is not created out there and then experienced inside us. It's the other way around. What you see on the outside is the reflection of what you've created on the inside through your thoughts.  But it's not easy to be happy, and it certainly isn't for wimps.  It takes courage to be happy (as Henry Frederic Amiel) says.  And the good news is:

 

It is never too late.
Even if you are going to die tomorrow,
Keep yourself straight and clear and be a happy human being today.
If you keep your situation happy day by day,
you will eventually reach the greatest happiness of Enlightenment. --Lama Yeshe

 

SEPTEMBER 21, 2008:

 

SEPTEMBER 19TH, 2008:  THE SUN IS SHINING!  BUT REMEMBER IT IS ALWAYS SUNNY ON THE INSIDE 

• Be happy for those who are happy
• Compassion for those who are less fortunate (those who are suffering)
• Joy for the virtuous (those who emobody noble qualities)
• Equanimity for those that hurt us

SEPTEMBER 12TH, 2008:  Why do you practice yoga?  Really everything we do brings us back to our own true nature which the yoga sutras says is joy!  This is chapter 1 verse 3, United in the heart, consciousness is steadied, then we abide in our own true nature, joy.

In practical terms it means that we do the practice to help ourselves heal and come back into our own strength.  This feeling of SELF RELIANCE.  Anything is possible.  It all really relates to self-empowerment.  Four sweet quotes that are favorites of mine along this theme I share here for you to enjoy:

• Empowering is achieved by encouraging self-reliance and providing education, discipline, and learning opportunities for the child. You are empowered to try, therefore to make mistakes and still be fully accepted. Your interests are met with enthusiasm; the importance and joy of hard work are recognized and encouraged. Failure is treated lightly, while curiosity and integrity are held in high regard.
• Self-reliance is the only road to true freedom, and being one's own person is its ultimate reward”
• God loves to help him who strives to help himself.
• If it is to be, it is up to me.

SEPTEMBER 6TH, 2008:  Well it’s that time again to clean out the closet and prepare to move the summer things and bring out Fall/Winter stuff, right?  You can feel the shift taking place:  the crisp feeling to the air, the lengthening of our nights, kids back to school.  Yoga can help us reflect on where we’ve been and help us make time to design our vision for this last quarter of the year (and beyond!)  Focus this vision on the kind of person you want to be by taking time to revisit your emotional, material, physical and spiritual goals.

 

So if you’ve been away from the mat let’s begin again this Fall without apology.

 

STEP 1:  REFLECT

Express gratitude for all you’ve learned up to this point. Every event of this year has offered us lessons.  So whether we’ve had a challenging 8 months or not we can all grow from these experiences. Then say thank you, let it go and say good bye to what is past.  It’s like cleaning the closet we have to make room for what comes next.  This will help us stop being a prisoner of our past.

 

Instead let’s become architects of our future!

 

STEP 2:  FALL VISION

Carl Jung once said that ‘your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. 

Who looks outside: dreams;

Who looks inside: awakens.

 

REMEMBER:  YOUR I CAN IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR IQ.

 

Exercise your mind muscle by saying I CAN.  Don’t accept no or maybe.  Take back your thoughts and own your life. Winston Churchill speaks to this when he said ‘the price of greatness is responsibility over each of our thoughts.”  I believe you can do this!

 

So take time on the mat to get clear about who you want to be and what you want your life to feel like.  Through this practice you can awaken to your highest potential!  Or as Pantanjali in the Yoga Sutras writes:  “When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all of your thoughts break their bonds; your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world.  Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive and you discover yourself to be a greater person than you ever dreamed yourself to be.” 

 

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

AUGUST 16TH, 2008: It is written in the Yoga Sutras Chapter 1, Verse 13, The practice of yoga is the commitment to become established in the state of freedom. This means that yoga can help us find freedom from chit/chat of our mindstuff (citta). Mindstuff is where we think too hard you know Like when we use our thoughts to torture ourselves, to agitate and so on. It is possible however to move to state of yoga where we allow attention to disengage from all these fluctuations.