FUNSHAKTI: WHAT ARE YOU THE BIGGEST FAN OF?
DECEMBER 28, 2008: The words to a song a friend sent me included, I am the biggest fan of you (or something like this). So I thought about it, what am I the biggest fan of? And I'd have to say I am for sure the biggest fan of FUN!
How do I make fun? Yesterday as many days, I ate dessert first. I tell myself jokes all the time, I died part of my hair violet red for no reason (just makes me giggle), I wear sundresses in the winter (over pants and with a sweater of course), I do what I love, I surround myself with brilliant, funny people, I only watch life affirming tv or movies, I read inspiring books. The list goes on.
Interesting enough, children laugh 300 times or more per day while adults laugh an avearge of 17 times per day. We clearly have lots of catching up to do according to Heather King. When it comes to yoga it is as my idol Judith Lasater says, "yoga practice is important but not serious. Practice is too important to be serious." RIGHT ON!
So today may you feel the shakti power of being presnt for the many blessings in your life so that you can know greater happiness. Or as Rumi says, "hear blessings dropping their blossoms around you." Take from this that you can practice life with elegance and joyfulness just like you appear luminous in your poses. Take this brightness into each moment.
Really recognizing our capacity for happiness through the power of our hearts is the first step in yoga. We use the practice to go withing the hidden chambers of our hearts to find our most joyful true selves. It's just like The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. So join me on the mat to dance like there was no tomorrow! Keep your spirit burning brightly, learn to take your troubles lightly, count your blessings daily, nightly (Linda Elrod). Happiness knows no bounds! Love, Silvia
GIVING BIRTH TO OUR REAL SELVES
DECEMBER 26TH, 2008: Yoga is a journey into revealing the truth about who we are, what we are capable of and how our actions affect our lives. We start each practice inhaling the gift of the universe and your life And exhaling with gratitude.
Jon Kabat Zinn, a favorite writer of mine, says “too often our lives cease working because we cease working at life. The idea of wherever you go, there you are” which is the title of a book of his I highly recommend. He says, “You can think if you change location, change partners, change circumstances that everything will fall into place, you can start over, have a new beginning. This is very romantic. However, we carry our same patterns of thinking, living, breathing with us. Transformation and discovery of who we are is right in the middle of what is here and now. In the long run there is no escaping form ourselves.”
So when we come to the mat we might as well ask ourselves Where We Are In Life, Who Am I? Try to get behind the I DON”T KNOW. That doesn’t serve.
And it may be like what Gabrielle Roth writes in Sweat My Prayers, “GIVING BIRTH TO OURSELVES.” I hope this practice gets you moving, breathing and contemplating why you have been chosen to move and breath. This alone I am certain will birth your greater purpose. After that it is as Swami Vivekananda says, WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT WE ARE AND WHATEVER WE WISH OURSELVES TO BE, WE HAVE THE POWER TO MAKE OURSELVES.
Love yourself, Love your life, enjoy the ride! Peaceful blessings to all, Silvia
GIFTS AND THEIR MEANING
DECEMBER 23-24TH, 2008: It may not be pc to say but I LOVE GIFTS! I really do. I love the gift of your time over tea, I love your gift of a sweet email, I love your gift of friendship, I love your gift of being in class, a great book, a hug, music, a kind word.
Being in yoga class is a way to learn to gift ourselves the time to be with our own hearts and desires. As we all know there is a balance between giving and receiving. We are both. We are Shiva and Shakti. We are givers and we are receivers. We even see this pattern in nature. When we breath in we are receiving clean air from the trees on the earth. When we breath out we give trees life as they are the lungs of the earth. When we find the balance between giving and receiving all is good!
And the hardest part is not about finding this balance but about maintaining it. So in this time of the year with great focus on gift giving consider are you giving back to the Earth as much as we are receiving from her? How meaningful are the gifts you've prepared for loved ones? I would love to hear your favorite stories about gifts you've received! Just email me at silvia@totalbodyyoga.com
My favorite gifts this year are when I received the gift of something well-loved, worn, experienced and then shared. It was really a REINVENTED gift which I loved because it was just like how yoga Renews, Refreshes, Reinspires, Renergizes us. It was wonderful! Another amazing gift I received was a dear one's master storytelling over a cup of tea about a grand adventure they had culminating in a vivid description of sunset at the Grand Canyon. And of course my all time favorite gift, a HUG. So more hugs for everyone this year! And thank you deeply with all my heart and soul for all of your gifts and loving intentions. I love you guys! Silvia
A hug is a perfect GIFT, one size fits all, and nobody minds if you exchange it." - Unknown
HEALING
DECEMBER 22ND, 2008: Swami Satchidananda says Illness begins with "I". Wellness begins with "We", do we practice together and begin by connecting to the medicine of our breath, using our breath to send a gently flowing stream of loving energy from our hearts to any physical or emotionally injured area.
The experience of yoga, the "we" was achieved by partnering with someone and sitting back to back to make the evidence of our own breath stronger. By staying in the "we" we stay in wellness. And what is wellness if not healing.
So healing could be defined as a process of rejoining, a rejoining of body to heart, spirit to consciousness. To me it means letting go of hurt or angry feelings, the absence of conflict, relief from pain, a belief in the miracle that things WILL GET BETTER.
We dedicated 3 sets of vinyasa flows to the past, present and future, keeping our energy on healing thoughts the best we could the whole time. Why do I work so hard to promote healing? Well, I don't wish anyone to stay in a state of suffering. I've been there. I don't want to suffer, I don't want you to suffer, I don't want your families to suffer. So this practice of studying ourselves (svadhyaya) through this we realize stuff about ourselves. We figure out what is REAL. Eventually you figure out that life is really happening right now, that it is not a dress rehearsal and there is no need to wait to be happy, to make real your intentions for love and freedom. So here's wishing you your best dreams! Courage to you, Silvia
CEO OF YOUR OWN LIFE
DECEMBER 21ST, 2008: Congratulations you’ve all been promoted! You are now officially the CEO of your life. First step we set about creating a plan to take care of our employees and make this a successful endeavor. Your employees are your thoughts, your breath, you’re spirit and your body parts, some small some big, all equally important to forwarding your personal enterprise towards success. Let’s take inspiration from Dr Seuss,
"Congratulations! Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places! You're off and away!
You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”
ABOUT CHOICES
We all have choices to make. Being CEO of our life means we accept responsibility for making the best most wise choices. What is wisdom? WISDOM is avoiding all thoughts that weaken you. Each thought you have can be assessed in terms of whether it strengthens you or weakens you. So it is your call on whether your thoughts are making the organization of yourself stronger and happier. Think of it like this, your heart is a muscle that’s weakened by thoughts that disempower you. Your kidneys, liver, lungs are all surrounded by muscles that are affected by your thoughts. First thing to ask is are my thoughts showing love for the person I am always alone with, ME?
Dr Deepak Chopra says it like this, “Happy thoughts create happy molecules.” Or Dr Wayne Dyer says, “Your health is determined largely by the thoughts you have. Passionately think that you won’t get a cold, and your body will react to your thoughts. Refuse to entertain thoughts of fatigue, jet lag, headaches and your body responds to your thoughts. Your mind tells your body to produce the drugs it needs to keep you healthy.”
Healthy, empowering thoughts are those of peace, joy, love, acceptance and willingness. I hold dear the words of Rabindranath Tagore, "Ecstasy is our very nature; not to be ecstatic is simply unnecessary. To be ecstatic is natural, spontaneous. It needs no effort to be ecstatic, it needs great effort to be miserable. That's why you look to tired, because misery is really hard work; to maintain it is really difficult, because you are doing something against nature. Existence is not a problem to be solved, it is a mystery to be lived. And you should be perfectly aware what the difference is between a mystery and a problem. A problem is something created by the mind; a mystery is something which is there, not created by the mind. A problem has an ugliness in it, like disease. A mystery is beautiful. With a problem, immediately a fight arises. You have to solve it; something is wrong, you have to put it right; something is missing, you have to supply the missing link. With a mystery there is no question like that. The moon arises in the night.... It is not a problem, it is a mystery. You have to live with it. You have to dance with it. You have to sing with it, or you can be just silent with it. Something mysterious surrounds you."
So as CEO of your life I wish you to see your life as a wonderful mystery, not a problem and to see your essential nature as one of joy! Live life as big and delicious as you can! Silvia
THE THEATER OF YOUR LIFE: REFLECT & GROW
DECEMBER 20TH, 2008: The winter solstice is Nature's New Year!
PLAYING IT SAFE: ARE YOU RUNNING FROM LIFE?
DECEMBER 19TH, 2008: Have you ever felt like you were running away from something? I have. My friend David Romanelli inspired this contemplation as did something a conversation with another friend who shared the following with me this week. They basically said to me, I think you've always done what was most expected of you, except they used the word "conform". Yuck, a big yuck. I don't like that word or any variation of it, conformist, conforming, to conform.
Me? Come on. But they did say that they could see that I had been breaking out of that conformist box by leaving the corporate world and living life doing what I love most, teaching yoga. YES! That's much better.
So I ask you, are you running from life or for life right now? When I looked up conform in the thesaurus it said stuff like: be conventional, kow tow, measure up. Yup, that's why I did run away in the past - thought it would help me be more accepted and I wanted to know from others that I measured up. It all looked good on paper but wasn't making me very happy.
Here then is inspiration from Osho to think about: Osho said that when you are seeking freedom from life, you are always on the run, being chased by your finances, fears, and worries. He said that when you are seeking freedom for life, you are diving headlong into the journey. Chasing your dreams. Pursuing your passions. So join me, but know it’s not always easy, and really run for life, not from it. If I can do it, anyone can do it. And I know YOU can do it. Peace! Silvia
SIGNIFICANCE OF 108 - MALA IS COMING!
Significance of 108
- Rosary: the Hindu rosary or set of mantra counting has 108 beads representing past, present, and future lives. Hindu deities have 10 names and recitation of these names, accompanied by a 108 beaded mala, is considered sacred and often done during religious ceremonies. The recitation is called namajapa.
- Mathematical Operation: (Hyperfactoral of 3) 1 power 1 x 2 power 2 x 3 power 3 = 108; 1 to 1st power (1 x 1) = 1, 2 to 2nd power (2 x 2) = 4, 3 to 3rd power (3 x 3) = 27; 1 x 4 x 27 = 108
- Sankrit Alphabet: There are 54 letters in the Sanskrit alphabet. each has a masculine and feminine...54 x 2 = 108
- Sri Yantra: there are marmas where three lines intersect and 54 such intersections with each intersection having shiva and shakti qualities...54 x 2 = 108
- 9 x 12: Both of these numbers have various numerology and spiritual significance...9 x 12 = 108
- Heart Chakra: there are said to be 108 energy lines that converge to form the heart chakra with the primary sushumna nadi leading to the crown chakra and self-realization
- Marmas: also referred to as marmastanas, marmas are intersections of energy lines and are said to be 108 in number
- Astrology: there are 12 constellations and 9 arc segments calles namshas or chandrakalas...9 x 12 = 108
- Planets & Houses: there are 12 houses and 9 planets...12 x 9 = 108
- Gopi's of Krishna: there are 108 maid servants in
- Shiva Nataraj: dances his cosmic dance in 108 steps
- Marma Nadi: Ayurvedic pressure points total 108 in the body
- Tibetan Buddhism: the number of sins
- Kuk Sool Won: Paek Pal Ki Hyung, the 7th form taught in the art of Kuk Sool Won, translates literally to "108 technique" form. Each motion corresponds with one of the 108 Buddhist torments or sins.
- Numbers 1, 0, 8: 1 stands for god or the eternal truths (bindu), 0 stands for emptiness or completeness (shunyata), and 8 stands for infinity or eternity (ananta)
- Buddhist Temples: many have 108 steps
- Sun & Earth: The diameter of the sun is 108 times that of earth
- Numerical Scale: the 1 of 108 and the 8 of 108, when added together equals 9, which is the number of the numerical scale, ie 1, 2, 3...10, etc., where 0 is not a number
- Space: the interior anges of an equiateral pentagon measure 108 degrees each
- Catholicism: "Hail Mary" is recited 3 times daily (6am, 12n, 6pm) accompanied by the ringing of the Angelus Bell 108 times
- Hassium: also called eka-osmium, hassium is a synthetic element in the periodic table that has the symbol Hs and atomic number 108.
- Homer: In the Odyssey, 108 is the number of suitors coveting Penelope, wife of Odysseus
- Baseball: 108 is the number of stitches on a baseball
- Space Flight: the number of minutes that Yuri Gagarin orbited the earth during the first manned space flight
- Technology: the number of Mbit/s of a non-standard extension of IEEE 802.11g wireless network using channel bonding.
- Pokemon Spiritomb: this pokemon is 108 in the Sinnoh Pokedex, is 108 kilograms in weight, has base stat values of 108 and exists as a collection of 108 sinful spirits
- Lost: the sum of the numbers in the TV show - 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42
Police: 108 is ten-code for officer down or officer in danger STAY TUNED, YOGA MALA TIME IS NEAR MY FRIENDS
HUGGING
DECEMBER 18TH, 2008: I was reflecting on what it means to be balanced. So I looked up Balance in the thesaurus and it said: stable, steady, together, middle, centered. The opposite is unbalanced, unequal, uneven, lopsided.
What I love about balancing poses is that if we are not focused to our center we fall over. That's what’s so great, there is an unavoidable immediacy to balancing related to meeting ourselves. In other words there IS NO FAKING IT. Or I like how Laura Yeshe puts it, ‘If you expect your life to be up and down, your mind will be more peaceful."
How does this help us in life, well the yoga helps us practice strengthening our connection to the midline so that we get real about responding appropriately to both sunny days and stormy times. This comes about as we HUG IN.
And what is a hug? A hug between two people demands trust. It is an extremely skillful way of focusing on our humanness in all its messiness (wrinkles, hang ups, talents). It is real – it is not just some concept. So right now, take 60 seconds to be fully present with another human being. Try this from Thich Nhat Hahn:
Before hugging take a couple breaths to bring yourself fully into the present moment so you can really be there for that person.
On the first in breath we say to ourselves “Breathing in, I am aware that you are alive & in my arms; Breathing out, I am so happy”
On the second breath we say to ourselves “Breathing in, I know that I am alive and in your arms; Breathing out, I am so happy”
On the third breath “Breathing in, I am aware that we are both alive right now and embraced in each other’s arms; Breathing out, I am very happy.”
TRYING LESS
DECEMBER 17TH 2008: Weird but sometimes we overwhelm ourselves on purpose. I don't understand it, especially the "on purpose" part but I've done it too. In my life this has led to illness, to a diminishing of my spirit and a general malaise where I was just "getting through it".
We can use the practice of yoga to really be kind to ourselves. To TRY LESS.
Now that might seem like apathy but it is not at all. Yoga is wise energy management. So consider where in your life you are trying too hard and leaking energy, depleting yourself, now ask yourself the same thing in a pose. The key here is the idea of being in the pose. For it is not about getting into and out of the pose but the pose CHANGE YOU while you are in it. This is where you get to try less and soften the edges.
As you know I love the Thesaurus and I looked up the word TRY. It said Struggle, Strive, Attempt. So today go easy on yourself STRUGGLE LESS, STRIVE LESS, ATTEMPT LESS AND ENJOY MORE! Another way of seeing trying less is as a means to fight less, to meet challenges not with fists raised armor on quills raised but meet lifes challenges as they are in a more peaceful way, arms down.
Swami Satchidananda says, Look within, if you don't see the peace inside you you won't be able to see the peace outside. You have to have that peaceful vision because it is you who sees the world outside." So try less, receive more, fight less, relax more. Thinking of you, Silvia
YOGA FOR COLD AND FLU SEASON
KEY CONTRIBUTORS TO COLDS & FLU:
Winter s cold, dry air creates the perfect host environment for germs. The drier the air, the longer germs stay airborne. Energy ebbs in the winter when there is less sunlight. To charge up with caffeine stresses the adrenals, the glands that sit atop the kidneys and support the body s immunity and energy. Cold weather already compromises the kidneys, the source of our energy and vitality, says herbalist Madelon Hope. Stress is the immune system s worst enemy. Your body s ability to fight germs is compromised by physical and mental tension.
So my friends what do we do In a nutshell, the prescription is use yoga to decrease stress by practicing poses and breathing techniques that help trigger the relaxation response. Stay healthy this season do more yoga it s just that simple. Here s courage to keep making yourself important in your own life! Peace,
Silvia
COURAGE
DECEMBER 16, 2008: Being really fully human asks that we not shrink away from life or its challenges. I understand it can be a bumpy road at times. I myself have had a really wild (sometimes horrific, sometimes blissfull) ride to get to this point. But what keeps me going is the opportunity I have, you have, we all have to muster up the COURAGE TO TRY. Or as Poonjali says, "Wake up and Roar!"
So in class we’ll repeat the same sequence (“flow of poses linked together with breath”) or during the course of a practice session we’ll repeat the same pose at different times. We do this to help us remain persistent. Or as Calvin Coolidge said, “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race”
Right on. When we set our intentions for the class, for the year or for our life we have to revisit them time and again. It is not just a matter of wishing once and then keeping our fingers crossed. Just like progressing in a pose, better understanding its application in your body means doing it more than once, more than hundreds of times! Fred Rogers says, “What makes the difference between wishing and realizing our wishes? Lots of things, and it may take months or years for wish to come true, but it's far more likely to happen when you care so much about a wish that you'll do all you can to make it happen.”
So today and every day, wake up and roar, endeavor to have the courage to try. And when things go well, celebrate, when things fall apart, pick yourself up and keep going. Perhaps one of my favorite quotes of all time that I keep dear to me is this: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” I am here, I will support you and I will encourage you to keep trying! Jai Ma, Silvia
MAINTAINING BALANCE
DECEMBER 15TH 2008: This time of year maybe more than ever we’re all reminded that the whole practice are balance poses, life itself is a delicate balance. So there is no need to upset ourselves with what we have in front of us. As ancient Poet Rumi Says, "Take sips of this pure wine being poured. Don't mind that you've been given a dirty cup."
So let’s take this time to use Leo Tolstoy’s short story to help us realize our degree of balance right now. Or at the very least take 2 minutes to stand on one leg, hug to your center and rediscover all you ever needed was inside! Courage to you, Silvia
Once upon a time there was a young emperor seeking the meaning of life. He wanted to know the answers to these questions. He asked all of his teachers but none of them could give the young emperor good answers.
His three questions were:
1. When is the most important time?
2. Who is the most important person?
3. What is the most important thing to do?
Therefore the emperor seeks the answer by himself, wandering and experiencing life.
The most important time is now.
The reason is, you only have it once.
The most important person is the one we are with.
Give whoever is in front of you your total attention. They want to feel that they are being listened to, appreciated, and more over recognized as human being. And the person we spend the MOST time without throughout our lives is YOU! Therefore ultimately the most important person is always you.
The most important thing to do is to care.
FEARLESSNESS & MARSHMALLOWS
Yes, I brought marshmallows for everyone to make a point today. Why Because to me our hearts are like marshmallows, they are pretty resilient you know Yoga will help us be strong on the inside so we can be soft on the outside in making choices for ourselves. We can move beyond fear, which is the enemy of love, to a place of fearlessness. Especially if our greatest fear is failure we can realize through yoga that we will bounce back, if you squish the marshmallow it regains its form (it really does, try it). Use this practice to experiment with the 3 P s: persistence, patience and perseverance! So as Rascal Flats sings I hope the day comes easy and the moments pass slow and each road leads you to where you want to go and if you re faced with the choice and you have to choose I hope you choose the one that means the most to you. So be fearless in what you wish for, in setting an intention today...and as the song goes, MY WISH for you is that this life becomes all that you want it to. So take a chance, dream big, your heart is supple and will support you!
BIG LOVE, Silvia Today s Mantra: If I was not afraid I would .
Every day is an opportunity to make a new happy ending. ~Author Unknown
INNER NET
LET THE SPIRITS GATHER 'ROUND ME
LET THE SILENCE SHOW ME WHERE TO START
LET ME FIND THE COURAGE THAT WILL GUIDE ME
TO THE CENTER OF MY HEART
LET THE LIGHTNESS LIFT EACH SHADOW
LET EACH TRACE OF DARKNESS WITHER AND DEPART
LET THIS LONGING BE A BEACON AS I JOURNEY
TO THE CENTER OF MY HEART
RELEASE ME TO WONDER UNAFRAID
YOU TEACH ME TO BEND
SO IF THE JOURNEY FALLS APART
I'LL FIND THE CENTER OF MY HEART
FILL MY HEART WITH ONE DEVOTION
ONE INTENTION UNDIVIDED AND ASSURED
THAN I'LL KNOW THE PRESENCE OF A GUIDE
TO THE PATH THAT WILL....
RELEASE ME TO WONDER UNAFRAID
YOU TEACH ME TO BEND
SO IF THE JOURNEY FALLS APART
I'LL FIND THE CENTER OF MY HEART
HELP ME FIND THE CENTER OF MY HEART
ANXIETY
DECEMBER 9TH, 2008: At the core of most anxiety is the breath, or the lack of it. When you are anxious, natural breathing is inhibited. The diaphragm freezes, failing to move air downward as you inhale, which means that you don't let your lungs fully expand and fill with air.
"And when you don't get enough oxygen, the brain receives a 'danger' signal, which perpetuates your mind-body state of anxiety," explains Jonathan Davidson, M.D., director of the Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Program at
To use the breath to combat anxiety, though, is something we know intuitively. Frequently the first words we say to someone who speaks too fast or appears physically distressed are "take a deep breath"
So just let the breath relax you, listen to its rhythms, hear its soothing ocean sounds.
Once you surrender to the natural sounds of your inhalation and exhalation, you begin to invite a breath that is not fearful, that begins to calm the body and to lower the heart rate and blood pressure. Take 5 minutes right now and just try it. May all your conflicts be resolved through your breath! Silvia
TRUST YOUR BREATH - TRUST YOUR LIFE
DECEMBER 8TH, 2008: “Through my inner trust for my life I choose to embrace the unfolding of my future." – Story Waters
If you can keep your head when all about you, Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream -- and not make dreams your master; If you can think -- and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster, And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken, Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings -- nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And -- which is more -- you'll be a Man, my son! Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936)
THE TEACHER WITHIN: UNION OF QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
SITA RAM CHANT: Sita and Ram are like question and answer, lover and beloved, Yin Yang, Masculine and Feminine. The poses today are not the answers .they are the questions. And what I hope we walk away with is an ability to trust and have faith in being our own best teachers and asking ourselves better questions. Then the answers are on the inside and they will reveal themselves, we just have to trust this. So as best you can appreciate the questions, even if they are not the one s you think you are supposed to ask. Be strong, be loving, be kind! Silvia
So we started with the teacher mantra:
Guru Brahma
Guru Vishnu
Guru Devo Maheswara,
Guru Sakshat
Param Brahma
Tasmai Sri Guruve Namaha
Om
Translation:
I bow to my teachers and offer my efforts
To the teacher that is this very life
To the teacher that is this path
To the teacher who entrusts me with the hardships, the transitions and the uncertainties on this journey
To the teacher within each of us
To the teacher who is beyond all of this
I offer my efforts
WONDERMENT
DECEMBER 6TH, 2008: My friend Jennifer is in
During yoga class we get to try out the art of being. We sit in wonder of it all in the moment and practice breathing. Or like Ludwig Wittgenstein says, “That the world is, is the mystical.” “The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and science. Whosoever does not know it and can no longer wonder, no longer marvel, is as good as dead, and his eyes dimmed.”– Albert Einstein
So today put the left brain down, get into your body ruled by the right side of the brain and just sit in awe of the relationship between things. Live in wonder of your own life! Don’t forget when you love your life, your life will love you back! Silvia
AT HOME IN OUR BODIES
DECEMBER 5TH, 2008: If you’ve ever visited a topless beach there is a period of time where you get really self-conscious like folks are looking at you. Eventually you realize no one is looking at you and then you chill out. Doing yoga with other people is a little like that. At first you are totally self-conscious thinking it’s all about you and that everybody is checking you out: your hair, your body, your pose. Reality is, not really. What I want you to realize about yoga is that the hardest part is it asks us to BE OURSELVES, without reservation, without conditions.
This means it really is helping us be at home in our bodies and honest in our emotions. And until we get in contact with our true feelings – fear, upsetness, grief, joy, silliness we won’t be able to build healthy relationships. I’ve tried it the other way, it doesn’t work. So today I hope to inspire you to be true to yourself by really getting totally fascinated with your body, your sexiness, your playfulness, your heart and see what happens next in your relationships. I know they will blossom! Love in all ways, Silvia
PEACE: FOLLOWING OR LEADING ENERGY?
DECEMBER 4TH, 2008: This is an interesting time of year. It is considered by many people to be the most sacred, quiet, peaceful time of year. Yet here we are in the midst of extreme business...so busy it keeps us away from practicing yoga!
In a pose and inside our breath we often ask ourselves as part of self-study what is more dominant, what is not engaged, another way said...what is leading our energy and where are we following. This awareness is important because we cannot truly know peace until we understand the many tendencies we have that threat our ability to find it, let alone keep it.
Ask yourself have you during this most quiet time of year been TOO BUSY, following the energy of your neighbors, colleagues to buy more, do more? If yes then make time for the mat, get into your body which will make you honest and help you take back the lead. As the Dalai Lama says, "Responsibility does not only lie with the leaders of our countries or with those who have been appointed or elected to do a particular job. It lies with each of us individually. Peace starts within each of us."
Right on! May I be peaceful, May you be peaceful, May WE be peaceful! Love, Silvia
RECHARGING ONE'S BATTERIES: RETURNING TO ALIGNMENT
Yoga essentially shows us our best selves and each time we come to the mat we rediscover who we really are. You know that feeling of coming home, like in our first down dog of the practice. So when we come back home to ourselves we are aligning to our spiritual hearts. The flow within and outside us feels easeful once more. This is different than saying “easy” life is not always going to be easy, just like poses are not always easy either. But if we are aligned with our greatest good we can face any challenge without letting it get the best of us, burning us out, making us sick or tired. So join me in taking an honest look at whether you are in or out of alignment and from there I wish you all the courage to do something about it. This is the same wish I have for myself. I want for you, your own best strength! Love in all ways, Silvia
YOGA FOR BETTER SLEEP
DECEMBER 2, 2008: Here's the good news: Better sleep has been noted for years as one of the great benefits of yoga! So today we learn about Yoga for Sleep and improved emotional well-being since there is a link between inability to sleep and anxiety.
What is Anxiety? It is how we manage stress. What is Stress? The opposite of relaxation.
One of the most important things you can learn from a yoga class is that your thoughts have the ability to affect your overall contentment and health. During the deep relaxation pose (corpse pose), one systematically relaxes every part of the body, even suggesting that the brain itself is "relaxed." During conscious relaxation, thoughts are experienced more as an energy, which is associated with the brain than as the sum total of who we are. We have thoughts, but those thoughts no longer take over our bodies and minds at large -- triggering tension, anxiety or other responses. Yoga teaches us that consciousness and thoughts are not the same thing.
When we are relaxed we are able to let the thoughts flow through us without dancing away with them to the past or the future. We remain conscious, allowing the thoughts to come through us, but we learn not to interact with them. We can say to ourselves, "Oh, there's another thought of dinner, or of person 'X' or of fear about tomorrow's meeting." Then we can let go of that thought and return to the relaxation at hand. This is a meditative practice, which gradually over time allows us to "dis-identify" with our thoughts. When thoughts are experienced just as thoughts, not as reality itself, then the path to freedom which yoga promises begins to unfold naturally.
A handout was provided with suggested bedtime Mantra, Meditation and Poses. If you want a copy of this just email silvia@totalbodyyoga.com SWEET DREAMS! Silvia
UNDISTRACTED ENERGY
DECEMBER 2, 2008: "Throughout life, we get clues that remind us of the direction we are supposed to be headed. If you stay focused, then you learn your lessons." -Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
One of the greatest strengths we possess is the power to focus our thoughts. The value of the currency of our thoughts is worth more than anything else we can imagine. If we don't focus our thoughts they will end up scattered leaking energy in all directions. Pure thought is the idea of being totally undistracted. Now here's the coolest part: the energy of our thoughts are like a magnet and they will attract similar energy. If you are focusing on what you don't have, on anger, disappointment, fear then you will attract more of this same energy. We don't have time to waste a single thought on negativity. What you focus on gets stronger. It is such a blessing that we get to choose where we place our attention so we might as well pay attention to our strengths. Today DO YOGA. TRUST YOUR STRENGTHS. AND LOVE EVERYONE! Peace to all people everywhere, Silvia
A philosopher said, "In a civilized world, if our strengths are not determined to be valuable, we spend our life shoring up our weaknesses."
YOGA IS INVISIBLE
NOVEMBER 30TH, 2008: When I think about the main message I want to give folks about yoga it's this: JUST HAVE FUN. Find pleasure in the practice. ENJOY IT! I don't want you to get all worked about about what you look like, how you practice and whether you're doing it perfectly. I really don't want your yoga to be another opportunity to practice the self-abuse of perfectionism.
Just be YOURSELF. This means if you want to cry or laugh or both at the same time, that's just you being you without conditions. Just like your breath is unconditional. It will breath us no matter what. I remember a time in my life where I was not given permission to breath or to be myself, flaws and all, and it felt like I was a prisoner. YOGA SET ME FREE. I want it to do that for you too.
Remember REAL YOGA IS WHAT YOU CAN'T SEE. IT IS INVISIBLE.
So while I know you will find deep benefits from the practice including greater clarity and a more peaceful demeanor I hope this is achieved while you are enjoying your time on the mat. That it becomes for you what it is for me, FREEDOM, LIGHTNESS, RECESS FOR ADULTS. Let the yoga work for you, takes its lessons to heart but msot of all HAVE FUN! Wishing you all great joy! Silvia
COLD OUTSIDE: SUNNY ON THE INSIDE
DECEMBER 1, 2008: As you close your eyes you turn into the darkness to see that inner light within the untouched place known as maja. It is a place unblemished by sadness or meanness or anger. It is the seat of wisdom known as our spiritual heart. The yogis believe that each of us replicates the world at large, embodying "rivers, seas, mountains, fields...stars and planets...the sun and moon" (Shiva Samhita, II.1-3). The outer sun, they asserted, is in reality a token of our own "inner sun," which corresponds to our subtle, or spiritual, heart.
So when we practice Surya Namaskar, which is a humble adoration of the insight of the self it namaskar stems from namas, which means "to adore." (The familiar phrase we use to close our yoga classes, namaste—te means "you"—also comes from this root.) Each Sun Salutation begins and ends with the joined-hands mudra (gesture) touched to the heart with the intention behind it of “I adore myself”.
So today no matter the cold, snow or emotional challenges outside you see it is always sunny and sweet deep inside. Amidst the chaos of life there is an inner calm. Or as the poet writes, If the sun were not in love, he would have no brightness, the side of the hill no grass on it.
You light the fire of love
in earth and sky
in heart and soul
of every being.
Through your love
existence and nonexistence merge.
All opposites unite.
All that is profane
becomes sacred again.
Keep stirring the sunny side my friends! Love Big, Silvia