First Class Free

February 26, 2011.  I am so excited to lead another Yoga Retreat February 26 through March 5th at Xinalani in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.  To be with a small group sharing and growing and relaxing together on our own private island is like a dream come true!  Some of my teaching themes next week will include:

Themes for this upcoming week Feb 26 – March 5

M*Engagement, Observation, Participation:  How to apply for the best life ever!

M*Staying Curious – Telling our story

T*The Art of Enjoying Life: Hanging out as an art form in Italy "il bel fai niente"

W*What does MATURITY mean?(Physical, Mental, Emotional, Spiritual)

W*The Healing Cycle: How to get out of victim mode/hurt mode and move on

TH*Your true nature is happiness! How to elevate the grumbling mind Pratipaksha Bhavana

TH*The 4^th Agreement: Do your Best to Enjoy life

F*Doing Our Best – Full responsibility in becoming our best selves: Shedding the old, becoming something new from the inside

F*Simple but Amazing: Using this as life philosophy

S*Sustaining a Life of Beauty

PS Join me on retreat in 2011 www.alchemytours.com

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

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

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

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

February 23, 2011. We'd love to have you join us for some well deserved quiet time.  We are offering a 2 for 1 which means each person only pays $499!  Register today www.alchemytours.com or email hello@alchemytours.com

WHERE IS PAGOSA SPRINGS/WOLF CREEK SKI AREA? 
Pagosa Springs is located in the Four-Corners region of southwestern Colorado which offers an abundance of interesting activities and attractions. The region is known for its access to archeological sites, unmatched mountains, beautiful rivers, canyon lands and a wealth of cultural history. The town of Pagosa Springs is nestled in a beautiful valley on the banks of the San Juan River, surrounded by the 3 million acre San Juan Forest and adjacent to the largest contiguous wilderness area in the nation, the Weminuche Wilderness. "Pagosah" means healing waters in Ute and Pagosa Springs is home of the world's largest mineral hot springs. 

Wolf Creek, thirty minutes from Pagosa Springs, is a mom and pop ski resort in the Southern San Juan Mountains of Colorado, mountains where some serious soul is to be found. Expect sun as this area averages 300 days of sun a year. 

TRIP COST: $999 

WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE TRIP PRICE FOR 4 DAYS?
• 3 nights of accommodation at The Springs Resort and Spa
• 24 hour unlimited hot springs soaking access
• Daily breakfast, three lunches, two dinners and all snacks and drinks for each day’s activities 
• Transportation to and from the airport to Pagosa Springs, in private coach 
• 6 Yoga classes 
• Private Dharma and wilderness talks facilitated by your Guides 
• All gratuities for special events, transfers, lodging and group meals. 
• A special gift 

NOT INCLUDED?
Airfare to and from the trip, gratuities for your guides, spa services at the Springs Resort and Spa, other activities not listed and personal items purchased during your trip. Some meals are not included during this trip to allow you the opportunity to explore the cuisine on your own. 

ABOUT YOUR GUIDES:
You will be guided by Kendra Charts, Jacob Young and Silvia Mordini. 

Kendra is a soul rider. She adores nature, yoga, snowboarding, rock climbing, surfing, people with adventurous spirits and playing in the mountains, desert and beautiful bodies of water.  Kendra is Avalanche I certified, and has her CPR/First Aid and Outdoor Emergency Care certifications. Her love for snowboarding, powder and mountains has led her to the mountains of the West and South America. You’ll find her passion for the mountains and her wonder for nature contagious. 

Jacob is an avid cyclist, runner, and lover of all things outdoors, involving people. With over 10 years of guiding experience, beginning on Mt. Rainier, he has broadened his horizons by transitioning to guiding cycling trips around the world. He has been living in, and exploring the Olympic & Cascade mountain ranges of the Pacific Northwest for the past 11 years, and can often be found cycling, trail running, hiking and skiing in the greater Seattle area when not practicing yoga indoors. Jacob is a Certified Carmichael Training Systems coach and is CPR/First Aid certified, but his real experience comes from his passion for showing people new places and exploring along with them. 

Your Yoga will be taught by Silvia Mordini whose loving Anusara-inspired Vinyasa Flow teaching style is influenced by more than 10 years of Hatha yoga study. With over 7,500 hours of yoga teaching experience, as a nationally recognized Experienced Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance (E-RYT) she is dedicated to making yoga upbeat and fun, serious and informative, supportive and authentic. She brings inspiration enthusiasm and playfulness into each class through creative, flowing sequencing and a delightful combination of yoga philosophy and healthy physical alignment. 
TRIP ITINERARY:
Day 1 – Thursday, April 7, 2011 
Afternoon: 
1:00 Meet in the lobby of the Durango- La Plata County Airport in Durango, shuttle to Pagosa Springs 
2:00 Arrive at Pagosa Springs, The Springs Resort and Spa, check in and brief logistics 
3:00 Water yoga practice 
4:00 Free time

Evening:
7:00 Microbrew tasting at Pagosa Brewery and dinner
9:00 Orientation, Dharma Talk 

Day 2 – Friday, April 8, 2011
Morning:
8:00 Morning yoga practice
9:00 Breakfast 
10:00 Depart for Wolf Creek Ski Area 

Afternoon:
10:30 Boarding/Skiing at Wolf Creek Ski Area: Tutorial and skills clinic for boarding and free ski, boxed lunch and snacks provided
Evening: 
5:00 Restorative yoga practice 
7:00 Après ski at Kip's Cantina followed by dinner at place of your choosing and free time

Day 3 – Saturday, April 9, 2011
Morning:
8:00 Yoga
9:00 Breakfast 
10:00 Depart for Wolf Creek Ski Area

Afternoon:
10:30 Boarding/Skiing at Wolf Creek Ski Area: Tutorial and skills clinic for boarding and free ski, boxed lunch and snacks provided
Evening:
5:00 Special evening yoga restorative practice with live music by Native American Flute Player Charles Martinez
8:00 Après ski and dinner at Ole Miner’s Steakhouse

Day 4 – Sunday, April 10, 2011
Morning:
8:00 Closing yoga practice
9:00 Breakfast 
10:30 Check out and local snowshoe tour provided by Pagosa Nordic

Afternoon:
1:00 Arrive in downtown Durango and lunch 
2:30 Arrive at airport

**Please note that scheduled itinerary is subject to change due to the ebb and flow of life!

WHEN WILL I NEED TO ARRIVE AND WHEN DO I LEAVE? 
Arrival Location: 
You will need to arrive by 1 p.m. in the lobby of the Durango- La Plata County Airport (DRO) in Durango,Colorado on Thursday, December 9.

Departure Location: 
At the end of your trip, you will be shuttled back to Durango. The shuttle will arrive at the Durango-La Plata County airport by 2:30pm. Please do not schedule a flight before 3:30pm. (There are 3:43pm and 5:04pm redeye Flight options from DRO to CHI). 

HOW DO I GET TO PAGOSA SPRINGS IF I FLY? 
You can fly into the Durango-La Plata County Airport in Durango and drive to Pagosa Springs (about 1.5 hours away). If you plan on doing some site seeing on your free time, or if you plan on staying a day or two before or after our trip, then we suggest renting a car either way. Due to winter conditions and mountain passes it is advised to rent a vehicle with four wheel drive.

HOW DO I GET TO PAGOSA SPRINGS IF I DRIVE? 
Pagosa Springs is located 61 miles (about 1.5 hours) east of Durango. If you choose to drive to the trip start, to get there, take CO 172 north from the Durango Airport to the intersection with Hwy 160. Turn right and follow Hwy 160 east to Pagosa Springs.The final directions to our location will be emailed to you before our trip start. 

Like a bee seeking nectar, seek teachings everywhere.  Like a deer, seek a quiet place to digest all that you have gathered."  -Dzogchen Tantra

February 5th, 2011.  I am a student of life a dedicated love anthropologist.  I wear on my wrist Ancora Imparo words spoken by Michelangelo at the age of 75 years old.  Translated this means "I am still learning".  And anyone who knows me knows I take my love of learning seriously. I am dutifully always trying to live in a way that acknowledges the significance of each precious moment and what it teaches me.

The Yoga is always our best teacher.  It stretches our mind muscle and teaches us how to connect with ourselves and accept the sense things make or make sense of things as they are.  Its like working a puzzle which requires concentration and persistence in our bodies and in our hearts. It is not achieved without interest in our own learning. 

So today start with the answer YES to all questions by opening up to the teachings that flow in your path whether they be good, difficult, interesting, or funny.  Try to learn from all of them my friends! Keep close to heart some final inspiration from Michelangelo  "And I hope that I may always desire more than I can accomplish." With heartfelt hope for us all to be students of life in the world with the desire to keep learning! Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia  

PS Join me on retreat this year www.silviamordini.com Moab April 16-19, 2011 and Tuscany June 19-25, 2011 coming up!

PLAYLIST FEBRUARY 21, 2011

*New Radiohead! And almost new Black Eyed Peas!

Gobinday Mukunday, Spirit Voyage Artists

Ardes Bhaee, Mirabai Ceiba

Song for You, Alexi Murdoch

New People {Empire Remix}, Blue Scholars

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

Sexxy Bicycle, Mad Rad

Xoxoxo, The Black Eyed Peas

Morning Mr Magpie, Radiohead

Karaoke, Drake

Mahadeva Shambo, Wade Imre Morissette

Yellow, Jem

River Flows In You, Yiruma

February 21, 2011 To be happy is DEEP WORK, it is not surface stuff.  And the reality of yoga is that it helps us explore ourselves to find out as Anthony DeMello writes, "there is not a single moment in our life when we do not have everything we need to be happy."  

This concept of already having the life we love reminds me of one of my favorites quotes from the book Immunity to Change “Happiness is really freedom from unhappiness.”  So join me in softening our expectations so we can find the:

• Freedom to be happier than ever before
• Freedom to try new things
• Freedom to meet new people
• Freedom to make happy failures
• Freedom to not play it all so safe
• Freedom to do the unexpected
• Freedom to just see what happens 

In 1948 a study began known as the Framingham Heart Study.  It was the most comprehensive of its kind.  Now 60 plus years later scientists have studied other aspects beyond just heart disease.  One of their findings is related to happiness theory.  And of the factors studied a key part is that happiness is being connected to other people.  We experience happiness through social connections.  And therefore are very much influenced by clusters of other people around us.  Check this out:  a change in one person effects you and all in the cluster, your probability for increased happiness improves 15% if your most immediate friend is happy, 10% if a friend of your friend is happy, and so on until four degrees of separation. 

They are figuring out and measuring what yogis have known for thousands of years:  happiness is contagious.  And of course love is our expression of happiness so Love is Contagious.  Today set yourself free to love more, make it viral. Love everyone, starting with you.  Love yourself more, love your day, love your life! Silvia 

PS When you need to create more space for love try this gratitude breath meditation.

Inhale: I welcome happiness,

Exhale: I am grateful

Inhale:  I welcome inspiration

Exhale:  I am grateful

Inhale:  I welcome love

Exhale:  I am grateful

Inhale: I welcome hope

Exhale: I am grateful

February 19, 2011.  I make the time for important stuff like googling LOVE MUSCLE.  Interestingly enough here is the best advice I found in looking after your Love Muscle:

1. Locate the love muscle

2. Remember to breath

3. Don't overdo it

4. Results should show in 8-12 weeks

 That's pretty good advice that could easily apply to yoga as well.  In yoga we always work our Love Muscle.  The love muscle is our mind.  We work our mind muscle by focusing our thoughts on positive expectations. Shakti Gawain says it like this, “When we create something, we always create it first in a thought form. If we are basically positive in attitude, expecting satisfaction and happiness, we will attract and create people, situations, and events which conform to our positive expectations.” The more we practice using our muscles the stronger we get.  In yoga class we move and breath practicing making our minds stronger.  Brian Tracy says, "Winners make a habit of manufacturing their own positive expectations in advance of the event.

I understand maintaining a positive expectation is not easy.  Yoga stretches our mind muscle, it teaches us how to connect with ourselves and accept the sense things make or make sense of things as they are.To me this is the ultimate definition of yoga: anything that wakes you up to who you really are, that makes you more aware of your life, that which works our love muscle. Love yourself, Love your day, Love your life! Silvia

PS Here is the salutation we practiced to stretch our mind through our body. 

7th Chakra Namaskar

*Start standing in Mountain with HASTA VINYASA – “Conductor arms” 

INHALE – Reach arms down and out lift left knee Crane

EXHALE – Arms to sides and reach forward Flying Lunge

INHALE – Low Lunge circle arms out and up

EXHALE – Half Splits circle arms down and out

INHALE – High Lunge circle arms forward and up

EXHALE – Prepare

INHALE – Warrior 3 circle arms down and out

EXHALE – Crane circle arms forward and up, lower foot to Mountain

Side 2 begins

Awesome great vibe! 63 minute playlist to rock your practice!

Gobinday Mukunday, Spirit Voyage Artists

Paul Valery, Blue Scholars

It Takes a Muscle, M.I.A.

I'm Outta Love, Anastacia

Outta Control, 50 Cent

Xoxoxo, The Black Eyed Peas

Govinda Fly, Sharon Gannon (Mixed By Mike D)

Enter Galactic (Love Connection Part I), Kid Cudi

Enjoy, Janet Jackson

Inna di Red, Stephen Marley featuring Ben Harper

Lively Up Yourself, Bob Marley

Stay Human, Michael Franti

Yellow, Jem

River Flows In You, Yiruma

There is So Much Magnificence, Shiva Rea

www.silviamordini.com

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

CLASS PLAN FEBRUARY 16, 2011

WAVE 1 - Purpose: Safely warm-up spine and strengthen core to protect low back); Learning Points: Understand how your pelvis and ribcage can be used as levers to affect your vertebral column

Begin on back - Savasana (3 part breath dirga pranayama hand on belly, hand on heart)

Inhale arms wide like a T and alternate apanasana (1 knee to chest at a time), Exhale return leg to start

Twist Right, center, Twist Left (Jathara parivatanasana)

Bridge (Sethubandasana) 

Core cultivation:  Pigeon abs to Single Leg Raises 

Waterfall abs (hands protecting lower back, lumbar area of spine)

WAVE 2

Roll up to Dandasana (optional Pascimotanasana)

Parsva Janu Sirsasana twist (then lift hips option to next pose_

Vasistasana variation kneeling

Janu sirsana forward fold 

Cobbler (twist both sides); Side 2 Parsva Janu Sirsasana begins

Upward Facing plank with knees bent (Modified version) --- pull backs to hover, activate core optional (warm up shoulder girdle complimentary muscle groups to prepare for plank, dog, chatarunga)

Malasana 

Standing Forward Fold 

WAVE 3

Sun Salutation A (traditional)

*Include Half Moon A 

WAVE 4 (These waves will go easy on shoulders and weight bearing on hands to focus on hips)

I leg dog lift right leg, open hip (Teaching external rotation) 

Downward Dog

Step left foot forward High Lunge to Leaning Lunge to Half Moon B (right hip open in external rotation)

Standing splits (internal rotation of hip) to baby eagle 3 x's, hold last one strong adduction

Step lifted right leg back to high lunge prep

1 leg dog lift left leg, open hip (teaching external rotation) this begins Side 2

WAVE 5 Easy Mandala Salutation

Begin wave 4 series, add on.  1 leg dog external rotation to downward dog, Step other foot forward High Lunge, Leaning Lunge and OPTIONAL Tumbling Tree

High Lunge to Half Moon B, Standing Splits, Baby Eagle

Step back to high lunge prep into Revolved Lunge to Transverse Lunge

Face back of mat (OPTIONAL basic vinyasa)

Begin same leg twice to go in circle

Add OPTIONAL half crow from transverse lunge, prasarita paddotanasana, finish Mandala

Begin Side 2

WAVE 6 

Pigeon Right leg: first gentle twisting kriya then forward fold

I leg downward dog right hip external rotation (OPTIONAL flipped dog)

Left foot forward: High Lunge, Leaning Lunge, Crane, 1 leg standing pigeon with right leg in same shape as we just did on the floor

OPTIONAL Eka Pada Galavasana (flying pigeon arm balance) - break down into small steps

Forward Fold to Malasana (Squat pose)

Cobbler

Crow

Begin Side 2 (After side 2 move into partner series)

KEY LEARNING POINTS: OPENING AND CLOSING YOUR HIP JOINT

Two very basic movements for the hip joint include stabilizing the connection between the thigh bone and pelvis and creating space within that connection. 

You can also think of these movements as compressing the joint and decompressing it. (I would like to use the word "extend" in place of decompress, but in anatomy terminology, "Extending the hip joint" usually means moving the thigh bone back relative to the pelvis.) Another pair of terms that you can use are "Closing" the hip and "Opening" it.

Both of these actions involve activating muscle tissue. In one case you use muscles to pull your thigh bone away from your pelvis. In the other case you pull the thigh bones in towards the hip socket. A third action, or non-action, is relaxing the hip joint completely.

WAVE 7 PARTNER PRACTICE TO HELP WITH KEY LEARNING POINTS

A.  Cobbler person 1 - Pascimotanasana Person 2: hold wrists and apply muscle energy to work with one another in moving forward or back in these poses (Here we have one open hip position, one closed hip)

*Switch and the other person does the complimentary pose they did not already do*

B.  Upavista Konasana (Seated wide angle pose). Each person sits with wide legs facing one another. Person 1 feet inside the other persons ankles and hold wrists and move forward or back.  The compressing or decompressing is as a result of squeezing legs closed if feet are on the outside or conversely pressing feet out if they are inside partner's ankles.

C.  Cobbler person 1 holds onto the ankles of standing person 2 while that person helps lengthen their spine and ground the sit bones. Secondly the standing partner walks around behind them (after they release their ankles) and helps apply gentle weight to the hip creases to ground the head of the femur bone.  Once done we let person 1 just stay there until they want to come up. Then switch.

CLOSING WAVE 8

Cooling postures: Supine cobbler; Plow to OPTIONAL Shoulderstand

Savasana

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.

February 14, 2011.  Day 5 of Love Blogging 21 days in 2011.  Each chakra relates to specific spiritual, emotional, psychological and physical aspects of ourselves. These can become blocked and as a result a chakra can become either deficient or excessive and therefore imbalanced.  Practicing poses that correspond to each chakra can release these blocks and clear the path to more balanced living.  Today our focus is on balance and we practiced balance poses like tree, warrior 3, crane and even nurtured the balanced point in a Warrior 2 pose so neither foot is bearing more or less weight that the other.  

From this we discovered that Balance is not hard to find. But it is certainly challenging to maintain.  “We can be sure that the greatest hope for maintaining equilibrium in the face of any situation rests within ourselves.”  Francis J. Braceland.  The work of balance is that of the 4th chakra (in the middle of the 7 chakras).  This is our heart chakra that when healthy and in balance helps us to maintain balance between our role as the lover and the beloved.  For in yogic practice we are the one doing the loving and the one receiving the loving.  If one doesn't know how to love oneself then it is impossible to love another person.  We have to know the giving/receiving within our own hearts before experiencing it in relationship with the world.  The key thing to know about balance is that it is NOT perfection.  Love is messy, and falling out of a balance pose is just like losing our balance in life.  We have the choice to get back up and try again and again.  So on this Valentine's Day please do yourself a favor stop asking perfection of yourself or another person.  Instead wake up to how great life is right now and how wonderful you are! 

"Why wait for your awakening?

The moment your eyes are open,

sieze the day.  Would you hold

back when the Beloved beckons?

"No, I can't step across the 

threshold."  you say, eyes

downcast.  "I'm not worthy.

I'm afraid. I'm not perfect,

and surely I haven't practiced

nearly enough.  My meditation

isn't deep. I still chew 

my fingernails and the refrigerator

isn't clean."  Do you value your

reasons for staying small more

than the light shining through

the open door?  Forgive yourself.

Now is the only time you have

to be whole.  Now is the sole

moment that exists to live in

the light of the true Self.

Perfection is not a prerequisite

for anything but pain.  Please, 

oh please, don't continue to 

believe in your disbelief.  This is

the day of your awakening."

--Danna Faulds, Go In and In

The most advanced yoga pose is loving yourselves.  In this lies our ultimate resource for making the sensitive adjustments necessary to maintain balance in life.  Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia

PS Join me on retreat www.alchemytours.com

PLAYLIST FEBRUARY 14, 2011. Theme Balance of Love.

Hey World (Don't Give Up Version), Michael Franti & Spearhead

Pink Moon, Nick Drake

Ananda, Solar Quest

Deep South, Layo Paskin & Matthew Bushwacka

Nogo, Issa Bagayogo

Gate To The Silkroad, Mokhira

Free Tibet, Hilight Tribe

Rero, Ismael Lo

Hard Sun (Main), Eddie Vedder

Yellow ,Coldplay

Grace, U2

Savasana

February 13, 2011.  Day 4 of Love Blogging 21 days in 2011.  Here is a super simple fact about energy: It is attracted to the same kind of energy.  Like energy attracts like energy.  When we breath, feel, live from our heart energy we attract more of the same. And I can prove it.  (Science supports this too.) This is otherwise known as the law of attraction.  And interesting enough when you feel good you are more attractive. Yoga teaches us that our natural state is one of happiness.  We are born that way and meant to live that way.  There is nothing wrong with enjoying life!

A great way to test this out for yourself is to practice SMILING MORE.  This was #11 on my list of 11 Things to Say Yes to in 2011 (an earlier blog posting).  Develyn Steele says, "Smiling changes your attitude, raises your confidence, and makes you more attractive."  Whether you believe it or not smiling changes how you feel.  If you doubt this then start smiling and thinking positive thoughts and see what develops.  You will find that you can't help but have a more elevated attitude (Pratipaksha Bhavana) when you smile or even think about when you were last smiling.  Today we practiced a guided visualization with our left side to experience what it feels like physically to smile with each part of our body. Then we could sense for ourselves how the right and left sides of our bodies felt differently from one another.  From there we used different types of movement (both jala water influenced flow and fire agni) to see what impact both had on our feeling state as well as how planting a smile here in there influenced the poses like plank.

You see smiling affects our emotions because of a body-brain connection.  It triggers scientifically measurable activity in the left frontal cortex of the brain where happiness is registered.  And what is even more fascinating to support this theory of the law of attraction or how we attract similar energy is that of the 44 muscles of the face that allow us to create more than 5000 different types of expressions, each of those expressions will have a unique affect on the way you feel and how OTHERS feel about you.  

When you smile with your heart and with your thoughts you cultivate a naturalness towards positive thinking at the same time. Here's a real life example: I didn't always believe in green lights.  Then I practiced smiling more both on the mat and off.  All of a sudden I started to believe in the possibility of green lights.  From there through the power of positive thinking I started to believe I should receive Green Lights everyday, not just sometimes.  And eventually I grew even more confident and started putting out to the universe that I deserved to Green Light my LIFE.  

That is how profound an impact this practice can have on your life.  I know because it's had this amazing impact on changing my life for the better and best.  I smile more and I laugh all the time and truly I do get green lights. And you can too! Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia

PS Join me on retreat this year www.alchemytours.com

HIP HOP YOGA PLAYLIST FEBRUARY 12, 2011

Fire, Coco De Mer

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

No Rest for the Weary, Blue Scholars

The Fire, The Roots Feat. John Legend

BIG BANK HANK [Main], Blue Scholars

Xoxoxo, The Black Eyed Peas

Just You & I, Dzihan & Kamien

Free Tibet, Hilight Tribe

Strong Will Continue, Nas & Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley

Coming Home, Diddy - Dirty Money & Skylar Grey

I Will Be Light, Matisyahu

One Of These Mornings, Moby

Lakshmi, Girish, Donna Delory, Greg Leisz & Georges Lamman

Beyond Time [ambient edit], Blank & Jones

BONUS: I’m Too Sexy, Right Said Fred

February 12, 2011 Day 3 of Love Blogging 21 days in 2011.  Does yoga make you sexy?  Yes it can: when we feel peaceful our faces do look prettier.  And when we are kinder we are more approachable. And when we move more gracefully we are more attractive.  

Practicing yoga also helps us remember to celebrate life. During class we burn off, sweat off, twist off the spiritual amnesia (forgetting what fires you up!) In a nutshell it reminds us about what we love about our life: Dancing, hiking, playing piano, running, cycling, painting, traveling.  Forgetting what you love to do is a form of self-sabotage. If you can forget about your dreams, then you never have to risk failure. But just because you've decided to ignore your passions doesn't mean they no longer exist. Besides life is too short to stop doing what you love.

So today we invoked the Fire Element. Fire in Sanskrit is AGNI. 

“Fire is not seen until one firestick rubs against another, though the fire remains hidden in the firestick. Let your body be the lower firestick; Let the heart be the upper. Rub them against each other in yoga and meditation.”  (ancient writing)

Fire is the energy of transformation or change.  If you think about the power (Shakti) of fire it can take metal and change it into a beautiful gold ring. Fire is also symbolic of rebirth.  It cleanses, burns off the negative and energizes one to light the path forward. Then we move confidently in the direction of what we love with great PASSION. And that enthusiasm and confidence is SEXY!

It is visible to everyone. You can see it.  For instance if Leonardo DaVinci would paint your portrait would he see that fire of passion in your eyes?  Are you living life with enthusiasm? In the words of Philosopher Hebbel, “Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion.” And no one else can tell you what fires you up, only you can decide “how to set your life on fire” (Rumi).

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs;?ask yourself what makes you come alive.

And then go and do that.

Because what the?world needs is people who have come alive."~ Harold Whitman

Find your passion, whatever it may be. Become it and hold true to your biggest dreams! "Let no doubt into your dreams and intentions. The dreamers are the saviors of the world. Be one of those dreamers." (Dr Wayne Dyer)

This is the time to empower yourself towards transforming your life! Let's make today THE BEST DAY EVER!  Now that's sexy….Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia

HIP HOP INSPIRED YOGA PLAYLIST
Fire, Coco De Mer

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

No Rest for the Weary, Blue Scholars

The Fire, The Roots Feat. John Legend

BIG BANK HANK [Main], Blue Scholars

Xoxoxo, The Black Eyed Peas

Just You & I, Dzihan & Kamien

Free Tibet, Hilight Tribe

Strong Will Continue, Nas & Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley

Coming Home, Diddy - Dirty Money & Skylar Grey

I Will Be Light, Matisyahu

One Of These Mornings, Moby

Lakshmi, Girish, Donna Delory, Greg Leisz & Georges Lamman

Beyond Time [ambient edit], Blank & Jones

BONUS: I’m Too Sexy, Right Said Fred

WARNING ADULT LANGUAGE: If you are still reading. I came upon this quote today from Bikram “With this one you are fucking until you are 90! You have seven orgasms in a row!” – referring to eagle pose, which he considers the best pose for good sex.  (Yeah we did that one in class today)

February 11, 2011.  Here on Day 2 of blogging about love for 21 days in 2011 I guess I should explain why I am embracing the Year of the Rabbit.  I met someone.  And when you meet someone you really want to spend time with in one place then the quiet concept of "Love is Patient" takes on a whole new meaning.  My yoga on the mat has served to make me strong enough now so that I want to practice the Yoga of Home and Yoga of Relationship more than ever.  To me after the hardest pose of being ourselves then the next hardest yoga pose is making a relationship with another human being that is calm and content.  What the ancient yogis call Santosha.  Not the New Years Eve fireworks crazy amped up experience but the gentle force of kindness. "Love is Kind" in action. I recently did a cyber interview for Xinalani Resort where I'll be leading a yoga retreat February 26-March 5th.  Part of that interview is here: 

Xinalani: How did the two of you meet?

Jacob: We met on a train in Italy...yes, it was one of those romantic things you read about in books, and yes, we get asked every trip about it. Perhaps that is one of the incentives for coming on one of our trips?

Silvia: The way Jacob tells the story makes everyone cry every single time. It was exactly as Rumi writes, “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.” In that moment of meeting I was returning from a Yoga Retreat in Tuscany where I had found much healing and growth. I had ever more fully let go of the barriers to loving myself. I was truly awake and more openhearted than ever before.  And that is when Jacob found me.

Through this yogic practice I have been able to get stronger on the inside so I didn't feel like I had to maintain the walls and barriers up on the outside. As a result I got softer on the outside.  In that softness love felt more welcomed.  Although I hesitate I feel I should caution you a bit here: When you arrive at that place where you are willing to be open to grace and be more gentle outwardly you will get hurt.  Some will take advantage of you.  You might wonder so how many times has my heart been broken? Well, more than most.  But would I trade this letting go of barriers to have it any other way? No I would not.  Once you start the practice of yoga the process takes over and what you thought was important before evolves to a whole new level.  You put your energy on creating and deepening the poses of your life and away from holding back or closing off.  It is in that receptivity that the yoga of relationship love will find you as it did me.  So today sweat off the old hardness, knock down the walls and welcome LOVE! Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia

*Join me on a yoga retreat www.alchemytours.com

February 11, 2011. 

Set your life on fire.

Seek those who fan your flames. - RUMI

I read somewhere that “no one is born with healthy self-esteem” we must learn this quality as we face our challenges.  In the energy system this is the work of the 3^rdchakra, the solar plexus, or Manipura.  The energies of this chakra have at their heart the intention to help us mature in our self-understanding like how we feel and take care of ourselves. This spiritual quality is about self-respect.  How we feel about ourselves, whether we have a strong sense of self-esteem determines our quality of life, our capacity to succeed in relationships, and our overall vitality.  

The spiritual truth here is that if we don’t like ourselves our energy sags.  And the lower our energy the less able we are to attract healthy relationships and job situations. To know if your 3^rd Chakra is in balance take a moment and honestly ask yourself: are you choosing situations, people, & things that drain your energy or grow your energy? 

For meditation ask yourself these questions:

·         Where were you last February 2010?

·         Where are you now?

·         Do you have more energy today?

·         Where do you see yourself February 2012?

From this practice of yoga I want us all to keep stoking the fire! I want for you to feel energized and excited about your life. And if you aren't feeling that way then the time is now to set an expectation for yourself – to your own growth and evolution – and surround yourself with those that seek to fan your flames. You are all amazing and as we continue paying attention to the health of our 3^rdchakra please know you have all come a very long way already and let's take it to that next level.  SET YOUR LIFE ON FIRE!  Love yourself, love your day, love your life!  Silvia

*Join me with Alchemy Tours www.alchemytours.com to set the fire ablaze full blast!

February 10, 2011.  Day 1 of blogging about love for 21 days in 2011.  Thank goodness I think to myself I didn't agree to blog for 201 days!  I am overwhelmed about where to start. The topic of love is just so enormous, infinite, profound...well even without the adjective overload you know what I mean.  Last year was the Year of the Tiger a period of change, turbulence, confrontation of our fears, friction and constant tapping into the courage well of the heart.  This now is the Year of the Rabbit. A more gentle earthy year in which to cultivate peaceful contentment.  This is a year of calm and quiet to focus on home and family.  

And so I find myself engaged fully with the year of the Rabbit because I need it and also at the same time at odds with it because it doesn't come naturally. I loved the year of the Tiger! I was tuned into the warrior energy of creating and promoting and building. I have that energetic vata/pitta thing of the Fire element going on without trying.  I sometimes even love with fierceness.  But Rabbit? This is going to be a real test of my love skills.

You see I am a doer and survivor! In many ways I loved the year of the Tiger. Even now I sometimes want to scream out BRING BACK THE TIGER!  But wait, last year was one of the most difficult of my life, felt like I was in a constant battle...yeah, on second thought i need the rabbit. And that makes more sense to the fact my sign is the Earth Monkey with traits like calm, considerate and honest.

When I feel the most grounded I feel in sync with love both from myself and from others.  Even my yoga poses get more stable, sthira and centered.  And from the yoga of promoting earth energy I feel more grounded, balanced, and centered with so much more to offer those I love.  I have never been more ready to welcome a peaceful love and will do all I can to manifest a drama-free year of my best possibilities! I hope you do the same because you deserve it.  Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia

PS: The video here has nothing to do with anything or maybe everything to do with everything either way I liked it's gentle loving vibe. The Weepies: Be My Honeypie. Dedicate to my honeypie JMY!   

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeZMTOSeHVw&feature=player_embedded

February 9, 2011. Wendell Barry said, “The earth is what we have in common.” I’d add that our ability to lose our balance and allow over-worrying to make us feel ungrounded is also what we have in common.  You know, that feeling of being disconnected and just off center. 

So we devoted today’s practice to getting grounded into the earth, our common ground. Grounding serves us as a simplifying force, one which helps us plug back into ourselves and allows us to be fully present and balanced. Once centered we feel empowered and stable to see the circumstances of our lives with increased clarity.  We no longer over-respond or over-worry.

Just like building a yoga pose from the ground up, we need stability to form a strong foundation for our lives. On the yoga mat we used a long series of standing poses to help us achieve the security that comes from connecting our nervous system to the earth. In Sanskrit this is known as Sthira. As a result we all left the practice with our inner stillness intact once more ready to be the rooted influence amongst our families and friends. May you stay grounded and keep coming home to balance.

And if you are looking to do even more in depth work on balance and grounding join me for the two places in the world that always make me feel more centered: Moab, Utah and Tuscany Italy. Check out www.alchemytours.com to join me April, June, or October 2011.  In the meantime let’s stay in touch, the earth is what we have in common.  Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia

PLAYLIST FEBRUARY 9, 2011

Very balanced chill 60 minutes to invoke the earth element and promote grounding, trust and calm.  Perfect for those times you need to quiet the anxious mind or impatient heart.

Shiva Invocation, Shantala

Assyrian Women Mourners, Anja Lechner & Vassilis Tsabropoulos

Realms, Sigal Brier

Duduki, Anja Lechner & Vassilis Tsabropoulos

Pluznick, Raphael & Steve Kindler

Kerala Dream, Shaman's Dream

Trois morceaux après des hymnes byzantins I, Anja Lechner & Vassilis Tsabropoulos

Trois morceaux après des hymnes byzantins III, Anja Lechner & Vassilis Tsabropoulos

Night Song, Bill Dougrlas / Ty Burhoe / Kai Eckhardt / Steve Smith

Purnamadah, Shantala

Stars (Instrumental), John De Kadt

February 9, 2011.  I don't mean this to be dramatic or morbid but if I died today could I say that I've lived well.  And more importantly could I say that I've loved well.  You see today is the anniversary of my Father's death. Enrico Mordini died on this day many years ago, too many to even begin to want to count.  And yet the hardest day of my life is also a day of inspiration.  It is a reminder every year to ask myself am I loving enough?  Am I Creating more love in the world, not just following love but leading the way for love as a Love Warrior so to speak.  

For it's not enough to think about it or follow the leader in love it is also our responsibility to make more love in the world.  Today more than ever!  And yes for me this is also tied up in wondering on this date every year "is my Papa proud of me and how I'm loving my life." Would he think that I respect love enough to salute it every day (like a sun salutation)?  I have to believe he is proud of how valiant my attempts are regardless of the results which are sometimes messy and pretty often imperfect.

Funny thing about death is that the anniversary keeps coming back every year and reminds us that we don't know how long we have on this earth. So if you are thinking about getting started in loving more, creating more love, talking to love, talking about love then you should get started NOW.  Yesterday, in meditation I decided to turn up the volume of love in my life, mostly because I don't feel like I'm yet "doing" enough to promote love.  If I am a Love Ambassador (kind of like a Lululemon Ambassador) I have to get out there and keep the "brand image" of LOVE on the forefront.  I have to take more responsibility.  So I have pledged to write/blog/meditate about love for 21 days in a row (the length of time some scientists agree it takes to build a healthy habit).

Those of you who know me might think this will be an easy love assignment for me, but being actively pledged to love is not easy. It is simple.  Just not easy. That's a long time to be in love with love and maintain a fruitful, spiritually mature dialogue.  I say this because when my Father passed away the first person I was angry with was Love. I screamed and cried and shouted at love in my thoughts and out loud, because I couldn't understand why love would take away the first person on this planet who loved me (along with my Mama too).  Love seemed so unfair to me then.  So you see I haven't always been on good terms with Love, we've argued before and sometimes it's not been pretty.

But here I am, ready to really try to be the Love Ambassador that I want to be and that will make my Papa proud.  You see Love is a skill.  If you practice love, move like love, think love, behave in a loving way then we're bound to get good at it, just like anything else we practice (sadhana) repeatedly over time.

Eknath Easwaren says it like this “Love is a skill, a precious skill that can be learned. There are many other skills that are useful, even necessary, but in the end, nothing less than learning to love will satisfy us. The saints and mystics tell us that life has only one overriding purpose: to discover the source of infinite love and then to express this love in daily living. Without love, life is empty; without love, life is meaningless. The only purpose which can satisfy us completely, fulfill all our desires, and then make our life a gift to the whole world, is the gradual realization of the Self (LOVE) within, which throws open the gates of love. We cannot dream what depth and breadth of love we are capable of until we make the discovery that this divine spark lives in every creature.” 

And today as I dream of love I am just so grateful to breath and welcome a way that promotes living the biggest love possible. So happy am I to have another chance to love more! It comes down to a simple choice (here I really should tell you that my "not so secret" ulterior motive is to build an army of Love Ambassadors worldwide) and I'd like to recruit each of you.  The oath is easy.  You just say to yourself and then to everyone: I CHOOSE LOVE.

May you love yourself more, love your day more, love your life more! Silvia 

JANUARY 31, 2011.  MORE YES! Here we are in the beginning of the year. Eleven months more to go which means there is still plenty of time to set the foundation of YES in your life in 2011.  Let's start by saying YES to a little quiz. First question to ask yourself is (1) are you conscious and alert to your Yes choices?  (2) Do you say Yes more than you say No?  (3) What do you say YES to? 

In Tantric philosophy we start with "yes".  It is our first choice.  We say yes to opening, softening, receiving and lay the way in understanding that YES IS DOING! Or as is written in the Alchemist, "There is only one way to learn, it's through action. Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey." You see Yoga is learning to align with nature rather than resisting it or trying to over control it by saying No all the time.  This spiritual practice is about saying YES as the immediate response to life.  Wayne Gretzky is so right on "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take."  Yes means taking the chance, risking it all for love, for a happier life, for a happier YOU.  Will you get hurt? Maybe. Is it worth it? YES! So join me in aligning 11 INTENTIONS to 2011, in these eleven remaining months of the year.

So here are 11 things to say YES to in 2011 

1. Yoga, Cycling, Culture and Wine in Tuscany, Italy June 19-26, 2011 or October 16-22, 2011
2. 10 minutes of meditation 5 in the morning and 5 in the evening
3. Practicing patience with the one person you love 
4. Walk or ride a bike for 15 min a day
5. Yoga, Mountain Biking and Adventure in Moab, Utah April 16-19, 2011 or Oct 27-30, 2011
6. Take a Private Yoga Session 
7. Taking a few deep breaths before sending an email, text, or phone call. What is your intention for communication and does it come from love?
8. Start reading the Yoga Sutras (Secret Power of Yoga is one of my favorites!)
9. Get some Beach Therapy. Yoga in Xinalani Mexico Feb 26-March 5, 2011 or Big Island Hawaii Dec 18-23, 2011
10. Practice gratitude daily. Write or think of 3 things you are grateful for each morning or before bed.
11. SMILE more!

Take to heart that doing something is the Yes. And when you decide you are clear on what you say YES to, then everything is there to support you.  It is as is written in the Alchemist "When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." At the end of the day what you say YES to isn't even as important as just doing it!  Love yourself, love your day, love your life, Silvia 

PS - Join me on retreat www.alchemytours.com or www.silviamordini.com

February 8, 2011.   Living in a new place whether it's a new apartment or new house or new city kind of forces you to be a beginner at everything.  You have to learn where the forks go or the dishes and where's the toilet paper let alone how do you get to your favorite yoga studio or find a Pottery Barn.  Quite frankly even grocery shopping is a whole new experience because of the volume of options and once inside the plethora of vegetarian choices. I have never felt more beginner in choosing food even after 20 years as a Vegetarian.  I normally don't have a lot of options so I am learning all over again.  I am the new kid in school everywhere I go these days. 

Yogically speaking we aspire to maintain a "beginner's mind" in our poses, remaining curious to every new breath and treating the practice as if we are like a child learning to walk for the first time.  The practice of beginners mind translates into our daily life where we can apply a prism of freshness to all we do and feel.  As a result nothing in our lives gets stale.  I've felt the blessings of this in my love relationships of friends and partner. 

“The bud

stands for all things,

even for those things that don’t flower,

for everything flowers, from within, of self-blessing;

though sometimes it is necessary

to reteach a thing its loveliness,

to put a hand on the brow

of the flower

and retell it in words and in touch

it is lovely

until it flowers again from within, of self-blessing”  (By Galway Kinnell)

To be in that place where we are always blossoming as we walk our own spiritual path moved by an inner sense to see things from a new perspective keeps us excited by life. Or as Roger Housden puts it “you may find, as I have, that we too, are buds, you and I, full of life unfolding into flower.”  So after more than 7,500 hours of teaching yoga I am still only a "baby" teacher.  I am forever a beginner seeing the poses, the breath, the world for the first time.  So as folks ask me if moving has been hard I don't think so.  My yoga practice has prepared me how to crawl, walk, run and even fall with delight.  As I go around my new home and city I am stoked at being new to parks, beaches, beers even if I keep getting lost on the way to Pottery Barn or Lululemon.  And most of all I am grateful to be a beginner again at making new friends!

But wherever you are, even if you've "done" downward dog a million times try it today as if for the first time. Make it extraordinary! And then go out and take a different route to get to your yoga studio and while you're at it why not challenge yourself this week to begin a conversation with someone new?  May we all constantly allow ourselves to BEGIN AGAIN.  Love yourself, love your day, love your life! See you in the flow!  Peace out, Silvia

*PS join me on retreat www.alchemytours.com

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

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

This science of happiness we call yoga makes space so we can  is let go of what is negative and stay tuned in to our own contentment.  And the person responsible for being happy is YOU.  Yoga teaches self-responsibilty, non-judgment and seriously radical self-acceptance by accepting the full spectrum of who we are (anger, worry, fear).   The mat is a truth serum that helps us realize the truth and allows us to clear the space for living a more joyful life.  

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

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

February 5, 2011. Just a year ago I used GPS for the first time. I get the idea. You plug in where you want to go and it helps guide you there. The key point being you KNOW where you want to go. Yoga to me has been that which helps us ask the question “who am I” and eventually we get to the “why am I here” and even further down the path “WHERE THE HELL AM I GOING?” So this concept of GPS is pretty vibrant.

If you can get to the point that you know where you want to go then you know your spiritual maturity is evolving in the right direction. Until I finally decide to go to Tuscany on a Yoga Retreat one year I just played at entering a real GPS for my life. Then from that point forward I got clear. I want that for you. Get on the mat, do the practice, get your destination in gear and watch what happens. Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia

PART OF MY PLAYLIST TODAY 2/5/11

Hard Sun (Main), Eddie Vedder
Nogo, Issa Bagayogo
Break Your Heart, Taio Cruz Feat. Ludacris
Vamos A Bailar, Gipsy Kings
Tighten Up ,The Black Keys
Express Yourself, Mocean Worker Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street
Mr Big Stuff, Jean Knight
Dedication, Kirby Shelstad
AMAZING GRACE

Join us on an amazing spiritual adventure www.alchemytours.com or come take class with me www.silviamordini.com

PLAYLIST FEBRUARY 4, 2011.

Hope (Live for the art of peace), Rush

Hard Sun (Main), Eddie Vedder

Escucha Me, Gipsy Kings

Nogo, Issa Bagayogo

Mahamrtyunjaya Mantra, Reema Datta

High Low (feat. Zap Mama) [Acoustic Mix], Michael Franti & Spearhead

Escaping Arkham, Common Market

No Rest for the Weary, Blue Scholars

Queen Bee, Devendra Banhart

Jesus etc., Wilco

Faust Arp, Radiohead

While My Guitar Gently Weeps, The Beatles

Join me for wonderful yoga retreat www.alchemytours.com

PLAYLIST FEBRUARY 2, 2011.  Theme was about Shiva/Shakti and we talked about appreciating endings as much as we do beginnings.  And in those endings we are completing cycles nothing more or less. In that way we can tap into the Power of Creativity, Creation and make the best lives ever!

Om Ram Ramaya, Deva Premal

Every Breath You Take, The Police

Believer, M.I.A.

Lumière [MAIN], Blue Scholars

Dream Machine (Down Tempo Mix), Mark Farina & Sean Hayes

Groovejet (If This Ain't Love), Spiller

Freestyler, Bomfunk MC's

Now That We Found Love, Heavy D and the Boyz

Let Me Know, Collie Buddz

I Ka Barra (Your Work), Habib Koite and Bamada

What a Feeling,            Collie Buddz

High Low (feat. Zap Mama) [Acoustic Mix], Michael Franti & Spearhead

(Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay, Otis Redding

Don't Think Twice, It's All Right, Bree Sharp

Mahadeva Shambo, Wade Imre Morissette

Infusion (Bombay Mix), Adham Shaikh

Thanksgiving, George Winston

Shine On, Wade Imre Morissette (POST SAVASANA!)

Join me on retreat www.alchemytours.com 

Namaste Yogi Friends, 

In yogic mythology NATARAJA, literally the King of the Dance of Existence represents the power of Destruction, Shiva, and yet in it's hands it holds in one the power to destroy but in the other the power of Creation. All of us are dancing between endings and beginnings. 

Some say this Cosmic Dance of destruction and creation creates this vibration which is the sound of OM (AUM), movement, stillness and then something beyond that.

So when we see Nature, which is always one of our best teachers, dance a dance of destruction with Snow (or anything else) we are reminded to appreciate endings as much as we do beginnings.  This is too why we practice savasana at the end of class, we let die a little our petty dramas, our real challenges and well all the rest. And upon rising up, we BEGIN AGAIN. We are creating a new life!

So let's follow the example of nature - we see it is making us pause. ALL CLASSES CANCELED FEBRUARY 2ND, 2011 (our first time ever)  Enjoy your families, your friends, yourself and remember you have been born in this body, this heart, this soul to CREATE something beautiful for your life.  

And this opportunity won't last forever.  Let's all give birth to our best lives ever once the blizzard ends.  Make a new beginning!  Love yourself, love your day, love your life, Silvia   

PS - I would love to have 5 more Yogi Friends come to sunny Paradise with me! See www.alchemytours.com or www.silviamordini.com or email me at info@totalbodyyoga.com. Photos at http://www.xinalaniretreat.com/