HEARTFELT LIVING

 

 

 Namaste Yogis and Yoginis,

The universe is speaking to me through the heart about heartfelt living!

It began with the synchrodestiny (a Chopraism) of listening to an interview on one of my fav spiritual podcasts: Insights on the Edge. (I think I mentioned Tami Simmons in my last post and her wonderful team at Sounds True who produce this podcast.) Sarah Blondin is an author and spiritual teacher, and her latest book, Heart Minded: How to Hold Yourself and Others in Love, prompted the podcast interview that began my journey into heartfelt living. The interview is called Kneeling at the Doorway of  My Heart.

Kneeling at the doorway of my heart, as a phrase, resonated with me - such a humble honouring of the heart. Sarah spoke of concepts such as 'heart mind', 'living a heartfelt life' and 'making decisions through the heart'. Heart choices rather than mind choices. During the interview she guided listeners to think, feel, see and listen using the heart.

There is so much bitterness, frustration, fear, confusion and difficulty in the world at the moment. And there is also so much beauty, brilliance, creativity, wonder and joy. With every challenge that presents itself, we have the choice to let our hearts implode or open. With this month's focus on the heart I feel equipped and inspired to face both the shadows and the sunshine with love, creativity and wonder. I choose to fill my heart with unconditional love and light.

In beginning this month of heartfelt living. I brought my attention to the heart through every aspect of my physical, spiritual, emotional, and teaching practice, using the framework and resources outlined below, some of them practised every day and some once a week.

•  Nurturing and balancing the Heart Chakra: The heart chakra is the balance point for all the chakras. It governs how we interact with others, our personal values and our ethics. This chakra allows us to follow our own unique direction in life. 
• The heart chakra colour is green, which symbolizes harmony, creativity, health, abundance and nature. When the heart chakra is balanced we are able to communicate with others intuitively. We are more likely to practise forgiveness and understand that we are are all one, connected with each other and the universe. We are able to let go to be present in the here and now. Supportive foods for balancing the heart chakra are leafy greens, including zucchinis, celery, beans, avocados and mung beans. Green tea and raw nuts are also helpful. Beneficial practices include deep breathing with shoulders drawn back and down opening the heart and chest, long slow walks, swimming, and shoulder and neck massages. The sacred sound of the heart chakra is Yam. The crystal is emerald malachite or jade. The essential oil is rose and I have been burning rose oil in the oil burner in our studio where we meditate and practise yoga asana. It's divine and creates a wonderful ambiance.  
  
•  Yoga Asana (physical postures) to nourish, support and open the heart chakra. I have supplied the Sandskrit name of the pose as well as the everyday name. I practised these asanas regularly three to four times a week throughout the month: Warrior 1 and 2 pose (Virabhadrasana), Triangle pose (Trikonasana), Side Angle pose (Parsvakonasanda ), Chest to Leg extension, hands in reverse prayer pose, (Parsvottansana), Heroes pose (Virasana), Camel pose (Ustrasana), Child's pose (Balasana), Bridge pose (Setu Bandhasana), plus other heart and chest opening poses.
  
• Pranayama (Breathing exercises) -  breathing deeply into the heart, raising the vibrational level of the heart chakra. Lion's breath and Full Yogic breath can both be found on YouTube.
• Podcasts: I recommend Tara Brach's 'Listening with Ears of the Heart', and Sarah Blondin's 'Kneeling at the Doorway of my Heart'.
• Gratitude: Remembering to give or find gratitude (saying thank you) when feeling resentment or frustration. This is a challenge, looking for something to be grateful for in a frustrating or compromising situation. Flipping the emotion. It works every time.
• Meditation: Using the mantra seed of Sankalpa (san kal pa) when meditating and repeating this mantra in my head to develop heart/mind focus. Sankalpa reminds us that intent is the woven thread of the universe, and our intention is the seed that is let go into the universe to grow and manifest. 'Grounding into the Heart' by HeatherAsh Amara is a wonderful meditation you may be able to find on YouTube.
• Facebook: Join the HeartMath Institute, Stateofbeingom, and the Heart Mind Institute for interesting articles and information about creating and developing a heartfelt life.
• Ahimsa: is Patanjali's first Yama from the Yoga Sutras. Ahimsa symbolises nonviolence. When you practice Ahimsa you have complete compassion towards all living things, including yourself. Ahimsa reminds us that we are all connected. When we hurt a living thing we hurt ourselves. Ahimsa acknowledges karmic living - how we treat others determines how much suffering we experience. Ahimsa asks us to relinquish irritability to make space for peace. Replace a negative thought with a positive thought!

Wishing you a heartfelt journey. Namaste.

 

 Namaste Yogis and Yoginis, 🙏

I asked the universe for a sign in response to this question, "What is it you want me to do as the next step in realising my life's purpose?"

I put myself in a state of openness to receive a sign - listening carefully and paying attention.

The sign came in the early hours of this morning. The message was very clear: RESURRECT THIS YOGA BLOG!

I'm staying with an energy of gratitude and thanking the universe, trusting that this sign will result in an outcome that is achievable and helpful to myself and others.

I have not visited this blog since 2016. Can I even remember the technical aspects of creating and posting a blog? Not without my bestie Lee, as it turns out. Thank you Lee 💓 

Staying with this theme I thought I would write a short piece on Asking for Guidance.

Regardless of who or what you are asking guidance from - Spirits, God, The Universe, Gaia or Guardians - it is good practice to use the process outlined below:

1. Say: Good morning guides - I'm open to signs and I'm on the look out for them today.
2. What is it you want me to know/understand or teach me?
3. What lesson is it that I need to learn here?
4. Ask for a clear sign.
5. Listen! Pay attention to the guidance you receive.
6. Stay with the energy of gratitude and thank your guides.
7. Trust in the signs and accept that the plan and outcome will be better than your own.
   

👍 For more information about Guides and Questions listen to Tami Simons' podcast 'Insights at the Edge', particularly to the episode 'Jennie Lee - Are You Listening to the Questions Life is Asking You?'

 

Injuries

Yoga and especially Ahstanga can cause injury.
I'm a sixty two year old woman who believes passionately in the practice of yoga asanas on a daily basis.
 I'm an Ashtanga devotee. I love this form of yoga as it is prescriptive, I know what's next. It matches movement to breath and it's a form of moving meditation. With it comes the potential for injury.

If like me you travel frequently and are in and out of temperate to tropical zones you are much more likely to incur an injury.
Practicing in the heat allows so much flexibility and with it a confidence that your body can achieve much more than you would have thought. Here in lies the potential for injury.

On a recent break from the winter cold I visited Bali. Practising ashtanga at my old Shala with my yoga guru I was in seventh heaven. I felt I was back where I belonged, my practice, developed, my fitness level and confindece improved and then......pushing too far in sleeping tortoise pose ( Supta Kurmasana) I felt my chest plate fold resulting in an injury that has disallowed practice for over a week and looks like I won't be practing next week either.

All my gains have been lost, confidence zapped and fitness level plateaued or quite possible regressed. Can't help beating myself up about this!

On the other hand practicing in a cold climate brings it own restrictions. It takes longer to warm the body, you need to layer up which restricts flexibility. The muscles contract and shorten, cramps and stiffness can result.

Soooo what to do! Every visit to my beloved Bali brings another injury.

• Slow down
• Listen to my body
• Heed the warning signs, intuition is a powerful tool. 
• Follow my own practise, not influenced by others,
•  Run my own  race

                                

Ashtanga

Ashtanga yoga is my passion. I owe my interest and passion to Fernado and Sara two very special people who awakened me to this practice. 

I began my Astanga journey with them in Bali in 2015. I followed their suggestion and travelled to Mysore India to further my practice. There I studied with Master Ji another incredible teacher. 

I now practice with Lyndall at The Loctus Centre in Hobart Tasmaina.

follow the link to view the beautiful video of Sara and Fernado and their practice. 

https://www.facebook.com/serenityyogabali/posts/577503815760374

Fernando is so inspiring because of his yoga journey. He has recovered from a near fatal accident. He struggles and persists to manipulate his broken body into Ashtanga asanas. 

There are some positions that he cannot achieve but this does not weaken his practice or his teaching. His struggle is his strength. He gives others the passion to surrender to this amazing yoga practise. 

Meditation and Mantras for Meditation.

Meditation has become a big part of my life. I feel better when I meditate. I make better discussions, I don't get as upset when things go belly up, and I laugh more.

I mix up the meditation styles I use, depending on the day and how I feel. I also play around with the time of day that I mediate and for how long.
I use mostly the Vipassana techniques for meditation but occasionally I throw in a heart mediation or a candle flame to focus on.

I find early morning the best between five and six am the best. I attempt two sessions a day with another around 4pm but this does not always work. If you can get it to happen it's really powerful to meditate twice in a day.

I sometimes used Mantras and here are some of my favourite.
I am capable, I know who I am and I'm enough.
I choose to be present in all that I do.
I know with time and effort I can achieve.
Each step is taking me to where I want to be
My perfect new path is already selected and will arrive at the right time. I'll be shown the steps to receive it.

Read this article in Yoga International

about meditations with mantras

Empowered by saying No

Saying No 
I'm seriously considering saying no to alcohol.
No to sugar.
No to processed food eg in a packet or tin
No to time commitments that are compromising 
No to things that make me feel uneasy or I just don't won't to do.
I'm inspired by this article,

This piece is part of a month-long Wanderlust and YOGANONYMOUS series about self-love.

---

I was 21 years old when I was given my “dream job” at a prestigious travel magazine.

I’d been interning at the magazine for several months, living in D.C. and trying to adjust to the bustling, always “busy, busy, busy” energy of living in our political center. I wasn’t adjusting very well. I missed riding my bike around my old campus in Iowa City, taking creative writing classes at the Writers’ Workshop, and spending hours journaling in local cafes and my favorite park off Washington Street. Life in 

Iowa was slow, mostly blissful, and the way I lived felt creative and fulfilling.

So when I wandered into the editor-in-chief’s office for a random meeting he'd scheduled, I had no idea what to expect. He was a big, burly man who carried himself with a lot of confidence, and though I truly respected him, I also feared him. Frankly, he absolutely scared the shit out of me.
The minute he offered me the job I knew it was a "no" but instead I heard a resounding "yes" escaping my lips. I felt the effects physically—a pit in my stomach, sweaty palms, and a tidal wave of anxiety. My body said no but my mind argued.
“Four years in journalism school and you want to turn down National Geographic?”

Not happening.

So I took the job, moved all of my belongings from Iowa City to Washington, D.C., and, to be honest, I learned a lot. I learned what I love and what I don’t. I fell madly in love with yoga, blogs, and traveling during this time. All things that have well
served me since.

Saying “yes” when I really wanted to say “no” (or even shout it from the rooftops) is something I’ve done countless times. I’ve said "yes" when I felt "no"—to relationships, jobs, and even sometimes coffee dates.

At the turn of the new year my Instagram feed was full of intentions, affirmations, and saying a big, resounding YES to every adventure. But you know what my gut reaction was? NO. A big, fat no. That "no" was going to be my word this year and that I was going learn to love this word... Hard.

I’m approximately 37 days into 2016 and I’ve said "no" to a lot of things so far.

I’ve said no to Facebook and deleted my account. Why? I always felt utterly drained five minutes into it and couldn’t remember why I opened my computer in the first 

place.

I’ve said no to alcohol because at 32 hangovers hurt and I’m getting up to some really big, fulfilling shit this year.

I said no to teaching extra yoga classes to focus on coaching, writing, and digging into my own home practice.

I’ve said no to a few evenings with friends because I’ve just really needed to be at home and to feel grounded. And man, Netflix is so good lately.

How is saying "no" (something considered negative) actually self-love (something positive)? Well, when you say no to busyness, mindless scrolling, and complaining, what are you saying yes to?

No gets such a bad connotation, but in order to truly know what lights us up and our non-negotiables, we must, must, must (!) know what we don’t want. We can even feel our "yes" or "no" physically. Many people feel this energetically or often in their gut. Life coach Martha Beck refers to this as “shackles on, shackles off” and encourages people to move toward what feels like freedom. What feels shackle-free.

What we nurture through self-care and healthy boundaries is what grows, and honestly, saying "no" is healthy for you.

According to research from the University of California in San Francisco, the more
difficulty that you have saying no, the more likely you are to experience burnout, stress, and even depression.

So say "no" with gusto. Honor your boundaries and existing commitments and understand that it’s an offering of self care. 

More on Happiness

A friend was telling me about some happiness research that a leading sports clothing retailer had done and how useful she found their findings in planning for her up and coming Yoga Retreat.  I remembered a longitudinal study done by Harvard University, This study done over 75 years with males from all walks of life show "love"  to be the key to happiness, longevity and mental health and well being. 

Read more about it 

http://aplus.com/a/75-year-harvard-grant-study-happiness?

Another interesting article on happiness talks about the chemicals that can increase or produce levels of happiness. 
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-23924/the-brain-chemicals-that-make-you-happy-and-how-to-trigger-them.html?utm_source=mbg&utm_medium=email&utm_content=daily&utm_campaign=160227-the-brain-chemicals-that-make-you-happy-and-how-to-trigger-them