Tag Archives: wisdom

third eye chakra

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Today we bring our attention to the third eye chakra…If you are just joining in, we have been meditating, or, bringing awareness to each of the energy centres, this stemming from an original blog I wrote about chakra balance.

third eye chakra

third eye chakra

The third eye chakra is also called the Ajna chakra and the colour associated with it is royal blue. These energy centres are sensitive and fluctuations or imbalances can occur through external stressful circumstances, long stored physical tension or limited self- concepts. The sixth centre involves the areas of the eyes and forehead, along with that, intuition, dreams, memory, vision, imagination and visualization. I have a few practices that work with this centre on my Yoga Mind Cd.

The meditation today is “Be aware that your intuition is your ability to know, recognize and sense all that you need to enjoy a happy, balanced and fulfilled life”. The under functioning in this centre is manifest in an inability to be in touch with one’s instincts, an insensitivity to the subtle environment, and misperceptions (doubt for example). If you are someone who pushes the limits on your mat, for example, without listening to the whisper of the body to pause or stop, this is another example. If you are having lots of nightmares, this too could be an indication of unrest in this centre. A quiet mind, a Yoga Mind, is a rested and aware one…

lesson from the bhagavad gita

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lesson from the bhagavad gita: “yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self”

The Bhagavad Gita is one of the core texts in Hindu tradition. According to Mohandas K Gandhi, ” self-realization is the subject of the Gita, as it is of all scriptures. But its author surely did not write it to establish that doctrine. The object of the Gita appears to me to be that of showing the most excellent way to attain self-realization. That which is to be found, more or less clearly, spread out here and there in Hindu religious books, has been brought to the clearest language in the Gita…That matchless remedy is renunciation of the fruits of action”

All kinds of people “do” yoga for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes I see people fervently chasing flexibility as if it was something you could just get and that’s that. Yoga practice has a lot of aspects to it. We get into the body through postures but that isn’t the end of the journey. I wrote a blog on how to make self-reflection fun. One of the things I said was If you see only the small self, your journey can be mired by insecurities and stress. When you elevate and nourish the perception of self, you are likely to feel that everything on the journey happens for a reason. I call it “research and development.”

Getting to know who you are in your body will give you a sensitivity to yourself on your mat. If you take this skill-set with you, you are all the wiser off the mat as well

join the conversation on twitter : #liveyouryoga

 

bhagavad gita

Word of the day is drishti

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Word of the day is drishti “or focused gaze, is a means for developing concentrated intention. It relates to the fifth limb of yoga (pratyahara) concerning sense withdrawal, as well as the sixth limb dharana relating to concentration.”

drishti

drishti ~ focus, gaze

 

Sometimes we practice asana with eyes open, sometimes, eyes closed. When we focus with open eyes, this focus is called drishti, or gaze.  It is a soft and diffused gaze rather than a hard stare. Many classical poses have drishti points, and some pranayama techniques also call for a specific position for the eyes, such as the “third eye” area between the eyebrows, or, at the tip of the nose.

A classical yogic meditation techinique is Candle Gazing, where you maintain a soft eye focus on a candle flame. The focus helps to calm the mind, via the eyes. We are a very visual culture (think TV, Ipads, movies etc) and if you ever watched a crime show thinking you were relaxed, you should periodically check your heart beat because often the seeing is actually stressing the system. This doesn’t mean don’t watch your favourite crime show, just be aware that there is a powerful effect going on in your nervous system.

A nice way to “reset the eyes, erase the mind” is to palm the eyes after your meditation or relaxation. This technique is a way to relax the eyes, and stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system. You rub your palms together to generate warmth then bring your palms gently over closed eyes

Healthy habits

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Favouhabitsrite quote of all-time

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit” ~ Aristotle

Healthy habits: creating healthy habits and encouraging positive transformation is built into the yogic system

I think I also read ‘we form habits then they form us’. As a Yoga professional, I see Yoga as much more than fitness, it is self-transformation (agree with Joel Kramer)…As a balanced system and practice, gives us tools to substitute comfort for tension, peace for panic, and emotional perspective instead of blockages.

What are some of your healthy and unhealthy habits? Are there any you would like to change? Day to day life loads our system with obvious and subliminal stress which depletes our energy and leads to restlessness and fatigue, among other issues. Asana and pranayama become yogic tools to benefit us by releasing tension  and bringing us to a state of conscious relaxation ~ being aware and also, relaxed. In this state, we tend to make better choices. One of the most interesting things I have read is a statement by Gary Krafstow, that “asana practice is not fundamentally about the asanas, but about the practitioner…As a tool of personal transformation, asana can function at many levels of our human system.”

 

yoga being and becoming

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yoga being and becoming

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

yoga being and becoming are addressed in this lovely quote

“change is the essence of life…be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become”… yoga practice is a strong reminder of change. Someone can to class yesterday with a sore/stiff shoulder. The practices we did proved very therapeutic to her, and when we left she remarked about it. The photo above draws us into movement – from storm to calm. To some degree you have to know where you are and have a idea of where you want to be, even though there is nothing wrong, in the wholeness of the moment, where you are.

BKS Iyengar wrote: ” life inevitably oscillates, moves, and changes between the known and the unknown. So often we are not ready to accept the flow of life. We seek freedom but cling to “bondage”.  We do not allow life to “happen” and take on its own shape. Conflicts, opposition, clash of interests and ideas, collision of ego (personal and collective), and limited understanding are all inevitable parts of life. The yogic solution to all these vicissitudes is to study how to adapt and build ourselves up. The key is to control the emotional disturbances and the mental fluctuations”

There are a few practices on my cd, YOGA MIND which will perhaps help you with this process. Starting where you are, just kind of settle into practice and the journey of it. Also check out my workshops for some key peaceful practices

mindfulness quotes

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mindfulness quotes

This is a fantastic quote. “Meditation practice isn’t about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It’s about befriending who we are already.” ~ Pema Chodron

I think people tend to come to their yoga practice with expectation, maybe you don’t feel so great in your posture, you have low energy, you feel so stiff that you can’t do simple things around the house, your nerves are frayed, whatever the case. Then you show up for practice and want all that to change. My teacher always said, “you are perfect as you are”. It’s a pretty powerful concept, but I think when you befriend yourself, aches and pains included, it softens your perspective and your grasping for change. No chase is needed. Practice will transform you over the course of your practice.

I believe when the mind is relaxed, all necessary transformation can take shape. Starting from compassion and loving kindness (maitreya) is a good beginning for anyone’s yoga practice; the word “Maitreya” means : ” (Metteyya in Pāli) is derived from the Sanskrit word maitrī (Pāli: mettā) meaning “loving-kindness”, which is in turn derived from the noun mitra (Pāli: mitta) in the sense of “friend”

mindfulness quotes

who are you?

The wisdom of yoga sutra 1.2

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yoga sutra 1.2

“yoga is the stilling of the changing states of mind”

We tend to associate the mind with its mindstuff, or thoughts. We even think about our thinking. Sometimes this gets a little compulsive. We even think about postures.
So what is Patanjali referring to in yoga sutra 1.2

Yoga is a practice that balances and consists of maintaining a balance between a quiet mind that is ‘still’, meaning the thought waves are calmed, and the awake and present state where we are able to notice and observe what we are doing. In that balance, the chaos and drama of thoughts rushing around on so many levels about so many things is controlled and directed (one-pointednes).

the word ‘mind’ here is composed of the psyche, the intelligence, thoughts, sentiments, emotions, so it is a broad term here, and can be both subconscious and conscious. When your mind is in the yoga state (yoga mind, I like to say) all the disharmony and disturbance that the mind was previously engaged in is replaced by a harmonious state that is purified and not distracted or subject to the sufferings of the monkey mind.

Does your yoga practice change the way your ‘mind’ feels, and do you take this transformation into your daily life ? #liveyouryoga

yoga sutra 1.2

yoga sutra 1.2

surrender yoga and meditation

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surrender yoga and meditation

Our word of the day and cause for reflection is the sanskrit wrd, “ishvara pranidhana” which means surrendering to the Supreme. While this may be somewhat too mystical for the average stressful day, I get that, but there are some pretty practical connotations that you can derive. First of all, I say it pretty often, but, we need some kind of balance between doing and being, or letting go. I am all for being tenacious but at the same time, some patience, and some allowing of things to unfold is also necessary. Do your best, let G-d do the rest.

This is a great quote on this theme: “Meditation is a surrender, It is not a demand. It is not forcing existence your way. It is relaxing into the way existence wants you to be. It is a let-go” ~ Osho

I think asana is a good mirror for us. This is one reason I like to use props. We can find just the right amount of effort and ease when we know how to support ourselves in yoga poses, rather than being only effort, so that the overworked areas can release and the under worked areas can develop. In addition, the restoratives are great teachers for surrender, because they reinforce the relax and digest mechanisms rather than recruit only strength and effort. Learning to do just the right amount, and let-go just the right amount, we start to feel, I think, more balanced. When all we do is push, when we don’t get what we are pushing for, the two things that happen are, unhappiness for not ‘getting’ it, and a closed door to what we aren’t pushing for but could potentially be even better. Yes, this requires trust. More on that another time. meanwhile, check out my meditations.

surrender and yoga

surrender and yoga

today’s wholeness quotes

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today’s wholeness quotes:

wholeness quotes

wholeness quotes

 

This quote inspired me today: There is an Indian belief that everyone is a house of four rooms: a physical, a mental, an emotional and a spiritual room.  Most of us tend to live in one room most of the time, but unless we go into every room every day, even if only to keep it aired, we are not complete.

I looked up the word, wholeness, and it sounds a lot like a balanced yoga practice; “Containing all components; complete”. If you have not already read that there are eight limbs of yoga, check out one of my past posts. It is mainstream just to look at yoga as cardio. It can certainly be that, but also much more. 

Mainly for today I will say that sometimes, in a busy life, our activities are used as tools of mass-distraction.  Whether it is cramming a day full of work, shopping, gym, hobbies, gossip, whatever it is to fill time and avoid whatever is percolating in the subconscious.
wholeness quotes

yoga and wholeness

Sometimes during practice  and you are finally face to face with your body, breathing into every nook and cranny, bringing light and awareness everywhere, whatever you may have swept under the mat can jump out at you.  What you can do if this happens is not try to pressure yourself to relax, but rather honour the wholeness of the moment, take another breath, and just focus on the moment and task at hand.

 

 

yoga for balance

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yoga for balance : The most important pieces of equipment you need for doing yoga are your body and your mind (I would add, and your breath) . Who are you when you begin your yoga mat time? Do you notice any imbalances or is it just when you start moving? Is there anything you can choose to do in the rest of your day to bring balance of any kind to yourself? We tend to think of balance in yoga as standing on one limb – yes, this is a part of it, however, I think the quote below sums the situation up nicely. In case you don’t know, BKS Iyengar passed away recently. His style is alignment oriented, as opposed to flowing from one posture to another. This is incorporated into the yapana® style, which you can find in my classes or work with me privately.

yoga for balance

Balance: Evenness Is Harmony

Through yoga one can begin to develop a perfect balance between both sides of the body. All of us begin with imbalances, favoring one side or the other. When one side is more active than the other, the active side must become the guru for the inactive side to make it equally active. To the weaker side, we must apply attention. We must also show more care. We show keener interest to improve a dull and struggling friend than for an eager and intelligent one. In the same way you have to show yourself this same compassion and act on the weaker side of the body while taking pleasure in the achievement of the active side. ~ BKS Iyengar, Light on Yoga