Tag Archives: yoga

seventh chakra affirmations

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Seventh chakra affirmations…As you now know, from reading the first and subsequent instalments of these chakra posts traditionally the yogic system holds that there are 7 chakras, or energy centres in the body.   These are arranged vertically from the base of the spine to the crown of the head.  Chakra is the Sanskrit word for ‘wheel’, and these centers are perceived as spinning wheels of energy. Today we arrive at the crown of the head, cerebral cortex, which is, if you are doing a headstand, where you place your head down (as opposed to the forehead). Called the Sahasrara chakra, the colour associated with it is purple.

seventh chakra

crown chakra

The affirmation here is “I am connected to all. I am part of all.” Concepts associated with this energy centre are awareness, and expanded consciousness, spirit, intelligence and divinity; our connection with our higher self. Naturally, if you are lost in worry and over-thinking, this is going to present an imbalance here. Meditation, on the other hand, will promote harmony. If you tend to ‘space out’ just to be clear, this is also an imbalance. the process is one of expanding your notion of self, but also, staying grounded in your body and in the present moment.

 

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…

vishuddha chakra

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The fifth chakra is located at the throat and called in sanskrit vishuddha and the colour associated with it is light blue.

This is the energy centre that involves the neck, throat, mouth and jaw, and is associated with sound, vibration, communication and speech, amongst others. If you are just tuning in, the original blog on chakra balance is here. We have been covering all the chakras to date as well. The 7 chakras when working harmoniously will uplift our energy.  When blocked, we may experience low self-esteem and other difficulties.  I have a meditation on my CD, Yoga Mind that will help you re-balance these centers and remove blockages.  It is a great basis for understanding the subtle energies at work while you do yoga postures.

The meditation of this chakra (and please note these are not my drawings, so I cannot take credit) is “I listen with my whole self and think before I speak. When I speak, I don’t back away from what is true or right. I share and communicate effectively and respectfully with others. I express myself fully and creatively”… as with all the energy centres, obviously if you are bad mouthing someone, you are not using your ‘highest’ vibrational output…chanting on the other hand could uplift..

vishuddha chakra

vishuddha chakra

Heart Chakra Meditation

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Heart Chakra Meditation:

heart chakra meditation

heart chakra

Appropriately for this Thanksgiving Day, we turn our attention to the Anahata, or Heart Chakra. If you have been following, today is the fourth day of the series, which originated with an older post I wrote on chakra balance 

The colour associated with the heart chakra is green. Today’s meditation: “I listen to my heart and honor its connection to the hearts of others. I allow love to fill me up and guide me in all of my actions. I gracefully move to the rhythm of life.”

Some of the key concepts of this energy centre are: balance, love, compassion, relationship, breath, peace. The location is upper chest and includes the back of the heart space as well. Put into practice with the essential breath on my Yoga Mind cd

Solar Plexus Chakra

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Solar Plexus Chakra  ~ today in instalment three we focus on the solar plexus, this a continuation of the past 2 days and an older blog post I wrote. The third chakra is also called The Manipura (navel) –or solar plexus, and is associated with the colour yellow.

Each of the 7 chakras is associated with particular emotions and specific issues that we deal with in life. They also relate to how we handle these in our own internal processes and our ways of interacting within our environment. These chakras can be thought of as power/distribution centres of life energy, or prana.  They are sensitive and fluctuations or imbalances can occur through external stressful circumstances, long stored physical tension or limited self- concepts.

The meditation today is “I love myself. I am willing to stand up, with strength and confidence, for that which I believe. I have the freedom to make my own choices in life with appreciation of my sense of self. I am connected to the source of all power and it flows through me to encourage the power of others.” Key concepts are power, will, energy, metabolism, control, fire amongst others.

 

solar plexus chakra

solar plexus chakra

If a chakra is deficient, it does not receive the energy it needs to help with manifestation of its positive qualities in the world, and, when excessive, it can dominate the personality which creates further imbalances for the chakra to receive, absorb, integrate and distribute the flow of energy through our being.

 

 

 

Bringing your life into focus

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Bringing your life into focus with your yoga practice

“Life is like a camera. Just focus on what’s important and capture the good times, develop from the negatives and if things don’t turn out, just take another shot”

The other day on the blog we talked about drishti which translates to focus, or gaze. I think when we are well-rested we tend to see things in a more positive light than when we are exhausted. Yoga practice can be very replenishing, especially if you balance out your practice with restoratives and quiet time.

People whose attention is all over the place can benefit from simple mindfulness practices and our breath is an excellent tool. You will find that just spending a few minutes (I have a 5 minute practice on my CD)  following your inhales and exhales is quite powerful and transformative. It may be challenging to keep your focus on your breathing, thoughts can be strong distractions, but stick with the exercise and reap benefits over time. Attention follows awareness. We tend to lead busy lives that speed us from one thing to the next and then collapse from fatigue, which is all we can then focus on. Let’s try to cultivate new habits, move into the holiday season with equanimity and face 2015 with a great outlook. Join me this weekend for a PeaceFULL workshop !

focus

cultivating inner Strength

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inner strength

inner strength

cultivating inner strength through yoga practice; “Make a firm decision: Whatever happens, I will be happy, I will be strong, God is always with me”. Very affirmative. Maybe you can’t digest all of it, but the sentiment behind the words is very inner strength building. Yoga is a multi-dimensional practice aimed at quieting the mind so that we can live a healthy, balanced life, make informed choices, and face our circumstances with flexibility and resilience…..but it is a very conscious process. We have to use discipline in many areas and as much as possible, remind ourselves that when we are challenged, we often have reserves that if we tap into, if we decide to tap into, we can rise to the challenge with softness and strength, stability and ease.

We tend to think of strength as brute force, but I think it is more of an integration (mindbodysoul). I just read an article in Psychology Today in which the author says;  “a strong person has great capability at facing challenges. Being strong means having the resources, the mental skills, and the physical capabilities to confront difficulties of all kinds. When you are strong, you have the ample excess of energy and stamina, so that when facing a challenge that depletes you of energy and inner strength, you still have enough left in you to act”

After reading this, maybe you can come to see that the softer sides of yoga ~ pranayama, relaxation, restoratives, meditation, all help to cultivate inner strength

peaceful quotes for a stressful day

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Reading these peaceful quotes for a stressful day will put you in the mood for my upcoming restorative workshop in Jersey City:

peaceful quotes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“May all beings be peaceful. May all beings be happy. May all beings be safe. May all beings awaken to the light of their true nature. May all beings be free.”

Unless you did not already know, stress can make you sick, or, just plain not in optimum health. Stress creeps in and begins with a physiological response when your nervous system perceives a threat – mental, physical, emotional. This heightened alert triggers the adrenal glands to secrete catecholamine hormones. What this means is that your heart rate, blood pressure, and brain ramp up to prepare for “flight or fight”. Obviously, this is the opposite to the relaxation response, which is pretty much going to shut off, and shut down. Peace? Where did that go? Exactly. This is where restoratives, savasana, pranayama can help. Really. Check out my calendar or book a private ~ cause the “antidote to stress is relaxation” (J. Lasater)

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

Safety in movement

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LOL! When in doubt :

-don’t

-modify

-ask for options

-think length, space, comfort versus pain, pinching, bone on bone friction, compression

-get personalized attention

-familiarize yourself with anatomy

-take responsibility

-slow down

-break it down into smaller steps

Patanjali, in the yoga sutras, explained that there are five causes of suffering, one of which is dvesa, aversion, or, revulsion, avoidance. I think this is a larger discussion, involving many personal considerations. Sometimes we avoid things we know will be dangerous, or, we are not ready to do them. At other times, we are just plain afraid, having perhaps imposed limitations which are not really there, we just don’t muster up the courage or right effort. To know what is what for yourself requires healthy introspection and self-reflection. This is a part of yoga practice. Knowing how to balance effort with ease, doing with being, and using intelligence and common sense. Injuries, in the end, do heal and we do learn from all that we do, but they also slow us down, add impediments to health, and create scar tissue. If you can get through practice with safety, I believe you are then enjoying sustainable yoga practice.

avoid injury