Silvia's Blog
ARE YOU A SERIOUS OR CASUAL STUDENT OF YOUR LIFE?
APRIL 30, 2009: Do you find it easier to say Yes or No? Fundamentally which do you say more of during the course of a regular day? 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 first response to what life is offering us today in each and every moment. See for me today is the most important day ever. Can it be for you? Can you be more committed to living in the YES ZONE?
What this would mean is that you are making the promise to yourself to become a more serious student of your own life. I know the word Serious has been given a bad rap sometimes because we often think of it as meaning: Solemn; Somber; Stern; Grim; Humorless but that’s not it only. Instead think of the word SERIOUS as meaning:
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Important
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Momentous
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Significant
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Vital
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Sincere
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Genuine
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Honest
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Determined
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Deep
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Profound
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Meaningful
So in this light do you live your life saying Yes as a serious student acknowledging the significance of each precious moment, the deep meaning of each breath the profound effect of each though? And then take it the next step. Are you a serious student of your job but just a casual student of your spiritual life? Isn’t it more important to be serious students of our lives (which is not related to our work life)? If you are trying to make this shift to serious student of life and need support then get to the yoga mat. 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. Its like working a puzzle which requires concentration and persistence in our bodies and in our hearts. It is not achieved with casual apathy at all.
So today start with the answer YES to all questions and fall in love with being a serious student of life, not matter what flows in your path my friends!. With heartfelt hope for more YES in the world. Namaste. Love your life! Silvia (Check out the Movie YES MAN, super funny!)
DRUNK ON LIFE: APPRECIATING WHAT'S IN FRONT OF YOU
APRIL 29TH, 2009: I called today’s class DRUNK ON LIFE. What I mean is “How do we stop trying so hard to control all outcomes and instead appreciate what life is offering.” To be honest I have not been intoxicated on any sort of external substance for fifteen years. When I started my spiritual practice I didn’t want it or need other stuff. Don’t get me wrong, do I enjoy a chilly corona or nice glass of wine? Absolutely! But it means on occasion with awareness.
I don’t need anything more than being high on self-love to feel drunk on life. Love is my drug.
Is it easy to continuously self-generate love in what is an often chaotic sometimes mean world? No it’s not really. But we must. We have a choice: we can choose hate or we can choose love; we can choose anxiety or we can choose peace; we can deny happiness or we can choose to be happy; we can choose 4 beers or we can choose 1. We can choose to be drunk on life or give up on seeing ourselves deserving of love. We can choose to say "ok" is enough or we can choose to say YES! to life.
How do we do this? Yup that’s always the question right. Well as Rumi writes, “Sit be still and listen because your drunk.” We come to the mat to remember to remember we are responsible for loving ourselves first and foremost. The practice reminds us that we are already DRUNK, we have this amazing potential to be happy every single moment. We can be in love with life drunk on our human experience WITHOUT external stimulants. And when we send this message of love to the universe -- it answers back. It's so simple: Love life and Life will love you back! So please join me tonight at 6:15pm. Let’s get drunk together J Love your day, Silvia
THEMES IN CLASS THIS WEEK: NEW INSPIRATION!
Love to you all dear friends!
Just got back from healing spiritual adventure in Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. I feel newly inspired. Come join me this week for the sweetest rasa of the trip. From my heart to yours. Love your day, love your life! Silvia
Monday April 27th: Get Lost: Why Getting Lost is OK
Tuesday April 28th: Facing the Unknown - stare down the fear monster with fire & laughter
Wednesday April 29th: Drunk on Life
Thursday April 30th: Are you a Serious or Casual Student of Your Life? Yes or No?
Friday May 1st: Delight in New Experience
4/27/2009 Tags: Themes, meditation, inspiration, yoga class Direct LinkGETTING LOST IN LIFE - WHY ITS OK
Monday April 27th: Why Getting Lost is OK (About our internal GPS System and how I used a real GPS for the first time and what I learned)
Ok you guys so for the first time while in
This may seem like not a big deal but recently I had the experience in human relationship of being asked to trust and have faith, which I did, and then “getting lost” as I found out what I was told was true turned out to be false. I lost my footing, I lost emotional equilibrium. But as a result of this practice of yoga I learned that falling off the path of what we think life is supposed to be is an opportunity for spiritual growth. There is more than one way. Will I need to work harder to trust the next human relationship based on what happened here, probably, but love will win over skepticism with time. Hey, it helped me love GPS so anything is possible.
While in the
Going off roading then is the answer. Get lost! How? It begins with allowing ourselves to explore new pathways, or poses or relationships. And if we do get lost as long as we are conscious of our actions and are causing no harm to others then why not? We have to trust the internal GPS of our internal locus that we will get unlost again. And its through getting lost, that facing of the unknown or fear or being out of control or trying something new, that we often learn the most. We learn to try the path less traveled as Robert Frost speaks of. And most of all it wakes us up to so many other options! Better this than living life in a constant state of “ok” where its just half a life.
Now I’m the first to admit this isn’t easy. I have to say that I could feel my breath change when hiking especially these fossil falls, all black rock, like the surface of the moon or in the snow on the mountain, or in dense forest you can easily get lost but while lost you can also enjoy the experience.
That’s what I hope we learn, enjoy life, get lost, get unlost but make it all worthwhile as a means to learn about yourself and grow spiritually and emotionally. Have faith, trust and explore love! Silvia
4/27/2009 Tags: faith, trust, love, getting lost, gps Direct Link
LETTER FROM SILVIA APRIL 24TH
Dearest Friends,
It started with Aspen in January, my return to snowy outdoor adventure after 13 years. And here I am back again! This time I felt a callling to go further West, all the way to California's Sierra Nevada Mammoth Mountain for spring time skiing. But what I'm really looking for is healing. And if we are all really honest with ourselves we are all looking for more healing in our lives. Yoga reveals our old wounds that need tendered and on a weekly basis life provides plenty of new challenges. The yogic practice is by it's very nature a therapeutic experience. So whether you're healing an old mother wound or trying to mend this weeks broken heart or last weeks job loss, yoga can help us lovingly self-comfort.
So how do we do it? As I travel back to the mountains to be with one of my greatest teachers, nature, I will also do work to decharge negativity back to the earth to make more room in my heart for truth, hope, and of course love. It is our right to live a fearless peaceful life! I firmly believe that.
What stands in our way? Allowing negative influences (stuff like pain, fear, sadness, stress, anxiety), thoughts and people into our lives. These things mask as India Arie sings, "strength, courage and wisdom it's been inside me all along." To heal ourselves we must decharge the negative that blocks our flow towards peace. And the cool thing is when you give the earth element your negative it turns that back into positive energy. So you see as we heal ourselves, we heal the world!
Today get on your mat and meditate on the earth or take a walk in the woods or both. Use mindful yoga to clear the clutter and heal your life.
Love your day,
Silvia 4/24/2009
Tags:
yoga, theme Direct Link
IN THE MOUNTAINS
I'll be with nature in Sierra Nevada Mountains, visiting Sierra Shanti and friends and staying at Mammoth Mountain dudes! See you when I return. Gone April 23-264/23/2009 Tags: Direct Link
EARTH DAY MEDITATION
APRIL 22, 2009: How to Go About Decharging Negative Energy
Negative energy is blocked or excess energy that needs to flow. Negative energy can be stress, frustration, anxiety or anger for instance. Depression is feeling negativity but being unable to decharge that. Nature makes you feel closer to Universal Source Energy, because Source energy is flowing in nature. Nature can heal you!
Once you've learned how to feel the energy during meditation, you can begin using the Earth element to decharge. A good way of decharging using the Earth element is to use a plant for decharging excess energy. Take a plant, point your fingers near it and say the mantra, "Oh Spirit, my heart is open to you, please come. I know you are in this plant. Please use this plant to decharge my negative energy. Thanks". Do this for about 15 minutes.
Depression, anxiety and stress will flow out of your fingertips into the Earth. As you do this and repeat the mantra a lifetimes worth of negativity may flow out. You have a second chakra in each fingertip for giving or sending out energy. Don't worry about the plant. The plant takes this energy and uses it in a positive way. It's not bad for the plant in any way. Having a channel to the Earth brings huge peace and happiness. Although you may have problems you no longer care about them. The Earth also helps open your heart. It allows you to live on Earth happily. The Earth radiates huge energy and can magnify any type of emotion. When you purify the Earth element in you, the magnetism of the Earth will automatically suck out your negative energy.
4/22/2009 Tags: meditation, earth, letting go, negative energy Direct Link
PUT SOMETHING DOWN: REMOVING OBSTACLES TO LOVE
APRIL 21, 2009: The heart is a bit foolish you know? Overall, life is really lovely. Each day brings its own charm and delights (even as the shadows of fear and self-doubt add flavor). Yet we often catch ourselves up trying to “carry too much” in our arms. And then funny thing we ask ourselves why can’t I invite anything else in? Why is this stuff all in the way? Well the easy answer is that we have to put something down in order to pick something else up. So today’s class is from a Western view “STRESS MANAGEMENT 101”. From a yogic view we are focusing on Chapter 2, verse 10 and 11.
We begin with a moving meditation: Imagining that as we stand tall, shoulders back, palms together that as we inhale and separate our hands we are pulling back the curtains of Fear, Self Doubt, Worry. This curtain is paperlight, see through and by observing it as such we can essentially dissolve it away. This reminds us that the Obstacles we have to face are really of our own mental creation. They are not insurmountable. They are just like a veiled curtain waiting to be pulled open so we can see to the other side. We know this as we held our arms out to our sides thumbs inside peaceful fists for 2 minutes imagining a 4 oz cup of water in each hand. It is not the absolute weight of the water that matters. It is about how long will we force ourselves to hold on and carry around the mental obstructions? If we hold our arms out 2 minutes that won’t hurt us, but an hour, a day, a week, a month, a year, years? Then even though the water is light in weight the duration of carrying the burden of the water will do us harm. So it is with our thoughts. Replaying disastrous thoughts over and over for 2 minutes won’t kill us, but doing this day after day will create the stress that destroys our lives.
So really take 5 minutes to ask yourself what is it that needs to be released from my life? What mental obstacles can you put down right now? What can you clear out that is detrimental to living happier, lighter? Are there old habits you can release that don’t reflect your current needs and desires?
Then once relaxed and refreshed from the burden of carrying so much, ask yourself what is ready to be born in my life? What do you want to pick up?
And remember that only you can welcome the positive changes that transform your life. But don’t make it such a big deal. Remember as Sharon Salzberg writes in Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience, “The next step is not the last step.” In order to take the step, we have to put something down, in order to pick up something else. So let down the obstacles, and pick up LOVE. Let love heal. Love your day, love your life! Silvia
BELIEVE IT: LOVE HEALS
APRIL 20TH, 2009: Spiritual practice doesn't mean we don't ever face self doubt or worry. We do. The difference for me in my life is that when this happens I know better questions to ask myself. Then it’s a matter of believing, trusting, having pure faith. In what? It's easy, LOVE.
Love does heal, will heal, if you step into the currents of grace and allow it to flow into your life.
What blocks the flow is fear, the enemy of love. Fear is any form of negativity. Don’t wait, remove the blocks of negativity that is slowing the flow of love into your life and you'll come to believe this yourself.
In yoga we are the lover and the beloved: As Rumi writes, We are the mirror as well as the face in it. We are pain and what cures pain both. He encourages you to, “Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you really love.” He puts it most simply when he writes:
I love myself...I love you.
I love you...I love myself.
5 ELEMENTS MEDITATION: LOVE HEALS
Part of my healing took place as I practiced a technique based on the teachings of Swami Kaleshwar. You sit or lie down, holding your hands just above your shoulders. You repeat the mantra, "Oh God, my heart is open to you, please come sit in my heart". You say this once for each fingertip. Your thumb is the Earth, your index finger is the Fire, the middle is Sky, the ring finger is Water and the small finger is Air.
You say the mantra for each fingertip giving each one a little wiggle as you say it. You may feel heat or a tingling sensation after a few weeks or months of practice. Each fingertip contains a chakra for receiving energy that corresponds to the five elements energy. When you are asking God into your heart you are drawing natural energy in through your fingertips. Performing this meditation technique for 15 minutes twice a day will open your heart to pull the divine energy in you. It will help dissolve your layers and problems in love. It is said that Shiva (Father energy), is flowing in the five elements. Shiva is said to be the Lord of five elements, Namashivaya. He is the pure consciousness, the highest person to reach in the universe. He's where you will find peace. Connecting to Shiva brings you the deepest peace and silence. This deep peace helps you transcend your problems and emotional blocks. When you are in a negative state of mind it helps you come back to your natural states of Love, confidence and happiness. It aligns you with divine peace, intelligence and creativity. This technique is for charging and aligning yourself with LOVE energy. Try it for yourself and see. Big love, love, love to you all, Silvia
4/20/2009 Tags: love, meditation, Shiva, spiritual practice, trust, faith, fear, Rumi Direct Link
CLUTTER BE GONE: SOULS GOALS
APRIL 19TH, 2009:4/19/2009 Tags: Direct Link
KARMA MAN, WHAT IS IT, HOW DO I GET SOME OF THAT?
APRIL 17TH, 2009: The most challenging way to live is in love. Talk about taking courageous action! Karma is the Sanskrit for action. The idea being this is that we have a choice about the actions we take each and every moment. Behind the action is what we call Tapas or determination. Something has to fuel the action, especially when choosing love over hate, or peace over anger, or flow over inertia. If we take action we are spiritually taking responsibility for our lives. The cool thing is that as we consciously look for opportunities to feel excited about life it answers back. This is a spiritual truth.
We can bring to life and make manifest our intentions if we do the work. One of my favorite African proverbs says, "When you pray, move your feet". YES! We can easily get bogged down in the heaviness of life and deaden out. This is no way to live. When we need to move and pray for the life we want then we just gotta do it!
So through this practice may you find your own strength to be a lover of life.
As Leo Buscaglia says, “to be a lover will require that you continually have the subtlety of the very wise, the flexibility of a child, the sensitivity of the artist, the understanding of the philosopher, the acceptance of the saint, the tolerance of the dedicated, the knowledge of the scholar, and the fortitude of the certain. All these qualities will grow in him who choose love for these are already part of his potential and will be realized through loving.” So that’s the boomerang effect of Karmic seeds that we action. If we love life, it will love us back! It’s just that easy, it “becomes then a matter of loving your way to love!”
So start now, without delay, get up stand up for your right to love and be loved! In truth and light, Silvia
4/17/2009 Tags: KARMA, DREAMS, ACTION, Leo Buscaglia, LOVE Direct Link
DREAM WITHOUT LIMITS!
APRIL 16TH, 2009: Lately the dreams I have in meditation are getting BIGGER and BOLDER all the time. Many things I've put off thinking about doing I am going for and doing them this year. I feel this amazing YES inside that I want you to feel the vibration of so you too can say yes to life and DREAM WITHOUT LIMITS. Yup that's what the theme is tonight. A very special class from my heart.
And just so you know, next Thursday through Sunday April 23-26 I am out of town on a Spiritual Adventure pursuing one of my dreams. So if we don't have our regular Thurday night date together I won't see you for two weeks.
In preparation for tonight's class please watch this clip below (3 minutes long). I want to thank Ned Miller for sharing this clip with me yesterday and changing my life with the creation of our own inspiring video collection called "Loving Your Day". It helped me shift even more brightly towards dreaming without limits, it is NEVER TOO LATE. I know it will inspire you, make you laugh, make you cry, make you clap your hands like it did me! What we can take away from this clip is that it is never too late. You deserve to materialize your dreams. So "Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror. Just keep going." - Rainer Maria Rilke. Do not let the Kleshas, the veils that hide our true potential and beauty yoga tells us from speaking your dreams to yourself! Love you all, Silvia Mordini
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY&feature=haxa_popt00us00
4/16/2009 Tags: Dream, power of intention, love, inspiration, courage, loving your day, co-creating, action Direct Link
LETTER FROM SILVIA APRIL 15TH
Namaste Beautiful Friends!
This week join me in class to focus on a philosophy of living life BIG & BRIGHT, without limitations. Now of course we can't control everything that happens around us or the choices that others make but this need not limit us. You have in a sense a "magic wand' that can transmute even the greatest challenge into an opportunity for greatness. Ghandi said, "be the change you wish to see in the world." Through the energy of your thoughts, which demonstrates your perspective, you can experience your limitless potential for happiness, peace and most of all love.
The thing is you are already choosing moment by moment what you want your life to feel like, be like, look like. No one else is choosing your thoughts for you. Consider it like this, (1) your heart and mind create your reality so you must be able to create other views, (2) if you can create different perspectives (victim, martyr, champion, lover) then you must have more than just one choice so that means you can choose which perspective you want. Well then why not accept responsibility to see your life as limitless in passion, prosperity, and Love?
There are two simple universal laws to better appreciate this: The law of abundance simply put says you can't be resentful and receive abundance at the same time. They can't co-exist, you have to choose one or the other. You either think you're running out of stuff & are being picked on, victimized by the universe or you are grateful for your blessings. You either focus on what you don't have or acknowledge all that you do have. You see and say YES to opportunities surrounding you everywhere or you force limitations on yourself and say no to life at every turn. These are mutually exclusive. The law of attraction says Like attracts like. Positivity draws in more things that are positive. Negativity draws in more things that are negative.
What you put out there to the world comes back to you amplified. You can't look to someone else to manage your dreams or to highlight your potential to the world. You must do it yourself. A boss I had at PwC once said to me, "no one wants to see you promoted more than you do yourself". We can engage in negative self-talk, self-doubt and obsessive worry but these will only create negative energy and won't get you promoted or loved or anything else good. Instead, if you think of yourself as your own "brand" and everyday you have a choice to promote your brand to the world as amazing & brilliant you will attract to you the best life possible.
The world will give you back what you're sending out. So make this Spring a fresh start shift your perspective to one of INFINITE potential so you love yourself more, so you love your day more, so your love your life more! Silvia
4/15/2009
Tags:
YOGA, THEME Direct Link
LOVE & SURRENDER
April 14th, 2009: My totem recently changed, so I’ve been thinking a lot about the space of surrender. In the practice it is the space of
Space itself equates to time. Of which we have ample amounts. I used to say Time is Big, still like that, but also like the feeling of saying that we have ample time. So today take your time (on the mat or not) to be inspired. Ask yourself: “What are my passions” “When am I happiest” :What would make me happier” “What do I really want”
In the practice today we breathed in, we breathed out and then we held the breath out in every pose. This helped us to slow down and appreciate what it is we really need to be in order to be in love with our live’s. As we know from the law of attraction as my friend Sadie Nardini says, “we attract the people to us who reflect the relationships we’re having with ourselves.” If you say what relationship??? That’s it exactly, you have to make space in order to have the relationship to yourself. The whole practice is designed to help us promote self-love. This means loving ourselves unconditionally. Once you figure this out you realize the universe wants to love you back, spirit loves you, nature loves you and then you are free of all mental tortures. Ultimate freedom and surrender is yours!
Well it makes sense. Now the question is how do you surrender enough to slow down and meet yourself. If you’re in a funk what do you do to get back to loving yourself? One way is to chant 50
THIS WEEK THEMES, LESSONS, INSPIRATIONS
This week our focus will be focused on living life WITHOUT LIMITATIONS.
Monday: Law of Attraction & Law of Abundance
Tuesday: Love & Surrender
Wednesday: What happens between Inhale and Exhale - Space of OM
Thursday: Dream without Limits
Friday: Action of Karma, Shiva/Shakti
4/13/2009 Tags: Law of Attraction, Law of Abundance, Surrender, Karma, Action Direct LinkLAW OF ABUNDANCE, LAW OF ATTRACTION
APRIL 13TH, 2009: This week join me in class to focus on a philosophy of living life BIG & BRIGHT, without limitations. Now of course we can't control everything that happens around us or the choices that others make but this need not limit us. You have in a sense a "magic wand' that can transmute even the greatest challenge into an opportunity for greatness. Ghandi said, "be the change you wish to see in the world." Through the energy of your thoughts, which demonstrates your perspective, you can experience your limitless potential for happiness, peace and most of all love.
The thing is you are already choosing moment by moment what you want your life to feel like, be like, look like. No one else is choosing your thoughts for you. Consider it like this, (1) your heart and mind create your reality so you must be able to create other views, (2) if you can create different perspectives (victim, martyr, champion, lover) then you must have more than just one choice so that means you can choose which perspective you want. Well then why not accept responsibility to see your life as limitless in passion, prosperity, and Love?
There are two simple universal laws to better appreciate this: The law of abundance simply put says you can't be resentful and receive abundance at the same time. They can't co-exist, you have to choose one or the other. You either think you're running out of stuff & are being picked on, victimized by the universe or you are grateful for your blessings. You either focus on what you don't have or acknowledge all that you do have. You see and say YES to opportunities surrounding you everywhere or you force limitations on yourself and say no to life at every turn. These are mutually exclusive. The law of attraction says Like attracts like. Positivity draws in more things that are positive. Negativity draws in more things that are negative.
What you put out there to the world comes back to you amplified. You can't look to someone else to manage your dreams or to highlight your potential to the world. You must do it yourself. A boss I had at PwC once said to me, "no one wants to see you promoted more than you do yourself". We can engage in negative self-talk, self-doubt and obsessive worry but these will only create negative energy and won't get you promoted or loved or anything else good. Instead, if you think of yourself as your own "brand" and everyday you have a choice to promote your brand to the world as amazing & brilliant you will attract to you the best life possible.
The world will give you back what you're sending out. So make this Spring a fresh start shift your perspective to one of INFINITE potential so you love yourself more, so you love your day more, so your love your life more! Silvia
4/13/2009 Tags: LAW OF ABUNDANCE, LAW OF ATTRACTION, LOVE, CHANGE, DREAMS Direct Link
THE UNIVERSE LOVES YOU PEACEFUL
APRIL 12TH, 2009: It's easy to think sometimes that the universe is working against us but the yogic view is one that says the universe is really always working with us, it is on our side. The universe (Spirit) wants us to live PEACEFULLY. Our only job is to say Yes to peace. So take a big breath right now and let it out slow. Know you are loved. Then as you quiet your breath, inhaling love and exhaling peace dedicate today to practicting to love the peace within your heart so that you can dedicate peace to your families, to your friends to the world!
You might say is this really my responsibility? Yes. (Remember just say Yes)
The Dalai Lama says it like this, "Responsibility does not only lie with the leaders of our countries or with those who have been appointed or elected to do a particular job. It lies with each of us individually. Peace starts within each one of us." From a yogic viewpoint it's not that complicated you guys, its a simple theory: If we are to have true peace in this world, each one of us must find it in ourselves first. If we don't like ourselves, we probably won't like other people. If we are in a constant state of inner conflict, we will proabably bring conflict into the world. If we are super angry (just plain pissed off all the time), then we are likely going to be angry at everyone around us. We have to look inside ourselves for the meaning of peace, see our internal struggles rather than denying them, and only then can we create the changes we want.
In class when we practice peace it's like we're all wearing a PEACE TEE under our clothing like superman or wonderwoman. It is always our inner most garment, we just forget sometimes that we have it on. So the practice helps us in some ways strip down to our truest selves and one way to do this is to use poses that offer sensation. Then observe what comes up from the inside, let it out. Once we see that our humanness is something to embrace (crankiness, fear, worry, frustration) then we can transcend the dark qualities and move into an everlasting state of peace. This is why I often say, our lives can make our yoga hard but our yoga makes our lives easier. Then its a matter of whether or not peace is something you want to choose. Or as Eckhart Tolle in his book A New Earth says, "if peace is reallly what you want, then you will choose peace. If peace mattered to you more than anything else you would remain non reactive when confronted with challenging people or situations."
So join me today, shed light through simple awareness and desire for serenity and peaceful existence on your own humanity. Then through compassion, which is peace in action, initiate the flow of good peaceful energy into all aspects of your life. And remember, when self doubt rears its head that PEACE IS LOVE. So all this really means is that to live peacefully we must love ourselves.
To listen to a video broadcast about self-love go to the Loving Your Day page of this website. Love your day, love yourself, bring peace to the world! Silvia
4/12/2009 Tags: peace, dalai lama, responsibility, love, change Direct Link
EACH MOMENT ONCE
April 11th, 2009: Everywhere around us we are seeing Spring return to us again. And yet although we've seen it before, we understand the seasonal change to take place it is still unique and different each and every year. The older I get the more I appreciate this and just now, half way through my life I am just starting to have some understanding of this as well. We don't get to see this Spring emerge ever again. You can have all the money in the world and you won't be able to choose to REDO or REPLAY this Spring 2009. Each moment happens just once. This is not a rehearsal for your life. It is your life right now.
Once the reality of this really sinks in your life is transformed forever. Today you have choices to say kind things, to breath bigger, to love more, to learn something new, to make an adventure, to book a trip to another part of the world, to enjoy each moment more fully. Will you accept this responsibility as yours? Yoga offers us that time on the mat to study ourselves to go inside and observe what our desires are and to tune into each precious second we have as we're living it.
How do we do this better? In class I offered 5 key things to help us enjoy each moment. I emailed this out to all those I saw on Saturday. If you want a copy just email me at silvia@totalbodyyoga.com happy to share these suggestions with you. And as always ask me anything. I will always honestly share the challenges of my own life and how I've learned to experience each moment just once with improved awareness. Love your day! Silvia
A life-time is not what's between
The moments of birth and death.
A life-time is one moment,
Between my two little breaths.
The present, the here, the now,
That's all the life I get,
I live each moment in full,
In kindness, in peace, without regret. ~Chade Meng, One Moment
4/11/2009 Tags: be present, love, awareness, one Direct Link
HOPE: HOW YOGA PREPARES US FOR CRISIS
APRIL 10TH, 2009: There has been a lot written about how yoga can help modulate the stress response. A great article in Harvard Mental Health April 2009 edition goes into wonderful detail about this. Key points made from this article include "yoga practices can reduce the impact of exaggerated stress responses and may be helpful for both anxiety and depression. By reducing perceived stress and anxiety, yoga appers to modulate stress response. This in turn decreases physiological arousal - for example reduicng the heart rate, lowering blood pressure, and easing respiration. For many dealing with stress yoga may be a very appealing way to better manage symptoms. Indeed, the scientifc study of yoga demonstrates that mental and physical health are not just closely allied, but are essentially equivalent."
So what this says, which yogis have known, is that we practice yoga today to help us manage the crisis we might face tomorrow. It might seem weird to think of ourselves preparing for challenges but it makes sense that the best time to prepare for a crisis is BEFORE it happens. In class we try out various poses to create sometimes stressful situations (for instance a new pose, a pose with lots of sensation, transitions from pose to pose) and we observe how we respond. We practice responding to the crisis in other words. So then we can diagnose ourselves in our own crisis management. How would you do?
Do you lose hope when faced with something new? Do you respond to trying and failing with self criticism, do you give up? Do you get mad at the pose, at the teacher, at God? It is easy to give up hope. But the sobering reality is that if we give up, we are mentally and physically impacted.
Einstein says, "Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow." The worst thing we can do is lose hope, stop risking living our lives fully become fearful or worse yet apathetic. Apathy is the enemy of love. And yet in these sometimes trying times so many of us have lost hope. So consider this "To lvoe is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing."
I understand, I used to have the false belief that if I "did life right" everything would be smooth sailing and I'd be protected from anything bad or unpleasant. Then my Dad died suddenly trhough hospital negligence, then other family members became sick, my corporate job was in jeapordy. And I realized everything we are learning today is preparing us for tomorrow's crisis. Yoga won't stop stress. It will help us manage stuff that happens to us. There lies the difference. And it asks that we have the quiet courage to remain hopeful above all else.
An unknown author writes, "May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trails to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, enough HOPE to make you happy." So dudes, breathe HOPE because you know without a doubt that your YOGA practice will prepare you for any difficulty you face! With humble love and enormous gratitude, Silvia
4/10/2009 Tags: hope, happiness, risk, love, Harvard Mental Health, Einstein Direct Link
ANGRY? LET YOGA HELP
APRIL 9TH, 2009: As long as I believe that others are the source of my suffering, I will continue to suffer. Others may be the stimulus for my suffering, but they are never the cause. My thoughts are the cause. Today remember that others are not the problem whenever you can, and it will soften your day. - Judith Lasater. It is easy sometimes to get lost in angry feelings, that's part of our humanness. It comes about mostly when our mental state is uneasy, restless, anxious. We then can't think of ourselves. Instead we agitate ourselves by only thinking of the person, the situation, the catalyst for our anger. The more we think about it the more angry we get. And the cycle continues. Sigh.
Yoga works to calm the anger because the poses and the breathing techniques (Like the one offered below) remove tension. Anger subsides and we feel more sane. An easy way to think of this is that Anger is too much PITTA (fire dosha). So if a fireman was entering a home on fire what would he/she do first? Answer? They would put out the flames first. Only later would they analyze why or how it got started. So do the same for yourself. Use Yoga, Breathing to put the flames of anger out there is time later to observe why or how we came to be angry. Let love heal. Silvia
Breathing in, I know that I am angry
Breathing out, I know that the anger is me
Breathing in, I know that anger is unpleasant
Breathing out, I know this feeling will pass.
Breathing in, I am calm.
Breathing out, I am strong enough to take care of my anger
4/9/2009 Tags: Anger, Meditation, Breath, Pitta, Love Direct Link
YOGA TIME OUT
APRIL 8TH, 2009: I came to the practice because of pain in my body but what has kept me coming back for 15 years is the relief this practice gives my mind. I was always a good kid, so I never was given a forced time out but I like the idea. Maybe I didn’t have to get a time out because I gave them to myself. When I needed to I’d go chill out and rest. I like time outs.
So when you come to the mat, give your mind a TIME OUT from having to figure everything out. Tell yourself for this class or even just a few minutes “you are not going to solve any problems or think about anything stressful.” Even right now at your desk while you read this join me in a virtual TIME OUT.
Take a big breath, draw your shoulders back.
· Inhale Peace, Exhale “I am Worthy”
· Inhale Patience, Exhale “I am Great”
· Inhale Love, Exhale “I am Present”
We all need time out’s. Otherwise we can overwhelm ourselves on purpose with the vast amount of knowledge we take in every day. Knowledge is important but it is not enough. We can know everything and still be unhappy. You can know all the facts and still be miserable. Information is not sufficient for a happy life. If it was we’d all be blissed out all the time and no one would stressed out.
The answer is to take the time out, open your heart and feel the moment, feel your breath instead of only engaging your analytical mind. I want you to understand the practice but more importantly I want you to feel the energetics. Happiness, true happiness, is an inside job. It lies deep within us (regardless of whether or not all the surface stuff is going smoothly or falling apart). Take the TIME OUT and you’ll find you will love your life more! With great affection, joy to the world within you! Silvia
4/8/2009 Tags: Happiness, Time Out, Breath, Meditation, action Direct LinkOPEN UP: BLOSSOM NOW NOT LATER
APRIL 6, 2009: Anais Nin writes, "and then one day the risk it took to remain tightly in a bud was more painful that the risk it took to blossom."
Think back to your original intention for starting yoga? How have you seen this intention blossom and evolve, what parts of it are still in today's intention for living and loving your life? It is essential we see where we came from to better appreciate how far we've come. And you have come very far. We keep awakening ourselves to ever more amazing inner radiance each day of our practice.
We are always evolving in the direction of happiness all that we need to do is not block the flow forward. So you see there is no reason to wait to be happy or more loved or more cheerful. BLOSSOM NOW NOT LATER. This isn't a rehearsal for your life. Spring doesn't say, ok let me hold back and I'll do this next year.Nope Spring goes for it NOW. Just like we must do too.
And so, keep making the soil of your heart and mind more and more fertile by practicing yoga each day. And take to heart the words of Jose Saramago who says, "every man has his own patch of earth to cultivate. What's important is that he dig deep."
Dig deep, blossom big, love your day! Silvia
4/6/2009 Tags: OPENING UP, intention, anais nin, spanda, love Direct Link
FIRST MONDAY OF EACH MONTH 7:30PM CLASS
This class is Restorative Yoga first Monday of each month, like today April 6th, 2009. Restorative Yoga is a sweet class to reduce physical & emotional effects of stress. Practice supported yoga postures using blankets, blocks and straps, that open the body, while slowing down the racing mind. The result is relaxation, greater mental clarity, improved alignment and physical freedom. Breath work is included. 4/6/2009 Tags: restorative yoga, Gentle Yoga Direct Link
STOP THE NOISE: CHOOSE PEACE
APRIL 5, 2009: I humbly suggest everyone take a Peace Break everyday. I time we disconnect from all media and all noise of any kind. Even if its just for 5 minutes. Now when you first start being "by yourself" in quiet it can be scary. It's like when we were kids taking our first camping trip and we were freaking out because of all the wierd nature noises around us.
Thing is, the biggest noise of all is in our own heads. The only way to hear the noises and shed light on them is to quiet the external noise. Then we can identify and name what noise we are experiencing in our brains. You take away the power unpleasant emotions have by seeing them rather than ignoring them and allowing the pretend drama of them to overtake you.
Two key areas of noise are written about in the Yoga Sutras as Attachement and Aversion. Chapter 2.7 says excessive fondness for pleasant experiences causes longing and Chapter 2.8 excessive avoidance of unpleasant experiences causes disdain. So the noise in our heads develop from either pushing thoughts away or pulling thoughts in to avoid other stuff. If we can stop pulling and pushing we will find peace within.
All you have do to is really want peace. So say to yourself, I CHOOSE PEACE INSTEAD OF THIS. No matter the thought you're having and see if that doesn't start to quiet your mind. I know it will just stay with it for 2-3 minutes and breath! Love your day, love your most peaceful self. Silvia
4/5/2009 Tags: peace, meditation, love, Yoga Sutras Direct Link
MAKING UP THE BED OF OUR MIND
APRIL 4TH, 2009: When I went to military school we were graded on how we made up the bed each day. We'd receive points or demerits. I always wanted the points. So I came up with ways of how to get the most points for the least amount of work. I tried sleeping under the covers but not moving all night long so i'd have less bed to make up in the morning. I figured the less wrinkled the bed the less work I would do and still get all the points. Well that didn't work so then I tried sleeping on top of the bed and not under covers. Still no luck, bed got messed up anyway. Then I slept next to the bed on the floor. Well it worked but I felt terrible and cranky. So eventually this is what I learned:
Enjoy the bed. And accept you have to make up the bed every day. It will keep getting rumpled. That's ok.
So in yoga what we acknowledge that our minds get rumpled up just like our beds. So the breathing and poses help us tidy up our minds, taking the wrinkles out. It requires perseverance because we have to practice this everyday. Why? Well because our minds keep getting agitated due to the chaotic world we live in. But somewhere inside we must believe an orderely bed is possible just like a peaceful mind is possible.
A favorite line of mine from a John Mayer song titled "Say' is "fighting with the shadows in my head". Yup been there, feel that, and can get lost in those shadows. This is why we have yoga, to help us reclaim MENTAL PEACE and the serenity that wants to fill our lives. So don't feel powerless, you can do something when your shadows are making your head messy. Just get to yoga class, meditate and make up the bed of your mind.
Love your self, love your mind, love your world! Silvia
4/4/2009 Tags: peace, making the bed, meditation, trust, perseverance Direct LinkCOMMITMENT TO KINDESS
APRIL 3, 2009: The John Mayer song “Say” has this lyric that goes, “Even if your hands are shaking. And your Faith is broken. Even as the eyes are closing. Do it with a heart wide open.” It’s easy to stop being kind to ourselves and to others when we’ve been hurt or we see negative behavior around us. But that’s not excuse. To me it comes down to this, If tomorrow is going to look any better than today we have to commit to the possibility of kindness. We cannot abandon it. If the tomorrow after tomorrow is going to look better for our children and the children of our children we must commit to kindness.
A great way to change our energy and perhaps wipe the slate clean from previous negativity or frustration or hurt is to practice the Metta Meditation. Metta is the pali word for Lovingkindness. Here is my version:
May I be happy
May I be healthy
May I be peaceful
May I be loved
This then sets the tone for our practice and for our day. I don’t want you to get all worked about about what you look like, how you practice and whether you're doing it perfectly. I really don't want your yoga to be another opportunity to practice the self-abuse of perfectionism or be less than kind in yoru thoughts or actions. I just want you to be YOURSELF.
You need not overwhelm yourself on purpose. To practice lovingkindness go easy on yourself STRUGGLE LESS, STRIVE LESS, ATTEMPT LESS AND ENJOY MORE! Pace yourself to enjoy your practice to enjoy your life and let the ripples of lovingkindness impact the way you see the world. Or as Swami Satchidananda says, Look within. If you don't see the peace in you, you won't be able to see the peace outside. You have to have that peaceful vision, because it is you who sees the world outside.
4/3/2009 Tags: KINDNESS, MEDITATION, METTA, LOVINGKINDNESS, LOVE Direct Link
THERE IS A POINT TO ALL THIS
APRIL 2 2009: One of the first things we do to begin class is often take a comfortable seat. It is on purpose. There is a point to how we sit so as to improve the ability of the body to breath better. Then we bring our hands together, palm to palm in prayer. This is known as Sankalpa Mudra or Anjali Mudra. Mudra means gesture of commitment. We are doing something with our hands on purpose. There is a point to Sankalpa Mudra, it is our opportunity to set an intention, a dream, a wish, a vision. Really when we set our intention it is setting an expectation of ourselves. There is a point to our practice. And each time we rejoin our hands we remember to remember the promise we made to ourselves as to how this time for us is meeting our expectations.
It is like a commitment ceremony at the start of every class. And every breath will deepen your commitment to your intention on and off the mat.
The key thing to know is that there is a point to it all. Even when we don’t understand why things are happening in our life we can rest assured as Sadie Nardini says, “alongside positive change, challenge appears.” Yup. So what is the greater point to spiritual practice? To help us PAY ATTENTION.
The Yoga Sutras say “enjoyment is the sweetness of noticing your life right now – smell, taste, feeling, sensation” This is the answer to why pay attention, in that we don’t get to do today over again. Therefore as a result of your intention you can observe your progress towards the promise you made to yourself. And know you have come a really long way already before you even step on the mat. So once we realize that the point of the practice is to pay attention, to be present we stop trying to redo the past. We see we are here and now just all doing our best in appreciating how precious life really is. So tune in, love your life and trust in the process. Love to you all! Silvia
4/2/2009 Tags: HAPPINESS, INTENTION, Sankalpa, yoga sutras, love, pay attention Direct Link
HOW TO RELAX: BEING PRESENT IS THE ANSWER
APRIL 1, 2009: Ok the answer to relaxation is being present. But how do we do it? How can we connect to a quiet grounded sense of peace when our lives are filled with stress and messiness? Good news is that relaxation is a skill and art we can learn. Relaxation takes practice. Time on the yoga mat is the classroom in which we can practice. We have the entire curriculum of our lives with us already so we don’t need anything more. Once we take time to practice our yoga can support us in our real life. It can help us stay grounded and present in even the most stressful times we can maintain clarity and mental balance. From a physical perspective we used a series of hip openers and standing poses to further the energetic grounding into the present during class today. So be present to all of it. Love your day, Silvia
Some suggestions we talked about include: (They come from an article I found years ago and can’t recall the source, blessings to who shared this with me)
Exhale. One of the best ways to bring yourself back down to earth is to lengthen your exhalations. This form of breathing-encourages the nervous system to become calm and quiet, moving the body into a more restful state of being.
Focus your mind. Sometimes when the world sends us spinning, we want to do nothing more than drop into an easy chair and stare into space. But this approach often gives the brain free rein to continue its obsessive and agitated thinking. Instead, try focusing your mind in a constructive and engaging way by practicing poses and breathing techniques.
Substitute positive thoughts for negative ones. Yoga teaches that when we are disturbed by negative thought patterns, we can recover our balance by inviting peaceful thoughts into our minds. So the next time you find yourself reeling with an agonizing fear or a depressing thought, notice the negative habit, toss it out, and replace it to develop a more positive outlook .
Practice, practice, practice. Like fine wine, relaxation improves over time. Even if you don't happen to feel completely blissed-out in Savasana today, you are priming the body for quiet and ease tomorrow. Repeatedly practicing restful postures greases the wheel of relaxation, so you will be able to quickly and easily drop into a deep state of ease someday in the future