Silvia's Blog
LOVE THINKS, LOVE WINS!
JULY 29, 2009: Love thinks, it is not a mindless feeling and falls asleep mentally. It keeps busy in thought, knowing that your thoughts precede your actions. (Quote from where I can’t remember but totally inspiring me today and everyday!)
When you first fall in love don’t you think about the other person a lot? Don’t you think about where are they, when will I see them, what are they doing, what are they wearing, when can we talk again and on and on. We even tell them, “I’m thinking about you.” So this makes the point that LOVE IS ACTIVE. It is not something passive. Love thinks! It moves it flows. It is like water always engaged with the rivers banks, flowing around the fallen trees, boulders or whatever comes into its path for it seeks out to keep moving forward while it caresses all in its path.
We are like water, actually the human body is 60-85% made up of water science tells us. This flow is a way of vinyasa krama hatha yoga. Vinyasa yoga is a great way to release some of the tension in our lives so we can transform our bodies, and learn to be present so we can transform our minds. In class we are invited to move smoothly, let out our aggressions, and leave behind bad feelings we might've been fostering. (Tension is resistance to change)
We must think love and turn away thoughts of fear (fear is stagnant, smelly, unhealthy, sleepy, passive). But when we think love we find ourselves being passionately at home in our bodies and honest in our emotions. This makes us desirable and alluring. Folks that are rooted in loving themselves are MAGNETIC. So if we are thinking love we give off this vibe that we are fascinated with the ‘e”motions/motions and flow of our hearts. And cool thing is others will feel this as well
So today do not let your mind restrict your flow. Think LOVE. Invoke this second chakra, the water element, to help you think love into a more creative, powerful, patient, adaptable and receptive way of life!
Enjoy my personal mantra:
I love myself
I am love
I offer love
I receive love
7/29/2009 Tags: LOVE, MANTRA, MEDITATION, RESISTANCE, FLOW, WATER, FEAR, VINYASA Direct Link
WHAT DOES HAPPINESS LOOK LIKE
JULY 28th, 2009:
I wonder to myself today, What Does Happiness Look Like?
Does a person look like a living smiley face t-shirt? Is the face of happiness curiosity? Does happiness look like enthusiasm for learning? Does someone have to be outwardly cheerful or could they be quiet and gentle or both?
What do you think?
Bottom line we have all been programmed by our life experience to think about what happiness looks like. The practice of spiritual awakening means we are alert to our own ideas and where they are faulty and where they are true. What blocks our happiness are our own mistaken beliefs about what happiness is or isn’t. Things like: (1) happiness being out there in the future when really it’s right now; (2) happiness comes if we change our situation or the people around us, nope we can waste all our energy trying to rearrange the world but what makes you happy or unhappy is not the world and the people around you but what you think inside your head, happiness is an “inside job”; (3) the belief that if everything we want, all our desires are fulfilled then we’ll be happy when in reality happiness based on anything external (a piece of chocolate, a desired weight, getting a raise) even if experienced will only offer a flash of emotion but that is not the same as happiness since it comes from how we think about what we have.
So this means that more is not better. To be happy is deep work not surface stuff.
So if we wish to attain lasting happiness we have to be ready to drop our false beliefs like stuff above that we see as facts. Then we will move out of the darkness and away from our fear. Our greatest fear being that many of us are actually afraid to be happy. What happens then if everything you want you realize you have? Anthony De Mello says, “Actually there is not a single moment in our life when we do not have everything that we need to be happy.”
The yoga sutras and spiritual study all say the same thing. Check out a favorite book The How of Happiness to learn more. Love you, lover yourself, Silvia
THE IMPORTANCE OF PLAY AS SACRED FUN
JULY 27TH, 2009: For my birthday two weeks ago some of my friends gave me a t-shirt that says “Irish Yoga” I wore it to class and dedicated the class to them for it serves as a reminder that as national yoga teacher Judith Lasater says, “yoga practice is important but not serious. Practice is too important to be serious.”
As we put ourselves in ridiculous pose shapes we can learn on the mat how not to take ourselves too seriously. We play, we laugh at our efforts and it all helps us to soften the hard edges and be a little less uptight about the challenges we face in life. As we unwind our minds and stop the noise in our heads we illuminate the joy that is always inside waiting to burn more brightly. And maybe as we find that playful inner light burning stronger the voices that sometimes are overly critical and self punishing quiet down. We see that through humor we can delight and discover pleasure in even the most dire circumstances.
I know it’s not always easy and I am not talking about a Pollyannaish experience. All I’m suggesting is that we make a choice to not just survive the ups and downs but that we want to thrive! And the way to thrive is to play, to dance, to laugh, to be in the yoga of the moment. Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia
PS – guess what’s on the shirt and I’ll email you coupon for 15% off next purchase.
RELAXING OUR EFFORT: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
JULY 24TH, 2009:
Relaxing effort and fixing the mind on the infinite (asana is perfected). Yoga Sutras 2.47
To me this sutra is about how we relate to the questions and answers seeking in our lives. In class it is that opportunity to stop working so hard at finding answers for life (why things happened in the past as well as reassurances for what is going tO happen in the future) and just be in a state of now. Some psychologists call this “easy speed” This is that place of just pure awareness of the questions of our lives instead of the constant striving for the answers. This is the advanced practice.
A right effort an effective effort and why the poses need not be exotic to effective. I want the poses to be familiar enough that we can find the ease and all the technique becomes effortless so we can be here right now on all levels (emotional, mental, physical, spiritual). So let the poses be the questions, be the breath and unite your focus to breath and move. This then allows us to love the questions as poet Maria Rilke says in her poem:
From "Letters to a Young Poet" by Maria Rilke
I want to beg of you much as I can to be patient
toward all that's unsolved in your heart,
and learn to love the questions themselves,
like locked rooms, or like books that are
written in a very foreign tongue.
Do not seek the answers, which cannot be given you,
because you would not be able to live them,
and the point is to live everything.
Live the question now,
perhaps you will then, gradually, without noticing it,
live along some distant day into the answer.
When we find this infinite state then the unknown becomes less scary. We are in the isness of now (as Eckhart Tolle puts it so well). So let yourself feel your emotions around the unknown. Remember all of us are wondering about the future (it’s a trick and delusion of the human psyche). The thing is none of us know the outcome of any given day, the future is an illusion. Einstein said, “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious…” The way to avoid suffering is to learn to be present in the isness and be less afraid of the unknown so we can relax our effort and simply enjoy being here and seeing what is real and beautiful! I love you all, Silvia
TAPAS: SHOWING UP FOR YOUR LIFE
JULY 23RD, 2009: I have been meditating on the word RESOLVE this week. Like what does that mean exactly? In yogic terms it is Tapas. What is Tapas? I would in practical terms define it as relaxed sustainable determination with consistent undertones of passion. Or simply put it means SHOWING UP. It may so seem easy to show up for our life but how often do we get so busy, worried or afraid that we aren’t really attending the life story where we are the star. When I did theatre in High School and College there were moments in a couple shows that by the end of the run I would be acting on stage but sort of on autopilot (not really aware that I was totally there). I’ve found that to be true in regular life early in spiritual practice. Like we are the actor on the stage we are also the audience but neither as actor or viewer would I be tuned in.
So TAPAS helps us to be awake to our lives and articulate our intentions. In practice the determination to hold true to our dreams or visions for ourselves is Tapas in yoga. It is like this poem below:
"Only as high as I reach can I grow,
Only as far as I seek can I go,
Only as deep as I look can I see,
Only as much as I dream can I be."
-Karen Ravn
So today challenge yourself to show up. Whether this means showing up for yoga class or just showing up for what makes you excited about your life. What is your vision for your life? Not just the idea but what can you resolve to make happen, to be with day after day until you see the fruition of your dream. Leonardo Da Vinci once said, "A good painter has two main objects to paint, man and the intention of his soul. The former is easy, the latter hard."
Ask yourself: If he would paint your portrait would DaVinci see that fire in your eyes?
Resolve starting now to find the inner strength and quiet determination to hold true to your biggest dreams. Big Love! Silvia
"Let no doubt into your dreams and intentions. The dreamers are the saviors of the world. Be one of those dreamers." (Dr Wayne Dyer)
FIND YOUR CENTER KEEP YOUR CENTER
JULY 22ND, 2009:
Let go of it all. Just remain in the center
Watching, and then forget you are there.”
-Baba Hari Dass
I’ve been meditating on what it means to be “centered” and as much as I often think about this in terms of finding one’s center for me its become more a matter of keeping to my center. When I first started yoga I didn’t quite know what it meant to be centered quite frankly I hadn’t ever even thought about it. I just got on the treadmill of life and just kept pushing myself to achieve and move on from stage one to stage two, excellence in High School, transferred into excellence in College and then trying to keep this going in the corporate world as well. I was just going going going, almost like I was running around center but never pausing long enough to really be there. Asleep or working a million hours per week (or playing hard) were the only two speeds I knew.
Then through yoga and quiet time of self observation (svadhaya) on the mat I started “To Know Thyself” as Socrates put it.
It started as all spiritual practice does, not looking for answers but simply trying to ask better questions. So I ask you take 3 minutes write down what does CENTERED mean to you? To me it means balance, peace, happiness, a oneness with others instead of a tug of war, compassion, patience and most of all BEING PRESENT.
It is that “isness” of now that Echkart Tolle writes of in A New Earth. Or in the Yoga Sutras the hope for all beings to find and hold happiness knowing this is only possible in the moment. So meditate on the words of Jack Kerouac:
Not with thoughts of your mind, but in the believing
sweetness of your heart, you snap the link and open the
golden door and disappear into the bright room, the
Everlasting ecstasy, eternal Now.”
Take time on the mat to be here now, to find and hold onto your center that place of sweetness where we feel the sacredness of living in oneness, one family, one heart, one love, one soul all in the light of center. Hold fast my friends and keep making those sensitive adjustments to keep returning to center moment by moment. Love you all! Silvia
NAMASTE: TO HONOR, APPRECIATE, REMEMBER
JULY 21ST, 2009: This class tonight is dedicated to our friend John Palmer whose participation in sailing team Intangible contributed greatly to their first place finish this weekend!
So we focus on Namaste, Nama, Namaha and all its variations to honor John’s accomplishment and use of yogic breathing and meditation as handy tools when needed most. To me Namaha is a remembrance and appreciation first and foremost. Voltaire said, “Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.” So John’s success is our success. Instead of seeking separation Namaste brings us into Yoga or union as one world, one people. We honor the sacredness of all.
Namaste is a blessing. It strikes the perfect chord. Having grown up in a musical family and having played piano and clarinet for 13 years I have always felt music was a blessing. Yoga like being in a chorus or a band or any sort of tribe helps us to work together as a beautiful symphony. We feel this symphony of the body when we practice poses (asanas). And just like playing a musical instrument the more yoga you practice the more efficient you get. Over time you feel the harmonies. No single player more important but everyone equally important. This is a nondualistic view of life. Where we acknowledge that everyone is valuable in their own way, that we all contribute to make wonderful music. This is why I always say in class you are like family to me. I see us as co-creating something amazing each time we come together. Just like in scriptures, “The diversity of the family should be a cause of love and harmony, as it is in music where many different notes blend together in the making of a perfect chord.”
Namaste is a remembrance. Wolfgang Von Goethe writes, “Remembrance of what is good keeps us high in spirit. Remembrance of what is beautiful is the salvation of the mortal man. Remembrance of what is dear will be happiness, if it remains alive.” So we unite our hands or think to ourselves Namaste and remember how amazing life is. It is a respect for our breath, for life itself. When we share this with another we are saying that WE ARE ONE. That we are all love and truth, freedom and strength, light and peace. So to each of you from my heart, Namaste! Love and serve all ways, all days, Silvia
Namaste - The ancient Sanskrit blessing defined
We can perceive the unique thread that connects us all with the Universe, and all its Beings along with the source of that interconnection. Accepting Oneness, we are accordingly receptive to knowledge that comes to us in the form of examples, advice, and direct teaching. One may awake to the wisdom that opens our eyes to new worlds of possibilities.
When we assume everyone we meet is special and unique in its essence we should always show to all people the same generous level of kindness, care, compassion, and understanding without any thoughts of self-interest or ulterior motives above paying respects wholeheartedly, the way we live our daily lives has an enormous impact on those around us.
Instead of clinging to what separates us, Practicing Namaste enables us to feel less alone in the world. We begin to understand that we must treat all people for what they are, family. We are one with the cosmos whether we realize it or not. Practicing ONENESS we gain consciousness of the more subtle aspects of our being, with the ultimate outcome being a complete identification with the light body.
May all beings find and hold happiness. May they all be free from suffering and sickness. May we all look in the mirror see all others reflecting back. May we be all with one, living in oneness, one family, one heart, a glowing heart of the brightest light of compassion. NAMASTE
From Wikipedia, freely adapted and edited http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namaste
ACCEPTING OURSELVES
JULY 20TH, 2009: Why do I come to the mat each and every day? I return because I want to make and keep peace with who I am. I practice in the safety of class radical self-acceptance. Through that practice I stay present to life and what it is offering me breath to breath, email by email, thought to action to observation. We are all a work in progress but that awareness of letting ourselves be who we are is vital to positive mental, emotional and spiritual health.
Think about it you can come to class at any time without having to meet any single prerequisite. You just come as you are and the power and beauty of yoga embraces you. I can tell you during times of challenge the mat was the only place I felt like I could be myself. And I mean my real self (not the pretending we do for our neighbors, colleagues, even sometime our family members). Eckhart Tolle in the book A New Earth says it like this on page 184:
"Accepting means you allow yourself to feel whatever it is you are feeling at that moment. It is part of the isness of the Now. You can't argue with what is. Well, you can, but if you do, you suffer."
Finding peace inside through compassionate self-acceptance is not that easy, but the thing is only when we find peace within can we become the kind of people who can live at peace with others. It is a straightforward spiritual law. You cannot offer to others what you don’t practice for yourself. If you don’t have peace you can’t make peace, if you don’t love yourself you can’t really love someone else, if you don’t fully accept how amazing you are, you WILL NEVER accept others. This is why when I’ve encountered the most critical or judgmental person I feel compassion for them because I know they are only treating me like that because they are first criticizing and belittling themselves. I don’t want that to be the way of energy exchange for any of us. This is why I want the world to practice yoga.
“Some people confuse acceptance with apathy, but there`s all the difference in the world. Apathy fails to distinguish between what can and what cannot be helped; acceptance makes that distinction. Apathy paralyzes the will-to-action; acceptance frees it.” Says Anne Covey
And perhaps the greatest misunderstanding of acceptance is that it is apathetic. This is not the case. Yoga is at its core learning how to accept ourselves in this moment not staying stuck in apologizing who were in the past or hyperventilating about who we might be in the future. As Fulton Oursler puts it, ‘Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves - regret for the past and fear of the future.” When we are allowing ourselves to accept our innate goodness we can learn how to ask ourselves better questions and to listen to the answers (i.e., What do I want? What do I feel? What do I need? How can I give myself what I need right now?) In other words we aren’t trying to fix ourselves as if we were broken we nourish ourselves with self-love. This leads to a sense of feeling light, freer and healthier. So today make the choice not to keep yourself in a prison of your own making through self-criticism and harsh self-judgement but instead as Rumi says, “only from the heart can you touch the sky!” Accept yourself, lover your day, love your life! Silvia
"You do not become good by trying to be good, but by finding the goodness that is already within you, and allowing that goodness to emerge. But it can only emerge if something fundamental changes in your state of consciousness." - Page 13 Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth
TRUST IN YOUR LIFE AND THE UNKNOWN
JULY 19TH, 2009: So I’ve been meditating on these two questions that have arisen as a result of conversations with friends. I owe to them this inspiration and further growth.
- If you knew what was going to happen to your life would you trust it to be the right thing for you?
- If you know what’s good for you do you take that action or avoid it
If someone told you this is exactly what will take place in your life even then would have so much fundamental trust in the goodness of life and the desire of the universe to work on your behalf that you’d ride the ride? Or if some of the stuff wasn’t what you had envisioned for your life would you rebel towards it? Because the thing is either you TRUST the universe and see all as good that will unfold in your life or you see it as an enemy not trusting spirit. These are mutually exclusive.
"Through my inner trust for my life I choose to embrace the unfolding of my future."
And it’s ok right not as you think about this to say I don’t know if I trust in the good. Trust is so much about the future and those things we don’t know. All we can do is try and open our minds and hearts to the potential for life to evolve in the direction of happiness. To believe that the universe really is working on our behalf (even if it doesn’t make sense). Mahatma Gandhi said it like this, “Glory lies in the attempt to reach one's goal and not in reaching it.” So just trying and making an effort is TRUST (no matter the outcome).
So if you take the second question, if you know what’s good for your life why do we so often look the other way? Why do we avoid the TRUTH? I mean it’s ok to go through the vetting process and get others opinions but ultimately we have to TRUST our own truth of what we know to be the way. Shakespeare said, “Learning to trust ourselves is a worthy practice, the practice of authenticity. This is the work of aligning the standards we have for ourselves with our deepest passions and dreams. It’s the work of making promises to ourselves and keeping them. It’s the work of creating and discovering the kind of resources that can and will support our success. It’s the work of knowing who we are without judgment.” We have to look inside, we can’t approach our lives from the outside. As Rumi says, “Knock and you shall find you have been inside all the time." I just wish it was easier to look inwards when we’re so good at the external stuff.
Ultimately trust is about LOVE. Dr Joyce Brothers says the best proof of Love is trust. Yeah I see that, feel that, live that. Life wants us to love more but loving more means first we must trust more. The tough part is that there is no guarantee that we won’t get hurt (well actually of course we will). But we must trust that as Cheryl Richardson writes in Unmistakable Touch of Grace, “Every event we experience and every person we meet has intentionally been put in our path to help raise our level of consciousness. When we awaken to this fundamental truth, life becomes a true adventure, a spiritual adventure. The failed relationship that left you broken hearted is no longer a source of bitterness and pain. Instead it’s seen as a blessing in disguise, a gift that makes you stronger, more conscious, and ultimately, more alive.” No matter what you relationship with trust today, let’s strengthen the love and peace in our hearts. Let’s start with making love a new way of life, so that we may live in love and trust the unfolding of the rest of our lives. Be love, Silvia
PRECISION AND GENTLENESS FOR BACK PAIN
JULY 18TH, 2009: Good morning! So today I passed out a handout with the suggested foot alignment for all standing poses. We started by really talking about the detail and precision as well as precise modifications for all fundamental standing poses like Pyramid, Lunge, Warrior B, Triangle pose and Wide Standing Pose. With that said I wanted to make the point that if we only emphasize technical precision we can get overly self-critical, perfectionistic and even downright militant. The yoga practice can be used in an unhealthy way becoming way too constrictive and goal-oriented. So as we focus on the elegant principles of alignment we also emphasize gentleness. Otherwise the yoga can be a means to create more stress in our already stressful lives.
Our physical focus today was the psychological triggers of back pain. In the book The Mind Body Connection by Dr John Sarno he argues the cause of back pain is usually entirely psychological. He says back muscles go into spasm and cause pain because of mental tension and that if you can get to the root cause of the tension the pain will disappear. With yoga we can heal back pain by calming down our overactive stress response system. The greatest tool we have to do this is the breath which is why we link breath with movement leading to muscle relaxation and mental quiet. A personal favorite breathing mantra to practice in and out of class is this:
Breathing in, I am aware I am breathing in
Breathing out, I am aware I am breathing out
Breathing in, I calm my body.
Breathing out, I calm my mind.
Practicing slow deep breaths triggers the "relaxation response" the antidote to flight or flight response. The focus on all three parts of the lungs (especially deep abdominal focus on exhalations) helps bring in more oxygen. And the wave like undulation of deep inhales and exhales gently massage the spinal column which brings nutrients to our spinal disks.
The poses we practice today were specific to stretch all major muscle groups around the hip joints including adductors, quads, rotators, and hamstrings. What happens is that when our Hip rotators are tight they hold the pelvis too much and the force of movement transfers up to the low back putting strain from there on up the spine. It hurts! We held poses working on precision but then we also put a simple routine together you could practice at home for 5 minutes per day at a one breath per movement ratio, letting go of perfection. This way we improved overall circulation that brings nutrients to the intervertebral disks while removing toxins. The thing is that disks don't have an independent blood supply therefore they depend on movement of the surrounding structure to aid in the delivery of nutrients. Movement causes the disks to be compressed which squeezes out stale disk fluid and then to expand bringing in fresh supply. Judith Lasater says, “In the majority of cases back pain can be prevented. The majority have to do with how we use our bodies." We don’t hurt anymore!
Altogether we used this practice to learn how to manage addressing our mental and physical tensions so we could find stillness and gentleness by the end. The whole class intended to help us get to the final pose of Savasana where in the words of Eckhart Tolle in his power Practicing the Power of Now we experienced a feeling of letting go. I hope you find this background on healing back pain helpful and healing. Love the day! Silvia
When you surrender to what is
and so become fully present,
the past ceases to have any power.
Suddenly, a great stillness arises within you,
An unfathomable sense of peace.
And within that peace, there is great joy.
And within that joy, there is love.
IMPERMANENCE AND ONENESS: LIFE AND HARMONY
JULY 17, 2009: Einstein says that “is there not a certain satisfaction in the fact that natural limits are set to the life of the individual, so that at the conclusion it may appear as a work of art?” Spiritual practice reminds us that life is very brief. No matter how many years we have in this body we know that it is impermanent. Pema Chodran speaks to how impermanence heightens that feeling of preciousness and gratitude. A fundamental Buddhist teaching says that once you are born, you immediately start dying. Now if that doesn’t put things in perspective I don’t know what will. Mortality is not scary dudes. The way I look at impermanence is that it reminds us we are all ONE. There is this yoga uniting all spirits, all nature. Our visit here is vitally important and so why not aspire towards harmony and use this trip we’re on to unite and celebrate one another? Do we really need to spend any of our time fighting, destroying, rehearsing, dividing? Is it worthwhile to battle even the difficult people or situations in our life knowing what we know, that life is fleeting? I’ve spent time fighting against life by working too hard, climbing the corporate ladder too hard, accumulating stuff with almost militant gusto, then my Dad passed when he was only 59 years old. That changed me forever. There is no need to push at life. As I have always said, nature is my best teacher. And I find great healing in the lessons that trees share with us by their existence. We live because they live and vice versa. Trees seem to me the symbol of this synergy of oneness and harmony. We live in all things, and all things live in us. “I believe in the absolute oneness of God and therefore also of humanity. What though we have many bodies? We have but ONE soul. – Ghandi “We live by the sun We feel by the moon We move by the stars We live in all things All things live in us We eat from the earth We drink from the rain We breath of the air We live in all things All things live in us We call to each other We listen to each other Our hearts deepen with love and compassion We live in all things All things live in us (By Stephanie Kaza, Earth Prayers) During the course of the practice we get to try different poses. Some we can see as favorites and others as lessons. The spiritual practice is to embrace all of them as they symbolize difficult and easy people in our lives. So in the words of Indian philosopher Krishnamurti, “love the whole tree”. Love your whole life, be grateful for everyone, celebrate each moment for it never comes again. This is not a rehearsal, the state of harmony we allow ourselves determines the quality of our one life, right now. Love not the shapely branch, Nor place its image alone in your heart. It dies away. Love the whole tree; Then you will love the shapely branch, The tender and withered leaf, They shy bud and the full blown flower, The falling petal and the dancing night, The splendid shadow of full love. Ah, love life it its fullness. It knows no decay. (
DOOR OF HAPPINESS
JULY 16th, 2009: The very first principle is opening to grace. We invoke the idea of expansion – to be alive in joy! The beating of our hearts reminds us that there is this constant opening and contracting pulsation. The yoga teaches us to wake up to this pulse. "…you can live a whole lifetime, without ever being awake" —Way of the Peaceful Warrior
The door of happiness does not open away from us:
We cannot rush at it to push it open.
It opens toward us and,
Therefore, nothing is required of us.
Soren Kierkegaard (1813-55)
I found yoga intriguing because it was like this. It was unconditional love. None of us have to meet any pre-requisites to practice. We just show up ready to expand. We open to grace and see that the door of happiness is constantly opening toward us. I shared in class a story of a student I had with a frozen shoulder as they lacked trust in others, in life, they find themselves in a state of contraction choosing not to open to healing from others. This only worsened a condition that if they had allowed the door of happiness to open towards them they would have seen many were standing there to help them. I want us to learn from that so we can make a better choice.
Fully Alive By Dawna Markova
I will not die an unlived life
I will not live in fear
of falling or catching fire.
I choose to inhabit my days,
to allow my living to open me,
to make me less afraid, more accessible,
to loosen my heart until it becomes a wing,
a torch, a promise.
I choose to risk my significance;
to live so that which came to me as seed
goes to the next as blossom
and that which came to be as blossom goes on as fruit.
Are you choosing to see the open doors available to you? Or do you look around your life and see yourself as a victim of the universe attracting further drama? Do you have an addiction to the closed doors which represents itself in life as inability to re-regulate? Let go of dramas of your life of the hurt feelings. Forgive and begin again to see the doors opening towards you! You see the thing is this is nothing we have to seek out. The door of life and love is always opening towards us. Love you all, Silvia
INCONVENIENCES OF LIFE AND LOVE
JULY 14TH: “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” Anais Nin (1903-77)
Life is simple not easy says Jon Kabat Zinn. Nothing is promised to us as easy. Life requires effort and discipline mostly because we have a lot working against us in keeping us mindful and present, more all the time to be honest. So a certain amount of work is required. And this is what inspired me today. When Pema Chodran says Life is so inconvenient I said to myself YES! that’s true. I just never heard it said so straightforward like that before. The word inconvenient is very different than something like saying life is hard. And what I’ve also found to be true is that following our hearts, love itself is inconvenient.
Pema Chodran writes, “when you hear some teachings that ring true to you and feel some trust in its being a worthwhile way to live then you’re in for a lot inconvenience. From an everyday perspective it seems good to do things that are kind of convenient; there is no problem with that. It’s just that when you really start to take the warrior’s journey – which is to say, when you start to want to live your LIFE FULLY, when you begin to feel this passion for life and for growth, when discovery and exploration and curiosity become your path – then basically, it you follow your heart, you’re going to find that it’s often extremely inconvenient.”
This single teaching continues to resonate with me, not just the first time but in all the years since. To read more check out her book The Wisdom of No Escape.
Hey remember when we were kids on a road trip with our parents and from the back seat we’d ask, “are we there yet?” So why were we asking? The truth is that it’s easier to just stay home. It’s a lot more convenient, especially for our parents but they took us on the road anyway. My own parents not only took us around the
The waking up is inconvenient. Quite frankly waking up to one’s life is very inconvenient. But Pema goes on to say, “But what spiritual practice teaches is that once you know that the purpose of life is simply to walk forward and continually to use your life to wake up rather than put you to sleep, then there’s that sense of wholeheartedness about inconvenience, wholeheartedness about convenience. If we choose cozy, safe as our primary reason to exist then this becomes an obstacle for our very existence in trying to live fully where we take chances, offer ourselves to making new choices, take a risk, explore.”
COMFORT ORIENTATION MURDERS THE SPIRIT
When we are on the path, involved in our own pilgrimage its inconvenient to be on the road (as a road warrior in the corporate world traveling 70% of the time I know this) but staying home and avoiding life but not engaging it is the death of our spirit. It’s not easy but certainly it’s worth the inconvenience to dare the difficult.
It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare;
It is because we do not dare that they are difficult. Seneca 4 BCE – 65BCE
You guys, really if you think about it there are lots of inconveniences about life. It’s inconvenient to buy groceries, it’s inconvenient to make the bed each day, to brush our teeth, to prepare our meals, to get sick, to lose your job, to have your kids throw up on you, to get divorced, to get married, to clean the house, to get gas, to have a baby, it’s inconvenient to find yourself embarrassed or heart broken too. Tell me what do you think is convenient? And is that meaningful?
The thing is that if we want to love life we’ll learn that the inconvenience is not the obstacle. Of course we’re going to get “poked and prodded like someone’s laughing in your ear, challenging you to figure out what to do when you don’t know what to do. It humbles you. It opens your heart.” (Chodran) And when it comes down to it I’d rather have my heart opened up then live life tight in the bud. I’d rather have something spectacular on my tombstone when this life ends than to have written, “had great health insurance and lived an ok life” So please really sit with this and see how it can change your life as it has mine. Love your day, your life, yourself! Silvia
The way of experience
Let me use suspense as material for perseverance;
Let me use danger as material for courage;
Let me use reproach as material for long suffering;
Let me use praise as material for humility;
Let me use pleasure as material for temperance;
Let me use pain as material for endurance.
-John Baillie (1886-1960)
HOW TO RELAX
JULY 13TH, 2009:
“We no longer have a choice about including practices in our daily lives that create health and spiritual growth. If we want a world worth living in today, as well as one worth leaving to future generations, we must take responsibility to create health in our lives, as well as to support others as they choose healthier lives for themselves. It is up to each of each of us to lovingly transform the world simply by first transforming ourselves.” (Judith Lasater)
Tonight at 7:30pm Basics we practiced the Art and Skill of Relaxation.
How did we do it? The answer is to be present.
It all starts with the breath. Even right now take a few moments and feel your entire body as you breath. Ask yourself what is your experience of yourself right now, right here? Keep paying attention to the breath to tune you into the present moment. Inhale, pause, exhale pause. As you breath remember no force, no over effort, think of your body as a glass and the base of the glass is your hips, the top of the glass is your collarbones. Just fill up smooth and easy.
Through the meditation of breathing we learn to be more present. This helps us connect to a quiet grounded sense of peace when our lives are filled with stress and messiness. But I’ll be honest with you, RELAXATION takes practice. So that’s where yoga comes in handy. Our time on the mat is the classroom in which we can practice how to relax. And once we take time to practice our yoga it can support us in our real life. Yoga can help us stay present and calm even in the most chaotic times. How? It reminds us that our natural state is one of love. From love all good things flow. And in a state of self-love we grow more relaxed no matter what is facing us outside ourselves. I wish you your own best love. Please hold your heart gently. Love in all ways, Silvia
“The present moment is always full of inifinite treasure. It contains far more than you can possibly grasp. Faith is the measure of its riches: what you find in the present moment is according to the measure of your faith. Love also is the measure: the more the heart loves, the more it rejoices in what God provides. The will of spirit presents itself at each moment like an immense ocean that the desire of your heart cannot empty; yet you will drink from that ocean according to your faith and love.” --Jean Pierre de Caussade (1675-1751)
GRATITUDE HABIT
JULY 14, 2009: As Gratitude is something which none of us can give too much I wanted to tell you how thankful I am for you sharing your time with me by coming to class. Your support encourages me to work even harder at serving you better. I really want to offer you the most beautiful, caring environment and inspiring classes possible so at the end of when you have a tough day you can regain clarity.
Is Your Soul Asleep? I REMEMBER WHEN MINE WAS. THIS PRACTICE OF YOGA WOKE ME UP. IT WOKE ME UP TO MAKING GRATITUDE A HABIT.
When your soul is in charge your life becomes a LOVE STORY.
A love story between you and yourself, between you and everybody else, between you and the divine…...I’d love to seduce you into wondering about your soul; the way it moves, how it smells, feels, tastes, speaks, acts, even what it wears. And most Importantly how it is part of you that makes you a fascinating, mysterious individual. (By Gabrielle Roth – Sweat your Prayers)
A healthy Gratitude Habit can in the words of Melody Beattie "unlock the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." Sometimes all it takes to reconnect to our Gratitude Habit is coming back to the mat and reigniting that inner light through gentle reminder of how lucky we really are. "Sometimes our light goes out but is blown into flame by another human being. Each of us owes deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this light." (Albert Schweitzer) So this week join me in taking the gratitude habit from the mat into the world. How? Try this:
· Reverse any tendency you have to make comparisons.
· Quit talking about what you don't have compared to what you have;
· Stop complaining about how you are doing career-wise, relationship-wise, or any other-wise.
· Instead, concentrate on finding whatever is good in every situation, saying to yourself from morning to night “I am grateful for…”
And I promise you will discover a life filled with gratitude wakes up and nurtures your soul and brings quiet joy! Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia
“Gratitude is confidence in life itself.
Gratitude gladdens the heart.
As gratitude grows it gives rise to joy.
Like gratitude joy gladdens the heart.
We can be joyful for people we love,
for moments of goodness, for sunlight and trees,
and for the breath within us.
And as our joy grows
we finally discover a happiness without cause.
We can rejoice in life itself, in simply being alive!”
—From “The Art of Forgiveness, Lovingkindess, and Peace” By Jack Kornfield
THIS WEEK THEMES, LESSONS, INSPIRATIONS
Dear Friends, This is the week of my birthday! I am speaking ever more clearly from my heart. I hope you can celebrate part of my birthday by joining me in class. It would mean a lot. The themes for classes include:
Spiritual Adventure: Facing our fears
Gratitude Habit for Healing
How to Relax
The Safe Zone: When we're Stuck in a Groove
Love is Inconvenient, Keep at it anyway
The Door to Joy is Open
This Life is Fleeting - Live Passionately Now!
7/12/2009 Tags: yoga sutras, yoga philosophy, teaching yoga Direct Link
PASSION FOR ADVENTURE: FACING OUR FEARS
JULY 11TH, 2009: Are you doing things because you love to do them or because you feel like you have to do them. What percentage of the time would you say? Well if you are spending more of your time doing stuff because you feel like you have to instead of wanting to then this is a formula for misery.
Trust yourself create the kind of life you will be happy to live with all your life. Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into the flames of achievement. – Foster McClellan
The purpose of life is a life with purpose. This is one of my most favorite quotes from the Monk Who Sold his Ferrari. So to honor this. We took time tonight as you could right now wherever you are when you read this to write out what you’re passionate or excited about. Why write it if we can just think about it? Well science tells us that by writing out your desires and goals on a piece of paper you send a red flag to your subconscious mind that these thoughts are more important than the other 59,999 ones you’ll have today!
This helps us to filter out what is unimportant and focus only on the important. We will enjoy life more fully if we stop focusing on the minor stuff and figure out what we want to major in life. And the greatest thing is that we can have fun while we’re progressing along our path. We can reclaim the joy of waking up each day excited about our life! Don’t you want to wake up filled with energy and enthusiasm?
I was thinking as I was preparing my class about having a passion for adventure and facing one’s fears about the movie Into the Wild. You may remember it was the true life story of Chris McCandless. McCandless graduated from
Even when it’s scary the unknown in life is what makes it an adventure!
So ask yourself right now: Where are you going, what path are you on, is this the right direction for you, if I could choose any path which direction would you go?
Or as Pantanjali says in the Yoga Sutras, "When you are inspired by some great purpose all of your thoughts break their bonds; your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world!" Be the cause of your own future happiness! I hope this next half of the summer is a wonderful adventure for you doing what you love!
And take to heart, what’s written in the Alchemist, “Making a decision was only the beginning of things. When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision.”
Here’s to first steps! Love you all, Silvia
LOVE IS NOT LEISURE
JULY 10, 2009: Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you. And remember that love is not leisure, it is work
Yoga teaches us that we can only share love to the degree we feel it for ourselves. So the question to ask ourselves first is “do we think we deserve to be loved?” It is a simple question and requires the utmost heroism to respond honestly. And if you say yes then we begin by practicing self-love. This is the most advanced practice of yoga. And I’ll tell you, it’s not easy at first. But the good news is the more you practice the less you’ll even remember the old ways. It will be like breathing. Oh yeah, we learn in yoga breathing takes work. (Thank goodness the body keeps us breathing even when we don’t pay attention) But the best quality of life means we are loving our breath, we appreciate it we PAY IT ATTENTION.
So on the mat we practice loving ourselves so we can love our live’s better. It takes effort, effort means taking some action. So we are reminded that love is not leisure. Managing our breath is one activity of self-love and another is being in charge of our own thoughts. As science tells us we know we have 60,000 thoughts per day and whenever we think a thought the brain sends chemicals through our body that produces a feeling based on that thought. If we think the same critical thoughts over and over, these repetitive thoughts and their repetitive chemical reactions will create a negative view of life. They will drain the life from our life. So ask yourself WHY DO YOU THINK THE THINGS YOU DO?
The thoughts you have today will go through a gestation period (short or long) and will eventually give birth to the quality of your life.
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE BORN FROM YOUR LIFE?
Even making love to another requires some effort, some action (you don’t just lie there inactive, unresponsive) this is the same for what we want to be born in our lives for growth only takes place through love and kindness. And by actively generating love we organically open the doorway for the entry of people and experiences that are like the love we feel for ourselves. So engage your life more, actively love yourself in thoughts, words, and actions each day and let your heart shine out! Love in all ways, Silvia
Light, my light, the world-filling light, the eye-kissing light, heart-sweetening light!
Ah, the light dances, my darling, at the center of my life;
the light strikes, my darling, the chords of my love;
the sky opens, the wind runs wild, laughter passes over the earth. -Tagore
YOU MATTER!
Hi You Guys,
I want to thank you for all the amazing conversations I have each day with you. Please keep the emails and calls coming. I thoroughly enjoy every interaction! And I wanted you to know that I recognize what it takes to reach out. I see the effort on your part to talk, to get to class, to write a note. Every single one of us matters. Sometimes we think we don’t but we truly do matter. And I am paying total attention.
Yoga teaches us that we are all looking for something that will connect us more deeply to ourselves and through that knowing the truth of the spirit self (Atman) there is a recognition that we all leave an imprint on everyone we meet. When you think of it, in all the random meetings we have with folks each day we can be the ANSWER or BLESSING for another person. That’s a powerful responsibility.
What imprint are you making on the world? What is your legacy? Can you take five minutes today to make a conscious effort to consider how you can connect to others in such a way that you can make a positive difference? I would love for you to join me for FREE tomorrow night July 9th, 7:30pm-9pm for Yoga and Journaling where we’ll have time to reflect on the things we’ve done this week to uplift another person (an email, a call, a card, a compliment, giving up your parking space etc). This time to meditate on how we effect others, the “ripple effect” speaks to our greater Intention or personal mission statement. And every time we align better with our intentions we magnify our efforts. Moving the body and then journaling is a wonderful way to connect to our true desires, passions and dreams!
You deeply inspire me, your life stories make me cry, make me laugh, humble me to no end. And for all of that I thank you for letting me serve you. Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia (2009)
POWER OF INTENTION
JULY 7TH, 2009:
“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”
It is great to spend time in self-reflection looking back at our lives but equally as important is looking forward. And it is through the Power of Intention we realize our dreams! It all starts with a thought. Here are four key elements in forming strong intention for yourself. To begin just bring your hands together in SANKALPA MUDRA (a Mudra of commitment with everything that goes into it as the intention). So just begin to breath here and as you breath in setting this intention know in some sense you are setting an expectation for yourself - an expectation to your own growth and evolution. As you deepen your breath really deepen your connection to the promise you are making to yourself.
FIRST – DEFINE YOUR INTENTION. Use the time in Yoga to go inside yourself and explore the hidden chambers of your heart to find your TRUE self. This is really the 1st step in yoga. From there the next step is bringing forth from within our highest potential our best self that we discovered within and sharing it with the world. So right now through your attention and breathing do the following no matter where you are:
· Give your heart attention
· Give your heart nourishment
· Give your heart energy
SECOND – EXPECT BEAUTY. Show reverence for all life by expecting kindness and love along with beauty in your life. This is different than habitually looking for ways to be hurt, angry or offended. You can’t access your intention if you’re thinking about the impossibility of what you want to manifest.
THIRD – MEDITATE ON APPRECIATION. Cherish your body, your breath. Really acknowledge that you were chosen to breath today and having another day to be alive means another chance to focus on our intentions. Take a moment to appreciate your life and use this practice to deepen your commitment to promise to grow.
FOURTH – BANISH DOUBT. Doubt diminishes our creativity and potential. Shakespeare said, “our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.”
7/7/2009 Tags: SANKALPA MUDRA, TRUTH, INTENTION, SELF-DOUBT, APPRECIATION, BEAUTY Direct Link
YOGA INSPIRES CHANGE
JULY 6, 2009: In life change is constant. There is a beginning, middle and end to everything. We see this as we enter every breath, each new day. Things are always dissolving, dying, being born. And if we are lucky enough to wake up sooner rather than later we can stop taking even a single day for granted.
We have the power to make ourselves.
So for your contemplation - Q: If you were dying, what would you wish you had done that you are not doing now? Why aren't you doing it?
Or as Pantanjali says in the Yoga Sutras, "When you are inspired by some great purpose all of your thoughts break their bonds; your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world!" Be the cause of your own future happiness!
And please know the universe loves you, nature loves you, your friends and family love you no matter what. This is unconditional. And you don't have to apply for the "job" of living your life. You have the job so you have nothing to prove to anyone but to be true to your own heart.
Changes in relationship with our jobs, homes, partners can be progress for all involved, regardless of the outcome. As author Brian Tracy writes, "resolve to be a master of change rather than a victim of change." We may not be able to control the situations which force us to think differently about the way we do things, or to respond differently but we can continue to stay involved in the process to make sure good comes of it all. Take to heart the words of Mary Engelbreit, "If you don't like something, change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it"
You see life is constantly evolving in the direction of happiness. What this means is that we are always changing. Sometimes we change in the same way as those we love and sometimes the hurt happens when we don't change in the same direction. There are no bad people, no bad experiences just constant evolution. Have faith that whatever changes are taking place in your life are for the best for all involved. Allow this quiet time on the mat to help you connect with you’re your truest essence, in yoga philosophy your soul is known as Atman. That way no matter what changes in your life you will always remain truthful, steadfast and real. Love yourself, Love your day! Silvia
"Only as high as I reach can I grow,
Only as far as I seek can I go,
Only as deep as I look can I see,
Only as much as I dream can I be."
-Karen Ravn
THERE IS A LIGHT
JULY 5TH, 2009: Darkness only leads us to understand the light. The way to understanding is to as it says in the Alchemist “Get a life where you pay attention. Be Present.” Now we always have another chance. The most common misconception is that we can’t change our minds or change the way we are experiencing life, like it is too late. It is not too late until we fade from this world through death. In the meantime, the darkness or challenges of life only serve as the backdrop for the beauty. It is no different than the night sky offering us the background for the fireworks we saw this weekend! The darkness is not bad it serves us. Just as there is no bad experience. For us light means learning. To keep actively involved in the process of our lives.
ANCORA IMPARO – These are the words of Michaelangelo when he was 76 years old. The translation is “I am still learning.” We are all students and as Anna Quindlen writes in “A short guide to a peaceful life” we are still learning every day how to be human. The learning is offering us a way to see the light!
Here is a writing by Thich Nhat Hanh titled Twenty Four Brand-New Hours from his book Peace in Every Step:
Every morning, when we wake up, we have twenty four brand new hours to live. What a precious gift! We have the capacity to live in a way that these twenty-four hours will bring peace, joy and happiness to ourselves and others.
Peace is present right here and now, in ourselves and in everything we do and see. The question is whether or not we are in touch with it. We don’t have to travel far away to enjoy the blue sky. Even the air we breath can be a source of joy.
We can smile, breath, walk and eat our meals in a way that allows us to be in touch with the abundance of happiness that is available. We are very good at preparing to live, but not very good at living. We know how to sacrifice ten years for a diploma, and are willing to work very hard to get a job, a car, a house and so on. But we have difficulty remembering that we are alive in the present moment, the only moment there is for us to be alive. Every breath we take, every step we make, can be filled with peace, joy and serenity. We need only to be awake, alive in the present moment. This is an invitation to come back to the present moment and find peace and joy. Peace is every step.
So we keep learning. Even from simple stories like this one about 3 bowls of water:
Imagine there are 3 bowls of water. One is really cold on the left, one is normal in the middle, and one is really hot on the right. When you take your hand out of the really cold water and place it in the normal water in the middle, the normal water feels really warm. However, when you take your hand out of the really hot water and place it in the normal water in the middle, the normal water feels really cool. In both cases, one's perspective of "normal" is skewed by their own reality. Such is life. When we take our hands out of the madness, we recognize the normal temperature, the underlying reality. Love, light and peace.
So as we learn from the challenges of our life (the darkness) we are making progress towards our dreams, the light. The Alchemist answered “What you still need to know is this: before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we’ve learned as we’ve moved toward that dream.” So as we journey forwards towards the light of love we learn many lessons. But the point is to be so interested in our lives we want to keep learning! Love yourself, love your day, Silvia
FREEDOM AND NO REGRETS
Dear Total Body Yoga Friends,
Happy 4th of July Weekend! At the beginning of July I’ve always had this feeling of making a fresh start or new beginning - like we are on the threshold of something greater. Maybe I feel like this because it is my birth month and our birthday’s are like our own new year’s eve or maybe because we’re exactly halfway through the year. I’m not sure really. I just know that I intuitively want to think about the choices I’m making. I use this time to face my fears and celebrate my accomplishments. In the Alchemist it says “It was my fear of failure that first kept me from attempting the master work. Now, I'm beginning what I could have started ten years ago. But I'm happy at least that I didn't wait twenty years.” The important part is to begin again, just get started and take a small step. None of us are being asked to jump off a cliff, this is a practice of millimeters that eventually builds quiet momentum.
As you breath and enjoy this holiday weekend make time to set an expectation for your life this next half of the year. Are you on the right path so far? And whatever you decide just know we are all evolving in the direction of happiness. It is our right. Freedom and the pursuit of happiness is your destiny! It is like what’s written in the Alchemist, “Making a decision was only the beginning of things. When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision.” And when you need time to reflect on where you’ve been and where you want to go join me on the mat where you’ll always discover you have the power, the heart and the energy to achieve anything you want! Love the day, love your life! Silvia
ALLOWING THROUGH POSITIVE EXPECTATIONS
JULY 4TH, 2009: We began class today sharing something positive we expect from our day or holiday weekend. It was glorious! I was deeply inspired for the next month at least! We heard folks expecting to see old friends, to enjoy the fireworks, to eat well, to find more peace, to experience a state of relaxation, to get a house in Mauii, to have their son get into college, to visit their daughters away for the summer, to enjoy their 1 year olds first 4th of July, to celebrate their 21st birthday! And so much more.
This philosophy of positive expectation is fundamental to yogic and spiritual teachings. Our attitude has the power to heal. And what attitude we have about life says a lot about whether we are expecting the worst or the best from life. Are you focused on your dreams or on your limitations? This means that we take some level of responsibility to co-create with the universe the best life. There are elements than of:
- Positive Expectation
- Allowing Life to Happen
Today say to yourself:
“I can be the creator of my life, I give myself permission to be happy, I will engage in fun, I will be playful, I will listen with total attention to my experience, I will relish each sensation, I will love every minute of being with myself today! When we set this tone for our day for our life we no longer see life as something being done to us but rather life is being done FOR US. This belief is based in self-love that attracts love from the universe. It’s about loving life! If you are in love with life then you expect the best. In the Alchemist its written “When you are in love, things make even more sense, When you are loved, there’s no need at all to understand what’s happening, because everything happens within you.” THAT’S THE ALLOWING.
I understand maintaining a positive expectation is not easy. I have like yourself given in to the pain, self-doubt and hopelessness. I learned the hard way that didn’t help. But I won’t kid you, to remain upbeat in the face of life’s challenges requires enormous strength of character. Good news is that we all have it. From there, all we have to do is work harder than our pain.
How? Well Shakti Gawain says it like this, “When we create something, we always create it first in a thought form. If we are basically positive in attitude, expecting and envisioning pleasure, satisfaction and happiness, we will attract and create people, situations, and events which conform to our positive expectations.” Keep your attitude focused on positive expectations and what you tell yourself will change how others see you and how the world responds to you. This allowing brings you the calm that comes with knowing all we have to do is have positive intention, the universe will take care of all the details. Love you all! Silvia
Love after Love
The time will come when, with elation you will greet yourself arriving at your own door, in your own mirror and each will smile at the others welcome, and say, sit here. Eat. You will love again the stranger who was your self. Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart to itself, to the stranger who has loved you all your life, whom you ignored for another, who knows you by heart. Take down the love letters from the bookshelf, the photographs, the desperate notes, peel your own image from the mirror. Sit. Feast on your life. ~Derek Walcott
EXPECTATIONS AND NO REGRETS
JULY 3, 2009: At the beginning of July I’ve always had this feeling of making a fresh start or new beginning - like we are on the threshold of something greater. Maybe I feel like this because it is my birth month and our birthday’s are like our own new year’s eve or maybe because we’re exactly halfway through the year. I’m not sure really. I just know that I intuitively want to think about the choices I’m making. I use this time to face my fears and celebrate my accomplishments. In the Alchemist it says “It was my fear of failure that first kept me from attempting the master work. Now, I'm beginning what I could have started ten years ago. But I'm happy at least that I didn't wait twenty years.” The important part is to begin again, just get started and take a small step. None of us are being asked to jump off a cliff, this is a practice of millimeters that eventually builds quiet momentum.
As you breath and enjoy this holiday weekend make time to set an expectation for your life this next half of the year. Are you on the right path so far? And whatever you decide just know we are all evolving in the direction of happiness. It is our right. Freedom and the pursuit of happiness is your destiny! It is like what’s written in the Alchemist, “Making a decision was only the beginning of things. When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision.” And when you need time to reflect on where you’ve been and where you want to go join me on the mat where you’ll always discover you have the power, the heart and the energy to achieve anything you want! Love the day, love your life! Silvia
CHOOSE LIFE - CHOOSE LOVE! BE FREE!
JULY 1, 2009: Now I understand what its like to live life like a prisoner of your own fear, your own mind. Years back I kept myself trapped in a prison of my own making (I separated myself from love and from this direct experience I promise no good comes of that). I also have some sad examples in my own family of this same thing. I think of my Uncle Victor who was a lover of FREEDOM and a lover of life yet became trapped by his own fears and anger. Life is not always fair. You can get sick, cancer can eat your brain, it can take over your organs, you can get run over by a car, you can lose your dad at the age of twenty-five, you can love and lose love but none of this is an excuse to give up and throw away the key. We do not have to imprison ourselves let alone sentence ourselves to solitary confinement. This only serves to punish needlessly thereby moving away from the very thing we long for…FREEDOM to love more and find mental peace.
So take to heart the words of Joseph Campbell who said, “Life is not about the meaning. It’s about the feeling.” The Feeling of life even the hard stuff is the beauty. Tantric views ask us to accept the full spectrum of who we are, denying none of our feelings. So on the mat we practice feeling the poses. And the poses are not easy. Yoga is challenging but as we embrace the feeling of life (even the anger, the fear, the worry) we come alive again and realize the key is in our hand to free ourselves from suffering. Pain is part of life but we don’t have to suffer endlessly.
Feelings really are more powerful than thoughts and it is through feeling we are one step closer to freeing our hearts. Those of you who are on the razors edge deciding whether to stay in the prison of your own making or come out the other side please know this, The deeper that sorrow carves into your being the more joy you can contain.” Kahlil Gibran. You know then you have the capacity to be joyful and FREE!
Will we have sometimes sorrowful days, months, or years, maybe. But it’s been my experience that even that demonstrates to us that sometimes its necessary to love peace so much that you are willing to sacrifice for it.
So today have the courage to set yourself free! For Stress paralyzes life; love releases it. Worry confuses life; love harmonizes it. Anger darkens life; love illuminates it. As Augustus William Hare writes, “The feeling is often the deeper truth.” Embrace your truth, embrace what you feel and free your soul for love and peace! With humble gratitude for life, Silvia