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Beautiful Places Yoga

Cold April revisited … Nature Hike & Yoga

IMG_3049IMG_3051IMG_3053Eye popping price tag … Staring in disbelief. Who would …? Lovely to admire but not to own. In fact, the less you own, the better. No matter how beautiful, why cart around this? Just come to this store or go to the museum. The story goes, it belongs to some woman moving to Hawaii and she decided she cannot take house full of crystals …so the store is helping her sell them. Interesting. A treasure has now become a burden. Owning things no matter how beautiful will not make you happy. Said the crystal …
ladygagacrystalHere’s Lady Gaga hugging one …Guess she can afford to buy a bigger one for bigger happiness? Think not. A Fetal Savasana with a crystal prop!!! Ingenious …

IMG_3074Tree on this is like being on a tight rope?

Benefits of the Tree Pose (Vrikshasana)

– By stretching the legs, back and arms, the posture invigorates you.
– brings balance and equilibrium to your mind.
– helps improve concentration. Harnesses the FOCUS power!
– helps strengthen the legs, improves balance, and opens the hips.
– Helps relieve some cases of sciatica.

Trekked up the creek – Now, how about a Triangle … trying to not fall into the water … so pure but icy cold.

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Benefits of the Triangle Pose (Trikonasana)

– Strengthens the legs, knees, ankles, arms, and chest
– Stretches and opens the hips, groins, hamstrings, and calves; shoulders, chest, and spine
– Increases mental and physical equilibrium
– Helps improve digestion
– Helps improve respiration
– Reduces anxiety, stress, back pain and sciatica.

IMG_3056 Gratitude for this beautiful place.

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Beautiful Places Beautiful Rituals Healthy Living

Pratyahara for Optimal Health

Weekend intensive … all about the HEART, our cardiovascular (physical and otherwise) health vis-a-vis yoga. Another weekend with dedicated cohorts and knowledgeable teachers who shared and taught from their “heart” – More on this as I go through all my notes and the materials … as they laughed, indeed, it’s a super-crash course Med School 101. When MDs teach yoga, its kind of interesting – but mostly surprised how humble they are… At the same time, their sincere words lend validation to this whole training where it’s about deep thought and care into what’s a best yoga prescription for that particular student/client who stands before us. Aiding them in harmony with the rest of the team involved in their healing journey. It’s a collaborative when it’s not about ego of credit taking but taking a multi-prong approach so we can all learn and grow.
yogaheart

Sensory overload whether @ work or play, there is that to contend with … longing for that time to unplug and experience that delicious … Pratyahara state.

Whenever one is overwhelmed in trying to meet the demands of life (ironically with me, it’s balancing the mounting yoga therapy TT assignments with rest of my life), invoke the power to connect with the Higher Self. Sometimes that could mean setting an intention, chanting, align with an affirmation that resonates with you, visualizations. Visualizations is not so much an “escape”, it’s not a cop out – but it is a “refuge” you find within to center and ground yourself when you see the brain fog seeping in to fuzz your vision. Or it can help in the mind-numbing or sensory numbing moments … It’s not any special skill – anyone and everyone has the ability to be clairvoyant. Certain types of physical yoga invites an ideal setup to unleash the clairvoyance in us.

With your minds eyes, replay from a stream of consciousness, places that give you deep sense of being. Just being. Being calm, being happy, being ecstatic, being thankful, being present… a place to just be with not a care in the world. Doing little to nothing. Choose one image – Think of a beautiful place, the most beautiful and powerful place – maybe it’s a place you’ve actually been to or a place you imagined, whatever the place is, it’s a special place that holds a soulful significance to you. That place representing beauty, solace, comfort and limitless, unbound power to you. Transport yourself to that spot that transcends our notion of time and space. What sounds do you hear? What’s the temperature like? What’s the lighting like? Breathe the spacious air; breathe that fresh smell of white sands; touch the sky reaching up, then sink your bare toes into the sands … feel the earth beneath you as you ground down; kiss the wind … feel the light. Feel the vibrations within the stillness.

Touch the sky; bless the water; caress the sands… Haahhhhhh
(Yoga teachers … feel free to use this …kind of hypnotherapy-ish I realize & I have more and more ideas and teachings – share and spread the peace ~)
IMG_3042Just heard a interview of a popular comedian with Terry Gross where he laments how he cannot deal with “calm” as without multi-tasking and constant chaos, he can’t feel “alive” – well, no wonder he struggled with addictions. It’s the brain chemicals – the neurotransmitters – that rajas state – that’s been so messed with, an equilibrium is hard to settle into. If chaos makes you feel alive, find out the root cause – why is that? What are the fears?

Praying for heart health for those who cannot sit still – having spent the whole weekend on the subject of Cardiovascular health, so thankful for this beating pulsating heart of ours. Got to go – have to get my heart rate variability up and up to the new “normal” so that I can come down later to let it rest into deep meaningful rest … that dance between the intervals where rest is deep and work is intense – both states needed for optimal health. It’s the yin and the yang – we embrace the whole spectrum of being.

A balance act as always.

Have a lovely day !

Categories
Beautiful Places

Time

Just had an epiphany – I traveled 235 million years (can do math) when we trekked from the Rim to the rock bottom, Phantom Ranch ! How is that for time-travel?

From Nova (love that program) yes, time is relative; time is BIG. We can consciously make time rather than letting it slip by.
Time is HUGE. It’s BIG; it’s endless. We have a blip of an existence.
As Judith would say, “let’s not squander it.” What does it take to feel alive beyond the confines of the physical body?
grandcanyonMagnificent Mother Earth. Feeling more and more grounded in my meditation practice. Gratitude for excellent teachers; gratitude for the practice and … Gratitude for this time. Colors splash more vividly with resurgence of energy…that energy does not just appear out of nowhere … you have to make a choice to harness it. We are the source of our own energy and … it needs to be charged with an intention. Lucidity returns amidst the brainwashed state of fear over the scarcity of … time. Dedicate the time for yourself. To just be.

* I realize sometimes your physical vessel may not be cooperating to take you to places – it’s just out of practice but perhaps dust off and engage the mind projector on that screen behind your eyes. Being human, we all have it; we can use our imagination …not the delusional self-defeating type, but the one that we can access to empower us – visualize with the minds eyes that’s all seeing, all knowing.