On Fear

“Someday you will die
Lying on your sick bed, about to breath your last breath
You will be assailed by every kind of pain,
Your mind will be filled with fears and anxieties and you will not know where to go or what to do,
Only then will you realize you have not practiced well
The skandhas/aggregates (matter, sensations, conceptions, impulses and consciousness) and the four elements within you will quickly disintegrate,
And your consciousness will be pulled wherever your ancient, twisted karma leads it.
Impermanence does not hesitate
Death will not wait
You will not be able to extend your life by even a second,
How many thousand times more will you have to pass through the gates of birth and death?
If these words are challenging, even insulting, let them be encouragement for you to change.
Practice heroically
Do not accumulate unnecessary possessions
Don’t give up
Still your ind, end wrong perceptions, concentrate and do not run after the objects of your senses.
Practice diligently
Be determined not to let your days and months pass by wastefully.”
Zen Master Guishan

Full Moon In Libra 4/17/2011 - Release Prayer

I let go of my fear in the possibility of being rejected & feeling not enough & of my discomfort in going inward (pratyahara). I release my control in the timing for when a another great love will come into my life. For now, I dance with the Divine and the One is my lover. I trust faith & clarity to light my path. I invoke Guru Ganesha to rid me of the habits that no longer serve me on my path. Ahimsa for myself & for the world I am a part of. I want contentment (santosha) with what I have & where I am at in my asana-pranayama practice & in my life.

Freshen up your asana...

Having a beginner’s mind in yoga is a beautiful thing. A beginner may not have the body awareness that a seasoned yogi may have, but what they lack in awareness they make up for in willingness to try. A good teacher instructs from the present moment and, therefore, will queue a little bit differently in each class.
In addition, each teacher has something different to bring to their students based on their personality, life experience, etc., and this flavors their teaching. Staying in the present moment and following instructions from moment to moment during class breeds opportunity for expansion in your yoga practice. As the saying goes... if you do things the way you’ve always done them, what you’ll get is what you’ve always gotten.
Another way you can keep your beginner’s mind fresh is with where you place your mat in class. I have noticed many yoga practitioners arrive early to class to”get their spot.” Instead of placing your mat down in the same spot, pick a new spot each time. Keeping your surroundings new and fresh will also help you break old patterns, even if it means you are in the sun, the air is stuffy or a higher temperature. Adding new elements to deal with each time will help you step out of your comfort zone in more ways than just the physical.
Above all, a yoga practice of any kind is better than no practice, so take my words lightly. As with all lessons learned on the mat, you may end up taking this freshness into work or at home. Oh, the possibilities!

Tales from a Goddess...

Standing firm in that which I am I breath in...
soaking all that is me from within and from without...
I welcome the transformation & can feel its coming...
wrapped up in the moment I smile...
warmth from my heart lighting me up from inside beaming outward...
radiating onto, awakening, encouraging & inviting all in its path to let their lights shine brightly...
I am totally me & love my Self, my God-Self that I knew was always there, but now is my Lover...
My Lover & I stroll along merrily, stopping at all things that spark our curiosity...
Always connected to & receiving guidance from the Divine, the Lover, the Guest, the One, Spirit, reality...
Everything is, was & always has been exactly as it should be...
Releasing what no longer serves me, embracing what's left behind...
Remaining open to the next step in my path, faithful to the One...
Promising that if clear, I will take it...take that next step...
Loving life...

4 Major Yogas & the 8-limbed path

4 Major Yogas
JNANA YOGA: Wisdom/Knowledge. Discipline. Swadhyaya (self-study). Vichara (enquiry & questioning), discriminative intelligence (kashiraja)
*Obstacle: intellectualism, eventually you need to go beyond the known & step into your own experience.
KARMA YOGA: Action/Service. Selfless service. What work you do on yourself or for others becomes work done in service to God.
*Obstacle: can become too mechanical, not enough emotion or connection behind your actions.
BHAKTI YOGA: Love, Devotion & Prayer. Let yourself be God’s musical instrument & let the breath of God flow through you to make beautiful music in all that you do, experience & create in this world.
*Obstacle: you can get so wrapped up in your devotion you forget to share it with others & affect the world around you.
4) RAJA YOGA (Ashtanga: 8-Limbed Path): Yoga Chitta Vritta Nirodaha - Yoga is for the cessations of the fluctuations of the mind.

Ashtanga/8-Limbed Yogic Path
1) YAMA: restraints
Ahimsa - compassion for all living things, ends hostility
Satya - truth, power of word
Asteya - non-stealing, all things come
Bramhacharya - moderation, strength of will
Aparigraha - non-hoarding, non-posession
2) NIYAMA: controls, observances & application of truth
Saucham - purity, health & radiance
Santosha - contentment
Tapas - heat & self discipline
Svadhyaya - self-study
Isvara Pranidhana - devotion, surrender to cosmic intelligence/divine intuition
3) ASANA: right mental & physical positioning
4) PRANAYAMA: breath control/life force control
5) PRATYAHARA: withdrawing of the senses
6) DHARANA: focus/concentration
7) DHYANA: transition from doing to being
8) SAMADHI: individual to universal, ultimate union of God-Self

***Information obtained through my 200 hour yoga teacher training at White Lotus as well as through many books: 1) The Yoga of the Bhagavad Gita by Paramahansa Yogananda, 2) Vedanta: A Simple Introduction by Pravrajika Vrajaprana & Yoga Beyond Belief by Ganga White.

Follow the Bhakti Path

Most of us think of yoga as the integration of poses, or asanas, breath, pranayama, and intention, or prayer. In reality, the physical practice is only the tip of the iceberg that draws us into an ancient recognition of our soul’s true nature, the nature of love. Bhakti Yoga is the path of devotion, love and prayer. Love naturally strips away the ego and allows us to focus on someone or something else. It is love that creates an environment conducive to spiritual growth and transformation.
Master Eckhart Tolle says “love is the recognition of one’s Self in another.” Because the life force that breaths through you is the same force that breaths through all living things, to love is to see that connection, to see your Self in another living thing. This force that breaths through us is called many things in many traditions; God, Allah, Holy Spirit, Universal life force, Reality, the One, etc. Whatever you choose to call it love is formless. Love goes beyond fear, beyond our limited perceptions of what it should look like or what it can give us. It is this love that has the capability to transform darkness into light, the unreal into the real. Love conquers all and seeks nothing in return.
Jimi Hendrix so adequately produced a powerful statement on the transformative nature of love when he said “the moment the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.” Imagine a world full of ruled by love and how transformative that would be for humanity. For today, tomorrow and always recognize love in all that you see.

Kali Ma

Kali is the Mother of Darkness, she represents the side of us where light is absent. She also represents our primal urges & recognizes them as a part of us and therefore not bad. "Its not a cry that you heard at night, its not somebody who's seen the light, its a cold & its a broken hallelujah." - Hallelujah (original Leonard Cohen). To me these lyrics further demonstrate that enlightenment means to shed light on your darkness until there is no more darkness. Of course, there will always be some darkness, and if there weren't then we wouldn't have to worry about learning that lesson here on earth. We would be a guide to others who still have lessons to learn. It is important to not run away from your dark feelings like blame, guilt, jealousy, resentment, judgement, anger, fear, sadness, doubt (especially self-doubt) & disappointment. It is important to let feelings move through you. Learn form what comes up in your life and handle the tough stuff with grace, integrity & compassion. Let things move through you so you can learn, move on, learn move on and repeat. There are so many beautiful life lessons to be gobbled up here. So get to it! Embrace Kali when a need to be honest with yourself about your darkness & you need a little extra help seeing, admitting, accepting & forgiving yourself for your darkness. Turn darkness into light.

Invocation to Kali (In Sanskrit):
Aum
Kring Kalikaye Namah
Aum

Meaning (In English):
Mother Kali! Godess Of Death
Mostress Of Justice
Wake Now, Mother & Hear My Chant,
I Call You From Your Slumber,
Come & Bring The Warrior Spirit.

Another mantra you can use when you need to motivate yourself toward positive change is the Asatoma Invocation (In Sanskrit):
Om
Asatomaa sad gamaya
Tamaso maa jyotir gamaya
Mrityormaa amritaam gamaya
Om shanti shanti shanti

Meaning (In English):
Lead me from the unreal to the real
Lead me from darkness to light
Lead me from death to immortality
Om peace, peace, peace