December 2010 Yoga Pose - Fish Pose

Fish Pose
Sanskrit: Matsyasana
Image courtesy of Yoga Journal.com.

Fish pose is commonly followed by the Should Stand pose we discussed in last month newsletter. It's a great counterpose. This is an amazing pose that seems to tap into your entire chakra system. A great opener. And a funny sychronisticity occurred when I was describing this pose. I went to yahoo for a moment and right there was a photo of a fish and its story about really not being extinct (as they thought for 70 years!) So do this pose, it's a great pose and don't allow *it* to become extinct in your practice. It holds such tremendous value physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Directions on how to come into the pose:
To come into Fish pose, lay flat on your back on the mat. Bring your hands under your buttocks palms facing the mat. Rest your buttocks on the back of your hands and do your best not to lift your rear end off the hands or mat during this pose. Legs are straight and activated. Feet pointed. From here the weight will fall into your elbows and forearms. You will be arching and lifting your back up while allowing your head to fall back and the crown of your head rests lightly on the mat. There is no weight in the head, only the forearms. Drop your shoulders back and down. If tilting your head back is uncomfortable take it where it is comfortable for your neck. Modify where you need to and always honor the wisdom of your body. Tilt your pelvis to assist the back into its arch and if you like take a gentle lift and hold in the pelvis. Remember to breathe. Hold for a minute or two and come out fully refreshed. Bring your knees into your chest and give them a nice hug.

When not to do this pose or to modify/Contraindications:
Any neck, head or back issues. This is also not a great pose if you have a migraine or insomnia. Listen to your body and it will tell you if it's able. If you feel strain or pain, come out. Sweet discomfort is all we look for is most poses. And for this particular pose even that is a bit much because this is more of a stretch and hold allowing for an opening in the chest and neck.

Yoga Pose for October: Wide-Angle Seated Forward Bend

Wide-Angle Seated Forward Bend
Sanskrit: Upavistha Konasana
Image courtesy of Yoga Journal.com.

Wide-Angle Seated Forward Bend is one of my challenge poses. It's very simple and yet one that words more on me mentally than physically. In the past I have not been able to bend forward very far if at all once my legs are wide. For this I had to work on mental thoughts and the ego instead. I may not ever get to the low bend that the flexible woman to the right is doing. And that's okay. We each have unique anatomy. It's how we're put together. However, I also know that the more you practice the pose and the more you surrender to where you *are* rather than pushing or giving up, the more your body will simply extend or bend further into the pose. You just simply follow your breath and surrender to wherever you are naturally and allow your body to be where it may. As you breathe you will notice yourself moving further into the pose.

After doing this pose for six years and more diligently once a week for over a year now, I am finally able to place my forearms comfortably in front of me on the mat. My bend is a little further while still maintaining a straight back and surrendering to wherever I fall. It just happened that one day I was diligently flowing into this pose as usual and then it hit me that I could lower down further than I had been before and without much effort. So now I am comfortable resting on my forearms. I know that as I practice this more and more that maybe in another year or two I may be able to come even further into this pose. We'll see! But I am happy to keep the lesson and surrender to where I am at, focus on my breath and be.

This pose is fantastic for the groin, hips, calves, thighs, knees, hamstrings and spine. This is a fantastic grounding pose that also assists you in going inwards during the forward bend portion of the pose.

Directions on how to come into the pose:
Come into a seated position. Extend your legs out in front of you. Then open your legs wide to either side (about 90 angle or as wide as you can go to make a partial triangle). You might feel like you are falling forward, so take a moment and place your hands behind you and inhaling lengthen your spine. We want good posture here. If you can't sit comfortably on the floor, you may want to roll a blanket or mat to go under your sits bones. From here, be mindful of the knees. Be sure the knee caps are pointing upward toward the ceiling and especially as we bend. Use the thighs to reach outwards to assist with the knee caps. Flex your feet and press through the ball of your feet.

While pressings your thighbones into the mat and your spine elongated, begin to walk your hands straight forward between your legs. Maintain the length in the arms as you reach. Walk as far forward as you can. Remember we are hinging from the hips here. Good posture in the back and tilt the pelvis to assist with this forward bend. As you inhale, extend the spine and as you exhale surrender further into the pose. Inhale, extend. Exhale, surrender. Inhale, extend. Exhale, surrender. Gaze slightly forward for your head to be in line with your spine. If you are like the woman in the image above and would like to go further in this stretch, take your two peace fingers (index finger and middle finger) and wrap them around the big toe as you lower down even further to the floor, again while maintaining good posture in the spine. Hold and breathe. Hold for about one minute and then slowly come up with a straight back. Bend your knees and slide your legs in for a good counter pose, such as Baddha Konasana.

When not to do this pose or to modify/Contraindications:
If you have lower back injury be sure to sit up high on a blanket. It's best not to bend forward too much with lower back injury so keep your torso relatively upright.

Taking Care of Our Temple: Before and After

Taking Care of Our Temple: Before and After
Image courtesy of The NewYorker, Oct. 4, 2010 p. 63

"The body is only a temporary vessel for awareness for undying consciousness. Trust the space of awareness. Wisdom, conscience knowing. The one who knows in you. Buddha nature." ~ Guided Meditations for Difficult
Time by Jack Kornfield

Isn’t this photo so perfect for the message this month! It came after I wrote this article. Divine timing! Last months newsletter seemed to get a little bit of attention. In the September newsletter I posted my before and after photo of my over 90 pound weight loss. After receiving a few comments I was drawn to express the needs our temple for this months newsletter.

Being physically fit is a part of an overall best practice for our Energy and Aura Hygiene. You can’t have one without the other. They spill into each other. Our energy relies on our physical health as well as our physical health relies on our energies being in optimum highest vibration. So they spill into each other. In order for our energies to be at our unique peek highest vibration we must maintain excellent physical health. And it’s easier to maintain our best physical health when our energies are at their highest and best.

I feel it is imperative to take care of the body, our temple, as a part of our enlightenment. We might ask why do I need to take care of my body to be evolved? Why can’t I just eat what I want when I want and do whatever I want when I want to do it? Since we’re all truly divine already why bother? Right? Wrong. We have been given the gift of this body we inhabit. We are Spiritual beings having Human experience. We must take care of the temple we are inhabiting. There is something there inside of most of us, even if very deep that says, "I'd feel really great if my body were healthier. Physically fit, not necessarily thin or stylish, but healthy and feeling good. There is something that draws you in to move; to move the body everyday; to do something for wellness; to eat the right foods; to provide whatever the body needs.

This act of taking care of the temple and moving the body has the effects of not only feeling good but it also prepares the body for enlightenment - Kundalini awakening. If you don't prep body you might be heading towards a catastrophic awakening, like Gopi Krishna in Living with Kundalini. We must do the work on the Self on all levels. Doing the work isn't just working on emotional issues and working towards becoming more spiritual but also working towards being more physically uplifted. That is the whole: Mind, body *and* soul together. So it is just as important to take care of the body. We are, after all, awakening the body while still alive in the body rather than through physically dying.

For me, in order to bring myself into more balance I found faith. I found faith in the Divine. And most importantly myself. I found self-Love. I found my spirituality and my true self and only then I was ready to take care of all the rest of me. This, of course, led me to shedding those pounds and healthily releasing mental and emotional issues and blocks.

Seems like I started backwards by working on spiritual stuff first. I’m sharing how it all played out for me. If this resonates with you and assists you on your path, great! I opened up spiritually first, while slowly working on emotional and mental issues. The physical awareness came last. There was something that finally came to me and I shifted. The awareness came to me that said: “I'm not happy. Something needs to change. I’m not happy with my body. The way I feel.” I was lazy and complacent back then in the unconscious me. When I opened up spiritually there was a connection to Source that I never had before. My faith was instilled in a higher power that nothing else can compare to. This faith in Spirit gave me drive and passion. A passion I never felt before. So I finally worked on my body physically (exercising, yoga, eating right) and expanding because of my physical efforts. Everyone has a different karmic cycle, different blueprint to live in this life. Take note, that there is some reason synchronistically that you've made it here and are reading this article. It's serendipity. A seed is being planted. Work on those issues.

Before my physical weight release, I WAS unconscious and trapped with stagnant energy and emotions. And after, I am more free and live more in the present moment. I am happy and filled with a passion for life and love. There is a greater purpose, you have a greater purpose and that purpose is getting to know yourself. So it seems the question is, how can you get to know yourself if you don't know your own body? So the awareness of the physical body as well as other bodies (physical, emotional, mental and spiritual) is very important.

During physical activity you will have epiphanies, because you've created the space to stop thinking. Sometimes you are in a workout and eventually you'll come to a space where you are thinking and if you are thinking you are processing in a better state maybe even a meditative state. Things will come up; epiphanies will come; awareness of things. Things will come to you that you wouldn't necessarily think about because you were in negative thinking or fear mode, or you were busy in your own head or busy doing something else rather than creating this space for yourself in this workout. A deeper meaning suddenly flashes in your mind. An awareness of a higher meaning of things, things that come up, things you've gone through, and you may say, “Oh wow! Now I know why that happened. I get the lesson.” You see the forest for the trees all because you went through a workout, a walk, yoga or whatever, because you are honoring your temple.

It's important to note that as we move our body we are also releasing not only physical toxins and tensions but releasing emotional and stagnant energies from the body!! We tend to stuff down our emotions and not face our fears. When this happens it builds up in the body, as aches and pains to even a physical manifestation of illness or injury! Our physical body is not separate from our emotions nor is it separate from our soul. They are linked together working as a unit. We must work with all levels in a balanced fashion. We mustn’t ignore our physical bodies anymore. As we do this on ALL levels we move more naturally through the world and I dare say process and release challenges and emotions at a faster rate (or rather at a rate that is "normal" if working on all levels - mind, body and soul - rather than only one or two).

“Fitness to me isn't about a crunch or a push-up. It's about taking your power back. Physical fitness is transcendent because it forces you to finally face your issues.”
~ Jillian Michaels

Sometimes you need to have a physical exhaustion or fall apart completely in order to finally see what you need to see! This can happen physically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually. It's up to you. Can hear the whispers of your body? Do the work.

Challenge: It’s Your Choice

Take this challenge today. Find something that you enjoy and move your body. Do this at least 20-30 minutes five days a week. Extra credit it doing it every day. Please try this challenge for 30 days. See how you feel. Please send me your experience in moving your body. I really would love to know and share!

Now we also know that Yoga is extremely medicinal as well as therapeutic for the mind body and soul. Each pose offers us unique benefits through the body physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. So it is on the top of my list of recommendations for a routine to practice several times a week or even daily, even a few minutes a day. But do something else that makes you happy and moves your body. If it's walking, then walk. Running, then run! Aerobics, bicycling, skiing, roller skating, ice skating, tai chi, dancing! Whatever it is, do it. Decide you can do it and you will do it! It’s all up to you. It’s your choice. Jump up and give yourself the boost of energy and motivation you need to keep going. Once you output one seed of energy a giant mountain load of energy comes your way. The more energy you produce the more comes your way. All you have to do is take the first step. Then the Universal law of attraction is on your side keeping you going. I might sound like a broken record but for me Denise Austin's cheerleader attitude is really what motivated me to get the weight off and keep it off. I've kept off the weight for over 6 1/2 years! And I had a pregnancy in the middle of that. I still worked out every day and even on the day of my delivery. Because I loved it so much and knew that it would only help boost my immune system, ready my body for labor and also assist in a faster recovery after labor as well as shedding the 25 pounds I did gain during pregnancy. Of which I did shed in less than six weeks because I stuck with my workouts and eating plan as well as my faith in the Divine. It was the combination of the mind, body and soul connection that allowed me to finally keep off the weight for good.

So let’s take care of our temples. You find a strength that you didn't know was there. You open up and remove the petals of the flower to show more of yourself. You true Self. You also find an awakening, an awareness that you didn't realize you had and was always there waiting for you. We are all awakening in our own time. It is all a part of the process.

Enjoy, live, laugh and love always!

Blessings to you on your path,
~Spiritual Cheerleader
www.SpiritualCompassConnection.com

Yoga Pose for September - Mountain Pose

Yoga Pose of the Month

Mountain Pose
Sanskrit: Tadasana
Image courtesy of Yoga Journal.com.

Tadasana is a great pose for grounding and opening up to our Root Chakra (found at the base of our spine). Our Root or Muladhara Chakra is red in color. This chakra is our Kundalini and Grounding chakra; our sense of safety, survival and security (i.e. financial stability). This is the chakra where our Kundalini rests. The Serpents that are coiled 3 and ½ times around. The Kundalini rises from here through our entire chakra system as we ascend to enlightenment.

In Tadasana, most commonly known as the Mountain Pose, you are aligning your body with good posture connected as you stand activated and grounding through the feet. You are really feeling the aliveness that you are, the energy in your body as you stand in this pose. There is a lot more going on than meets the eye in this asana. It's an amazing pose to do between poses. You really integrate and come back to the present moment. If you are worrying about the past or the future, you are not grounded. Getting back in Mountain pose assists you in getting back to the present moment by breathing and aligning and witnessing. This pose is also great for Sciatica.

Directions on how to come into the pose:
Simply come to the top of your mat (you can do this anywhere even standing in line at the grocery store!). Feet walking distance apart to improve your balance or if you prefer keep your feet close together. Stand upright. Really feel all corners of your feet grounding into the mat or floor. You can even take the action of lifting all of your toes up and slowly extend and lower your toes down to the ground. Good posture here. Drawn the navel in towards the spine. Shoulders back and down. To assist your shoulders you can also have your palms facing front rather than in towards your body. Close your eyes. Gaze can be straight forward or eyes closed. Challenge your balance as well as allow yourself to go inward with eyes closed. Reach your fingers down to the mat. Arms and legs are activated. Lower your tailbone down to the ground and lift up from the crown of your head to the sky. Center and lengthen. Hold and breathe. To lower your shoulders even more so you may open your palms facing forward. You'll feel the difference. You can see the action and the inaction in this pose. Feel this polarity and enjoy the alignment of your body, mind and spirit.

When not to do this pose or to modify/Contraindications:
If you have a headache, insomnia or low blood pressure it is said this pose may not be the best for you. Wait for these symptoms to subside by resting and doing whatever it is that assists you, then come into this pose when the timing is right.

Give It Your All

Give It Your All

There are times when stillness is where we are called to be. And we must always remember that we are perfect just as we are. But there is also something that is pulling us, driving us forward, pushing us to evolve. Our internal Divine guidance system calling us to take Divinely Inspired Action. Very cool, huh!

But we can ignore it. We have free will right. We can stuff it down with food, drugs, TV...just about anything if we so choose, whether consciously or unconsciously. But I'm here to say that once you take that leap it's much harder to be the "stuffer-downer" (that's my official name for it) than to be that person who listens to divine action when it calls and takes that leap when necessary.

Remember last month when I said "Forget everything. Come as you are." That's more true now than ever. COME AS YOU ARE. You *are* a Divine being with a unique expression to shine forth. You *are* Love living. So Live out loud! Give it your ALL! Don't just go through the motions and live unconsciously. See, feel and BE the life your are living. You *are* Powerful, beautiful, kind, graceful, sexy, sensual, alluring, mysterious, innocent, a leader, loving and Divine. You are this and more! Show us what you've got. We are hear to see and feel and love your expression as you are here to see and feel and love our expression as we do this together we are One. Namaste.

Don't lose that drive for life. For that connection. It's that drive, that excitement that holds your expansion. It's our Divine essence screaming to be heard. I see myself doing it. I see myself losing that connection by becoming conscious of the shift in my focus. For example, I see myself overeating and I even know it when I'm doing it. Then I know I am slightly unconscious again. I have to wake up and analyze why this is occurring. What is going on inside of me. What parts of my life are making me unhappy, anxious, worried or stressed out. What part am I drowning with food so that I don't have to face it. What part is food comforting me to replace that divine Connection with source. Where did I fall from grace and lose that connection? Then take the steps to come back. Live again. See what needs to be done and do it. Take action.

"Fitness to me isn't about a crunch or a push-up. It's about taking your power back. Physical fitness is transcendent because it forces you to finally face your issues."
~ Jillian Michaels

The Biggest Loser is one of my favorite shows. I watch these people go from an unconscious life to living life to their fullest and finding themselves under all that weight! And I can intimately relate because I did that too. (Before and after pictures above.) I shed over 90 pounds and found someone I didn't know was there and she was there all along. A powerful Goddess waiting to finally be seen. As I dropped layers of fat from my body I uncovered layers of myself emerging. And that is still occurring today. I found a mind, body and soul connection that I never had all the other times I yo-yo'd with my weight. I realized that it wasn't just physical or mental but spiritual as well. I found my connection to the Divine and that completed the puzzle for me. I had and have to do the work physically, mentally AND spiritually.

As I uncovered myself, I found out there was so much within me that not only needed to be expressed but that I actually desired to express it. I had to find my own self-esteem again and honor myself as a Divine being with my own unique expression that can be shared with anyone who is so drawn to me and my essence. I had to do the work. Every day we must do the work within ourselves consciously. And even still today, I see myself shying away from that powerful leader in me and occassionally growing unconscious. But now I am mostly conscious of it. So I must wake up and take action now. I work at living consciously every moment I can. I find myself coaching myself: "Talk about what really matters! Not the surface stuff. Don't hide." It's not just embracing your power but embracing love. It's opening up your heart and allowing others in as well as the self-love and acceptance that is so huge for this to even happen. And it's facing those challenges along the way and not allowing them to bring you back down to the low point but to work through them and be your unique Divine expression along the way.

"Be Yourself. Or else you'll miss your life." ~ Author Unknown

Drive *Your* Life

Steer your train of thought. This inevitably steers your way of BEING. You can steer it in a good positive fashion or a negative one; and better still a neutral witness state. It is your choice where you steer it. Your expression is needed. The One makes up the Whole. Find the power within. It's always there, always waiting for you to tap into it. It's an endless supply of power/love/energy. And it's not just finding the power within but finding the heart center. It's an opening up of your heart to love and be loved. This is powerful! It's self-acceptance.

"Take back the power of knowing Love." ~ Unknown

See that powerful person inside of you. You see it in others. It's there in YOU! Do the work within the Self. Honor all that comes up in the present moment. Surrender to yourself. Ask yourself:

* What part of you is not facing issues when they come up?
* What part of you is not expressing itself?
* What part is not having that conversation with whomever to face and solve an issue?
* What part of you is not living consciously?
* What part of you is resisting your feelings and not feeling them to the fullest when they occur?

It's time to get out your feelings to heal. Come fully into your Power! This is your road to realization. You admire powerful Leaders, Parents, Partners, Angels and Guides right?! This admiration for others and what you see in them IS IN YOU! Come into the full realization of this! Come into the light. Shine/share YOUR light! Enjoy life again. You can. You deserve it too! You are Divine expressing itself and that is what you are tapping into when you feel the full essence of your own energy. You are deserving and you are ready. You are a Powerful Warrior, Leader, Listener, Coach, Organizer, Assistant, Healer, Meditator, Writer, Musician, Caretaker, Teacher, Master, Soul and so much more. You are All That Is and it is the part of you that we are waiting for as a part of a complete expression of the Divine. If you are feeling less than or not worthy, that is an incorrect hypothesis. Because: You are. You always have been and you always will be. You are Divine. Feel the aliveness that you are and that exists in every moment. Reach for it and allow it to expand within you.

"Beloved one, you take your power by understanding who you are. You take your power by saying, “I am the deep breath of peace. I love mySelf—capital “S”—I love mySelf because I am the extension of all divinity, come forth to experience and to express, to play." ~ Jeshua Online Message of the Day, www.oakbridge.org

Find Balance

So to summarize. Yes, just be. Be the true essence of you whether you are sitting watching the beautiful sunset or driving forth into a passionate writing session or whatever is driving you into expression. Find the balance between ease and effort. Challenge yourself to the edge, your edge. But honor the wisdom of your mind, body and Soul. Allow for rest if your body is screaming for it and listen for when your mind or body can go beyond it's previous limit. Reach for it. It's all up here in our minds. It's all in the mind and you can decide where you will go with your mind and body. In yoga we look for that balance and we take this awareness of the body, mind and soul off the mat and into our daily lives. As we listen we can hear where we need to relax and where we can give ourselves that extra challenge we are ready for. It's in our bodies and intuition. We know and the more we come into that awareness the more we can follow that guidance. The more we follow that guidance the more it will be present for us. It's a shift in awareness. A new level in conscious awareness.

Enjoy, live, laugh and love always!

Blessings to you on your path,
~Spiritual Cheerleader
www.SpiritualCompassConnection.com

Yoga Pose for August - Eagle Pose

Eagle Pose
Sanskrit: Garudasana
Image courtesy of my Husband, Don Anderson.
Taken in the beautiful WWI Park in Plainville, MA.

Eagle pose is great for opening up the back, working with the shoulders and really strengthening the legs, knees and ankles. Can relieve cramps of the legs. Many benefits are held in this balance pose. As you hold you feel your strength. Find peace and quiet the mind. Everything is inside and your power is expanded upon while you maintain this pose.

Directions on how to come into the pose:
Stand in the powerful Mountain Pose. Feet walking distance apart. Straight, activated arms and legs, good posture. From here begin to bend your left knee and bring your right thigh over right left knee. From here you can keep it modified as you sit back and place your foot on the floor or you can bind your right foot around the lower left calf as you see here in the image to the right. Balancing on the left foot. Then while sitting back in this position, you can wrap your right arm under the left arm and bind your wrists so palms are touching. If binding is a challenge and for those with wrist issues you may simple allow your forearms to come together with palms facing each other. Now from here take your bound arms and allow the elbows to stretch out away from your body and lift up. Shoulders are over your hips here. Hold here and breathe. Challenge yourself by sitting lower. Challenge yourself even more by coming into a bound foward fold, nice and slow and gracefully rising back up in this position. Another challenge is to simply close eyes and maintain good balance. Come out and switch sides after a few breaths. Do this a few times on each side. The more you practice this you will be able to maintain good balance in this pose for a good few minutes or longer. :)

When not to do this pose or to modify/Contraindications:
Those with knee issues may find this pose challenging. To start use the modification I've offered above. The more you practice this and other yoga poses you will strengthen your knees again and be able to eventually come into this full pose. Don't rush yourself. Just honor the wisdom of your body always.

Come As You Are

Come As You Are

Forget everything. Come as you are.

"The roses bloom so beautifully because they are not trying to become lotuses. All effort is futile. You have to be just yourself." ~Osho

Reading the above quote gets me raw and real and allows me to relax into myself. I can take a deep cleansing breath. There is no out there. There is only in here. In here is where the "out there" comes from. All our thoughts, decisions, beliefs, limiting beliefs, etc. are from the inside first and then as we choose to think them or believe in them, we resonate that vibration out to the world and that attracts to us our circumstances and experiences. It's time to let go of it all. Let go and surrender to just coming to the table as you are.

Forget everything. Come as you are. In yoga, there is a saying that yoga meets you where you are. Wherever you are at, there you are. Even in yoga one will strive too far in the future for something that their body is not ready for or reach too far in the past for something they regretfully gave up or experienced and limit themselves in a pose where they can strive to evolve. But we always come back to the present. In yoga it is about living now, breathing now and Being now. Come as you are. All the other stuff in your life is just that. Stuff. A blip on the manifesting radar and then it's gone. But your divine essence is still there, always there, never changing or leaving. It is your true self.

Sit back and listen. Your still small voice within, that essence is always ready to expand out to you. Dive into yourself and hear the blissful peace. Nothing that has even happened to you or that may ever happen to you will ever take this away from you. Because it IS you. Just know and breathe.

So as in yoga, it is in life. Life takes you as you are. Wherever you are on your path that is what you bring. You bring your true essence to everything. So let's do our best to not allow our ego and limiting beliefs dictate our truest selves anymore. Let's do our best not to be fake anymore with people. Let's do our best to be our authentic selves. We can be loud about our authenticity and we can also be graceful in its intensity or soft soothing way. We are complex and yet very simple beings. We exist and therefore we are expressing the divine through us. Allow what IS to come out. We do not need to stuff down our authentic beautiful selves anymore. It's time to simply come as we are, say what we say and be whatever we be. Relax.

Eckhart Tolle quotes a Zen master in his July 2010 newsletter as saying, “'Don’t seek for the truth – just cease cherishing opinions'. And that’s enough."

As you relax into yourself you will rejuvenate your soul. The air is easier to breathe. Your body will feel the surrender into yourself. Your life will feel more blessed because it is. You will transform who you have always been. Allow yourself to be you. Come as you are.

Enjoy, live, laugh and love always!

Blessings to you on your path,
~Spiritual Cheerleader