The Answers Are In The Silence
“Do you have patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself?”
~~ Lao Tzu
Yoga is meditation in motion. Slowing your practice, holding the postures, deepening your breath and listening allows us to be the witness to the wisdom of the silence.
Our mind spends the majority of its’ time lost in fantasy and illusion reliving our perception of good and bad memories. The past is only a guide for future actions so we don’t repeat negative habitual behavior. The future is not hear yet so dreaming about expected outcomes only feeds our need to control our surroundings and events.
Learn how to find the “answers in the silence.” Deepen your practice by allowing the postures and breath to show you where you’re holding illusions and fantasies.
Even in fitness and athletics today, we create distraction with cell phones, ipods, tv’s, newspapers, etc. Why are we so afraid of the “answers in the silence?”
Meet me at Kripalu Center May 2012 for Pranayama, Postures and Potential!
What Is Whole Self Health?
Whole Self Health principles recognize that true health and freedom from dis-ease happen when all aspects of our being are united: the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. All of our programs and services will be based on nurturing all of these parts of our “whole.”
- The Physical: Means the body. All that relates to our physical body i.e., diet and exercise.
- The Mental: Means the mind. Our thoughts and the origin of our thoughts: belief systems, morals, ethics, experiences (good or bad), religion, socioeconomic, etc. Our thoughts drive our emotions which drive habitual patterns.
- The Emotional: Means our feelings. How we feel about things and how we express our feelings (or don’t express them). Our emotions influence our behavior.
- The Spiritual: Means to be in service. To be in service to your faith, your family, your friends, your community, your co-workers and to strangers.
When all of these are in balance, we live and function optimally as human beings.
Comfort Zone for life coaching and wellness! Check out out video downloads for a whole self class experience.
Ignite The Flame Within You
Have you ever noticed how peaceful you feel after your yoga practice? You can look into the eyes of a fellow student after practice and see the light shining so brightly inside them. We’re in a state of bliss, peace, grace . . . connected.
Yoga is a fabulous way to deepen our sense of Self. The pranayama and postures are a tool . . . a roadmap leading to the core of our being.
As the journey unfolds on our mat, we begin to understand our limiting belief systems and unhealthy patterns. We give ourselves permission to let go and release what no longer serves us. We pull it all together with practical tools to stay present in the presence of love when life feels out of balance and out of control.
Join at Kripalu Yoga Center for Pranayama, Postures and Potential May 2012
Flexibility In the Asana
If I had a penny for every time someone said to me “I’m not flexible” I would be a millionaire . . . maybe even a billionaire. When we say things like this, we think it’s the body that’s not flexible but it’s actually the mind. The body is tensing up to protect us from ourselves when the ego gets in the way. Free your mind and you will be amazed at just how flexible you are physically and mentally.
Asana (or postures) is a component of your yoga practice. Asana is 1 of the 8 Limbs of Yoga by Patanjali. Patanjali is considered the “father of yogi” and established The 8 Limbs as suggestions for living a better life.
“Posture is mastered by freeing the body and mind from tension and restlessness and meditating on the infinite.” ~~ Patanjali
There is an art to moving skillfully and going deeper into a posture. We don’t push . . . that’s the ego. As we go deeper into the postures, we allow the body to free itself of “the issues in our tissues”. That is why we experience emotional releases in posture holdings. We’ve uncovered something . . . something from the past. With grace and patience, we Breathe, Relax, Feel, Watch & Allow it to move through us.
Enjoy The Present Moment
Every major religion recognizes the body as a sacred temple. But, we don’t treat them as a sacred temple. We’re at a time in our culture where 7 out of 10 deaths among Americans are from chronic diseases which are lifestyle choices. The average age to be diagnosed with a chronic illness used to be 60; now it’s 40! And, all of this is preventable.
The 4 major health risk behaviors contributing to chronic disease are: lack of physical activity, poor diet, tobacco use and excessive alcohol consumption.
We really want to hold on to these behaviors so much so that we’re willing to spend the last 50% of our lives with a chronic illness that’s consuming 75% of our healthcare dollars and could have easily been prevented?
“The Dalai Lama was asked ‘what surprises you the most’ and he said, ‘Man, because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then he dies having never really lived.” ~~ Via Caroline DeLisser
The body is a treasure map of gifts. Every human body is absolutely unique at a DNA level – what a miracle. Decade after decade science reveals new wonders about the body. We have yet to understand it’s complete potential. So, why don’t we take better care of it. It’s our gift from God. Most of us are born perfectly healthy human beings. It’s us who get in our own ways.
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