My body bobs in the waves. I let my limbs dance in the current. My physical being surrenders to the ocean. My spiritual being says hello to the ocean, and I humble myself to her wisdom. “What do I need to know?”
–Don’t give up on yourself. That’s right. I speak to nature, and she speaks back. Recently I’ve been diving deep into my physical health. If the mind/body/spirit balance is pictured like the food pyramid, a healthy body is the essential foundation for healthy mind and spirit. –Don’t give up on yourself. I’ve been consulting many expert sources, and I needed to double check with someone bigger than me to make sure I didn’t leave anything unexplored. I was hoping for something easy like, “Eat ten ounces of watercress everyday” or “Practice kapalabhati breath before meals.” –Don’t give up on yourself. I realized my ego wanted an easy way out. –Don’t give up on yourself. The ocean knew my weakness-discipline. I’m impatient. I tend to give up on things that take too long. I don’t like routine. –Don’t give up on yourself. We never give up on you. That’s when I really heard it. -We never give up on you. There is a constant outpouring of love and support from all of Earth’s angels. All we must do to receive is ask and believe. Literally, every molecule of Earth believes in you and wants you to succeed. Why do we sabotage our own success with doubt and insecurity? I don’t have all the answers. But I have a few words of encouragement. –Don’t give up on yourself.
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Often I'll start free writing with the prompt, 'Who am I?'
This week, I received some humorous answers from my inner intuition. Who am I? I am a flower in the weeds. I am a beacon in the dark. To those who suffer, I am salvation. Who am I? -the Sun Who am I? I lurk in the night. I cause quite a fright. Over all your delicate things I crawl, Soiling and spreading my angst. The world must know how I suffer. Always at the bottom. Always looking down. Who am I? -a cockroach If I read between the lines, I hear, "I am both big and small. I am both love and fear." Even more humorous is that I wasn't looking for those answers! The playful response of my inner knowing helped steer me towards a more precise investigation: Why am I now? -For the children. I'll have to unpack that one at another time. Today, I marvel at the nuance of asking the right questions. Aho! It’s the week approaching a new moon and the sky is heavy with clouds. What do we need from yoga today?
-To stretch it out, open it up, and feel connected. -To get into the flow. Tune in to check in. -Begin by chanting Aum three times. -Follow with sun breath and a gentle seated twist. -Open the upperbody with the support of a strap. Move onto hands and knees. -Stretch spine between cat and cow poses. -Flow up and down between up-dog to child’s pose. Move up to kneeling. -Camel warm ups. -Gate pose. -Full camel. Recline, release. -Hold supported bridge. -Rock through lower body thread needle. -Breath through frog pose. Drum during savasana. I had some good insight come through during class today. Through repetition of asana postures, we can evolve our physical bodies to be more flexible. By practicing meditation, Yoga also evolves our mental bodies to be more calm, relaxed, and clear. Finally, adding conscious intention to our yoga practice evolves our spiritual bodies to be more in the flow. Often we progress in that order, or we can work on evolving all three bodies at once. Can we measure our progress? It’s easy to see when our friends or loved ones gain more flexibility or peace of mind through yoga. But how can one tell if a person is spiritually evolving? Especially for ourselves-What does it look like? It can look quite magical, often unbelievable. Many seekers call this elusive state, ‘Being in the flow.’ Surfers do it, dancers do it, and musicians do it. Almost any movement based activity can produce feelings of connection and ease. It’s how professional sports players make their goals look ‘so easy.’ Being ‘in the flow’ looks a lot like being lucky or ‘well-connected’. In reality, the flow IS the ultimate connection. The ‘yoga’ between source and creation-God and Earth. So all those ‘right place at the right time’ coincidences are actually validation that a creation of Earth (you or me) abides with God’s gentle guidance. (It’s why prayer works when you listen as much as you talk.) What my flow looks like I get into the flow most easily on my bike. I start pedaling and coasting and feel my body glide effortlessly over the Earth. Ideas spring forth and my fears dissipate. It feels pleasurable and comforting. At the end of a yoga class, either when I am student or teacher, I feel super connected to myself and everyone in the room. I am in the flow big time. I am energized, present, and happy. I can get lost tending a garden for hours. There is always one more plant to inspect, bug to watch, pile to turn. Physically working with the Earth grounds me so deep that I feel like I just sat in a hot tub or ran a foot race-exhausted exuberance. I enter the flow and forget all outside space and time. This is the goal of yoga. To be aligned in the bliss of present love. YES Yoga is honoring April's Full Moon in celebrating the powerful effects of Spider Wort (Tradescantia) flowers. This knee-high purple flower particularly caught my attention this month because it shows up in all kinds of places; from garden beds to roadsides, inland to the coast. Whenever I see a plant trying that hard to grab my attention, I try to learn what medicine it wants to bring to me.
I first learned about this beautiful specimen on an edible plant walk. The teacher noted that it has edible blooms and I was instantly in love. Upon early experimentation, I was disappointed to learn that it does poorly as a cut flower-wilting within hours. It is best enjoyed-in situ, during those leisurely bike rides to nowhere in particular. To kick-off a more formal investigation, I did brief research into its danger quotient. A friend’s reference book identified that not only are all parts edible, but it carries a long tradition of medicinal uses. Several Native American tribes-including the Cherokee of my region-used it as an aphrodisiac for both people and animals. The permaculturalist in me sits with the living plant to observe individual parts, how the plant grows, and what is happening in the surrounding habitat. The first thing to catch my eye is the three petal arrangement. I close my eyes and breath into the plant’s energy, asking what it wants me to know about three petal arrangement. All the sudden I think of my birth faith and the Holy Trinity, as well as my adopted faith and the Vedic Trimurti. Alone, each symbol of the triad is a metaphor of how the divine can be experienced. Together, as in the Spider Wort flower, it represents strength, the source of all power. Creation, Sustenance, and Destruction. The leaves are quite unusual. Alternating on a strong, tubular steam, they spike out in narrow arms; reminding me of sharp swords. Tools to pierce our deepest demons and cleanse us of their troubles. Finally, I close my eyes, raise my palms, tune into my heart chakra, and feel into the plant’s bubble of energy. I instantly feel pulsing waves of light run through my body. It felt like the rippling light of liquid waves reflecting on a surface. A powerful cleansing. Preparing me to receive new depths of divine truth. Spider Wort is like a tonic. A master cleanse for the soul. Realignment with our core essences. I performed a ceremony to capture the vibration and aide in my releasing over this moon cycle. I posed this question to myself four months ago, and knew I wanted to turn it into a blog. For me yoga is beyond connecting to myself, or God, it includes connecting to the Earth. So I really started exploring the concept of how to relate to her. I needed a stronger mental construct to engage in the deep relationship I sought. One strong and clear message came through, The Earth is A Goddess. Every time I revisited the document, I would read that line, and feel no urge to go further. That’s all I needed, to see the Earth as a Goddess. To me, that means she is more than a Mother who nourishes and protects us. She is a divine avatar whom creates miracles and moments of awe. She is worthy of worship. Her material body will endure far longer than mine. What forces can animate such a massive density of matter? It must be far greater than my soul. A soul between me and the source of all that exists. A soul through which I can only exist. A soul so beloved, she has her own realm of angels. To whom does she answer? Father Sun. Her guide through the universe. Where he goes, she goes. Our human relationship with the Sun is mostly through the Earth’s fingertips. Every leaf of lettuce and drop of nectar is pulsing with the Sun’s beat. A tone so nourishing, so perfect for our bodies that the Earth filters it into tiny gifts for our senses. As I sit in these images, the Earth takes new shape in my psyche. That of a friend, a lover, a cherished relative. One who fills up our cup without us having to ask for it. The Goddess is all this and more. The Goddess is so beautiful that to gaze upon her is to feel the presence of the divine. To drink from her is to taste the nectar of heaven. To taste her fruit is to cross the boundaries of perception. All she asks in return is patience. With ourselves. Because she is so benevolent, She gives us the Moon as a teaching assistant. In her Grandmotherly role, the Moon serves as a role model of cycles and attraction. For me, making ceremony with the Moon’s cycle grounds me to the Earth. The Goddess and I are witnessing the same lunar attractions; gaining and releasing with each wax and wane. As I watch the moon fill up this week, I am reminded that all is happening in divine time. I cannot rush my own development any more than I can rush the development of a seed into a sunflower. In both case, I can listen to the whispers of the Goddess and nurture my development in tune with the Moon and her dance around our Goddess. As Earth Day coincides with the Full Moon on Friday April 22, 2016, the energy is rise to reflect on your perspective on this giant space rock we all call Home. Namaste, Courageous Light The Yogi Masters in India know that there are many paths to Enlightenment. Some will pick Asana, the physical practice, and master poses like Sirsasana, headstand. Others, like the Buddha, sit under a tree and Meditate day upon day until they reach enlightenment. Both paths are equally potent, but most of us weren’t created for an all-or-nothing path to enlightenment.
Most of us are at our strongest and most resilient when we blend the harmonies of the eight limbed path. Astanga Yoga is known as the eight limbed path. It is comprehensive of the most potent practices in the ancient traditions of self-awareness. At one end of the spectrum of disciplines is Asana-the physical alignment practice. Most American’s practice this exclusively. At the opposite end of the spectrum is Meditation-complete withdraw from senses-perfect union with the divine. In the middle of these life extending practices, I find Pranayama. The cleanser of the emotional and spiritual bodies. I began yoga class this evening with a primer in alternate nostril breath. For some people, this is the only form of yoga that is practiced. Inhaling and exhaling out of separate nostrils activates the balancing mechanism in your subtle body. Hot fires are cooled, and dull embers are stoked. Confidence emboldened, ego checked. As YES Yoga becomes more established as a 3x per week yoga studio-hosted within the Namaste Center Summerville-I am called to create deeper intention for our shared practice. I’ve selected four primary lessons that I will revisit throughout the month of February. I’ll post videos to my YouTube channel with more explanation on each for the appropriate moon cycle.
One is from an ancient text. A second is a mudra-or hand pose/asana. The third is a contemporary text. The fourth is for self-healing. From the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Chapter II, 47 “Yoga Pose is a steady and comfortable position. Yoga Pose is mastered by relaxation of effort.” Mudra for ‘Releasing Worry’ Open hand palms-up at your heart level. Connect the entire line from the base of palms to the tip of the little fingers. Connect the tips of the middle fingers. From Light on Life, BKS Iyengar “Spirituality is not some external goal that one must seek, but a part of the divine core of each of us, which we must reveal.” Hand Positions to Release Tension in Body Lie on floor, Hold each posture for twelve deep breaths. Can listen to soothing music. Place palms over eyes - Feel the forehead release. Place palms over ears – Feel the jaw release. Place palms behind head – Feel neck release. Place palms on chest, above heart – Feel shoulders release. Place palms on abdomen, below bellybutton – Feel hips and legs release. Shavasana-corpose pose-Meditate. Recently, my five year old nephew gave me dating advice. He notices I go on dates, and can’t understand why I haven’t picked one to be my husband yet. In his mind, dating is clear and simple.
Look at a person’s face. Find out if you like it, Then introduce yourself, And ask their name. Say I love you, They will say it back. That’s how you fall in love. Like Mom and me. Or just wait, You’ll be somebody’s dream girl. Little did he know, that I was in the middle of his whole scenario. I met a guy, but was not taken by his face or smell. Yet, all of our goals and aspirations for the future where nearly identical. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say I was his dream girl. I was totally confused. I never imagined these two routes to relationship success would be mutually exclusive. Let’s remember, this concept is not from a Greek Odyssey, this is from a person who has spent five years studying the Ninja Turtles. However, I never discount the possibility of an angel speaking through a child. So innocent and ready to participate in the world. Today, I decided to take a break from dating, and treat myself as my own dream girl. How does I flatter myself? In pursuit of success in self-knowledge, I do have the practice of loving myself. However, it is often in a practical, human activity, and it is not without folly. Sleeping in and indulging in coffee feels lovely in the moment. Forgiving myself for being late takes more courage. Staving off guilt and shame in favor of faith and trust is the true marathon of life. This is my daily practice. For my dream girl, I would have patience. I would show her steady devotion. Never fearing the unknown. Always trusting the now. I’m going to ‘turn up’ take my self-love dial and try something a little different. I will love my divine self and treat her like an angel. The Angel of my Soul. In her presence, I cannot mirror less than Contentment. Often bursting into Joy and Exaltation. To experience this, I’ll have to practice more with the energetic levels of the pranic/auric fields. My favorite spiritual energy practices are Qi Gong, Yoga, and Shamanism. More on that soon! Namaste, Courageous Light When working towards success in the spiritual realm, it can be an uncertain path. Especially if you blaze your own trail and don’t have the comfort of an established path. For example, a priest must go through seminary and perform rites of passage. If you pursue Karate, the goal is often to become a Black Belt. There are known progressions and clear benchmarks of achievement.
When one pursues yoga, the goal can sometimes be to achieve Nirvana. That’s a big leap for most of us. So we settle on benchmarks like doing a handstand or other physically challenging arm balancing postures. But what if your yoga practice is primarily breathing and meditation. How does one measure progress on the path to enlightenment? My dear friend Anthony recently shed some light on this concept. His measuring stick of spiritual progress is judged only by him, internally, in his relationship with the Divine. This idea is so powerful to me and rings in perfect harmony with my aim to evolve success through yoga. Through my personal spiritual practice, I can benchmark my own evolution by reflecting on how I relate to the divine. For me, it started with acknowledging and accepting in my heart that a divine presence is real and I can have a conscious relationship with it. Next, it evolved into a two-way exchange of energy. Through prayer and meditation, I offered my energy in gratitude and hopes. Through intuition and observation, I recognized the responses and gifts offered in return. Now, I’m at a stage of sharing this practice with others. First, to test and reinforce my own beliefs. I allow myself to make changes to what doesn’t feel right, and learn from my own words in journaling and sharing with close friends or family. Second, to be a light and show others how they can develop their own relationship with the Divine. I don’t expect anyone to copy or praise me. I only hope that my courage can empower you to keep blazing your own path. In love and light, Aly Anne Blog – teaching chakra balancing
Working with people one-on-one is so fulfilling because you get immediate feedback and it’s easier to understand if they ‘get it.’ It’s totally okay to not ‘get it,’ but if you don’t speak up in a group class, you may stay in the dark about what you are trying to learn. Teaching chakra balancing is a way to bring my friends and family deeper into the light, and I recently learned the beauty of sharing it one-on-one. Similar to yoga and nutrition, I see personal energy management as essential for a balance wellbeing. If nutrition is the driver for physical health (body), and yoga is the driver for spiritual health (spirit). Then the mind or emotional health is driven by energy management. Energy management sounds technical, but here I mean it in its most metaphysical form. Since our bodies are generating electromagnetic fields, just like the Earth and Sun, we have the ability to manipulate that energy field. It can pull us down or lift us up. It can also become blocked or clogged by social distress. Therefore, knowing how to read and balance your chakras is an essential component to everyday wellbeing. I recommend beginners work with a pendulum to make visible the rotation of your individual chakra centers. There are 7 main chakras that align with your spine. Bring your full awareness to them one at a time and ask the pendulum to show you how the energy is flowing. It could be strong, weak, open, or closed. Identify the chakras that require a fresh flow of energy and visualize that center filling with white light. It can get way more complicated than that, and I’ve started a video series to show these steps in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mr8rCSKiqZ0 Enjoy and Namaste |
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