Becoming Yoga Becoming Union


Have you ever had the feeling that you are falling apart?

Have you ever had the impression that part of you falls apart like leaves from trees, like petals from flowers?

Have you ever thought, that actually it’s a natural process of becoming oneself and you gave yourself permission to accept it?

Or perhaps, you still looking for and you are still missing those pieces that used to be an inseparable part of you?

If yes, have you experience anything new in your life since then?

Have you ever felt to trust into this process, because the universe gives us only what we need?

Or perhaps you decided to be angry with the universe because he made, because he organized that moment for you to start the process of becoming?

Or maybe you are really aware of that?

 But, perhaps attachment to the past, made you call for fear which you quickly woke up and created as not the one who bothers you, but the one who protects you, but protects you from what, from whom?

The fear that has been hired by you as a guardian, a misty bubble you carefully created around you?

That sounds like a good plan? A good plan to drown out what is naturally changing, are you really feel that this is nourish your roots, your foundation?

Perhaps this moment right now will help you, will help many of us to…..

Wake up, bubbles broke into millions of pieces….

Try to see and feel yourself as a tree, with your feet grounded, with your roots nourished, with your hands raised up as a new branches with your eyes closed and with your heart open

Take a moment, take a deep slow breath into your new life and read something beautiful……

I’m BECOMING with you…

 Have you heard? I just lost one more piece, but I’m not afraid, this is a new space inside me, happening through me , happening for me….

Author unknown

Me: Hello God.
God: Hello…
Me: I’m falling apart. Can you put me back together?
God: I’d rather not.
Me: Why?
God: Because you’re not a puzzle.
Me: What about all the pieces of my life that fall to the ground?
God: Leave them there for a while. They fell for a reason.  Let them be there for a while and then decide if you need to take any of those pieces back.
Me: You don’t understand! I’m breaking!
God: No, you don’t understand. You’re transcending, evolving. What you feel are growing pains. You’re getting rid of the things and people in your life that are holding you back. The pieces are not falling down. The pieces are being put in place. Relax. Take a deep breath and let those things you no longer need fall down. Stop clinging to pieces that are no longer for you. Let them fall. Let them go.
Me: Once I start doing that, what will I have left?
God: Only the best pieces of yourself.
Me: I’m afraid to change.
God: I keep telling you: YOU’RE NOT CHANGING! YOU’RE BECOMING!
Me: Becoming, Who?
God: Becoming who I created you to be! A person of light, love, charity, hope, courage, joy, mercy, grace and compassion. I made you for so much more than those shallow pieces you decided to adorn yourself with and that you cling to with so much greed and fear. Let those things fall off you. I love you!
Don’t change! Become! Don’t change! Become! Become who I want you to be, who I created. I’m gonna keep telling you this until you remember.
Me: There goes another piece.
God: Yes. Let it be like this.
Me: So… I’m not broken?
God: No, but you’re breaking the darkness, like dawn.
It’s a new day.
Become!! Become who you really are!!”

Warrior II – organic tool to become grounded

Step the right foot to the side, lift your knee with full awareness and gently step front foot onto the earth.

Pause for a few seconds and try to see yourself and feel this moment

And with consciousness begin process of dropping deep into that moment

Allow your inhale expand and open you

And the exhale, allow your exhale to ground you from the roots of your being.

Repeat conscious breath,

And really see yourself with your chest lifting up, and your feet more grounded

Allow your inhale touch what is accessible above you

Allow your exhale touch your roots

And see yourself almost ready to become

Front knee gently getting bent directly over ankle

Hands extend parallel to the earth

If you are ready, turn your palms up to receive this moment

Lift your chest with inhalation and let the exhale clear your path.

And now where your path of this moment get clear

I’m inviting you to go to inward direction, like you never did before

And see yourself as a Virabhadrasana as a warrior of self-awareness

If You Forget Me

 

I want you to know
one thing.

You know how this is:
if I look
at the crystal moon, at the red branch
of the slow autumn at my window,
if I touch
near the fire
the impalpable ash
or the wrinkled body of the log,
everything carries me to you,
as if everything that exists,
aromas, light, metals,
were little boats
that sail
toward those isles of yours that wait for me.

Well, now,
if little by little you stop loving me
I shall stop loving you little by little.

If suddenly
you forget me
do not look for me,
for I shall already have forgotten you.

If you think it long and mad,
the wind of banners
that passes through my life,
and you decide
to leave me at the shore
of the heart where I have roots,
remember
that on that day,
at that hour,
I shall lift my arms
and my roots will set off
to seek another land.

But
if each day,
each hour,
you feel that you are destined for me
with implacable sweetness,
if each day a flower
climbs up to your lips to seek me,
ah my love, ah my own,
in me all that fire is repeated,
in me nothing is extinguished or forgotten,
my love feeds on your love, beloved,
and as long as you live it will be in your arms
without leaving mine.

 

Pablo Neruda

Barefoot on the mat – barefoot through life….

On every yoga class I advise my students to pay special attention to their feet, during yoga session and after.

Why? As there are several reasons ….

From an anatomical point, the feet are made of 28 bones, 31 joints, 107 ligaments and 20 muscles.

Comparing our whole body, feet are not too big, but undoubtedly one of the strongest. They carry us every day, they lead us through life, through darkness and light. Our feet showing us when is time to rest…

Without them it would not be easy to walk through each moment and you know what?  Feet are magical.

In traditional yoga, feet are the basis of the temple of the body. Just as the foundation of the temple (our body) must be stable and properly arranged in order to support all its structure, our feet must be strong and equally balanced to support the entire legs, spine, shoulders, neck, head.

I can say easily, yoga is a recipe for not only healthy feet, but healthy body.

Unfortunately, not many people realize, that the feet can be responsible for pain in the knees, hips, back, neck or other spinal deformities. It is really pity, that not many people sense their feet in a glorious way.

Having said that, our feet are very fond when they are bare, when we freely move our toes, when we freely transfer the weight of the body to the outer and inner part of our feet. Moreover, our feet are designed to walk barefoot on an uneven surface. Under such condition, the muscle structure of the feet is strengthened; the feet are naturally massaged, subjected to various challenges. Our feet are designed for movement; our feet don’t like to be hidden in the shoes where the shoes squeeze our toes, often deforming the joints and limiting the natural range of feet movement. 

Let your feet feel, same as your heart, let your feet touch the earth and be touched as well.

Just as healthy roots give stability and nourish the tree, such efficient and healthy feet give us energy and power. Therefore, regardless of the yoga style, and life style, we should pay special attention to our feet.

Another reason, why feet are very important is, where there is a lack of contact with our own feet, there is a block of flow energy, there is a weakness in a blood circulation and your feet and legs will get heavy and tired very quickly. Stay with your feet bare as much as you can and let them help you to experience connection between the earth-you- the sky.

 In fact thanks to them, you can feel grounded, stable and safe, whether you are on or off the mat. That is why in yoga there are many standing poses, whose task and purpose is to shake up and awaken in us a sense of the power of connection.

Appreciate your feet, massage and apply good vibes on them.

Wisdom in Exhaling

Breathing is the first physiological activity after the human birth.

Therefore, it is an irrevocably and more sensible activity that keeps us alive and allows us to function in a healthy way.

In yoga breath is taking very special place in both spiritual and physical aspect.

As long as we can breathe, we can do anything and everything is possible, even when our mobility is not on the highest level.

What breathe dose to us?

Breathing plays a key role in the yoga practice. The importance of proper breathing in yoga is demonstrated by the huge number of exercises and technique. Breath begins philosophy of yoga and allows practitioners to become union of body and mind.

I have crossed very wise article about breathing, which I would love to share.

“We draw an astounding 22,000 breaths daily, but because breathing is involuntary, we often take it for granted.”

And now just imagine focusing on each of the inhale and exhale 22.000 times in each day?

22.000 of conscious inhalation and exhalation, 22.000 of possibilities to sense our own presence, possibilities to be present and be fully in present state?

Al Lee, co-author of Perfect Breathing: Transform Your Life One Breath at a Time. In his opinion we have 22, 000 opportunities to choose health and wisdom every single day. Moreover he painted a picture of perfect breathing:

“Watch a baby breath; it looks like there is a balloon in the stomach that inflates and falls back down. This is belly breathing –pleasant, enjoyable and natural”

During inhalation, the diaphragm pulls down under the lungs, allowing them to expand with air and displace space in the abdomen.

Breath is a direct way for us to quickly communicate with the brain about what we do with our body. It also offers a direct link to the sympathetic (responsible for reaction: defence and attack) and parasympathetic (rest and relaxation)

Just like aromatherapy or music therapy or other forms, breathing is one of the most important tools which we can communicate with our mind.

Having said that, if we are straggling with knee or shoulder pain, when our foot hurts, we can massage or compress, and we have respond from aching body that we are getting better. In the case of our mind to check and change our mind discomfort, breathing and tools like aromatherapy or even music therapy are able to get a significant effect on changing our state of mind.

Conscious inhalation can nourish and provide a lovely energy for our mind and body. Conscious exhale can help with cleansing our mind and body form toxins and stored emotions.

Mastering our own breath is the foundation of yoga. Controlled breath allows us to control our body and mind. Calm breath is calming our mind and heart, allows relieving tension and stress.

In our fast spinning world, we do not try to find a way to get closer to ourselves. However, we are trying our best to get away as far as possible form ourselves and others.  We are wearing masks, that work as an anesthetic and making us blind and deaf. But we don’t have to do it, we don’t have to run from ourselves because we have our breath, so let’s try to use an organic tool our own breath,

Principally we need establish intention toward that moment, as where there is intention there is a connection, where there is connection there is a cure

Take a seat, switch off your mind from any responsibilities and attention for the past and the future.

Nothing is waiting for you, pause, and sense smoothly this moment and draw your intention inward and let your breath lead you. …..with each breath you are taking and with each breath you are exhaling be more conscious, be more grounded.

 Can you hear your breath right now? Maybe this is the first time you can hear your breath…if yes, you are in the right direction …

Continue…..

Imagine that with the inhalation new energy has the ability to reach to the places where our wounds our pain settled for too long. Once again exhale and feel yourself getting to the places forgotten by you, which you did not want to visit because of fear and pain, there is possibly good time, try to let all of them go.

And pause, observe and feel your inhale, repeat conscious breathing a few times with special intention for detachment to the past, fracture and the fear.

What you can sense right now?

Any time you will have a chance to practice breathing technics, do it slowly and deeply.

Exhale with sigh out, lion pose, slow, quick, short, but the most important is to do breathing with intention if you really want to see positive changes in your life.

Transforming breathing, especially exhale into a conscious activity can provide space for new energy, awareness and control, and dramatically improve our mental and physical life.

If you need to master your life, you need to master your mind, but to master your mind you need to master your breath and to see changes, conscious intention is much needed.

Magic of Navasana- Boat Pose

Magic of Navasana- Boat Pose
Imagine that your legs are a sail and your back is the mast…
close your eyes and open inner universe…..
I’m in the middle of the ocean-the ocean of illusion
I came already so far
I stopped, I looked
Everything seems to be not mine but at the same time close to me
I feel warmth of my heart
I surrender to…
Silence in a very gently way is breaking through illusions
And drowns out the illusory attachment
And swaying me towards the island
I’m coming
The foggy illusion is slightly behind me
The universe inside waiting long time
There is a space for new
The seed of true
Bec-OM-eYoga

Savasana

“Lie down on your back with your arms stretched out.

Begin with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor. Gradually draw your awareness inwards. Consciously and slowly, one at a time, lengthen your heels out along the floor, inviting your legs to fall back and rest.

Elongate your arms down to your sides, releasing any last vesting of stress or exhaustion. Turn your palms up into a soft receptive position like a baby’s hands. feel yourself letting go of whatever you have been holding on to.

Allow the skin of your face to soften away from the bones. your eyes drop back in their sockets, away from the inside of your eyelids. the gaze moves down, resting in the warmth of a heart. vision now seems to come from your heart. your ears also turn inward towards the heart to listen to its whispering.

As you drop deeper and deeper into Savasana, your skin starts to grow more porous and transparent, almost translucent, so that the light inside you can radiate outwards and the light all around you put inwards.

As your skin continues to open to the light, your boundaries begin to soften and dissolve.
the boundaries of your personality also begin to soften.

let go now or anything that keeps you separate from other beings and from the joy and bliss of your essential nature, letting it all float away like clouds in an infinite blue sky.

From this vast awareness find your breath and follow its path as it flows down into your body with your inhalation and as it empties out with your exhalation. breathing in, your eyes soften; exhaling your breath dissolves into emptiness. breathe down into earth, breathe out into spaciousness.

Notice the moment of stillness at the very end of inhalation and at the very completion of exhalation.

This is not a holding, but rather a suspension of your breath. Imagine this pause like a hawk suspended on a current of air. With the inhalation, drop down deep into the still pool of a pause at its end.

Follow the exhalation all the way to its completion and savor the exquisite moment at the end when it dissolves into space like smoke disappearing into the sky. Inhale, and pause for a few heartbeats; exhale and pause for a few heartbeats. Continue this practice for a few minutes”

Andrew Harvey A Guide to Sacred Activism