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The power of intention

Imagine starting each day with an intention.

Perhaps you've had a pretty stressful week and the smallest things have been setting you off. You begin your day by setting the intention of practicing patience. You're out the door and on your way to work and stuck in traffic. You've already left your intention back at home as you start cursing and repeatedly checking your watch. Then you remember.. your intention. You consciously slow your breathing down, tell yourself to relax.

You get to work and as the day progresses the deadlines pile on and that mounting pressure builds within you. You are totally consumed by all the things on your to-do and should-have-already-been-done lists. But somewhere in the back of your mind you come back to that intention from this morning. It's not easy to totally switch to super Zen mode, but you do let go a little of the tense shoulders, you give yourself a moment to close your eyes and be in your body. And just those few moments slows your blood pressure down, maybe makes you a little kinder to your coworker, and when you get home at night you really listen to your partner when they tell you about their day.

Just a small intention goes a long way. Our actions truly do radiate out beyond our immediate environment. Even if you only come back to your intention once during that day, you would have brought that much more awareness to your actions.

Practice kindness or trust, giving the benefit of the doubt. Practice speaking mindfully or really listening. Set an intention of feeling gratitude, maybe even expressing that gratitude. The options are endless. Take some time to look within and see what it is that you need right now.

Imagine if every action we did, from the most mundane was transformed to the sacred by a simple intention.

Sthira Suhka and finding your edge

In our last few classes we've been concentrating on the yogic concept of sthira sukha. Sthira can be described as steadiness and effort, sukha is translated to ease. And in yoga all asana, poses, that we play with should have both these qualities in them; this effort and attentiveness but balanced with a certain ease. I know I have definitely found myself in a yoga class holding my breath trying to stick some pose, all effort and no ease. That would be the ego getting in the way. And that's when you know you've surpassed your "edge". I like to think of your edge or growth edge as that place where you are still able to maintain some easiness within a pose, for sure you want to always be able to breathe. Once you are unable to maintain a steady breath you've gone pass your edge and are in danger of harming yourself.

Indeed, it is our injuries that teach us to back off. Even still, a part of our body may be screaming out to us to slow down and we may yet be trying to ignore the clear signs just to continue our practice as we see fit – further pushing our bodies into more injury.

The truth is if we truly listen to what our bodies clearly tell us and honor where we are in this moment (as every moment is different) we can actually have a steady growth. Changes do not happen over night, but with sustained effort and practice you can be amazed by the body's ability to change and grow. But we must do so within it's limitations. Sometimes the simplest thing like touching the floor in a forward bend is what we have to let go of to be a little kinder to our hamstrings. You are in yoga to serve yourself, so be kind to yourself!

Intuition

The irony is the deeper you look inside, the more tuned in you get to the bigger picture outside.

- Gabrielle Roth, Connections

Self doubt. Many of us have had a lot of experience with that. I have definitely found myself questioning my own decisions, doubting my capabilites and distrusting my own strengths. When that kind of doubt creeps in to our psyche, we get disconnected from our intuition, that internal wisdom.

In Sanskrit it is called Rtambhara, which is intellect or knowledge that contains truth. It is a knowledge that one does not learn from books or that can be taught, for it is self-possessed. It is already within each and everyone of us. Some might say that it is eternal, the part of us that existed before our birth and continues on after our death.

I like to think of this knowledge of truth as similar to our intuition. What is intuition but knowledge that is... intuitive, something that is just known, something that doesn't need to be rationalized, thought out or planned.

Often we may find ourselves at a crossroad unsure of which path to continue on. Sometimes it's clear as day to us what we need to do. Other times we are faced with the fear of making the wrong choice. When all the pros and cons have been listed out and all reason laid out, all we are left with is what feels right. How do we trust those choices in those moments?

My yoga practice helps me to quiet the whirrings of my mind, to get in tuned with my body and breath. When I'm moving and breathing in union with the physicality of my being, the mind chatter ceases. And then once in a while there are moments of truth that come forth, glimpses of simple truths that blow me away.

I can only speak from my personal experience, but I do believe that if you are feeling somewhat disconnected from your own intuition that I'd invite you to get out of your head for a little bit. And oftentimes getting out of your head means getting into your body and your breath. When we stop seeking for the answer, it does come. And patience is a huge part of the process. Getting reacquainted with one's intuition does not happen overnight or after one blissful yoga practice. It's a work in progress.

The more we learn to trust ourselves, the more we act from a place of real honesty and truth and the more we cultivate a deep faith, the closer we get to our rtambhara, that eternal wisdom, the light within.

Speaking Your Truth

Last week we focused our practice on connecting with that deeper part of ourselves, so that we may learn to really speak our truth.

My yoga teacher Jasmine's mother is a meditation master who is in her early 70s. During my yoga teacher training we were blessed to spend a day with her sharing with her the art of shambhala meditation. Alice is one of those people who radiate their truth simply through their being. She is a woman of few words, who takes her time to speak a sentence, each word intentional and nothing she says is superfluous or meaningless. She brings such awareness to the words she shares with others, that in listening to her you know that nothing is to be wasted. Funny now thinking back on that day, I remember her sharing with us some of her favorite haiku poems. What is a haiku but a poem stripped down to it's barest essentials. Just enough to convey an emotion, a story, an image.

So how do we in our life of many layers begin to strip away the unnecessary? We are constantly asked to update our status, list our likes and dislikes. It feels sometimes that our very identity is constructed on which boxes we tick, which websites we visit and where we shop. Clearly the consumer market uses markers like these to identify us. But how much to we ourselves start to buy into that identity? And when we do lock in to that identity, do our actions, our words and our thoughts start to reflect that?

Through our yoga practice we can check that stuff at the door. Poor our empty selves onto our mats and reconnect with the bare essentials of who we are. The "I" that cannot be summarized in a profile page.

We do have to participate in the world, and the world of profile pages and online identity is very much part of our society today. By all means we must engage, but at the same time remember who we truly are.

Cultivating a forgiving heart

Last week we opened our hearts and set our intentions of sending love to someone in our lives that maybe we've been having difficult or frustrating times with. For some of us that person may have been our selves. As we all know sometimes we are hardest on our selves.

The thing with anger is that it is a seed that thrives on more anger and can quickly grow into a dark shadow within our hearts and very much within our souls. Anger can also hide in the side lines, sort of dormant until something triggers us and there it is in full force. Have you ever found yourself caught up in the moment of anger only later to say, I don't know where that came from?

Ignoring our anger is the same as sweeping it under the carpet. We can find some pleasantry to occupy our thoughts or refuse to acknowledge the source of our anger but ultimately that seed has been planted. Facing the source of our anger or our hatred and shedding love in that direction is the only way to truly dissolve it.

Yoga means union, and to unify means to make one. Yoga dissolves the illusion of separation between all things. And what is anger but the ultimate manifestation of separateness, of i'm right and you're wrong.

Wise words from Dr. Martin Luther King. Excerpts from Loving Your Enemies:

First, we must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. It is impossible even to begin the act of loving one's enemies without the prior acceptance of the necessity, over and over again, of forgiving those who inflict evil and injury upon us. It is also necessary to realize that the forgiving act must always be initiated by the person who has been wronged, the victim of some great hurt, the recipient of some tortuous injustice, the absorber of some terrible act of oppression.

Forgiveness is a catalyst creating the atmosphere necessary for a fresh start and a new beginning.

Second, we must recognize that the evil deed of the enemy-neighbor, the thing that hurts, never quite expresses all that he is. An element of goodness may be found even in our worst enemy. Each of us has something of a schizophrenic personality, tragically divided against ourselves. A persistent civil war rages within all of our lives.

This simply means that there is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies. When we look beneath the surface, beneath. the impulsive evil deed, we see within our enemy-neighbor a measure of goodness and know that the viciousness and evilness of his acts are not quite representative of all that he is. We see him in a new light. We recognize that his hate grows out of fear, pride, ignorance, prejudice, and misunderstanding, but in spite of this, we know God's image is ineffably etched in being.

Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

By its very nature, hate destroys and tears down; by its very nature, love creates and builds up. Love transforms with redemptive power.

In yoga we can practice cultivating a forgiving heart by being kind to ourselves on our mat. By allowing your practice to be where it is and honoring that. And by leading with your heart through your flow you bring awareness to that very center of your forgiving heart.

Come hang out tomorrow, we'll be diving into the theme Speaking Your Truth. Oh yea!

Same time, same place.

nevver

We don’t see things as they are, we see things as we are.

Anaïs Nin, the New Shelton wet/dry (via nevver)

Our center and true self

Last week was all 3rd Chakra as we focused our attention to the center of our being. Both physically and mentally. The 3rd Chakra or our Mani Pura Chakra is located around our navel in the solar plexus region. And it is the seat of our sense of self, our will and determination and the place where we generate heat and the impetus to act.

Pranayama (breathing) exercises like bastrika or kapalabhati, which both use the belly like a bellow, generate lots of heat in the body. They are great techniques to stimulate the mind and body, especially on a cold day or when you are feeling sluggish in the mind.

Holding plank pose for a few extra breaths is a great way to stay connected to your center. When we start building heat in the body, our mind automatically focuses a bit more. We feel the power of our will and determination rise to the surface. All other things fall away.

Move through your practice with your attention on your navel center. Moving your navel up and in towards your spine helps to step forward from down dog to a low lunge as well as lifting up in to bakasana (crow pose). In the warrior poses drawing your navel in and up enables you to lift your chest higher, holding your torso more erect. Especially in Warrior 3 using your navel will allow you to stay balanced and focused. In trikonasa (triangle pose) or uttitha parsovokonasana (extended side angle pose) use your belly to hold your torso up so as not to collapse your weight to your lower arm.

Inversions are a great way to connect to your center. Going upside down can be very disorienting and scary. Our heart rates go up and we can easily panic when our world flips upside down. Focusing your energy in and breathing reminds us that no matter what goes on in our lives all we have to do is redirect our awareness inside. The one thing that can never be taken away from you is that deep sense of self. Though we may have moments of feeling lost and unsure of who we truly are, our center and our true selves are always present. It is a matter of letting everything else fall away.

Tonight - Cultivating a forgiving heart!

Join me—same time, same place!

#3rd Chakra #Mani Pura #Bastrika #Kapalabhati #Pranayama #Mind #Body #Plank #Yoga #Navel #Center #True Self #Asana #Vinyasa

Harnessing our creative energy

Last week we took a journey into our hips, the place in our body where our creative and emotional energies live. A lot of us hold our emotions in our hips and that's why sometimes after a deep hip opening class you may get a little teary. I know I have on more than one occasion.

Creative energy isn't just about painting, writing poetry or decorating a room. We are all inherently creative beings. It's in the way we express our thoughts, see the world and handle our everyday experiences. Being able to "think outside the box" to produce innovative solutions comes from being receptive to our creative spirit, and that involves a certain level or surrender. If we constantly expect a specific outcome and are rigid in the ways we believe things should be done, we are left with no room to explore the possibilities. The journey begins with a sort of unlearning so that we can rediscover the world in new ways.

On our mat we can practice the art of surrendering with hip openers. In crescent moon, allow your hips to melt forward breathing into your hip flexor. Let your hips sink in a squat. Take some time in pigeon to breathe long and deeply, sending your inhales to your hips and with each exhale release a little more of any tension. In you other poses, like Warrior 1 and 2, let there be some movement in your pose, feeling the waves of your breath. Allow yourself to be fluid, adaptable and receptive.

The inspiration for this class was a Mary Oliver poem called Wild Geese.

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on. Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers. Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again. Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting-- over and over announcing your place in the family of things.

Join me in class tomorrow! We'll be using our yoga practice to exercise our will and determination and learning ways to overcome personal resistance. Looking forward to a great class!

Regular time and place:

7:30-8:45pm The Westside Art House 540 Balboa Street at 7th Avenue

See you there!

When you stop comparing, you stop despairing.

Emily Stone

Yoga class with Emily Stone at Laughing Lotus

First Class!

A big big thank you to everyone who came out to my first class at the Westside Art House. So filled with gratitude to see you there. A big welcome and thank you too to the people who saw the flyer and came by to check it out. Hope you all enjoyed the first class!

This past week's class was all about grounding and rootedness. In our asana practice, or our physical practice, our awareness always begins with our foundation. Whatever part of our body makes contact with the earth, our feet, sitting bones or even our hands, we must root down through that connection and either let ourselves sink into that rootedness or grow out from it.

When we are amidst the turbulence of our day-to-day living, simply bringing your awareness to your feet on the ground, or the weight of your body on your seat can give you a sense of grounding. Your mind may be pulling you in every which way, but that simple redirection of your focus back to your own physical body centers you. Coupled with the awareness of your breath this can be a very simple but powerful way to calm the mind and recenter yourself.

The reading I shared was a poem by the Chinese Philosopher Lao Tzu:

The heavy is the root of the light. The unmoved is the source of all movement. Thus the Master travels all day without leaving home. However splendid the views, she stays serenely in herself. Why should the lord of the country flit about like a fool? If you let yourself be blown to and fro, you lose touch with your root. If you let restlessness move you, you lose touch with who you are.

Join me next week as we explore getting in touch with your creative energy!

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to my first posting on my new blog for my yoga classes!

Check in for updates on where and when I'll be teaching and for more info on my classes. I'll also be sharing my themes, readings and playlists here.

Feel free to drop me some feedback or anything else you'd like to share.

Hope to see you around!

nicola x

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