#luanafarayoga

[luanafarayoga]

I feel so blessed to be here! This was a completely unexpected change of our plans. As I mentioned in my previous post, we decided to leave Rishikesh in a desperate escape from the cold. I have to be honest, I feel slightly guilty for leaving, specifically because there are my teachers whom I appreciate and respect, though there was no point in keep suffering because of the cold weather. Sometimes our humanity full of attachments and rejections is stronger than our capacity to face them. Sometimes while being kind and compassionate with ourselves we loose a little bit of our structure. Understanding our tendencies is part of our Dharma of getting to know our True Self that inhabits beyond this Prakriti. After two days in Goa, I feel completely free from all the tension and contraction I was feeling some days ago. This contraction was coming from a process of disenchantment with Rishikesh, this “once upon a time holy place” has changed so much in the last years... and today I don’t feel connected with it anymore. The cold weather helped us to make the decision to travel to Goa and experience something different in many aspects. We came down to find this amazing place called @purplevalleyyoga and we were lucky enough to be here while there was a workshop with two Ashtanga teachers and practitioners whom I admire a lot. Thank you @markrobberds and @deepikamehtayoga for hosting this retreat and for sharing with us the magic of this deep transformational practice, and gifting us many tools to grow from inside out. This photo was taken after Mysore practice... I feel the bliss of a wonderful first day here. Thank you my love @fotosbyboca for always spoiling me with beautiful pictures. ##yogaasana #ekapadarajakapotasana #hanumanasana #goa #indiajourney #svadhyaya #practicekindnessandcompassion #consciousnessawakening #selftransformation #luanafarayoga https://www.instagram.com/p/BtJKjNAgSsa/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1qu0n7m4vavua

[luanafarayoga]

You don’t have to put your leg behind the head to practice yoga, or to touch your head with your toes or even to touch the floor with your hands. I do Eka Pada Sirsasana in my asana practice because this is where my body naturally leads me to. This, similar to other postures less demanding of flexibility such as Janu Sirsasana, takes me to a place in which I have to bring all my attention to the breath, a place where I feel I have to do efforts in order to create space in my spine without creating rigidity, because I feel the benefits of it in my digestion... but we can get this benefits from many other postures which don’t require to put your leg behind the head. My Asana practice helps me to build heat or Fire 🔥 (Agni), so that I can purify my body from toxins, so at some point the 6 poisons of the mind can start to be burned: lust/ desire, anger, attachment, greed, envy/ jealousy and pride. For me Asana is a tool, it’s a means but not a goal. The state of yoga might come or not, in the meantime, our efforts whichever they are, are supposed to be helping us to become more aware of who we think we are, of what we really are, and the work that has to be done to remove the layers of what we are not. 📷👉🏽 @fotosbyboca #asana #ekapadasirsasana #asanapractice #svadhyaya #selfstudy #selfknowledge #selftransformation #consciousnessawakening #practicekindnessandcompassion #yogaisequanimity #luanafarayoga https://www.instagram.com/p/BtAK5pvgtGb/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ib8mxbf7u18y

[luanafarayoga]

Happy New Moon! 🌑🖤🌑 Today is a day for introspection, for reflecting on those emotions we have buried without even listening to them. Use the darkness outside to acknowledge the darkness within. Listen to the silence that resides underneath what seems to be an unstoppable noise in our mind. We try so hard to not be affected by outside circumstances, by our thoughts and actions, but the very truth is that for most of us being untouched by the outside is very far from reality, we get continuously affected by other’s words and reactions, by our own thoughts, by the unexpected results of what we thought was under our control. And so we develop emotions of discomfort, frustration, resentment, anger. The main problem is not the emotions but how we deal with them. We feel guilty of these emotions, and so we reject them, we condemn ourselves because we are feeling these dense energies. Guilt and repression are also dense energies of low vibration, so by repressing and rejecting something that is already inside of us, we just create even more heaviness inside. Instead of trying to not be affected by something when you are already, accept you are affected, not with guilt, but with understanding and compassion. That is the very first step to transform our dark emotions and thoughts into light. 📷👉🏽 @fotosbyboca #selfobservation #selfknowledge #svadhyaya #practicegratitude #practicekindnessandcompassion #yogaisequanimity #luanafarayoga https://www.instagram.com/p/BotyvBIn5Bt/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=9yetor0c42ss

[luanafarayoga]

Here I am, saying good bye to the beach with this magnificent sunset. Now I’m ready to start my journey to India. This is going to be my 7th trip to India, an auspicious journey, specially because this time I’m traveling with my beloved partner and husband @fotosbyboca who is beyond a partner, my companion on the spiritual path. I receive what is as a gift, sometimes I react with attachment to expectations and many times I try to control things as my desires and end up suffering, but everyday at some point of the day I remind myself that I am alive, and I’m just a leaf that floats in the winds of the Universe, so I feel gratitude within my heart. Thank you all which and who is part of my journey! . 📷👉🏽 @fotosbyboca #gratitude #sunset #costaricasunset #trivikramasana #yogaisequanimity #luanafarayoga https://www.instagram.com/p/Bsa07LaApzx/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=2c1k3tu3tgna

[luanafarayoga]

We are always trying to hide our light because we are afraid to shine... maybe because we were taught that our light was not radiant, or because we are afraid that if we shine too much we will turn off other’s light... which ever reason there is in our minds, is not real, it’s just what we have decided to believe in order to avoid facing the undeniable truth that we all are ever brilliant light. . . Stop hiding behind the fear to fail, go out there and take responsibility, do that which you have postponed and do it illuminating everything with your light. If you fall then you will fall shining, so you will find joy on starting over again. . . So don’t hide, the world needs your light, but even more important, you need to be your own light. SHINE! . Dream, Believe, Create & Trust... and no matter what, be grateful for who you are! . . 📷👉🏽 photo by @fotosbyboca some months ago in Rome . #belight #practicekindnessandcompassion #consciousliving #awake #yogaisequanimity #luanafarayoga https://www.instagram.com/p/BrnMcyVAdRq/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=18ek71u8zwkin

[luanafarayoga]

Asanas work in our gross body initially, but they have also the potential to work in our energetic body. The practice of Asana remove physical blockages and purify the body, improves the overall function of the digestive system, so as the endocrine, nervous, respiratory, immune and cardiovascular system. Asana provides strengt and flexibility to the muscles and mobility to the joints. Asana develops stability, control and propioception. But it also works on the mind, improving concentration and providing clarity of thoughts. Once the body and mind start to be purified through the consistent, continuos and devoted practice of Asana together with a yogic lifestyle, it starts to to work on the energetic body, specially when it is combined with breath, so not only the physical body but the nadis are purified. That’s when the subtle effects of the practice start to arise. It’s easy to get identified with Asanas, specially those which feel challenging or impressive, and that’s the nature of our ego. I do not believe we must fight it, but we should observe it and understand it, so we can let go of the attachments and identifications through compassion and not through rejection, so we can transcend that which keeps us from actually accessing our consciousness. 📷👉🏽 photo by my love @fotosbyboca at @macawlodgecr #tittibhasana #asana #sadhana #yogapractice #yogapath #practicegratitude #practicekindnessandcompassion #yogaisequanimity #luanafarayoga https://www.instagram.com/p/BooeTA6nhUs/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=16ot2cqb8obor

[luanafarayoga]

One of the most difficult things to practice while in Vasisthasana is to not push the lumbar forward. When we are in postures where balance is precarious we tend to counter act by collapsing the pelvis forward, which physically speaking will keep us in balance, but in terms on healthy biomechanics and alignments will not be necessarily the best for our body, specially for the spine. Instead of allowing the pelvis to collapse one must use the counter forces to create stability, bringing the pubic bone forward opposite to the femur bone that pushes back. Same with the torso, while the chest opens by bringing the anterior face of the shoulder blades into the body, the front ribs and belly wall resist moving backwards giving stability to the spine. It’s really not about the Asana we practice but about how we practice it. Opposite forces should always act to create space and expansion. We can practice all types of Asana that if we do not develop the awareness of how to use the body with smart biomechanics we will end up creating the opposite effect of what the practice of yoga is intended to bring. The main purpose of Asana is to create space in the spine so it prepares the body to allow the energy to flow through the main energetic channels (Shushumna Nadi eventually) when we meditate. The space in the spine is created by positioning the body limbs as levers, to bring the body weight to the axis aligned with the force of gravity, so when this happens less effort is required and while the expansion of the spine is created a state of inside softness or Sukha arises. 📷👉🏽 photo by my beautiful partner @fotosbyboca #vasisthasana #asana #yogaasana #sthirasukham #yogaisequanimity #practicekindnessandcompassion #luanafarayoga https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn1ouFznlcN/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1f4wic5l6yrvm

[luanafarayoga]

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Drop backs are medicine for my spine, for my breath, my energy and emotions. Everyday there is something new and unveiled. Most times I share a new understanding in biomechanics experiences in my body, or something related with a deeper understanding of a philosophical concept... some days, like today, the unveiling is so subtle and blissful that there is nothing to be said... 🌱 #dropbacks #asanapractice #urdhvadhanurasana #yogaisequanimity #luanafarayoga https://www.instagram.com/p/BmbQdGInRUZ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1xbu5nwnwh9h5