Going Even Futher...

My gosh! Today is day 3 of my yoga and chakra challenge, and I'm just buzzing with good vibes. All my life I was told that perfection was the ultimate goal for a human being to strive to. There was a lot of pressure put upon me by my parents to conform to the rigors of their cultist believe system. This put so much negative mental programming inside my head that I'm using EFT to gradually wash it away from my psyche. It's a process, as with everything worth attaining in life. Yoga and meditation are teaching me that one day at a time.The thing about yoga and chakra balancing is that it's not about perfection but about maintaining equilibrium and balance. Both practices marry the smooth calm of self-control with the liberation of letting go. In my practice today I did just that. I said goodbye to my inhibitions and trusted in the firm foundation of strength I'm building within my mind and body giving my heart permission to just release... In just 3 short days I've made a lot of progress. I feel as if my chakras are starting to stretch, breathe and test their boundaries which are limitless. When I first begin to meditate on my solar plexus region at the beginning of this challenge, trying to imagine the yellow swirling vortex of energy was hard. I would actually have to look at the color yellow and then close my eyes to visualize it. Now I can close my eyes and almost feel the invisible energy radiating just below the apex of my ribs right in the concave spot just beneath them; spinning, for now a subtly muted yellow going clockwise in the right direction. It's not strong but it's there. Reflecting on my root chakra I can feel it getting more confident, spinning slowly and steadily; a warm muted scarlet, radiating from the base of my pelvic floor right down to the tips of my toes as I pose tall and sure in Warrior 1 position. Today I made a major breakthrough in Urdhva Dhanurasana pose. Whereas before I couldn't even lift the weight of my body, I am now able to raise significantly higher to look behind myself. I wasn't fully extended upwards by a long shot, but I could feel my pelvis and ribcage jutting forward, begging to go further. And I will let them, with a little more practice and patience. "Quiet down ego. You'll take this one step at a time," I tell myself smiling in understanding,drenched in the sweat of my pleasant labors. Today's cell phone horoscope? "Sagittarius, unlike most people today, you will have your feet planted firmly on the ground."

Photo credits: Savit Keawtavee

Moving Through Personal Challenges With 4 Simple Phrases

"If you want to solve a problem, no matter what kind of problem, work on yourself," says Dr. Ihaleakala Hew Len. In a sense isn't that what a daily routine of yoga is all about? You learn from yourself and your mistakes, forgive yourself and begin anew. During today's yoga practice, I decided to implement Ho'oponopono. Ho'opono...What? Ho'oponopono is an ancient Hawaiian prayer that uses four of the most healing phrases a human being can ever utter. It is an exercise in deep humility, and it is a powerful lesson. The theory of  Ho'oponopono surmises that we attract whatever harms or wrongs come into our lives by not having been healed from within. For more understanding of the process of Ho'oponopono, please read this link to an interview with Dr.Ihaleakala Hew Len, a Ho'oponopono guru who has used this wonderful process to heal thousands of people all over the world! It's nothing short of miraculous and will give the rest of your day a huge burst of inspiration. An insightful and well-written book on the subject was co-authored by Dr.Ihaleakala Hew Len Ph.D, and self-improvement coach Joe Vitale called Zero Limits. It gives an in depth look at Ho'oponopono and how it can be used in everyday life. There is also an official website which discusses Ho'oponopono and lists dates to Dr. Len's workshops. In the meantime,the prayer of Ho'oponopono goes as follows or some variation thereof. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you." Whether or not you believe this to be the case doesn't matter and doesn't change the fact that these four phrases have great impact when spoken.They can calm the most angry or hopeless of situations, if said with honesty, sincerity, and humbleness. Think back to some of the most trying, stressful times in your life, or reflect on a person place or thing that makes you angry and repeat for 1-2 minutes this incredible mantra. You will notice that after a while you feel better just by saying the words to yourself while focusing on the matter. First start with someone or something you love deeply but have a problem with, and say the mantra, then progress to someone you don't dislike but don't know well. From there go on to someone you dislike, and then on to someone you hate. Just say to the person or issue at hand, "I'm sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you. I love you." You may notice wonderful things happen around the subject you're dealing with, or it might simply cease to be important. Practice Ho'oponopono when you are faced with a challenge or obstacle and notice profound differences in your thinking towards the goal you are trying accomplish. Really be open-minded to whatever change you feel occurring within your mindset. Look for any shift in your thought pattern that will lead you to a more positive resolution and even if you feel resistance, take that path. This chant is all about letting go of ego and selfishness, and opening up to compassion and love. Make today about these 4 short sentences. Take a long grounding breath in and say "I'm sorry. Please Forgive me. Thank you. I love you."


Photo Credits: Scott Chan

New Horizons And Beginnings...

The first day of my yoga challenge and the conscious effort to open my clogged or closed chakras has finally come, and the dawning of this particular sun has already taught me a valuable lesson. Humility. My cell phone's daily horoscope message sounded well into my first real yoga practice in a long time. When the little chiming sound alerted me, I didn't know it then but that text message held a thought that would reverberate though my hour-long session of twists and turns. Mr. Rodney Yee's wonderful DVD, Power Yoga: Total Body workout is a 65 minute routine that will strengthen and fortify both your endurance,form, and flexibility. I found it to be both soul-nourishing and difficult at the same time.The emphasis on breath-work and form is amazing. I must have been a little more then halfway through the DVD when my cell went off. Strangely enough Rodney was taking me through a series of poses to stretch out my lower back and hip region and prepare me for some more advanced positions, the toughest of which I could not fully complete. An asana, Mr. Yee calls the Forward Bow pose, also known as Urdhva Dhanurasana is a posture that I used to be able to fulfill, if not in the most graceful manner, at least with a reasonably correct form. Now months off slacking in my practice later I realized with a significant amount of bruised pride, what I have lost. I failed to cherish my practice daily and be grateful for the gift of my body. This led to losing hard-won goals and accomplishments I had gained within it. I came to see that by neglecting my daily yoga practice, I was being careless with my own body,and the part of my mind and soul that greatly benefited from it. I will endeavor to the best of my abilities not to make that mistake again. After my yoga practice was over I felt refreshed, more aligned in my posture and ready to face the day. I reached down to my bed to where my cell phone lay and checked my text message. It read "Sagittarius, communication is about more than talking and listening -- it's about understanding." That phrase struck a cord with my practice. As I move consciously and wordlessly  breathe through each asana, my body is talking to me. It's telling me things that teach me silent lessons each time a muscle is stretched and protests because of a physically trying position. It's speaking with every ache or pain or ahhhh... as a compressed area is released. It's saying 'even though you haven't been taking good care of this part of me, thank you for healing it. It's been a while so don't let your ego hurt me". My response? "I'll be back on that mat again at 6 am tomorrow morning OK."

Reflections Of The Day

I'm ready for tomorrow. I really do feel like I'm indeed embarking on a personal trip to enlightenment. There is a solidness within myself that I find hard to describe and I'm ready for the long haul. I kept everything very simple today. Just a single meditation about fears that you can find at the bottom of the blog and a few EFT videos By Margaret Lynch and Tim Watts. I also did an inspiring mind movie by Lila Sakura. This helped to really raise my mood even higher. I have to remark that every since yesterday's Qigong Workshop, I feel as if I'm flying on this wave of energy! And is it a wonderful ride. I can't stop thinking about the thrilling sensations my body experienced during the long distance Qigong session. I never would have thought it was possible to be healed in that way. Dwelling on those pleasant thoughts has me envisioning tomorrow's yoga session with excitement and my outlook is adventurous. I'm sure that I'll topple over a million times while I find my sea legs but the reward of completing my goals will be sweet enough to seal the deal of follow-through. So though I might feel like a klutz for a few weeks eventually I'll gain grace and balance. Basking in the energetic after-glow tomorrow seems like it will be nothing but full of promise; one that as each day propels me forward, I'll want to keep. That is to say, my commitment to yoga and all of my wayward chakras. Something tells me I'm gonna need crystals I can get my hands on. LOL.

Energy Flow With Qigong

I'm posting this blog directly after attending the free, long distance Qigong Energy Workshop. I don't know how many people were in attendance this evening but I sense that it was a great number. I started to feel the surges of energy about 15 minutes before the workshop even started. I had invited a friend of mine to Skype with me and we went through the workshop together. He put in his intention to join about 45 minutes before the workshop began and already he was remarking that he felt something within a few minutes of enrollment. This was even before I did, at around 6:33 pm. The whole time we were relating our experiences to each other. It was nothing short of amazing! It might sound crazy and a little out there. But I didn't know what to expect and I got what I least expected. Huge results! Because I'm not a skeptic by any means, but I do take what I hear with a grain of salt, I was being practical about the whole thing. But it was wonderful when to my surprise I definitely felt something working! It's always nice when traditional science is thrown on it's ear. I find that it makes a person more open-minded to accept some of the unexplainable events in life. With that thought in mind, I decided to take notes on the changes my body went through, if any during the workshop. Here is a rundown of my own observations throughout the session.

6:46 PM: A chill ran through my body and all of a sudden I felt really cold. I actually went to check and see if the heater was on and it was. The temperature was about 75 degrees Fahrenheit and I was still cold. My hands and arms in particular felt chilly to the touch. Then I remembered that the Qigong blog where I read about the workshop, mentioned that people expelling negative energies might feel cold. It was a trip!

6:53 PM: I felt a surge of energy hit me straight in the chest and fill up my body starting at my heart and pulsing outwards.

7:02 PM: My body was literally humming with energy, though my extremities were still pretty icy.

7:07 PM: I noticed a pronounced amount of heat in my kidneys. This was interesting because I had just had in infection in that area and though I am almost healed from it a few symptoms have lingered. I'm curious as to what the final effects will be. Especially since kidney problems run in my family. Also a strange ticklishness was emanating from my solar plexus region and there was a vibrating in my root chakra area. Goosebumps ran from my thighs down to the tips of my toes.

7:35 PM: My body felt quiet. That's the only term I can use to describe it. My fingertips felt all tingly and hot like circulation was buzzing through them. I could feel the blood rushing through my body.And when I held up my hands they were bright pink from the rushing blood.

7:38 PM: A comfortable warmth settled all over my body. The goosebumps and the chills running through my legs started to subside and gradually be replaced by heat.

8:00 PM: I felt an abundance of warmth. I felt great, like a load had been lifted! The entire experience has left me with a  profound sensation of fulfillment and inner peace. It's difficult to describe it. If they ever have another one of these, I'm going to be there with bells on and whistles blowing.

Apprehensions Of The Day

Sitting here typing, I ask myself, don't I have the right to feel a little wary about the task ahead? What if I don't complete it? What if my chakras don't improve noticeably? What if nobody reads these posts? What if? I think I need to do a round of EFT on all these negative emotions and get a little un-stuck. A valuable way of using my time would be to decide which yoga DVD I'm going to use on Tuesday. In truth, I'm anticipating reanimating my dead sun salutations a lot and will probably start a DVD early on both Sunday and Monday. But I don't think two days will make a difference in the scheme of things. We're talking about a deep commitment that will begin over the course of a month, with the intention of yoga being practiced everyday. Hopefully this will translate into an active daily habit of practice. I think I will pick a few different DVDs, alternating between Yoga For Beginners and Power Yoga by Rodney Yee and Kundalini Yoga With Gurmukh. I was first introduced to Yoga as a regular physical practicum when I begin studying massage therapy. I had no former knowledge of yoga prior to my first class actually. As a matter of fact the class practiced Rodney Yee's AM/PM Yoga DVD. Later that week during class I was introduced to Kundalini with Gurmukh. I'm having a deja vu moment! I only have fond memories of those massage therapy school days, trying to memorize anatomy while standing it warrior pose. Suddenly I'm awash with nostalgia and I'm actually anticipating feeling the first soreness of the muscles I don't normally use in a traditional workout routine. A couple of days of this and my whole body will feel like breathing. Ahhh... 

A Time of Pure Energy...

Chakras like an unseen circulatory system are swirling through my body. I choose to see them as the colors they represent. A vibrant red for the the grounding of the root chakra, bright orange for the sacral region, an energetic burst of yellow for the solar plexus, an vivid green encasing and protecting the soft pink, tenderness of the heart chakra's center, the clarifying turquoise blue of the throat chakra, lending lucidity when open, the deep indigo blue of the third-eye with  it's potential for uncanny perception, and the white-hot violet of the crown chakra; the same color as the fiercest of flames, burning with the mystical secrets of divinity. Today I imagine myself full of unbounding energy as the week pulls itself to a close. I'd like to take this opportunity of enlightenment to extend an invitation for energetic healing. A wonderful blog for the healing power of Qigong invites all citizens of the world to be present and work to show that we are pure energy; all connected to our universal sense of being. Be a force for healing without doing a thing, and attend this free Qigong energy workshop. What do you do? Blissfully. Nothing. Just click on this link, and purposefully intend to be present with me and perhaps thousands of others, sharing a world full of energy on Sunday Feb 27th at 7-8 PM Pacific Standard Time. Experience the love and the healing without taking a step off your comfortable couch. I think of that day I will practice yoga about 20 or 30 minutes before, take a quick refreshing soak in an invigorating aromatherapy oil and just relax into the bath of energy hitting me from a million different angles, as I send my positive vibes back to everyone in attendance. How does it work? Perhaps quantum physics, perhaps, spirituality, or some other unexplained elements. I choose to believe that it is the power of a thousand thoughts all merging in one place at one time. What a heady combination...