Exercising Patience

The most important thing to remember when practicing yoga and meditation is a patience. In order to succeed and grown in my yoga practice I have to demonstrate a willingness to wait for the rewards that are inevitably coming my way. Flexibility of body and mind and the challenge that naturally accompanies my steady improvement are the benefits that I am gleaning from my endeavors towards enlightenment of body and soul. I am seeing changes in the way I look at things and in the shape and grace of my body, and they are welcome augmentations to my life. Opening my root chakra is something that I see as essential to my development as a whole and well-rounded person. In that opening I can expand and move with confidence and more of a new-found strength then ever before. I can feel that difference inside me with each meditation and it's effects are very telling indeed.

Photo Credits: Carlos Porto

A Lazy Sunday

Even during a lazy Sunday, I still find the time to center in with yoga and meditation. It's already the 1st of May and I find myself reflecting on all that I have accomplished in the month of April. I've regularly practiced my EFT and plan to continue on in doing that. I haven't missed a day of yoga yet and my meditation is getting more powerful with each session. Today, as promised is the first day that I
focus in on strengthening my Root chakra. During meditations I am paying more attention to boosting the energy from the pelvic down to the feet, and I'm also going to purchase the appropriate stones and use aromatherapy and other Root chakra friendly methods to zero in on that zone. Stay tuned for improvements and another chakra test on June 1st. This year is going to be a year of breakthroughs and self-realization starting with the first day of the month!

Photo Credits: Graur Codrin

Stretching Past My Limits

Most of us have a preset stop-gap, a level of performance when we say this is the zenith of what I can achieve. Today my EFT and meditation and yoga is all about going past that marker to truly create something wonderful inside of me. I want to challenge myself and see if I can go further then I ever have before. Yesterday when I was performing my asanas in the nearby park, I could feel that my boundaries were about to be exceeded in short order, and for the first time ever in Janu Sirsasana I could almost touch my head to my knee. It was such a liberating feeling. I wasn't forcing it and I wasn't rushed. I could just breathe into each pose and it didn't feel urgent. I was at the end of my day on a nice and sunny afternoon. Children were gazing at the fish and ducks in the little made made lake, young lovers were kissing on benches and I was experiencing my own little personal Zen of a stretch. It felt ahhhhh... mazing, and it happened when I least expected it. No personal competition was waged inside my head and I didn't push it during the day or in my yoga practice so my body just unfurled to even newer possibilities. Today I'm going to try and duplicate that near-perfect no-pressure practice and see how much more ground I can cover. I'm just going to take my time and exceed my current abilities each time I inhale and let go...

Photo Credits: Ambro

Yoga And A Royal Wedding?

It's such a beautiful sunny day and I'm feeling romantic. Probably because of The Royal Wedding. A prince and a princess joining in matrimony just feeds into every girl's fantasy. And I will have to say the current prince and princess make a lovely couple. Hopefully it's a love-match because I looks to be. The theme of the day seems to be the outdoors. With that in mind, I think I'm going to take a while to myself and indulge in yoga in the open air of the nearby park. Just me, the wind, a large patch of grass and a Weeping Willow tree overhead. Now that the weather's nice, it will be wonderful to take in the fresh breeze and gratitude in some challenging and uplifting asana poses. Maybe being out in such dreamy weather will have an equally imaginative affect on my psyche and I'll enjoy sweet repose this evening boosted by the metaphysical toils of the day. And while everyone's still buzzing about the Royal Wedding between William and Cathrine, I'll be knee-deep in the bliss of a freeing yoga pose. Katy and Will should know such happiness right!

Photo Credits: Tom Clare

Opening Indigo

I've decided to leave all opening of my 7th chakra, the Crown chakra alone for now and solely for this year work on the first 6 chakras from Root Chakra to the Third Eye. This makes the Third Eye for all intents and purposes the temporary zenith of my meditation. I've noticed something about myself that a really good friend drew to my attention and that is that I rarely dream. Since vivid, clear dreams are a sign of an open Third Eye, I'm taking a wild guess here and making the assumption that my Third Eye needs working on. So to that end I'm going to work on opening my indigo (the color that represents the Third Eye chakra). And I'm going to keep at it until inspiration hits me smack between the eyes. Starting in the month of May I'm going to devote 1 month to each Chakra. May will be for the 1st of 6 chakras which is the Root Chakra. I will work on all 6 of my chakras with a focus on strengthening my Root. In October I will zero in on my Third Eye, and I just know that will be an amazing turning point in my journey. So here's to charging ahead into the future with no turning back!

Photo Credits:  Kenneth Cratty

Digging Deeper

Today I felt as if I unearthed something basic and elemental inside of myself. I can really see that the yoga, meditation and EFT are starting to show up in my life in ways that are totally unexpected. In my massage therapy, I've found that I am able to connect with the client and further assist in their healing. Because my inner self is calmer and more at peace I am able to project the energy of that tranquility onto my client. As my chakras are opening up I'm able to resonate not only with my clients but people that I meet in a more confident and grounded manner. Right now my soul is running bare foot down through a soft grassy meadow over-flowing with flowers and I'm throwing caution to the wind because I know that each step is sure and firm beneath me. My root chakra is anchored fearlessly in the ground and from that place I blossom.

Photo Credits: Federico Stevanin

Instant Serenity

When I meditate while visualizing the different points of energy that make up the chakras I imagine the colors associated with each point swirling clockwise on the body. I allow myself to surrender to the energy of each chakra and feel the waves of it strengthen all parts of my body mind and spirit connected to it. Now I find that when I focus in on my meditation it comes to me almost instantly and an overwhelming sense of calm descends over me right away. I focus in on a weak chakra and I'm able to zero in on it that much quicker. I guess like with anything practice makes perfect. I can say that more than anything, I am truly getting a grasp on exactly what it means to be joined together in body and mind. This must be what it feels like for a rock climber to glimpse the top of a cliff precipice and relish the obstacles ahead knowing that each hand-over-hand puts you closer to the destination; all the while missing the battle to the top before it's reached it's edge.

Photo Credits: Tom Curtis