Dali Lama Soup Kitchen

For a few days now, because of all the different news feeds I have 'liked' on Facebook, I keep getting this same memo for several different sources about the Dali Lama serving the homeless food in a San Francisco soup kitchen. I continue to feel shocked each time I read it and see the photographic proof. I feel stunned and deeply moved that I myself feel compelled and honored to share it here with you as well. This simple act really highlights the concept of Yoga In Action. That its more than meditation on a cushion or stretches on a mat, but it acting out love and kindness to the world in every day life, no matter your stature. Now it doesn't mean everyone need go out and volunteer, but just doing simple things like smiling at someone speeding on the highway verses giving them the bird, and actually meaning it, and feeling peace for them verses getting yourself all hot and upset.
Here is to fighting the good fight, with out fighting but with sharing kindess, big and small. =)

posted from Bloggeroid

Knowing Thy Self

One of the things I love most about doing the Asanas, the physical poses and postures of yoga is the awareness I gain over my whole body. The more you go through these movement and feel different muscles going to work, stretching, and lengthening anf gaining strength, when you leave the mat these things follow you throughout your day. I love being able to notice my ribs and my lungs just while sitting at a desk breathing, noticing the air pass in cool threw the nostrils, feeling the air go down my esaphagas (sp) to the top of my lungs, expanding my ribs and my diaphram as the air enters my lower lungs, and then slowing back up and out warming my nostrils as the air re-enters the atmostphere. I love being a short woman of 5 foot 2 inches, and yet I have gained to much perspective on my complete length throw yoga, and my awareness has grown tall. I am constantly noticing my heigth all the way from my toes, the the soles of my feet, through my ankles, up my legs and my hips, through my torso and spine all the way to the crown of my head, i feel like I am 10 feet tall. Even when sitting down, when I am not noticing my breath, I feel the length in my spine, from my sits bones or my tail bone all the way to my crown, my posture has gone from and sloppy feeling slouch to a ballerina weightlessness almost, just from sitting, I feel so poised, and what girl never dreamed of being a ballerina when she was little? Well I did, and its a thrill for the little girl in me to feel like I have tapped into that sensation.
I didnt have any special messages in this post, jsut merely felt whimpsical, and thought it sweet to share. =)

Basic Instinct

Had an interesting dream last night, details of which are not all that important, however the point of the dream is. To illustrate that point I shall detail a snippet of the dream. In this dream I was not the main character, 2 young men where, and they found themselves in a horror of a situation, but that horror became illrelevant to them when they found they were unable to breathe and began to sufficate. (Now thank goodness this was a dream and not a nightmare and they got out of their suppresive spot and were able to begin to breath again.) During this entire dream I was never once a part of the dream, like an audience memeber at a film, I was only just the dreamer merely observing. I note this because it became interesting that as the observer I started to actually think about this blog whilst I was dreaming and was thinking about the significants of the boys sufficating and how that relates to yoga, as I shall embelish here:

When the suffication occured they where in the middle of some horrrors and life dramas, so for majority of the dream you thought all they wanted, all they NEEDED was to rid themselves of there current situation. However when their bodies where unable to fuction properly due to a lack of oxygen, it became clear that all our external needs and wants never really amount to anything, because our basic need and want is to breathe, to live and survive. As with yoga, all our external needs and wants do not matter, because our basic need and want is to return to the former Self, to be aware of our Consciousness, and to know our perfection, and the perfection of the world, without anything extra, but just as everything is, complete and whole and perfect.

posted from Bloggeroid

Breathe

Durning the beginning of my classes I have my students sit down, close their eyes and start to focus solely on their breathing. Just inhaling and exhaling nice slow steady breaths to clear their minds, start to feel calm and relaxed, and to get them to focus on the proper way to breathe before we move into the postures to make sure the muscles gain the right amount of oxygen. Durning this time I sometimes invite my students to start to cycle their breathing and to conect their inhale to their exhale and their exhale to their inhale and breathe one long continuous breath.
This style of breathing is something I came up with one day to try and get my students to shift their prespective from duality to non duality, to start to realize how everything is interconnected and that nothing is seperate.
(Putting aside religious ideologies right now, not looking at beliefs of afterlife but just focusing on this current one for the sake of this blog):
In many yogic texts authors often write about how the path of yoga is a form of rebirth. Take reicarnation and karma for example. (Again letting go of what we traditionally know about it relating to what happens when you die.) In this life, especially in yoga these two events will take place. As you start to take on peace and learn about the Self and your Consciousness and let go of the Ego, you are infact going through a metamorphosis like reincarnation. You let go of your old self, sometimes its small like letting go of judgement or blame or learning to forgive, to some bigger examples perhaps you change jobs or social networks or give up items of monitary value- ie you rebirth yourself. Looking at Karma, the more you give the more you gain. In yoga the more love you share the more kindness that is passed along, the bigger your heart will grow and the more positive you will feel.
Like with the breathing, your rebirth in yoga is ever on going, the more you do, the more you change, and the more you come back to your purest self. Everything is connected, everything is on going, everything is as it should be, for if what was happening now wasn't what was supposed to be happening, then something else would have happened.

Just a few words from me to you =)
Namaste everyone
~Stephanie

posted from Bloggeroid

26 Bikram Yoga Poses- aka Hot Yoga

http://www.bikramyoga.com/BikramYoga/TwentySixPostures.php

(Apologies- blogger is not allowing me to upload the poses, so please check out the link above to see the only moves used in hot yoga studios. I felt it was interesting to post these, because every class is repetitive practice, the same moves, in the same order in a room that is 105 degrees, sure to get you in shape physically and work on your attention and gradification mentally *^_^*)

If Everyone Cared

http://youtu.be/-IUSZyjiYuY

"If Everyone Cared"

From underneath the trees, we watch the sky
Confusing stars for satellites
I never dreamed that you'd be mine
But here we are, we're here tonight

Singing Amen, I, I'm alive
Singing Amen, I, I'm alive

[Chorus:]
If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Then we'd see the day when nobody died

And I'm singing

Amen I, Amen I, I'm alive
Amen I, Amen I, Amen I, I'm alive

And in the air the fireflies
Our only light in paradise
We'll show the world they were wrong
And teach them all to sing along

Singing Amen, I, I'm alive
Singing Amen, I, I'm alive
(I'm alive)

[Chorus x2]

And as we lie beneath the stars
We realize how small we are
If they could love like you and me
Imagine what the world could be

If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Then we'd see the day when nobody died
When nobody died...

[Chorus]

We'd see the day, we'd see the day
When nobody died
We'd see the day, we'd see the day
When nobody died
We'd see the day when nobody died

Quotes

'The word Yoga signifies the means to realization of one's true nature.' - Sri K. Pattabhi Jois

'The Yoga Sutras are a road map to the Self. Within the Yoga Sutras we discover both the problem and the solution. The four aims of life are the arenas in which we enact our return to the self. The eight limbs of yoga are the day-to-day choices and actions that we take, within those arenas, to connect to the self.' - Rolf Gates

'I realized the truth when my practice was no longer about results. As long as i was practicing to get somewhere, I was able to understand where I was. For me, the breakthrough came while I was teaching, and watching my students struggle with this on their mats. As I taught others to become still, my teachings began to seep into my own awareness.' - Rolf Gates

'Whatever you were doing with your body before you came to the mat is in the past. You are in the right place at the right time, and the sky is the limit.' - Rolf Gates

'We enjoy our practice because, as we flow through the postures each day, we are learning, we are growing. Showing up for something different, being willing to be a beginner again, is one of the ways we keep our practice alive. We are here to learn.' - Rolf Gates

'In class I often say that we can never enter the same rive twice, experience the same posture twice, or take the same breath twice.' - Rolf Gates

'Often times we need yoga the most, when we want it the least.' - Rolf Gates

A Healthier Happier You-2

You may recall back in February I made a post with the first entry from this book in it, the book A healthier Happier You- 101 Steps for Lessening Stress by Lorraine Bosse-Smith. Today I bring you parts 2 and 3.:

'2- Give and Receive Love

LOVE. It's such a small word, but more songs, more poems, more movies, and more books have been on the topic of love than any other subject. Love has the power to ignite our dormant power, allowing us to accomplish amazing feats. Love inspires people to be better and do more with their lives, and it is why men can face horrors of war with courage. we need love to live a healthy life. Give it freely and often! '...

'We typically have no problem giving love to others; this is especially true for women. By women's design and nature, we are caretakers, giving of ourselves to others. In fact, we tend to put other people's needs before our own. What we fail to do, however is let ourselves be loved.

I used to struggle with receiving gifts of love until I head a meassage preached on the subject. I don't remember who spoke or where I was, but the message stuck with me. Love cannot be given unless it is first received.' ... ' If I refuse someone's gift of love, i have denied that person the joy of giving. As a result, i prevent both of us from being blessed. Do i really want to interfere with what someone else feels he or she wants to do? No, I do not!

The world needs love. You and I need love. We would all benefit from giving a little more love and offering less judgement and criticism. Just remember that someone also wants to give love to you. Let them- and let love come into your life!'

'3- Set Your perimeter and Honor It-
IN A DAY when we expect 'free roaming' for our cell phones and don't want to be fenced into a contract, we may have difficulty understanding the concept of boundaries. But, as long as land has existed, we have created lines that define 'what is mine' and 'what is yours' and 'what is theirs'.' ...
'Do you know anyone who has had a nervous breakdown? Chances are they gave too much and never set limits. Then one day, they had nothing left to give and collapsed.
Think of your emotions like a bank account. if you only make withdrawals, your account becomes overdrawn or empty.' ... 'We all must protect ourselves by understanding what we can give, what we are willing to give, and what we are able to give.' ...
'Then, when you set those limits, make sure you honor them. In doing so, you will reduce your stress and care for your mental, emotional, and physical states. You are the only 'you' on this planet. Be good to yourself.' !!!

Much love everyone!
~Stephanie <3

Yogic Challenge

I encourage all you current and future students to really try and be the postures rather than do the posture. What I mean is when you hear your teacher instruct you to be in downward facing dog or tree or fish or child or bridge or warrior, instead of solely focusing on where your feet or you gaze or you navel should be, go beyond your limbs and challenge your mind to embrace these poses and their identities. Feel the innocence and soathing comfort of being a child at rest in child's pose, feel the strength and courage in warrior, feel the unjudgemental peace of a tree that knows not of want or monitary value but is humbled to just feel the rays of the sun. I challenge you to go forth and deepen your yogic understanding in practice.

posted from Bloggeroid

Yoga Pains

So often people get confused about yoga and healing pain and injuries, so I thought I would take a moment to clear some things up. There is no yoga out there that will heal any pain within one session. No its not a ploy to get students to keep coming, and its not a smoke screen promising healing when there is none there. Yoga is good for the sick and injured, if you're willing to put in the time and do the work. Any of you ever have an appendicitis before? Well I personally haven't, but my twin sister has- Hi Jess *^_^* anywho to make my point going in for surgery for an appendicitis or any other surgical procedure like getting your tonsils removed, usually you go in to rid yourself of a lot of pain and to cure yourself of a serious health problem. Question number 2 is, how many of you have had an operation or a surgery or a medical procedure and just walked out of the hospital 10 minutes later singing and dancing and going back to work and coming home later to make love to your significant other? Nobody! That's right. There is always postop. pains, and a recovery time, to have to heal from your procedure to finally be free from your suffering from the original ailment. Same with yoga, often times you will maybe even feel worse leaving a class than when you went in. Pushing aside that something went wrong, and looking at things from the perspective that you did the class perfectly, spot on, you will leave for home that day and maybe 2 days still after experiencing healing pains. The more you attend class the less the healing pains will hurt, and eventual, unless you have a very sever medical problem with in 2 to 4 weeks you should notice your original health problem disipate, and a few weeks after that it should be gone forever. So for those who might find classes challenging or upsetting or painful, I encourage you to stick with it, your instructor knows what he or she is doing and they will guild you into healing.

posted from Bloggeroid

Vancouver Sun

For those who don't do a lot of meditation, I feel a good way to describe it would be for those in the Vancouver/Portland area to take a look out their windows right now. Awe the sweet fresh air, that hint of warmth that tickles the senses, the sun peeking in and out of the clouds all playful and shy, this is what meditation feels like: beautiful weather! *^_^*
The way the sun just creeps in under your skin and gives you a slight spring in your step, and you wish you knew how to whistle because you get a jonty tune stuck in your head. The way that you feel so happy that your are left without 'spazz energy' and just feel weightless, the way you slowly start to realize its not happiness you are feeling, but bliss, peace. Yes this is what meditation feels like, like a beautiful sunny day, no matter what the actual forcast is.
Those on the westcoast I encourage you to go outside and play, or at least open a window, and enjoy!

posted from Bloggeroid

Identity: Who Are We, Really?

So often is the custom in American culture when meeting someone new we ask : what is your name, where are you from and what do you do? Odd isn't it? What we do often refers to what form of employment we have, which then once answered gives way to our social status and importance.
I have read that with so many different choices out there many 20 something year olds face what is now been dubbed the 'Quarter Life Crisis' facing the questions of who and I and what should I do? There is often so much stress after high school graduation to not only pick a college but to pick a major to then know what it is you are going to do the rest of your life and thusly define who you are supposed to be. This stress can sommetimes lead to dropping out of the education program until someone figures out what they want to do, or taking a temporary employement position after graduation to figure out what to do whilst waiting to discover who we are.
With everything happening now in the 21st century with the market crash and unemployement at a staggering high, it adds even more stress and pressure to define ourselves. And what of those that do not find even a temporary position to fill? Often those on Unemployement are seen as less, as unvalued, often times not viewed as people at all.
I find this very heartbreaking that this is 'The Maerican Way' when a job is simply supposted to be an aid in gaining funds, and funds are what is supposed to aid us in meeting our basic needs of food, water, shelter, and are carnal needs like going out and having fun.
I thought I would take some time to remind everyone that our employement status has no barring on who we are as individuals, whether you work 80 hours a week or none at all, who you are is in no way related to what you do. Who you are is about finding what you have on the inside, and what you wish to share on the outside. You have value, work or no work. You are beautiful job or no job. Your personality, your Consciousness, your love, that is who you are. Know it, love it, embrace it, and don't allow anyone else the power of trying to suggest or tell you otherwise. Celebrate being you, because it truly is a wonderful thing!
Love you all! Namaste~
Stephanie

posted from Bloggeroid

Space Memory

I mentioned before that I myself am a nerd, however I did not mention that my husband is one too. Daily he enjoys using his android phone to search the web and keep up on different news feeds to constantly fill his head with new facts and data. Today he was sharing with me about a few new theories and ideas about the afterlife. First one he shared was the idea that when our bodies give out our Consciousness lives on relieving the same life, but with the ability to make changes. He made the comparison then that it is less like reviewing a home movie and more like replaying the same video game, where all the plot points are the same but how you get there can change. The second one he shared with me was that if creation happened from The Big Bang, then there would have to be a Big Crunch. He explained this as being if the Universe grows and expands that there would have to come a point where it starts to crunch from going out to far and sink back in on itself and then have another Big Bang and another Big Crunch and would be like Reincarnation for the whole Universe. He also suggested that in this theory, similiar to multiuniverses we would have events after The Big Bangs play out the same, for example he and I would continue to be married and in this apartment over and over again.
From here he went on a 'nerd rambling' about Gaia, which in short is the theory that each planet has its own spirit and when we die we are reconnected with it.

Sorry hunny for the following: in his little ramble I ended up getting lost in my own thoughts, one thing led to another and I got stuck thinking about meditation. For those who do not practice, to fill you in a little, when you are devoted to meditation on a regular basis it is traditionally done in a sacred space. This does not always need to be a temple it can be in your own home, you can chose a whole room or just a courner, usually with a special cushion or seat, can decorate with inscents or candles, etc. Also in meditation it is custom to have a habit or a ritual in while you meditate at specific times for specific durations and you want to do something to introduce yourself to your space and your practice, an example might just be to bow to honor the practice that will take place before you sit.
There are many different reasons why we invoke the space in such a manner (for detailed reasonings and for different practice styles and techniques I highly suggest read: Meditation for the Love of It, by author Sally Kempton.) One of the reasons is because of the idea that spaces hold memory. (Which this is the connection that had my mind go from Gaia to meditation, incase anyone was wondering.) This I find to be a beautiful concept, and one that makes sense to my scientific brain aswell. What we bring to a space, we leave in the space, whether we mean to or not. Would be why when you go to work day after day lunch break after lunch break the space always feels the same, or why when you go home you just start to physically and emotionally feel different, or why some people get chills in areas claiming to be haunted, because we leave our energy behind, and return to it over and over again. This is why it is so important that when we go to work or when we go to bed or return to our yoga mats that we make a conscious effort to leave our negativity behind, and keep the proper energy and focus in their rightful spaces. =)

posted from Bloggeroid

Dreams

Ever have really lucid dreams, that when you first wake up in the morning your reality is still there in the dreams for maybe a few seconds or a few minutes of perhaps a couple of hours? When you feel like you have unfinished buisness, something you need to do in life because you woke up before you could in your dream? Or perhaps you are just left with an odd feeling the rest of the day until you nap or go to bed the next night? Today in particular is not one of those days for me. However watching one of my favorite films right now (Terminator 2: Judgement Day) whilst doing some laundry, something in the film reminds me of one of the more impressionable dream_haze days that I experienced about a year ago.
I found myself really overwhelmed with the thought of life. Of the concept, and the reality. How its here and now, how its you and me, how its happening ALL over the globe, and how life was here before us, with others in history and past lives, and how when we die it will still be here, it will still continue on for generation upon generation. How life itself never dies!
Not a lot of words in this post, but if you take some time to pause and truly digest it all and experience the magnitude of it, I'm certain your following days will be a vastly different experience.
~Namaste

posted from Bloggeroid

New Month- March Summary

First off sorry that March had fewer posting than February, guess I got a little too carried away with this apartment hunting. Currently I live in Downtown Vancouver in a very old building so there are no phone jacks for me to have internet on my desktop computer, so going to the library for only 1 hour of internet a day I have to be very focused on utilizing the time wisely, and currently that means finding my husband and I a new place to reside. Do not mean any disrespect or to show anyone any anti-love or anything, i promise to be more dedicated to my viewers starting here this April. *^_^*

As for March, a short recap:

HIRO!- was a post with a quote from the show Heroes, overall pointing out the difference between ego and peace.

ER- was a true story from a nurse from an Emergency Room visit last month about a dying child really grasping what it means to live! =)

Bitch It Out- Was some Cosmo wisdom about not belittling yourself and saying sorry, and it was where i asked you all to share what you like about yourselves, no one ended up responding, so I never made an updated post. =(

Meditations from the Mat- I wrote a direct passage from my favorite book by Rolf Gates, and then shared some of my own voice and insights about some naked yoga facts and truths!

Come Home- was a music video and its lyrics I thought were inspiring and wasn't a yoga song, but I felt it shared a yogic message, should take a listen to it, I provided a YouTube link.

Megan Fox- in short was a post about yoga enlightenment and what it really means to forgive and forget.

Been A While- i was just giving you an update about my apartment hunting and why postings were scarce.

Pretty Little Liars- sorry I honestly was feeling hurt when I wrote it, but was not trying to rant, some say it still sounded like a rant, but my overall point and message was to embrace peace and love and truth and honesty and to know that we don't have to lie to get what we need/want in this life/world. =)

That is it for March. I encourage you all to view the posts in full if you haven't already..  my personal favorites are Megan Fox, HIRO, and ER. =)

Thank you all ago so very much for all the love and support... oh and if it helps I changed some settings on here so you don't have to have a Google account to leave comments... I would love interaction from anyone willing, goofy comments, profound comments, questions.. anything.. even an emicon or a 'k' or 'hi'.. feel free to leave anything. =)

Love you all!
~Namaste