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photo courtesy of kumah.org
A wonderful gift yoga brings to the practitioner is the awareness that body and breath are connected and further exploration on that subject will lead the practitioner to experience the connection of the mind and spirit as well.   

A beautiful beginning exercise in fostering that connection of body, breath and mind is a walking meditation.  Walking meditation is profoundly beneficial and has been an exercise used in many traditions.    I will give you two examples of walking meditation to enjoy.  One comes from the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh and another from Kundalini Yoga Teacher Gurucharan Singh from his book, Breathwalk.

I saw a video of Thich Nhat Hanh teaching a group of people a walking meditation.  His energy was as if he were standing right next to me.  He spoke of walking meditation and how to accomplish it.

You must walk with no goal.  So, no time frame, no destination.  Taking simple steps that contain happiness and joy.   Walk as if each footstep makes an imprint on the earth.  And within the imprint your foot makes, lies the feelings you hold inside of you.   Do it as if you are the happiest person on the earth! 
Because there is no goal, no destination, walking is not a means but an end itself. 

It is said that when you see with the eyes of the Boddhisattva, you can see within the footprints a person has made how that person felt when he or she made those footprints;  stressed, worried, serene, joyous...

Suppose I had a miraculous power to take you to the pure land of Amida Buddha, or for Christians to The Kingdom of God.  Once there, how would you walk?  Would you walk with sorrow and anxiety?  Would you place sorrow and anxiety upon the land? 

Make steps as if you imprint your foot on the earth and the footprint contains your happiness, joy, serenity, love and peace.  It can be done.  Walk and breath love into each step.  And with each joyous step you make, you create heaven here on earth.  You create the pure land here on earth.

Kundalini Yoga's Gurucharan Singh Khalsa has a technique of walking and breathing with mantra.  The walking can be at any pace, the breath: in 4 counts and out 4 counts.  The way you keep track of the counts is with the mantra Sa Ta Na Ma.
Sa Ta Na Ma can translate to birth, life, death, rebirth. 
On the inhale and with each step you think a syllable: (step) Sa, then (step) Ta, then (step) Na, and then (step) Ma and then exhale and likewise, with each step think a syllable: Sa, Ta, Na. Ma.
It is simple, energizing and renewing. 

Try one or both meditations and note how you feel before, after, during!  Take time to destress and renew your body, mind and spirit each day with breath and movement. And remember to train the mind as well as the body.  For if the mind is untrained and runs wild, then life is dramatic, traumatic and more painful than needs to be.

In Peace,
~Kirsten
 
 
Imagine a day that from the moment you wake up in the morning until you close your eyes at night it is filled with everything you normally experience each and every day; light, family, laughter, stress, tension, work, play, food, friends, shock, knowing, confusion, finances, spirituality, exercise, darkness...only this day you wake up smiling inside and out, and you go to sleep at night smiling inside and out.  You may be tired from all the activity, but you are not weary, exhausted or down.

Imagine taking everything that comes your way and knowing what to do with it, or at least knowing that it is here and not allowing it to rule your life. (The easy moments as well as the more challenging ones!)  

I will let you in on a secret: start you day off right and every moment of each day will be spent in love, joy and gratitude; challenges and all.  

How do you start your day off right?  By giving the first moments of your day to YOU.  You and that which is larger than yourself. 

Wake each morning, allowing yourself a set amount of time, preferably enough time for a cup of water with fresh lemon and then your tea or coffee and then time for working your body, mind and spirit.  

For me, I need 1 1/2 hours.  For others, less and for others more! 

As an example, this is my morning routine: I wake up, have a tall glass of water with fresh lemon juice, a quick cool shower and then enjoy my warm chai.  That is 20 minutes so far.  Then I spend 10 minutes tuning in to myself and that which is larger than myself. (God, God-Consciousness, the Universe, whatever you call it).  I sit cross legged, hands in prayer pose, gently close my eyes and begin with words of gratitude.  I then envision what I want or need in my life (as detailed as possible ) and I do not allow myself to think small; I think BIG!   Then I practice kundalini yoga for 30 - 50 minutes. 

When I start my day with my own time, anything can happen and I I can handle it with grace and loving-kindness.  I do not spend ANY time during the day thinking "When am I going to get some time to myself?  When am I going to do my practice?  When am I going to...".  

I challenge you to try it on for a week.  Set your alarm an hour earlier or more. (and for those of you thinking you couldn't possibly lose any precious sleep time believe me when I say
you will be more energized!  You'll spend less time using up your body's energies worrying and stressing so you can burn that energy on more important activities!)   Try it. 

If you do not know what to do for yourself during that time then here is a suggestion for starters:  
-wake up and drink a tall glass of cool water with 1/2 lemon squeezed into it.
-have a cool or lukewarm shower (AWESOME way to wake up)
-drink 1 cup of warm tea (or coffee)
-sit comfortably and meditate on gratitude and then goals in your life.
-spend 20 minutes practicing yoga, or stretches, sit-ups, push-ups, squats, crunches...anything you are familiar with that works your body.
-lay out on your back for at least 5 minutes and relax.  close your eyes and breathe long and deep.
-get up slowly, go to the bathroom and splash your face with cold water; blot dry and then go have your second cup of tea. 
-your day will now be yours!  

Be the light!
Kirsten
 
Detoxify or die! 11/21/2009
 
Hello beautiful people!

Okay, I know that title is dramatic!  But, detoxification is very imprtant for the body, the mind and spirit.

The process of detoxification is just that; a process.  An ongoing one at that!  We need to make it part of our regular living habits; somewhat like laundry!  Perhaps not every day, but often enough to keep things clean!

For the body:

Starting out by eating green smoothies in the morning and then keeping it light until lunch...or even better keeping it light all the way to dinner will enhance your detoxification!  Green smoothies, fruit, salads, perhaps some easy veggie or nut pates (recipes page) can keep our energy levels UP, UP, UP so we can accomplish MAJOR goals in less time!  Then, at dinner, eat cooked meals, preferably vegetarian with light meats a couple times a week (or cut out meat completely).

Eating light doesn't mean carrot and celery sticks.  Although those are tasty and healthy quick snacks, there is a plethora of tastes and textures to explore!  Try the recipes on this site and begin to experience yourself and others on a deeper level.

Eating light keeps the mind light, the heart light and allows our energies to go towards greater things than our digestion!

A daily physical routine is another way to contribute to the detoxification process.  Sweating, aerobic activity, movement all stimulate the organs, blood and the body's natural chemicals to secrete.  Kundalini Yoga is my physical activity of choice.  In kundalini, the bodily postures and movements help to stimulate the glands to secretes properly; the postures massage the internal organs and help to flush them of impurities.

So move!  Do something you enjoy; walk, run, swim, bike, play a basketball, do yoga, hike, climb, do what you love remember to breathe! Completely fill your lungs and completely empty your lungs.  The simple act of breathing will boost your energy levels quickly, effectively and for free!  It doesn;t come in a plastic package; it isn't served with a straw!  It is free!  You already own it.  Breathe and you will grow.

For the mind:
Yoga also works the mind.  This is a main reason I practice this form of physical exercise daily.  Training the body alone will only get you so far.  You must train the mind if you are to overcome old habits, negative patterns of thought or behavior or past trauma. This is detoxifying the mind.  Letting go of poisons we hold internally.

Learn to tone the body, mind and spirit!  Take a yoga class today!

If you have a particular spiritual practice, then take time daily to tune into that.  Read scripture, ponder it and write your thoughts on it.  Every day.  It is the daily spiritual practice that moves us into self realization and moves us  forward into our most prosperous futures!

Eat light, travel light, spread the light, be the light!
Kirsten