Walk Away Your Worries! 02/02/2010
 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 increasing energy in minutes 01/07/2010
Increasing energy in the body can be facilitated in so many ways! One wonderful yogic technique is by channeling the breath through the right nostril. When we inhale through the right nostril and exhale through the left nostril it gives us a more focused, action-oriented mind as well as helps to minimize negative thinking. Try this technique the next time you feel that 'afternoon slump'. (You know...when you start thinking of coffee, sugar or chips to pick you up!) Sat Nam Karma Yoga 11/23/2009
I took a yoga class last evening and afterward as I swept the floor of the studio the subject of karma yoga came up. Karma yoga or Buddhi yoga is basically the act of performing duties in a selfless manner; detached from the reward of recognition or other rewards. It is thought in Hinduism to be a path to self-realization, union with that which is larger than yourself or the love of God. Selfless action, being detached from the fruits of your duties purifies the mind and makes one fit to understand the value of reason, increases the intuitive power of acquiring knowledge and is a way to transcend the mind itself. As I swept the floor, I thought about service. Service, rooted in love, is found in most cultures and religious belief systems. In Christianity Jesus served mankind. When he saw someone in need, he was there. He did not need to be told what to do; He knew what to do and he did it. In the West, one of the major forms of service is charity. Charity means love; Unlimited loving-kindness towards others. Nowadays it seems to take on a largely monetary form. We give to church, charities, etc. Giving monetarily is wonderful but we must remember that giving can mean more than just money. Giving money to help feed or clothe the hungry is greatly needed, but even more so is the need for rising above the misery of poverty. Bread alone will not accomplish this. Think about giving your time and expertise to help teach others how to help themselves into better situations. We know what needs to be done; Let's do it. Think about what needs to be done in any situation you are in and do it with love. Let us not simply "do our job" but let us do our job well and find little extra things we can do to help others with or without them knowing it. Make the tea in the morning; wipe the bathroom counters at work or your local yoga studio; bring a favorite snack food to your next book club meeting; take the newspaper to the front door of your elderly neighbor; offer to walk the dog of someone you know that has trouble getting around; give loving hugs to people everyday, it massages their heart and yours! Selfless action demonstrates your love of mankind and of that which is larger than yourself. There are so many ways to express loving-kindness, charity, service to others; Let us count the ways! 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 Baby Steps 11/19/2009
Oh, the importance of taking baby steps! I try not to move forward with leaps and bounds, too often. There is a time for moving quickly and a time for baby steps. When it comes to yoga or physical activity, I believe in taking baby steps! Slowly moving one step at a time, taking the time to reinforce the new step before the next is taken; solidifying that previous action and burning it into the brain first; Slow growth towards new found excellence! If, in yoga class for example, we push ourselves too quickly, there is a greater chance of injury. If injury occurs it will take twice as long to progress, as we will need time to repair the damage first before we move on. It is the same for dietary changes in many cases. For some, a complete 180 may be okay, but for others slower might mean a better chance at successful long-term change! Because ultimately, this is what is necessary. long-term change. If you are new to eating fruits and vegetables; if you previously viewed them as "garnish" but have been advised by a health care profesional or advised by your inner guidance to begin to incorporate more fresh foods into your diet and you are not sure where to start, try this on for size! Breakfast. Start your morning with a smoothie instead of your bagel, eggs, cereal, etc. And I am not talking a smoothie with frozen yogurt, fruit and fruit juice! This is better. Yummy for your mouth and yummy for your body. In a regular blender (high speed is best if you have it!) combine the following:
Blend it up and enjoy. If you find you get hungry before lunch, eat fresh fruit until lunchtime. That is it. You can do it! By simply changing your breakfast routine, you will change your life. Guaronteed. As you become accustomed to drinking this smoothie, you can add more and more greens. Do it! Really pack them in! This is a great way to get the vitamins, minerals and fiber from these wonderful sources. Spinach is good source of Niacin and Zinc, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Protein, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Vitamin K, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Copper and Manganese. Drink it up! |
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