and a Happy New Year

We have all head the song at New Year eve "Auld Lang Syne"  which loosely translates into "for old times sake" or "days gone by".  For a lot of us the New Year means making resolutions that will help make us happy, healthier people in the year to come by letting go of the past.

Our studio, as well as other yoga studio's, fitness centers, gyms, etc., get busier this time of year with everyone trying to follow through with their well meaning resolutions. But then life gets in the way, kids, jobs....you know the rest of the story.

So I am going to make a suggestion that you start from the inside out this year. You don't have to go anywhere or buy any equipment to make these changes happen.  And you can practice them every waking hour and not even get a least bit tired.  In fact you may find that these actually increase your energy.

But there is one thing you have to do before you start this journey.  You need to buy the book "The Four Agreements" by Don Miquel Ruiz . Don Miquel was born into a family of healers while being raised in rural Mexico.  Distracted by modern life, Miguel  chose to attend medical school and become a surgeon. A near death experience changed his life and he began an intensive practice of self-inquiry.  After you get his book you have to read it.

That's it. You don't have to make it hard because it's not.  Did I forget to mention that you have to follow the four agreements.  I know, I know, there is always a catch.

I am going to briefly share the agreements with you really should read the book.  Here they are:

1. Be impeccable with your words (speak with integrity and say what you mean). 

2. Don't take anything personally (nothing others do or say is because of you).

3. Don't make assumptions (find the courage to ask questions and express what you really want).

4. Always do your best (your best will change from moment to moment).

 

They aren't hard to remember, simple and to the point but will take some getting used to.  The first time I read the book, the four agreements reminded me of how my parents raised me to treat other people.  Again going back to Karma!

 

So if you are going to make one change this new year that will be a permanent change in your life, try these 4 simple mantra's and of course don't forget to breath.....

 

Merry Christmas to all......

...and to all a good life.

Aloha Spirit....

Well we survived the end of the world, there is some snow on the ground so it seems more like Christmas, I am officially done with my shopping and the average current temperature in the Hawaiian Islands is around 70 degrees.  And you needed to know that why....?

One of the Santosha students is from this area but lives in Hawaii.  When ever she is in town to visit her family she comes here for classes.  She said that she is used to taking classes on the beach every day but we are the next best thing.

She was here for 12 days over the Thanksgiving holiday and it was a joy to catch up with her.  As she left the studio after her last class before heading back home, as she said goodbye she told me that Santosha Yoga has the Aloha Spirit.  I thanked her and wished her a safe trip back.  I had no idea what the Aloha Spirit was so through the miracle of the Internet, I googled it.  After reading up on it, I realized that she gave us a wonderful compliment.

First of all did you know that the word "aloha" means so much more than hello and goodbye?  I didn't either. In the Hawaiian language, the deeper meaning is "the joyful (oha) sharing (alo) of life energy (ha) in the present (alo)." The joyful sharing of life energy in the present moment. My first thought was how yoga-ish that is. Being in the present moment. Being content (santosha) for the life that we have. Sharing that contentment, that positive energy with everyone around us.

As we share this aloha spirit we become attuned to the Universal Power that the Hawaiians call mana. And the loving use of this incredible Power is the secret for attaining true health, happiness, prosperity and success. To attain these wonderful gifts there is a secret, a simple but powerful secret. Are you ready? Bless everyone and everything that represents what you want! Karma!! I know right! So if you want something you first have to bless someone else to have it. The website The Aloha Spirit goes into much greater detail as to how this process works. They even talk about a breathing process that increases our personal energy which allows us to be in a better balance to bless others which in turn changes our life. Again back to our teachings in yoga.

I was sharing this with one of my students yesterday (Kyle) and we both agreed that isn't it amazing how the need for this spirit crosses over all cultures, religions, classes....we all want the same thing....happiness for ourselves and others.  

In the next week or so most of us will be seeing more of our family and friends than usual as we celebrate the holiday season which gives us even more of a opportunity to bless everyone and everything.  I am not saying we should walk around and wish everyone Aloha Spirit,we might be accused of dipping too much in the eggnog. But have the meaning and intention in your heart and watch the magic unfold.

Blessings to all of you this holiday season...and don't forget to breathe.

Namaste and Aloha 

A Piece of Your Heart

Please give a piece of your heart today to those in need.

Straight from the Dalai Lama....

A few students and teachers from Santosha Yoga had the great pleasure of going to see Deepak Chopra when he was in town last week.  For those of you who may not know of him, he is a physician, writer, a world-renowned mind-body healing pioneer and the founder of the Chopra Center for Wellbeing in Carlsbad, California.
 

 

All that went came back excited sharing was they had learned.  But one thing that they all shared was a quote that Deepak attributed to the Dalai Lama.  So what I am sharing with you, came from Cindy, Randy & Stacey who learned it from Deepak Chopra who learned it from the Dalai Lama.  See how that works!

 

Anyway....here is it:

 

S - Stop what your doing.

T - Take 3 breaths and smile.

O - Observe your body from head to toe.

P - Proceed with a smile.

 

 That's it, short and sweet but very powerful.  So here is it straight from the Dalai Lama, the importance of our breath, the importance of taking time to center. No wonder he always has a smile on his face.

 

Remember this when the craziness of the holiday season starts to get the best of you, just S.T.O.P.....and just breathe.

Still as sweet...

I like to keep a basket of fresh apples at the studio for students to munch on after class. We advise students not to practice yoga on a full stomach so we like to have something they can grab and go with.

 

There was a golden delicious apple that was in the basket with a bruise on it. I would put the fresher apples on the bottom when I replenished the basket, but the bruised apple was still there. So I finally took the apple myself and had it as part of my lunch. Not surprising to me the apple still tasted as sweet with the bruise as it would have without. What was is about the bruise that was putting everyone off?

 

We had a garden this year and some of the bounty didn't look as pretty as the ones you might buy at the store, but with a little adjusting it all tasted just as good.

 

Why do we see a slight imperfection as some thing wrong? Why can't we see it as just being unique? Is that how we sometimes view ourselves or others? We all have some type of "bruise". But how we deal with it is what's important. Do we see it as a flaw, as an imperfection? Or something that makes us unique. A bruise doesn't define who we are, it is part of our character. It's what make me me and you you. After all aren't we all still as sweet inside. Of course we are and anytime you doubt it, just close your eye, see your sweetness that is inside of you and just breathe......

One Breath at a Time

I found this to be very interesting and thought  I would share it with everyone.  I can't take any credit for it.  The author is Rick Hanson Ph.D. It just reinforces my belief in the importance and magic of a single breath. He is also the co-author of the book "Buddha's Brain".  Good read.     One breath at a time.

Why? [If for you the breath is associated with trauma and discomfort, you probably shouldn't try this practice in its form below. But you might adapt it to something that is more nurturing for you, such as a saying or image.] Breathing brings you home. Body and mind twine together in the breath. As soon as you become aware of breathing, you're in your body. Speed up the breath and there's new energy. Slow it down and you calm. Inhale and oxygen surges into your brain while the arousing sympathetic nervous system activates and accelerates the heartbeat. Exhale and activate the soothing peaceful parasympathetic nervous system, so the heart beats more slowly. In the breath you are home in this moment, this Now. The breath feels like life inside. No wonder it's been traditionally linked to spiritual matters. To "inspire" is to inhale - to "inspirit," to uplift. The breath is always available as an object of attention, whether formally in meditation or informally as a way to recenter yourself. Track the breath in yourself, and know yourself more deeply. Track the breath in others, and know them more deeply. If all else fails and your mind is screaming in pain or blown open in chaos, there is still the breath. Sometimes all you can do is breathe and know that you are still breathing. One breath at a time. Just getting through this breath. And then the next one. And the next. Plus, in the knowing of breathing, there is awareness of awareness, not metaphysically or cosmically but as a refuge - if need be, of last resort. Try it: breathing here and now, recognize that awareness is a field or space in which contents come and go, such as the sensations of breathing. You can see directly that no matter what arises and passes away, awareness remains, undamaged and unstained, like the sky that is never harmed by the storm clouds passing through it. When times are terrible, try to be the observing, the awareness, to get some space from the pain and sustain a sense of being intact in your core. You can do this as well when times are good, which will help you both to stay in the sweet spot of enjoying without tipping into the suffering of wanting, and to strengthen your grounding in awareness for when things fall apart. How? So far I've always described these "Just One Thing" practices with an active verb, such as "take in the good," "give thanks," or "find strength." I could have done the same here, with "take one breath at a time." But this one felt different. It's not just that we take a breath. Sometimes the breath takes itself. Sometimes it takes us. When the mind and body are really quiet, there's hardly any taking at all. Whenever you like, find the breath and stay with it through one inhalation and exhalation. You could notice its sensations in your stomach, chest, or around the upper lip. Or the internal sensations inside the throat or in the diaphragm. Or sense the breath in the chest altogether. Next, see if you can rest your attention in the breath for three full cycles of inhaling and exhaling. Then how about ten full cycles, from beginning to end? Distracting thoughts may nibble at your attention, but disengage from them while sinking more and more deeply into the breath. And if you like, let go of counting and simply give over to the breath, breath after breath. Somewhere in here, as you become more present in the breath, more absorbed in it, you could experience breathing as the whole body, the whole body breathing. Try this at night, as you're falling asleep, resting as a body breathing. Or if you wake and can't easily return to sleep, soften the edges of your mind out into only breathing. Breathing blurring out into the quiet of the night. Be breathing as you do things or have them. One breath at time while dressing, eating, driving, talking, washing, cuddling, writing. Or simply be breathing. Nothing else to do, no one to be. The simplest job in the world. One breath at a time. What a relief!