Today I am sharing a yoga practice with a chair. You don’t have to be a yogi to do this!
Please join me for centering, letting go, and getting a good stretch. You can even do it at your desk.
Let’s find our middle ground together!
Chair Yoga with Val from Val Boyko on Vimeo.
May you find peace today and everyday.
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
I came across this earlier post … and boy did it take me back. May we all find grace by connecting to the most vulnerable part of ourselves … our heart.
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
“How dare you!!”
Come into the present moment and notice
the pounding head, the clenched jaw and hands in fists
the thoughts that spark like fiery daggers
“Don’t control me! I don’t want this! I don’t need you!”
Feel the tears and absolute frustration
the vulnerability at being in this place of hurt and loss.
Loss of control. Loss of connection. Loss of understanding.
Become that wee girl too young for words
She knows this place. This sheer frustration. Hurting and not knowing why.
Let this rage turn into one of your biggest breaths ever
Open your mouth and gasp like a fish
take in the air that nourishes and calms
Let it out with a cry from your very soul.
Let the tears roll. Feel their heat running down your cheeks.
Breathe
Feel the energy dropping through you like a stone
allow it to release and pass through the mesh that’s your body
Feel the unburdening and letting go
notice the softening in your body, your thoughts and your being
Say hello to this vulnerable part of you
Feel the relief and the love
You are still here.
And now you are ready to talk about what just happened.
Namaste.
“Our planet will be saved by women not men. Men think they can solve their problems through violence. Jesus, Gandhi and other great souls knew that men have no fear of violence – they’ve been killing since Cain and Abel. So they conquered men by acting like women. They brought yin to the planet, not more yang, and that’s how our planet will be saved.
You can do this too. Choose Yin. Start small. Decide to harm no living thing, including yourself, in thought, word or deed for one hour. Then extend it for two hours. Then perhaps for an entire morning.”
by Sister Mary Ann Kelley.
Taken from Soul To Soul by John Mundahl
This is such a strong statement by Sister Mary Ann.
It isn’t easy to choose yin over yang in a world that dismisses gentleness, and often sees softness as weakness. There is violence everywhere – in a world at war, the news, sports, entertainment and the media. In the words we hear and use, and even in our self talk.
Yang is everywhere. Yet as the Yin Yang symbol shows, both are a part of the natural balance of life. We cannot have one over the other. But we can choose which to embrace more in our lives.
I like to think that choosing Yin brings the world back into balance.
Tonight I start a Yin Yoga Teacher Training weekend at Hummingbird Yoga and Massage in Bryn Mawr.
May we all embrace this nourishing peaceful side of ourselves in the learning ahead.
Namaste
Photo by Sebastian Voortman on Pexels.com
The universe continues to unfold in each moment
Let it
You don’t have to control or hold on to anything
Just take time to pause and listen to your inner wisdom
Trust it’s soft voice
Mistakes and challenges have helped you grow into who you are today
Embrace whatever happens, knowing that you will continue to learn and grow
Nothing has gone wrong
Life continues in its highs and lows
Don’t take it personally
We are all in this together
” In the process of letting go you will lose many things from the past, but you will find yourself.
It will be a permanent Self, rooted in awareness and creativity.
Once you have captured this you have captured the world.”
~ Deepak Chopra
Photo by Engin Akyurt on Pexels.com
Life is a journey of letting go in order to discover what really matters. Yet we find ourselves clinging to the past and the very things that bring suffering and hold us back.
Letting go is a part of the natural rhythm of life.
Letting go:
Of every exhalation
Of the day as we fall asleep
Of our children as they grow up and leave home
Of things that no longer serve us
Of a past that weighs us down
Of relationships that no longer nurture us
Of roles that we have outgrown
Of over thinking
Of our habits and conditioning
Of “me” “I” and “mine” as we experience our connection to something more than our little self.
Trust in your ability to let go and embrace it fully with an open mind and heart.
In taking these courageous steps every day we come to know our true permanent Self and move towards real freedom.
Namaste
“Acceptance of the unacceptable is the greatest source of grace in this world.”
Eckhart Tolle
Isn’t it funny how certain quotes and wisdom show up just when we need them the most? I recall, some time ago when I had a hard time accepting how things were. I had unexpected news that meant my vision for the future was no longer possible. What I thought was “for sure” became “no way”.
There was shock and uncertainty; concerns about others; a sense of loss and sadness; a letting go of a future dream; and lots of turbulent emotions. So much was out of my control and I really struggled because I couldn’t accept it. There was no grace here folks!
So, what is grace … and how do we find it when life throws us unexpected challenges or dashes our dreams? When we find ourselves in life’s lows?
I appreciate these words of wisdom from Adyshanti’s “Falling into Grace”.
“Grace is something that comes to us when we somehow find ourselves completely available, when we become open hearted and open minded, and are willing to entertain the possibility that we may not know what we think we know.
In this gap of not knowing, in the suspension of any conclusion, a whole other element of life and reality can rush in. This is what I call grace. It’s that moment of “ah-ha” – a moment of recognition when we realize something that previously we never could quite imagine.
… Somehow the difficult situations in our lives have a way of opening our hearts and minds the most. Its the challenging moments that often offer the greatest opportunities for growth and the transformation of consciousness.”
Finding grace and opening up to accept what is, comes when we fully embrace everything that is alive in us in that moment.
Some people choose to divert their mind into positive thinking to counteract the negative feelings. I’m not a believer of this, as all feelings and emotions are a part of who we are as human beings. I spent a big part of my life looking for the positive and denying the negative … while the deepest part of me was aching. Embracing all part of ourselves is the key to our personal growth and evolution as spiritual beings.
Here are guidelines I discovered from a variety of spiritual teachers and psychotherapists:
✳ Name what is happening. Be as factual as you can.
✳ What stories are you telling myself about this unacceptable moment?
✳ What are you feeling in your body. What emotions are coming up? Embrace your whole body experience.
✳ Make space for whatever comes up.
✳ Notice how the mind jumps in with judgments and negative thoughts. Make space for these too.
✳ Embrace everything that is alive in you. Let yourself feel.
✳ Notice if there is a part of you that wants the pain to go away – to fix it rather than accepting it.
✳ Embrace it all and let it in. This is a part of you.
✳ Let yourself become a vulnerable feeling being.
✳ Be open and fully alive to the experience.
✳ Breathe into it and allow the life energy to flow through you.
✳ And in this place of spaciousness and letting go, notice how grace appears.
Compassionate acceptance of the unknown opens our hearts and lets grace in.
