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
Lie down with your belly to the ground,
like an old dog in the sun. Smell
the greenness of the cloverleaf, feel the damp
earth through your clothes, let an ant
wander the uncharted territory
of your skin.
Lie down with your belly to the ground. Melt into
the earth’s contours like a harmless snake.
All else is mere bravado.
Let your mind resolve itself
in a tangle of grass.
Lie down with your belly
to the ground, flat out, on ground level.
Prostrate yourself before the soil
you will someday enter.
Stop doing.
Stop judging, fearing, trying.
This is not dying, but the way to live
in a world of change and gravity.
Let go. Let your burdens drop.
Let your grief-charge bleed off
into the ground.
Lie down with your belly to the ground
and then rise up
with the earth still in you.
by Nancy Paddock
After all, all else is mere bravado.
Namaste
“As you transcend the dualities of good and evil, and right and wrong, you awaken into Oneness. It is the only way to really make a difference and bring lasting peace into our world.”
~ Leonard Jacobson
Each of us makes up the collective. Whatever is happening at the collective level is a reflection of who we are as individuals…If you want peace on earth, by all means march in peace rallies, write letters, become politically active. Empower yourself and others as much as possible. But first, confront the dark within yourself. […]
via Peace On Earth – December 2017 – Leonard Jacobson — Evolutionary_Mystic Post
‘I know’ is the restless place for all beings.
‘I don’t know’ is the resting place for all beings.*
~ Mooji
The need to hold on to “knowing” keeps many of us from finding peace. We think knowing is the answer, but it creates more restlessness.
It can become a never-ending quest for control and security. We create stories about this state to make it okay. We call it our personality or human nature.
It can appear as worrying about things beyond our control. For example: holding on to being right, trying to change others into our way of thinking and acting, striving to be perfect, looking for answers to problems that only exist in our mind, staying awake at night wondering what would make us happy …
Over time is becomes a habit that keeps feeding the insecure ego mind. The need to know increases fear and uncertainty.
Contentment comes from embracing the not knowing. It isn’t a simple or an easy transformation to make. Yet, when we accept that we don’t know and make room for it in all areas of our life, we create space for peace.
In surrendering to reality we find the freedom to be at rest with life.
Namaste
* Mooji. White Fire: Spiritual insights and teachings of advaita zen master Mooji (Kindle Locations 3306-3307). Mooji Media Publications. Kindle Edition.
To discover peace
There is no path to travel
Or mat to roll out
~
Pause in this moment
Breathe into your heart center
Feel the blossoming
~
Find your Middle Ground
In the highs and lows of life
Stay at home goodness
If you are new to this site, welcome!
Please follow these links to find out more about your middle ground and the steps to take you there.
Here are the steps I have discovered for myself and others, for finding our middle ground and living life in balance 💛
This blog is my way of helping people get their feet wet and refreshing themselves.
“Every now and then, life causes you to lose your phone, lose your job, lose your relationship, the things you think are important, so you can see that you have a full life independent of them.
There are many things you feel are so essential, but without them, you find you still have your Self, which is more than all of them put together.
You cannot lose your Self. This is the most important thing.”
~ Mooji *
Have you ever given yourself this gift?
I know, it probably didn’t feel like a gift at the time…
I appreciate this reminder that we are all in essence spiritual beings. It is the core part of ourselves that never changes. This true Self is accepting and always there, no matter what circumstances our small self finds itself in.
Coming into meditation and prayer in times of trouble allows us to feel the stillness within and connect to our true Self and Source within us all.
*Mooji (2015-12-03). White Fire: Spiritual insights and teachings of advaita zen master Mooji (Kindle Locations 1452-1455). Mooji Media Publications. Kindle Edition.
~
Seek and you shall find …
nothing but what is out there.
Come home to yourself
~
Finding our middle ground, is about bringing our attention inwards and coming home to the stillness and clarity within us all.
To find out more about this, please follow this link.
I wrote this some time ago when my husband was diagnosed with cancer. I didn’t publish it at the time, because of the uncertainty and tumultuous emotions that came up for us both. The treatments are over now and life is beginning to get back to normal. We are grateful.
When I read this post today, I was moved at the energy in the message.
“Right now I am having a difficult time facing a truth that I don’t like. It is causing me some distress, and I just don’t like it at all. My heart is closed. My ego is determined not to accept the unacceptable. It is very resilient and strong, so taming this battle queen is never easy as long as I resist her.
The Zen proverb “The obstacle is the path” came to me this morning. Often we’re discouraged because of some tough challenge or obstacle in our way. But a shift in mindset from a Zen proverb can change everything: “The obstacle is the path.”
The obstacle isn’t something standing in our way. It’s showing us the way.
Embrace this moment, don’t fight it. Give gratitude for these moments, these challenging moments are what make you come alive as a human being. There is beauty in every step along the journey, gratitude in your experiences. Give thanks for the ability to experience these real raw moments no matter how painful they may be.
They become less daunting, less intimidating, and maybe your attitude towards them can subtly shift from fighting with them, (and getting angry or frustrated or bitter), towards seeing and dealing with them as just another part of the path you’re already on.
This is growth. This expands your circle of compassion and your connection to all living beings. This is putting your heart out, fully open and vulnerable.
Find gratitude as you face this reality.
There is a gift here. Ask yourself, “What is this showing me”?
Be grateful that you can feel so much and allow your heart to open once more … just a little bit.
When there’s an obstacle, don’t go around it. Don’t run from it or create a strategic plan to beat it, or go into battle for revenge against it.
Go into it. Work with it. Explore it. Learn how to be with it. Listen to it. Embrace it.
Feel the everlasting love that is always there beyond the fear. This will carry you forward on your path.”
“Everything worthwhile for the soul is gained through silence. When you verbalize, you’ve moved into your head.”
Yogi Amrit Desai
Practicing silence means making a commitment to take a certain amount of time to be with yourself. To simply Be.
It may seem obvious, but to experience silence means periodically withdrawing from talking, interacting or using our brain for a specific purpose.
Its a conscious letting go. It’s also periodically withdrawing from activities such as watching television, listening to music or reading a book.
If you never give yourself the opportunity to experience silence, this creates turbulence in your internal dialogue. It increases your inner chatter and clutter.
So lets set aside a time every once in a while to experience silence. Or simply make a commitment to maintain silence for a certain period each day. You can do it for one hour, two or more… one day two or more.
Initially your internal dialogue will become more turbulent and loud. You and your ego will feel an intense need to say things, and a sense of urgency and anxiety may take over.
Stay with the experience, and you will find the internal dialogue quietens and the silence becomes profound.
I came across this light and engaging article that you might enjoy. “The Splendid Spiritual Practice of Silence” is about a young monk’s experience of being silent for a year. You can read it by clicking here.
Mum’s the word … that speaks to the soul.
Accept the world as it is.
If you accept the world,
the Tao will be luminous inside you
and you will return to your primal self.
~~~
She who is centered in the Tao
can go where she wishes, without danger.
She perceives the universal harmony,
even amid great pain,
because she has found peace in her heart.
Lao Tzu
These quotes from the Tao Te Ching come from an other translation in Matthew Fox’s “One River, Many Wells”
May we all find the true peace that comes from acceptance of the world … and continue to make a difference where we can.
Peace to you.
