Jun 24, 2016 |
Woo hoo! Summer has arrived and along with it a host of fun outdoor activities (like beach yoga) and so many things to do that yoga, and especially meditation practices can get pushed off the to-do list.
This summer I’ve decided to make a dedication to my meditation practice, and committed to sitting down every day for at least 5 minutes minimum (but, the more the merrier) to meditate. Even if I don’t have time to get on my yoga mat for a practice, I’m still going to meditate every day. I’m calling it my #dedicationtomeditation or #DTM, and all that meditating will make it the Summer of Love.
To make it even more fun and powerful, I’m going to meditate the same way each day, with the same hand mudra and mantra.
The mudra: Vajrapradama Mudra
This is one of my most favorite mudras because it is has super powers. Mudras are yoga poses for the hands and each one holds special significance and power. Vajrapradama Mudra is known for its ability to help release attachment to self-doubt and fear, to remove the obstacles that get in our path and keep us from love. It represents self-confidence, courage, conviction, and inner-strength, and who doesn’t need a little bit more of that in their diet!
To come into the mudra, interlace the tops of the fingers and place them on the chest, with the palms resting on the chest and the thumbs pointing upward. The left hand should be near or over the heart to connect with the heartbeat and the energy coming from the heart space. The hands form a hug around the heart bringing a consciousness there to awaken compassion in the heart and a reminder that we are all one and connected to all that exists.
The Mantra: I Am Love
This is one of my favorite mantras as well. Whenever you put the words “I Am” at the beginning of a statement you are creating what you are and what you want to be. When I say the mantra “I Am Love,” it means I am not fear, I am LOVE. I am not judgmental, I am LOVE. I am not hate; I am full of compassion and LOVE. The vibration of this mantra helps me to stop the stories, the negativity, or whatever is bringing me down and causing the fear, so I can release attachment to it and make room for love.
PUT IT ALL TOGETHER FOR A BEAUTIFUL MEDITATION
1) Find a comfortable seated position.
2) Bring your hands into vajapradama mudra.
3) Start the mantra saying, “I AM,” as you inhale, and “LOVE,” as you exhale.
4) If you mind wanders away, no worries, just release the thought and come back to the breath with the mantra.
5) You may want to set a timer to track your meditation time.
(For more helpful tips about meditation and guided meditation videos, please visit my Hang Ten Meditation page.)
DEDICATION TO MEDITATION
So, who is with me? Are you ready to dedicate yourself to meditation? Just five minutes a day is all it takes. You can dedicate to doing it for 30 days or for the whole summer (through September 21) or for longer than 5 minutes (just don’t attach too many rules to the process, or beat yourself up if you miss a day). I’ve been told that vajrapradama mudra is so powerful that meditating with it for one month can completely change your life.
Let’s make this the Summer of Love, dedicating to five minutes of meditation a day, taking time to give the mind a well deserved break, and at the same time recharging our vibration of love. It is going to be my daily exercise to kick fear and all other obstacles out of my way!
Leave a comment below if you want to join me this summer, and I’ll send you vibrations of love and stay in touch if you like to keep us all motivated. I’ll be posting updates on Facebook and Instagram @dailydownwarddog, so follow me there and use and search for the #dedicationtomeditation and #summeroflove hashtags so we can all stay connected.
May 12, 2016 |
Are you familiar with the acronym FOMO? This terms was introduced to me recently, and it describes a mental state that most of us are familiar with, the Fear of Missing Out. Let’s face it, there are just too many channels begging for our attention these days, so it is easy for the mind to get agitated to a point where we fear that we don’t have enough time to do everything we want to. I personally believe that Facebook and Instagram may be the root cause of much of my personal FOMO, because each time I log-in I see another yoga festival or workshop I want to attend, and all the great things my friends are doing, and it just makes the angst inside me start to bubble up. Do you know that feeling?
I would much rather replace the word FEAR with the word JOY, and focus instead on the Joy of Missing Out! There is a blissful freedom that comes when I shut off my phone, turn off my Facebook alerts, and just enjoy some quiet time. In essence, each time I step on my yoga mat it is a time to practice JOMO. When I come to the mat and leave behind my to-do list and stress, quiet my mind, and practice breath with movement, I get to experience the joy of missing out, and missing out has never felt so good.
If you think about it, the practice of yoga and meditation are the ultimate forms of JOMO. In meditation we seek to find a quiet place for the mind, to turn off the noise, to settle into a place of peace, and in that peace there is joy. Spending quiet time alone is a beautiful gift you can and should give yourself every day.
I’m dedicating myself to more fully practice the joy of missing out over the next month. All those times I’m sitting with my family or friends and I feel the urge to reach for my cell phone to check for messages, I’m going to remind myself of how good it feels to miss out on the chatter and be fully present for the people I’m with. Or, when I’m meditating and a pesky thought keeps coming up, I’ll get a smile on my face as I silently say to myself, “Jomo, jomo, jomo,” just like a mantra.
Take the challenge and let go of the fear, and embrace JOY, the joy of missing out.
Jun 25, 2014 |
Holy cow – it has been way too long since I’ve written about cool yoga music! So, to make up for my yoga playlist slacking, I’ve decided that my next few blog posts will be dedicated to CD reviews, cool summer yoga and music events, and my new favorite yoga theme song.
Get ready for some happening harmoniums, musical mantras, and soothing savasana serenades perfect for your home yoga practice or to put together an awesome yoga class playlist.
Because I’m Happy!
I started out my yoga classes a few weeks ago with a few poetic lines from one of my favorite songs these days.
Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof.
Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth.
Clap along if you know what happiness is to you.
Because I’m happy!
If you have not heard these lyrics – you must not have turned on your radio in the last few months because “Happy” by Pharrell Williams has been a big hit this year.
[youtube]http://youtu.be/y6Sxv-sUYtM[/youtube]
I especially like the second verse of the song where Pharrell starts singing about bad news. He says, “Give me all you got, don’t hold it back, because I should probably warn you I’ll be just fine. No offense to you, don’t waste your time. Here’s why: because I’m happy.”
Hummm, I wonder if Pharrell practices yoga because he obviously is really in touch with the concept of santosha, or contentment.
Santosha is part of the eight limbs of yoga and is one of the niyamas. From the translation of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Sri Swami Satchidananda, the definition of santosha is being content with what you have and where you are at, instead of wishing for things you don’t have, or daydreaming of the future. Santosha is living in the present and feeling true satisfaction. And, here’s the kicker: When you have this kind of contentment, supreme joy is attained. In other words, living in the present leads to HAPPINESS.
In his hit single, Pharrell is basically telling the bearer of bad news, “Hey, I’m not ignoring the issues of my life. What I’m doing is practicing santosha so that even in the midst of all these challenges, I can be content. I can be happy by practicing happiness and contentment with what I have right here, right now. Don’t try to bring me down, because I am HAPPY! Woo Hoo!”
Yes, even Pharrell likes to bust out a big Woo Hoo when he’s happy.
I don’t know about you, but I can’t help but feel happy when I hear this song, and for that very reason, it has become my new favorite yoga theme song. I’ve used it as a theme for my yoga classes, on my yoga class playlists, and to dance around the yoga studio while I set up for classes (i.e., while I’m raking the beach for beach yoga classes). I bought the song from iTunes and have it on my phone and listen to it whenever I need a little fix of santosha happiness.
It reminds me to think about what happiness means to me, to bring a little dance and smile to everything I do, and that being happy is what life is about. I was really touched when a few people sent me links to “Happy” and told me it made them think of me 🙂
Pharrell, you got it right: Happiness is the truth.
Here are a few more of my favorite yoga theme songs:
Today is Going to Be the Best Day of My Life
A Lovely (Yoga) Day and awesome song parody!
You Just Got to Believe – Believe in Yourself
Or, head on over to the Cool Yoga Music page on The Daily Downward Dog for all my yoga theme songs, cool yoga playlists, and featured yoga musical artists!
Click to find out more about upcoming Daily Downward Dog yoga retreats! Come join us!
Oct 9, 2013 |
I got the opportunity recently to sit in a room with a couple hundred women to listen to their words of wisdom. It was an invitation I couldn’t refuse, and let me just tell you, this room was packed with so much energy, love, and power – I was on a goddess-infused high for the rest of the day.
This women-only forum, aptly named “The Sisterhood,” was held during one of the at-sea days on a Dave Koz jazz cruise and featured a star-studded panel of incredible females including Mindi Abair, Keiko Matsui, Glynis Albright, Pat Prescott, Talaya Trigueros, and Sheila E.
The panel and the participants in the room were all asked to share words of wisdom from their lives. The discussion ranged from how to experience more joy and peace, to what has helped foster healthy relationships and communication. Some of the wisdom came from their mothers, some from the school of hard knocks, some from personal experience, but it all came from the heart.
Part of the panel: Glynis Albright, Sheila E, Mindi Abair, and Talaya Trigueros
What were some of the words of wisdom?
- Have gratitude and love in your life. It’s easy to feel gratitude when you first wake up, but inevitably something bad can happen that can overtake your day, something that causes you to take your focus away from the good. Don’t let that happen; stay focused on the good things in life!
- When you look at things through the eyes of compassion, you can let go of your judgment and everything just seems to be alright.
- Don’t hate. Congratulate!
- Be gentle and kind to yourself.
- Tell the truth, for it will set you free.
Of course, I was taking copious notes during the session, and as I was writing all these words of wisdom down, I couldn’t help but smile. No, this wasn’t a yoga retreat. These were jazz musicians, radio hosts, and wives of musicians, and they were all sharing pieces of their wisdom. But to me, all this wisdom appeared tied to the teachings of yoga.
Having gratitude for what you have in your life is the same as santosha, one of the niyamas from the eight limbs of yoga as outlined in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.
Being compassionate and lifting up people who are successful instead of being jealous of them are both part of the four keys to happiness as outlined in the yoga sutras.
Being gentle and kind to you is the same concept of practicing ahimsa, one of the yamas, which covers the practice of non-harmful behavior.
And telling the truth is the same thing as satya, another one of the yamas.
How cool is it that these women in essence were all speaking about what we do both on and off our mats when we practice yoga? This makes me feel very wise indeed!
Not all of the wisdom imparted applied directly to the teachings of yoga, but I want to share a few more of these pearls of wisdom regardless.
Keiko Matsui talking about making dreams come true!
Keiko Matsui talked about the importance of visualizing your dreams. She explained that when she can visualize a dream, as long as she believes in the dream and applies hard work to it, the reality of it comes faster and faster.
Glynis Albright encouraged all of the women to learn to be sisters again, to love one another and not be so hard on each other. We need to be more kind to the women in our lives, to lift them up and support them. Amen, Glynis!
There was a lot of love in that cruise ship lounge, and I promise to write more about this event, but I’ll leave you with one last thought that was shared by Sheila E. She reminded us that we have so much power that we don’t realize we have. Make sure you use your power for good and share it with others –this can be as simple as sharing a smile or a hug.
I’ll take you out with a song by Mindi Abair, dedicated to all the ladies and a reminder that we are all beautiful! I’m thinking “Be Beautiful” is making it to a yoga class playlist real soon!
[youtube]http://youtu.be/N2rerpg-Gss?t=28s[/youtube]
Sep 17, 2013 |
Ok, that title might be taking it a bit far, but knitting and the meditative qualities of it can be quite relaxing and beneficial to the soul. If you know me, you know that I was born without the female gene that produces the desire to cook, sew, or do anything crafty. But, recently, I’ve been intrigued by all the yoga and knitting comparisons, and I’m thrilled to announce that my upcoming SKIASANA yoga and meditation retreat in Stowe, Vermont, will include sessions on the meditative and healing power of knitting.
Don’t worry, though, I will not be the one teaching these sessions, but rather I’ve recruited the lovely Dee Eisner, an awesome yogini goddess and friend of mine, to serve up the knittingasana at the Stowe Mountain Ranch.
I’m going to turn this blog post over to Dee to let her introduce herself and tell you more about the knitting and meditation activities planned during the retreat. Knit one, purl two – take it away, Dee!
“Like the counting of the rosary, the motions of needlework are singularly well suited to the practice of contemplation” –From The Knitting Sutra by Susan Gordon Lydon
My passion for knitting precedes my passion for yoga by several decades, but the two practices now hold equal space in my body, mind, and soul. Both knitting and yoga center, enlighten, strengthen, and heal me.
After 35 years of teaching in the Cleveland Public Schools, I decided to become a certified yoga teacher. I love to teach, and I love yoga, and I also knew it would be as beneficial for me as for my students.
My husband is baffled by my obsession with needlework. I always have a knitting project in hand while watching TV and never pack for a trip without my needles and yarn. Having trained in Transcendental Meditation during the ’70s, he eventually recognized that knitting is my meditation.
During my yoga teacher training I did extensive research on the meditative benefits of knitting. The physical, repetitive motions of knitting can create a mindful or even trance-like state. And, although even a simple knitting project requires a certain amount of concentration, part of a knitter’s mind can wander while the rest stays centered on the movements of the hands and the particulars of the pattern.
During our sessions at SKIASANA in Vermont, I’d like to show you how meditative and healing knitting can be.
If you are a seasoned knitter, bring a project that does not require you to consult a pattern constantly. Perhaps that scarf or shawl you never finished (or started – I know!). Something in a garter stitch or simple repetitive pattern that requires a bit of counting would be perfect.
If you have never knitted, or tried and felt fumble-fingered, I will have a simple project to teach you the basics – enough to get that meditative feeling. I’ll have extra knitting needles and yarn available for those who would like to participate.
Thanks, Dee! I won’t forget to pack my knitting needles along with my skis, and I’ll be joining the group of beginner knitters. I’m already imagining myself curled up by the fire at the Stowe Mountain Lodge after a day of yoga and skiing, relaxing into a knitting meditative state.
Check out this post for more details about the SKIASANA retreat. For booking information, please contact The Travel Yogi.
