Friday, August 26, 2011

Irene and Katrina

When an international, national, natural disaster happens whether it's in your backyard or abroad, it's impossible not to feel the impact on some level.
While our neighbors on the east coast are dealing with hurricane Irene, and we're rounding the anniversary of hurricane Katrina, it's important that we empathize and support those who are challenged the most whether it's with our, time, money or at least - the energy of our intention.
As we move through our practice and our day today, let's focus on staying grounded, within and physically so we can transmit that energy to those whose lives are in tumult. Deep breath in, deep breath out.

The foot feels the foot when it feels the ground. – Buddha ***Balancing is hard enough to do on two legs, let alone one, be gentle with your thoughts whatever trials get you off your center.

The stiller I am, the more everything moves in the immense vocabulary of being. Margaret Hasse

We are so much more undiscovered than we are discovered. Kobi Yamada

We all have within us a center of stillness surrounded by silence. Dag Hammerskjöld

We still do not know one thousandth of one percent of what nature has revealed to us. Albert Einstein ***On or off the mat, don't force anything...let your body and mind unfold it's natural stretch and instinct in it's time.

"Within you there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself." Hermann Hesse ***Do whatever you need to do to find it, move it, sing it, get yourself there! - moi

"Through return to simple living Comes control of desires. In control of desires Stillness is attained. In stillness the world is restored." Lao Tzu

"No thought, no action, no movement, total stillness: only thus can one manifest the true nature and law of things from within and unconsciously, and at last become one with heaven and earth." Lao Tzu

Your innermost sense of self, of who you are, is inseparable from stillness. This is the I Am that is deeper than name and form." Eckhart Tolle

"It is the stillness that will save and transform the world." Eckhart Tolle

Whoever can see through all fear will always be safe." Tao Te Ching

You become what you think about all day long and those days eventually become your lifetime." Wayne Dyer

From silence you come, to silence you go.

Enter your inner space and know where you come from.

The eternal silence awaits you with endless patience." Unknown

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them." Mother Teresa

Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict." William Ellery Channing

It has often occurred to me that a seeker after truth has to be silent." Gandhi

To be dedicated to this moment, is to be dedicated to our nothingness!

And our nothingness is our freedom!" Unknown

"I am glad that so much movement happens in this stillness." Richard Land

"The stillness in stillness is not the real stillness; only when there is stillness in movement does the universal rhythm manifest." Bruce Lee

"Uncontrolled, the hunger and thirst after God may become an obstacle, cutting off the soul from what it desires. If a man would travel far along the mystic road, he must learn to desire God intensely but in stillness, passively and yet with all his heart and mind and strength.” Aldous Huxley

"For those who wish to climb the mountain of spiritual awareness, the path is selfless work. For those who have attained the summit of union with the Lord, the path is stillness and peace.” Bhagavad Gita

the mind is restless, turbulent, powerful, violent; trying to control it is like trying to tame the wind." Bhagavad Gita

"If water derives lucidity from stillness, how much more the faculties of the mind! The mind of the sage, being in repose, becomes the mirror of the universe, the speculum of all creation. Chuang Tzu

"The sound of 'gentle stillness' after all the thunder and wind have passed will be the ultimate Word from God." Jim Elliot

"Activity conquers cold, but stillness conquers heat."Lao Tzu

"One’s action ought to come out of an achieved stillness: not to be mere rushing on." D.H. Lawrence

Staying in tadasana (mountain), even when things around you me blowing about,

Lady

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Family Fit Fete


Amelia Earhart

On August 24th 1932 Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the US non stop. Her trip was from LA to Newark. It took 19 hours.

She was not charged for her additional baggage. Whether you are on your mat or drinking your morning cup o' joe whilst blog surfing, let's make the collective intention today to be open to all possibilities. Setting goals and having intentions are important, otherwise, there is nothing fueling your passion and drive. If you are working in rejection, defeat or 'shoulds', 'coulds' or past experiences, you will probably stay stuck where you are. In yoga, especially hot yoga where mirrors are present, it's easy to keep your eyes on a still point of focus - you. You are your goal and if you fall or fail, guess who will be there to pick yourself up? You, the most important person in the room. So, nourish that person, that goal and that intention.

Anything and everything is possible if you are open to it. And nowadays, it doesn't take 19 hours to get across the country. Back then, it did.

It's all possible. Enjoy.

To accomplish great things, we must dream as well as act. Anatole France

We need men who can dream of things that never were. John F. Kennedy

The key to realizing a dream is to focus not on success but significance - and then even the small steps and little victories along your path will take on greater meaning. Oprah Winfrey

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal. Henry Ford

Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars. Les Brown

The important thing is to strive towards a goal which is not immediately visible. That goal is not the concern of the mind, but of the spirit. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Some of the world's greatest feats were accomplished by people not smart enough to know they were impossible. Doug Larson

Goals are dreams with deadlines. Diana Scharf Hunt

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. T.S. Eliot

If you want to make your dreams come true, the first thing you have to do is wake up. J.M. Power

Life's problems wouldn't be called "hurdles" if there wasn't a way to get over them. Unknown

Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending. Unknown

God gives us dreams a size too big so that we can grow in them. Unknown

The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me. Ayn Rand

Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresea, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein. ~Life's Little Instruction Book, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

The best angle from which to approach any problem is the try-angle. Unknown

How am I going to live today in order to create the tomorrow I'm committed to? Anthony Robbins

Sometimes the path you're on is not as important as the direction you're heading. Kevin Smith

The impossible is often the untried. Jim Goodwin

The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps - we must step up the stairs. Vance Havner

It is easier to go down a hill than up, but the view is best from the top. Arnold Bennett

I am looking for a lot of men who have an infinite capacity to not know what can't be done. Henry Ford

One of the secrets of life is to make stepping stones out of stumbling blocks. Jack Penn

There are no shortcuts to any place worth going. Beverly Sills

Know your limits, but never stop trying to exceed them. Unknown

Part of the issue of achievement is to be able to set realistic goals, but that's one of the hardest things to do because you don't always know exactly where you're going, and you shouldn't.George Lucas

The greatest dreams are always unrealistic. Will Smith

Out of the strain of the doing, Into the peace of the done. Julia Woodruff

The only thing that has to be finished by next Tuesday is next Monday. Jennifer Yane

Map out your future, but do it in pencil. Jon Bon Jovi

Most people would succeed in small things if they were not troubled with great ambitions. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

You must have long-range goals to keep you from being frustrated by short-range failures.Charles C. Noble

Arriving at one goal is the starting point to another. John Dewey
Flying high,
Lady

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Shine

Darlings,

I always love looking at what happened back in history. It allows me to sit with it in the present, let it resonate with me so that I can use it as fuel for what's next...future!

People often ask me, what the heck is this history yoga? Well, come to class and find out, that's what I say. If you can't do that, here's the deal, the collection of people in a room that come together to practice will never be the same more than once...not unless you intentionally plan it that way. So, in a way, we are creating history. Everyone has their reasons to come to a class - surround themselves with people of different backgrounds with the collective intention to clear space for themselves, be inspired, work out the mind and the body. It's important to have an intention, otherwise, what's the point of anything.

Today, our collective intention is to shine. How did I get that from this, August 21st, 1959 being the anniversary of Hawaii becoming the 50th state? Well, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the proclamation admitting Hawaii into the US, but he also issued an order for the American flag. It's the one we know and love today featuring 50 stars arranged in staggered rows of five six-star and four five-star rows. The new flag became official on July 4th, 1960.

The flag and country were complete with a star spangled shiny flag.

So, shine.

It's a great way to start the practice on this inspiration. Allow the postures to open up naturally in the body and let your true light shine with brilliance.

There are two ways to spread light. Be a candle or the mirror that reflects it. Edith Wharton

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. Ralph Waldo Emerson

There isn't a person anywhere who isn't capable of doing more than he (she) can. Henry Ford

There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." Albert Einstein

In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present. Francis Bacon

With every opening of the body and mind while practicing, there is a push or pull through areas of roughness and holding. Ease your way into these spaces with deep breath and a gentle mind and the balance of dark and light won't be so extreme.

Energy and persistence conquer all things. Benjamin Franklin

You are responsible for the energy you create for yourself and you’re responsible for the energy that you bring to others. All life is energy and we are transmitting it at every moment. We are all beaming little signals like radio frequencies and the world is responding in kind. - Oprah Winfrey from her last show May 25th, 2011

Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you. Oprah Winfrey

Without contraries is no progression. Attraction and repulsion, reason and energy, love and hate, are necessary to human existence. William Blake

The more you lose yourself in something bigger than yourself, the more energy you will have. Norman Vincent Peale

With out passion you dont have energy, with out energy you have nothing. Donald Trump (and a little money doesn't hurt either...Lady)

Just as your car runs more smoothly and requires less energy to go faster and farther when the wheels are in perfect alignment, you perform better when your thoughts, feelings, emotions, goals, and values are in balance. Brian Tracy

Balance your thoughts with action. If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done. -Bruce Lee

Accept challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory. George S. Patton

Take responsibility for the energy you bring into this space. Dr. Jill Taylor

There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living. Nelson Mandela

If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins. Benjamin Franklin

The peace I am thinking of is the dance of an open mind when it engages another equally open one. Toni Morrison

What life have you if you have not life together? There is no life that is not in community. T. S. Eliot

Our strength is a contented and intelligent community. Rutherford Hayes

The body is a community made up of its innumerable cells or inhabitants. Thomas A. Edison

But let there be spaces in your togetherness and let the winds of the heavens dance between you. Love one another but make not a bond of love: let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Khalil Gibran

Glimmering,

Lady