Meditation

Sitting in meditation the mind continues to flutter. The thoughts about what it should be and how can I get there. Feel faith. Feel calm. Relax. Bring the mind to the breath and the mind moves. It always moves.Then there is the light. The spark. That feeling of expansion lifting my heart. And I am drawn in.

Vayus - the magic of moving energy through asana

Follow this link and begin to understand why asana is important.

Love and Asana

"Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do... but how much love we put in that action." Mother Teresa

This is such a beautiful way to approach asana. It is not how deep, how pretty, how challenging the pose. It is the love we put into it that reaps the rewards every pose has waiting for us.

Take love to your mat today.

Taping into the life force

Last Friday Shari Friedrichsen taught a class at 108 Yoga. There were no sun salutes, no powerful poses,no head stand or arm balances. Just bridge, warrior one, garudasana arms. And yet, the effect was profound. Shari walked us through linking physical movement to the movement of energy in the chakras, those illusive energy centres of the body that we hear about and really don't get.

Yoga is not the asana. Rather, the asana is a tool to allow us to experience the energy. Energy is subtle and elusive; just when you think you could name it, you realize you are uncertain. Energy is a shift in experience, it is the feeling of space or of heat, lightness, that was not there before. But energy is the life force, the very essence of who you are and how you express yourself in the world. Energy influences the mind and emotions, the functioning of the physical body.

Next time you go to your mat, be curious. Move through the layers of physical tissue, explore the inner working of the body with each breath. As that breath moves through an area you are expanding, feel the openness and lightness, and you will start to experience that energy.