Fire....becoming comfortable in the uncomfortable

Dear Yogis,

As I sit here in the calm before the storm, anticipating Hurricane Sandy’s approach, I feel centered and peaceful.   But I know that is not necessarily the norm.  That for many people weather events can be very anxiety ridden.

The weather, nature, Mother Earth can be quite unpredictable.  And in events like this she shows us just how mighty she can be.    Just when we think we have our life in order, and that we are steering the ship, feeling good, whistling a tune……whoosh……….we realize just how small we truly are.  And that can be very uncomfortable.

The element of fire is all about working toward being “comfortable in the uncomfortable”.  Life is not a straight path with a clear map of what comes next.  No matter how hard we plan and how much order we create around us, there will be unexpected turns and obstacles.  This is all part of being alive.

But what we do have control of is how we face them.  This week we built the steady fire in Manipura, the confidence and inner strength, which is there to teach us that no matter what, everything will be ok.  That we can weather the storms by  staying grounded and letting go into the flow. 

The media doesn’t help.  We are bombarded with the most dire of warnings, hour and hour, day after day.  So the first step is to turn it off.  We all know what basic things we need to do to prepare.  And once those are done, tune instead to this moment.  Bring yourself back to this breath.  And for now, sit by the window and watch.  Notice this moment.   

And if over these days you begin to feel anxiety bubbling up…..do just as we did in our deep squat in class.  Allow the discomfort to rise.   Breathe into it.  Feel the sensations and notice where they are in the body and ask them to relax.  Slowing everything down.  Breathing into the belly, letting go of struggle and moving inward. 

So whether the storm is one from without, or from within, it is all just part of the path.  And if we want to be the infinite creators that we are meant to be, we must keep the front of the body open and continue to move forward through all that life brings us.    Being comfortable in the uncomfortable………..

All of this work with the fire element, although it may seem “hard”, is merely preparation for the real work – opening the heart.  Now that is the real challenge!

Believing I can, all the way to the center of my core,

SARAH

Quote of the Day

I must be a mermaid, Rango.  I have no fear of depths and a great fear of shallow living.

                                     
                                  Anais Nin
                                           (1903-1977)
                                        French-Cuban author

Fire.....transformation from within

Dear Yogis,

Bring awareness to the navel.  Send your breath there….beginning to breathe in and out from the navel center.  Opening up the whole front of the body.  Looking forward.  Exposed.  Unafraid. 

Manipura, our third chakra.  The place of transformation.  The fire.

 

It is in the heat of the fire that we find change.   Where we are challenged, uncomfortable, pushed out of our habits. 

We started with earth where we became still and quiet –  “aware” of the vastness that surrounds us.  Like a blank canvass on which to create.  With water we introduced movement, finding our flow and beginning to “feel”.  Awakening our aliveness and allowing our desire to bubble up.  Diving deep to discover what it is that will fulfill us.

Now we enter the fire where we give life to our desire.  Here we visualize what it will look like when we have manifested our desires into our lives.  Visualizing it as if it is already here. “Seeing” it clearly and  projecting this image onto this vast space in front of us with intention.  Painting the picture.  And then all we are asked to do is take baby steps…..

Water was the pilot light, simmering below the surface.  Fire is the passion.  The fuel of change.  Going from feeling like life just happens, to creating the life that you want and deserve.   And it doesn’t matter if your vision is some small change or something truly life transforming…..the Universe will respond exactly the same way.  So “see” big!

But it takes inner strength.  It takes discipline.  It takes knowing that you “can” and you “will”.  It takes an unwavering focus.  “Seeing” it day, after day, after day, after day.  Stepping out.  This is all comes from our core.  Without fire, it remains a wish. 

And when we find this true inner strength, we also find softness.  Nothing to prove.  This is the kind of strength that makes you feel beneath no one, but also above no one.   Not a blazing flame that burns others in its way…………. but a steady well stoked fire that provides fuel for action, warmth during the inevitable lows, and a guiding light on the path for both you and others. 

Seeing what I want, every day, with an unwavering focus,

SARAH

The new moon.......letting go to the darkness

Dear Yogis,

First of all I have to start by apologizing to the moon. 

Month after month I have talked about the beautiful cooling, feminine energy of the moon.  Month after month I check the calendar to note the date of the full moon and remind you all as it approaches so we can pull down her energy.   And as she approaches I am watchful to the night sky to see her in all of her glory and bask in her beams.  Anticipating.

But that is only one side of the moon.  Just as important and just as beautiful in its own way is the new moon.  The night she is dark.  The night she rests. 

But somehow I hadn’t noticed. 

 

Last night as I lit the candles and turned on the music for my Friday evening “time for me”, I did as I always do….. glancing out to the night sky to find the shine of the moon to spend time with her.  But I found only darkness, and remembered that we are approaching the new moon. That I would not be able to find her with my eyes.  That I needed to look inward. 

Where the full moon is the peak, the new moon is the valley.  Where the full moon is the abundance of summer, the new moon is the naked bareness of winter.   The full moon is time to celebrate and dance, while the new moon is time to retreat and take stock.   For women, the  full moon is the time of ovulation, where the new moon is the time to bleed.  The inhale, and the exhale. 

I tend to grasp for the peaks, and am still  not quite as comfortable in the lows.  I easily become addicted to the big bursts of growth, and struggle when things just simmer.  I love expansion.  I resist contraction.   But she reminded me last night that we need it all.    It is all part of the flow…..of the hum. 

So Monday night is the new moon.  The quiet darkness.  Time to retreat and journey inward.  To shed.  To reflect.  To feel where you are.  Taking time to nurture and pamper yourself.  Perhaps lighting a candle in her honor, or soaking in the tub.  Honoring yourself exactly the way that you are. 

And then Tuesday the moon will begin to wax back toward full again.  And this is the time of new beginnings, and of change.  Perfect as we move into our third chakra….Manipura…. our place of transformation.  Beginning to “see” what it is we want with an unwavering focus. 

But for the next few days, just soak.

Learning to become comfortable in the dark,

SARAH

 

Water......finding your flow

Dear Yogis,

 

This weekend was the Women’s retreat in Rehoboth, where I and a magnificent group of goddess yoginis, headed to the beach…to the water, to submerge ourselves.

And that we did.

 

With earth we got so still and silent that we noticed the unbelievably infinite vastness we are part of.  Filled with limitless possibilities in which to create. 

With water we now take that awareness and open up to “feel” it.  Feeling that space.  Feeling who we are.  Feeling what it is we truly desire -  what we long for.  Just plain feeling. 

So this weekend was filled with water.  From diving into the October ocean to go deep (and those of you who have been to the ocean with me know this was a big step!!!!)……. to lying drenched on the sand with no chair and no blanket, just  to feel the sand on our backs and the sun on our face…... being watched over all day long by the moon in the daytime sky……...to the very next day, walking to yoga class in the cold fall rain. 

But water is even more.  It is about finding your flow.  Finding that exact radio frequency on the dial that is yours and yours alone, to let go into.   

Today’s world would have you believe that life is about struggle.  Struggling to “get ahead” .   That “working hard” is the way to  succeed.  That the “daily grind” is required and necessary.  Swimming upstream.  “Fighting” your way to the top.  That is takes “toughness”, “grit” and “sweat” to make it.

But the journey I am on, and the one I hope to share, does not abide by those rules.  Life is not a test.  It is a magnificent, beautiful winding path that you can choose to create.  First by finding what it is you desire.  Don’t try to “think” of what that is.  Don’t analyze it or come up with a million reasons of why it can’t happen.  For now, just FEEL it.   And let go.

Not swimming against the current, but giving in to its flow. AAAaaahhhhh….

SARAH