........letting something go

Yogis,

I am heading to warmth and sun for a restorative week of yoga, meditation, nature and calm.  Reminder – no classes next week…… We will resume the normal schedule on Monday 1/20.  I will have lots to share upon my return!

I wanted to leave you with a thought I have been carrying with me this week. 

Every meaningful step forward is intimately connected to something we let go.  Whether that be a job, relationship, doubt, fear, anger or a limiting belief that our mind attempts to box us in with……..something was released which gave room for the new. 

When we grip everything too tightly, we become crowded. 

So let something go…………………

 

……and see what returns.

I plan to let some fears go this week and try something I haven’t done before.  I know it will open some doors for growth.

I will see you in the Full Moon on Wednesday,

SARAH

......heeding winter's call

Dear Yogis,

This week we are back to our regular class schedule!!   The following week I will be away……learning and growing.

Nothing like frigid temperatures to slow life’s pace to a crawl.  Have you noticed?  The colder it has gotten, the less there seems to be to “do”. 

Winter is our time to take stock, rest and look inward.  A time to slow down in order to rediscover where it is that we are….physically, emotionally, in our careers, in our interests and in those areas where we may have become  a bit stuck.  During mild winters this natural and necessary phase of life occasionally gets skipped.  Not this month!! 

Even my body is telling me to slow down.  Small aches, stiff joints and creakiness seem to be visiting me – asking me to move in a more mindful way.  Knocking a little more loudly on the door when I don’t take notice.  Feeling the need to approach postures with respect and breathe my way in.  A tub filled with bath salts and rose petals calls my name.  Winter is a time to soak.

After a yoga class this weekend I overheard some women discussing the importance of weighing yourself daily to be sure you notice if a pound or two has snuck in unnoticed.   But they do and they should.  Just like the rabbit, our nature is to thicken our coat and become more curvy in winter, to protect and warm us.  This is no time for a diet of salads and fruit, but to feed the body’s longing for homemade soups, hearty stews and a hot cup of tea in the late afternoon.  Winter is a time to nourish in preparation for the bust of energy needed in spring.  And like the snow, the pounds will melt away as the seasons and we shift. 

This weekend we “de-Christmas -ed” the house, which always leads to clearing out the old to make room for the new.  Furniture moved, drawers cleaned, and closets picked through once again with an eye toward letting go of that which no longer serves.  Creating space with the intention of not allowing it to become cluttered again (check back with me in April on that).  Winter is a time of releasing.  Letting go of attachments.

So the house is cleaned, the soup is made, bills are paid….but there are still hours left in the day.  I find myself wandering around looking for something to do.  But it is unnecessary.   Winter is a time of the freedom to simply be.  Wrapped in a blanket with a good book.  Snuggled under the duvet in bed at only 9:00 because it has been dark for hours.   Hibernating.  Dreaming.

Last year I started an annual tradition of doing a 1000 piece puzzle beginning the first week of January.  Today I broke open the box, separating the pieces one by one to find the edges.  Beginning by forming the frame in which I will spend much of the next month (or two……this is a HARD one).  And as I looked for the final 3 edge pieces that somehow I had missed, I had an insight.  I needed to stop “looking” for them, and instead simply soften my gaze toward the table and “see” them……and there they each were, as if they were glowing. 

Winter is still and clear.  The skies at night are infinite.  The animals make their nightly trek through my yard, leaving only their prints in the snow as evidence.  Winter is quiet.   Winter asks us to see….not with our eyes, as the earth has drawn back its vibrant colors so as not to distract us……..but with the light of our inner vision.

See where you are…. without judgment.  See what you want…..without limitations.  And take these next couple of months to let it all settle into your bones.  Planting the seeds for growth.

Dreaming,

SARAH

a new year

Holiday Yogis,

OK, so who out there is not confused about what day it is???? 

I feel like I have had at least 4 Saturdays this week.  And when Friday finally arrived and I realized that it indeed was only Friday, I was delighted to know that I had a whole weekend in front of me in which to recover from all of those other Saturdays!  And we have another similar week in front of us.  Hope I can make it……J  Having the holidays fall on Wednesdays seemed to create a 2 week void where time and space became inconsequential. 

So here we are staring the New Year right in the eye.  Can you see it?  Can you hold its gaze?  Can you feel its potential?  A door, a curtain, a passage.  A pause.  A portal.  Leaving the old to enter the new.  As they put it in my WeMoon calendar – “At the Edge”. 

 

Powerfully amplified this year as it falls on the same day as the new moon - 1/1.  Wow!  Transitions. Moving from the dark back into the light.  Shedding what no longer serves us to be wrapped in a new way of being.  Stepping forward.

 

Take these next few days as we sink deeper into the dark to become still and use that inner vision we turned on in Ajna chakra, our third eye.  Go inward to see what it is that you want to manifest as you move toward the clear canvas that simply states “2014” as its title.  Anything.  See it, feel it, choose it.  You are a magnificent creative being. 

Then form it into an intention.  Put what it is that you want in a simple, clear, concise statement – in the positive and in the present – as if it has already arrived.

I am healthy…………..

                I have an open heart…….

                                I have a fulfilling job……..

                                                I meditate daily…………………

                                                                I can sky dive………………………………

I am fascinated by dreams (another third eye ability).  I was never much of a dreamer and when I did they were colorless and somewhat flat – typically not remembered.   So I decided about 2 years ago that there was a whole world there that I craved to tap into.  I began falling asleep on my back, placing mugwort in my pillowcase, and telling the Universe that I wanted to dream.  And there have been significant changes. 

But this year I am taking it up a notch!  My sister gave me a guidebook to Lucid Dreaming for Christmas.  The ability to wake up inside your dreams and eventually even be able to direct them.  Meeting with whoever you choose.  Deciding that it’s time to fly.  Feeling, smelling and hearing as clearly as if you were in an awake present moment……all with full awareness.   I “want” to do that, so I am choosing it. 

And the first step in the process, as with anything else we want to manifest, it to create the intention. 

I remember my dreams…………..

                I am aware while I am dreaming…………………

                                I am a lucid dreamer…………………………………

Every time I lie down at night.  Over and over and over.   With patience.  Journaling my experiences.  Knowing it will come.

Thank you Universe!

So choose what you want to see, have, feel and be on the other side of the door.  Draw it from deep within and the Universe will be there to support you every step of the way.  Be grateful now for what will come.   Don’t wait.

See you in my dreams!

SARAH

I can see clearly now

Quiet yogis,

In the throat chakra we snuggled into the warm embrace of silence.  Listening inwardly to what our hearts are telling us, without the noise of daily life.

Now in Ajna chakra, our third eye, we began to look from the inside.  To see all that our physical eyes are incapable of perceiving.   Our sixth sense.

 

Physically our eyes are quite limited.  The range of colors we see is narrow.  Our night vision is almost nonexistent.  Compared to a hawk, the distance we can see is miniscule.  And as we age, even seeing something up close becomes a challenge (is it me or is the writing on most labels becoming ridiculously small?).

But even more importantly than that, we look at the world through a distorted lens…..as if we are wearing dirty glasses.  Our mind places a layer of perception over everything we view….a layer built up by experiences, memories, likes/dislikes and judgment.  We sort, compare, evaluate and label in a mere instant.  Everything we see is shaped for us.  So is that really  seeing?

And when we are deep in the grips of stress we don’t see anything at all.  The eyes look at the surroundings as we move from activity to activity,  but nothing even registers.  Sort of like – where are those darns glasses???? – as you tear the house apart…..only to discover you are already wearing them.  Or you drive somewhere and have that panicked feeling upon arrival because you can’t even remember the drive. 

We both look at a picture of a woman.  One of us sees stunning beauty, the other sees someone too thin.  We both peer into the woods.  One sees the steadiness of the old oaks, yearning to sit against them…while the other sees the potential danger of the forest creatures, anxious to hurry back to the house.   Who is seeing correctly?

When we work with the energy of the third eye, we turn on our inner vision.   The ability to see what is real.  To see things exactly as they are. 

Those of you who practice with me know that I close my eyes often while I move.  I find that with the eyes closed I can more easily slide from the thinking mind to the feeling mind.  I don’t need to SEE you all to know how we are flowing, or sense your breath or feel the warmth of the energy that we generate as a group.   When we close the eyes, or allow them to soften, our vision becomes so much more expansive.  We begin to see with the whole body.  When you want to see another, close the eyes and draw them near.  See with your hands, see with the soles of the feet, see with your innermost core.

This inner vision also allows us to see ourselves more clearly too.  It is if we take a step back to observe ourselves – our thoughts, habits, different voices, and fears.  It reminds me of when we would watch videos we had taken and I would look at myself and feel like I was watching a stranger.  I don’t look or talk like that!!  It must be the camera. 

Close your eyes now and notice the room.  See yourself as if you are looking from above.  See what makes up this moment.

This is what meditation is all about.  Getting quiet, closing the eyes, taking a step back and watching.  What we do with what we see is our choice.  But if we choose to take out the windex and clean the glasses to see exactly what is here, we can begin to release those things that no longer serve us, getting closer and closer to the brilliant light within that we each are…..and then recognizing it in others.

I can see clearly now,

SARAH

the sound of silence

Yogis,

After another week of chanting, singing, toning, screaming and mantra my throat feels more open, clearer and pure.  Ready to speak my truths from deep within.

But first…….I have to get very quiet to hear them.  Not to hear myself think, but to hear the flow of my breath.

Though with the throat chakra we work on our voice, the actual organ of action for Vishuddha chakra is not the tongue, but the ears.  The ability to listen within. 

Silence. 

I have been watching the debate going on right now over the new law which would allow the use of cell phones in flight.  Oh my gosh.   Can you imagine?  Settling yourself in for a 2 hour flight, reaching that 10,000 feet altitude where the seat belt light goes off, and the guy sitting next to you (which these days feels like on top of you) speed dials his new girlfriend to discuss weekend plans for the remainder of the flight.  Or the women in front of you, whose reclined seat is now in your lap, calls her business partner to go over the third quarter financials.    All talking loudly to be sure they are heard over all of the other cell phone callers. 

The airplane has remained one of the few quiet refuges we have.  Nowhere is safe any longer from loud music, advertisements or tv.  I noticed this week that even Down Dog studio has a flat screen tv hanging at the front desk.  I didn’t get a chance to ask what the plan for it was, but not sure I really want to know.

Silence. 

To hear our innermost longings, to hear the direction the heart is asking us to go……we must have quiet in our lives.   And the more of it we have, the clearer our messages will be. 

So test your day.  Often noise is a habit….not always easy to break.   But first you have to notice it.  Do you automatically turn on the radio as soon as you turn the key in the ignition.   Is the tv on at times when you aren’t actually watching a show.  Do you need sound to help you fall asleep.  When you are with another, are you able to sit with them in silence, or does that make you uncomfortable. 

And noise is not only sound, but the barrage of information.  Can you go through ½  a day without surfing the web, or checking facebook.   Is it possible for you to go 2 days without reading the newspaper or watching the news.  Notice.

Silence.   The time to be just with yourself.  To hear yourself.

Silence has a sound.  A vibration ….when you listen for it.  Silence has a feeling.  Like being wrapped in a warm blanket….when you become comfortable with it.  Silence has a personality.  Like a long lost friend with whom you can be you…….when you invite it in. 

The holiday season can be a noisy time of year.  Be sure to set aside time for silence.  And ask yourself before you speak – “will what I am about to say improve upon the silence.” 

…..and  I am pleased to see that there has been a clear message sent from the majority of Americans that cell phones should remain silent while we lie back and enjoy the flight.  Let’s hope someone is listening.

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field.
I'll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass
the world is too full to talk about.
               ~ Rumi

And finally….

Never miss a good chance to shut up.
          ~Will Rodgers

Speaking from the heart, which means there is a lot less of it,

SARAH

........the season of wanting

Dear Yogis,

So fun to sing Kirtan with all of you in classes this week!  Lengthening the neck and clearing the throat to discover and tune our authentic voice. 

So here we are in Christmas season…….

“What do you want?” 

This past week I was asked that question over and over and over, as each member of the family wanted my Christmas list.    Now mind you, in the meantime I was doing the exact same thing to each of them – using my trusty little notebook to document each of the lists.   Not wanting to share my gift ideas for others with anyone as then I would again be staring at a blank page.

“What do you want?”

I strain my brain.  I walk around the house looking to see what I might be missing.  I glance through the endless stack of catalogs that have arrived.  Finally coming up with an idea, only to then be asked  “And what else do you want?”, as they have their pen poised over their trusty notebook waiting for an answer. 

I find it all very exhausting!!!

Ok, my sister gave me a cloth purse probably 7 years ago that gets a lot of use.  Probably time for a new one so I can give that to her for her list.  Yes!  I take my phone out to send a picture of it so she remembers the type.  But as I zoom in through the viewfinder and look at the purse with this new perspective, I realize I love the purse and its worn in look and don’t want  a new one!   Darn!!!  It gets scratched off the list.

So what do I want?  Why does it seem that all year we can think of things we need, but when asked directly, and knowing that what you ask for you will most likely get, the screen suddenly goes blank?

The throat.   Where we make things real.

We began with earth, noticing exactly where we are and the pure potential available to us.  In the realm of water we uncover desire.  Here is where we find our truest, deepest, wants.  With fire we “saw” what we wanted and planted the image on the blank canvas in front of us, beginning our movement toward it.  And at the heart we surrendered and learned to trust, to sense that we are supported and aren’t doing this alone.

But at the throat…….. the rubber meets the road.  Now we speak what it is that we want.  Honestly, clearly and with conviction.  Sending out what we want with our vibration.  For me this has always been the most challenging step.  Saying it makes it so real. 

Once we speak we have begun the process of manifesting, so we want to be sure we are speaking from deep within, and not just talking from the brain.  Because once formed into words and shared, it is hard to go back. 

The throat is our free will, the place from which we choose.   So choose what it is that you want and begin to speak as if it has already here.  Thank the Universe for it now, knowing that it is on its way. 

So, what do you want?

I want things that can’t be put on Christmas lists.   I want to write a book (although it is dawning on me that this blog may be just that).  I want to expand what I offer so will need to be financially compensated for what I do so I can do more.    I want to feel even more alive.   I want to feel free.   I want to “be” love.  Expansive wants but I have complete faith that they can all come into being…..and will. 

….but I still will come up with Christmas lists!

That wasn’t easy for me,

SARAH

....... things are looking up!

Yogis,

Have you ever noticed where your gaze tends to go as you move through your day? 

I tend to be one who looks downward.  Noticing every plant, weed, bug and small creature as I wander through the yard.  Scanning the river for snakes, ducks and shells.  Watching my feet as they connect to the earth…….and unfortunately also seeing every crumb that has fallen on the hardwood floors.  The elements of earth and water, with their connection to the exhale, are downward pulling.  Seeing right where we are.

But then there are those who are always looking straight ahead.  Seeing where they are going.  Looking for the destination without distraction.  This would be those who are more closely connected with the element of fire.  Forward movement…….determination…….but having to be cautious not to run others over! 

And finally those whose “heads are in the clouds”!  Always looking up, seeing what might be possible without the restrictions we sometimes impose upon ourselves just because of what is.  Here we find the element of air – the heart chakra.  Limitless view……..as long as you don’t trip over anything in your path!

 

I began to think how much more we could be experiencing if only we could see from every angle. 

So this week as we make the move from our focus on the heart up to the throat, and the element of ether,  I decided to “look up” to see what I might find.   Here is some of what I discovered.

Trees are perfect at this!  Their deep roots holding them firmly in place so that they can reach upward with such awesome strength and power.  Looking toward the heavens, but knowing exactly where they are. 

 

All day long I look down from my office at the squirrels rummaging through my garden for hidden seeds.  Today, with all seeds finally eaten, they even decide to try one of my gourds.  But as I look up I see where they peer down at me as  I sit beneath. 



 

With the leaves down, and the cold death of winter rapidly approaching, I can also see the beauty it brings, if only I look up.

Looking up to see the score  (great game this weekend!!!)…………….

                                                      
                                                         …….and noticing the setting sun as I head in to make soup

 

So begin to notice where you set your gaze.  Remember -  seeing is the first step in manifesting whatever it is that you desire.  So See it all….See it from every vantage point…..See not only where you are and where you are heading, but what is possible when you simply expand the horizon. 

Finally, watch what happens in the physical act of looking up.  The shoulders drop and the heart lifts!  Try it!

 

I am looking up,

SARAH