The Beauty of the Season

Happy holiday season Yogis!

 

As I finish up the last minute wrapping, decorating and “fluffing” of the house in eager anticipation of my family’s arrival, I have been contemplating the meaning of beauty.    We use the word so often.  But what is it?  How do we know when we see it……or is it more something we should feel instead of see?

 

Webster’s definition is “the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit”.    So although we are a vision driven society, where we are constantly reminded through tv, magazines and ads, what beautiful “looks” like, the definition goes much deeper than that. 

What about the beauty of a poem, how it stirs the heart.  And I remember the first time I went as a child to a large concert hall to hear an orchestra – the beauty and depth of the music brought me to tears.    Or the beautiful aroma of the air after the first spring rain.  The beauty of a rainbow…… just because it is so perfect. 

As we worked with opening the third eye over these last few weeks, it occurred to me that real beauty, the inner beauty of the soul, is seen from this spot, and not through the physical eyes.  Our physical eyes are attracted to what our mind defines as beautiful, but that outer beauty as they say….is skin deep.   If there isn’t a radiance behind it, it fades.  Beauty must have aliveness.  Like when you meet someone who has all of the outer trappings without the inner depth – your perception quickly shifts.  And likewise someone who may not stand out in the crowd,  but who turns and looks you right in the eye, and suddenly their brilliance washes over you like a wave of warmth.  The eyes are the window to the soul.

And who decided that wrinkles and aging aren’t beautiful?  I have been experimenting with this myself as I have taken a 6 month break from makeup.   Removing some of the outer layer that had become my habitual way of having the world see me.  But that really isn’t me.  Instead seeing if I can awaken my inner beauty and have that be what others see when they look.  (I will let you know how it goes J).  And as I look at others I too am trying to see them on the inside. 

So as we enter this holiday week my intention is to open to the true beauty of the season.  To not “look” for it in the bright lights, but to feel it with all of my senses.    Letting it all ‘exalt my spirit’!

Sending joy, lots of love, and beauty directly from my soul to yours,

SARAH

Another unexpected pause

Dearest Yogis,

The universe provided us another pause on Friday.  But this one was completely unexpected, not asked for, and unthinkable.  The Sandy Hook tragedy literally took our breath away……………………

 

 

Soon after the news started to arrive, I received an email saying that “it is hard to think about it without crying on the inside”.    So I sat with that during my Friday night time for me.  I sobbed.  I listened.  I opened.  And this is what I heard:

I am realizing that we are supposed to cry on the inside.   All of us.   Everyone of us.  Just a time of stopping and grieving.  Truly feeling all of those families.   Crying with them. 

But then for all of us not directly affected, those of us on the perimeter…..as we are ready, we begin to let that grief pour out the through the back of our heart, while we let the front of the heart start to spread wide open. 

Grief and joy/love are two sides of the same penny.   And all of us, everyone, on this outer rim who can,  should be sending that vibration of love from the open front of the heart to create a soft, tightly woven netting under all those affected.   Surrounding them with this highest vibration so that they can let go and truly allow their anger, grief and despair without the fear of falling.  Being held by all of us.

Too  often in times like this the opposite happens.  People begin to grieve for the families, but begin to take it on as their own grief.    Sometimes turning it into anger, or very often - fear.  Wanting action.  Reacting.  Analyzing.  Questioning.  That “we must do something now”.  That somehow we only care if we are “doing something”.        But this isn’t the time for that.   

There is enough anger and grief inside those involved without us all pouring ours into it, making it stronger.  Instead we need to be the support, to  just “be” love.  Emanate love  Only love will stop this craziness.    We need a true shift, not another political debate. 

Close your eyes, drop your shoulders and send out love.  Just love.   And now imagine just for a moment what it would be like if the whole county, or better yet the whole world, radiated love out the front of their hearts for even 15 minutes.  Powerful!!  Healing.  Helping.  

Last night I thought  of the Grinch Who Stole Christmas.  How in the early morning, once realizing all that had happened, they just joined around the tree, opened their hearts and sang.  Sending out the vibration of what it is that we all want.    Because what we live, is what we will be. 

And then down the road there can and should  be steps taken/action.  But from a place of peace and not as a reaction to a tragic event.

But for now, let this be the pause between the words.

With lots of love,

SARAH

Third Eye......the space between thoughts

Dear Yogis,

“Thoughts become things.  Choose the good ones.

                   ~Mike Dooley, author of Notes from the Universe

Our 6^th chakra, Ajna, the center between the eyebrows….our third eye.    Here we meet up with the mind.  Oh my.

Our minds are amazing tools.  But how many of us instead find ourselves slaves to our thoughts.  Referred to as ‘monkey mind’, that constant inner dialog telling us how we feel, what might happen, the fifty things that must get done today, what is right, what is wrong – spinning and changing direction on a whim.  Not a tool, but the commander in chief. 

And living in this fast paced, high tech age has only seemed to ramp up its speed and intensity.  The constant barrage of information,  noise and lights fill  our mind until we begin to feel like Fox News with two screens and two moving tickers along the bottom.    One thought to another to another to another…..until we have literally squeezed out the space between thoughts.  Controlled by thought.

Right now – just STOP.  Stop everything.  Suddenly STOP.  Notice what happens.  Now begin to move and think again….and then STOP.  Suddenly. 

 

 

At the third eye we find the void.  The gap.  The space.   The stopping.

Another way to practice this is to close the eyes and watch the breath.  Begin to notice the gap at the end of the exhale and over time lengthen it.  Allow yourself to see this gap.  Feel it.  It is the entryway “in”.  To me it feels like being suspended in mid air.  It contains nothing, yet contains absolutely everything.  It is our place of peace. 

So back to choosing our thoughts.   In order to choose them, we first must be able to watch them.  In order to watch them we have to be able to detach from them to observe.  And we have to put the space back in between them so we can at least differentiate one for the next!!!  This is called meditation.    

Meditation is simply stopping to watch.  Anyone can do it.  I have many people tell me they can’t meditate because their mind is too busy.  That is the same statement as I can’t do yoga because I am inflexible.  Which would be the same statement as I can’t diet because I am overweight.  Anyone can meditate.  It is a lifelong process that can begin at any moment.  A daily practice – as all parts of the yoga journey are.  I have heard meditation referred to as “dental floss for the brain”.    I love that!

Meditation needs no financial investment – just the desire to know yourself better and to feel better.  You can sit in a chair, or on the floor or your bed, with a pillow propped under you so that your hips are slightly elevated.  But sitting as opposed to lying.    And start with just 10 minutes.  Everyone has 10 minutes each day.  Everyone.  And pick a time that you can do every day.  Morning works well for this.  Set your alarm 15 minutes earlier, brush your teeth, go to the bathroom and then sit.  It will give you back much more than 15 minutes of sleep ever could hope to (or just go to bed 15 minutes earlier!). 

I like to wrap my shawl around me.  It tells my body that it is time to be still, like going into a cocoon.  Then close your eyes.  Take a quick scan through the body to release any holding.   Then watch your breath.  Just watch.  You can count your breaths backward starting from 50, or you can watch and feel that space at the end of every exhale.  And when the mind begins to wander……and it will……just notice.  See where it went, and then bring it back to the breath.  Over and over and over.

When you are finished, awaken the emotion of gratitude in your heart and send its vibration out.  Thank the Universe, and then open your eyes.    Aaaaaahhhhh….ready to begin your day from this place of peace. 

Like any new habit we are trying to form, it will take time.  But since “you” are the commander in chief, and not your mind, all you have to do is decide that you are going to do it.  That’s it!  Just decide and do it every day for a month and watch what happens.     Oh, and when your mind tries to talk you out of it each day…..notice that too. 

Meditate, live vividly.

Ooooommmmmmmmm……………………

SARAH

Throat.....baring your soul

Yogis,

This week we drew from deep within, allowed the energy to rise, and then toned, screamed, roared and sent our vibration out.  And it felt very freeing! Expressing our true selves.  Finding our authentic voice.

We all have many voices we use – our parent voice, our spouse voice, our friend voice, our board member voice, our work voice…..and they go on and on.  Usually each one slightly different in words used, body movements, facial expression and sometimes even the pitch of our voice.    Each one tuned to what we feel is “expected” or “accepted”.   We build these voices based on life experiences and how we were responded to when we “spoke up”. 

As social creatures we want to belong and be acknowledged.  We want to please.  We learn at a very young age what is “ok” to say at home, in school and on the playground, and we slowly develop voices around it.  Often at the expense of our one true voice. 

So here we are on this spiritual journey.  We find the stillness and see the pure potential.  We begin to feel and awaken desire to sense what it is that will make this life fulfilling.  We visualize it in detail and send it out to the universe fueling the inner passion, and believing we can do it.  Then at the heart we start to sense there is a benevolent energy much bigger than us that we can  surrender to with utter trust to support us…………  But then we must begin to express it.  It has to make its way passed the throat and out into the Universe to make it real.  I have to begin to speak as ME. 

The throat is a very narrow channel and it is easy to  get in the habit of “swallowing our words”, becoming choked up, or having a lump in the throat.   The archetype of the closed throat is the silent child, and it is often the cause of throat issues, TMJ and tension in the neck.  Our radiant inner energy, our truth, expanding and yearning  to get out and be heard, but trapped.  It is often said – that which you cannot communicate will control you. 

What this isn’t – telling people what you think.    That is the flow from the brain out the mouth.  No throat really involved there.    Vishuddha is our place of purification and free will.  Here we are communicating from the soul.  The flow is from the tailbone through your very core and out the mouth.  Speaking from the heart.  These words are honest, meaningful and pure and resonate perfectly with what is on the inside.  Letting ourselves be seen.

So this week as you are speaking, begin to notice where the words are coming from.   And if you find they are just a pouring out of the mind’s inner dialog, take a pause.  Drop your awareness to your tailbone and slowly draw an inhale up along the spine, through a wide open throat and send an expressive exhale out the mouth.  Changing the flow.  Sending you out!

My soul speaking to yours,

SARAH

 

Life's Pause Button

Yogis,

Have you ever noticed how a holiday seems like a big pause button on the remote control of life?  Before a holiday, life ramps up, trying to squeeze both our regular responsibilities and the preparations all in the same 24 hour days.  But then it arrives…….and everything pauses. It is like the gap between breaths.  The space between words.  A time of veering off the trail .

 

During a holiday like Thanksgiving, we step back.  The to do list drops away.  Work seems like a distant memory.  We sleep late, eat what we crave, and do whatever we feel like….often with a lot of togetherness.  It is a time of becoming present.  Being in the moment without much concern for the past or the future.  Just being.  Selecting what to do next not by what you should do, but what you feel like doing.   It’s as if the world will just wait.

And I had a second layer of pausing piled on, like the whipped cream on the pumpkin pie ……I was still sick for most of the holiday. It dragged me back to the pure physical-ness of walking through life in this human body.   Aware of each discomfort.   I realized that illness also is a form of stopping.  I didn’t run for two weeks, and only practiced yoga a few times throughout.  So this Wednesday I  finally gave in and visited a clinic to get antibiotics, and found myself diligent in not exerting.  The “me” who always wants to do, help and give, had to rest.  Had to surrender.  Even sending out my vibration was too exhausting so I just allowed the Universe’s hum to soak in as comfort.  I personally did many things I never do in my daily life – watched tv, ate rich foods, and sat on the couch for hours on end.  At one point we watched 3 back to back episodes of “The Big Bang Theory”, just because it was one of my sister-in-laws favorites – and because we could. 

When we pause we notice and become more aware.  And what we see or experience may be pleasing, annoying or even uncomfortable.  During the pause of holidays, or being sick, there can be just as many moments of wanting to soak it all in, as there can be of wishing you could run away as fast as you can.  We see everything, including our own lives, our likes and dislikes, our hot buttons, and our vulnerabilities, exactly as they are.   This is what mindfulness is all about.  Being with it all.

But tomorrow the play button will be pushed, and life will pick up right where we left it.  Work will be there and I will dive back into my running and yoga.  Like coming out of a cocoon.  Making our way back onto the trail.  But is it possible to bring a piece of this pause with us (perhaps without the green bean casserole and stuffing) so that we don’t become removed from all that is here?

Today I bundled up and walked down to the river to just sit.  And sit I did for ½ hour, quieting my mind and letting the world pour in.  And I realized that this is a pause that I do weekly.  The day up to that point, and the walk down are filled with activity.  But then I just stop.  Completely stop.  And when an inner voice tells me I am done, I express gratitude, and then hit the play button of life.  But I enter back in with a calm and a broader view.  We all need these pauses, and not just at times of big events, holidays and illness.

So what is your pause button in daily life?  And do you hit it often enough?

Pausing to notice,

SARAH

Throat.......your vibration

Dear Yogis,

The Universe has an unusual sense of humor.  This week we began our classes on Vishuddha, the throat chakra, where we find our voice…………. and I completely lost mine.  During Tuesday’s classes my glands began to swell, my throat became sore and by the end my voice was deep, gravelly and hoarse.   By Thursday night I tried to be heard through loud whispers, and by Friday’s class I gave in completely and we just did a gentle flow.   Talking had become utterly exhausting.

But even though Vishuddha is about self expression and being authentic, its deeper meaning is in the silence.   And I was given, without necessarily asking, the chance to explore it.

 

The organ of action for the throat chakra isn’t the mouth or tongue.  It is the ears.  Listening.  Listening within. 

The majority of our speaking has a specific energy flow ….from the mind, out through the mouth.  From the mind, out through the mouth.  From the mind, out through the mouth.  Speaking what we “think”.   Letting others listen to what we “know”.  Filling the silence with the busy-ness of the mind.

But to speak with our authentic voice we must first get very quiet and go deep within – changing the direction of this energy flow.  Noticing (earth), uncovering our true desires (water), awakening passion (fire), opening the heart (air) and then radiating all of this through our out breath in words.  From the tailbones connection to earth, through our very center and out through the mouth.  From the tailbones connection to earth, through our very center and out through the mouth.   Speaking as “you” from the heart.   Honestly.  With courage.   With this kind of talking, there is a whole lot less of it. 

So this week as I tried to rest my voice I could watch.  I would only speak when something needed to be said.  And I worked on my vibration.

As beings of energy we have a vibration.  You know how you can tell when someone is behind you, often before hearing them?  Or you walk into a room and instantly know that someone is angry?  You can feel them.  Our vibration communicates, affects others, and leaves a mark on the places we go.  And the more you begin to lead life and speak from the heart, the higher your vibration will become.  Like the perfect circle I spoke of in my last post, you begin to radiate love, the highest vibration…. And you become a magnet. 

You can also actively send your vibration out!  Try it.  Your vibration is a form of self expression, as much as, or possibly more than your voice.  Close your eyes and find some part of “you”, the real you, that you  don’t typically let others see.    For me it is what I have always referred to as my “wildness”.   For others it might be your soft side,  your sensuality, your humor, or your grit.  Something deep inside that the “persona” you have built up on the outside, can’t really express.   “Feel” what it feels like.  Then energetically spread the whole front of the body wide open, drop your shoulders to give your throat a lot of space, and send it out through vibration.  If you are alone, there may even be a sound you let out with it.    The more you do this, over time the easier it will become to let that part of you “OUT” all the time. 

How freeing!  Aaaahhhhh………………….  Can you feel me?

Not needing to speak,

SARAH

Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.

            ~William Arthur Ward

Heart.....the perfect circle

Dear Yogis,

Begin as we always do.  Slow everything down and notice this moment. 

Notice your breath.  Notice your physical presence.  Notice the space that surrounds you and its sounds and sensations.  Feeling what it is like to be “you” right now.   Right here.  It never gets old, does it…..

Now bring your awareness to the space around your heart…..an inner bow…. And watch the breath flow like gentle waves over the heart.  This is our sacred space and if you get very still you will begin to notice that  it feels like no other space in the body.  The heart has a unique energy.  And it is quite powerful.

This is the home of our joy, our sorrow, bliss and grief.  It is also our space of love.

Love.  That elusive emotion.  Sometimes it charges at us with blinding force.  Other times it seems to slip away.  Sometimes just out of reach.  It can lift us to soaring peaks and wound us to our very core.  Sometimes smothering and other times so very comfortable.  But the one unifying thing about love is “we all want it”.  It is our most primal longing to be fulfilled.   But what is “it”?

Have you ever met someone in a random situation where your eyes locked and you felt like you had known them forever?  Where your conversation was immediately so comfortable and deep that you felt you could talk forever?  Where when it is time to separate it felt like two magnets being pulled apart?  That is one of the Universe’s way of giving us a glimpse of LOVE.  It is the seeing of the other’s soul through the window of their eyes.  LOVING them not for who they are, what they wear or what they look like, but because it is like talking to yourself. 

Most of the love we experience in life is personal love.  The love of our friends, family, homes, traditions……and it is beautiful and wonderful and provides us with support, warmth and joy.  But it contains some boundaries and limitations because it is the type of love that we seek from the outside.  The feeling that someone or something outside of us will “complete us”….. make us whole…make us happy.   That missing piece that when we find it, we will be full.  Like a pie with a missing slice.   Looking to be “loved”.   But when the piece no longer fits correctly, or our empty space shifts or changes, the love fade away.  It no longer serves us.  This is human nature. 

But the emotion we look to awaken in Anahata, the heart, is LOVE.  Unconditional, universal.  Vibrational.  It is spiritual and it is contained completely within you.   And when this is touched…when this is opened, it is like a volcano.  Limitless and filled with tremendous power and light.  Fulfilling….right out to the edges of your being,  becoming “complete” from within.  Needing nothing from without.   A perfect circle.  And because it is an ever flowing fountain, it can’t be contained within the artificial boundary of the skin – so you begin to emanate LOVE.   Not looking for love, but being LOVE.  ……and the more you give, the more you feel.

And from this space you can begin to see it in others.  Recognizing “you” in everyone.  All flowing from the same fountain. Feeling the other “complete” circles when your paths meet. 

LOVE is like coming home. 

"and think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course"
                          ~The Prophet (Kahlil Gibran)

But we must LOVE ourselves first, 

SARAH