"I AM"

"I AM"

Today is a holiday for me, Martin Luther King Day, and I am home. I started the day leisurely with a cup of coffee and my email. Interestingly enough I for once clicked on the "Oprah" email. I became curious when I saw the tagline "I am...". Oprah's guest on the program was Pastor Joel Osteen and he was discussing the positive benefits of starting your day with positive affirmations: I am strong, I am secure, I am beautiful, etc.

The power of this mantra is familiar to me. In Kundalini Teacher Training we discussed Yogi Bhajan's statement "vibrate the universe and it will vibrate back".  There are many others who have put this message forward; Dr. Wayne Dyer and Louise Hay come to mind.

But back to the idea of "I am": this message is very important. We can all be a little more positive, the more that are positive, the better the chance of change personally and in the world. Oh wait!! That's what Ghandi said, "be the change you want to see in the world". Yup, that's it.


 I agree with this message; positive affirmations can lead to change within yourself or those who you are "vibrating" for. If you change your thoughts you can stop beating yourself up or at least decrease the frequency of it. It changes your energy.  When I am in a "negative mood and down on myself" I feel it, I exude it and others around me pick up on it. The same goes for those around you; when they are down on themselves, you feel it. Do you really want to surround yourself with negative energy, bad juju? I sure don't.

There is a meditation in Kundalini Yoga Called Meditation Into Being: “I Am, I Am”. There is also a wonderful song, "Bountiful, Blissful, Beautiful" if you want something easy to remember. To me, these three words sum it up: I am bountiful, blissful and beautiful". You can access the meditation at http://www.yogibhajan.org.

So I wonder how many people will have to tell us this before we take hold of this idea? Will Oprah's Lifeclass be the tipping point for such a change? What will it take for you to start each day with just one positive statement?

Just give it a chance, try it for a week and see how you feel. It will be difficult to stop the negative, destructive self-talk but it will be worth it.

Sat Nam

TGIF

Today I am thankful that it's Friday. Some weeks are long, others are interminable. This one falls in the "interminable" zone. This is partially because of work and partially because I am in the "dead vacation zone". Last day off of work was in February; next day off is not until Memorial Day. The time in-between is filled with 5-day work weeks. I know, it sounds like I'm a wimp. But, honestly, when you see clients all day and are surrounded by their energy, it gets old, real old, real fast.

My weekends are my salvation. I stay home, avoid the phone, don't go to the mall, don't go anywhere. This is my "recharge" time. I need this time to survive. It takes 2 days to wash off the energy I collect all week. It accumulates in my psyche, invades my neurons, affects my being. It's not that I am an isolationist; I am a survivor and this is the antidote to my job.

Today when I got home it was warm, sunny, breezy. I sat out on the patio and just sat. I listened, felt the breeze on my face, listened to the birds, the breeze. In MBSR it is "Conscious awareness meditation". It was a wonderful way to detox. Best part is I have 2 more days to recover, meditate, practice mindful yoga, and regroup.

Amen, thanks for weekends, meditation, and yoga.

Rainy Sunday

Today was my second Sunday yoga class, "Sunday Sadhana" at Heart Center Yoga. I had planned on a mix of some Yin yoga interspersed with a bit of Yang but it seemed like a "Yin" type of day! While we lingered in Yin asanas, we meditated on the many benefits of a daily sadhana. There was a touch of flow, humble warrior, and warrior flow. All in all, it was a "yummy" class as one participant stated.

My trip to France was wonderful, the weather in Paris was very hot but once we embarked on the Riverboat and started cruising down the Seine, it cooled off. We visited the Normandy beaches and many towns along the way, notable Rouen, Les Andeleys and others. The highlight, by far, was watching the Bastille Day fireworks over the Seine. We were fortunate to be in town for the show and I even recorded them on my little camera.

My daughter was home from Maine for a week. She left this Friday and drove back with her chum, Clayton. It is difficult to watch them grow up and witness their bumps and bruises.

I am anxiously awaiting my trip to Italy with Risica. We leave on October 23 and will be in Florence for 4 days. We then travel to Spannocchia for a Yoga, Hiking and Relaxation program in the Tuscan hills. While in Florence I hope to go to Lucca to the village of my mother's parents. I am in the process of collecting birth certificates and marriage documentation so I can obtain Italian citizenship. Seems my Mother's father never became an American citizen so I am eligible for Dual citizenship, very cool.

Om Shanthi, Shanthi, Shanthi

I am at the point in training that I have to sequence a class and teach. YIKES! But I was thinking today that the Chinese new year is the year of the Tiger and it would be a great theme for a yoga class. I'm pondering poses and thought I would include those that can be restorative as well as those which generate strength.

According to the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of 2010 is the Year of a Golden Tiger, which begins on February 14, 2010 and ends on February 2, 2011. The first day of the lunar New Year 2010 falls on the 14th day of February, which is Saint Valentine's Day, so it is a day the West celebrates as a lovers' day, a day of romance. To the Chinese, it is the start of the Golden Tiger Year.

The Tiger is the third sign in the cycle of Chinese Zodiac, which consists of 12 animal signs. It is a sign of courage. This fearless and fiery fighter is revered by the ancient Chinese as the sign that wards off the three main disasters of a household: fire, thieves and ghosts. On New Year's day itself, it is beneficial to celebrate, to be happy, to have smiling faces, and to refrain from scowling, quarreling, or criticizing anyone. [http://www.springsgreetingcards.com/catalogs/store.asp?pid=48494&catid=22647]

The Tiger is one of the most beautiful creatures on the planet, and is feared and revered in equal measure. The Tiger symbolizes the female Yin energy as opposed to the Yang male energy of the dragon. The Tiger also represents earth, while the dragon represents Heaven. The powerful and stealth prowess of the Tiger inspire the martial art movements of many Kung-Fu masters.

Based on this exerpt, an appropriate sequence might include Yin components, Vinyasa flow and grounding poses.

Thoughts and points to consider while practicing include strength [mental, physical, emotional], courage to accept where we are at this moment, and yamas such as ahimsa, satya, asteya, bramacharya, and aparigraha.

It is interesting that the Tiger's two main features are rashness and hesitation, a pair of contradictions. If a Tiger knows how to relax and do things according to the situation, they can become quite successful. What a wonderful yogic thought; balancing rashness and hesitation, accepting challenges and just "being" in the situation

Yes, I think I like that plan.

Om Shanti