BFFs

Tonight in class, a student was working on doing a "bind" - a yoga move that requires pretty open and flexible shoulders. I mentioned that trying to force them might cause some rebellion and may not be the most efficient result. Then I asked "what about you? How do you respond when someone tries to make you do something?" Being a fellow rebel, the person smiled knowingly, like yeah, never gonna happen...

So if we look at what we respond to and what we don't and apply to, I don't know, OURSELVES, dontcha think we might have more success? I'm just saying' ...

Who's your BFF? Duh. You.

;-)

Clarity

The clearer we are, the clearer we are, and the clearer we transmit our intentions to the universe. Also, the clearer we are, the quicker we manifest those intentions.

Example: in agility class, when I am clear with my signals and while running the lines, my dog has more fun because he knows exactly what to do. I have more fun because he's having more fun. It's also fun to see through his behavior that what I put out, is what I meant to put out.

Happy Birthday Winston! 5 years old today.

When the curtain comes down

When I was little, I wanted to be a star. I told my mom, and she said "that's all fine and good, but what happens after the curtain comes down?" I think she was hinting that a family would be more fulfilling than a life on the stage, but that's another story.

So what does happen when the curtain comes down? When the "drama" ends? That is a big question. How do we deal with our lives if we don't have a big drama to deal with, to occupy or minds, to give us something to do, or even a purpose in life? As yogis, we do our practices in order to eliminate the trauma-drama aspect of life. When this is gone, or even less than it was, it may be challenging to feel like we have a purpose. That's why the practice of being ok with limbo or he unknown, or free time, or space is important. That's one reason why we need to learn to love ourselves. Then when we are stuck with nothing but ourselves after the curtain has come down and the drama is gone, we can still delight in life, and thus, keep living.

So do we do revivals of our greatest hits where the story is the same, but the names and places may be changed. Or do we write a new script?

Lost days

Sometimes a day gets so long, it gets lost. That's kind of what happened yesterday. And the Oscars. Yes, I taped them and watched the whole thing when I got home. Go Meryl. Thanks Billy. And Martin, Hugo won so many awards, I guess I'll have to go see it.

Obstacles

We all have our own obstacles. These obstacles are in fact neutral happenstances that we interpret to back up whichever voice is the strongest. Is it our voice of the past? Is it fear? Or is it a sign from god? Well, everything is a sign from god. The question is, how good are we at reading them?

Agility part 2

One of the next things we do, is to get the dog to respect and follow the line- in other words, automatically move from one obstacle to the next. And it's fun for them!

Zit

I got a big zit today, only instead of on the middle of my face, it's under my eyebrow. Same issue, same size, but it has less impact. In fact, if I were to ignore it, there would be no impact. So at this point in our development, it's kind of up to us whether or not to make a big deal of something.

Pet shop

Why is it so easy to have the answers got someone else? To literally or figuratively clean their house? To have the best insights ever? Because we have no attachments or judgements to keep is from making the clearest decisions and actions. That's why cultivating witness consciousness is key so we can give ourselves the same advice that we would give our best friend. So we can love ourselves as unconditionally as we love our pets.

Agility

In agility training for dogs, one of the first things we do is reinforce the dog's desire to overcome obstacles. So who's dog are we?

the Anti-"doht"

So how do we learn the lessons faster, so we Know, and Know that we Know?

Assimilate. When we can assimilate our experiences, we learn faster. Like food. When we can assimilate our food, we get more nutrition. Assimilating life experience gives us the nutritional value of perspective, awareness, and ultimately choice.

How do we assimilate life experiences?
1) Stop judging. Yep. Stop it. Judgments will get in the way of seeing what's going on. They get in the way of seeing what forces are at play.
2) Remember that it's never outside of yourself. When we start to see all actions and reactions as extensions of ourselves, we start to see a bigger picture, which will then help us get a clue as to what is really going on when things continue to replay themselves. This continual "replaying" is a symptom of not being able to digest. This is also a yoga technique called "svadyaya" - self reflection.
3) dont take anything personally. This takes the other person's thoughts, feelings, intentions (all perceived by us) out of the picture, giving us more energy to assimilate, aka face ourselves.
4. If you do yoga, work on building bhuta agni, aka "ghost fire" which is the transformational element of fire that helps us to digest life. Do twists, agni sara, maha mudra.
5. Repetition. Repetition. Repetition. Keep repeating the lesson, each time consciously bringing more awareness to the cycle. Which usually means we are letting go of more judgements about it, and blaming less. The more awareness, the faster we will get a clue as to the cause/effect of the lesson we want to learn, or the action or choice we want to change. See Assimilate.
6. Decide that you are done with Karma and embrace all your actions as perfect. This one may be tough to assimilate, but hey, why not put it out on the table to see what happens?
7. Intensify the situation. Yes, go for it. All in. Blow it out. Stick your hand in the flame. If you are the dramatic type, embrace the big wakeup call, walk into the fire and feel the burn. For some, this way works the fastest. For others, well, let's just say it was nice knowing you...
8. Phone a friend. A real friend. One who has a clue and will tell you the truth - not just what you may want to hear. Tell them to lock you in a closet until you change your ways. Give you only water and carrots. This could be an example of #6.
9. Remember who you really are. In other words, practice your divinity. Know that your are Divine. When this one starts to really kick in, things start to move much, much faster.

Doh!

Doh! One word by homer Simpson implying "I should have known better." well, if we really knew better, we would have made a different choice.

When we're learning, we may intellectually understand that one piece of cake is better than the whole cake, but in the moment where we realize that we've eaten the last crumb, we obviously didn't know better. Our intellect knew, but we didn't really Know. When we Know something, it's virtually impossible to act against that knowledge. We all Know that if we stick our hand over a flame we'll get burned. We don't have to keep repeating it, lesson learned.

Bottom line, we Know it when we Know it. What we can control is how long it takes us to learn the lesson. And that my friends, is another story. Ya know?

Limbo

We make choices based upon what works, or what has worked in the past. At some point we grow past those solutions/actions/responses and they stop working. Yet we may not be sure of what to do instead. Being ok with this state of limbo can require discipline and patience. This is us evolving past our current reality. Are we wiling to embrace another point of view? The answer to that question may be the difference between happiness and suffering.

From the mouths of babes, or not babes

So what if someone were to tell you to stop judging everything that comes out of your mouth? Wow. What would happen? Would the world come to an end? Would all social morays be shot to hell? Would finishing schools go out if business?

If we spent more time examining whether what we said was making our life better or worse, and less time judging the content, we might actually be able to assess what the effect the content had on our lives, and thus, give us important feedback/information which might shape the next time we find ourselves in a similar situation.

In a nutshell, we could stop judging and start learning. And btw- this by no means a judgment on those who choose to do it that way. Every path is perfect. Stay light. Have more fun. And if you like what is coming out of your mouth- awesome! If not, is beating yourself up going to change the outcome? If it is- great! If not, maybe find another approach. I'm just saying...
😊

Sound bite

What is the loudest sound you heard today? Your car radio? Your iPod? Some voice inside of unbeknownst origin?

No matter what sound you heard, the important thing is - what was the answer? Was the response from a place that would "keep the kid quiet?" or from a place of seeking a response that might be a more lasting answer or solution to an immediate situation, problem, or issue?

No judgement here - there is no right or wrong answer. We are all doing the best we can in every moment. Can we free ourselves from automatic responses to situations in order to change the outcomes? To make that happen, it's helpful to be able to see a bigger picture. That helps us challenge our "comfort zone," which is awesome, but can also get in our way of moving beyond our current reality.

It may sound like I'm talking out of 2 sides of my mouth. On one hand I preach Effortlessness, on the other hand I talk about moving outside of the comfort zone. Yes. That's exactly right. I mean, that's what I mean.

Yep.

Sorry about the wrap job. It's not always pretty, but the gift is still there.

Falling

Falling in love. Falling off a log. Free falling. Or did we just really lose our balance?

Best in show

So tonight the pekingese took best in show. Best in show is all about "it" factor. Totally subjective, unquantifiable, it's all about one persons opinion on a given day in a given moment. Personally, I thought it would go to either the German Shepard, the Doberman, or the Irish setter. But that's just me and in that moment my opinion didn't matter. One thing to keep in mind for all of us "beat in shows" that never won the ribbon. You were/are best in show in someone's book. They may not be the one on tv, but someone sees your awesome-ness.

Happy valentines day to all of us winners in the show of shows!

Grooming

Grooming my dog is like yoga class. He's not always into the process, but he loves the result.

Fun- the ultimate alarm clock

I think that it all boils down to a few things: am i having fun? If not, try not taking things so personally and stop judging. Then re-ask the question: am I having fun? Did the answer change?

What is it really that gets us up out if bed in the morning? What makes us say "yay! A new day! Let's do it!" I venture to say that it has very little to do with obligation, instead, it has to do with either having fun, or the promise of a better life.

Fun is in the moment. The promise is in the future.

The naked eye

What can't be seen with the naked eye? Well, from one point of view, we don't see the truth because of our veils of avidya, or the perceptions of illusions that keep us blind. So if our eyes are truly naked, veil and illusion free, then technically we should be able to see everything with the naked eye.

So I guess we need to watch out for sunglasses no matter how cool we think they make us look...

Planting

Planted seeds today. Let's see what grows.

Today or tomorrow

As far as I'm concerned, it's still today, and yet this will post as tomorrow. Time exists in duality, the same realm as blogs. What I really want to say is, again, I am so honored and blessed to have students show up to class. Because they do, we are all blessed and privy to whatever universal lessons or truths (semantics) that happen to be available to us in the moment. Whether we play the role of student or teacher, we are all learning, evolving, expanding the realms of consciousness and possibilities that are ever present in the eyes of the creator. And there is always chocolate in case it gets too intellectual, because experience trumps intellect when it comes from a place of non-judgment, which is quite potent in terms of getting a larger perspective.

Amen.

Buffet

No, this is not about Warren Buffet. Even though that would make an interesting post. Buffet. Boofay.

we all bring a different flavor to the stew of life. do we stew in the stew? do we spice it up? are we the gravy that brings it all together?  everyone brings a different flavor, and we are not required to like every flavor. what is helpful though, is to embrace a diverse menu and selection of flavors so everyone will have something to enjoy. i mean, if my favorite thing is dill pickles and i decided that there should only be dill pickles on the buffet, that would kinda suck. that's what is essentially happening when we want everyone to fit into our own idea of what we think being a "good person" is.

thank goodness for limitless choice.

you can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant. Even Alice.

yummy!

Humble

Humbleness emerges as we release judgment and embrace equanimity.

Rain and Nerves

The sound of rain on skylights soothes my nervous system. Like ujayii breath, but more effortless.

Thank you

Today I had the great fortune and opportunity to re-connect with a teacher who is right up there in the category of "one who has helped shape me." Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen. I worked with her fresh out of college as I was embarking on a path of dance, self discovery, self healing, and the quest for self understanding. She influenced all of them. She pioneered the field of what is now known as "somatics," and back then, we were just a bunch of people rolling around on the floor trying to breathe from our cells. Today I got to roll around on the floor and get back into that mind, as she reminded us that as far as the body is concerned, it already knows what to do. We just need to get "under the patterns" and back to that pure state of equilibrium, of effortlessness. She provides a space of non-judgment so we can explore and remember. She holds the space as we reconnect with parts of ourselves that we have forgotten.

I have been blessed and have had the opportunity to study with masters, and she is one of them. If I could provide for others even a fraction of what she gave me, from that place of selfless grace, that would be awesome.

So to Bonnie, and all my teachers, thank you.

❤

Paycheck

It's amazing what a little attention will do. Just be directing thoughts aka attention, the very act of that feeds whatever it is you are paying attention to. And what are we really paying? We are paying with Prana, with energy, energy that we cultivated. It's a pranic paycheck. So what are we investing in? Who/what are we paying?

Opposites

Full. Empty. When in a balanced state they actually feel the same. Imbalanced, one might feel heavy/stuffed/overwhelmed, or lonely/unfulfilled/hungry/vacant.

Festering

Just to be clear- its not all about pontificating pretty philosophy. Sometimes it's about the gritty nitty. And my secret formula for a zit festering beneath the skin is -- drum roll please-- toothpaste. Yes, dab toothpaste on the area, and leave it alone - overnight is great. Keep at it and all will either shrivel up and die, or come to the surface. If only everything could be solved by a dab of toothpaste...

For the love of it

You know why i love teaching yoga? Because where else can i get paid to walk around the room, speak from a point of my inner truth and knowingness, and watch barriers, obstacles and thoughts dissolve before my very eyes? I have the privilege of growing and evolving on the job. But I guess that is our job, right?

Oh to those of you who enter the classroom with me at the helm, or to those who just enter the classroom of life - welcome and thank you! thank you for trusting enough, for having the courage, and the willingness to play with this great experiment called life - on the mat and off.