Practice of the Day from Niroga

For this week, try to block off about 15-20 minutes everyday to go for a walk outside.

Before you start to walk, tune into your breath. As you proceed and take your first step, maintain some awareness of your breathing while also becoming aware of your movements. Continuing on, try to feel each step, the feeling of your feet as they touch the ground, and how you are holding your body. In this way, you are turning an automatic activity into a very mindful one. See if you notice the difference from when you pay attention from moment to moment and when your attention wanders off and you are no longer aware of your walking.

Each time your attention wanders, notice when it happens, and with patience and non judgement, bring awareness back to your breath and your movements.

See if you can bring this quality of mindfulness to the rest of your day. Perhaps you might notice you do not feel as rushed, that you can slow down mentally, but move quickly at the same time if you need to. Mindfulness can drastically transform how you perceive your life from moment to moment and the way in which you interact with the world.

“Do you have the patience to wait until your mud settles and the water is clear?

Can you remain unmoving until the right action arises by itself?

The master does not seek fulfillment.

Not seeking, not expecting,

she is present and can welcome all things.”

~Tao Te Ching, Ch.15

Please post your experiences to comments

Every night before you fall asleep and every morning before rising, spend 5-10 minutes observing your breath. This may sound simple, but if it is something you are not used to doing, it is really easy to forget; so you might want to write a note and set it by your bed as a reminder.

Your body and mind will thank you.

Try to stay consistent.

You may want to start with just 5 minutes, and increase to 10 as the week progresses.

All you have to do is observe your breath, do not try to control it or analyze. Every time your thoughts distract you, notice when it happens and simply start again and observe the next breath. This should especially help you if you have trouble sleeping or if you wake up feeling anxious about your day. Who knows, maybe this will become a regular routine for you.

You may find that your sleep becomes more restful. During the day, you should feel centered, present and refreshed.

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.” ~ Dalai Lama

Please post your experiences to comments

For this next week, as you go about each day, tune into your breathing by noticing the movement of your abdomen as it expands on the inhale and contracts on the exhale. Notice what this does to your general awareness of things. Notice too, how it feels to be more connected to your body while you are going about your normal activities and whether you cane see any changes in the way you are seeing things and feeling about yourself. Read more…

Please post your experiences to comments

On Saturday I went to a great workshop, Yoga for a Healthy Posture, at Uptown Yoga in Oakland. The instructor was Simona Balan, and she was very knowledgeable about the body and specifically the spine. She opened up the workshop with a great reminder, that our emotions affect our posture, and vice versa. Read more…

Please post your experiences to comments

Hopefully you all realized that yesterdays post was an april fools practice.

It is interesting though, speaking of cigarettes. I read in the New Yorker several years ago that smoking is the sinister form of Yoga, all we want to do is take a deep breath.

So your practice now is to honor your breath, be grateful that you can breathe, and see each breath you take as a chance at bliss

Please post your experiences to comments

It is tax season, so I know stress is higher than usual for most people.

So today I have a very special practice for when you are feeling extra stressed.

This afternoon, instead of taking your usual coffee break, go down to the nearest cafe and drink a pint of a delicious ice cold beer. Be sure to find a place outside where you can smoke cigarettes and smoke at least two. (Try to buy the organic American spirits, they are more expensive but at least they are organic and they do not have additives).

Tonight, if you are still feeling stressed, smoke at least two more cigarettes and then again right before bed time.

Namaste

Please post your experiences to comments

It is very easy to let certain thoughts turn into a mood or an emotion if we are unaware of the thoughts as they are happening. Or we might be aware of the thought but we are so conditioned to identify with them that we don’t realize how quickly they can take shape and change our reality or perspective. If we are used to letting certain thoughts control how we behave and we are not happy with the outcome of the behaviour, perhaps it is time to question or inquire about what we are thinking and also take a moment to stop and reconnect with our true Self. Sometimes an angry or negative thought is merely a cry out for us to connect with our true nature. Read more…

Please post your experiences to comments

Trikonasana: 15 breaths right side

Vinyasa

Trikonasana: 15 breaths, left side

Vinyasa

Savasana: 5 minutes

“In dwelling, live close to the ground.

In thinking, keep to the simple.

In conflict, be fair and generous.

In governing, don’t try to control.

In work, do what you enjoy.

In family life, be completely present.

When you are content to be simply yourself

and don’t compare or compete,

everybody will respect you.”

~Lao Tzu, Tao te Ching, Ch. 8

Post your experience to comments

healthy hints for happy living!

People define Yoga many different ways. Some think of it as an
exercise, a religion, meditation. It is my understanding that the
simple definition of the word Yoga is “union”. So what am I
trying to have a union or joining of? My bones and my ligaments? My
mind and my breath?
A book that I am currently involved in talks about the middle way. I
think that I can be happy taking this middle way, not letting myself
swing too far to the left or the right, and finding the balance between too
much and not enough.
The middle way is the natural flow of energy and you can just go
with it — no resistance, nothing to control, simply flowing with the
rhythm of life itself.
If I apply the middle way to a pose, I would be moving into that sweet spot
between effort and ease – the place where grace resides. There,  I can
simply breathe and feel my heart open wide to what my body is
experiencing, aware that this sweet spot is a huge thing,
ever changing as my body and mind are.
If I stray from the middle way, I feel myself  closing, tensing, fighting to
gain control of that which was never mine to hold. ( You know the feeling,
yeah?) Yoga is my path to find this middle way, a union with the natural
flow of all life.
Our normal daily lives center around forward motion and
bending. We hunch over our computers, our desks, the sink, the
stove, the steering wheel. When life weighs us down, we roll our
shoulders forward, closing our heart center. This action causes us
to slump into our front body and strains our back body.
Next time you find yourself feeling
the strain of your day present in your spine, take a break to
experience the less often visited flexions of the spine.
Backbending does not necessarily mean touching your feet to
your head. (what’s that about?) You can create a safe and easy
backbend simply seated in a chair. Sitting
tall in your chair, hold the seat edge with your left hand while
reaching your right arm up and over your head, lengthening the right side of the body.
Returning to seated with hips level and feet parallel on the floor, take a twist to the
left, setting the right hand outside the left knee. Next, holding the
back of your chair with both hands, let your heart open forward as
you draw your shoulder blades together and down the back. Open the
armpits and widen your collarbones. Take a few easy breaths here and
then repeat the process starting with the lateral bend to the right
side.
Develop an awareness of your spine.Give it some love and attention, and then experience the difference
of walking through life with an open heart.

~Anita Cawley

http://www.serenityinhawaii.com/

Namaste

For your next meal, or snack, before you start eating, sit for a minute, and actually look at your food; observe it. Try not to analyze it, just look and observe the colors and shapes, notice how it feels in your body when do so. Then, as you bring a bite towards your mouth, observe the various fragrances. As you taste the food, observe the sensations in your body with each bite. Continue to eat the rest of your meal in this way, observing sensations and being aware that you are eating.

“When you are in the moment you are beyond the ego and the mind. You are in the space of
the stillness and the All That Is.”