The full moon on January 28th is all about learning, unveiling universal truths, and how to manifest a thriving life through universal laws and through the upliftment of humanity. This moon will ignite a new beginning of Saturnian energy that will influence the remainder of the year and will work to unfold new heights within consciousness, the collective, and the individual. This unfolding will occur within the mind, but will also play out in experiences with our fellow man. It will show a new level of healing, learning, and attainment through interpersonal relationships.
As the full moon rises it will stir interdependence and self-dependence. This placement is strengthening one’s ability to recognize truth within self and be with all realities. This can become turbulent for some. Internally you must be able to be at peace with your truth, and honor other’s truth. Not in opposition to your own. The ability to be tranquil and listen to divine guidance and intuition is at a fulcrum. In order to use this energy, you must be willing to sit with yourself, to see all sides, and even release thought processes you once relied on. Quieting the mind and unfolding higher levels of consciousness will recreate and integrate the ego. Here, the small self will succumb to inner light, and, touching that inner light is easier. Be mindful of ‘hard-headedness’, the need to be ‘right’, or seeing your directive as the only feasible route to reaching goals, and personal evolution. Remember that humility is the way higher wisdom is being facilitated. Manage the mind.
Be willing to learn. Educate yourself on anything that will support your future, mankind, and be willing to learn about yourself. Learn from within, and through the divine. This full moon will ask for faith in the divine plan, to create unflinching confidence in oneself. Cosmic plan reaches within new levels of the mental and emotional body for recognition. Purification of the psyche and intuitive perception will rise to receive the divine plan.
Dharma (purpose) and righteousness is the primary impulse. It is immersed in materiality but imbued with maturity. You will be shown how this affects self, confidence, and personal dharma. If there is mental agitation, there is ego and it will show tamas: which is inertia and resistance. This will be an indication to let go, there is nothing to armor this is the ego. Allow the mind to become nimble.
Achievements and how one views themself (recognition) will be more aligned to inner wisdom, which will aid in shifting the mental and emotional body with the divine directive within the psyche. Primary themes that will come to light this lunation are calmness of mind, right way of thinking, and exposing weaknesses and false thinking. Relax rigidity. Underlying conditions will shift and bring much to light. This will aid in creating connections, and sacrificing outcomes.
You must stay focused, especially through the fluctuations of emotions and outer conditions. Perseverance to realize success and assimilate lessons and karmas. Do not push the river, Saturnian energy is heavy, during this full moon and will teach devotion through patience. This will require greater detachment. Rest assured, realizations will be quick but the Saturnian energy will unfold throughout the year, and this full moon marks the beginning. Working with these energies will require continued commitment and devotion. Surrendering outcomes and personal timelines will continue to come up.
One must face obstacles, both external and self created. Strengthen the mental and emotional body, become indifferent to discontentment, expectations, and instant gratification. Attachment to personal will and preconceived outcomes will cause turmoil. Weather discontentment, again another point of sacrifice and reward awaits those who are willing to ride the tides. This is the path of the student, and as will be rewarded with good karma sown into the next cycle.
Power and prestige will not rule during this time, this is a time of humility, of service to fellow man and moving more towards unity. Do not seek to conquer, seek to serve. Great compassion will be called forward within self and for your fellow man. Exercise it abundantly. Patience is a method of making space, it allows the mind to be calm, to be free of frazzled energy of searching. Learn these attributes and what you sow will have greater fertile grounds to bloom.
Another aspect of this lunar cycle is emotional security. How emotions are assigned, how emotional security is gained, and how we tether that to our physical standing. What may come to light is how emotional security has been created through past experiences and karmas. This is ending emotional securities that were linked to false attachments, especially ones that sacrificed the self for the ideas of security. Emotional relationships and how one nurtures their inner security will come to light.
During this process, one must be extra mindful of the emotions entwined around the ego, and how emotional attachment is established with others. Mother energy here will ask that you nurture your inner self, through faith in your path and with your own wisdom, it will ask that the emotional binds you once created may require dissolving, can you let those go with grace? This will create new lines within the mental and emotional bodies. Here we take a detached look at the emotional effects on the physical and how the mind can weather the storm, create the storm, or stabilize through all of it. This will unfold for each of you in unique ways. Stay true to your inner light my loves, not the ways you sought to receive light. Rest powerfully in the unwavering inner light.
Be well my loves,
Geenie (Gemma) Celento For a personal astrology reading and 6 month personal forecast, book here.
Geenie, also known as Gemma, is an Ayurvedic Practitioner, astrologer and student of the Sri Vidya Tantric lineage. Her classes on YogaDownload are often inspired by astrology and aimed to guide each student to unfold a deeper connection from within. Her diverse knowledge and continued studies in the spiritual sciences can be felt in her class offerings. With humble devotion Gemma weaves the wisdom of yogic practices into accessible and impactful mat experiences. Her website is here.
Practice the Yoga & Astrology series with Geenie now!
"It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and the seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change, there is power." - Alan Cohen
Change is good! We know it’s a wonderful feeling to step onto your yoga mat and practice with your favorite teachers. We all have our preferred types of practice, whether it’s a range from Ashtanga to Vinyasa to Power to Yin. Mixing it up helps us stay fresh mentally and emotionally and also ensures we don’t physically injure ourselves through too much repetition. So be adventurous this week and try something new.
Have you heard of Katonah Yoga? The buzz is increasing around this style that’s been growing in popularity. Katonah focuses on alignment, but less muscular alignment and more sacred geometry principles. It involves a focus on organs as opposed to muscular engagement and seeks to shift your perspective by approaching the poses in a different way. It incorporates the Taoist principles of Yin and Yang, but doesn’t focus on one over the other. You’ll feel more like you’re in a workshop than a flowy Vinyasa class and the benefits are profound. Check it out and see if it resonates for you.
Tantra Yoga: The use of the term tantra has been distorted so that many people associate it with sex. Tantra means to weave or expand. Tantra Yoga helps you get in tune with your authentic self and when you’re more connected internally, you more easily deepen your relationship with others. The practice teaches how to meld the entire person––physical, mental, energetic, wisdom, and bliss body––to become clear on what our deepest desires are and pursue them for ultimate happiness. A Tantra yoga class incorporates various styles of Hatha yoga like Kundalini and Ashtanga, depending upon the instructor. Chanting and meditation are also key parts of the practice.
Kundalini Yoga: Kundalini yoga is a form of Bhakti yoga, (the yoga of devotion) Raja yoga, (the yoga of royalty) which is a practical systematic style of yoga that incorporates Patanjali’s eight-limbed yoga path, and Shakti yoga, (the yoga of harnessing your personal energy). A typical Kundalini class is made up of three parts, an opening chant, a spine warm-up, and a kriya, which is a special sequence of postures and breathwork. Fans of this style of yoga love it for the feeling of freedom and purpose it invokes from within.
The final class this week is less yoga and more of a mind-body experience. Barre class is a full-body workout that incorporates elements of Pilates, ballet, and yoga and is all about exhausting the smaller accessory muscles to improve muscular endurance. Each body part is worked to fatigue with high repetitions and light resistance. If you’ve never experienced the shaking that only a barre workout imparts, you’re in for a challenge! And the mental benefits are excellent because you can’t focus on anything other than the work you’re completing. Trust us on this one.
What are you waiting for? Step out of your comfort zone this week and try some new styles of yoga!
Ali Duncan- Tantra Yoga
Noemi Nuñez - Katonah Yoga Flow
Shapadpreet - Kundalini Yoga: Relax & Restore
Erin Wimert - Grin & Barre It
Mustard is a common ingredient in many cuisines and widely available all over the world. But I still felt that I need to spend time to make a condiment from mustard seeds from scratch. It started as an idea to add to Christmas presents – homemade cookies, sourdough rye crispbread, vegan Nutella truffles, and pickled mustard seeds – all packed up in nice little jars. Add a (vegan) cheese to this, and I am sure that most people would be happy to get this kind of present!
Since preparing the mustard seeds this way for the first time, I am adding them everywhere. They are relatively mild in taste but add a wonderful zing to many dishes. The texture slightly reminds caviar bursting in the mouth, adding a wonderfully gentle and warm spiciness.
So far, my favorite uses have been on deviled eggs, oven-roasted potatoes, seared salmon, sandwiches, and a condiment on a cheeseboard. I am sure there are many more ways to use these little pearls, so if you try them out somewhere else – don’t hesitate to let me know in the comments section!
Homemade Mustard
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Yields: 2
Ingredients:
1 cup yellow mustard seeds
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
Instructions:
Add all ingredients to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer on low for 35 minutes.
Depending on the mustard seeds, it might be that you need to add a little more water. Make sure there is some liquid left in the bottom of the pan at all times.
Taste mustard seeds halfway through the cooking. Add sugar, salt, or vinegar as needed to suit your taste buds.
Cool the seeds in the same pan; this way, they keep absorbing all the moisture.
Store in nice jars and enjoy on top of deviled eggs, salads, sandwiches, and everywhere else you usually use mustard.
By Kadri Raig
Kadri is a food blogger and yoga teacher from Estonia. She loves to spend time in the kitchen, but most of her recipes are simple and don’t take more than 20 minutes of active cooking time. She thinks that everybody can find time to cook healthy food at home, it is just a question of planning. "I work in an office full time, teach yoga 7-8 hours a week and write a blog. So if I manage to cook most of my meals, then so do you!" Connect with Kadri and enjoy many more of her delicious healthy recipes on her website here: www.kahvliga.ee.
The Third Chakra, Solar Plexus (also called Manipura Chakra), relates to the region of the body that goes from the navel to the lower third of the rib cage.
If the physical body were a cell, the third chakra would be the mitochondria. The solar plexus creates our relationship with what we are physically able to achieve.
The third chakra may also correspond with our to-do list and the expectations we have on ourselves for what we want, or may not want to get done on a physical level.
While anxiety and burn-out may have a way of creeping into any chakra, I often see those frequencies manifest within this region of the body.
We can do energy work on “burn out” until the cows come home, but often the body desires much more than meditation to refresh, restore, and transform the body’s longing for relief, space, and nourishment.
Meditation can help create the container in which we give ourselves more space and drop us into the present moment, and that can help us co-create a reality in which more physical space and room to breathe may manifest.
Another highlight of this region is how it interplays within that survival space we all have, depending on your history with how fight, flight, or freeze responses have played out in your unique history.
Now, just because we may have some energy triggered in our third chakra, doesn’t mean it can’t physically affect regions of our body that aren’t within the navel to lower rib cage.
For instance, a lot of the foreign energy I have found within my third chakra tends to physically manifest for me in the area around my neck and upper back.
Often times when we are working on transforming the energy within a certain chakra we find the next layer of a pattern we are working on, in other various regions of the body that are physically asking us for attention.
One of the best ways to dive into this is using your own awareness and sense of self-discovery to quiet the mind and get in tune with the breath.
Sitting or laying, breate in and out with an awareness on the breath for the first 10-15 cycles of breath. Then notice if there are regions of the body where the breath wants to go. Hold the intention that the inhale in creating space within those regions of the body and the exhale is releasing energy that is no longer serving you or is no longer in affinity with your truth, in those affected areas.
You can also use our breath to help us release the energy of our to-do list being stored within the body. Inhale space for your body to vibrate in the present moment, and exhale the energetic demands of what needs to be done so that we may process it as we physically function as opposed to energetically bathing in it within the realm of that third chakra.
By Angela Droughton
Practice yoga for your third chakra, from home, right now!
Awaken Your 3rd Chakra with Valerie D'Ambrosio
Getting up and onto the yoga mat regularly is great for your health and mind, but if you work at a busy desk job, your regular practice still might not be enough to combat the stress and pressure you are putting on your body - and your posture!
However, there are many ways to alleviate this pressure, but the easiest ones don’t even involve getting up from your chair - perfect for those days when you’ve just got too much work to do.
There are many yoga poses you can practice at your desk, and we’ve put together some of the best to help the areas that get the most strain sitting down, to reduce back pain, posture issues and stress.
Even if you only have time for one of these yoga postures, they will still bring benefits to your workday!
Seated Crescent Moon
Slouching is all too common when we’re busy at work and not thinking about our posture. Hunching over a computer is a very easy yet bad habit to get into, which will make your neck and shoulder uncomfortable after a while. This pose will help to elongate your spine and get you thinking about sitting up straighter.
Simply lift your arms over your head, stretching out your fingers and stretching your spine tall. Take a few breaths leaning to one side, then repeat on the other. Voila!
Hand Stretches
Typing away at your desk all day can increase tension in your finger and wrist muscles. Giving your hands a stretch every so often will increase blood flow and give a little relief to those areas.
Drawing circles clockwise and anticlockwise with your wrists is a great way to get these joints moving, followed by spreading your fingers then closing into fists a few times to stretch your fingers. This will get rid of any tension in these areas. You can also bend and stretch your wrist inwards and outwards to stretch your wrist muscles further, holding each side for a few breaths to get the best benefit.
Spinal Twists
Seated spinal twists are a great way to alleviate any tension in your lower back that can be created by sitting down at your desk. Placing your left hand on your right knee, hold your chair with your right hand. With each inhale, sit a little taller, and then turn to your right with each exhale. Sitting taller on the inhalation will help to deepen the twist, so take a few breaths here before switching sides.
Chair Pigeon
If you tend to sit crossed legged or lean on one side more than another at your desk, you can create an imbalance in your hips and spine, which affects your alignment and posture. Chair pigeon is a great pose to alleviate this.
Sitting at your desk, put both of your feet flat on the floor, and cross your left leg over your right at a 90 degree angle, flexing your foot to protect your knee. Try to keep your weight evenly distributed across your sitting bones, and sit up straight. Hold this for a few breaths before switching sides.
Seated to Standing position
Sitting down all day can lead to our leg muscles and glutes taking a break, which can lead to strain on our upper back when it's time to sit up again. Doing this movement a couple of times a day can awaken up your leg muscles and relieve the pressure on your back.
Start seated with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Try to make your way up to a standing position pushing down from your heels, without using your arms or moving your feet. Then, slowly make your way back down, keeping your hips straight and your body upright.
Desk Chaturanga
You can adapt the Chaturanga pose to use your desk, to help you strengthen your muscles and give your arms a boost of energy. It’s also a great way to get up and out of your chair.
Resting your hands on your desk (make sure it’s sturdy!), step your feet back so you are diagonal to the floor. Bending your arms to a 90-degree angle when you inhale, and pressing back out again on your exhale, like you’re doing a push up against your desk.
Desk Upward Facing Dog
Follow your Chaturanga pose by opening up your chest and shoulders with an upward dog - modified to do at your desk. This pose will help to straighten your posture and combat that rounded spine we can get hunched over our work. Stand in the same position as you prepared for your Chaturanga, but this time instead keep your arms straight and lower your hips towards your desk, stretching your chest out and pushing your chin up.
Plank Pose
Finally, one more pose before you can sit back down again - planks are great to increase strength in our muscles and get our bodies working. Standing with your feet under your hips, put your hands shoulder-distance apart on the edge of your desk. Hold this position for a few breaths to shake off the tension you can build up after sitting down all day.
Restorative Resting Pose
While in a yoga class we would get a peaceful savasana at the end of our practice, sitting at our desks can still allow for a small moment of restoration. It’s important to still take a few moments to ground ourselves. Placing your feet flat on the floor, cross your arms on your desk and lay your forehand flat down on your arms. Breathe deeply for as long as you are able to, allowing your mind to unwind, giving you a boost of mental energy to get on with your day.
Try to set aside even a couple of minutes each workday to breathe deeply, clear your mind and stretch your muscles - your body will thank you, and you’ll find those busy workdays become a little more manageable with yoga.
By Amy Cavill
Ready to practice yoga at your desk, for a quick breather? Try the Quick Yoga Breaks at Your Desk: 16-Class Package!
We’ve all been living in a time of major global stress and transition. A consistent yoga practice is vital to stay balanced and manage the shifts occurring around us on a daily basis. We’ve got good news––even on the days where you’re really busy, you can sneak in a ten-to-fifteen-minute yoga break. A consistent daily practice can keep you grounded––just remember quality over quantity.
Many of us used to head into an office, but now work from home. While you’re saving time because you don’t have to commute any longer, somehow it still feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day to practice yoga. Distractions abound at home, right?
Everything from dishes, to walking the dog, to family demands, to the temptation of a catnap can pull you out of your resolve to move and breathe and meditate.
In order to operate at your optimum levels, it’s important to take breaks and carve out time for yourself. When you’re deep into work mode, especially if you sit at a desk, your body grows stiff, your brain becomes fuzzy, and your stress levels can escalate. Instead of reaching for caffeine or a mindless snack, stand up and try one of this week’s short yoga focused classes. These measured breaks will benefit your mind, your body, and your spirit.
Depending upon your needs on any given day, there’s a short practice designed by Dia to address it. Many of them don’t even require a yoga mat! Develop a habit of taking a break at least once an hour. If your neck and shoulders feel tight from hunching over your computer, concentrate on opening up your muscles. If the words on your computer are blurring, close your eyes and try some pranayama or a simple meditation for five minutes. Download your favorite yoga breaks for easy access anytime.
We all want to enjoy the benefits of a regular yoga practice, like feeling more energized, happy, and supple. Don’t worry if you only have time for a ten-minute pranayama (breathwork) or meditation. It all counts. Do what you can, when you can. Remember that a consistent daily practice still imparts profound benefits. Who knows, maybe by incorporating short practices throughout the day, you’ll be one step closer to living your yoga 24/7.
Ready to add yoga to your workday? Practice Dia Draper's Quick Yoga Breaks at Your Desk: 16-Class Package.
Have you ever had the thought “I don’t have time to do a cleanse because it takes too much time to prepare healthy food”?
If so, please read on!
I’m a big fan of easy when it comes to food prep. Mostly because I have two small children, work full time running a business, health coaching and teaching yoga, and try to maintain some resemblance of balance when it comes to practicing what I preach.
I admit it does take extra time and some planning ahead (I could do better here) to eat healthy and feed my family nourishing meals, but to me, it’s totally worth it! And, it doesn’t have to take nearly as much time as we think it does with a few tips and tricks. Below is one of my secret weapons.
Recipes like the Marinated Veggie Medley are awesome because grabbing a quick lunch is a given and when my little ones literally start going bonkers because they’re hungry at 5 pm I can also create a quick and delicious dinner.
So how do I do it?
The secret is to be able to toss together something delicious, super healthy, and flavorful so that food boredom doesn’t ever set in. Marinated Veggie Medley is the perfect “go-to” dish because the longer it marinates the more delicious it becomes – I can have it in the fridge for a few days and re-purpose it in several fun and creative ways.
So far I’ve enjoyed it on top of a bed of baby spinach. I’ve wrapped it up in collard greens with a few slices of avocados and eaten it like a burrito. I’ve also enjoyed it on top of some kelp noodles.
There is so much flavor going on in this little dish made with such simple ingredients that you might just consider making double the marinade to use as a salad dressing or to marinate a piece of fish. See how simple and easy it can be?
Try it for yourself and let me know what you think in the comment section below. Get creative and use the veggies that you have in your fridge today.
With love and a rainbow of veggies,
Marinated Veggie Medley
Yield: 4 cups
3 stalks celery, sliced 1 medium zucchini, sliced 8 – 10 radish, sliced or shredded 1/2 head purple cabbage, shredded 1 fennel bulb, chopped 3 TB. cilantro with stems, chopped 2 small cloves garlic, minced 1 heaping TB. ginger, chopped 1 TB. ume plum vinegar 2 TB. olive oil 2 TB. freshly squeezed lemon juice Dash cayenne pepper Pinch sea salt
Directions:
In a large bowl mix together celery, zucchini, radish, cabbage and fennel. Feel free to substitute any of your favorite veggies for this medley – broccoli stems, carrots, cauliflower, cucumbers or kale would all work well too.
For the marinade, combine cilantro, garlic, ginger, olive oil, ume plum vinegar, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and sea salt in a mini food processor or blender until well puréed. Pour over veggie medley and mix well to coat fully. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour for the best flavor.
Use as a topper to any bed of mixed greens, or as a filler for collard or nori wraps.
Jo Schaalman and Jules Peláez are co-authors of the book The Conscious Cleanse: Lose Weight, Heal Your Body and Transform Your Life in 14 Days, a best-selling, step-by-step guide to help you live your most vibrant life. They've also just released their brand new cookbook! Together they’ve led thousands of people through their online supported cleanse through their accessible and light-hearted approach. They’ve been dubbed “the real deal” by founder and chief creative director Bobbi Brown, of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, beauty editor of the TODAY show.
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Daily Back Pain Relief with Kristin Gibowicz
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Around the world, the current global pandemic has changed our lives. Although we might be getting used to this new normal way of living, we are all still affected in 2021 by the COVID-19 pandemic. Isolation, social distancing, and ill-health can all be tough on our mental health, and many of us might be feeling anxious, scared, and lonely.
It’s important to have some ways to manage any negative mental health effects the pandemic might be having on you, to help keep feeling positive when things get tough.
Here are some ways you can try to keep your head afloat during the pandemic, to give you a boost of positivity.
Allow Yourself to Feel Anxious
When you are feeling scared or anxious about the situation, it’s important to acknowledge and allow yourself to feel your feelings. If we immediately push away negative feelings and disallow ourselves to feel them, they tend to get stuck, and we can find ourselves worrying more.
Try to give yourself some time each day to allow yourself to feel any of the worries that pass through your mind - writing them down can help to get them out of your brain, and gives distance between you and your worries. Allowing yourself to acknowledge anything that’s causing you anxiety can give you a feeling of relief, and help you get on top of any intrusive thoughts.
Connect with Loved Ones
Staying in touch with your friends and family is so important to keep yourself from feeling isolated and lonely. We’re lucky that in 2021 there are so many methods to keep in touch with people who we are unable to see in person, from video calls to emails. Reaching out to loved ones when you feel stressed or worried can help you to feel calmer and a little safer, and can help you maintain a more positive outlook when things feel bad.
Have Structure in Your Day
Keeping a routine during times of lockdown and isolation can help with feeling productive and on top of your day to day tasks. Try to set an intention when you wake up each day and have at least one thing to cross off your to-do list. Even if you are struggling, try to do at least one small thing, and be kind to yourself to get it done. If you’re working from home, remember to take breaks and keep to a timetable if need be, to aid your productivity. Keeping busy and getting things done will help to keep a positive mindset.
Get the Basics Right
If you’re really struggling, focusing on the basic needs we all need to function is a good way to start. Try to take the steps needed to get enough sleep, eat healthy, and to stay active. This will help keep your physical health intact, which will aid in regulating stress and boosting your immune system. Avoiding smoking, alcohol, and drugs will aid in keeping you feeling calm, and stop exacerbating your anxious thoughts.
Do Things You Enjoy
While, depending on your lockdown situation, it might be hard to do all of your favorite activities, it’s important to remember the things that bring you joy, and try and indulge in them when you can. This will help to take your mind off the difficult situation and bring a little normalcy to these uncertain times. If you find yourself at a loss, try taking up a new skill or hobby to fill your free time.
Limit Your News Consumption
If you’re feeling overwhelmed with the pandemic, taking in too much information and news can make you feel more anxious and worried. Try to limit your time spent catching up on the news and especially on social media - and make sure the information you are taking in is from a reliable source. Keeping well informed while not taking in too much negative news will help you keep a level head and view things realistically - which can help you from getting too overwhelmed with anxiety.
Eat Well
It can be easy to slip into bad eating habits when we feel stressed and overwhelmed, especially if you are relying on delivery services or are isolating. While treating yourself can be important every now and again, it’s important to keep a balanced and healthy diet. Healthy food gives our brains the nutrients needed to maintain a positive mindset, and can hugely help if you’re struggling with your mental health. If you’re stuck inside, you can use this time to learn new recipes, and eat healthy meals that you make yourself. This will give you so much more energy, helping you stay productive and boosting your mood.
Get Outside
If you’re able to, getting out at least once a day for exercise, even if it’s a walk, can boost your mood. Getting out in nature can reduce your stress, even if you just get out for 10 minutes. Going for a run, or a walk, and staying socially distant can help increase your happiness levels.
Practice Yoga and Meditation
If you’re feeling stressed and overwhelmed, practicing meditation or a yoga class can help to bring your stress levels down and feel more calm. Staying grounded in the present is essential during this time of uncertainty, and an easy way to do this is to practice deep breathing when things feel bad. Deep breaths will calm you down and increase your feelings of relaxation.
Feel Grateful
Practicing gratitude each day will help you feel more optimistic. Practicing gratitude may be hard to start out, especially if you’re feeling overwhelmed, but even trying to focus on small things can help you feel more positive. Try to keep a journal each night, of things you are grateful for, and look back when things feel hard.
While times may feel hard wherever you are in the world, remember that all of this is temporary and the world will not be like this forever.
Trying to keep on top of our mental health in a pandemic is no easy feat, but taking these small steps to boost your positivity can help us come out of this feeling more resilient and optimistic.
Practice yoga and meditation for free right now, from the comfort of your own home
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This new moon is another planetary packed lunation. The moon will sit at 29*04’ of Sagittarius with the Sun resting at 29*03’ of Sagittarius, both creating a bridge into the Capricornius constellation. This new moon is bringing a clean slate for the conjunction (multiple planets sitting together) to shine through. There is a lot going on, but it’s all moving you to take greater ownership of this precious life you are creating.
These conjunctive energies will show how to sharpen new tools to cut away karma, how to dispel karmic debts, and how to rise into our dharma through devotion, and ownership. Anything that is a distraction, a delusion, or a habit that displaces one's power and dharma will come to light. You are being asked to rise in all levels of the self: spiritual, mental, and physical. Align with your heart and you will feel dissonance and misalignment on all levels if you are not following your heart. This is stronger guidance for your purpose and personal evolution.
There is a new means to co-create with the divine. A new reality is assimilating through multiple planetary energies impacting psychological nature. The psychological emanations are triggering responsibility and how comfort can be a limiting ‘safe haven’ to hide. There's a great chance to disable 'bad' habits, laziness, or apathy. These energies are carrying the self forward.
The spiritual transition is unfolding within the internal. This may make some more reclusive. During this time be gentle with yourselves. This is a very spiritual process, reshaping the individual to their truth and purpose. You will feel dissonance and misalignment on all levels if you are not following your heart. This is stronger guidance for your purpose and personal evolution. Detours may occur to put one back on their highest path. Guidance is extremely high at this time, so tune in and notice patterns, witness thoughts. Take responsibility for your co-creative power, for the collective rise. This is calling for your commitment and involvement on a greater level. In this ownership and sacrifice, one is asked to defend honor not ego.
This new moon is giving you insight into reprioritizing principles, higher goals, and self. The reprioritization will aid in releasing stuck energy, and is an integral part of transformation and creation. Any patterns or methods of playing small, or not being fully responsible or involved in one's own life are strongly aspected here. Your comforts will be challenged. Free the self from comforts, stand strong in what you seek.
This my loves require courage, discomfort, and steadfast resolve in a future yet unknown but built with faith and fortitude. The courage lies within you, the light is rising within you. It is being asked that you rise into your truth even through unsettling, unfamiliar, and unpopular ground.
Seek not approval, but, own the resolution and confidence from your inner self. These shifting energies will carve out the strength of a warrior, the wisdom of a sage, and the ownership of a King. It is asked that you know these aspects of self, not for the self, but for your dharma. The energy is stirring inner greatness. It is asked for you to lead, to take responsibility for yourself, to make way for personal vitality, and personal power. Control your actions and stay focused in your pursuits for higher goals. This ownership will create greater ownership of your gifts.
By Geenie (Gemma) Celento
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Students come to yoga for a variety of reasons: physical, mental, and spiritual. Regardless of why you started practicing, your entire being benefits. It’s easy to focus on mastering the asanas or physical postures first. But traditionally, yoga’s primary intention is to gain control over your mind.
The seminal text on yoga, Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, were compiled centuries ago and the wisdom proves true today. The Sutras are divided into 4 Padas or chapters which provide a pathway to journey toward Samadhi or enlightenment.
The pillar of the entire text is stated in Sutra 1.2 Chitta vritti nirodaha. In a nutshell this means that yoga is the ability to direct the mind without distraction or interruption. Yoga equals sustained attention.
Many translations claim this means working toward a cessation of mind activity, but that is incorrect. In a state of yoga, the mind is active. Yoga equals sustained attention. If you’ve ever had a tough time meditating, you know how challenging this can be. While this topic could fill volumes, we’ll point out a few highlights of the principles of mastering your mind.
It’s vital to understand this work takes discipline and time. It’s explained further in Sutras 1.12-1.16 that it takes effort or practice (Abhyasa) and relinquishment/detachment (vairagya) to overcome the barriers to a calm, open mind.
The fundamental obstacles to yoga, to Samadhi, are called the Kleshas (major impediments) and are outlined as the roots of suffering in Sutras 2.3–-2.11. All of these are mistaken perceptions or Avidya. Avidya is ignorance or essentially the fundamental inability to see things as they are. The practice of yoga is moving away from these misperceptions toward Viveka, the ability to discern and see clearly.
When we delve into our yoga and meditation practices, we quickly discover how distracted we really are. We generally have the same series of redundant thoughts circling around in our minds, over and over and over again. Most of them are not particularly interesting either. Sorry!
Learning to quiet the monkey mind, or as Patanjali put it “chitta vritti nirodaha” (to still the fluctuations of the mind)—we all have a pack of wild monkeys zooming around in our heads.
When we settle into the present moment through our yoga practice, we are eliminating worries of the past and anxiety for the future and we are just feeling the now. At the heart of Patanjali’s eight-limbed yoga path, is the concept that a steadier mind is a clearer mind. This week, our classes center on the concept of creating more clarity and stability. Check them out and quiet those monkeys!
1. Kylie Larson - Fuggetaboutit & Flow
2. Caitlin Rose Kenney - Fluid Body, Open Mind
3. Celest Pereira - Yoga for Strength & Focus
4. Ron Alexander - Mindful Meditations for Creative Transformation
In Estonia, we are big on foraging. Berries, mushrooms, some wild herbs – we have gathered them from the forest since we were kids. As this year has been exceptionally warm (in some years, we have snow in October), you can still find mushrooms in the forest, and I used some chanterelles I picked myself. As I know that you can not go foraging all over the world, I substituted the mushrooms in this recipe for oyster mushrooms as they are easier to find from the stores. If you can’t find those, button mushrooms are okay too.
Dumplings of this style are not typical for Estonian cuisine at all, but I don’t think that everything should be traditional all the time. I love how the miso paste in this recipe rounds the whole filling up, the spinach and lemon give extra brightness, and ginger is just an excellent ingredient that also boosts the immune system. I am sure that we could all benefit from a healthy immune system in this bizarre year.
Spinach Mushroom Dumplings
Yields: 20 dumplings
20 dumpling wrappers
A tiny bit of oil
3 ½ oz spinach
7 oz oyster mushrooms
A thumb-sized piece of ginger
Chili flakes, to taste
1 tbsp miso paste
1 tsp lemon juice
Chop the mushrooms and mince the ginger
Heat the oil in a pan and fry the mushrooms and ginger on medium for 3 minutes. Feel free to stir it now and then so it would cook evenly.
Add spinach to the pan and let it wilt for a minute.
Season with chili, lemon juice, miso, and a little salt if you feel that it is needed.
Let the mix cool down.
Now it is time to get folding. If you have another technique, feel free to fold them differently, but I decided to do the tortellini type of folding today. For this, add a small spoonful of filling in the middle of the dough square and wet the edges slightly using your finger. Fold the dough into a triangle and make sure to push all the air out. Take the triangle's outer edges and lift them on top of the filling; you might need to use a little more water to stick the edges together.
Now it is time for steaming. Heat the water in a wok and arrange the dumplings on your steamer, so they are not touching. Also, make sure that the bottom of your steamer is not touching the water (it happened to me once, and nothing good came out of it)—Cook for about 6 minutes.
To serve, I like to mix soy, sesame oil, lime juice, and a little sugar to a dipping sauce, but you can also use a premade Asian sauce.
The irony of reading this on a screen and possibly linked from a social media post is obvious. Social media is not all bad, and in fact, allows us to access a vast array of useful information and connection with one another. However, many of us have become unknowingly addicted to social media, our devices, and endless browsing, to which there are real downsides.
Like anything else, the key is balance. The purpose of these tips is not to villainize social media, or torture ourselves by abstaining from things we like or disconnecting people we love. It's about leaving room to be more present, and in the moment, versus always thinking ahead to how you're going to share something with your audience, being distracted by your phone all the time, or stuck in loops of comparison.
Beautiful moments can happen, without them being shared in a post.
There is growing evidence that excessive social media usage contributes to higher levels of anxiety and lower self-esteem. Things like constant comparison and external validation are prevalent while one spends endless hours scrolling. We are hard-wired as a species to want social validation, acceptance, and approval. We are not however made to receive these things daily through the click of like buttons.
Here are 10 things you can do to make your social media use more sustainable, less addicting, and find what unique balance works for you.
1. Don't check your phone or social media first thing in the morning
When you awake is the ripest time you have for meditation, yoga, and to get your head on right for the day ahead. However, many of us go for our phone first thing in the morning. Even 15 to 30 minutes of mindfulness first thing in the morning before reaching for your phone or going onto Instagram, can have a massive benefit on the rest of your day.
2. Don't check your phone or social media right before bed either
Similar to the morning, the moments before you drift off into slumber are powerful to start your next day off on a good foot. Do you fall asleep scrolling each night? If so, try to turn it off, even 30 minutes before bed, to give yourself space to clear your head from the day before.
3. Pick a day a week of the week where you sign off completely
You can pick and choose how much time is suitable for you here. Maybe a day without your phone is not an option, but a day without going onto Facebook is. Find what feels doable, but just uncomfortable enough that you get a real break from social media and your devices.
4. Delete your social media accounts for a month (or week) at a time
Again, this one might not be for everyone, as we live in a time where many use these platforms for work and business. However, what I found was that after a few weeks of not participating in social media, my anxiety levels went way down, I felt more present in my in-person relationships, and I could have good moments in life without thinking about how I was going to portray them with others.
5. Go for a walk in nature without your phone
Plain and simple, there is nothing like going back to the Earth to reconnect with yourself and drown out the noise from the outside. If you need to drive to nature, leave your phone in your car. You might notice incessant urges to grab for it frequently!
6. Do something epic without sharing it with anyone
Yes, it's possible. The world outside of our screens is also beautiful and worthwhile. You can have sweet moments without anyone but yourself and the others there, knowing about them.
7. List out what you love using social media
This is where the biggest variation often occurs. When surveyed, people report their favorite things about using social media to be the things you'd expect. Things like staying connected to loved ones, getting life updates from friends who don't live nearby, and staying connected usually top the list.
However, when this list is compared to how people actually spend their time on social media, there is a massive disconnect. People spend hours upon hours mindlessly browsing instead of using the tools how they say they like to use them. Get clear on why you're active on these platforms, and you're more likely to be intentional about how you use them.
8. Learn more about the addictive nature of social media
Books like Digital Minimalism and the film like The Social Dilemma, go in-depth about how technology companies have designed these apps to get us hooked and how they profit from the more time we spend browsing. Information is knowledge and understanding why we get addicted to these platforms in the first place, can make us more empowered to not be controlled by them.
9. Prioritize mental health and good habits
More than fighting things you don't want, like social media addiction, focus on adding more good habits, like a daily yoga practice, reading books, or meditating. Even if you lose control of your social media habits, you can take solace that you're also doing other things with your time that benefit you. It's not about being perfect.
10. Don't fight with people online
Guess what? Trying to change someone's mind or political views on Facebook, never really works. Usually, a political fight online ends up in frustration or outrage. Save your energy for something worthwhile and do your best to not get lost in neverending online arguments. You're not going to change everyone's worldview to suit your own. The days before social media revealed every political, religious, or social thought one had at any given moment, did exist. This transparency has taken away the ability to get to know someone in a genuine way. We all have different perspectives based on different life experiences. While I don’t agree with everyone, I’d like to be able to make my own opinions of people based on actual experiences and not their Facebook posts.
By Keith Allen
Meditate right now!
Meditate and Cultivate Calm
Here is a novel idea – What if we measured our weight by laughter and contentment instead of pounds and kilos?
If we stopped obsessing about how much we weigh and lived more by our worth as a person. If the saying – you are worth your weight in gold became a marker of our potential to live to. Wouldn’t our world be a better place and wouldn’t we each live a brighter existence?
In a morning conversation about how we did not value our bodies when we were younger, I was thinking how can we instill value to our youth, where they grow up loving and appreciating their bodies for what they do and feel, over how they look. How can we gift this to our sons and daughters, nieces, nephews, and grandchildren?
Obviously, having less emphasis on looks, size, weight, shape would be a great start. I made a passing comment that if we had dedicated the same amount of time that we spent obsessing on how our bodies looked, to something of deeper importance, we would alleviate a lot of suffering. Losing weight, getting fit, and loving your body is valuable, but incessantly hating your body is a sad waste of time and energy, that surely could be put to better use.
Imagine a life that had no measure for bodyweight? What if the focus was on worth and value as a human being instead? What if we had a simple measure of goodness or humanity, would people then strive as hard to be kind and compassionate as they do to be skinny?
I have worked in the fitness industry since 1998 and the “weight loss” industry is massive. Australia, where I live, and many other parts of the world are facing an obesity epidemic. Every magazine you open, every television show you watch, makes some reference to looks and loss. Can you imagine if the same attention and the same amount of money was dedicated to the “negativity” loss industry? If as many resources were available to help us lose the destructive thoughts, negative feelings, and self sabotage tendencies? I am all for an industry focused on loss, but rather than pounds and kilos, let’s lose negative self-talk and focus on loving and accepting ourselves more.
I dream of a world that has a quantitive measure of how good you are over what size you are. Where people describe one another by their talents and achievements rather than their looks. Recognizing people by their value weight, a measure of how they occupy their physicality.
Now, this may sound funny coming from a PT, who spends their days encouraging people tow work out, who preaches about the importance of eating well, losing weight and make the strongest, healthiest and happiest version of themselves. I definitely see the need as a nation and as a globe to pay more attention to what goes in our mouths for the good of all humanity. Better food choices, seasonal produce, whole and healing foods and quality energy transactions, is not only good for ourselves, but better for the environment.
But I am just as passionate about what comes out of our mouths. It would be like heaven on earth for me, if we were also more conscious of the words and energy that came out in our words, not just to others but more importantly our thoughts to ourselves.
Rather than calories in versus calories out, your "worth weight” should be measured in kindness, generosity, and charitable acts. Be kind to yourself and love your body!
By Amy Booth
Amy is a yoga and pilates teacher and personal trainer in Brisbane, Australia, where she runs a cute riverside studio and a personal training business. In addition each year she runs yoga and hiking retreats.
To find out more: Website: www.ambertreeyoga.com.au Instagram: @ambertreeyogaandretreats Facebook: Amber Tree Yoga and Retreats
Start loving your body now, with Body Positive Yoga!
Are you already leaping into a New Year’s Resolution type of mindset, but haven’t taken enough time to relax after the hectic holiday season? Fostering a balance between action and rest is essential. The “doing” pattern of life is helpful to fulfill our desires and achieve our goals, but if we aren’t mindful, it’s easy to slip into only doing and not being. Why not try a less is more attitude this week?
One of yoga’s true gifts is teaching us how to be present––not anticipating the future and not fixating on the past. If we are too focused on what is happening next, we cannot be fully present in what is happening right now. Consider a few of your favorite activities where you’re simply in the flow––running, surfing, gardening, dancing, listening to music or whatever is your perfect state.
Contemplate stepping back and slowing down to find your sense of flow and nourish yourself. Sure, it is a New Year, but that doesn’t mean you need to move full steam ahead regardless of how you are feeling. Check in now: are you feeling buoyant and light or weighed down on some level? A quieter style of yoga allows you to dive deep and truly feel what arises within each pose. Choose a more serene approach to create more peacefulness within.
It’s vital to balance out your output of physical energy. This week’s classes will benefit you by tapping into your parasympathetic nervous system, which is your relaxation response When we are so busy doing, our adrenal glands can get stuck operating in a “fight or flight” mode and that means we’re headed for burn-out. Stress is a fact of life and using various modalities of yoga to keep ourselves balanced is key.
Slower types of yoga are designed to help recuperate and restore not just your physical energy, but your emotional and mental energy too. When you settle into stillness and there’s no action required except to breathe and relax, a sense of freedom arises where you can examine your thoughts and emotions. A slower-paced class is an excellent way to prepare yourself for meditation and deep contemplation.
Life is a dance between rest and work, softness and strength, and yin and yang. When we make time to truly relax and restore our body, mind, and spirit we create more energy for the times we need it. It’s a new year and time for a fresh start. Choose to take care of yourself and enjoy these practices designed just for you.
1. Jackie Casal Mahrou - Slow Flow: Grace & Ease
2. Erin Wimert - Yin for Runners
3. Christen Bakken - Slower & Deeper: A Gentle Vinyasa Flow
4. Shy Sayar - Therapeutic Yoga for Wrists, Shoulders, & Neck
I will not say that the cake is exactly healthy, but it is definitely better for you compared to regular chocolate cakes. I have not used any white sugar or flour; also, I chose applesauce instead of a whole lot of fatty ingredients. Avocados, dark chocolate, and banana replace the regular sugar and fat packed filling. On top of all that, the cake is entirely plant-based—a complete winner in my book. As a disclaimer, I need to mention that for some people, used to a lot of sugar, this cake might taste too healthy. I have been practicing life without much white sugar for a long time, so if you are still a beginner, you might want to add more sugar. The cake is vegan, so feel free to taste the batter before baking and adjust the sweetness.
I have made this cake at least 10 times, and I still can’t get over the fact that the base of this cake is so so soft and juicy without adding a ton of fat to the batter. Make sure not to overcook the cake. I have given you the baking time suitable for my oven, but the ranges can be quite different, so use your judgment and check on the cake if you think it might be overcooked sooner. And if you still somehow manage to overcook the cake – use a little more coffee to moisten the cake. A lot of filling helps too.
I always make the cake in 2 layers, but if you want to go very fancy, you can double the cream/filling recipe, cut the cake into 3 rounds and build it up even higher!
Plant-Based Chocolate Cake
Cooking time: 1 hour
Serves: 12
Ingredients
For the cake:
1 ½ cups almond milk
2 tsp white wine vinegar
½ cup strong coffee
1 ¼ cups apple sauce (no added sugar, please)
2 tsp vanilla paste
11 oz spelt flour
3 ½ oz coconut sugar
3 ½ oz cacao powder
3 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
For the filling:
3 ½ oz dark (I use 80%) chocolate
3 ripe avocados
1 very ripe banana
½ cup of strong coffee
To serve:
Orange slices, fresh berries, whipped coconut cream
For the cake base:
Preheat the oven to 360F and prepare an 8-inch pan (if you have several pans, you can use two) – oil it lightly, then dust with cacao powder. Keep the pan in the fridge as long as you prepare the batter.
Mix almond milk with vinegar then set aside.
In a different bowl, mix the flour, sugar, cacao, baking powder, and salt.
Mix all other ingredients to the milk mixture first, then add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until you have no lumps.
Pour the batter into the pan (or divide between two pans). Bake for 40 minutes if using one pan and 30 minutes if using two.
Let the cakes cool completely before assembling.
Melt the chocolate.
Add the banana and avocado and whizz it all up to a smooth cream with a stick blender.
To assemble the cake:
If you only have one pan, then carefully slice the cake into two. If you have two, your life is easier, and you can skip this step.
Use the remaining ½ cup of coffee to keep the cake moist – using a small spoon, distribute the coffee between the cake bases equally.
Smear about 1/3 of the filling between the two cake bases and cover the cake's top and sides with the rest.
Use whatever you like for garnishes. I recommend orange, berries, or whipped coconut cream, but you can also use sprinkles, more chocolate, or even edible flowers.
Notes:
If you are not a coffee-lover, you can substitute it with orange juice.
Can I be honest with you?
Sometimes I get burnt out, grumpy, and in a funk. Just like many of you, I fall into the trap of glorifying busyness. Subconsciously I believe that I’m not doing a good enough job if I’m not running from one thing to the next, crossing things off my list, working late into the night and then rising in the wee hours of the morning to work again. As much as it benefits others, my career of massage and yoga education is not immune to stressful deadlines and schedules.
Today a friend innocently asked me “so, how are you?” When I paused long enough to bypass the automatic answer of “fine,” I realized that I don’t know how I truly am doing. I haven’t made enough time to check in and listen lately.
I know from my own experience that exhaustion is the number one cause of getting sick. The body’s healing capabilities are miraculous, but we must live in a restful way for it to do the work needed to keep me healthy and bouncing back.
We all need the time and space to process and move through the curveballs of life. Otherwise our experiences get stuck. We get sick, or in a funk. In other words, we can get emotionally, mentally and physically constipated without taking this time to slow down and digest.
Appropriate stress hormones are important and valuable. But when we run a level of underlying and chronic stress, worry and anxiety, the body acts in the same way it would when faced with a real, big stress factor and therefore never lets go of those crazy stress hormones. This means that we stay in the sympathetic nervous system, avoiding the parasympathetic nervous system which promotes healing.
Luckily we yogis can consciously shift into parasympathetic with appropriate asanas, breath patterns and meditation.
When we forget to listen deeply to what our body needs – which is often rest – we keep pushing ourselves, even in our asana practice. Yoga is a technology allows us to revitalize with true healing. But sometimes we get lost in the gymnastics of yoga asana, when we really need to to take a break and slow down. Let’s instead turn to the nurturing and meditative practices of Yin and Restorative yoga.
Let’s slow down, allow some things on the list to remain undone, take a deep breath and notice. This pause, on and off the yoga mat, ultimately equals freedom.
By Elise Fabricant
Elise Fabricant is a top teacher on YogaDownload.com. She's also always at your service for one-on-one coaching. If you’re ready to make big changes in all aspects of your life, sign up for a complimentary clarity session with her from her website here.
Need to chill out? Practice yoga at home with Elise right now, for free!
Morning Quickie 2 with Elise Fabricant
After an indulgent Christmas, you might be thinking about rolling out your yoga mat and getting back into your fitness routine for 2021.
Some of us, however, might be finding it daunting after taking time off.
A detoxing yoga routine can be just what you need to feel refreshed and ready to take on a new year.
Do you feel like you need to give your body a cleanse and detox? You are not alone, as the holiday season is a common time for many of us to fall out of healthy eating habits, or a regular yoga or fitness routine. Fortunately, there are postures that can help kickstart you back to more vitality.
Here are our top poses to detox after indulging.
Twisted Prayer Lunge
This twisted pose again helps to strengthen your lower back, as well as improves posture - perfect for if you’ve been slumping on the sofa for a day or two! This pose can also release any tension you’ve been holding in your shoulders, helping to release anxiety and stress, making room for a more positive 2021.
Start in Downward Facing Dog, then lunge forward with your left foot between your hands. Bringing your hands to your heart center, twist from your core to your left. The advanced variation of this pose is to eventually hook your right elbow onto your thigh, but if you’re not there yet, don’t worry. Twist more with each exhalation, then repeat on the other side.
Warrior II
Warrior II is a strengthening pose that can help bring power to your mind and body for the new year. It builds physical and mental strength and also helps clear your mind and release emotions. Physically it also tones your legs and strengthens your arms.
Starting from the Downward Facing Dog, step your left foot between your hands. Turn your right heel down spinning your foot parallel to the edge of your mat. Pull your arms upright arm back left arm forward, keeping your legs wide, and bend your left knee over your ankle, keeping the right leg straight. Now drop your hips and lift your pelvis, keeping your shoulders and hips stacked. Repeat on the other side.
Three-Legged Downward Facing Dog
A great family of poses to aid in detoxification are inversions. Three-Legged Downward Facing Dog also helps to get your blood circulating around your body, helping you feel refreshed.
Starting in Downward Facing Dog, press your hands into the floor and float your left heel back and up behind you. Keep your shoulders squared and keep your hands pressed into the floor to create length and stability. Hold for 5 breaths and then try on the other side.
The wide-legged forward bend helps to boost circulation as it positions the head below the heart. The pose also helps facilitate digestion.
Wide-Legged Forward Fold
This inversion helps to kick start digestion and clear the digestive organs, as well as giving a boost to your circulation.
Enter this pose by standing your feet wider than hip-distance apart, standing tall with your next inhale, folding forward on your exhale
Step your feet about one leg-length apart! The outer edges of your feet should be parallel to the edge of your mat.
Put your hands on your hips and as you inhale, and reach skywards with the crown of your head. Keep your back long and strong, putting your hands on your hips, or down on the mat if you’re able to. You can either stay here or walk your hands back lining them with your toes. Try to relax into this pose, releasing your back body for 5 breaths before you carefully come out of it.
Seated Twist
Another twist to aid in detoxing, the compression and gentle twisting motions of the seated twist will help to kickstart your digestive system and get things moving. Our digestive system is crucial in the detoxification process, so poses like the seated twist are ideal.
Sitting down with your feet together, pull your head up to lengthen your back. Take your right hand behind you on the mat, and hook your elbow to the outside of your right knee, twisting your chest open to this side. Try to keep seated to keep the twist in your upper body, and use your inhale to lengthen up and exhales to deepen the twist. After 5 breaths, switch sides.
Legs up the Wall
This pose is not only detoxifying but can also be relaxing and restorative. The deep breaths you take in this pose can help to increase lung capacity, bringing oxygen to every cell in the body. This also helps reduce stress and anxiety. Grab a pillow for some extra relaxation.
Sitting sideways against a wall so your right shoulder and leg are against the wall. Now, as if you are going to sit on the wall, pull the right side of your bottom up on the wall, so both your seat bones are touching the wall, swinging your legs up. Now recline back into a comfortable position.
While you're in this pose try to do some deep breaths to help you relax, with one hand on your belly and one on your heart to increase your breath awareness.
Twisted Chair
This pose is great for detoxing the digestive system, ‘twisting’ the body to wring out toxins and negative energy. It also helps to increase flexibility and tones your internal organs - perfect for if you’ve overdone it over the festive season.
To do this pose, start from a standard chair pose, and bring your hands to your heart center, with wide elbows. Twist from your core to one side, and stay for five breaths, lengthening your back as you inhale, and deepening the twist as you exhale. Repeat on the other side.
Never in our lifetime have we shared so much together as a global community, yet experienced more solitude. 2020 has been a year of contrasts and for many a year of profound challenge and change––whether you planned on it or not. Whether you were able to spend the holidays with family and friends or were unable to travel, you may have had a tougher time maintaining a sense of balance.
Around the holidays, emotions amplify and rise to the surface for many of us. It’s tougher to find that sense of equanimity and as a result this time of year your healthy habits and positive practices may disappear. Instead of stepping onto the yoga mat, you nibble on another cookie or sip more Irish whiskey and suddenly find yourself parked on the couch feeling sluggish. Of course, there’s no reason not to indulge and spoil yourself, but if you feel you’ve overdone it, re-energize with some movement. Self-care is a form of spoiling yourself, right? Go for a brisk walk, turn on some music and dance around your living room, roll out your yoga mat and flow for a few minutes.
To find a sense of equilibrium in these final days of the year, remind yourself that life, like yoga, is all about balance. Yoga Sutra 2.46, Sthira Sukham asanam, is commonly translated to mean the posture should be steady and comfortable. By finding a balance between effort and ease on your yoga mat, you can carry that feeling into the rest of your life. Too much effort or indulgence can leave you feeling depleted. Too much ease can leave you feeling lethargic. Life is a dance to find that middle ground of contentment. Even taking twenty or thirty minutes a day to move and breathe will keep you feeling vibrant and at your best.
This week, we’ve got four energizing and challenging classes to boost your energy and your mood. Spent eight hours on the couch bingeing the latest show on Netflix? No problem, get up and take half an hour and sweat it out. If you polished off the cookies your grandmother baked––all three dozen––don’t worry about it. Press play and take one of these quick revitalizing new classes or one of your favorites. It’s all about the balance.
You can have it all!
1. Ben Davis - Fitness 'n' Yoga: Flow on the Go
2. Elise Fabricant - Pre-Workout Warm-Up
3. Becca Riopelle - Hardcore Yoga with Weights: Booty Camp
4. Pradeep Teotia - Sweat, Sweat, Sweat
I love eggplant. The sad thing is that my partner does not, so the amounts in this recipe are given for one person, but they are very simple to double or triple. Baking only one eggplant is a little sad, so I always bake more than one and make something else out of the others. I already wrote it down in the recipe too, but I can’t stress enough – do not undercook the eggplant. Undercooked eggplant is not a nice thing to eat. Baking whole like we do today, it is practically impossible to overcook it as the skin protects the tender flesh, so baking for longer is in this recipe always a better choice.
I have included one of my favorite condiments in this recipe – marinated onions. As there are bigger onion lovers and the ones who only tolerate them, I did not mention amounts in the recipe (in fact, I never measure the ingredients when making marinated onions), so you can choose yourself how much of them you wish to include. I always marinate a bigger batch of onions, keep them in an airtight jar, and use them within a week or two. The basic recipe is 1 large onion, 1 small lemon, and 1 tsp of salt. Just slice the onions as thinly as possible and massage it between your hands with salt and lemon juice. That’s it. Now you can use it in this recipe, between tacos, on nachos, or anything else, really.
Oh, and the bean salad used as a filling in this recipe is a nice salad on its own, too, if you don’t have time to bake the eggplant or you are just one of those people who does not like this beautiful vegetable.
Butterbeans in Baked Eggplant
Serves: 1
1 small eggplant
7 oz butter beans
1 red chili (feel free to omit if you don’t like spice)
A handful of fresh mint and parsley
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Marinated red onions (recipe added in the text)
Salt
Bake the whole eggplant with the fan on 400F for at least 40 minutes until it is tender. The exact cooking time depends on the size of the eggplant. If you are not sure if the eggplant is tender enough, leave it in for a little more – undercooked eggplant is not a nice thing to eat.
In the meantime, marinate the onion (instructions in the text).
Mix the filling – chop up the herbs and chili, mix with the beans, and season with salt. Add a fair amount of marinated onion.
Once the eggplant is tender, remove it from the oven, cut it up lengthways and pull some soft flesh apart with a fork. Fill the eggplant with bean salad and serve immediately – the heat from the eggplant lightly warms the salad too.
"One hundred actions are not worth as much as one moment of stillness" - Xiang Zhai
Standing still is perhaps the most contradictory activity in which we can engage. While we are seemingly doing “nothing” in fact we are challenging ourselves both physically and mentally, using every muscle in our bodies, strong, deliberate breath and an iron-willed focus.
All to do that which our culture regards with little respect. To many, to stand still is to stagnate. To lose momentum. Not to keep up with progress. The truth is, many consider standing still as actually falling behind. Yet standing still has taught me valuable lessons. It allows me to be inside myself. Instead of always wanting to be the busy one, the active one, the catalyst, standing still allows me to watch.
It helps me to see things and in that moment of truly “seeing”, the world looks different to me. Or maybe it doesn’t look different, maybe its just that I am looking at it differently.
This is new to me. I am listening to quiet and it doesn't sound awful, just different. When I am standing still I can listen. When I am talking and planning my next clever response, I cannot.
When I can see and hear, I can learn new things. I can change. I can grow.
That is perhaps why trees are so big. They stand still and witness the seasons, the rain, the sunshine, the animals in their cycles. They gather up strength from the earth below. From one deep place, they reach into the air—rooted yet light. They stand still but they don’t stay the same. Running around all the time allows me to stay the same because nothing has the time to change me.
Constant activity does not allow us the opportunity to see things as they are…the world is a blur of movement instead of a place of peace, stillness, and contemplation.
It’s possible that being patient and gathering our energy allows us to do what we think running around trying to change things will achieve. How can we change what we cannot really see or understand because we are too busy running past it to get to the next it? Too often we believe that what needs change is the world around us. In some ways, it seems easier to change the outside world than to change ourselves. Move to a new city. Stop using plastic bottles and straws. Vote.
If we keep running we can stay as we are because we too are a blur—even to ourselves. Ironically, coincidentally, cosmically, as I have been challenging myself to stand still and listen, today, I was able to hear my teacher, Colleen Saidman. She said what I probably would never even have registered two weeks ago because I would have been fidgeting around wondering if I should go to a movie or stay home and do the laundry.
“We’re all exhausted from running around. But what are we running from? What are we running to?"
She quoted Mr. Iyengar: “Intimacy with another is only possible when we are first able to be intimate with ourselves. And the only way that can happen is if we take the time to go inside instead of always living on the outside.”
On this January day I thought there might be something going on here that is not only a philosophical truth but also a practical one. Face it-- it’s cold outside. It is warm inside. I think I’ll go there and stand still a while.
By Gaillane Grosso
Gallane is a creative director/writer with a long career in advertising and PR. She has written a novel called The Other Side of NIce and served on the board of directors of the Iyengar Institute in New York. She has been practicing for 35 years--gratitude to Eddie Stern, Rodney Yee, Colleen Saidman Yee, Seane Corne, James Murphy, Debby Green, Karine Plantadit, Erika Halweil, Alison Cramer and so many more gifted inspirational guides.
Get still with meditation!
2021 is around the corner, and not a moment too soon. It’s been a tumultuous year for many of us, so New Year's resolutions probably haven’t even crossed your mind. Big changes and new challenges may be a little too much to take on after the year that we’ve had, but there are plenty of small changes you can make that will help bring you a little more joy in the year to come. Here’s our list of small changes to make for a happier 2021.
Start reading
Many of us would have spent more time than ever this year watching shows or movies at home. However, a good way to change up this activity to a more productive one is to switch out just 10-15 minutes of your viewing time and dedicate it to reading a book. Reading is a good way to not only learn, or have a bit of escapism for a while, but it's also good to keep your brain sharp. Reading just a little each day can strengthen your brain connectivity - so give it a go, just for a few minutes.
Save a small amount of money every week
No matter what you earn - saving money can be hard for us all. Try to put away a small amount each week, and don’t touch it till the end of the year - when you can use it to treat yourself to something you wouldn’t usually be able to purchase. Saving a small amount can start a good habit of saving regularly, and you might find yourself being able to put away a little bit more each week.
Journal for 10 minutes a day
Writing down thoughts, feelings, stresses, and fears can be a great way to strengthen your mental health. Using a journal, even if it’s just a little bit every day, can help to offload any of the stressful thoughts that come into your mind throughout the day, and help you rest a little easier. If you suffer from anxiety, this is a tried and tested way to relieve some of the symptoms.
Move your body every day
We’re not about to tell you to run a marathon or work out for hours each day, but moving your body each day can do wonders for your physical and mental health. Even if it’s just taking a walk around the block, if that’s all you can manage, that’s great! Yoga is also a great way to keep your muscles flexible and strong and can be a great way to start your day right.
Learn to cook something new
You don’t have to be the next Michelin star chef, but having a few new recipes under your belt is a great way to boost your confidence and also a great way to impress friends and family. Choose something that you love to eat, and you’ll find enjoyment from learning how to cook, and not only will you have a tasty meal at the end of it, but you’ll have gained new skills you can share with others.
Drink more water
We all should probably drink more water, and dehydration can actually have a very adverse effect on our health. Water can not only keep your skin clear, but also helps to regulate your body temperature, and help keep your body moving. Try to drink 8 glasses of water daily, or to at least increase your water intake next year.
Reduce your screen time
Looking at your phone or other screens too often can impact your mental health and exacerbate anxiety and depression. Studies have shown that people who spend more than five hours on their phones everyday are more likely to be at risk from depression. Keep track of your screen time and try to reduce it day by day - try other activities such as sports, socialising and other hobbies.
Improve your sleep
The one resolution that is super simple, is to get more sleep! Mostar of us don’t get the right amount of shut eye, and sleep deprivation is a real and serious problem. Sleep deprivation can have lots of side effects including a weaker immune system, stress, and weight issues. Between seven to nine hours should be enough to avoid these side effects of sleep deprivation.
Speak more positively
A slightly harder resolution is to stop thinking and speaking negatively about others, yourself, and anything else. Try to reframe your language when you catch yourself speaking negatively about things, even when you talk to yourself. A positive attitude will make you feel immensely happier in the long run, and it's a hard habit to break. Try to replace just one negative thought or phrase with a positive one and see how it affects you each day.
Make your bed each morning
Making your bed each morning can be hard when you have a million and other things that you need to get on with and do, but just taking a couple of minutes to tidy your bed space and make your bed will make you feel more positive each morning. And actually, making your bed each morning will help you to improve your sleep quality.
Make time for yourself
Having some alone time and making sure you’re making time for yourself is essential for a happier and healthier mindset. Whether it's self-care, taking time for hobbies, or just doing something for yourself, time for yourself leads to less stress and a happier lift. Try to schedule time if you struggle to find time to yourself - and make sure you stick to it!
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Can you feel the transition happening all around you? December 21, 2020, marked the Solstice, the day where the sun stands still and creates the longest night or longest day of the year, depending on where you reside on the planet. A once in a lifetime planetary event occurred on the same night, an event astronomers dub the “Great Conjunction” ––also referred to as the “Christmas Star.” The two planets will appear as a sparkling bright light to the naked eye, shining in the Southwestern sky.
This incredible union is the planets’ closest encounter since 1623 and the first time it will be visible since 1226. How remarkable is that? What’s even more helpful is that this intense once in a lifetime experience is a great time to make positive changes in your life and step into optimism for 2021. Even better? This conjunction is in Aquarius, the sign of social change, humanitarian efforts, and justice for all. Sign us up!
This week’s yoga classes center around celebrating the change in seasons and this incredible planetary union. During this auspicious natural cycle, we are provided the perfect opportunity to align ourselves with nature and create personal rituals to celebrate the shifts internally and externally. As 2020 comes to a close, it’s an ideal time to reflect on our goals and intentions and realign with nature.
Carve out some time to reflect on this year. As a collective, we’ve experienced a once in a lifetime event with the global pandemic and the world has changed in profound ways. Look back, take notes, reflect on the lessons learned, and the gifts gained. Harness the power of this Solstice week to decide which patterns, habits, and emotions can be left behind. Release what isn’t serving you. Create the space to set intentions and begin the journey toward fulfilling your desires in every area of your life. For thousands of years, the Solstice has been a time of celebration, rest, and emotional and physical nourishment.
Aligning ourselves with nature means we are going with the flow, as opposed to battling against it. Using this time to plant and nurture your intentions gives you a boost toward living your best life. Turn inward and create rituals to ignite your inner fire to manifest gratitude for your blessings. Go outside and spend time in nature––savor the evening stars and breathe in the fresh air to boost your inner light. Step onto the mat and practice yoga and meditation with us as a global community celebration.
We invite you to rejoice in this time of transition and to harness the power of the change of seasons to strengthen your powers of reflection and renewal. Try all of this week's classes honoring the sun and the stars, while you move into the next chapter.
1. Jackie Casal Mahrou - Sunrise Flow 4: Be Fluid
2. Keith Allen - Straight Up Sun Salutations
3. Caitlin Rose Kenney - Seasons of Life: Flow for Times of Transition
4. Maria Garre - Beat the Winter Blues Pranayama
I used to think that it is impossible to do good soft cinnamon buns without a ton of real butter. This recipe is proof that I was seriously wrong. I still eat butter sometimes, but already for years, this recipe here has been the only one I use for cinnamon buns. In fact, I use the same dough with other fillings too – in Estonia, we do a traditional yeasted pastry with all kinds of different fillings – carrot, cabbage, meat, mushrooms, jam, cheese, and pretty much anything else you can think of. The traditional dough is made with cow’s milk and butter, but I don’t see any need to use either, even if I sometimes do use some animal ingredients to fill the pastry.
Back to the cinnamon rolls – these are the softest, fluffiest and tastiest cinnamon rolls you have ever seen. Like really. You need to make them today. And the good thing is that they don’t take much time to bake at all. The resting takes time, and this is the process that you can’t skip, but everything else is effortless, and even a 5-year-old could do them. In fact, a very similar recipe (the traditional way) is the first recipe I remember myself cooking. I have no clue how old I was but definitely under ten, and I made a huge pastry called kringel in Estonian (it is a yeasted dough similar to this recipe here, filled with a lot of butter, sugar, raisins etc. and then braided into wreath) all on my own.
So no more waiting. Make them now, and let me know in the comments if you like them as much as I do!
Vegan Cinnamon Rolls
Cooking time: 1 ½ hour
Yields: 12 rolls
2 ½ cups flour
A sprinkle of salt
2 tsp dry yeast
1 cup cashew milk
½ cup sugar
1 tbsp grapeseed oil
2-3 tbsp ground cinnamon
½ cup grapeseed oil
Mix the flour with salt and yeast.
In a small pot, heat the cashew milk with sugar and keep mixing until the sugar has dissolved and the milk is lukewarm.
Pour the milk into the dry ingredients and mix with a spoon until pretty much incorporated, then switch to your hands and knead for a few minutes until the dough is nice and smooth.
Cover the bowl and leave it to rest in a warmer place for about an hour. The dough will double in size.
Mix all the filling ingredients.
Once the dough has doubled in size, roll it out to ½ inch thickness and cover with the filling.
Roll the dough and cut into 12 equal pieces.
Now preheat the oven to 400 F and oil the baking sheet.
Add the rolls to the baking sheet leaving a little space between them; cover the pan and leave it to rest until the oven preheats but for at least 10 minutes.
Bake for 15 minutes until the buns are nice and golden.
We are all manifesting our realities all the time, whether we realize it or not. Conscious manifestation, though, takes some understanding and practice. These techniques are 100% testable. I encourage you: don’t just take my word for it, try it out for yourself!
Step 1: Get clear on what you want
Conscious manifestation requires your imagination. And to imagine something, you must get a clear picture of what you want.
This can be a stumbling block if you are unsure of exactly what you want, or you just don’t even know where to start. Plus, it’s common for some to fear wasting time and making the wrong decision.
But it doesn’t have to be as hard as that. Not only can you manifest clarity, but can manifest the fulfillment of individual desires you already have every day.
Manifesting your desires
We all have individual desires. Through triumph and struggles, joy and pain, we are constantly learning what we like and don’t like. It’s this contrast, while often uncomfortable, that pushes us forward.
It may be difficult for some to know what exact career you want, what your ideal relationship looks like, or even the amount of money you would feel comfortable with. We can all find clarity on what our individual desires are.
You may know you want freedom, stability, abundance, harmony, love. Good! That’s a place to start. Knowing these individual emotions is enough clarity to begin manifesting. No complete, detailed picture required.
Manifesting clarity
Even after decoupling the fear or uncertainty of making the “right” decision, some may still be finding it difficult to picture what they want in life.
Clarity, purpose, and drive are also all individual emotions that you can target and manifest.
So, if you really don’t know where to start. Start there! Choose “clarity” or “purpose” as a target. Use the following manifestation techniques to achieve greater clarity, and watch how it comes into focus.
Don’t overthink it
There is no finish line in life. You may feel that once you have something specific, you will be happy, complete, or can move to the next step.
While successes may move you closer to your ideal version of yourself, you are never “done”. Once you get there, you’ll either like it or dislike it, but regardless, you will simply move the goalposts to a new place.
So try not to overthink it! You always can choose again at any time.
Part 2: Use Your Imagination
After getting a clear idea of something to manifest, it’s time to begin the work!
Understand the mechanics
The mechanics of manifestation can be summarized in just one quote. It explains why we often unconsciously create the same experiences for ourselves.
“You don't manifest what you want, you manifest what you are.” - Neville Goddard
To want something is to acknowledge that you do not have that thing. So the phrases “I am” or “I have” are much more powerful than “I want”.
It’s really as simple as that. When you use your imagination to consciously manifest, it must be from the perspective of already having or being what you desire.
Meditating on the wish fulfilled
All manifestation starts in your imagination. All day every day, we are using our imagination, and that’s why all day every day we are manifesting.
For some it’s very visual, for others it’s more based on feelings or senses. But everyone, to a certain extent, can picture things in their minds. If I tell you to close your eyes and imagine an apple, I bet you can do just that. But there really is no wrong way to imagine. Just do what comes naturally.
So, in order to consciously manifest, you must use your imagination to feel, sense and/or see the state of your wish fulfilled, from your own perspective.
One of the best ways to do this is in a meditation practice, or right before you go to sleep. Sit (or lay) with your back and neck straight. Calm yourself with breathing exercises, and to begin to imagine yourself in the state of your wish fulfilled.
It may help to imagine a doorway, and walk through it into your new life where your wish is fulfilled. You can see yourself standing separately, then slowly enter that body and see through the eyes of that version of yourself.
What would you be seeing? How would you be feeling? What would you be doing? What conversations would you be having?
See yourself speaking with a loved one and telling them that you have finally achieved what you previously wanted. Imagine them congratulating you.
Let your meditation take its course. Then as if you were sowing a seed, release it, and trust that it is coming to you.
Trust the process
If you were a farmer and was interested in growing healthy crops, you would not plant a seed, and go back every few minutes to check on its growth. That would disturb the growth of the seed, and would probably prevent the plant from growing.
Manifestation works the same way. You have to trust that you imagining the wish fulfilled is sufficient (it may help to test this first on small things to gain confidence). Some plants and animals grow quickly, and others take a very long time to grow and mature. Manifesting your reality is no different.
For small, minor things, or things you have very limited resistance towards, it may take just moments to manifest, but others, it can take a long time. Just know it is coming to you, without worrying about the details of who, what, when, where or how. That’s not your job.
Part 3: Daily Maintenance
Once you understand the mechanics and apply the tools for manifestation, there are more practices that will keep you moving in the right direction.
Don’t plant weeds
After imagining the wish fulfilled, and letting it go. Trust that it is coming to you in its due time just like anything that grows in nature.
The only way that your manifestation will not actually come to pass, is if you imagine or entertain a belief about yourself that directly contradicts your previous intention.
Your dominant imaginative belief about yourself (in terms of frequency and strength of emotion), will always prevail.
Stay mindful
Mindfulness is super helpful in maintaining the state of the wish fulfilled.
Staying in the present moment, and keeping a peaceful mind through meditation, yoga or exercise is an excellent way to do this.
Also, continuing to plant new seeds that are in alignment with your wish, through mindfulness, meditation, scripting or gratefulness exercises will keep you along your path.
Or simply just letting your unshakable faith take over your physical senses. This becomes easier with practice, and as you test it out and see for yourself that these practices actually work. You truly are the creator of your reality.
Scripting from the wish fulfilled
Scripting is a powerful tool that can be very useful in helping you manifest. It is an excellent habit to get into on a daily basis.
By physically writing sentences on a piece of paper from the state of the wish fulfilled, your body combines the thought, feeling, kinesthetic motion, and the visualization of the statement. That’s a lot of reinforcement!
These statements must be written from the perspective of already having or being what you want.
Also, these statements are meaningless (and can actually be counteracted) without aligning the appropriate emotion with that statement. Be sure to feel from the state of the wish fulfilled as you write.
Even just 10 or 15 statements a day is a great way to practice manifestation techniques. It allows you to quickly plant the seed, and quickly release it.
By David Williams
David Williams is a healer, coach and teacher who has been living nomadically in various countries around the world for the past few years. As a student of psychology, neurology, quantum physics, spirituality, self-help and psychic energy work, his goal has been to accept no single philosophy or dogma as it is, but rather see the common threads that unite it all, in never-ending quest for finding a deeper truth.
For over a decade he has repeatedly thrown out societal, social and educational norms, while learning from everyone, and everything he can. It turns out, that there are profound truths that completely align throughout religion, physical sciences, metaphysics, and self-help realms, no matter how different they may seem. His goal is to combine the common wisdom found from experts in their fields, to help one million people throughout the world overcome their personal limitations, find their unique path, and contribute their light to the global awakening. Connect wtih him on his website here: www.imaginationgem.com
PRACTICE VISUALIZATION AND MANIFESTATION RIGHT NOW!
The ancient yoginis understood the concept of time and cycles they called yugas. Presently, we are living in a time of great intensity: the Kali Yuga. The Kali Yuga is a period of hundreds of thousands of years, and it shows a progressive decline in true spiritual connection.
We see this readily in many yogic myths where the feminine (Shakti) embodied conscious-ness is repeatedly disrespected and, as a result, leaves her human form. When she goes away, the demons take over the world creating environmental degradation as they pillage the Earth without a care or sense of responsibility. The world falls apart; the oceans fill with plastic; the air is unbreathable, and the respect for fellow humans is diminished.
While the Gods plead for her earthly return to restore balance, she first demands respect. If we are to call the Divine Feminine back into her body, we must confront our own shadow. A call to the feminine is a call to healing internal wounding where our ego believes it's in charge of life. When our attention focuses solely on the physical, we lose sight of the unifying star matter we are all made of.
We are at an exciting precipice where consciousness is evolving. For example, we see more people taking up yoga, meditation and Indigenous earth-based rituals that reconnect us to the essence in all things. In meditation, we have access to the healing energy hidden behind our scars, wounds, and conditioning. It’s here that we begin to heal the memories of shame, fear, insecurity, doubt, and inhibition.
This is a necessary confrontation to make something more beautiful with our lives. The great masters of the Tantric tradition understood that we could experience immense healing through an authentic path of Initiatory Mantra Meditation — a practice that literally raises the vibrational frequency within the body and mind. Over time, we go from a thickened, dense, contractive condition to a higher vibrational joy-filled experience of life. As a result, we tap more readily into our gifts, talents, and capacities.
This has enormous potential not only for healing our own pain but to add a positive contribution to healing our planet. The dawning of a new era and a progressive time of awakening is becoming more apparent as we watch financial structures collapse and top-down leadership fall apart. COVID-19 has stopped us in our tracks and driven us home. Home is the metaphor for our central channel, where-in deep states of meditative absorption, we alchemically shift our trauma into empowerment.
If the Kali Yuga has been an era of progressive decline, the Sat Yuga spins the pendulum back towards more light, creativity, and beauty where humans will once again express reverence for life. Presently, we are experiencing more collaborative efforts to eliminate differences of color, race, and gender. Backyard gardening, walking barefoot, outdoor activities, and women’s organizations are exploding worldwide as we lean into the call to heal the feminine.
While these exciting shifts are taking place, transitions are rarely smooth. It will take a daily commitment into our core where the masculine and feminine dance as one pulsing energy. It's here, inside ourselves, that we remain steadfast to working for the generations to come, to the upliftment of our planet and the evolution of humans towards a brighter, more awakened existence.
By Jeanie Manchester
Jeanie Manchester is a master yoga teacher and spiritual guide and a teacher on YogaDownload. She has trained and practiced extensively in yoga asana, philosophy, and meditation for the past 30 years. She is an E-RYT 500 Hour YA instructor offering yoga immersions, training as well as travel-based retreats to wondrous places all over the globe. She is a Priestess of Neelakantha Meditation Practice — the most subtle and powerful practice that she offers for those seeking depth and transformation.
After she rolls up her yoga mat, Jeanie is a mother of two and understands the demands of a daily householder life with serious commitment to a spiritual journey. She is also the creator of The Shakti Rise Immersion, as well as “Goddess Guidance”, an online membership group dedicated to guiding women into experiencing their full potential in themselves.
Immerse yourself in this unique 50-Hour Training with Jeanie!
Practice one of Jeanie's many mythology inspired classes in her Goddess Yoga Package!