Day 258 Intention ~ Listen & Learn

Day 258 Intention ~ Listen & Learn

I took a yoga class with a "new to me" teacher today. It is someone that I have known on the yoga scene for a few years now, but I have just never made it to her class. She led a beautiful class that kept me on my toes and led me to learn some new techniques. 

Yesterday I went to class with my teacher and I discovered that I seemed more receptive to being still and listening to the instructions instead of rushing into whichever posture she was signaling. It allowed me to think about how I was moving, how I felt transitioning into the pose (which, coincidentally, was the teacher today's theme) and enjoying it once I arrived. I felt more mature in a way with my practice that hasn't always been there. 

Both of these classes helped me discover things about my own practice, which is why I love to check out different teachers and different styles of yoga. There is something to be learned from each teacher and each class. It may not be your favorite all time class, but I assure you, that teacher has something to offer. 

As I came upstairs to the computer to write this, I flipped my African proverbs calendar to September 15 and it reads a Kenyan proverb:

"A listening ear leads to life but a deaf ear leads to death."

Too funny. I'm listening, I'm listening! 

Til tomorrow...

Shanti,

Marcia

Fear = Transition

I didn't fail the test, I just found 100 ways to do it wrong - Benjamin Franklin

The biggest fear that ruins life is that our dreams will end in failure. We move away from scary situations, clinging onto comfort and the illusion of stability instead of reaching for our dreams assuming that bravery is lined with ease, but not understanding that failure is just a lesson brought on to teach us what we are truly capable of.

The only true way to fail is to give up completely - if you have a dream or a goal and you keep working towards it, one day you will reach that goal. It may take hours, it may take years - but nothing worth having has ever been easy to obtain.

Bravery is pushing past your fears, it is to keep moving even when you're afraid. Strength is knowing that our imagination holds the trailers to our future and this moment is the future we were worried about yesterday.

AUM VAKRATUNDAYA HUM - Ganesha Purana

It is said if you repeat this mantra 1008 times it will bring you strength and healing. It will help when things aren't working either on a personal or universal level. Locally or internationally, this mantra - and Ganesha - is here for you when our minds drift off to bad places; become negative; depressed; or we feel simply discouraged by every day life. Turning towards Ganesha will help you move back to the brighter path in your life.

Abhaya "Fearless" & Varada "Giving or Welcome" Mudras

Abhaya "Fearless" symbolized protection, peace and dispelling fear. The Right hand is held at shoulder height with your palm facing outward. "I come in peace" it is a gesture that shows the hand is empty of weapons and a sign of friendship and peace.

According to Buddhist History, the Buddha made this gesture right after receiving enlightenment.

Varada "Giving" or "Welcome" mudra symbolises charity and compassion. It is the mudra of accomplishment of the wish to devote oneself to Human Salvation. Almost always made with the left hand, it can be made with the arm hanging neutral or your palm sitting up and open on your knee.

The five fingers symbolize: Generosity, Morality, Patience, Effort and Meditative Concentration. This mudra is rarely used alone.

Crow - "Bakasana"

Crow, or Bakasana, helps to strengthen wrist, forearms, and abdomen. It improves your balance - yet crow can be a rather scary pose. Balancing all of your weight onto your two hands, with your face inches away from the floor can feel daunting and like a recipe for disaster - but crow teaches us how to let go, to be free and to fly. When you are properly aligned there is nothing to fear.

Place your hands on your mat, this is your foundation. Fingers wide and creases of your writs facing forward, walk your knees onto your upper arms - but before you begin to lift your legs be sure that your arms are aligned above your writs and that you are engaging your core. Then try to lift one foot at a time, taking your gaze forward and then organically moving into the pose.

Fear is the moment we realize that what we want is worth being brave for, and it is the moment we understand that what we were is not the only thing we were meant to be. All great things come out of conflict, transition and they push past fear.

Now go find your crow and fly.

~Namaste