Life

Anyone who works out regularly understands the benefits.  Exercise helps us feel better not only physically, but it improves mood, brain function and our psychological well-being.  Incorporating a variety of exercises into your routine will help you achieve a more well-rounded sense of health and wellness.

Yoga has become popular in the west in recent decades.  It makes us stronger, stretches our muscles, soothes chronic pain, promotes mental wellness and encourages us to be more present, which can be hard to do if we lead busy, stress-filled lives.

People have many questions about acupuncture. Most people ask how the ancient Chinese figured out where to put the needles. Great Question! It turns out that the oldest tradition is through meditation, known as Qi Gong. These ancient meditation practices were passed down to interested persons, mostly those who study martial arts or the healing arts.  The health benefits of Qi Gong have been long recognized in China.

Everything you see around you, and everything you don’t, can be described by 10 pair of opposites. In Sanskrit they are called gunas (qualities, or attributes).

  1. Heavy/Light
  2. Dull/Sharp
  3. Cold/Hot
  4. Oily/Dry
  5. Smooth/Rough
  6. Dense/Porous (or liquid)
  7. Soft/Hard
  8. Still/Moving
  9. Gross/Subtle
  10. Cloudy/Clear

Look around you to find examples. No recall how these qualities have been present in you, across the majority of your lifetime.

One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul. Soul on deck shines like gold in dark times. The light of the soul throws sparks, can send up flares, builds signal fires, causes proper matters to catch fire.

Tantra, it might surprise some, is a science. One of the meanings of the word tantra is “treatise,” and that accurately describes it as a massive body of knowledge. Tantra doesn’t ask you to spend endless hours and years studying books on the subject. Rather, it is by its very nature practical. Tantra means that when you do a certain thing (an action or practice), it spontaneously gives rise to a higher level of awareness or a greater sense of freedom. When you do a tantric technique, it automatically produces a positive effect, a spontaneous effect, regardless of your beliefs. That is, by nature, what makes it tantric.
 

Most of us have been asked our astrological sign. This most often means our Sun sign. Have you ever been asked “What is your Star?”

Chances are if you go to India or meet someone who has a knowledge of Jyotish or Vedic astrology that they could ask you this question. They are asking not only what sign your Moon is in, but also the nakshatra or lunar mansion which is specific to the fixed star system within the ecliptic (path of the sun and other planets from the perspective of the Earth).

As a yoga and mindfulness teacher, my ultimate mission is to help others help themselves. I often tell my students that they have to take care of themselves in order to take care of others. This sentiment is echoed by both the airline safety videos (“Secure your mask before helping others”) and thought leaders such as the Dalai Llama.

“If you don’t love yourself, you cannot love others… If you have no compassion for yourself then you are not capable of developing compassion for others.” —Dalai Lama

I'm only in week 2 of my online "Mindful Communication" course given by Mindful Schools, and I already feel a shift in how I'm communicating with my family and co-workers. The foundation of the course is built on the Non-Violent Communication (NVC) technique founded by the late Marshall Rosenberg PhD, who also founded the Center for Non-Violent Communication.

Click here to watch a short video of Dr. Rosenberg to understand his work.

What Really Matters

Six years ago, I went to visit a friend from college who was teaching English in Kyoto, Japan.

A day or so after I arrived, she took me to an outdoor market in the city.  Wandering together through stalls of artwork, antiques, handicrafts and food, I was drawn to a table where a woman was selling daifuku, sweet rice cakes filled with red bean paste.

As my friend spoke Japanese and I did not, she kindly did the work of ordering one for me.

"...first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye."
Matthew 7:5

Among the very few biblical quotes that are imprinted in my mind is this one. It is one that has been re-surfacing for me a lot lately...

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