She's Back!

Bhuvaneshwari ~ Mistress of the Cosmos

Do you know that the return of Divine Feminine is actually explained, in many beliefs, including Hinduism? There is a story about her leaving the earth, except for in sacred groves, forests, caves... and that she would come back, and that it's now! It is amazing! I hadn't heard that story until I listened to Shakti Meditations. It's an amazing cd.

About eight months ago, my guides started saying, "She's coming..." And I had no idea what the heck they were talking about! Ha ha ha. I just kept hearing it. And then one day I was walking by a big statue and I felt grabbed. I turned around and it was a huge head... Diana. And I knew right away, I got it... I almost started crying on the spot, ha ha ha. Crazy! There was a Native American ceremony up in Canada to welcome Divine Feminine back and send off Divine Masculine with love... last Fall, I think. And it's so darn palpable! It's incredible!

The following cd is AMAZING! I wish that I could give a copy of it to every single woman on the planet, although I do think there is big value in buying such things for our own work :-)

Shakti Meditations: Guided Practices to Invoke the Goddesses of Yoga

Heavenly!

Music for Deep Meditation produces fantastic and powerful meditation and relaxation music. They are also friends of mine, I am happy to say :-) Watch this in full screen, it is magnificent!

It's Just Your Japa Walkin'... Yeah!

Recently I've taken to going on vigorous japa walks. The spiritual practice known as japa is simply the continuous repetition of any *mantra (or the name of the Lord.) A japa mala, which is similar to worry beads or a rosary, can be used to help stay focused on the mantra while keeping a count of the repetitions. Typically Japa Malas will have 108 beads with a 109th bead, the Guru Bead, hanging separately to mark the beginning and end. The practice of Japa may entail hundreds or even thousands of repetitions. Japa walks are a great way to give your exercise routine a spiritual boost!

*If you are interested in learning more about mantras I just found this book and, though I haven't read it myself, the book sounds fascinating from the description and excerpt on the website. If you don't want to read the whole book there is an excerpt from the book explaining what a mantra is here;

http://www.sanskritmantra.com/what.htm

Why Ask Why?

Imagine if you deliberately paused for just a moment before choosing to take action and asked yourself why? What paths would change in your life? Today I paused before choosing angry words and instead I chose to express pain. Each action becomes more deliberate and has more meaning when we pause for even a millisecond to evaluate our choice. I choose my actions and my reactions and when I remember to choose consciously I lessen the drama and heighten the quality.

Yikes! Just Say No To Embarrassment.

I was conversing with a younger woman at a dinner party recently and she was telling me about an embarrassing incident that she'd had. I waited for her to finish her story and then I told her something that perhaps comes with age or perhaps it only comes with certain guidance. Embarrassment is mostly useless and it can be greatly overcome. I practice by simply choosing to continue to do silly things that make me happy even while people are passing by. Like, I walk my dog with my ipod on and I sing along to the music, granted I do this on a country road where only my neighbours are subjected to my crooning but... you get the point. It started with me doing yoga in the backyard. I love doing yoga in the grass but I was feeling a little embarrassed about people watching me. At first I tried to block the view and then it occured to me that it really doesn't matter. I also realized that if I saw someone doing yoga in their backyard that I would think they were pretty darn cool. I don't know that I'll ever be immune to embarrassment but the more confidence I give to myself the less embarrassed I feel. Try it out, it's quite liberating.

Finding My Inner Yogini

I had my first Hatha Yoga experience somewhere around the age of eleven or twelve. I was visiting my father at the ashram where he was living. My cousin had introduced him to her Guru and he never looked back. From that time on he lived primarily in ashrams, in the United States as well as in India. Slowly family members began following his lead and soon my entire family were living at the ashram. The clothing in the ashram was extremely modest in those days, the Hatha Yoga teacher would wear a floor length skirt and a long sleeved blouse and the demonstrator usually wore a punjabi. I remember most clearly the guided savasana and the powerful effect that her words had on my body. I actually still use several of that teacher's phrases in my own relaxation. I can still hear her soft reassuring voice in my head as I guide myself into Savasana.

I have spent most of my life traveling and moving around, first with my family and then on my own. The longest time that I've spent living in an ashram was a little over two and a half years, I am the exception in my family. Anyway, it was during that particular time that I trained to be a Hatha Yoga teacher. For a brief period I taught my own classes but I preferred giving private lessons and adjusting for other teachers' classes. I do not really enjoy public speaking and simply feel more comfortable working one on one with people. At that time I was living in India and the rooms the teachers were given to practice in were in a beautiful small house surrounded by Plumeria trees. If you are unfamiliar with Plumeria trees they are flowering trees and the blooms are gorgeous and fragrant! It was a heavenly experience to be sure!

At that time I had a truly fantastic and wonderfully motivating teacher. His depth of understanding the body and the postures as well as his conveyance of that knowledge into his students' bodies is truly phenomenal. He has his own school now and I could not be happier or more grateful to have worked with him. Digressing! Since then I have moved numerous times and arisen from many an ash pile as the Phoenix reborn! Hatha Yoga pops in and out of my life like a good old friend that doesn't need constant attention to stay close to my heart. Also my old teacher's voice has never left my head. His words and his principles were so firmly planted in my body that every time I practice, if I focus, my body practically self adjusts!

About a year and a half ago I began to recreate myself yet again! I started keeping a gratitude journal, taking better care of my body and mind and meditating regularly again. I also started playing with my dog as a form of exercise which I highly recommend. After awhile playing with my dog opened out into really just spontaneous playing. I started skipping around and doing cartwheels and somersaults, like a young girl! In the winter, my precious pup and I would tumble and roll around in the snow. I learned that I could actually enjoy cold weather, which I never had before. It was amazing and inspiring and it helped me to open up my heart to my own self! Wah!

Finally this Spring I was playing with the dogs outside when suddenly I just felt like breakin' into Surya Namaskar... so I did. Now I do my yoga practice outside, right on the grass, nearly every day and I have never enjoyed Hatha Yoga more. At 39 I feel more connected to my body, the postures and the shakti than I have ever felt before. I am also stronger and more flexible than I've ever been and people tell me I look fantastic, which isn't neccessary but it certainly feels good. Through the ebb and flow of my ever-changing life, I will always have Hatha Yoga to come home to. I've found my inner yogini this summer and though it's likely that she will disappear again I know she'll always be there when I truly need her. Sadgurunath Maharaj Ki Jai!

Meditation in Motion

Recently I started listening to my mantra on my ipod while doing Surya Namaskar and it's made such a difference in the quality of my yoga practice as well as the way my body feels. I highly recommend listening to whatever helps you to meditate while doing whatever exercise routine makes you happy. I feel the energy of the mantra penetrating every cell in my body. Fantastic!

Aaah! The Power and Wisdom of Intention

I first watched The Secret a little over a year ago. After my first viewing I watched it every day for over a month. I tried creating a vision board but ended up with a collage of a magical garden with a hummingbird and my teacher and Lakshmi hanging out with me and my best friend Pam. It's quite beautiful and everyone loved it so much that I made one for my mom for her birthday. I actually didn't really feel that I had accomplished what I had set out to do but I loved the collage and that was great.

At the same time I went through some magazines and picked out a few pages with photos of things that I wanted to change in my life. I only remember two of the pages one was a woman doing yoga and one was a photo of some healthy looking organic food. Lastly I wrote in a gratitude journal every day for a few months and then off and on for the past year or so. In my gratitude journal I write about the love that I feel radiating from inside and out. I express gratitude for my healthy, strong, lithe and beautiful body mind and spirit. I say thank you for the ease with which I walk through this life. There are other things but those are the constants.

Here I am about a year from the first time I watched The Secret. Let's see... I am doing yoga every day because I feel like doing it not because I feel I should be doing it. Also I feel stronger and more present in my postures than I ever have and I actually taught yoga many years ago! I eat almost entirely organic and my diet in general is much more healthy, again because I crave these foods now. I do my yoga practice in a garden where there are, I'm not kidding, two or three hummingbirds buzzing around and occasionally alighting on a branch near me. There is a baby bunny who pops out once in awhile and has actually fallen asleep near me. Majestic eagles soar above me almost every day. One day two baby deer were laying down in the field next to me quietly watching. Could this garden be any more magical? I find heart shapes everywhere. If you want to see a couple more of them go to this posting from my other blog TempleGreen. You will likely be surprised. I still get these hearts all the time.

I am more relaxed and calm than I have ever been. My family and friends have all noted and praised the change in me. More importantly I have noted the change in me. After many years of being told that I must first love myself... I DO! I really do feel incredible love for myself. I still get the old crap rearing it's head occasionally but it has so much less power than ever before. I might listen for an hour or so now and then I just go outside and reconnect with myself and get back to creating my beautiful life. I am happy and grateful to be manifesting love, joy and magical gardens. Oh yes and, of course, a healthy, strong, lithe and beautiful body, mind and spirit!