6 Bits of Yogic Wisdom for a Pandemic

Posted on 04/07/2020

Yogis, this is what we’ve been training for!

You were not holding Warrior or doing your umpteenth Upward Dog in an hour to tone your butt or your arms. 

You’ve been training to be a warrior. 

To be strong and wise and even in mindset amidst a raging battle. 

To see clearly and steady yourself to lead others with grace and courage.

Do not forget your training. 

This now is your sadhana.

  • Breathe Deeply

Practice pranayama to keep your lungs expanded and healthy. Hear your breath if the going gets tough, if you get mired in the collective stress of these times. When the mind hears the breath and focuses on it, it calms. It believes again that everything is OK.

  • Be Present with Sensation

Remember long holds of asana? How you shook? How heat built up? Your teacher would remind you to be present. Be with all that arises. Ride the wave of sensation with equanimity. It all comes and goes. Witness. In this moment. And this moment. And this one. Surrender to what the moment brings. Not resisting. We are in a long hold. And it too shall pass.

  • Relax What You Can

Even during a challenging pose you can relax your face – your forehead and jaw. The most relaxed position for the face is a slight smile. Note Shiva’s expression; eyelids relaxed, corners of the mouth upturned. What else can you relax during this time? Are there rules that need to soften, expectations you can let go of for yourself or others?

  • Allow Feelings 

I have cried in heart opening poses, and raged inside during others. The asana can touch a place inside of us that was holding a memory, or a trauma that we don’t remember. This unprecedented experience may be triggering emotions in you. Allow them to move through. Feel it all the way. Once they pass through there is freedom, an openness where that was once stored. More Prana, life force, can flow.

  • Remember Stillness

After our practice we lie still in Savasana. As still as a corpse. I often tell my students that we are like a snow globe. After being squeezed, twisted, flipped upside down and shaken by the asana we lie still to let all the pieces drop into a new arrangement. We are being rearranged now. Perhaps all of society is.  After this, we will emerge new, changed. Periods of stillness and a slow return to activity can help us to adjust and to ascertain our new powers and the new way we wish to be in the world.

  • Trust the Practice

Life is the yoga teacher right now. Her practice is exactly what we need. Trust that. Just as you do what your yoga teacher says during a class, listen to Her. She is the Wisest of them all.

Jai Bhagwan.

Lisa

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The Gift of Spirit Help

Posted on 02/05/2020

There is a gift that you have that you may not be using. 
You put it away without realizing it was a gift.
Or never took it out of the box.
Or saw it but didn’t believe it could be real so tossed it aside.

It’s your connection with the spirit world,
with your loved ones who have crossed over,
with angels and guides and helpers in invisible form.

What? You don’t believe in invisibility? In things you can’t see?

They are real. As real as a breeze, as music, as full body chills and the warmth of the sun. 

What you “see” is the evidence of calling in spirit help. The opportunity that appears, the people that you meet, the idea that pops into your head that you can follow to your desire-come-true.

I forget to ask for help from Them sometimes. I struggle or stress until I remember that I am not alone. Then I feel that I am surrounded by Love. Then I see it in the world and my everyday life. 

I have psychic friends, mediums and spirit channels, who I sometimes remind to ask their Guides for help. To check in with the Ancestors or call to their beloved relative on the other side.

A Course in Miracles defines a miracle as a change in perspective. It’s the shift from seeing ourselves as separate and alone and vulnerable to recognizing our connection to the Divine and everyone/everything else as part of it too. In that we would know the Love that is available, the safety that we have, and the invisible team at the ready, waiting to be called upon.

We have free will, to struggle or not. To go it alone or to open to Love, Grace and God. We have to be willing to receive the miracle, to see things differently and to have a different experience of what is happening. 

We mobilize help from beyond by asking Them to help us – to learn the lesson, to find the way, to meet our person, to be of service, to get through a tough time, to have the courage to grow and change. You can call to a dear one who has departed this life, to a sage or prophet from the past, to a spirit guide who is with you whether you know their name or form or not.

Then expect results and be willing to do your part. Notice what is shown to you. I always explore something if it’s mentioned or pops up 3 times; a book, a method, a teacher. I met my husband on a website that was mentioned to me twice and then I saw an ad for it. Third time! OK, I’ll try it.

And always say “Thank you.” Acknowledge that you received Their message or whatever help was sent. Keep the relationship and communication going.

Open the gift of Spirit Help in your life. 
It was freely given. 
It is yours to accept.

🙏💜
Lisa

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Ordering in the Universe

Posted on 01/07/2020

I like the analogy of the Universe to a restaurant.

It’s important to decide what you want, like you do at a restaurant. If you don’t order anything, you’ll get water. And maybe bread. You’ll be sustained. Many people are living like that.

Still others are busy looking at what everyone else is getting, criticizing their choice of food or feeling jealous of what they are enjoying. But not ordering.

I often guide people in identifying what they want, what the heart is truly calling for right now. We aim to clarify what feeling or state of being is longing to be realized, to manifest. We imagine that – what it would look like in the everyday, what one might do or wear, who they would be with, etc.

Then we let it go. We set that vision free to be received. The order has been placed. We can act as if it’s on its way. We prepare in any way we may need to. We anticipate that a delicious meal will arrive, although we don’t know exactly when or even exactly what it will look like.

It sometimes looks like opportunity to meet someone, take a new position or move to a new place. It may come as a challenge that will actually teach you what you need to become who you want to be. It can come gently and gracefully as a beautiful surprise that brings joy.

It’s helpful to remember what you ordered. You know how the server sometimes comes over with a bunch of dishes and calls out the name? You all look at the plates she’s holding and try to recognize yours. It can be hard. It might not look as you had pictured in your mind’s eye. Take it anyway. Try it. This is a good restaurant.

In a New Years Day intention workshop this year, I led a group in a decision-making, clarifying process and in creating custom bracelets with words on them to remember our intentions all year.

My word is Simplify.

I ordered too much. It all came in wonderful forms and with challenges, joys and friends in plenty. I can’t eat it all. I can’t enjoy another bite while I’m so full.

If you get the hang of ordering in this Universe, and you follow multiple passions and utilize your unique gifts, this may happen to you too. You may feel weighed down. Your creative spark doused.

When you feel like that, stop. See if someone else wants what you have left. Take a break. Wait until you’re hungry again, then order judiciously. With discernment. In alignment with your intention.

Also remember that you can send food back in a good restaurant, if it’s not to your liking. The Chef will quickly create something else to try to make you happy.

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