Music as Yoga Therapy

I had nearly forgotten what music has done in my life. Ever since I was old enough to know how to play a tape or CD, I would play a certain song or two, or album, over and over until I felt finished. That song or that album hit just the right chord in my heart: expressing the love, the loss, the longing, whatever I was experiencing at the moment. It would help me to move that energy through me, to process those feelings, insteaad of letting them get stuck. I'd feel fresh and new when I was finished.

Sharon and David offer music as one of the four pillars of the Jivamukti Yoga Method, and I totally understand why all over again. Not only the mantram, or sacred sounds, but any song or sound, if it is the right one in the right moment can be a mover of prana, of life energy. It triggers that feeling in the heart, and lets it flow. Sometimes it also helps tears to flow, further washing the energy through. Very often, at least for me, it is not enough to merely listen, but to sing the song, to belt it out, is what really does it. It is a form of pranayama.

What is the right song or sound? The one that you really want to hear, the one that feels right in the moment. You'll know when you've hit it- it'll be all you want to hear. It will leave you feeling fresh, present, expansive, clear and free.

The Power of Yoga.. To change your perspective in daily life

A lot changed when a child is born. I knew that I was signing myself up for a challenging-yet-exquisite experience. I look at everything in life as a means to Self-realization, so my daily life, my relationship with my son, and the change I've made to care for him are no exception.

However, what I never thought about were the effects of practicing yoga formally much less then I had been. I was practicing 6 days each week pretty solid for at least 3 years, and almost everyday for 4 1/2 years when my son came. Now I rarely practice when I am not at work (due to the fact that my son needs supervision and attention), and to be an almost-stay-at-home mom, I reduced my work week to four days.

It took me a while to realize, but I really feel it on the days when I don't practice. And I don't mean just physically, although I am conscious of the compression in my spine I start to feel increasing if I don't redirect the posture properly with very frequent reminders. I mean that that sense of loving-bliss and patient resillience I have come to be is tested by the normal circumstances of life faster and faster the farther I am away from my last practice.
I am thankful for this opportunity to experience the power of daily yoga, then to have had it taken away, and to be able to feel the changes. I am aware that daily practice is incredibly neccessary if one really wants to transcend all of the pitfalls and negative habits of the human experience. If we want to be free from suffering, to live life from the still, loving center of consciousness, then getting to the point of being able to practice on our own and practicing in between classes is key.

I feel my mind heavy with junk, with sediment, and I feel the overthinking wearing me down in between sessions. I am not as loving, in fact I can fall prey to negatively perceived sensations that set off a cacade of energy blocking thoughts, actions and experiences, which drag my energy and mindset down.

Doing even 10-15 minutes of thorough sun salutations every morning, utilizing ujjayi breathing could be enough on the "in-between days". Over time, we can easily guide our own asana practice, and use group classes as a well to drink from once a week to keep us energized, creative, in-touch and on-track.

For a while I felt this slowly edging in, and I thought doing daily meditation would help clear and recenter me. Its not that meditation wouldn't work, but that for me, the difference between meditating "cold" or right after an asana practice is so profound that I have absolutely no desire to sit unless I am in the "right" state of mind, even if I have the desire to have the desire.

I think that my small, almost daily, window (a.k.a. nap-time), during which I have to fit all of the computer work that goes into running Enlighten and numerous projects, will be best used to include an asana and meditation practice on the three days each week that I don't teach classes. This is a more important self-discipline I feel then struggling to sit for ten minutes, when I can very clearly feel the alignment of my physical and energetic layers are off and need adjusting, so that the prana can flow as it should. Yes, this is what I feel, and its what you can detect with your senses too, and much more, simply by practicing yoga everyday. It may be 3 hours some days or only 15 minutes a day, but any bit helps expand your consciousness. Then there will come a time when you will know how much it takes to get yourself to the place where you are able to walk taller, meditate joyously, and live from your heart with an extraordinary amount of loving-bliss and brilliant creativity that allow you to be successful at all levels of life.

108 Days of Meditation. Day 2

Already I noticed my sleep is deeper, fewer dreams, and when I do dream it seems more lucid and spiritually oriented. It is too soon to say but my waking consciousness seems a little clearer as well.

I have heard many times that meditating at night (versus during dawn, daylight or dusk) challenges the fears one has stored in the ego. I am bold, comfortable and at ease any other time, but have always felt uneasy at night. The fears are usually directed at nothing in particular and are usually active only when I am completely alone. Fear comes from the ego, it is a form of ignorance.

I originally didn't think of this possibility, but I am excited and solidly going to witness and become free of this aspect of egoic fears. I am embracing this practice with determination. I am feeling safer and safer just in making this determination.

I try to continue the practice of mindfulness throughout my days, but I feel a deep strength and joy arising in this experiment and I positively anticipate my meditation session when it comes into my awareness.

108 Days of Meditation~ Are You In?

I'm challenging myself to 108 days in a row of meditating before bed for at least 20 minutes. Would you like to join me for this transformative challenge?

I have kept my sadhana active since 2005 when I undertook my yoga teacher training at a Sivananada Ashram in the Bahamas. My sadhana has taken many forms- asanas regularly, mindfulness meditations, lots of reading and study in classic texts and books by others on the path, but I haven't had much of a sitting practice for quite a while. I have the "best" or most naturally focused meditation experiences after thorough asana practice or in nature, but my life situation doesn't allow me to practice like that outside of practicing with my student-friends. So I decided to commit to a sitting meditation practice for 108 days. Please commit with me!

You can use mantra, breath-awareness or any techniques you enjoy. I'm beginning with open awareness, just witnessing all as it is without judgement. I may switch techniques, but will do 20 minutes or more of meditation each evening for this next 108 days. I am starting tonight, June 28th, but you can start anytime. My 108 days will end after October 14th, just after the 5th anniversary of our yoga studio (Oct. 2nd). I am meditating in bed, but you can maybe meditate on your porch or in a special space in your bedroom or other quiet space.

I will share how it is coming along. Feel free to post here or on our Enlighten Facebook fanpage, letting us know how your practice is coming along.

I cannot take a retreat at this time in my life because of family commitments, but I feel that deepening my practice will give the needed catalyst to come to the next level of awareness. This is the way. I started practicing two days ago, but yesterday I barely meditated, because I just witnessed my ego throwing all the tricks at me. I just witnessed it, let it have a little run and said, last time! So don't let boredom, fatigue, feeling antsy or other tricks of the ego fool you. Ram Dass often says that the ego pulls those tricks out because it doesn't like to let itself be ordered by meditation, it creates resistance because it wants to be in control. I'm not letting my accumulated subconscious conditioning and habits rule my mind anymore! This is a peaceful coup! Join me! 108 days, we can do it! It will be glorious, every night unique, vacation, camping, home, work night, party night, lets witness it all!

Enough! Time to start! Namaste!