Love

All the Hemispheres; a poem by Hafiz

All the Hemispheres

Leave the familiar for a while.

Let your senses and bodies stretch out

Like a welcomed season

Onto the meadow and shores and hills.

Open up to the Roof.

Make a new watermark on your excitement

And love.

Like a blooming night flower,

Bestow your vital fragrance of happiness

And giving

Upon our intimate assembly.

Change rooms in your mind for a day.

All the hemispheres in existence

Lie beside an equator

In your heart.

Greet Yourself

In your thousand other forms

As you mount the hidden tide and travel

Back home.

All the hemispheres in heaven

Are sitting around a fire

Chatting

While stitching themselves together

Into the Great Circle inside of

You.

-Hafiz

Gratitude is the Attitude

 This is what a water crystal looks like with love and gratitude

What are you grateful for today?

Why practice asana?  In the Western world where we have been conditioned to believe that we are the body and mind, one may say we practice yoga to lengthen our muscles, build strength, and get toned.  While these are, no doubt, visible benefits of the practice, it is vital that we understand this component of yoga for what it truly is: something powerful, far beyond any changes in the physical body.  Although it may not be realized on a conscious level, many new yoga students take up the practice because they are suffering; they want to feel better.  The root of most suffering is avidya, or ignorance of the true Self (which is God, the Divine, or oneness).  Asana is wonderful in that it provides us with a fairly concrete way to bring structure to our desire for yoga, or oneness, in order to melt away feelings of separateness. By engaging in a vigorous, consistent asana practice and devoting our efforts and energy to God, we begin to release identifications with sensations in the body and the citta vrtti (mind fluctuations).  The Sanskrit word asana translates to “seat”.  When we sit, we establish a connection to the earth.  Therefore, in practicing asana, we are deepening and strengthening our connection to Mother Earth and everything that lives here.  Once asana becomes a more familiar action, we build a more earnest understanding of how we are directing prana, the vital life force, by moving our bodies in certain ways.  As an intermediate-advanced practitioner, subtle energetic work with pranayama, the bandhas, and meditation can (and should) become components of yoga practice.  Asana practice is just a slice of the delicious pie of yoga, or oneness.  It is once we move beyond understanding asana as simply a physical activity, that we can truly begin to transcend manifestations of avidya and move closer toward the ultimate goal of yoga.

-JRH

Home-brew Yoga Mat Cleaner for Sale!

Yoga mat starting to smell a little funky? Wondering how to keep it clean?! Now selling my home brew yoga mat cleaner. Original scent for sale as of today! A yummy combo of lavender, tea tree oil, lemongrass, magic, and love, make this spray a perfect solution for the stinky mat. Sold in 4 oz. glass amber atomizers, initial cost is $8, then any re-fill thereafter is $5. Email julia.r.howe@gmail.com  me to place an order ♥

JAI!

Hangin' out in Wheel Pose with Sofi at Laughing River Yoga!

 

REUNITING WITH OUR OPENNESS

Don’t worry about achieving. Don’t worry about perfection. Just be there each moment as best you can. When you realize you’ve wandered off again, simply very lightly acknowledge that. This light touch is the golden key to reuniting with our openness

--Pema Chodron