by admin | May 25, 2014 | Uncategorized
INSPIRATION. Full and focused, open to possibility. One of those things you can’t force, you can seed it but it comes when it comes. Like anything creative – ever emerging, always forming, until it’s expressed… and then there is… a… …pause THE PAUSE. The nothingness. Perhaps a sense of stuckness. Time to observe, to digest, to let go of. To die a small death and be reborn. The negative space that gives an image it’s potency. A necessary part of the creative process. We can sometimes panic in the pause, maybe even suffer a little. When we try for inspiration it can allude us. Like anything, it will pull away if you’re demanding of it, needy and reaching. Inspiration comes from observation, whether in action or stillness, whether immersed or from a distance. It comes from a yin approach to a yang life. Receptive, open. Trust without reaching. Expression without thinking too much. So if we rest in the pause, sit in the stuckness, allow the small death to make space for the new, inspiration will return, when ready and when the time is right – this flood of energy, a filling up to overflowing so you need to create to release it. An expression of the urge to manifest. Both places are your journey. Both are part of the creative process. other posts ...
by admin | May 18, 2014 | Uncategorized
Luscious, luxurious, leafy loveliness all over Melbourne at the moment. How appropriate that the leaves change from the cooler green to the warmer hues as the temperature drops. The colours of the autumn leaves are the colours of the first three chakras. With these colours all around us, they bring a certain energy into the body, resonant with these chakras. WHAT THE LEAVES HAVE TO TELL US: Red – the colour of the root chakra – our earth connection. Connected to our primal need to have all our basic survival needs met. Autumn is a good time to get grounded and stable (before fear, which causes procrastination, takes over). To keep stable and balanced in transitional seasons, we must respond to the season – eating warming foods, like root vegetables and foods that have gathered energy at their core – like apples, pumpkins, pears. Without responding to our body’s changing needs, we just feel more sluggish and unable to support the stable function of the body. Orange is the colour of the second chakra – the centre of creation. A good time to finish or begin to materialize any ideas/projects we have been seeding over the last few months. Do you feel like it’s time to make things happen? Bring to life those ideas, or to finish something that needs finishing. Yellow is the colour of the third chakra – the element of this chakra is FIRE of course. Representing our personal power and affirmation of self. A good time to reflect on our accomplishments as well as make any adjustments so we can be well on the way...
by admin | May 4, 2014 | Uncategorized
Being very much a warm weather loving being, autumn has always been a struggle for me. But over the last few years I have been practicing acceptance, with an intention to fully embrace the change! It’s a work in progress, but my intention is to fully honour the inward turn of energy in preparation for winter – nurturing the desire to stay in, to be quiet, warm, and cosy if that’s what I feel like – opting for crafternoons over outdoor, outward energy activities if I feel inclined. Taking note that my pets, who know best in these situations, are also choosing to sleep more, to stay in more, to eat more. During the autumn change, it’s natural to feel more sleepy and internal. I recommend getting as much sleep as you can, eating warming foods and drinking warm drinks – preparing both physically and mentally for the winter months ahead. As human beings our bodies need to adapt to the shifts and changes in weather and this can take energy, so honour that. Autumn is a perfect time for silent meditation, or in other words sitting with yourself – transitioning from outer to inner. Silent meditation – take a step back: Sit quietly. Mentally take a step back. Literally (mentally) rest back into the back part of your body. Simply delight in spending time quietly sitting with yourself. Sit for as long as you like 🙂 Other blog...
by admin | Apr 27, 2014 | Uncategorized
When we’re afraid, we tend to tense up – the belly tightens and we can shrink inward, freeze, or just freak out. Here’s a quick kundalini yoga tip to counter fear that I learned from a visiting Sat Nam Rasayan teacher, Ambrosia Espinosa recently: Suck your tongue like a lolly. Yes, that’s right. Suck your tongue like it’s a lolly for 3 minutes (or so). Why?? When we feel fear the mouth dries up and the palms sweat. By sucking your tongue like a lolly we produce saliva and the palms of the hands remain dry. We work from the body to trick the mind that we are in fact not afraid, because our body response is one of being fine, not fearful. Other blog...
by admin | Apr 19, 2014 | Uncategorized
I hope you’re enjoying a beautiful long weekend. Over this time I’ve been considering easter and all it represents. All the many different spiritual lineages have different ways to deliver very similar messages. The catholic easter message reminds me of the mantra Sa Ta Na Ma. This mantra represents the cycle of life and the cycles within life. Sa – Birth. Our own birth into human form. The birth of a new relationship, a new stage in our life journey, a new project, home, job. The beginning of anything. Ta – Life. The journey, however it unfolds all of the above. Na – Death. All things must come to an end. The more we practice non-attachment and the awareness of the transience of all things the better we deal with this aspect of the cycle. Ma – Rebirth. Fresh beginnings, with wisdom intact. The beginning of a new journey, born out of the end of an old one. This mantra is the mantra of recognition of the cycles and flow of life. It’s this message that I take from the story of Jesus dying on the cross. Only to be ‘reborn’ or to return anew, with wisdom to carry on the journey. The saying “dying into life” comes from a letting go to start anew. In two weeks, on Saturday May 10, I will be running a 2-hour weekend workshop with my crystal singing bowls. We will practice a 7 part series of meditations, finishing with this mantra. I hope you will join me, more information. Other...
by admin | Apr 13, 2014 | Uncategorized
Just a short, daily practice, if it’s the right one, can make your day SO much more; More manageable, more calm, more abundant, more enjoyable. It’s like watering a plant – a little each day and the plant flourishes. A small commitment can make big changes to your life. It’s always good to come to class and practice with others, to try things you may not try on your own, or get ideas you may not have had at home. To build on this, a personal home practice is also important to develop. Your home practice gives you time to explore where you are at, with the yoga and with life generally. And if you feel like you don’t have time for a personal home practice – ever consider that it could actually help your life flow better, so you feel less pressed for time? INSPIRED? I’m looking to develop a workshop or course that helps you develop your own home practice. To do this usefully, I need to know what you’re after in a home practice. If this topic interests you, I’d love and appreciate you helping me develop something useful by answering the questions below and emailing them to me nancy@blissretreat.com.au: Q1) What do you want from a personal practice? Q2) What are some blocks you have to doing a personal home practice? Q3) How long so you want your practice to be (be realistic, anywhere from 5 mins onward)? Q4) Do you have any specific injuries/conditions that impact your practice? Q5) Would it help to have a few home practices to choose from, depending on time...
by admin | Apr 6, 2014 | Uncategorized
Last weekend I took a flight interstate. I always find flying depleting, no matter how short the trip. I try and counter the depletion by staying hydrated which helps a lot. But this time I tried long deep breathing – and want to share with you a way to feel MUCH better after a flight. THE DISCOVERY: With all the time for it, I decided to check out what was going on with my breathing during the flight. Due to the air pressure, I was surprised by how tight and restricted my lungs felt, which meant shallow breathing for the duration of the flight = depleting. So I began consciously breathing, long and deep and immediately felt much better for it and it made a big difference to how much energy and I had on landing. Actually, I’ve often wondered if breathing deeply on a flight is all that great for you – considering the air quality – but have since learned that the air available on flights is not all recycled, half of it is fresh air from outside. Also, the recycled air is filtered through hospital grade filters – so all in all it’s not that bad. I also get motion sickness on a bumpy descent and for this used alternate nostril breathing to balance the brain – it worked a treat and the motion sickness went away. Try it for yourself. Alternate nostril breathe for the last 15 minutes of the flight, right through until landing. What was most astounding was touch-down and how much my lungs opened up once we hit the tarmac. With the...
by admin | Mar 30, 2014 | Uncategorized
You may have noticed my slight obsession with the exhale. I’ve come to consider the exhale to be the lynch pin of all yoga. It’s like the calm before the storm, the moments of preparation before the performance. It’s the groundwork that enables you to launch a project or deliver a speech; A cleared space ready for the new. About the exhale: A complete exhale assists the body to fully expel apana (old stuff, toxins, carbon dioxide) from the lungs. As we exhale, the diaphragm rises, putting pressure on the lower lungs to expel air, ridding the body of old apana settled on the bottom of the lungs. The exhale connects you to your navel centre. Through the action of the exhale, the navel point draws back towards the spine and we activate our navel centre. A strong navel means a strong sense of self – it is the centre of our being in physical form. If we shallow breathe there is very little action in the navel, the navel centre remains placid, inactive. Shallow breathing = uncertainty, uncentred. We exhale apana to make room for prana. To fully exhale makes space for a full inhale. An incomplete exhale is like over-committing in life; We continue to fill fill fill. We just keep adding. The exhale represents a letting go, an acceptance of impermanence. The inbetween space. The unknown. Opportunity. Skimping on the exhale can make you feel hurried, it creates that mental state of wanting more. If we complete the exhale it keeps us grounded in the here and now; Honouring each action as complete, each moment...
by admin | Mar 23, 2014 | Uncategorized
Late last year I met some lovely ladies in Bali who were interested to practice Kundalini yoga but felt alienated by the image we can sometimes portray of living in a constant light-filled state of positivity and elation. I was quick to reassure them that was not the case and that Kundalini yoga teachings encourage yogi’s to acknowledge, explore, accept and even love their shadow. Yes, Kundalini yoga gets us in touch with that beautiful space beyond our judgements and attachments and moves us from a finite sense of self to the infinite Self – expansiveness, truth, transformation!!! But it can also take us trawling through our ‘stuff’ – a process often not so love and light-filled. The fact is, transformation can sometimes be joyful and sometimes truly painful. In my own personal experience, practicing this yoga can be truly harrowing at times. We get to face our neurosis, our fears, our insecurities, the darkness. Because when we dig deep, we don’t always find things we like about ourselves. Living an authentic, present life involves acknowledging this, staying centred and moving through one lesson to the next. If we turn away from, or bury these parts, we deny an essential truth of what it is to be human; Yogi Bhajan encouraged us to recognise ourselves fully – the good, the bad and the downright ugly, as this is the path to truth. He said “the only difference between you and me is that I love my shadow.” It’s on this journey of delving deep, learning and transforming that we develop huge amounts of compassion and understanding towards ourselves –...
by admin | Mar 16, 2014 | Uncategorized
The big difference between yoga and other forms of exercise is that yoga is not just physical exercise, it is movement with mental presence. The word YOGA means Yoke or Union. The union of all parts of self in meditative motion. Making the shift from the mind/body separation to an experience of wholeness or mind/body union creates an authentic experience of yoga. This grounds us in the present. Not what could be, will be or might be, but what is; Reality. Living real empowers us to honestly observe ourselves within our reality and heightens an awareness that we play a role in how that reality pans out. A wholeness approach can be applied to anything – work, play, rest – and anything can be yoga, the practice of mind/body union. Unfortunately we have a tendancy to switch between mind and body which creates a disconnect from reality. There can be a tendency to move through an exercise routine like another task to tick off. We set goals for somewhere out there in the future (a certain fitness level, weight loss, etc) and disconnect from the actual experience. Mentally detached, we quickly get bored and lose interest in maintaining physical health. Or we detach from the physical while we focus on using the mind – at work for example. At the end of the work day we find ourselves in physical pain with sore backs and tight necks from sitting at the desk for so long, with little physical awareness or body connection. The joy of yoga is that there is nowhere to get to and nothing to wait...
