Turning Om
Posted: November 25, 2013 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: Arjuna, Bhagavad Gita, blogging, compassion, exercise, family, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, gluten free, happiness, health, Himalayan Institute, hope, kindness, Krishna, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Om Center Omaha, Omaha, paleo, passion, perspective, pilates, Rolf Sovik, running, whole foods, yoga, Yoga Sutra, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Yoga Sutras Patanjali 10 CommentsWe are all waves in one beautiful ocean-
Quick note before we start this amazing week:
* I had the pleasure this past Saturday to practice and study with Rolf Sovik, PsyD (president and spiritual director of the Himalayan Institute) at the Omaha Healing Arts Center. I would like to thank the staff and fellow students for what turned out to be a truly inspiring event, Thank you!
Events like the one I attended this weekend are truly magical and over the course of the next few posts, I am going to share what I learned with you, my Dear Readers. There really is only one place to start …
The Yoga Sutra, in the most simple explanation possible, is a “how to” guide of Yoga. How to be “In the world, but not of the world” … Another Dude back in the day uttered these profound words: Jesus of Nazareth. The Yoga Sutra is a guide to Action.
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The complementary opposite of balance, is chaos. While there are many “things” in life which we have no direct control of: Your favorite sports team, whether it will rain on race day, the last Snickers bar getting stuck in the vending machine … When we are afforded the ability to impose ourselves upon a situation, this “situation” we are creating is dictated and directly impacted by each choice we make.
In considering our choices and their consequences, we can choose to eschew chaos and instead – seek balance. We engage in this beautiful process every time we step on our mats to practice, by carefully considering not only the choices that we are about to make, but the consequences of these choices, and recognizing that at the core of everything moving forward is Action.
Daily Meditation:
To Act or not to Act? At the end of the day, it is you alone who both creates and engenders the circumstances of your life.
I had a bad feeling when that silly Snickers bar started to drop …
Lost Scroll
Posted: November 22, 2013 Filed under: Meditation, Yoga | Tags: Alternative, blogging, Breathing, compassion, cycling, Deepak Chopra, exercise, family, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, hope, kettlebell, kindness, life, Lotus position, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, paleo, passion, perspective, pilates, running, Sexuality, Slow Down, trail running, whole foods, yoga 5 CommentsWe waste time looking for the perfect lover, instead of creating the perfect love-
Meditation, in my humble opinion, is the perfect entry point to many profound experiences in life. Successful meditation and successful “whatever(s)” all start with three simple, yet mindful entry points:
Get Comfortable – Slow Down – Connect to our Breath
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When we are able to approach other pursuits in our life, just like we approach meditation (without rushing to go somewhere fast – a means to an end) we are able to touch deeply into ecstatic and erotic states which we once thought were lost.
Daily Meditation:
Our busy lives takes us to a place where we are constantly consumed by our thoughts. It’s possible to reclaim our bodies, our true-selves. On that note: Before kissing a loved one tenderly, taking a bath or running in the snow … Get Comfortable – Slow Down – Connect to Your Breath
Much Ado About Nothing
Posted: November 21, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout | Tags: Arts, blogging, compassion, cycling, exercise, family, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, hope, kindness, life, Literature, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, Much Ado About Nothing, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, paleo, passion, perspective, pilates, running, Shakespeare, trail running, whole foods, William Shakespeare, writing, yoga 3 CommentsAct II Scene iii
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Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more,
Men were deceivers ever,
One foot in sea and one on shore,
To one thing constant never:
Then sigh not so, but let them go,
And be you blithe and bonny,
Converting all your sounds of woe
Into Hey nonny, nonny.
Sing no more ditties, sing no more,
Of dumps so dull and heavy;
The fraud of men was ever so,
Since summer first was leafy:
Then sigh not so, but let them go,
And be you blithe and bonny,
Converting all your sounds of woe
Into Hey nonny, nonny.
Muy Feliz
Posted: November 20, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout, Yoga | Tags: blogging, compassion, cycling, Facebook, family, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hipster, hope, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, motivation, musings, natural, nature, Omaha, passion, philosophy, pilates, running, simplicity, Surrender, trail running, twitter, whole foods, writing, yoga 7 CommentsSometimes one has suffered enough to have the right to never say: I am too happy-
The idea of “surrender” is not one we cling to when it comes to engaging in activitie(s) of our choosing. Rather, the words we use are more akin to fighting a valiant battle, winning at all costs. And you know what? There is nothing wrong with thinking this way … Unless thinking this way makes you feel worse that you already do.
May this post serve as an invitation to gently set aside the fear and fight in our lives. In order to truly live.
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My idea of surrender, is that surrender gives my mind a chance to let the world seep into my very consciousness. Learning “how to surrender” is not about becoming passive, a “chump” or indifferent. Surrender revolves around accepting our current state of mind, body and spirit. With this acceptance serving as my starting point? I am learning to take the best care I can of my body and my mind.
Daily Meditation:
Consider a moment in your life when “surrendering” led to positive consequences that you were not expecting …
Be well today!
Love (My)stery
Posted: November 19, 2013 Filed under: Random Workout, Yoga | Tags: Alternative, blogging, compassion, cycling, exercise, family, fitness, free range, freshly pressed, friends, gluten free, happiness, health, hope, Jain meditation, kindness, life, love, lululemon, marathon, meditation, Mindfulness, motivation, musings, nature, Omaha, pain, passion, pilates, Religion and Spirituality, running, trail running, whole foods, Zen 6 CommentsThere are no facts, only interpretations-
When I began walking my current path, my motivation was existential …
I struggled each painful morning to answer burning questions such as Who am I? What is my true nature? What is the nature of the world around me? These questions still linger to this day, although meditation practice and mindfulness practice in particular, have helped to define the path unfolding in front of me.
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During a painful period recently, with profound feelings of sadness. In one sense, I tried to be gentle with myself, allowing my body ample time before engaging it fully. As time went on, motivated by the desire to be fully alive and fully functioning, I began to observe closely just how my pain constituted and unfolded, how I participated in it, and how my attentiveness and lack of it affected “things.”
When I was aware and mindful, I would be feeling fine and then – within a moments notice … I would find myself back at the start. When I was able to both engage and observe, I could begin to see that my experience began as a kind of spasm, a contraction, a rushed breathe. I could notice (however arduous as it was to stay present) how my manner of paying attention, what I attended to and how, could either accelerate or decelerate the rhythm of the process.
Attention to the process is what meditation brings to my life, especially when the dynamic themes play, like a broken record.
Daily Meditation:
We may not be able to control what arises each and every day. However we do have a say in how we respond, moment to moment … These fruits of daily life, can be liberating.
CultFit 