Lifestyle: Break Up Rules

Posted on November 9, 2011 by yogilondon

Not Yogi but very helpful nonetheless: http://lovemelovemyshoes.co.uk/

So having seen my friends and family go through break ups and having been through them myself I noticed that sometimes they can really make you act out of character and do things you wouldn’t ever do in normal circumstances. Taking all this into consideration what is it that we consider to be the break up rules?

Don’t remain just friends – ok there may be the rare occasion but it never happens straight away, do not try and be friends straight after you break up, it will only make it harder on both of you and make the getting over them period a lot longer than it needs to be, give yourself some space from each other and then eventually in time you may bump into one another be ok to be mates but generally it is best to leave things and just be civil when you see each other. Remember it’s healthy to move on.

Get rid of anything that reminds you of the other person or at least hide it away– put any remnants in a box at the back of your wardrobe or bury them under your bed, put them anywhere where you are likely to forget they are and not keep coming across them. Things like washing your sheets, clothes etc are a must do as we know people tend to try and keep scents around that remind them of the ex, this will all help the cleansing process and make moving on that much easier, it may be that time to treat yourself to something new just to spur you on.

Don’t ignore your negative emotions – make sure you have a good cry and let these negative feelings out it’s no good bottling them up and pretending everything is fine when it’s not. Just make sure you do not do this in front of the ex, this is what your friends are for!

Don’t stop taking care of yourself – go and get a manicure, treat yourself to a massage, low on cash have a bubble bash and do your nails. Whatever it is make sure you don’t mope around in the same joggers and t-shirt for a week this won’t do you any good at all. Get out with the girls and get dressed up you will feel so much better for it.

Keep your dignity – don’t go out where you know he will be and do not get plastered and bad mouth him to everyone you know, this will only damage any last thoughts he has of you. If you go out keep it to a few drinks and only have a good vent about him to your close friends, you might not be getting back together but that’s no reason to make yourself look silly.

Don’t look back – Try to keep thoughts like ‘this time last week we were out for dinner’ or ‘this time last month we were on holiday’ thoughts like will not help you move on and that is ultimately what you want to do. If thoughts like that pop into your head start planning for the future with your friends, book a spa day with your best mate, get concert tickets with your friends give yourself things to look forward to.

Keep remembering you will get over it! - It’s all about positive thinking! You are fantastic and you will find someone else 10 times better than him! Keep that up and your positivity will transfer to others which will make people want to be around you.

What are your break up rules?

Yogi Life: The Power of Vulnerability, Brene Brown

Posted on October 8, 2011 by Dot Pinkney

Lisa Sanfilipo shared this video via her newsletter and we are so happy that we can share it with you. It’s a powerful, heartfelt 20 minutes that will bring your life into a new perspective.

What do we do when we feel vulnerable? We numb our pain, and in doing so we numb all feelings, everything. Without joy we go looking for things to fill our lack of worthiness. That’s only half of it – folow the link below to watch:

http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf

Yogi Lifestyle: Yogi You – “Jois Inspiration, An Article by Erin Lewis”

Posted on April 20, 2011 by yogilondon

Article by Erin Lewis, our friend from Eat.Pray.Move

“Do your practice and all is coming” – Jois

This is my favorite quote in yoga. Said by the late Guruji, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, one of the main people responsible for bring Ashtanga yoga method to the modern world – and especially to the west.

Unfortunately the yoga community lost this wonderful teacher in 2009, but through his lifelong dedication to the practice, we’ve all gained much insight and clarity from his teachings. More than anything I’ve studied about Guruji, the thing that sticks with me as a daily reminder is his famous quote “Do your practice and all is coming”. It is a daily encouragement, a daily reminder, and a daily motivator.

“What is coming?”, one may ask. This is the answer that is left up to you to find out. What do you want to come?

The beauty of this statement lies in the simple truth behind it. Just looking at my practice over the years to those times when I felt like I’d hit a plateau, the times when I felt I was even back-tracking, couldn’t go further, wasn’t feeling the benefits (and sometimes only feeling the soreness) of the asanas – but getting on the mat anyway, doing the practice, doing my practice – this is when I see that “all is coming“. How much I’ve grown, how much I’ve learned, how much my body has changed. And this progress, sometimes however slow it may be, is what gets me on my mat each day, because I know there are many more things still “to come.”

Yogi Lifestyle: Personal Experience – “The Flowering Lotus, by Anja Brierley Lange”

Posted on April 11, 2011 by yogilondon

Here’s another great post by our friend Anja

The Flowering Lotus
blooming even when we feel murky

The lotus flower, quite rightly, symbolises spirituality and growth. Many also see the Lotus as a symbol of a of Buddhism, of temples, even yoga studios and logos of holistic practitioners…

There is a Buddhist text called the Lotus Sutra and the flower is often mentioned in this spiritual work. The Lotus grows in mud and mucky water. However, despite this, it flourishes and grows towards the sun and turning into a beautiful flower. Just like we may have dark and unpleasant experiences, we also have the potential to flourish into amazing beings.

My favourite quote about the Lotus is from the Chandogya-Upanishad:

“In this body, the town of Spirit, there is a house shaped like a Lotus, and in this house there is a little space. One should know what is there… In that space within the heart there is as much as there is in the whole World outside. Heaven, Earth, fire, wind, sun, moon, lightning, stars; whatever is and is not, everything is there. That space is the home of Spirit. Self is there beyond decay and death, sin and sorrow, hunger and thirst. Self stays in the heart. Who knows this enjoys the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Now, the lotus posture, padmasana, may look like a pretzel and completely out of our body’s comfort zone. But even as you sit cross-legged, on your heels or in a chair for meditation think of a very steady seat, feeling complete grounded. You can imagine your hips and legs being steady and releasing downwards. From this foundation let your spine rise, the crown of the head lift as if towards the Sky or the Sun. Just like a lotus flower rising from the mud. Bring your awareness to your heart centre. Meditating on the quote form the Chandogya Upanishad know that everything you need is right there.

Anja enjoy teaching yoga and share the knowledge of a yogic and ayurvedic lifestyle in SW London (Streatham, Balham, Chelsea and Parson’s Green). You can join us for a 2 1/2 hour Spring Clean Yoga Workshop in South London Sunday the 17th of April. Please look at www.yogaembodied.com for further details on workshops, clinics, timetable and listen (and practise to) to a full class online. Sign Up for her newsletter andemail if you would like to her to discuss a specific topic or yoga posture.

Anja is yoga teacher specialising in Vinyasa Flow (all levels), Pregnancy Yoga and Postnatal Yoga. She has several qualifications including teacher training programs with Barbara Harding, Sivananda and Seane Corn (Vinyasa Flow). She also had the pleasure of attending teacher workshops with Shiva Rea. Her pregnancy, postnatal and perinatal yoga training has been inspired by many teachers including Françoise Barbira Freedman, Birthlight, Uma Dinsmore Tuli and Claire Missingham’s specialist Teacher Training courses.

She has a BSc and PGDip in Ayurveda from Middlesex University. This qualifies her to practice as an Ayurvedic practitioner, advising on herbs, lifestyle, diet as well as giving body treatments including massage.

Visit www.yogaembodied.com for further detail and to sign up for her newsletter. You can also find her info@yogaembodied.com, Twitter (twitter.com/anjayogini) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/yogaembodied)

Click here to read some more of Anja’s posts

Yogi Lifestyle: Discussion Point – “Say Hello to Your Body, by Pamela Holtzman”

Posted on April 6, 2011 by yogilondon

Some amazing words about from our close friend Pamela Holtzman. We have been so inspired, impressed and invigorated by her beautiful philosophies. She’s also published a great new book, ”Healthy Lifestyle: Path of Wellness”, check it out here

Your Body

Stop right here. Take a deep breath and bring awareness in to your body. As you breathe notice any sensations in your head, your face, neck, shoulders, feel the energy in your chest, your belly, pelvic area and hips, be aware of your spinal column, your hips, your legs, breathe all the way in to your toes. As you exhale slowly release tension, discomfort, anxiety, soften around any pain and relax.

Welcome to your Body

There. Welcome to your body. Our body is our ally, our guide, a built-in divining rod to the internal wisdom of what is needed to be healthy, happy, whole. So many people pay absolutely NO attention to the feedback from the body. Let’s start with food. Recently a friend said to me, “I drink these healthy green drinks all the time, and my stomach cramps.” Hello? Don’t drink those! Even though they are “health drinks” your body may not need or want them. If attention is paid by eating slowly and mindfully – there is immediate feedback about the foods eaten from our body. Some examples of feedback that certain foods are not good for us are: a feeling of fullness, bloating, gas, pain, nausea, GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease), or excess mucous. Feeding our body whole, unprocessed and unrefined foods, generally feels good. Some can eat a little red meat, dairy, or flour products without any stress in the body. Listen to how you feel.

Pamela Holtzman Quote

Physical Pain or Illness

What about physical pain or illness? Stress can increase cortisol and adrenaline (which puts the body at risk for infection, inflammation, and chronic illness). The body often voices the effects of chronic stress. There is a “sickness syndrome” of lowered energy, foggy brain, physical complaints and illness. Some of the stress created in our body comes from food, medicine, or being exposed to toxins in the environment; which creates free radicals (those unstable electrons that are a by-product of oxidation, and break off from our healthy cells when exposed to toxins and allergens).

Listen to your Body

I have to listen to my body when after swimming, during certain seasons; I would begin to sneeze violently throughout the day. I love to swim, and hate missing it. But if I don’t take a sabbatical during those allergic seasons, I just end up getting sick with a cold. If I stop swimming the first day my body reacts, do something instead – like walk for a few weeks. My body will recover and I’m back in the pool again. I listen. It’s like the old doctor joke when the patient asks, “doctor when I push here on my elbow it hurts. What should I do?” And the doctor says, “don’t push there.”

Emotional Pain

What about emotional pain? Feeling overwhelmed, impatient, irritable, panicky, angry, helpless, anxious, bored, or unable to cope, are all symptoms or cues of distress from your body. We’ve all been there. Ask your self, “What am I thinking?” The body doesn’t know the difference between what you believe and what is real. If we believe that we are trapped, the world is going to end, only bad things ever happen to us, everyone is against us or any other negative bleief, the brain is sending out warning messages to the organs of the body. The body releases “fear” hormones that influence digestion, heart rate and immune function, which responds by sending stress chemicals back to the brain. Our amygdala (the “fire fighter” of the brain) goes on hyperalert. Obsession with thoughts that precipitatied all the negative emotions become prominent, and we go circling back to the overwhelming pessimistic, self-defeating loop we started with.

Thinking

AND we keep thinking, thinking, thinking that we might be able to find the “answer” to feel better. Thinking, anxiety and worry, means something bad will happen versus a need to learn patience and trust how things will unfold. Intrepreting angry feelings and projecting blame to others rather than recognizing that some painful wounded part within us may have been triggered, and allowing in some compassion for that part. Feeling helpless and defeated rather than using our voice and actions to defend against any injustice being done. These are some differences between mind and body. When looking through the windows of our mind and seeing only negativity, pain, and suffering, it is easy to interpret that life is not safe, feel like a victim, and helpless to change. By being unwilling to be uncomfortable in our body, we learn to self-medicate with any addictive, distracting behaviors we can find, use drugs or alcohol, or shut down completely. So there is no benefit from any of the messages in our body that is signaling the need to change something.

Opportunity

Instead see life as an opportunity, and challenges and hardships as lessons to grow. You’ll find energy, resilience, hope, and positive feelings of being in control of your world. Imagine believing such things as: “ I have transcended all patterns of illness. I love and accept my body completely. I am energetic and full of vitality.” You are what you think! Think positively! If you are not there yet – “fake it till you make it.”

Use Your Brain

Using our brain to connect consciously with the body in order to manage stress, can self-regulate the destructive stress hormones, neurotransmitters and free radicals that are produced. Do this through daily meditation, working with negative self-defeating thoughts, rest and sleep, and confronting the beliefs that are perpetrating inner peace, calm, self-love and well-being.

Say Hello

Don’t be a victim of your mind. Breathe. Say hello your body. Listen to the wisdom you carry inside. Confront your fears. Take charge of your reactivity. Understand your vulnerabilities and claim a more peaceful life and healthy

Yogi Lifestyle: Personal Experience – “Post Four, Wandergirl in Bangkok”

Posted on April 6, 2011 by yogilondon

Latest post from our friend, Wandergirl! Why don’t you check out post one, post two and post three !

”By believing passionately in something that still does not exist, we create it”

- Nikos Kazantzakis

Bangkok

I’m in Bangkok and loving the Big City energy. As a whole hearted New Yorker I appreciate the hustle and flow of this place…A much needed change of paste. Today, I celebrated a 7 year mile marker of trading fear, hopelessness and doubt for love, compassion, accountability and trust. What an amazing journey a change of attitude can bring!

Last Year

I can’t help but look back at this rather tumultuous year. It was a bit of a obstacle course, decorated with accidents and unexpected events. I’d like to pretend I navigated through it gracefully but I was more like a rubber ball, I bounced back quickly – into the next wall. Thankfully I have a well developed sense of humor and good health insurance. Either way, I’m convinced this about to change. With New Year we are entering into the calm after the storm…Time to dust myself off and investigate what amazing opportunities are emerging.

Opportunity

According to my dictionary the word opportunity stands for ‘a favorable juncture of circumstances‘ – I love it. I’m going to focus more energy on favorable and stay open to circumstance- hence building a door for opportunity. We create our own reality, we get out what we put in and its our choice how we direct our efforts. Its never failed me. I find it quite exciting to watch it all unfold. By putting one foot on front of the other I keep moving in a new direction, giving circumstance a chance. For example, I just learned that due to a serious of unexpected circumstances I am now given the opportunity to do something I, a year ago, barely dared to dream. We need to have the audacity to believe and the humility to understand we cannot do it alone. The world can only deliver what we can see for ourselves. And this only works if we don’t sell ourselves short in the process. Never settle, aim high. For that we need to avoid feeding into fear and doubt. Helps the navigation system if fear isn’t trying to control the steering.

Learning

Invest in love and believe instead. I prefer to dare, immersing myself into my passion. If I’ve learned anything on my recent ventures, it’s not giving unnecessary fear and doubt room in my luggage. They are nothing but access baggage. If we log them around we block our potential and might let good get in the way of great.

Doubt

It is rude to doubt possibility. We don’t know what going to happen tomorrow, why can it not be great? Believe in place of doubt gives me clarity. When I hit a wall – I can see how to walk around it, when I end up in a dead end road? I turn around. There are no mistakes, only detours. I let love, kindness and passion steer my actions…that’s what dreams are made of.

The world opens for those who know where the are going. Do you?

Lots of love,

Wandergirl

This article originally published here

Yogi Lifestyle: Personal Experience – “Wanderingplanet, Post Three, Wandergirl and Yoga”

Posted on March 28, 2011 by yogilondon

Yoga

The word yoga means “union” in Sanskrit, the language of ancient India where yoga originated. It is the union occurring between the mind, body and spirit through practice of physical postures and poses. The practice commonly referred to as “yoga” can be more accurately described by the Sanskrit word Asana. Asana is only one of the eight “limbs” of yoga based on the Yoga Sutra’s of Patanjali. The remaining “limbs” are more concerned with mental and spiritual well being than physical activity. In the West, however, the words asana and yoga are often used interchangeably.

Yoga Practice:

Developing your “yoga practice” means your individual experience with yoga as it develops over time. Your practice is always evolving and changing, so it never gets boring. Although the poses themselves do not change, your relationship to them will. Anyone can start a yoga practice, even if you don’t feel like you are very flexible or very strong. These things will develop over time. The union of yoga takes place in the development of the practice there is no final destination. It encourages the noncompetitive spirit. One of the most difficult, but ultimately most liberating things about yoga is letting go of the ego and being present in the moment. Forgetting about the pressure of the future or the agony of the past. Everyone is just doing their best on any given day.

Wandergirl’s Source of Balance

Yoga is my practice to unite my mind, body and spirit. Especially in times of change it is what I turn to. I place my practice above all else. If I feel overwhelmed, confused or tired, I step away and turn to my practice. I believe it is my source for balance, which gives me mental space so I can make better decisions. A balanced and centered mind gives me clarity that allows me to see the next steps I need to take in a new direction. Ultimately my commitment to my practice allows me to stay one step removed from the process of change and makes me enjoy the ride. There are times were I find myself in chaos, disconnected and unbalanced, times where I swing by balance on a good day. However, I don’t stay there, I found ways to unwind first and then approach the issue step by step, day by day and doing the best I can. There is no goal of perfection. It is in the Journey not the destination.

“When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bounds: your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive and you discover yourself to be a greater person by far than you dreamed yourself to be!”

from Yoga Sutras by Patanjali

Originally published here

Do you have your own inspiring experience to share?

Get in contact!

Yogi Lifestyle: Personal Experience – “Greeting the Spring and Celebrating the Sun, by Anja Brierley Lange”

Posted on March 22, 2011 by yogilondon

Please welcome our YOGI FRIEND and teacher Anja Brierley Lange

In her first post, she gives us a little spring time insight into the sun salutation series.

I am so excited to finally see the sun and feel a bit of warmth on my skin. It just makes such a difference! People seem more open and friendly, the birds are singing with a little more zest, the trees have buds and the flowers are starting to open. Beautiful!

The Sun gives life and has been worshipped as a God for as long as we have been on Earth. The Solar aspect symbolises life, warmth, activity, being outgoing and active. Both in the universe, or the macro cosmos, as well as within our being, micro cosmos.

You can celebrate the Sun and the solar aspect of Life with a greeting to the Sun. The sun salutation, Surya Namaskaram, is practised in most hatha yoga classes and is a sacred honouring of Life. It is a great morning practise and what better time to practise than at the Spring Equinox!

To inspire you through a few rounds of Sun Salutations listen to this FREE podcast and enjoy the flow. Please follow this link (there is also a sun salutation for the pregnant yoginis).

If you would like to be taken through a class of flowing vinyasa, do some pregnancy yoga or if you are a new mum who would like to practice yoga with your baby please take a look at my website: www.yogaembodied.com

Disciplines: Personal Experience – “David Lynch on Transcendental Meditation”

Posted on March 21, 2011 by Dot Pinkney

“It’s like a key that opens the door to the treasury within,” he said. “Here’s an experience — poooft! — total brain coherence. It’s what’s missing from life today: unbounded intelligence, creativity, bliss, love, energy, peace. Things like tension, anxieties, traumatic stress, sorrow, depression, hate, rage, need for revenge, fear — poooft! — all this starts to lift away. You see life getting better and better and better. Give the people that experience and — poooft. Man, it’s beautiful.”

Yogi Lifestyle: Personal Experience – “Wanderingplanet, Post Two, Wandering and Change”

Posted on March 18, 2011 by yogilondon

Next installment from our friend and yoga lover, Silvia Christmann. Find out more about Silvia here and read her last blog post too!

In this next post she discusses the notion of wandering and also talks about change.

NOT ALL WHO WANDER ARE LOST

Wandering

I’ve always wanted to inspire change and make a difference. And any change I’d like to inspire always has to start with me. I find myself enchanted by everything I have not seen or tried. I like venturing out into uncharted seas, seeking new frontiers, and have fallen in love with the unexpected adventures that life has to offer and their infinite possibilities. I believe anything is possible if we can learn how to let go of our expectations, trust the process, and learn how to navigate the emotional landscape change inevitably brings. Ultimately, the only constant in life is change.

I am a fan of the road less travelled, and have run into a multitude of problems along the way. I learned it the hard way, but my existential cliff diving has taught me a few things along the way. I try not to get attached to my expectations or a specific desire. It is important to have a goal, a direction in which I set out. Goals are transient and are subject to change and my expectations would cause me unnecessary fears and anxieties. Attachments will turn an adventure into desperate desire for a controlled outcome. Plans have a way of falling apart and when everything falls apart around me …I DIVE in head first! I know, the current will take me were I need to go and I will find what I would have never thought to look for.

Today, I enjoy the process of change it inspires me and keeps my life fresh and adventurous. Routine makes me feel stagnant. I’m fond of laying out new general road map. Preparations can only take place up to a certain point, then I have to jump and let go. I try to stay emotionally one step removed from the process so I don’t get swallowed by the wave of emotions and uncertainties that could unravel when I find myself in unfamiliar territory. The most important ingredient is staying committed to a practice allowing me to keep my balance. A mind, body and spirit connection that helps me navigate my emotional landscape. It takes a lot of discipline to place this practice first for all else to follow.

My curiosity and sense for existential adventure will always make me paddle away from the shores of safety. When I am out there, I cannot avoid the waves, so I try to learn how to surf.

What is Change?

The only constant in life is change. We can neither avoid nor control it. During times of change, whether we choose them or they just happen, we discover new dimensions within ourselves and the world around us. Change will make us feel uncertain, lost, doubtful, and insecure at times. Navigating the emotional landscape of change is about letting go of expectations and the desperate desire to control a certain outcome. There are infinite possibilities we cannot see by walking through with one fixed focal point. If we focus on one specific goal or outcome, we get attached to a certain set of expectations that will cause us a great deal of anxiety and we are most likely going to be disappointed. More importantly we will miss out on unexpected, yet valuable, opportunities appearing along the way. Navigating the element of change requires us to be flexible, open minded and emotionally balanced. Not an easy task.

Everyone experiences fears and anxieties in the midst of change. It’s natural to come in contact with a multitude of fears when we find ourselves in unfamiliar territory. What we do with them makes all the difference in the world. If we let our feelings of uncertainty and doubt get in the way they will inhibit progress and cause paralysis when action is required. They are the reason why we don’t reach for the stars. Fear and anxieties are products of our attachments to desires, people, places and situations. They can make us doubt the very essence of our being. Instead we should accept them as part of the process , embrace them with an open heart, investigate where they come from and what expectations we get attached to. Life would be boring without change and change would be uneventful without fear. They are infinite opportunities if we let go of expectations and take the next right action into a new direction. When we approach change we are risking things we know for things we don’t know. We are walking away from things that are familiar and enter unfamiliar territory, we give up what is comfortable for what is going to be uncomfortable venturing out to some unknown destination.

I want to encourage embracing change, accepting the challenge in spite of fear. Leave the past and allow the future to unfold as we make our journey through life. There is a secret thrill in finding the joy in the unknown adventure of uncharted seas. The sooner we let go the sooner we will enjoy the ride. Nobody knows what’s going to happen in the future.

See: http://wandering-planet.blogspot.com/

YOGI LONDON