tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54649527234761441012024-03-05T18:34:28.863-08:00Yoga With Niki SaccarecciaThe situations, stories and teachings that inspire my modern, yogic lifestyle. Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger99125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5464952723476144101.post-21036401653397049732014-07-27T10:53:00.001-07:002014-07-27T10:53:16.060-07:00On MeditationIn my experience, there is a lot of public opinion about what meditation is, how it happens, when it happens and what it is like. There are expectations around the kind of personality it takes to meditation and the environment for where it is likely to happen. For many of us, meditation seems like a far reaching goal that takes long hours, a lot of practice and a lot of self-discipline. We have all heard of people who dedicate their entire lives to achieve this esteemed state of mind - our swamis, our gurus, Buddha, Jesus.<br />
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Gracefully offered to me as a point of consideration from my teacher, Mark Whitwell, tells me this about meditation - <b> get off your ass, and start living your incredible life.</b><br />
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Let me elaborate.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSExJOHH6KhHJi8eKEjbVkyxa0uOQbfjS_H7wTzpaoOp4x4tz3kosDyPsPyB1c55vP8WDJe8Q7gfVHe2jxknoEYnMdadm9ymUJ_4rkA8iTLgqY0xnIESIMFwOlrh9Nyyls9i-RSO07pvc/s1600/trhe+story+we+tell+ourselves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSExJOHH6KhHJi8eKEjbVkyxa0uOQbfjS_H7wTzpaoOp4x4tz3kosDyPsPyB1c55vP8WDJe8Q7gfVHe2jxknoEYnMdadm9ymUJ_4rkA8iTLgqY0xnIESIMFwOlrh9Nyyls9i-RSO07pvc/s1600/trhe+story+we+tell+ourselves.jpg" height="320" width="279" /></a>In the way that you would tune a radio dial to find a clear station, meditation [used here as a verb] is the way in which we can tune the chatterbox mind into some semblance of clarity. Meditation [used here as a noun] is a <b>spontaneous occurrence</b>, a state-of-mind and a drastic shift from normal consciousness. We cannot will ourselves into meditation, just as we cannot will ourselves to fall sleep. To strive for or wait for meditation is like sitting in your own home and saying you are lost and need help getting back home.<br />
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Sometimes, I wonder if we confuse concentration as meditation.<br />
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Since multi-tasking and distraction is our norm, when we arrive in <i>dhrana</i> (yogic concentration), the extreme contrast can be astounding and quite divine. But having a single-point focus, being wholly engaged with the object or subject of your engagement is not meditation. It is concentration, and it is presence. But these two states are not synonymous with meditation. Although, one does lead to the other.<br />
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<b>The big turning point for me in my relationship toward meditation, came when Whitwell summed up this very counter-intuitive argument. He explained that we can set up the conditions for meditative awareness to arise: </b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQBuZH4i5GFbJuyyhjQBxUicZotFEv03h_Hf8q_x3_cDQ1CcNFBD3SjNJZZ5Dkt65cgapuMYV-yze-AE4mkOyJLoZsQCgtTGqps7DcIMiqiYONqjjhoe1KEVeBMKcbE09drxidHy7gE4E/s1600/funky+goddess.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQBuZH4i5GFbJuyyhjQBxUicZotFEv03h_Hf8q_x3_cDQ1CcNFBD3SjNJZZ5Dkt65cgapuMYV-yze-AE4mkOyJLoZsQCgtTGqps7DcIMiqiYONqjjhoe1KEVeBMKcbE09drxidHy7gE4E/s1600/funky+goddess.jpg" height="320" width="249" /></a>We can clean the house so our guests can remain comfortable. We can clear the body of toxins through poses and breath controls. We can steady the mind through focused concentration, through <i>dristhi </i>(object of focus), through persistent and consistent practices.<br />
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This practice may look like sitting on the floor with eyes closed for long periods of time, or it may look like a long hike, or a mindful walk, or a vinyasa class at a gym, or washing dishes, or bathing a loved one, or gardening, or surfing.<br />
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I've taken a census with some of my Buddhist, yogi and mindful friends. Some love this idea, and some completely reject it. To some, sitting and focusing on a point in the body, on a word, on a prayer script, cultivates discipline and austerity. To others, allowing the spontaneous and transient occurrence of no-mind is a gift given when the circumstances provide for it.<br />
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Whitwell's perspective, from what I can garner, is mostly about living your life - because life itself is divine and whole and amazing. To dedicate the whole of it, or hours of it sitting alone with aches in the body and strain in the mind, resists the natural flow and chaos and inter-relatedness that life offers us in every moment. To live life, is to prepare for meditation. To life an authentic and truthful life is the act of meditation in action.<br />
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Where do you weigh in on this idea?<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5464952723476144101.post-53319380906067505622014-07-09T23:28:00.002-07:002014-07-09T23:28:33.641-07:00Face Lift!It has been way too long since I've posted...though, I am posting on the Yoga101 Blog for Black Dog Yoga (<a href="http://theblackdogblog.com/category/columns-2/yoga101/" target="_blank">Check it out.</a>) pretty regularly...and I have a new article up on Elephant Journal ( <a href="http://www.elephantjournal.com/2014/07/the-top-5-reasons-old-people-need-yoga-niki-saccareccia/" target="_blank">Take a peek.)</a><br />
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The better news is....Light Inside Yoga is getting a face lift! I'm putting up a new website with new content, images and other fun things. All of this will be broadcast soon and in the meantime, my Facebook feed is still wildly ripe with inspiring quotes, images, goings-on, classes, opportunities to see yourself differently and all that jazz.<br />
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For now, I will leave you with some beautiful sonic yoga:<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5464952723476144101.post-66469467235491348382014-05-27T16:21:00.000-07:002014-05-27T16:21:27.589-07:00Summer Workshop Line-upLife is short, so I'll hop to the point! I'm writing today because there are a few workshops that I have put together for this summer season that provide big ways to go deeper, learn more, grow a bigger heart and get some extra wrinkles on the brain!<br />
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The main thing I'd love for you to know is that even if you are very new to yoga practice, workshops are the quickest way to get more advanced in a particular aspect of practice. We don't always have the time to get into the details during class, and workshops are a fun place to get all of your questions answered!<br />
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I made these workshops for you...hope you will enjoy one!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5464952723476144101.post-51020073108879354322014-05-20T14:59:00.001-07:002014-05-20T14:59:10.162-07:00Free Practice Video<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQzexCcFtji3WY0eXncFxOGQIwUaEOwftgeXzzHgQIbCqZOXFwYbyDqnvYWNwB6rBLRnIa1PFyJDK6gSzOQuS3R2YxIBNOE34Jmy9GXQ-MDXoaldbXfEzj5_yOkSFMb2aMvXgWc9ZzGT4/s1600/snealy+smile+headshot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQzexCcFtji3WY0eXncFxOGQIwUaEOwftgeXzzHgQIbCqZOXFwYbyDqnvYWNwB6rBLRnIa1PFyJDK6gSzOQuS3R2YxIBNOE34Jmy9GXQ-MDXoaldbXfEzj5_yOkSFMb2aMvXgWc9ZzGT4/s1600/snealy+smile+headshot.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://youtu.be/HQAQUM0MbnE" target="_blank">Click here to access the video</a></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">This is a basics level, flowing practice where poses are linked breath-by-breath. Use this sequence to warm up before a freestyle practice of your own or any time your energy level needs a boost, and to refocus your attention into the present reality.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">This practice is not meant for pure beginners, as there minimal teaching, but is intended for current hatha yoga students who would like to access a short, movement practice outside of the classroom. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">Be well and enjoy,</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 17px;">Niki</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5464952723476144101.post-21115452262388599752014-04-22T11:54:00.002-07:002014-04-22T11:54:28.131-07:00Fire of Transformation - "Tapas"<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Yoga tries to find the balance between what you can change (<i>tapas</i>) and what you cannot (<i>ishvarapranidhana</i>)." - Leslie Kaminoff </blockquote>
<i>Tapas</i> is thought of as the inner fire of transformation, corresponding with the fire in our gut known as "Agni" which aids in digestion and transforms food into it's two essences: waste and nutrition. The root, "tap" means "to burn" and typically refers to the deeply unconscious mental stuff that gets in our way of experiencing total love and lack of suffering.<br />
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I like to think of it as the great motivator, that fire under the rump that gets you up when you are feeling lethargic, doubtful or despondent. <i>Tapas</i> is like the kick in our existential pants that fuels us to recreate ourselves as something greater, stronger and more empowered. It is that part of us that was stoked the first time we decided to try <i>yoga asana</i>. It is that part of us that burns when we realize that what we have been doing wasn't serving us well and that heat which causes us to search for a better solution.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Long-Exposure of a Bottle Rocket</td></tr>
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<i>Tapas</i> is the participation component of our yoga practice. It is the activity of getting onto the mat, of actually doing yoga, of thinking in terms of yoga ("I don't need to react to that driver who just gave me the finger, because that will not improve the love of this situation, and will only fuel my lack of love."), of living the yoga lifestyle.<br />
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It works with all of the things in our lives that we choose to contribute to - our choices around food, lovers, family, friends, the work we do, the things we spend our money on, the things we do with our free time, the way we speak to ourselves and others. It affords us a sense of control and contribution as we learn to truly see how little we do have control over in our lives - the people we love and who love us, our karmic debts, our genetic dispositions and some personality traits, time, space and taxes.<br />
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It requires the austerity to change a habit, which is the most stubborn behavior to change! Some translations even include "austerity" as a way to describe <i>tapas</i>. It is part of the second limb of <u>Patanjali's Yoga Sutras </u> which describes practices for relationships with others, known as the <i>Niyamas. </i><br />
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<b>An Exercise in Cultivating <i>Tapas</i> </b><br />
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For the next 14 days, wake up each morning and write down or say aloud the first three things that come to mind when you ask yourself: "What am I grateful for today?" Do not miss a day. </blockquote>
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If you don't do this rpactice as soon as you wake up, make sure you do it before you go to bed as a way to create a proactive habit. </blockquote>
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Remember that it is the 'doing' that is instigated by this inner heat, not the 'thinking-about-doing'! </blockquote>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5464952723476144101.post-64765679456311207972014-02-11T16:40:00.001-08:002014-02-17T19:49:32.296-08:00Practice - with a capital "P" <blockquote class="tr_bq">
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"The greatest reward of doing <i>sadhana</i> is that the person becomes incapable of being defeated. <i>Sadhana </i>is a self-victory and it is a victory over time and space. Getting up is a victory over time, and doing it is a victory over space." </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">- Yogi Bhajan</span></blockquote>
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<i>Sadhana </i>is the Sanskrit word for Practice - the category of behaviors, habits, exercises and services a student of Yoga will do in the action of reaching truly authentic living. These acts you do with the intention of knowing yourself wholly and completely, as you are, warts and all. These are things you participate in, with the intention of living YOUR life, not the life you "should" have or what others want you to have.<br />
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Patanjali notes in the cornerstone of all Yoga literature, that these practices should be taken up with a clear intention, and acted out with consistent dedication.<br />
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Students who come to classes consistently (<a href="http://youtu.be/HQAQUM0MbnE" target="_blank">or take tips from free, online classes and clips</a>) are always better suited to show up with this consistent dedication to authentic living. Once the decision has been made to take a change in how you live in your body, how you view your life, or how you think, the hardest part is over. The Practice will meet you where you are -physically, mentally, energetically.<br />
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I've had students arrive to my classes after a 13 year hiatus from their on-the-mat practice, usually after a serious injury. How often do you hear of people returning to playing football or chess, after a break like that? The Practice is a journey all its own, and not to be confused with exercise, nor escapism.<br />
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In order to shift from unconscious, habit-based, surviving-but-not-thriving, living, <i>sadhana</i> must be completed every day.<br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Always do some <i>sadhana</i> no matter how short, because every effort of the </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">individual mind to meet the Universal Self is reciprocated a thousand-fold" - Yogi Bhajan</span></blockquote>
This doesn't mean you need to pour your savings account into a studio membership...this means taking up one practice that you can achieve every day, just as you eat and bathe and brush your teeth each day. Make your Practice part of your life, and your life will flourish.<br />
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Here is a short video I've created for you to do when you aren't going to make it to a public class where your teacher and peers can hold you accountable. Enjoy it and share with those who need it!<br />
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<a href="http://youtu.be/HQAQUM0MbnE" target="_blank">Click Here to View</a> </div>
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<span id="goog_365338329"></span><span id="goog_365338330"></span><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5464952723476144101.post-36966894691139245752013-12-17T11:22:00.003-08:002014-02-11T15:58:13.217-08:00How to Get Your A+ in YogaStudents often ask their teachers how they can know when they are good at what they're learning. "How do I know I'm doing it right?" ..."How do I know I'm mastering this?"<br />
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People who practice yoga will often get caught up in the idea that to be a great yogi is to be great at creating shapes with their bodies, nailing a pose, or even worse, bending their limbs into the most extreme possibilities. </div>
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<span style="color: purple;">The truest test of how good you are at yoga is this: how peaceful are your relationships with other people? </span></blockquote>
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<b>Consider a few day-to-day scenarios that will immediately indicate to you how masterful you are in the art and science of yoga:</b></div>
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1. Someone cuts you off in traffic, nearly causing you to swerve into another car. They give you the sorry-I-did-that-open-hand-gesture before speeding off. What you do next will indicate how good at yoga you are. </div>
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2. You best friend confides in you that they are cheating on their spouse. The thing you say and think next will indicate how good at yoga you are. </div>
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3. You wake up after a night of unsatisfying sleep, one-too-many glasses of wine and a bloated stomach from eating your feelings after dinner last night. You pull yourself together enough to get to work. Once there, your co-worker pays you a genuine compliment on your complexion and your outfit. The thing you say and think next will indicate how good at yoga you are. </div>
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4. The barista at your go-to coffeeshop explains to you that they are out of your preferred brew/milk alternative, etc. What you do next will indicate how good at yoga you are. </div>
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5. For the second time this month, one of your colleagues is given a raise or special recognition for doing the same kind of work that you do. The way you react to this says a lot about how good at yoga you are. </div>
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<b>Some other things to consider:</b></div>
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If you haven't laughed at any point this week...your yoga practice might need to be modified. </div>
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If you think that girl who practiced next to you yesterday and nailed her hand stand/ warrior 3/ tree pose is a bitch...your yoga practice might need to be modified. </div>
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If you believe that wearing LuLuLemon makes you a superior yogi...your yoga practice might need to be modified. </div>
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Sometimes we can lose sight of our heartfelt intention, when something we love becomes inundated with fashion, popularity, goal-orientation and a plethora of other people's opinions (including mine!). Take a moment every now and again (or better yet, at the start of your class before you get moving) to consider why you are practicing this age-old wisdom tradition that aims to quiet the distraction of living in a world of variety, and encourages us to know ourselves as individuals, in a deep and intimate way (warts and all).</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5464952723476144101.post-77627113797394597512013-11-06T13:40:00.002-08:002013-11-06T13:46:53.641-08:00Building a Gratitude AttitudeOn September 17th, 2013 I began a social experiment and accountability partnership with friends, students and fellow Facebook users whom I have never met in the real world. This project was the result of my hearing (not for the first time) how invaluable the practice of being grateful is for our health and well-being.<br />
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On an average week, I am able to teach about 150 people and provide them with a yogic forum to build upon the idea of realizing their greatest Self without causing others to suffer in the process. But on that late summer evening, after enduring a characteristically "LA" drive home, I felt compelled to do more! In an effort to reduce the epidemic of assholism, I utilized one of the greatest and most taken-for-granted resources we modern humans have - the internet.<br />
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Today marks the 51st and final day of this project, which began <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/160177107523852/?source=1" target="_blank">as a public Facebook event</a>. The idea was simple: contemporary science and esoteric wisdom traditions know that gratitude fosters longevity, health and aids in repairing and preventing illness, so why not get people to practice this together, and use Facebook's transparent social media platform as free exposure.<br />
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHv6vTKD6lg" target="_blank">One experiment somewhere else...</a><br />
<a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/prefrontal-nudity/201211/the-grateful-brain" target="_blank">Psychology Today Magazine says..</a><br />
<a href="http://www.thereikichain.com/principals.html" target="_blank">Ancient Eastern Medicine knows...</a><br />
<a href="http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/lessonsofgratitude.html" target="_blank">Buddha knew...</a><br />
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The outcome: Of those who managed to follow through with the practice and post one thing they were grateful for each day, their reports were on par with what was expected - higher rates of gratitude for small and otherwise mundane aspects of daily life, mood shifts tending toward happiness and acceptance, and an awareness of other people's gratitude attitudes who were not in any way associated with the Facebook event. The voyeurs, and those who posted infrequently, reportedly had an expanded awareness of spontaneous moments of gratitude, as well.<br />
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While the scope of this experiment is clearly slight and mostly insignificant, it's results remain aligned with the greater tenant - taking a pause everyday to note what is awesome in your life makes the experience of life more valuable, more fulfilling,and is best when shared with others.<br />
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As we approach the end of the year, with its holiday traditions of kindness and community, let this locally sourced, social experiment arm you with at least one tool to beat the corollary rise in social assholism that is upon us! Practicing an attitude of gratitude is a free, self-serving, wide-spreading phenomenon that can shift you into a place of greater peace and wellness. On days when your inner-brat is at the helm, check out the Facebook archive of our event to see what others found worth celebrating in the ordinary day-to-day of being human, for some inspiration!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5464952723476144101.post-32226760187438150422013-10-22T20:57:00.001-07:002013-10-22T20:57:12.543-07:00Fall Workshop Lineup 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYy4mYwzcoyYWp2P1SILHRSpVIz50ipIljTX2OHcfjnTZAsQkBbY5vnJbbXA2DG4lrKDjdOCBU5R0ipXNTZzcmdaYR7jnVjJ0tnORKQZv4ZC8lhQlTlUUPaAJfwf9MBwbJRKDQUci1F1s/s1600/Sound-Bath-Yoga-flyer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYy4mYwzcoyYWp2P1SILHRSpVIz50ipIljTX2OHcfjnTZAsQkBbY5vnJbbXA2DG4lrKDjdOCBU5R0ipXNTZzcmdaYR7jnVjJ0tnORKQZv4ZC8lhQlTlUUPaAJfwf9MBwbJRKDQUci1F1s/s640/Sound-Bath-Yoga-flyer.jpg" width="464" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #606060; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;">This is a unique and deeply meditative class. I will lead a 90-minute restorative style yoga practice while Guy Douglas orchestrates a complete sound bath with huge planetary gongs and live ambient music. Donate in the lobby before this class starts! This is an ALL LEVELS class not to be missed.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This workshop is appropriate for people with foot & knee injuries, nerve issues or other spinal conditions. This is an all-levels workshop intended to help restore balance to the body-mind system as a whole.<br /></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKHDEUY8B7CDpQCdZCDelWN35FUGHh78uJrqbqbikz3ATLE3HFNGln7Sf_S3bXBjLicIyUX4SwFFvSP24WCe279Rl65iGFb34x3no2uo-EWqHyxRb0MY8bd0c-3Ie4XR1VgLEjs0sSWYQ/s1600/Mantra+in+Motion+Nov+flyer+v2.2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKHDEUY8B7CDpQCdZCDelWN35FUGHh78uJrqbqbikz3ATLE3HFNGln7Sf_S3bXBjLicIyUX4SwFFvSP24WCe279Rl65iGFb34x3no2uo-EWqHyxRb0MY8bd0c-3Ie4XR1VgLEjs0sSWYQ/s640/Mantra+in+Motion+Nov+flyer+v2.2.jpg" width="494" /></a></div>
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<br style="font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #606060; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;">"Niki is able to lead students to have a deep experience within. She offers this practice in a way that is so honest and true to her own truth." - Jen , LA based yoga teacher who took this workshop from me earlier this year. </span></div>
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<a href="http://us7.campaign-archive2.com/?u=d5da0cc4c259bf00dd8225b48&id=e925260840">See the full newsletter here</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5464952723476144101.post-84066508555576574522013-09-12T13:22:00.002-07:002013-09-12T13:22:22.717-07:00Get to Know Me Better: The Proust Questionairre<a href="http://blackdogyoga.net/" target="_blank">Black Dog Yoga</a> blogger Anne Clenndening recently asked me to answer the famous Proust Questionairre that is often found in the back of <b>Vanity Fair</b> magazine. Check out the original blog post <a href="http://theblackdogblog.com/2013/09/niki-saccareccia-answers-the-famous-proust-questionnaire/" target="_blank">here</a>, though I've included my answers below. It was a fun practice in self-study (a yogic practice known as <i>svadyaya</i> that facilitates personal growth and clear perception). Try it for yourself! <div>
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Cheers,</div>
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Niki</div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">What is your idea of happiness?</strong></em></div>
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I stopped striving for perfection a while ago and am more interested in recreating balance. Since balance isn’t static or stationary, happiness is more about resiliency to given settings, creating relationships and honoring boundaries. For me, all of the connotations we have about”perfection” and “happiness” are not relevant. Everything is in a state of change, all of the time. Fleeting moments in perception may seem to line up with what we are told is ideal, but in my experience, perfection deals with others expectations.</div>
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In my experience, happiness is like meditation—it happens spontaneously when the pre-conditions are set. Sometimes it happens at festivals with tons of strangers, being with my dog, breaking bread with friends, alone in nature, in bed with my lover. My experience of blissed-out happiness comes in fleeting parcels of synchronicity and peaceful cooperation. It is always different! But the common denominators are always the same: a resilient psychology, a surrender of perfectionism and an honoring of the limits of a given scenario and its participants.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">What is your greatest fear?</em></strong></div>
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Taking pseudoscience as science, to me, is ignorant. That being said, I have two great fears. First, ignorance as normative. Second, diffusion of responsibility… these two things alone and together are equally terrifying. Not as a concept I learned in undergrad, but for what they produce. These two together seem to be the breeding ground for the atrocities we have all shaken a fist or finger at. I’m not afraid of dying or the sudden blast of nuclear warfare or the schizoid homeless person pandering near my car. I’m afraid that we will continue to play dumb to the fact that this is our life, day to day, and as such will continue the unproductive finger-pointing. The holocaust wasn’t a spontaneously arising event… it was a process that unfolded into one of humanity’s, “that-was-horrible-and-let’s-hope-it-doesn’t-happen-again” moments.When people choose to give up the ability (and responsibility) to live their own lives, sacrifice democracy for streamlines politics and instead follow a template of some system or authority without fully educating themselves, then this resists the objective evidence of reality as it is.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Where would you most like to live?</em></strong></div>
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Right now I am really drawn toward Thailand… the food, general Buddhist worldview, beaches, temples, everything I’ve heard from friends who have traveled through it reveal that the people are kind-hearted, helpful and happy to share their cultural nuances… and there is an island full of monkeys! I’m always eclipsed by a travel bug, though. Parts of India, Hawaii, Northern Italy, Berlin and Brooklyn are all on my list of possible future homes. I’d also really love to live in an Amazonian village for a short stint to learn some of their music and participate in their esoteric rituals and ceremonies.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">What is your favorite virtue?</strong></em></div>
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My parents raised me on this household principle: Don’t be an asshole. Tried and tested, it seems to be working so far. I had to look up “virtue,” since it is one of those words I’ve learned through context. I found that it’s root comes from the Latin word for “man,” but the connotation is more about righteousness and moral perfection. I’m not into either of these qualities. Moral hierarchy encourages superiority, and that’s a worldview I think we can all do well to get away from.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">What are your favorite qualities in a man?</strong></em></div>
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Playfulness and not playing games. I appreciate that men can typically horse-play, stay connected to that silly quality we usually have as children, and won’t get too heady and over-analytic. A dividing line I’ve noticed between “man-boys” and “men,” is this: a man will play cooperatively and carefully, and boys will play competitively and carelessly… in love, business, domestic affairs.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">What are your favorite qualities in a woman?</strong></em></div>
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Self-esteem! An ability to think for herself beyond the media and misogyny. Also, grace, nurturing intuition, subtly. Women who are not co-dependent or righteously independent.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">What do you most value in your friends?</em></strong></div>
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Integrity and honesty. Acting in a way that doesn’t honor their own convictions or personal path is just uncomfortable, and these people don’t usually last too long in my life. Having both integrity and honesty assumes that they know who they are, have a realistic sense of what is happening in their world, and behave in the world and with themselves in a manner that is congruent with this knowledge.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">What is your biggest weakness?</strong></em></div>
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Self-doubt, and being stubborn.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">What do you enjoy doing most?</strong></em></div>
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Adventuring with good company. Sometimes this looks like a great heart-to-heart, creative collaborations in art and music, traveling somewhere new, checking out a new part of town or hiking trail, or indulging in a music festival.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">What is your most marked characteristic?</em></strong></div>
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On the surface, survey says: my hair. Beyond that, my forthright passion… since childhood I’ve had people tell me that I am strong willed and will achieve a goal, no matter how big it is, once I decide that is what I’m doing. That’s when my being stubborn works well.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">What is your idea of misery?</strong></em></div>
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Acting out a life that is not my own. Fulfilling requests that don’t align with my own sense of harmony, achieving “success” that doesn’t serve my own sense of belonging, not having the freedom to create, speak, share, contribute or participate in a way that is life-enhancing, enriching and helpful.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">If not yourself, who would you like to be?</strong></em></div>
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The revised version of current me that I am co-creating all the time.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Who are your favorite writers?</em></strong></div>
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Adoleus Huxley, Neal Donald Walsch, Alan Watts, Dr. Seuss, Terrance McKenna, Voltaire, Daniel Pinchbeck, Paulo Cuelho, Don Miguel Ruiz.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Who are your favorite poets?</em></strong></div>
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Aesop Rock, John Donne, Allen Ginsberg, Saul Williams, Sage Francis, George Watsky, Mike Ladd, my own poetry, Rudy Francisco, Sarah Kay, Shihan the Poet, Rumi and basically anyone signed to Strange Famous Records.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Who are your favorite artists?</em></strong></div>
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Bosch, Alex Grey, Amanda Sage, Chet Czar, ABSNT, Banksy, Dali, David Ho, Dale Chihuly, Walt Hall, Grafitti Muralists from all urban fauna (especially, Dabs and Mala, How and Nosm). Also, perma-culturists and anyone who is actively and successfully growing their own plant-based food sources.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Who are your favorite musicians?</em></strong></div>
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I don’t like “favorites” questions because there is so much to appreciate… for the sake of this interview, here are a few off the top: Tool, Pink Floyd, DJ Shadow, Amon Tobin, Bonobo (full band), Portishead, Bjork, James Blake, Ben Harper, Sigur Ros, Ravi Shankar, Boards of Canada, Bad Religion, Kruder and Dorfmeister.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Who are your favorite heroes and heroines in fiction?</strong></em></div>
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Smith from “Stranger in a Strange Land,” by Robert Heinlein, Helen Keller…from her whole life, Alice from “Alice in Wonderland.”</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Who are the heroes and heroines in your life?</em></strong></div>
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My parents [together and individually], my brother, my best friend Kari, anyone who has ever surrendered their ego for the sake of acting in a compassionate manner, people who dream big and then act to make it happen without sidelining basic human rights, my students who come to practice consistently in a non-addictive manner, people who protect those that cannot rightfully protect themselves, my yoga teachers…heroes and heroines are loose concepts in my book…everyday people do spectacular things everyday.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Who are your favorite heroes and heroines in history?</strong></em></div>
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I don’t have a ready answer for this… history is an amalgamation of shorts and clips from other people who deem the information important… but there is a glacier worth of history that we will never be privy to in this life… and I would bet there are many heroic feats that have gone unnoticed and unreported.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">What do you most dislike?</em></strong></div>
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Side-effects of fear mongering, passive-aggression, “I can’t” attitudes, short-sighted goal-orientation, diffusion of responsibility, knowing better and not acting on it, addiction to plastics and Styrofoam materials/money/substances, humiliation, shame mongering, excuses and lack of personal accountability, being stuck in a conversation with an ‘over-sharer,’ cockiness, politics being mistaken for diplomacy, poor grammar, littering, exploitation of natural resources, non-enriched educational environments (Though I do love alliteration!), hoarding, exhaust fumes, snoring…I could go on and on. <a href="http://www.proust.com/questions/the-proust-questionnaire/215/which-historical-figures-do-you-most-dislike" style="-webkit-transition: color 0.3s linear 0s; border: 0px; color: #aba6a6; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.3s linear 0s; vertical-align: baseline;"> </a></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">What event in history do you most admire?</em></strong></div>
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I don’t know very much about history. I do know that right now, there is an ongoing action through MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Research) that is redefining how certain chemicals and tribal medicines are viewed to the FDA, through systematic and legal scientific research, worldwide. These events are subsequently revising the general worldview on how we choose to overcome trauma and pain via medicine and medicinal therapies. I have a lot of respect for this venture and it’s intention to reclaim rights that big business has, over the years, trapped under layers of red tape and bottom lines.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">What social movement do you most admire?</strong></em></div>
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Human Rights Movements always pique my fancy… not just from North American history… as a humankind phenomena. That passion to overcome the inertia of passivity, complacency, and authoritarian extremism on a mass scale, it is an interesting social phenomenon. It is interesting how these movements will revise the idea of what it means to coexist amid the ever-widening scope of diversity. It’s like evolution in real-time… and that is sexy.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">What natural gift would you most like to possess?</em></strong></div>
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Inventiveness.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">How would you like to die?</em></strong></div>
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Assured that my worldly affairs would be taken care of so that my loved ones wouldn’t have the burden of sorting out all of the tedious details, paperwork and things. I actually think about this question sometimes…on the one hand, if I’m only going to die once, why not make it epic since the pain will be relatively transient…. On the other hand, what sane person wouldn’t want to die peacefully and without commotion? It might be great to spontaneously combust on cue, surrounded by all of my loved ones, and then rain down in a glitter storm of aromatic flare and light.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">What is your present state of mind?</strong></em></div>
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After all of these questions, a bit silly and non-sequitur. In general, realistically optimistic.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">What is your biggest pet peeve?</em></strong></div>
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Mindlessness.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Which fault in others do you most easily tolerate?</strong></em></div>
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Excuse making and disorganization.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Which fault in yourself do you most easily tolerate?</strong></em></div>
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Excuse making.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">What is your motto?</strong></em></div>
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It’s not my motto, but one of a few that I have in my default wiring on how to live in the world: Leave it better than you found it. The other major motto is: Live in love.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5464952723476144101.post-37195759468346501532013-08-13T16:38:00.003-07:002013-08-13T16:38:27.216-07:00aMUSEing: Poem<div style="font-family: arial; font-size: 9.75pt; margin: 0in;">
"Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver</div>
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You do not have to be good.</div>
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You do not have to walk on your knees</div>
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for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.</div>
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You only have to let the soft animal of your body </div>
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love what it loves.</div>
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Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.</div>
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Meanwhile the world goes on.</div>
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Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain</div>
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are moving across the landscapes,</div>
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over the prairies and the deep trees,</div>
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the mountains and the rivers.</div>
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Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,</div>
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are heading home again.</div>
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Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, </div>
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the world offers itself to your imagination,</div>
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calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting-</div>
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over and over announcing your place </div>
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in the family of things.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5464952723476144101.post-19642206571631608052013-08-02T14:27:00.001-07:002013-08-02T14:27:37.399-07:00Raising the Chakra Consciousness <div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">I got involved with
sound baths and working with music as part of my own meditation process before I practiced yoga regularly. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">For me, as a poet, and a writer, I always
had words. Early on in college I got
into hand drumming...had an excellent teacher who taught me about listening,
hearing multiple layers of sounds at once and how they relate to one another. Through drumming, I was creating sound
and even music with my hands. When I was playing, I </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">didn't</span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> have words. These few moments of wordlessness
was a liberating experience! </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Singing in Sanskrit later, during the start of my yoga
practice, was also interesting because I was using words but </span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">didn't</span></span><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> know what I was saying.
Sometimes my words </span></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">weren't</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> even what my teacher was singing. Her advice was for me to close my eyes, feel the sounds, and join in. So I started with making sounds </span></span><span style="line-height: 18px;">through</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> instruments, and then making sounds with my own body.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #333333; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sound work requires us to be
vulnerable and open-minded because it’s in the trying of something different that
we notice something different about ourselves. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">One way to think of sound healing work is like conducting an
orchestra. The orchestra has many parts and can make many sounds, and as a
whole creates a concert. The body has trillions of cells that all have a
frequency, and when some of the cells are “out of tune,” the whole organism can
feel out of synch.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The subtle body system (sometimes
referred to as the <i>chakra </i>system or
energy body) and its landmarks (<i>chakras</i>)
represent one map to understand the nature of human being. Each <i>chakra</i>
can be thought of like a landmark on this “subtle body map” intended to help
us, the traveler, navigate the somewhat unfamiliar territory of the human
condition. Each <i>chakra </i> has a natural frequency that when perceived as sound, can be heard like the sound of a syllable. These are the <i>bija mantras. </i>Each <i>bija </i>has it's own distinct sound, tone, frequency, and can be used like a mantra to bring about an awareness to the varied aspects of what each <i>chakra</i> represents. Many traditions have interpreted the ideas represented in this map
and will describe in greater or lesser detail the information that I am
providing here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>Chakra</i></b>:
A Sanskrit word meaning “wheel,” or “disk,” identifying major energy hubs that can
correspond to the physical body and nerve ganglia branching out from the spinal
column. Each hub associates with
generalized states of consciousness, archetypes of human development, and
functions of various physical body parts and systems. It may be helpful to think of <i>chakras</i> as an extended metaphor for
seeing aspects of the human condition.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>Bija: </i></b>Sanskrit
word meaning “seed.” Yogic history states that each letter of the Sanskrit
alphabet is the resonant vibration of an aspect of the material universe. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>Mantra:</i></b> Sanskrit term meaning “tool of the mind,”
and serves to train cognitive (mentalistic) functions. <i>Mantras</i> can be a syllable, like “Om,” a phrase like, “Om Mani Padme
Om.” It can be said aloud or in the mind, sung and hummed. It works by quieting
the mental “noise,” through saying, thinking or singing it repeatedly. <span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>Bija Mantra</i></b>: The seed sound of an energetic hub (<i>chakra)</i> in the material body, and
identifies the most primary sound vibration corresponding to that <i>chakra</i> center. When a yogi practices
with mantra, mental “noise” quiets, and the meditation [in this case, a full
understanding on the <i>bija</i> and what it
represents] can be attained. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>Sound
and Modes of Healing: </b>Sound healing is a mode of therapy
that uses sound to affect the material body on a cellular level. Our cells and
everything they make up has its own resonant frequency, and as a whole,
generates a composite frequency like the instruments in an orchestra. Our body
is made of 60-70% water, and water is a strong conductor of sound. Empirical
support from the Western, scientific community is proving what the ancient
Eastern traditions knew all along – that sound can bring us back into states of
wellbeing, without the use of invasive surgeries or chemicals. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tbody>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 22.4pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 37.85pt;" valign="top" width="50">
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Chakra</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> Name<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 22.4pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 26.85pt;" valign="top" width="36">
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<b><i><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Bija</span></i></b><b><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> Sound<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Region of Physical Body<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Relationship Focus<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 22.4pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.55pt;" valign="top" width="71">
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<b><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Element: <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Function it serves<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<tr style="height: 34.1pt; mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 34.1pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 37.85pt;" valign="top" width="50">
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<i><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Swahasrara<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 34.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 26.85pt;" valign="top" width="36">
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">(Silence)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 34.1pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.0pt;" valign="top" width="89">
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Crown of Head<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">culmination of 6 chakras <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Energetic body/<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> self-knowledge<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 34.1pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.55pt;" valign="top" width="71">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Thought: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Mindful, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Understanding<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr style="height: 22.4pt; mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 22.4pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 37.85pt;" valign="top" width="50">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Ajna<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 22.4pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 26.85pt;" valign="top" width="36">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Aum<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 22.4pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.0pt;" valign="top" width="89">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Center of Brain behind the mid-forehead<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 22.4pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.75pt;" valign="top" width="76">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Sensory body/ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">self-reflection<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 22.4pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.55pt;" valign="top" width="71">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Light: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Clarifying, Seeing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 22.4pt; mso-yfti-irow: 3;">
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 22.4pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 37.85pt;" valign="top" width="50">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Vishudda<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 22.4pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 26.85pt;" valign="top" width="36">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Ham<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 22.4pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.0pt;" valign="top" width="89">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Spinal area of the throat<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 22.4pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.75pt;" valign="top" width="76">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Personality body/<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> self-expression<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 22.4pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.55pt;" valign="top" width="71">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Sound: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Vibratory, Symbolism<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr style="height: 22.4pt; mso-yfti-irow: 4;">
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 22.4pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 37.85pt;" valign="top" width="50">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Anahata<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 22.4pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 26.85pt;" valign="top" width="36">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Yam<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 22.4pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.0pt;" valign="top" width="89">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Spinal area of the heart<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 22.4pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.75pt;" valign="top" width="76">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">memory body/<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> self-acceptance<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 22.4pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.55pt;" valign="top" width="71">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Air: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Relational, Integrating <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 23.0pt; mso-yfti-irow: 5;">
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 23.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 37.85pt;" valign="top" width="50">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Manipura<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 23.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 26.85pt;" valign="top" width="36">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Ram<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 23.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.0pt;" valign="top" width="89">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Spinal area behind the sternum <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 23.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.75pt;" valign="top" width="76">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> mental body/ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">self-identification<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 23.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.55pt;" valign="top" width="71">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Fire: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Creative, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Metabolizing <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
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<tr style="height: 22.4pt; mso-yfti-irow: 6;">
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 22.4pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 37.85pt;" valign="top" width="50">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Svadhisthana<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 22.4pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 26.85pt;" valign="top" width="36">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Vam<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 22.4pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.0pt;" valign="top" width="89">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Spinal area above sacrum<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 22.4pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.75pt;" valign="top" width="76">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">emotional body/<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">self-satisfaction<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 22.4pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.55pt;" valign="top" width="71">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Water: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Sexual; <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Motivating<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 80.4pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 37.85pt;" valign="top" width="50">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Muladhara<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<td style="border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 80.4pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 26.85pt;" valign="top" width="36">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Lam<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 80.4pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.0pt;" valign="top" width="89">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Coccyx bone at base of spine<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 80.4pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-right-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 56.75pt;" valign="top" width="76">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">physical body/ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">self-preservation<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<td style="border: none; height: 80.4pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 53.55pt;" valign="top" width="71">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Earth: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Foundational, Grounding<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5464952723476144101.post-68774257440647672862013-07-11T14:23:00.002-07:002013-07-11T14:23:29.335-07:00For the Love of PosesDuring an Upanishads style talk (a teacher sits among his students, disseminating wisdom in a Q & A format) with master teacher Mark Whitwell, he spoke about the practice of hatha yoga like this:<br />
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<b>"Yoga asana is a catalyst that allows you to realize all of your meditative and intimate potential."</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
In his commentary, he described the physical practice like many Hatha yogis do...as a moving meditation. What struck me as noteworthy was his interpretation of how we as practitioners relate to the practice. He explained that we don't need to go out of our way to spiritualize yoga. We don't need to try to meditate. He explained that this practice allows us to experience reality in the most direct way possible, in our bodies and from our breath. He described yoga as the relationship of intimacy with the self...of being intimately related to ordinary things. For me, this was remarkable. </div>
<br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>Given the amount of time that most of us spend unconsciously in our bodies, breathing and moving and coordinating efforts without having to think or exert any extra effort is illuminating. Like when we are asked to exhale completely, or breath fully into the bottom of our lungs. ...and as a student who will often tolerate rather than embrace the overtly spiritual poetry that many "hippy yoga teachers," dish out in class, I was relieved and encouraged in Mark's note that our intelligent, masterfully evolved bodies are awesome in and of themselves, without all of the baroque indulgences.<br />
<br />
Sometimes, someone will say aloud something that is only known in a feeling, and once articulated makes everything more sensible. This is the influence of a great teacher...one who illuminates or clarifies a truth that was already known, or understood, or forgotten.<br />
<br />
Our yoga poses invite the same understanding. From our inner teacher to conscious awareness, each pose, each moment of awareness within them, provides us with a direct and undeniable experience of reality. Pain, discomfort, sweat, heat, tension, urgency to adjust, relief, surrender, peace, gripping, slipping, distraction, and exertion...any one of these and more arise on the mat, in our exquisitely evolved body-mind. The practice sets up the environment for deep meditation, self-realization and loving kindness. We don't have to look for the magical and explainable to feel something amazing happening. For most of us, we will never reach enlightenment sitting on a quiet mountain top far removed from our ordinary life.<br />
<br />
What Mark Whitwell, a master teacher who walked his own wisdom path with the father's of yoga themselves, offers us an idea that by marrying our breath and our body movement, by maintaining mindful awareness about this union, we organize ourselves into fantastic potential.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
In joy,<br />
Niki<br />
<br />
<br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5464952723476144101.post-74341913696709897182013-06-24T09:47:00.001-07:002013-06-24T09:47:21.509-07:00A Quick Update on What I've Been CreatingHello lovies!<br />
<br />
It has been more than a month since my last post, so expect another one very soon! I've been busy working with some colleagues to create cool opportunities for more specialized and focused classes. Here is what <a href="http://www.lightinsideyoga.com/events.html" target="_blank">I've got coming up</a> around California and in the meantime, check back here VERY soon for another blog post on my musings about yoga lifestyle and happenings.<br />
<br />
Be well and breathe easy,<br />
Niki<br />
<br />
<br />
Coming up this summer:<br />
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<strong>Invited to teach at Northern Nights Music Festival: July 19-21st, 2013 near Arcata, CA</strong></h2>
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I am stoked to announce that Northern Nights Music Festival has invited me to teach "Mantra-in-Motion" to the festival attendees. This gathering takes places in the Redwood Forest near Humbolt/Mendocino County. Check out their website for details about when I am teaching, how to get tickets, information on the music line-up, other yoga workshops that will be happening over the weekend, as well as their mission to create a "no-trace" party setting for music, nature and yoga lovers. <a href="http://www.northernnights.org/2013/06/19/ticket-options/" style="color: #c31583; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.5; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.northernnights.org/2013/06/19/ticket-options/</a></div>
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<strong>Mantra in Motion: Chakra Consciousness through Mantra and Movement</strong> to be hosted by Black Dog Yoga in Sherman Oaks, CA . </h2>
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<strong>Make Peace with the Pose: Backbend Breakdown</strong> to be hosted by Black Dog Yoga in Sherman Oaks, CA</h2>
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coming August, 2013. (Check back for details!)</div>
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<strong>Foam Rolling: A How-To Workshop</strong> to be hosted by Aeriform Arts in North Hollywood, CA</h2>
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coming summer, 2013. (Check back for details!)</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5464952723476144101.post-5309634644374466022013-05-13T14:44:00.003-07:002013-05-13T14:44:57.506-07:00Celebration as Gratitude PracticeI used to be really cynical and could often be found pontificating about how the Ford Enterprise is to blame for our collective addiction to consumerism and the epidemic of materialism. In truth, I do still sneer when the streets of LA and its storefronts are littered with flower arrangements and coordinating helium balloons every few months.<br />
<br />
It was my birthday recently, and for the first time in many years, I wanted to celebrate with a party. In planing and preparing for it, I came to understand something intellectually that I had overlooked in years past: The party was really a celebration of the community I have built here, the people I have come to love and the gratitude of having both.<br />
<br />
This party could have happened 3 months from now, 5 days ago or 16 hours from the moment I post this blog. What mattered most was that a group of people (some of whom were strangers to each other) got together to enjoy in good company, good food and a chill time together.<br />
<br />
A student of mine said to me yesterday, "Mother's Day is just another Hallmark ploy." I gave her a familiar smile. Part of me agrees, and yet another part of me is enjoying playing up all of these incidental holidays...teacher appreciation week, nurse appreciate day, father's day, flag day.<br />
<br />
As humans, we delight in smothering things with meaning. If the intention is to celebrate an aspect of our culture, the roles of people in our lives, and the symbols we have donned to create sense in an otherwise bewildering world...so what?<br />
<br />
While I don't think we need to cut down trees, process them into paper and send a greeting card for every thing worth celebrating...holding a celebration to acknowledge these things in our lives that we adore, that's a worthwhile cause in my book.<br />
<br />
<br />
Cheers!<br />
niki<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5464952723476144101.post-74494402178077715162013-04-18T21:54:00.002-07:002013-04-18T21:54:44.023-07:00It is mid-April, 2013. Tonight, along with many other moments I've caught in my net of awareness this week, I am compelled to share a bit of the more over-arching ideas presented within them.<br />
<br />
((in joy))<br />
<br />
Family is created, first with intention, and then with action.<br />
<br />
Find the joy, even at the edge of tension.<br />
<br />
Teachers come in all forms, in all bodies, in each moment. Unexpected...predicted...in any case, when the message is ready to be heard, it will be offered.<br />
<br />
Wisdom is meant to be shared, not coveted.<br />
<br />
In moments of gratitude, share with others.<br />
<br />
We are all reflections of one another, whether our levels of consciousness allows us to connect the relationships or not, this is the truth of human dynamics.<br />
<br />
Those that agitate our sense of peace embody qualities that must be taken softly into hand, explored with the nurturing touch of healing, and seen as agents of Self understanding.<br />
<br />
Out is in and in is out.<br />
<br />
Sitting quietly invites expansive awareness of that which was once imperceptible. Remove the chatter with practice. Enjoy the practice as the process itself, as the means, and as the end.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWwwMNpD0uQx5V1gzhVzbM9-IrrmNnEdenDsTuj5YUp91f01hIl5Nm45pN3OvFHRzNINwUZhKco99RifVEyoUgFF3wIFi4kqOKxdwVHh6RCR1bA_ZdLuDDjb91VF7f3lQZEmCYfvdY_yg/s1600/great+smile+niki.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWwwMNpD0uQx5V1gzhVzbM9-IrrmNnEdenDsTuj5YUp91f01hIl5Nm45pN3OvFHRzNINwUZhKco99RifVEyoUgFF3wIFi4kqOKxdwVHh6RCR1bA_ZdLuDDjb91VF7f3lQZEmCYfvdY_yg/s320/great+smile+niki.jpg" width="237" /></a></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5464952723476144101.post-55653389218358341792013-04-02T22:20:00.001-07:002013-04-02T22:20:13.734-07:00The Beginners Guide: Yoga 101<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">How-to-Yoga: My New Column for Black Dog Yoga</span></h4>
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In mid-March, I started a weekly column for the San Fernando Valley's largest yoga studio. Every Tuesday, <a href="http://theblackdogblog.com/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: dashed; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: rgb(0, 153, 0) !important; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">the Black Dog Yoga Blog</a> will post "Yoga 101: A Beginners Guide to Yoga Practice & Lifestyle" to address the questions you've asked or wondered...from being a yogi, to etiquette, equipment, poses, meditation and explanations on all the words teachers say that you just don't get. </div>
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I will still be adding my thoughts, meditations, poetry and other things to this blog in addition to the short column...check it out and if you've got some Yoga 101 questions, send them to me.</div>
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Cheers,</div>
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Niki</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5464952723476144101.post-59424164991895739332013-03-19T11:33:00.002-07:002013-03-19T11:33:44.557-07:00Spring Clean Detox RoutineIt is nearly the end of March and with the longer days, bright sunshine here in Los Angeles and the prospect of a great year ahead, many of us are swimming (or drowning) in ideas of how to keep up with the great habits we've kept and cultivated in this first quarter. <div>
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Here are some of my preferred at-home habits that keep me clear and on point:</div>
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1. LEMON WATER: </div>
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Recommended by Ayurvedic doctors, message therapists and healthy people alike, fresh squeezed lemon in clean, room temperature water is hydrating and helps to flush toxins from the body. </div>
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Lemons have incredible natural healing properties, including being an antiseptic. </div>
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Drink up!</div>
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2. EPSOM SALT BATH:</div>
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Regular exercise and massage therapy help to waste toxins from soft tissue, like muscle. Taking a warm bath with epsom salts helps to extract these toxins and also feels comforting. I like to pair my baths with some aromatherapy, either a dozen drops of pure essential oil that I have in my cabinet, or something pre-made. Recently, I've been enjoying Dr. Teals Soaking Solution in Chamomile (Target sells it for around $4 a bag). </div>
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3. RELAX YOUR BODY FOR BETTER SLEEP:</div>
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Obviously, I'm a fan of a regular yoga practice...but any kind of healthy, physical movement will help you get better sleep, because the body is meant to be moved and used. Whether you've had the opportunity to exercise or have been stuck at your work desk, this particular yoga pose is restorative to the body and calming for your mind. I do this one on the floor or laying in bed before sleeping. </div>
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Sit yourself sideways to a wall. Then slide your legs up the wall and you lay your back down to the floor. Adjust so you are comfortable and rest here for a few minutes before rolling off to one side and pressing yourself upright, again. </div>
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So there you have it...hydrate, flush, sleep. Super simple steps you can take in the comfort of your own home to continue restoring your natural energy supply. </div>
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Enjoy,</div>
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Niki</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5464952723476144101.post-36870336155825332682013-03-09T18:15:00.000-08:002013-03-09T18:26:50.428-08:00Student Q&A: How-To-Breathe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Lately, I've had several beginner-level students ask me after class about breathing, and how to "do it right." </div>
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<b>This is a really common concern and one that deserves a proper response.</b></div>
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<b>First, there is no "wrong way," to breathe.</b> Of all the many behaviors we complete, this is one that will happen whether we are thinking about it or not. That said, there are ways to breathe that are more efficient for certain activities. Unlike most activities, yoga asks that we pay close and conscious attention to how we are breathing. This can pose a challenge in-and-of itself, as having to notice something that you have never had to notice before will bring about new insights and ideas. </div>
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<b>I like to explain it like this: </b>our breathe is like fuel for our bodies. When we are doing something like yoga, we need fuel to move us along in a way that is supportive and efficient. The breath delivers energy to our physical body as we are challenging it with the effort of strengthening, stabilizing and lengthening it's various layers. By bringing a greater amount of oxygen into the blood supply, we are able to "fuel" our muscle body while also releasing waste material that can get in the way of clarity (in the physical and mental layer). </div>
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Whether you are inhaling when the instructor says to exhale or vice versa, as long as you are breathing, you are on a path toward more efficient energy use. Typically, there are movement patterns that make more sense to do with a particular part of the breath. For example, cat pose is generally instructed with an exhalation as the physical structures in the body draw toward the mid line and contract, much like the anatomy of an exhale causes the respiratory muscles to (essentially) draw together. However, there is an argument for switching the breathing pattern, as in performing the shape of cat pose while inhaling. </div>
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Secondly, simply noticing that you, "don't know how to breathe," or "don't get the breathing exercise," offered in class that day is a remarkable insight! </div>
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As one of my teachers says, "Confusion is a form of clarity."</blockquote>
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<b>Part of the process of yoga is realizing when something is confusing, over-your-head, strikingly clear and even unremarkable. </b>We all have moments of grasping for perfection, beginner or master. The important thing to know is that with practice, it all becomes clearer and easier. So...show up to class, pay attention to how you are breathing, and find the flow of your own breath as it fuels you to move and synchronize with that space within that is already complete. </div>
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<b>Enjoy this compilation [YouTube video below] while continuing to surf the interwebs! </b></div>
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<b>Be well,</b></div>
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<b>Niki</b></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5464952723476144101.post-90404726001169656062013-02-26T13:11:00.005-08:002013-02-26T13:11:51.273-08:00How Do You Stand in Your Life? In 5 days I will be leading a workshop with my friend and colleague <a href="http://www.jennifernetherby.com/yoga-teacher/" target="_blank">Jennifer Netherby</a> at a local studio in North Hollywood. We have been doing a series of workshops we call, "Nail It," to dancers and yogis with special interest in learning more about how to move safely in their bodies.<br />
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This weekend, we will be focusing on the feet and how we find balance in challenging experiences.<br />
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Leslie Kaminoff, my anatomy teacher, says it like this:<br />
<b>"Our feet are the only structures in our body that were designed to have a relationship with the Earth."</b><br />
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I find this completely fascinating and beautiful. Often in my classes I will instruct my students to feel their feet and begin to have a conversation with the mat through them. The way we hold our weight against the Earth has significant affects on our experience of wellness, balance and power.<br />
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Naked, our feet are incredibly designed and fashioned for the unexpected. In healthy feet, our arches support every step we take by absorbing the shock we emit at almost 3x our own body weight. Each set of 28 bones helps to organize the dozens of muscles which can articulate with as much accuracy as our hands. Sadly, most people will loose their innate foot power by wearing "cute," but non-supportive footwear and walking for a lifetime on manicured, landscaped and homogeneous surfaces.<br />
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Hatha Yoga, by its very nature, will strengthen your feet, encourage articulation of the toes and increase the supportive arch in the muscle tissue. Without the ability to stand with an even effort of grounding and rebounding, we stand to risk injury (bunions), disease (plantar fascitis) and loss of well-being (joint pain in the knees or hips, poor circulation, lack of mobility in the toes).<br />
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For years I never thought about my feet. I didn't like how they looked, I cared more about what my shoes looked like, and had no idea that they were responsible for so much potential energy. Having broken my big and middle toe during the fall of last year, I know that my regular yoga practice and awareness of my feet helped to alleviate a lot of the associated pain, headache and balance issues that come with a major bone break.<br />
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This blog post isn't doing much justice for the prowess of our kickers. If you're local to Los Angeles, come over to <a href="http://aeriformarts.com/" target="_blank">Aeriform Arts</a> this Sunday to learn the details of how to cultivate strong feet and an even stance. I'll write again soon about some of the cool mechanics of how we actually move about the Earth.<br />
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Cheers,<br />
NikiUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5464952723476144101.post-88960507282291982092013-02-04T20:48:00.001-08:002013-02-04T20:48:24.732-08:00The Poetry of Prana<br />
I am a poet. I love poetry...and I have a real soft spot for spoken word. For me, it is the love-child born from the esoteric allure of oral tradition and the intellectually adept prowess of literature.<br />
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Among some of my favorite story-tellers are <a href="http://www.saulwilliams.com/" target="_blank">Saul Williams</a>, <a href="http://www.levity.com/corduroy/burroughs.htm" target="_blank">William S. Burroughs</a>, and <a href="http://buddywakefield.com/" target="_blank">Buddy Wakefield</a>. Lucky for me, I found Mr. Wakefield on my other favorite thing, <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks" target="_blank">TED Talk</a>s.<br />
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I've included a link below to his brilliant idea - noteworthy and acute. He gives a heady, vibrant talk about his experience with vipassana meditation, a form of breath centered meditation found worldwide. The closest training site to us here in Los Angeles is at the <a href="http://www.yogafarm.org/" target="_blank">Sivananda Ashram</a> in Grass Valley, Ca.<br />
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Buddy Wakefield on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n6413nx6b0" target="_blank">Vipassana</a>:<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5464952723476144101.post-41715682817010355562013-02-04T17:46:00.000-08:002013-02-04T17:46:31.975-08:00This is the dialogue that doesn't end...yes, it goes on and on my friend...As you may or may not know, the kind of yoga that I teach is based on the philosophies of an "old sage," the "father of Hatha Yoga," the one know as Patanjali. This philosophy outlines a system or path to find "enlightenment," "peace of mind," or "self-realization." One of the ways to get there is through seated meditation. (Fun fact: hatha yoga, the yoga we in the West see as normal yoga..the stuff on magazine covers and in clothing adds...is yet another way to get to "enlightenment," and is also the prerequisite for seated meditation)<br />
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The following is a good write-up of some of the benefits and how-to's for your own meditation practice.<br />
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Let the conversation begin... enjoy!<br />
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Compliments of <a href="http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/1387?utm_source=Wisdom&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=Wisdom" target="_blank">Yoga Journal Online</a><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5464952723476144101.post-17354430097140810522013-01-16T12:21:00.001-08:002013-01-16T12:23:28.589-08:00Nail It 2: Backbends Workshop and a Look Back<br />
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I am super excited about the second Nail It: Backbends workshop (Happening January 27 from 4-6pm at Aeriform Arts in North Hollywood - <a href="http://aeriformarts.com/events-workshops/" target="_blank">sign up here</a>!). This go-round, we'll be focusing on opening the shoulders to go deeper into backbends without injury.</div>
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Our first workshop focused on neutral pelvic alignment to support the root of the pose. This time, we are working on the blossom! Think of the two workshops together as a balance of sthira (stability) and sukha (freedom).</div>
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The low back is super bendy while the mid and upper back are tight (For a reason - they're protecting our heart, lungs and other important organs). By stabilizing the low back (Which isn't actually built to bend deep), allows more freedom in the mid/upper back for a deeper backbend. </div>
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Finding Stability: First stand how you normally do sideways by a mirror. Look in the mirror and notice if your low back is arched so the butt sticks out or curved so the butt is tucked under. Know that this tendency (no matter how slight) is probably where you're starting from as you move into your backbend. To go deeper, you want to start from a neutral pelvis and stabilized low back.</div>
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<span style="color: #333333;">Finding Neutral: Stand with your feet parallel and lift your arches upward. You might feel a lifting </span>of the quads and a toning of the belly, which may even allow for a softening and broadening of the shoulders. </div>
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Play with this and notice how it feels in your pelvis and low back. Once you find that stabilizing position, you can begin to lift the sternum toward your chin as the upper body begins to extend. </div>
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A final note to remember: Backbends require courage! This<a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html" target="_blank"> T.E.D. Talk</a> by Brene Brown inspired our first workshop where she defines courage in an original and quite yogic way! Courage: To tell the story of who you are with your whole heart...be imperfect...be vulnerable. </div>
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Hope to see you at our second workshop! </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5464952723476144101.post-82317656066080392552013-01-15T22:01:00.000-08:002013-01-15T22:01:08.086-08:00My First Juice CleanseAs part of my advanced teacher-training credential, I participated in a 3-day juice cleanse. <a href="http://www.pressedjuicery.com/" target="_blank">The Pressed Juicery </a>sourced our cleanse with cold-pressed, delicious juices.<br />
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I have a pretty clean already: I don't eat meat or dairy, and generally eat only a small amount of processed foods sparingly throughout the week...like levied bread or a treat with cheese in it. Some sushi or cooked salmon sometimes, too. I cut out bleached sugar and sugar alternatives years ago along with glycerin-based foods, soda and candy. I also don't really drink a lot of caffeine..some black tea or a coffee now and again. But I was curious what the cleanse would be like.<br />
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I have <a href="http://www.pressedjuicery.com/products-juices" target="_blank">one more</a> aloe vera/water drink left tonight before the cleanse is over and I am surprised to report that I feel very normal. Some of the other people in my group doing the cleanse have had varied responses...from crankiness and headaches to complete juice-rejection... vomiting, chills, the whole bit. I have to think that I feel so normal because my GI tract didn't have that much stuff to get rid of. Because of this, I'm planning to do a heavy-metals cleanse.<br />
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This is what I've gotten from the juice cleanse:<br />
1. Veggie juice cut with ginger and lemon is incredibly energizing and a much better choice for me in the morning than a chai tea.<br />
2. I can consume a lot of liquid and not feel hungry. This makes me think that I mistake hunger for thirst kind of regularly.<br />
3. I don't need as much protein as I thought to have enough cognitive energy and zest to get through my hectic schedule each day.<br />
4. Having healthy food prepared before I start said hectic schedule gives me a real relief during the middle of the day when I become tired or irritable and don't want to think about making myself something or scavenging around LA for real food.<br />
5. Juice cleanses are an awesome break to notice things like: food cravings; habitual cravings sourced from comfort or emotional stuff; how commercialized eating has become; cleanses are more fun in groups.<br />
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If some radical shift happens in the next 2-3 days as I start to reintroduce solid foods again, I will post an update! Happy eating everyone :)<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5464952723476144101.post-45018588263532621832013-01-08T22:01:00.003-08:002013-01-08T22:01:37.955-08:00It's 2013!! We live in the future. Tis the season for making resolutions of transformation and possibly [most likely] not fulfilling them. Based on my observation and experience as a behavior therapist, analyzing and strategising ways to create efficient and helpful behaviors in people, I've found that we tend to set ourselves up for failure.<br />
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How about this year, we set ourselves up for success with specific goals and intentions that spring from a much broader idea of being?<br />
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I got this note from the <a href="http://www.tut.com/Inspiration/nftu" target="_blank">Universe</a> today:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #000066; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Considering your grandest and most glorious dreams, niki:</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #000066; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #000066; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #000066; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">When your thoughts and visualizations pertain to the "hows" (how they will come true), or when they include an insistence upon unimportant details (virtually all details are unimportant; think of them, yes, but just don't attach to them), or when they require specific people to behave in specific ways... at the very best, your efforts will only increase the likelihood of your desired dream coming to pass.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #000066; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"> </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #000066; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #000066; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #000066; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Whereas, when your grandest and most glorious dreams are BIG-picture items, like rocking abundance, total fulfillment, amazing health, vivacious happiness, and the like, the floodgates of success begin to powerfully tremble and your manifestation becomes inevitable.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #000066; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"> </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #000066; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #000066; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #000066; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Hark... a tremor I do detect...</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #000066; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"> </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #000066; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #000066; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"> The Universe</span><br />
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Enjoy!<br />
Niki<br />
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