NicolePresents: Wellness

I was just thinking of how my priorities have shifted toward keeping my body and mind in a healthy state even during this most celebratory season. I found myself skipping parties and opting for Yoga, meditation and Agape. I have found, for me, that celebrations bring along a temptation to not treat my temple as well as I could. For now, although I love being social and sharing love with my friends, I’m finding solace in alternative environments that help heal old habits, keep my mind sharp, my intentions clear. So for Christmas Eve this year instead of a friend’s event I opted for Agape International Spiritual Center.

I’m sitting in awe of how magical Agape’s Christmas Eve service was last night! I remember the days dreading the forthcoming invitation to attend church for the major holidays. I was looking forward to Agape all day. Agape has really captured my heart and soul. The community is amazing and filled with people from so many varied backgrounds, growing up with different faiths, but all united now with one universal message of Love and a clear path toward a higher state of consciousness. I have never felt so accepted and so in love with my Divinity then after a service with Rev. Michael Beckwith – a stark difference to the droning preaching of the Catholic services I attended as a child. I am thrilled to hear of my power, my perfection, acceptance, universal love, the Divine within, my highest po-ten-ti-al-ity (punctuated in that beautiful way that Michael says this word!).

Last night we were reminded that are are born of the light and that light burns within us. Jesus the Christ, woke up to his own Divinity and power while he walked this Earth. He recognized himself as Divine and the Divine as him. We all have the Christ consciousness within us it is just a matter of when we are going to wake up to it. We are all part of one universal consciousness. We are complete, perfect and whole. Earth is just a temporary way station, a flash of time in our eternalness. We are grounded in this plane of existence as Spirit to be of service to others, to help life expand and to create Joy whenever possible.

The message that Reverend Michael revealed was of rebirth and finding our child within. There is a child-like quality in all of us. The child represents newness, playfulness, lack of fear, unconditional love and affection, discovery and absence of judgment. It’s incredible how certain messages will come through and practically bang you over the head to pay attention! I had received this same message in a guided meditation recently at my friend Marie’s house….”find your inner child” my Spirit guide (a Buddha cloaked in red) whispered to me. And inside my inspirational box a small silver heart. I believe this message was clear to heal some past childhood pain and move forward with pure love in my heart for my inner child and others. I am here to spread pure joy and love to those around me.

I have been studying pretty diligently for the past several years and I feel that it might be time to be more playful again! I think the most exciting thing about the child is the absence of judgment and fear-based decision making. A child just does what feels right. We have emotional guidance systems that we have forgotten how to use. We walk around in our bodies as adults with a bit of baggage, some of it wonderful lessons, but some of it fear-based negative patterning and language that we’ve picked up along the path. I bring forth the child in me that trusts in people, trusts that whats in front of me is honest and loving. I bring forth that quality of living in the present and creatively exploring every moment with the real joy of discovery. I give gratitude for every thing, even the things I see every day. When we are kids everything is new. Live for a whole day seeing everything though a child’s eyes and really appreciate the beauty in life.

Thank you Rev. Beckwith for a beautiful Christmas Eve mass and these amazing messages. You are a wonderful conduit of Spirit. Blessings!

I am incredibly inspired to write this evening after watching a new movie called Y Yoga that was handed to me yesterday by its filmmaker Arthur Klein.  I am so thrilled Arthur that our eyes met at Exhale studio in Venice at Maty Ezraty’s workshop yesterday.  Her workshop, “Moving From the Outside In: Winter Holiday Intensive for Teachers” has been intense and incredibly amazing. It is so Divine that you handed me your film during this weeks’ experience as I have been so touched at the core of my being about the importance of our jobs as Yoga teachers and how we always will be doing the work.  But most importantly, how incredibly rewarding it is to discover yourself in this process.  As much as I am humbled to be sharing the room with teachers that are in your film like Seane Corn, Vinnie Marino and other influential teachers like Kia Miller, Annie Carpenter and Jeanne Heilmann, I have a strong sense of equality in the understanding that we all started in the same place and through our steadfastness and dedication to Yoga we have let the Yoga do us!

As I watched this film I got goose bumps (called “truth bumps” by a friend) all over my body, a sure sign of its resonance that I am on my life’s path with Yoga and Spirit.  I am on a journey of the Soul and Yoga has touched me at the core of my being and has enveloped my heart.  Each day my pains, habits and past untruths get revealed and unearthed toward a state of true healing.  I see this same discovery of light emanating from every being interviewed on camera.  This film has simply captured the pure essence of why we get up and practice Yoga.  It shows the illumination and the vision that ensues as a result of its practice. It celebrates the “Y” of Yoga.

I say the timing is Divine too as I sit here thinking about my upcoming three month journey to the Amazon jungle in Peru. I have chosen to listen to what Yoga and the Universe is unveiling to me and  I am embarking on a journey of self discovery and healing. I am taking advantage of an opportunity to embrace Self-Love and Acceptance and to gain a deep understanding of the concepts of Allowing, Trust, Surrender and Love.  These are concepts that Yoga has been re-introducing to me bit by bit over the last several years.

Maty said brilliantly this week two things that are just many of the millions of gorgeous incites I’ve learned since my Yoga journey began that I wanted to expound upon. The first is that “compassion doesn’t always look sweet” and the second is “what shows up on your mat is what shows up everywhere in your life.”

Compassion doesn’t always look sweet.  Yoga isn’t a quick fix or a pill that cures you over night.  It’s a long, steady and in some cases arduous process that challenges you because its helping you discover  your capacity for dedication and gratitude.  Yoga allows the mind and body and soul to align over time.  Sometimes a class can be fast, hard and sweaty and other times it can be slow, still and tearful. There are huge lessons in all forms. Yoga is not a trend, although some try to argue that’s the case today, but if you are like me, and almost every one else I know, once you start Yoga gets ya.  I know very few people who stop practicing once they feel that first “wow”… the Soul connection.  The learning process never ceases and the Spirit grows stronger and the joy more astounding.

When Maty said “what shows up on the mat is what shows up in your life” I decided to test the theory. Boy…was she right on!  All those lovely old friends from my past showed up in spades on my mat that day and say a big hello.  I saw my need to be noticed by authority figures, my drive for perfection, my constant comparison to other people, my self doubt and worries that I’m not good enough.  I almost laughed out loud on my mat in Savasana because I was so glad that the class was finally over! The lesson though was huge and exactly what I asked for.. an opportunity to observe the mind and see how these things show up in my life time and time again preventing me from receiving things I desire.  Thank you Yoga and thank you Maty for allowing me this space for discovery and for showing me that I am at a place through Yoga where I can separate my mind and its misconceptions and see my Soul.  I no longer need to believe those old friends.

It is amazing to me that it took me until my late thirties to start to release all the negative patterning and distortions of the mind, but I know its unfolding perfectly the way that it was intended.  So as I wind down for the evening tonight I feel nothing but gratitude, grace, compassion, dedication and forgiveness and a bit of muscle soreness from this week!

Thank you Arthur for your movie and inspiration. Y Yoga is fantastic.  I recommend getting a copy at YYogaMovie.com

In closing, I wanted to share something that my YogaWorks teachers gave our Teacher Training class this past June upon graduation.  It’s a compilation of excerpts from essays from every student in our class that explains the “Y” in Yoga.

“Yoga is breathing. Yoga means union. Yoga is communion with God.  Yoga is a great health care plan.  Yoga is union of the mind, body and soul. Yoga is about process, not perfection. Yoga is a great tool of transformation. Yoga creates a space in which to open. Yoga is a hand to hold when you’re lost. Yoga is a way of creating oneness with my body. Beginning a Yoga class is a like a re-birth of the body. Yoga allows one to understand how to realign the pieces. Yoga. It is such a small world that yields such a great meaning. Yoga is any methodology strictly practical that leads to Samadhi. Yoga is the world around me and state of full awareness in being. Yoga is a way of life and my definition of Yoga is always evolving. Yoga is truly seeing and learning myself…all of myself without labels. Yoga is about letting an asana practice move me closer to my real self. Yoga is going home. Home to my soul, where its safe and warm. Yoga is a journey to find our truest self and to light up the path we should take. Yoga represents the conscious and unconscious melding of mind, body and spirit. Yoga is universal, for everyone, young, old, religious, non-spiritual, men and women. With Yoga we can separate from Ego and connect with our bodies and a greater whole. Yoga is seeing God in everything. It’s being comfortable in an uncomfortable situation. Yoga is a physical prayer…to move the staleness out and the possibilities in. It is a blessing.  Yoga is about connecting with my Inner self, knowing me completely and respecting who I am. Yoga means balance. Balance in life, balance in body, mental balance, and emotional balance. Yoga is a never ending journey as well as an endless body of knowledge to be learned.  Yoga isn’t just one thing – it’s several – it’s the acceptance of growth as well as the acceptance of limitations. Yoga is the most intimate relationship that I have. It is the relationship I have with myself. The one that brings me home. Yoga serves as the chance for me to connect to the roots of what is important and attempt to let the small stuff go.  Yoga is a meditative experience that challenges me to try new things with my body and release old ideas about myself and the world. Yoga is a collection of ancient practices and postures designed to heal ailments and maintain perfect health and well being by realigning the body, mind and soul into perfect alignment and harmony. Yoga is healing and calming for the mind and body encompassing divine enlightenment in simple small everyday things in realizing, “I can do this,”  “life is good,” “wow. ” Some people come into our lives and quietly stay. Others stay for a while, leaving footprints in our hearts and we are never the same.”

Thank you Yoga!

Namaste.

<<RE-POST>>

Get Some Sleep!

Karma Yoga Image from the Mandala Project

It’s becoming darker every day. There’s no denying the continuing shortening of the days as we approach the longest night of the year, the Winter Solstice. We can complain about the shrinking hours of sunlight or take the opportunity to revel in the seasonal changes and fluctuations. Part of the beauty of this season is that the increased hours of darkness give us permission to actually get a few more minutes—or hours—of sleep.

The environments in which we live, with lamps and luminescence, televisions, computer screens, video games, alarm clocks, glowing lights and more, all of this has contributed to our collective sleep deprivation. According to statistics and sleep researchers, Americans sleep less now, many people say more than one hour less each night, than last century. We push ourselves on either end of the boundary of sleep, whether from desire or duty and the fact that we live our lives in houses bathed in ever-growing hours of light amidst the encroaching darkness outside doesn’t help.

We think of the light as a boon, but to our biology, our circadian rhythms that regulate more than simply our sleep and wakefulness, “Darkness is as essential to our biological welfare, to our internal clockwork, as light itself,” according to writer Verlyn Klinkenborg who has penned many articles on our sleep patterns.

Melatonin is naturally produced in our body by the pineal gland. And we produce more of it in the dark, less of it when our eyes are exposed to extended hours of light (whether natural or artificial). Among its many regulatory functions, melatonin is influential in our sleep/wake cycles, the circadian rhythms mentioned earlier. According to current areas of research, melatonin also has a hand in regulating hormones, particularly those of the female reproductive cycles, meaning menstruation and fertility and it impacts the aging process. Melatonin is an antioxidant that also strengthens immune system function. While all of the interconnections are not completely understood, the link between sleep, melatonin, darkness and many of our vital physiological functions—including our mood—is undeniable. Sleep impacts more than our beauty, and darkness is an important ingredient in a sleep recipe. Try turning off the lights, unplugging everything with a standby glow and even settle in with a soft eye pillow or cover over your eyes. Step outside tonight in the new moon and embrace the darkness.

Our practice of denying the darkness, which is an integral part of the cycle of the day, of the seasons, of the year, gets deeper to the heart of denying one of our basic human needs; that of the need for slumber. More than a desire or a form of recreation, sleep is part of our body’s repair mechanisms, our process of digesting physically as well as all of the aspects of our experience. For all of the extra productive hours that we try to squeeze into our day, this activity doesn’t take into account the fact that we lose productivity dramatically when we are sleep-deprived. Our ability to regulate our mood and to even be in a good mood dramatically decreases when we are sleep deprived. Our muscle coordination decreases, as well as our cognitive function or ability to hold a cohesive thought. Sleep is helpful for us to retain what we’ve learned and it is important for maintaining our healthy weight.

So in these final days leading up to the Winter Solstice, take the opportunity to remember why the dark is just as important for life, for the many reasons why a good night sleep benefits us.

Wishing you all a good night’s sleep from someone who actually slept eight hours last night,

Felicia Marie Tomasko, RN
LA Yoga Magazine, Editor in Chief