love the snow

A quick salute to the first snow of my second winter in Portland!


Sno-ga from alice noyes on Vimeo.

music from: little dragon : feather

The Return of the Sun

Winter Solstice has been celebrated in cultures the world over for thousands of years. This start of the solar year is a celebration of Light and the rebirth of the Sun. In old Europe, it was known as Yule, from the Norse, Jul, meaning wheel.

Today, many people in Western-based cultures refer to this holiday as "Christmas." Yet a look into its origins of Christmas reveals its Pagan roots. Emperor Aurelian established December 25 as the birthday of the "Invincible Sun" in the third century as part of the Roman Winter Solstice celebrations. Shortly thereafter, in 273, the Christian church selected this day to represent the birthday of Jesus, and by 336, this Roman solar feast day was Christianized. January 6, celebrated as Epiphany in Christendom and linked with the visit of the Magi, was originally an Egyptian date for the Winter Solstice.

Most of the customs, lore, symbols, and rituals associated with "Christmas" actually are linked to Winter Solstice celebrations of ancient Pagan cultures. While Christian mythology is interwoven with contemporary observances of this holiday time, its Pagan nature is still strong and apparent. Pagans today can readily re-Paganize Christmastime and the secular New Year by giving a Pagan spiritual focus to existing holiday customs and by creating new traditions that draw on ancient ways.

Honor the new solar year with light. Do a Solstice Eve ritual in which you meditate in darkness and then welcome the birth of the sun by lighting candles and singing chants and Pagan carols. If you have a indoor fireplace or an outdoor fire circle, burn an oak log as a Yule log and save a bit to start next year's fire. Decorate the inside and/or outside of your home with electric colored lights. Because of the popularity of five pointed stars as holiday symbols, this is a good time to display a pentagram of blue or white lights.

Restore

We brave bee stings and all
We don't dive, we cannonball...
(Thao with the Get Down Stay Down)

A couple weeks ago I attended a restorative yoga workshop with the amazing Amy Armstrong at Yoga Bhoga.

She began by explaining the basics of the autonomic nervous system, functioning largely below the level of consciousness, and controls visceral functions. affects heart rate, digestion, respiration rate, salivation, perspiration, diameter of the pupils, micturition (urination), and sexual arousal. Whereas most of its actions are involuntary, some, such as breathing, work in tandem with the conscious mind. It is divided into two categories, sympathetic and para-sympathetic.

The sympathetic nervous system always active at a basal level sympathetic tone and becomes more active during times of stress. Its actions during the stress response comprise the fight-or-flight response.

The actions of the parasympathetic nervous system can be summarized as "rest and digest". It slows the heart rate and circulation and sends blood into organs and our of muscles. This is the system we are looking to activate with restorative yoga.

Today's life style is contstant sympathetic - stress state. The relaxation response is a physical state of deep rest that changes the physical and emotional responses to stress... and the opposite of the fight or flight response.

The stress reaction happens immediately without any effort on your part. A loud noise at this moment would startle you, and the stress reaction would speed through your body. A stress reaction happens automatically while the relaxation response must be purposefully sought and brought under control.

While the relaxation response will occur naturally as when you sit on the beach watching the ocean; hectic modern society does not give us many chances for such natural elicitation. To control our stress we must engage in an intentional practice of creating the relaxation response.

Here are some resources to start your own restorative practice, the pictures say it all.

Do Restorative Yoga

The strap is optional, a belt can substitute. If you don't have a yoga block, grab some thick books.

Here is a variation I like for the gentle twist shown above

via: Gaiam Yoga Blog

So take some time this winter... light a candle or two. Play your favorite music, and turn off your phone, laptop, crack-berry or pager (haha).
Schedule an appointment with yourself, and allow yourself to truly relax.

season for rest

When the sun sinks behind the buildings of downtown, I begin to crave the fireplace crackling next to me. Swathed in blankets, a warm kitty cat next to me and a bundle full of knitting projects to do.

Yoga will have to wait for another day. Today, biking home in the dark is about all I can handle. Some fireside yoga will surely ensue, after some hot tea.

Wheels of Light

When the sun shines upon us, we feel its warmth. We feel the vibration of heat upon our skin. Whether one regards the energy as a particle or a wave, in either case a vibrational effect is felt. It is the vibration of light reflected from objects that allows us to see.  When we hear music, the same phenomenon is in play.

Eastern spiritual texts speak about a subtle body that interpenetrates our physical body. Different schools and paths of spiritual study call this subtle body by different names. But mystics in those schools use the same language to discuss what goes on in that body. They all use the term "chakra" to describe energy processing centers located along the shushumna, or "spine" in the subtle body.

Chakra Mantras, Thomas Ashley-Farrand

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

I have begun a new mantra for a new journey.

Quite amazingly I already see its effects in my daily life. Small, happy accidents, silver linings and uncovered treasures. Helps to reaffirm faith in the bigger picture. Knowing that the universe is on your side... you just have to {humbly} ask for a little help!

MahaGanesh from AumSri

Unexpected Joys

As I shoved my cycling pannier into the tiny cubby at my yoga studio, I overheard a teacherly voice that was not the expected instructor. Somewhat disappointed, I wondered if she was a substitute or if I had remembered the schedule incorrectly... regardless I set up my mat and zoned inward beginning to stretch out a day's worth of tension.

When the class began the instructor shared with us the fact that the regular teacher had scaled back her teaching commitments to 3 days a week rather than 5 to spend more time with her son. I was joyful for her, for she is such a passionate teacher,  and I wish the best for her. However,  I couldn't help lament the loss of her instructions on such convenient nights for me.

I had never taken a class from this evening's yoga teacher and I was eager to experience her teaching style, so my mind was receptive. She began by asking the class if anyone had any special requests. One student responded that her shoulders were holding quite a bit of tension and would love to release that area. Sitting in front of a desk all day is not help to my tight shoulders, so I was happy to hear her request.

The instructor explained that the practice would focus on side-opening postures, taking into account the waning half moon in the sky outside the already dark windows of winter. We began in child's pose and her gentle yet firm instructions to relax and mentally unwind were quite effective. She took her time allowing us to really sink into the pose, and I came back to this beginning moment many times throughout the rest of the sequence. Remembering this level of relaxation allowed me to deepen through other postures. Her use of mantra was fun as well, having us promote wonderful thoughts such as "I am strong, healthy and vibrant. I am loved."

I found the entire class to be gentle, yet challenging; fun and light hearted. A perfect Thursday night.

Digital Asana Project

I subscribe to OM Shanti: A Yoga Blog for his Yoga musings, and his collection of the Digital Asana Project.

One post in particular I would like to incorporate to my home practice, the Core Navasana Workout. I have practiced most of these moves in one variation or other but this combo flows well and his other demo videos are so AMAZing that I need to start somewhere!!

Here is the workout, but visit his site to see the video...

1) 5 breaths in Navasana.

2) 5 breaths in Ardha-Navasana (Low Boat Pose — Heels and legs off the floor, shoulders and upper back lifting up, fingertips extending towards the feet; to protect the neck, I sometimes do this pose with my hands behind the head).

3) From Ardha-Navasana, press the palms together and split the legs wide. (Heels stay 2 inches off the floor.)

4) Crisscross the legs, alternating each time which leg crosses over the top. Repeat 20 times, moving with the breath.

5) From Ardha-Navasana, extend the right leg towards the ceiling, while keeping the left leg hovering 2 inches off the floor. Hold for 5 breaths.

6) Lower the right leg, letting it hover 2 inches off the floor. Extend the left leg towards the ceiling. Hold for 5 breaths.

7) On the inhales and exhales, alternate the legs. Repeat 20 times (10 times on each side).

8 ) From Ardha-Navasana to Navasana.

9) From Navasana into a simple cross-legged sitting position, and then lift up, holding here (feet/ankles off the floor if possible) for 5 breaths.

10) Release and fold forward.

Om Shanti

Clarity, wisdom and the pathless path.

I share with you the tidbits of my journey through this life, seeking health, happiness, and love.

Namaste

Healing Anxiety and Depression: An Ayurvedic Perspective

Ayurveda , the science of life, prevention and longevity is the oldest and most holistic medical system available on the planet today. It was placed in written form over 5,000 years ago in India, it was said to be a world medicine dealing with both body and the spirit.

Below is a snippet of a thought-provoking article from John Douillard, Ph.D. of the Lifespa in Boulder, CO. Please follow the link to read the whole article.

In this article, he discusses depression and anxiety from an Ayurvedic perspective, with a focus on the koshas (which translates from Sanskrit as "sheaths") and which are described in the Vedic tradition as the layers of human consciousness that exist around the Self, like lampshades around a lightbulb.

In the beginning...

After we are born, we spend the first two years of our lives communicating heart-to-heart with our parents and loved ones. No words are said, but the communication is direct. We live in a heart-centered world, where we are safe, full, complete, and content. The heart is the home of the "bliss sheath" (anandamaya kosha), which lies closest to our core Self.



Then, one day in preschool, we get our feelings hurt--someone takes our seat or makes fun of us on the playground, and we are crushed. We quickly realize that this is not a safe world and that we have to protect our feelings. So we begin to employ our minds, the manomaya kosha, to protect ourselves. Unfortunately, the mind does too good of a job at protecting us, and over time, it creates a seemingly impenetrable barrier, doing everything it can to keep all invaders out of our delicate heart space, including ourselves. From an innocent and natural desire to create protection from hurt emerges an overlay of self-protection that cuts us off from who we truly are.

Simply put, depression occurs when a person loses access to the essential Self as a result of this barrier. For a sensitive person, who by definition has more innate access to the heart and soul than most people, to lose this deep access is quite tragic. Fatigue is the first physiological response to a mind that has driven the body into exhaustion in the name of control and self-protection. Anxiety is a result of this exhaustion because the body and mind need energy and reserves to calm themselves down, stabilize moods, and initiate sleep. As the exhaustion persists, the body and mind ultimately become depressed or physiologically exhausted.

The good news is that healing the cause of anxiety and depression is not a painful process of endurance and strain; it is a joyful discovery of your true, abiding nature.

John Douillard, Ph.D.

www.lifespa.com