Settling...

We all do it...we sell ourselves short, give up our dreams, desires, compromise who we are to suit the needs of people/institutions around us or to achieve something we think we want.

Why don't we instead, follow our gut feelings, our internal guidance, and go where we feel lead? I've found when something feels wrong, it most likely is. There are many times I can recall where something "just didn't feel right"...but I did it anyway...

Now I suggest, keeping our eyes turned internally to the what feels right. Hopefully that will lead to satisfaction and joy. Personally I am just beginning to collect experiences around this thought and so I cannot say one way or another with confidence how -or if- it works...it just feels like the right thing to do! I will keep you posted!

Our Playing Small Doesn't Serve the World.

Well it is the last day of training...I can hardly believe it! Bikram's wife Rajashree read us part of Nelson Mandela's 1994 inaugural speech during one of our final savasanas. It seems appropriate here...

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure,

it is our Light, not our darkness, that frightens us.

We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small doesn't serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We are born to make manifest the Glory of God that is with in us.

It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.

And as we let our own Light shine,

We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our fears, our presence automatically liberates others.

Finding your Voice

It seems as though there is an epidemic out there of people who have so much to say but hold it all inside themselves... I'm not talking just about verbal expression, I mean expression in their work, in their relationships, and in their basic everyday lives.
Society as a whole (at least American society) is conditioned to conform to the "norm" -whatever that is. Then there is the other extreme, the people who know they don't want to conform to the "normal" way of living and try as hard as they can to be different. Which in my opinion is simply conforming to the abnormal.

Finding our own individual voices and expressing our own individual likes and dislikes can be a challenging process, especially as the expression involves opening more of our hearts. What a gift to be able to do this... Realizing that each and everyone one of us are unique and different is what makes our relations to other people so valuable. We would never learn from each other if we all knew the same things. We cannot share our experiences, thoughts, philosophy, humor, strength, humiliations, etc...if we are all doing the same things, thinking the same things, believing the same things, and trying to achieve the same goals.

I believe its important to figure out what your own opinion of your own experience is. It may seem as though this is a given, you might say,"Of coarse I know what my opinion is!" ...but think about it, do you know? Is it yours? Or have your opinions been given to you, subtly over time?

I am not saying there aren't many out there who express who they truly are. I know some of you well and I admire and love you for it. You have been my inspiration. Thank you.

The Bikram Method

Bikram Choudhury gets a lot of crap for requesting and receiving a copyright for the 26 Hatha yoga postures and 2 breathing exercises used in his Bikram's Beginning Yoga Class. He has a copyright, not on the postures themselves -they are over 6000 years old- but the actual order and timing of the ones he has chosen to put into his class.

These postures and this order have been (and continue to be) researched. This is why he has had them copyrighted. He and his wife Rajashree with the help of doctors at UCLA, along with many others, have had ongoing research to indicate and validate the medical benefits of this method of yoga. As they continue to expand their research avenues, they in turn help many people who have been lost to western medicine ideas of "symptom management" for injuries as well as acute and chronic diseases.

I originally started doing this yoga to keep my upper body loose and to avoid chronic overuse injuries that are common in my profession. I have since learned that many others have come to Bikram yoga and found relief from a spectrum of diseases and other disabilities such as: diabetes, hyper/hypothyroidism, colitis, IBS, liver disorders, pancreatic disorders, blood diseased, cardiovascular disorders, pulmonary disorders, obesity, drug/alcohol detoxification and recovery...the list goes on and on.

I feel I am blessed to be a part of a group that is looking to help people take control of their physical bodies and their minds, in order tap into their spirit and facilitate their own healing. It is comforting to know that the stats are stacking up in favor of Bikram's method of yoga.

For the skeptics out there who think all you do in yoga is sit around and chant "OM"... I challenge you to take charge of your life and your health. Check out this specific kind of yoga; Bikram's Beginning Yoga. You will unlock the door to long life, superior physical health, renewed mental clarity and emotional freedom. And if none of those reasons motivate you to try it...I will personally guarantee that AT THE VERY LEAST, you will get a kick ass workout!