Time is a Feeling
When you are on vacation the beauty of it is you lose a sense of time. You don’t know what day it is or even what time it is until you have to leave. And, even in everyday life we find ourselves losing our sense of time when immersed in a project we enjoy. But when it’s unenjoyable our sense of time changes and we tend to count the minutes. Minutes seem like hours; hours seem like days.
Using running as an example, while I was marathon training there were days when a 2-hour run felt good, light, easy, fun and time flew. Other days it felt heavy, slow, tedious and I was looking at my watch every 2 minutes.
When you are tired you are thinking about what’s next and lose sight of the present moment. When you are stressed you are thinking about what just happened and again lose sight of the present moment. In the moment, is in the NOW and time flows because you want nothing else; expect nothing else; anticipate nothing else but what you are doing right now and here’s where joy enters.
So how do we bring in joy and flow in a project or activity? Similar to holding a pose in yoga that feels a bit uncomfortable we keep breathing and notice what is happening, be the observer of the discomfort; the observer of our feelings. See the discomfort emerge and let those feelings go, surrender them up to Spirit. It doesn’t mean you have to instantly feel amazing in this pose or task; but it is the acceptance of how you feel that day and the surrendering of it. This changes the feeling, allows joy to enter, little by little; allows the flow in little by little. Because time is a feeling, how you feel dictates how time feels.
If you’ve enjoyed this blog, please consider donating to the Bending Tree Expansion Project to help us expand our resources to live your yoga. Our goal is to help people find their strength and creativity from the inside out…meaning finding their joy and living it fearlessly, from the heart.
Thank you and Namaste, Karen
Journey to Find OurSelves
As we move through postures in yoga, it becomes a journey of self-discovery; to peel away the layers revealing our Self with each choice we make with our practice. Self with a capital “S” refers to the Highest Self our absolute truth that is connected to Spirit (the universal subconscious mind and Creator of All that Is). And I wonder, during my yoga practice, who is the real me? Is it the one who stays in Wheel another breath? Is it the one who heeds the call of Child’s Pose in the midst of Sun Salutations? Perhaps all these choices are the essence of Me.
As I delve deeper into my own practice, I realize that it is the choice I make that allows me to go deeper first and then the posture allows me to go deeper second. An inspirationally symbiotic exchange of physical and spiritual as we choose where our bodies will go next with our spirit and our bodies go there. Our bodies then open and we release down to a cellular level, which then fuels the spirit.
So, when do I hold a posture a little longer? Or when do I release it and enter another pose? When is the right time, or is there even a right time? We face these types of decisions in every day life, too: When to pursue a task and when to just let it go. And with each choice our physical body follows and we enter in spirit.
This is why I continue to practice. Every day provides a different answer to whether I stay with it or let it go. And each time I discover something new about myself but what has become clear is this: I am more in tune with my body and my spirit with each practice and I am OK with each decision I make. It’s not about whether I nail Crow today or not, but rather the decision made in that moment to pursue Crow or leave it behind for another day. Our decisions to inhale; to exhale; to keep movement; to keep stillness; it all leads to an opening beyond our conscious minds and this is where the magic begins.
If you’ve enjoyed this blog, please consider donating to the Bending Tree Expansion Project to help us enhance our services. Our goal is to help people find their strength and creativity from the inside out…meaning finding their joy and living it fearlessly, from the heart. Levels include shine your heart light.
Thank you and Namaste, Karen
The Art of Practice
I’ve been so consumed with teaching these past few months that I’ve allowed my personal yoga practice to slip away from me. And the reason for this is simple, I just wanted someone else to tell me what to do. I wanted to be the receiver of guidance so I could focus just on me. Because I’ve tried to practice yoga in my own living area creating my own “routine,” and as much as I think of myself as a decent yogi, I still have to get the phone when it rings. And because I know this about myself, I knew I just needed something or someone to give me that boost of inspiration to begin being a student again and more importantly stay focused. And without traditional classes readily available to me, I had to search elsewhere, and found it in the form of audio podcasts. For some reason when I hear the voice instructing me through my iTouch the urge to answer the phone, sweep the floor, feed the cats dissipates.
But whatever you are looking to get back into, whether it be running, painting or playing the guitar, sometimes it takes going through a few different methods to find something or someone that kick starts our inspiration. And that’s OK. It’s important to find the right thing to not only get us back into our practice and but also bring joy to it. Because all aspects of life are essentially a practice that are meant to be enjoyable and inspirational and many times shared.
And, it’s the art of practice that hones our skills and ignites our souls in this lifetime and the next and the next. It’s the art of practice that forms a stronger connection to our Highest Self. It’s showing up and doing it no matter what the outcome, without judgement and finding some fun in it. The art of practice is knowing that each time is your best.
Until we reach enlightenment, uniting with the Creator of All That Is (aka Highest Self) we continue the art of practice and along the way it takes finding someone to tell you what to do. And when we find the guidance that is so integral to our growing and expanding, we can come back to the root knowledge of all practices: I am here.
If you’ve enjoyed this blog, please consider donating to the Bending Tree Expansion Project to help us expand our resources to live your yoga. Our goal is to help people find their strength and creativity from the inside out…meaning finding their joy and living it fearlessly, from the heart.
Thank you and Namaste, Karen
Going For It
Note: This is the third in a 3-part series of Inspirational Shorts along with You are that Powerful and Clearing Past Programs and Beliefs
Now it’s time for action. We’ve created our affirmation statements; visualized our dream happening. But now it’s time to act on our dreams. And sometimes this is where we stop. Taking action is scary let’s face it.
So now what…where do we go from here? Well, there are 3 basic things we need to keep in mind and close to our hearts as we move forward.
1. Listening to your heart. Your heart speaks the truth of your soul. If you have a good feeling about something do it; if you have a bad feeling, don’t, it is that simple.
2. Stay in the flow. When there is too much resistance to one idea, change directions. Don’t feel obligated to hang on to one idea, change is natural and good.
3. Stay open. This allows opportunities that you haven’t thought of to flow right in.
By keeping these three “rules of thumb” in mind and heart you will be more efficient in manifesting the life of your dreams and living your truth. And you will have more fun doing it. As for the physical action steps, start with a timeline then list things that need to be done — not too specific, but general, and even write it as an affirmation statement, for example. I am so happy and grateful now that…..and list that project. And continue to keep joy in your heart.
Anytime fear or doubt make an appearance, cancel it and hand it over to Spirit. Stay focused on the positive and believe in yourself. Spirit wants you to succeed and will provide what you need to get there.
If you’ve enjoyed this blog, please consider donating to the Bending Tree Expansion Project to help us expand our resources to live your yoga. Our goal is to help people find their strength and creativity from the inside out…meaning finding their joy and living it fearlessly, from the heart.
Thank you and Namaste, Karen
