My last blog post reminded me of Nischala Joy Devi’s translation of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra 1.33. This is by far one of my most favorite Sutras, but it’s Devi’s translation that has clicked with me.  It reads:

Kindness to those who are happy

Compassion for those who are less fortunate

Honor for those who embody noble qualities

Equanimity to those whose actions oppose your values

I had the privilege of attending a two-day Yoga Sutra workshop with her in the Fall at Beloved Yoga in Great Falls, VA (about 30 minutes west of Washington, DC).  If you aren’t familiar with Devi’s interpretation of the Yoga Sutras, put “The Secret Power of Yoga” on your reading list for 2010.  Awaken your practice, attitude and life!

For the fourth night in a row this week, I have woken up at 4am unable to fall back to sleep.  This morning as I lie awake I continue to think about how I just under charged a new private yoga client based on his location & the possible number of attendees.

I finally get out of bed to get a glass of juice.  As I stand and drink my juice, I turn on my BlackBerry and see an email from one of my dear neighbors.  She sent the email to all of my neighbors asking each of us to pray on behalf of a neighbor battling breast cancer (again).

I return to bed with my mind now consumed with how thoughtful the email is and how I can follow through with the simple request of chanting “Dear Lord, please help heal our dear friend Julie”.  The email request that we repeat the prayer/chant/affirmation (whatever you want to call it) three times a day for 40 days.  There’s a lot of significance in 40 days – the Buddha sat under the bodhi tree meditating for 40 days, Moses was in the mountains (or sea) for 40 days, etc.  The references can be endless and very ancient.

As I continue to lie awake, suddenly I realize my financial woe that just minutes before took up my mind is insignificant to a human life.  How quickly my mind shifted from my petty loss.  Instead of worrying about me, I should put that energy into thoughts for my neighbor.

Prayer on behalf of another, a smile at a stranger or simply holding the door for someone are simple acts of kindness that express gratitude for others. To conclude, I ask:  Does the world revolve around us?  Or is it acts of human kindness that connect us to one another around the world?  Back to sleep.

Holiday parties are in full swing.  Year-end work projects must be completed in the next week.  Gift buying and wrapping is a sport for many this time of year.  And as if this wasn’t enough to do, life still needs to happen – grocery shopping, gym visits, bill paying, house cleaning, etc.  The reality is this can be one of the most chaotic times of the year.

How can you find calm in the midst of chaos?  Give yourself the gift of calm.  Simply stop and pause.  In the middle of the holiday hustle and bustle, take a few minutes several times a day for yourself to sit tall and simply breath.  An easy mantra I suggest to my yoga students:  breath in calm, breath out stress.  Repeat it five times, matching the each phrase to the appropriate breath (i.e. as you inhale, say “breath in calm”, as you exhale, breath out stress).

The gift of calm gives you the ability to sit in middle of chaos and find peace in your heart and bring a smile on your face. Your “to do” list won’t disappear but you may return to it with greater clarity.

I believe everyone, yogis and non-yogis alike, can unwrap the gift of calm.  Yogis might be a few steps ahead in receiving the benefits since they put it into practice every time they step into a challenging asana class.  Asana and meditation are disciplined practices that challenge us to find calm when resistance arises.

Whether you do yoga or not, is not important.  If you’re reading this, you’re human which means you possess the privilege of breathing.  And learning to pause and breath with full awareness can release physical tension, calm your mind and relax your heart.  These are gifts we all deserve.

Open your closet.  How many pairs of shoes do you wear in a week? How many pairs of shoes do you have that just sit there idle?  What if you only had one pair – for all occasions?  Oh, my!  Which pair would you pick?

Most of us can’t imagine only having one pair of shoes.  Further, can you imagine not owning any?  Yet there are many people around the globe who would be grateful for just one pair.

For this reason abellaYoga is raising money for Soles4Souls.   Soles4Souls is an international charity that has distributed over 6 million pairs of shoes (new & gently worn) to people in need around the globe.

For the next 45 days, I will be spreading awareness about Soles4Souls and the drive to get shoes to those in need.  The culmination of my campaign is Saturday, January 23^rd, 2010 (aka Yoga Day USA).  On this day I will be teaching an energizing yoga class in Alexandria, VA in celebration of Yoga Day USA and Soles4Souls.  Visit abellaYoga.com for class details.

Donate today! A donation of just $25 dollars can make a difference in more than 10 lives.  Again, imagine how different your life would be without shoes.

Respectfully, some of the most famous artists can be considered the messiest.  Think of abstract expressionists for example, such as Willem de Kooning and Jasper Johns.  Their work can be looked at by some as sloppy yet it’s worth millions upon millions of dollars.  I love Jackson Pollock but he definitely doesn’t color inside the lines.

Patanjali describes yoga asana as being steady (sthira) and joyful (sukha).  He clearly doesn’t state yoga poses should be rigid and perfect.  Part of finding freedom, whether it’s on the yoga mat or painting on a blank canvas, is being our unique selves (no one is perfect) and letting go of rules (rigidity).

Next time you hit your yoga mat, be expressive in your practice.  Enter, explore and exit each asana with the sthira sukham asanam intention.  This intention enables us to balance effort with ease and fully be in the meditative aspect of the asana practice.   And it’s from this intention we discover that messy is okay and we each shine in our own way.

Each asana (yoga posture), as is life, is a process; they’re both masterpieces in progress.  There is always space to do better, be brighter and more at ease.  If you have to go outside the lines every now and then, do so with awareness.  If you make mistakes, learn from them rather than judge.  Do the best you can –even if it’s a little messy.  Be in it.  Be in the moment.  Be yourself.  Be okay with being a little messy.

As Robin Sharma states in his book The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, “The only limits on your life are those that you set for yourself.”  Say you “can’t” and you “won’t”.  View things from a negative perspective and they will be discouraging.  Doubt your dreams and they’ll remain in dreamland.

Envision your life, as you want it to be and then passionately do what you can to live your dream life.  Start today by writing down your personal and professional goals.  Go beyond that.  Write things you think sound impossible!  Why not?  Who are you going to hurt by dreaming big?

Still stuck?  Think about areas in your life you want to improve —your health/fitness level, connections with others (family, friends, community), volunteer work/service to others, your financial picture, relaxation time (vacations, books you want to read, etc.)  Again, dream big!

Associate timeframes with each goal.  For instance, I will achieve X within 1 year.  I will accomplish X within 5 years.  Some goals will be easily attainable.  Others might require a lot of work.  Some goals you might not achieve but know there will be a lesson learned in the process.  As Lenny Kravitz sings “If you want it, you got it.  You just got to believe…believe yourself”.  Something like that but you get the point.

Lastly, review your goals regularly.  Check in at least once a week.  Revise as you need to but don’t scale back.  Scaling back limits your life.  Again, “the only limits on your life are those that you set for yourself.”

Life is full of possibilities.  Live big.  Dream big.  Be big.

Need help with goal setting?  Read Maximum Achievement by Brian Tracy.  Also visit lululemon.com and utilize their online goal setting tool which includes email reminders as the deadlines for your goals approach.

The title of this entry does not imply going on a yoga retreat to do yoga all week as a vacation.  What I am suggesting is you take a break from your yoga practice for a few days, maybe even a week.  Dare I say this!  Why would I suggest it?

The best thing for your practice can sometimes be not practicing.  I discovered this a couple weeks ago while spending a week of vacation in the Caribbean.  The first few mornings my natural inclination was to immediately think I needed to jump out of bed, unroll my yoga mat and practice with the sunrise.  Something told me, hold back.  After all, I was on vacation to take a break from my daily routine.

Sure I practiced a little asana and meditation almost every day (anywhere from 15-45 minutes) but I did it without a plan.  Even in these short practices, I felt my body in a way I haven’t felt in a long time. –stiff!  Yes, I felt stiffer than usual because I wasn’t practicing as much.   But this unfamiliar stiffness brought greater awareness to areas of my body I hadn’t quite paid attention to in some time.  I felt more connected from the inside out.  I moved slower but I felt more in sync with my natural surroundings —the swaying palm trees and calm morning ocean.

Now as I settle back into the reality of my everyday life, I have returned to my mat with a greater appreciation that I have yoga in my life.  I am appreciative for the longer practices I am able to do most days.  I am even more appreciative of a couple poses I previously wasn’t a huge fan of, such as upward facing dog (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana).

P.S.  If you were reading this blog entry in hopes of finding a yoga retreat for a yoga vacation, grab a copy of the November issue of Yoga Journal and read “Great Escapes”.

I try my best to sit daily for meditation in my little Arlington, VA home.  I aim for quiet time – free from dog & husband.  I aim to  keep it simple – no Zafu cushion, no fancy mantra or expensive meditation timer.  It’s already challenging enough to simply carve out the time, even if it’s just 5-10 minutes.  So I don’t beat myself up if I can’t gather the luxury meditation tools or sit for 20+ minutes without the dog licking my face.

When I do sit in my quiet space, it’s just my breath and Timex sports watch.  Usually my intention is to simply feel my inhalations (feeling expansion & growth) and exhalations (exploring lightness and freedom).  When that seems repetitive, I move to listening to and equalizing my breath –the rhythm of each inhale, the pace of each exhale.

As simple as I try to keep my mediation practice, it’s often very hard.  Sometimes I drift into unfamiliar thoughts –almost like I’m watching a movie because often I don’t recognize the scene or people.  Frequently like most novice meditators, I drift to my “to do” list.  The best is when I have inspirational moments.  These experiences are usually coupled with the sudden urge to write down my creative ideas, but I resist in an effort not to further distract myself from the moment at hand.  The point is I “drift” almost every time I sit.  I really don’t know how many seconds or minutes go by until I catch myself “drifting”.  Does it matter?  As soon as I catch myself, I do my best to return to the simplicity of hearing and feeling my breath.

One thing I’ve learned over the years that has put me at ease is drifting is human and there are many ways to meditate –walking, sitting, eyes open, eyes closed, chanting mantras, etc.  There isn’t a right or wrong way.  The right way is what works for you.  Just do it and “be” in the moment just as you are.  The wrong way is to skip it all together.

To conclude, keep it simple.  Yes, sometimes the simplicity leaves me feeling nothing which in many ways is the point of meditation.  Other times, I leave my seat with an amazing sense of internal clearing (again feeling “empty”) and a keen awareness that carries me through my day.  The truth is feeling “nothing” is an addictive and healthy feeling.  And the more I sit, the more I want to make the time for it.  I want to continue to keep it simple.  I want to continue to feel “empty”, and I’m okay if my dog wants to lick my face and join me in the process.  Maybe that’s his simple meditation

Real change happens when your heart is committed and you’ve dropped the mind’s negative chatter such as I can’t…, I will never be able to…, I should have…, or It’s too late…

If you want it, you can have it –whatever it is.  The key is Tapas. And in many situations, Tapas often relies upon its close friends, patience and optimism.  Tapas is a lot of work but with patience, commitment and a shift in attitude, anything is possible.

Tapas is Sanskrit for discipline.  As the 3^rd Niyama listed in Patanjali’s eight-limbs of yoga, I often think Tapas should be the first.  To fully experience Saucha (cleanliness) and Santosha (contentment), which are the first two Niyamas, mindfulness and full-attention are required.  True discipline (tapas) commands that we are attentive in the moment.

Many times discipline takes months, or even years, of baby steps until we actually reach the top of the mountain.  Discipline asks that we commit to what we are doing in the present time even if it’s uncomfortable or feels risky (i.e., holding Natarajasana 15 breaths or Headstand for five minutes).   As David Swenson said during a Yoga Journal Workshop I took a few years ago “There are fears that keep us alive, and there are fears that keep us from living”.

Getting through the event or achieving the goal that required a committed, disciplined effort, often gives us an energetic rush of confidence and enthusiasm.  The result is we start to realize we really can climb the tallest mountain and do it all!

With the practice of Tapas, our mindset shifts to positive and we feel energetically charged and inspired for what’s to come in life.  This attitude gives us the mantra “anything is possible”.  The key is Tapas.

This posting is simply three great, yet very unrelated, things I’ve stumbled upon over the last week.  I hope you get the same joy out of the randomness of this as I do.  Shanti (Peace).

As I wait for a dear friend (new Mom with baby!) to show up at Busboys & Poets in Arlington, VA, I read… “I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments.  Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it.”  Dwight D. Eisenhower

MannMadeDesigns.com —I just bought two necklaces from this hip, full-time artist at Art on the Avenue in Del Ray (a hub spot in Alexandria, VA).  I love supporting local artists who are true to their word.  He has a strong vibe and so do his pieces.  Feel it for yourself!

Want to deepen your yoga experience?  Feel overwhelmed every time you pick up a translation of the Yoga Sutras?  I know I usually do!  Sign-up to receive a yoga sutra weekly, delivered to your email.  What better way to learn how to live your yoga daily, one sutra at a time.  Visit AbundantWellBeing.com