Yoga Journal

For me, when my interest starts to get a little sluggish, my next issue will show up in the mail box. I think it is a cosmic plot!

The first thing I do I scan through and look at all the pictures. Just seeing those people in poses and showing off their fantastically fit bodies makes me want to jump up and do some postures too!

Then I read the articles and that really get me going. Sometimes, living in the day to day world, I forget about some of the yoga principles and how much they mean to my life. Reading through the articles reminds me of them.

I really like the recipes too. I know, that’s not usually what a guy likes, but I do much of the cooking at our house and I have gotten many great recipes and ideas from their “eating wisely” section.

I also love the “YJ Interviews” They often interview people who have been in yoga for a long time and it encourages me seeing these folks who are my age and still going strong!

If you are into yoga at all and are not a subscriber, I highly recommend you do so. It is well worth the money! Just the motivational factor alone is worth it.

Yoga Journal is the last word in yoga publications. Why miss a single issue?

P.S. Another magazine that I do not subscribe to, but I have seen many times and enjoy reading is Yoga and Health

One of the ways that we can bring peace on earth is to begin to think globally and think about caring for this earth that we claim we want peace to come to. If we destroy the planet and make it uninhabitable, then there will certainly be peace. It will be the peace and quiet of no one home.

One of my yoga students has put a box where we practice to collect things like printer cartridges, fluorescent bulbs, batteries and the like for recycling. This is a wonderful thing! No, she isn’t going to save the planet by this, but if we all did a little like she has, we can collectively get the job done.

One of the ways that I have done a little is to change the mat I use from the regular mat made of petroleum and chemicals to one made of natural rubber. I love this mat! The thing I will say most about this mat is that if you ever have problems slipping on your mat and wish it were just a bit “stickier”, buy a rubber mat and you will never have that problem again. It took me some time to get used to just how “sticky” this mat is. I have absolutely no slip!

I bought my mat from Jade Yoga. It was a little more expensive than a regular mat, maybe twenty dollars more, but I feel like ridding the earth of the chemical pollution was well worth the money. Having a mat that I think is the best one I have owned since I started yoga, is a plus.

Check out Jade Yoga
the next time you are looking for a mat for yourself or as a gift for the yogi/yogini on your shopping list. You will help the planet and get a great product all at the same time!

Namaste!

I teach Kripalu yoga and one of the things I like most about it is that in Kripalu, we don’t insist that you look like everyone else, as some styles do. I often say to do the posture to the best of your ability. What one person may be able to do, another may not. Our bodies are different and our abilities are different.

Now this should not be taken as an excuse to be sloppy in our postures or to not try. It does mean that we can be who we are in class or in our practice and should, in fact, learn to do our best in each situation, on and off the mat.

With fall in the air here in upstate NY, it’s time to start thinking about snow on the ground and winter. One of the things that bums me out about this is that I have a hard time walking in the winter time. I dislocated my left knee a couple of times years ago and I don’t trust it on icy surfaces. that means that my walks become hard to come by.

What do you do to stay in shape? Do you do yoga? I do! Do you walk? How about running? There are several ways that a person can stay in shape, but if we don’t do anything, we become old before our time! Ask me! I sit at a desk most of the time and continually fight against stiff back and that sort of thing.

What can you do this winter to stay in shape? What are your plans for doing so? A friend of mine has a program, actually several, that is designed for those who want to lose a little weight and get in shape at the same time. Although I can’t claim to follow his program religiously( shame on me!) I do try to follow his advice and it does help. You can check it out here!

Stephen

P.S. Scott is a really nice guy and the price is so worth it!

I do want to tell you that, should you decide to join Scott, I will receive a small commission.

Yesterday I wrote about naming your demons, be they negativity, laziness, or whatever, to control them. This process of naming what blocks you is not something new. People, wise people, have been doing it since, well, since they understood that it helped.

When you give your demons ( I use the term to indicate those things that stop you from having a full life ) a name, you exercise some control over them. It gives you familiarity over them and causes you to feel a sense of control. Giving them silly or fun names just makes it that much better!

I will tell you a couple of mine. I have a negative side too and my negative demon is named Ned. I can feel Ned cringing just from the fact that I am writing about him. He doesn’t like it because I have just that much more control. Another is Sid. I have a problem at times being side tracked. I get to reading something and before you know it, I have lost an hour or two. Side-track Sid is the culprit. All I have to do when I find myself getting off track is to call Sid into line and things straighten out.

You may think this sounds strange or a little flippant, but I urge you to try it. Be honest with yourself and find those things in you, those demons that keep you from being the creative reflection of the Infinite that you are supposed to be. Give them a name. Make it a name that you find funny or light hearted. Start to use the name when you find yourself being influenced by those desires. See if it doesn’t work!

What would be a life changing experience for you? Many of us say that if some great event happened in our lives, we would change, we would become more the person we want to be. What would that event look like to you?

I have had many events in my life that I thought would be the one, but it seemed that each one, once dealt with, changed me very little. Even events that most would claim to be life threatening. It takes great determination to make an event life changing. Perhaps is takes even greater determination to change without an event.

What would it take for you? What sort of event would it take to change you in some drastic way? What if that event never comes? Could you make the change you need to make without it?

Set yourself a goal. Change something in your life and say that it will change thirty days from now. Mark each day off on your calendar. The progress you make may surprise you, if you are diligent about it. If you are not so diligent, then the outcome will probably not surprise you at all, if you even notice.

There is lots of interest in the Law of Attraction. Especially today, in this sour economy, there are many who are struggling to make ends meet and they want to know how they can attract more money, more prosperity into their lives. The problem is that they have been taught only part of the law.

The law as it has been taught by many says that all you need to do is ask for something and the Universe will supply your want. Well, it doesn’t work quite that way, nor quite that easily. One of the things that this leaves out is what I would call the Law of Flow.

We each are created to be an expression, an image of the Source of all things. This means that we are to be creative; co-creators with the Divine. In order for us to fulfill that mission, we need to allow the flow of creative energy to flow through us.

If we just put our dreams and wishes out into the universe, the universe says back to us, “yes, and what are you going to do to bring that about?” Once we get the idea that we have to allow the energy of the Infinite to flow through us, we can begin to move in directions that will bring about our dreams and desires. The energy of the Universe is creative, not self serve.

Are you open to allow the flow to flow through you? Do you want the Law of Flow to fulfill the Law of Attraction? Without the Flow, the Attraction will be hard to come by.

Do you find that each day is filled with productive action, or does your day just sort of float by without a care? On the days where they just float by, I feel lost. I don’t feel like I have done anything on those days. I feel as if I am adrift. I find that those days are where I have shut out direction from the Source.

When I open my heart, my spirit to the leading of the Source, I find my days filled with useful activity. Sometime, it feels as if there is not enough time to do all that my spirit wants to do. My day is joyous in activity. I feel alive and full of purpose. On the days that I don’t do this, I am lost in a dark cloud of feeling I “should” do something, but never sure what.

How can you do this? How can you open yourself to the leading of the Source? You simply set the intention to do so. You make a decision that you should listen with the ears of your spirit and you set out to follow the direction given. If you are like me, you need to go back to that intention from time to time during the day to hold it open. Otherwise, the intention gets lost and so does the guidance.

Set the intention today to listen with the spirit. Set the intention to be open to the leading of the Source. Test it for the rest of the week. See if you are not more productive and happier. There is nothing to lose, and much to gain!