Regular contributor Jessica Powers looks at ways to open the heart - crucial if we're going to shift out of mind consciousness and into heart consciousness. The Meaning of Anahata The Sanskrit name for our energetic heart center is Anahata, ‘the unstruck sound’. While that at first seems to be a Zen koan, in actuality it speaks of the vibrational basis of the Universe and the place within each of us that resonates with it: beginningless, endless, eternal. Anahata refers … [Read more...]
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The One Thing You Can Be to Create Positive Change on Planet Earth
Image by Okan Caliskan from Pixabay by Kara-Leah, I'm feeling a real desire to simplify and streamline my life right now. Beyond what's the normal de-clutter of a spring-clean. Yesterday I watched a video which helped me clarify why this is so. Kiesha Crowther Little Grandmother is one of the 12 young Shaman wisdom keepers from the United States speaking clearly about what's going on in our world right now. It's nothing new. We've heard it all before. This is a crucial time for Planet … [Read more...]
My third eye’s a’twitchin’ – does that mean she’s awakening?
WIN a copy of Kara-Leah's new book 'Field Notes from Kundalini Awakening', publishing in 2018. Guaranteed to take you on an intimate journey into the depths of the Kundalini experience. Click here to sign up for the book launch list and go into the draw to win one of THREE print copies. By Kara-Leah Grant My third eye has been twitching all afternoon, a sensation which started during my recent trip to LA for teacher training with Shiva Rea. The last time I can remember it doing this I was … [Read more...]
Applying the Fourth Yama, Brahmacharya (Moderation), to Daily Life
Image by gonghuimin468 from Pixabay by Kara-Leah, By far, this has been the trickiest yama to get a handle on. Definitions of what it means vary widely - from total celibacy at one end, to the application of moderation towards all sensory experiences at the other. Some also define it according to the literal word meaning itself, which provides another spin altogether. Brahma literally means the ‘divine consciousness’ and charya, in this context, means ‘living’ or ‘one who is established in’. … [Read more...]
Applying The Second Yama, Satya (Truth), to Daily Life
By Kara-Leah Grant It didn't surprise me to discover this week that a yoga asana (posture) for Satya could be Virabhadrasana 1 or Warrior 1 Posture, as this is a posture of standing forward and being forward in your truth. Before I started yoga, my entire life had been built on a lie - a lie that I'd told myself and totally believed. This lie was so embedded in my consciousness that when I first ever did Virabhadrasana 1 in a yoga class I was so challenged mentally and emotionally that I … [Read more...]
Getting out of my mind – drugs, yoga, meditation and me
by Kara-Leah Grant Our society is awash with drugs of all kinds - legal, illegal, prescribed and self-medicated. We (mostly) all do them (caffeine anyone?), but those who are caught doing illegal drugs are judged harshly in the media. If you take drugs you're bad, or weak, and you certainly don't want other people finding out. People like future employers, future parents-in-law, or future kids. The media in particular LOVE jumping all over any public figure who's caught doing drugs. … [Read more...]
Equaniminity and the dying mouse
by guest author Alys Titchener, author of blog Squashed Mosquito. Below is a story I wrote about being open. Why? Because I found that when I shared this story at a meditation workshop earlier this year, there was a lot of empathy for the situation. And a real life story can start to build up a picture as to what it actually means to live with an open heart. In this workshop, nicely called Refuge and run by meditation teacher Peter Fernando, we found ourselves asking; What is being … [Read more...]
How Yoga Has Helped Me… With Sarcoidosis
This is the fifth post in a series of yoga stories from readers. Tell us how yoga changed your life. Submitted by Danelle Wilson of Pennsylvania, USA I have been living with Sarcoidosis for three years. It has caused scarring on my lungs and prior to practicing Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga, I only had 40% lung capacity. At first my practice was very difficult. I could not breathe or focus on my asanas. It has been just a little over a year and I have reached so … [Read more...]
Exposing oneself to the news – what’s the real story?
by guest author Alys Titchener My reflections from one of the Yoga Off The Mat sessions. It’s the toughest homework assignment so far, as far as I’m concerned. All sorts of defenses and red lights are flaring as the instructions settle; I have to tune in to what’s going on in our world; listen to the news, read the papers or news sites online, and then watch my reaction to these stories. I pull a face, obviously not happy with this prescribed task. And for so many reasons! I … [Read more...]
An exploration of non-attachment, or vairagya
by guest author Swami Muktidharma Saraswati For details of a retreat this weekend at Anahata Retreat on non-attachment, please see the end of this article. Attachment is one of the main causes in our lives of unhappiness. Attachment causes fear and fear is the trigger for a lot of other emotions such as anger, stress and lack of satisfaction in life. When there is attachment to an object, however small, there is fear of losing it. … [Read more...]