Posts Tagged ‘ interesting ’
I admit that I failed the blog by not keeping up with the posts for each day. But I did not fail this challenge. Loved looking forward to meditation every night. Through the yoga challenge and the meditation challenge I’ve realized how important these two things are in my life. I do feel that it would be beneficial for everyone to partake in- the boost in health both physically and mentally is enough reason to try it. But! I’m not here to push or preach. Do as you wish.
Today’s Centering Thought: I am one with the breath of life.
Sanskrit Mantra: So hum. (I am.)
I’ve learned the importance of breathing as silly as that sounds. Most of us don’t even pay attention to our breath throughout our days… But it has so much to do with how we feel. When we’re experiencing pain or anxiety our breath stops leaving us feeling frozen and helpless. I have found that real deep breathing, starting from the naval on up is the way to really get your calm on. In yoga and in this meditation, the word prana is used to describe your life force, the source of your energy which is your breath… Without it you are non-existent of course. What is important is to focus on your breath at least one time in your day because it will help you feel energized if you let it.
Today’s Centering Thought: My outer world, reflects my inner world.
Sanskrit Mantra: Sat Chit Ananda (Existence, Consciousness, Bliss)
How do we create balance in our lives? By creating your environment, which will in turn reflect inside. I think there’s something to this… When I am diligent about yoga, meditation and healthy eating, it just makes me want to be productive and do good. But it is hard to keep it up, which is okay considering it’s human nature to fall as long as we get up again.
Today’s Centering Thought: With awareness, I create healthy habits.
Sanskrit Mantra: Om Kriyam Namah (My actions are aligned with cosmic law.)
Here we go onto week two! Also, my yoga challenge is almost at a close- pretty crazy.
Chopra explains that whenever we have an experience our mind is either: unconscious, aware or self-aware.
Usually we are most developed in the unconscious and aware modes. The former keeps us living: breathing, heart beating, etc. This is also what operates our habits. But when you’re breathing and you’re actively controlling it, then you’re aware of it. Chopra stresses that to get to our true selves we need to be able to be self-aware. It is self-awareness that can fix old habits. An example is that when you’re sad, you know you’re sad, you’re aware of that but to know why you’re sad then you’re getting toward the mode of self-awareness. It’s where we can start to control ourselves in our lives, make healthy choices, habits, etc.
I think it’s hard to be in this mode though because then your reality changes and then everything shifts. But I know it’s necessary to live the way I want to: happily and healthily.
Today’s Centering Thought: My body is a magnificent vehicle that connects me to Spirit.
Sanskrit Mantra: Lam. (opens the root chakra, which allows you to feel grounded.)
It’s been one week! I hope those that read this will consider joining me over these next two weeks. I’m coming up on the last three days of my 40-day yoga challenge, which has been pretty awesome and insane (in a good way!). Allowing yourself to open up to this sort of thing takes a lot of courage, I’ve come to realize… As long as you’re doing something positive for yourself, who cares what other people think. If anything, all these challenges are helping me to become a better me at the end of the day. I think that’s all I can really ask for- to be better than I was yesterday.
This first week of Chopra/Oprah’s challenge focused on our bodies, namely our health. That we must treat our bodies with respect and love so that it can carry us freely, happily and healthily through our lives. When our health is intact, our spirit is given the space it needs to connect us to our lives. The point is to live richly, deeply and meaningfully and to do this we need a good machine: our body.
Here’s to week two!
Today’s Centering Thought: I am perfection. I am healthy. I am strong.
Sanskrit Mantra: So hum. (I am)
In this meditation, Deepak Chopra leads you through it, focusing on areas of your body to relax into and breathe warmth to in order to heal.
Today’s Centering Thought: I flow in rhythm with my mind and body.
Sanskrit Mantra: Om Anandham Namah (my actions are blissfully free from attachment to outcome)
Chopra talks about how when we think of something it shows up in our bodies… Basically, if you think you have a stomach ache you’re going to get one. Thoughts manifest into matter. He stresses that on the daily we send our bodies positive messages. We do this by loving self-talk and also letting go of past and future and focusing on the present. It’s important to live in the moment, accepting the flow of our lives.
Today’s Centering Thought: I trust the wisdom of my body.
Sanskrit Mantra: Om. (repeating this mantra honors our connection to the universe.)
Chopra talks about this famous Vedic verse: “It is our duty to the rest of mankind to be perfectly healthy because we are ripples in the ocean of consciousness. And when we are sick, even a little, we disrupt the cosmic harmony.”
The meditation today is about allowing our bodies to take care of ourselves. In that our bodies instinctively know how to heal itself but we have to let it.
Today’s Centering Thought: My mind and body are in perfect sync.
Sanskrit Mantra: Sham. (repeating this mantra awakens the third eye chakra: intuition)
What happens when you use your intuition to make decisions? Usually the right thing. We tend to call this our instinct or gut reaction. When we go with how we feel opposed to what our over-thinking mind tells us to do, things usually go the way they’re meant to. When our brain steps in, rationale takes hold and let the analyzing begin!
Using Ayurveda principles to attune your mind and body – attain that synchroncity, we look at the three doshas, which are the energies that make up each individual.
The first is Vata, which controls movement. Second is Pitta, which controls metabolism. Third is Kapha, which controls growth.
Though every human being has all three doshas usually one or two dominate. This is your blueprint. It makes up your physiology and personality. Using this knowledge helps you gain the balance you need for perfect health.
I’m definitely Vata dominant.
Today’s Centering Thought: Balance is my true nature.
Sanskrit Mantra: Yum. (repeating this mantra enlivens the heart chakra)
Deepak Chopra turns to Ayurveda, which is a 5000 year old science. Ayurveda means wisdom of life or the science of longevity. There’s a question that everyone asks at some point in their lives: must we become sick and grow old? The Ayurvedic answer is: no. We can be immune to disease and decline; that disorders can be prevented or reversed as long as balance is maintained. Balance of mind, body and spirit. Perfect balance makes perfect health possible.
This seems pretty intense when you read it and hear it. The sensible part of us thinks, okay but is that realistic? But really can we know anything unless we try it and believe it? You know how sometimes you think you have a stomach ache but it’s not really there? Then you think about it long enough that it actually happens. Your mind is powerful. I’m very aware of this because my brain can make all kinds of pain and ailments appear. But what if my mind was just as powerful to do the reverse? I’m down to try anything especially if it has a positive effect on my body and life.
I want to take today’s centering thought and introduce that into my life. I want perfect balance or even just enough balance to feel well enough, alive enough and happy enough.
What do you think?
fuzzy tree 