Are you ready to follow your heart?

..... It begins by being able to hear it.


In June me and my yoga-brother Klaus arranged a yoga retreat at beautiful Triopetra on Crete. The name and theme were already from the beginning crystal clear; Celebrating the Heart
I can`t dream of a more loving way to share the yoga. It`s all about the heart. For me, communication and meeting through the hearts are essential.
I can`t say that to many times.
Dare to go deep within.
Dare to be vulnerble.
Be curious.
Like a bird on a rooftop in India.

Some inspiring words from Ronit Herzfeld:

We can’t hear our hearts when we are bombarded with feelings of insecurity,
loneliness, helplessness, and sadness.
Become the ambassador to your heart by learning how to recognize and
release these feelings so that your heart’s voice becomes louder.

Beyond your fears, your insecurities, and your not knowing resides your true nature.

“Your mind is looking to solve a problem,
your heart knows there is no problem.
Our minds perceive threats and divide us,
our hearts overflow to embrace and unite us.
Our minds deal with “others” as if they are tools or objects,
our hearts rejoice in our Oneness"

Let the walls around your heart break open to receive with abandon your highest nature.

Face your fears

Most of our fears are not based in reality.

It can be related to a situation. An emotion. To speak out in a big group. To surrender. To be vulnerable. To stop smoking. To eat chocolate. To love.
To show who we really are.

I`m still having a hard time flying, even if I`ve been traveling long distance for many years. This year I`ve visited India, Crete, New York & San Fransisco.
Not by car ;)
With a jumping heart, catastrophic thoughts and shaky hands.
Every single flight.

In NYC i had an amazing experience.
20 minutes, a hot sunday morning -in a helicopter!
I felt weightless, safe and ectatic!
That makes me even more convinced that I really can work that fear.
Mostly in my practice.
Embrace it.

Invite the fear in your yogapractice.
Step out of your comfort zone.
Dare to step back and rest - if that scares you.
Dare to sweat a litte bit more - if that scares you more.
Dare to open your heart.
Love!

Be brave.
Flirt with your fear tricksters :)




helicopter bliss over NYC 24 July 2011

Remember emotions pass. Don't get caught up in any particular one, another one is waiting right around the corner ♥

Ronit Herzfeld

Transition

It’s good to be quiet. Sometimes for a day. Sometimes a month.

Solitude calms the nervous system, as being in nature and practice yoga.
Paring down contacts both human and
technological, to the essentials are good ways to keep life flow smoother and to stay healthy and grounded.

We worry so much about visibility, missing out. And money. We grasp becasue we are afraid for our survival, our credit our fame. To bee seen.

We are afraid to just be.

We are afraid to stop the motion.
Sit back. Watch. Not participate in the usual striving ways.
Sure, we will feel lonely at times.
Loneliness is something that most humans have felt acutely their entire life. Including me.
I`ve learnt to enjoy the stillness. And still working on it.

Try to find your own type of deep quiet in the transition between summer and autumn.
Carve it out. Make the sacrifices and the leap that you need to make to find a little space and time for yourself. See yourself. Meet yourself.

Embrace yourself.
I`m embracing the nature!

♥

gratitude

When we complete the journey to our own heart, we will find ourselves in the hearts of everyone else

--Father Thomas Keating--




sleepy horses in Skåne Sweden - summer 2011

Lovers Rock

The only way to say no to fear is to say yes to love.
The only way to say yes to love is to say no to fear.

Buddha

Full Moon today.

For me, the days around full moon are usually good days for creativity and to get things done if Im in balance.
My practice are at the peak. To slow down a bit, I do a more cooling practice.
If I have been traveling - like now - I need more rest. Like restorative poses, meditation and again a cooling practice to slow things down.
Conserve and build more energy.

To turn inward and float with the universal waves, I like to practice Moon Salutations- Chandra Namaskar - instead of my regular Sun Salutations.
They allow us to honor the yin or feminine side of our energy, in contrast to the Sun Salutations, which are more yang, or masculine, in nature.


I`ve copied an article from YogaJournal about fullmoon and yoga practice.

"You may be familiar with the caution "Avoid practicing yoga on the full or new moon!" This tradition of observing "moon days" stems from the belief in the Ashtanga system that practicing at either extreme of the lunar cycle leaves you vulnerable to injury.
One theory is that because the body consists mainly of water, you are affected, like the ocean's tides, by the moon:
On full-moon days the pull of the moon is so strong that your prana (life force) moves upward, leaving you feeling headstrong and liable to push yourself beyond your limits; on new-moon days, the pull of the moon is so diminished that you find yourself lacking motivation.
The ultimate time to practice, then, is during the middle of the lunar cycle, when the moon is a half circle and your prana is balanced"






The diagram from Laura Cornell shows the sequence of Chandra Namaskar; 16 asanas that constitute the Yoga Moon Salutation.