OM Symbol

To a yogi, no symbol is more powerful.  It is the original mantra, the Absolute, the All, the Universal Vibration.  It is the root of all language and thought.

          The way it sounds:

                   ‘A’ represents the physical plane

                   ‘U’ represents the mental and astral plane, intelligent spirits

                   ‘M’ represents the deep sleep state, all that is unknown to the intellect

          The way it looks:

                   The upper curve stands for the waking, physical state

                   The larger, lower curve stands for the dream or intellectual mind

                   The curve issuing from the center symbolizes the deep sleep state

                   The upper crescent curve represents the veil of illusion

                   The dot represents the transcendental state

Use Yoga as a Workout

Is Yoga a real workout?
In reality people have different opinions about this question. However, most people believe that yoga is mainly used as a relaxation and meditation. But this is wrong. From my personal experience I will tell you that Yoga is very good replacement of the regular workout. This was actually my first reason to start doing Yoga. I was getting bored of the gym where I used to go and spent 45 minutes on the elliptical and treadmill. I needed something more entertaining and soon I was introduced to Yoga, which is a lot more fun. Yoga is a unique kind of exercise that can be used to tone your body and muscles, sweat and burn calories and the best part is that it makes you feel amazing. I would highly recommend Yoga to anybody who is tired of the boring workouts at the gym to try it. But please don't get me wrong, it can be a lot more beneficial to you if you can combine them both.

Love and Light,

Let Yoga Guide You through The Path of Change...

Yoga offers an amazing approach for making positive changes in your life. Whether you want to change a negative behavior or commit to a positive one, the best approach is to cultivate self-compassion to build a better life. We know that change doesn't happen overnight but we can take one step at a time when we try to overcome negative patterns. Be gentle with yourself and accept your setbacks with compassion and good things will start to happen.

Find Your Inner Light
First you have to find your inner light, and discover what it is you want to change. But be careful very often people are confusing this behavior for who they are. You have to realize your soul is very pure and gentle like a diamond. What it happens is over a lifetime the diamond gets dirty and dusty by our thoughts and experiences. That's exactly why we need Yoga: to clean away the dust of the mind and let our inner light shine...

Self-Criticism vs. Self-Compassion
Some people believe they need self-criticism to motivate themselves. But this is wrong because when you are self-critical you treat yourself in a way that you would never want to treat someone you love. You are hard on yourself for every imperfection, punishing yourself for every weakness, and discouraging yourself for going after what you really want. Very often these behaviors can lead to anxiety or depression. Instead you just have to realize you want to be happy and healthy, and know that it requires a change you need to make. But instead of trying to motivate yourself with anger and rejection, if you view the change you are trying to make as an act of self-care, you will be more likely to succeed.

3 Step Process for Self-Compassion
1. LOVE: Realize you deserve health and happiness, and it is worth the effort it takes to make a positive change. Often remind yourself how the change you are making supports your well-being.
2. COMPASSION: Don't criticize yourself; simply acknowledge you went to look for happiness in the wrong place.
3. JOY: Give yourself credit and celebrate any positive actions you have taken and have gratitude for any support you have received from family and friends.
4. EQUANIMITY:  It is a state of awareness and acceptance of the present moment. This is what you want to reach. Just remind yourself we are all humans, and we all make mistakes and they are an important part of the path of change. Just focus on the bigger picture of being happy and healthy.

P.S. Cultivate love for those who are happy, compassion for those who suffer, joy for those who are virtuous and equanimity for those who make mistakes.

Love and Light,

Enjoy Yoga

It all starts with passion... First you have to discover what your passion is, what makes you happy...Currently yoga is one of the things in my life that makes me really happy....I really enjoy yoga, I enjoy practicing it, reading and writing about it. For sure this is true in every beginning. But what happens after the initial enthusiasm wears off and I hit my first setback. It's so easy to find an excuse and skip yoga class. Then I realized that yoga can be practiced almost everywhere...

In the middle of a busy day, I had to meet up with my girlfriend Christina. I took my pink yoga mat and headed to the beach where we did an amazing photo shoot... As you can see besides the healthy yoga benefits, I also practice yoga for fun and I really love it!

Enjoy Yoga

Meditation

Meditation is the state of clear thought and the activities associated with clearing our subconscious. We sit and focus on the breath and begin practicing a mantra, then we start noticing how different thoughts come: thoughts of phone calls, meetings, presentations, situations and people.The art of meditating is to learn how to work with these thoughts and how to let them dissolve. This requires practice and eventually starts influencing your whole life. Learning to resist distraction makes you more resistant to worry, boredom and depression.
The reason to meditate is so that letting go can happen. Meditation allows the feelings, emotions, ideas, desires and tension to come up to the surface of our consciousness, where they can be recognized and removed. And is only when we try to let them go, we realize how distracting they are. Then we breathe them out. And I think the most difficult part is when trying to let go your attachment of being the thinker, the one who is constantly chooses to think and try to associate yourself to being the watcher of the thoughts. Becoming the watcher instead of thinker is basically shifting your perspective. Then you get closer to reaching that peaceful magic state.

Love and Light,

Discover Your True Self

Yoga is a Union of Body & Mind

According to Patanjali's ancient Indian writings called Sutras there are 5 activities of the mind.

1. Pramana or correct perception is seeing something correctly. It's either directly with our own eyes or through a credible source.
2. Viparyaya means misperception or incorrect understanding. It happens when we believe that something is true and act as if it is, when in fact it is not. Patanjali explains that the functions of the mind are neither positive nor negative. We can't say that correct perception is always good, while the misperception is always bad. It all depends on our personality and the situation we are in. How many times have you told youself  " I wish I didn't see this" or may be "Only if I knew this before...?" These are great examples of how our mis/perception works.
3. Vikalpa is our imagination. It is the idea we create in our mind. However, through positive visualizations the imagination can have one of the greatest values to us. I can think of so many great movies and books such as the " the Secret", "The Power of Now", "New Earth", "You Can Heal Your Life"...etc. that all talk about how through the power of positively thinking and visualizing you can achieve your dreams/goals.
4. Nidra is the deep sleep. It is considered as a nonactivity. While deep sleep makes us feel refreshed, a night of disturbed sleep can affect our mood or ability to concentrate the following day.
5. Smrti is our memory, or collection of all the past experiences that we have. Memories can bring us both pleasure or agitation. They can affect our current situation, more than we might actually realize.

Learning how the mind works is only the first step of seeing Your True Self separate from the workings of the mind. And eventually want to get to the point of acting from Your True Self rather than the mind.

Love and Light,                          

Use Yoga as a Stress Relief

During the intense midterm week full of studying, tests and projects, feelings of fear and anxiety rise within our bodies that bring stress along. My personal way to cope with the tension and stress is to attend a Yoga class.

It all starts when I enter the studio and a calm feeling rises within me. Then as I cocentrate on the breathing, I start to release all tension from the facial muscles down to the heels. Because of this the brain starts to relax as well, as it becomes still. I try to let all go and bring just peace in.

Then as I start feeling light, the postures become more challenging. And the teacher encouraging "push, push and push...I know it's hard, it has to be hard here so when you go to the world out there everything is going to look so easy..."
Ninety minutes go by so fast, everybody leaves with a smile on their calm face.

I highly recommend Yoga for those with busy lives.

Love and Light,