Mantra for New Beginnings

"the core of a fulfilled life is knowing that every moment is a choice"
"As your desire is, so is your will. As your will is, so is your deed. As your deed is, so is your destiny"
- Rod Stryker, The Four Desires

If you are someone who has made a New Year's Resolution, you will need to have an implementation plan in order to move from the wish for change to the desire for change to becoming one with the desire. This ultimate yoga (unity) with your goal may be a path laden with resistance. A stubbornness to change is an obstacle to growth.. You may wish you were healthier. You may desire to lose weight, but until you start making choices to lead you to the NEW IMPROVED YOU ( the old one is perfect but we can all move towards excellence ) there will be lots of space between the resolution and the accomplishment of it.  For example, eating healthier requires buying more natural produce and leaving the high fat snacks in the supermarket where they can continue to decorate the shelves.  After all, as my friend, Gita says: "a minute on the lips, a month on the hips!".  This being said, when you do that shopping, you may encounter resistance from the old you who is afraid of change, and so once again, those chocolate cookies end up in your cart, in your pantry, in your tummy...

This should tell you that we need to rewire our brains before any substantial change can be made.  When I first started Yoga, my teacher said: "intention, attention, and the details up to the universe". You do need to intend to create change, then focus attention on it in a sustained way (includes practise, patience, practise, self-discipline, harmonising actions with that magical intention, practise and patience) and as you shift into the head space of change and implementation in a focused way, to be able to let go into a knowingness that the universe will help you out.  Sometimes the universe will test you by sending you 50% off coupons for your favourite ice cream, which is a strengthening exercise to be grateful for, and you can pass with flying colours! Your inner attitude matters.  Your perceptions matter.

I once set my intention as peacefulness. I had very noisy neighbours, for which I had to go to court, I couldn't sleep and there was too much drama going on.  So I recited the mantra: "om shanty shanty shanty" and decided that whatever the next year brought, it was going to be peace and positivity.  I decided that even though a move wasn't the best financial decision, I would still investigate options.  I remember seeing one apartment that was really unaffordable for me.  The rental agent was so giving with her time that I apologised for wasting it afterwards in a thank you note.  She was so moved with this detail that she put me in touch with a concierge who had the perfect apartment for me and it was not yet on the rental market.  I was tenacious with him, and this is where I am writing from.  My sanctuary! The universe helped me, but I was not idle.  I visualised, took actions, stayed focused and also, decided that whatever happened I could make even small personal choices on a daily basis to invite that which I was seeking.

One practise that is very useful is mantra recitation.  It is a discipline that quiets the thinking brain and helps break emotional or thought patterns that are being held onto. As such, they can become obstacles on our path.  If your internal state is unified with your desire, you can achieve anything. The system of YOGA is a very powerful toolbox for transformation.

This being said, whatever you are desiring, the best place to start working on your endeavour is your brain. This mantra is traditionally chanted to begin new projects with positive energy and remove any obstacles in the way:

Get quiet, sit still, where the spine is straighter and tension is dislodged. Traditionally recited 108 times, and try a 21 day period where you add this to your routine for a few minutes each day:

OM GUM GANAPATEYEI NAMAHA
Om Guhm Guh-nuh-puh-tuh-yea
Nah-mah-hah
(Om and salutations to Ganapati - Ganesha: the remover of obstacles)

Namaste,
Rana

Benefits of Therapeutic Massage

Like YOGA, therapeutic massage is part of a healthy lifestyle

Benefits of Massage:

1*Maintaining the body’s homeostasis

2*Pain Relief

3*Improved circulation

4*Relief of muscular tension

5*Elimination of waste/toxins

6*Improved posture and range of motion

7*Strengthened immune system

8*Enhanced recovery

9*Relaxation, sense of well-being
10*Improve quality of Sleep

Conditions Benefited:

*Arthritis (rheumatoid and osteoarthritis)

*Asthma, Bronchitis

*Carpal tunnel syndrome

*Circulatory problems

*Migraines/headaches, especially those induced by muscular tension

*Gastrointestinal disorders (spastic colon,colic, constipation)

*Immune system disorders

*Insomnia

*Myofascial pain(a condition of the tissue connecting the muscles)

*Sports injuries

*Stress

*TMJ

to schedule:

Rana Waxman

514.407.1005

info@ranawaxman.com

www.ranawaxman.com

my top ten yoga tips for the day

1. understand that postures and breathing are part of a system designed to still the mind 
(read the YOGA SUTRAS by Patanjali)

2. the quieter your mind the better you can appreciate this moment as it is

3. it is called a practise therefore practise daily :-)

4. breathing calms the mind and can be done all day

5. find a peaceful corner (see my blog for tips on sanctuary)

6. close your eyes from time to time, feel, visualise

7. bring attention to the feet, there are over 7200 nerve receptors there (try acu-reflexology with me and you will see this too)

8. bring attention to your hands, they open into the arms, neck

9. visualise the asana first to focus your mind and then fill your body into it

10. add a dose of patience, surrender and try to bring the practise off the mat and into daily life


Om shanty shanty shanty, peace, peace, peace


Rana

A New Year's Greeting

Happy Holidays

I wish you all a New Year filled with 

peace

positivity

contentment

I hope that joy touches your heart and melts any sorrow like warm sunshine

I know you are

strong

brave

resilient

beings

Thank you for your continued support and blessings 
blessings

blessings

OM shanty shanty shanty  OM peace peace peace

Rana

What Is Your Default Setting? A Little Blog About Contentment

When the mind constantly runs after the wandering senses, it drives away wisdom, like the wind, blowing a ship off course- Bhagavad Gita


Happiness cannot be found throught great effort and willpower, but is already present in open relaxation and letting go- Ven. Lama Gendun Rinpoche


The other day I blogged about contentment.  It is very easy to feel on top of the world when you are not being tested, but is this your default setting? If pressures build up do you breathe through them, find ways to diffuse tension or do you store it, let it build and then explode? I am not talking about the once in a while scenarios, but if things are not all peachy keen, what are your attitudes, perceptions, and coping strategies? Is it still contentment or is this a borrowed measure reserved for the one day all the bills are paid, you have slept great, you have eaten well...In other words, are you happy and smiling whatever happens?


You see, the reason I put forth these question is that seeking happiness is one thing. Yogis call it uncovering our true Nature, and will tell you we are born into happiness but the thinking mind gives us all kinds of trouble.  It starts us chasing after the senses, after material gain, accumulation, etc.  Nothing wrong with wanting the Iphone 4 -it looks super cool. But if you have the Iphone 3 do you then become less happy with what you do not yet possess? Or do you accept what you have with gratitude? This last approach is the fertile ground for lasting happiness.


Contentment, Patanjali says in Sutra 11.42 is dynamic, as opposed to complacency which is a bit stagnant. We should be able to look at our life, weed out the toxic relationships and situations to then re-balance on all levels. This requires changing what isn't working, therefore practising contentment is a call  to action sometimes.  It also asks us to want what we have.


Contentment brings us to a new perception of how things are, and so, calms the mind, fostering appreciation. It is an attitude that is independent of outside influences.  What you have or don't have does not change the essence of who you are.  You may be thinking, "uh, maybe in my next life, that sounds pretty hard to sustain!" Though it may be easier to be happy when there is some kind of "success" in our life, the truly positive person will smile and keep a good sense of humour throughout turmoil, will exhale and relax.  Will know that they are guided and protected, all-one, not alone.


I know virtues are hard to visualise and materialise and harmonise when things are tough, and disappointments abound.  These are the times though when adopting a mind-set that views adversity as opportunity is helpful. So instead of chasing, spend a few moments in Nature, or quietly observing your breath, do a little Yoga Flow, take a walk.  Allow this great and powerful and sustaining virtue to take root in your life so that your default setting is now rewired for peace and positivity in 2012...


Blessings,
Rana

the flexibility phenomenon

The other day on twitter (@yoginiqueen) I was posting relentlessly about flexibility. My brother called me and remarked "what's up with that?"  I was on a mission.  I know. Frequently I hear the words "I am not flexible.  My hamstrings are tight."  Beginners, new to Yoga, or people who just think it isn't for them, love this expression.  Understandable, since the Western culture, being so physically oriented, has scads of pictures of smiling long-limbed bodies doing all kinds of hamstring stretching movements.


So this flexibility phenomenon.  Well if you practise something you get results from it.  Sports, sitting at a desk, walking, getting stressed and holding that stress as muscular tension, and not doing yoga to keep the joints healthy, you are practising tightening up and being tight.  It is just common sense.  


Also, although your hamstrings may be the most obvious source of tightness, your hips might be tighter, thus preventing the hinging forward you seek in the quest to touch your toes.  You may be reciting the "what a pain in the neck mantra" so that your shoulders and neck are jammed, pulling up your hip to create a restriction in the....your body is a series of rubber bands and since this IS a mind-body-spirit blog, let me just say: your body is eavesdropping on all your thoughts.   "The issues are in the tissues!"


First you need to understand that flexibility is a side benefit but not the goal of yoga.  The goal is expressed in the Yoga Sutras, sutra 1.2, roughly translated as 'total mastery over the modifications of the mind is called yoga' and in sutra 1.13, the sage, Patanjali says that "persevering practise is the effort to attain and maintain the state of mental peace".  When you understand that it is a discipline of the mind, it changes the way you practise. You just use the physical practice to re-energize, re-balance, re-plenish, re-lax and counter balance the negatives of the modern day multi-tasking, very fast, often stressful lifestyle.


In terms of postures, yes some of them are quite stretchy, though as a student you need to perform an asana in the meditative frame of mind, following your breathing and at your own level.  A Teacher can be your GPS, but only you can determine how steady and comfortable you feel.  Sutra 11.46 has no picture attached, no ambition.  It is actually quite rich in meaning.  One can interpret posture as the basis for the meditative aspects of Yoga, or as the feeling of being at ease, present and fidget-less.  Not forced or strained.


There is a way out of the stiffness.  The thing you are holding onto as a reason for not starting Yoga is the best reason to start.  I am not saying jump into a highly strenuous class and pull your muscles so that you need to buy stock in Rub A535 and sit on the bench while everyone else skates, skis, plays hockey, jogs, lifts weights, walks and smiles.  NO. As humans though, there is a paradox going between resisting not only challenges, but also potentially rewarding situations. Our immune system is a healthy example of how we are built to resist toxins.  Psychologically, too, we create conditions that protect us from hurt.  Taken too far however, this resistance can become a wall or armour.  It can create an inflexible, rigid mind-set.


The most amazing side benefit of yoga, one that pervades my life, even when my body feels a bit stiff, is a flexible mind-set. This is a kind of creativity in the way the mind moves over and through challenges, seeking options and open points, like a flowing river. 


Maybe the next time you are reaching to pick something up off the floor, you will realise that the tightest area of the body, the one part that does all the straining, is the mind. Our biggest excuses for not doing something can be our best reasons to get moving on it.

the middle is not mediocrity

Someone once said to me, "we are always in the middle, no matter where we are or what we do". If you think about it, there is always someone richer OR poorer, better at this OR worse at that, the list goes on.
I think this statement holds a lot of substance.


The yogic principle behind this is contentment, which is one of the eight limbs of Yoga, called a niyama, or "restraint". It reflects a non-covetous attitude.  In the Yoga Sutras, 11.42, contentment is cultivated through the practise of YOGA.  It is a positive mind-set which is much more than passive satisfaction, because it aims to balance the psyche, which is tested when circumstances are perceived as unfavourable(1). How things are is right.
I have what I need.  This fuels our spiritual momentum.  Joy is accessible. It isn't frivolous, or dependent on aquiring the newest device, and so is very life-changing! You may have all the latest things but still be devoid of the ability to appreciate, and so you continue to feel lack, instead of abundance...


Today I was speaking with a friend.  This person was expressing feelings about a bad mood, the rainy weather, a lack of motivation and too full a plate with family and preparing to go on a vacation.  In the middle of talking about all this, the friend stopped mid-sentence and said "I have no right to complain" there are so many people who have so many real problems.  I said, probably true, but it is healthy to express yourself.  The conversation was very healing. For both of us...details in another blog....ha ha ha....


Equally important to remember that being in the middle means you are here to take the uplifting hand of someone who is feeling better than you, or has a great perspective and handle on things.  The other hand, you can offer to someone who is suffering from a worse perspective, whose attitude and mood can benefit from you being the light in the room.  The middle is not mediocrity.  It requires awareness. It is a call to action, to cultivate an attitude of gratitude. Put aside stress for a moment.


I came home the other night after a long day.  I didn't feel like I had the best dinner waiting for me, it was leftovers - again ! but I saw this note under my door.  Another tenant in the building had left these notices to say he works at a food bank, they need food, if I had anything to offer.  Well, it took me right out of my mealtime funk.  I do not keep a very stocked pantry but I emptied what I could.  He appreciated it - a little was a lot - he conveyed. And I ate what I had with appreciation, really thinking I am so lucky to have work, to buy food, to have a functional stove and oven...


Gratitude is the option for an excellence-seeker.  This is the time of year when the duality of giving and receiving is heightened. You may find yourself in the middle of something, just bear in mind that while you have so much to receive, you also have so much to offer. Two hands...






(1) To read more try Bernard Bouanchaud: Reflections on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 

Finding sanctuary

Years ago I did a YOGA workshop with an Indian Yoga Master. He said he once visited a student in North America who invited him into his "yoga room".  This Teacher just smiled and said YOGA is practised in every room...


I agree - philosophically, as it conveys the essence of the practise of YOGA, which is union, and not just of me to my(body/mind)self, also me to my(spirit)self and me to the (Creator)Self.  Being connected to every breathing being is eye and mind opening.


Nonetheless, I also feel that it is important to have a soft space to land at the end of the day.  Finding your sacred space within when you feel like life is crowding you out with pressures and stress requires a refuge, a place that elicits the the relaxation response for you.


I prefer clean and uncluttered as a theme everywhere in my apartment.  For me, home is a sanctuary altogether.  I like to look around and see plants and Buddhas meditating so they catch my glance and bring me calm energy.  I also have a favourite spot where I do meditate, and pull out my yoga mat.  I created a distinct area for settling down with a good book.   I can relax enough to be creative at my desk, but seeing it, I am not put in the "zone"... in these other areas, I synchronise and harmonise and tranquilise.


Where is your area?  Do you get home and wish you had a little corner for yourself?  One student of mine has a little quiet area with a picture of loved ones and an orchid near a window with a view. For another, this sacred area is a garden in summer and a favourite chair near a favourite potted plant in winter.  Yet another person I know sets up her side of the bed with a table on which she keeps a personal touchstone (and IPAD charger!)


If you do not have a spot yet, and feel space is a luxury - you are right.  Nonetheless, sometimes space takes on a new energy when you add a just a touch of something peaceful (a seashell or candle?), something personal (a photo or souvenir of a wonderful experience?) and positive (a plant, flower, little figurine of a meditating Buddha?)...or just a chair with your favourite colour cushion, and a diary so you can write down your thoughts.


However you create this peaceful, personal and positive space, I hope it makes you feel like you have a stress-free, safe, special sanctuary.  It does help to have a ritual and a designated place to encourage your inner life to regroup, recharge, refresh and renew. Your health depends on it.