Month: November 2012

Wearing our Spirituality

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miketattooI often get asked a lot about the tattoos on my face.  I have to admit there is time when I wonder how they all appeared, and since I can’t see them I often forget that they are there.  My tattoos are spiritual markers.  I often say that this is what happens when you let the Goddess finger paint on your skin.  Many of my tattoos are personal.  The beautiful thing about tattoos are that they are living pieces of art.  I have mantras tattooed on my skin as well as sacred geometry.  The symbols are alive and they resonate their meanings.  My tattoos are my spirituality written for the world to see.  They are wall or windows depending on who is looking at them.

Many of us wear religious amulets, symbols, or charms.  When they are against our skin, they begin to breathe a different frequency.  Much like tattoos wearing the symbols of our faith can sometimes be difficult.  I remember when I was first challenged about the pentacle I was wearing around my neck at a poetry open mic.  The person naturally assumed that I must be evil since my symbol of faith was one that he had learned was in opposition to his holy cross.  I find that wearing our symbols gives us a chance to talk about who we are and what we believe.  We have to remember that not everyone may be as educated to the meaning of the symbols that we wear.  I decided to put them on my face because I feel that it is important to give those symbols the highest place of honor on my body.  My tattoos are my history, my journey, my unfolding experience.  I also often joke that why put my tattoos in the basement when I can put them on the mantle.

In the yoga scene I often see many wearing the “om” or other mantras without really knowing the meaning.  The symbols are powerful, and carrying them, wearing them and chanting them without understanding them takes away from the sacredness.  As religious symbols and practices enter the mainstream they are often used to sell a yoga class or t-shirts at a concert.

There are many ways that many of us choose to wear our spirituality.  How do you outwardly show your faith? Do you have a tattoo with spiritual meaning?  Do you feel comfortable or uncomfortable wearing your religious symbols?

 

You are Loved.  You are Beautiful.  You are Divine.

 

What is a Yoga Witch?

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Until now, I never really felt that I could claim my path fully. I felt to pagan to be a true yogi, and felt too much like a yogi to fit in a witchcraft setting. I find myself doing a Chandra Namaskar (moon salutation) sequence to celebrate the moon, and I add herbal aroma blends to invoke the senses in my yoga classes. Now, there are those that practice yoga that also engage in witchcraft, and there are witches that practice yoga… The Yoga Witch goes a bit further into the intersections. The Yoga Witch sits in the spaces where duality becomes singularity. There were times when I was afraid to wear my pentacle to my yoga class, and other times where I felt out-of-place wearing my “Om” covered prayer shawl to a Sabbat celebration. I think labels in some way allow us to be a bit more expressive with how we identify with an energy that not only moves around us, but moves through us. I also find that it gives us permission to step into uncharted territories. I’ve always felt on the fringe of my own experience and now, I feel the fullness of my being. The thing I love about witchcraft is that it allows the fluidity to be eclectic, to own yourself on your path. There are so many beautiful avenues and there is a process that allows you to be alone with God Herself, or to step into a group setting to connect into a collective vibration of divine flow. Yoga can be more rigid. There are preset movements, motions and prescriptions that need to be met within a class structure. At times, yoga tends to be devoid of its spiritual frequency. People become more connected to the physical aspects of yoga and it becomes a workout instead of a mechanism of expansion.

 

My connection to witchcraft has allowed me to deepen my yogic practice by allowing me to go with my own flow. I am able to be solitary in my practice, I can use asana (yoga postures) to engage in a ritual and to move with an inspired flow instead of rigidity. Yoga allows me to see the subtle in my spell casting (or what I prefer to call flow casting). It allows me to use my body as sacred space, to move energy, and to bring greater presence to the ritual at hand. Yoga and magical practice are more alike that different, and that’s one of the things that I will be focusing on through this blog. This is part discovery, part journey, a dash of curiosity, and a lot of movement. I don’t claim to have all the answers, nor do I know how all the pieces fit together… that’s part of the fun. This blog is a place to share. I am going to have some amazing guest writers posting their thought on the integrated Yogic Witchcraft experience. Our community comes in many beautiful shapes and sizes. Each day I am thankful of how blessed I truly am.

 

Namaste, Blessed Be, and Thank You.

 

 

Michael Brazell CFT CSN MAT PAT

www.michaelbrazell.com 

Greetings and Welcome

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A lot of people often ask me what my path is… and I often struggle to respond.  There are so many layers to my being and I tend to be very spiritually ADD.  I can find myself in any given moment looking for the divine in the nooks and crannies of my experience.  There have been several constants or themes that seem to hold steady in my merry-go-round existence: yoga and magick.

I’ve always loved the idea of magick and can still remember my first book of spells that I bought from the flea market when I was 8.  I can remember gazing into mirrors hoping to see into other dimensions.  Little did I know that when I grew up that I’d be gazing into souls for living.

My path into yoga has been life changing and life affirming.  I love the connection that it gives me to my body, to the subtle spaces around me, and to the natural energy that flows from within.  Through yoga I’ve been able to tap into my spiritual and physical dynamics in a way that has brought alignment to my life on many levels.

Yoga and Magick play a big part in my life.  I’ve often tried steering as far away as I could from one path and into another, but each calls me back.  I’ve often felt like I did not belong in this circle or that group because of the sometimes clashing energies present within my diverse interests.  The lesson that I have found myself sitting with for the past few years is the path of integration.  Embracing my many parts and taking claim to who I am within this dynamic gives me freedom to enjoy my many parts.

I am currently working on a book about this integrated journey.  There is beautiful magick within the yogic framework, and alignment and breath takes us deep into the mysteries of who we are.

I am a Yoga Witch.

This is my journey, my path, and my direction.

Check back often.  I’ll be updating this blog daily.

This is an unfolding process and it is moving into a space of growth.  I’ll be posting videos and will be having guest posts from others doing similar work.

Thank you for taking the time to stop by and visit for a spell.

Love, light, and namaste

Michael Brazell (Mahayogi Das)

www.michaelbrazell.com