Month: May 2013

Fueling Practice with Intention

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yogablog2Most people come to yoga class for the physical workout.  The body feels alive after moving through the asanas, energy is raised, and we settle into meditation to close practice.

At the beginning of class I like to have my students take a moment to center on the breath and set an intention for their practice.  On the inhale we bring intention into alignment with the breath, on the exhale we extend intention out into the world around us.  Setting an intention as we go into our practice allows us to practice with purpose.  We can also dedicate the energy of our practice to a place in the world, or someone in our lives that might need a little extra energy.  When we move with purpose we have a greater connection to our bodies, our minds and our spirits.

I also recommend my students keep a yoga practice journal.  Writing down the intentions back into the world when we leave our mats.  With each breath we take we pull our intention down into our bodies.  Each out breath pushed intention into the world, and fueled with movement gives birth to creation.  Yoga means “to yoke” or “to unite”, but what are you yoking yourself to.  Often people come to class to escape, or they bring their problems to the mat hoping to work them out.  If you focus on a negative thought as you move through practice you’ll be breathing that thought into all aspects of your being.  Shifting to a positive affirmation allows us to align with purpose and not defeat.

You don’t have to wait for class to set and breathe in intentional space.  Take a moment right now and do this simple meditation:

  • Focus on an intention, a positive word, an affirmation
  • Take a deep breath into the body, down deep into the core of your being
  • Hold the breath for a count of 4
  • Exhale just as deeply as you inhaled, let your intention embrace the reality around you
  • Continue this process for as long as you need.
  • Even just doing this for a single round is powerful.

Doing this process at the start of the day allows you to bring connection into the start of your day, the same is true if you do this before bed and take intention into the dream world.

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

Namaste

Michael A Brazell

http://www.soulinteraction.com

http://www.facebook.com/yogawitch

http://www.michaelbrazell.com

michael@michaelbrazell.com

 

Learning to Trust

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trustThere is an energy of change moving through all of us.  You can feel it in the air, and see in those around you.  I know I’ve been feeling the call for deeper connection to spirit, to my path, and to my practice.  Change is not always a pretty thing, sometimes it is harsh, visceral and can be difficult.

I’ve been going through my own changes over the past few weeks, but thinking back on some of these changes, the seeds were planted years ago.  My life is constantly evolving, and I love this process.  The one thing that I do notice about my life are the things that remain.  There are constants that make up my purpose and are guideposts on my path.  Those constants keep me grounded in moments of change, and as an experiential learner my changes usually are more visceral.

A few days ago I made the decision to leave the yoga studio I’ve been teaching at for over a year and a half.  It was a difficult decision, but one that needed to be made.  I feel that my life is transitioning quickly.  My guides, guardians, souls, angels have been speaking to me with greater frequency, and the message they have been repeating over and over again is:  Trust.

Trust does not come easy.  This is evident in any yoga class.  We often struggle to trust our bodies within the asanas (postures).  We have to learn to trust our instructors, trust our mats, and even trust that the floor will indeed catch us if we fall.  We have to trust that the breath will sync up with the movements, and that we’ll be able to make it through the more challenging postures.  Trust does not come easy, but it comes.  Eventually we forget that we did not have trust, it becomes part of the process, our minds become more at ease… and then we get introduced to new postures, ideas, and concepts that challenge us.. yoga is an action of magick, and extension of trust.

Challenge helps us to identify trust, to encounter her and to sit with difficulty.  Letting go of one part of our lives allows space for new things to enter, and that is where I am finding myself.  I am going be dedicating a lot of time to creating a solid yogawitch.com community and engaging the unfolding path before me.  There is fear, but that is okay.  I trust that what is opening up for me is the most positive and most powerful, because I trust my soul unconditionally.

In the next few weeks I’ll be posting videos, meditations, poetry, spells, and much more.  I also want to hear from all of you!  If there are things that you’d like to see me discuss, videos that you’d like to see, and even if you just want to say hi!  You can contact me via this blog, or at:  theyogawitch@gmail.com

What is trust to you?   What is changing in your experience that causes you to sit with/challenge trust?

As always-

You are Loved.

You are Beautiful.

You are Divine.

Namaste.

Michael A Brazell CFT CSN MAT PAT

www.michaelbrazell.com

www.soulinteraction.com

www.blogtalkradio.com/michaelbrazell