Spiritual Forums

Home


Donate!


Articles


CHAT!


Shop


 
Welcome to Spiritual Forums!.

We created this community for people from all backgrounds to discuss Spiritual, Paranormal, Metaphysical, Philosophical, Supernatural, and Esoteric subjects. From Astral Projection to Zen, all topics are welcome. We hope you enjoy your visits.

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest, which gives you limited access to most discussions and articles. By joining our free community you will be able to post messages, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload your own photos, and gain access to our Chat Rooms, Registration is fast, simple, and free, so please, join our community today! !

If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, check our FAQs before contacting support. Please read our forum rules, since they are enforced by our volunteer staff. This will help you avoid any infractions and issues.

Go Back   Spiritual Forums > Lifestyle > Yoga

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 23-06-2015, 10:49 PM
LibbyScorp LibbyScorp is offline
Ascender
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: PNW - US
Posts: 841
  LibbyScorp's Avatar
Angel1 .::+::. - Yoga Journal - .::+::.


.:: Namaste ::.
"I honor the place in you in which the entire universe dwells.
I honor the place in you which is of love, of truth, of light and of peace.
When you are in that place in you and I am in that place of me, we are one."


Hello. This is my yoga journal. Honestly, I needed a place where I could come nerd out about my life's passion. After most of my routines, I feel uplifted, vibrant and glowing. So much that the creativity flows and I want to express myself through writing and pictures. In this space, I will be posting everything from tips, articles, sanskrit study, meditations pre and post practice, yogi foods, quotes, music and la de da de da. I welcome anyone to do the same. The goal here is to inspire. To find and connect with those that share the love of yoga no matter what stage you are at. Even if you can't touch your freaking toes. Oh and after 12 years, I still can't do a handstand. No sweat. New yogi? Happy yoga journey to ya. Seasoned yogi? Share the wisdom :)

A little background history here....
Around 14-15 years old, I had found yoga as a good form of exercise. I had no idea the path that was beginning to unfold before me. By 17, I just couldn't get enough of it. The total relaxation of the muscles, alignment of the skeleton. The stacking of vertebre. With each inhale and exhale, movement with breath, I was becoming more aware of body. More aware of mind. Centered. At the age of 19, a whole new world opened up for me. This was a time of great turmoil in my life. No direction. Just a feeling of something greater out there. And at the point of fully giving up on it all... I surrendered. Surrendered my soul to god/whatever it is out there. And whatever is out there listened!! Yoga became this beautiful tool to spend time with myself, worship my body. To flow with the waves of negativity and positivity that life sends us. It allowed me to be open and receptive to healing power. Throughout my 20s, so far, has been a wild ride of exploration. The balance of the feminine. The masculine. Coming into grace. Realizing the strength of mind and manifestation. The study of energy and curiosity of all things metaphysical. Thank you, universe.


What makes me laugh is that sometimes I forget about yoga. We get so caught up in our thinking that it blocks us from what we know is true. From what liberates us. I go through cycles. For months upon months my practice will have solid foundation. It'll dwindle off into a few days here annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd oops, didn't go to class all month. Uhhhhh hmmm it's been 2 weeks since i've even stretched. "I'm so lost. What is wrong? Why? How? Where are the answers?!" It takes 5 sun salutations to get nice and centered. "Ohhhhhh. The answers are here. Within. Duh!" It's really so simple. It is here, though, where I rediscover my undying love and passion for yoga. Each time it happens, the experience becomes deeper, more profound. Ancient, sacred healing.

So here I am again. On this quest to cleanse. To purge and let go of all that does not serve me for the greater purpose. Maybe you people will continue reading this. Maybe you won't. But it'll be good for me to have something to return to. You know? When the going gets tough and I'm stuck in a rut. It happens. My heart overflows with grattitude from all that this path has lead me to. There is only more to come.

Truly looking forward to sharing.
In this moment,
I am free.


.:: Om Namah Shivaya ::.
"The mind has long been dissipated by worldly
things and does not easily come under sway.
But when one perfectly controls and fully withdraws the mind
from selfish cravings, one is in yoga, union with the divinity.
The mind of a yogi, totally focused on the true self,
is unwavering like the steady flame of a candle in a sheltered place.
When the mind becomes still and quiet, the self reveals itself.
At these depths, one experiences the joy and peace of complete fulfillment."
__________________
City and Colour - Grand Optimist
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 25-06-2015, 03:42 PM
maejin maejin is offline
Pathfinder
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: India
Posts: 85
  maejin's Avatar
Really beautiful pics and heartfelt writing. I'm glad you found yoga to help you grow and develop on your journey through life.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 25-06-2015, 04:17 PM
Clover Clover is offline
Deactivated Account
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: ☘️
Posts: 10,271
 
Wonderful Libby. So nice to read how inspiring and helpful yoga has been for you. Pinterest has awesome resources. My personal favorite is Ashtanga Yoga.


Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 27-06-2015, 11:11 PM
LibbyScorp LibbyScorp is offline
Ascender
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: PNW - US
Posts: 841
  LibbyScorp's Avatar
Aww, thank you, Maej!!
Cloves, let's really all do that. More of what makes us happy. Pinterest is the spot! Ashtanga. So much fire. Love it :)
__________________________________________________ _________

Goodmorning,
Feelin' great today. Clarity. Started the day off with 20 sun salutations.
Now i'm feeling compelled to break it all down for those of you that are interested.

"Our primary source of light is, of course, the sun. When we look at our closest star, we may see nothing more than a big yellow ball. But for thousands of years, the Hindus have revered the sun, which they call Surya, as both the physical and spiritual heart of our world and the creator of all life itself. One of the means of honoring the sun is through the dynamic asana sequence Surya Namaskar (better known as Sun Salutation). The Sanskrit word namaskar stems from namas, which means 'to bow to' or 'to adore.' (The familiar phrase we use to close our yoga classes, namaste—te means 'you'—also comes from this root.) Each Sun Salutation begins and ends with the joined-hands mudra (gesture) touched to the heart. This placement is no accident; only the heart can know the truth."



"There’s some disagreement among authorities over the origins of Sun Salutation. Traditionalists contend that the sequence is at least 2,500 years old (perhaps even several hundred years older), that it originated during Vedic times as a ritual prostration to the dawn, replete with mantras, offerings of flowers and rice, and libations of water. Skeptics of this dating maintain that Sun Salutation was invented by the raja of Aundh (a former state in India, now part of Maharashtra state) in the early 20th century, then disseminated to the West in the 1920s or 1930s. However old Sun Salutation is, and whatever it may originally have looked like, many variations have evolved over the years. Janita Stenhouse, in Sun Yoga: The Book of Surya Namaskar, illustrates two dozen or so adaptations (though several are quite similar). Our sequence here consists of 12 “stations” composed of eight different postures, the last four being the same as the first four but performed in reverse order. In this sequence, we’ll start and end in Tadasana."

BASIC SUN SALUTATION .::Surya Namaskar A::.
"The transition from posture to posture is facilitated by either an inhalation or an exhalation. As you move through the sequence, watch your breath closely. Slow your pace or stop and rest entirely if your breathing becomes labored or shuts down altogether. Always breathe through your nose, not your mouth: Nasal breathing filters and warms incoming air and slows your breathing down, thereby lending the sequence a meditative quality and reducing the risk of hyperventilation. Make each movement as mindful and precise as possible, especially as you near the end of your rounds, when fatigue can lead to sloppiness"



1. MOUNTAIN POSE .::Tadasana::.
-Come to standing. Feet together. Hands at heart in prayer. Bow head, set intention for practice.
-Imagine a string from the ceiling coming through the top of your head, drawing you upward. Spine straight.
-Both feet grounded. Feeling all sides, all toes, to the ground.
-Exhale all the air out.

2. UPWARD SALUTE .::Urdhva Hastasana::.
-Inhale, arms up. Legs tight, supporting the soft curve of the back.
-Slight bends are a wonderful counteractive stretch to balance out the spine.
-Only take this as far back as you can. Trust what your body tells you.
Never rush into any sort of backbend.

3. STANDING FORWARD BEND .::Uttanasana::.
-Exhale, swan dive forward, arms coming from the sides to front.
-Head hangs loose, no tension in the neck.



From standing forward bend, there is a step not pictured.
-Finger tips to ground by toes OR hands on shins.
-Inhale look up, extend the spine.
-Exhale, head down, arms release.
This allows more room to flatten the back.

4. LOW LUNGE .::Anjaneyasana::.
-Exhale, right leg back.
-Left leg back.

5. PLANK POSE
-Breathe. Inhales, exhales all the same length.
-Hands shoulder width apart. Even spine, tuck booty in.
-Fingers spread, pressed flat into the ground.
Flow into the next pose or hold here as long as you like.

6. FOUR LIMBED STAFF POSE .::Chaturanga Dandasana::.
-Exhale, bend elbows, lower down, straight back.
-Knees, thighs, belly to floor.
-Look up, whole body active.

7. UPWARD FACING DOG .::Urdhva Mukha Svanasana::.
-Looking up on the inhale, lift up, chest up.
-Elbows straight, shoulders down.
-Legs behind you, tops of feet to floor
-Legs strong to support tail bone.

8. DOWNWARD FACING DOG .::Adho Mukha Svanasana::.
-Exhale, curl toes under, bend knees, lift up.
-Extend back, flat spine, tail tucked.
-Bend left knee, then right knee. stretch into calves and quads. Repeat.
-Inhale, lift both heels. Hold breath, tip toes. exhale, heels down, breathe into it.
-Head loose, gaze back. Focus point(Drishni)
Settle into the intensity.

REPEAT POSES

9. LOW LUNGE .::Anjaneyasana::.
-Exhale, right foot forward, left back.
-Breathe in, look up.

10. STANDING FORWARD BEND .::Uttanasana::.
-Exhale, left foot meets right foot.
-Grasp inside elbows with hands, rock side to side.
Hang heavy.



Don't forget this :)
-Smoothe, deep breath in while you expand
-Exhaling back to standing forward bend.

11. UPWARD SALUTE .::Urdhva Hastasana::.
-Inhale, body up, flat back.
-Arms rising on each side, tilt back.
-Above head, palms touch
-Exhale, draw hands to heart.

12. MOUNTAIN POSE .::Tadasana::.
-Eyes closed.
-Head bowed, long neck.
-Gather yourself here. Centered.
Feel the difference from start to end.



Repeating this sequence will generate a cleansing fire within.
It's invigorating and an excellent way to flow through excess energy.
Just doing these alone is a full body workout that encourages spinal health.
__________________
City and Colour - Grand Optimist

Last edited by LibbyScorp : 28-06-2015 at 12:40 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 27-06-2015, 11:23 PM
Deepsoul Deepsoul is offline
Master
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Sunny Australia
Posts: 2,214
  Deepsoul's Avatar
Dear Libby I am in healing and cant do my yoga at this time and that makes me sad ,but thankyou for your beautiful post ,i miss my salute to the sun terribly ,but as my amazing yoga teacher that trained in india once said if you cant walk then crawl ,so baby steps for me for now ,enjoy your yoga it loves you...............
__________________
I AM.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 28-06-2015, 01:31 PM
kris kris is offline
Master
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Central Ohio
Posts: 1,016
 
Very nice journal!
__________________
kris
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 02-07-2015, 06:12 AM
Lumen Lumen is offline
Pathfinder
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: The Universe
Posts: 95
  Lumen's Avatar
Amazing! Really enjoying reading it so far. Keep it up
__________________
A flower's existence lies only in its ceaseless form of offering and dedication of it's own beauty and fragrance to the entire creation - Buddha Boy
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 04-07-2015, 04:08 AM
LibbyScorp LibbyScorp is offline
Ascender
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: PNW - US
Posts: 841
  LibbyScorp's Avatar
DeepSoul, you're in my positive thought stream for fast healing. The yearning for yoga when you're physically not able to do it is heart breaking. Definitely experienced that when I hurt my back a while ago. Enjoy your baby steps into full recovery. Thank you.

Kris, thank you muchies.

Boobers, preeshy you! -tackle hug-
__________________________________________________ ________________________________________________

Came across an inspiring little article off of Yogitimes.com today.
Some copy and paste magic here. The bolded text is my input.



Coming to Your Mat in the Darkest of Times
by Roanna Weiss

I’ve recently come across a lot of people saying they are having a hard time getting onto their mat. These people have similar reasons: the sudden or expected loss of a loved one, or the downward cycle of depression.

We often hear that the yoga pose we avoid at all costs is the one we need the most. I’ve come to believe this about yoga in general. But this doesn’t mean that we have to force ourselves to finish all of primary series, an hour-long hot yoga session, or remain in our yin yoga postures until we have lost all physical sensation in some part of our bodies. It's interesting that she mentions that the pose we most often avoid is what we tend to need the most. Mastering a difficult pose is the most transformational feeling. It's really beautiful how much personal power and grace arises from the most unexpected places.

What we do by avoiding our mat, by watching Youtube videos of random people’s daily lives or sinking into the sofa in an effort to bury us far away from our most unwanted feelings is that we are avoiding giving attention to that which needs it the most: our darkness. What I enjoy the most about yoga is that when you are releasing into a stretch, so many emotions will come forth. You are forced to face them head on and breathe into them. Sometimes, I have even cried silently to myself in class. One time in particular, was in half pigeon. Some of us carry a lot of stress in our hips and booty. I remember laying there just letting it all flow. Letting it all go. And the tears felt incredible!

But when getting on your mat seems like an arduous task, because you don’t want to face those uncomfortable emotions just under the surface or you’re afraid of what will come up or even afraid of beating yourself up if your practice is shorter than what your expect of yourself, remember that yoga goes beyond the movements we perform on our mat, and that through this solo dance, we give attention to the emotions we are avoiding and transform our reality. There's been so many times where I've deflected the urges to heal myself on the mat because I was too afraid to face what I knew would be surfacing. It's funny how this kind of stuff works. How we psyche ourselves out into thinking it's ok to put healing off.

I feel an ache in my heart when someone says they just can’t get on their mat, because I, like everyone else, knows what grieving and depression are. When we feel so alone in our darkness, perhaps it is precisely that time alone on the island of our yoga mat that we need the most. So if you are feeling like rolling out your mat is just too hard to do right now, take it out, place it on the floor and take a moment to remember the following:

DON'T THINK ABOUT IT.
JUST DO IT.


1. #yogaeverydamnday. The hashtag carries good advice, so whether your practice ends up being 20 seconds, 20 minutes or 2 hours, just roll out your mat and stand there. Listen to what your heart wants and needs and then do it, with faith and without judgment.

2. A yoga practice does not need to be long, sweaty, exhausting or cathartic. Sometimes a yoga practice is standing in mountain pose and just being with yourself in the present moment, or allowing yourself to return to the womb in child’s pose. If that is all you do today, you still did your practice.

3. It’s your practice. We follow along to instructional videos or our teacher in the studio, but in the end, learning to own your body’s movements and self-expression on the mat helps you to own even the darkest of emotions while they ebb and flow like the ocean. And they always ebb and flow.

4. Yoga means “union”, so if you are grieving the loss of a loved one, dedicate your practice to them and make them your partner once more on your own personal dance floor. If it’s depression that has isolated you, bring to mind all the other people in any near or far location on this earth who are feeling the same as you right now and dance with them too.

5. Forgive. If you are feeling upset and angry with either yourself or someone else, set the intention of your practice toward forgiveness. As you are moving through your sequences, send positive energy to all those you feel these intense emotions towards. It really does help.

Yoga will not erase negative thoughts or strong emotions, but it saves us from the resistance, by giving us the space to witness what happens inside of us, to accept ourselves, to accept both the darkness and the light and to appreciate that since our time on this planet is just a lifetime, we might as well come home to ourselves in the present moment and dance with what is.



Cheers to the path of least resistance!
__________________
City and Colour - Grand Optimist

Last edited by LibbyScorp : 04-07-2015 at 08:33 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 04-07-2015, 04:40 AM
Lumen Lumen is offline
Pathfinder
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: The Universe
Posts: 95
  Lumen's Avatar
Beautiful post. Very inspiring to me. It resonates with me a lot and helps remind me to let go and be free.

Thanks for sharing.

__________________
A flower's existence lies only in its ceaseless form of offering and dedication of it's own beauty and fragrance to the entire creation - Buddha Boy
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 10-07-2015, 05:22 AM
LibbyScorp LibbyScorp is offline
Ascender
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: PNW - US
Posts: 841
  LibbyScorp's Avatar
Thanks for reading

__________________
City and Colour - Grand Optimist
Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 09:41 AM.


Powered by vBulletin
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
(c) Spiritual Forums