“
Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.
Dalai Lama
guruwithin: repeat for emphasis reblog for rememberance View high resolution

guruwithin:

repeat for emphasis reblog for rememberance

(Source: buddhaisy)

(Reblogged from guruwithin)
“
Recent research by Northwestern University psychologists Daniel Molden and Chin Ming Hui demonstrates an effective way to be sure you are making the best decisions when things go awry: focus on what you have to gain by moving on, rather than what you have to lose. When people think about goals in terms of potential gain, that’s a “promotion focus,” which makes them more comfortable making mistakes and accepting losses. When people adopt a “prevention focus,” they think about goals in terms of what they could lose if they don’t succeed, so they become more sensitive to sunk costs. This is the focus people usually adopt, if unconsciously, when deciding whether or not to walk away. It usually tells us not to walk away, even when we should.

I’ve done this. It’s the most effective way to move on. It’s also the hardest way to remember.

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/05/how-to-walk-away/275833/

“

Once you’ve realized that you probably won’t succeed, or that you are unhappy with the results, it shouldn’t matter how much time and effort you’ve already put into something. If your job or your boyfriend have taken up some of the best years of your life, it doesn’t make sense to let them use up the years you’ve got left.

As studies by behavioral economists like Daniel Kahnemen and Dan Ariely show, people are generally loss-averse. Putting in a lot, only to end up with nothing to show for it, is just too awful for most of us to seriously consider. The problem is one of focus. We worry far too much about what we’ll lose if we just move on, instead of focusing on the costs of not moving on: more wasted time and effort, more unhappiness, and more missed opportunities.

This awesome article: http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/05/how-to-walk-away/275833/
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With mindfulness, we can choose how to live our lives now. We can seize any moment and begin anew.
Thich Nhat Hahn
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Fortunately, when we break the commitment to take care of one another, it’s easy to mend. We start by acknowledging that we broke it, that we hardened our heart and closed our mind, that we shut someone out. And then we can retake our vow. On the spot—or as a daily practice—we can reaffirm our intention to keep the door open to all sentient beings for the rest of our life. That’s the training of the spiritual warrior, the training of cultivating courage and empathy, the training of cultivating love. It would be impossible to count the number of beings in the world who are hurting, but still we aspire to not give up on any of them and to do whatever we can to alleviate their pain.
Pema Chodron, via Heart Advice, her weekly enewsletter.
“
You just have to keep on doing what you do. Keep going. Start by starting.
Meryl Streep (via creatingaquietmind)
(Reblogged from creatingaquietmind)
View high resolution

(Source: a-verse-a-day)

(Reblogged from creatingaquietmind)
conflictingheart: Hush now

conflictingheart:

Hush now

(Reblogged from creatingaquietmind)
It’s rare that I find Top 40 lyrical music that I would recommend for a yoga class soundtrack, especially as I’m really sensitive about the emotional bond we can form to music, and I believe playlists are core to creating that sacred space in class that help us escape from the hooks of the ego, and I don’t want to accidentally foster the opposite for students! So first, that means I prefer music for class that doesn’t risk bringing up emotional history for students, which means a lot of my music ends up being mostly non-lyrical or kirtan, and sometimes really good instrumental versions of hipster music. (I had a yoga teacher that played DMB’s “Crash” in. every. class. I. took. from. her. That song was so integral to so many of my peers’ high school experience, and personally it drives me nuts, so I can only imagine I wasn’t the only one whose mind/ego instantly hooked onto it and rode that memory wave wayyy off my mat, til the song was over.) Anyway, as a huge off-the-mat fan of Jay-Z and F. Scott Fitzgerald, I’ve been super stoked to see the results of Jay-Z and Baz Luhrmann’s efforts on the movie and soundtrack, and NPR (<3) has finally posted the musical results. Click over to listen: http://www.npr.org/2013/04/30/180098344/first-listen-music-from-baz-luhrmanns-film-the-great-gatsby?sc=tumblr&cc=tumb_music For whatever reason, maybe the power behind many of the songs, I could right away see some of them lending themselves to a firey vinyasa flow warm-up, such as “Back to Black,” “Where the Wind Blows,” “Into the Past” (I might explore Nero for other great instrumental-leaning stuff!) Or songs such as Emeli Sande’s “Crazy in Love”* or Florence and the Machine’s “Over the Love” inspiring students through some badass peak poses. The xx, a popular cool-down wave favorite, nail it again with “Together.” Goyte’s and Lana Del Ray’s otherwise-beautiful songs, “Heart’s a Mess” and “Young and Beautiful” (respectively) could almost work as a cool-down, but I don’t think either message would be good to hear over & over when you’re open on the mat, and they heat up in the middle. Not sure “Kill and Run” is very yogic, but I love Sia’s voice and creativity. Verdict: Some possibilities as-is, we’ll see if they work out! Let me know if you use them and which you like/dislike for on the mat. Final verdict: An instrumental version of this album would make some great playlist fodder. Hint hint, universe :) *Sidenote/props: Emeli Sande’s rendition of “Crazy in Love” almost knocked me out of my chair!

It’s rare that I find Top 40 lyrical music that I would recommend for a yoga class soundtrack, especially as I’m really sensitive about the emotional bond we can form to music, and I believe playlists are core to creating that sacred space in class that help us escape from the hooks of the ego, and I don’t want to accidentally foster the opposite for students!

So first, that means I prefer music for class that doesn’t risk bringing up emotional history for students, which means a lot of my music ends up being mostly non-lyrical or kirtan, and sometimes really good instrumental versions of hipster music. (I had a yoga teacher that played DMB’s “Crash” in. every. class. I. took. from. her. That song was so integral to so many of my peers’ high school experience, and personally it drives me nuts, so I can only imagine I wasn’t the only one whose mind/ego instantly hooked onto it and rode that memory wave wayyy off my mat, til the song was over.)

Anyway, as a huge off-the-mat fan of Jay-Z and F. Scott Fitzgerald, I’ve been super stoked to see the results of Jay-Z and Baz Luhrmann’s efforts on the movie and soundtrack, and NPR (<3) has finally posted the musical results. Click over to listen:

http://www.npr.org/2013/04/30/180098344/first-listen-music-from-baz-luhrmanns-film-the-great-gatsby?sc=tumblr&cc=tumb_music

For whatever reason, maybe the power behind many of the songs, I could right away see some of them lending themselves to a firey vinyasa flow warm-up, such as “Back to Black,” “Where the Wind Blows,” “Into the Past” (I might explore Nero for other great instrumental-leaning stuff!) Or songs such as Emeli Sande’s “Crazy in Love”* or Florence and the Machine’s “Over the Love” inspiring students through some badass peak poses. The xx, a popular cool-down wave favorite, nail it again with “Together.”

Goyte’s and Lana Del Ray’s otherwise-beautiful songs, “Heart’s a Mess” and “Young and Beautiful” (respectively) could almost work as a cool-down, but I don’t think either message would be good to hear over & over when you’re open on the mat, and they heat up in the middle. Not sure “Kill and Run” is very yogic, but I love Sia’s voice and creativity.

Verdict: Some possibilities as-is, we’ll see if they work out! Let me know if you use them and which you like/dislike for on the mat.

Final verdict: An instrumental version of this album would make some great playlist fodder. Hint hint, universe :)

*Sidenote/props: Emeli Sande’s rendition of “Crazy in Love” almost knocked me out of my chair!

“
I call that mind free which is not passively framed by
outward circumstances, which is not swept away by the
torrent of events, which is not the creature of accidental
impulse, but which bends events to its own improvement,
and acts from an inward spring, from immutable principles
which it has deliberately espoused.

William Ellery Channing
yogaholics: Follow for more yoga pics!

yogaholics:

Follow for more yoga pics!

(Reblogged from yogaholics)
“

THE EMPTY BOAT

There’s a Zen story in which a man is enjoying himself on a river at dusk. He sees another boat coming down the river toward him. At first it seems so nice to him that someone else is also enjoying the river on a nice summer evening. Then he realizes that the boat is coming right toward him, faster and faster. He begins to yell, “Hey, hey, watch out! For Pete’s sake, turn aside!” But the boat just comes right at him, faster and faster. By this time he’s standing up in his boat, screaming and shaking his fist, and then the boat smashes right into him. He sees that it’s an empty boat.

This is the classic story of our whole life situation. There are a lot of empty boats out there. We’re always screaming and shaking our fists at them. Instead, we could let them stop our minds. Even if they only stop our mind for 1.1 seconds, we can rest in that little gap. When the story line starts, we can do the tonglen practice of exchanging ourselves for others. In this way everything we meet has the potential to help us cultivate compassion and reconnect with the spacious, open quality of our minds.

Pema Chodron
xaneveking: Nice View high resolution

xaneveking:

Nice

(Reblogged from xaneveking)

Balance Your Chakras With Food!

RED for ENERGY (Root Chakra) - If you are feeling run down, fatigued, burnt out, lazy or lethargic, red foods such as tomatoes, strawberries, raspberries and beets will help to boost your energy levels and body temperature.

ORANGE for CONFIDENCE & SELF-WORTH (Creativity Chakra) - If you are low on confidence, doubting yourself or feeling unworthy of love, get yourself some oranges and do it fast! Things like mandarins, mangos, carrots, squash, pumpkin and yams will all make a big impact on your feelings.

YELLOW for JOY (Solar Plexus Chakra) - If you are feeling depressed, sad or emotional, hook yourself up with some bananas, sweet corn on the cob, some fresh pineapple or some yellow peppers and watch how your mood changes.  Yellow is a natural mood enhancer, so skip the prozac or the bottle of red and make yourself something bright!

GREEN for REJUVENATION (Heart Chakra) - Feeling low on vital energy?  Are you stressed?  Overworked? Experiencing adrenal fatigue, acidity or toxicity? Then green is the colour for you! Throw your favourite organic greens in to a juicer or make a gigantic salad and feel what happens to your feelings of stress.  Likely they will melt away due to the live enzymes, oxygen and chlorophyll.

BLUE/BLACK for CALMING (Throat Chakra) - Experiencing anxiety? Enjoy a bowl of blueberries or blackberries.  Blue and black foods help to tonify the kidneys and help to elicit honest communication.

VIOLET for PEACE (Third-Eye Chakra) - These foods will help to calm your energy and bring you peace if you are feeling frustrated, angry or unable to forgive.  Foods like eggplant, purple kale, concord grapes, purple carrots etc., will help to bring you peace and calm!  Whip up a fresh smoothie with your favourite purple foods!

via

http://www.myyogaonline.com/healthy-living/health-and-wellness/balance-your-chakras-with-food?utm_source=MYO+APR+16+NL&utm_campaign=ALL&utm_medium=email