Bending Tree Yoga and Healing Center, La Manzanilla, Mexico

Do what you like; like what you do. I bought a coffee cup with that mantra on it to remind me that our work is meant to be something that we enjoy doing, that it gives us joy and fulfillment. Don't get me wrong, work can have it's moments, but overall it should be a happy place to go and to be. And what better way to receive that reminder than with your morning coffee? To start each day and ask yourself, am I doing something that expresses me today? More importantly do I like it.
So, why is it that sometimes we feel afraid of pursuing what we love to do? Is that step so far from our comfort zones? We take many steps to find our true path our true purpose, what our soul wants, what our heart wants. Some of us take the scenic route, some more direct but most likely this isn't the first life we've lived; and our experiences are golden. Every experience is a way for us to shine our heart lights….express our true Selves.
Shining your heart light is to allow our heart to take the wheel and direct our next move. Whenever we allow our heart to lead the way, to shine, we live our truth. We connect to our soul and take another step toward being awake in this life. To be aware of our divinity, our divine guidance that is always with us and the fact that our life is meant to be happy, joyous and abundant.
Tuning into your heart shifts fear to the side and embraces joy. Embraces the support of the universe. Yes, you are that powerful. Your heart is that powerful, to overrule your mind where your ego, aka fear, resides. Your heart takes you from fear-based reaction to joy-based flow. How do you know if your heart is shining? It feels better, it feels good, easy, fun, happy and inspirational….any or all of the above…simple as that. Do what you like, like what you do. Do what feels good and feel good about what you do.

If you've enjoyed this blog, please consider donating to the Bending Tree Expansion Project to help us enhance our services. Our goal is to help people find their strength and creativity from the inside out...meaning finding their joy and living it fearlessly, from the heart.  Levels include give from your heart; give with your light; or shine your heart light.
Thank you and Namaste, Karen

In yoga we put our physical bodies in postures to help us see what's going on inside of us, our minds, our hearts, our spirits. We then place our physical bodies into Savasana, the final resting posture on our backs so we can find a little stillness, at first physically, then mentally, spiritually. We aim to find just a moment of stillness where we can just be, just be with ourselves, just be in our environment. And, this carries over to our daily lives, amid the chaos, the sensory overload and the multitasking, we aim to find a little stillness. This might be in the form of looking at a picture that catches your eye; tuning in to the radio playing in the background;  or watching a bird eat a bread crumb on the side walk. Whatever it is for you, it's about allowing yourself to be absorbed in the moment; you are totally present in that moment; the breath is even.
Our breath….
Breathing is the most important thing we do, in our yoga practice. It is our life force after all and very powerful, so let's use it! Taking deep inhales and exhales is something that we may find ourselves not doing, so let's come back to it. Really fill the lungs on the inhale and feel the release on the exhale. Do this a few times to get comfortable in it. And take notice on what your breath is doing during your day.
When we find an even breath, the body follows, the mind follows, we find an evenness, a calmness that brings us to that moment of stillness when we can see our true purpose.

Sometimes when I want to find a little stillness I turn to nature. Here's a video of a rainy day in La Manzanilla, Jalisco, Mexico that just brought a little peace to my morning: http://www.bendingtreeyogahealing.com/index.php/videos/meditation/90-jungle-rain

If you've enjoyed this blog, please consider donating to the Bending Tree Expansion Project to help us enhance our services. Our goal is to help people find their strength and creativity from the inside out...meaning finding their joy and living it fearlessly, from the heart.  Levels include give from your heart; give with your light; or shine your heart light.
Thank you and Namaste, Karen
  

We hear that meditation brings us peace, it heals, it connects us to divine energy, it rejuvenates, it grounds, it balances, but how do we do this? In my discovery of meditation, I tried meditating on my own, and I sometimes had a moment (or several) of wondering, what the heck am I doing?

This Inspirational Short was contributed by Sati (Lisa) Chappelle    

My intimate concepts have been under scrutiny in many ways, but particularly via food since joining the yoga ranks in 1998.  I'd always thought I enjoyed a healthy diet, until several illnesses, leading me to yoga, indicated that wasn’t true. Born in the early 1960’s, my generation was part of the Depression-War-Economic Resurgence era that brought us such things as the Food Pyramid.  I was taught it in school, & our plates at home reflected it: a certain percentage of meat, dairy, starch, vegetables, fruit & dessert (my mom had a serious sweet tooth) comprised our lunches & dinners. In the mid 90’s I developed Severe Hypoglycemia & my concept of food shifted.  Assigned a state nutritionist, I struggled for months trying to get my sugar under control.  Consuming 11 meals each day & barely functioning, I sought a holistic nutritionist & was eating only 6 meals per day in 3 short weeks.  A vegetarian, she was my second encounter with non-carnivores.   The whole thing got me thinking: how do folks live healthy lives without meat?  As social psychologist Melanie Joy states, most people believe the “three N’s of justification”, siting that “eating meat is normal, natural, and necessary.”