Several weeks ago I came across something regarding chakral imbalances and physical stressors. I’d always slightly known about them and learned a little in my yoga training but never really looked much into it. Anyway, I decided I would start a cleansing process. I thought I would spend like a week on each chakra and then, wah-lah, I’d be better than ever after seven weeks (because there are seven chakras). I started with the root chakra which deals with a sense of home, support and love. I’ve felt super lost for years and an imbalance in the root chakra can lead to actual physical abdominal pain and digestive issues so I was like “omg this is what I need to focus on.” I spent everyday for a week guiding myself through root chakra meditations, used essential oils associated with it and had pictures printed off and hung around my apartment of different visuals also associated with the chakra. Turns out…I needed five weeks of this to finally feel like it became balanced. And you know when that was??? The fifth week was the week of my crazy, intensive CycleBar training. I finally felt like I had a home, a family and people who cared. As silly as it sounds, I pretty much burst into tears one day during lunch as I ran back into the studio theater to grab my chapstick as I overheard someone from outside the doors ask the group, "Guys, where's Liv?" I was only gone for a matter of minutes and my absence was not only noted, but it was missed. After the training, our bond only grew stronger. Our group text never seems to stop dinging. Again, going back to being cheesy but something as simple as our group text gives me a sense of connection and love that I've never experienced. I never feel alone. I feel like I have seven best friends who are always ready to listen and joke and support. Then, things became super busy with more training, teaching and scheduling; I didn’t make time to move on to the next chakra, the sacral chakra. The sacral chakra’s affirmation is “I enjoy life fully” and deals with loving yourself completely without judgment, bringing true joy and pleasure into your life (way beyond the superficial) and self-esteem. This is the most self-conscious I’ve been in a while so again, its like a no-brainer….sacral chakra needs to be addressed. Guess what some of the physical pains associated with an imbalanced sacral chakra are?? Abdominal cramps, over-emotional state of being, increased anxiety. So honestly, I think that this whole tummy thing is a lot more than just food intolerances. One of the “setbacks” (and it only seems like a setback because I have a lot of work to do. This is a beneficial "setback" and not a setback at all) of adopting a super mindful lifestyle is that you open yourself up and expose all your weaknesses and pains to the ultimate state of vulnerability, causing more sensitivities and seemingly unexplainable reactions than what would seem “normal.” Last night, I reached out to someone who is legitimately growing more and more dear to my heart by the minute... she listened and offered so much love and support that again, I was brought to tears. The most grabbing thing she said? “You are truly radiant.” And you know what? I am. I am truly radiant and so are you. We always have been and always will be. Sometimes, we allow this early life and body to blind us from our true selves...our radiant selves. Want to know a little secret? Our radiance never goes away. That inner light is always there. We are always shining and powerful and full of love we just have to remember that. That's why I love yoga. Its not just something you DO. Its a legit lifestyle and leads to so much soul searching and peace and joy…. its not easy though. However, stay strong lovely beings. Let's support each other. I'm here for you.
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This is a very tricky question to answer simply. God is everything. All things. Every single thing, emotion, thought, rock, blade of grass, used tissue, beautiful sunrise....God is all. God is you, God is me, God is us, God is energy. We are all from God and have the power to tap into that energy source. We just need to wake up. Here is a poem that kind of explains the whole idea in a better way than I just tried to.... for the full article click here. Where is God? God is within you
God is the light of love that shines from every cell of your body The heart, a hand, the word God is the reaching out The utter compassion The selfless savior The strength to renew, rebuild, restore The Light Why must there be suffering? This is far more complex. Perhaps it is because through darkness we are reminded of our godliness We seek to find the light; we are challenged to move beyond obstruction To find our way out of the cold dark chasm and into the warmth of the Sun To move beyond the blackness of stagnation and into the shimmering brilliance of progress We believe it is our own Creation - our reflection. What of the innocent? What of the children? We believe we are all innocent, all children of the universe Trying to find our way out of the chaos Moving back to Source Some of the children are far more ancient than you Perhaps they have come to touch you ever more deeply For you are always moved by the innocence of the young These are thoughts that trouble us For we wish for you lives of joy and celebration We wish love and comfort for all the living of your realm… for the children And yet, we too have passed through pain to reach this place We know it as the soul’s progression Each must move through suffering to know bliss. We do not purport to have the answers to the riddle of creation. But we can tell you this. There where these souls have passed-far higher ground -so will you. There is light There is forgiveness And eternal Love abounds. The Light will Prevail. The Light Always Does You can change your mindset. Our emotional body responds to our physical body, and vice versa. Amy Cuddy takes the "fake it 'til you make it" mentality and elaborates...she goes into the HOW and WHY this works. We CAN create our realities, guys. Put good vibes into the universe and into yourself. You are what you believe you are--what you TRULY believe you are. So maybe start small with some affirmations in the morning... wanna know what I do almost every morning when I wake up? Well, before even getting out of bed, I literally say "I am grateful," as I'm staring at my ceiling. Before I left myself step out of bed, I think about 3-5 things (people, opportunities, memories, etc) that actually fill me with gratitude. Then, off to the coffee maker... 😉☕️ While the coffee is brewing, I sit in virasana and practice mindful breathing and affirmation statements. "I am Bold. I am Strong. I am Healthy. I am Grateful. I am Compassionate. I am Light." I inhale with each affirmation and exhale as I envision it. Inhale with the next affirmation, exhale as I envision it. And so on... I've found that on morning where I "don't have time" to do this, my mental state is all out of whack. Guess what, we can do this at any point of the day, as many times as you need. Not going to lie, I've already done this three times since I woke up. Wanna know something? I feel like superwoman. 😏😋 Back to the emotional body responding to the physical body....take a look at this video. Well worth the 20ish minutes. Trust me. If the video doesn't load, click HERE
First picture taken about thirty minutes after I demolished a mountain of rice, who-knows-how-much almond butter, yummy blueberries and @amazinggrassgreens all mixed together (I do a form of intermittent fasting).
Immediately, I felt super full, guilty and "huge." So I decided to take a picture. I knew I was being silly but couldn't ignore my feelings. I then forced myself to smile and then guess what, my attitude changed. I told myself I was NOT what I felt. I snapped out of it and reassured my belief that if we put nourishing, whole foods into our bodies AND regularly use our muscles/brain power plus heart-fulls of compassion, then we can only grow. The third picture is after I spent a couple hours teaching yoga, surrounded by good vibes and beautiful energies. I spent a couple hours doing what gives me PURPOSE...what literally keeps me going each day and has me excited to wake up in the morning...and my body responded. It USED the food I put into it and cooperated with the energies I surround myself with and cultivate...and BAM...healthy Liv. This is a process. It's taken a LONG time for me to be okay in my body and even now, body dysmorphia causes me to see something entirely different and I get down on myself. What's important though is to love your body no matter what it looks like. Change your mindset. "Fitness" is not as important as overall health. You can look fantastic but not be healthy. You can look fantastic and feel miserable. So do a little self-check today-MENTALLY-and see where you are. Body stuff comes later. Let's heal our minds first. Sometimes, life presents you with moments that remind you, THIS is why you're alive. These seemingly "little" moments can come in the form of people, conversations, reactions, events, visuals, etc.
These moments remind you to stay strong and continue on your life journey, stand up for what you believe in and stay away from the sheep epidemic. Even though finding, following and advancing your passions can lead to sharp judgment and toxicity from others, you can't be shaken. We can't control others' reactions. We can't change others' mindsets. We can't wake people up. The change starts with YOU. The change starts with ME. The change starts with US. We need to stop doing "easy" and start creating our realities. Let's invite compassion back into our lives. Let's invite curiosity. Let's invite exploration. Let's invite respect. It's time to get out of the shallow end of the pool and move toward something deeper. Even if we're just barely treading water or hanging onto floats for dear life...we need to step out of our bubbles of ignorance, naivety, blind selfishness and conforming tendencies. Pop that bubble and let it go. Create something else. We DO matter. We ARE powerful. WE ARE LIGHT. Let's search within, grab that light and let it grow. Never stop learning. Never stop asking questions. Never compromise passion for a paycheck. Push your passions to the top of your priority list and make your life mean something. Let's stop going through the motions of life and let's become active participants in every moment. A very wise friend once told me that there are two types of people in this world. The Pullers and the Pushers.
On the surface, the Pullers might seem better than you. They may seem unearthly intelligent, fit, friendly…you think that you can’t measure up. Indirectly though, they inspire you. They motivate you to better yourself because you see that it is possible. You see that the commonly dubbed “unattainable” is indeed, attainable. Not simply attainable, but achievable. So, the Pullers pull you up, in a way. They may not literally grab you by the hands and drag you out of a trench, but they’ll provide you with a vision. They’ll light that fire within yourself that pulls you in their direction—not as exact copies, but as a better you. We can all be a better us, we just need to wake up. The Pushers are seemingly the exact opposite. They can either literally or figuratively push you down. Whether they mock your values, disrespect your opinions, assault you physically, they are initially seen as negative. The Pushers, however, are just as beneficial to your enlightenment as the Pullers. The Pushers challenge your beliefs; they challenge you and all that you stand for. You can do one of two things: fall down and join them or use them as a resource to strengthen your own beliefs. You can redirect the energy. Instead of looking at it as being pushed down, redirect their criticism and use it to push yourself forward. Transform the hate into something else. Ultimately, it is up to you to push yourself forward and pull yourself up. As mentioned earlier, the Pullers may not even directly offer you advice of pull you up. That direction has to come from within. We need to have open enough minds and a sense of self-awareness that we can acknowledge what it is that we want to achieve with our lives, and go after it. If we wait around for someone to do it for us, for someone to tell us what to do, we will live quite under-par lives. So first, direct your energy inward. Search your soul and question yourself deeply. Thoroughly. Get to know the deepest parts of your being and become comfortable with them. Become best friends with your demons, neighbors to your weaknesses, babysitters to your doubts. Awaken that inner spark and pull yourself up. Work with all your heart to become the essence of yourself that you want to be. The light that exists within each of us has become hidden; as a society, as humankind, we’ve violently shoved it down to where we are almost completely unaware that it does exist. But, my friends, it does exist. Wake up. Look inside. Pull yourself up and push yourself forward. Namasté. How many of your are waking up each morning with some sort of unpleasantry? By "unpleasantry" I mean anything from stiff, achey limbs to a pounding headache to slight nausea. How many of you are treating your pains with over-the-counter or prescribed medications? Maybe after you pop that pill, move around and gets yourselves ready for the day you start to feel a little better. The unpleasantries become tolerable and you go about your day. Halfway through the day do your unpleasantries come back? Do you pop another pill, or two, and carry on? Maybe feel better after another hour? I want us all to stop and take a look at our medicine cabinets, glove compartments, purses and pockets. Let's switch from the pill-popping to body-nourishing. Yes, all those little anti-inflammatory and fever reducing pills are convenient; but do you know what they do? Before we even touch the side effects, let's just make it clear that these pills are merely TREATING THE SYMPTOMS of your unpleasantries. They mask the real problem. Most of us don't even back track to solve what the source of our unpleasantry really is. Please, ask yourself... "Why do I have a headache? Why are my joints aching? Why is my stomach churning right now?" Once we figure out the WHY of our unpleasantries, we can really get down to taking care of ourselves and preventing these things from happening in the future. I know what you're probably thinking... "Yes this sounds great. But really, I don't mind my unpleasantries too much. Ibuprofen seems to do the trick and it's what I have been doing for years. Think I'm okay, thanks." NOOOO please, no. What if your unpleasantry were something more serious? Some sort of infection or chronic flare-up or a type of cancer? Would you take me seriously then? I really believe that eating a nutrient-dense, whole food, mainly raw diet can help us not only cure and prevent our unpleasantries, but also introduce a whole new level of contentment and energy into our lives that we've never experienced before. How do you start? My friends, the answer is simple. (Although, I will say that this approach is easier said than done. BUT! Once you make the change and develop a habit and then lifestyle, you'll never want to go back.) If you want to get started right away and can't wait for my upcoming posts....check out these videos! The full versions are available on Netflix: "Food Matters" and "Forks over Knives" .....remember guys, EAT TO HEAL! E-mail [email protected] for more information or if you have any questions. You can also see the Contact page for a larger image of these descriptions and links to social media accounts.
Have you ever pondered what you’re actually thinking about? What do a majority of your thoughts consist of? Have you ever thought that mental multitasking may be decreasing your experience and comprehension of what’s in front of you? Let’s look at it this way. While you’re off on your morning run, prioritizing grocery list items based on your budget and sorting through upcoming assignment dates, you probably missed that five-dollar bill just lying on the ground. You also missed the puppy with two different colored eyes who was just begging to be pet. Last but not least, you missed the advertisement for your dream job that was taped to the lamppost two blocks back. Now that you’ve been informed of what you’ve missed, are you really that upset? Probably not. It seems that most of us have become so complacent with our routine-based lives that when opportunities present themselves we are not only not upset if we miss them but also not actively seeking them either. Now let’s take the same scenario and go through some other things that were missed. Thoughts of oatmeal, dish soap, calculus equations and project proposals veil our eyes from the little girl who can’t find her mom crying down the sidewalk. We don’t notice the couple arguing behind their used Toyota, faces red and tears inevitably to follow. Finally, we trample overtop an innocent, curious caterpillar. Maybe you would never miss a five-dollar bill lying on the ground. Maybe you don’t own a pair of tennis shoes, despise the idea of running and wouldn’t even know what to do with your arms. Maybe you don’t like petting puppies. Point is, maybe we are missing out on a whole lot of living in life. We may have created a bubbled reality where only what directly affects us, concerns us. Naivety and ignorance to the max.
Mindfulness is the answer. The Google definition of mindfulness is “a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment.” It’s more than a type of meditation, mindfulness is a lifestyle choice. If we actively participate in our surroundings, we will introduce exponential gratitude and all sorts of new experiences into our daily lives. According to the concept of neuroplasticity, life experiences cause our brains to change and adapt—for the better! In other words, our minds are malleable but only if we take action and introduce mindfulness into our lives. We can rewire the way our bodies react to stress, develop new brain cells, reverse the aging process, and so much more. The simplest way to bring mindful habits into your life is to focus on your breath. Without this action, none of us would be here. Focus on each inhale as you feel your diaphragm drop and your rib cage expand. Allow your shoulders to fall toward your hips, creating length in your neck as you fully exhale. Repeat. Make each breath deeper and perhaps pause breathless in between, becoming aware of the void and the actual difference between how your body responds to breath and the lack of breath. This can be done for thirty seconds, thirty minutes, thirty days… Let’s revisit the running scenario. Practice mindfulness by concentrating on the way your feet hit the sidewalk; feel the force of the impact and then the contrast as one foot is in briefly in free air. Try to actually feel the sun on your skin, or the humidity, the raindrops, gusts of wind. Observe your surroundings and take them in. You’ll start to notice those crawling caterpillars on the pavement and your dream job may be right around the corner. Allow mindfulness to take over your thoughts and be fully present in every moment. We need to break our bubbled realities, retrain our brains and stop merely going through the motions in life. Literally stop and smell the roses. In the shallowest and simplest of scenarios, this can be seen as we call out one another’s indecisiveness. The everyday struggle can be seen when we allow a five-minute pause after the burrito master asks, “Guac’s extra. Is that okay?” Or when we are scratching our heads ferociously, blocking aisle traffic as we read and reread the labels differentiating organic honey roasted, non-GMO crunchy and natural no-stir peanut butter. Better yet, when we are playing Rummy around the coffee table with absolutely no play-worthy cards in hand, yet we feel an overpowering urge to stare blankly at our options until the infuriating impatience explodes from the person to our left and we close our eyes and discard. Take a minute and ask yourself, “What do I really want out of life?” It’s no secret that many people spend their entire lives trying to answer that question which can be a great thing. It breaks us out of going through the motions of life, drives us to new experiences—we make career changes, maybe seek new friend groups and establish varying daily habits all in an attempt to create meaning within our lives. This epic quest comes with its fair share of adversities. Side effects include but are not limited to extreme frustration, periods of confusion and the ever-destructive instance of settling. It’s so easy to say, “Man, I don’t know. You choose,” and place the burden on someone else. We become okay with following along—we prefer our friends to choose the restaurant or the movie or even our outfits so that we don’t have to face the consequences of the decision. We become puppets. We become sheep. Take a look at the two individuals who are running to lead our country. The political parties’ lines. The divide in our nation. We have difficult questions arising and no clear answers. We have people who are pro life and respect a woman’s right to choose. We have people who own guns and push for gun control. We have people who crave change and can’t explain what kind of change. The problem lies in the lack of dedication to self-inquiry. We don’t know ourselves. We haven’t searched the depths of our minds, our values or really tried to understand our actual thought processes. We are pushing away the difficult questions and settling with shallow, indirect answers across the board. We need to start grabbing the difficult questions by the roots and plant them within ourselves. Once we start searching inside, we can push ourselves further. We can advance our thought processes and challenge what we believe in either supporting or opening our eyes to something new. We can create clearer goals for ourselves—as individuals, communities, teams, nations…you name it. We can shape our own realities, but we first have to search inside and know what we want. These “wants” are by no means concrete. Our mindsets, moods and priorities change everyday but that’s why self-inquiry is so important. We have to listen to ourselves and stay in tune with the constantly evolving vibrations of consciousness. Want to avoid become a fluffy, sheep puppet? You can start while sipping your coffee tomorrow morning. Take five minutes and sit with yourself. Invite yourself to listen. Ignoring all outside distractions, literally keep your mind open. For two to five minutes, allow all thoughts to come to the surface but don’t focus on any one in particular. In other words, don’t try to think. Eventually, you will begin to recognize your unprompted thoughts—raw expressions from within. The answers to the difficult questions. For the next couple minutes, retrace your thoughts. Do any still stand out to you? Can you connect an emotion to those thoughts? Emotions? What thoughts are sparked by that thought? Again, sit with yourself. Sit with the idea. Explore your mind. Inquire within. |
AuthorNature-loving, adventure-seeking, holistic and wellness advocate: Yoginiliv. Archives
May 2017
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