“My Poses Are My Prayers” – B.K.S. Iyengar

“Your Vision Will Become Clear Only When You Look Into Your Heart” – Carl Jung

The Advantages Of Doing Yoga: “You Will No Longer Be A Slave To Your Body…The Greatest Gift You Can Receive.” – Vanda Scaravelli

“Your everyday activities will improve and become more efficient. You will have less time for useless occupations that are constantly in the way, preventing your contact with more essential things;

You are going to have a better digestion if you do some poses before eating when you are tired;

You will need to sleep fewer hours, as your body will be more relaxed during the night;

You will gain a few inches, eliminating that curve along the back of the spine, and therefore you are going to be a little taller;

You will be able to stand for hours without getting tired, if you gravitate properly on your heels with the knees straight;

You will be able to improve the poses, as there is no end in progress;

You are going to straighten yourself if one part of the body is weaker than the other, by paying a lot of attention while doing your poses, and by continuing this attention throughout the day you will reach a better balance;

You will no longer be a slave to your body, as the independence from it is the greatest gift your can receive.”

From: “Awakening the Spine: The Stress-free New Yoga That Works with the Body to Restore Health, Vitality and Energy” by Vanda Scaravelli

“Yoga Is A Friend To Those Who Embrace It Sincerely…Enables Them To Live Fully…” – B.K.S. Iyengar

“Yoga is a friend to those who embrace it sincerely and totally. It lifts its practitioners from the clutches of pain and sorrow, and enables them to live fully, taking a delight in life. The practice of yoga helps the lazy body to become active and vibrant. It transforms the mind, making it harmonious. Yoga helps to keep one’s body and mind in tune with the essence, the soul, so that all three are blended into one.”

From “Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali” bu B.K.S. Iyengar

“I Dreamed I Was A Dancer, And What Did I See?” – By Jennifer Miller

“Breathing In The New Day…Keeping The Stillness Within My Mind”

By Jennifer Miller

Breathing in the new day,
Gazing at its sunrise beauty.
Gratitude fills my soul.
Ocean is still, reminding me to
Keep the stillness within my mind.
Accepting and knowing that all is
Well and perfect as it is.
Crisp air fills my lungs while
Sounds of nature calm my senses.
Birds chirping and the pond trickles,
Joy rises in my heart.

Namaste

“The Present Moment Is Filled With Joy And Happiness…” – Thich Nhat Hanh

“The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.”

Thich Nhat Hanh from “Peace Is Every Step: The Path Of Mindfulness In Everyday Life”

“In An Asana, The Mind Has To Reach Inside The Body To Find A Quiet Space…” – Geeta Iyengar

“In an asana, the mind has to reach inside the body to find a quiet space until a point comes where perfect balance is felt. If the mind is wandering while practicing, then one is not fully present, and there can be no union. Involvement, interpenetration and insight are the required qualities for the practitioner.”

Geeta Iyengar, Eldest Daughter of B.K.S. Iyengar

Building A Spiritual Altar: A Great Way To Connect With Our Soul As We Begin The New Year

By Jennifer Miller

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Building an Altar is a great way

To start the New Year.

Have fun with it!!!

Find a special place in your home.

My main altar is where I practice yoga.

There are several other small altars

Around my home that I move around

Depending on my mood and intention.

Ideas of what to place on your Altar:

  Deities – I have Quan Yin (Goddess of

  compassion), Kali and Mother Mary.

  Photographs of loved ones, who I am

  praying for.

  Mala Prayer Beads.

  Fresh Flowers – I like to place something from the earth.

  Incense – I imagine the smoke going into the Heavens

                      with my prayers and intentions for the day.

  Candles – I always light one when I am in the home.

  Aromatherapy – I love beautiful scent.

  Words of Wisdom – Beautiful thoughts as you walk by.

  Mirror – To remind me to go within for answers.

  Special treasures from travels.

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“May we all find peace within and

Extend that love to all that we encounter.”

Happy New Year to you and your loved ones.

Namaste, Jennifer

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(Please note that Mala prayer beads, aromatherapy and candles can

  be purchase at the Heart Based Healing Store, with a portion going

  to benefit women at risk.)

Yoga Pose Weekly: Scorpion Pose (Vrischikasana)

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“A Life Of Dharma Is Exactly Like A Great Yoga Posture…An Experience So Far Beyond Any Pleasure You’ve Ever Had…” – Stephen Cope

Dharma: Knowledge of or duty to undertake conduct set forth by the Buddha as a way to enlightenment.

“…A Life of dharma is exactly like a great yoga posture. Everything must be aligned around the spine. The dharma is a strict taskmaster. It will require you to reach — to work at your maximum potential.

In order to do this, you will have to learn to take better care of yourself. You will have to sleep and eat properly…You will probably have to create a regular schedule. And one day you’ll realize you’re in training like an Olympic athlete.  But not any old training– a particular kind of training, the particular kind of training that will support your dharma and no one else’s.

The dharma itself will prescribe this training, and you will know it when you stumble onto it through trial and error.  You’ll know it by its results, because in moments when you’re in proper training, you will feel yourself a channel…You will have stepped aside somehow (and let it come through you)…And this is an experience so far beyond any pleasure you’ve ever had that you will most definitely want more of it. And so you will henceforth be increasingly careful about your training regimen…You want to be clear…”

From: “The Great Work of Your Life: A Guide for the Journey to Your True Calling” By Stephen Cope

If We Are Conscious That Our Mind Makes Excuses, We Can Overcome Negative Attachments In Life

By Jennifer Miller

My yoga practice continues to teach me about my inner self. Working through advanced postures, I am conscious of how my mind makes “excuses” during periods where I struggle: too many babies, weak bandhas, arms and legs that are too long (very creative). But through discipline and focusing my mind, I am able to block out these thoughts and “distractions”.

This past Thursday at the Ashtanga Yoga Center in Encinitas, CA,  I finally nailed the difficult Urdhva Kukkutasana B pose (a lifting lotus) in the advanced series. But this short-term success highlighted a major theme in my overall practice: that difficult transitions in my life had reduced the desire to “push forward”.

As mothers, we must be able to “detach” from the emotions and negative energy that arise as we watch our children grow older and naturally struggle with life’s journey. We need to remain objective with the strength to make the tough calls that do not enable a continuation of poor decisions and actions.

My yoga practice and personal life both thrive when I maintain a healthy mind-body connection. My teacher noticed from across the room when I succeeded with the difficult pose. I quickly do the pose again to confirm it in my muscle memory. My mind has thoughts of “I CAN” running through it and the body responds.

I remember with a smile back to a day when I worked with girls at the Recovery Home and demonstrated this same pose. The purpose was to show them that a yoga practice mirrors our daily lives. We can feel stifled and stuck in life, but we need to have the strength to push through the barriers holding us back.

One of the girls had said “…you’re so strong you could probably take us all out”. We all laughed.  They had reacted to the positive energy I demonstrated when facing a seemingly impossible situation.

We must maintain the ability to focus our minds on the positive things we can accomplish each day in order to push through even the most difficult of times in our lives.

Namaste, Jennifer Miller

“Adopt The Pace Of Nature. Her Secret Is Patience.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“A Morning In The Life Of A Yogini” By Jennifer Miller, Published In SunGoddessMagazine.com

“Worrying…Empties Today Of Its Strength” – Corrie Ten Boom, German Death Camp Survivor

“Worrying is carrying tomorrow’s load with today’s strength- carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.”

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Cornelia “Corrie” ten Boom, Dutch woman who survived the German Ravensbruck concentration camp in World War II

Reflections On “A Course In Miracles”: Choosing to Live In A Place Of Love And Not Fear

“No matter what is going on in my body, I strive to remain in a quiet place of peace.” Jennifer Miller

By Jennifer Miller

Marianne Williamson’s “A Course in Miracles” teaches that most of us live in a place of love or fear. We have a choice of how we want to be and act in any given situation.I have been reflecting recently that I am at a point in my life where I am aware of how am feeling and, if I am reacting to these feelings, I know it. I am striving to limit these “reactions”, and remain in the moment, a state of peaceful quietude where nothing can “rock my world”.

And I continue to make progress. There have been many situations in the past year that might have “taken me out”. I now strive to find that place of acceptance and often, detachment, which allows me to step back and say to myself “I see what is going on here…game over”.

Every one of us can chose to live in fear or love at that very moment. I recently watched Marianne Williamson speaking to Oprah about how our life’s blueprint is designed to achieve our highest purpose.

Anyone can “download” their life plan but if it is not synchronized with our emotions, we have little chance of fulfilling our highest purpose.

In yoga, we are trained to stay with our breath. Whatever asana or posture we are in, no matter what is going on in my body, I strive to remain in a quiet place of peace. Our body and mind follow our breath. I strive daily to remain conscious of this and come back to this “place of peace” when I feel rattled or off in some way.

Ahhhh… that beautiful connection to our soul is all through the discipline of BREATH…

Namaste, Jennifer Miller

“Countless Words Count Less Than The Silent Balance Between Yin And Yang” – Lao Tzu

“When You Move Amidst The World Of Sense, Free From Attachment And Aversion Alike…You Live In The Wisdom Of The Self” – Bhagavad Gita