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

“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

Yoga Pose Weekly: Scorpion Pose (Vrischikasana)

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“Lighting Candles, Hanging Lights And Letting Things Be With Words By Paul Ferrini”

By Jennifer Miller

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Fire up the Pavoni.

Morning coffee, so good.

Lighting candles and incense as

I start my morning yoga practice.

Arriving on the mat is like coming home again.

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Beautiful morning walking the dogs, aka “the babies”.

Breathing in the coves of Laguna ahhh!!

Breakfast at the local cafe; cool people, artist types.

Walking out, a homeless woman under a blanket.

All I can see is one foot.

My heart sinks and I want to ask her what she needs?

I know she is probably an addict.

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Back home to make homemade granola.

A yum yum Christmas tradition.

Looking through the mail and

a child support check arrives.

It’s been a while.

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My mind goes to the last 5 years.

No father in these kid’s lives.

No anger… only hope.

Could this man possibly change?

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I let it go to the Spirit and check my heart.

It’s in a good place.

Forgiveness is there.

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My beloved hangs Christmas lights.

So many years without lights.

They symbolize healing for my family.

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I look around….

No lights in the small neighborhood.

We have been judged here.

A single mom and trouble with her son.

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Interesting.

We are the ones with lights.

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A big lesson in my journey: do not judge by the outside.

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Open up a new book.

Click on book to purchase and benefit the Heart Based Healing Foundation.

A favorite thing to do.

Reading,  deep reflections come to me.

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The poetic words of Paul Ferrini:

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Life is constantly asking us to make adjustments,

to give up our agenda.

It is asking us to give up the conceit that we know the way things are supposed to be.

Letting things be is a way of saying to God

“I’m willing to dance with you.”

From “Dancing With The Beloved”.

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Namaste, Jennifer Miller

Contact Jennifer Miller at yogagoddesslaguna@yahoo.com

“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

“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

“Breathing In The Benefits Of Yoga To Achieve Happiness In The Moment” – By Jennifer Miller, “SunGoddess Magazine” In July 30 Issue

“Mindfulness…Is The Observing Of Things As They Are,…Without Laying Or Adding…Expectations Onto What Is Happening.” – Frank Jude Boccio

“In The Attitude Of Silence The Soul Finds The Path In A Clearer Light…” – Mahatma Gandhi

“In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light…Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth.”

“Speak only if it improves upon the silence.”

Mahatma Gandhi

“Yoga Tones The Bodies And Nourishes The Souls Of The Women At The Recovery House”

By Jennifer Miller

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Walking through the doors at the Recovery House, the ladies came up to me with a request: they wanted to see a picture of me before I started yoga. “I bet you always looked like this” said one. The group’s interest turned into a discussion of one of the big benefits of yoga: getting in shape after having a baby. These questions and others are all very honest and touching, reflecting how concerned they are with their appearance and bodies.

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A question then came up about whether my yoga practice excited my husband when I was married, again showing the physical and sexual interest the poses had in their minds. I then told them about very painful parts of my life, where yoga helped me to process my grief, to the point where I am now able to laugh at many of these traumatic times.

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I could feel, and see in their eyes, that my words were very comforting to these women, all of whom were dealing with trauma and change in their lives. One of the young ladies asked me why I volunteered here.

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 I told her that presenting the gift of yoga allowed my soul to give back some of the beautiful calm and peace I felt during times of great pain…

They were all very moved and I knew some were true believers. I felt my heart sing with joy that they could understand. I began to work on some individual asanas with a few of the girls. At first they are scared in trying something new, but three of the girls all nail the “crow” pose. I was cheering and clapping and didn’t know who was more excited.

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A girl in the back of the room asked me what poses would help her tighten her stomach and lose weight. I told her that yoga connects our minds and bodies, and that by maintaining the connection while eating, she could learn to eat only until feeling full. This honors the body as it is the temple for our soul.

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Nearing the end of our time together, I hear that one of the girls is cleaning a yoga mat to take to her room to practice, while another one is listening to a yoga tape. I can see the slow progress we are making, and know in my heart that if you can touch one life you’ve made a difference in the world. On my way out they bring their babies over…the beauty of connecting with the human spirit.

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Namaste, Jennifer Miller

“Yoga Is The Path…The Experience Of Realization, Samadhi” From ‘Bhagavad Gita Demystified’

“Yoga…is the path and not the goal. It is the experience of the path that matters. The bliss that we experience during this path is the experience of realization, samadhi.”

“Tittibhasana” Pose by Jennifer Miller

From “Bhagavad Gita Demystified” by Nithyananda Paramahamsa

“Yoga Is Primarily A Practice Intended To Make Someone Wiser…” By T.K.V. Desikachar

“Yoga is primarily a practice intended to make someone wiser, more able to understand things than they were before.”

“The goal is always bhakti…to approach the highest intelligence, namely, God.”

T.K.V. Desikachar from “The Heart of Yoga: Developing A Personal Practice”.