Elemental OM Discussion Forum

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Quinn, Elemental OM) — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 20:26:00 +0000

Friends, My blog has moved. Come follow my 120-day Spiritual Cleanse!

come find me here!

My Blog Has Moved

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Quinn, Elemental OM) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 11:28:00 +0000

Dear Yogis,

It is with great pleasure and excitement that I have re-launched my website and totally awesome new blog! Please find me there. Namaste, Pamela

Pamela's New Blog

Kundalini Teacher Traing...I'm on my way

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Quinn, Elemental OM) — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000

It’s 9 pm ish in New Dehli and I’m sitting in a super posh upgraded executive kind of suite room having just had a massage and a very elegant dinner. I can’t say that I feel quite human yet, but I’m clean and have hair that is blown dry. I love pasta.

The car comes at 10 pm so Zant and I can head to the airport for about 23 hours of plane rides. While I’m not looking forward to a plane ride, every mile towards Ohio, my kids, my pets, and my studios will be a thrill. I miss America and all that it has to offer. I’m so looking forward to walking into my home and realizing that I live like royalty. I can’t wait for my fluffy bed, my oversized tub, my big screen TV, and a Bi Bim Bop at Iron Chef. If I ever start to take America and all that it offers for granted ever again, I’m just going to pull out my pictures of India.

I wish so badly that I had some amazing spiritual story to share about this Kundalini Teacher Training, India, and life as we know it. I’m hoping that in the future, all will be revealed to me and translated to you. Everyone told me that I would change a lot because of this program, not just the Kundalini, but also from being in India. I don’t know that I have. I feel exactly the same as when I left only with some of my flaws, faults, and idiosynchronisities highlighted. Trust me, I still got a lot to work on before I become enlightened.

I can’t say that I found God. What I did find from the craziness of not just India, but also a yoga teacher training set up and intended to push your buttons on every single level, is that I possess a solid and quiet groundedness. I think it keeps me sane and keeps me from doing a lot of crazy things. I’m gonna call that solidity “God” for now. Sat Nam Yogis. See you VERY soon. Pamela

God or no God?

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Quinn, Elemental OM) — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 14:36:00 +0000

So things are winding down here in India and everyone appears to be serving time until we are able to either go home or continue traveling through India. We have all done our practicals of teaching a class to each other and we had a written exam today that took around three hours. It actually took me around 5 hours because I ended up taking it twice.

Zant got sick again with a terrible fever and belly situation. (He’s getting better now.) About 25% of the participants in the program seemed to be sick yesterday with a similar thing. They are trying to be very clean feeding us food washed in mineral water, organic, and prepared the correct way. I personally have steered clear of all raw foods and fruit. I’m drinking only the boiled teas and milks as well. I’m gonna assume the illness came from the fresh and raw because I didn’t end up with the illness. Anyhow, in preparation for being sick I took the test in the manual because they indicated that would be our test. 20 pages, 7500 words, handwritten….AND they decided on a different test. India….(that’s said with a tone indicating a cuss word preceded it.)

Yesterday we did a 2.5 hour meditation of Eck Ong Kar Sat Nam Siree Wahe Guru. 2.5 hours later, trembling from cramping through my seated body, hoarse in the throat from trying to carry that chant, I had the realization that there is no God. At this point in this journey, I’m just thinking and realizing that I’m trying way too hard. Honestly, if you absolutely knew there was a god or absolutely knew there wasn’t a god, would you change your behavior? Why not simply change your behavior because it is healthier and makes you feel good?

During this 2.5 hour torture session, I realized that I was pulling my body forward and straining so hard thinking some amazing spiritual thing was going to happen. Nothing happened. Seriously, nothing. I have had my spiritual moments here and ultimately I do believe in God and magic and all of that stuff, but jeez, why am I trying so hard?

I can’t wait to get back home and just relax into life as I know it. I don’t know how different I am or how different the world is. Everyone said when I come home I would be totally different. I feel the same. I still am obsessed with working, teaching, and helping. I still need to manage my time better. I still have two kids I adore striving to be a good mama. My house is probably still gonna be messy and my dogs are probably still going to be less than good.

What I have learned is an amazing way to help others. I have so many kriyas and meditations and am looking forward to combining my love of Ayurveda with all of it to start working very intimately with small groups and one on one coaching. I feel like I have a TOTAL toolkit now to shift a person through yoga, meditation and Ayurveda. I have simple practices that I can prescribe to them.

I’m very grateful for that (and for God).

Kundalini TT, Day 18...DEATH....

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Quinn, Elemental OM) — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 12:51:00 +0000

So today we did our practicals. Zant did an awesome job and my was not too shabby! I need to do a little work with my hair though. Apparently, your hair has to be up in Kundalini yoga because your hair ends are like some kind of energetic antenna or something. I think this will be my biggest struggle teaching because I am simply that person that pays no attention to my hair whatsoever other than to brush it first thing in the morning and before I go to bed. This has actually been a recurring theme and comment in my life since I was a small child. I do remember around the age of 3 going into the bathroom and cutting it all off. Sat Nam on that one.

So, I’m sitting at the Wifi cafe and true to India, all the electric in the city just went out again. Zant and I came for dinner and I’m thinking it may be a bit delayed. In the meantime I’m drinking the most yummy concoction of lemon soda. Imagine squeezing a fresh lemon into a bottle of sparkling water. It’s heaven.

So I want to write about something we learned about from Guru Dharam. He told us the journey of Death. Once a woman came to Yogi Bhajan and wanted help. She asked him if he could show her how to live. He said that he could not, but he would show her how to die. My mouth just fell open when I heard that. It’s so beautiful. This is how you die…

At death, be thinking of God or a mantra. You don’t want to be thinking about anything bad or sad because that is the Karma that will present most strongly. Spend your whole life with your third eye on God so in the moment of death, you will be in the right state. When you die you float out of your body and enter a shaft of light. You begin to recognize people on your journey up. They call to you. You come to a plaza where there are 2 fields of energy. One is hot and one is cold. Guru Dharam called the hot one the Karmic Cafe and you don’t want to dine there. The cold one is the Dharmic Diner. Go there. Some are not grated a choice, they just have to go to one or the other.

Once you step into the energy field of one or the other, you lock onto a magnetic field of energy. You experience what is known as the 5 blue ethers. There is a Cosmic Library where the record of your life is. Your subtle body drops off your file. You go to other ethers to receive teachings from Saints, Sages, and Being of lights or Angels. Your soul recognizes it’s growth and needs. You wait for your next reincarnation.

I think it’s a very good story.

Some things you will have to answer when you get there so you might as well start working on it now are the following:

What did I come to this life for?
Did you achieve it?
What must you do in the next life?

Sit for a moment with these questions and really ask yourself….Why are you here? Why did you come? Are you on your path?

Sat Nam Lovelies, Pamela

Kundalini Teacher Training Day 17

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Quinn, Elemental OM) — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 12:25:00 +0000

I can’t believe it is the 17th! Only 7 more days to go.

Our practicals begin tomorrow. I’m lucky because I was assigned a Kriya that Andrea has taught many times and I know it well. I don’t want to over practice it, because I want to do an experiment and see if the teachings really do simply ‘come through’ energetically as we have been taught.

Today was an amazing day. Gurmukh taught. You have to find her on youtube…I’d link, but the internet here is really bad. She is 70 and could kick anybody’s butt. She has this super soft sweetness with a really awesome edge. She loves big parties and birthdays! Every chance she can get to feed us cake she does. (Don’t worry, it’s all Ayurvedic, full of fruit, and delicious). Tomorrow we celebrate all the Pisces because her birthday is coming up on the 25th. Of course, I think that’s awesome because mine is on the 27th so now I’m convinced we have some super cool connection.

The food has gotten a little weird in the last week. We have been on an Ayurvedic Cleanse of sorts. The rice and dahl I totally understand, but we are in a country where they never say no. Because of that, they continue to serve “special requests” of raw salads, fruits, loads of roti (little breads), and always dessert. Aside from that it is a perfect cleanse. They even put out all the herbs and powders that we need. Of course, no one knows what to do with anything so I have been having a ball walking the buffet line with people suffering all kinds of disorders and helping them to understand how to put it together. Back to weird though…. I think they are trying to gorge us on the bitter and astringent taste. Zant and I literally couldn’t eat our lunch today and ate dinner in the hotel. If anyone ever offers you a bitter gourd…run.

So, I don’t know if I told you the monkey story, but the monkeys are really scary especially if you are taking a picture of a baby monkey. The stray dogs that were so adorable tried to attack Zant and I at 3:30 am the other morning on our way to Sadhana. I think they were a gang from another part of the hood because our street’s dogs came to our rescue. Well….tonight, we paused in the street to adjust a flip flop and my 6 cows including Tyler, Bess, and Josephine circled us and nearly licked us to death. I think I’m scared of cows now too. They are very big. Lawrence was sick today and all the locals where feeding him bottled water. I found Jill this morning sheltering from the rain on the top stair of one of the hotels. They are hysterical.

Goodnight friends. Sat Namooooooooo, Pamela

Kundalini Teacher Training...Day 14

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Quinn, Elemental OM) — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 13:54:00 +0000

Happy Vday from India. They don’t really celebrate that holiday here, but Zant and I did by going out to dinner at the Wifi Cafe! We had our meditation practicals today, and I must say our entire Jetha (that’s a family of sorts and I’m sure to be spelling it wrong) rocked it. Kundalini is fun to teach because there’s sort of a script and exact plans for everything you do. All of the kriyas and meditations have been handed down by the rishis and gurus. They are tested. They work, so you don’t change the teachings at all. It’s not too hard teach. What is hard is showing up as a Kundalini Yoga teacher…embracing the total lifestyle.

So what are you getting into as a Kundalini Yoga teacher? Clean living, selfless service, and devotion. I think the morning practice is the most difficult for all only because you have to get up pretty early. When I get home, I don’t intend to get up at 3:30 each day to practice yoga alone for 3 hours. A modified version of Sadhana is coming for me and for most folks. I do love the morning practice. It clears out all of your stuff and let’s you embrace your day in a gorgeous way. Only problem is you have to be in bed by 7:30.

Today we talked about yoga and religion. I liked what Guru Dharan had to say about it. Basically, he explained religion as a formalized structure that helps you to recognize your origin. Your origin is of Spirit.    It is a methodology for self realization. Yoga, on the other hand, is the science of religion. If you look at the religions of the world, you find an undercurrent of language and that is yoga.

Mudra (our hand positions in yoga) is the most common denominator of religions. Mudras create a circuit in the human field. So, if you were to hold up your index finger and middle finger (think peace sign here, but seal the fingers together) you are doing the Christ Mudra. This is a mudra you can find in artwork of Christ. This mudra energizes the heart chakra and allows love to flow. Jesus’s message and gift to the world was love. Pretty cool, huh?

Each finger and many parts of the hand represent the astrological energies of our galaxy. You guys know how much I love astrology, so you can imagine I’m in heaven with this. I can’t wait to teach you all of this and show you how to use mudra to negate negative influences in your chart.

Sat Nam Lovelies!!   Pamela

(btw...still have a cold, but Zant's weird rash is gone after a trip to the hospital and a huge needle in his buddhi!)

Day 12, 13...Kundalini Teacher Training

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Quinn, Elemental OM) — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 14:13:00 +0000

Day 12….

Well today we did 5 kriyas that were really really hard. Imagine going to 5 Kundalini classes not for beginners. Needless to say I’m tired.

At one point, Guru Dharan forgot to tell us to let out our breath. We all nearly passed out.

I’ve been singing AC/DC’s Back in Black all day in my head….

sleep

Day 13

This was the most awesome day that ever was. We did Sat Kriya for 62 minutes and I did it!!!! That’s when you sit in rock pose (sitting on your heels), bring your arms up, interlace the fingers and the pointer finger (Jupiter fingers) are pointing up. You breath in Sat and out Nam pulling the belly in and up pretty intensely. It was insane and so beautiful to do with 130 other humans.

I wanted to quit, but I knew that taking my arms down would hurt just as much as keeping them up. I wanted to quit, but all the voices of the people around me carried me through. The Nam gets really soft and it sounds like a heart beat carrying the whole group. I wish you were there with me.

I’m learning so much and can’t wait to share. Guru Dharan said today that the mind is in the blood and the heartbeat stamps your consciousness. We talked about food and purify the body. We are eating only Ayurvedic and organic food. It isn’t truly Indian style. If you’ve worked with me you would recognize a lot of the dishes especially the dahl. Now that we have hit the midway point, they are starting to feed up much lighter and lighter as we deepen our detoxification process. This whole program is so cool.

Spiritually…wowsie. Yesterday, I really and finally understood Sat Nam. Sat Nam means “I am God.” I am who I am looking for. I am God. You are God. All this is God. That’s all there is. This. Today in meditation I was struck by how precious it is to be human and by how it is a great responsibility to be human. It made me feel very humble.

Deeply missing all of you. Sat Nam sweet souls, Pamela

Kudalini Teacher Training Day 11

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Quinn, Elemental OM) — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 14:06:00 +0000

It’s day 11. My severe head cold moved to the nose yesterday and down to the chest today. This is a total improvement and I feel so much better. The sun is out pretty consistently now by 9 am. (It is freezing and you can see your breath at 3:30 am though.) That means that the days are glorious. I can’t really tell you what happened other than that, but I am slowly falling in love with India. I doubt I’ll ever get over the cow poop everywhere, but I just adore the cows. There’s six of them on my way from the hotel to the yoga tent and I’m slowly naming them. Tyler is my favorite.

Kundalini today was just awesome. I can’t get over the quality of teachers. Each one is a professor of this or that and most have written books. Today we learned about the ten bodies, a concept found only in Kundalini yoga. It’s a beautiful way to look at the quality of the mind. I can’t wait to share it with you when I return. We had an entire morning of numerology and I will have a workshop on that and how it reveals your gifts, your challenges, and your life’s purpose. I want to teach you which body to activate using your numerology. It’s incredibly insightful.

My destiny is an 11 and that is a teacher of teachers. It means infinity and the ability to attune to the divine and see truth for all. Bringing balance to this number is the practice of reciting the words of the Siri Guru Granth Sahib. This is a 1400+ page text that was handed down from Guru to Guru in the Sikh tradition. It’s pretty much all of yoga. During morning practice or Sadhana we recite for 27 minutes mantra called Japji Sahib. It’s 40 phrases summing up the 1400 page text. I just LOVE it. I’m fascinated with the phrases and meaning. Here is a phrase for you:

Virtue and vice do not come by mere words;
Actions repeated, over and over again, are engraved on the soul.
You shall harvest what you plant.

Of course that is speaking to Karma. Yesterday Anand Boding, yogi and astrologer, who is just brilliant spoke about Karma in a way that I just totally had one of those moments. He gave the example of a little boy born in a slum. This little boy has the probability of having a very hard life. He also has the possibility of not having a hard life. By virtue of the sum choices we make collectively as a society, the field of probably narrows and most likely he will have a hard life in the slums. This is regardless of the fact that there is enough food to feed the whole world, enough medicine to treat the whole world, and enough people who would love to adopt little boys from the slums. If each and every one of us were to simply get up with the attitude of helping and serving, the karma….his karma…would change. He isn’t doomed. We collectively doom him.

I cried when I heard him say that.

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Quinn, Elemental OM) — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 14:39:00 +0000

It’s the 9th of February and thus the 9th day of Kundalini Teacher Training. My brain must be coming on a bit because I’ve finally figured out that if you start something on the first of the month, then the day you are on is the day of the month. Welcome to insanity.

Day 9 was a rough one. I have a severe head cold and sinus infection now. Please don’t think I’m a total wimp, most of the now 127 (3 have dropped out that I’m aware of) have been cycling through some illness or another. I do feel like a wimp as my pranayama is non existent and I can’t put my head down in any of the poses without severe pounding to my temple. The bottom line is if you don’t do the kriya, pranayama, and meditation, I don’t think any of this yoga stuff works. I’m counting on the 126 other humans in the room to carry me at this point. The fun part of being sick is going to an Ayurvedic physician and taking all kinds of super awesome herbs that I don’t even know the names of. I’m on a rejuvenate and some sticky syrup that the ladies pour into a small cup for me each morning.

Of course my reason for coming is to learn how to teach Kundalini yoga so that I can teach all of you. Of course as a human, I got some work to do on a personal level too. I’ve hit an emotional wall and had the lovely synchronistic pleasure of opening Facebook to my dear friend Sat Siri’s post. It said the following and is just what I needed to hear….

It may be that when we no longer know what to do
we have come to our real work,
and that when we no longer know which way to go
we have come to our real journey.
The mind that is not baffled is not employed.
The impeded stream is the one that sings.

(Wendell Berry, 1934 - )

The Breath Walk

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Quinn, Elemental OM) — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 15:30:00 +0000

Today was a great day. We did a “breath walk” through the hills of Rishikesh overlooking the Ganges. I can’t wait to teach this to all of you. Basically, you simply walk and do “SA TA NA MA” on your fingers as you walk. Many of you who have worked with me know this mantra. It’s basically a break down of Sat Nam which means “truth is my identity.” It was absolutely lovely and very interesting to walk down into Rishikesh and get to see how people who live here actually live.

Most of the houses are quite small. They make them out of a red brick that doesn’t appear very sturdy. The houses are never quite finished. It would appear that they intend to add floors to the small structures only it is hit or miss. Most of the homes are open to the elements. People sleep on low wooden beds that they move in and out of the house. They use a very thin mattress. Cows, dogs, cats, and of course the monkeys seem to come and go. Everyone loves the cows very much. They have feeding troughs and it does appear that people do take the time and effort to feed them and care for them. Now that I’ve gotten to walk past the cows and the babies all week, a part of me can’t imagine that I ever ate one of them. They are sweet animals.

Monkeys…not so sweet. The dining tent is up and running again after mostly being torn down by the storms. The monkeys find holes in the seams of the fabric and are constantly poking heads, arms, and legs through. When the coast is clear they run in really quick and grab fruit for the most part, although I watched one of them this evening casually walk up to another yogi and take her bread out of her hand.

The practices today weren’t so tough…Wahe Guru! (that means thank you God it’s awesome). (( I’m learning Gurmukhe…it’s a language and I’m probably spelling it wrong). I’m sore everywhere and of course still sick with this cold that is now a runny drippy mess accompanied by a dull thead in the head. I’ve been wondering why the physical practices have to be so hard. I got my answer from Nirvair Kaur. She said that in Kundalini, you build the body up to withstand the stresses of life and to be able to accommodate the frequency of the Kundalini energy as it awakens. Very cool.

Well, It’s 7:39. I need to do my homework and get to sleep for my 3:30 am alarm.

Missing all of you at home. Missing Ohio. Missing America and feeling very blessed to live in such a beautiful and rich country. Everyone always has told me that I don’t know how good we got it in America. I know what they are talking about now. Om, Pamela

The Sun Came Out

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Quinn, Elemental OM) — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 15:00:00 +0000

Today was a great day. I think moving to a hotel and sleeping in until 6 am was key to recovery. Throat is still sore and had a slight fever today along with 1/2 of the other teachers in training here, but I think I’m going to make a quick turn around. Back to the 3:30 am routine tomorrow. It is expected that we attend all Sadhanas (morning practices) unless we are sick.

The sun finally came out and everyone got really happy.

We had super awesome teachers today, Nirvair Kaur and her husband Guru Nirvair. I’m probably spelling the name wrong. Apparently, if Yogi Bhajan decided you were a couple, then you somehow took that same name.   They have videos and Guru Nivair is in charge of the Kundalini Research Institute. If you google KRI.org (i think) you will find a ton of Kriyas and meditations there. They, like Gurmukh and Guru Shabhd who are leading this, grew up with Yogi Bhajan. They had awesome stories about back in the day which I’ll share with you when I get home.

One thing that I loved that they did today is we went through a kriya (designated set of postures designed to cause a specific effect) and at each posture, we stopped to feel what was really going on in the body. Try it. Ask yourself what glands and organs are being stimulated by a posture. See if you can’t feel the energy changing as the postures change. It was really insightful. Kundalini is called the Yoga of Awareness. It’s referred to as a technology and at this teacher training, they are stressing that they can only give us the knowledge, but we must find the wisdom through our own experience.

Another thing I’m loving is the total integration of the classroom. You move as a unit. Even if the teacher is incorrect, you simply do what they say and always keep your mind innocent and student-like.   When chanting mantra, you join the group’s speed and simply submit to the energy. When you can’t hold your arms up anymore, you simply put them down and let the energy of the group carry you. It’s a lovely way to surrender. There are 129 of us and I am actually getting to know everyone. I didn’t think that would be possible. It’s so fun.

One funny thing did happen today. We all walked in silence with Gurmukh at the end of the day to the Ganges River and a huge statue of Shiva where you can imagine the tourist gather like crazy. Of course 129 of us are dressed in white, barefoot, and silent. We became the tourist attraction with people taking video and pictures of our meditation. Weird.

Enough Complaining Though.....

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Quinn, Elemental OM) — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 13:23:00 +0000

It’s 6:30 pm here in Rishikesh, India. I’m sitting in my new bed at the Nirvana Hotel. Zant and I totally wimped out of the Ashram life along with every other person over the age of 40 and employed. It was just terrible and we, along with everyone else, were getting sick from the deplorable conditions and the inability to sleep. We’ve had horrible rains that are not the norm making our dingy and damp cell even more dingy and damp. Yoga as well as dining is from 3:30 am to 5:30 pm, in tents, that are torn from the winds and leaking.

Enough complaining though. It’s day 6 I believe and we’ve been told if we can make it through day 7, we will make it. The Kundalini yoga is intense (and in tents…that’s supposed to be funny. I’m delirious…humor me). I can honestly say I’ve never worked so hard in all of my life. I think a marine would have the same thing to say. It’s just brutal and most folks are sore and injured on some level. Zant’s lower back is killing him and he is off to the Ayurvedic doctor tonight with a swollen lymph node and to get something to sleep. With the exception of a now prolapsed uterus (it doesn’t like too much intense stuff like squatting up and down nonstop for 15 minutes), constipation, looking like I’ve aged 10 years, and overall exhaustion, I’m doing great.

They keep telling us the Kundalini is working. I keep asking what crime against humanity did I commit to commit myself here.

Enough complaining though…..

Spiritually? hmmm. That’s hard to answer. I’m learning a lot about how to teach Kundalini. The teachers are simply amazing and I feel like I’m learning from the best of the best. I love morning practice (Sadhana). It simply sends me to other realms. Personally, I have noticed that I can easily complete any kriya regardless of length or intensity if I simply think about work. Of course, this supports that I am a workaholic and use work as my escape. So, I’m trying to just stare down the tip of my nose and get through minute 11 of our 31 minute sets while merging into the bliss of the infinite. The merge must happen post minute 11…I’ll let you know.

You Are Who You Are Looking For

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Quinn, Elemental OM) — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:16:00 +0000

Yogis, I write this from an Italian cafe with wifi in the heart of Rishikesh, India. We are deep into it here. I think it's day 5 of my Kundalini Teacher Training with Golden Bridges, but I have to tell you I'm not sure. India is a crazy and exhausting place, almost as crazy and exhausting as Kundalini Yoga. Twenty hours of flying, a sleepless night in New Delhi where the smog is so thick it makes your eyes water, 8.5 hours on a car ride that is indescribable because you'd have to see my "terror faces" to truly understand what I'm talking about....and finally to arrive in the mecca of yoga, Rishikesh.

Now I don't want to discourage future travelers or visitors, but you gotta be tough for this journey. India is insane. There are cows everywhere and that means cow poop...everywhere. I personally don't think the cows are actually eating the right diet either, if you know what I mean. There are wild dogs everywhere. They are sweet and follow you around. I don't know who feeds them. There are wild cats everywhere. I'm grateful for that because I haven't had to see a wild snake yet. There are wild monkeys everywhere that scare the crud out of me. I actually had to make a choice to jump off a foot bridge 70 feet over the Ganges or stand my ground with a monkey. The fall wasn't too bad. Just kidding...Zant saved me and has the paw prints on his pants to prove it.

Teacher training is intense on multiple levels. First, Ashram living is rough. The room is damp, cold, and dirty. Believe it or not, we literally have an open grate with no window to the outside world. This wouldn't be so bad, but it's freezing here and the storms have come. Good news is you can buy 3 blankets, a space heater, and a new rug for about $30 in Rishikesh. We are up at 3:30 am and do a kriya or yoga practice and then Sadhana which is a spiritual practice that includes a lot....and I mean a lot of mantra....until 7 am. We break for Ayurvedic breakfast and then back to it until 5:30 at night. We've been in bed by 8 pm every night. It's just exhausting.

I am having lots of amazing experiences, learning a ton, but too tired to really convey.

Oh yea.... I LOVED how Guru Shabad opened this whole thing. He said, "You are who you are looking for." It's kinda set the tone for my spiritual immersion.

Mondays, Newtown, and Transformation Through Yoga

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Quinn, Elemental OM) — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 17:54:00 +0000

There's just something about Mondays. You wake up with your week's worth of work on your mind and just go about your life. This morning, I was about half way through packing my children's lunch thinking about throwing an extra orange in my son's bag (he has a cold), when I again remembered that 20 families weren't packing lunches today. I looked down at the orange, I smelled the orange, I pressed it to my heart and then my lips and placed it in my son's bag as if that piece of fruit magically infused with a mother's love could keep him safe.

As my son and daughter headed out the door, a nasty waive of fear started to build, and I reminded myself that they would be okay. It was an aberration. It couldn't happen at my children's school. I mentally walked through all the ways anyone could possibly get into their school given the lock down procedures there. I found more than a few.

So what can be done? What actionable steps can I personally take today to facilitate a transformation in the consciousness of a society that to me is archaic and violent despite incredible access to knowledge, education, freedom, and money. My first answer was I don't know. It seems that the wheels of government are stuck, the desires of individuals are in conflict, and the ideas of most are rooted in fear. It's like we are on some slow moving luxury train. We are warm, dry, and very comfortable. We know the track ends, but the train is moving so slow and that track sure isn't going to end for awhile. In fact, I bet in the future, they will build more track before we even get there....right? And no worries for me, I'm in the middle, not the front of the train, so I'll be alright. Nothing will happen to me.

My second answer was yoga. We can all do more yoga; life as yoga. We can learn to do the following:

Take a pause. In every moment of stress, conflict, or anxiety, just pause and breathe. Give yourself a moment to respond instead of react.
Be kind. Just be sweet to those you meet. Be sweet to even the not so sweet. Wish them light and love and let them go their way.
Do a little black and white thinking. In any moment of choice for thoughts, words, and deeds, ask yourself if your choice is bringing darkness or light to the world. (Guns are dark in case you were confused about that).
Be an example. Show up as a beacon of light, love, and compassion.
Express your desires. Every time you spend money, you are voting for how you want your world to be. Vote for light. Things that cause darkness include: guns, violent movies and books, pornography, alcohol, drugs, tobacco, and of course all the non-food of SAD (Standard American Diet).
Be the healer that you are. You are here to help and to serve others. Notice those around you suffering and take action. Don't wait for solutions to come from that slow moving train.

If you would like to help the families in Newtown, click here>>>

Why?

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Quinn, Elemental OM) — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 13:44:00 +0000

On this Saturday morning I opened my eyes with absolute and total gratitude to know that my my children were safe, secure, and happy...for this moment. It's only in this moment that they exist to me because their future, just like all of our futures, is uncertain. It can change in just one moment as evidenced yesterday in Connecticut. My moment of gratitude turned to heartbreak for the other parents waking up today. I wondered if they had even slept. I wondered if they simply held each other through the night. I imagined their bodies betraying them allowing them to sleep, to dream, to wake up, and to have to remember that they can't walk down the hall and give their darling baby a big hug and kiss on this Saturday morning.

The question of course, is why? What is the message and what is the lesson? As a society, have we truly gone so far that rational and commonly supported mass beliefs like gun control, care for the mentally ill, and community support cannot be implemented. Is this simply another wake up call from God that we are all here to help and serve each other for the benefit and greater good of all and that there will be karmic consequences if we do not learn to move as one? Does it really need to be this dramatic to get all our attention? Is it drama or simply the unwinding of all that we as spiritual beings have failed to do? The hurricane of tamasic dark energy putting out the light of sattva or purity.

I look to the past few years of our life together as Americans and see all the wake up calls that we are not waking up to. The BP Oil Spill was a call for us to respect our planet and implement the necessary changes for green energy. We did not respond. The 2012 drought...another great call from mother nature that we cannot continue to pump water to unsustainable places. The mass extinction of species of animal and trees, the melting of the polar caps, hurricanes, tornados, and floods....

Shootings at malls, schools, and political rallies. Over 10,000 deaths from guns alone in America. People dying en masse from heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. 1 in 4 children in America going hungry on a daily basis.

Pan out to the world. I don't even need to go there. You know the the headline news.

Why? I know why. I don't care if this is a wake up call or not. I don't care why. I just know that action must be taken. Do something profound today. Pick a cause and dedicate yourself to it. Slow your life down and make time for service. Commit to service of others. Go check on your neighbors. Donate to charity. Plant a tree. Return some Christmas gifts and give the money to a cause that can save the planet, implement gun control, and ease the suffering of the mentally ill and those traumatized by it. Get involved in the shift that is happening. Do something meaningful, valuable, and change the legacy of our time here on earth.

12.12.12., Roomba, and you don't even want to know...

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Quinn, Elemental OM) — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 12:07:00 +0000

This morning I woke up on this auspicious day of 12.12.12 around 4 am and decided to take advantage of the thin veil and meditate. Astrologically, 12.12.12 doesn't mean a whole lot, but my friends who love numerology tell me that this is a big day. Added all together, you get the number 9. I think everyone is forgetting that it's actually 12.12.2012 and that's 11. Anyhow, I'll forgo what seems obvious to me and accept the widely accepted belief that today is a 9. Nine is a big number in spiritual circles because that number is the only number you can multiply by, reduce, and get back to that number. It's the only constant. It's energy is expansive. Nine represents love on a global level.

Now I have to back up a little bit... Last night I was greeted at the front door with a much anticipated package from Amazon. In it, the highly coveted, much saved for, and life changing Roomba. That guy is the very expensive little circular automatic sweeper that is cooler than anything you've ever seen in your entire life and will totally change the wool dust bunny situation in the Montgomery studio. With much excitement I unwrapped that little lover, literally gave him a huge hug, and plugged him in to charge so he'd be ready to go to work with me in the morning.

Well that little guy sure was happy to join the world on 12.12.12. He charged himself right up and went to work at 3 am.

Now I have to back up even more. I have a Golden Retriever named Cheddar. I love her dearly, but boy oh boy does her purebred belly have it's issues. Last week she stole my son's dinner when he evacuated the house to stand on the front porch in the cold to wait for me to come home because he thought there was a ghost in the house (that's a different blog). Anyhow, her belly has not been happy since. (Chicken fried in Crisco...my daughter's only request for her birthday from her health nut mom...again, that's a different blog).

Flash forward. So at 4 am as I'm walking to my meditation room, I notice a smell. In horror, I notice that my lovely lover Roomba is not on his dock. In terror, I walk into the kitchen to see poor little Roomba sitting in the middle of a big pile of....S@$T. He's covered. Boy that little guy tried hard. I know he wanted to make a good first impression and have the house all tidy for me. I can only imagine after the first charge of his little life how excited he must have been to sweep. He must have thought he hit the jackpot. I gave him a bath (details of which are omitted with intent), but sadly, I don't know if he's going to make it. He just wasn't designed to handle that kind of a mess.

(the dog is fine...stop worrying about her.)

So, if everything means something and all is a reflection of my thoughts and a creation of my Soul, what does it mean on 12.12.12...a day of love and expansion...when Roomba who you have been yearning for for a year dies his first time out trying to clean up a big pile of S#@T?

What on earth could that represent and what is my lesson? Seriously? WHAT?????? I can only imagine it must mean as we approach global love and expansion, as we near the end/beginning of the world, as we dawn upon the Age of Aquarius that we will still have piles of S#@T to clean up.

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Quinn, Elemental OM) — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 18:36:00 +0000

If you've ever had a chance to work with me during the Elemental Cleanse or during Meditation Yogi Style, then you know that I am fascinated with astrology. I've been studying for the past eight years. I'm a total novice, so please don't ask me to read your chart, but I can give you some basics and tools to begin a journey of self-study. I love astrology because it is a means by which to look at my personality and preferences and ask the question, "Who am I?"

If you ever want an actual reading, I always recommend my friend, Laurie Baum. I recommend her to my students for a multitude of reasons. First, she is a Yogini. She gets it. She's very experienced. She's a disciple of Yogananda...that means she will facilitate healing through you doing your work. Laurie releases every year her annual predictions. They are good. Her 2013 predictions are below as well as how to get ahold of her for an appointment. Shanti, Pamela

To make an appointment with Laurie, call her at (760) 753-7676. Click here to visit Laurie’s website for more information.

2013 ASTROLOGICAL FORECAST
by LAURIE BAUM

I considered waiting until after December 21, 2012 (Winter Solstice), to write the 2013 astrological forecast— to make sure time hadn’t “ended” as foretold by the Mayan calendar. But in the spirit of optimism, I would like to share my usual new year forecast with you prior to the potential “end of time,” given that astrological indicators point toward a new year of positive growth in consciousness and an end of time as we have known it only. The Mayans actually predicted that a wave of spiritual energy would enter the magnetic field of the Earth on December 21, 2012. This wave of higher consciousness will benefit those who are ready to receive, even though it potentially will be resisted by those who are not ready to receive.

SPIRITUAL ALIGNMENT—SUMMER 2013—GRAND TRINE IN WATER SIGNS OF CANCER, SCORPIO AND PISCES
Indeed, a spiritual awakening is strongly indicated by astrological alignments in 2013, including a mid-summer celestial line-up of Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune in the flowing water signs of Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces. Water signs revolve around feelings, which often serve as a bridge between our material aspirations and our spiritual yearnings—the sign of Cancer arouses spiritual feelings through home and family, Scorpio stirs spiritual connection through deep psychological exploration, and Pisces awakens our desire to transcend and be reunited with the Divine. Jupiter, which is oriented toward philosophy and spiritual teachings, brings us luck and expansion. Saturn, which is geared toward hard work, discipline, and the working out of karma, teaches important spiritual lessons. And Neptune mediates the energy of spiritual transcendence—although with Neptune, if higher energies are not channeled through spiritual avenues, may lead to escapism or self-deception. Neptune also blurs the boundaries between people, established structures, and ideas, and facilitates connections between people across the planet, currently via social media and the internet.

Along with the spiritual opening, ample opportunities to harness the power of water will be generated under the influence of Jupiter, Saturn, and Neptune in water signs. The 3 planets will form a “grand trine” between June 11 and July 19. A grand trine is a triangular formation in the heavens that leads to ease and stability between the energies involved, in this case, between spirituality and philosophy (Jupiter), self-discipline (Saturn), and the oceanic feeling that connects you to your soul (Neptune).

FINGER OF GOD—SPRING EQUINOX 2013
Another potent planetary alignment begins to form in the heavens near the Spring Equinox of 2013 with Jupiter in Gemini, Saturn in Scorpio, and Pluto (subterranean energies of the earth and the human psyche) in Capricorn, to create a “Finger of God” between March 23 and March 29. This line-up portends a confrontation with reality where expectations have been over-inflated. The Finger of God also will bring latent disharmony to the surface, as it raises issues that have been ignored. Consequences of ignoring signs of imbalance could manifest as illness in the body, illness in the financial system, or illness in the ecology of the planet as a whole. The Finger of God applies equally to physical, mental-emotional and financial health. The Finger of God will expose financial scams and will rattle the financial markets. Take precautions with your physical health and finances under this planetary influence. The Finger of God also will have a hand in exposing government corruption due to an alignment between Saturn in Scorpio and Uranus in Aries in April and October 2013; it is not a good time to cover up scandals. With the abundant spiritual energies available during the year, all physical losses will be transmuted into spiritual lessons and gains. You will not feel you have lost out by the time the year is over.

ECLIPSES
A series of eclipses in late April and May, and again in mid-October to early-November, will strongly impact Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius (see eclipse chart below for dates). The eclipses also will cause weather disturbances that will affect the movement of water around the planet—through an over-abundance or shortage of this precious resource. Other liquid-like substances, such as oil, natural gas, and even the blood in our bodies, will be affected by the eclipses. The human body is composed of nearly 75% water. Experiments show that the water molecule changes in response to thoughts and feelings, thus profoundly affecting our physical bodies and the movement of water across the planet.

POWER OF THOUGHTS
The spring and fall seasons will demonstrate to us the power of our positive thoughts of love, kindness, charity, honesty, and compassion, and our negative thoughts of greed, duplicity, neglect, anger, or obsessive-compulsive or self-centered thinking. We will experience these consequences in our bodies through illness, and in the natural world—through flooding or droughts, earthquakes or mudslides, and high winds or tornadoes. People also will be carried away by impassioned thoughts and feelings if they do not remember to stay spiritually in balance. According to Paramahansa Yogananda, spiritual teacher from India, The sudden cataclysms that occur in nature, creating havoc and mass injury, are not “acts of God.” Such disasters result from the thoughts and actions of man. Wherever the world’s vibratory balance of good and evil is disturbed by an accumulation of harmful vibrations, the result of man’s wrong thinking and wrong doing, you will see devastation …

DAMAGE OF DRILLING BENEATH EARTH’S SURFACE
Expect more news about the dangers of drilling under the surface of Mother Earth for oil or natural gas as well. Both viscous substances are cushions for seismic activity. As these buffers are removed from the earth, the planet as a whole becomes more susceptible to seismic activity, with greater jarring between the plates occurring due to lack of protection from natural gas, oil, and water. The greatest movement will occur in late April, May, late October and November. Take precautions with travel plans during these periods.

EXPRESSIONS OF INDIVIDUALISM
A continuing square alignment of individualistic Uranus in Aries and turbulent Pluto in Capricorn will occur on May 20 and November 1. This planetary alignment will have occurred an unusual 7 times between 2012 and 2015 (June 2012, September 2012, May 2013, Nov 2013, April 2014, Dec 2014, and March 2015). A similar planetary alignment last occurred 3 times in the mid-1960s, and occurred 5 times from 1930 to 1935. Under its influence, the consequences of past actions—financial, economic, governmental, environmental, physical or emotional—will demand they be dealt with through innovative, creative—and even revolutionary—solutions. The scope of the changes are bound to be far-reaching under Uranus and Pluto because both planetary energies bring to the surface that which has been buried or hidden. Again, this planetary transit will occur 7 times between 2012 and 2015, meaning that the changes will be deep, lasting, revolutionary, and seminal for our time. This does not mean that times will be bad—just that the times we are living through, in case you haven’t noticed, will be active. You may imagine that you are waking up every day to a new sci-fi thriller, not quite knowing what to expect, but sure to witness something you have not experienced before.

SHIFT OF THE MAGNETIC POLES
Additionally, in 2013, the magnetic poles of the earth will continue to shift toward reversal, keeping us in phase with the magnetic poles of the Sun, our central star, with which our planet resonates due to our inclusion in the “heliosphere.” The Sun’s magnetic poles already have reversed, according to the NASA website. The magnetic poles of the Earth are expected to follow suit. According to NASA, the last time the Earth experienced a magnetic pole reversal was approximately 740,000 years ago. (http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2001/ast15feb_1/) Scientists have confirmed that the Earth’s magnetic north pole is moving at an accelerating speed from northern Canada toward Russia.

The sometimes-violent shifting winds from the movement of the polar axis were partially behind the confluence of three storms that caused Hurricane Sandy on October 29, 2012, the 82nd anniversary of the stock market crash of October 29, 1929. What’s more, Hurricane Sandy also occurred just after the Full Moon, which coincides with higher tides. Due to the polar shift, you will feel alternating cold and warm winds as the poles move and then stabilize. I say that the polar shift was only partially responsible for Hurricane Sandy because negative thoughts of greed and fear, and lack of connection with the Source, were also behind both events on October 29, in 1929 and 2012. Astronomically, this date also corresponds with a volatile sector of the sky called the Via Combusta.

GOVERNMENTAL CHALLENGES
Finally, astrologically speaking, karmic Saturn in Scorpio is in “mutual reception” with Pluto, god of the underworld, in Capricorn, meaning that the two planets will support and strengthen each other. This planetary pairing may provide a few challenges in 2013, especially where government intervention is involved. Governmental bodies will be either overly assertive—or underly effective in 2013. But please bear in mind that the greatest growth can come from the greatest trials—and passing the spiritual tests posed by Saturn (both for individuals and groups of people) ultimately will make all of us stronger.

SOLUTIONS THROUGH PRAYER
So remember, the distance between a problem and the solution is the distance between your knees and the floor. Please don’t forget the power of prayer, affirmations, contemplation, and meditation.
Perhaps it’s a symbol, but as I write this newsletter, a series of large black crows have gathered outside my window, cawing loudly, as if to remind me to stay alert to what lies ahead and to remind others of the same. Crows are messengers with their loud cawing. Native Americans considered them omens of change. A bee just flew by as well. Bees are pollinators, spreading good through their busy activities. Perhaps both creatures are alerting us of the need for all of us to spread the message of positive, peaceful change.

HEALING POLARITIES
I quoted Charles Dickens in the 2012 forecast. In 1859, on the cusp of the American Civil War, Dickens wrote in A Tale of Two Cities that it was the best of times and the worst of times. With a similar polarity between red states and blue states, the nation—and the world—stand at a crossroads. Today, we are caught between different philosophies of government as well as between spiritual and material paths. Arguably, we have reached a peak of material abundance in some parts of the world, and it is time for a re-balancing. Perhaps, as an antidote, we need spiritual nourishment, which is exactly what 2013 will bring.

The year of 2013 will be a year to discover what truly nourishes you. And for many people, a spiritual connection is a source of nourishment waiting to be discovered. May you be one of those people who experiences spiritual enlightenment in 2013. Please don’t worry about the economy. There are enough material goods and money for everyone. The problem is in the distribution rather than in the lack of goods and money, as was the case in the 1930s. A quote from Paramahansa Yogananda about bringing prosperity into our lives: If mankind as a whole behaved unselfishly, the power of [cause and effect] would distribute prosperity equally to all men, without exception.
Whatever you may think you may have lost in a material way will not be a loss to your soul. You have much to gain as you turn to the Spirit that lives inside you in 2013, as you breathe, meditate, and listen to your internal rhythm—the rhythm of your breath and your body. Ultimately, as you listen to your inner rhythms, you will hear the rhythm of your soul.

TEN SUGGESTIONS FOR RAISING YOUR MAGNETIC RESONANCE

I received such an overwhelming response to last year’s list of ten suggestions that I am repeating them here for your convenience. They can help you stay aligned with your soul and Spirit in 2013 and beyond:

1) Focus on your heart. The energy of your heart is 5,000 times more powerful than that of your other organs, including your brain. A strong awareness of your heart, of giving, of charity, of compassion, of empathy, will raise your magnetic resonance and guide you to the right people and places to be safe in 2012 and beyond.
2) Meditate. Focus on your spiritual eye in the center of your forehead, become aware of your breathing, inwardly chant “Om.” This activity will align you with your soul and Spirit and raise your personal magnetic resonance so all of your needs are fulfilled.
3) Think positive thoughts. Positive thinking raises your magnetic resonance and attracts you to the positive outcome you give energy to.
4) Visualize what you want to create—and you will electromagnetically attract the object of your visualization.
5) Pray. Your prayers for yourself and others raise your magnetic resonance and increase the magnetic field of the person you are praying for—and the planet as a whole.
6) Affirm. Affirm in your mind repeatedly throughout the day the positive reality you envision for yourself and others.
7) Give as much as you can. Charity opens the way for more abundance to come to you.
8) Practice gratitude. Gratitude opens the way for more of the quality you are thankful for to come to you.
9) Raise your magnetic resonance through physical methods—get plenty of sunshine, clean water, fresh fruits and vegetables, and feel the beneficial effects of negative ions (positive energy) from moving water, rivers, oceans, waterfalls or even rain—God’s way of cleaning the earth to bring positive energy.
10) Simplify. Lower your expectations, especially the unrealistic ones. Focus on what is important. Let go of the rest.
Know that everything will be okay. No matter what happens, nothing will happen that you can’t handle, and nothing that isn’t supposed to come into your life can come if you live in alignment with your soul and Spirit.

DATES OF UPCOMING PLANETARY ALIGNMENTS

March 7 * Saturn at Scorpio sextile Pluto in Capricorn — Governments and corporations under financial pressure exert contractive pressure on others
March 23 * Jupiter in Gemini inconjunct Saturn Retrograde in Scorpio — One force tries to disseminate information while another force tries to control information
March 29 * Jupiter in Gemini inconjunct Pluto in Capricorn — One force tries to disseminate information while another force tries to conceal information
April 12 * Saturn Retrograde in Scorpio inconjunct Uranus in Aries — Change is experienced
May 19 * Jupiter in Gemini sesquiquadrate Saturn Retrograde in Scorpio — Conflicting interests create friction
May 20 * Uranus in Aries square Pluto in Capricorn — 3rd of 7 such line-ups between June 2012 and March 2015 — Revolutionary change is afoot
June 11 * Saturn Retrograde in Scorpio trine Neptune Retrograde in Pisces — Spiritual solutions prevail
June 25 * Jupiter enters Cancer for the 1st time since 2002 — Housing prices temporarily rise until mid-2014
July 17 * Jupiter in Cancer trine Saturn in 4 Scorpio — Spiritual and philosophical reasoning produce pragmatic solutions
July 17 * Jupiter in Cancer trine Neptune Retrograde in Pisces — Spiritual approach produces positive results
July 19 * Saturn in Scorpio trine Neptune Retrograde in Pisces — Grand Water Trine between Saturn, Neptune, Jupiter — Spiritual opening
August 7 * Jupiter in Cancer opposite Pluto Retrograde in Capricorn — Revelations from the depths of your psyche and the earth
August 20 * Jupiter in Cancer square Uranus Retrograde in Aries — More change
September 20 * Saturn in Scorpio sextile Pluto in Capricorn — More government intervention, perhaps to excess
September 28 * Jupiter in mid-late Cancer sesquiquadrate Neptune Retrograde in Pisces — Despite frustrations, persist on spiritual course
October 4 * Saturn in Scorpio inconjunct Uranus Retrograde in Aries — Change feels uncomfortable, more adjustments needed
November 1 * Uranus Retrograde in Aries square Pluto in Capricorn — 4th of 7 such line-ups between June 2012 and March 2015 — Stunning technological advances revealed
December 12 * Jupiter Retrograde in Cancer trine Saturn in Scorpio — Governmental inaction gives way to action
December 17 * Jupiter Retrograde in Cancer sesquiquadrate Neptune in Pisces — Continue on your spiritual path despite internal resistance
December 21 * Venus Retrograde in Capricorn until January 31, 2014 — Connect with loved ones

ECLIPSES
April 25 * Full Moon Partial Lunar Eclipse in Taurus-Scorpio
May 10 * New Moon Annular Solar Eclipse in Taurus
May 25 * Full Moon Annular Lunar Eclipse in Gemini-Sagittarius
October 18 * Full Moon Annular Lunar Eclipse in Libra-Aries
November 3 * New Moon Total Annular Solar Eclipse in Scorpio (near Saturn)

MERCURY RETROGRADE
February 23–March 17 * Mercury Retrograde in Pisces
June 26–July 20 * Mercury Retrograde in Cancer
October 21–November 10 * Mercury Retrograde in Scorpio

OM!

What haven't you caught onto?

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Quinn, Elemental OM) — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 23:52:00 +0000

So today was one of those mom days where you kinda live in your car. I picked my son up from school at 3 pm, drove him home, turned back around at 4 pm to drop my daughter off to a basketball game, drove home, turned back around at 6 pm to drop the son back off to lacrosse.....

I had one of those moments when I realized I simply couldn't do this anymore and stay sane. It isn't possible to run this much and stay sane. Seriously, this running the kids around like a lunatic that has been going on for 15 years simply must end. Yea yea yea...I've done the carpool thing, I've said the "no" word, I've reworked, I've rescheduled, I've manipulated, and I've even sat in my car crying a time or two.

Tonight at 6 pm was different though. My son got out of the car to join his teammates. I took a deep breath in. I took a deep breath out. I did that again about hmmmmm 20 times. That's when inspiration came as it always does with a few deep breaths and a lot of synchronisity. You see, this morning I was simply fascinated by an NPR report on the new Ford F150. Folks are using these as offices now and they are all set up so that you can even sit inside one and print. Apparently, these trucks are the most important tool in their toolbox. I got a Ford. Granted, it's a baby blue hybrid escape, but it's got an electric outlet. I got tools. Granted they come in the form of holistic modalities.

So, 15 years later I have finally solved the mommy dilemma. I have turned my car into a home office Zen retreat center. I'm gonna do a little online xmas shopping so I don't have to go to any stores this holiday season. Then I'm gonna meditate after I stare at the evening stars through my sunroof. I might take a nice walk around the parking lot and get some fresh air. After that, if I'm not too blissed out, I might just get a little work done. Ahhhhh....the sweet delight of "me" time.

There is magic in the breath.

Relationship of Yoga

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Quinn, Elemental OM) — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 12:32:00 +0000

Elemental OM is a spiritual yoga studio and not really a “power” studio, so we are not flooded with young people. Mostly, we are all over 40 and figuring it out on some level. During the summer months, EOM offered a really sweet package to kids home from college. We had a dozen or so take advantage and hang out with us for the summer months. I just loved it. All were fresh, vibrant and amazingly curious about the philosophy of yoga. They were dedicated and passionate in the quietest way. On some level, they brought out the best in me when I was teaching. I guess you hit 43 and look back at your life and get nostalgic. I don’t want to live a life of regret on any level, but dear Lord I wish I had found yoga earlier. All the different choices I would have made….

I digress.

One of these students is a young budding artist. She’s introspective, hard working and lovely. We didn’t really talk very much at all. I learned bits and pieces about her and met her boyfriend once. I loved watching her practice. She simply exuded an elegance and poise that I found fascinating. As we practiced, I always found myself wondering if she was turning her yoga into art or was her art turning into yoga.

She went back to school. Yesterday was our last practice together. I hugged her goodbye and was quite shocked to find myself in tears. I’m going to miss her so much. I find this so weird because on a personal level, we really didn’t share too much yet I grew to love her like a mother simply through the daily movement and breath of yoga.

For me, this is a deep lesson of yoga revealed…a tangible experience of the idea of energy being transferred between two humans simply because we consciously move and breathe together. Missing you...

Shanti, Pamela

Back to school....YOGA FAIL!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Quinn, Elemental OM) — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 20:57:00 +0000

So, my kids back to school today. I love back to school! I especially love getting up and making breakfast and packing lunch. It may be the control freak that hides inside of me, but I love that I know what they are eating healthy that day. As I pack, I imagine myself in a "healthy packed lunch" competition on a world scale and I intend to win.

I'm not a total freak. It's a recognizable lunch. All organic, whole and local as it gets. Whole wheat breads, butters and jams....fresh fruit and yogurt....a "special" treat of a specially crafted cookie or cracker. It's the kind of lunch that would surely win the award. I send them off to school proud and fantasize about how envious all the other kids must be. Surely, they must think my kids more special and more loved with a packed lunch like that.

I eagerly await for my kids to return home. My son is first and loved his lunch. The cookie was "pretty good." This satisfies me. I feel smug. Driving my daughter to volleyball practice, I inquire as to how happy her lunch made her. She makes a disgusted face and explains that so and so got chips and so and so got Doritos and every other kid eats white bread with real meat sandwiches. We argue. I tell her about chemicals, obesity, heart disease, cancer and the deplorable state of the farming industry. I explain the rules of parenting and how it's my job to make her the healthiest human possible. I explain that kids in Africa are starving. She rolls her eyes and agrees to eat just the fruit and sandwich next time. I'm not to bother with the other stuff.

I head to the grocery determined to please her. It's a competition after all. Walking through the lanes, however, I begin to seethe. I mean, I'm really pissed. I grab some chips and put them back. I grab some chocolate this and that and put it back. I look at the turkey lunch meat and put it back. I read the label on the white bread and put it back. I get even more mad.

Oddly, I'm not mad at her. I'm mad at all the other parents who are packing white bread, chips, cookies, and soda. How can I compete with that? They are cheating at this game of mine. It's not fair. How am I supposed to raise kids that are healthy and holistic when they are surrounded by crud? I know everyone is busy. I know it's hard to feed and please a kid. I know healthy cooking requires time, planning, and can be a frustrating. I know. Can't you help me out a little though?

Does the world really shift when you shift?

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Quinn, Elemental OM) — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 17:15:00 +0000

Elemental OM is halfway through it's Yoga Teacher Training course. In my course, the teachers must experience the Elemental Cleanse and embrace an Ayurvedic Lifestyle for the duration on top of learning to be a yoga teacher. This means that they have a daily personal yoga practice, meditation practice and lifestyle routine. You might imagine that this facilitates some pretty serious physical, emotional and spiritual shifting. The purpose of all of this to help the teacher transform into a healer. Yoga teachers are healers after all. Why not graduate with aura expanded and your divine light shining through?

One interesting thing that has happened in the last few weeks is that a lot of my teachers in training have started to ask for advice about their families. There is concern for interpersonal relationships as well as for the health of family members. It really struck me the other day because it seems EVERY one of them is asking about this. My first response was to give them all kinds of advice for the situations. But then, I had an "ah-ha" moment as I realized what was really going on.

You see, they are dynamically shifting in a very quick way. (If you are on a spiritual path, you may be too.) Their partners, families, and coworkers are not. As you begin to vibrate on a different frequency than those you are used to (and them used to you) it causes some conflict until the others catch up to you. Here's the rub. You can't actually change anyone to help them catch up. People change. You can't change them. You can only change yourself. So, while you are doing your work of shifting, they are doing nothing. By simply showing up your best self, however, you are going to help them shift unawares.

You may find yourself impatient with this process, annoyed by those around you, and simply DONE with a lot of the interpersonal "habits" that have developed through the years. This is going to cause conflict in your relationships. Drop into the heart center and do your best to simply meet people where they are. All things happen with divine timing. Stay your path with dedication and care. Don't let others hold you back from your growth just because they aren't quite ready for it.

Sadly, you might find that some relationships go away. The people who truly love you will follow you even if it's just a little tiny bit. Make room for new friends that support your life's journey and dharma.

Om Shanti, Pamela

Ayurvdic Approach to High Blood Pressure

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Quinn, Elemental OM) — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 17:46:00 +0000

High blood pressure is defined in an adult as a blood pressure greater than or equal to 140 mm Hg systolic pressure or greater than or equal to 90 mm Hg diastolic pressure. High blood pressure directly increases the risk of coronary heart disease (which leads to heart attack) and stroke, especially when it's present with other risk factors.

High blood pressure can occur in children or adults, but it's more common among people over age 35. It's particularly prevalent in African Americans, middle-aged and elderly people, obese people, heavy drinkers and women taking birth control pills. It may run in families, but many people with a strong family history of high blood pressure never have it. People with diabetes mellitus, gout or kidney disease are more likely to have high blood pressure, too. ~ From the American Heart Association

High Blood Pressure kills approximately 2 million people each year and is known as the "silent killer". Blood pressure should be below 120/80.

Diet and Lifestyle

High Blood Pressure is an indication of an imbalance of both the energies of Vata or The Wind and Pitta or The Fire. This discourse is a a short term strategy to facilitate relief from this situation that can cause headaches, fatigue, irritability and mood swings. A long term strategy requires further education as discussed below.

In the moment:

Sit down alone and in silence. Close your eyes. Even the breathe by simply breathing in through the nose for 3 seconds and breathing out through the nose for 3 seconds. Use long, relaxed breath. Once your breath is under control, place your attention on your heart. You will feel it beating in your chest and probably elsewhere especially if you have a headache. Focus on the heart. Relax your hands and turn your palms face up. Imagine that you can send your heartbeat to your hands and imagine you feel your heart beating in your palms until you actually do. Sit this way drawing your attention to the heartbeat in the palms for at least 5 minutes and probably longer until your blood pressure begins to normalize.

Take it easy for the rest of the day.

Immediately Take Action:

Eliminate Caffeine even if causes withdrawal from caffeine.
Eliminate Alcohol.
Eliminate Salt.
Eliminate fried and oily foods. No more fast food full of salt and bad fat.

Herbal Therapy:

Neem: Neem has an antihistamine property of nimbidin which causes the blood vessels to dilate and may be helpful in reducing high blood pressure.
The Alcohol extract of neem leaf has been shown to produce immediate decrease in high blood pressure that can last for several hours. You can buy it in liquid form and take by the dropperful.
Flax Oil raises the good LDL, feeds the frontal lobe and the sheath that covers the nerves of the body..all of these are depleted by stress which is a primary indicator of HBP.

Movement:

Gentle Yoga focuses on relaxation 2 - 3 times each week
Daily casual walking of no less than 30 minutes
15 minutes of seated meditation followed by a 5 - 10 minute relaxation in Shavasana or the Corpse Pose

Massage

A daily massage or abyangha before or after a cool bath. Use Sesame or Coconut Oil.

Other Therapy:

Something to think about....

What is the root cause of your stress? What is going on in your life? Do you need a little coaching to get you organized, prioritized, and on the right path? I do private consultations, so feel free to contact me. email>>>

The American Heart Association has the following recommendation.....an Ayurvedic lifestyle would support and complement these recommendations. Consider participation in The Elemental Cleanse or The Elemental Lifestyle to learn how to embrace a routine and nutritional plan right for you.

Lose Weight
Get regular physical activity
Stop smoking
Manage your stress
Eat for heart health
Follow the advice of your physician

Relationship with food quiz

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Quinn, Elemental OM) — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 12:00:00 +0000

Every time I open my email, I receive some sort of quiz. I can't help but take the quizzes. Inside of me lives a student who always wants to excel and not disappoint the auto responder email system. Anyhow, after receiving yet another diet quiz, I paused and really thought about what does make a healthy relationship with food. You see, I've struggled with all kinds of things, but never really food. Of course I get into the occasional bad habit of poor choice making, but I can pull myself back.

Things that I have to completely avoid and do struggle with are alcohol, diet coke, snickers and twizzlers, the need to be perfect, the need to excel, excessive working, self and other criticism and OHHHHH so many more. Today, I wondered, what is it about food that makes food not my issue and what is it about all those other things that make those my issues? Are they different? This is what I noticed about me after taking the quiz I made up for you to take!!

Do you spend a significant amount of energy thinking about your weight?

I do not spend hardly any time thinking about my weight even when I am in need of losing some. I do however spend time thinking about how nice it would be to have a glass of wine or a diet coke. My mind goes back to that again and again especially when stressed. The only time I worry about my weight is when I feel, in general, bad about myself on multiple levels. This usually follows "perceived" criticism.

Have you tried multiple weight loss programs only to find nothing sticks?

I have never ever ever succeeded at dieting. I have always failed. I hate diets. They do not work for me on any level. In fact, my ego rebels big time and I tend to gain weight if I think I have to diet. I think that's why I love the "no calorie counting" and "common sense" policy of Ayurveda. I also like that if you slip up, you just make the more nourishing choice the next time. I have tried every way on the planet to stop alcohol consumption. For me, The Elemental Cleanse and living the Lifestyle have worked. It was a process and a lot of self work, but I feel whole and like me or maybe like a new me. I don't know. None of the mandated systems worked. I guess I was never really able to be so out there with my problem either. It's hard to ask for help.

Do you crave heavy and dense food like sweets, pastas and chips?

I crave salty and crunchy snacks especially when close to my menstrual cycle. If I have a snicker bar one day, it sends me down a path of craving for 3 days...same goes for cake. I mostly avoid it, but do indulge and then suffer later. I really sense the association of sugar and alcohol craving.

Do you find yourself emotionally eating or eating unaware?

I don't think I emotionally eat although sometimes I find myself alone on a Sunday night and I want popcorn and cheese and other stuff. I use the distraction of going to bed early or I will indulge. My cravings are usually post 10 pm when I should be in bed anyway. I definitely emotionally drink, work, and criticize.

Do you find that your food choices and your behavior with food make you unhappy and feel shame?

I don't feel shamed when I indulge in a bad habit unless its alcohol. I've worked so hard to be free of it that if I were to have a glass of wine now, I would immediately feel sad and start the self-loathing process. It's a catch 22.

So, honestly answer my quiz yourself and realize that wowsie...you are human. If you want to learn how to quit your habits and embrace new habits, come work with me. I'll show you how to be human on a yogi level. We can you all cleaned out and start fresh!

I look forward to helping you. OM Shanti, Pamela

Health Status Quiz

noreply@blogger.com (Pamela Quinn, Elemental OM) — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 19:25:00 +0000

The western definition of health is basically the "absence of disease." What this means is that you can go to the doctor when you are feeling bad, have a ton of tests run, results come back normal and the doctor looks you in the eye and honestly tells you that they can't find anything and nothing is wrong with you. This is no fault of their own, it's just the way we view health in America.

An Ayurvedic perspective of health is much more rich. Health is viewed as having balanced doshas or energies of the body and mind, perfect digestion, appropriate metabolism for time of life, healthy tissues, the ability to discern and...drum roll...happiness.

So, are you healthy from an Ayurvedic perspective? Here's some questions you should be able to agree with:

I sleep well.

I wake up feeling fresh each morning.

I do not need to nap.

I eliminate daily at least once and not more than twice.

My elimination is easy and without effort happening at an appropriate time each day.

My joints are loose.

I am not suffering from inflammation.

I can focus, listen and understand.

I am able to make decisions that benefit self and others.

I enjoy other people.

I find that I am compassionate and nonjudgmental most of the time.

I am tolerating the summer heat and not suffering in excess from it.

I choose the more nourishing choice for food 95% of the time. That means when choosing between and apple and a cookie, I choose the apple.

I have time in each day to relax and take care of myself.

I am of an appropriate weight and like my body.

My skin is clear, soft, and subtle.

My eyes sparkle.

If you answered yes to these, you are in good shape. If you answered no, what changes can you make in your routine, diet and life to allow health to blossom. You might consider participating in The Elemental Cleanse. This course is offered online as an ecourse to be done in the comfort of your own home. It's a 28 day immersion into Ayurveda that results in health!

You can learn more here>>>

The In Person Elemental Cleanse Experience starts on Monday at 6 pm in the Montgomery Studio. You can work with me and receive special attention! email>>>

Om Shanti, Pamela