When it comes to happiness, fulfillment and prosperity, the answers are never really “out there” with the expert opinions touting tenets for success attracted by our human condition of collecting information (“knowledge is power”) and feeling compelled to be up on the latest in order to compete and succeed, but rather our own fulfillment is truly an inside job that takes regular attention and willingness to turn inward to understand our true nature, get to know what’s important to us at a core level, and get quiet enough to listen and receive guidance and clarity around the issues that life presents us.

When choosing to live a whole, integrated life that allows us to feel satisfied and ultimately fulfilled in every aspect of living, it is essential to practice the principles we see as true for us in order to grow, heal and fill ourselves up to satisfaction benefiting ourselves and the whole of Life at the same time. The Sutras of Patanjali are one such example. They provide guidelines for living in this way, and the Yamas are precepts to getting us there. There are many resources available to take in more information about these writings as they’re interpreted by scholars, sages and yogis far more experienced than me. I encourage you to learn what you can from these at your level of interest and current ability. Don’t get too distracted by my use of sanskrit but allow yourself to take in the essence of each practice by simply allowing it to wash over you as you read. By all means, if you get curious about a word or your understanding of a word doesn’t seem to jibe with mine, spend a little time out there researching if that is helpful in grounding you. I won’t get too deeply into the study of Yogic philosophy as that’s not my role here. What I will do is offer you seed practices in the context of these Yamas that you can try on and take into your life to practice again and again, daily, hourly, moment to moment, as you step up to claim the life of your dreams. Layering these practices in with those you’ve already got in place provides a lush environment for the life of your dreams to thrive.

There are five yamas in all: ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacharya, and aparigraha. Taken individually, each offers a wealth of insight.

To see the world in a grain of sand, and to see heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hands, and eternity in an hour.                                                            ~William Blake

…and so, I will offer them up to you this way, one at a time, simply, in very small bites. Amuse-bouches, as it were. I’ll provide you with a few perspectives and real-life examples you can assimilate and some affirmations and blessings to soothe the inevitable pain or frustration that will come as you rub up against your samskara — your fiercely persistent habits, self-defeating behaviors, and self-limiting beliefs — as you move about your day. I invite you to take each of these into practice, layering them into your awareness, one at a time. A tradition that I’ve established for myself is to take them each in turn, one a week, at the beginning of the new year. This “layering in” provides real, essential experience in what it feels like to actually live a whole, integrated life in a sustained and nourished fashion. Come on along! Until you begin, time’s a wastin’!

Practicing Ahimsa

The first yama is ahimsa, commonly translated as non-violence or non-harming. Delving into practice with this first yama is the perfect place to start as it touches on two points right away:

1. What, exactly, does non-violence or non-harming mean?
2. How does it apply in my life?

These two questions, or rather self-inquiries, born naturally out of the simple act of looking deeper, are enough to get us started and we’ll turn to versions of these powerful questions again and again as we move through the Yamas and beyond.

The meaning of Ahimsa can be seen in this story from the Vedas.

There once was a sadhu, a monk who wandered from village to village each year in order to teach. One day as he entered a village, he saw a large and menacing snake. The snake was terrorizing the villagers and making their life difficult. The sadhu spoke to the snake and taught him about ahimsa; it was a lesson that the snake heard and took to heart.  The following year when the sadhu made his annual visit to the village, he again saw the snake. How changed he was. Now this once magnificent snake was skinny and bruised. The sadhu asked the snake what had happened to cause such a change in his appearance. The snake replied that he had taken the teaching of ahimsa to heart and had realized the error of his ways. Thus he had stopped terrorizing the village. Because he was no longer menacing, the children now threw rocks at him and taunted him. He could hardly hunt and was afraid of leaving his hiding place. The sadhu shook his head wisely and said that while he had indeed taught the importance and power of practicing ahimsa, he had never told the snake not to hiss.

When first practicing ahimsa, it is easy to miss the point. In the case of the snake, he decided to simply stop being the violent terror that he was, but it never occurred to him to also stand in his own defense so he allowed himself to become the victim of violence. Standing “neutral” is more the crux of it. …and as you stand neutral, as if treading the line between yin and yang or the edge of that proverbial coin providing a vantage point from which to view both sides fully and at once, you begin to see…

Say you are a gentle person who abhors violence, always kind, soft-spoken, a lover of beauty… but what are the qualities of your thoughts? As good as we are, we humans are prone to judgmentalism, perfectionism and righteousness. It is in our nature to question what is best, how it can get better, and above all, what is the right way to go about it. But eventually we grow habitual with our thoughts, and over time these thoughts limit us to narrow thinking that doesn’t allow us room to grow.

As adults, having become “set” in our ways, we inevitably develop a running internal dialog for what we believe is right AND against what we see or experience that violates that belief. Essentially, ahimsa is practiced each time we observe our interactions with others (or even with ourselves), when we notice and take responsibility for what we are thinking about the interaction and our intention behind the beliefs we are holding as true, and we keep it about ourselves. The focus is on your thoughts about those interactions. Are those thoughts harmful? If they’re causing you any discomfort at all, then yes, those thoughts are probably harmful. If they sound bossy or contain “should” or are in any way mean, they are harmful. If they quickly lead you toward blame or shame, then ABSOLUTELY, those thoughts are harmful. So step one in practicing ahimsa is to simply notice our thoughts each time we observe ourselves in an interaction within ourselves, or between ourselves and another or an issue. Step two is to check in about the quality of those thoughts. If they are deemed harmful, acknowledge that for yourself, then simply release that thought, sending it on its way with kindness. If you notice thoughts that are not harmful, you are in a state of ahimsa, thus there’s nothing more to do than take in the good of that feeling.

Now, I don’t know about you, but the simple act of checking into the quality of my thoughts and deeming any one of them as harmful suddenly becomes HUGE and potentially crazy-making. [Bless my depth of processing that comes from being highly sensitive!] So in the spirit of ahimsa, I’ve learned to simplify even further when this happens. To keep it nice and simple, and to help it feel do-able and satisfying, I practice ahimsa on the mat at first. How kind can I be to myself in my asana practice? What’s the quality of my breathing and how can I make it sweeter? Where do I feel pain and what can I do to avoid or bolster myself against it? This is how we practice in all of the yoga classes that I teach, sometimes naming it ahimsa, sometimes kindness, sometimes compassion, sometimes forgiveness. On the mat it’s easy to see our tendencies in the areas of judgement, perfection and righteousness, too, as we slow down and focus on ourselves, linking breath and movement for a dedicated period of time. If an asana practice isn’t in the cards for you, or you’d like to take this elsewhere into your life, try practicing ahimsa as you run errands, do your grocery shopping, or drive your kid to volleyball practice. Keep it simple, go easy on yourself and have fun.

Practicing ahimsa is a fabulous way to enrich your mindfulness practice and begin to open yourself to your whole, integrated beautiful life!

Affirmation: Kindness and compassion flow through me freely. I lean into the wisdom of my whole experience to keep me safe from harm. I am love.

Until next time.

deep bows,

Giving credit where credit is due: Having been blessed with many great teachers and wonderful learning experiences in yoga, I’ve written much of this lesson from assimilated knowledge that I am merely distilling for you here. I drew upon a wonderful blog post by one of my teachers to collect the tale of the snake that I’ve shared with you here in paraphrase.

If it’s close, give yourself permission to call it good, it will become refined as you put it to practice.

If it’s not quite there yet, take a look at these examples of other people’s Sankalpas that have worked for them:

My first book is published and selling well!

I am a life-changing and successful teacher.

My office is transformed! It is organized and allows me to work with ease.

My back is free of pain!

I meditate daily and it’s easier than I’d imagined! I feel so free.

I am safe and not alone. I am abundantly supported.

One of my teachers, Kyczy Hawk, shared hers in a blog post recently. Try on a few that resonate. Scout around for a few more to choose from if need be. There are so many possibilities. You’ll know yours when you see it.

Planting the Seed

Now that you’ve come up with the first draft of your Sankalpa, it’s ready to be declared. You can make this declaration as ceremoniously or quietly as you’d like and, as has been the case throughout the practice of developing your Sankalpa so far, reiterate this declaration any number of times to really sew it into your consciousness. If you’re a creative type, write out your Sankalpa in paint, crayon, collage — any media that suits your fancy! Decorate it colorfully, adding a little flourish here and there, and display it proudly somewhere you’ll catch a glimpse of it often. Write it on a sticky note and tack it up near your bed so it’s the first thing you see upon rising each morning. Write it on the back of your hand! Write it as a reminder to yourself in your planner. Write it on the bookmark in the book you’re reading. Write it out as many times and in as many ways as feels right. Be playful. Be bold. Let your Sankalpa be seen by others, at least somewhere. You know what’s right for you. Go for it!

Timing is something to consider as well. As I’m writing this, the next New Moon is upon us on New Year’s Day. The New Moon is a particularly powerful time to declare intentions and the New Year a perfect time to refresh and renew. Perhaps a little Sankalpa declaration ceremony at midnight New Year’s Eve? I know that’s what I’ll be doing!

Your Sankalpa is truly the seed of your heart’s Desire. Plant and care for it well.

In the days and weeks that follow, as you encounter your Sankalpa time and again, read it to yourself and aloud. Speak its truth audibly and in your heart. Breathe it into your cells every moment you remember it. Let it become a part of you. In this way, you will provide it with the nutrients, energy and sustenance that it needs to grow into reality.

Tend to your Sankalpa by sharing your experiences, ceremonies, images, words, questions, frustrations, encouragement, insights and other wisdom freely, here and elsewhere. Giving and receiving in this way opens the flow.

Above all, have fun! Whatever that means for you. Do what comes naturallly. …and if it ever becomes un-fun, ask for support from me or another resource. I’ll be back again with more on putting your Sankalpa to practice.

Until next time, keep it real.

deep bows,

Giving credit where credit is due.

I’m drawing heavily on teachings that I’ve learned from one of my teachers, Amy Outman, who is a devoted student of Rod Stryker. Rod Stryker is the founder of ParaYoga and author of The Four Desires: Creating a Life of Purpose, Happiness, Prosperity, and Freedom, a book that takes a deep, formulaic approach to the fulfillment of desire through yoga on and off the mat. I’ve used this book as a reference for what I’m offering you here as a boiled down, digested version of Mr. Stryker’s work.

If this style of practice is new to you, nice work persisting! It can feel SO contrary to the rhythm of contemporary, day-to-day life, and those new to the idea of taking a slow, protracted approach to allowing something to unfold are sure to meet with a ton of resistance.

Or perhaps you’re of the quiet little camp who’s very much at home here and relieved to find this practice being offered at a pace that feels quite natural to you. I’m so glad you’ve arrived! There’s a warm glow burning within the center of this circle of learning and it is fueled by your quiet presence.

Grateful for what each of you bring to this, I’ll lead us further.

Onward ho!

The First Draft

It’s time to take all you’ve gathered, written, created, felt and experienced as you’ve moved through this practice of allowing these important details of your heart’s most present Desire and begin honing it down.

Here are a few important tools you can pick up at this point to apply toward drafting your Sankalpa:

Ask yourself these two questions as you bear in mind all that you’ve come to know about the seed of your Desire:

What do I want to achieve or become?

What would having it or living like this feel like to ME?

From this place, imagine that you have achieved your desire. You’re deeply connected with the seed of your desire and as you look around you, you see that it’s become true! Here comes a dear and trusted friend (this could be a mentor, your future self, a colleague, teacher or partner). They’re lit up by seeing you, so happy to run into you, and are about to ask you what you’ve been up to. What will you say to them? How will you know your Sankalpa to be true when you see/feel/experience it?

Express the truth of your Sankalpa by finding terms that somehow measure it, showing how you or your life circumstances have changed. You might say something about how your experience has changed, like, “I live more fully.”  “I feel this graceful self-confidence within me that I haven’t felt before!” or you might mention more tangible evidence of how things have changed: “I’ve got 7 on-going clients now and last year at this time I had 3.” or “I provide my family with whole food options every day — we rarely eat processed foods anymore. Last week my son asked me to make kale chips!”

Your true Sankalpa speaks to you in a voice that you relate to, so when you hear words coming in that don’t feel like yours or that they fit with your way of expressing yourself, let those go. Just stick with your own, natural language.

Some key points to include in your draft are as follows:

1. Focus on the result you are seeking, the attitude you will carry to achieve it, or both.
2. Be specific. Avoid vague terms — these won’t allow you to know your Sankalpa has become your truth when it happens.
3. Make sure your Sankalpa is achievable within the next six to eighteen months. This is VERY important, especially if this is your first attempt at Sankalpa, in developing a felt sense of your ability to live into this Desire. Live large, by all means! Large enough to feel excitement and (perhaps quite) different from before, yet concise enough to satisfy your yearning sooner as you develop faith in this practice. It takes a lifetime for one’s destiny to unfold fully!
4. You must believe that your Sankalpa will become your truth. Some degree of doubt is completely natural, so don’t let that dissuade you when it slips in. The scale of your Desire may be huge, so consider the intention behind your desire and scale your current Sankalpa as a broad stride that will get you there.
5. Word your Sankalpa in the present tense, stated actively, and avoid using the gerund form of verbs that end in -ing. Something like, “I found my dream job and am excited to go to work each day.” or “I meditate every day.” Also, hanging your Sankalpa on the vagueness of hope will likely prove unsatisfying. Rather than saying, “I hope that people will start to notice that I’m fun to be around and my social calendar becomes filled with many rewarding opportunities to connect” try something like, “My life is filled with fun and I meet new and interesting people all the time! I get out and experience things like never before. I actually enjoy it when I have to say no sometimes!”
6. State your Sankalpa in words you use in your typical, everyday way of speaking. This is no time to wax philosophical or get dramatic. State the clear, simple truth of it.

Now it’s time to get to it! Just go for it, using a clean sheet of paper. Remember, this is a draft, so it doesn’t have to be perfect. Refinements happen later, as you start your Sankalpa in motion. For now, just write your first draft.

I catch up with you again shortly.

Until next time.

deep bows,

Giving credit where credit is due.

I’m drawing heavily on teachings that I’ve learned from one of my teachers, Amy Outman, who is a devoted student of Rod Stryker. Rod Stryker is the founder of ParaYoga and author of The Four Desires: Creating a Life of Purpose, Happiness, Prosperity, and Freedom, a book that takes a deep, formulaic approach to the fulfillment of desire through yoga on and off the mat. I’ve used this book as a reference for what I’m offering you here as a boiled down, digested version of Mr. Stryker’s work.

Are you allowing your Sankalpa the time that it needs to come into your view? Have you given yourself permission to go at each step in an iterative fashion, going back and repeating a step or practice as much as needed to feel a sense of unforced readiness for the unfolding to continue? You may have noticed that there’s a sense of completeness at certain points along the way, times when there’s enough doing been done and the data simply feels like it needs to cook a while as you gently stir it from time to time, tasting it as needed, savoring its aroma as the ingredients meld.

Are you gathering a nice collection of phrases and words that stir your soul, light you up, resonate or somehow just keep showing up?

Don’t worry about the volume of verbiage — trust that it is just perfect, especially considering that something inside you told you it’s time to call this part good enough, now that you’ve decided to move along by coming here to read this and find out what to do next!

Tapping into the Feeling Tone

Here’s where you’ll harvest the ultimate sensations your most heartfelt desires evoke. This powerful practice can be used to enrich any fulfillment-oriented experience by engaging the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of yourself in the active participation of feeling, which contributes mightily to momentum, sustained motivation and provides a clear, felt sense of “yep! this is REALLY happening for me!”

Are you ready? Let’s get to it, then, shall we?

Go back and take a look at your written work so far. Read and reread the words you’ve collected, your journal, your mind map, and your Morning Pages. Admire any creative nonverbal works that also came from you during the last practice. See what you notice, what stands out, what resonates, what rings true, what really grabs you… and as you move along, surrounded by your words, your writings, your creative works, check in with yourself about how you feel in the presence of these ideas and the images that are coming to you from them. Be aware of the feelings that arise. Give special attention to your imaginings of what it will be like when your desires become reality — allow yourself some time to daydream. Close your eyes and muse a while about what you desire. By now, the makings of your Sankalpa, your statement of your most heartfelt desire, will be clear to you (and may have been all along or have returned like fragments of a forgotten dream remembered). Holding your attention right there, let your imagination run free. Imagine your desire has completely manifested and you are basking in its full, beautiful glory. Stand and watch, a loving, curious, proud witness. Where are you? What do you see around you? How do you feel in your body when your desire is real? Who’s there? What’s absent? Notice that the more specific and real your desire becomes as you envision it completely fulfilled, different emotions and sensations, like zeal, energy, warmth, vibrance, and even a delighted confidence that feels oh, so comfortable may start to surface. Name qualities of this experience. Tap into the scene you’ve just witnessed and take a few minutes to write about it. Be sure and include any palpable sense of satisfaction, triumph, love, or rejoice that you experience with the fulfillment of your desire.

Go off right now and take twenty minutes or so to tap into the feeling tone of your Sankalpa and write about it. Two or three paragraphs is plenty. Truly, no more than ten minutes of writing. Spend as long as you need in musing mode to set the scene and feel what it’s like to be there, then set a timer, set pen to paper, and let the words just flow. Don’t worry about getting it all down perfectly. Just write.

I’ll come back to you with the next step in the next post, Sankalpa continued: The First Draft.

Exciting, isn’t it?!?

Until next time.

deep bows,

Giving credit where credit is due.

I’m drawing heavily on teachings that I’ve learned from one of my teachers, Amy Outman, who is a devoted student of Rod Stryker. Rod Stryker is the founder of ParaYoga and author of The Four Desires: Creating a Life of Purpose, Happiness, Prosperity, and Freedom, a book that takes a deep, formulaic approach to the fulfillment of desire through yoga on and off the mat. I’ve used this book as a reference for what I’m offering you here as a boiled down, digested version of Mr. Stryker’s work.

You’ve looked at Desire and see it’s components:

Purpose ~ Dharma

Means ~ Artha

Pleasure ~ Kama

Liberation ~ Moksha

You’ve turned inward to sit with them quietly, tuning the dials to listen. Perhaps one has revealed itself to you as your most heartfelt from that deep sense of knowing inside you. If so, great! Congratulations are in order.

Perhaps you second-guessed what surfaced, felt blocked, or blanked out completely. Not to worry, a little fine tuning is likely in order. Take the time to revisit the meditation again allowing this new awareness of Desire to become integrated into your being. Let being with this concept and practicing stillness with your Desire be enough. All will be revealed in its due time! Trust what comes and go with it.

Taking It into Your Day

Now that you have your one word, that component of Desire that your innermost Self seeks to fulfill first and foremost, it’s time to do a little field work.

As you move through your day, maybe even the day after that, or a few days more, (long enough to feel an easy rhythm in the energy you’re devoting to this practice) use your word as a point of focus. Jot down words, concepts, and thoughts that come to you each time you think of your word. Do Morning Pages, a mind map, journal, collage, wondering–any creative, revelatory practice you already enjoy or feel drawn to try is perfect! Allow whatever comes to arise–just come to the surface on its own–without forceful “trying” but simply by putting a bit of kind, loving attention on your word through this attentive practice (or a combination of them).

Let it be just as simple as that for now. Be lighthearted and have fun! When you’re ready, move on to the next post in this series, Sankalpa continued: Tapping into the Feeling Tone.

Until next time.

deep bows,

Giving credit where credit is due.

I’m drawing heavily on teachings that I’ve learned from one of my teachers, Amy Outman, who is a devoted student of Rod Stryker. Rod Stryker is the founder of ParaYoga and author of The Four Desires: Creating a Life of Purpose, Happiness, Prosperity, and Freedom, a book that takes a deep, formulaic approach to the fulfillment of desire through yoga on and off the mat. I’ve used this book as a reference for what I’m offering you here as a boiled down, digested version of Mr. Stryker’s work.

But before I go on, may I strongly suggest that if you’re following along seriously with clear intention to learn this practice of Sankalpa and put it to good use for yourself here and now, take the time to read the blog posts in this series, taking them in one at a time, allowing a good amount of time, like several hours or even days between steps, really putting your full attention on doing the actions I’m suggesting in the order I present them. It can be quite difficult to meet the zeal of fulfilling desire with soft quietude and still listening, believe me I get that! But rushing through will get you very little return. Take each piece in all its simplicity. Slow down and take it in, truly practicing by fully participating in each step. Walk the walk. I know you can do it. ;o) …and trust me, it’s worth it. This is only the beginning!

Tuning the Dials.

So, in the last post we broke down desire into its four components and here they are again, in simple English and their associated yogic term in Sanskrit:

Purpose ~ Dharma

Means ~ Artha

Pleasure ~ Kama

Liberation ~ Moksha

Take out a sheet of paper or four sticky notes and write these down, simply and clearly. Something like this:

Or this:

…and seriously, keep it SIMPLE. Clear, plain English works best (for those like me whose first language is English) or your own first language in simple, one-word terms.

Now take your four words with you as we take this to the meditation cushion.

Go on… I’ll wait as you prepare your space; somewhere you can sit quietly, comfortably undisturbed for the next 10-20 minutes. Lay the sheet of paper or sticky notes with the four words facing you, right there in front of where you’ll be sitting. Pull out your headset, earbuds or be within earshot of the speakers of your favorite .mp3 listening device. I’ve recorded a meditation for you that you can listen to from here or download and keep for use anytime, anywhere. Please take a moment to decide right now whether you’ll download or listen directly as I lead you through your meditation and prepare to do that. Here it is: The Bliss Meditation.

Good. Now, for the juicy part! Here’s where we open the door to your Sankalpa by giving it ready access to that intuitive, creative, knowing source within you.

Move to that quiet space you’ve just prepared and play the recording.

So as to minimize distraction, I’ll end here. When you’re ready, turn to the next post, Sankalpa continued: Taking It into Your Day

Until next time.

deep bows,

Giving credit where credit is due.

I’m drawing heavily on teachings that I’ve learned from one of my teachers, Amy Outman, who is a devoted student of Rod Stryker. Rod Stryker is the founder of ParaYoga and author of The Four Desires: Creating a Life of Purpose, Happiness, Prosperity, and Freedom, a book that takes a deep, formulaic approach to the fulfillment of desire through yoga on and off the mat. I’ve used this book as a reference for what I’m offering you here as a boiled down, digested version of Mr. Stryker’s work.

Let’s start by defining Sankalpa.

What is Sankalpa? It’s a practice of resolve. It’s nothing less than the fulfillment of your most heartfelt desires! It’s an intention setting practice. It’s about developing a mindful awareness of the languaging we choose to describe what’s most important to us and to really get a handle on the focus that’s most effective and important to us here and now — what I mean by us here and now is us, me, you, in this present iteration of ourselves today in this manifestation of this body, not the past, not the future, not some other time and place, not someone else’s idea of what we should be, but our own desire to fulfill our life’s dreams here and now. It’s that simple.

What Sankalpa is not is a resolution, like a New Year’s Resolution where you might declare “I’m going to lose 50 lbs.” or, “I will remember to always say thank you.” you know, these lists of things where we say what we’re going to do or abstain from. In fact, it’s not the vilification or the abstention of the things that we think we’re doing wrong at all. It’s not about making changes in ourselves or setting goals to make ourselves better in some way, but accepting everything we are in this very moment, really dropping in and listening, and finding the words to describe what it is here and now that we need to bring our most heartfelt desire to fulfillment.

So, as a working definition, Sankalpa is a statement of desire — what it will be to fulfill that desire.

The Way In.

Let’s take a look a this word desire and what it means in this context. Of course, we all have a pretty good idea about what we think we know about what it is that we want. Our intellect tells us what we want, our ego tells us what we want, our stomach tells us what we want when it’s time to eat. We all know exactly what it is that we want, right? But at the same time when we’re set to a big question like “What do you REALLY want?” we get small.

whoa. um, I really don’t know… what are my desires? There’s so much that remains unresolved. There’s this yen, there’s this yearning, there’s this longing–I can feel it in my entire being. There’s this sense of feeling unfulfilled. I don’t feel this way all the time, mind you, not always, but at times.

Or we have wants and desires that are clear, or at least we think we see and understand them clearly, then we set out to do everything in our power to make them happen. Some stuff happens, but the big dream remains elusive, like a fist full of smoke. What gives? What can we do about it?

Let’s take a moment to pull back and take a 10,000-foot view of desire to see what we see from here.

Desire in 4 Parts.

First there’s the desire of longing for purpose. Why am I here? That big existential question. The drive to become who you’re meant to be. That’s one type of desire. In yoga terms, that’s our Dharma.

Secondly, there’s the means to fulfill your life’s purpose and to provide sustenance for your other desires. You know, that’s your resourcefulness. That’s everything manifest — everything physical, tangible, that’s the financial and material security, the physical well-being, a stable, secure home. And in yoga terms, that is our Artha.

Then thirdly, there’s the desire for pleasure. Pleasure of all things. Pleasure of the body, pleasure of the mind, pleasure of the spirit. It includes friendships, family, beauty, art, the opportunity for play, fellowship, adventure, creativity, joy. In yoga terms, this is known as Kama.

Finally, there’s the desire for true freedom and spiritual awareness. That place where we live fully unburdened from anything in life and life itself. Complete liberation from all attachments. This is Moksha.

These are, in basic form, the four subsets of Desire from a yogic perspective and what we’ll use as we continue developing this practice of Sankalpa.

Take this in by simply allowing it to wash over you, allowing that simple act to be enough for now. Consider this step one in creating a Sankalpa of your very own. I’ll come back to you again shortly with another post as we step deeper into this practice.

Until next time.

deep bows,

Giving credit where credit is due.

I’m drawing heavily on teachings that I’ve learned from one of my teachers, Amy Outman, who is a devoted student of Rod Stryker. Rod Stryker is the founder of ParaYoga and author of The Four Desires: Creating a Life of Purpose, Happiness, Prosperity, and Freedom, a book that takes a deep, formulaic approach to the fulfillment of desire through yoga on and off the mat. I’ve used this book as a reference for what I’m offering you here as a boiled down, digested version of Mr. Stryker’s work.

Practice, practice, PRACTICE. It’s that simple.

In other words, for me, I’ve found that how I want to feel is a felt sense (something I feel not only emotionally, but with my entire Being) of “I’ve got this” each time I greet each day, face each foible, and meet myself and the goings-on in my life right then and there, as difficult or mundane as they will be. I want to feel free of the struggle I’ve felt around my perceived insufficiencies and my strife to become “better.” I want to feel safe in knowing that I will meet myself kindly, lovingly, and compassionately, even when I wake up with that fierce-intense-mean-dark mood that comes out of seemingly nowhere at times, without the need to turn it around, but simply be with it and the often painful feelings that are just longing to be felt. I want to feel energized by my relationships with myself, issues and others  — choosing to stay in them when it’s not easy and requires a bit of attentive work, tending to my boundaries, standing firm or even stepping away when there’s a vortex of drama that’s trying hard to suck me in, or I learn that I simply don’t belong, showing up just as I am, in that moment. I want to feel strong, healthy, flexible, resilient and content with my level of capability at any given time, knowing that I am constantly growing, healing, rebuilding, casting off, balancing, and assimilating a conscious awareness of my whole self with my responses to Everything I encounter each living, breathing step of the way.

It was and remains important to me to FEEL all this. And as simple as it sounds, it’s a profound realization for me to admit that it comes with practice.

There’s a revelation in here, too. The practice of actually feeling completely and entirely congruent with the way I want to feel is what I do! Maybe it’s obvious to you already, or perhaps I’ve been heading in this direction for some time, but suffice to say that I know it now, it’s informed my beliefs about my work and has led me to this moment, where I’m proud and excited to declare: What we do here is practice. Whole life, showing up, on and off-the-mat, yoga and life-inspired practice. Meeting ourselves and Everything right in the moment. Feeling. Choosing. Expanding. Integrating. Practicing PRACTICE.

If any or all of this resonates with you, I invite you to stay tuned! …and, as I’m feeling a bit feisty and have been in a de-cluttering mood lately… If you really can’t relate, this feels like too much of a digression from what you’d originally signed up for, or none of this sounds all that appealing to you, please unsubscribe. By doing so, you’ll open up space for more of the just-right stuff you’d love to have in your life to come pouring in!

But if you choose to stick around, know this: Practice is on the horizon and will be the prevailing theme of my work for the next long while.

In the next few days, I’ll begin sharing a powerful intention setting, yoga-inspired practice to bring in more of what you REALLY want for yourself: Sankalpa, fulfilling your heart’s desire. A few of us practiced a bit of this together on December 2nd at my final FREE Tele-Gathering of the year and I can’t wait to present it again here, in small bites and at a soft, even pace.

Until next time.

deep bows,

How’ve you been? …and how does that measure up with how you’d like things to be going?

If you’re so inclined, perhaps you’ll take a moment and check in with yourself about that. What’s coming up for you? Are there a few things or areas of your life that feel a bit out of whack with what you’d like for yourself, is everything going along swimmingly or is there something else? Whatever you discover as you check in with yourself is exactly right.

Did you run across something that you wish were somehow different? What are you going to do about that? Get pissed? Feel sorry for yourself? Blame someone else? Change yourself completely? Have plastic or corrective surgery? Focus on the Global expression of this ‘condition’ as certainly others must have it FAR worse than you!? …or maybe you’re one who is prone to resignation. Complacency. “Oh well. That’s JUST THE WAY IT IS!”

If there’s a glimmer of want, a longing that urges you forth, then there’s hope and even the possibility of creating lasting, dare I say permanent, sustainable change around that very condition. It takes work — don’t get me wrong. But the way in is do-able and can be found simply and with just a bit of focused attention. The thing is, there is no one right way. …and if you’re a searcher, you are well aware of all the conflicting ideas out there about any given topic. The trick is to weed through all that to find what’s right for YOU, given all your experiences in life up until NOW. So here’s the key question: How do you want to FEEL?

Take this inquiry to heart. Ask yourself often. Try it on right now: How do I want to FEEL? Muse about it. Drop into the sensations in your body that feel close to or far from the way you want to feel. …and get VERY specific. Be careful not to necessarily search for one, global, sweeping FEELING that covers everything, at all times (take Happy or Joy-filled, for example). These feelings are important and certainly it’s a good thing to call in more of that to your life, don’t get me wrong. I’m just suggesting that we beware of catch-all, be-all-end-all, ultimate sort of thinking. To start, simply focus on the circumstances of NOW. Notice next time you are present with this inquiry and layer it with those circumstances. Taking this inquiry into your physical forms of practice is quite powerful. Empowering even. Bring it to the meditation cushion. Bring it to the yoga mat. Bring it to your morning walk, your morning pages, your golf game.

Check in with yourself there and then.
First check in: How have I been? How AM I NOW?
Then notice What’s out of whack? Where is there longing or wishing things were different?
…and finally, simply ask yourself, How do I want to FEEL?

Allow that feeling to rise within you. Perhaps it will come easily, or perhaps it gets a bit messy.
Let that be enough for now. The feeling part, that is. How you feel in your body, in your mood, in your skin, in the space you occupy. Your emotional state, yes, and also the sensations you can discern or seem to be absent.

Until the next time you find yourself mindfully in the midst of practice and you remember to ask yourself How do I want to FEEL?

Let me know how it goes, won’t you? Just leave me a comment below.

How does that land with you?

The practice of showing up takes practice. and a good amount of kind, loving space to practice in. Enough of the right kind of space to feel what comes up, be with what’s stopping you or pushing you too hard, enough space to allow yourself to take pause from whatever chaos your mind, emotions, life is throwing at you.

So, what sort of practice do you do or might you try to find this place of pause and just-right space to simply be?

Here are but a few:

1. Walk barefoot.
2. Garden.
3. Marvel at Nature.
4. Invite another like-spirited person to join you in something you love to do.
5. Build an altar.
6. Create a ritual or ceremony.
7. Arrange a bouquet.
8. Take a bubble bath.

What practices do you have that help you to come into the clear and present moment? Hop on down to the comments and share — practices are meant to be shared and customized to our unique, individual needs. Key is to find a practice or set of practices that are pleasant, even nourishing experiences that feel good in YOUR BODY.

Give it a try and if you get stuck or it starts to feel like drudgery, scale things back, try on something new and perhaps simpler and start again. Now’s the time …and there’s no telling where (and when) you’ll be called to show up next!

Let me know how it goes, won’t you?