Yoga in a Hurry

Creating Abundance at Every Level

Connie — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:36:46 +0000

Creating abundance - it is something everybody wants to do but lots of us somehow never quite get there. Charly and I talked to Iyabo Asani from www.coachiyabo.com who has some very interesting things to say about money, wealth and abundance.

Iyabo has been practising law for over 20 year and ran her own busy law firm. Outwardly she was successful at every level but deep down she knew that there was something missing. She described it as having too much and yet not enough at the same time.

This finally got her searching for her own inner truth and happiness. With the help of a life coach she discovered her inner genius and was able to become true to her own heart. A lot of what she said really resonated with me and is in total alignment with many yoga principles.

Here is what Iyabo had to say about discovering your own inner genius and creating wealth and abundance:

Listen to the cry of your soul, stop hiding what you really want and need (in other words become authentic)
Become true to your heart
Once you are true to your heart, others will either move out of your way because they no longer resonate with your or they will join youon your path
Unleash your creativity in whichever way you can (remember creativity is vast - in can incorporate every aspect of your being)
Work on synergising and balancing your right and left brain, your chakra system and get connected with your higher self, spirituality or God (what better way to achieve this than to practise different aspects of yoga!)

Money is the tangible result of your inner genius. Apart from unleashing the inner genius it is essential to take good care of yourself, look after yourself and love yourself. Loving yourself is not selfish, it is all about valueing yourself. By placing value on ourselves money will flow towards us to add more value. We need to heal our relationship with money and to do this we need to heal the relationship with ourselves.

In spiritual circles money is often considered “evil” or not desirable as the real riches lie elsewhere. This might be so, but plenty of money enables us to do a lot of good, to make the world a better place. How can we be of service if money worries eat away at our very substance, our health, our wellbeing?

Some more important points that Iyabo mentioned:

Reclaim your power over yourself - don’t let things or other people have power over you
Set appropriate boundaries
Reward yourself in little ways
Learn to say no
Get yourself a coach or mentor or enrol in a self development course to help you reach your goals faster

Listen to full interview here:

Are you interested in joining a 365 day course with Iyabo where you get daily emails, some audios, a group call once a week, access to a private forum and more? Click this link to find out more:

http://stretchyourmindandbody.com/blog/coachiyabo

Till next time,

Connie

Your Yoga Partner

from

www.yogainahurry.com

Creating a Chakra Garden

Connie — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:05:24 +0000

I came across this interview on blog talk radio. Carol Cumes has been living in Peru for the last 15 years and has created an amazing chakra garden. She has written a book about her garden. It is called Chakra Gardens: Opening the Senses of the Soul.

In this interview she discusses also how you can create your own chakra garden regardless where you live. It doesn’t matter whether you have acres to play with or live in a small flat - you will be able to create something that gives you peace, harmony and enjoyment.

Listen to her interview here, it is well worth it:

Connie

Your Yoga Partner

from

www.yogainahurry.com

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The Fearless Factor

Connie — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:39:53 +0000

Today Charly and I talked to Jacqueline Wales from http://www.thefearlessfactor.com
Jacqueline has an amazing history and achieved many things in her life that she would have never dreamt of. She is an inspiration to listen to.

The “Fearless Factor” is all about going beyond fear. Fear is based in our imagination (unless it is a real life threatening situation). Our imagination goes into overdrive and into a very negative mode. Our only reality is here and now (which is also one of the very basic yoga principles). We have no idea what will happen, we can’t possibly know.

We can project into the future in a positive way by saying to ourselves something like: “If I have it my way, this will happen…” This way, we have much more chance of achieving a positive outcome. We can incorporate positive statements into our meditations and visualisations. We can specifically create a meditation for ourselves that helps us overcome our fears. Including simple sentences like “I am safe”, “I am ok”, ”I am protected”, “Mother Earth is supporting me” will go a long way to calm our mind and put our fears into perspective.

We need to question all our beliefs once we are adults because all of us live with somebody else’s beliefs and fears in our minds. How many fears were instilled in you when you were little?

Fear is like an abyss, we need to work out how to get to the other side and the only way is to jump - it is not as far as you think it is. Fear can also be defined as the “inability to trust”. This could be not trusting ourselves or others. On the other side of fear is love, especially loving yourself, and the firm belief that anything is possible.

Being fearless is not the absence of fear but the ability to get to the “other side”. How to overcome fear? Start acting “as if” or like some of my mentors have put it: “Fake it till you make it”.

Fear has 5 elements:
• Loss
• Abandonment
• Rejection
• Humiliation
• Failure or success

When we have fear one or many of these 5 elements above are activated. All these elements interrelate. To manage the fear of failure just redefine failure as something that “didn’t work”. You simply did not have enough information or you did not have the right information. Whoever or whatever caused this to be so is irrelevant. Don’t dwell on it, just move on to the next thing. “Next” is one of Jacquelines favourite words. During relaxation practice letting go of thoughts, fellings, fears - just see them dissipate into the distance, dissolve, disappear. The fear returns, just exhale it again and watch it dissolve in the distance.

One practical hint from Jacqueline on how to overcome your fears:
Carry palm cards with you whereever you go and write down any negative thought or fear that comes to mind as soon as it does. Then turn the card around and write the opposite thought on the back.
This is a great tool as it graphically reminds you every time you have self sabotaging thoughts and you have an opportunity to turn them around.

To listen to the full interview, click here:

Jacqueline left us with one parting thought: “Remember that fear is an option”.

Till next time,

Connie

Your Yoga Partner

from

http://www.yogainahurry.com

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Indian Vegetarian Cooking

Connie — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 05:12:02 +0000

When I started my blog my intention was to post some interesting vegetarian recipes on a regular basis. This didn’t quite work out…but I discovered this amazing source of Indian vegetarian recipes. The site is called: http://www.manjulaskitchen.com

Manjula is a great cook and great teacher and shows us how to cook simple, tasty and very authentic Indian vegetarian and vegan dishes. Her blog is a source of great information and she has every recipe in video format so you can see exactly what you need to do and underneath you will find the recipe with all the ingredients and the quantities required.

I love the way Manjula teaches. Every recipe I tried so far has turned out really well and I am going to cook more as soon as I can.

Go and visit Manjula’s kitchen I think you will really enjoy it http://www.manjulaskitchen.com

Till next time

Connie

Your Yoga Partner

from

http://www.yogainahurry.com

Spiritfest - the Spiritual Festival

Connie — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:06:39 +0000

This week Charly and I interviewed Georgina Abrahams or “JD”. JD together with a team of other volunteers is the instigator and organiser of “Spiritfest” which is now in its 8th year. It will be happening again from January 7-10, 2010, in a National Park about 1 1/2 hours drive from the centre of Sydney. Each year Spiritfest has a theme and this time the theme is “creativity”.

Creativity is more important than ever before, nevertheless it has become more neglected and discounted than at any other time in history. Technology is king and creativity has been pushed aside and is seen as a kind of luxury, an indulgence, something that is just for fun when we have nothing better to do. Yet I believe that creativity is the one thing that leads to new inventions, solutions and shifts in paradigm, no matter which field it is employed in. Just recently I saw a comment by a surgeon who said that she sings a particular song when washing her hands in preparation for an operation - the song has exactly the length of time required to wash your hands. She does not have to rely on clocks or alarms or anything else….she also said that she had to be creative each and every time she performed surgery because that was the nature of the work.

Listen to our interview to find out lots more about creativity and Spiritfest:

If you are interested in joining us (I am hoping to be there) and want to find out all the details, download the 2010 brochure here

Till next time,

Connie

Your Yoga Partner

from

http://www.yogainahurry.com

Yoga Aid Challenge is Coming Up Again

Connie — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 03:17:15 +0000

It is Yoga Aid Challenge time again here in Australia! On Sunday 15th November yogis will take to their mats again to do “Salute to the Sun” for a good cause. To participate in an event or to organise your own go to

http://www.yogaaidchallenge.com.au

and find out what is happening in your area. The event has gone truly global and to find out what is happening in your country you can also go to this site. Yoga Aid Challenges are happening at different times of the year in different countries.

In case “Salute to the Sun” is too challenging for you - never fear, there are other ways of participating.

Till next time,

Connie,

Your Yoga Partner

from

http://www.yogainahurry.com

An Interesting Internet Giveaway - Check It Out

Connie — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:28:38 +0000

Last week Charly and I discussed “Giveaways” on our radio show. Giveaways are events on the internet which you can take part in. Usually giveaways have a theme or a directed at a specific interest group. A lot of them have gifts that are of interest to internet marketers and people who run internet businesses. We understand that these gifts would be of little interest to most of you. So Charly Leetham and Lenore Miller have done something special.

But let me start at the beginning: When somebody decides to organise a giveaway (a mammoth task by the way!) they first of all need contributors or JV partners who are willing to give a product (usually downloadable) or a service free of charge. Charly and Lenore Miller from Outrageously Healthy have organised the “Outrageous Health Giveaway” for anybody interested in Health and Wellbeing. They organised some fabulous contributors who have made available some great gifts for you.

Check them out here:

http://stretchyourmindandbody.com/blog/mowb

As a “member” you can then visit the giveaway as often as you like and download as many of the products as you want free of charge in return for giving your name and email address to the person who contributed the gift.

In case you have a gift you want to contribute it may not be too late, talk to Charly and Lenore here:

http://stretchyourmindandbody.com/blog/mowb-jv

To learn more about giveaways, here is the link to our show:

There are really some great gifts in there, have a look and check them out. I started downloading them but haven’t finished yet. A number of contributors have never taken part in a giveaway before and this is a great way to get to know them and what they have to offer.

http://stretchyourmindandbody.com/blog/mowb

Connie,

Your Yoga Partner

from

http://www.yogainahurry.com

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Deepavali the Festival of Lights

Connie — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:01:54 +0000

Yesterday I participated in the Deepavali or Diwali Festival. It is one of the main Hindu festivals and was organised by the local Hindu Council. It took place at a stadium. In short, this festival symbolises the victory of Good over Evil, Light overcoming the Darkness and welcoming heroes after winning the battle against different evil forces.

There are many legends attached to Deepavali and if you want to know more, go to:

http://www.diwalifestival.org and look under “Legends”. There is also other Deepavali information on that site and some lovely poems as well.

At the festival there were many stalls, lots of them offering great Indian vegetarian food, some had clothes, jewellery and other items. The stage was buzzing with non-stop entertainment, mainly dancing and a few singers. The dances ranged from very traditional village dances to modern Bollywood style dancing. Even the modern dances had amazing hand gestures and eye movements choreographed into them. Tradition was never abandoned completely!

Different spiritual traditions were represented throughout the festival as well and I want to share one of the “gems” with you:

A man told me: “You can only enjoy the sun that is shining today, yesterday’s sun will not warm you or give you any benefits. This is why you need a living master to guide you on your spiritual journey, somebody who will be there to travel your path with you, guide you and support you. It doesn’t matter who this master is, as long as he or she is a truly enlightened human being, a true master.”

I haven’t had time to think about the above in great detail. One thing that immediately came to my mind was the fact that human beings seem to do better when they are accountable to somebody about their actions, what progress they have made, which new strategies they have put into place - whether this is in your own business or on a purely personal development level. Especially when we are dealing with old beliefs and behaviour patterns it is very easy and tempting for us to find excuses not to do what will be beneficial for us in the long run. Maybe the modern day psychologists, counsellors, social workers, health professionals, yoga teachers and others have replaced the gurus, saints and priests to a large degree?

Are we ”hard wired” to follow a leader, a shining example, our hero? Is this something that was necessary for the survival of the human race a long time ago and are the remnants of this behaviour still within us today? I don’t have the answers, nor do I know what criteria we should apply to find a true living master of any tradition and where they are to be found.

I leave you with these thoughts for today, if you have any ideas, comments or opinions, please share them below in the comment section.

Till next time

Connie

Your Yoga Partner

from

www.yogainahurry.com

Massage as Therapy

Connie — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 03:40:56 +0000

Barbara Searles is a talented massage therapist who practices integrative massage - and we were honored to have her as our guest on the Stretch Your Mind and Body Talk Show. Barbara spoke at length about using massage as therapy instead of remedial work. Unfortunately most of us wait till we are in pain before we seek help and make time for ourselves.

Massage is a wonderful tool that anyone can use to maintain their health and wellbeing - and not just use when things go wrong. Massage is great for nurturing yourself, human touch is soothing and calming, no matter how stressed out you are.

Your body is a finely tuned engine, and it is necessary to keep up the maintenance - so it makes sense to receive regular ’services’ - massage is one way of providing that regular service and looking after your body. Regular doesn’t have to mean weekly, bi-weekly or monthly either…. it can mean 3 or 4 times a year. The thing is to make the appointments BEFORE you feel you need the therapy.

Massage doesn’t have to be painful, or very painful, either. This is a major point to consider, as many people have had experiences where the massage is incredibly painful as the therapist has worked deep in the muscles. They come away feeling bruised and I have actually seen bruises on some of my students’ bodies after they had a massage. I think this is missing the point. It does not tie in with yoga at all - yoga is about working with your body, respecting it and honouring it and only taking it to the point it is ready to go to. This applies to yoga postures, breathing techniques and sitting in meditation.

How deep the massage therapist works and how much pain is experienced should be determined as much by the client as by the therapist. Often, the more pain, the less effective the treatment. The same goes for yoga stretches - once there is pain, the muscle will start to tense and send out alarm signals to the brain instead of letting go.

As an integrative therapist, Barbara doesn’t practice one particular type of massage therapy. This is an interesting point as many therapists will ask their clients what type of treatment they need at the time of booking. With an integrative therapy, the therapist will use a combination of styles that work best for their client at that point in time - which has to be much better for the therapist and the client. This reminds me about my students too - they always ask what style of yoga I teach and I usually tell them that it is a “blend” or that I might change the style depending who is in the class at any particular time.

Myofascial Release

Myofascial Release is one style that Barbara does specialize in. Myofascial Release is a technique that provides sustained pressure into myofascial restrictions to eliminate pain and restore motion.

Fascia is literally a weave that covers and connects every muscle, bone, nerve, artery and vein in the body, as well as all of our internal organs including the heart, lungs, brain and spinal cord. Fascia is one weave that covers the body from head to toe, without any breaks. So it is all interconnected - tension or tightness in one part will affect another part.

Myofascial literally means the muscular fascia. I sometimes describe it to my students as “gladwrap” that separates each muscle fibre from the other one. I am convinced that holding yoga postures and stretches for a number of long slow deep breaths also has a very beneficial effect on the fascia. I will do some more research into this fascinating area.

By working with the Fascia, a massage therapist is able to coax the body back into its normal state. This type of therapy can be very gentle as it relies on small changes and doesn’t coerce muscles into moving and relaxing, but the positive effects of the Myofascial release can be more profound and last longer.

Massage As Therapy

Consider using massage as a ongoing therapy to keep your body in tune - one of the other benefits of massage is that it will also give your mind some downtime. Your mind can roam freely or go into a meditative state quite easily while you are being massaged.

In between your visits to your massage therapist you can practise self massage. You can do wonderful things for yourself just by sitting down and massaging your feet, hands and face. Sometimes I teach this as part of my class and as little as 5 minutes of self massage can do wonders for you.

You can listen to our interview the Barbara Searles from BodyWorks Lancaster to find out more about massage as therapy, below.

You can also connect with Barbara as @BodyworksPA on Twitter and Facebook or through her Bodyworks Therapeutic Massage facebook page.

Connie

Your Yoga Partner

from

www.yogainahurry.com

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Energy Healing with Paige Haines

Connie — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:51:25 +0000

Last week Charly and I interviewed Paige Haines, an energy healer who is based in Brisbane, Australia. You can find Paige at http://www.emergehealing.com.au

Paige’s specialty is “Reconnective Healing”. She comes from an engineering background and was struggling with a chronic health issue herself. She couldn’t find any relief for 2 years. Then she came across reconnective healing and it held the answer for her.

Since then she has become a healer herself and her passion is helping people who are on the brink of a breakdown, have chronic fatigue, depression, chronic pain or suffer stress and burnout. During the healing session she works with energy and sometimes information that is relevant for the person having the healing comes through and Paige passes it on to the client if they are willing to hear the information.

That brings us to the question: what is reconnective healing? In simple terms it is energy, light and information that comes through. When Paige is working it is coming through her hands and the sensations vary quite a bit. The person having the healing can experience a variety of things or nothing much at all. The effectiveness of the healing is not dependent on how many sensations or experiences the client has. Some of the most profound healing occurs when the session itself was quite uneventful.

I had a session with Paige a couple of days before our interview and it was quite an unusual experience. I had no idea what to expect as I had never healing from a distance or reconnective healing before. I was lying (with my eyes closed) on my back in my lounge room in Sydney and Paige was in Brisbane (about 1000 km away). I had all sorts of sensations and a few times I was very tempted to open my eyes to check that there was nobody there actually touching me. I felt very relaxed afterwards and had the most colourful dreams that night.

To listen to the full interview, go here:

Paige also has a free report and audio available on her site: http://www.emergehealing.com.au

Till next time,

Connie

Your Yoga Partner

from

Yoga in a Hurry

Creating Abundance at Every Level

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