I'm back!

It's been a magical week of surfing, and lots and lots of yoga and meditation. Such an amazing and fun group. 

We will definitely return next year. We made vida asana our home and I will miss it tremendously!  

I'm back to my regular schedule this week. Come see me I'm about 10 shades darker!

With love,  

P

Costa Rica!

We made it to Costa Rica! Today is the first complete day of the retreat. We started with meditation, a 90 minute class, delicious breakfast, and surfing. So blessed to be here! 

Almost everyone is partaking in surfing, we are going to Manuel Antonio reserve for some serious beach time on Wednesday, some of the crew went diving, hiking. It's been so good. I feel so blessed to be with such an amazing group. 

With love,

P 

Your Hands

Last week, I focused my classes on paying attention to the hands during asana and meditation.  

The Hamsa

 

The symbol of the hand has been used in so many lineages for countless purposes.  The prayer hands, the Hamsa (or evil eye), Buddhist and Hindu Mudras, for Chinese medicine (meridians in the palms), I could go on and on.  The usage of hands has been used to reflect spirituality and devotion throughout the centuries.  In modern day, we use our hands to communicate, to salute, to curse, to give, to energize to soothe.  Our hands are the gateway to who we are.  

When we like someone. we open our hands and arms warmly, when we are upset, we hold our hands tightly.  The same happens in our practice.  When we are at ease, we can barely feel the hands for they are grounded confidently, and they allow us to deepen the pose.  They open the chest, the heart, and allow us to strengthen the core.  Think about when the opposite is happening.  When we are stressing during our practice, the energy stays stuck in our hands.  Have you every had a practice in which you felt stuck in your shoulders and chest?  

Gyan Mudra, used to increase concentration and energy (vaayu)

Some tips to pay attention to your hands during class:

Hands:  Your hands are like little suction cups.  The center of your palm should be slightly lifted (energetically, your teacher shouldn't be able to see this) while the rest of the hand is comfortably grounded.  All fingers and knuckles should be spread as wide as they go, as if you were trying to grab sand from underneath you.  Pinky and thumb separate as far as possible, to create space in your palm.  Your wrists and palms should have as little weight on them as possible.  The wrist is a very fragile joint.  But your hands are a gateway to your strength.  Use them wisely and with full awareness. 

In your downward dogs: does your downward dog seem like it's restricting your chest and back?  Try switching the position of your hands slightly.  Instead of pointing your middle fingers directly to the front of the mat, try pointing them slightly outwards.  This may give you more freedom to your chest and the rotators in your shoulders.  

In your planks and other strengthening poses:  Use your arm, chest and core muscles to come OFF the wrist and palm. Press the floor away from you and let the energy travel upwards- towards the armpits and chest, into the belly- your powerhouse.  

  

Have a great week, and stay warm! 

Xo,

P 

New Year

Every year, on this day, we are reminded that at anytime, we have an opportunity to re-do our lives, choose a better path and give up what we no longer need. 

I have gathered my favorite New Year resolution articles from my favorite websites. Perhaps you can get ideas on where to start. 

1. 10 ways to stop treating yourself 

http://www.marcandangel.com/2013/12/29/10-ways-to-stop-treating-yourself/

2. 14 Ways to Make 14 miraculous 

http://gabbyb.tv/vlogging/14-ways-to-make-14-miraculous?inf_contact_key=35428f950a9d56e152854c4b675bf91b46e4a9eba5fcb763a5e37ef0b7afb5b2

3. Forget setting goals, focus on this instead.

 (After reading this, think of the systems as your intention, see if makes sense that way).

http://m.entrepreneur.com/article/230333

4. 20 things to let go of before the new year (I really like this one)

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-11973/20-things-to-let-go-of-before-the-new-year.html

Other ideas:

- Take a jar, and decorate it. Call it the gratitude jar, karma jar, whatever. Write something you're thankful for every day and put it in the jar. See how beautiful it looks in Summer. Give it as a gift next year. 

- Make a list of 14 things that make you happy. For example, traveling, laughing with friends, doing yoga. Post this list somewhere visible and do those things as often as possible! 

- Don't get stuck on the things you DIDNT do. For example, I was supposed to get my license. And stop eating refined sugar.  These were two of my goals. I didn't get it a license, and although I cut down on sugar a lot, I still eat the occasional donut from Peter Pan. No excuses for myself, full accountability. But I want a car next year, and I need a license. And I'm traveling like 4 times next year to surf, therefore I will get my license, and will stop the sugar. But no need to beat myself up about it. It's a waste of time. 

What are you going to do better 2014? What are the ways you make resolutions? Please share. 

I wish that everyone has an amazing 2014!!!! 

Gratitude Meditation - Happy Thanksgiving!

Did you know that people that are grateful are generally happier, live longer and have healthier lives?  According to many studies, individuals that practiced gratitude exercises were generally in better moods,  suffered less headaches and colds, and had more positive attitudes overall.

Last year, during this time, I went through a hard break up, and my mom back home in Venezuela was very sick.  It was a very hard time for me and my family and I was struggling to remain optimistic.  I took refuge big time in meditation, and knowing the information I shared above,  I took a lot of time in one particular meditation which I am going to share below.

It is a very simple exercise that I now do every single morning as soon as I become conscious.  You can extend the meditation until your mood shifts to a better place, the length of it it depends on how you are feeling.  For example, I used to do this mediation for about 20 minutes at a time last year because I felt like crap, nowadays for about 5 minutes for I wake up mostly in a good mood.

My Gratitude Meditation: 

• Sit down or lay down and take a few moments to find your breath and shift your attention inward. Do this for about 20 breaths, until you feel focused and present.  
• If you're going through a particular hard time and can't focus, think of a place or a person that makes you happy (for me is my nephews), and focus on them, while you breath. This will help you focus.
• Once you have shifted your energy to a more positive place, take an inhale and say "I am thankful for ___________" and exhale while thinking of this particular person or thing. 
• Go through as many things as you can think of.  For example, your warm bed, the coffee waiting for you in the kitchen, your family, your job, your friends, your lover.  Nothing is too small or too big to be thankful for. 
• If there is one thing in particular you are extremely thankful for (for me this is where my sisters, my students and my closest friends come to the picture) spend some time there, picture them happy, and feel your gratitude extend all the way to them. 

I hope that everyone today has a chance to spend the day full of joy and gratitude. Happy Thanksgiving and Hanukkah everyone!

With Love,

P 

Happy Monday Reading

14 Tidbits to stir in your coffee when the sloth visits. 
(all taken from this great article)

#1. Spread kindness and love whenever you can. Reach out your fingertips and feel the energy flow. As you start sparking kindness it’ll lift the cloak of darkness. Love really is the answer.

#2. Projections, my dear, are viral. Replaying the past will drown you. Get the bolt cutters and cut the chains of heaviness. Turn the emotional fanfare off and stop twitching at every little leaf that moves. Ground your inner wildebeest. Watch without attachment and let your mind settle into the quietness of an observer. The lake is a mirror and you are the image.
“Be not the slave of your own past. Plunge into the sublime seas, dive deep and swim far, so you shall come back with self-respect, with new power, with an advanced experience that shall explain and overlook the old.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

#3. Always seek real. Speak from you heart and walk around the steaming piles of bubbling bullshit. No one is going to save or rescue you from the demons you fight. Many are fighting their own generous life lessons which include heaven and hell. Be gentle. Be kind. Speak softly. It’s often louder than a roar.

#4. Be your own Sun and Moon. The Sun shines to keep you and every living thing alive. The Moon is the healing afterglow. You have both qualities within you. It’s a powerful alchemy and one you can tap into. You have the capabilities to catapult through space. Believe in the trajectory of your heartfelt intentions.

#5. Life isn’t about cruise control. You are the driver and not the passenger. Get lost. Get found. There will be triggers. Lots of them. Watch. Look. Listen. Learn. But don’t sit there stewing in the brew. Change lanes: Avoidance has a kinship with procrastination. The pile-up effect can be debilitating.

#6. Pull out your inner GPS, it is guided by your intuition. Set your compass to the four corners. Going one-way is incredibly boring.

#7. Declare a rapture of your senses and sip raindrops from your eyelashes. Walk your fingertips along each vertebrae. Watch each hair follicle dance in the quiver of your aliveness.
 She had to breathe in peace, for in peace she found the quiet solitude her heart had been aching for. In the moments between raindrops she let her focus dwell and the sound of silence comforted her more than an avalanche of superficial banter.

#8. Let it out. When you see the monstrous waves of anxiety pouring in, swim out further to sea and settle into the fear. The part where you panic and dread is exactly where you need to tread. It’s the painful parts you try to stuff down an endless rabbit hole. If the road gets blurry, pull over. Take a few exquisite deep breaths. Breathe in freshness and flush the rest into a cosmic portal of silky white feathers.

#9. Unstick yourself and dare to do what scares the hell out of you.
“And one has to understand that braveness is not the absence of fear but rather the strength to keep on going forward despite the fear.”~ Paulo Coelho

#10. Letting go is continuous. It’s not a one-time affair. It is a perpetual process of assimilation. Once one layer is shed, other one comes up. This is good because it means you are alive and well.

#11. Quiet times are essential. It is necessary to step out of the drama of meaningless dribble and part the rain from the drops and melt into the puddles. Solitude is like water. Drink it, create it with no regret.
I dip gratefully into the sunshine and sip dew from the grass. I befriend nature and listen to the messages. I fly to the tops of branches and feel the hum of a hummer fluttering in my heart. In the speed of light, I see the patches of shade and dance lightly. I catch a wisp of a spider’s web and dangle between the echo and the silence. It is here I find a moment to fill my heart with joy.

#12. Create a fire and ignite your inner flame. Laugh and dance to the rhythm of your joy and resonate the heat of your core creativity. Step outside of the normal and find your inner crazy. Reflect with gratitude the shifting kaleidoscope, is a part of YOU.
 “Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way.” ~ Terry Tempest Williams

#13. Life is like a metaphorical handstand. At times, it can feel upside down, inverted and confusing until we kick up into the fear. Challenge yourself to balance the weight evenly by relaxing into the space of the unknown.
And above all….

#14. Choose to live life as a miracle, because it is.
“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” ~ Albert Einstein

2 more classes for fall, Equinox and Yoga People

I am subbing for the beautiful Mika Oakes on Tuesdays and Fridays at Go Yoga, subbing tons at Equinox and also at Yoga people in Brooklyn heights. My updated schedule is below! 

Also, my retreat is HALF FULL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a wonderful week everyone,

Xoxo