Candle Gazing on the Full Moon

The full moon is barely visible yet the pull it has on my heart this Valentine's Day is palpable. I light the candle to prepare for the exciting month ahead. I set the intention to clear any thing that stands in the way of my heart's desire, to guide my students. I say aloud to the universe,

'On this full moon of my lion brother, Leo, please light my way, please guide me and my students down the path of life, of cleansing, of healing.

I focus on the light, the fire of the candle, to burn away any obstacles that stand in the way of our moving towards our goals.
Vishoka va joytishmati. When I focus on the light, I am filled with light. I focus on the light for a long time. Namaste.

Trataka, candle gazing, is a meditative practice where we focus on flame of the candle. According to Shloka 2.32 of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, "Trataka eradicates all eye diseases, fatigue and sloth and closes the doorway to these problems."

I do suggest trying new practices with the support of a knowledgeable teacher.
For more information about trataka, an article from Yoga International:

Candlelight Insight: Trataka

BY Natalya Podgorny ON May 7, 2013

This simple technique has a purifying, invigorating effect on the mind and improves concentration.

You ARE what you eat

reachingutopia.com photo credit

I'm not sure when I first heard the quote, 'You are what you eat,' but I have heard if often especially as of late. I'm also not sure that I believed it whole heartedly until recently. Last November I did a whole food cleanse that changed my life. I've done many cleanses and fasts over the last 20 years, and they were always a struggle. While I benefited from most of them in some way, they never changed my habits or me completely.

What made this last time different? Well, me and where I am emotionally was different. I was cleansing with a friend, yet I have done that before. The particular cleanse I was doing, again, I have done that before. So, we'll come back to this question.

Our diets have changed dramatically since our youth. I remember getting milk from the local farmer, my mother making spaghetti sauce, and fast food was a luxury that occurred once a year.

I don't need to describe how it is today--because we all know--it's almost impossible to find unpasteurized milk, homemade spaghetti sauce is a luxury and fast food for some is the norm.

 Our vegetables are be modified, sprayed with pesticides, chemicals are added to many foods to add to their shelf life, color, packaging with added chemicals, and the list goes on. How has this changed us? We have more allergies, addictions, obesity, chronic illness, emotional disorders, medicated children and adults than ever before.

So what can we do? We can change our eating (cook at home, grow your own food, slow down, eat mindfully) and buying habits (buy organic, eat locally grown food that's in season, read ingredients and don't buy anything that has ingredients that you can't pronounce or know what they are) just a couple suggestions. Does it have to be a total overhaul? We can start small and work our way to changing the aspects of our lives we want to be different--one bite at a time.

So, what was different this time? ME!! Where I'm at in my life, my practice, with my family and career, I see things from a clearer perspective and through my November cleanse, my eyes, tastes and body was changed. I was actually able to give up my worst addiction or habit (diet soda--I know I'm embarrassed to admit it) easily.  When I tried to drink some after the cleanse was over, I just couldn't. People from all parts of my life commented on my transformation. I had wished I had taken before and after pics, but I didn't.

I will be leading a group whole food cleanse starting on March 1st, 2014.  If you are interested, check out the flyer on my website, Wake Up From Winter. I will be blogging throughout the cleanse. Please feel free to share any experiences you have had with changing food habits (or any other appropriate ones) below. Bon appetite!

Discipline sets us free

"Some regard discipline as a chore. For me, it is a kind of order that sets me free to fly." Julie Andrews
I agree with Julie Andrews wholeheartedly! I have always been a list maker and checker-offer. As I have gotten older, I sometimes lose my lists, yet the list is still a big part of my day. I find my electronic lists harder to lose, but typing items in with my thumbs doesn't provide the same excitement as hand writing them and crossing things off. Lists provide order for me; order and discipline allow me freedom.

I gain freedom to think and be creative because I am not trying to remember all the things I have to do. When I established my morning routine, my life changed for the better. As with many things in my life, it was suggested along time ago to create a morning routine. I have always been one to set out my clothes, make lunches, plan the next day the night before so that I may be present in the morning. With my morning routine written, I follow the steps, even though they have long since been memorized, and begin my day.

Preparation and planning are part of my discipline and routine that help me to be clear, at peace and able to do my life with family, career, friends, and lots of other pleasures. Patanjali tells us in Yoga Sutra 1.14 “It is only when the correct practice is followed for a long time, without interruptions and with a quality of positive attitude and eagerness, that it can succeed.”
sa tu dirghakala nairantarya satkara adara asevito drdhabhumih

So not only do we need to do out practice for a long period of time, we need to do it with a positive attitude and eagerness, to succeed and move ahead. If I check off my lists, do my routine, my practice and am not excited about it, I will not reap the benefits that come along with following my correct path.

So what is my morning routine? It is a mixture of ayurveda, yoga and general health practices.

• I wake before my family
• go to the bathroom
• wash my face
• brush my teeth
• scrape my tongue

 Many of these things I have done all of my life, yet they are still on my list. Next, 

• I alternate between oil pulling (swishing oil between your teeth) and 
• using the neti pot and nasya oil. 

Some days I do both, it depends on time, the season and how my body feels.  If my nose is dry, I use the neti pot and nasya. If I took in a bunch of toxins, I oil pull. Sometimes I just rub some sesame oil on my gums. It's soothing and has an anti-bacterial affect.
At this point, my family is up and I head down to the kitchen and 

• make hot water with a slice of lemon and ginger. I drop my guys off at school, take care of the dogs, and make a cup a tea.  I do 
• abhyanga (oil massage) from head to toe.  While the oil makes its way into my body, 
• I do my yoga practice, which includes a short asana practice with pranayama (breathing), chanting and meditation.  
• Finally, I shower, get dressed and head to my kitchen to work.

Now I know that seems like a lot. It is, and it's not. It's taken me a long time to get it down to an hour for everything.  It doesn't always flow like I've written it and it doesn't always happen in its entirety. Sometimes I want a longer yoga practice and do it later in the morning or day. Some days I don't shower and use a dry brush (loofa or wash cloth) to exfoliate my skin instead of oil.

I suggest creating a routine that works for  you.  Start with something you already do like brushing your teeth and add it something new like tongue scraping.  Why? Katja has a clear and simple article, 5 reasons to scrape your tongue every day

 The main thing is to create a routine that is helpful and important to you. Developing discipline is part of creating a new habit. It is much easier to get rid of a habit that doesn't serve us if we can replace it with a new one that has some benefit to us.

You might wonder why I do all of this? Well, it all makes me feel good; I rarely, if ever, get sick; and I am usually pretty balanced, even as my body and family go through changes. Was Patanjali talking about morning routines in YS 1.14? I don't know, but it's a practice that serves me and I reap the benefits of it from doing it regularly, enthusiastically and over a long period of time.  Certainly my yoga practice has benefited me and those around me over a period of time.  That's enough for me.

I would love to hear about how each of you changes habits, what you do for morning routines or other discipline practices that would be helpful to me or my readers.  

The discipline of writing something down is the first step toward making it happen.
Lee Iacocca

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