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The 6th Spiritual Law of Yoga: the Law of Detachment

You have control over your actions and choices but not over their consequences.  Knowing this, you can step in the direction that seems most evolutionary and trust that either you will get what you want or you will learn something of great value.

"He who would be serene and pure needs but one thing: detachment." ~ Meister Eckhart

Many wisdom traditions teach that the path to happiness and spiritual enlightenment lies in letting go of attachment.  This doesn't mean renouncing your desires or living the life of an ascetic.  Instead, you set an intention then relinquish your attachment to the outcome.  The Bhagavad Gita states,

"Yoga is perfect evenness of mind.  Seek refuge in the attitude of detachment and you will amass the wealth of spiritual awareness.  Those who are motivated only be desire for the fruits of action are miserable, for they are constantly anxious about the results of what they do.  When consciousness is unified, however, all vain anxiety is left behind.  There is no cause for worry, whether things go well or ill.  Therefore, devote yourself to the disciplines of yoga, for yoga is skill in action."

Attachment is based on fear and insecurity.  When you forget your true self - which is pure consciousness, pure potentiality - you begin to believe that you need something outside of yourself to make you happy.  At a deep level, however, you know that happiness can be lost and therefore has the potential to bring you pain.  The only way out of this dilemma is releasing your attachment to a specific result.

Today, step into the field of all possibilities, set your intentions, take action, and let the universe take care of the outcome.

source: The Chopra Center 21 Days of Inspiration

Don't Miss This Incredible Workshop Opportunity! Yoga Gangsters This Fall

Yogic Inspiration from Lee Ann: The Fifth Law of Yoga, The Law of Intention & Desire

Everything in the universe consists of energy and information - including you.  When you quiet your mind and introduce your intentions into the field of pure potentiality, you harness the infinite organzing power of the universe to achieve your desires.

"A wave of individuality rises from the unbounded ocean, and for a time, forgets that it is the ocean in disguise.  When the wave begins looking inside, the memory of wholeness is rekindled, and the wave again knows itself as unbounded, infinite, and eternal."

~David Simon

For more than five thousand years, the Vedic masters of India have taught that our essential nature is infinite, whole, and eternal.  We have an innate impulse to grow and create health and fulfillment.  To fully experience these gifts, we need to embrace a holistic understanding of life that considers the whole person - the mind, body, and soul.  Just as the planet's ecosystems are interdependent, the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of our lives are intimately connected.  When one system is out of balance, it affects the functioning of the whole.

From this holistic perspective, health isn't merely the absence of illness or symptoms: it's a higher state of consciousness that allows vitality, well-being, creativity, and joy to flow into our experience.  As we shift into this higher awareness, we see that we aren't our bodies, our possessions, our titles, our circumstances or our relationships.  We're spiritual beings in the eternal unfolding of life, and our natural state is wholeness.

Practice seeing beyond the masks of individuality.  Look into the eyes of the people you encounter today and see the reflections of your soul.

om Love, om Laughter,

Lee Ann

excerpts from: The Chopra Center 21 - Days of Inspiration

Set Your Sights On Expanding Love & Acceptance to Achieve True Happiness: The 4th Law of Yoga

The Fourth Law of Yoga: The Law of Least Effort 

When your actions are motivated by love, your energy multiplies and you're able to create anything you want.  When you seek power and control over others, you waste energy chasing the illusion of happiness.  Set your intentions on expanding love and you will be able to manifest your desires with effortless ease.

"The softest of stuff in the world quickly penetrates the hardest.  Insubstantial, it enters where no room is."

Lao-Tzu

When everything is flowing according to our idea of how things should be, it's easy to feel in harmony with the rhythms of the universe.  When there is a lack of alignment between what we want and how our life is unfolding, we're more likely to feel disharmony, stress, or frustration.  yet it is our resistance to what is happening in the present moment that intensifies our distress. Whether we're getting a root canal or finding out that we've lost our job, our fear and the frightening stories we tell ourselves about our situation magnify our pain.

The present moment is not always easy to accept, but learning to listen to the sensations in our body and the message they are sending will calm our emotional turbulence and ultimately will enable us to benefit from the experience.

Connect to your body, accept this moment, know that change is inevitable, and become clear on what you would like to see manifest.   Your ability to co-create the next moment requires acceptance of the present.

Om shanti, om peace, 

Lee Ann

We Have the Power to Make Choices For Ourselves. Harness it!

The 3rd Law of Yoga: The Law of Karma/ or Cause and Effect

You are an infinite choice maker.  Instead of reacting in the habitual, conditioned ways, you can make conscious choices that bring greater happiness to yourself and those around you.

"Have your attention on what is and see the fullness in every moment.  The presence of the divine is everywhere.  You have only to consiously embrace it with your attention." ~The Vedas

Each of us is an inextricable part of the conscious intelligence field that gives rise to everything in the universe.  Since we are an inseparable part of this underlying field of intelligence, we are also the source of all reality.  In every moment, we are co-creating our world with God, the universe, or spirit.

Both the ancient wisdom traditions and modern science tell us that our bodies, our minds, and the physical world are projections of our consciousness. Only consciousness is real; everything else is its projection.

An ancient Vedic saying states, "You are not in the world; the world is in you."  It is only the veil of illusion - known as MAYA in the ancient yogic tradition - that keeps us from seeing that everything is pure consciousness.

When we pierce the veil, we discover the spirit in everything and have access to unlimited creative potential.

Today explore the conscious intelligence field and begin to see yourself as a co-creator of your own experience.

om UNBOUNDEDNESS,

Lee Ann

[source: The Chopra Center: 21 Days of Inspiration]

Inspiring Article About Finding "Drishti" in Yoga & in Life

I stumbled upon this article today while seeking to learn about "drishti" in yoga practice. What I found what an eye-opening perspective about balancing in your own life and finding your drishti in a metaphorical sense. After reading this article, think about how you can use a drishti in your life to keep your eyes on the prize, heart on the simple things, & to find balance between your body, mind and soul. 

Lee Ann practicing precise balance, set on her "drishti". 

"Last week, before I walked into class, I was feeling a bit off (my mind was swirling with thoughts, doubts & fears) and life just seemed…chaotic. I knew I could resort to my yoga mat to find some answers, some clarity.

During class, the instructor was taking us through a tree pose series and encouraged us to find or drishti for balance. Suddenly, I looked up and saw a beautiful, odd little elephant figure by the window with the sun subtly shining in, and thought That’s it. From that point on, suddenly my worries and fears from the outside world didn’t seem to matter. I was here, I was present, I was living in the now to its truest form.

In yoga or meditation, "finding your drishti” is a technique involving focusing on one point or object for greater concentration or balance, in my case the elephant. But if you take it into everyday life, I like to think of it as simply living in the now, experiencing life to its finest.

It’s finding peace with the past and slowing your mind down when it starts spiraling into a bout of future-tripping.

You see, it’s easy to get caught up in the ups & downs and crazy obstacles the universe sometimes throws at us. But if you pause for a moment and simply focus on where you are right in this moment,things become a little brighter, a little more OK.

These next couple weeks, I’m attempting to focus on finding my drishti beyond yoga practice and meditation, and I’d love for you ladies to join me. It may be as simple as taking a deep breath on the verge of breakdown, finding the joy in watching your children play or observing the first flower bloom for spring. Or it may mean closing your eyes to find peace in the now, or journaling your feelings before bed.

How can you find your drishti in everyday life? In what ways do you practice focusing on the NOW?" 

From Rachel at this URL: http://healthy-chicks.com/2014/03/16/on-finding-your-drishti-in-yoga-in-life/  "The Healthy Chicks" blog

Yoga can help us in so many ways. Get to your mat today & keep yours eyes on your drishti!