10 Ways to Achieve True Inner Peace

            Finding inner peace is difficult to do in a world like ours. Life is crazy busy, with curve balls launched at every turn. It can be daunting to try and see the love in each day, especially when you feel that bad often overtakes the good. One thing that is for certain is change, which is why achieving inner peace relies on how you adapt and cope. If some material item or emotional state makes you feel at inner peace, you’ll never be there long. Learning to adapt and to make yourself happy even when change is occurring is how you can achieve inner peace. I found that these ten destinations are along the journey to inner peace and even in difficult times, reverting to these can put your mind, body and soul at ease.

1)   Visualization. When I’m feeling overwhelmed, stressed or sad I tend to let it consume me. Using visualization is a great way to calm your woes even while they ail you. Shut the world out for a few moments, close your eyes and visualize a place you long to be. Think of the sounds you hear there, the scents you smell, what you would be doing and soak it all up. Remind yourself that even though you’re struggling now, you won’t always be and eventually you’ll make it back to that place.

2)   Affirmations. As humans, we tend to focus on the negatives and pay less attention to the positives. On the route to inner peace we must reverse this by practicing affirmations. Affirmations of yourself and others can make you feel stronger and confident, especially during times of weakness or worry. “You are beautiful.” “You are strong.” “I am beautiful.” “I am strong.”

3)   Focus on sound. Sometimes all we need is a chance to tune out the world. By using music or any other soothing sounds, we give our minds a chance to focus on something and it allows our petty thoughts to melt away. If music isn’t a source of calm for you, then just simply listen to whatever is around you. Watch your thoughts pass by in your mind and pay attention to the sounds you hear only. This gives your mind a chance to rest and relax.

4)   Practice compassion. When we experience another person’s compassion, it lights us up from the inside out. And so it does when we practice compassion towards another. Even a smile sometimes can turn someone’s day around. Focus on being compassionate (even when you’d rather not) because it will make not only you feel good, but those around you.

5)   Breathe. One of the most neglected forms of relaxation is simply, breathing. Inhaling fresh oxygen and exhaling the toxins that we don’t need anymore while focusing on the breath is a great way to relax. When you feel like the world is caving in on you, take a moment just to breathe. You’ll be amazed at the clarity you’ll feel.

6)   Practice acceptance. Practicing acceptance is a key way to inner peace. We cannot change everything and accepting what cannot be changed, acknowledging it and letting it go is something that many people have a hard time doing. Remember each day to be accepting of change, of people and of circumstances. Rest your head in the acceptance that everything happens for a reason, and even bad can turn into good.

7)   Forgive. Holding grudges is a sure-fire way to inner war. Forgiveness is something that is more beneficial to the forgiver than the one being forgiven because it allows us clarity in our souls. Once you forgive, you can let go. Letting go with a deep breath and forgiving those who have hurt you or forgiving yourself is a great step on the road to peace. Forgive and exhale the hurt away.

8)   Simplify. Try to simplify everything in your life. Sometimes we make things overcomplicated or harder than they need to be for unknown reasons. By focusing on simplification, you can focus solely on necessities of the body, mind and soul.

9)   Do things you enjoy every chance you get. Give yourself time for the things you enjoy the most. Happiness, true happiness, is a gateway to inner peace. You have to let yourself have it by doing the things you love and enjoy as often as you can.

10) Practice gratitude and appreciation. This is perhaps the most important of all. Being grateful and appreciative for everything good in our lives shouldn’t be reserved just for Thanksgiving. We should take time to appreciate the good in our lives, and even the bad, for it allows us to learn and grow. Appreciation for even the little things is important on the journey to inner peace.

We hope today and everyday you are able to splash in the pool of inner peace, for with inner peace and contentment comes true happiness. Remember this quote during the rough times and practice these 10 ways to inner peace as often as you can: “He who lives in harmony with himself, lives in harmony with the universe.” -Marcus Aurelius

The 5th Law of Yoga: the Law of Intention & Desire

In the face of challenging situations, it's easy to fall into the grip of the egos’ fears and confusion.  Remind yourself each day of your intentions and spiritual purpose.  Meditate, find your center, reflect and plant your seeds of intention in the fertile field of all possibilities.

"Are you looking for me?

I am in the next seat.

When you really look for me,

You will find me instantly.

You will find me in the tiniest house of time.

Kabir says: Student, tell me, what is God?

He is the breath inside the breath."

~ Kabir

Although in daily life most of us take our ability to breathe for granted, on some deeper level we grasp its central importance.  We use the metaphor

"breathing room” when we feel we are not getting enough air...when we intuit that our very life force is draining away.

From our first breath to our last, breathing is a continuous, endless tool through which we can fulfill the dictum "know thyself.”  If we pay attention, our breath can teach us more than we can imagine: gratitude, peace and even as Kabir tells us, God.

Focusing on the breath immediately brings us into the NOW, which is why awareness of the breath is at the heart of many meditation practices.  When we allow ourselves to be present, we create the breathing room that we crave so intensely.

When we need vitality, we may need to look no further than our breath, which brings in the prana (life force) necessary to support every cell in the body.

Breathing is part of the great mystery that surrounds us every day, immersing us in the source of life even while we feel separate from it.  Take some time to follow your breath today and you will be amazed where it will take you.

om shanti, om peace, om breathe deeply & slowly,

Lee Ann

source: The Chopra Center 21- Days of Inspiration

The 4th Law of Yoga: The Law of Least Effort

                                     

Nature's intelligence functions with effortless ease.  When you become lighthearted and let go of struggling to force things to go your way, you'll experience the spontaneous fulfillment of your desires and purpose.  

"Nature is made to conspire with spirit to emancipate us." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

An ancient Vedic teaching states that the ability to embrace ambiguity, uncertainty, and paradox is the hallmark of spiritually enlightened beings.

Yet while we may acknowledge the value of flexibility and openness, the mind craves certainty.  It strives to classify ideas and experiences into  neat categories of good or bad, true of false, victim or aggressor.  While this innate response is invaluable for assessing potential danger in our environment, when we become entrenched in a a particular perspective, we constrict our awareness of new possibilities.

Through mindfulness practices such as meditation and yoga, entrenched thought patterns and their accompanying emotions lose their tight grip on you.

Take some time to meditate today.  As observe your thoughts arising and disappearing in the vastness of your awareness, you will become less and less identified with your conditioned mind and its creations.  They will cease to define your reality as you begin to see that they are just one perspective in a universe filled with perspectives...just one more expression of the infinite Divine that resides in each of us.

input from: The Chopra Center 21 Days of Inspiration

Win 5 Classes at Yoga Center for Healthy Living for FREE! Join Our Yoga Selfie Raffle :)

Yoga Center for Healthy Living “Selfie” Raffle!

You could win a 5 class yoga package ($65 value) for FREE!


Here’s what you do:

• If you haven’t already, “like” our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter @YogiBrighton
• Take a picture of yourself (“Selfie”) before or after you attend a yoga class at Yoga Center for Healthy Living (try to get something indicative of our center in your picture so we know you’re here!)
• Upload your picture to Twitter with hashtag #YogiRaffle OR upload your photo to the Yoga Center Facebook page (make sure to put your first and last name with every submission).
• Every time you submit a “Yoga Selfie” in the month time frame, you are entered to win the 5 FREE Yoga classes! The more times you submit, the more chances to win!
• This begins TODAY Monday, May 19 and we will draw our winner on June 19!

Get to your mat and get to snapping photos! We can’t wait to see your Yogi Brighton Selfies!

For questions email Cortney at cortneypeters25@gmail.com or tweet to us @YogiBrighton OR post your questions to the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/yogacenterforhealthyliving 

The 3rd Law of Yoga: The Law of Karma (or Cause & Effect)

We've all heard the old saying "what goes around comes around" which is the motto of the philosophical law of karma. It plays well with the golden rule "do unto others as you would want done unto you." Keeping this in mind, let's dive into the meaning of the third law of yoga, the law of karma (also know as the law of cause and effect). 

Struggling against old patterns only reinforces them.  Deliberately incorporating new behavior, new ideas, and new approaches into your everday life habits gives your mind the opportunity to adopt fresh perspectives.  Be patient and loving with yourself, and soon the old conditioning will relax its grip and free you to be your true self in the present.

"Happiness is not something ready-made.  It comes from your own actions." ~ Dalai Lama XIV

If you've made a commitment to take better care of yourself this year, perhaps by exercising regularly, learning to meditate, or eating more mindfully, Ayurveda offers powerful teachings to help you move beyond any resistance to changing your old patterns.  In fact, the purpose of AYURVEDA (Ah-yur-vay-da), which is a Sanskrit word meaning "wisdom of life," is to maximize the possibility of making good choices.  As you go about your day, here are three timeless Ayurvedic principles you can use to move beyond resistance to the fulfillment of your goals:

1. ACCEPT THE NOW.  When you accept life as it unfolds, offering no resistance, you become aware of the choices available in this moment.  This doesn't imply giving up desires or being a victim, but discovering the freedom to respond creatively.

2. ACCEPT THE SIGNALS OF YOUR BODY.  Feel all of your body's sensations.  While the mind lives in the past and the future, the body resides in the now and never doubts itself.  It knows the truth and will guide you towards the most evolutionary choices.

3. ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY AND COMMIT.  With deepened awareness, you can make new choices, let go of habits that no longer serve you, and commit to taking the next step to achieve your dreams.

[Input from: The Chopra Center 21 Days of Inspiration]

The 2nd Law of Yoga: The Law of Giving and Receiving! This Law Can Be Applied to All Areas of Life

Giving is based upon being, for you can only truly give what you are.  This means that you must go within to tap your infinite reservoir of intelligence, power, and joy. Meditate, read, journal, go for walks ~ let all of your activities bring you into alignment with your essential being.

"Everything in life is most fundamentally a gift.  And you receive it best and you live it best by holding it with very open hands." ~ Leo O'Donovan

As we were growing up, many of us were taught that "it is better to give than to receive."  Yet both giving and receiving are required to keep the flow of love, joy, and abundance circulating in our lives.  To take a simple example, every time we breathe in, we're taking in life-giving oxygen produced by plants and trees; and when we exhale, we're giving back the carbon dioxide that in turn nourishes plants and trees.

In receiving, we're giving.  Think of how much joy you feel when you truly give and get to experience the joy that comes from seeing the happiness of the recipient.  Imagine how you might feel if they refused your gift...if they stopped the flow of energy.

At the deepest level, giving and receiving are the same thing ~ different aspects of the same flow of energy in the universe.  If you have trouble receiving gifts, help, compliments or anything else, consider the words of one of the most giving, enlightened beings ever to live ~ Jesus: "It is in giving that you receive..." and the Buddha:

"You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere.  You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection."

excerpt from: The Chopra Center 21-Days of Inspiration

Don't Just Join a Yoga Center, Join a Yoga Family: Editorial

My name is Cortney Peters and I have been going to the Yoga Center for Healthy Living a little over 6 months now. Having tried many yoga places (with Groupons, I might add) I had never really found a center that I fit into. There was never a place where I was recognized or acknowledged- I was just another body with a coupon. I plead guilty to "Groupon-jumping" from center to center until this method eventually lead me to Yoga Center for Healthy Living.

I went to my first yoga class at the center and it was lead by the owner, Lee Ann. Anyone who knows Lee knows what an incredible teacher she is not only of yoga, but of life. Soaking up her words of wisdom and rejuvenating my body, soul and mind during her yoga class made me realize I didn't want to practice anywhere else.

After having attended quite a few classes with a variety of teachers at Yoga Center for Healthy Living, I learned that each one of them practices and encourages the way Lee does. They make yoga enjoyable and make each person feel welcomed, respected and like you're part of their yoga family. This is when I learned that I would much rather be a part of a yoga family than just any other center. There are even some students I have come to recognize and get to know, because they know the secret of a yoga family just like I do.

If you've never been to yoga or you have, but haven't found fulfillment in your practice, give Yoga Center for Healthy Living a try. You will encounter a studio full of teachers and students who have become a yoga family. We all gather for a purpose and the hardest part is getting to the mat. Once you make it there, you won't be sorry. Yoga Center for Healthy Living is my home away from home! Thank you so much Lee and staff for cultivating such a calming and nurturing environment for my yoga practice. See you all soon! Om, Shanti!