4 Simple Steps to Rockin’ Your Inner Truth

From a very young age many of us were told to “speak our truth”, but how often do we actually do that? Living in a world that’s full of visceral and visual stimulation makes it increasingly difficult to make a distinction between what we think of as our own inner truth and the truth of others. Our minds are a playground where we often soak up the thoughts, ideas and expectations of those around us. So then the real question is this–How do we move away from simply reacting to others perceptions and expectations of us and move into self-love and full expression of who we really are?

The answer? Satya. Satya. Satya.

Satya is a core principle in yoga philosophy that suggests what we think, speak and feel has an effect on our consciousness. In essence the teaching of Satya is about holding back: about slowing down, filtering, carefully considering our words so that when we choose them they’re in harmony with our intentions of goodwill.  But how do we bring the practice of Satya into our everyday lives? Here are four simple steps to living from this place of truth:

1. Stop
2. Drop
3. Ask
4. Meditate

Step 1: STOP whatever it is that you are doing — whatever incessant rant you have going on inside your head. Stop the self-talk about how you’re not worthy. Stop rehearsing the conversation you want to have with your spouse about his/her possible shortcomings. Stop the dress rehearsals and worrying chatter in your head.

Step 2: DROP down into your solar plexus. Do yourself a huge favor by getting out of your head and into your body. Allow yourself a momentary lapse in mind-chatter and get hip with the inherent wisdom that your body holds within. Feel that space deep in your abdomen and just notice whatever it is that you are feeling in that moment. Perhaps it’s anxiety, or fear, or anger–whatever it is, just try to notice it without judgment.

Step 3: ASK yourself what is really true for you in that moment. Perhaps you can ask yourself the question, “What is this sensation about?” or, “What is the best way for me to resolve this situation?” Or, one of my all-time favorites: “Is what I am thinking even true?” When we stop operating from a place of ego, our need be right or to say the right thing ceases to exist. By asking questions instead of making assumptions about ourselves we can allow our inner guidance to lead us closer to our inner truth.

Step 4: MEDITATE after asking your question. The only way to hear a clear, cool and egoless answer is to stop the monkey in your mind from running the show. By meditating we give our right brain and left brain the chance to work together in a fabulous pas-de-deux. This action gives the brain a break–and in a state of peace and quiet new neural pathways are born, giving way to a sense of openness and space. These moments of beautiful coalescence bring with them many solutions, insights and a-ha moments.

As a recovering over-reactor, I’ve had years of experience sticking my foot in my mouth and saying things I didn’t mean.  The fact is this: there’s no one-size-fits-all path to finding and speaking your truth.  Applying this simple four-step process has worked wonders for me, but try it on for size yourself. I have never heard anyone say, “Wow, I really wish I hadn’t done that meditation earlier.” So, worst-case scenario is you’ll end up with a butt cramp from sitting for too long. What I do know for sure is that my inner guidance tells me this: slowing down brings us back to center and it’s from this centeredness that we can operate from our own authentic truth.

 

*Namaste* — The Highest In Me Meets…Wait, What??

Chances are if you live in the Wester…err, *the world at large*, you’ve heard an abundance of the phrase, “Namaste” . In essence, this means:

The Highest in Me

Greets the Highest in You

But,  for those of us a tad less enlightened — that general idea can sometimes translate into, “huh..wha??”  With that said, the intent of this article is to simplify the rather grandiose idea, or universal truth if you will,  that there is a Divine Buddha/God/Universe/Unicorn/Wizard in all of us.

Practicing yoga or meditation is a great way to get in tune with this Inner Divine Being of Awesomeness. When we slow down, tune in, tap in, and turn on our sense of presence in the moment, we tap into a place of inner stillness that is the space of all creation. In that moment — we tune out all the b.s. from our day, all the incessant mind chatter, the meal planning, the visual bombardment, and step into a void of nothingness. This grand nothingness is the BEST PLACE EVER. When we finally stop, drop, and meditate, we turn on our inner guidance and allow our truth to unfold. THIS inner truth — is what we mean we rock the phrase, NAMASTE.

So, next time you feel some crazy woo-woo thoughts spinning in your head, or start planning your next vacation, step into the realization that the DIVINE is within you right now. Turn to your neighbor in the grocery line, and say NAMASTE**

**Disclaimer. If you’re neighbor in line at the grocery store isn’t rocking his/her own version of NAMASTE, you may be escorted by security out of the building.

Fully Feel your Fear

“Oh shit!!!” is a perfectly natural reaction to many of life’s horrendous situations. Say — your boyfriend of 5 years breaks up with you. Or, maybe you mom just bit the bullet. Perhaps you’re afraid of flights but won’t be able to get a new job unless you get on that plane. Or if you’re in a place anywhere similar to mine — you’ve just made a huge move to a new city and now you’re thinking, “Well — what the shit am I supposed to do now???”

It’s like a punch to the gut — LITERALLY. There’s that physical feeling present in our bodies that says to either FIGHT what’s going on or to GET THE FUCK OUT (for lack of a better aphorism). There are a million articles online that will go on to tell you the evolutionary purpose of these feelings of anxiety or fear. They’ll tell you that it’s part of our biology because when we were “out in the bush” (giggle giggle snort) that those feelings of fear kept us from lions, and tigers, and bears OH MY.

But here’s the deal — most of us are city dwellers, or perhaps you’re like me, living in between in your brothers place between LA and Palm Springs. Either way, if you live in America and you’re reading this blog I’d bet my right hand that you don’t live in a jungle. What’s my point? The fears that we feel are not going to kill us. 

Shocking, I know. But here’s the deal. For example — my current fears involve relationships,  or making new friends and feeling inadequate. I still get that physical pang of anxiety in my gut — but then I notice that fear, and FEEL THAT FEAR like nobody’s business. Because the deal is this :: It’s there, so we have to acknowledge it, welcome it, become friends with that fear. As soon as we fully allow ourselves to be vulnerable and step into that space of curiosity rather than, “Fuck this, lemme numb it out with a Jack n Coke” we will truly begin to step into our greatness. We can’t be great if we’re always living in fear. So next time you feel that fear rumbling in your bones — sit your ass down and say, “What can I learn from this??” And notice how things begin to shift in life. 

Basic Heart Opening Pose

Many people think of “opening the heart” as a practice of opening to love and intimacy in a romantic relationship. With practice, however, the truth is we can all begin to open our hearts more to every person we interact with and every situation in our lives, even the ones that trigger us. However, we must recognize that our physical bodies carry stress and pent up emotions, and as long as we hold on to these tensions of the body and mind we will find stress in our lives. So — the key is to step into a physical practice that will help you begin to release and allow yourself to feel whatever is causing tension inside of you. 

So, where is a good starting point for your physical practice? Follow these simple guidelines to begin unfurling your heart space to new levels of openness: 

1) Find a spot on the floor, and lay down in Savasana — or Corpse Pose. You may take a blanket, bolster, or pillow under the knees for more comfort.

2) Simply extend your arms out to the side in a “Cactus” pose — either arm creating a goal-post like position.

3) As you sink into this position, perhaps set your intention to recognize the own love that is already present within your heart. Breathe deeply into your diaphragm, and with each exhale find more release and ease into this space.

Practice this pose for a minimum of 5 minutes — or as long as you like until you feel open, spacious, and relaxed.

 

 

Ask and You Shall Receive

“Those who are certain of the outcome can afford to wait, and wait without anxiety” — A Course in Miracles.

There are times in life when we seem to ask whatever  it is Higher Power — Universe, God, Rainbows and Unicorns, for an answer. Perhaps you ask, “What is it that I need to know” or, “How do I get more clear about this certain situation.” But, do you ever find yourself asking the same question, OVER and OVER again and not getting any clearer?

Well, the answer may be to stop looking for the answer. Be here now. Be in this moment. Allow the things you are asking for to unfold with non-attachment.

When you continually ask the same question over and over to the Universe it’s as though you are not trusting your own inner guidance to come forth. You may think to yourself, “No, that’s not right. That can’t be the answer.” The more you constantly affirm that something is wrong and you aren’t hearing the answer, the more you prevent the answer from opening itself unto you. The more you seek affirmation but do not ALLOW yourself the space to HEAR what you have been asking for, the more you beat the drum that something is OFF or you are WRONG or something is GOING WRONG, and inevitably are cutting off the process  of knowing dead in its tracks. The answer is almost always:

LET GO

BREATHE INTO THIS MOMENT

FOLLOW YOUR BLISS

In doing these things you will forget about what’s habitually wrong, forget your constant asking, and allow yourself to receive that answer that is already present within you. 

Allow What Is

Do you ever find yourself incredibly tense without any conscious reason??? Perhaps your body just feels full of tension. Or your mind is clogged with thought, after thought, after incessant thought. The mind-body connection is inherent: when our thoughts are tense, our body tightens, when our thoughts are free, our body relaxes. Now, this is all clear and good and all that jazz, but then why is it so hard for us to relax either one to allow the relax too??

There is HUGE power in Allowing what is, or in other words — without coming up with some judgments that things should be different than they are in that very moment. When we stop for a minute and just allow ourselves to embrace the moment we open ourselves up to experiencing whatever it is we are feeling FULLY in that instant– and in doing so we can acknowledge and accept what we are feeling as neither GOOD nor BAD. When we let go of these judgments we then give ourselves the space to feel ourselves as TOTALLY HUMAN — imperfectly perfect — just like everyone else around you, even that person whom you feel has wronged you, or perhaps the jerk who flipped you off at the stoplight. We begin to see everyone as one with ourselves when we allow what is to just be  in that moment…and then LET IT GO. 

As we let go of all the mini-dramas we create in our minds and bodies, we begin to appreciate all of the silly little things much much more. As we acknowledge those silly little things much much more, we open to more joy. As we open to more joy we open to more love, and as we open to love we lovingly embrace the present moment EVEN more.

So the moral of the story is — let go of whatever it is you are holding on to today, whatever you are judging as good or bad, and allow it to just be what it is — embrace that imperfection — and begin to notice how moment by moment your life develops into a joyous dance of balance and grace. 

It Doesn’t Take Big Actions to Create Big Changes

The title of this post comes from the much inspired dating/lifestyle coach Matthew Hussey. That very comment inspired the motivation to write this blog.

How does this apply to yoga?? Often times I find in my practice that I just very well don’t have the motivation to get off my cute tush and get to work on my mat. Sometimes its as though the things we know are good for us — that will benefit us in the long run — are the very things that we just plain don’t want to do.

My yoga teacher Victor Dubin at Nourish once said to me, “No matter how much you think you such as a yoga teacher, no matter what, people are still going to leave feeling better than when they got there. Because they practiced yoga. Period.” 

All it takes is the choice to ACT instead of allowing our thoughts to get the best of us. Sometimes getting on the mat is simply a choice to stop thinking about your to-do list, or about all the problems you’re having with your significant other, or the loud music the neighbor is playing. In the moment you choose to do something different you create a new path — a path that will inevitably lead towards more ease and inspiration in our lives. By giving our brains a chance to create different neural pathways — and not repeating our some old conditioning — we take tiny steps toward creating BIG changes in our daily lives.

In choosing to write this blog — instead of going on a rant in my mind about what I currently perceived as “wrong” — I gave myself the space to be vulnerable and choose to do something new instead. So perhaps as you go about your day today ask yourself this — What small action can I take today that will ultimately create massive change in my life?? 

Adding Insult to Injury

As yoga practitioners, or more simply put — as human beings in physical bodies — we are susceptible to hurting ourselves. Now, whether that hurt becomes suffering or not is a choice that we get to make.

Yoga teaches us to become more aware of the subtleties of our bodies — perhaps you begin to notice a pinch in your shoulder or lower back, or maybe you are feeling a little nauseous. Now, at this point in your yoga practice, whether you are a seasoned vet or just starting out, is where a lot of us get caught up in the egos need to keep pushing and become “better”.  This Western idea of striving and pushing through often times leads us away from the power of acceptance. The key to preventing suffering through our physical ailments and pains is this:

*Learn and honor your limits* 

Now here’s where it gets tricky — only YOU — deep down, know when you are chickening out of doing something because you just don’t want to do it anymore — versus ceasing from pushing deeper into something that you intuitively know is going to cause more harm than benefit.

The key is constant practice, because the only way you will begin to know and trust your inner voice is if you access it as often as possible. So next time you are feeling a pinch here or a push there, ask yourself — “Is moving forward with this energy and effort going to help me or harm me?”

I promise you, if you acknowledge and embrace this inner knowing often — it will not lead you astray.

“You Can’t Get to Courage Without Walking Through Vulnerability”

I believe Brene’ Brown hit the nail on the head with this quote. Incredible courage requires us to step into the unknown, and allow ourselves to be fully open to what is to come. Courage is a leap of faith, especially in the practice of yoga. 

Practicing yoga is not for the faint of heart. I often come across people that when I say I am a yoga teacher they respond with, “Oh wow, that’s amazing. I’ve always wanted to try but (insert excuse here).” The truth of the matter is that yoga, like anything new that we try, is about being a beginner and having the courage to fail — knowing that we can always get up and try again. It takes incredible vulnerability to try something new, and embracing that anything worth-while takes time, practice, and dedication.

So next time you find yourself in the midst of a head trip of why you can’t do something, just remember that you can’t get to where you want to be without jumping in head first, and trusting that no matter what that leap itself will help you grow leaps and bounds beyond your wildest dreams.

“When it Rains it Pours”

Sometimes I get really sick of hearing that phrase.  And the reason  why, is because it always rings so true.

What is it about when we feel good, everything goes well?

When we feel like shit, someone steals our bike, or we get splashed by a racing car jamming into a huge puddle?

I’m sure there is some lengthy quantum physical explanation for this phenomenon, but I don’t want to get into that. The observation I have made is that in those moments where we acknowledge we’re in an upward or downward spiral that we can either add to the joy or add to the pain based on our thoughts and emotions. Good GOD, that’s always so much easier said than done, but it brings  power back into your life when you feel like things are happening TO you instead of THROUGH you. And it allows you to acknowledge the important role you have played in shaping your own life’s circumstances.

So next time you’re sitting around thinking something shitty — be forewarned, you’re on the wrong track. Think more positive thoughts and even if things don’t actually get better, your perspective on the situation might just change.

So today, are you going to walk into a cloud of butterflies, or into the middle of a hurricane? The choice is yours.