Standing Forehead to Knee

Dr. Yoga!

Passion!

There's nothing more attractive than someone with passion for something, who looks at things positively and is always seeking to better themselves. ॐ heart emoticon

What defines a Wild Woman?

She is free
She is free of all the lies that are misleading to a woman about how and what a woman "should" look like and act like. 
She is untamed with her thoughts, they are wild and free, and they are without restriction.
She is Unashamed of her beauty, she has stepped into her own light shining bright, and leading with her inner compass that guides her to the places her soul yearns to go.

She now lives in the raw and naked beauty of who she is.

A Wild Woman is relentless in her quest for living a wild and free life, to be and act in anyway she chooses.She faces her challenges. She watches,she learns and then she becomes the woman her soul has always yearned to be. She was mislead, but now she knows better, and she lives her life without restraints, and without regrets.

I believe this woman lives inside all of us, for some she may be buried deep down within struggling for air. She may be caged, afraid to let loose, or for some she may not even existed. It's up to us to bring her to life, and when the time is right, she will take her first breath, she will crave more. Beware a wild woman is on the loose.

You define a wild woman anyway you choose, this is how I define her, for I feel her breathing within me each day, I have meet her, and I chose for her to live,and I have never regretted the power I have unleashed. ॐ heart emoticon
Mary Costanza

Ustrasana!

Happy Yoga!

Flow Yoga!

The term “flow Yoga” is an abbreviated form of the phrase “Vinyasa Flow Yoga.” This form of Yoga is based on movements synchronized with breath.  The word ‘flow’ refers to the way the poses are strung together gracefully, and how the Yoga practitioner moves with each breath, while the sequence of movements come together like a dance. Even though it is seen in many Hatha style classes, one of the most popular sequences of Vinyasa Yoga is Surya Namaskar (the Sun Salutations).  Many Yoga practitioners know this series, and its many variations, quite well.  For anyone who wants to add flowing movement into his or her asana routine, this can be a great starting point.  Chandra Namaskar (Moon Salutations) may also be of interest for anyone looking to go further into Vinyasa flows.

There are many different forms of flow Yoga, and it can be practiced in many different ways by changing speed, raising room temperature, or by the posture sequence chosen. In fact, slower Vinyasa Yoga (slow flow) can be extraordinarily therapeutic, healing, and restorative.  There are also Restorative Flow Yoga classes, which leave students in a state of euphoria. The pace of movement, and the use of props, can change the experience entirely.  When you consider the fact that some flow classes end with a five minute relaxation, while a Restorative Flow class teaches relaxation methods, meditation, and traditional pranayama techniques, there can be vast differences in the way flow Yoga is taught.

The repetition of movement helps to increase flexibility as much as holding a posture for minutes.   Flow Yoga is, by its nature, a different school of thought in comparison to styles that hold postures for lengthy periods of time.  Styles that hold postures have their advantages, as well.  Depending on how well you know the teacher, the movements can also be fairly unpredictable, thus creating a new or exciting environment. As there are many different interpretations teachers can take to this practice, it will be easy to find an instructor with whom you can identify.

For those who crave intense exercise, the faster activity level of flow Yoga, with increased speed and continuous movement, creates internal heat within the practitioner, which has a plethora of benefits. Increased heat means a body sweats, expelling toxins, and promotes overall cleansing of the body. Heat is also a boost for metabolism, so it may burn some extra calories. The movement also stimulates blood flow and heart rate, creating a more healthy body by caring for many organs, and the warmth in the muscles makes them more limber and easy to stretch.

The breathing exercises (pranayama) in flow Yoga are very good for the body, as well. Although some teachers may only focus on Ujjayi, while you are moving, other teachers may devote extra time to pranayama practice.  Learning and practicing pranayama is an important practice as it gives you better control of your functions, and increased focus of everything you do, bringing about a more relaxed mind and body. Learning to breathe in correct synchronization with your body can leave you better equipped to handle the tough situations life throws at you, by helping you keep your stress levels in check.

Conclusion

Flow Yoga has many faces.  It can be a very challenging exercise class or a therapeutic experience.  Chair Yoga classes have flowing movements.  On the other end of the spectrum, some martial arts teams practice dynamic flowing Yoga sequences before tournaments.  The point being: Flow Yoga can be dynamic or therapeutic.  If you want to be sure about which end of the spectrum you are looking at, you should consult your local Yoga studio.  If you are a Yoga teacher, label your class accordingly, and describe the experience your students should expect.

© Copyright – Aura Wellness Center 

Astavakrasana!

Rise!!!

"You have seen my descent, now watch my rising" ॐ heart emoticon

Rumi

Seated Forward Fold or Paschimottanasana.

Wild!!!

How a Woman of the Wild Loves~

I will not love you comfortably, I will take you out of your safe places and into a Wild heaven that you have not even touched with your dreams.

My love will most likely be inconvenient, and show up when you think you are not ready for me.
I will arouse your Spirit, not just your body or heart. I will take you back to where we first met, all those deserts and skies ago, but you will not realise it until later.

My love will disturb your routines, your laziness, your escape mechanisms, the comfortable sink into habit and predictability.
I will stir your distant soul memory, so deeply and with such swiftness and lightning-bolt clarity that you will feel you have been arrested by some Mystery you cannot name.

My love will take you into such reveries, dreams and fantasies for sensual, sacred and creative adventures that you will sometimes wonder if you are still living in the normal world. You may suddenly find yourself waking up at 3am, yearning for a Wild Life that had eclipsed itself from your consciousness.

I will flood your mind, body and soul with energy that seems to be from a Radiant New World, but is simultaneously exquisitely Ancient and Lost.

My love may make you want to walk away from everything mediocre, average and normal that you have ever known in exchange for the Wildest of nights, the starriest of kisses, the most enduring of conversations and the most mystical of gazes.

I will not be easy to love in the conventional sense, because I have arrived to show you your own Divine magnificence. I will spark the fires of transformation. I will wrap my unconditionally-loving heart around yours until you cannot do anything else but grow in Love.

My love will require you to walk the hot coals, move through the dark forests of the Soul, take off your heavy garments and ride naked through the Stars. You will need to confront all the ways in which you resist and harden yourself to Love, to Purpose, to Power and Passionate Living. I will always show you the mirror.

I will not fit into your schedule, your daily planner, or your carefully thought-out strategies for security. I will show up one day, unannounced, lay my glorious, sweeping curves upon your desk and demand that you worship yourself into ecstatic oblivion with me. I will remind you that you are not in control of this Universal Magic-Carpet Ride, and that you need to let go…..Now.

My love will feel to you like refreshing dewdrops of starlight, after the plunging dark of an endless, star-less night.

My love will feel to you like incomprehensible, heart-stopping warmth, penetrating the soul of your cold bones with a patience and devotion that causes your eyes to suddenly prick with tears.

My love will always be here for you, even when you don't want it, because it is confronting you with the silent, midnight truth of just how achingly precious and sacred you are to me.

My love is your salvation, because your Soul asked for me, Wildly.
My love is your truth, because your Body cried for me, Ecstatically.
My love is your destiny, because your Eyes have always been searching for me, Blindly.
My love is finally Here, because You are ready for me - and the Wild Ways of my Fiery, Wandering Heart. ॐ heart emoticon
~Sophie Bashford

Seek, see, love, do. ॐ

I Will Never be a Well-Behaved Woman.

I would rather pass my days lying in the middle of dirt roads, staring at the full moon with a bottle of summer red in my palms.

I would rather have kids when it suits me, not when society expects or throws shoulds.

I would rather live in a hammock on a beach for six months, and write like my soul means it.

I would rather be horribly broke at times, than married to a job because a mortgage payment has my ass on a hook.

I would rather own moments, than investments.

I would rather eat alone, than sit with women who bore me at “Wives’ Night.”

I would rather swim naked with bioluminescence, have it fall like fireflies from my hair, my breasts, my back.

I would rather do handstands naked in the moonlight when no one’s watching than pick bridesmaid dresses.

I would rather drink seven year old rum from a sandy bottle, smell of smoke and ash than sit in church.

I would rather learn from life than rack up debt, in a desk.

I would rather drink the ocean, again and again—celebrate being madly alive.

I would rather my love be defined by love itself, and nothing more or less.

I don’t need a ring on my finger to prove that I am in love.

I would rather take the chicken bus, than spend useless money in safe gated communities. Sit beside a goat, listen to raggaeton and eat green mango with sugar in a plastic bag sold from the woman who harasses the bus each time it stops.

I do not need a degree to prove that I am intelligent.

I do not need to own a piece of earth with some wood on top of it—to feel successful. No one truly owns the land, anyway—we just think we do.

My savings account has diddly to do with my richness.

I would rather sprawl my single ass out like a lioness each morning and enjoy each corner of my empty bed.

I will take a job I love and freedom over a pension, any day.

I will not work and work and work to live when my body is old and I am tired.

Stocks are for people who get boners from money.

Not everyone should have kids, and my eggs aren’t expiring.

I will not drink the societal Kool-Aid on a bus, nor will I drink it on a train.

Not on a plane, with a goat, in the rain, in the dark, in a tree, with a fox, in a box!

I will not jump through societies’ hoops and red tape, the treasure hunt in the rat race we chase.

If we must have milestones—mine will be measured by how much joy I have collected at the end of each day and how often in this life I have truly, deeply, opened.

Seek, see, love, do. ॐ heart emoticon

Janne Robinson

Downward Facing Tree (Handstand)

Har Har Mahadev!!!

Bhastrika and Kapalbhati Pranayama!

Bhastrika and kapalbhati pranayama are both Yoga breathing exercises that can help the practitioner improve lung capacity and manage breathing conditions such as asthma. These breathing exercises are best used in the morning and both provide benefits that impact the entire body, resulting in more energy and better overall health.

Kapalbhati pranayama helps the internal organs to work better by exercising and massaging the chest and abdomen. Kapalbhati increases lung capacity because it allows the practitioner to inhale more fresh oxygen and to exhale more carbon dioxide, helping to cleanse the body of harmful toxins. This type of breathing exercise benefits the respiratory system and is especially helpful when a practitioner is suffering from diseases and conditions that affect breathing, such as a cold, bronchitis, rhinitis, sinusitis, deviated septum and even more serious conditions such as tuberculosis and emphysema.

Additionally, kapalbhati is beneficial to the digestive system, helping the Yoga practitioner to improve digestion and to ease the effects of indigestion, constipation and gastritis. Since kapalbhati increases circulation, heart rate and the amount of red blood cells in the blood, it allows the practitioner to become more energetic. This is particular beneficial to overweight practitioners who find more energy and find themselves less exhausted as they move about their day. It also stabilizes the glands of the endocrine system, which affects the entire body and even assists with the nervous system through the constant cleansing of brain cells as a result of the increased level of oxygen in the blood. Mental health is also positively affected and the practitioner experiences a type of bliss and relaxation after this practice.

Bhastrika pranayama is very similar in the benefits it provides the practitioner. Bhastrika is particularly beneficial to practitioners dealing with respiratory illnesses and conditions, as its forceful breathing methods help to cure conditions such as the common cold, sinus infections and the flu. It can even help to improve asthma. It can also help with the healing of conditions that affect the thyroid gland and throat problems such as those that affect the tonsils.

Regular practice of bhastrika pranayama results in younger-looking, glowing, healthy skin. Overall health is improved by most practitioners since they are able to detoxify their body by expelling the toxins as they breathe out. Increased lung capacity leads to more oxygen in the blood, which leads to more vitality.

via - Faye Martins.

Introduction to Kundalini Yoga Techniques!

Kundalini Yoga techniques utilize a variety of Yogic methods to awaken and nourish the dormant energy that lies coiled at base of the spine of each human being. In a Kundalini Yoga class, the students follow a sequence of Yogic techniques that include classic poses, chanting of mantras and shlokas, meditation and also coordinated pranayama exercises. When the Kundalini Shakti energy is awakened and nourished, she travels along the spine and through the seven chakras, activating and cleansing each chakra as she ascends towards the crown chakra. The powerful energy of the awakened Kundalini energy is said to benefit the practitioner on many levels; physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Each chakra has its own particular energetic makeup, design and seed mantra. All seven chakras are correlated with the organs and glands in its general proximity. Additionally, as the Kundalini Shakti travels through each chakra, spiritual powers or siddhis may arise in the student. Powers such as clairvoyance and clairaudience may become readily available to the student. However, enlightened masters over the ages have warned us to not get too caught up in the siddhis, so that the novelty of their powers do not distract us from the ultimate goal of God realization. When practicing Kundalini Yoga, many of the techniques that are employed during class help to activate, cleanse and balance all seven chakras.

One of the main focuses of a Kundalini Yoga class is pranayama (the yogic breathing exercises). The breathing techniques will help to move stagnant energy that is deeply buried up to the surface, in order release the tension and stress that is holding the stagnant energy in place. The breathing exercises are complemented by traditional asanas, meditation practice and chanting with mudras, or sacred hand positions. A Kundalini Yoga class will follow a very specific sequence of Yogic techniques. The class will begin with the chanting of the Adi Mantra, followed by pranayama, asanas or kriyas, shavasana, meditation and closing prayers with a final chanting of the Sat Naam mantra.

The kriyas that are performed during a Kundalini Yoga class are usually done in conjunction with very specific breathing exercises. The coordination of kriyas with pranayama practice creates a synergistic relationship between the different systems of the body. Different kriyas are targeted to isolate and work on certain groups of organs, muscles and glands to cleanse and detoxify them. This synergy will, over time, improve the overall functioning of the entire physical and emotional system of a Kundalini Yoga student.

Sweat - The Holy Water!

“Sweat is holy water, prayer beads, pearls of liquid that release your past. Sweat is an ancient and universal form of self healing, whether done in the gym, the sauna, or the sweat lodge … The more you sweat, the more you pray. The more you pray, the closer you come to ecstasy.” ~ Gabrielle Roth

Malasana!

Aphrodite Rising: The Goddess Walks Among Us!

Who is Aphrodite? Standing on a seashell, symbol of the vulva, she arises from the ocean, fully formed, exquisitely graceful, her face aglow with enchanting beauty. In her presence, colors become deeper and more radiant, as if suffused with an otherworldly light. Dullness and boredom scatter as she approaches in a golden cloud, trailing flowers and pearls and wafting heavenly perfume. With her, she brings charm, magic, and grace, enlivening the sober fabric of daily life with frivolous strands of shimmering gold. In her presence, rippling, causeless joy and laughter bubble up from our hearts like champagne. When Aphrodite blesses our lovemaking, all sense of fragmentation vanishes and we feel healed, holy, and whole. Like a rocket shooting out beyond the earth's gravitational field, earthly pleasure then crosses over into heavenly joy, and sexual union blossoms into sacred communion.
- Aphrodite's Daughters. Jalaha Bonheim

(Seated) Spine Twist!

Love!

Love is cure. Love is power.
Love is the magic of changes.
Love is the mirror of divine beauty. ॐ heart emoticon

Rumi

Bhujangasana

Celebrate your Sacred Sensuality…

Celebrate your Sacred Sensuality…

Don’t hide your body,
Don’t hide your sensuality.
Embrace your sacred, true nature – including your
Sensuality and Sexuality. ॐ heart emoticon

Leila

Kundalini Awakening Process!

www.youtube.com/71ba3aa0-26a9-4a1f-a6a9-0dbeaf8b5fa6

life on fire!!!

Set your life on fire.
Seek those who fan the flames. ॐ heart emoticon

~ Rumi.

tadasana / Samasthiti

being wild!

"To be fully human is to be wild. Wild is the strange pull and whispering wisdom. It’s the gentle nudge and the forceful ache. It is your truth, passed down from the ancients, and the very stream of life in your blood. Wild is the soul where passion and creativity reside, and the quickening of your heart. Wild is what is real, and wild is your home." ॐ heart emoticon

~ Victoria Erickson

A Wild Spirit!!!

A Wild Woman doesn't want to be your Girly friend

Can you love me in the deep? In the dark? In the thick of it?

Can you love me when I drink from the wrong bottle and slip through the crack in the floorboard?

Can you love me when I’m bigger than you, when my presence blazes like the sun does, when it hurts to look directly at me?

Can you love me then too?

Can you love me under the starry sky, shaved and smooth, my skin like liquid moonlight?

Can you love me when I am howling and furry, standing on my haunches, my lower lip stained with the blood of my last kill?

When I call down the lightning, when the sidewalks are singed by the soles of my feet, can you still love me then?

What happens when I freeze the land, and cause the dirt to harden over all the pomegranate seeds we’ve planted?

Will you trust that Spring will return?

Will you still believe me when I tell you I will become a raging river, and spill myself upon your dreams and call them to the surface of your life?

Can you trust me, even though you cannot tame me?

Can you love me, even though I am all that you fear and admire?
Will you fear my shifting shape?

Does it frighten you, when my eyes flash like your camera does?
Do you fear they will capture your soul?

Are you afraid to step into me?

The meat-eating plants and flowers armed with poisonous darts are not in my jungle to stop you from coming. Not you.

So do not worry. They belong to me, and I have invited you here.
Stay to the path revealed in the moonlight and arrive safely to the hut of Baba Yaga: the wild old wise one… she will not lead you astray if you are pure of heart.

You cannot be with the wild one if you fear the rumbling of the ground, the roar of a cascading river, the startling clap of thunder in the sky.

If you want to be safe, go back to your tiny room — the night sky is not for you.

If you want to be torn apart, come in. Be broken open and devoured. Be set ablaze in my fire.

I will not leave you as you have come: well dressed, in finely-threaded sweaters that keep out the cold.

I will leave you naked and biting. Leave you clawing at the sheets. Leave you surrounded by owls and hawks and flowers that only bloom when no one is watching.

So, come to me, and be healed in the unbearable lightness and darkness of all that you are.

There is nothing in you that can scare me. Nothing in you I will not use to make you great.

A wild woman is not a girlfriend. She is a relationship with nature. She is the source of all your primal desires, and she is the wild whipping wind that uproots the poisonous corn stalks on your neatly tilled farm.

She will plant pear trees in the wake of your disaster.

She will see to it that you shall rise again.

She is the lover who restores you to your own wild nature. ॐ heart emoticon

(c) Alison Nappi 2015