Yoga Nidra, my journey so far.....

Yoga nidra came into my life at a time that I needed it but didn’t know.

As I have often found when I look back on my life it has always been guided by an invisible force.  I was in the first year of my BWT teacher training and feeling very unsure about yoga and the course and then many things happened at once, my daughter ,aged 6, suddenly developed epilepsy, my mum was diagnosed with breast cancer and our house was falling down (literally, due to heave)

I was overwhelmed. As a result of my daughters unpredictable condition I needed to be contactable at any time by the school and at my current yoga class my mobile phone didn’t receive a signal, so I began to look for another class. Six months previous to this I had started teaching yoga at a sports centre, the lady who showed me around told me all about her Aunt who taught nearby and for some reason I remembered this and sought her out. It turned out that she had moved just up the road from me and when I called and explained my situation she said “you need yoga nidra” and I did.

These events led me not only to yoga nidra but also to the wonderful tradition of Satyananda Yoga, I immediately knew that I had found the yoga I had been looking for and that I must continue with my teacher training.

I practised yoga nidra weekly in class and also in between classes, it was the balm I needed to soothe my frazzled nerves and to help me keep perspective on my current situation.

I have taught yoga for over 6 years now and it has been an enormous joy and privilege, also I have recently completed the Yoga Nidra course so that I can continue to teach this amazingly transformational practice, and,  I have come to recognise that invisible force that has been guiding me as Guru.

Oms

Ishwari

Radiant Goddess Breakfast !

So I have been following the lovely Goddess Leonie of Goddessguidebook.com for a little while, of course the 'Goddess' title first attracted me plus being a strong believer in Goddess circles and a firm believer in empowering women I feel a share a joint vision with Leonie, as I am sure many of us do.
I read about her Radiant Goddess Programme,, a 21 day ecourse of raw food, meditation and movement and felt strongly drawn to it. I'm not sure I loved the fluffy marketing side of it, but I kept returning to it and in the end I have trusted my gut and I have signed up!!!
My reasons for joining are many, yes I want to lose a little weight, but more than that I want to feel healthy, energised and ....well...... Radiant! Recently I have been tired and grumpy more than radiant and I know what I eat effects me massively and yes, I know all the right things to do so probably dont need to do a course but, its great to have a guide on any journey and some new inspiration!
So, the programme starts on Tuesday and I will keep you posted on my progress!

I was sent a sneek peak of some recipes so Beth and I tried some breafasts this morning, you can watch our live reaction below :-)

What we eat, what we do, what we read and believe all effects our mood and energy so much. My morning sadhana helps me stay connected and centred but recently I have come to realise that I need to extend the same awareness to my food choices. I remember Swami Satsangi saying that if we want to become more sattvic its as simple as doing and surrounding ourselves with more sattvic activities. Listen to  sattvic music, eat sattvic foods, watch inspiring programmes etc. I now choose very carefully the type of TV I watch, the books I read the thoughts I have, the people I  mix with as I am aware of just how much this can effect my energy and prana, so now I am going to be more aware of what I eat too! I have been a vegetarian for over a decade and I love healthy food but I know many of the foods I  consume aren't as prana filled as they could be! So stay tuned as I begin to consume radiant prana filled raw food..............

Namaste!

Introductions

Hari Om !

Well I am new to this blogging so I shall  start by answering the question I am asking myself....why have I started blogging? Well I have read several blogs recently and realised that for the passionate this is a great way to express how you feel about things close your heart
Also I have a great feeling about 2012, I have some amazing things planned and want to share it with anyone who'd like to hear about it! I am starting a  6 month Yoga Nidra course with Swami Pragyamurti, and am soooo looking forward to the opportunity to learn from someone so inspirational, I am attending an all night chant fest and shall start teaching my first BWY foundation course, exciting times!

We have just celebrated the winter solstice where I spent time with friends watching an amazing sunrise and focusing on releasing our fears in the form of paper boats into the sea and setting our dreams off into the wind!
Simple rituals like this really help us consolidate the whirling winds of our mind. A theme for many of my spiritual friends and myself in the latter half of 2011 has been that of fears, recognizing and facing our fears is never easy but I highly recommend that you find your way to acknowledge the root cause of your fears and maybe you too will find you can release your fears on a paperboat.....
Like many things in life taking time to reflect and examine our reactions to life and situations  can help us know ourselves better, a phrase I often remember when observing my reactions is 'that all emotions/reactions are fear or love based' maybe this will help you too?
Being the witness in practices like Antar Mouna all help us to observe ourselves and to then continue being the witness in our every day life, this is one of the many reasons that I am so glad to have found yoga so for the time being......
Om Shanti
Namaste