Rasamaya Blog

Heart to Heart: The Rasa of Anger: Listening and attending to our needs

2013-04-18T18:43:38Z

Anger is probably the feeling many of us are most uncomfortable with. At least it is for me. In my life violence and aggression were always associated with reducing one self’s esteem, and being in physical danger. In my culture it was acceptable to use violent resources like screaming or hitting to correct children. To a child, this destroys not only self-esteem but also the sense of trust in others and in the environment. So, the prospect of me feeling angry was never easy to manage. I’ll always try to hide my anger and push it down myself. But this turned out to be detrimental to my health by accumulating stress in my spine and creating back pain and digestive system difficulties.

So how can we deal with this fire within us? This sudden volcano erupting within us that sometimes makes us lose our heads and act violently or viciously? To deal with anger, we need to know and understand what it is. It is one of our natural emotions, and it’s necessary to accept it. In one of our Rasamaya classes, as we tried to find the origin of anger, someone suggested that it was the trespassing of one or more of our boundaries. As I told this to one of my teachers later on, he suggested taking it a step deeper: it is a need that is not being satisfied and that doesn’t seem likely to be fulfilled soon. This need can be on any level: physical, emotional, financial, relationship, etc. Our anger is simply an alarm mechanism that something is not right and needs immediate attention.

Anger by itself is not a problem, the problem is that we don’t let it flow and so it ends up hurting us or others when repressed or used in unhealthy ways. It can lead easily to violence and hurt others physically or emotionally. So, how to let flow if it feels to be so powerful? Laughter is surely a way to transform it by allowing us to see things from a different perspective. If you’re mad at something, can you see the funny side? Sometimes we take things too seriously and might be triggered easily. Laughter will definitely lighten things up. However, the underlying need still needs to be tended to, but you can look at this when you’re a bit more peaceful instead of in the middle of an internal eruption.

Allowing and acceptance ease things very much as well, especially when we’re angry because of something we can’t do anything about. Just a few hours ago, I heard a story from Opening the Door to your Heart about a young Tibetan monk that was given the task of wash an enormous pile of laundry. The monk was painfully going through the task, fuming while working on his pile of clothes, because he was tired and thought this was an injustice from the Abbot. It was not until another monk who came to help him suggested to him that doing the task was much easier than thinking about it, that the young monk found peace by focusing in what had to be done. This way, his anger and pain disappeared. Allowing the fact that he needed to do the task and accepting it took care of this young monk’s anger and frustration.

Another way to deal with anger, especially repressed anger, is to simply face it, but this requires more inner commitment. We need to allow ourselves to let it flow through us and listen deep within to find the unfulfilled need. This might require the help of a professional so that we feel safe during our exploration and we don’t hurt ourselves or others. Anger can turn into rage if not dealt with it properly and this can also be stored within. Some of us might also be attached to anger as a way to feel powerful, because it is raw power we’re dealing with, and we might enjoy intimidating others and feel dominating by using it against others. But at the end, if we don’t deal with the underlying cause, this power will feel empty and unfulfilling and will only lead to hurt ourselves and others.

Anger also asks for one thing: Self care. We are the ones who need to satisfy our needs. We are the ones who need to take care of ourselves. We are the ones responsible for our own well-being at every level. When my youngest son was just a few months old, I found myself being constantly irritated by my daughter’s behavior. Everything she did was wrong and I constantly yelled at her, even though she was only a couple of years old. I felt very bad with this, but my irritation would carry me over. It was until I realized that I wasn’t having enough rest, proper food, and enough physical activity that I realized that I was losing my temper with my children. Since this realization, I vowed to put my needs first so that I wouldn’t be that angry monster any more to my children. My whole family has enjoyed the benefits of this. So next time you start to feel irritated, you can ask yourself: “What is it that I need that I’m not giving myself?” When you find the answer to this, and start satisfying this need, you’ll feel a lot better.

-Lilia Flores

A Rasamaya Yoga instructor, Lilia loves connecting spiritual science with physical facts to help people to deepen their understanding of themselves. Reach her at i.am.truly.me@gmail.com

Heart to Heart: Rasa of Sadness: Dealing with Loss

2013-02-12T15:51:47Z

Sadness is a feeling that has been given a ‘bad’ reputation in many cultures. Whenever we feel down, or depressed, this is seen as ‘not good,’ or as something that needs to be ‘fixed immediately.’ At least that’s how I was brought up. But what is sadness really? As I understand, sadness is simply our response to loss: something dear to us has been removed, either by choice or not. The more involved we were with whatever it is that we need to say good-bye to, the harder it is to let it go. Disappointment represents also a loss of expectations about a certain outcome, and thus is a form of sadness.

What are our current responses to being sad? I was taught to think of something funny or beautiful as a distraction. My family usually makes me laugh in an attempt to bring me out of it. Rage might also be a response, and if it continues to be fueled by repressed sadness this could lead to vengeance and war. Another way that is quite popular is to numb ourselves, since we just don’t want to feel. But this process adds toxins into our system that accumulate as we continue to ignore, freeze and bury our sadnesses deep within us, trying to avoid dealing with this emotion or showing a ‘strong’ face to the world and not having have time to feel. By looking at statistics of heart health, I feel this is specially true for men.

In order for sadness to really clear from the system, however, we need to allow our tears to flow. The heart needs to mourn its loss. It’s simply acknowledging that is missing something dear, and by letting it feel it, we’re honoring this separation. If it’s not dealt with, and continues to be carried over, it could lead to depression, which affects our brains and well-being more seriously (of course, depression can be caused by other factors as well).

We have been dealing with loss since ancient times. Even Neanderthal people had memorial burials. They felt their pain and needed a way to express it. Burials and possibly ceremonies allowed them to do it. We have been doing it too, but at some point we think it isn’t right to feel sad anymore for whatever reason, and decide to escape from it. Yes, sadness is not pleasant, but in order to allow ourselves to live with open hearts, it’s necessary to understand its language and honor what it needs.

To begin dealing with sadness, it’s good to have some company that knows how to listen, truly listen. These people won’t ask questions, they won’t say a word, but they will stay there for you. A trained therapist is an excellent starting point since they can offer more support. If there’s none around, you can also allow yourself to drop some tears by pouring your heart out on paper and let everything come out. Don’t hold it in. Let it out. You can destroy your writing later, just give your sadness an exit and let your heart feel. Since we experience loss in many ways: outgrowing our favorite toys, breaking something we loved dearly, moving to a different location, changing jobs, changing groups, changing cars, etc., we have opportunities to let feelings flow more often than we think. Being with small children is also a good way to learn to deal with sadness and disappointment. Children can’t hide what they feel, so just being with them and letting them shed their tears without you trying to change this can help both ways: the child will feel supported in acknowledging her feelings and you’ll learn to listen, which is also an invaluable skill, and very much needed these days. As a mother, this has been very helpful. There’s still a long way to go, but I can see the difference in my children.

Finally, after the tears have been shed down and the sadness has been dealt with, something dear and precious comes out of this: the joy for life. Isn’t this worth trying anything for?

-Lilia Flores

A Rasamaya Yoga instructor, Lilia loves connecting spiritual science with physical facts to help people to deepen their understanding of themselves. Reach her at i.am.truly.me@gmail.com

Heart to Heart: Facing the Rasa of Fear: Part II

2013-01-23T14:51:22Z

How can you deal with this rasa if you’re in the middle of it? When you’re petrified, anguished, terrified, where do you even begin? These are some of the tools that have proved to be extremely helpful in dealing with this rasa in day to day situations.

The first thing is to start to reconnect back to the breath and to take deep long breaths. Since the breath becomes shallower and the heart rate accelerates, it’s very helpful to allow more air to come into the system. Once calmer, a decision needs to be made: is it time for something new, or is it necessary to go back into the comfort zone? This step requires something that many of us have been taught to ignore: self love. 'Is it possible to forgive my mistakes? Is it possible to believe in myself? Can I be by my own side and love myself during this process?' The decision to step back or forward is up to each one of us, and it’s never wrong. It’s simply an indication of growth and awareness to say if we’re ready for the next step or not. We all blossom at our own time, so it’s extremely important to have self compassion during this natural process.

Taking care of the physical body is also very helpful. If there’s an internal tendency to stress too much and become anxious, it would be good to reduce stimulants like sugar or caffeine, and to exercise, sweat, meditate, breathe fresh air or do yoga to help clean the body of toxins produced by excessive stress. This will help support the nervous system and regain clarity.

As the connection with ourself gets stronger, it is equally important to remember that we’re never alone. We may have family or friends that love us and support us so this is a good time to reach for them. Experts are also available, books, information and, of course, spirituality such as praying or meditating, which in my experience gives tremendous support.

Changing perspective and breaking the challenge in front of us into smaller tasks makes it more manageable as well. Fear is conquered with action, but action comes forth as courage emerges. Creating a plan helps tremendously to organize ideas to face the situation but true power emerges when we actually do it. The plan might need tweaking as we go along, but with confidence and support fear vanishes as we move along. This is where faith appears. Faith and fear are based on the same premise: believing in something that you can’t see. As we build support and find encouragement we simply know that we have everything we need to face the challenge.

But the complete eradicator of fear is actually surrender. Surrender means to synchronize, not to give up or give in. Chakras don’t close, they stay open. A situation is not seen as a threat but as an invitation to act differently and we do so in the moment. We remain calm, present and alert. We act according to what is needed at the moment without further question, even when no action is required at all! This step requires complete trust and faith in oneself, in the situation, and the process and whatever power is behind it. There’s no struggle and no fight, simply acceptance.

I’ve found that the best ways to build all the stages above is to be in situations where our positive responses can be called forth. Yoga is wonderful for it. For example, warrior poses and backbends help develop courage, while balancing and inversions help in strengthening our self-confidence. Surrender can also be developed with flows, finding your own rhythm and going with it. There’s total bliss at some point when the synchronicity is found. The more often we get in touch with these feelings, the easier it is to evoke them, and thus we can bring them forward to our daily life. This is how yoga can be applied in our daily lives. Want to try?

-Lilia Flores

A Rasamaya Yoga instructor, Lilia loves connecting spiritual science with physical facts to help people to deepen their understanding of themselves. Reach her at i.am.truly.me@gmail.com

Heart to Heart: Facing the Rasa of Fear: Part I

2013-01-18T01:33:57Z

Even as I am trying to write about fear, I feel hesitance, resistance and I don’t want to even think about it! And that’s because I’ve been submerged in this rasa for the past 4 to 6 weeks and finally starting to come out of it. I feel that I have been in darkness, cold, loneliness and an extreme amount of stress. Depending on the situation, my response to fear varies, but this past event left me frozen to my core. The help that I was counting on vanished and I found myself in the middle of what felt like a living nightmare. I got the flu for good 3 weeks, my exercise was limited, my ability to meditate decreased and my self-care simply vanished. I couldn’t write, nothing would please me and my ability to enjoy life disappeared. It was very sad. Yes, fear, can be indeed a very dark place and it’s not comfortable at all, but it’s part of ourselves and we need to learn from it as well.

In an effort now to view the situation differently, I’m allowing now fear to express itself through me as I continue to face it. There’s an internal need of wanting to understand it to see where it’s leading. Fear, as well as all other rasas, is part of our human repertoire of emotions and signals. So accepting them, understanding them and knowing how to deal with them are part of our own growth not only as persons, but as a species. So here’s what I’ve found that I’d like now to share with you in hopes that this information may also be helpful to someone else.

Fear is a major stressor that may trigger negative (anger, anxiety, denial, rage, victimhood, freezing, cowardice) or positive responses (courage, creativity, hope, confidence, faith, surrender). Surviving the process, and specially recovering the connection with oneself and reality, can last any length of time from seconds to years depending on the situation. For example, in a sudden life-threatening situation, our responses will probably arrive instantly as our survival instinct kicks in, while in a day-to-day situation we might be afraid of something for years without facing it directly.

How each one of us experiences fear varies according to how we perceive life and our own self-confidence, among other things. Fear can be seen as an alarm signal that tells us that we’re either going beyond our comfort zone or we’re in an immediate threat. It is our human response that indicates that we’re in unknown territory or something is simply not right. Fear affects the first and fourth chakras, since we perceive a threat from the environment (first chakra) causing our heart rate and breathing to accelerate (fourth chakra) in order to respond quickly. All other chakras are affected as well, but these are the ones that respond immediately.

Fear is uncomfortable to make sure we’re not ignoring it. But in our daily lives it’s also an invitation to grow. It tells us that we’re about to face something new and it’s up to us to decide if we’re ready to move forward, or if we need to step back and get stronger before we face the situation again, because it will repeat itself (ever had the feeling of ‘oh, no, not this again’?). In her book Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway, Susan Jeffers mentions that all of our fears can be traced down to one single origin: our fear in our own capability of dealing with a situation. But we won’t know what we’re capable of until we decide face the challenge. And this is a personal decision every single time. We decide where we want to move, and is a natural part of our own growth.

-Lilia Flores

A Rasamaya Yoga instructor, Lilia loves connecting spiritual science with physical facts to help people to deepen their understanding of themselves. Reach her at i.am.truly.me@gmail.com

Heart to Heart: Do Less to Do More

2013-01-02T15:03:58Z

Rasamaya’s theme going into 2012 was not to accept "less than" in any aspect of our lives. It was all about proving “we can,” and trying out new things in our effort to find our truth as a business. As such, it proved to be a year of true adventure for Rasamaya. We expanded into our new space in Newburyport which is now booming, we tried out different billing formats and settled on a new sliding scale to make our classes more affordable and we took the initial launch steps with our cancer, veterans, prenatal and kids program. We tried out a spa line and a youtube channel, and I went all over the country meditating, teaching, researching and listening. All of this growth was possible because of your support and the support of our amazing team of talented teachers, managers and support staff.

After all this exploration in 2012 I have decided that the theme for 2013 is "Do Less to Do More." As a business owner I have literally tried out just about everything a business of our nature can do. At the end of this rainbow of trial and tribulation is the true pot of gold—the realization that sometimes doing less means really means accomplishing more. It goes so much deeper than just business—how often do we have to learn that lesson in our lives before we really get it? I, like so many of us, stack my plate full with too many commitments in my effort to be more, to more people, all the time. One of the great gifts of my journey cross-country was the realization that it's not necessary. That everything you need is truly right in front of you, that more does not necessarily equal better. But boy oh boy, is that a hard habit to break, both personally and professionally. Where do we learn that habit? Is it part of our culture to be constantly busy and occupied, to perceive ourselves as somehow progressing when we're probably not? It's food for thought.

My team moves into 2013 with a plan. We know what we are doing, we are clear on what our charitable initiatives are, and we know what works for Rasamaya in terms of classes and client demand. Over the next year you will notice us subtly streamlining our offerings, getting down to the nuts and bolts, to be the best of who we are and what we offer to the communities we serve within our existing studios. The year 2013 will also be a year of expansion within this new model with some new studios coming on board. In 2013 we are about abundance, simplicity and as always love, love, love.

Cheers to you and yours this 2013 and remember it's the people in your life that matter first and foremost. I hope you can find the time to do less so you can do more.

love. love. love.

Carrie

Intelligent Movement: Finding Your Spine - Holiday Survival 101

2012-11-02T00:36:00Z

Ahhh... the holidays. Aren't the holidays just grand? The food, the decorations, and the warm glow of FAMILY. (Insert the sound of the needle scratching across the surface of the old-time record).

For many of us, despite how close we may be to our nearest and dearest, this is a time of putting on our best faces and ignoring some of the small comments that make us cringe. Even if our familial relationships are fantastic there is always that one person that you hold your breath around, praying that they won't belch at the dinner table. As they say, "you choose your friends, not your relatives."

Additionally, family and the whole busy vibration of the holidays challenges even the calmest of individuals. It is a time when our third chakra (our power center) is in high gear. The third chakra relates to your relationship to your intimate communities—who are you within your family structure? Who are you in your work environment? At church? In other organizations? It even relates to who you are within the small community fighting over the last ‘whatever’ on the shelf at the Toys R Us.

It is truly a time when we need to reach deep and find our flexibility. Focusing on the mobility of our spines is one of the easiest ways we can access this mental and emotional flexibility. The spine is the gateway to our stress response—the less stressed we are the less rigid our body becomes. The entire nervous system pours out of the spaces in and around the vertebrae. The health of the spine is paramount to any other movement concept you may consider. Its proper alignment and flexibility is at the heart of all things Rasamaya. If it works well you can comfortably stand in your place of personal power without needing to be overly aggressive, assertive or downright angry.

So how do you work spinal flexibility? One important and simple way actually is to use movement to work against the natural curves of the spine. It seems counterintuitive but for many can provide great relief. For instance in cat arch (where you lift your head) the spine will naturally want to move into the lordotic (lower back) curvature and in cat tuck (where you tuck your head) your spine will want to move into the kyphotic (upper back) curvature. Try reversing this pattern—as you arch, focus on drawing the tailbone back and dropping the heart towards the floor instead, as you tuck focus on pressing the lower back to the ceiling rather than the upper back. For most this provides a great sense of relief in the spine and increases the disc space. I offer this movement with the consideration there are no serious spinal medical issues such as herniations, stenosis etc.

The mantra to memorize here is "width and length." It's one I come back to often in my own movement practice. It’s important to find the most width and length in every movement, whether that be triangle pose in yoga, chair pose at the barre, or single leg stretch in Pilates. Think of the spine like a garden hose in every movement posture. The question to ask yourself is, "where am I placing the spine not to put a kink in the works?" Find long lines in every movement —forward bends, back bends and particularly twists. Many students will lean back putting a kink in the hose in order to crank the shoulders around—this results in no flow and decreased breath capacity.

If you don't stop up your own plumbing you can more easily "go with the flow." All of a sudden, it becomes a cinch to let the last "Let's Rock Elmo" go to someone else with the wild crazed look in their eyes, or to calmly pass the gravy rather than throw it at your loved one. You may even find you do so with a sense of gratitude for your own sustained sense of calm and well-being. Go ahead, be flexible and give yourself a little pat on the back.

-- Carrie Tyler

Carrie Tyler is the Founder and Creator of the Rasamaya Method. She is the proud owner of several Rasamaya studios and runs teacher trainings, retreats and workshops within the US and abroad. In her private practice she specializes in women's health, chronic structural issues and sexuality in and sees private clients when she is not traveling. She offers lectures and consultations on the Business of Yoga. Learn more about her at www.rasamaya.com

Heart to Heart: Third Chakra: Your inner authority

2012-11-01T16:29:00Z

Your third chakra is located at the solar plexus, right where your ribs meet below the sternum. A healthy chakra displays a bright lemon yellow color. This color is only seen on the level of emotions, or second level, where all chakras have a rainbow-like color (red for first, orange for second, yellow for third, etc). Chakras that run along the spine, from the sacrum (second) all the way up to the head (sixth) have two main vortices: one at the front and one at the back of your body. Each one governs different aspects of your psyche. The first and seventh chakras form a pair by themselves. They make the loop between heaven (seventh) and earth (first).

All healthy chakras will spin in clockwise direction, no matter if they are in the front or in the back of your body. The third chakra governs the stomach, gall bladder and nervous system. From the mind perspective, it represents our sense of self as individuals, and our ability to take care of ourselves.

The third chakra is also identified as a source of power and that’s why the sound of ram (as well as the image of a ram) is associated with it. It seems to be our inner sun. I have experienced it as such because it seems to be the source of my inner authority. It is through this chakra and the willingness to take care of my own self that I can establish healthy limits regarding my own physical needs. By this it means that I have, literally, the guts to say ‘no’ to some kind of commitment that demands too much of me or ‘yes’ to something that will nurture my physical self. My wild self seems to emerge through this chakra and sometimes it even feels like a lion roaring inside!

How does it seem to roar? Well, how about when it says ‘no’ to unnecessary drinking at a party? Or ‘no’ to staying late for a social event in the middle of the week when I need to wake up early next morning? Or saying ‘no’ to some other project that I know I’d need to skip either sleep or meals because of, or ‘no’ to unnecessary expenses. But my lion also says ‘yes’ to moving more, ‘yes’ to finding ways to relax my mind and body, and ‘yes’ to things that nurture me.

I have noticed too that people with a strong sense of natural leadership show healthy third and fourth chakras. They simply have a powerful presence that fills a room with a bright light. Their stance is proud, but not arrogant, and they display a sense of authority without intimidation. They seem to know who they are, and why they are here, and their simple presence shows it. You have that sense of awe that might propel you to follow them. One person that comes to mind with this description is Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer. With his passive/assertive presence, he displays that sense of authority that we all can develop. If you get a chance to see any of this videos (I was able to get them from the library), you’ll see what I mean. I’m sure that many more people come to mind, when you think about it.

There are different ways to help heal and keep your third chakra healthy. Here are some suggestions

spinal twists with the upper body in yoga
healthy eating, to keep a strong and clean digestive system.

This can definitely start you on a good path for a healthier and brighter inner sun.

--Lilia Flores
A newly graduated Rasamaya Yoga instructor, Lilia loves connecting spiritual science with physical facts to help people to deepen their understanding of themselves. Reach her at i.am.truly.me@gmail.com

Intelligent movement: Spinal Flexibility

2012-10-22T20:59:57Z

November is right around the corner. The Rasamaya theme for the month is your third chakra and spinal flexibility. It's important to be hyper aware that spinal flexibility may have nothing to do with how flexible in other places a person is. It may have everything to do with the shape of their vertebrae, or the flexibility of other parts of their body. For instance, in a standard seated forward fold some folks can fold flat and some don't even move an inch. If you notice that a student can't tilt the pelvis forward in an anterior direction (meaning if when they pitch the body forward it looks like a nice long line from tailbone to crown) it may be their hamstrings holding them back, not their spine. Make sense?

Also, flexibility is not always desirable. For instance, I have a hyper mobile lower back with lax ligaments from years of bad ballet training and an incredibly tight thoracic spine. This is true for a lot of yoga teachers, dancers and presenters. Having to speak in public all the time (and having been a performer) has caused me to lift my chest (in an "open heart heart me roar" kind of way) and thus taken my thoracic spine forward and straightened out the thoracic curve (imagine a military body standing to attention). This is not good, especially because my lower back and neck have compensated by increasing their anterior curvature to support the lack of curvature in my middle back. If I continue to work my lower back flexibility it's true I might be able to literally put my head on my arse, but to the detriment of my lower back. What purpose would it serve? I would be punishing my lumbar and sacred sacrum to the point where something is going to collapse. I would end up with at best lower back pain and at worst dislocation of the vertebrae (spondylolythesis). Either way, it’s going to hurt like crazy.

The solution? Core work, neutral pelvis. My favorite cue this year has been, "Find the feet, settle the barrel of the pelvis over the feet, now settle the barrel of the ribs over the pelvis, and then bring the 10 lb bowling ball of your head on top of the ribs. Widen the collarbones out to the sides without squeezing the shoulder blades together and shortening the back. Now breathe." This simple stance will force your core to engage and bring your bones closer to where they belong.

-- Carrie Tyler

Carrie Tyler is the Founder and Creator of the Rasamaya Method. She is the proud owner of several Rasamaya studios and runs teacher trainings, retreats and workshops within the US and abroad. In her private practice she specializes in women's health, chronic structural issues and sexuality in and sees private clients when she is not traveling. She offers lectures and consultations on the Business of Yoga. Learn more about her at www.rasamaya.com

Heart to Heart: Second Chakra: Our Source of Creativity

2012-10-09T18:52:45Z

Energetically, the center of creativity is referred to as the second or sacral chakra. This center is found physically in the area of the reproductive system, about 2 to 3 inches below the belly button in both the front and back sides of the body. This chakra governs our desires and appetites, since it relates to our ability to receive (front side) and give (back side) pleasure. If we think about this for a moment, it is through our reproductive system that we, as human beings, bring life forward, ideally and ultimately, out of a pleasurable union of two beings in love with each other. What could be life’s greatest creation other thanlLife itself? But creativity is not limited to our biological functions, since psychologically and mentally creativity also gives birth to our individual expression: it is our own way of doing things, our artistic expression, in anything that we do.

Just to give you an idea, whenever you’re challenged in a certain way, and you know you need a different way to do things (like coordinating people in a new project, cooking a meal with impromptu ingredients, making sudden changes to a machine, etc.) you’ll be using your creativity to find an alternative or solution in order to complete your task. When you allow your creativity to flow and help you face your challenge, you will not only deal with it but you’ll also feel some level of satisfaction, which gives some kind of pleasure. By allowing your creative side to flow, it will nourish you and help you develop self-confidence. This is a healthy way to express our creative power.

The applications of creativity have no end and we can use it every day at every time. And even though it is our own ‘artistic’ expression of doing things, there’s no limit to where it can be applied. Art is a wonderful way of expressing ourselves, especially when we’re out of words, but in truth we can create a masterpiece out of anything: relationships, work, family, life, etc.

However, our current perception of the reproductive system has been quite distorted in the last centuries. We have developed shame and anger against our reproductive organs and our own genders without noticing the harm to ourselves. It wouldn’t be a surprise that this lack of acceptance of our own natures is the cause of so many problems related to it. Would it be possible to maybe start opening to another way of seeing our own humanity? Would it be possible to start appreciating our inner gifts such as our creative selves?

This is my challenge for this month and I offer it to you as well, since October focuses in our 2nd chakra. How would you like to allow your creativity to flow? What is your style? What is your own flavor that you add to life? You have your own unique way of doing things. Ponder on it, give it a chance, try it. Using your creativity in a healthy way to approach any situation will benefit not only you, but eventually all involved and will allow you to express as well. So, how about start practicing your creative gifts with anything that you do? Just be patient with yourself. It may not come out in the first try, but keep at it and you’ll find it very rewarding.

-Lilia Flores
A newly graduated Rasamaya Yoga instructor, Lilia loves connecting spiritual science with physical facts to help people to deepen their understanding of themselves. Reach her at i.am.truly.me@gmail.com

Heart to Heart: Fifth Chakra: Defining a sense of Purpose

2012-10-08T17:20:48Z

In these past years, I’ve had the opportunity to work in different fields that have encouraged me to grow in all ways. I’ve learned so many different skills that have enriched my experience: English to Spanish translation, engineering, sports, health, arts, energy healing, etc. Yes, I do love to learn, since it nourishes the intellect and gives me also a sense of adventure in life. But each of these skills were also very useful in everything else that I did, even when the profession fields were not related. For instance, translating helped me understand that every person speaks their own language, so I had to find ways to communicate uniquely with each of my personal training clients. All of these skills and works were helping me define my career, and find my purpose.

During our 30’s, (I’m 37) our fifth chakra goes through a growth process. This chakra is the vortex of light that governs our aspects of nourishment (front side) and career (back side). It is also the source of our voice, since it's located at our throat level, and is related to truth. This chakra is also our connection to divine will, so it’s no wonder that it’s related to our professions. When we do what we truly want to do, allowing ourselves to express all our gifts, there’s a sense of purpose. We’re aligned with divine will.

The unfolding of our purpose might not be as smooth for some of us as it is for others. It depends on our backgrounds, our experiences and upbringing. It might take a few tries before we really allow ourselves to express our purpose, and some of us might not express it at all. It is within us, all our lives. We simply need to go within and ask ourselves what is it that we’ve always wanted to do. We’ll see how we’ve known this for a long time. It can be anything from building roads, to delivering creative ideas or making companies. And yes, it is important, no matter how small it may seem. Our purpose helps support others, perhaps one, perhaps millions. Either way it is our contribution and it is valuable. Every experience that we need to go through in order to clarify it is worth having. Every job that we do, no matter how big or small, is worth appreciating. Somehow, we’re helping someone.

In these past few years, I’ve gone from engineering and being in a lab with computer equipment, to work with people in fitness, translating documents, to being a housewife, a kitchen helper, an event organizer, a writer, a wellness coach. After my engineering company closed last month I now find myself again at home studying energy healing, writing and taking care of my family. A few years ago, I’d have hated being at home. In fact, I did. I undervalued the importance of being at home and taking care of my family, and felt denigrated because I wasn’t earning any money to help my home. But after the process of working part time and full time as a professional, I now appreciate my time as a mother and wife as I didn’t before, even when it might seem trivial. Taking care of a home is a full time responsibility!

I once received a message that I’d like to pass on to you now. It came to me when I went to teach one of my classes and no students showed up, so I came back home to help my husband. On my way back, while dealing with my frustration of having no students, I asked for help to see the situation differently. Here’s what I received: “You’re always present where you’re needed the most.” So take this to your job, even if it needs to change. Everything that you do is worth appreciating.