Kindly Leave Your Baggage/Ego at the Door

It took exactly 24 hours to manifest what I intended yesterday.

 “Ask and it is given” is something that I like to recite in my yoga classes.  We stand there, mountain pose, arms held high and wide, to make the letter V, “as in vessel,” I say. Not a ship, but a vase or a jar.  I wait a few breaths to allow our jars to be filled, to allow our intentions to manifest.

I have a great spiritual support group that I attend every Wednesday.  Just yesterday we did a manifesting meditation.  Just today, what I intended yesterday comes to fruition.

My intention of easy financial stability came to me in visions of singing, music and kirtan (call-and-response chanting). “Do what ?” I posted on my FB page.  And for the next half day, I couldn’t wrap my head around how kirtan was going to manifest financial stability.  “More guidance” I asked out loud.  I wrote it on a scrap paper and slammed it to my fridge.  I was nervous.  That’s too hard.  How? And mostly, why me? I went to bed feeling like I was receiving mixed messages.  I couldn’t tell if it was my ego busting through or was it really my higher self urging me on.  

  

A little secret about me is that I love to sing.  I have grand visions of singing for people. It comes up over and over. Always I have some excuse to ignore it and just wish instead.  I drive by voice studios and think “yeah, I’d like to get into that”.  Open mic nights always tweak my interest.  I never miss a chance to chant at the end of a yoga class. And karaoke? Bullah! I’m in.

I have plans tonight to go to Belmar at the Turnstile Coffee Bar where the New Jersey Friends of Clearwater hold a monthly sing along.  A friend who has been before told me that participants are invited to share a song or music. “Oh no!” I screamed into the phone. “I can’t go.”  I will be obligating myself to sing.

Here’s the scary part: Ask and it is given. I asked for it and fear will stop me? It’s not only the scary part but the tricky part as well. Sing in front of people no way, not me. Sing for people, well yeah maybe.

“Well,” my friend said. ”You’ll just have to leave your ego at the door.”  I picture an old vintage suitcase, the kind that you see at garage sales and abandoned curbside on garbage night with three black letters on the  side : EGO.

    

If I let my ego get in the way of what I asked to receive, I will be ignoring my higher power.  So I’m going to trust this one.  I will be nervous.  I will try and bow out.  I will be bringing my EGO suitcase with me. I will be dropping my EGO suitcase at the door.

I don’t know what this singing will have to do with financial stability.  That part I’ll be leaving in the suitcase with the ego.  I don’t need to know.  I will be sitting back later and watching how it all plays out.  Afterall, I asked and it is a gift that is in the process of being hand to me right at this moment.  All that’s left to do is say thank you.  Thank You.  

Nadine Poveromo trained at the Integral Yoga Institute in NYC, and is certified as a Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy practitioner from the Phoenix Rising Center in Stockbridge, Mass. Nadine helps students achieve the elusive art of living in the moment.

The key to her instruction is cultivating your ability to pay attention to every subtle nuance of your body … from emotions to thoughts to body sensations.

Yoga Plus Herbs, Marlboro Plaza, Intersection of Rte 9 and Rte 520 in Marlboro, NJ 07726, 732-617-2020, http://www.yogaplusherbs.com/, info at yogaplusherbs dot com

Ayurveda

Ayurveda is a holistic system of medicine from India that uses a constitutional model. Its aim is to provide guidance regarding food and lifestyle so that healthy people can stay healthy and folks with health challenges can improve their health.

There are several aspects to Ayurveda that are quite unique: 

1. Its recommendations will often be different for each person regarding which foods and which lifestyle they should follow in order to be completely healthy. This is due to it's use of a constitutional model.
2. Everything in Ayurveda is validated by observation, inquiry, direct examination and knowledge derived from the ancient texts.
3. It understands that there are energetic forces that influence nature and human beings. These forces are called the Tridoshas.
4. Because Ayurveda sees a strong connection between the mind and the body, a huge amount of information is available regarding this relationship.

Ayurveda gives us a model to look at each individual as a unique makeup of the three doshas and to thereby design treatment protocols that specifically address a persons health challenges. When any of the doshas ( Vata, Pitta or Kapha ) become accumulated, Ayurveda will suggest specific lifestyle and nutritional guidelines to assist the individual in reducing the dosha that has become excessive. We may also suggest certain herbal supplements to hasten the healing process. If toxins in the body are abundant, then a cleansing process known as Pancha Karma is recommended to eliminate these unwanted toxins.

               In Yoga plus Herbs, we address different conditions like arthritis, spondylitis, skin conditions like eczema, psoriasis, stress,allergies and rejuvenation. There are a number of simple spices and herbs which are helpful to prevent the diseases and help to improve the overall health of an individual.

     

        For example : Fenugreek (Trigonella foenum graecum) seeds can lower LDL “bad” cholesterol and triglycerides (fats in the blood), and raise HDL “good” cholesterol levels. Its effects seem to come from its ability to lower the absorption of cholesterol in the intestine, and may be related to the high fiber content of the seed. The high fiber content of fenugreek seeds may also help control blood sugar if you have diabetes.

Dr. Lakshmi   

Dr. Sri Lakshmi, a well known exponent of Kuchipudi, was trained under Smt. Kottapalli Padma (disciple of Guru Sri Vempati Chinna Sayam, the great scholar in Kuchipudi). 

Yoga Plus Herbs, Marlboro Plaza, Intersection of Rte 9 and Rte 520 in Marlboro, NJ 07726, 732-617-2020, http://www.yogaplusherbs.com/, info at yogaplusherbs dot com

Your "Self"

Okay, so we all know that the hardest part of the practice is the time we spend in stillness. Where we are urged to no longer do but just be. To recognize our thoughts and acknowledge our emotions. Often we become agitated and sometimes annoyed. It seems difficult to admit that we feel this way. This is the practice of self-realization. So, how do we learn how to spend more time with our “self”. Well, first of all we must validate our thoughts and emotions. They are ours, after all. They must mean something to our “self”. Place what value they have for you and accept them. If they really don’t seem to have value, then let them go. It may not happen right away, but as you continue to work on your relationship with yourself you will find out more about yourself. Practice this without fear. Allow your mind to wander and see what is there. How can you free yourself from painful or negative thoughts until you realize that they are there? When you discover a toxic thought or emotion, take a big breath in. Hold it there, and then, feel the heaviness lift as you exhale it away. Be with yourself, and get to know yourself. Put that relationship first. Practice for yourself. Love yourself.

Love and light,

Annie

Annie discovered yoga in the year 2000 and in 2002, sought out yoga teacher training. She learned the Sivananda method as was originally taught by Swami Sivananda Saraswati. With her roots strongly connected in Sivananda, her branches began to grow into other traditions, notably the Ashtanga method. Over the years she has studied and practiced with many wonderful teachers and has completed workshops and trainings in both the U.S. and Canada. Her teaching style is both serious and fun, traditional and modern. It is her personal goal that her students take what they learn while on their mats and apply it to their daily lives. She strives to inspire and encourage her students and to promote a sense of balance and well-being . Annie is active in the yoga community and is a Registered Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance as well as Yoga Atlantic Canada.