Tag: yoga

Bikram Yoga

Posted in Health, Spirituality, WellnessTagged , , , , , , 2 Comments

Why does something so intense, feel oh, so good?

Yoga is an absolute essential in my life. It’s not a question of want, up there with eating, it is a need.

Like a sponge, I leave feeling as though I have been wrung out mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually.

I have practiced yoga off and on since I was 19. The first time I practiced, it felt impossible to hold a pose well. Shaky and fidgety, I thought to myself, “I don’t think could I ever become good at this.”
Over the years, it has become an art form that is constantly being perfected. The poses become deeper, more intense, with all the same pleasure of flexibility and stretching.

Yoga and the many types I have practiced, has brought about many shifts in my life. It facilitates a space of internal processing and healing. When practiced more, life seems to take on an easier and more beautiful presence.

Bikram yoga is a 90 minute class in a 105 degree room, consisting of 26 poses.
Sounds intense, but once in, the class seems to take a life of its own. It becomes breathing life into the poses, breathing awareness into places in the body, awakening memories and stored feelings. Breathing ease into the intensity of hurt that is felt. In pushing through those moments of pain, a true sense of accomplishment is felt.

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Bikram Benefits

The benefits of Bikram Yoga are outstanding. As with anything, some sources say the opposite.

~The asanas(poses) work for stretching the body and immensely improving flexibility.

~In one session every organ, system, function, and muscle in the body are worked on.

~Healthy weight loss, or weight gain occurs,depending on body’s needs. ( I gained)

~Bikram assists the immune system and body’s natural ability to repair and heal itself.

~Strengthening, stretching and lengthening of the muscles occurs.

~Lymphatic, nervous and circulation system stimulated.

~It gives a cardiovascular workout while building muscle.

~It works both sides of the brain, not only with the breathing exercises, but the poses as well.

~Massages internal organs, aiding in the proper removal of toxins and waste.

~Assists in regulating metabolism and healthy digestion.

~Lengthens the spine and vertebrae, allowing for more spinal flexibility.

~Helps to build focus and self-discipline, the more often you go, the better you become.

~Creates internal cleansing and purification of the blood and circulatory system.

~Causes relaxation, while stimulating the mind, body, and spirit.

Xo,

Nicole

Pranayama

Posted in Spirituality, WellnessTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 7 Comments

“It’s the best high you can get naturally” (quoted from new friend on bus)

Do it at the office, do it on the train, do it while driving,
I’ve even done it while partying.

Here, my dears, we are discussing an ancient yoga technique. A quick fix to stress and anxiety.

Pranayama

Prana= life force
Yama= breath

I will go into more detail on meditations and visualization down the road.
The practice of discussion is alternate nostril breathing, balancing the left and right hemispheres of the brain, easily bringing one into alpha states.

This form of yoga connects to the Nadis, also known as energy channels or meridians, which also connect to the chakras.

The left channel= Ida
Represented as the feminine.
Right brain.
Yin
Cold, introverted, receptive.
Being. Associated with creativity, nurturing, empathy, emotions.
Passive, observant, intuitive and understanding.
Represented by the moon.

The right channel= Pingala
Is represented as the masculine.
Left brain.
Yang
Red, hot and extroverted.
Action. Associated with logic, language, rationality, analysis, imagery.
Enactment, planning, drive and purpose.
Represented by the sun.

Sushmuna = Center
Masculine and Feminine balanced
Enlightenment. Attainment of higher consciousness.

A guy friend and I were recently discussing our inner feminine and masculine. I was explaining to him that even though I am female, I pressure myself at times to keep going and doing, instead of being ok with “being”

We were contemplating how it can be challenging in our society to go into the yin, the passive state of observance and waiting.
In the western world, we are conditioned to be in action, instead of waiting for the notion to act.

Now, this is significant and may seem confusing, yet makes perfect sense. A bit of a paradox.

If you don’t know what to do, don’t do. Wait until the notion comes to you.
You know, when you know.
Action with knowing is more powerful than action without.
That is why meditating or breath work can be a powerful form of quieting your mind,
to hear yourself more clearly and act from your true sense of being.

Pranayama:

Alternate nostril breathing is quite easy and one form of Pranayama. It helps balance the left and right hemispheres of the brain. If stressed, it can quickly bring you into balance. It’s simple and can be done anywhere at any time.
A test to see which side of your brain you are using:
Lick the top side of your index finger and hold it under your nose and blow. Whichever nostril is blowing more powerfully is the side of the brain you are working with.
This technique is a way to balance both sides:

Sit crossed-legged or in Lotus posture.
Close your eyes.
Hold right hand up to your nose area, in a cupping motion.
Then take a deep normal breath, inhaling, and before exhaling block the right nostril with your thumb, so that the exhale only takes place in the left nostil.
Exhale fully for 5 seconds through left nostril.
Breathe in fully for 5 seconds through left nostril.

Switch finger placement before exhale so that the left nostril is covered by pinkie finger.
Exhale for 5 seconds fully out of the right nostril.
Inhale for 5 seconds fully through right nostril.

Switch finger placement again so that you exhale through left, in through left. Continue to alternate for at minimum 2 minutes up to an hour.

I like to visualize light coming through each breath and filling me up, while expelling toxins, stress and negativity on the exhale.

Kundalini yoga has several forms of pranayama, a bit different then what I have mentioned. One of those is; right nostril stimulating and energizing: breathe in through right nostril, out through left. The left nostril calm and tranquilizing: breathe in through left, out through right.

Right nostril stimulating and energizing: breathe in through right nostril, out through left. The left nostril calm and tranquilizing: breathe in through left, out through right. Try for 2 minutes or more.

To gain more information on Kundalini yoga there are classes held at many yoga studios. They have powerfully shifted many parts of my life, connecting me to mind, body and spirit. There are many more breathing practices for different areas of life and the body, including breathing at certain times of the day. As you develop more of a practice you will understand more of your mind, creating equilibrium and self-awareness. If you’d like a personalized session or practice to work with please contact me directly.

 

Hope this gives you the high you are seeking  😉

xo,
Nicole

Ayahuasca’s Femininity

Posted in Creative Musings, Empowerment, TravelTagged , , , , , , , , , , , , 4 Comments

You came beckoning to me in my dreams, I could feel your pull to come sip amongst your knowledge yet again.
Speaking in your powerful way, you said to me….

“Come find me, I will lead you to where you need to be, the right Shaman you will be guided to as I transform you.
Purifying you mind and spirit, I am a tool, one when used with the right intention will propel you forward.
Speak to me before you take part, everything will be drawn to you, if it is found easily it is meant to be”

Ayahuasca, a drink that is made from the vines of the amazon, powerful plant medicine, that shifts one into new dimensions within self. It is more feminine in nature and relates to the earth goddess. The traditions of this ceremony date back centuries, usually facilitated by a shaman. One drinks this as an undertaking that comes with reverence for the power of the medicine.

This is an absolute surrendering to whatever the medicine wishes to impart in one’s being, pulling up negativity and shadows to be viewed, and purged.
There can be deaths of self, and viewings beyond what the conscious mind can grasp, understanding of what lies underneath all the eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
mind chatter.

meditating

Peru,

I heard whispered in my ear,

Peru is where you will find me.

The energies of these ancient lands were calling me

Come to me, come to me.

I set the intention, the power of the mind being my one true religion. The visions I could taste and smell. These visions carried with them a weight beyond proportions of what I was grasping.

In them,

untethered by conditions and patterns of my world and society, even more sovereign in myself

I spoke back to her

Show me how to get to you…..

I will begin with the end, back to the feminine.
Callpa, a person, also representing
a circle, starting and ending in the same place.
a cycle complete
Death = Transformation

Within the being feminine the masculine action is born.
Action comes from being, being causes action.

My last and final resolve, owning my body and femininity.

Excursions of action and asserting my masculine, death of self experiences, with elements harsh, I am still processing the teachings.

Unbelievable.

Testing ever ounce and fiber of my being with
not giving up or in,
no matter what I am faced with.

Now

A softness occurs.
In this softness a nurturance of what I have undertaken.

A vacation away from an excursion,
back now in Bocas, circling, this time with renewed purpose, in that
I am
owning

who I am

With a superb teacher for this.

My aunts have been amazing forces in my life, guiding me with their knowledge, passion and strength.
I am being guided yet again, for the final teaching along this journey, by Laura, owner of Bocas Yoga. An independent, graceful, confident woman, she has become a soul-aunt, I am blissfully inspired. Staying in the guest room attached to the studio, a dream- space is giving rise to the cultivation of what I have acquired.
cozy room

Laura is Anusara Yoga inspired, living Shri,
universal principles of seeing beauty first.

I came here after mention of a photo shoot.
That photo shoot turned into an uncloaking of beauty so as to learn to share myself with the world.
Cultivating my beauty with grace and no longer giving a fuck what anybody thinks.

Fully owning, integrating and being proud of who I’ve become

“Shine your beauty out” I heard in one of the amazing yoga classes

Thinking,
How overly critical I can be of myself at times, expecting a perfection that is hard to meet, an over-worn, conditioned belief that my beauty and sexiness can only be had if I am over five foot three, a super-model or slutty.

After what I have faced and created, it is time to get rid of that bs and implement me, and MY BEAUTY into my being.
Re-patterning reservations from a brainwashed and objectified society.

I don’t need to be a c cup to feel beautiful.  Although it feels fun to have 😉
I don’t need to dress in Prada to know I am beautiful.
I don’t need to wear makeup everywhere to look beautiful.

My beauty isn’t what I look like, how I dress, what I drive, where I am or with who, those are all extensions of what is within.
My beauty cannot be found outside of myself, it is an inward state emanating out, it’s my light and my ability to radiate to all who are in my presence.
True beauty is the ability to love myself, own myself and be confident in how I represent myself to the world.
Trying to look perfect is a state of insecurity, my imperfections give rise to the greatest beauty of all

Uniqueness.

Extraordinary idiosyncrasies that are mine to claim.

It’s about intention, if I think I am beautiful, and radiate that with grace and action, to me that is truly living my beauty.

New-found Beauty has come with action, the action of integrity in

following
my
purpose and
dreams

unstoppably

xo,

Nicole

to be continued…..

Bocas del Toro

Posted in TravelTagged , , , , , , , 6 Comments

After leaving Costa Rica, I arrived in Bocas Del Toro, an archipelago of Panama,

Stepping foot onto this island, we were ushered into a tour office by Homer.
Homer took pride in being our guide and appeared to pop up whenever we needed him, carrying our bags, getting us taxis, leading us into adventures we were meant for.

Upon arriving in this same office, a picture on the wall caught my eye. One I remembered clearly, having seen it before.
This surreal photo was a brightly colored picture of Bali huts on clear, teal water, surrounded by the tropics.
Racking my brain for where I KNEW that picture, it came to me.
A dream board I had created a year ago.
Amazed, I had forgot I even made it. I was shown yet again how powerful the mind is.
I feel like living proof of the law of attraction, cheesily reminding me of “The Secret”.
Yet what seems to evade this book on the depths of attracting, are attracting from a space of doing what is for the highest of self and humanity.
Which is where I always intend to attract from.

 

My conclusion:
It’s the experiences and people who aren’t dreamt up, rather unexpected, that are just as extraordinary.
It’s about the journey as much as the destination.

I tend to shy away from the touristy approach, this time I embraced my heart’s wishes, and decided to go on the suggested tour.
Making our way to dolphin bay on the small water taxi,
hearing the engine put, put, put.
Then silence……. we were stalled in the water.
looking around there was nothing in sight but land, far away.

Really???
Was all I could ask
Uncontrollably giggling at these crazy twists and turns,
.
After 30 minutes of other tour boats coming over and laughing along with us, our rescue boat arrived and transferred us over to a new boat.

Wind blowing and whipping around us, the sun lighting everything up. We were finally taken to dolphin bay.
Intelligent and ever so graceful, these mammals are a sight to behold with their slick, shiny gray skin. As they were frolicking and following our boats around, it helped me to understand their message of breaking out of the adult box.

“Liberate yourself.
Be light, have fun and laugh with life, entertain the innocence and fun of your inner child.”

From there were taken to a restaurant on the water, where I ordered fresh fish, rice and plantain, that was prepared while we snorkeled.
Swimming within the coral, canvas shapes and figures like Fibonacci sequences, spirals, brain shapes, bright yellow, pink, and green coral were rising up to meet me. I was left mesmerized as the water captured the sunlight in a colorful, hypnotic display amongst the varying hues.

A dazzling allure.
Representing universal symbols prevalent in all of life.

After eating the delicious meal, we were taken to Red Frog beach.
I was expecting your average beach, a lot of people, stuff and hot dogs everywhere.

Instead, I was stunned when we walked through the trees to the most pristine beach I have ever seen.
The clear aquamarine ocean was softly rolling onto the white sandy beaches.
With uninhabited islands in view and the lush jungle encompassing. I was lulled into a romantic, soft and dreamy state of being. I blissfully fell even more in love with life.

I was beckoned into the jungle’s splendor.
Thriving junglicious life seemed to be murmuring and speaking to me through the leaves and trees.
Surreptitiously finding my way over to the off-limits, I ventured in.
Climbing up the mountain, the huge trees provided me with vines and ropes that I was grabbing and swinging on. Like a little pixie, getting my sundress dirty, I knew the jungle would take care of me.

Once up, I climbed precariously on a fallen tree for an unobstructed view of the ocean. Afterwards, meditating within the roots of a giant tree, ocean view and life surrounding me.

This was the essence I was seeking.
Life couldn’t have been more perfect in that moment.
Sacred, grounding time within nature, reminding me.

I am a part of it.

Total price of tour
20 Dollars.

Yoga, baby.
My body had been craving the stretching, twisting, release.
After putting my intentions out there to take a class an hour later a woman, Laura, walked by with a yoga mandala on her shirt.
Questioning her about it, she told Sheena and I to come by and check out her studio
Bocas Yoga.
The studio was a cute purple house, that felt warm and high vibrational, creating a comforting, strong space.
In all my yoga experience, this class was by far the best Hatha flow I have ever taken. Laura was a sensational instructor, guiding us into poses expertly with a nurturance to challenge ourselves.
I had my yogic release, things surfaced and were worked out of me, mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually.
I will be coming back there, indeed.
total price of class.
5.00

Bocas, you will be missed and I shall be back

xo,
Nicole