Quote

Yoga teaches us to stop, breathe, and use the tool of introspection, thus helping us avoid the slippery slope of hurtful words and actions.

Sadie Nardini

Everyday life

Lately I have seen a fair amount of pain going on in peoples lives. It makes me so sad to see my friends in pain, and to hear about others pain. It makes me want to do something, quickly, to take the pain away. Sometimes I can help, but often its something in their lives that I cant work out for them. Like I guess, my friends cant work out mine. 

Our modern day culture tells us to do something. Change your thinking, buy yourself the latest ..insert here..... , do something for someone else (I do like this one though). But its all about action, and I am learning that often we can begin change by just being with it. Yes, its precisely the opposite of what society would like us to do. Do nothing. Don't change anything. Just be with it. 

Currently I am reading Yoga for Emotional Balance by Bo Forbes and its great. She taps into this issue, this running away from our feelings and emotions. On page 6 she writes "Through regulating the breath and relaxing the body, we learn to be present with our issues and our pain. We learn to resist getting caught up in our reactions, or letting them define us". 

Wow. How much time and energy (and money) we could all save, if we learnt to sit with our issues and our pain. Could I, could you?

Namaste

Gratitude

Satyananda Ashram - October 2010

I love the word Gratitude. Its such a big full bodied word. Saying it makes me feel so happy and contented.

Here is a beautiful quote for the weekend:

"In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy."

Bother David Steindl-Rast.

Nice.

Namaste.