Summer Practice Workshop with Elizabeth Andes-Bell and Bruce Bell Wednesday, July 6th, 7:00-9:00pm Namaste Yoga Center $25 pre-registered with credit card $30 at the door Call 212.580.1778 to register Learn how to structure a safe inversion practice that frees the shoulders so the heart can soar. Learn how and why to combine a twisting and inversion practice to balance the water/fire and female/male polarities in us all. Learn how to restore the heart and circulatory system, the thymus and hypothalamus glands to counteract the negative effects of stress. Cool down this summer with Sheetali Pranayama (the cooling breath). It calms and cools the body/mind. Go to www.healthandyoga.com and click on Sheetali Pranayama. |
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The Summer Practice "Any judgment we make, no matter of whom, registers in the heart as a disruption of relationship, and the heart dutifully responds on behalf of our defense, shifting neural, hormonal and electromagnetic systems from relational to defensive. Creator and created are giving rise to each other, we are judged as we have judged." Joseph Chilton Pearce, The Biology of Transcendence. Summer is the season of the heart and the element of fire. The heart houses the spirit, propels our blood (individuated life force) through the body, and is the communication between our inner and outer lives. Fire represents our expansion into fulfillment. This year, the summer solstice falls on the full moon. Full moons are the time of harvesting. Pranic forces are at their highest and we respond by feeling expansive and somewhat manic. This lunation, beginning with the new moon on June 6th, ushers in a time to make real the intentions seeded in the spring (between the equinox and the Aries new moon). The swelling wave of energy created by the conjunction of these solar and lunar forces has the potential to be a great boon to manifesting the transformations you seek. Empower your transformation by learning how to work with forces of the natural world. Weave your desires with the flow of the seasonal tides. Ground your energy with a consistent practice. You will find the inner guidance that enables you to stay on the path with heart and to evolve by conscious realization rather than by crises.
New Moon 6/6/05 
The Shri Yantra, symbol of Maha Devi
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The Psychic Heart- The Next Frontier of Evolution
A hermit lived alone in the mountains. One day a herdsman passed by his cave and shouted, “What are you doing alone in the middle of nowhere?” The hermit replied, “I am meditating.” “What are you meditating on?” asked the herdsman. “On patience,” said the hermit. There was a moment of silence. After a while, the herdsman decided to leave and shouted to the hermit, “By the way, you go to hell!” “What do you mean? You go to hell!” came flying back.
Summer is the time we unfold into our potential. We blossom into what we have envisioned in the spring. Integrating more and more of our Original Face is the process of evolution for humans beings. Evolution in individuals is the development of their souls, their consciousness. Biological evolution unfolds over billions of years, unless environmental crises trigger a jump ahead hundreds or thousands of years. Many people believe we are facing multiple crises that could trigger such a jump for our species. Biological evolution in individuals can boil down to a choice. Not reacting habitually in anger or fear means not living for 11 hours with a compromised immune system. This not only effects your health, it benefits the well-being of everyone you meet. A spiritual practice helps us make that choice more consistently. Cultural evolution unfolds much faster. We are relational beings. We need each other to grow. Patience and compassion are not learned in isolation. Thus far, we have evolved to the Manipura (third) chakra, the plane of thought. This is the seat of the intellect where the mind sees duality and makes distinctions between good and bad. This sets in motion the desire to build, to conquer, and to invent. The next frontier of evolution is the Anahata (fourth) chakra, also known as the psychic heart. This is the bridge between the physical and nonphysical worlds. We evolve from conscious identification with only the material world to experiencing the flow of life force in creation, to developing the symbolic mind, to knowing existence as a luminous soul reflecting pure spirit. This is the model of evolution based on the Great Nest of Being. It is not survival of the fittest, where the strong prey on the weak. This model is seen in nature. Atoms become molecules. Molecules become cells. Cells become organs. Organs become bodies. Each unit is unique and vital to the whole. The lesser and the greater are in reciprocal relationship as a series of embracing, concentric spheres. Patience gives birth to this cultural model. Joy, happiness, self-confidence and compassion arise within it and sustain it. |
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Asana of the Month – Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Facing Dog) 
This asana is a staple of a yoga practice. It will strengthen your arms, teach you to lift off your shoulders, give you the stamina of a standing pose and some of the benefits of an inversion. It is an excellent way to prepare for the inversions of the summer practice. What follows is a series of dog pose variations using blocks against the wall. Dog pose,forearm stand dog pose and its variations are built by creating a stable form of squared wrists to elbows to shoulders. The stability of the squares allows the body to contain an increased flow of energy that will open the lungs and remove armoring in the back and shoulders. * Remember to plug the hands into the floor and lift off them to develop the energetic charge to lift the body off the shoulders and lengthen through the spine. Keep the knees bent and the heels of the feet off the floor for now. Plug in the balls of the feet and lift off the ankles while lowering the heels slightly. Open the back of the knee down to the heel and up to the sit bones and lift the sit bones up. These physical sensations occur because of the contact you make with the earth. As you receive a charge, the body will unwind into the form. Your job is to set the right conditions (with your form, your breath and your intention) and play the triad of impartial witness, experimenter and receiver of the experience. * Strive to embody the archetypal energy of the asana. The more you release your personal patterns of energy blockages, the more you are able to embody the impersonal witness. |
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Deep Heart Feelings: Patience, Joy, Happiness, Self-Confidence and Compassion "I believe the purpose of our existence is to seek happiness and fulfillment." The Dalai Lama, Healing Anger. Of course, the Dalai Lama’s challenge is not for us to seek happiness in the transitory but to find happiness and fulfillment by developing peace of mind and a depth of compassion born of an understanding of the One in the many. |
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