3 Ways to Attract Positive Vibes

Jun 18, 2013

1. Think Positive. What you allow to slosh around in your head truly does influence the way you feel and what you attract. If you want to feel good and attract good things, think good things. Simple, right? Yes. Simple, but not easy. For those prone to negative thoughts, it takes lots of practice to rewire the natural tendencies and patterns we have created. For me, the practice of cultivating positive thoughts began in yoga. As I practiced more yoga, I became increasingly more self-aware. As I observed my thinking mind, I realized that my thoughts were totally tainting my experience. Yoga, among other realms, helped me to release a lot of this self-induced toxicity. The yoga is still working on me, each day allowing me to release a little bit more or, at the very least, showing me what I need to work on and what negative patterns of thought and behavior need some rewiring.
2. Feel Positive. Thoughts influence how you feel, yet the reversal also holds true: How you feel, influences your thoughts. One sure way to feel better is to get moving. Yoga just makes you feel good. It flushes out stagnation and lethargy and wrings out all of the toxic accumulations. All the positive vibrations you create via the physical practice (be it asana, pranayama, or mantra), translate powerfully to the mental body. You know this to be true. For example, say your favorite song comes on. You start jammin’ to it, and your mood quickly shifts. The physical vibrations positively influence your mental body. The same phenomenon occurs in the yoga practice. The physical vibrations created via movement and action positively influence your thoughts and actions. To test it out, here are 3 physical practices specifically designed to generate positive mental and spiritual transformations:
   • Backbending: Harnessing the Power of Intention with Kelly Gardner // Begin by reversing the old adage, “I’ll believe it when I see it,” to remind yourself that it is also holds true that, “I’ll see it when I believe it.” The power of setting a positive intention and working with that intention through breath, body, and mind is transformative. Every pose in this Anusara yoga sequence is purposeful. Open up your body via deep backbends to powerfully expand your mind. (60 mins.)
   • Twisting: Balancing the Nadis with Jeanne Heileman // Twisting is not only a great way to cleanse the body, but when done on a deeper level, it becomes a mental and spiritual cleanse. The online yoga class begins with abdominal work and the cleansing techniques of Uddiyana Bandha and Agni Sara to really awaken the center. The breathing pattern of Samana Vayu is introduced to take this even deeper. Using that heat, you will move into twists from many perspectives to wring out the organs as well as to wring out your thought patterns. When you can change the way that you breathe, you can change the patterns in the mind. This can lead to space for new, positive habits. The result of this type of practice is a calmer, more stable energy and more centering in the spine. (75 mins.)
   • Anahata: Finding the Lightness of the Heart with Jeanne Heileman // The quality of the Heart Chakra is Air, yet most of us do not feel as though our hearts could be as light as air. This online yoga class will help transform your perspective to the positive energy and region within the heart. You will be guided through a specific pranayama called Viloma that moves the breath against the grain of what is comfortable, to create expansion and strength in the lungs and heart. Jeanne will then guide you on a journey deep within the heart, using Tantric techniques she has learned from her master teacher, that can help you find a beauty and deep love that dwells at the darkest cave of the heart. This meditation can be a life-changer if done for 30 days in a row. (24 mins.)
3. Do Positive. Put out positive vibes. Commit to positive actions. Do good things for your friends, family, and fellow yogis. Shine a smile to a stranger. Be helpful. What’s more, wrap all of these positive outputs in love and compassion. Scientifically speaking, the person who gives receives a much higher dopamine (happy chemical) surge than the receiver. Interesting, right? It’s the law of karma in action.

To attract positive, to realize your dreams and the impossible, you have to think, feel, and do positive. What you put out in this lifetime, you will inevitably receive.

“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.” ~ Sun Tzu

Be victorious.

~Tess

Photo Credit: www.fitbodyflow.com

5 Practices to Get Movin’ & Groovin’

Jun 17, 2013

Moving sloth-like? Stuck in a slump? Rebounding from sickness? Sounds like you could use a heavy dose of energizing yoga.

Find liberation from stagnation and lethargy by taking yourself to the mat. And when you get there, bring it on. And by it, I mean an invigorating flow. I know your mental body is tricking you into a slower-paced, restorative-esque yoga at home experience. Don’t be persuaded by these slippery, sneaky thoughts. Sometimes what you need is the opposite of what you want. If your desire is to get pumped and overcome a state of “blah,” you need a yoga booster…not a yoga sedative.

Battle and beat the blah-ness in the following online yoga videos.

1. 30 Minute Pick Me Up! with Joan Hyman

This fun moving online yoga flow will start off with breath of fire to get the Shakti surging. Stretch out your hip flexors and move into Ustrasana (camel pose) to boost your energy and receptivity!

2. Invigorating Morning Flow with Ashley Turner

This is the ideal online yoga class for energizing, detoxing, and building mental focus. Begin with a luxurious opening sequence of two invigorating kriyas to wake up the physical and pranic bodies and flush out any stagnation or lethargy. Then, dive into a strong, comprehensive standing sequence of twisting and balancing poses to wring out every corner of the body. End feeling energized, clear, and awake. (92 mins.)

3. Ten-Minute Tune Up with Taj Paxton

I know you’re busy, but I’m sure you can manage to set aside 10 minutes. In this short online yoga class, use powerful breath work, core exercises, and long, deep stretches to awaken and energize.

Pre-practice, join Pete Guinosso for a brief pranayama practice:

4. Using Your Breath to Energize Your Practice

The breath connects the mind, body and spirit. Pranayama (breath/energy movement) is a powerful tool for working the nervous system in your yoga and in your life. Learn how to use breath in this online yoga practice to energize your nervous system and, therefore, you. Explore the advanced practice of getting the breath to reach different parts of your body. Energy flows to where your awareness and breath goes. (7 mins.)

5. Kundalini Practice to Fortify the Body’s Stress Defenses with Maya Fiennes

In this online Kundalini yoga class, musician and yoga teacher Maya Fiennes combines her talents to create a stunningly beautiful Kundalini practice focused on fortifying the body’s stress defenses. Maya uses movement, breath, mantra, and chants all set to her own exhilarating music to awaken the spirit, energize the body, and relax the mind. These sequences are designed to detoxify and strengthen kidneys and adrenals, the body’s first line of defense against stress-induced illness. Among the easiest styles of yoga to learn, Kundalini can produce dramatic results quickly. You will feel more awake and aware, healthier, and better able to face everyday challenges. Enjoy live music from Matthew Moon (www.matthewmoon.com). (88 mins.)

Get moving, yogis.

~Tess

Photo Credit: Warrior II via www.aliveinthefire.com

Feature Friday: What’s New?

Jun 14, 2013

There’s a lot on tap this week. You’re bound to find something that resonates.

1. Slay Away Your Inner Demons. 
   Invoke Durga, the Goddess of Fierce Compassion, in this slow flow, online Vinyasa yoga class with Cristi Christensen. Durga, a spiritual warrior, rides around on a tiger and uses a sword to slay inner demons and egos. Use your breath and practice to slay away anything that doesn’t serve you.
2. Bliss Out.
   Join Universal Yoga developer, Andrey Lappa, in a beautifully balanced online yoga sequence designed to create freedom and bliss in the upper and lower body.
3. Enjoy an Energetic Venture.
   Join Andrey Lappa again for an online yoga sequence that incorporates turns on the mat while creating diagonal lines of energy in the body (i.e. left hip and right shoulder), transversal openings (i.e. legs and arms wide, then deeply crossed) and longitudinal openings (straight forward and straight back).
4. Satisfy Your Joints.
   Sensei Kim McNeil leads you in an online yoga practice that will help you safely improve the mobility of the upper body joints. You will learn how to properly move the neck, shoulders, and spine in a way that will promote happy joints, plus increase muscular strength. All the while you will get in touch with your inner yoga ninja so you can feel confident, stress-free, and calm.
5. Achieve Total Balance and Tranquility.
   This mandala (a geometric symbol representing the completeness, balance and harmony of the universe) online yoga class with Andrey Lappa begins with preparatory pranayamas unique to the Universal Yoga System. Enjoy the post effect of total balance for the upper body, the lower body, the spine, and consciousness.
6. Uncover Your Inner Voice.
   Explore the use of Mantra with Jeanne Heileman. This online yoga class focuses on aspects of the Fifth Chakra, which are connected to sound and vibration. You will join the students in the class vocalizing the mantra “So Hum” as you move through Sun Salutations and poses. At times, things will get quiet as you silently repeat the mantra, feeling the vibrational quality that the mantra provides, resonate throughout the poses. This well-rounded class leads to Sarvangasana (Shoulder Stand) and Matseyasana (Fish Pose). It seems pretty simple on the outside, but the students reported that the experience was very powerful on the inside. Give it a try!
7. Stop the Thought Wheels from Turning.
   In this online meditation class with Jeanne Heileman, the mantra “So Hum” is offered, after some Pranayama to help establish a focused environment. “So Hum” is a simple, safe, and extremely powerful mantra that works in alignment with any spiritual/religious perspective you might already follow. It can also help fill the void if no perspective exists at this time in your life. This meditation is a really wonderful option for when your mind is racing around a lot and concentration is difficult. It is also wonderful for those times when you feel lower in self-esteem, lacking any outer support. The effects of the mantra are truly powerful, and come in time, after many, many repetitions. It’s worth doing!
8. Open Your Heart. 
   Join psychotherapist and yoga instructor Ashley Turner for this online yoga class filmed at Exhale Spa in Venice, CA. Open with heart openers and upper back openers for the thoracic spine. Enjoy a challenging Vinyasa flow class and explore backbends from basic to advanced.

So many fresh and fabulous options. What will you choose?

~Tess

Mantra + Meditation with Jeanne Heileman

Jun 13, 2013

If unfamiliar, mantra and meditation may seem mysterious, even overwhelming. Allow Jeanne Heileman to dissolve any mystery and anxiety. Learn about the power of mantra and experience it first-hand in the following online yoga offerings.

“The biggest thing is to experience it.” ~Jeanne Heileman

The Use of Mantra

Listen to Jeanne as she discusses the importance and uses of mantra, as well as the many different kinds and options for mantra in this free online yoga video. To practice mantra, follow up this discussion up with the following online yoga videos.

Finding Your Voice: Mantra and the Fifth Chakra in Yoga

This online yoga practice will explore the use of Mantra throughout the whole class. The practice focuses on aspects of the Fifth Chakra, which are connected to sound and vibration. You will join the students in the class vocalizing the mantra “So Hum” as you move through Sun Salutations and poses. At times, things will get quiet as you silently repeat the mantra, feeling the vibrational quality that the mantra provides. This well-rounded class leads to Sarvangasana (Shoulder Stand) and Matseyasana (Fish Pose). It seems pretty simple on the outside, but the students reported that the experience was very powerful on the inside. Give it a try! Follow up this transformative experience with try Jeanne’s Mantra for Meditation. (55 mins.)

Mantra for Meditation

Everything vibrates, either on a slow, dull level or a faster, lighter frequency. The vibration of our speech comes from the vibrations of our respiratory system, which are a result of the vibrations from our thoughts. If we can begin to control the vibrations in our mind, it can eventually ripple outward past our speech and into our actions and our destiny. Mantra can be that powerful! In this online meditation class, the mantra “So Hum” is offered, after some Pranayama to help establish a focused environment. “So Hum” is a simple, safe, and extremely powerful mantra that works in alignment with any spiritual/religious perspective you might already follow. It can also help fill the void if no perspective exists at this time in your life. This meditation is a really wonderful option for when your mind is racing around a lot and concentration is difficult. It is also wonderful for those times when you feel lower in self-esteem, lacking any outer support. The effects of the mantra are truly powerful, and come in time, after many, many repetitions. It’s worth doing! (24 mins.)

Mantra is an amazing tool to get your conscious out of the way – to re-pattern and re-wire negative thoughts and habits in a very subtle, yet effective way. Tap into your graciousness, goodness, and divinity, transform, and raise your vibration.

~Tess

Photo Credit: Seated Meditation via www.naturealmom.com

Impressions of Maha Shakti with Sri Dharma Mittra

Jun 12, 2013

OK. I am completely, for the lack of a better word, obsessed with this online yoga class and totally in love with Sri Dharma Mittra.

Words that come to mind post-practice? Healing, humbling, challenging, relaxing, enlivening, and inspiring.

This well-balanced, 42-minute class offers a little bit of everything. Start with a brief warm-up of Kapalabhati – an energizing form of pranayama. Follow that up with some unique Sun Salutations, spiced up with lots of side plank action (Vashitasana) and lunge twists. Though this class is beginner approved, expect challenging asana. I’m a yoga teacher, yet I wasn’t able to do everything. Fortunately, there are modifications for most of the poses, making this practice fairly accessible.

Sri Dharma Mittra in full Vashitasana…

Also, expect lots of Savasana goodness. This surprised me. I’m used to ending my practice in Savasana, so it was kind of hard to accept that it was coming so soon in the practice. I was wondering, “Is this it? Are we there already?” Rest assured, there’s more. After I let go of my Savasana expectations, I definitely appreciated getting into the pose more. Savasana is a lovely opportunity to connect more with the breath and achieve greater stillness.

Speaking of stillness…

I love how Dharma Mittra guides you to stillness, even in some of the more advanced poses. In Sarvangasana and Halasana, his message really resonated when he said, “Learn how to meditate during the poses.”

Sometimes we get so caught up in alignment, adjusting the pose, the elements surrounding us, and/or the activities of the mind, that we completely miss out on the benefits of the pose. Yes, alignment and awareness are important. Yet, in this practice, I found myself letting go and seizing all movements once I found my way into my full expression of the pose. I found myself resolving to stillness and receiving whatever the pose had to offer me in that moment.

If you are receptive, each pose does have something wonderful to offer you. Sarvangasana for example, “…brings good mental ability, telepathy, cleverness, the veins of your legs rest, it brings radiant health, and some mental powers,” says Dharma Mittra. When you are fidgeting around or caught up in your head, you miss out on the magic.

Speaking of magic…

The deep, guided relaxation element of this class is so beautiful and healing. Expect to feel normalized and recharged!

And last, but so not least, enjoy a simple, brief visualization meditation – the cherry on top of this delicious online yoga experience.

In this meditation you will construct the symbol Om, visualizing it emerging on the space behind the forehead between the eyebrows. Simply create mental patterns of Om. This space, says Dharma Mittra is, “The seed of your mind – the location of your 6^th sense.” By practicing this meditation, you are stimulating your Pituitary gland and tapping into your 6^th sense.

Yogis, it doesn’t get much better than this. Dharma Mittra truly does deliver the best of the best.

~Tess

Prenatal Yoga for the 1st Trimester

Jun 11, 2013

Pregnant? The first trimester (from fertilization to the 13^th week) can come with so many challenges. Your body is now pumping out tons of hormones, resulting in dramatic changes such as nausea, utter exhaustion, and potentially, a flurry of emotions.

Though it’s no walk in the park, being pregnant is no reason to stop with your practice. However, your practice will constantly change as your body constantly changes. Patience and a shift in perspective (and practice) are essential. Though the intensity of each practice during pregnancy will vary, it is important to be extra mindful of how you’re feeling and what kind of practice is supportive and reasonable. Maybe this means substituting your typical, vigorous home practice with a slow, grounding flow.

If you do desire a more restorative experience, Olynda Smith’s new online yoga class is the perfect prenatal yoga offering.

First Trimester Yumminess

This yummy all-around online yoga practice won’t deplete your energy and will help work out common issues that arise during this totally amazing and potentially difficult time. Discover some great ways to open the front of the body to help counteract tension from nausea and morning sickness, get some deep opening in the legs and hips to help your body keep up with all the rapid changes. They focus is inward so you can have a little time to ground, get present and relax. Have lots of props available – bolsters, blankets, straps and blocks for this renewing online restorative yoga experience. (25 mins.)

For more prenatal yoga online, please use our class search feature. When you go to ‘Choose a Class‘, click ‘Prenatal.’

Stay tuned for more prenatal yoga classes to be added soon!

~Tess

Photo Credit: Yogi Leila Zinni via www.dhyana-yoga.com

Universal Yoga with Andrey Lappa

Jun 10, 2013

We are honored to announce our partnership with Andrey Lappa, a highly accomplished and influential yoga teacher. Andrey is the founder of the system called Universal Yoga® – a system which draws from the essential rules and principles of authentic, ancient yogic science and skillfully weaves them together with internal techniques, complemented by unusual asanas and vinyasas specifically aimed to target the spiritual development of the individual.

Andrey Lappa began studying yoga at the age of 14 while living behind the Iron Curtain. Originally from Ukraine, Andrey has been practicing yoga for well over 30 years, and teaching professionally since 1988. He was the first student to emerge from the post-Soviet area of the world to study with BKS Iyengar and Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. Totally devoted to the yoga practice, Andrey traveled extensively seeking the guidance of other great teachers and masters.

Andrey’s Universal Yoga classes are designed to transmit the yogic concepts of control, balance, creativity, karmic freedom and ultimate liberation for all practitioners of this ancient science.

Why YogaVibes?

“YogaVibes has the potential to reach a very wide audience, and this is good. Yoga should not be about easy. Easy is never effective. Authentic Yoga is about practicing and challenging yourself in body and mind for a great benefit – that is True Sadhana (spiritual practice). YogaVibes will help introduce these ideas from Universal Yoga to an audience seeking control, balance, creativity and spiritual development. I hope these classes inspire practitioners to dive deeper into Universal Yoga, and maybe I will see them sometime in my USA travels.”

To dive deeper into this unique system, check out the first of many Universal Yoga classes with Andrey Lappa on YogaVibes:

Upper and Lower Body Bliss: Universal Yoga Class for Balance of Body Energy

Grab not one, but two yoga mats for this online yoga class! Get ready to twist and turn on the mat in the most basic format – the “T” shape sequence. It is beautifully balanced to move the shoulders, the hips and the spine in every range of mobility while creating simple turns. (88 mins.)

Visit Andrey Lappa on YogaVibes to experience more Universal Yoga online and to enjoy a free online yoga video discussing the fundamentals of the Universal Yoga practice.

~Tess

Learn more about Andrey Lappa and Universal Yoga at www.universal-yoga.com.

Feature Friday: What’s New?

Jun 7, 2013

We have some new and exciting classes to tempt you with in this week’s online yoga video lineup.

Gigi Yogini and students filming her new Hard Core on the Floor class at the Secret Studio.

1. Chill Out.
   Supta that Padangusthasana with Annie Carpenter in yet another raved about, alignment-conscious “Quickie” SmartFLOW. This online yoga class is perfect for the end of the day, post airplane sitting, or traveling. Completely relax and restore and still the mind and body in this reclining yoga class.
2. Got Core?
   Now you do. Try Gigi Yogini’s new Hard Core on the Floor class. Build strength. Connect to your center. Plus, rest easy knowing that the practice never picks you up off the ground. That being said, be prepared for a challenge intermixed with some humor and JOY.
3. Play with Pranayama.
   Try an online meditation from a lineage of teachers in the Himalayan Mountains, brought to Jeanne Heileman from her grand-teacher, Pandit Rajmani Tigunait. Learn a special form of Pranayama to heighten your access to the Third Eye, increasing the amount of Prana (Life Force) you are able to gather and maintain in that region. Once that gathering is established, be guided on where to move this amazing ball of Prana. This is a powerful practice and worth repeating to improve your ability to build Prana and then keep it inside.
4. Free Up the Hammies and Shoulders. 
   Try Joan Hyman’s new class – a short online yoga sequence designed to open the shoulders and hamstrings in preparation for a yoga practice or any type of athletic sport. There’s no need to roll out your yoga mat for this one. All you need is your lovely self, a wall, and a strap.
5. Shake Up Your Shakti!
   Try a Mixed Level Dharma Yoga practice that gives one a very real experience of the classical yoga teaching that has made Yogi Sri Dharma Mittra in such demand as a teacher the world over for so many years now. Those new to yoga and those who already have an established practice will all find much to inspire them in this complete online yoga practice. Maha Shakti is primarily asana (yoga postures), but what’s on offer here represents a complete practice including both guided Deep Healing Relaxation (7 minutes) and a final meditation (3 minutes). This program is an excellent introduction for those new to Dharma Yoga and the powerful teaching of Sri Dharma Mittra and it will make those that miss spending time with him at the New York Center feel very much at home. Overall, a well-rounded and complete yoga practice. “I look forward to serving you only the best of the best,” says Sri Dharma Mittra.

There you have it, yogis. Chill options. Core challenges. Pranayama play. Hammie and shoulder liberation. Plus, the best of the best. Enjoy!

~Tess

25 Ways to Be a B.A. Yogi

Jun 6, 2013

1. Brave the Fall…Actually Brave Many Falls. Push through challenges knowing that you may very well take a fall. These falls are lessons and opportunities for growth. No challenge equates to no change. No change equates to stagnation and boredom. You don’t want that. You want to be learning and growing as much as possible.
2. Keep Your Drishti (Gaze) On Your Mat. It’s so easy to get caught up in what the person next to you or across from you is doing. Yes, it is impressive that so-and-so is practicing more upside down than right side up. But really, what do you care? This is your practice. This is your experience. Cultivate presence. Be really there to marinate in all the amazing effects. Kill the comparison game.
3. Eliminate Fear. I’m not urging you to be reckless. What I mean is to stop irrational fear from clouding your potential. Some forms are fear are legit. For example, if you recently sprained your neck it probably is not reasonable to try tripod headstand for the first time for fear of re-spraining it. That’s rational. If you refuse to try headstand because you are afraid you will die, that’s a different story – a story that you need to re-write, taking fear out of it.
4. Always Be Evolving. Expand your consciousness. Read. Do. Experience.
5. Do YOU. Live your truth. Speak your truth. You are more than enough. In fact, you are a freakin’ miracle. Why would you waste your time trying to be anything but you?
6. Accept That You Can’t Do It All. There’s always another pose, another mantra, another book, another style of yoga, etc. You won’t be able to get it all in. Surrender to that reality, but keep getting in as much as humanly possible!
7. Never Give Up. Don’t throw in the towel prematurely. There will always be struggles and setbacks on this path. There will always be challenges. Always keep forging ahead, one breath at a time.
8. Adapt. Be like water. Go with the flow. When you truly let go of expectations, you realize greater freedom and happiness in the practice and in life.
9. Take Action, Yet Practice Non-attachment. This is the paradox of the yoga practice: The intent to NEVER give up and to ALWAYS let go.
10. Simplify, Simplify, Simplify. My sister once told me, “Less is more, Tessa.” I have to constantly remind myself of this as I obsessively create better and more ways of doing this and that to the point of being totally overwhelmed. Less is usually more manageable. Less is usually more.
11. Contribute. Ask yourself, “How can I help? How can I be of service? How can I contribute?”
12. Accept Your Samskaras. We all come from a past – a past that, if you’re human, has parts of darkness and destruction. We all have scars. Yes, some have more and some scars run deeper, but nevertheless we are all flawed. The only way to get over it is to accept it – even embrace it. Those flaws are what make you unique, even beautiful.
13. Leave Your Ego Out of It. Anytime I start thinking I’m an asana badass, I ultimately do something incredibly humbling. Maybe it’s taking a fall. Maybe it’s a minor injury. Whatever it is, it’s a reminder to get over myself and remain humble.
14. Learn From Your Mistakes and Move On. You will screw up. Consider these screw ups as opportunities for growth. Then, let them go and move on. It’s a waste of your energy to cling to your past perceived wrongdoings.
15. Listen to Your Intuitive Body. Any decision I’ve made with my gut has been the right one. Never resist your intuition. It’s so powerful.
16. Know Who You Really Are. Ask yourself, “Who am I?” Meditate on this question. You will realize that you are many things. A parent, a sibling, a yogi, a daughter, a son, etc. But also realize that you are something destined and designed for greatness. Only you can unveil this greatness.
17. Forgive. Forgive yourself, forgive your friends, forgive your former loves, forgive your family, forgive that stranger that cut you in line or flipped you off on the freeway, etc. Forgiveness brings peace to your experience.
18. Express Gratitude. When it’s time to set an intention for the practice and you are blanking, this is a great go-to.
19. Laugh. It’s just yoga, people! Don’t take it so seriously. Smile. Giggle. Crack up. This is a practice inherent with joy.
20. Remain Receptive. Yes, we all have emotional walls and blockages. That’s why yoga is so awesome. It enhances expansion and receptivity. It creates more space to receive. Remain open to its potential. When you are fully receptive, awesome things will transpire.
21. Put Out Positive Vibes. What you put out, you will ultimately receive in some shape or form. So, put out good energy.
22. Really Live It Up. Don’t half-ass your human experience. It’s so transient, so fill up your precious time fulfilling your dharma (purpose) and doing all those things that bring you joy.
23. Practice. There’s really no excuse. You’ve got yoga at your fingertips with YogaVibes, so when you’re traveling and on the go-go-go you have a resource to continue with your practice.
24. Know That You Don’t Have All of the Answers. There is mystery to life. That’s what makes it interesting. It’s impossible to be a know-it-all so let go of any desire or urge to be one. All we can do is get things less wrong. We will never have ultimate understanding.
25. Accept That Everything Happens for a Reason. If you can embrace this as true, life will flow with greater ease. No doubt it’s difficult – difficult, yet liberating.

~Tess

Photo Credit: Peacock Pose via www.lifeismyantidrug.tumblr.com

Work Your Third Eye with Jeanne Heileman

Jun 5, 2013

What is the Third Eye?

In yoga, the Third Eye refers to the Ajna Chakra located in between and right above the eyes. This chakra holds your imaginative and intuitive power.

This chakra is believed to be a gate that, once opened and balanced, leads the way to an elevated consciousness. It is, very simply, an energy channel involved in perceiving the world beyond the physical realm.

What happens when the Third Eye is outta whack?

If the energy of the Third Eye is spinning ferociously, headaches, hallucinations, nightmares, and difficulty concentrating may result. On the flip side, if the energy of this center is weak, poor memory, eye problems, deficient pattern recognition, and poor visualization may result.

How do you tap into its power? How do you get the Third Eye energy spinning efficiently?

There are many methods. To get you going, here are two special online yoga practices with Jeanne Heileman to cultivate your inner eye awareness.

The Third Eye: A Practice Working with Inner Awareness

Join Jeanne’s students for a strong workout that opens up a whole new world on the inside. This well-rounded practice moves you in a flow sequence from Sun Salutations into Standing Poses, into Arm Balances and Backbends, cooling down with Reclining Forward Folds. What makes this online yoga class special is the attention to the Sixth Chakra, the inner, Third Eye. It is said that when we close our outer eyes, the inner Third Eye can begin to awaken and see the light that dwells within ourselves. It takes time and practice. This class will not only show you how to start to access this inner light, but give you tips on the journey. The students in this video reported that they loved the experience and found it amazingly powerful. (78 mins.)

If you have time, follow up this Vinyasa flow with Jeanne’s powerful meditation practice:

Third Eye Meditation using Prana Dharana

This online meditation is from a lineage of teachers in the Himalayan Mountains, brought to Jeanne from her grand-teacher, Pandit Rajmani Tigunait. Using a technique that he taught her in his Living Tantra Training, you will learn a special Pranayama to heighten the access to the Third Eye, increasing the amount of Prana (Life Force) you are able to gather and maintain in that region. Once that gathering is established, you will be guided where to move this amazing ball of Prana, to help you in the direction you need most. This is a powerful practice and worth repeating to improve your ability to build Prana and then keep it inside. (24 mins.)

~Tess

Photo Credit: Ajna Chakra by HarmonyUniverse