Happy Day of Giving Thanks

Another Thanksgiving upon us and this year I share my journey from Turkey day to giving thanks.

Until 2002, Thanksgiving was another holiday that was filled with an over abundance of food, family dynamics and a variety of habitual stress patterns. In 2003, I got sober, began practicing Yoga and learned an appreciation for simply just being alive. Through the last 9 years I have gotten interested in my life, investigated the 'why's" and started to awaken my instincts which had been lying dormant for many years as they were covered by family/social enculturation, habits and ideas that I learned as a kid. I received the messages sent my way that This was my life to be lived and no matter the choices I would make and pain to endure, they would be mine.

For most of my life there was a disconnect to the world around me but through Yoga & my spiritual practices, my awareness of nature blossomed, as does my connection to animals, trees, flowers, four elements, moon, sun, & creator. I am mindful of what enters my body and do "my best" to eat the things that nourish me since the food industry doesn't care about my well being. With progress, not perfection I continue to gain knowledge, become aware and no longer turn my head to the things that I feel aren't "right" within.

As I make a choice today to be of service to others and not eat the turkey, I appreciate the path I am on and love & support yours. I wish you all a day of food, family, football, gratitude, gathering, freedom to choose what makes you happy.

I close with a prayer of thanks:

Give greetings & thanks to Mother water: waterfalls, rain, mist rivers, sea and oceans;
greet her with reverence and thanks.

Greetings to all animals around the world: those who walk on paws, hooves, crawl on the ground, above & below, those with no blood;
greet with reverence and thanks.

Give greetings & thanks to the trees:they give us shelter, clothing, medicine & shade;
greet with reverence and thanks.

Give thanks to the birds that fly, from the smallest to the largest, eagle as the leader: they wake up at dawn, help us to remember the joy in life and teach us to think from our hearts
greet with reverence and thanks.

Wish to remember the four winds: the messengers, the centers of our hearts, the law of our breaths, the center of our truth; how we speak it, how we say it, how we mean it and how we live it.

Thanks to the sky people: the sun who never fails us, who rises in the east to bring us the dawn and closes on the western gate so we know when we are to end our day;

To grandmother moon: the leader of all women, she governs the tides and teaches us about time.

To the stars: to bless our way, who light up the night like a diamond blanket;
We give our thanks and greetings.

Give thanks to enlightened teachers, seekers and what ever name you have that brings you from the dark to the light.
Bring to mind and thank your loved ones for where you are today.
Our Elders and children and all in the middle to complete our circle.

To Creator: for this beautiful life, your beautiful life & hearts, I am so VERY grateful!

And All my Beloveds, I appreciate by life with you by my side; I bow to the spirit in you all, Namaste.

Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGdV_niLcVk

"One By One, The Chains Around Me Unwind"

I have been searching my soul for many years and will continue until the day I die (around 2100 I will leaving this body lol :)

It is our life to create no matter what the story has been. Because of that story you are who you are and to me you are a beautiful spirit.

Everyday is an opportunity to investigate what makes us unique to the world. If we get interested in the way we react to things, the way we move through things, the way we get upset and excited about things. or .

The pain we endured and have not yet let go takes away our passion. It is time to live with passion and do the things that fill your every cell. Take a look, scarier not to, reclaim what is YOURS!

I encourage you to take a pause, let go of the overloaded mind and take 5 Long Deep Breathes, recognize the power of conscious breathing and how it can change the moment.

Totally Crazy Simple, I know, amazing I went years with daily panic attacks.

We All have something to give:
You do not speak if you do not experience. You must remember this. Words will not come out of you if you do not have an experience. If there is no wax, candle cannot have light.
Yogi Bhajan 3/12/89

SEARCH YOUR SOUL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9P5NnsZgYU

Every day I am amazed by what there is to learn about the way I live my life, what I invite in and what I do not let go of. I am one of those people who for many years spent most of my time isolated in my apartment or out in the party scene still feeling isolated, awaiting the day to be over with lack of passion and direction. That has changed through the practice of Yoga as everyday is a chance to be provoked, challenged, inspired & healed. I am grateful to have the possibilities for this body, my vehicle, to drive me through the life I am here to live.

This leads me to the chronic neck pain that I have been living with for the last 6 months. I have had neck pain since I was 13 years old, but this time it "feels" different. These days I look within to see what I need before looking outside myself for answers. Through my Yoga practice I discover and learn about my body and connect to it in a way like never before. My Faerie belief is that the energy of emotion is moving through my physical body either that the toxicity that I have digested through my life or the daily digestion stays within to teach me something or it is just simply moving through and out when I truly surrender and let go. This is always in transition, so since I also honor what the medical field can provide, I scheduled an appointment with an orthopedist to receive the clarity between my faerieness and what could be potential damage from years of being hard on my body and not listening to the pain that pulls for attention.

In the meantime until my Dr.'s appointment on Nov.1st, I looked again at what other action I can take and I called upon Tom Simpson, a sports medicine massage therapist of 20 years who knows the body inside/out from his own personal experience. After the massage, Tom allowed me to see that an experiment of my own experience ( Cindee's ACTION) presented itself and I made a choice to commit to a massage every week with Tom (See Below).

Yoga continues to increase the limitless possibilities by allowing me to give myself permission to seek out what will nurture and support me in listening to what my body is telling me.
Of course asking for help is a new but life changing skill that allows my habitual patterns to shift by sustaining my daily spiritual practices that support my life today.

Our bodies speak loud, are you listening? When we listen healing begins.

For a Massage experience with Tom, check him out for yourself and contact him @

http://www.thomassimpsonmassage.com/

One Fierce Lady

Mother Nature has raged and left her beauty and power upon us. What will we do with the information that was given? The way I see it we have a choice to either embrace or contract, which will you choose?

On Saturday and Sunday, as I read the posts on facebook I was not at all surprised by the reactions of many people who laughed, complained or blew off the almighty Mother Nature. We live in a world of such disconnect from nature, in which a bug can be crawling nearby, a fly buzzing around or a spider nearing our path so unaware of the beauty that is connected to these beings and our first instinct is fear and to kill. How about the rain that falls upon us in our everyday lives, never allowed to touch our skin or to take a moment to stick out our tongues to taste what is most natural; simplicity and basic survival skills have been lost as our spirited selves or natural instincts are no longer nurtured or engaged.

I speak from my own detachment where I spent most of my life fearing nature and all beings big and small along with my ignorance and unconscious living to the suffering of animals that I “nourished’ myself with because I did not try to find out what the truth was; I followed what society carved out for me. My personal journey includes a life from spirit, to party, to sobriety, to my practice of Yoga to a life changing job shift from Commodities clerk to Yoga teacher to Tracker School learning primitive skills to reconnect and reclaim my spiritual being. I choose to live and blaze my own path that allows me to feel empowered.

With all the reality shows on the air, we Americans are more interested in the pain of other people than finding what makes us passionate and alive. The media coverage through this storm and all events, pull us in and consistently create more anxiety of our already frightened minds. It is a never ending loop that unless we take a look at it, it will always be there.

Everyday is an adventure I create (or invite ) often including challenge, fear, inspiration and the undoing of habitual patterns that I have the pleasure and pain to unravel to get to the my authentic self.

So go out of your comfort zone and take yourself or your family into the woods, go out without an umbrella, don’t harm even the smallest little being but honor and embrace all that surrounds you. Maybe the next time you are challenged by Mother Nature you will have a little more ease and connection to her. Tonight as I swept the debris from the driveway, I was blessed with visits from a frog, mosquitos, a chipmunk and a deer.

A Post in Hiding The Spirit

Spirit exists in all of us (the divine, connection, instinct) and Spirituality is what you practice (repeat, habit, custom). So when you hear someone say they have spirituality or a spiritual practice; it simply may mean they are experiencing their spirit.

These last couple of months my spirit feels like I have not been paying as much attention to it. I have been observing, okay judging the mind chatter, those thoughts that say, I am not worthy, I can't, or the being hard on myself.

It has been almost three years that I retired my pink trading jacket from the New York Mercantile Exchange to follow my dharma (purpose in life, duty). I was called to travel, pilgrimage & allow myself the freedom to be "me"; the divine being that I lost track of for many years by my party & material lifestyle; which all were blessings and experiences I would never trade for anything. May I add that quitting your job with no plan seemed a bit crazy by the people that surrounded me but I knew it was what my heart & spirit needed.

I am preparing to launch my vision to help heal the universe & the beautiful beings in it. But creating this has come with lots of challenges. Twenty five years later I still carry around the pain from experiences I had from childhood and continue to relive those moments. I realized that I may have done the healing for the mental and emotional bodies but my spiritual and energetic bodies still needs nurture and Love. It is an ongoing journey to heal the pain but what emerges out of it is the gifts to share with others; we are never alone in any given experience.

Through the practice of Yoga I learn to connect my mind, body and spirit and breathe energy into the places that have been sleeping. I continue to awaken and find that I am limitless and forever grateful to the pain that brings me this incredible strength.

Balancing Distractions

Life is not happening "to us", life brings us what we invite into it.

The purging began last Thursday with the physical body. It was different than being sick as it felt like something was being released that was no longer needed so that my spirit had bigger space to live.

Hours later, my phone & computer both shut down, I have no landline but I did have an old desktop so I plugged it in. Low and behold, I was unable to get onto any of my email accounts or websites, I already had begun to feel calmer than usual.

I witnessed what I had invited in and went about evening and days to come. Three days later I got a new phone and my computer has a mechanical problem but has turned back on and is very slow.

At this juncture I have opted not to put emails back on my phone. I really did not know the impact of the constant pull to my blackberry. I feel less disturbed, slowed down

and more at ease. I love all the technology we have and appreciate it very much, I have found new ways to add it into my life and not let my life be run by them.

As my Yoga practice on the mat is beginning to parallel my Yoga practice off the mat, like the matching of my inside and outside. I am reminded how great my life is, with all the things that come my way, I choose to continue to see the choices I make and how they affect all beings/things.

There is a quote that I have been hearing for a couple of years now, I can hear something over and over intellectually but until I experience it I will not get it. Here is one I truly Love, Honor & Live:

"Practice, Practice, Practice and all is coming."
-Pattabhi Jois

"Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind"

To my amazement there they are again, those thoughts, YOU KNOW "THOSE" THOUGHTS? The ones that tell you that you can't, not worthy, its silly, never gonna happen, wasting time, etc. . .
These thoughts that go through our minds everyday are "Just Thoughts", we are not them, we are

beautiful spirits that do not have to listen to them and DO NOT have to give them power.

I continuously bring awareness to my habits, study myself, deepen my daily Yoga practice and take interest in the way I operate and yet there is the CRAZEE mind stuff.
I shout out "Yaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!" You may ask why would I be happy that my mind experiences these vacillations and to you I answer, there is no duality, there is only divine oneness, all that comes our way is neither good or bad, it is apart of the life experience as a human "be"ing.

Don't allow your thoughts to dictate your life, find a way to go within, awaken your spirit, find the simplicity that brings you what you continuosly look for outside yourself. Ask for help, don't wait, life is short to give in to the possibility of Gr8ness. I invite you to reach out and share yourselves. Sometimes the hardest obstacle to to just ask for help, we do not have to do things alone, isn't that fantastic? :)

Love & Blessings

"Everything
just as it is,
as it is,
as is.
Flowers in bloom.
Nothing to add."

- Robert Aitken Roshi

To make contact privately, email me @ info@yogalib.com

Planting "Seeds"

A beautiful day full of rain, cloudy skies, and a light warm wind. I feel and hear the complaint of many people as I was once a part of taking the weather so personally. When did we become so selfish, always thinking about ourselves and forgetting about our Earth Mother and all the abundance she shares with us.

At present, I listen to the singing of the birds, hearing the trees & flowers giggling as the rain supports their growth and nurtures their spirits. Life was not always this good!

This past weekend this Queens chick got to experience gardening, something that I knew would align for me when the time was right. Woot Hoot I shout, from Earth Mother to my plate by using my own hands & those of the creator.

As the beet seeds laid in my hand before placing them into the earth, a relationship formed deeper within me. These seeds represent the beginnings of my passion of bringing Yoga into the Workplace and offering the possibilities to a more spirited life in and out of the office. Creating Yogalib is the planting of one seed at a time. It is beyond the "I" and about the "greater good" of our city, our universe.

All of our seeds grow with the rains, sun, winds, light, animals & Love. Don't we all grow bigger, stronger and abundant when we receive all these things, as well as touch, attention & energy.

May you water your spirit with kindness, breath, Love & honor.
"Practice Yoga and Go Beyond Your Thoughts & Awaken Your Spirit!

Agni On The Mountain, Yoga Off The Mat

It has been a week of transformation, between myself and my many wonderful Yoga students that after my last class last night I felt the pull to go be with nature. I had no clients scheduled for Wednesday (today) so I called my partner who lives upstate and asked if he would like to go with me onto our Earth Mother and hike up a mountain; the reply was Yes, I was super excited.

So today I take the train to Beacon, N.Y. and we decide to stay nearby so we park and go to the trail. We look on a map, he realizes that he had thought of another mountain to climb (Anthony's Nose) but we proceed and begin our climb.

What we thought would be a 2 hour climb (the time frame in our mind) was to be a 4 hour climb on what we read after we got down; "Despite its relatively short length, this is generally considered to be the most strenuous hike in the East Hudson Highlands."

We get up to the flags in about a half hour, enjoy the breathtaking views, sounds of the wind and smells of sweet surrender. We see a woman with a helmet on which was the perfect sign of what was to come for the next 3.5 hours, including a 1.6 mile walk back to the car on 9D.

It was an adventure full of spirit, passion, love, fear, challenge, triumph, perseverance, gratitude and presence.

As my Yoga practice deepens, so do the possibilities as I continue to find more freedom physically, mentally & spiritually.

Thank You Beloved for sharing this spectacular day with me, truly blessed!

My Adventure in Slowing Down

Slowing Down is this fascinating journey for me, just when I feel slowed down, I realize how fast I am still going. The amazing part about this is the more aware I become in how quickly I move through stuff, the more possibilities there are to shift the habitual patterns that have been created over time. It is a gift, an opportunity to witness without judgement how I move through my life. Here is an example:

Last night I was in a Yoga class called "slow flow", with the mind as quick as it is, I

chose this class because of the teacher (*See Below) but did not even notice the words 'slow flow" on the schedule.

As I began to slow down the breath, the mind followed and as the mind followed as did the body. There was this beautiful harmony that was emerging between the internal and the external and the unconscious to the conscious. As I mindfully moved through each posture extending the breath I was able to use the intelligence of the body while letting go of the mind.

I felt spacious, expansive, & energized. Here I was able to access what is already within me, it is the connection to my awakened spirit.

As I made my way to Savasna, the final resting pose, my mind went right back to thinking but the more I practice Yoga the more consistent I become to accessing the spirit that lives within me, On and Off the mat.

Mmmm Inspired or Inspirited


* To check out the teacher I was referring go to her website: www.ericamather.com

"Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day."

All ABOUT SMILES

It takes a lot of work from the face to let out a smile, but just think what good smiling can bring to the most important muscle of the body... the heart. ~Author Unknown

A smile is the light in the window of your face that tells people you're at home. ~Author Unknown

“Smile, even if it's a sad smile, because sadder than a sad smile is the sadness of not knowing how to smile.”

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”
-Leo F. Buscaglia

“Don't cry for a man who's left you, the next one may fall for your smile.”
Mae West

“A smile happens in a flash, but its memory can last a lifetime.”

“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.”
-

Thich Nhat Hanh

“Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.”
-Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Nature in the City or City in Nature

Nature is present everyday if we become aware that it is there. It could be as simple just by tuning into our senses as we walk to our destinations and witnessing the elements that surround us each day. We believe that nature equals Central Park or the few grassy areas we have here in NYC. As this has been true for me, yesterday became a laboratory to discover more possibilities in the midst of the many raindrops that descended upon us.

I left my apartment without an umbrella or rain “gear” and made my way from uptown to downtown, subway to foot and meeting to meeting with one thing consistent; inviting and including the smells, tastes, touches and sounds of Mother Nature. Usually I would open an umbrella and cover myelf, intending to hide. On this day, I rolled my shoulders blades towards each other, opened my heart toward the sky, head tilted back and tongue out to catch the raindrops on my tongue. I listened to the sounds, inhaled the smell of rain and felt the water drip through my hair. I became one with the elements and honored the moment; my senses heightened, fears melted away as I let go and surrendered.

Whether we are on or off the mat, there can be a sense of freedom and oneness with all things if we make a choice to let go of the mind and expand from our senses. We are always going to have a place to get to and a time to be there but what if we just slowed down for a moment and appreciated the wonderment before us?!?!

"People travel to wonder at the height of mountains, at the vast compass of the ocean; and they pass by themselves without wondering."
-St. Augustine

Signs

Everyday in NYC or where ever we live, we walk by signs, some we notice, some we ignore, and some we don't even know exist; but they are there, everywhere are signs.

I have been praying everyday(which for me is quieting my mind, chanting mantra or asana practice) and connecting more to the creator,deeper into the super consciousness and so today I experimented as I walked out my door, I set my intention to allow as many signs to be seen and of course they were all I needed to support the life I want; "Energy flows where the attention flows."

The one that resonated deep within was a quote by C.S. Lewis that reads:
"The sweetest thing in all my life has been the longing . . .
to find the place where all beauty came from."

Everything we need, we find within!

"Outside The Box"

Creating MY life,
Living in my truth,
Rooted in this earth,
Grounding in my spirit,
Honoring my visions,
Listening to my heart,
Not playing small,
Allowing the flow,
Not trying to fit,
Truthful,
Giving Love,
Praying,
Choosing what enters my body,
Having my own experience,
Not following others beliefs,
Following instincts,
Smiling/Exchanging with strangers,
Sharing what I learn,
Daily Gratitude,
Connecting to others,
Empowered,
Traditional & wild
Supporting Beloveds,
Feeling my emotions,
Receiving others as they are,
Exploring desires,
Fantasizing,
Being Romantic,
Making things happen,

Is Having all I dream "Living Outside The Box"?

I feel it is Living and not just existing.

We are all Beautiful Goddess/God Warrior Beings, Purring & Roaring!!

We have learned to make things personal, and all about "me or I", "it is not about me" , "Idam Na Mama".

I consistently look at myself, be accountable for my actions, take responsibility for what I say/do, and apologize when I hurt others. Everyday I bring awareness to my life and see how some things that I did yesterday may no longer serve me today, its a constant opening, not hiding from myself. It is challenging and painful, but yet the easier softer way.
I have tried the opposition, the blaming, the victim of situations, didn't work so well. Finding the balance of the physical, mental, emotional, energetic, & spiritual , it ALL matters!

I share this because I feel so much passion. I know it starts with myself and the clearer I am, the stronger I get internally, the more supportive, loving, giving I can bring to the people in this world, closest to me and the ones I have not yet met.

I am blessed to practice and teach Yoga. I take from my experiences and share what I learn, such a gift.

We are all One, not separate from each other, it is our birthright to have it all.

NAMASTE Beautiful Beings