Conversations with Mirra and Aadil

(Savitri, “Truth Within” 2:28)

What shall I wear today? What am I going to do and who am I going to see? What’s in the laundry and whats not?  Do I have enough of anything in my closet to put myself together?  Do I care?

 Dressing yourself for the day is quite influential whether you are aware of it or not. Our moods often dictate what our bodies end up wearing.    If you defer to wearing dark colors because its easy, or it’s all that’s in your closet, we would like to share some food for thought with you and your nervous system.

 When you look in the mirror after you dress, train yourself to notice how you feel when you see yourself.  Notice your mood.  If you are feeling flat, or not yourself, could it be the color of what you are wearing or is the fabric irritating your nervous system, and you never noticed that before?

It’s a myth that dark colors are flattering. They can make you look and feel older than you really are. There is a reason baby clothes never come in dark colors. There is a reason the spring colors are always bright and happy.  It’s a time of blossoming.  A new baby comes into the world and we want to encourage its growth and happiness in all ways hence soft light pretty fabrics.  A freshly planted flower is given every opportunity for growth because of the joy it’s color gives us when it blooms.  Bright cheery colors and happiness go hand in hand.  Blossoming occurs at any age.

 To the mind, dark colors seem easier and appear to hold power, but to the heart and feeling level, our shadow and ego rely on us wearing dark colors. To the mind neutrals “ make sense and go with everything”, but on the feeling level they don’t help your heart to open.  Wearing all white and beige are where the white shadow hides out and says “see how pure I am.”

 Bright happy colors open your heart feeding and calming your nervous system.  We require a variety of colors in our wardrobe just like we require variety in our daily foods.

  Other considerations are:

•  If you work around people who wear black, immediately try to find a happy color to look at to replace the picture of dark colors in your mind.
• At night, wear soft light colors to help your nervous system calm down and smooth it out, preparing yourself for sleep.
•  Refrain from dressing children in dark colors and rough fabrics because their nervous systems are just beginning to feel. Dark colors and rough fabrics like denim undo this delicate growth process.

 Plaid is just ok on the body.  It can cause a little chaos on the nervous system in general because its very angular.  Plaid was historically used as a cover up before battle prior to “camouflage fabric coming into existence.   Refrain from dressing your children as well as yourself in camouflage.   Your nervous system will be so much happier

 Your skin color changes as more Light comes out from within.  You will notice as you age how lighter softer colors are much more flattering to your skin and help you look and feel younger.

 Experiment with color by having one shirt or tshirt from every spectrum of color or every shade of the rainbow in your closet. Its an inexpensive way to see that you can wear almost every color, just fine tune the shade of it.   Then use one shade of light gray or a warm beige as a base color.

Spring is around the corner.  For bright colors, consider Land’s End, or Fresh Produce online.

Experiment with new bright colors in a top or shirt to start.  Feel the difference it makes in your level of happiness.  Enjoy!

Tambra graduated from the 500-hour Level  of The College of Purna Yoga this September.  I hope you will enjoy her video.  What did she find?  May we all find it too.  Thank you, Tambra!

(Tambra White on The College of Purna Yoga, 2:31)

Aadil on Meditation (2:22)

Physically speaking, backbends move the spine into the body, creating strength in the back of the body and length through the groins, abdominal cavity, rib cage, throat, and frontal shoulders. Backbends charge the kidneys by drawing them into the body, rejuvenating the adrenals and drawing the life force given by the kidneys back into the body. Backbends generally open up three major areas of the body – the pelvis, heart and throat. Therefore, they can open the hips, free the chest from congestion, and bring back a healthy curve to the neck.  Most of our daily habits (sitting, driving, working at a desk) cause a collapse in the front of our bodies and push the spine backwards. This is why you will often feel bony lumps on the spine of older people. Backbends bring healthy alignment and mobility back into the spine, moving the vertebrae forwards.

Psychologically speaking, backbends move us toward our future and away from our past, since the back of the body represents the past and the front of our body represents our future. Backbends quieten the hyper-analytical activity of the front brain, and because of the extension produced, trigger a feeling of openness in the limbic system (the emotional center of the brain). In contrast, when we are in a state of fear or anger, we curl up and go into a position of flexion (protection). Thus, psychologically speaking, backbends move us from fear to power.

Energetically speaking, backbends move the spine toward the Pillar of Light in the body. They open up congested and stagnant pelvic energy. This allows the energy to move upward in an expression of aspiration for growth, where it can be transformed by the wisdom of the Heart Chakra. Backbends open up the Heart Chakra, expanding the feeling of love and joy. They also open the throat, allowing the Heart Chakra to express words of beauty and love. This opening also allows the mental energy to move more easily down to the Heart Chakra.

However, a caveat: All the above happens in backbends only if there is the intention for this to happen as you practice. Otherwise you will simply become more flexible!

The Heart Chakra has three main openings. In Purna Yoga we focus on the Heart Chakra that is in the center of the chest. Imagine a horizontal line connecting your frontal armpits. The center of this line is the Heart Chakra. An inch above this region is the opening in the Heart Chakra that stimulates the thymus gland, the master gland of the immune system. About 2 inches below this horizontal line is the portion of the Heart Chakra that begins to unite with the solar plexus chakra. The solar plexus chakra houses human emotions (all emotions other than pure love) and is the heart of the ego, the shadow.

The reason why we, in Purna Yoga, focus on the Heart Chakra on the horizontal line is because this is the doorway to the soul in the physical form. It is from this place that light flows into the body (where matter and Spirit unite), enters the organic heart, brings the heartbeat to the human form and activates the breath. Often, when people touch this place, they feel tightness, emotional numbness, hate, anger or tears. This is just the thin veneer that our ego has placed over the Heart Chakra, blocking our awareness of the spirit living in our body. When we do the Purna Yoga Meditation tapping and flowering techniques, we gently help lift these ego layers, so that the true feeling that our Heart Chakra holds, love, begins to flow. Our aim in Purna Yoga is to go approximately three inches deeper into the chest where we contact the ray or thread of light which is our Soul, that entered the physical form in our third month as a fetus.

Jayne Cagle shared this beautiful heart-felt testimony at the Purna Yoga Retreat in Hawaii earlier this year.  She is a yoga teacher in Chattanooga, TN, and a student in The College of Purna Yoga 500-hour Level.  She has also been a long-time student of Purna Yoga Meditation, and shares how her practice has effected her relationships and helped align her life.

Jayne Cagle (7:42)

I absololutely love Erica’s video.  It is so sweet and carries a lovely message. (Both Erica and Christian are students of Purna Yoga Meditation.)  Can you recognize some of the Purna Yoga Meditation Snacks in the video?

A Divine Inspiration (1:56)