Kale Me Crazy

Bondage and ignorance and limitation!
Oh my!
We contract like a sneeze~
You want to know why?
These are the roots of our issues,
You see~
Unworthiness, insecurity, feeling un-free.

These deep darkened roots,
known as Anava Mala,
cloak our awareness
like pollen all upon ‘ya.

This pollen of unworthiness
Helps us forget~
How miraculous we are~
We recoil ~we regret.

We regret and we doubt.
We feel separate and small.
Our pimples and frizzes
Keep us enthralled.

How, do we, how do we
How DO we re-remember?
Our goodness, our freedom
From here to September?

Good question, my dear!
So at your request~
I’ll teach you the tools
To elevate your quest!

Your breath is the broom
that sweeps away pollen,
Shines light on the ignorance
Which is hidden and smallen.

Sit tall, close your eyes,
Tune into your spine.
Inhale your breath
Down the left side line

Sweep your breath out~
On the same side,
From bottom to top~
Deep inside.

Sweep your breath in,
Down the right side this time.
Get real close and real low~
To release dust and grime.

Sweep your breath out~
From bottom to top.
Keep sweeping your spine~
No reason to stop!

No reason to stop~
Till you feel lighter and free!
Relieved of unworthy
Pollen and debris.

The pollen of ignorance~
And debris of limitation~
Can be swept to the surface
For expansive illumination.

Each time we remember,
We grow and expand~
We become more real!
And that is quite grand!.

I see it everywhere. I hear it spoken in so many contexts. I come across it in a multitude of publications. Since the idea of Grounded: Yoga, Laughter, Elevation came into being and I was blessed to be a part of the ground-floor of its creation, rarely does a day pass when I do not…

Hmmm, Our Monkey Mind
Our Mind Monkey~
Is restless, and random,
Rebellious, and junky?

Silly, and scattered
Like a toddler in its movement~
Won’t settle down,
And needs vast improvement?

The mind is a problem,
That we need to control.
It’s random, and restless
And a bit of a troll?

That’s nonsense, we say!
And quite derogatory!
The nature of the mind
Is going for glory!

The mind is evolutionary,
progressive, dynamic.
Always seeking and moving
toward that which is magic.

So, think NOT monkey mind
More like, mind is royalty~
A King to Serve
With Love and Loyalty.

But, how can we Serve,
The Great Intelligence of our minds?
By meditation and mantras
And movement refined.

By exceptional quality
Of the company we keep,
What we see, what we hear,
How well we do sleep.

By lavish feasts of sutras,
Of songs, and of silence,
Of settling, and stillness
And speech for your Highness.

Much of your activity
Will settle in bliss~
Yet portions of Royal Mind
Will continue to hiss.

And that, my dear friend~
Is the Great Intelligence~
It wants more and more
Of higher elegance.

The Discipline of yoga,
Now, you see,
Is in permitting and inviting
This process~ to BE.

Inspired by Yoga Sutra 2.16 Heyam dukham anagatam

Avoidable is the suffering
that has not yet to come~
That feeling of shame
That sticks like chewed gum.

How do we get through places
That are stuck deep inside?
Where the holdings, the collections
The patterns reside?

The patterns of feeding
Our suction cupped shames~
With secrets and silence
And judgements and blames.

Attract the energy of movement~
And comfort with movement~
Comfort with change~
Comfort with improvement.

Create space between impulse
And action that binds~
The stuck feelings that resists
Our meetings of minds.

Space is the experience
Of minds open and bright
The Wisdom of Grace
Is filled up with light.

Grace is the knowing
Our mistakes serve an aim~
Instead of allowing
Our mistakes to serve shame.

So to prevent future suffering~
And the feeding of shames~
Create a steady practice
Of breath work and aims.

Here’s a mantra for you
To embody and embed~
Press thumb into each finger
And say in your head~

{I inhale to prepare~
I exhale to share~
I inhale to release blame~
I exhale to transform shame~*}

{Repeat 11 times}~

Keep your sitting bones rooted.
Slowly rotate your core ~
Counterclockwise 3 rounds
Your breath? Don’t ignore!

Inhale going backwards,
Exhale going forward .
Your movements ride on your
breath~

It’s pretty straight forward.

Pause and move clockwise.
Repeat 11 times.
Close eyes and listen.
To your heart beat like chimes.

Find someone you know,
You love and you trust
Show them your shames
And watch your blames turn to dust.

May we have what it takes
To transform all our shames~
To allow our mistakes
To serve our Great Aim~

So you finish your practice~
You feel loving and calm.
There is nothing you dismiss~
You are full of BLISS bombs.

You rejoin your family~’
And what do you hear?
Shouts of anxieties~
Blames, Shames, doubts and fears!

Does loving-kindness deflate
As you join the contention?
Or will your blissed state
Transmit without tension?

Each time you experience
The delight of {I AM}
Your bliss will flow forth~
Like a hydraulic ram.

Embody the KNOWING~
Of your inner LOVE state.
So you can keep it safe~
And INTERRELATE.

YOGA says your relationship
between you and your SELF~
can not be diminished,
or put upon a shelf.

You take your SELF
everywhere you GO!
Then everything is spiritual
from Grumps to Sloppy Joes!

Lokanandah Samadhi-Sukham
Shiva Sutra One.Eighteen~
Your inner bliss continues
Like you won the slot machines.

So how do we GROW
In our capacity for such LOVE?
Without mermaids and unicorns~
Blue moons and white doves?

We create an INNER space
Direct love toward KNOWERSHIP~
Call forth our virtues,
Our patience, our grit.

We bridge the gap of difference
SERVE in a profound way~
Not cold duty or bargain~
LOVE is the order of each day.

Become capable with powers
Of WILL, KNOWING, and ACTING
By practicing {I AM}
Without useless distracting.

Place your hand over your HEART~
Feel right beneath your palm~
Towards your back body~
Where this is endless peace and calm.

Allow your attention
To be with your BREATH~
To flow in and flow out
Softly in your chest.

Welcome the BREATH~
Right into your HEART.
Feel a soft golden sun
That is bright, warm and smart.

With each breath IN~
make that SUN glow.
With Each breath OUT~
Expand the warmth to and fro.

As you welcome the breath in
To the vast INNER world~
Invite the HEART to reveal
It’s largeness, depth, and swirl.

Flow in with the thought {I AM}
The mantra of the inner self~
(Not I am Sam~
Or I am a silly elf)

The heart receives the breath
With the recognition {I AM}
The exhalation feels space,
The experience of BLISS BAM.

Practice with eyes open
Practice with eyes closed
Practice often
And LOVE will be exposed.

As you greet those outside~
Amongst the chaotic and mundane~
Stay tuned into your heart
And send LOVE to their pain.

You’ll get glimpses of KNOWING
Your yoga is working~
When outer frustrations
Are shirking, not lurking.

Sedef Dion who teaches a Pre-Grounded class at Springs Yoga shared with me the story of a four year old girl who in the cutest way mistakenly called Savasana….Lasagna.  This inspired me to write a Savasana visualization with a Lasagna theme that Amy and I recently used to connect with our Fernbank Elementary Yoga Club students.  After we did our practice complete with the Lasagna Savasana, one of our students..the Principal’s  seven year old daughter said…”that was so relaxing…this could help me fall asleep at night”.  Since it was her birthday that day, we wanted to put together a recording that her parents could play for her as she lays her head down for a good night rest after a long day.