Namaste

Namaste

Said my young friend who wants a connection:
“I wave. I shake hands, with no objection.
No pain, no remorse, no one intervening
a choice I make without much thought or meaning~”

“…Is there a gesture that honors each other?
That celebrates greeting sisters and brothers?
Can you show me HOW to express happiness
with social and spiritual significance?”

YES, my dear friend, I can show you a mudra~
a gesture of sorts, for kings, friends and sudras.
Place hands together from fingers to wrists~
like a knife, cut through difference that may exist.

This immediately gets you to the shared ground~
of ALL people, of all cultures, of all sound.
It’s a recognition, a united force~
that honors equality of all from the Source.

Close your eyes and tune into your own inner light;
your divine spark that forever burns bright.
That’s the key, my dear friend, you must see your OWN
in order to recognize others’ light shown.

BLEND your five fingers of action on the left~
with five fingers of knowledge on the right~
to achieve the symbol of perfection~
the union of opposites; interconnection.

FInd the Connection of your brain and your HEART;
your sun and your moon; your stop and your start.
Marry together reason and emotion~
Unite thoughts and feelings, stillness and motion.

JOIN positive and negative; hot and cold~
theory with practice, silver with gold~
Wisdom with Method, intellect with instinct~
talent with genius, and feelings with think!

Exhalation and inhalation, ,brain and heart~
Align in harmony, right from the start!
There is indeed no sphere of our existence
untouched by the symbolic significance~

of Namaste~

Namaste

More to Explore

  • Snow White and the Seven Chakras

    dwarves
    (Inspired by Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra Chapter II, v. 42
    samtosad anuttamah sukhalabhah)

    From contentment,
    Highest happiness is obtained
    Snow White’s Seven Dwarfs
    Are invited to explain….

    Consider us each a chakra
    An energy gate of sorts
    That we open, clean and balance
    For optimal support.

    Work on passing through
    The seven chakras {or gates}
    In order to visit the underworld
    And ascend to blissful states.

    Let’s begin in MOUNTAIN with SLEEPY,
    Awaken abundant roots.
    Stand with both feet straight
    Ground heavy in your boots.

    Mountain SG1 big

    Each time you inhale,
    Think, I HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE HERE.
    Each time you exhale,
    Root your feet a little deeper.

    Reach up high with outstretched hands
    FORWARD FOLD and touch the ground.
    Prepare to balance GRUMPY
    Who needs some healthy bounds.

    Forward Fold Orange

    Whenever you breathe in,
    Think, I HAVE THE RIGHT TO FEEL.
    Each time you breathe out,
    Circle your hips like a water wheel.

    Step your right foot back
    Into a STRAIGHT LEG LUNGE
    Here we balance DOPEY
    Soak up power, like a sponge.

    straight leg lunge yellow

    Each time you take breath in,
    Think, I HAVE THE RIGHT TO ACT.
    Each time you release breath out,
    Stretch your belly with great tact.

    Step your left foot back
    Press hips up into DOWNWARD DOG
    Open up to HAPPY
    Melt your heart free from smog.

    Down-Dog green

    Receive your in breath and
    Think, I HAVE THE RIGHT TO LOVE.
    Give your breath out
    Feel Unworthiness? Get RID of!

    Shift forward into PLANK
    So BASHFUL can get clear.
    Soften your throat back
    And open up your ears.

    Plank Blue

    Each time you breathe in
    Think, I HAVE THE RIGHT TO SPEAK WORDS.
    Each time you breathe out
    Say, I HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE HEARD.

    Lower knees, chest and chin
    GRATITUDE for SNEEZY’s insight and vision.
    Draw back of eyes toward back of head
    To focus on decisions.

    Gratitude Indigo

    Each breath in
    Think, I HAVE THE RIGHT TO SEE.
    Each breath out
    Cross your eyes to a degree.

    Stretch your crown forward and up
    To balance DOC in SNAKE
    Straighten legs behind you,
    Connect to what’s awake.

    Snake Purple

    Each time you breathe in
    Think, I HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW
    Each time you breathe out
    Stretch from head to toe.

    Lower back down
    Prepare to pose in reverse
    Remember your rights
    Remember to immerse.

    SNAKE back to GRATITUDE
    Breathe into your poses
    Up PLANK to DOWN DOG
    Your rights are like roses.

    STRAIGHT LEG LUNGE to FORWARD FOLD
    And back up to MOUNTAIN
    Keep moving and grooving
    Till your rights flow like fountains.

    When we know our rights,
    And pass through chakra gates~
    We develop a sense of contentment
    And more deeply relate.

    Happiness is indeed obtainable.
    When we follow the path of contentment
    Accept the ups and the downs
    of our very own presentment.

    May we be content with GRUMPY work
    Or no work at all~
    DOPEY or HAPPY states
    BASHFUL or baseball.

    May we be content when SLEEPY
    Or wide awake~
    SNEEZY or Doc
    It’s our right~For Goodness Sake!

  • Fear On The Run

    Dont-FeedFound: This Fear escaped from a very Grounded 9 year old’s first chakra. Her thighs were rooted and her connection to the earth was solid. She faced her fears, and actually whispered to herself, “I have the Right to be Here.” After the Fear escaped she felt even more Grounded and Elevated and aware of where she was in space.

  • Certified to Teach Kids Yoga in Middle School

    Last night felt surreal.  I was standing in my kitchen with Lee, Amy & Cheryl when they handed me a single piece of cardstock with the words ‘Certified Grounded Teacher.’ I felt my throat clench and my heart skip a beat.  Though I have been teaching Grounded Yoga for over a year, it was this small piece of recognition that let me know that I am now officially recognized as part of one of the greatest movements of my lifetime.

    Once I received my 200hr teacher training in 2012, I had begun leading my daughter’s classes at school once a week and eventually took over the Tween class at my studio.  I pulled resources from all around- other teachers, online sites, books, games…everything I could find to help create a well-rounded class.  It was a year of growth and some things worked and some failed miserably.  What I did know was that I loved teaching children- their honesty in their bodies and mouths and they way it was starting to create a shift in their perspective. My dear friend and teacher, Lee introduced me to Grounded in early 2013 when she came home lit UP from Level 1 training.  I watched her do Go To Your Room and that’s literally ALL it took!  I knew that something special was going on with Grounded…something that hadn’t been done before…something that was about to change how the world looks at kid’s yoga.  We put a plan together to “sell” our yoga program to our school as a full-time yoga curriculum.  And it WORKED!  I decided to take the Level 1 training just after school started so we could teach the same material and use each other to bounce ideas and begin to try to understand the huge undertaking we’d just landed.

  • Snow White Yoga

    Snowwhite{Tada drastuh svarupe vasthanam}
    Patanjali’s Sutra Chapter 1, verse 3
    Then the SEER abides in it own NATURE
    Surely, it’s meant to BE~

    To ABIDE in our own SPLENDOR~
    The mind must get real quiet;
    it needs to uncover the truth
    and go on a Cloud free Diet.

    No need to grasp for light
    For it is already here and there.
    Let’s thin out the distorted clouds
    Of ignorance and despair.

    Let’s work with the muddled mind,
    Accept that clouds are blocking,
    Train to be more observant
    Of thoughts that keep on talking.

    Just like the sun up above
    Our LIGHT never dims to slur.
    It does get covered up.
    And distortion may occur.

    Dwarfs mine for diamonds
    In the classic tale SNOW WHITE.
    We mine for JOY
    It’s our undivided RIGHT.

    SNOW WHITE sings joyfully,
    As she tidies up the cottage.
    Birds and animals dance along
    And MiIRROR her BLISSFUL wattage.

    SNOW WHITE glistens KINDNESS,
    and undisturbed PURENESS,
    That exists at the core of her being
    Her true SELF, that’s for sureness.

    In yoga, we use our practice
    To support the removal of clouds~
    To ground into our inner brilliance
    And shine out free from the shrouds.

    “Just whistle while you work
    And cheerfully together we can tidy up the place
    So hum a merry tune
    It won’t take long when there’s a song to help you set the pace “

    Keep your ankles in line with your knees
    And your knees in line with your hips.
    Clasp your elbows behind your back
    And rise up high on your toe-tips.
    SE52 big
    Bend steady your knees.
    Stay high up on tiptoes.
    Whistle or hum a tune
    While you work to hold this pose!

    “And as you sweep the room
    Imagine that the broom is someone that you love
    And soon you’ll find you’re dancing to the tune

    When hearts are high the time will fly
    So whistle while you work”

    Clean the sand trap of cluttered thoughts
    With camel pose in a chair.
    Sit on the edge of your seat
    Place your hands behind you with care.
    ZI64 big
    Lift the sides of your heart up
    And the back of your heart high.
    Pull your head of the arm bones back.
    Soften both sides of your throat and sigh.

    Sigh your throat back,
    And LIFT YOUR HEART HIGH.
    WHISTLE WHILE YOU WORK
    And allow time to fly.

    Place hands on your lap
    Lift your head back over your heart
    Ground your thighs and feet,
    And Feel the clouds depart.

    May we whistle while we work.
    May we notice our inner states.
    May our inner states be bright.
    And lighten our outer updates.

    May the sound that whistles tunes
    from within our deep heart’s abyss
    Ring loud and ring clear~
    OUR OWN TRUE NATURE IS BLISS!