September Shakti Newsletter

Dear Friends and Yoga Family,

I hope this finds you all happy, healthy, and well.

This month is just past its midway and here I am, finally sending this off. My apologies for my tardiness. It’s been a very busy month. In addition to teaching yoga and writing about music, I’m now writing about yoga. Look for my reviews in the month’s issue of LA Yoga and an upcoming article in the October issue.

In class news – my Slow Flow classes have blossomed into a bi-monthly Intro to Yoga Workshop Series. Each Workshop includes a free practice yoga class, afterwards. Series begins in October. More info in my newsletter, below.

Thanks for supporting Yoga with Aria!

Blessings,
Aria

Weeds along the Freeway: Cultivating the Impossible

One of the strangest things I’ve noticed in a long time is the proliferation of tall weeds along the freeway divider. The 10 Fwy is chalk full of them. Check them out next time you’re driving. These things are amazing. They grow, right through the concrete, without any external help, like fertilizers or water.

Some reach as tall as four feet high. Doesn’t that just blow your mind,? The fact that a weak little stem of a growing baby plant can actually root down deep enough and push slowly enough that it breaks apart concrete?

This imagery is such a beautiful metaphor for any of our life dreams. Whether you hope to be the next Stanley Kubrick, the next Barbara Boxer,or the next Tiger Woods, manifesting huge life goals can oftentimes feel out of reach.

When I start to feel this way, I know that I have to detach myself from the busyness of my mental chatter. Invariably, in the midst of one of these moments, I’ll notice something as random as weeds growing out of the freeway divider. And realize that I’m seeing the world as it truly is – everything, in a constant state of growth and change.

Miracles grow all around us, one tiny millimeter at a time.

Detachment Breath

Warning: The breath retention practiced here is not appropriate for pregnant women or those with high blood pressure.

Sit comfortably. Adjust your shoulders right over your hips. Firm your low belly, drawing it in and slightly upwards. Lengthen your tailbone down.

Close your eyes. Take a deep breath into both lungs. Hold that breath until you feel a shift in mental state and then let it go.

A shift in mental state is any inner emotional or mental change. It can manifest as a sudden panic (“I can’t breathe!”) or severe detachment (“This is boring.”). What you feel isn’t as important as long as you feel something. As soon as you feel your emotions shift, exhale completely, releasing your breath.

Now, plugging your left nostril, breathe in through the right nostril only. Take a deep breath and try to focus the breath just into your right lung. Hold that breath until you feel a shift in mental state, and let it go.

Repeat, for the left lung: Plugging your right nostril, breathe in through the left nostril. Take a deep breath into your left lung. Hold that breath until your mental state shifts, and let it go.

Repeat the cycle as many times as you like.

Finish by taking a long, slow, deep inhale. Mentally count up to ten as you inhale. Without retaining the breath, as soon as you finish your inhale, began to exhale s-l-o-w-l-y, exhaling all the way to ten.

Enjoy detaching.

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Yoga NEWS
Donation Yoga Wed (Pico/Fairfax): Mixed levels yoga going on strong at the Wilenskys, every Wed. from 8:00pm - 9:30pm.



Intro to Yoga Workshop Series: Includes Free Yoga Class, Afterwards.

Beginning in October, Yoga with Aria presents a bi-monthly series of 1 hour workshops tailored to break down the most commonly encountered yoga poses: Down Dog, Plank, Chaturunga, Cobra/Updog, Warrior One, Warrior Two, and variations on these poses.

This is an appropriate class for all levels of yoga – those of you who’ve been practicing yoga for a long time, but may never have received alignment instruction; and those of you new to yoga, who would like some foundational training. It’s also a great class for anyone nursing an injury. In fact, think of it like a small-group private.

The workshops are limited to a maximum of 10 people. Each workshop includes a free 1.5 hour Mixed Level Flow class afterwards, so you can practice what you’ve just learned.

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Cool Happenings Around Town


WIRED NEXT FEST at the CONVENTION CENTER – currently running through Sunday, September 16, 2007.
Wired’s Next Fest is the place to be for anyone who loves technology, life, and mind-boggling innovations.
http://www.wirednextfest.com/

ELEVATE FILM FESTIVAL - Saturday September 15, 2007
Filmmakers are given a challenge: make a film with a socially redeeming message in less than 48 hours. Conscious filmmaking at its best. Come out and support!
http://www.elevatefilmfestival.com/

GLOBAL MALA PROJECT with DJ CHEB I SABBAH – Saturday, September 22, 2007.
The Global Mala project encompasses elements of life I consider crucial to our well-being: a respect for the future, global sustainability, the unification of consciousness in action, yoga and dance. Its intention is to unite 108,000 people all over the world on a singular day of meditation for world peace and positive change. The L.A. Festival, at the solar powered Convention Center, is scheduled to run 14 hours. Whatever you're into, you'll find it here. There's something for everyone: workshops, speakers, kundalini yoga, vinyasa flow, kirtan, chanting, and a yoga trance dance at night with DJ Cheb i Sabbah and live drummers. Please visit: www.globalmala.com for more information.


UPTOWN UNDERGROUND, A KCRW MUSIC FESTIVAL – Saturday, September 22, 2007.
After you rock your groove at the Global Mala Project, come check out DJ Jason Bentley at the Music Center. Free (!)
http://www.kcrw.com/events/uptown-underground


BRIGHT EYES W/LA PHILHARMONIC AT THE BOWL – Saturday September 29, 2007
Grab your picnic basket and a bottle of wine, this one’s going to be amazing.
http://www.hollywoodbowl.com/tix/performance_detail.cfm?id=3482

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ONGOING PUBLIC CLASSES:

Mondays 7:15pm - 8:45pm Level 2/3 Vinyasa Flow at Silverlake Yoga

Wednesdays: 8:00pm - 9:30pm Donation Yoga at the Wilenskys. Pico/Fairfax area.

Thursdays 3:45pm - 5:15pm Core Yoga at Silverlake Yoga

Saturdays 5:00pm - 6:30pm All-level Vinyasa Flow at Bodies in Motion, West L.A.

For an updated daily schedule of where I am teaching and subbing every week: yogawitharia.com/schedule.htm

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Thank you!


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Two Questions & A Factoid

Hello Everyone,

I hope that August is treating you well. Almost the end of the month. It's back to school for some of us, and for others, it's back to our own inner dens of creativity and dreams.

My brother sent me these questions below. In all honesty, I must disclose that I deleted some of the inherent dialogue because it was tinged with obvious religious overtones-- something I try to avoid in this blog. But, I kept the questions and answers the same.

If you're prone for a little bit o' interesting procrastination, please read on:

:-)
Aria

Question 1:

If you knew a woman who was pregnant, who had 8 kids already, three who were deaf, two who were blind, one mentally retarded, and she had syphilis, would you recommend that she have an abortion?

Read the next question before looking at the response for this one.


Question 2:

It is time to elect a new world leader, and only your vote counts.
Here are the facts about the three candidates. Who would you vote for?


Candidate A:
Associates with crooked politicians, and consults with astrologist
He's had two mistresses. He also chain smokes and drinks 8 to 10 martinis a day.


Candidate B:
He was kicked out of office twice, sleeps until noon, used opium in
college and drinks a quart of whiskey every evening.


Candidate C:
He is a decorated war hero. He's a vegetarian, doesn't smoke, drinks an
occasional beer and never cheated on his wife.


Which of these candidates would be our choice?

Candidate A is Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Candidate B is Winston Churchill .
Candidate C is Adolph Hitler.



And, by the way, on your answer to the abortion question: The woman didn't have an abortion and her child was Beethoven.



And, Finally, can you imagine working for a company that has a little more
than 500 employees and has the following statistics:

* 29 have been accused of spousal abuse
* 7 have been arrested for fraud
* 19 have been accused of writing bad checks
* 117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses
* 3 have done time for assault
* 71 cannot get a credit card due to bad credit
* 14 have been arrested on drug-related charges
* 8 have been arrested for shoplifting
* 21 are currently defendants in lawsuits
* 84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year...


Can you guess which organization this is?


It's the 535 members of the United States Congress. The same group that crank out hundreds of new laws each year designed to keep the rest of us in line.

August Shakti Newsletter: Creating Space

AUGUST SHAKTI NEWSLETTER

We are so full-on, into the heat of summer. In some ways, it's wonderful to feel the cleansing energy of a good sweat. But sometimes, it can feel a little much, as if there's too much fire in our lives. This feeling usually begins like an inner claustrophobia. If not addressed, it may eventually become an energy drain, leaving us mildly depressed or lacking the perspective to enact change.

Feeling the Heat?
My discomfort began early this summer. I began to feel locked into driving all the time. My work schedule has me teaching (and driving a lot) six days/week. And because I usually end up running errands on the 7th day, I find myself on the road daily, which I've realized is very stressful for me.

What's the big deal, you might ask? Seems silly, doesn't it? A yoga teacher ought to be "above this," right? At least, that's what I thought. I decided to "fight this battle" with yoga and meditation, convinced that I could use positive thinking to shift my perspective.

Yet, no matter what I did to be at peace with this, it just got worse. I started feeling energetically drained and generally just blah,...until one day, it all became very clear. This situation had very little to do with positive thinking. It was all about my attitude towards my situation: I was viewing my driving through lenses of duality-- as a fight, a conflict that I had to win.

How very wrong of me.

My answer lie in remembering that peace can never exist if I have to fight for it. In fighting against what I'm feeling, I am shifting my energy even further out of balance. Life is about creating peace from what I have, now. My mistake was to try and convince myself that I wasn't really feeling down, and that this was all a matter of positive thinking, when the truth was that positive thinking could only take me so far. Beyond that, I had to put my thoughts into actions.

Creating Space:
I realized that fear had been stopping me from action. I was afraid of dropping classes, possibly loosing students. Once I let go of that fear, I realized that by not dropping classes, I am doing something far worse -- eating into my energy levels, which might eventually cause me to lose even more students and classes, in the long-run.

So, I did it. Beginning September, I will have one day per week that is a no-drive, zero emissions day. In doing so, I am creating space to be recharged. And instead of looking at it like loosing classes and students, I am looking at this as a new opportunity for privates which I can teach from my home, while doing something that I deeply believe in: driving less, not more.

As far as which day to drop -- I left the choice up to the amazing owners of Silverlake Yoga, Juliette and Jonathan, for whose understanding and support I am deeply grateful. And I'll still be available to teach day, as long as its biking/walking distance from my home, or if I get a ride there.

If this feeling of constriction or tightness resonates with you, please don't sink into the trap that I encountered. Please remember that life is many possibilities, all in shades of color, rather than in locked tones of black or white. Fighting against ourselves is pointless. Real change begins with shifting our perspective from thoughts into action. And every action begins with creating the space for change.


Om Shanti.


SPACE CREATING BREATH:

You'll need about 5 - 10 minutes for this one. Please begin by sitting in a comfortable, relaxed position.

Basic Breath:
Begin by drawing your inhale from the base of your spine. Allow the inhale to permeate your hips, back, sacrum, and belly. Let it go.
Allow your next inhale to rise even deeper. Breathe slowly, counting to ten as you feel the breath expand into your side ribs, maybe all the way into your chest, before you exhale and let it go. Allow your next breath to be even deeper. Release your entire breath, exhaling to empty.

Repeat as many times as you like.

Problems breathing deeply?
Let's say you couldn't get your breath all the way through your chest. Maybe it even felt like there was something stuck in there. If so, then close your eyes and picture a large, moving body of water, like a river. Now, imagine a huge boulder in middle of that river. Notice that the boulder doesn't make a difference. The water just goes around it.

Now allow your breath to be like that body of water.

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Donation Yoga NEWS

Donation Yoga Wed (Pico/Fairfax):
Mixed levels yoga going on strong at the Wilenskys, every Wed. from 7:45pm - 9:15pm'ish.

Slow Flow Donation Yoga at the Maylands, Saturday mornings, beginning in September.
Back by popular demand! Slow Flow classes to begin Saturday mornings in September. Don't get a chance to do much yoga, or are you new to yoga? Would you like more instruction with your poses and alignment? Nursing an injury? Want more personal attention? A slightly slower paced class that doesn't leave you behind? This is the class for you. More info arriving soon.
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Cool Happenings Around Town:

HAPPY HOUR FESTIVAL. August 10, 11 in Los Angeles. Film, Music, Art, and Good Times.
Where else can you see inspired short films, hear cutting edge beats, experience live performance art and do it all, amongst a cool bunch of folks? At Happy Hour, of course! The Happy Hour Festival is run by two very talented Directors who love what they do and want to support creative art in this wacky world of ours. Pre-sale tix are only $20. Come out and support.
For more info: www.happyworldwide.com/happyhour/index.html

CINESPIA: Every Saturday. Hollywood Forever Cemetary
For those of you who love old movies, Cinespia is back to their Summertime Classic Movie screenings at the Hollywood Forever Cemetary. Sat. Aug. 11: Taxi Driver. Sat. Aug. 18: The Red Shoes. Sat. Aug. 25: Notorious.
For more info: www.cinespia.org

BURNING MAN FESTIVAL, Labor Day Weekend, Black Rock City, Nevada.
If you've been, you certainly know why you keep coming back. If you've never been and don't mind a little (or a lot) of dust and heat, you'll be rewarded with a lifetime of experience and an amazing array of visual and auditory eye candy. Art, sculpture, performance art, Tesla Coil lightening demonstrations in the middle of the night, music everywhere, and all around wacky fun to be had. If you are going, please be safe. Practice moderation in all things. Hydrate. And enjoy!
Fore more info: www.burningman.com

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ONGOING PUBLIC CLASSES:
Mondays 7:15pm - 8:45pm Level 2/3 Vinyasa Flow at Silverlake Yoga

Wednesdays 10:45am - 12:15pm Level 2/3 Vinyasa Flow at Silverlake Yoga
Wednesdays: 7:45pm - 9:15pm Donation Yoga at the Wilenskys. Pico/Fairfax area.

Thursdays 3:45pm - 5:15pm Core Yoga at Silverlake Yoga

Saturdays 5:00pm - 6:30pm All-level Vinyasa Flow at Bodies in Motion, West L.A.

For an updated daily schedule of where I am teaching and subbing every week: yogawitharia.com/schedule.htm
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Thank you!
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Abraham-Hicks on Vibrational Patterns of Thought

Hi Everyone,

Today's a day for posting, it seems. A friend just sent this over. If you are familiar with Abraham-Hicks' teachings, the movie The Secret, or The Law of Attraction, this will be a nice review for you. If you are new to this kind of thinking, please read with an open mind. Whatever resonates (feels true) to you, keep and put into practice. What doesn't resonate with you, please let go, without judgement.

Namaste,
Aria

You would never be discouraged if you knew, as we do, that anything you want must be, and that all you have to do is line up with it. You would never be discouraged if you knew, as we do, that when contrast causes you to clarify a desire, that, in the moment of that clarification, even if you don’t speak words about it, Source immediately says yes to that desire and becomes one with that desire. So, there is no possibility whatsoever anywhere in this Universe that your desire is not being answered in the moment that you give birth to it. But if you don’t know that, if you’re still looking at the gap between your realization that you want it and your realization of the manifestation of it, then, because you have forgotten that it’s going to happen for sure, we can see how you might get discouraged

Feel the difference between something that you want that you know you can achieve, and how exhilarating that is, and something that you want that you feel powerless to achieve. And what we’re wanting you to understand, is: You need not ever again feel powerless about the achieving of anything— because when you ask, it is given, every single time.

There is no such thing as something that is incurable; there is no such thing as something that is impossible. There’s only vibrational discord with the wellness; that’s what illness is. There’s only vibrational discord with abundance; that’s what poverty is. There’s only vibrational discord with clarity; that’s what confusion is.

You have Guidance within you that will help you to quantify your journeys. And so, you can tell (if you care about how you feel) whether you’re marching, marching, marching towards something that you’re going to like when you gets there. People will say, “Abraham, it came out of the blue!” And we say, hardly. You’ve been beating that drum for a long, long time. And you say, “No, I haven’t. I haven’t been thinking about that. I didn’t think about the specifics of this terrible thing that happened to me.” And we say: You thought about enough things that were a vibrational equivalent to this powerlessness that you are feeling (or to this rage that you are feeling) that you activated a vibration that kept you from going in the direction of what you want, and, in fact, took you directly to what you do not want.

When you are feeling ornery, ornery, ornery, ornery, ornery, ornery, you can’t end up in Happyville. It’s on a different path, you see. When you are frustrated, frustrated, frustrated, frustrated, frustrated, everywhere you go, things that are frustrating in nature are there waiting for you. They are waiting for you with open arms. “You planned us,” they say. “You prepared us. You called us from the ethers.” And the Universe and Law of Attraction goes to great trouble (it’s really no trouble at all; it’s just a natural consequence of the Laws of the Universe). Law of Attraction (that which is like unto itself is drawn) will meet you around every corner with the essence of your vibrational nature. It’s everywhere you go. That’s what we mean when we say: you take yourself with you.

What we want you to come to understand is that, here you are, wherever you are, and out there somewhere, is something you really want, and out there somewhere else, is something you really don’t want. In other words, it’s like your future is a big long stick with things you really want on one end, and things you really don’t want on the other end. And here you are, in every moment of every day, making a decision about which direction you’re going. So, it’s like there are all of these potential forks in the trail.

Have you ever taken an airline trip or a car trip, or any trip, even a hiking trip, where you have made a direct line from where you are to where you want to be? Or, are your trips always ups and downs and around things? In other words, aren’t you just always correcting your course, generally going in the direction? Jerry and Esther are amazed sometimes when they look at a map, and they realize that the road that they were on that says I-10 East doesn’t go east a good deal of the time. It’s really interesting how often it is going north, or even south in its general direction of east.

There are many twists and turns in your road, but you must have your Guidance System activated consciously so that you can tell, when you twist and turn, how you’re wanting to correct yourself—because, of course, things are going to happen—of course. Something’s going to sneak up on you that you didn’t see coming because you weren’t aware that it was active in your vibration. Sometimes, stuff got activated in your vibration when you were really little, when you were living with somebody else whose activation was very strong, and you didn’t even know it got activated until you got old enough that you started watching the manifestational response.

It’s a wonderful thing, that what you think and how you feel is always a vibrational match. It’s a wonderful thing that what you think and how you feel—and what manifests—is always a vibrational match. But if you wait to correct your course until something is already manifested, it’s harder to correct your course. We call that post-manifestational awareness.

It’s ever so much more effective if you are correcting your course, based upon the way you feel, and that you stop in the middle of an ornery moment and you say to yourself, “I’m marching, marching, marching toward something that I’m not going to like when it gets there. Can I find a slightly better approach?”

Now, this is the thing that we really want you to hear: We do not expect you, because no one has ever done it, to go from an ornery vibration directly to bliss—it doesn’t happen. We don’t expect you to immediately correct your course. We don’t expect you to teleport yourself to where you want to be. This is a physical time/space reality where you have this magnificent buffer of time. So, you have plenty of time to get yourself lined up. And with every effort of realignment that you attempt, you will find a slight enough improvement that you will begin to see manifestations that reflect your effort. Even though you’re not all the way to where you want to be, you will see manifestation that reflects your effort. (We’re not kidding you one bit about that.)

So, you might see yourself as standing always at a fork in the road because there is always the option of finding a way that feels better. In other words, wouldn’t it be nice if? Or, making the best of it. Or, there is also the option of, wouldn’t it be awful? Or, making the worst of it. In other words, you get to choose.

We see a lot of you (lovely Beings that you are) making the worst of it over and over again. And do you know why you do that? It’s for very well-meaning reasons. You make the worst of it because, at every level of your Being, you understand that you are supposed to feel good and that things are supposed to go well for you. And when they don’t, you’re, sort of, freaking out on even very deep levels… there’s something that makes you want to shout, “Somebody should call somebody about this! Somebody should call somebody, and somebody should fix something, so that my life goes better,” because you were born with that promise in place. You were born knowing that you are the center of the Universe. You were born knowing that the resources of All-That-Is would back you up. So when something’s going freakishly wrong, we understand your consternation. We understand how frustrating it must be, or how disempowering it must feel. But we want to say to you: All you have to do, is make the best effort you can right now, to fork a little bit in the direction of what you want—that’s all the work is.

Every moment of every day, you have these forks where you can go closer toward something that you want, or further from something that you want.

You want to demand the world give you what you want. And we say, the world cannot give you what you are demanding. The world is giving you what you’re deserving. The world cannot give you what you’re demanding; the world is giving you what you’re offering vibrationally, and nobody can change what you’re offering vibrationally—but you… We think the reason that you may not be very good at it, yet, is because you want to change too much, too fast. You want the manifestation to change, right now. And we want you to just take this opportunity to mold your vibration. Because as you take this opportunity to mold your vibration, and this one, and this one, and this one, and this one, not only do you feel better along the way, not only do you have more friendly clerks across the counter, not only do you uplift rather than make people feel terrible, you feel better along your way. Your journey is brighter and brighter. And ah, the manifestations that reach out to you, the people that you rendezvous with, they are equivalent to the vibrational forks that you take in the road.

You are the creator of your own reality because you are the chooser of the thought right now.

Don’t be hard on yourself. If you’re standing in a place where you’ve been chopped off at the knees, where you’ve been hit in the gut, where you’re feeling awful, don’t feel bad. Don’t beat up on yourself for not being able to choose the best thought you’ve ever thought. Just choose the best thought you can find from where you are. In other words, just fork off gently in the direction of what is important to you. And before you know it, your path will get brighter and sweeter, and brighter and sweeter. And the people who watch you will say, “You know, you amaze me. Things go well everywhere you go. Why is that so?” And you say, “I’ve come to expect it.” And many of them will say, “Agh.” They don’t want to hear how you expect things to go well. They’ll say, “Oh, that’s because you’re rich. Oh, that’s because you have an entourage that travels with you.” We promise you, no entourage can buck your current. There is no one in the world who can prepare your path for you, you see. You are all as rich as everyone else because you all have the resources of the Universe at your fingertips. And when you take the time, when you care enough to take the time to find the better-feeling thought, now, you’re moving toward something that will please you.

Every step you take, you are marching toward a manifestation. And if you feel good while you’re stepping—you are marching, marching, marching toward things that are going to delight you when they get there. And if you are ornery, if you’re unhappy, if you are frustrated, if you are blameful, if you are angry, if you are hateful, if you are revengeful, if you are fearful, if you are depressed—you are marching, marching, marching toward things that are going to augment that feeling of depression, of anger, of frustration. In other words, the way you feel must net you more stuff that feels like the way you feel.

The better it gets, the better it gets, the better it gets, the better it gets, the better it gets, the better it gets, the worse it gets, the worse it gets, the worse it gets, the worse it gets, the worse it gets. You cannot defy the Laws of the Universe—please give it up! Stop trying to use your words and your action for the stuff that attitude and mood, and vibration are to do. In other words, mold yourself into place. Do the vibrational work before you do the action work, and the action work will be a fraction of what it has been before.

If you take the time to do the vibrational work first, you won’t have to offer nearly as much action. You’ll begin to discover that the things that are important for you just unfold for you because the Universe is at your fingertips. The fairies of the Universe are there for you. You are the center of an enormous entourage that means to please you.

And when you, through your magnificent deciphering of contrast, give birth to a rocket of desire, that rocket of desire is duly noted, understood, and absolutely agreed with by all of the resources of the Universe. And now all you’ve got to do, is to get in the vibrational compliance with what you are asking for. (Isn’t that nice to know?)

There are three steps to the Creative Process: Step One, you don’t have to worry about; contrast makes you take that step. Contrast causes you to desire or focus, or prefer. Step Two, not your work, anyway. Source and all of the resources of Source answer your request. That’s that vibrational alignment. That’s that one point of vibrational relativity that happens instantaneously.

So, your only work is Step Three. And Step Three is: Can I find a thought right now that feels a little better than the thought I’ve been thinking? That’s all Step Three is. Finding a thought that causes me to feel a vibration (or a feeling) of relief. So, there is allowing of what I want, or disallowing of what I want. There is allowing of what I want, or resisting what I want. You are either practicing the art of allowing, or the art of resisting. When you’re forking off toward things you want, you’re practicing the art of allowing. When you’re forking off to things you don’t want, you’re practicing the art of resistance. And every day, and every moment of your life experience is a perfect reflection of how you’ve been forking. (Good.)

Excerpted from Abraham-Hicks Workshop
G-7-30-05 — San Francisco, CA

"Only a Child"

I received this from a friend. It was so deeply moving, I had to post it. It's 6 minutes long, and absolutely worth your time. Thanks.

June-July Shakti: Cycles, Perspective, and Metabolism

JUNE/JULY SHAKTI NEWSLETTER

Dear Friends and Yoga Family,

Wow, has this last month just flown by. Seems like everything is going on high-speed for me. Hopefully, your lives have been a little slower.

CYCLES of EARTH:
Tomorrow (Thurs) is the Northern Solstice, better known as the Summer Solstice. The Earth, as we might remember from science classes, is tilted on its axis, leaning towards and away from the Sun throughout its yearly orbit. Tomorrow, the Sun lies directly over the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere, creating the longest day of the year on Earth.

Please enjoy the day tomorrow by taking time to be outdoors.

Cycles of DEATH and LIFE:
Jason and I have had two deaths within our family and circle of friends over the last few weeks.

In facing death, it is important to remember that death is a cycle of life. Death can be viewed as a loss, or as a celebration of life, a passage into the next dimension of existence. The difference lies in our Perspective.

I remember a story told to me many years ago, about a tribe in Africa who mourns the birth of a child, because that child has left the spirit world, only to enter into the harsh reality of life on earth. When a member of the tribe dies, however, they throw a huge party - celebrating that spirit's entry back to the spirit world.

What a different perspective than ours.

Although I don't advocate throwing a massive blowout when a loved one dies or sobbing and mourning during a baby shower, it is interesting to place our beliefs through a cultural filter. If you believe, as I do, that we choose our emotions and we choose to react or not react to situations, then the traditional reactions of mourning and celebrating can take on an entirely different meaning.

Perhaps the answer lies somewhere in between these two polar opposite cultural traditions. perhaps the answer is to recognize the cycle of life and death as one. Neither is better than the other. Neither is worse, or more painful than the other.

All emotions begin with our perspective. Begin experimenting with shifting your perspective on life, and see what happens.

SUMMERTIME BREATH: PLEASE - use this wisely, folks. The Metabolism Enhancing Breath is not to be used as a quick weight loss scheme. It won't work. Breath is a powerful tool, and if we think we can fool our system into loosing weight by running too hot fall the time, the actual effects we're going for will be negated by the stress on our system.

Metabolism-Enhancing Breath: Plug your left nostril and breath through the right nostril. Stop this breath immediately if you feel dizzy, nauseous, or faint.
--Useful when you are tired and need a boost.

Metabolism-Slowing Breath: Plug your right nostril and breathe through your left.
--Useful when you are running too hot (stressed, nervous, tense) and need to slow down. Also extremely useful if you are fasting or cleansing, and don't want to feel hungry.

Begin with 10 breaths. Slowly increase as needed.

To read a wonderful article on the Metablism, please check out "Master Your Metabolism," originally published in Body & Soul Magazine:

http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.3a0656639de62ad593598e10d373a0a0/vgnextoid=fb04a538db6e0110VgnVCM100003d370a0aRCRD&rsc=also_try

Thanks for your support.

May you all have a Lovely 4th of July!

Namaste

Aria

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Yoga NEWS

Donation Yoga Wed (Pico/Fairfax):
Going on strong at the Wilenskys, every Wed. from 7:45pm - 9:15pm.

I will be adding back donation yoga classes at our house in July or August. If you are interested, shoot me back an e-mail and let me know if you'd prefer weekdays or weekends, mornings or evenings. We live in the Olympic/Highland area.
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Cool Happenings Around Town:

Dancing: June 22nd, The Derby. Hunkamama!
Hunkamama is playing this Friday night, June 22, at The Derby in Los Feliz. Never heard this L.A. band of funky sexy ladies? Check 'em out! The band goes on at 8:30pm and if you decide to stay on, the evening features more music and a Burning Man fashion show.

Cinema: Cinespia. Every Saturday. Hollywood Forever Cemetary
For those of you who love old movies, Cinespia is back to their Summertime Classic Movie screenings at the Hollywood Forever Cemetary. This weekend - The Haunted. For more info: www.cinespia.org

Music and Art: Flavorpill
Fridays off the 405: Once/month, enjoy live music and evening views of the city, while touring the galleries of the Getty. Casual, spontaneous, fun, and FREE. Curated by Flavorpill. For more info, check out: www.flavorpill.net

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ONGOING PUBLIC CLASSES:
Mondays 7:15pm - 8:45pm Level 2/3 Vinyasa Flow at Silverlake Yoga

Wednesdays 10:45am - 12:15pm Level 2/3 Vinyasa Flow at Silverlake Yoga
Wednesdays 1:00pm - 2:00pm Lunchtime Power Yoga Flow at Hollywood Production Center, Glendale CA
Wednesdays: 7:45pm - 9:15pm Donation Yoga at the Wilenskys. Pico/Fairfax area.

Thursdays 3:45pm - 5:15pm Core Yoga at Silverlake Yoga

Saturdays 5:00pm - 6:30pm All-level Vinyasa Flow at Bodies in Motion, West L.A.

For an updated daily schedule of where I am teaching and subbing every week: yogawitharia.com/schedule.htm
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