The Shadow Into The Psychic House.

Later after birth and being born as a whole we start fragmentation as soon as the mind begins eating from the tree of knowledge. Segregation starts into good and evil, furthermore we begin the shadow making process.

Darkness and light are two interdependent forces of energy. Known in Chinese and Japanese as Yin and Yan.

Based of this interdependent relation, dark force of energy does not go away, it actually collects into the dark corners of our personality.

When the characteristics of human darkness, (those we grew up conditioned to repress), can’t find a way to manifest healthily, and have been long enough fluctuating within our mind, they begin to take life of their own giving birth to “The Shadow.”

The Shadow erupts as an overpowering rage or some indiscretion that slips past us through different forms of manifestation such as depression or any other mental downfalls.

If the human being, cannot find the right tools for learning how to develop balance into the darkness and light, sets an easier environment within for the Shadow to become stronger than the light. 

The Shadow gone autonomous is a terrible monster in our psychic house.

How can we prevent such a terrible scenario to manifest?

1.  Resiliency :

Psychologists have pointed out we become resilient when we commit ourselves to embrace, and deal with pain (which is inevitable and unavoidable in human life) without getting lost in the suffering.

Suffering is the state in which our fear of pain, and our desire to avoid it close us off to the possibilities inherent in every situation.
As described above, and on this blog through the article, YOGA “THE HOLY GRAIL FOR RESILIENCE”October 15, 2016, posted in mindfulness the mind is like a phantom that lives only in the past or future. 

Its only power over you is to draw your attention out of the present.

Studies in the field of medicine suggest that Yoga is the only form of physical activity that provides complete exercise to the body, because it massages all the internal organs, and glands.

Yoga and Its Benefits

2.  Meditation also becomes another effective tool for resiliency by improving:

•  Cognitive Function

•  Memory 

•  Creativity and Problem Solving

•  Increases Concentration and Attention Span
•  Enhances ability to learn
•  Promotes Restful Sleep

Increases Brain Activity in the areas associated with happiness and positive thinking, which are required for rehabilitation and hence transformation of any gone autonomous shadow.

There’s nothing wrong with talking about the existence of the shadow, as a matter of fact is necessary for dawns to break into mindful and brighter Sunrises, but it’s within our power to love ourselves enough in order to embrace our psychic house, by intercepting the enemy (while still visible on safety grounds),  instead of letting it grow powerful as an unstoppable monster that will sabotage our growth and evolution.

Last but not least:

“Who looks outside dreams…Who looks inside AWAKEN.”-Carl G. Jung

Author:

Glenda Lee Santos; Retired Veteran and Yoga Warrior; Criminal Justice, BA; RYT-200 hrs; Holistic Practitioner with Foundation in Yoga and Ayurveda; Reiki Master; Reiki Master; Master Resilience Trainer.

References:
1. Carl G. Jung: Wounded Healer of the Soul ( Clair Dunne) First edition.
2. Modern Man in Search Of A Soul. (Carl G. Jung and 2 more) First edition.
3. Owning Your Shadow ( Robert A. Johnson) First edition.

How to improve your “Emotional Intelligence.”

Emotional intelligence is our capability to recognize our own emotions and those of others. This encourages the development of discernment between different feelings so we can label them appropriately. If we become able to structure our emotional information it will guide our thinking and behavior, towards easier transition into different types of environments facilitating us to achieve our goals.

While emotions are associated with bodily reactions that are activated through neurotransmitters and hormones released by the brain, feelings are the conscious experience of emotional reactions.

Feelings are sparked by emotions and shaped by personal experiences, beliefs, memories, and thoughts linked to that particular emotion.

Strictly speaking, a feeling is the side product of your brain perceiving an emotion and assigning a certain meaning to it.

In summary the difference between emotions and feelings are as described bellow…

Emotions are neuro-physiological reactions unleashed by an external or internal stimulus (emotions are physical). This explains why not being able to decompress trapped emotions as response to environmental stress can erode our cells tissue eventually creating physical and mental struggles.

Feelings are a self-perception of specific emotions, being a  subjective expression of emotions (feelings are mental).

Here are some tips to improve your emotional intelligence:

1. Reflect on your emotions.

2. Assertive communication, but still respectful.

3. Ask for others perspectives.

4. Accept criticism. Ask what you can learn rather than resist.

5. Press the “Pause” button. Allow your attention to your breath, press your tongue towards the roof of your mouth (behind the front teeth) inhale deeply through your nose and when you exhale allow yourself to let go of any resistant feelings that clouds your critical thinking (the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgment) process.

6. Practice maintaining your positive attitude regardless of others.

7. Respond rather than reacting to conflict. (Review tip #5).

8. Practice self awareness. Keeping attention into the present moments protects from triggers rooted from unrelated past experiences that might unconsciously boost behavior projections.

9. Explore and understand the “why.”

10. Empathize, Empathize, Empathize.

11. Be observant.

12. Hunt for the good stuff (make inventory of each emotion, looking forward to find something good or a lesson out of each life’s event).

Example:

If a job interview was suddenly cancelled and rescheduled, focus your energy thinking that the Universe is giving you more time to prepare or that it could be heavenly protection from driving on the road that specific day.

13. Journal your thoughts and emotions. It will help you reduce your stress and to learn from your experiences.

14. Allow yourself to embrace yoga. The practice of yoga helps achieve a balance within the internal and external environment, thereby seeking to attain mental, spiritual and physical well-being.

15. Practice always. If you practice at least *21 days how to improve your emotional intelligence you will see the difference making it part of your daily routine.

Last but not least;

” See thru the eyes of compassion. Listen with ears of tolerance. Speak with the language of love.” -Rumi

Author:

Glenda Lee Santos; Retired Veteran and Yoga Warrior; Criminal Justice, BA; RYT-200 hrs; Holistic Practitioner with Foundation in Yoga and Ayurveda; Reiki Master; Spirit Guide Coach; Master Resilience Trainer.

* Scientific research has shown that 21 is the required amount of days to develop cellular memory in order to create a good habit.

Divide and Conquer Strategy, Between The Shadow and Our Inner Light.

Divide and rule is a strategy principle used by an opposite force, furthermore while waging war. 
Any kind of war. 

Inside or outside our physical bodies. 

Inside or outside our psychic house.

It’s purpose is to gain or maintain dominion by breaking up larger concentrations of power into pieces that individually have less power than the one implementing the strategy. 

Wasn’t that why a fallen angel failed ( when trying to work ) against the light force represented by an angelic realm with failed efforts of concealing shadow with fake light?

Let’s meditate with mindfulness: 

Who am I?

What do I want during this life?

What is my calling or life purpose?

To whom am I grateful?

Unfortunately there is reactivity everywhere. 

EGO imbalance concealed by projecting self flaws into our neighbors. 

Minding others business before fixing our imperfections. 

Darkness is necessary into our lives, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to appreciate light. 

Taoism quotes about it, establish an interdependency between Yin and Yan.

The scriptures have made it clear providing a karmic navigation map of day vs night/illumination vs shadow/ good vs evil. 

Take note because we arrived from divine light and take it for granted.

Why do we keep ourselves nurturing the greatest illusion on this world…?
“SEGREGATION” 

Is the light supposed to come back by itself after a vacation period?
I don’t think so my friends.

There is a little shadow work required to be embraced for that Sun to rise back into our paths. 

Tonight there is a Penumbra Lunar Eclipse
Eclipses bring the unexpected, forcing us into action. 

There is always fear to the unexpected. Change can be a good thing.

Procrastination is part of the human condition. 

We avoid what’s painful because is easier to  stay in our comfort zones. 

That’s why we occasionally need a little cosmic kick in the pants to push us off the fence and into action.

 Eclipses bring change. 

They fall four to six times a year and turn things upside-down. 

In our disoriented state, we may act out of character or see turbulence in the world.

Eclipses can also help break patterns and shift dynamics. 

However, astronomy and astrology experts, suggest waiting a week or so before taking drastic action, allowing the eclipse energy to settle first.

Keep in mind that we are energy, life force.

Lunar Eclipses give us a glimpse into what Carl Jung referred to as the “shadow self.” 

Refer to my article “The Shadow into the Psychic House” on this blog.

Dr. Jung (Swiss psychiatrist) the father of Psychotherapy, a former kundalini yoga practitioner, and encourager of rehabilitation & resilience left a legacy of knowledge within the mental health field.

What we discover about ourselves and others during Lunar Eclipses can be tough to swallow, even shocking. 

Still, this gives us the opportunity to embrace our wholeness, and see where we have room to grow in new directions. 

Owning the fact that we have emotions like fear, anger, jealousy and rage is the way to get a handle on them. 

When the Sun, Earth and Moon all align almost one-behind-another, a prenumbral lunar eclipse occurs.

As the Earth blocks the Sun, sunlight fails to illuminate the Moon’s surface properly. Isn’t this a manifestation of divide and conquer strategy?
In this instance, stargazers will notice a slight shadow cast over the surface of the full Moon, which is known as the penumbra.

All this sounds amazing, if we read between the Universe lines, that adjustments are required around us and even into our personal lives sometimes.

Meditation is recommended, go into silence e inner quest for the self, alining our persona, ego, shadow.

persona- what we project to others ( our core) in other words earth

ego- our behavior undergoing flight & fight based on perceptions, past traumas & concealed fears in other words the sun

the shadow- erupts as an overpowering rage or some indiscretion that slips past us through different forms of manifestation such as depression or any other mental downfalls.

If the human being, cannot find the right tools for learning how to develop balance into the darkness and light, sets an easier environment within for the Shadow to become stronger than the light. 

Last but not least:

Who looks outside Dreams…
Who looks inside Awakens! – Dr. Carl G. Jung

Author:

Glenda Lee Santos; Humble Military and Yoga Warrior; RYT-200 hrs; Criminal Justice, BA; Holistic Practitioner with Foundation in Yoga and Ayurveda.

Courtesy of Semperlee Yoga Corp.

Life is a Journey…

If we live in the higher vibrational frequencies of love…, we will become more resilient.

Author:

Glenda Lee Santos; Retired Veteran and Yoga Warrior; Criminal Justice, BA; Holistic Practitioner with Foundation in Yoga and Ayurveda; Reiki Master; Spirit Guide Coach; Master Resilience Trainer.

Mistakes are opportunities to grow…

Look at them.

Grow from them.

Do better, be better.

You are human.

It is okay.

Author:
Glenda Lee Santos; Retired Veteran and Yoga Warrior; Criminal Justice, BA; Holistic Practitioner with Foundation in Yoga and Ayurveda; Reiki Master; Spirit Guide Coach; Master Resilience Trainer.

How to Attract Good Energy.

One of the lessons I appreciate every day, from becoming a Reiki Master is the awareness towards energy; I have developed while I’m teaching yoga.

Our minds, bodies and spirits are composed of energy, which vibrates out and is felt by others. Those vibrations resonate within us and impact our own energy stores.

As we move through our day, we are sending energy into the world and we receive energy back.

High frequency energy can boost our feelings of well-being, dissolve feelings of anxiety and improve communication.

Low frequency energy results in feelings of discord, conflict and resentment.

Although is challenging not to be exposed to low frequency energy…

Our goal should be to attract good energy and repel the bad.

It is not complicated to raise our energy level and aligning yourself with positive vibrations.

Allow yourself to consider the following 9 daily tips to tune up your inner vibrations and start feeling positive energy flow your way.

1. Cultivate gratitude.

You can practice gratitude each morning by thinking of 5 things you’re grateful for. Then think of at least one person you’re grateful to have in your life.

Consider keeping a gratitud journal, where you can quickly jot down a list of little joys and things that give you a sense of happiness and contentment. Remind yourself of all the bad you have been through. When you see how far you’ve come and all of the difficult storms you have weathered, it will make you more appreciative of what you have in your life now.

2. Align your current self with your future self.

Things you spend time, energy and money on will impact you far beyond today. If you want to have positive energy flowing through you, you need to start making decisions that will steer you to become the kind of person you want to be, with the job and relationships you want to have.

Ask yourself these questions:

What do you most desire in the world?

What goals and dreams are you working toward?

Now imagine what this life you want feels like.

Who are you in this ideal future? What are you doing?

Start to align your current self with the future self you want to become.

As you start taking steps toward creating the reality you wish for, you’ll feel motivated to take control of more parts of your life.

The more actions you take toward the positive, the more you create your own favorable reality.

3. Act in good faith.

We all know that we should treat each other with fairness.

Treat others with the same respect and consideration, that you would like to be treated.

Unfortunately, we don’t always follow through with these principles when we interact with each other on a personal or even professional level.

4. Embrace compassion and kindness.

Research shows that people who are kind and compassionate to others are more satisfied with their lives, enjoy better physical and mental health, and have stronger relationships.

Giving to others creates a positive feedback loop — the more you give, the more good feelings will be received in return.

Nonetheless, be careful not to give more than what you receive in order to keep an even energy flow.

5. Find your inner strength.

Insecurity, self-doubt and fear are good-energy killers. Those negative feelings rob you of confidence and undermine your ability to bounce back from adversity. Embracing inner child meditations, in order to identify intermittent patterns of behaviors, or the search for behavioral help, supports detachment from unresolved childhood issues.

When you have developed resilience by overcoming difficult situations; inner strength grows.

6. Change the tone of your thoughts.

Negative thinking can be hard to stop. It’s easy to allow yourself to slip into pessimism or take on an air of indifference. But if you want to attract good things, you must let the positive guide you, not the negative.

Think before speaking. Once you speak your thoughts become decrees.

7. Pay attention to the energy you’re emitting.

Negative energy is bound to impact your relationships. It may be subtle, but the attitude you approach others with will generally be reflected back at you. What kind of impression do you make on people?

If you naturally seem to draw others in and people seek out your company, chances are you’re doing a good job of emitting positive energy. If people avoid you and sidestep your assistance, you’re stuck at a lower, negative, vibration. Focus your energy on the positive.

You can’t expect to attract good energy if you’re giving off loads of negative energy. Think about the kind of vibes others get when they spend time with you. Do you exude a sense of peace, calm and happiness? Or are you more gloom and doom?

8. Cut off negative influences.

Negative vibes can disrupt your sense of well-being and drain you of happy feelings and contentedness. These negative influences can be people, places or things that have an unfavorable sway over your life. It may be that there are people in your life who are toxic to your overall happiness.

Cut off these negative influences and begin creating the life you want to live. Look for the negative influences in your life.

You may be able to completely avoid or remove some of them, which is a surefire way of eliminating that influence.

For those that are a permanent fixture, work to limit your exposure to them and mentally fortify yourself before you encounter them.

9. Expand your circle.

Surround yourself with positive, successful go-getters who are supportive and caring. Keep company with those who bring positive energy with them, and make sure you nurture and protect those relationships.

The same way you try to limit your negative influences, make sure you start spending time with positive ones.

Bring your own good energy into your circle and help create a positive synergy that will permeate the group.

Lastly, the universe manages to align you with people, things, situations that match your vibration. The higher you are vibrating, the more you will see things that are beneficial to your wellbeing, manifest in your reality.

Author:
Glenda Lee Santos; Retired Veteran and Yoga Warrior; Criminal Justice, BA; Holistic Practitioner with Foundation in Yoga and Ayurveda; Reiki Master; Spirit Guide Coach; Master Resilience Trainer.

Closing the Circle…..

It is always necessary to know when a stage of life is over. If you insist on staying in it beyond the necessary time, you lose the joy and the meaning of the rest.

Closing circles, or closing doors, or closing chapters, whatever you want to call it. The important thing is to be able to close them, and let go of moments of life that are closing.

Was a goal accomplished?

Is a relationship over?

Did you retire from a job?

Do you no longer live in that house? Do you need to evolve or reinvent yourself?

You can spend a lot of your present time wallowing in the whys, in continuing to review the movie, trying to understand why this or that fact happened. The wear and tear is already going to be infinite, because in life, you and I, your friend, your children, your siblings, all of us are heading towards closing chapters, turning the page, ending with stages, or with moments of life and move on.

We cannot focus our energy towards a goal or manage to evolve towards better relationships; as long as we persist in staying on the same frequency, because it is the one that makes us feel most comfortable. . We can not be in the present longing for the past. Not even asking ourselves why this or that event happened.

The erosion will be infinite because in life we are all on our way to closing chapters, or we rescue what has potential for resilience, starting from scratch or we let go of it, allowing ourselves to let it go in order to move forward.

Last but not least;

One of the hardest lessons in life is letting go. Whether it be guilt, anger, love, loss or betrayal. Change is never easy. We fight to hold on, we fight to let go. When we allow ourselves to let go, we accept change, making room for the new.

Author:
Glenda Lee Santos; Retired Veteran and Yoga Warrior; Criminal Justice, BA; Holistic Practitioner with Foundation in Yoga and Ayurveda; Reiki Master; Spirit Guide Coach; Master Resilience Trainer.

Surrender and Trust…

It all starts with you, look at yourself with love, appreciate what is presented to you. Every breath, every moment of difficulty, every joy comes to you to leave you a life lesson.
Everything is fine…, everything is for the best.
Simply give thanks, let go and trust the light to spread and guide you.

With Love,

Author:
Glenda Lee Santos; Retired Veteran and Yoga Warrior; Criminal Justice, BA; Holistic Practitioner with Foundation in Yoga and Ayurveda; Reiki Master; Spirit Guide Coach; Master Resilience Trainer.

Can You Keep Balance Through Drishti?

https://iamyogawarrior.com/2022/glenda-lee-santos

Trust, Breathe and do not lose your drishti about deserving better.

Hey there beautiful Souls;

I want to briefly approach the word “Drishti.”And is because when I teach balance poses in yoga, I encourage a lot the intention of maintaining balance while in a difficult moment; as we all find ourselves during our life’s journey.

When we are able to connect with our breath, we can surrender with trust into our instincts. This becomes a self-love act, in the event that we start to embrace adversity with poise and self-trust to prevail into our higher selves.

We learn how to set boundaries without setting for less than what we deserve.

Now let me explain the term “Drishti” which is actually a focused gaze, actually a great tool for developing concentrated intention.

Also, I would like to humbly request your support by voting for my participation into the I am Yoga Warrior 2022, competition in order to be able to share my physical and emotional rehabilitation through yoga (integrated into 90 physical and aquatic therapies); also how yoga helped me move out from a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as result from a car accident I had on January 8, 2021, while I was still serving into Active Duty Military.

Please click into below link and read my story. Furthermore, the reason why I would like to keep integrating resilience through yoga to my local military in order to provide my brothers and sisters in arms permanent resilience skill to keep healing physically and from combat trauma.

https://iamyogawarrior.com/2022/glenda-lee-santos

Always with love and light,

Author:

Glenda Lee Santos; Retired Veteran and Yoga Warrior; Criminal Justice, BA; Holistic Practitioner with Foundation in Yoga and Ayurveda; Reiki Master; Spirit Guide Coach; Master Resilience Trainer.

“No One Has Ever Become Poor By Giving.”

Hey there beautiful Souls, I so much love this quote from Ann Frank, a former survivor from the Holocaust and writer.

I discovered her during my high school years; back then I read her diary.

Hence, being that shared and based throughout scientific research that there is predisposition into our DNA towards resilience; if you allow yourself to reflect regards how the ubiquity of hardships across history and across cultures and societies has taught us that helping others is, in fact, helping ourselves—in a way, paying it forward. I would have no doubts that your motivation to act on daily basis with more kindness, solidarity and love would increase.

It is an energy that elevates frequency collectively.

However, in order to help others you need to help yourself first, otherwise you will not be able to boost your energy frequency high enough to help others, without becoming vulnerable to lose yourself or relapse into any type of adversity.

Always remember that the final stage of any healing process is becoming able to use what happens to you to help other people.

As well, is important to maintain into perspective that helping others without keeping track or any personal agenda, represents our higher selves manifestation, instead of our ego acting or even reacting throughout the shadows from our subconscious. If you would like to learn a little more about our vulnerability towards this behavior, follow this link The Shadow Into The Psychic House.

Returning to our main subject, helping others might or have been the best defense against hardships people had for a very long time in human history, and it might still be the best available defense against misfortunes people have today in societies where formal social insurance institutions are sparse or do not exist.

Even within prosperous societies, generosity may lead to improved health and psychological well-being.

Last but not least;

“You have two hands, one to help yourself and the other to help others.”

Namaste

Author:
Glenda Lee Santos; Retired Veteran; Yoga Warrior; Criminal Justice, BA; Holistic Practitioner with Foundation in Yoga and Ayurveda; Reiki Master; Spirit Guide Coach; Master Resilience Trainer.

Unfading Flowers.

Happiness comes not from what goes on
outside of you but rather in how you perceive life
from the inside.

We all have different journeys, different paths along the way. We all are meant to learn some things. We might be meant to leave from certain places, but we might be meant to stay.

I have learned throughout my yoga teachers trainings that we are Divine beings living a human experience with a free will, which makes us vulnerable to miss the mark along our journey.

We are not here to make judgements about ourselves or others. We are here to grow and evolve into a better version of ourselves. Hence, let us keep in mind that mistakes are the most valuable teachers which bring us lessons we can use for life.

Whenever something doesn’t turn out as expected or simply doesn’t resonate with your frequency,
ask yourself:

What can I learn from this?

Write this new knowledge down.
Apply it to make your life better.
A better life from a beautiful mistake.

The healthy tendency to focus on and emphasize
positive experiences and file them away for frequent recall while allowing ourselves to dim and let go of memories of distressing times is one of the major components of a resilient and happy life.

Last but not least;

“You can’t get to courage without walking through vulnerability” -Brené Brown

Author:
Glenda Lee Santos; Humble Military and Yoga Warrior; Criminal Justice, BA; Holistic Practitioner with Foundation in Yoga and Ayurveda; Reiki Master; Spirit Guide Coach; Master Resilience Trainer.

Meditate In The Silent Temple Of Your Heart.

As we witness the Universal Omnipresent force in All, (our God Self or I Am presence) we connect to the Divine Power of Grace.

As we embody the Will, the Capacity to receive this gift, our finite minds open to greater possibilities, once lost in our limitless awareness. We behold our Infinite Self.

Divine Grace, the sweet surrender that transforms, and inspires humanity to live a virtuous life. Becoming the Light that remains illuminated as we continue our path.

The resurrection of our Eternal Divinity, our Christ Consciousness resides in each of us. Our perfect expression of God. as the human mind acknowledges the Divine within, he awakens his Soul.

Paramahansa Yogananda, (author of The Yoga Of Jesus: Understanding the Hidden Teachings of the Gospels) said “To commune daily with the Divine in deep meditation, to carry His love and guidance with you into all your activities, is the way that leads to permanent Peace and Happiness.”

I exhort you to separate at least 10 minutes daily to connect to the Divine Power of Grace through meditation.

First, sit down into a comfortable crossed legged position. Along your spine, and melt your shoulder blades towards your tailbone.

Second, bring your attention to your breath. Soften your face. Bring your tongue towards the roof of your mouth (behind your front teeth). Begin inhaling through your nose (keeping your mouth closed) and when you exhale, allow yourself to let go (without judgement) of any turbulence within your mind, that doesn’t allow you to be present and in harmony with this inner self connection and exploration moment.

Third, while keeping your eyes closed ask your self the following questions:

Who Am I?

If you don’t know the answer, it’s alright. Remember no judgement. You may help yourself with a journal and write down, your answers.

What do I want? Are my thoughts and actions aligned congruently?

Remember be compassionate with yourself, simply take note regards how can I become happier and live in congruency.

How can I better serve while I am living this life? What is my purpose here?

What is my source of gratitude? Keep in mind that gratitude is a magnet for miracles.

After ending this meditation exercise, release everything, close your eyes again and breathe slowly during three minutes.

When you feel ready come back to your space.

I encourage to practice this short meditation during 21 days and you will feel and see the difference as well as your perspective towards others.

Last but not least;

“He who conquers himself conquers much.” Jesus

Author:
Glenda Lee Santos; Humble Military and Yoga Warrior; Criminal Justice, BA; Holistic Practitioner with Foundation in Yoga and Ayurveda; Reiki Master; Spirit Guide Coach; Master Resilience Trainer.

Have a Joyful Week

Seven Seas Beach at Fajardo, Puerto Rico.

Align your thoughts with your Actions…

Happy Week✨

A sign from the Universe
L iberates intention
I ntention determines outcome
G enerates coherence
N ew energy enters your life
M oves you forward
E xcellent way to attract happiness
N ourishes your Soul
T ry not to resist it and flow with it

We are Divine beings living the human experience…

Alignment is about finding the feeling inside of the things that we want and then deliberating the choice to create those feelings.

If we align our intentions from a source of gratitude, we will attract more positive things into our lives and vibrate into a higher frequency throughout releasing and elevating our Divinity.

Author:
Glenda Lee Santos; Humble Military and Yoga Warrior; Criminal Justice, BA; Holistic Practitioner with Foundation in Yoga and Ayurveda; Reiki Master; Spirit Guide Coach; Master Resilience Trainer.

Your Relationship To Gravity And The Ground While In Yoga.

The whole of the pose while in yoga practice depends on its relationship to gravity and the ground.

Also the ground gives you a clear and stable reference for feedback about your body, as such is helpful to start building your pose by attending to the foundation.

All these must work in accord with the connection to the ground if it’s to work well.

If our foundation is compromised, so it’s our attention and our abilities.

If the foundation is weak, the pose will be weak.

That’s why at the beginning of a practice establishing the rule of breath awareness and synchronization with movement is essential.

Inside our bones there is growing and regeneration of the soft bone marrow, (which function is to produce our red and some white blood cells), just imagine what would happen if our red blood cells wouldn’t be able to carry the best quality of OXYGEN to our tissues and platelets.

Our inmune system (by default), would directly suffer collateral damage.

When our inmune system is compromised, as such is our mental awareness and concentration.

Why is this happening?

Oxygen keeps body cells working by releasing energy from the nutrients we obtain from food and breathing draws in plenty of oxygen, but an efficient transport system is required to carry the oxygen around the body.

Our heart and circulating blood are responsible to perform this role.

It is through the breath that we keep our blood circulating, the process of waste gas, carbon dioxide (produced by our body cells) is also happening.

So without breathing our brain would not be able to transmit electrical signals through our body taking us to an imminent energy shut down.

Needless to say, this could turn into an unnecessary challenge establishing
foundationb for any pose during a yoga practice.

Two sets of stretching seated asanas, will benefit the practitioners as part of a slowly somatic foundation.

For these reasons my experience as a Yoga Teacher is to start at the ground or bottom during a class with beginners or first time practitioners.

This will help them gain confidence to work up their transition based on a stable feedback gained from the relationship to gravity and the ground.

During advanced Vinyasa or Power Yoga, the practitioner had already gained the above mentioned relationship required for a good foundation.

That is why is considered an advanced level of yoga practice.

Rooting vs. Pressing

When we say “root or ground your feet” etc., what we mean is to establish a clear, even, and living connection with the ground. This is a sensate and dynamic experience. It is more than “pressing” because it is also receiving the information the action offers, and requires periodic attention to the regularly changing signals of your nervous system in order to sustain good practices. The foundation is an evolving process, not a one time act. As we warm up into a pose our needs shift, and what is possible changes.

Feet

The feet are comprised of a number of arches, maintained in a state of dynamic tension. If there was no tension your feet would be flat. You are the person who is maintaining your arches! Arches a resilient structures, which absorb shock as well as provide a springy dynamic quality to movements. To do this they need enough tension. One way to get a sense of augmenting their dynamic tension, and thus increasing their arch, is to lift the toes up strongly, and draw the sides of your feet towards the heels. After getting a sense of the feet drawing in and up with the above actions, lay the toes down and grip the ground with them. The toes are an essential part of your connection with the ground. You can play with these actions in standing poses. It will help cultivate a stronger foundation and more resilience.

When the Feet are part of the foundation one way to make sure they are firmly connected to the ground is to imagine they have four corners, and to root each of those corners in turn. This is a helpful intermediate step, but don’t get stuck believing they really have corners. After playing with the four corners see if you can find even better ways to refine your connection to the ground.

Hands

Like the feet, when the hands are part of the foundation it is important that they are intelligently placed—both to protect them, as well as your wrists and shoulders, and to give you the best possible support for your poses.

Floor Hands

Since many of the hand balance poses share the same hand configuration, for brevity we are calling this “Floor Hands.” Floor hands have the following qualities:

The horseshoe shaped perimeter of the palm roots down, This includes the sides of the palms, as well as the metacarpals at the base of the fingers and thumbs. The metacarpals should root evenly. Avoid the tendency for the base of the index finger and thumb to rise. If you are unable to control this try spreading your hands wider a part and see if that helps. – The center of the base of the palm (at the carpel tunnel) should have a bit of lift, along with the underside of the wrists. This maintains space in the carpel tunnel. – The fingertips claw the ground, and the centers of the fingers lift. – The fingers are level with the ground—not leaning to one side. – If you are in symmetrical poses with both hands on the ground such as Adho Mukha Svanasana, place the wrist creases in a straight line. Also, place the center of your wrists outer shoulder width apart. If your shoulders are tight then the hands can be farther apart.

Air Hands

When your hands are in the air rather than on the ground, we are calling them “Air Hands.” Air Hands have the following qualities:

They are energized and alive. From the core of your torso extend out through the fingers actively. – Fingers can be either together or apart. Examine what effects these positions have in your body.

When we open our hands the feeling in the torso feels more expansive.

When they are closed the energy feels more pointed and directed.

Which serves you best?

Sitting

When your pelvis and feet become part of the foundation, it is valuable for your connection through them to be clear, strong, and supportive. This is more possible if you are comfortable. Make sure you modify any pose so that you can approach it’s full expression comfortably and safely.

Use a lift if your hamstrings are tight.

In any sitting pose if you are unable to sit with the sacrum at least perpendicular to the floor, if not leaning forward slightly, then sit on a lift. This is so your leg flexors (psoas, quads) and/or adductors do not have to work to keep you upright. The lift can be one or more folded blankets; a bolster, a firm pillow, or even a chair. Be creative..

In seated poses where one or both knees are bent, feel free to place a support under them if they don’t comfortably rest on the ground or your feet. Unless you are actively addressing the muscles that lift your thigh and knee from the ground in that position, it can be counterproductive and fatiguing for the body to have to support the lifted thighs.

Last but not least;

Always keep in mind during yoga and even into life that “Without a solid foundation, you’ll have trouble creating anything of value.”

Namaste

Author:
Glenda Lee Santos; Humble Military and Yoga Warrior; Criminal Justice, BA; Holistic Practitioner with Foundation in Yoga and Ayurveda; Reiki Master; Spirit Guide Coach; Master Resilience Trainer.