What do the following phrases all have in common?

I just need…, As long as…, If only…, What I really need…, If ___ would just…, Why can’t…, Why don’t…, If I could…, All I need…, All I want…

What do they have in common? Find out on today’s episode of Wonder Your Way to Brilliant. 

On today’s episode of Wonder Your Way to Brilliant we dive deep into the Niyama of Contentment. Even more than happiness, isn’t this what we really want? Why is it so elusive? Why do we spend much of life seeking it? How do we claim it? These are the questions we explore in today’s episode.  If experiencing contentment is important to you, you will want to listen in. 

On today’s episode of Wonder Your Way to Brilliant we explore what it means to be pure with ourselves. As I was reading Deborah Adele’s words, I was struck by how masterful we can be at hiding from ourselves. We create distractions, lie to ourselves, cover ourselves up, wear masks, and the list goes on. What would it actually mean to be honest with ourselves; fully pure with ourselves? Please join me for this final exploration of Saucha (purity) and let’s walk the path together of seeing how honest and pure we can be with ourselves. 

Today’s episode of Wonder Your Way to Brilliant is quite special. 

I recently spent a week on retreat at the Sivananda Ashram and Yoga Ranch in the Catskills, NY. It was my first time there and I had no idea what to expect. As grace would have it, it was one of the most wonderful experiences of my life and I had the good fortune of being enrolled in a class called: From Asana to Stillness with Arjuna, my teacher. Arjuna, a 40+ year practitioner of yoga and 37-year veteran teacher with Sivananda agreed to join me to talk about this month’s Niyama, Saucha or purity. Enjoy this special treat, the opportunity to learn from a true spiritual teacher and to explore an answer to this question, “What is the true purpose of our lives?”.  

On this week’s episode of Wonder Your Way to Brilliant we begin talking about the Niyama of Saucha or Purity... Purity of body, mind (thought), words, and energy. What does it mean to purify ourselves? Why is this important? And HOW do we do this? These are all topics we begin to explore in this episode and continue to explore throughout the month. Please join me for the journey.

As humans, we are faced with a challenging paradox… we are designed to love and care deeply, and yet we can only be free if we learn how to let go of that which we love and care deeply about. On this week’s episode of Wonder Your Way to Brilliant we continue to talk about Aparigraha or the Yama of non-attachment. We explore deeply this paradox of caring deeply about people, things and experiences, and at the same time, being called to continually practice non-attachment and letting go of these same things. Why would we do this? How do we do this? What are the consequences if we fight the letting go?

In ancient India, when monkey catchers wanted to catch monkeys, they did not chase the monkey. Instead, they put a banana inside a cage with narrow bars. When the free monkey reached their hand in to get the banana, they were easy to catch because they refused to let go of the banana! On this week’s episode of Wonder Your Way to Brilliant we talk about the ‘bananas’ we cling to that keep us imprisoned in a state of fear, anxiety, guilt, shame, exhaustion… oh, the number of prisons we can create for ourselves is vast! Tune in and explore the path to freedom. In essence, all we have to do is let go of the banana!

When a trapeze artist swings from one bar to the next or from the bar into the hands of a waiting circus artist, there is a moment when she or he is suspended in mid-air. For the acrobatic act to work, they must fully let go of the old secure bar BEFORE they are able to connect with the new bar or be caught by the hands of their partner acrobat. As the audience, this is typically the moment when we gasp, but the circus artist is not nervous. If they were, they would not succeed. They are not nervous because they have rehearsed and learned to trust in the unfolding of the act. They know the rhythm and timing of the letting go, the suspension in mid-air and how to connect on the other side. Join me this week on Wonder Your Way to Brilliant as we continue our discussion of the YAMA Aparigraha - non-possessiveness or letting go and explore with me how we can cultivate some of this trust for being suspended in mid-air.

This month, on Wonder Your Way to Brilliant we are discussing the YAMA of Aparigraha - non-possessiveness or letting go. The Yama of Aparigraha presents us with a mindfulness challenge of major magnitude. Can we engage in life fully, love deeply, cherish whole-heartedly, enjoy deliciously, care passionately... and then let go? Can we take in each moment, relationship, experience, possession… and then let it go? Can we have and enjoy without becoming attached? Can we have and enjoy without becoming dependent upon the having and the experience for our contentment or happiness? This is a very tall ask, and we are taking it on this month. 

How can we reduce or stop the drain on our energy to achieve a greater state of balance and centeredness? How can we achieve a sense of balance and calm? We all encounter times in our life that tax our energy. Sometimes, however, we can over-exert energy to deal with this situation. We can take a minor problem and put the energy appropriate of a major problem towards it. On today’s episode of Wonder Your Way to Brilliant we continue to talk about the Yama of Brahmacharya from a slightly different angle - ‘energy moderation.’ Join me for an exploration of mastering our right use of moderate energy.