Sacred Essence

One might believe that stopping or pausing to meditate is the opposite idea of taking action in life. But this is where we get tricked. When we slow down we connect to so much more energy. Think for a moment of a time when you have not slept well how productive are you? It can be so hard to take clear and conscious action that supports the greater vision you hold for your life when you are depleted, stressed or just plain exhausted. This meditation guides you inward to reconnect, renew and remind you of the power of slowing down. It's like plugging in to a universal outlet that recharges you so that you can take aware, aligned and inspired action!

As we take action in our life it helps to have awareness and alignment in the process. When we bring all of this together we create direction in our life. Sure it is not entirely up to just our individual action there is an entire collective energy at work as well. Hence why Awareness truly is everything. Our intention is so powerful but if we just wait around we are going to be disappointed. The other piece is that action is not a place of control but rather discipline. This is where yoga holds so much as the practice in of itself is discipline. You have to decide to show up for yourself, slow down, breathe, connect to your whole self and allow for the union of the body, mind and spirit. This week's episode is all about movement which of course is action in of itself. Poses that will surface in the flow included standing forward fold, lunges, triangle, down dog, cobra, bridge pose, reclined twist and legs up the wall. What!?! So when you practice you will want to practice in a way where you can have wall space to put your legs up. Please note you are responsible for the actions you take! If you need guidance on what the pose looks like you can visit the Sacred Essence Facebook page for a little tip on how to get into the pose. Next episode will guide you inward which wildly holds so much action even though it appears we are doing nothing more than closing our eyes. But for now, grab your mat and connect your breath with your movement!

While we have been on a journey with Awareness and Alignment it only seems logical to continue with the next phase which is Action. This idea of action comes from the simple idea that EVERYTHING is ENERGY. Yes, EVERYTHING! There is nothing that is not energy, it may appear that things are not moving like a rock or perhaps they move so fast that we cannot see the movement like sound, but everything is energy. With energy this reminds us that everything is in action. What pace is another topic. The action we take comes from both our awareness and our alignment. Emotions, thoughts, all energy. The beating of our heart, a consistent (ideally) beat that expands and contracts. So not only is everything energy it is also either in a place of expansion or contraction; fast or slow; supportive or restrictive. You getting the picture now? What is really cool, our life also holds energy and we get to direct that energy - up or down; forward or backwards; side to side; and help collaborate in what direction we want to move. The topic is a bit broad and so it is complicated and my intent is to just plant a seed and watch it bloom. The awareness we bring and the way we align combine to give it momentum, direction and the result, expected or desired is another story, but there is a result. I am not going to go all scientific on you, but there are even laws of motion that govern how we exist in this life. Gravity is an energy that keeps our feet on the earth, but the energy of our minds can easily keep us ungrounded and this in of itself brings us out of alignment and thus the action we take can create more pain that keeps us more stuck in our life. Listen to go deeper with me and enjoy this month's Sacred Journey!

In the conversation of alignment there is so much that can be said. From the angle of bringing the body, mind and spirit into a whole optimal package it is a little complex even. But this universe that we live in is also complex so my hope is to allow this practice to be as easy as possible. You see so much is already in alignment for you to be here, reading this, listening, and honestly living your life. The universe is not conspiring against you but rather is in working in your favor to provide you an amazing opportunity...but we, well, we get in the way. Our incarnation as a human being creates a lot of challenges except we are so miraculous and hold so much potential there is an opportunity to take action and engage with life aligned with the highest version of ourselves. This requires then for you to believe that you hold this potential. That you are here living life with a devotion or at least curiosity to be the best version of you. Alignment in the practice of manifestation comes back to what your beliefs are as this informs how you are engaging with life. Believing the universe is mean, hostile and dangerous will create the conditioning to be constantly under threat, surviving. Now I realize this is the reality for some people. Let's face it, there is an enormous population that is living in an environment that is threatened, repressed and hostile. If you are like me, compassionate, you care about helping and supporting the whole so that more people can live in freedom, and that requires you to come back to yourself and live with congruence. How can you possibly support anyone else if you are living with inner turmoil but share that you can be of service to others. When we want to manifest more alignment we can begin to notice evidence of how life is supporting us and our endeavors. Take the sun rising everyday. The sun is ever present and constantly exploding to illuminate our daily process of life. Our entire life revolves around the sun - literally, but if we have a week of clouds we can forget that this ball of light is the center of our existence. We forget that the light sits behind the clouds until the weather pattern changes and we are back in the grove with what we love most - a beautiful day. As soon as we can start to notice all that is working out for us, the faster we can see and believe that our life is in alignment with the highest expression of ourself. If manifesting on the theme of alignment is resonating with you, then listen for the practice on the podcast and share what evidence you see appearing or revealing itself to you in the comments below or over on the Sacred Essence Facebook page.

Being in a position where we value the internal condition and explore our own relationship with our true self, our sacred essence, is essentially the whole point of this Sacred Essence offering. Because as soon as we recognize the world, God, the universe wants us to be true to our truth, be in alignment with our authentic self, respecting who we are as an individual, the more we can bring forward and the more the world around us celebrates and supports. Yes, we all encounter adversity and challenges - there is no way of escaping our human condition. Yet when we slow down and realign with our truth, our light, our beauty and our brilliance, there is so much more available to us so that we can live with more fulfillment. This weeks mediation is about bringing back the connection to the relationship with our sacred self. The ability to dive in and reconnect to the inner serenity, to notice what it feels like when we respect ourself, love our self and align with this higher expression rather than the limited chaotic expression, then we build an infrastructure of stability, clarity and ease. Literally you strengthen neural pathways that are waiting to be ignited and utilized. That's right, you are wired to be in alignment with your intrinsic beauty and joy, you just have to show up and dive in again and again. We can learn to listen to the call of love and bring more love out into the world...what do you say?

What are you moving with or connecting to as you take action faith or fear? Trust or doubt? Peace or pain? It sounds lofty and perhaps irrelevant however it informs everything and communicates to the world around you without you fully realizing how much you are creating in your life. Sure we can spend too much time aligning and not acting, or just observing and not feeling. Everything requires you to engage and be centered, live with moderation or allow a fluid dance. In yoga alignment usually gets translated as where to place your feet, how to hold your hand, and what the body is supposed to look like to create a more optimal flow. This is all incredibly powerful especially when you put intention and deliberate engagement behind it. What ever motivates you is the goal, but the outcome will not bring satisfaction if it is empty or still confused internally. Let's say you want your heals to touch the ground in downward facing dog, so you shorten your stance and your heals get to the ground. Amazing and powerful right. But if it throws off your shoulders, causes strain in your neck or agitates your wrist are you really aligned with the goal? I could unpack this, but I am really just planting seeds. Does having your heals on the ground allow you to have a more solid connection to your inner reality and trust in your essence that is sacred. That is what matters to me. If we continue with the idea of downward facing dog and getting your heals to the ground while maintaining integrity in the hands, shoulders, spine and legs, then we create a container to experience a greater sense of peace, support and freedom, then in my opinion, we are in alignment with our truth even if the heals do not touch the floor. When things are placed in a way and the inner reflects the outer then we are in alignment, congruence or harmony. When we can breathe deeply, comfortably and smoothly, then we are aligned. This is the approach with this movement piece this month. How is the breath showing up with the poses being shared. The practice is simple and not technical. The movement is from the warrior 2 family. I encourage you to listen to this practice a few times to see how the practice reveals alignment to you. Let me know how it goes by commenting below or in the Sacred Essence Facebook Group.

What does your heart really call for? You know, your deepest desire? When we know these answers then we can take action that is in alignment with what matters most. This episode explores exactly what alignment is in relationship to living your best life. Being true to you and honoring your innermost self. Living in harmony, congruence and positioning yourself in a way to live optimally. Tell me, what is alignment to you?

This month has been a simple exploration of the power of awareness through the practice of yoga. This episode includes a step by step process to engage from a more clear and calm state that supports our inner condition and eases up the commotion of the outer world. Yoga is one of the more successful tools of cultivating self awareness physically, mentally and emotionally in my opinion. Research is beginning to support this long standing perspective as I know I am not the only one that feels this way. The practice of Mindfulness also holds great success in increasing awareness and providing tools to practice without having to fold over and touch your toes. I share a simple but essential tool in this episode that can keep you grounded yet inspired to engage from a more refreshed space rather than a charged or disconnected space. A hint, one of the major anchors of this practice is the breath. The way to make it work it to practice it daily. It only takes about 5 minutes max and the more you begin this process the more you start to live from a place of freedom or in a place of feeling refreshed, centered and focused. Please note the sound is not perfect - I am aware of that - but it is still pretty good. I also share one of the amazing leaders of meditation and his perspective of all of this when I was able to sit with his Holiness a few years ago.

Click here to download Going inward can be one of the most powerful things you do each day! How exciting that science is researching the power of meditation...but you probably already new this as this is why you are here. Or perhaps you are here because you listened to a calling or a curiosity. Whatever reason, you are here and this is a inquiry based practice to strengthen your awareness of yourself and how you engage from the inside and step outward into your life. This practice, especially when it follows movement, will light you up! It is not always some firecracker sort of display internally, but your cells celebrate that you are showing up for you. There is a valuable nature to each of us and when we begin to be more aware of this and tuned into our Sacred Essence we begin to be more courageous and determined to live a powerfully amazing life! Go ahead, get comfortable, hit play, and navigate with more grace, joy, and gratitude.

Awareness is everything...especially in the practice of yoga! Moving with strength and the breath requires intention and connection. This is only available when we tune into ourselves through the practice of being aware. This practice is a bit longer in length with challenging standing balance flows, heart openers and a short but sweet savasana. It is going to awaken the inner body to feel good. Get your blood flowing and call your attention to how you engage with yourself on your mat. It is not about doing to poses just right, but rather showing up, paying attention and deciding if you want to do anything about it. To help the flow and build your awareness there are little video snap shots on the Sacred Essence Facebook group. I'll be doing more videos in the future to support this podcast, so if you have not joined in now is the time. It is a closed group to protect your privacy, just ask to join and I will lovingly welcome you!