Spirituality – Page 6 – Holistic Yoga & Spiritual Guidance

Treasures of Life

August 24, 2023August 24, 2023 Jivani Lisa

I’m not sure what the opposite of the Type A personality is. I just know that I’ve never been into chasing “more” or competing with other people in any way. My treasures are so easily experienced moment to moment when I live a simple life. For example, I did a workout this morning then enjoyed delicious yogurt and cottage cheese for breakfast. I also watered plants in the backyard and pulled a few weeds while enjoying the beautiful morning air and the movement of birds and squirrels around me. Everything is a fulfilling spiritual experience when I’m fully present (rather than worrying about the future or rushing from one activity to the next).

Of course, my treasure is also found in being with my loved ones, and teaching Yoga every day. Doing small things to make the world a better place brings meaning into my life as well. There are so many opportunities for this when I’m really paying attention to life, when I’m centered and easeful. Peace to all!

Spirituality

Lahaina’s Banyan Tree

August 11, 2023 Jivani Lisa

I still have such a love for Hawaii; I lived there for over nine years. I’m just heartbroken over the fires that have destroyed Lahaina on Maui: a town full of such beauty and history. Dozens of people have died, hundreds of structures have been destroyed, thousands of people evacuated. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to be there. Some dramatic online videos are available showing people slowly driving through roads with fire all around them.

And since I have always loved trees (they were my first connection to Spirit as a child), I must say I’m so sad over the scorching of Lahaina’s famous banyan tree brought from India (the birthplace of Yoga) in 1873. People in Lahaina are unsure whether it will survive. Earlier this year, the town had a 150-year “birthday party” for the tree. The tree had grown to the size of an entire city block! If you’ve never seen a banyan tree, it puts down roots from its branches which can become additional trunks of the same tree. I remember walking around underneath this fascinating tree in the 1990s. I’d never seen anything like it – so full of beauty and Spirit. I imagine many people over the years experienced times of profound meditation under this sacred tree.

My heart and my prayers are with the people of Maui during this most challenging time.

Photo from https://www.mauiinn.com/module/news/30555/what-are-the-top-things-to-do-in-lahaina-maui

Spirituality

Blind People & the Elephant

July 6, 2023 Jivani Lisa

I love the metaphor of the elephant and the blindfolded people (or blind men) who have never seen an elephant. This story originated in India over 2,000 years ago as a way to illustrate our human tendency to assume that our own subjective experience of a thing is all there is to it. In the spiritual realm, the elephant represents God or Ultimate Reality or Higher Consciousness (whatever you wish to call it) and the ways humans argue about what that is and how to describe it. Basically, there IS an Ultimate Reality, but no one has ever experienced the totality of it and therefore, can never describe it accurately. So… let’s stop arguing and actually listen to one another. Let’s give people space to experience what they need to experience to grow and develop their own Being.

Peace to all!

More info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blind_men_and_an_elephant

Spirituality, Yoga

Sadhana: The 6 Branches of Integral Yoga

June 28, 2023June 30, 2023 Jivani Lisa

Join my In-Person 18-hour training — Sadhana: The 6 Branches of Integral Yoga (July 22-23, 2023), Hampton, Virginia. Register by July 10th to enjoy the early bird discount.

In this weekend session (Saturday and Sunday, 9:00AM-6:00PM), we will dive deeply into the six branches of Integral Yoga (karma, bhakti, jnana, raja, hatha, japa), learning how to utilize them in our own lives as yogis and yoga teachers. When we have a solid personal practice, we present ourselves as whole and authentic in the world. This course will include presentations, discussions, journaling exercises, and physical (hatha) practice including meditation. The session is open to yoga teachers (for continuing education credit) and anyone who is interested in the subject matter. Join us!

Spirituality

Bearing Good Fruit

May 26, 2023 Jivani Lisa

There are religious fundamentalists and ultra-conservatives in every religion. They are quite convinced they’re the only ones who are “saved” while everyone else is an outcast and doomed. Most religious believers (in every religion) are NOT like this. On the contrary, they are filled – or aiming to be filled – with love and compassion and wish to share this love with others. God (or whatever you wish to call It) is Love. Therefore, a person who does not exist as a loving presence in the world has not truly experienced God (or whatever you call It).

Jesus, the Christ, put it like this: “By their fruits you will know them.” (See Matthew 7:15-20.) Trust your gut, your heart. If you feel judged rather than loved and welcomed, look elsewhere. Mostly, look within your own heart – where Love, Light, and Peace always exist somewhere deep inside. You can learn to contact and trust this place deep within you. All the practices of Yoga are meant to help us find and live our lives from this place. And from this place, we can become the bearers of good fruit.

Peace to all! OM… OM… OM…