It’s the time where we take a look at our life, think about how we feel about the present, and what are we looking for in the future.

During the New Moon our creativity, intention setting ability, and positive energy are at its highest and that’s why it is the best time to take advantage of it.

How, you ask, dear friend? We suggest a spiritual intention setting New Moon ceremony that anyone can do whether on their own or with their circle of friends’ aka their tribe.

Prepare the ceremony spot

It is up to you where will you do your personal New Moon ceremony – if it’s warm enough outside – it can be your backyard or garden, if it’s chilly – your favorite room will be just as great.

Prepare the spot by cleaning it set up a corner (also sometimes called an altar) to have a special meaning for you.

You can use sage, incense (e.g. Palo Santo) or essential oils to cleanse and infuse the air, shells, rocks, crystals, flowers or branches, candles to set up the area. A scarf or cloth of any kind can also help prepare the area and give it special significance. If you are doing the ceremony as a group – be sure that everyone contributes to this process.

As space is cleansed and ready, get ready as well – shower, bathe, dress up in new fresh, and your favorite clothes.

Set the mood and atmosphere

Having the appropriate atmosphere set is just as important as the set-up of the altar. That can be a meditative soundtrack, a focus on natural sounds if you’re outside (sea, river, tree leaves or birds chirping) or the sound of a singing bowl.

If you are doing a group ceremony, you can also prepare some healthy snacks – like a board of fruit, veggies – to nourish yourself before the ceremony.

Meditate

Take a deep breath and meditate for at least few minutes before you start your intention setting ceremony. Sit still, look inward and try to set your mind still.

Set intentions and write them down

Now it’s the time to start setting your intentions and be specific about it. You can even give it a thought a few days before, so you’re not stuck.

The more specific with your intentions and desires you are – the better. Go into details, describe them and make sure you truly believe them to be real and achievable. You must believe it as if you don’t – you won’t be able to manifest it.

Now, even though going into detail is important, do not try to micromanage to Universe – instead of saying “I want to get the X job at the X company” try – “I want to get a fulfilling job at a company that is supportive”. Or don’t say “I want the X man and the X man only”, but go with “I want a man that is loving and on the same life path as me”. Give Universe some space to decide what’s going to work out best for you and not what you specifically think will.

You mustn’t be forceful with your intentions too – they should come with ease and not because you think it’s something you “should” want at this point.

Use a nice pen and notebook to write them and later you will be able to track the progress.

Say a mantra and visualize

Once you are done, sit for a few minutes and feel a positive energy surrounding the intentions. You can say a mantra, prayer, chant, be grateful for where you are and for where you are going.

Try to visualize your intentions coming true. If you are doing this in a group and feel comfortable – you can share the intentions amongst each other.

When you are done – blow of the candles, incense and move on with your night with a lovely cup of tea.

Put the intention into action

No matter that the energy of the New Moon is in your favour, if you only put your wishes out there, but are doing absolutely nothing to achieve them this all will be pointless (sorry).

If you wished for a new job – start sending out resumes, if you wished for better health – go to that yoga class, if it’s your relationship that needs work – put the work there.

The energy and the Universe is there to support, guide you, but not to do all the work for you.

Namaste.

Want to learn more about rituals and how to incorporate them into your life? Here are our favorite resources!

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By Rosie Markwick, Summersalt yoga teacher

It is not new news that a lot of humans feel naturally compelled towards the water. Water has been used throughout time and across cultures to cleanse and purify. To celebrate and to exercise. Civilizations have been built around it. And we drive, walk, run, and fly to get to it.

As a lifelong water lover, I know the feeling well. I can spend far longer than I could do anywhere else sitting in silence if I am watching waves rolling in. I know that a sure-fire way to soothe an anxious and busy mind is to get myself in a pool and swim. And it is perhaps no surprise that my work has taken me to be a SUP yoga teacher and SUP instructor.

In this work in particular, I hear and see the positive effects people feel on the water all the time. In the middle of a city like London, I have clients who arrive to paddleboarding sessions nervous or quiet or perhaps a little tense and so often they leave noticeably relaxed, more steady and brighter. And I believe this can be accredited to more than just the natural confidence that occurs after doing something new and different. The conversations that seem to be inspired when out on the water never cease to happily surprise me. They are often more open and honest than usual or certainly become so more quickly than when say, over a coffee or a walk.

This is just one example of the positive effect of water of many but all adhere to the same point; for a lot of people, water does really good things. And as I notice this connection more, I am becoming increasingly fascinated with the why. Why do so many of us like being in, on, and around water so much?

I am sure (and hope) I am just at the beginning of this understanding but so far my research has highlighted these two particularly interesting ideas.

Firstly, water (and make note this is being in, on OR just near) stimulates the production of Relaxin and Serotonin, the hormones responsible for relaxation and happiness respectively. We are quite literally on a cognitive biology level soothed and contented by water.

Wallace J Nichols, calls this a ‘Blue Mind’, as he puts it in his book on the topic, this is “a mildly meditative state characterized by calm, peacefulness, unity, and a sense of general happiness and satisfaction with life in the moment” — that’s triggered when we’re in or near water. ‘We are beginning to learn that our brains are hardwired to react positively to water and that being near it can calm and connect us, increase innovation and insight, and even heal what’s broken’

Secondly, is the transpersonal psychology explanation, which I think is accountable for a lot of what I see in my SUP sessions. Water is a force of and an example of nature. There is a mystery and a very naturalness of water. Transpersonal therapy states that the act of doing something a little out of our physical comfort zone in nature or, experiencing the perspective relative smallness of us in nature and then noticing we actually feel comfortable even so, ignites a feedback mechanism that says; if I can do this, what else can I overcome?

Our experience of this ‘aliveness’ becomes a useful tool of healing and self-development, of confidence and assertiveness and peace. Wilderness therapy has for a while been acknowledged as effective and I would suggest that this line of argument could extend more specifically to water-based activities as well. SUP and SUP yoga offering perhaps the perfect example.

So if you are a self-realized water baby already, know there are real reasons why! And if you are not so sure yet, go and see how being on the water makes you feel, with this perspective perhaps in mind.

Wallace J Nichols’s book “Blue Mind” explains why we love being by the water so much!

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By Ana Jovicic

There are quotes that we’ve all heard so many times that we’re not sure what they mean anymore, much less who said them first.

In the same way that we can suddenly identify with countless love songs after experiencing heartbreak, we start to realise the deeper meaning of these cheesy quotes only when new lessons emerge in our lives.

Below are five overused sayings that we’ve all rolled our eyes at, that start to make sense as we find ways to live our lives more mindfully.

“What we do today is what matters most”

The human mind likes to go places non-related to where the body currently is, so it doesn’t like the phrases that emphasise the importance of being “here and now”. That’s why it puts them in the “Nonsense” box.

If you would stop to observe what your mind actually does when you are not entirely present, you’d notice its wandering patterns. It jumps from one thing to another, asks questions, answers them, relives moments long gone, imagines what it would be like if something went a different way, wonders about things that didn’t happen yet, gives excuses, tells stories, makes plans, holds onto some things, skips over others. Every mentioned mental process has nothing to do with the place you are currently in – the crossroad of here and now.

If your mind went off track and you kept following its spinning chain of thoughts throughout the day, there are just a couple of possible scenarios. If you were working, you weren’t really productive. If you were resting, you were getting in your own way of enjoying life.

So this quote simply reminds you about the importance of bringing yourself back to where you already are. We really tend to forget that.

 “Embrace the glorious mess that you are”

First of all, what’s glorious about anyone’s mess and why would you embrace it anyway?

This was the first step for all of us who grew from self-loathing masked egomaniacs into more authentic and self-loving versions of ourselves.

With recognising and accepting your messy parts, you’re creating foundations for personal growth. It is natural to judge, run from, feel guilty about, or simply ignore that inner confusion. It is more challenging to pause and truly hold that uncensored chaos in awareness, feel it, experience it, and thereby come to understand it better.

Mindfulness practice teaches you to recognise the humanness in yourself and in others, and all that goes with it. It allows you to see the beauty within the messy and the unknown. By giving yourself permission to be as you are in this very moment, fully awake and open-hearted, you are practicing the love that has no conditions to attain unto. Embracing your mess is a step closer to, well, another form of mess – but more peaceful, loving, and kind.

 “Let go of what was, surrender to what is”

At first, this worn out quote sounds give-me-a-break-ish. After giving it some thought and questioning how it relates to your life, it probably sounds like the most difficult thing ever. How can you let go of something that is over if you still want it? How to surrender to a reality that is uncomfortable or simply unpredictable? Answers, again, lie in mindfulness practice.

Being able to completely surrender to whatever life has to offer is an ability that requires presence, receptiveness, faith in your capacities, a healthy dose of independence, and who knows what else. This process starts with observing what is happening moment by moment and then learning how to let go of the need to control the things unrelated to your own choices.

It’s a long-learning process, not just a shift of perception. When it comes to mindfulness and emotional intelligence, a simple decision can’t be a game-changer. Practice is key.

“Practice and all is coming”

In today’s world, committing yourself to practice has never been so difficult and so easy at the same time. On the one hand, the fast high-tech world is designed to distract you. On the other, there are some awesome mindfulness apps waiting to be downloaded by a simple click on your phone – which is always within your hand’s reach anyway.

Taking five minutes a day to practice can actually change the course of your life to a more peaceful reality. Mindfulness practice teaches you to drop the expectations or regrets and stop the hunt for certain goals. Not to be confused with giving up on something you want to achieve, it simply invites you to hold present moment in awareness, reminding you that your only goal is to keep practicing.

Without forcing or avoiding anything, simply by coming back to yourself one breath at a time, all is coming.

“7 billion smiles, and mine is my favourite”

Okay, I may have changed the trashiest quote in the world – but only one word of it!

The biggest lesson we can take from mindfulness practice; the wisest thing we will ever get to learn and live, is self-love. It’s the cornerstone of the way we choose to live our lives, the foundation for our happiness.

Everything in life unfolds from a place of abundance or lack of self-love.

Every relationship we invest in, run from, sabotage, force, learn from, hold on to – is a testimony of the relationship we have with our own selves.

Why do we let something hurt us? Why are we feeling addicted to something or over-attached to someone? It is all about lack of self-love.

How can the world be a better place? Gazillions of self-lovers in different shapes, colours and sizes!

So, to quote the words of Mr Bieber, you should (definitely) go and love yourself.

The post 5 cheesy quotes that mindful people know are true appeared first on Summersalt Yoga Retreats.

By Ana Jovicic, for Summersalt Yoga

Feelings… You get fired, you feel discouraged. You meet a great guy who treats you like a princess, you feel beautiful. Your friend doesn’t answer your calls, you feel frustrated.

Who’s responsible for your feelings?

As children, we were taught that consequences follow every action. You got punished for certain behavior, and you surely didn’t deserve chocolate for everything you did.

As our span of behavior and relationships grow in complexity, we tend to forget that lesson. Sooner or later we relearn how this “action vs. consequence” equation works in real life, at least in theory. We figure out what it means to take responsibility for our own choices, albeit usually the hard way.

However, not so many people realize that the person responsible for their feelings is in fact themselves, no matter the circumstances. Yes, you may have experienced aggressive behavior, harsh criticism, or neglect from another person at some point in your life. Probably you said that he or she “made you” feel this way or that. The thing is, all those situations were triggers, but the cause of every feeling was within you.

The simple logic behind this assumption is: different people react differently to the same stimulus, whatever it is. Your response to certain words, events, situations, and even phases of life is a culmination of your experience thus far; your beliefs, values, and expectations. The way you respond to an external stimulus determines the chain reaction of your subsequent feelings.

If you choose to respond by taking responsibility for your own feelings, you are taking the first step in finding your way towards joy and inner peace. Anything else will take your mind circling around the problem. Be assured that taking the responsibility for your feelings when they are triggered by someone else’s behavior does not mean that you condone or justify that behavior. It simply means that you embrace your emotions, whatever they may be, without pointing the finger at anyone else.

So what happens when you DON’T take responsibility for your feelings? How does it manifest in your behavior? Usually, it fits into one of the following categories:

• Passivity

You’re feeling bad but you’re simply not doing anything about it. When it comes to relationships, you express your feelings and share your thoughts with another person but the motivation is faulty. You’re probably not looking for honest, emotional support or a shoulder to cry on. You’re handing the burden of your own emotions over to someone else; thereby not taking responsibility for your own feelings. This is how you rob yourself of learning and cut down possibilities for both personal and relationship growth.

• Blame game

It’s everybody’s fault but yours. Your parents were neglectful during your childhood, your partner doesn’t put enough effort into your relationship, your friend is ignoring you, your colleague is insolent, the work system sucks. Endless scenarios of blaming other people for your feelings serve as justification for your reactive behavior towards them. We can be quite creative in the ways we subconsciously punish others for the way we’re feeling! Distancing, threatening, ignoring, distrusting, expecting too much, disparaging…. Notice how every response derived from blame focuses on another person instead of yourself and your own feelings.

• Dependence

You’re actually feeling great, maybe better than ever. Nevertheless, it’s still an issue if you’re placing the credit for your pleasant mood on something/someone other than yourself. Your girlfriend “makes you” feel special, you’re waiting for your vacation to feel “alive again”, “because of him” you’ve learned how to feel deep romantic emotions. However, when you lose the external origin of your pleasant feelings, you’re on your own. In truth, you always were. What happens here is that all those nice sensations go away with the person/thing you were overly attached to. That is when you start learning that the source of true joy can come only from within.

What can you do to change this?

So how do you do it? How can we react to this crazy complex world, fully aware that the source of every emotion is within our care?

Let it all out

Acknowledge your feelings, embrace them, and don’t run away when they become uncomfortable or take you by surprise. Your spectrum of feelings is actually a guide to the life you want to live. The key is to decide what are you going to do with that emotional information – repress feelings, act on them, or mindfully acknowledge them. It will all pass, lessons will be obtained, and you’ll be thankful that you let yourself feel it all without playing the avoidance game.

Disengage from hurtful interaction

If you’ve passed that distressing point of befriending your core feelings, you’ve probably discovered that there is a sadness below your anger or fear hidden behind your frustration. When you become aware of that, there will be no urge for revenge, no need for blaming others, or being forceful in a situation. You’ll just want to take care of yourself. That usually involves lovingly disengaging from toxic interactions and getting back to your unmet needs.

Loving your Self and your Life

Ask yourself how can you maintain your boundaries? What do you need for emotional healing? What kind of support do you crave? What circumstances make it easier for you to feel gratitude and joy, to connect to yourself and others? Maybe you can invest time in your favorite hobby, maybe you can take to your mat and explore yourself through the flow of yoga. If you’re feeling truly lost, maybe you can do the most courageous thing ever and seek help.

Stay curious

What the hell even happened here? Ask yourself what’s under the surface of that distressing situation: Why were you engaged in a certain type of relationship? Were you the one who let something painful happen to you? What were your expectations based on? What are your common “hot buttons?”

Use the opportunity to learn about yourself and shift your focus towards that unexplored territory within you. Given that we are constantly changing and evolving, there is no way that you have already discovered everything. So don’t just lean in, dig in and have some fun along the way.

The post What does it mean to take responsibility for your feelings? appeared first on Summersalt Yoga Retreats.

By Milda Urban, Summersalt Yoga founder

The physical benefits of yoga are quite well known by anyone who has taken at least a couple of classes (yes, the first class may be discouraging, because THE STIFFNESS, but we all know the goods are coming).

But for, me it’s not just the flexible (-rer) spine or the fact that I can climb a few stairs more without losing breath that keeps me practicing. It’s the side (our actually – the main) bonuses that I reap from living yoga as much as I can in the last few years.

Here are 5 things I’ve learned through yoga

Self-awareness. Probably like most people and especially those walking the usual path of idolizing perfection, achievement of certain set of goals and not losing a moment of “important life experiences” I was actually quite stuck up in my little mind and focusing on just those tasks (with lots of micromanagement!) rather than on how I feel about them, do they actually fulfill me, what is it that I REALLY want and what makes me happy every day and in the grand scheme of things. Only when I stopped (with the help of yoga) and listened I became so much more self-aware, much more in tune of what TRULY matters to ME and I am not talking only about career or work, but the whole picture.

This could not be achieved without gaining better control and understanding of my emotions. As someone who’s always been quite reactive, I’ve learned that it’s okay to feel anger, sadness, anxiety and all the other adjacent emotions without letting them take control of me. Once I identify what’s going on – the negative emotions loose half or more of their power, do not affect my day to day life in general and just pass by like anything else in life. I like to call this the identification of Ego. Is this my ego talking? Am I angry, because my ego was hurt, am I anxious, because my ego is scared? Once you separate the ego from the actual you – voila, best conscious uncoupling example ever!

Gratitude. I am not sure I’m really feeling this word as it’s been so overused, but it does not change the fact that learning gratitude was one of the most important things I’ve learned through yoga. Gratitude for what I have (not only material goods) and for what I am able and capable to have. Again, like many people and like many of our cultures, for a long time my goal was to get MORE – more experiences, more achievements (in work and life), more check’s on the to-do list (self-inflicted list, may I add). But once I figured out that I already have so much and started applying the philosophy that I will still be happy and content whether I check that item of that list or not – a huge burden was taken off of my shoulders.

One of the more humbling effects of the yoga practice was finding the deeper connection to the world. I’m not talking about just meeting all kinds of wonderful people and learning from them, but also feeling connected to the world in a way that minimizes your ego by a ton. Realizing that we’re ALL in this together helps to wave away the very selfish focus on only yourself and your problems, it only makes you feel somehow better by knowing that we all have the same needs, desires, dreams, and issues. None of us are the center of the universe and the sooner more people realized the sooner many of the world’s problems will go away.

The last point is an all-encompassing one. Through yoga, I’m able to achieve a general mental lightness that I’ve had so much trouble finding before. I am going through life with a lighter step, without focusing on the negative so much, without too much pressure of how and when will achieve some imaginary goal or task, without the fear that I will miss out on something and with much more certainty that things will be OK. They definitely will.

Our favorite yoga books to dive deeper into the yoga philosophy and living yoga:

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By Milda Urban, Summersalt Yoga founder

Do you ever feel like you’re being pulled in two different directions? Or that you’re listening to two different voices in your head? One voice is very loud and it likes to call himself “the voice of reason”. The other one is silent, let’s himself be heard just sometimes, but it speaks our deepest wishes and desires. These gentlemen are The Ego and The Self.

Defined by the Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist (and father of analytical psychology) C.G.Jung Ego and Self are our consciousness and unconsciousness – defining our psyche as a union, as a whole.

To describe it briefly – Ego is the center of consciousness and the Self is a complete personality that includes consciousness, the unconscious, and the ego. The Self is both the whole and the center. You can see it in the picture below that the ego is a self-contained little center of the circle and the Self is the greater circle

Ego and Self

In our daily life, we can simplify this and call Ego our “reasonable side”, which works to keep and assemble our personality, it keeps us motivated, working, it helps us to deal with the daily grind, struggles, measurable tasks and goals in life. It protects us from the problems that the world presents and helps us create a personality that’s able and capable to deal with these challenges.

The bigger picture is our Self – someone who we really are, not just a mask, not an Ego-created personality whose task’s to deal with the threats, fears, and challenges of our lives, but a deeper, authentic and individual person.

Self can be also called our “calling” – it defines our true “purpose” and desires in life, a higher mission if you will and all of these are often not in line with what the Ego wants.

Results versus process

Our Ego wants to do, act, have, protect. It is motivating and fueled by fear – fear of not having enough, of not doing enough, of losing some kind of created identity of ours. It pushes us to work and achieve more – it says we must, have, should. The ego is motivated by anxiety. The ego identifies a “problem” and finds a “solution” no matter what it is. The ego needs results. Ego preserves itself. The ego needs external validation.

The Self wants to create, express, and fulfill itself. It wants to be. It does not need to tick of a list of achievements, to have a “diploma” to show or accomplishments to brag with. It strives in silence when the noise around is gone and everything is still. Self does not want to achieve in our daily sense, it wants to express itself, to do good for the world, the universe. Self concentrates on others. Writer Frederick Buechner describes the calling as “the place where your deep gladness meets the world’s deep need.” Self needs process.

Inside battle

Ego sometimes finds these silent words of Self disturbing, annoying, and something that needs to be eliminated in order to “achieve” or “fix a problem”.

And yes, as Ego, its anxiety and fear are a part of our Self it does affect The Self, it silences it, it dominates it and The Self is pushed away. Pushed away even deeper into our subconscious. The Self now has a chance to show up and manifest itself in our dreams or when we’re under the influence of alcohol or some substances. During these times The Ego is the one silenced and our true calling and desires come out. Just think about it – why is it that just after a couple of glasses of wine we finally find the courage to talk about “that book I’ve always wanted to write” or “the business idea that’s been in my head for years”. It’s the true Self-talking when The Ego is silenced. Please do not take this as an encouragement to drink or take drugs – these are the desperate measures and not an actual tool or treatment!!

Finally, the peak of The Ego is a burnout – total crash. The peak of Self is the fulfillment and reaching our deepest and most real desires. It’s the fulfillment and not burn out because it is your true calling and not a fake and manufactured version of it.

Please do not simplify this though. Ego is necessary for all of us to be able to function in our world and eliminating it would cause delusions, fantasies, and instabilities. However, The Self is the one that creates a deeper, more meaningful, and soulful way to be in the world. Let The Self come out and be heard.

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By Milda Urban, Summersalt Yoga founder

Have you ever heard about the concept or theory of Atomic Living? Neither did I until a couple of months ago when I listened to a podcast with the guest Kiran Ghandi. Hearing this amazing feminist talk (google her) I felt as if my chakras have opened and the whole world of opportunity and minimized anxiety was in the center of it.

I will not re-type what Ms. Ghandi was talking on that podcast or her TedX talk, because you can go ahead and listen to yourself. In this post I just want to share my interpretation of the theory – there’s a chance it’s not totally the same as Ms. Ghandi initially has described it, but in my opinion, the theories become practice more often if we make them our own

I am in the very early stages of implementing Atomic Living into my life and am still figuring some kinks out, but I already feel like it’s working. Every time I stress about this or that I just remind myself of “atomic living” and the anxiety eases down, even if just a little.

To shortly describe the actual Atomic Living theory it goes something like this: when you are faced with a choice of doing something serendipitous and doing something quotidian, you must always choose the former, assuming it feels right to do so. This means that if you suddenly have the chance to go to an awesome play through your initial plan was to stay in and watch Netflix you should go to the play in spite of the fact that you may have been looking forward to the binge-watching of OITNB. Why? Because the play has so much more potential to create incredible experiences or even opportunities than a night on the couch.

To me, this is so true and so right, it makes the most sense and I have expanded on it a little, taking a little wider look and focusing on long-term goals or more precisely the need to focus on them less.

Losing long-term goals

In life most of us, especially those living in the Western part of the world, but so much of time, energy, and effort into what’s coming next. What’s “waiting” for us in the future and what is our vision of where in that future we want to land. 5-year plan. 10-year plan. 20-year plan. Goals line up one after another with often very specific steps and actions of achieving them. The same goals in time often end up feeling very anticlimactic, because the GOAL set so long has become just a sentence in the notebook, just something we followed almost blindly without taking note of changing surroundings, circumstances, times, feeling, and ourselves. We end up feeling that the energy, the hard efforts to achieve those goals were not worth the end result. Because everything has changed.

Here comes the idea of Atomic Living. If we were more aware, open, and mindful of what was going on around us and with us, if we had followed our gut feeling and what felt right “right here, right now” instead of blindly following about the “5-year plan” we would have opened ourselves the whole new world of opportunity and positive experiences. The same goes for worrying “what will happen in those few years” – something we have very little or mostly no control over.

These positive experiences and opportunities form our daily lives, create motivation and inspiration (and simultaneously – success or achievement, if that’s important to you), but most importantly – make up our life the way we want to live it now. The life that feels good and right. Now. Not in 10 years. Not in 15.

Do what feels good now

The most simplistic example could be a guy who focuses so much on hitting his goal to be a partner in the firm in 5 years that he misses everything else life has to offer. From great relationships, great days, trips, to other personal and professional fulfillment opportunities. His life consists of being buried in work, worrying about competition, and sleeping over the weekends to regain the spent energy. He doesn’t re-evaluate his goal or stops to reflect. However, when he arrives at the milestone of becoming a partner he just doesn’t feel content with it, because during these years he ended up resenting the work, the office, and the reason he got to this line of work in the first place. Or not even that. Maybe he just realized he didn’t notice how his interests shifted and he doesn’t want to be the lawyer, banker, or sales manager anymore.

Probably his work did make him happy initially, at that point in his life, which is great. But his focus on where he SHOULD be in NEXT 5 years got him constricted. If he was also was open to the world around him, he would’ve met up with friends more (and this way met his life partner, got new ideas for opening business OR just had an amazing time and less stress), he wouldn’t have lost touch with his college band and still jammed in the local pubs (and because of that got invited to play in the amateur band festival which would lead to new connections, new friendships and in the end trip around the world).  Or maybe not. It’s not the point. The point is if he would have chosen to live the way it felt good and right that moment if he didn’t deny himself those chances, because of something in the future, which may or may not arrive, he would have stayed open for incredible things, experiences and opportunities. This way he wouldn’t have let something that’s not even real (so, the future) hold him back from things he wanted to do in the present.

And that’s what Atomic Living means to me. Living in the moment, doing what makes me happy, and gives me fulfillment now, because only this way I am taking in all things awesome that the present throws at me and losing what disturbs me the most  – anxiety over something that’s neither certain nor clear.  Do you want to try?

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By Sarah Henderson, Summersalt yoga teacher

Are you thinking about starting a personal meditation practice, but don’t know what’s it’s all about or how to start? If you’ve never been led through meditation as part of a yoga or meditation class, starting your own personal practice may seem daunting. Meditation can take many forms, but all contain conscious practices that train your mind to focus on the present and support your spiritual and emotional well-being and growth.

Meditation may help to:

– Reduce stress and symptoms of stress-related conditions

– Reduce or control anxiety

– Achieve quality sleep

– Improve feelings of well-being and promote emotional health

– Increase productivity

– Increase focus and attention span.

– Improve clarity

– Enhance self-awareness

– Increase feelings of calm

So how do you start and keep a meditation practice?

You may want to consider going to a public meditation class first, or a yoga class that contains a good meditation component to experience guided meditation firsthand. Usually studio and community center online class descriptions will mention meditation if they offer it, otherwise, you could contact the studio and inquire directly. Attending a guided practice first may help you experience the benefits of meditation in a supported setting before taking on your own personal practice. 

1) Find a time and a place that works for you

Try to find a time and place where there are minimal nearby external distractions and noises. It’s hard to find stillness if your TV is blaring in the background, or you have something cooking on the stove. It may help to use noise-canceling headphones if you simply can’t find a quiet place, or if you choose to meditate while seated on the bus on route to work.

You don’t always have to meditate at the same time every day; however, this will help you to develop the practice as a habit.  I like to do it first thing in the morning at home before the day gets busy to help me set the tone for the day. Maybe you prefer to do it at night, or on your lunch break. It doesn’t matter, the point is to try and be consistent if you want to make it a habit. 

2) Get comfortable – use of props

I can’t stress how important this one is to keep up with your practice. If you’re not comfortable, your discomfort is going to be very distracting (if not painful). For some people, a stiff body or injuries may prevent them from sitting with ease, so consider stretching or yoga before you sit to meditate, or find a position that works for you (more on this below). After all, this is why the yogis of old began a physical (asana) practice – to prepare the body for longer periods of seated meditation!

For most adults, sitting cross-legged directly on the floor can be uncomfortable and difficult for longer periods. Sit on a prop that elevates your hips to a height that is above the height of your knees (pictured below). For most people, when they sit cross-legged on the ground their knees float high and are above the height of their hips. Finding something to sit on that elevates your hips above your knees will allow your hip flexors to relax and allow you to sit up tall, supporting your spine and maintaining its natural curvature.

There are numerous meditation props available: cushions, bolsters, blocks (chip-foam, cork), wooden benches, and there are many different manufacturers. The best way to choose a prop that works best with your body would be to test some. If you can find a yoga studio that also sells props, they will allow you to try them, and can probably give you some guidance on how to sit on each prop. If they don’t sell props they can suggest where to purchase some locally.

My favorite meditation props are the cushions made by Halfmoon Yoga (they are handmade in British Columbia, Canada). I like the Round Zafu model because you can use it to sit a few different ways, and it’s soft but firm. Halfmoon also makes amazing bolsters (pictured below), which are versatile props because you can use them as a seated mediation prop, and as support during a Yin or Restorative Yoga practice. If you don’t have access to any of these items, get creative! Use a pillow, couch cushion, sweater, etc. to elevate your hips. Something with firmness will be best to help support you and sit tall through your spine.

3) Get comfortable – sitting or lying down

Find a way to sit that feels good in your body. Be aware of the pain in your knees, or tingling and numbness while sitting in certain positions. You don’t want to cut off circulation or pinch any nerves. Pay attention to and honor your body’s wisdom J

There are a few ways you can sit for meditation practice:

1. a) crossed-legged
2. b) stacking your shins one in front of the other: similar to crossed-legs, but without any crossing. I prefer this option to crossed-legs because my legs will not fall asleep in this position.
3. c) both a or b but with your back against a wall
4. d) a kneeling sit with block(s), bolster, or cushion under your sit bones for support (so that you are not sitting directly on your heels)
5. e) sitting on something more rigid, like a chair (vs. a sofa, which may not promote a nice curvature in your spine). Great if you have knee injuries and deep bends in the knee don’t work for you.
6. e) If sitting doesn’t work for you at all, there is the option to lie down. If you’re new to meditation and don’t have any physical limitations to sitting, I only recommend lying down for meditation practices targeting better sleep and fatigue, because a lot of us tend to fall asleep when relaxed in this position!

Now that you’re comfortable, what do you do?

4) Prepare your body to relax

Close your eyes, or keep your eyes open if you’re more comfortable that way, but soften your gaze. This will help you to remove external distractions, focus inward on your breath, and tune in to what you’re feeling and experiencing in your body, breath, mind, and heart. Sit tall through your spine, as though the crown of your head is reaching towards the sky. Keep your core engaged to support your lower back. Relax your shoulders away from your ears, widen your collarbones, and bring your shoulder blades down your back. Notice if you’re holding any tension in your jaw or facial muscles – gently yawn to relax your jaw and bring the tip of your tongue to touch the back of your front teeth (this will keep your teeth slightly parted, and stop you from clenching your jaw).

Let your hands rest gently in your lap, or bring them to your thighs palms facing up, or palms facing down. What’s the difference? Palms facing up is a gesture that signifies giving and receiving of energy. Palms facing down is a grounding gesture, which may calm you or bring your energy inward. Take a deep inhale in through your nose, open your mouth and exhale fully and audibly, releasing some tension. Do this a few more times. 

5) Choose a meditation

There are a great many meditation practices you can try, but below are a few great beginner meditations that involve prānāyāma and stillness. Prānāyāma? – a Sanskrit word that translates approximately to “extension or control of breath or vital life force”. “Prānā” = breath, life force, energy; āyāma = control, extension. These are simple breath observation or breathing techniques that help trigger deep breathing, mind-body-breath awareness, and focus.

a) Witnessing your breath, body, heart, and mind:

The first is to simply focus on and observe your breath and body: Inhale deeply through your nose, feel your lungs and belly expand as you take in your breath, and then exhale out fully through the nose, focusing on releasing all the stale air from the lungs so that you can fully inhale again.

Notice the responses in your body as you inhale: collarbones widening, rib cage expanding, belly expanding, you naturally sit a bit taller.  Notice the responses in your body as you exhale: collarbones soften, posture softens, belly contracts, ribs float back. Feel the air as it passes through your nostrils, down your throat and back.

Continue to observe your body respond to your breath, and if you notice your mind has wandered, just bring your attention back to your breath and the sensations you’re feeling in your body.

b) Breath counting:

There are a few different counts you can do to stay focused on the present:

i) Inhale for 4… 3… 2… 1…. Exhale for 4… 3… 2… 1…. Repeat. Do this till you’ve established a gentle and natural rhythm, then add:

ii) A pause at the end of your exhale, on empty lungs, for one full count; and a pause at the top of your inhale with lungs full for one count: Inhale for 4… 3… 2… 1…. pause and hold for one count; Exhale for 4… 3… 2… 1…. pause and find stillness for one count. Work to keep your breath smooth, steady and even. If you’re feeling any anxiety, panic or stress, do not practice this version of breath counting with the hold.

iii) You can also start to lengthen your exhales, making them slightly longer than your inhales. For example: inhale for 4; exhale for 6.

iv) In your mind, inhale and exhale as you count from 1 to 10. For example: inhale 1, exhale 2, inhale 3, exhale 4, inhale 5…, and so on. If you lose track of the count, just start again at 1 J When you get to 10, also start again at 1.

c) Any of the above with light sounds, white noise, or light music.

Experiment with gentle sounds of nature as background noise during your meditation. I love the ocean, and the sound of ocean waves is very calming for me, so I put on the sound of waves while I sit to meditate. Some people like the sound of rain, birds, wind in the trees, etc. This is something you can experiment with and observe how you feel with different sounds. Find a sound that elicits a calm and relaxation response from you. If you are experimenting with light music, I suggest something instrumental (lyrics can be distracting).

d) Use an App!

There are so many guided meditation apps to choose from. My personal favourite is Insight Timer. But there are many options (Calm, Headspace, Oak, etc). Within these apps you will find different lengths, styles, and teachers of meditation. This is a great option if you’d like to try some guided meditations before launching into your own practice, and can’t get into a live studio session.

6) What length of time?

Any amount of time you can give to this practice will be beneficial, but I do suggest trying for at minimum five minutes a day to begin. If you are concerned about time, I suggest setting a timer so you can drop in to your meditation and not worry about checking the clock. We all have busy schedules, so any more time you can put in for yourself above five minutes will really help you start to feel the benefits. Most days all I can squeeze in is 7-10 minutes in the morning and that suffices. When I have the luxury of more time on a slower day I like to sit for at least 15 minutes, and up to 30. Making the time to sit and find stillness for 5-10 minutes in the morning somehow manages to slow down my day.

7) Keep going!!

Whether you’ve decided to start practicing at home or in a studio, do your best to make your meditation practice a habit. Set a goal, carve out some time and space, and do it every day for 40 days. If you miss a day, don’t worry and don’t give up – just keep going. But commit yourself to 40 days to form this habit. You need to devote your time, energy, and consistency to have an embodied experience with meditation, and personally feel the benefits.

As you start to develop your meditation practice, experiment with different guided meditations, which can include chanting (Mantra or Kirtan), the devotion of kind thoughts to yourself or others, or repetitive finger or arm motions (referred to as active meditations) to help focus the thoughts.

Learn more and deepen your meditation practice with these resources:

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By Lauren C. Brady, SummerSalt Yoga teacher

“Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind” – Patanjali

I never really thought of myself as a particularly fiery person until I met my ex. But something in him and something between us brought out that fire in all its guts and glory. Without going into too much personal detail, I learnt a lot about him and even more about myself during our four-year relationship, including and especially, just how much anger and volatility we could bring up in each other. We knew how to push each other’s buttons and by god did we push, and push, and push.

Needless to say, my emotions were up and down like a yo-yo during that time and it was only after we broke up and I dived deeper into my yoga practice that I realized just how destructive that was. I was also then that I realized that during my then-weekly yoga class was the ONLY time that I wasn’t thinking about or analyzing what was going on in our relationship.

Taking the first step on the eight-limbed path

After that realization, I started to see yoga as more than just a physical practice, and instead began to step-up my yogini game and test out other varieties of yoga styles around London. I still hadn’t ‘found’ meditation at this point, or at least I didn’t realize that the moving meditation of the physical practice was a technique in itself – strong enough to get me out of my monkey mind and into the present moment. Or withdrawing from my senses entirely and just observing what came up without becoming consumed it. It’s only now that I realize what I was doing is what Patanjali refers to as ‘Pratyahara’ or ‘withdrawal of the senses’.

If you’re not sure what I mean by this, take your mind to the end of your yoga class, Savasana. Initially, you relax physically; your heart rate slows down, the breath becomes more steady and natural as opposed to the contrived Ujjayi breath – and then comes Pratyahara…

“In the second stage of Savasana, you’re withdrawing from the external world without losing contact with it. This withdrawal is the experience of pratyahara. When you’re in it, you feel like you’re at the bottom of a well. You register the sounds that occur around you but these sounds do not create a disturbance in your body or mind” – Judith Lasater for Yoga Journal.

So what do we do when we’re going through a bad time? Spend every moment on the mat, right?

Not quite! Because what happens on the mat, is just a mirror of what happens in life. The great thing about all that extra practice time though is that when conflict comes up in real life, you are better equipped to deal with it.

Unfortunately, just because you’re a yogi doesn’t mean that suddenly life is all sunsets and unicorns, (in fact that airy fairy childish analogy irritates me somewhat, but that’s another post for another day). And as Judith so eloquently puts it;

“I realize that life involves interactions with other people, and that often those interactions include an element of conflict. In fact, I don’t even need another person to be in conflict. I can be, and occasionally am, in conflict within myself. Sometimes I’m tempted to withdraw to avoid these conflicts, but I know that this withdrawal is not what pratyahara is about….

In other words, no matter how much I practice meditation and postures and breathing, there will still be many times when I act in response to people and situations. Responding to the world isn’t a problem in and of itself; the problem comes when I respond with knee-jerk reactions rather than with actions that I choose” – Judith Lasater for Yoga Journal.

So let’s test that theory.

Last weekend at a festival I stumbled into my ex along with his new girlfriend and a bunch of their / my friends. We chatted, we caught up and then I said my goodbyes and walked away.

He followed.

We sat down in the grass and in that moment, no one else mattered. We talked of our love for each other and how no one else could compare (all this from the guy who could never talk about his emotions) and I was overwhelmed with how much I still loved this person despite everything we’d been though.

Two days later I received a text to say that despite everything he had said, he was staying with his girlfriend. I wasn’t surprised and in fact, I hadn’t wanted or even suggested that anyone break up, the whole situation had come out of the blue for everyone after all. But what surprised me more than anything was how I felt. I should have been angry, sad, furious even for saying all this to me and then just expecting me to forget it all in the harsh light of day when he realized the weight of what it all really meant. But instead, I felt fine.

Well, not fine exactly, but compared to the range of extreme emotions this guy used to create in me, I was expecting something more significant.

I sat. I waited. I analysed my reaction and thought to myself, ‘oh you’re just suppressing it, it will come out soon’. But no, nothing. As I carried on my week, I realised just how far I’d come and just how much my practice was helping me. Yoga isn’t just something you do on the mat for a few hours each week, it’s what you take off the mat and into the real world that is of true benefit.

So I got up on, threw on my yoga clothes and busted out some sun salutations under the guidance of my friend and fellow yoga teacher Frankie.

“Slow breathing is like an anchor in the midst of an emotional storm: the anchor won’t make the storm go away, but it will hold you steady until it passes” – Russ Harris.

Our favorite yoga books to dive deeper into the yoga philosophy and living yoga:

The post Pratyahara – Withdrawing the senses in order to find sense appeared first on Summersalt Yoga Retreats.

By Igne Aleliunas, for Summersalt Yoga

Breathing is, well… important. Breathing ensures that all of our vital organs receive enough oxygen to function, keeping us alive. And, ironically, breathing is something that a lot of us do wrong, without paying too much attention. So what can we do to breathe properly and how can various breathing techniques improve our well-being?

The forgotten art of breathing

Breathing is an instinctual thing. We all are born knowing how to breathe – it is literally the first thing we do right after we enter this world. But somewhere along the way, people tend to forget what’s natural. Stress, anxiety, lack of physical activities, bad posture from hunching over a computer, or a smartphone – it all adds up until we’re left taking short, shallow breaths that barely provide enough oxygen for the brain, let alone inner organs. The lack of oxygen, therefore, impairs bodily functions and might leave you feeling out of sorts, confused, sleepy, and sluggish. Shallow breathing also increases heart rate and blood pressure, sending the body into a never-ending state of distress, the fight-or-flight mode. The process of “forgetting” to breathe is slow and its effects usually manifest when it’s too late and you end up having to re-learn proper breathing techniques. And the best teachers for that are actually… babies!

Learning from the best

When it comes to breathing, babies are natural at it. The stresses of life haven’t caught up to them yet, so everything they do is instinctual. When you look at a sleeping baby, you see their belly rising and falling in a fast rhythm. It doesn’t mean that we have to adjust our breathing pace to that of an infant since babies and kids naturally breathe faster, but what we do have to pay attention to is the depth of their breath. Babies breathe with their bellies, using all their lungs, making sure that oxygen reaches all the vital organs. Keeping this in mind, place one hand on your chest and another on your belly. Breathe in – as deep as you can. Which hand rises? How deep is your breath? If your belly rises, even if it’s the upper part right below the diaphragm–it’s quite alright. But if it’s the chest that rises – or, worse, only your shoulders – it’s time to re-learn breathing!

The deeper, the better

No learning process is easy, and reclaiming your natural breathing pattern is no exception. It might take some conscious effort at first, but in the long run, it will definitely be worth it. While lying or sitting in a comfortable position, try to inhale as deeply as possible, focusing on the point right below your belly button. Gradually increase the time it takes to breathe in and breathe out; notice how the belly rises and falls rhythmically. Deep breathing has a lot of benefits – it reduces heart rate and blood pressure, relaxes muscles, relieves tension, massages the diaphragm, and inner organs. It’s also a great exercise on mindfulness – while you concentrate on slowly breathing in and out, time slows down, making it easier to focus on the now. And when you need that extra concentration – that’s right, just take deep breaths. With time, try to incorporate deep breathing into your daily activities – walking, cycling, doing household chores. And no matter what kind of physical activity you prefer, deep breathing will make your body more relaxed and just a little bit more flexible.

Mix it up

Even though deep breathing is an exercise in its own right, it’s good to mix it up once in a while and try out different techniques. While simply inhaling and exhaling through the nose is good, it is by far not the only breathing pattern and more a basis for future exploring. A great way to make your exhalation more powerful is to breathe in through the nose and breathe out through your mouth in one short, but hefty burst. Try changing the breathing pattern – inhale slowly, hold, then exhale faster. If you’re in need of a quick boost, try breathing in through one nostril and breathing out through the other – the concentration will help you focus and become more energetic. It’s also good to engage your body – stand upright and, while inhaling, slowly raise your arms above your head, then lower them as you breathe out. Repeat this for several minutes. This exercise is a great concentration booster and a wonderful way to kick-start your day. Another great way to get some energy flowing through your body is by way of short, forceful exhalations. Sit comfortably with your chest open, inhale, and then begin a set of short exhalations, at the same time thrusting your abdomen inwardly, towards your spine. Make 20–30 repetitions at a time. Need help winding down after a hard day or having trouble falling asleep? Go back to the basics – inhale and exhale through the nose, gradually slowing the pace and prolonging the time it takes to breathe in and out.

So when you’re feeling stressed or anxious, check in with your breathing – are you taking deep breaths, or are you engaging only the tips of your lungs? Control your breathing pattern, be conscious of it, and remember – breathe as babies do!

The post The importance of breathing appeared first on Summersalt Yoga Retreats.