Author: Shelley Lowther

If you are unhappy with the state of world events, or even with your personal relationships, remember the famous words of Mahatma Gandhi – “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” The world seems to be in a constant state of upheaval, yet amongst the chaos and heart-breaking violence and turmoil, great people are achieving great things. Our innate goodness and humanness will always outshine the evil that people do if we look for the good.

Every morning, I watch my dog Oscar greet his day with a long and juicy looking downward facing dog. He stretches his spine, sometimes even breaking into a three-legged dog pose, carefully lengthening each leg before a vigorous shake. Some mornings, this routine is paired with a yawn that only a dog could manage before he bounds off to start his day.   My dog is a better yogi than I am.

A wise guy I know once quipped, “Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is knowing not to put one in a fruit salad.”   All quipping aside, this week, I got a chance to put my knowledge to the test.   As part of Baron Baptisite’s 40 Days to Personal Revolution plan, I committed to a Fruit Feast, three days on a fruit cleanse consisting solely of raw fruits, eliminating everything else, including caffeine, alcohol, and spices. Add in 20 minutes of meditation twice a day, at least one hour of yoga, and the results are amazing.

The best gift you can ever give yourself is presence. Whether you think this is a quote from your favorite yogi, or from Yogi Berra, there is truth in that statement. Presence can make a profound difference in every aspect of your life.   It is so easy to get lost in the digital world we live in. We are constantly distracted. How are we supposed to stay present when everything around us is pointing to something else?

Every now and then, you meet that yoga teacher who seems to bring inspiration like a bolt of lightning raining down on your head. A devotee of Baptiste Power Vinyasa yoga, I found that bolt of lightning relatively close to home. Meet Mark White of MBody Yoga.   The first thing you will notice about Mark is his infectious smile. He lights up the room with energy and an amazingly positive and uplifting attitude. Mark comes into a studio and immerses himself in the community. Sharing personal experiences with his students, he makes you realize that we all have similar experiences, to varying degrees, and that our feelings are, well… normal. We all have things we want to change, and fix, and we all have feelings of inadequacy and fear.

Without the breath, life is non-existent.  There is a Hindu proverb that states, “For breath is life, and if you breathe well you will live long on earth.”     What if we are born with a finite number of breaths?  Shouldn’t we use each breath wisely?  Yoga teaches us to witness and to cultivate our breath.  Through asana (yoga poses) pranayama (breath work) and meditation, we learn to expand the breath, to lengthen the breath, to explore and command the breath.

  When you look in the mirror, what do you see?   Do you see the vibrant being that you are, or are you looking for flaws?  Do you see the divine light in your heart, or an expanding waistline?  Do you recognize your intrinsic goodness?

Inhaling, I sweep my arms up overhead, my gaze following my fingertips.  As I bow toward the earth, I notice the first rays of sun peaking over the tops of the trees.   I flow.   On my next pass, arms reaching high, the sun is making himself known, rising from his slumber as I awaken from mine.  Hues of orange, pink and yellow dance outside of my window.

Spending a weekend with my yoga guru, Baron Baptiste, was an amazing experience.  Twelve hours a day of power vinyasa yoga has a way of cleansing the body and mind of many distractions and helps clear away the cobwebs.

In yogic philosophy, the chakras, or the body’s subtle energy centers, channel our energies and keep us balanced and spiritually aligned .  The lower chakras, such as the Root Chakra,  ground us in our earthly realities, while the higher chakras, such as the Ajna, or Third Eye Chakra, connect us to a more ethereal plane.  Yogis associate the Third Eye with transcendentalism and refer to it as the stage of the true yogi.