Mantra Meditation: Fear + Anger

To no great surprise, my recent Fear + Anger mantra meditation has been getting a lot of positive feedback from YTT students, so I decided to share it with everybody… Here’s why:

“Remember that one scary/enraging thing that happened only one time and nothing scary/enraging ever happened again?” Said NO HUMAN EVER.

PHOTO: @vt.yoga.artist

I recently re-taught the Fear + Anger mantras for our Yoga Teacher Training program, now called the Rise + Vibe School of Yoga… I remember feeling scared when I changed the name of the YTT in 2018 even though I did it out of clarity, intention and to better embody my vision: training, practicing + living the 8 limbs of Ashtanga Yoga. In 2022 Rise + Vibe turns 4 years old; we now host YTT online, in-person, intensively or at your own pace. We’ve added scholarships and continue grant funding for Vermonters. Additionally, we offer retreats, consultations and more with Rise + Vibe Yoga.

Reflecting recently on this BLOG I wrote in 2016 titled “Fear + Yoga in Montpelier (and beyond)” right before I re-structured the entire yoga studio and Grateful Yoga platform for the first time, I took my name off of the regular studio schedule. I’m realizing it happened all over again when COVID started in early 2020. A complete transformation not only to the studio model (my name is BACK on the schedule, lol) and real changes to SO MANY parts of our lives. While we have seen SO MUCH shifting in the last 2 years, we are SO THRILLED to continue to offer yoga classes (NOW ONLINE, available 24/7!). We are embracing the challenges, practicing our mantras and sharing it all with anyone who’s interested!

To be honest, moving the studio online (and all things COVID) have felt like the hardest, weirdest and most terrifying “things” to date. But I will honestly say, I’m having a lot of fun teaching the yoga, making the videos, yelling at the cats during class, seeing your faces, reading your comments, etc. I feel more connected to the Grateful Yoga community in a lot of new ways. Sometimes I actually think “How can I be having so much fun and smiling like an idiot alone in my living (yoga) room right now?!” It’s AWESOME…. THANK YOU, all of you!

And so this Holiday season, it seems we all appreciate a healthy outlet for Fear + Anger. These mantras are super handy, I talk a little bit about them and where I learned them in the video, but if you have any questions please leave a comment or send me a message!! You can do both mantras every day or choose one to practice if + when it feels right.

Without getting to emotional, I want to remind you that Fear + Anger are normal and survival oriented. But making decisions, creating thoughts or acting out of the energies of Fear + Anger is not recommended. Hence, why feeling Fear + Anger can happen without harm if we are mindful and maybe these mantras can help! Mantra meditation is my favorite way to meditate, so please feel free to reach out if yu;d like to talk/learn more about it!

In a gentle recognition of all the Fear + Anger as of late,

Shante prashante sarva bhaya upashamani svaha

Shante prashante sarva krodha upashamani svaha

OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTI

Nature Mandala

Nature Mandala

A recent YTT graduate presented her independent study on the correlations/connections we find between the study of yoga and the study of nature. To experience connection, yoga = to yoke or “union”, is to practice yoga. In a continued effort to create union among the Grateful Yoga community adapting to this online platform we re-introduce the blog with a series of yoga + meditation activities helpful for adults and children, dynamic + accessible to all people. Leave a like, or better yet a comment, at the end of reading our post. And thanks for being here!

The Sanskrit word mandala means circle or circumference. To create a mandala is symbolic of cycles, in this case the mandala is made from found items within nature and then created in the same environment and left where it is made to the forces of nature once again. To learn the joy of “going thru a process” and the beauty of “progression, practice + patience” is a skill that will bring longevity and ease to your life. I have done this exact activity with adults and children, so I’ll give a few suggestions on formats and inspirations. Possibilities to work with and let go of mandalas are virtually endless!

Why the nature mandala?

Because we need more nature awareness and respect in our lives. If we can’t learn as individuals about the very earth that we live on we are in great danger. This planet does not only offer us physical health, but also knowledge for mental health and spiritual health! To read more about Yoga + Nature, including anecdotes on gardening, foraging, yoga with kids at home, just getting outside, and more, please read YTT Grad Lauren’s blog here: https://www.riseandvibeyoga.com/blog/the-yoga-of-nature (includes an image of her own nature mandala creation!)

What you’ll need…

·       Almost nothing but an ample outdoor space for exploring and gathering a few handfuls of things like blades of grass, flower petals, seashells, pinecones, berries, twigs, stones, leaves, vines, etc, etc,

·       With a group:

o   ADULTS – This is a lovely practice to do silently in the mindset of pratyahara (absorbing the senses inward). Giving instruction to the group first, maybe including some of the images from this blog for inspiration, and showing the group the bindi = centerpoint of the mandala. The group is instructed to go out and gather silently, returning to the bindi and building outwards from the center, no speaking. As the leader when you see the mandala is complete, either via time or size or another capacity, you sit in front of the mandala on the ground. Once the group sees you sit they return to the mandala, place their final additions and join you in a circle around the creation.  Continue to enjoy the moments of silence and use a mantra, a chime, a singing bowl or other sound to bring the group back to sound.

o   YOUTH – The silent option described above may still work with an older, more disciplined age group. For younger kids, asking them to collect a certain number of the same thing makes it more developmentally challenging and progressive. Coming back and working together as a group to construct as a team is a wonderful way to introduce problem solving and interactivity among kids. A few minutes of silence and either gazing or closing the eyes and “imagining” the mandala magic in you mind is great for all ages as well.

·       Alone: Taking a walk or hike with an empty bag and filling it with found items along the way can be a nice way to practice this alone. Then when you reach the “end” or “summit” of the journey taking time to arrange the found items into a mandala shape and meditating for a few moments. Using deep and gentle nasal breathing, ujjayi, can help to focus the mind if you are not used to meditation without someone leading you.

ALTERNATIVES

Coloring Books: Indoor coloring options are free if you have a printer at home, if you google image search MANDALA there are a ton of options, otherwise I recommend buying a book that has tear out pages to have on hand. Adding a mantra practice can help the mind remain present during this practice.

Side-walk chalk: Another all-ages favorite for people with pavement and sidewalks available is sidewalk chalk! Remember to always start with a center point, bindi, and work outward one layer at a time. Great for individuals or groups as well!

Snow: Get creative and get outside in the winter. Fresh snowfall is the perfect canvas for walking mandala creations. By walking mindfully thru the fresh snow, you can create beautiful shapes and it’s a very meditative practice for being outdoors in the winter.

Human Mandala: Creating shapes with our own bodies is super fun! Ina group of jus a few people or even in a pair, movement aimed at making meaningful shapes feels good and is a lot of fun. It provides an great space for connection, innovation and listening/shadowing.

Remember…

The practice is in the process of creating and letting go. Find balance between the natural world around us and the natural world within us. Use this meditation / mindfulness technique for yourself, with your family in your classes, during staff meetings, or anytime at all!

Don’t forget to leave a comment below… Will you try it? How was your experience? Have you done this before?

Thanks for reading! We are Grateful.

MUDRAS: Simple + Effective Mudra Meditation

Use the passcode: MUDRA2020 to enter our mudra page below

https://www.riseandvibeyoga.com/mudra

Light Visualization

Please enjoy this meditation hosted by Ellie Schiappa! You can catch her classes weekly LIVE or in the on-demand library… Om shanti shanti shanti

In times of darkness, the one thing that brings me solace & warmth is light. The sun’s rays, the glow from a full moon, or even the sparkle of holiday lights – light brings me peace, happiness, and acts as a reminder that everything will be alright. This year, the darkness seemed to lay heavier than before. In my work from home life, I would look out my window only to realize the sun had already set and I hadn’t even left my house. The gray days of early winter dragged by, and with no place to go I felt as if I was fixated on it. It was as if I had nothing to do but complain about the cloudy, early nights in Vermont. But last week, we had a glimmer of hope. The Winter Solstice, which literally means “sun standing still”. Maybe the shortest day of the year, but a day that represents hope and change. The days will become longer, and the sunset will come later. Every day, the sun will shine down on us for a little longer than it did the day before. It has been said time and time again 2020 has been a long year, and some days it felt as if the whole world was standing still. But the Solstice is a reminder that it is not, that although life on Earth slowed down, the Earth herself is still spinning, and the sun is still shining. Hard times will to pass – and a new cycle of hope will begin.

This visualization is for all of those that feel stuck and as if the darkness has pervaded in these literal, and figurative, dark days. In days that is hard to find the physical light, we can be our own light. We have the light within us – and it is our duty to allow that light to shine on ourselves and those around us.  Find a comfortable seat, maybe that is upright, with your legs up the wall, or just lying in svasana. I invite you to listen to my voice as I guide you in finding that light, and allow this light to surround you and protect you.

The light in me, honors the light in you – Namaste.

Mountain Meditation

MOUNTAIN MEDITATION

by Barb Alpert

    I love this Mountain Meditation partly because I love mountains.  They are so strong, firm, rooted, reaching into the sky, promising adventure if one would climb.  

     Right now our world is whirling with change and we all have great demands on us for strength and flexibility.  We need to look deeply within to find our firmly resolved values amidst new demands on the outside.  We need to find our strength to do this, that place of strength within that can bare the winds of change and the weather of the seasons.  We need to rest well during our nights and act with clarity and joy and giving during our days.

     I find this meditation helps tune me into my inner strength, my ability to be flexible and to trust myself during these times of change.  There are varied ways to meditate, some simply involving concentrating on your breath or counting, returning over and again as your mind might fill with thoughts, gently letting them go, and returning to your breath or your count.  If one is new to meditation, at becoming quiet and tuning into that quiet place within, it is often easier to use a guided meditation such as this.  It directs your wayward mind (our minds are all wayward- part of their nature) and helps you focus and find your center, that place of strength and love, rootedness and flexibility, joy and giving.

     A meditation like this can be used over and again.  We are all changing constantly so the meditation will change within each time as well, helping you find your way for that particular moment.

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Meditation on Identity

By Nikita Patel

This meditation is for you if:

Photo by Larika Mallier

• you’re feeling “stuck”

• you would like to let go of black and white thinking

• you find yourself in unfulfilling or toxic relationships

• you find connecting with other people difficult or like something is missing

• your beliefs are rigid and you’d like to grow

• you are ready to heal

(inspired by The Holistic Psychologist’s ‘Ego Work’)

In this current world scenario of extreme ideas and opinions. It is easy to get stuck in the notion of finding a fixed idea of the self and hanging on to it. But I recently stumbled upon this meditation that explores the idea that “...too much selfing leads to fixed identities that result in suffering if we hold onto them too tightly. It is easy for us to take our “selves” too seriously, getting stuck in self-importance that either emphasizes how bad we think we are or how great. Neither extreme is particularly helpful.”

During a low phase of my life (full of bad choices), I was stricken by words read out to me while I lay in savasana, “You are not your words, nor your actions nor thoughts. You are an expression of the life force of this planet.” These words somehow gave me permission to just be who I was and drop the self-judgement. It gave me a chance to step out of my shitty behaviour patterns and choose differently. To think that I am no different from everyone else on this planet, that gave me hope and put me back on a level playing field.

Years later, I found an article written by Mark Manson about “trying to change yourself” and it struck a chord too. “I am not a ____ person”, how many of us are guilty of having used that line to not even try to do something that our heart desired?

What is identity anyway, if not a constructed idea of who a person is?

But he best puts it when he says “Here’s the problem with using the word “change:” it gets your identity involved. And when you get your identity involved, you become really emotionally attached to imaginary things.”

What if we think of ourselves as a process that allows adding on and letting go of aspects of us over time, a slow unfolding that spans a lifetime and never really finishes? You often hear that people may not remember what you did or said but rather how you made them feel. So what’s the point of spending so much time building up this ‘identity’, ‘who we are’ and focus rather on living a life based on our values. 

And what is meditation if not waking up to what is already inside of us? And in that sense, everyone can meditate even the ‘non-meditators’ ;)

Prepare-

1. Find a comfortable seat (on a chair or a cushion) & close your eyes or lower your gaze.

2. Take a moment to fully arrive in your body and into your space- observe physical sensations that arise, notice the rhythm of your breath, check-in with your state of mind.

3. Deep breath in through the nose, open mouth, let it go.

Meditate-

1. Try to answer the simple question- ‘Who am I?’ OR ‘Who do I think I am?’  OR ‘Who am I to others?’ Notice and acknowledge the thoughts/responses that come up (allowing for multiple identities to exist, it doesn’t have to be just one) 

2. Now use any nouns or titles that came up and turn them into their verb forms. Example. I am a yoga teacher vs. I teach yoga. Try it for as many responses that came up.

3. Now say to yourself either quietly or out loud- “I am not my words, nor my actions my thoughts. I am an expression of the life force of this planet.” Repeat as many times as you like.

4. End with ‘So Ham’ pranayam/ breathing. Inwardly, hear the sound So as you inhale and the sound Hum as you exhale. You can also repeat this mantra mentally, visualising yourself breathing in and out the same air as all living beings on this planet.

So Hum = I am she/he/they/that. It means identifying oneself with the universe or ultimate reality.

Another way to use this meditation is as a tool for releasing any self-judgement towards a perceived negative behaviour pattern that you’re trying to release.

Example. “I am not a morning person” vs. “I find it difficult to wake up in the morning” 

Namaste!

Loving Kindness

HOW TO DO THE LOVING KINDNESS MEDITATION

By Stephanie Smith

The Loving Kindness Meditation is a great universal meditation of love that can be practiced by all ages. There are many variations on this meditation, which is done to bring kindness towards yourself and the universe. It’s one of the few meditations that is done towards others--most mantras and meditations are supposed to be done for yourself and your own needs at the time. 

Below is the “Rise + Vibe” version, i.e. the version learned and taught by Chrissy Lefavour to her students (including me!)

The lines of the actual mediation are:

May ____ be filled with loving kindness

May ____ be peaceful and at ease

May ____ be well

May ____ know happiness and the roots of all happiness.

Typically, you recite this mantra four times. The first time you say it, fill in the blank with the name of someone you love (i.e “May John be filled with loving kindness, May John be peaceful and at ease, etc.”). The second time around, fill in with someone who taught you something. It could be an elder or a loved one you admire. 

The third time around, use the name of someone with whom you might have a prickly relationship with, or experience some conflict with. This could be your husband, or a boss, or say, that person that cut you off in traffic. 

Finally for the last round, name a person for whom you feel neutral about, having neither extremely good or bad feelings for. Maybe it’s a neighbor, or a person you see daily that could use some good vibes in their life. 

There are many types of the Loving Mediation to be found on the internet and from various teachers, some longer and with various scripts. But I love this version because it’s a perfect length for kids to learn as well. Maybe try this meditation together with your kids at the start of the school day to bring some good vibes to family and schoolmates.