-
-
Create a dream life full of gratitude!
The second Chakra is the goddess chakra, Swadistana, located just above the root. The element here is WATER. As beings, we arrive in the world, in a fluid environment, swimming around, full of potential and freedom. As creative beings at heart, we are here on this earth to express ourselves.
Through the “Fun and Healthy Lifestyles” practices we explore the MIND to discover our unique expression of our purpose through journaling and other artistic pursuits with our BODY, and SPIRITUALLY we share our gratitude for all there is.
Journaling
Journaling is a creative tool that allows us to connect to mind with our thoughts, to our bodies with our hands, and to our spirits, that inner dwelling that is seeking our purpose or passion in this life. By simply writing things down, we communicate our needs, our wants, and our feelings. We use writing as a practical tool to communicate with others in our personal and business lives. Here, we use it to set goals, to write out our innermost feelings, and to heal.
Free writing is the practice of writing for a commitment of time or pages, keeping the hand continuously moving, or in today’s day and age, continuously typing, and flowing with the stream of thoughts – whatever is coming and going from the top of the head, without letting the hand(s) stop. If you find that you get stuck in this practice, you simply write, “I don’t know what to say,” and something will arise. (Or – When we feel “stuck” in this practice, we simply write, “I don’t know what to say,” until something arises.)
In Julia Cameron’s book, The Artist Way, she calls these writings, the morning pages. “Put simply, the morning pages are three pages of longhand writing, strictly stream-of-consciousness: ‘Oh god, another morning. I have NOTHING to say. I need to wash the curtains. Did I get my laundry yesterday? Blah, blah, blah….’ They might also, more ingloriously, be called brain drain, since that is one of their main functions.” The morning pages are simply a way to release all the ongoing thoughts that run through our minds like crazy. They are an outlet for us to open up to the creativity that is inside, but stuck behind the oodles and oodles of thoughts.
We experience roughly 60,000 thoughts per minute. Amazing! While, many of these thoughts are repetitive, I have also read that we have to hear something 100 times before we really get it, understand it, and embody it. I am not a scientist, but I have spent many ( or ten? but not 37) years actively studying my own mind and have found writing to be a deep practice of connection to my whole being. The act of getting the thoughts and words out and down on paper, clears a space for discovering new, creative and divine thoughts to fill our minds and our lives.
Goals and Dreams
Why is it that we may have a dream or goal, but, can’t get ourselves to take action, or even initiate the effort toward making it happen? We want something so badly; yet, we aren’t willing to go through the process of bringing it to life. Often times we realize we have been in love with the idea of the impact it will have on others, the places it may take us, and the person that we will be when it is all done; yet we struggle on a daily basis, to sit down and create a plan of action. We want the results without doing the work, yet without action, goals remains dreams.
Gratitude
Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.–Oprah Winfrey
Being grateful is being full of great! It’s appreciating the benefits you are receiving from a situation or object, the act of expressing gratitude.
Gratitude is an attitude of thankfulness. When we have gratitude we go beyond the striving and clinging and hoping and wishing and wanting, we find ourselves in the present moment content with what we have. We embody the ability to appreciate all the goodness that is currently surrounding us. It is a space and of serenity, one of knowing that we are provided for and a place in which we can rest and feel a greater connection to all there is.
Gratitude can be perceived as an emotion of experiencing and realizing value of what one is receiving or already has within ones life. Ones who practice gratitude daily experience higher levels of health and well being. Practicing gratitude brings more happiness, less stress, less depression, and more satisfaction in your life. The practices of gratitude will allow you to handle life transactions better as well as creating a positive way in which to deal with obstacles that may come up in life.
Send a card of Gratitude on Me!
-
Give REAL Transformative Adjustments- For Yoga Teachers
For Radical Yoga Teachers “Stand Out” in the crowd!
Sunday, Nov 1 or Nov 29
5-7:30pm
$39 Space is limited
Location: TBA to registered teachers
Prerequisite: Must attend one of Casey’s classes – visit classes for location, times and details.. etc…Physically adjusting your students can powerfully impact their practice; we are talking about hands on contact! We will learn how to help facilitate an amazing radical transformation, through the physical adjustments, of participants in your class.
In this workshop, yoga teachers will learn how to move with your students to find a deeper state of union. You will experience the principals as you practice on other teachers. We will move though how to adjust common poses including the sun salutations, standing poses, forward and back bends, twists and more.
Stand out in the crowd of teachers by serving to help your students to a deeper state of transformation!!
-
A Love Letter to Self
Sometimes we need a pick me up, but want to find one that is going to help us stay true to ourselves..
Write a love letter to your self! Here is an example of one I recently wrote. Write it to yourself as if someone else is writing it to you…
Casey, this love letter to you this evening is to honor your strength and courage on the path of health and wellness in mind, body and spirit, we are so proud of you, for honoring yourself by resting and breathing into the fear and discomfort. For listening to your intuitive self and trusting in us and our oneness. The patience and perseverance you have shown is consistent with the bravery you have had over the years and is continually vibrating at a higher state of being, bringing you a deeper sense of peace and love for yourself and for all others in your life. We are so proud of you and acknowledge and honor your faith and courage, your strength and wisdom and your ability to seek the abundance in all situations and circumstances. You truly are a gift to the world and are blessed to be able to be present for the loved ones in your life. Your circle sisters love and support you as you do them and the ever turning of the circle will continue as you are all authenticate and powerful and wise women who attract like women to join you. Be patient as all good things come to those who wait and as you know the time will come when things are lined up as they should be.
Blessings and love to yours and you, and may you rest each moment in the peace that resides inside of you.
With love your guides…
-
Diana’s “Reality RT Healing Series” Part 1
Diana has been a yoga student and devoted friend of mine over the last five years. She reminded me that when she first met me, I was pregnant and teaching yoga. She though, wow, if she can do this pregnant, I can do yoga! Listen in to hear more of how yoga lead her to a deeper sense of connection with her life and how she uses the other practices of radical transformation, to do just that.
Thanks! Diana, you are a rock star!
-
“Amma” Devi September 2009 Jivamukti Focus of the month
yad-yad acharati shreshthas tad-tad evetaro janah sa yat pramanam kurute lokas-tad-anuvartate -Bhagavad Gita III.21
A great person leads by example, setting standards that are followed by others all over the world.
Not too long ago, on September 27th 1953, in a poor village near the remote backwaters of Kerala in Southern India, Sri Mata Amritanandamayi, affectionately known as “Amma” or the “Hugging Saint,” was born. From her early childhood, she would spend long periods of time sitting in silence or singing to Krishna as a form of prayer. Her divine moods and meditative states seemed unusual to her family, and as a result, she was mistreated and had a difficult childhood.
At the age of nine, when her mother fell ill, Amma left school to care for her seven siblings and immediate family. Whatever domestic chore was piled up on her, she did it happily without ever complaining. She also went to work at the homes of her relatives. As she went from home to home to cook, clean and wash clothes, Amma became deeply troubled and confused by the suffering and poverty she saw all around her. Although she had very little for herself, she shared her small portion of rice with the starving, gathered her family’s clothes and gave them to the poor, bathed the elderly. Like children who seek comfort in their mothers’ arms, people from her village and around would go to the young girl for refuge and a hug. This is how Amma started to give “darshan.” Darshan means to have a vision of the divine or to be in the presence of a holy being. Amma adds to it a loving hug.
Nowadays, not unlike the olden times, people continue to seek Amma’s blessing, but it is now she who travels around the world to offer her love in the form of an intimate hug. Whether a person is young or old, healthy or sick, rich or poor, Amma accepts them with the same affection and warmth. Amma does not care what we look like, how much we have, or where we come from. She takes us all in the way a mother takes her own children into her arms.
Yoga is a tantric practice. The Sanskrit word tantra means “to weave”, referring also to a physical string, which denotes continuity. This comes from the Sanskrit roots tan and tra. ‘Tan’ is “to stretch” or “to extend” and “Tra” means “to cross over”. By welcoming or embracing with open arms anyone she meets, Amma reaches across the space between herself and others, thus weaving a connection.
The aim of yoga is to recognize the divine essence in all of creation, to realize that we are all connected. To attain this wisdom, it is helpful to start connecting with one other living being by extending something of ourselves – a kind word, a gentle touch, a smile of acknowledgment. When instead of seeing others only in our peripheral vision, we actually turn to face them and acknowledge them, the way we often acknowledge one another in a yoga class, we begin to shrink the divide between ourselves and others, we begin to experience togetherness, hence yoga. Yoga means to join.
Amma teaches us that without connecting to others, no progress in yoga can come. Even if we meditate, practice asana and chant devotional songs, if we do not reach out to others, it is like rowing a boat that is tied to a dock. In the divine example of this holy being, let us untie our hearts from the dock and row towards our own holiness and divinity. Let us celebrate the life of this great Saint and immerse ourselves in Her teachings so that our own saintliness can manifest.
– Rima Rabbath, September 2009
For more information about Sri Mata Amritanandamayi, her teachings and charitable projects, log on to www.amma.org or www.ammany.org.
-
Panoramic World August 2009 – Jivamukti Focus of the month
devan bhavayatanena te deva bhavayantu vah parasparam bhavayantah shreyah param avapsyatha- BG III.11
When humanity honors and cherishes the devas, the devas, in turn, will cherish and nourish humanity.In this verse, the Bhagavad Gita teaches that cooperation with nature is essential: without acknowledging and caring for the devas–the gods, the multi-living dimensions of nature-life is not possible. In his book Gita Wisdom, Joshua Green describes devas as “empowered beings entrusted with regulating air, light, water and other natural functions.” Through a mutually beneficial relationship with nature, a person will be able to discover the supreme God who is the cosmic reality behind nature, including all beings and things. It is interesting to note that the Sanskrit word bhavayata (may you cherish, may you increase the well-being of), which is found several times in this verse, is actually a causative form of the root word bhu, which means “to be” or “to exist.” So the verse is saying more than that through mutual cooperation, both humans and the devas will prosper; it is saying that their very existence is mutually dependent.
This message is urgently relevant to our times–a time when humanity has become out of balance with the world of nature, the world of the devas. Yoga seeks to regain that balance by striving to live life in harmony with the natural world-the real world. What is reality and where is it? Does it only exist in the sights and sounds we can see and hear with our physical eyes and ears? Can we really communicate with it?
There are other worlds, multi-dimensional realities. These worlds exist in the winds…in the subtle atmosphere. Most humans cannot see the other beings who live in these worlds, but nevertheless they are there–devas, elemental beings, angels, elves and fairies. They are the ones who take care of the living world. They are the guardians of the rivers, oceans, mountains, forests, flowers and all physical forms in the natural world. They are also the guardians of the animals, helping them to live in ways that are sustaining. Pan is one of the many names for the god or deva of the world of nature, including the elemental, animal, vegetable and mineral kingdoms. He is nature. The prefix pan- means to be everywhere, to exist beyond the confines of three dimensional space and time, with no limitations on form. We acknowledge Pan when we use words like panacea, pandemic and even Pan Am (Pan=everywhere + Am=being; also short for America). Nature exists everywhere. Even though we may not be able to see all of it, that doesn’t mean it is not there; it only means that we have limitations to our perception. There are other ways of seeing besides physical sight. One can perceive through means of feeling–see the world feelingly.
Many humans think that, while we are also animals and part of the natural world, we are a special case and can live above the laws of nature. We exploit the natural world as if we had a right to, without thinking about the happiness or welfare of the earth and her creatures. We enslave animals, destroy and manipulate the plant world, strip mine for minerals, dam waterways and poison the air. We act as if the earth belongs to us. But before we can act that way we have to think that way.Our thoughts are very powerful. Thoughts can create their own elemental beings that will be set loose to inhabit the atmosphere around the person who is thinking these thoughts. A person who cannot see devas and fairies will also not be able to see their own thoughts manifested as elemental forms in the air around them, but nonetheless they will feel the presence of these subtle forms. These forms will affect how they feel about themselves. They may have days when they feel under the weather, stressed or bored. They may find themselves in a state of anxiety thinking that someone else has caused a problem in their lives, when in fact it was they themselves who set loose a negative thought which swirled around itself and formed into an elemental spirit which is now harassing them.
If we want to live a happy life, we must take care with how we think, speak and act, not just toward other people but also toward nature. We must continuously strive to have good, kind helpful, benevolent thoughts and to express those thoughts in sweet speech and song that honors and enhances. Our physical reality is made of these subtle vibrations solidified. Most people aren’t aware of how powerful their thoughts and words are; they go on day after day living in realities they don’t like and spending their time blaming others for the things in their world they don’t like, when all along they are the ones who have created these things by thinking, speaking and acting selfishly and destructively.
The other inhabitants of our physical, natural world–the other animals, trees, plants rivers, etc.–seem to have more of an understanding of the multi-dimensional complexities of reality. Perhaps that is why most animals would never do the kinds of terrible, hurtful things to others that we humans seem to do without a second thought. Perhaps the other animals realize clearly how thoughts, words and actions impact upon all of creation, seen and unseen.
The health of the many components of the living world that we can all see–the plants, trees, rivers, lakes, animals and all that is–is only possible because of their connection to the nature spirits of the “unseen” worlds. It is with the help of these spirit beings that the natural “seen” world is able to flourish. It is the same with us?without the help of the nature spirits, we will not be able to flourish, and as the passage from the Gita says, ultimately we will not be able to exist unless we can develop a mutually cherishing relationship with nature and nature’s caretakers–the panoramic world.
–Sharon Gannon -
Experience “The 7 Practices of Radical Transformation”
Casey Feicht is proud to offer an extraordinary event, a unique 2-day Chakra based yoga workshop for women. All levels are welcome.
Experience “The 7 Practices of Radical Transformation”. Spiritual practices that truly encompass the mind, body, spirit.
Root Chakra Food Mindfulness Second Chakra Journaling Gratitude Center Chakra Yoga Union Heart Chakra Exercise Service Throat Chakra Coaching Community Third Eye Chakra Affirmation Abundance Crown Chakra Meditation Oneness ***Beautifully prepared Vegan & Gluten Free meals will be served ****
Here is what clients are saying
“Casey brought magic back in my life!! I have so much gratitude for this new change . . . inspirational and challenging . . . as soon as you start one of her classes the room full of individual strangers becomes one and a whole new energy is visible and palpable. . With grace, beauty and intelligence . . . Casey has a very gifted way of communicating yoga in a personal intimate way. If there is such a thing as a yoga-angel, she is it! ”
Casey began in the health & wellness industry for 20 years and has been consciously manifesting her dreams ever since, she has been teaching yoga since 2000, she is a natural coach who loves sharing the gifts of health with people of all ages. She believes this life is a precious gift and has developed an innovative approach combining the seven chakras and yoga as a powerful tool towards personal transformation.
JOIN US… All Levels Welcome
SCHEDULE: August 22nd & 23rd 1:00-6:00pm daily
LOCATION
öm time Denver
773 Santa Fe
Denver COREGISTRATION Please visit www.omtime.com or Denver location 303.963.5306
INVESTMENT
$225, Early Bird sign up by Aug 10th.
After Aug 10th, $275.***PLEASE NOTE: REGISTRATION CLOSES AUG 20TH!
-
The Path of Yoga-Jivamutki Focus of the month for July
What is yoga? The word has many meanings: relation; means; union; knowledge; matter; logic; and so on. For now, let us say that the meaning of yoga is upaya, which means path, or way which we follow or by means of which we attain something. What then is the path we should follow? What or whom should we seek to attain? The mind should seek to attain what is best. Just as a servant seeks a king to serve, a disciple seeks the best guru, and a wife seeks an ideal husband, so too will the mind seek the Universal Self. Even this is one type of union.
As the servant who wins his master’s heart and blessings through his virtues and good conduct verily attains royal character himself; and the disciple who, by great virtue and intellectual power, verily wins the heart of his Guru and becomes as one with the Guru; and the wife who shows virtue and character, as well as devotion to her husband, verily becomes as one with her husband, so too, if the mind establishes itself in the Self or attains the Self, it will not exist as different from the Self. Thus, the way of establishing the mind in the Self should be known as yoga. An aphorism of Patanjali, the great sage and founder of the science of yoga, makes this clear: yogash chitta vritti nirodhah (yoga is the process of ending the definitions of the field of consciousness).
It is in the nature of our sense organs to grasp their respective sense objects. If the sense organs are harmonized by the mind, and if the mind establishes itself in the sense organs, then objects are known or grasped. If, however, there is no contact between the mind and the sense organs, knowledge of objects will not occur. The mind is thus the basis of all sensory functions. The means by which the mind is directed towards the Self and prevented from going towards outside objects is what is known as yoga, as a hymn of the Katha Upanishad affirms: tham yogam iti manyante sthiram indriya dharanam (Yoga is considered to be the steady fixing of the senses). Here, the means to establishing the sense organs in the Indweller, and thus to prevent them from going towards external objects, is called yoga. Therefore, the word yoga signifies the means to the realization of one’s true nature.
We now have to ask whether it is possible to realize the true nature of yoga simply by understanding its meaning as a word. By the mere study of texts on yoga, by the mere grasp of yoga’s meaning as a word, by a mere discussion of the pros and cons of this intellectual grasp, one cannot have a thorough knowledge of yoga. For, just as good knowledge of culinary science does not satisfy hunger, neither will the benefits of yoga be realized fully by a mere understanding of the science of its practice. Thus, the scriptures only show us the right path. It is left to us to understand them and to put them into practice. By the strength gained through this practice, we can come to know the method for bringing the mind and sense organs under control. Thus can we achieve yoga. For it is only through the control of the mind and sense organs that we come to know our true nature, and not through intellectual knowledge, or by putting on the garb of a yogi.
Hence an aspirant, by the grace of his Guru and constant practice of yoga, can someday realize, before casting off his mortal coil, the Indweller that is of the nature of supreme peace and eternal bliss, and the cause of the creation, sustenance, and destruction of the universe. Otherwise, an aspirant will be unable to see anything in this world but turmoil.
-Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, excerpted from Yoga Mala, 1999
-
-
Chakras
