Bee Yoga

Time unfolds most generously in the present moment 🤍

So much of our stress comes from living everywhere except where we are. We rush toward the future or replay the past, convinced we’re running out of time when in truth, time unfolds most generously in the present moment.

Presence creates space. When attention is rooted in now, clarity replaces urgency, and life reveals its natural rhythm. What needs to be done finds its moment. What matters becomes obvious. Time isn’t something we chase; it’s something we inhabit.

One of the best things about a great yoga practice is the music. It can uplift and energise the practice or relax and calm 🎶

Here's what changed when I started doing playlists my way.

Read more at the link in comments below ⬇️

Reposting this easiest of yoga poses, in loving memory of my dear friend and mentor Jenny Foley - the greatest supporter of Animals Australia.

Easy one-leg balance pose
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Here's a really easy one-leg balance pose to try with the kids these holidays.

If it's easy-peasy, try it with one eye closed, and then both eyes closed. Try it near a wall or a tree, just in case...

Happy balancing!

A beautiful meditation from one of my most favourite meditation teachers, Sally Kempton ❤️

Continuing to familiarize ourselves this month with Radha, the Goddess of Romantic Longing. Radha’s ultimate gift is the experience of your love filling the universe, so that the earth itself feels like your divine beloved.

Every spiritual path is its own doorway into unity consciousness.
This meditation is a practice for touching into the experience of
unification through love. It is a meditation you can do more or less
anywhere, eyes open or closed. Just don’t try it while driving!

Meditation: The World as Your Divine Lover

Begin by placing your attention in your heart.

If there is a person or an image of the divine that naturally kindles feelings of love in you, bring that image into your heart. Or, imagine a soft flame in your heart. Then, with each breath, offer to the flame the thought, “Beloved.”

Feel how the thought “Beloved” gently kindles warmth and affection in your heart.

Imagine that the feeling in your heart spreads through your body. Let it gather in your hands and fingers. Then use your hands to enact love in the physical world. Wash dishes with the feeling that your hands are sending love into the plates and that the water runs with love. Touch your friend’s arm with the feeling of love running from your heart through your hands.

As you look around you, mentally name everything you see as divine. Look at the trees and name them “God” or “Love.” Look at the ground and name it “God.” Look around you at the city, and name the stone and wood and metal around you with the thought, “This is God, this is love, this is made of divine consciousness.” Look at your food, at the people you meet, and especially at yourself with the thought “This is all God, this is all love.”

As you do this, keep your awareness in your heart.

This is the meditation of Radha, the highest emanation of devotional love. 🙏

Find out more in 'Awakening Shakti' (https://www.sallykempton.com/books-and-audio/)
**ra

If there’s only 1 charity you can afford to support, make it this one. Really empowers children and communities with education. Eka’s example below is amazing

Eka, 14, used her voice to stop her parents marrying her to a man at least 20 years older.

She attends a life skills course run through World Vision Bangladesh, learning leadership, communication and how to prevent child marriage.

“Right now, I don’t want to get married,” she told her parents. “I want to be something in my life … And I was able to convince them!”

But her story doesn’t end there. She also helped stop a marriage arranged for her 14-year-old cousin. Both girls now remain in school, working towards their dreams. Eka hopes to become a lawyer, so she can keep fighting to .

Learn more: https://wva.me/3ihbex8

“Mindfulness is to always arrive in the here and now.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh, one of the most respected spiritual leaders in the world.

“Walk with me” is an amazingly inspiring documentary about the life and teachings of Zen Buddhist teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh. Even the trailer alone will send shivers up your spine 🤗

SIMPLE MEDITATION – SITTING IN STILLNESS AND SILENCE
There are so many resources online to help anyone learn to meditate, as well as some really good apps, and guided meditations from great teachers from all over the world. If you want to go deeper into your meditation practice, it’s a great idea to move towards self-guided meditation. It can be as simple as just sitting in stillness and silence. Here’s a simple meditation to get you started:

#1. Sit in a comfortable position with your back straight and your neck in line with your spine.

#2. Close your eyes and relax the whole body.

#3. Begin by concentrating on your natural breath for a while. Observe the body moving with the breath – notice it expanding slightly with the inhalation and contracting again with the exhalation.

#4. Deepen the relaxation of the body. Feel your body from the toes to the top of your head, and from the top of the head to the toes. Try and relax each and every part of your body.

#5. Feel your body motionless and completely still. Like a statue. But still relaxed and comfortable. Allow yourself to sink into that stillness. When the body is still, the mind is also still.

#6. You could now introduce a mantra that you like, or use this really simple mantra “SO HUM”. Silently, mentally, repeating “SO” each time you inhale, and “HUM” each time you exhale.

#7. Whenever your attention drifts to thoughts, gently return to your breath, silently repeating SO HUM. Observe any thoughts and let them go…without any judgement. In the Buddhist tradition, the beautiful analogy is to think of our mind as the vast open sky, and our thoughts like clouds which float across the sky, coming and going, fleeting and ephemeral. Return to your breath and your mantra as many times as you need to. This is your anchor.

“Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

#8. By repeating the mantra, your thoughts interfere with the mantra and the mantra interferes with your thoughts. Then if you stay in that state of stillness, sometimes the thoughts and mantras cancel each other out, and you slip into the silent gap between thoughts.

#9. In the gap between thoughts, you become the witness, the observer. And from here you can observe your thoughts without any labels or judgment. Keep observing as you drop deeper and deeper into your meditation…and into the silence and stillness…and into a place of peace. Stay here as long as you like.

#10. To end your meditation, gradually allow your awareness to reach out to the external environment. Hear the sounds in the room. Take a few deep breaths. Wriggle your fingers and toes. Gradually open your eyes. It helps to lower your head towards the floor and let the blood flow back to your head. If you’d like, you could end your meditation by bringing your palms together at the heart centre and bowing your head.

Happy meditating!

5 Ideas To Get Up At 5AM To Do Your Yoga Practice
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Getting up early to do your yoga practice is the best way to get the job done. If I had a dollar for every time someone said they didn’t have time to do yoga…And if you know me well enough, you’ll know my brain tattoo – do a few yoga postures as soon as you wake up! If you want to take your yoga practice to the next level, this is a great time of year to get into the habit of waking up early - 5 am is a good time. Here are a few ideas that may help you start the day on the best possible note:

#1. Keep your alarm clock away from the bed so you have to jump out of bed to turn it off. Set the alarm for the EXACT same time everyday so it becomes a habit and then a ritual.

#2. Keep your yoga mat rolled out and ready right next to your bed. Can’t remember where I read this, but they say “the hardest yoga pose is unrolling the mat”. It takes a lot of momentum to get started. So get ahead of the game and roll it out the night before 😊.

#3 Don’t overthink it. It doesn’t really matter what postures you do, or what sequence that so many get hung up on. The important thing is getting a few postures done. Here’s a few to get you started - resting pose, breathing exercises watching belly rise and fall, gentle stretches to wake the body up, pavana muktasana, cat pose, salute to the sun, plus a few of your favourite postures. Please also do some meditation practice, even if it’s just sitting in stillness and silence and observing your breath.

#4. Knowing your big WHY, and answer it yourself. Why do I want to wake up at 5AM to do my yoga and meditation practice while the rest of the world is asleep? If you can answer your WHY, the HOW will look after itself. It’s all about mindset.

#5. It’s essential to get a good night’s sleep – so keep your bedroom device free. Many of the great teachers in this field, like Robin Sharma (author of ‘The 5AM club’) and Arianna Huffington (author of ‘Thrive’) recommend no TV, no internet surfing, no news and no social media in the few hours before bedtime. And they all say definitely not in the bedroom. This is a total game changer, not just for getting up early to do your yoga practice, but for improving all aspects of your life. I do hope you’ll give it a go.

Wishing you a great 2019. Go make your dreams come true!

Here’s a great idea to fit in more yoga and meditation into your life - get up at 5 am 😁

This brand new book by Robin Sharma, “The 5am Club. Own your morning. Elevate your life”, has some really excellent ideas to kick start the new year with positive habits. When the rest of the world is asleep, Robin suggests to get up early to take time for yourself; to do stretches, yoga, meditation, reading, journaling, and my favourite - go for a nature walk or run. It’s the best way to start the day. It’s also the ideal time of the morning for meditation. Do yourself a favour and give this a go 🐾

These holidays, I hope you can find some time for yourself. Hope you can find a peaceful spot somewhere for meditation or just sitting in stillness. Or spending some quiet time in nature to rest and recharge 🐾

This is such a beautiful version of the Gayatri Mantra by Deva Premal, the Seven Chakra Gayatri. It’s our favourite mantra for meditation at the moment. Hope you love it too...

Deva Premal: DEVA - Featuring Seven Chakra Gayatri Mantra DEVA: The new album from Deva Premal. A transcendent collection of signature mantras that are Medicine for the Soul. ...

A beautiful mantra and prayer of peace for all sentient beings. Perfect for yoga or meditation practice or just to listen to...
Lokah samasta, sukhino bhanvantu

Miten & Deva Premal - Lokah Samasta, Soul in Wonder Lokah Samasta - by Miten and Deva Premal, with Manose, rare footage of them Live in Concert - Slovenia, June 2008 More info: http://www.devapremalmiten.com F...