WARRIOR OF LIGHT

If you are reading this, you are a Warrior of Light.

A warrior of Light is not the one who makes war but the one who is brave enough to do what is right in fairness and compassion, and to remain calm and strong, regardless of the storm, so that peace can survive, and so that rainbows may form. -SLK

The Earth's energy needs to be renewed. New ideas need Space. Body and Soul need new challenges. The future has become the present, and every dream - except those dreams that involved preconceived ideas will have a chance to be heard. Anything of importance will remain. Anything useless will disappear.

From now on and for the next few hundred years - the Universe is going to help Warriors of Light and hinder the prejudiced
The warrior of light is a believer. Because she believes in miracles, miracles begin to happen. Because he is sure that his thoughts can change his life, his life begins to change. Because she is certain that she will find love, love appears. Now and then he gets disappointed. Sometimes she gets hurt. But the warrior of light knows that it is worth it. For every defeat, she has two victories in her favor. All believers know this.

A warrior of light know the importance of intuition. A Warrior knows that intuition is God's language and she continues to listen to the wind and talking to the stars. A warrior knows that truth is relative and that Perception is a miracle that demonstrates our power to create the outside reality, and that everyone lives a different dream. It is not the warriors responsibility to judge the dreams of others. In order to have faith in his path, he does not need to prove that someone else's path is wrong. A warrior does not belief in wrong, or right, better or worse. Thoughts as equal, inferior, and superior are not there in the one who is not moved by such measurements.

A Warrior has learned it is best to follow the light. He has behaved treacherously, he has lied, she has strayed form the path, he has courted darkness and everything was fine, as if nothing happened. Then an abyss suddenly opens up. One can take a thousands steps in safety, but a single step too many can put an end to everything. The warrior stops before he destroys himself. She looks up at the sky and a voice says, “My dear, everyone makes mistakes. You are forgiven, but I cannot force that forgiveness on you. It is your choice”. The Warrior accepts that forgiveness.

Every Warrior of the Light has felt afraid of going into battle. Every Warrior of the Light has, at some point in the past, lied or betrayed someone. Every Warrior of the Light has trodden a path that was not his. Every Warrior has suffered for the most trivial of reasons. Every Warrior of the Light has, at least once, believed she was not a Warrior of the Light. Every Warrior of the Light has, at some point, failed in his spiritual duties. Every Warrior of the Light has said "yes" when she wanted to say "no". Every Warrior of the Light has hurt someone she loved.
That is why she is a Warrior of the Light, because she has been through all this and yet has never lost hope of becoming better than she is.

(words from Paulo Coelho and Don Miguel Ruiz)

There are lots of things a warrior can do at a certain time which he could not do years before. Those things themselves did not change; what changed was his idea of himself. A warrior doesn’t need personal history. One day, he finds it is no longer necessary for him, and he drops it.

Sometimes it is hard to assume the mood of a warrior, but it is of no use to complain and feel justified in doing so, believing that someone is doing something to us. Nobody is doing anything to anybody, much less to a warrior. A warrior doesn’t know remorse for anything she has done, because to isolate one’s acts as being weak, mean or ruthless is to place an unwarranted importance on the self. The trick is what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same

(words from Carlos Castaneda -The Wheel Of Time and A Separate Reality)

The warrior unwittingly takes that last false step and falls into the abyss, and he finds himself surrounded in dark waters of despair, his aim had been to fight the good fight, and he never imagined this would happen to him, but it did. He makes contact with his master.
and says," I have fallen, these waters are so deep and dark. I am lost..
"Remember one thing" says his master” we do not drown simply by falling in into darkness, you only drown if you stay beneath the surface. So the warrior uses all his strength to swim up to the surface..... out of the darkness and back to the light.....

(Paulo Coelho, Warrior of Light)

ASANA'S

Asana means staying or abiding. It is thru asana that an individual achieves the unity of body and mind. The Yogic Asana's (postures) have been devised for the purpose of comfort and steadfastness during mediation and pranayama. Each posture reflects a mental attitude, whether it be one of surrender, the strengthening of will or the creation of a physical mantra with the body. Through the performance and practice of different asana's one is able to learn the handling of different situations.

Another important aspect of asana is that it can temporarily bring peace and free the mind of all worries. The quieting of mind promotes the balancing of the mental functions of the individual. Asana's have great healing implications. The asana and pranayama practices bring about the desired state of health in an individual. It also helps in control of breath. Asana's harmonize the flow of energy in the organism, thereby lifting the spirits of the individuals practicing.

* Information derived from yoga.iloveindia.com

NIYAMA

*A Sanskrit word meaning rules or laws. These are the rules prescribed for personal observance. Niyama is more intimate and personal compared with the other Yamas. They refer to the attitude we adopt towards ourselves.

SAUCA * this is the first Niyama which means cleanliness. Sauca has both inner and outer aspect. Outer cleanliness is simply keeping ourselves clean. Inner cleanliness has as much to do with the healthy, free functioning of our bodily organs as with the clarity of our mind. Practicing asanas or pranayama are essential means for attending to this inner sauca

SAMTOSA * Modesty and the feeling of being content with what we have. Literally the word means HAPPINESS! There are occasions we work hard to get something. We get very dissappointed when we don't get it. This happens because we do not have the discipline to be content with what we have. We should accept that there is a purpose for everything- Yoga calls it KARMA. In 'Celestine Prophecy' James Redfield calls this synchronicity. Literally SAMTOSA is to 'accept what happens.'

TAPAS * Refers to the activity of keeping the body fit or to confront and handle the inner urges without outer show. Literally it means to heat the body and, by so doing, to cleanse it. Through Tapas lies the idea that we can get rid of the rubbish in our body. another form of tapas is paying attention to the foods we eat. Attention to body posture, attention to eating habits, attention to breathing patterns-all help to prevent the buildup of rubbish in the body, including excess weight and shortness of breath. Tapas gives us the discipline of developing healthy eating habits and prevents us from getting high cholesterol, high blood pressure and heart disease.

SVADHYAYA * this fourth Niyama means SELF or 'belonging to me.' Adhyaya means inquiry or examination. The literal meaning is 'to get close to something.' To get close to yourself, to study yourself. It teaches us to be centered and non reactive to the dualities, to born out unwanted and destructive tendencies. All learning, all reflection, all contact that helps you to learn more about yourself is Svadhyaya, translated as 'the study of ancient texts'

YAMA

*defined as self control, forbearance, or any great rule or duty. It can also be interpreted as 'attitude' or 'behaviour'. A particular attitude can be expressed as discipline, which then influences our behaviour. Behaviour patterns or relationships between the individual and the outside world. There are five different YAMA'S...
*AHIMSA (Harmlessness) To not injure or show cruelty to any creature or person in any way whatsoever. Kindness, friendliness, and thoughtful consideration of other people and things.
*SATYA (Truthfulness) To speak the truth. To consider what we say, how we say it, and in what way it could affect others. Only speak the truth which is pleasant. Do not speak unpleasant truths.
*ASTEYA(Non-Stealing) Take nothing that does not belong to you by right of consciousness and karma
*BRAHMACHARYA (Sense Control) Movement towards the essential truth, used mostly in the sense of abstinence, particularly in relationship to sexual activity. We should form relationships that foster our understanding of the highest truths. If sensual pleasures are part of those relationships, we must take care that we keep our direction and do not get lost. Follow responsible behaviour with respect to our goal of moving towards the truth.
*APARIGRAHA ( Neutralising the desire to acquire and hoard wealth) 'Hands off' or 'not seizing opportunity'. Take only what is necessary and don't take advantage of a situation or act greedy. Take only what you have earned, if we take more we are exploiting someone else. Unearned rewards can bring with them obligations that might later cause problems.

Parigraha is the increasing orientation towards material things. The less time we spend on our material possessions, the more we have to spend on investigating all that we call Yoga. We will learn to enjoy what we have rather than constantly seeking things we don't have and never being satisfied in life. It is a SCIENTIFIC FACT that the more money and material possessions we have, the more stressful we become.

**When these five behaviours outlined become part of a person's daily life they become kinder and more considerate, our presence will create pleasant and friendly feelings in people around us. And if we remain true to the idea of SATYA(Truthfulness) everything we say will be truthful. We will become trustworthy.

'ONE'S WORD IS CONSIDERED ONE'S BIGGEST ASSET'


** information retrieved from http://yoga.iloveindia.com/limbs-of-yoga/niyama.html

The Eight Limbs of Ashtanga Yoga

* a series of steps and disciplines which purify the body and mind leading one to enlightenment

YAMA ~ One's attitude towards others
NIYAMA~ One's attitude towards one's self
ASANA ~ Postures
PRANAYAMA ~ Breathing
PRATYAHARA ~ Sensory Inhibition
DHARANA ~ Focus
DHYANA ~ Meditation
SAMADHI ~ Blissful absorption of one's individual consciousness in the essence of the universe

Imagination is Stronger than Knowledge

A moment in meditation... try this.

Pick a nice quiet place and lie down, on your back. Close your eyes, let your eyeballs fall to the back of your skull, part your lips slightly, let the tongue fall to the back of your throat, then take the tip of the tongue to the roof of your mouth... and start to breathe..deeply. Inhaling thru the nose, exhaling from the back of your throat to create a sound like that of the wind, or ocean, or Darth Vader....let your body sink and surrender deeper down into the ground upon each exhale...breath in the new, exhale and let go of the old...

Feel your body grow heavy, let go... SURRENDER.. your now lying in CORPSE pose... Behind your eyes start to visualise your favourite place to be. The place you feel most at peace, at ease and happy. Start to visualise all the sights, the colours, smell the scents, hear the sounds...Place yourself there in this moment in time... then notice how you feel when your in your favourite place to be...and hold onto that feeling...and take yourself there whenever you feel the need.
Just turn your eyes to the inside and take yourself to your place of peace...it's that easy!

Reduce Panic Attacks thru Yoga

Here are some pointers to help ease panic attacks...
*always keep muscles firm and engaged, hugging the muscles to the bones-this creates an insulating and calming influence on the nervous system
*focus on balancing your inhalation and exhalation, through breathing you shower the inside of the body
*at the onset of a panic attack focus on making the exhalation longer
*alternate vigorous work with resting poses during practice
*Yoga will help restore the natural balanced internal rhythms of the heart & nervous system
*Bring emphasis on grounding poses ie.. standing poses and hip openers

BREATHE DEEP

Courage Implies moving thru Fear

"The sacrifices we make to achieve things in life are rarely as great as the fear that prevents us from achieving them."

Private Group & One to One Sessions

Private Group & One to One Sessions are available where i come to your home and teach a class...

If you have a few friends who would like to take up Yoga but the class times are not suitable I can come to your home! These types of classes are much more intimate and bring you even closer to the people who are included. The personable enviornment provides you and your friends with more comfort as well.

Rates * All sessions are a flat rate of 25 euros

Email mbidoyoga8@gmail.com for further information....

Namaste

'The classroom is simply the arena in which we can witness our deeply ingrained habits in all their glory'

Some words from Audrey Hepburn

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry
For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed
If you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each your arms.
As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and the other for helping others

May I feel protected and safe,
May I feel content and pleased,
May my physical body provide me with strength
May my life unfold smoothly with ease

Yoga in Everday Life

Yoga is not only poses and meditation, many of you practice yoga without even realising it! For instance, cleaning your house is a KARMA Yoga.. your space is a relfection of your state of mind, replinishing, polishing, clearing and washing, are acts of love for your space which reflect on your inner self.

The Gift of Giving is a karma yoga..what goes around comes around. Any gift you receive should be with gratefulness for the sheer thought of the act. Whether it be a material gift or not... In my mind the Gift of Time is the most priceless and precious gift anyone can ever give you.

Good Deeds with no need for recognition is another practice in Yoga. Living for Each Other, not against each other.. Uniting, Giving Thanks...BELIEVING

Some of my favourite quotes....

*INTIMACY... into-me-i-see
*The Soul cannot be killed, only it's vehicle can die
*Deisre is the Design Flaw
*When there is pride there is always ignornace
*For attractive lips speak words of kindness
*Our hands are cosmic conductor cables
** As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and the other for helping others

Drop in Yoga Classes

The Athenaeum Spa, Corinthia Palace, Attard/Malta

*Mondays @ 7.30pm
*Wednesdays @10.30am

*Fees
*7 euros/class
*50 euros/10 classes

* All classes are on an ongoing basis
* Space is limited, call the Spa on 25443001 to book

The Feel Good Factor Instructing Yoga

I would like to take this opportunity to share with you the joy i feel each time i teach a yoga session...

For 13 years i was an aerobics instructor/personal trainer, so this field has always interested me. I worked for the YMCA OF GREATER TORONTO for 8 years, involved in many different positions. Within the fitness industry things changed from year to year. One year they suggest doing a specific exercise, the next year they tell you not to do it because of the injuries that arose through it... it can get very aggravating when you're trying to teach people how to improve their lives, and yet most of these exercises we were taught to pass on resulted in injury, mainly to the knees and lower back areas.... which once injured cause incredible discomfort and have serious effect on one's health.

Yoga is a 5000 year old healing art and the basis of it has never changed. A client is taught to listen to their own bodies, given poses that internally massage the internal organs and drain them of any built up toxins and emotions. When i encountered other instructors who had been teaching Yoga for years, the quality of their skin was always so youthful looking, as was their outlook on life. This is what attracted me initially to Yoga.

Once i began taking my own practice seriously i started noticing the changes in my attitude, changes in my attitude towards others, my body always felt lengthened after a class and my mind at ease, i was hooked!!

I then decided to start instructing Yoga and passing on this amazing tool that teaches you how to heal yourself through a pose rather than popping a pill, turning to alcohol, which i myself did for years, or other drugs. Many of the poses in Yoga help one through addictions, are disease fighters, cancer included. There are poses that will clear a sore throat, cure a cough, bring ease to a migraine or headache, drain your liver, cleanse the lungs and kidneys, message the glands in the head and calm the nervous system, poses to help cure insomnia and i can go on and on...it's mind blowing to learn that we have everything we need from head to toe and that we still look for outside sources for a quick fix. We've been given these amazing human bodies, which is the most complicated piece of machinery around, and yet we seem to take better care of our cars and homes then we do of our own being. Funny thing is that it's your health that will carry you happily through life if you treat it right, all your possessions get left behind...HEALTH IS WEALTH...

In every yoga session I teach I pass on this valuable information that is so precious. The clients feel this and the unity felt in the room is breathtaking!! Every client is breathing deep, every movement having a breath. All you hear throughout the class is the sounds of breath, and as an instructor you learn who is holding back, who is letting go...you learn to body read people and help them target problem areas in their bodies which in result relaxes the mind and brings them to self awareness. It gives me such great pleasure to be able to introduce people to this world for it's practical uses more than spiritual. The spiritual comes automatically to those open to it but i do not preach this, it's very individual .. i do preach about how to help yourself through any emotions or physical ailments, only because it has worked wonders for me....

We are all so spoiled in this life, yet seem so unappreciative of it. There is soo much poverty and real suffering in the world, and yet we allow our little mundane problems to become so large and egotistical...always wanting more...when we already have too much. Throughout my travels i always found that the poorest people were always so much more in tune with themselves and content with just that. They are the happiest people i have encountered, rarely complaining of anything, serene in their facial expressions, just enjoying what they've been given, which is so little to the Western eye, yet so much more to them.

Yoga has taught me to appreciate what i have in my life, not what i don't have. To focus on the positive not the negative. To not just speak words, but to take action on them... Yoga has given me soooo much courage to do the things I've always wanted to do, it taught me to move through my fears, and through that my courage has grown more so. At the end of every session that i teach i don't want it to come to an end, and this passes onto my clients. It truly brings joy to my life and this is what i wanted to share with you.... I am far from being a true angel and i still battle with many things, but everyday and in every way i feel like i am getting better and better. I will always be better than before, and so can you... BELIEVE!

"If you begin to understand what you are without trying to change it, then what you are undergoes a transformation" J.Krishnamurti

MEDITATION

Once the breath is focused on methods of self exploration, inner awareness, concentration, self awareness all aid in one's strength and stability through self realisation which then lead to MEDITATION - whose aim is to remain grounded in self awareness under all conditions of joy, sorrow, pleasure, pain, gain or loss.

An undisciplined mind oscillates between two primary states in meditation - the first being a dull sleepy state and the other is the restless dissipated state, both of which are normal. MEDITATION leads to allowing the body to let go and fall deep into sleep while the mind remains alert to the inside. It becomes challenging with old mental patterns, undigested emotions and experience that comes up when we quiet the mind - we need to face, handle and digest them. It is in this state that you become an observer of your own mind without reaction.

Freudians say 'Unhappiness is the inevitable result of the clash between our natural drives and civilizations needs'... DESIRE BEING THE DESIGN FLAW
'Human contentment is a simple case of mistaken identity. We're miserable because we think that we are mere individuals, alone with our fears and flaws, resentments and mortality. We wrongly believe that our limited little EGOS constitute our whole entire nature. We have failed to recognise our deeper divine character. We don't realize that, somewhere within us all, there does exist a supreme SELF who is eternally at peace. That supreme SELF is our true identity, universal and divine.'

Turn your eyes to the inside to heal and free your soul...

BREATHE IN LIFE

Yoga is described in Sanskrit as Union. It originally comes from the root word YUJ, which means 'to yoke', to attach yourself to a task at hand with ox-like discipline. The task at hand in Yoga is to find Union between mind and body, the individual and universe, between our thoughts and the source of our thoughts, between teacher and student. Yoga takes you back to basics and focus's on BREATH-one of our most powerful tools that many adults forget how to use. Through breathing, we can change our mind state and cleanse the body of built up toxins and emotions.

BREATH with awareness helps you focus on the fullness of each breath and listen to all that arises within your mind and heart. The process of cleansing the body begins here and free's the mind from past experience, letting the breath wash through bringing in new energy with every INHALE and connecting with your creative self. On the EXHALE we release old energy, we let go of anything that doesn't serve us. Through BREATH you will slowly see that a calmness of mind is brought about, an openness of heart and body is rediscovered, and a secure connection with the ground is achieved.

In Yoga VINYASA is the term used for breath. To execute this type of breathing one inhales from the nose and then exhales from the back of the throat producing a sound like that of the wind or ocean. There are four stages to our BREATHING...

1) UJJAYI - is the method of breathing which conquers bondage and liberates the mind.
2) PURAKA - inhalation, draws energy in to inspire our body to flow upwards
3) ANTARA KUMBHAKA - moment of suspension when your inhalation is complete but the exhalation has not yet begun
4) RECHAKA - the exhalation breath is released from the upper body and empties down through the lower body which releases energy downwards, connecting us to gravity and the earth.

BREATHE DEEP
NAMASTE

Eight Limbs of Ashtanga Yoga

There are many different branches of Yoga, and the one that interested me most is Ashtanga Yoga. Ashtanga Yoga defines as 'Eight Limbed Yoga' . The Eight Limbs and their Sanskrit names are as follows....

1) YAMA ones behaviour in the world and attitude towards others
2) NIYANA ones behaviour and attitude towards oneself
3) ASANA physical pose/posture
4) PRATHAYARA withdrawal of senses, focus goes inwards, losing awareness of what is going on outside oneself
5) PRANAYAMA breathing exercises which increase life force and lead to a calmer mind
6) DHARANA concentration and focus without distraction
7) SAMADHI enlightenment

Through practice one can see all these mental and physical limbs becoming more exposed. Yoga has taught me to look into mySELF and start to understand why it is that certain things cause me upset and why I react certain ways to specific situations

Benefits of Yoga

YOGA is one of the many HEALING ARTS that can help anyone of any fitness level achieve inner PEACE, FLEXIBILITY and mental CLARITY.

Taught in a practical manner, you will LEARN positions to help you HEAL any physical or mental ailment you may be suffering from...UNITING BODY AND MIND