My last two days have felt very spiritual. Yesterday I went for a hike and I found this very chill spot to do a few sun salutations and a riverside meditation. The sound of the rushing water was so soothing. Tonight I attended a wonderful gathering of women for the new moon. I discovered that it is the time of Venus so it is a time to set intentions and to be open to new directions.
Read MoreToday was definitely harder to calm my monkey mind in meditation. I used my sandalwood and citrine mala beads and the "so hum" mantra. I am always planning in my head, planning my day, planning my meals, planning planning planning. It's hard for me to turn that off. Today's meditation was no different. But when my mind wandered I refocused on "so hum" and my breath and it brought me back. I tried to turn off the thoughts of plans.
Read MoreI have been thinking about what it means to be an artist. I love this quote from Pablo Picasso:
"All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." As a child I created art because I loved to make things. I wasn't afraid of what people thought of it or how it was perceived. I made things for the love of creating and nothing else. It took me a long time to get back to that place.
I am telling you this because we all have things we’re embarrassed about. Maybe it has to do with our shape, or our voice or a part of our body. Each and every one of us has something we wish we could change. Modern medicine has made it possible for many of us to "fix" these things but at what cost? Do we ultimately feel better once we've undergone these corrective surgeries? Does it really improve our sense of self?
Read MoreI am performing the Maha Sacral Mudra. Gertrude Hirschi's book "Yoga in your Hands" has a lovely visualization and affirmation with the description of this mudra: “We frequently have to pass through tunnels in life--we have to go through something. Every tunnel ultimately takes us to the light, but we need the courage and strength to go through it to the end.”
Read MoreI went to wonderful talk today by Preem Sadasivananda about love and relationships. He talked about how the most important relationship we have is with ourselves. In order to have a healthy relationship with ourselves we must examine ourselves. What are our needs, wants, desires, lives, hates are. We have to understand and accept our weaknesses and then we can work to overcome them.
Read MoreI spent the day with a good friend of mine, Molly. She is a wonderful lady and I appreciate her outlook on life and also how she prods me with the right questions to get me thinking. She shared something with me that I feel perfectly encompasses the types of friendships and relationships I'm looking for in my life. It is called "equal energy exchange."
Read MorePondering the mantra, "From my roots, I surrender to the earth." Surrender is hard for me. I think for a long time I wasn't aware or able to face my competitive drive. I remember when a friend mentioned the personality test, Enneagram, and after I took it, I got varying types depending on the test. But when I took the test on the Enneagram Institute's site, I got the "individualist" and the "achiever." I don't think the test can fully encompass all that is me and definitely had some limitations; however, I do think I wasn't recognizing my achievement mentality.
Read MoreGetting ready for an impromptu camping trip this weekend in Hocking Hills. Went to Whole Foods for organic eats for camping and when I get home, I heard this hissing noise coming from my car. Of course just my luck, I had a nail in my tire. Made a mad dash to the tire place without even unloading the groceries. It always seems that when I'm crunched for time, something throws a wrench in my day.
Read MoreHow can we be compassionate with ourselves on and off the yoga mat? I chose this heart opener or Urdhva Danurasana because it is a pose I need to have a lot of compassion for myself when practicing. Backbends are tough for me. I see very little progress with these poses and often wonder why my back isn't more flexible. I remind myself that this is my journey and to not get caught up in trying to achieve some advanced version of a pose. Maybe one day I'll have a beautiful curve in my spine but then again maybe I won't and that's perfectly fine. In the end it doesn't determine how good a person I am or even how dedicated to my practice I am.
Read MoreOne of the big things I've taken away from all this solitude and time to reflect is that it benefits me to stay positive and in almost all cases, negativity and getting upset, angry and worked up, actually make the situation worse and more unbearable. What a simple thing. So common sense.
Read MoreWhen we’re children it’s so much easier to conquer certain fears and in general many fears don’t even exist yet because you haven’t become jaded. You still look at the universe as benevolent and good. You haven’t allowed heartache and disappointment to overtake your worldview. You’re blissfully unaware or conversely you’re only aware of the brighter side of life.
Read MoreFor a while I was asking myself, "why does this always happen to me?" It was easy to fall into this victim mentality like everything was happening to me rather than with me. However, when I began looking at it through the lens of what it could teach me, I realized I hadn't recognized what I needed to learn.
Read MorePrajnaparadha - incorrect belief, believing in separateness, duality, "other", forgetting our divinity, that we are a soul having a human journey, that we are a human 'being' living on this earth feeling pain, love, happiness, regret, grief and all the other emotions that are part of every human journey.
Read MoreThis space has oftentimes felt decadent and undeserved. Shouldn’t I be working? Shouldn’t I be doing? Shouldn’t I be achieving?
Read More"Whether you think you or you think you can't, you're probably right." It's my favorite quote and Henry Ford couldn't be more right. I can decide how I feel about something and I can change the way I feel just by changing my outlook.
Read More“Sometimes when you no longer see yourself as the hero of your own drama, you know, expecting victory after victory, and you understand deeply that this is not paradise. Somehow we’re, especially the privileged ones that we are, we somehow embrace the notion that this veil of tears is perfectable that you can get it all straight. I found that things became a lot easier when I no longer expected to win. I tried to put that into the song 1,000 kisses deep, where you understand that you abandon your masterpiece and you sink into the real masterpiece.” - Leonard Cohen
Read MoreI’ve been cultivating new daily sadhana practices since my return home from Panchakarma. Each morning I awoke before sunrise and meditated. This is something that I’ve been wanting to cultivate into my daily life since even before I began my Ayurvedic journey. It’s taken me some time to make this a daily practice, but a shift has taken place at Panchakarma, as it always does, and I’m starting to feel the roots of change take hold in the soul.
Read MoreIt’s hard for me to proud of myself. It’s hard for most of us to be proud of ourselves. And I’m not perfect, I mess up lots of things. We all do. But we’re all good at something and we shouldn’t be afraid to give ourselves props when props are due.
Read MoreSometimes a new path in life isn’t actually a new direction. It’s a change of perspective, a rewriting of the story your telling. During my morning meditations, I’ve been contemplating the idea of perception.
Read MoreAt Five Prana, we offer Ayurvedic services like Health & Wellness Consulting; healing Body Treatments such as Abhyanga; Ayurvedic Yoga Classes; and Ayurvedic Cooking Classes and Demonstrations. For those of you who are interested in delving deeper into the study of Ayurveda or who are just interested in Ayurvedic approaches to health and wellness, we also lead monthly workshops on a variety of topics related to Ayurveda including cooking, skin care, cleansing practices and more. For our eco-friendly and health conscious consumers, we offer a handmade, natural Ayurvedic products line that will support you during your transition to the Ayurvedic lifestyle. We offer a range of products carefully crafted using the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda. At Five Prana Ayurveda, we want to support you on your wellness journey. Choose from one of our offerings or contact us so we can craft an Ayurvedic wellness approach customized to meet your specific needs. We are here to help. Peace, love and health from Five Prana.
fiveprana@gmail.com
Powered by Squarespace.
The information on this website is presented for educational purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for the diagnosis, treatment, or advice of a qualified, licensed medical professional. The facts presented are offered as information only, not medical advice, and in no way should anyone infer that we are practicing medicine. Seek the advice of a medical professional for proper application of this material to any specific situation. Do not use the information found within this website to self-diagnose any medical conditions or treat any health problems or diseases. The information provided is not intended to prescribe or be taken as medical advice. If you have or suspect that you have a medical condition please contact your health care provider immediately.
No statement on this website has been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Any product mentioned or described on this website is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. If you purchase anything through a link in this email or website, you should assume that we have an affiliate relationship with the company providing the product or service that you purchase, and that we will be paid in some way. We recommend that you do your own independent research before purchasing anything.
Photos by Marissa Mele or by Carrie Gabella Photography
