by rupareiki@yahoo.com | Oct 22, 2017 | Health Tips, My Experiences, Self Esteem, Self Love, Yoga
My Journey to a headstand/ Sirshasan started in Dec 2015 when I was visiting my home town in India. I went with my sister to the Anti Gravity Yoga session and with use of the hammock I learned how to get inverted into headstand. It was difficult cause that was my first time ever being upside down and I was very glad that I was well supported with the hammock. I already knew that Sirshasan was the King of all poses and had a lot of benefits. But that day doing the inverted pose brought up a lot of fears I must have housed since forever.
First I’ll start with top 10 Benefits of doing the pose:
- Calms the brain and helps relieve stress and mild depression
- Increases focus
- Increases blood flow to eyes
- Stimulates the pituitary and pineal glands
- Strengthens the arms, legs, and spine
- Strengthens the lungs
- Tones the abdominal organs
- Improves digestion
- Helps relieve the symptoms of menopause
- Therapeutic for asthma, infertility, insomnia, and sinusitis
I had never tried headstand ever cause I was always afraid of being hurt, of my neck breaking, or my back breaking. I don’t remember doing it when I was young ever. May be I could start somewhere I thought to myself. May be I could start doing headstand with support of the wall. I started trying out the pose every weekend in the morning (first thing in the morning before I ate or drank anything). Frankly speaking even with the wall next to me I was afraid of doing the pose for quite some time. My regular practice of yoga along with increasing my upper body and core strength helped me a lot with having faith in myself and building my strength overall. I was finally able to get over the fear of breaking my neck but that again was with a strong wall next to me!
Well now that I felt stronger I had to achieve more. How do people do a headstand without support? How do they do it in the middle of the room? What kind of balance and strength do these people have? I had encountered such people when I attended a few classes at Sivananda ashram in Bahamas. I was amazed to see people from all walks of life just able to do it with ease and grace.
One of my close friend Aparna who teaches Yoga came to my rescue and taught me what to do. Her guidance helped me get to the next step. This step included trying to balance in the middle of the room on my head while getting my feet up half way. The picture below shows the progression of the headstand from one level to another along with the method to do the headstand.
She suggested I get to the half way position for about 3-4 months and not rush myself. I continued my regular work-outs while I added this practice to my routine. Some days were better than other. Some days I felt balanced mentally and it was easy to get to the half way headstand. March 2017 to August 2017 I continued to do what I was told. But now I wanted to get to the next level. I thought it would be a very easy transition. But alas, I had more fears to conquer.
Next step for me was to get over my fear of falling! Fear of falling on my back and hurting myself. This one again was a lot of mind work and I started with practicing a good way of falling. Falling with a pillow next to my head so I can roll over onto the pillow and not hurt my neck, head or my back. During the fall I was told to release the finger thread, with palms open, tuck my neck, round my back, bend my knees and roll out of it. Once I got over my fear of falling, I was able to try getting my legs straight up.
Took me a while and today 22nd October I can say I have finally gotten to that point of getting my feet straight up in a proper headstand/sirshasan. While the posture is not perfect I know now that I have gotten to a point where I am free of my fears related to this amazing pose! I am sure I will add more goals to refine this pose and hold this pose for longer times. But for now I am happy that I stayed with it and while it took long I didn’t give up.
In summary I want to say that this pose alone has helped me work through a lot of my own limitations and my own fears. It feels amazing today that my body is able to do what I set my mind to. The key to success was that I never gave up and continued to have faith that the day will come. All along I also always looked for support, motivation and teachers who I learned from. Even though it took almost 2 years the day did arrive and every single step was worth the effort and worth the struggle. I promise myself this journey will not end here, I will continue to explore a lot more difficult poses while I find some other fears, play with them and stretch my abilities. Going beyond my limitations set by me and freedom from fears is what I strive for every day!
**IMPORTANT** If you are new to Yoga I recommend you seek out a qualified instructor/teacher to teach you this pose. Learn how to do the pose appropriately and ensure you have support of the wall when you first get started. If you are suffering from low or high blood pressure you should not attempt this pose. Also consult your health care practitioner prior to trying new poses. Understand the limitations, restrictions and cautions associated with the inverted postures like sirshasan. Please assess your own personal health before trying the pose. Inverted pose in general should not be performed by women who are menstruating, as is the case with all inverted postures (where the legs are raise over the head).
by rupareiki@yahoo.com | Sep 25, 2017 | Health Tips, Love, My Experiences, Self Esteem, Self Love
During my walk on the trail today I became very present with the stream of water that was flowing all along the trail. The sound very serene, the ambiance very soothing & the water just flowing.
Flowing got me thinking. There are so many rocks along this stream and so many changes in the landscape where a dead tree trunk had fallen in the middle of the stream and the water had to flow in the middle of the two land masses, wherever it went the water stayed within the boundaries. While all the water wants to do is flow and either meet a bigger river or meet an ocean or feed into a lake, things are constantly in its way. But what does water do? It finds a way, changes its course, go over the rocks or even chisel through an entire mountain. It doesn’t matter what comes in the way water stays on its path and continues to flow until it reaches its destination. At any time water is not doubting its ability to find a way and stay true to its nature of FLOWING.
Now consider yourself in place of water and while you are flowing along this path called life, the rocks along the way are obstacles, the dead tree trunk that falls into the middle of your path are the challenges that you have to face, and the boundaries are the limits that are either set by yourself or by others in life. Sometimes these boundaries are needed to keep you in them and other times they are there so you can learn and grow beyond them. Life is always full of experiences, the good the bad, the cool fun ones and the ones we don’t want. While there are some great clear paths full of amazing views and some easy times, there are spots full of obstacles along with dead ends.
Just like the water we can keep on flowing. We can also change course, go over obstacles, create new paths or sometimes even change the entire landscape. We have the power to deal with life the way we want. Either jump over the hurdles, work through fears, come up with different ways of handling challenges, or change the limits given to you and get creative. Think beyond your boundaries and limits, think outside the box.
Whatever you decide to do, it is all fine and it is just another choice or decision that you choose to make. So be happy with your choices, be happy with yourself, live on, accept yourself and keep flowing. Don’t cling onto all that happened with one obstruction just cause it is big or a steep climb. Learn from it and move on. No matter how long or short, how difficult or easy the journey might be, make it a fun journey. Keep flowing and stay true to yourself. Be yourself and let your inner being, your source, guide you through the journey.
A reconnecting walk into the woods and just being present to the surroundings helped me reflect on something so profoundly simple “Just keep flowing- no matter what”!
by rupareiki@yahoo.com | Mar 7, 2015 | Health Tips, Love, Self Esteem, Self Love
I love you.
I adore you.
I really enjoy your company.
I love just being by your side.
I love the way you love me and take care of me.
I love to see your smile.
I am so proud of you for getting through the challenges life throws at you.
Being with you brings out the best in me.
You are always ready to learn.
You are so motivated.
You are such a charming personality.
You are so gentle and soft.
You are strong, brave, vibrant, loving, and deserve the best.
I want to always make sure you are safe and secure.
I love you unconditionally.
I love you with all your flaws and faults.
I love you beyond your mistakes.
You are always so peaceful and calm.
You are such a warm person to be around.
You are beautiful.
I love the way you take care of yourself, your health, your body, your spirit.
You are like a shining star.
You brighten my day.
You inspire me.
You are the most amazing person I know in life.
You flow with life.
You show everyone how love can make you FREE.
Sounds like a wonderful love letter!! Doesn’t it?
Well it is definitely a love letter. Just not a letter to someone else but to myself. I wake up every morning waiting to see myself in the mirror and say some beautiful and wonderful things to this soul that is wearing this body. And every single day I love this person in me more and more. I have been enjoying this exercise for over 100 days today (27Jan). Yes 100 days of loving myself and what a journey it has been.
It all started with taking on a meditation challenge of 21 days with Deepak Chopra and Oprah. Just before I was about to begin I reflected upon something that I had been putting off for a long time.
I have followed Louise Hay and her wonderful work with Affirmations since 1994 (my freshman year of college). I have enjoyed doing Reiki, Karuna Reiki ®, Art of living, Yoga, various breathing exercises, meditations, Emotional Freedom Technique (a more recent exploration), tapped into my intuition (through my dreams) etc. During this spiritual journey that I began with a simple book “The Celestine Prophecy – by James Redfield.” I have been on this journey since and I feel I am always striving to be happy in the PRESENT moment. Among lots of various philosophical, self-improvement authors, books, seminars, online courses, simple and cute movies like “Kung-Fu Panda” have come across as lessons that I have enjoyed applying in life. I have done positive affirmations myself, with my kids, with my friends, at work and have been with them as and when I have felt the need for them.
Mirror work as Louise mentions in her book “Heal Your Life” is where you look into the mirror and look in your eyes, breathe and say: “I LOVE YOU. I approve of you.”
Do this for 30 days and see what comes up. Such a simple exercise and see how profoundly your life changes. See what you unleash and how you free yourself from your old limiting beliefs and patterns. Loving self as she mentions it is not about vanity or arrogance. It is about claiming our power and identifying who we are. I have done this exercise before but I have never followed it through for 30 days to experience the real results. I have always wanted to do it but never felt so driven to continue. As soon as I would have some wonderful results in a week or two, I would be satisfied and stop doing the exercise. But this time around I was determined to stick to it. I wanted to see what can this person, who I call “Rupa”, really do with such simple exercise? What does loving myself really mean? What power does such a simple exercise hold?
The journey from 19 Oct 2013 onwards…
The first week I woke up and did the exercise very casually. It was easy. I looked in the mirror and just said the stuff that I was supposed to, to myself. I looked closely and added a lot of affirmations as days went by. I also added some affirmations like “I approve of you”. Whatever that meant. I thought it was easy. And truly it was easy just doing the exercise. Giving myself 2-3 min in front of the mirror. Well yeah I looked good, I liked my smile and overall my days were just going wonderfully well. Nothing was really different.
It was not until end of week 2 when I started feeling something in me that was looking deeply into those eyes. It was then when I saw how much disapproval was really there. How much I was just superficially showing love to myself. Whereas my fears totally controlled me. I had my own patterns to remain safe. How I always ignored confrontation not only with others but with self. How lonely I felt inside and how much I was holding onto old past experiences that I could not do anything about. How many memories of hurt lingered around and there was so much anger for allowing such things to happen to me. It was at that moment when saying those simple sentences “I love you dearly. Or I approve of you” were the most difficult things I could do.
What is love I thought? How much I was wronged? How many mistakes I had made? And yet everything I had done was the best I could have done given the understanding, circumstances and awareness (as Louise Hay would say it). It was difficult but I could hear me saying “Rupa, I understand this is difficult and it is difficult to let go of old patterns, I understand what you tried to do all these years, but you are safe now. You can let it all go and you will be fine. You can forgive not only people and circumstances but yourself. Yes you can forgive yourself for everything that you allowed to happen with you. Forgive yourself for all your mistakes. Today is the day when I will love you more and I will be even more gentler with you.” The power of self-love unleashed . It was as if there was this person in me who was holding the other part of me with care and understanding. WITH LOVE. I processed my patterns, I tapped on them (EFT), I cried out loud while I was cared for by this loving individual in me. The love that was present was beyond imagination. Where was it all coming from? I had no idea. And yet it was so real and pure and only for me! It was only at that moment I understood the real meaning of loving self.
In the next few weeks, there were days when lots of patterns, my limiting beliefs surfaced and as I learned to be more patient, gentle and loving with myself they all slowly and steadily disappeared. And all of this with just “LOVING MYSELF” every day!! The energy, the enthusiasm, the spirit, the will to live every moment was incredible and just JOYFUL.
This commitment only became stronger because I had never felt the way I did and the way I feel today. There is gratitude for EVERY SINGLE thing I have in life. Even how miraculously this body never skips a beat or a breath. How calm and peaceful I became, I was able to look beyond patterns, able to just be in the moment and Breathe. The ability to very gently take care of myself in the midst of a difficult situation feels like a reward. The gift to handle the patterns and release doubts about my abilities, about my deservability or worthiness in the most unknown manner. Being with self and sitting in stillness and breathing have been the most divine feeling knowing the process of life is trustworthy. How every day feels like a miracle waiting to happen. How there is no effort required to manifest. How things started happening at their own pace and were just flowing and unfolding.
Every day is a beautiful new day where all I want to do is look ahead for all the opportunities to make it fun and joyous and enjoy it to the fullest. The more I loved myself and took care of myself the more I felt I had so much to give. There was unlimited source of love to give to others beyond their faults beyond their limitations. Things didn’t bother me anymore because I was already taken care of and loving others just came naturally since I was not looking for any love, approval or appreciation outside of me.
Days turned into weeks and weeks into months. And the mirror exercise has only become so ingrained in me now. It’s an adventure I look forward to every time I do it and I wait to see what it will unravel today and what will come forth for me to learn. Things have only become easier and SIMPLER. Gratitude is very easy to flow and patterns and challenges that come up just has become easier to handle and very easy to learn from. There is more trust in the flow of life and the way things unfold!
Thoughts are much more clearer, being in solitude with self during meditation is something I look forward to. It’s an amazing feeling wanting to wake up and just embrace the silence. I feel awesome. I continue to journal and I feel I get more done in much less time because I am able to give complete attention /focus to the job that needs to be done. I feel less pulled in different directions and understand the meaning of “things will unfold in divine order”. There is just so much to say and yet no need to say it.
Today I can say I truly understand what Louise Hay means by loving self. SIMPLEST thing one can do for oneself which can bring some PROFOUND results. I wonder what this world would be like if every one of us learned just to LOVE OURSELVES!!
So before I go I would like to leave you with a few questions
“Do you love yourself? Would you be willing to step into this amazing world of LOVE and find your real self?”
A simple way I see Love as!
Where there is love there is no space for fear, guilt, doubt and negativity
But where there is Fear, guilt, doubt and negativity
Love always finds space
Love creates that space
Imagine a glass jar which is filled with big rocks of fears, doubts, guilt and all negativities that is always ready to weigh you down.
Love is like the grains of sand which will find space around over under those big rocks and fill up that glass jar
Do you think your glass jar is full? Is there any more space left?
But add water to this jar and Love is like the water that will find space within the grains of sand.
Not only will love find that space, love just like water will soak every single grain of sand.
Now you would think the jar is full and there is no more love that can fit in it.
But love is like AIR. It is present everywhere even in this glass jar that seems to have no space!!
And where does it all come from?
In your heart.
Find it within and you will find an infinite unlimited source.
Look for it outside of you and you will be lost.
Love yourself!
EMBRACE YOURSELF!
Your dear friend
Rupa.
