10 Things You Should Know When Choosing a Yoga Teacher Training Program by Silvia Mordini

10 Things You Should Know When Choosing a Yoga Teacher Training Program

Choosing a teacher training program is an investment in yourself that yields lifelong transformation physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. As such, the program you choose ultimately contributes to the direction of your growth.   I encourage you to look beyond the “surface factors” and explore the depth of each program you are considering. Before choosing a yoga teacher training program, reflect upon these essential elements.

1. Mission & Vision

What are the Mission and Vision of the program? Is the heart of the program in alignment with your spirit?

2. Lead Trainer

Yoga Alliance requires that each program has a designated lead trainer, and there may or may not be co-trainers. Who is the lead trainer? How long has the lead trainer been teaching yoga? How long have they been teacher trainers? Is the yoga working for the lead trainer and teachers?

3. Program History

How long has the program been contributing to the yoga world? History matters .

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The Importance of Sisterhood: 7 Tips on Nurturing Your Sisters by Silvia Mordini

The Importance of Sisterhood: 7 Tips on Nurturing Your Sisters

The truth is, I work a lot. I travel to fulfill my dharma to teach peace and inspire happiness. I’m in different time zones, and often lack reliable WiFi or have low bandwidth. I can’t afford an international cell phone plan, just cheap sim cards for local calls.   Even when I’m not off-grid, I meditate a lot by myself so I’m still off-grid (in a sense, living in another realm.) I’m also an introvert hiding in plain site as an extrovert, which requires time alone to recharge. I get so involved in my role of healer-teacher that I forget to leave time to stay more connected.   What has changed for me, as I get wiser, is how important sisterhood is now more than ever.

The Importance of Sisterhood

Truth: I’ve been monogamously married or partnered for most of my life. Another truth? Men will be outlasted by women in my life.

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5 Ways to Be More Generous by Silvia Mordini

5 Ways to Be More Generous

As a result of practicing yoga, I have changed the way I think about generosity. I have learned to give without expectation and to always remain mindful of the quality of my generosity.   Generosity in yoga is an interesting learning based partly on two of the five Yamas:

It means the opposite of taking (Asteya) whereby we share freely with a focused quality effort. Generosity implies looking at life through a prism of abundance instead of scarcity. In yoga, this is known as Aparigraha: there is more than enough for everyone.

As Rumi says, “In generosity and helping others: be like the river. In compassion and grace: be like the sun.”

5 Ways to Be More Generous

Unconditional generosity, giving, and helping others is from a heart of unconditional loving kindness. Here below are suggestions for how to be more generous in daily life.

1. Give more time.

Take a moment to think of ways you can be .

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Do You Choose Happiness or Truth? By Silvia Mordini

Do You Choose Happiness or Truth?

In yogic terms Truth, known as Satya, can be defined on three levels: (1) that we speak the truth about what we think, (2) what we feel and (3) what we do. When we feel out of alignment, it is usually where there is a conflict between what we think and what we feel. When we aren’t honest we feel unsteady, anxious, and uprooted—everything that happiness is not.

In the Yoga Sutras Chapter 2.36, it is presented that if we are “dedicated to the truth and integrity, our thoughts, words and actions gain the power to manifest.”  (Translation from Secret Power of Yoga by Nischala Joy Devi).

Truth is the destination, and happiness is the way to travel to get there.

The Yoga Sutras spell out that if we are not balanced mentally, physically, or emotionally, then we are not living our true, naturally happy potential.

Happiness is our birthright. Yoga teaches us that our true .

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How Stressed Out are You? By Silvia Mordini

How Stressed Out are You?

Have you ever noticed a low level of anxiety constantly gnawing away inside you? Do you find yourself clenching your jaw, grinding your teeth, fidgeting, seeking meaningless distraction, anything just to handle the stress or get away from the tension you feel just being you?   Yoga calls this Dukha. It means suffering, imbalance, despair, anguish, anxiety, irritation, uncertainty and more. You get the idea.  If you feel Dukha, you are not alone. Despite the fact we have more comforts and material possessions, more freedom and more mobility than any people in modern history, Americans are awash in Dukha. As George Carlin put it, “the paradox of our time in history is we have more….” (I’ll share more about this later.)

How Dukha Impacts Us On All Levels

We all know that stress can have a huge impact on how we live day-do-day. It affects our mood, our social relationships, our sleep pattern and diet, .

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Spiritual Interview with DJ Taz Rashid

Spiritual Interview with DJ Taz Rashid

Taz Rashid, once a corporate guy who excelled in his peer world of Millennial values, discovered Esoteric thought, world music and Eastern Spirituality within the last decade.   These and other influences have led him to embody the vision most of us desire in our deepest selves: to live our passion.   Now a spiritual DJ, and composer of yoga/meditation/dance music inspired by Love, Ancient New World, House, Kirtan, Devotional, and all the cosmic sounds, Taz travels the world sharing his passion with others. Sit back and enjoy this inspiring conversation with Taz – it will nourish your own unfolding hero’s journey.

What inspires you to do what you do?

A few years ago I heard the saying, “Anything we put our minds and hearts to is possible.” Even though I’d heard similar messages my whole life, I lived with doubts that I didn’t even know I had.

With the birthing of my deeper spiritual journey .

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Does Yoga Make you Sexy? By Silvia Mordini

Does Yoga Make you Sexy?

The hot yoga topic in some circles has been about the marketing of yoga to make you slim and sexy. My first concern as a yoga instructor is not so much about sexiness as it is teaching folks that yoga is really about the Science of Happiness.   I know that with consistent, regular practice, you will reconnect with what you’re feeling, learn healthy, stress-reducing techniques (like breathing on purpose), appreciate your life more and generally engage with the world in a kinder way.   As yoga teacher Donna Farhi says, “What the world needs are kinder, more compassionate, generous people.”

Yoga and the Science of Happiness

The time on the mat is our opportunity to cleanse the mind of all its distractions that make us less attractive. It is the time we rid ourselves of unnecessary worries and negative thoughts.

“For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words .

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Why We Experience Slipping Backwards or Anavasthitatva

Why We Experience “Slipping Backwards” or Anavasthitatva

Pantanjali’s Yoga Sutra 1.30 – There are nine kinds of distractions that come that are obstacles naturally encountered on the Spiritual path, and these are physical illness, mental inertia, self-doubt, haste, apathy, laziness, self-deception (incorrect assumptions about ourselves), lack of perseverance to achieve one’s intentions, and the inability to maintain a level of aptitude once gained.

There is comfort in knowing these are predictable.

If these are the impediments along the journey, then we can feel much more at ease when we encounter them. Instead of thinking, “Something is wrong with me,” we can see that these are predictable bumps along the road of spiritual life.

If we know that such obstacles are going to come, and that other people before us have encountered them, then we can also follow their experience and guidance as to how to deal with these obstacles.

What Happens when we meet an Obstacle?

First, one of these nine states .

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How Do We Reconnect When We’re Lonely?

How Do We Reconnect When We’re Lonely?

I found myself feeling isolated, separate and alone. Had I done this? Did I withdraw as a reaction to the betrayals? How had I become so disconnected? More importantly, how could I reconnect?

Interesting trivia: in 1950, less than 10% of American households contained only one person. By 2010, nearly 27% of households had just one person.

There is an epidemic of loneliness.

“We found that loneliness somehow penetrated the deepest recesses of the cell to alter the way genes were being expressed.” – Stephen Marche

Loneliness affects not only the brain, then, but the basic process of DNA transcription. When you are lonely, your whole body is lonely. Nothing can replace human connection besides spending time with real people, not just the virtual kind.

The truth is I started going to yoga as part of my recovery from a hit-and-run accident that resulted in me spending way too much time in bed by myself. I .

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5 Ways to Change Your Attitude

5 Ways to Change Your Attitude

We all know that the power of attitude can change our lives. Not only do our thoughts affect us in tangible ways, but we also have the extraordinary capacity to affect those around us, and the environment we live in. After all, the way we think mirrors how we see our lives.   Yoga teaches us that limiting our outlook is a root cause of suffering. The answer is to look inside. In yoga, this process of self-reflection is known as vichara. It starts by seeing the habits of our minds that keep us from living up to our potential.   From there we can implement small changes in attitude. Here are some suggestions and ways to change your attitude so you can gain a new perspective:

1. Take a day off from the Internet.

Lighten up your media diet by having Internet-free days on either a Saturday or Sunday. Turn off the TV and music and enjoy .

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