Which Yoga Pose Challenges You the Most?

Which Yoga Pose Challenges You the Most?

Constantly being myself.

What Are Your Go-To Yoga Poses When You’re Stressed or in Need of an Energy Boost?

Supine poses are my antidote for both stress and calling energy back to me. I am shown here in Hand-to-Big-Toe Pose known in sanskrit as Supta Padangusthasana. A couple notes on this pose, only extend the leg out to the degree you can keep both your hips on the ground. It’s important to always maintain stability so flexibility has a strong foundation.

There are a million reasons to be stressed each day especially if you agree that stress can be defined as “any change.” Since we are in a constant state of change, the weather outside is different every day, and inside we are evolving, there is plenty of stress.

This means that Stress is not limited to negative changes it can very well be related to positive change. What I mean by that is happy change can be stressful, things like having a baby, getting married, getting a promotion, buying a new house are all what I’d call happy changes. They also come with their own brand of stress.

Therefore we all need to make time to quiet down the stress through the various means that work best for you today. Addressing stress is not a one size fit all solution. It all depends.

For me, I guess what I’m really saying is the easiest way to destress is just lie down.

Love yourself, love your day, love your life!
Silvia

SMUDGING

My first memory of my first visit to Bali was the scent in the air. As I stepped out of the plane onto the moveable stairway the smell of incense in the warm air embraced me from all directions. It was in that exact moment that I knew I had been here before, many times, perhaps even many lifetimes. I felt at home, this deep sense of safety. Over the last nine years when I disembark from the plane and feel the air on my skin and take a deep breath, the scent drops me into the present immediately. And everywhere you go in Ubud, where I live part-time, the smiles for miles and smell of incense lead you moment to moment to live in gratitude.
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Besides incense I also use medicinally the practice of burning S A G E — also known as smudging — which is an ancient spiritual ritual to cleanse a person, a group of people or a space. If you come to my home, anywhere I live, I will ask your permission to smudge you before you enter my sacred space so the energy in my home stays clear.
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The ritual burning of herbs is common to many cultures in the world. From the rich #frankincense of the Catholic Church, which is another childhood memory that I love, to the heady incenses of Asia, to the raw energy of brush burning in many native cultures—the purification of space through this modality is a global phenomenon with benefits for everyone.
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Burning sage is one of the oldest and purest methods of cleansing a person, group of people or space. While Native American sage burning is the most commonly recognized form of it today, it has nevertheless been a shared practice in other cultures too. From the ancient Celtic druids who used sage as a sacred herb alongside Oak Moss for burning as well as medicinal purposes, to the Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon whose Palo Santo (sacred/sainted wood) sage burning ceremonies are still practiced to this day. My heritage of South America, my birthplace, may be one of the reasons why this method of cleansing feels so natural to me.
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Smudging also has science supporting its benefits too.
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1. Purification
The most-used types of sage have antimicrobial properties. This means they keep infectious bacteria, viruses, pollution, mold and fungi at bay.
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White prairie sage (Artemisia ludoviciana) is both antimicrobial and antibacterial. White sage (Salvia apiana) is also antimicrobial. And both have been shown to repel insects. One 2007 study found that burning sage for an hour decreased the level of aerial bacteria by 94 percent. These effects were preserved for up to 24 hours afterward.
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**Though scientifically unproven, burning sage is thought to release negative ions. This is said to help neutralize positive ions like pollution, dust, mold, pet dander.
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2. Cleansing
Smudging is a ritual tool to rid yourself — or your space — of negativity. This includes past traumas, bad experiences, or negative energies from others you pick up going about your day. It cleanses yourself and your space for manifesting through positive energy. Think of this based in the Law of Attraction. This cleansed space helps us to create a vibrational vortex of positivity. Positive energy attracts positive energy. We are vibrational beings attracting like energy. Cleansing negative vibration makes us more magnetic for positive things to flow our way.

You can cleanse not only yourself and your space but your belongs. For instance after you’ve worn your Malas for a while they need to be cleansed. Use smudging as a way to

3. Reduces Stress
A 2016 research project for the University of Mississippi established that white sage (Salvia apiana) is rich in compounds that activate certain receptors in the brain. These receptors are responsible for elevating mood levels, reducing stress, and even alleviating pain.

If you believe smudging distresses your day as a part of a coming home ritual, or evening ritual then it will have the impact you want it to have based upon your belief. The stronger you associate distressing with the scent of sage and marry this to the science the better it will work. The better it works, the better it works.

Today is a very good day for sage.
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#sage #smudging #purification #healing #sacredspace #cleansing #healer #yogadaily #yogalife #energymedicine #incense #exploremore #baliindonesia #ubud #goodenergy #stressreduction #shamanism #positiveions #seasia #palosanto #peru #southamerica
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Photo by Ulrike Lakshmi Reinhold

LESS DRAMA

Meditate and Lessen the Drama
By Silvia Mordini

You would think that the yoga would make the process of meditation go faster. I thought it would too. But even now, when I meditate, it still feels a little like watching tv in my mind. Perhaps I’ve dropped my digital subscription, and there are fewer channels than I’ve had in the past, but certainly, I still have the stories. Instead of engaging, I simply watch my thoughts without expecting anything in particular. As a result, the dramas in my conscious life have lessened. The inner quiet I yearned for during meditation didn’t always happen, but a peaceful essence transitions into my regular life.

In short, my meditation can be loud but it makes my life more quiet.

This isn’t how I thought it would work. But I am happy to say in retrospect that it makes sense. Try it and see for yourself. Set your clock for 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 8 minutes and then 10 minutes as you build up your ability to be with your internal noise. You will, like me, realize that your outer life becomes more peaceful. Don’t expect anything while you are meditating stay open and free to allowing anytihng to be, to be. The stable place of peace will be revealed and during the course of your normal day you will remember it exists so your choices become mindful responses rather than reactions.

This is how meditating will help you be mindfully in love with your life.

Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia

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Here is a meditation and a breathing technique to help you lessen the drama.

Meditation Smoke Out, Light in Meditation:
– While breathing out, imagine that all your negative energies, mistakes, misunderstandings and emotions leave your body with the breath. Visualise this energy as black smoke, which goes out into space and completely disappears.
– While breathing in, imagine that all the positive energy of the universe enters your body with the breath. Visualise this positive energy as pure white light that enters all the parts of your body; it pervades every cell and atom. Enjoy this clear white light.
– If you feel comfortable, use every breath to inhale light and to exhale black smoke and problems.
– When distracted by other thoughts, simply observe them without getting involved; transform them into black smoke and breathe them out.

It Started from Love

Alchemy Tours, it started from love, it’s been steeped in love for almost 10 years, and the inspiration sparked me to name myself a Love Alchemist.
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I wanted to inspire people to stop treating this life like a dress rehearsal and never ever forget that even if you are living a good life, you could be living a GREAT life!
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The takeaway from each lovingly curated #yogaretreat was SELF-LOVE. That is the key lesson. The rest was a relearning of FUN and PLAY in order to remember to remember. 
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“Learning to love yourself is like learning to walk—essential, life-changing, and the only way to stand tall.” – Vironika Tugaleva
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I also 108% believe that people are over tired. We need to unlearn being so “busy” and take it easy to be pampered, loved up, made to laugh, and have a time-out to reset. As my hero Anne Lomott says, “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.”

My Call to You! I have 2 retreats left.

My love intention for @AlchemyTours was to spend time with a total of 50 beautiful humans in 2018.

Bali April 22-29 holding space for 13 guests
Amalfi June 10-17 holding space for 18 guests
Tuscany June 24-30 holding space for 19 guests.
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That’s it. I want to go on one last Soul Plunge with 50 of my hear tribe past, present and future soul friends.
If you want to step into taking time to do what makes your soul happy this Spring and Summer please reach out to me.

For this is it.

This is not a rehearsal.

Talk to Me: 1-206-886-5743 or silvia@alchemytours.com
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“You know quite well, deep within you, that there is only a single magic, a single power, a single salvation… and that is called loving.” ~ Herman Hesse
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https://alchemytours.com
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#momentseeker #bepresent #destress #travel #adventure#wonderlust#wanderlust #selflove #laughter #play #foodie#passionpassport #heartfull#healing #inspirational #unplug
#loveyourself #loveyourday #loveyourlife #thankyou #gratitude#forevergrateful #lovealchemist #alchemy #love
#alchemytours with @inspiredyogagal

I’m Retiring from Leading Yoga Retreats

About my beloved Alchemy Tours:
We are moment seekers. Catching the surf wave. Noticing the sunset. Releasing baby turtles. Watching monkeys. Tasting gourmet delights. Smiling. Laughing. Enjoying each experience that we have, and not taking it for granted.
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So often we live as if we are in a dress rehearsal for something better coming along. The reality is that this is it. Each day is the ultimate practice of living in the moment. If you feel the need to refresh your spirit, reignite your #passion for living, and rediscover balance in your life, then going on a yoga retreat is what you need. Furthermore, we are 100% committed to helping you reach your full #potential in a friendly, unpretentious, and supportive environment. want to see you move beyond self-limiting belief or old paradigms into the empowerment of creating your best life ever!
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Each fun-filled yoga adventure combines physical, mindful, and spirit-filled activities that grow your self-confidence and teach you how to live your life more fully. We hold these spiritual adventures in our favorite healing places, sacred places…they also just happen to be some of the most beautiful places on earth! Rest assured we’ve paid attention to every detail to make an #exceptional experience for you.
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What are you waiting for? In these chaotic times, it is imperative to slow down more than ever so that we can again find our center and realize what is most important to you. A spiritual adventure helps you heal your soul and learn how to make healthy choices for your greater happiness. Each retreat provides loving accommodations, inspirational talks, expert instruction, cultural excursions and healthy, farm to fork, delicious meals.
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Remember that you don’t need anyone else’s permission but your own to sign up. You will be part of an intimate group of people just like you who are looking for a “time out.” The prerequisites for attending have nothing to do with athletic ability or experience, and everything to do with an open heart, a playful curiosity, an inquisitive mind.
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Now is the time to de-stress. No one can decide for us what actions to take in our lives. No one knows our hearts the way we do. Register today at and make a trip of a lifetime a dream come true!

I hope you join me on my last yoga retreats I’ll be leading in April Bali or June Amalfi. 

Love your day, love yourself, love your life!

https://alchemytours.com/about/

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#momentseeker #bepresent #destress #travel #adventure #wonderlust#wanderlust #selflove #laughter #play #foodie #passionpassport #heartfull#healing #inspirational
#loveyourself #loveyourday #loveyourlife
#alchemytours with @inspiredyogagal

Do Less Be More

#HappinessRx: Stop buying into time scarcity.
🌟Do less. Be more. 🌟

“This disease of being “busy” (and let’s call it what it is, the dis-ease of being busy, when we are never at ease) is spiritually destructive to our health and wellbeing. It saps our ability to be fully present with those we love the most in our families, and keeps us from forming the kind of community that we all so desperately crave.

Since the 1950s, we have had so many new technological innovations that we thought (or were promised) would make our lives easier, faster, simpler. Yet, we have no more “free” or leisurely time today than we did decades ago.

For some of us, the “privileged” ones, the lines between work and home have become blurred. We are on our devices. All. The. Freaking. Time.

Smart phones and laptops mean that there is no division between the office and home.”

Be fully human today.
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Do less. Stop wearing “busy” as a badge of honor. Notice how all of a sudden #TimeisBig and you aren’t running out if it so much.

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, .

Read the full article on DoYouYoga.com

Rest Before You Get Tired

“To prevent fatigue and worry, the first rule is: Rest before you get tired.” ~ Dale Carnegie

Carnegie gives us a chapter-full of the benefits of using relaxation as a means to reduce worry—and the fact that preventing fatigue is a huge step toward preventing worry. He starts by making the point that it’s *impossible* to be totally relaxed and worried at the same time. Impossible. That alone is enough advice to solve most of our worry.

Stressed? Relax. TOTALLY relax.

The point is simple: you can prevent WORRY by preventing FATIGUE. How do you that? A lot of ways. But the smartest is to rest before you’re tired. Carnegie cites the U.S. Army, your heart, Winston Churchill, Rockefeller, Thomas Edison and many others to prove his point.

The U.S. Army? Rests its soldier ten minutes out of every hour they march. BEFORE they get tired. And they’re overall efficiency goes up.

Churchill? Worked 16 hours a day in his late sixties and early seventies during World War II. His secret? He worked from bed a *lot,* took naps and rested frequently.

Rockefeller (lived to 96) took a half-hour nap EVERY noon.

Edison attributed his enormous energy and endurance to his habit of sleeping whenever he wanted to.

And, how about the coolest example? Your heart. As Carnegie says: “Your heart pumps enough blood through your body every day to fill a railway tank car. It exerts enough energy every twenty-four hours to shovel twenty tons of coal onto a platform three feet high. It does this incredible amount of work for fifty, seventy, or maybe ninety years. How can it stand it? Dr. Walter B. Cannon, of the Harvard Medical School, explained it. He said, “Most people have the idea that the heart is working all the time. As a matter of fact, there is a definite rest period after each contraction. When beating at a moderate rate of seventy pulses per minute, the heart is actually working only nine hours out of the twenty-four. In the aggregate its rest periods total a full fifteen hours per day.”

Learning how to make time for recovery is vitally important to your physical, spiritual and emotional health.

Radical self-care is the most spiritually mature action you could take towards your own evolution. And as a result, we will have more to give to the world as we Teach Peace.

Love yourself, love your day, love your life!
Silvia

Why Yoga Is A Fantastic Exercise For Your Mind on Do You Yoga

Why Yoga Is A Fantastic Exercise For Your Mind

I’ve been moving my body in some way all my life. I started in the crib, learned to ski before I could walk, was taking swimming lessons, tennis lessons, dance lessons from the earliest age you could possibly sign up. I loved being on the swim team, tennis, soccer team, pom-pons, dance squad and more.

I’m not new to movement.

Inward Intentions

Some almost 23 years ago I was new to yoga after being run over by a car as a pedestrian. At that time, I had no aspiration to do a full backbend or handstand or arm balance or put my foot behind my head. All I wanted to do was move by myself, drive myself, propel my actions without being afraid of breaking. I learned how resilient the body is and how fragile at the same time.

Read the full article on DoYouYoga.com

Direct link: http://www.doyouyoga.com/why-yoga-is-a-fantastic-exercise-for-your-mind-57769-70029/