April 2019 | Spring in to Your Most Beautiful Self

It has been a winter of deep inner transformation for me, as well as new exciting ventures. This Spring has certainly brought bright beginnings for myself inside and out. This journey of co-creating and sharing Pangu Yoga has gradually been stirring, simmering and growing within me and in the world around me for the last 8 years. I've taken risks, I've made mistakes, I've moved through countless fears, but I refused to give up no matter how collapsed and small I felt, and it has consistently brought me to the path I'm meant to take. It has consistently brought to light over and over again the responsibility of that path. I am continuously learning what it means to humbly accept that responsibility, yet deliver it with confidence. I think it may take me a lifetime to genuinely feel my way through that in every moment and express it in all I do.

The 3 week Pangu Series that just ended left me in awe of how much happened for myself and others. It was an experiment for both me as the teacher and the group. I'd never offered anything this intense for a group of 20 people. I didn't realize the scope and magnitude of the journey until it was over. These beautiful outcomes have reminded me that greater than fear, is the inspiration, the sincerity and courage needed to transform what prevents us from living our most beautiful lives, from living our fullest potentials! I am sincerely grateful for all of you who were willing to take that journey with me and for those whom I will meet in the future in such a capacity. You are all my teachers and help me understand how to love deeper and give more of my best self.

I'm so delighted to be expanding in the global sphere and have accepted an invitation to teach Pangu Yoga in the Czech Republic in the beautiful cities of Prague and Liberec in May! I'm also traveling to Italy to celebrate my 10 year wedding anniversary with my beloved Paul. We made it a decade! I will be away April 30- May 18 so a kind reminder to please schedule your acupuncture appointments ahead to guarantee your spot.

The shift from darkness to light, yang bursting from yin is officially upon us. Spring brings a dramatic shift in seasons with longer days, warmer weather, budding blossoms, fresh earthly scents, and a rebirth of plants breaking through the soil. Spring’s time of renewal, expansion, and growth offers many lessons to be learned from observing nature’s cyclical transitions. Chinese Medicine is strongly based on the natural rhythms, expressions, and phases of nature. Together with the philosophy of Yin-Yang, the theory of the Five Elements (Wu Xing) sets the foundation for Chinese medical theory. Each season is viewed as possessing and expressing its own unique energy which directly influences all aspects of life, health, and balanced well being.

Chinese Medicine attributes Spring to the Wood Element. A time of expansion and new growth within nature brings forth a phase of renewal, vision, and forward momentum within people. A shift outward from the inward directed energy of winter. The Wood Element brings forth a sense of purpose and sturdiness, yet with flexibility, just as a tree is firmly rooted into the ground yet able to sway with the wind. When a person’s Wood Element is in balance they have confidence and good judgement. A sense of emotional maturity with the ability to express themselves appropriately and adapt to change as needed. Wood in balance allows one to be firmly rooted in the past, stand tall in the present, and have a clear vision for the future.

During the Spring season it is common to see the Wood organ systems out of balance.  This disharmony in the Element can create both physical and emotional symptoms.  Anger is the emotion of Wood and stored in the Liver.  Anger is a natural and necessary emotion of life, a mixture of every emotion combined into one.  When Wood or Liver Qi becomes stagnant, however, anger can become aggressive, persistent, inappropriate, and even violent. Chronic anger and frustration can not only become mentally debilitating, but negatively impact the health of your liver, detoxification, and reproductive system.  Common ailments seen in the Spring (or when Wood is out of balance any time of year) include:

Physical

~Muscle tension, prone to have tendon and ligament injuries

~Sciatica (radiating pain from lower back into buttocks and down the leg – GallBladder Meridian)

~Headaches, especially migraines

~Impaired detoxification, allergies, multiple chemical sensitivities

~Visual disturbances

~Menstrual irregularities, PMS, fibroids,

~Digestive disturbances, including heartburn, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcers

~High blood pressure, with tendency toward atherosclerosis

Emotional

~Outbursts of anger and irritability

~A blockage of forward movement and personal growth leading to frustration

~Inappropriate expression of emotions

~Lack of vision, purpose, and inability to make decisions

~Inflexibility to change, lack of resiliency and ability to adapt

Maintaining Balance within Wood

Move

To stay healthy the Liver needs movement and so do you.  With the longer days and warmer weather it is a perfect time of year to get outside, take long walks in nature, observe and embrace the changes going on all around you.  Take a risk and try something new.  Take a new yoga class, try Qi Gong or Tai Qi, hop on a bike, or run on a new trail.  Movement comes in many forms.  Make a 3-month exercise plan to inspire yourself to move more and feel great for the upcoming summer months.

Cleanse

Spring is the perfect time of year for a seasonal cleanse.  Clean up your diet to assist your body in purifying and rebuilding itself from the inside out.  Emphasize whole, organic, non-genetically modified foods (especially fruits and vegetables) that provide the vitamins, nutrients, enzymes and antioxidants the body needs for detoxification.  Give your overburdened Liver a break by eliminating all packaged, canned, processed, fried foods, gluten, sugar, and alcohol.  Focus on emphasizing a plant based diet, with healthy fats, quality sources of lean meats, and lots and lots of water.

Detoxify Your Environment

We are exposed to external toxins on a daily basis.  These include pollutants, pesticides, and man-made chemicals.  Reduce your toxic exposure in your home by filtering your tap water, using an air purifier, and removing all plastics from your home (tupperware, water bottles, sarane wrap, non-stick pots and pans).  Opt for non-toxic cleaning products, such as ones labeled “green”cleaners that don’t contain chlorine or ammonia.  Choose products that say “petroleum-free,” “biodegradable,” or “phosphate-free.”  Or better yet, make a cleaner yourself!  Trade out your synthetic bath and beauty products for those that contain only pure organic nutrients.  If you shouldn’t eat it, then it doesn’t belong on your skin either!

Plan

Use the visionary energy of Wood to plan for your future, set goals, and begin taking steps to achieve them.  Write down any new thoughts and ideas you have no matter how big or small.  Think of your ‘big picture’ goals for the upcoming year.  Break down the 12 months into actionable steps that you can take each month to help you get there.

Practice Forgiveness

Think of forgiveness as the opposite of Anger.  The ability to forgive ourselves and others keeps our Wood element healthy.  Forgiveness allows for forward movement and growth, without ruminating and getting stuck on bitter situations of the past.  True forgiveness is gratitude for the lessons that every experience and interaction gifts us.

ACUPUNCTURE, YOGA, PANGU YOGA & QI GONG are all GREAT ways to maintain balance in wood and the whole system! Join me April 18 for a Pangu Yoga workshop to help us unveil our life purpose to the next level. See all the spring and summer events below!

Love for the journey,
Anisha

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March 2019 | Grateful Beyond Measure

Grateful Beyond Measure

When I was growing up, I was regularly blamed for what didn’t go well or for things I never did. It developed within me a sensitivity to being scrutinized or judged, and an absence of self value or worth. No matter how much I tried to tell myself otherwise, I was overcome with the feeling that there was something fundamentally wrong with me, that I was the reason for someone else’s unhappiness. I cowered through much of life, turning to escape routes with substance abuse, self destruction, unhealthy relationships and little or no self care.

Maybe it was luck, maybe it was destiny, that I met my teacher Master Ou Wen Wei in 2004. He helped me, he saved my health, and taught me how to save my own heart. I found my strength, my dignity and my voice. I was not always good at the things I've worked hard to be good at today, like teaching or cooking, and I still think of myself as an average writer, speaker and singer. But the difference is that I’m OK with that and continue to strive for learning and growing to embody my full potential. Over the years I’ve worked hard to build my confidence, slowly growing into a stable foundation that grounds my life and my mission, thanks to my spiritual practice, my guide Master Ou Wen Wei, and my own efforts in overcoming this deep sadness.

Having developed more strength within me and transformed some weaknesses, I’m able to know deep in my heart when I have tried my best, and when I haven’t, when I have behaved well, and when I haven’t, and when someone else isn’t doing so or maybe even projecting on to me their own deficiencies and unhappiness. It’s easy to label these behaviors as narrow-minded, childish and somewhat crazy, and they are. However I must still take responsibility for my own reactions. Part of this process for me has involved discovering how to become emotionally steady and stable amid chaos, irrationality and unstable behavior; quite the challenge for someone who grew up with all of the above. However, this discernment requires the strength of the reasoning mind, a rational analysis, coming back to the virtues of being calm, open-minded, tolerant, diligent and hard working, and a desire to bring out my most beautiful self.

I remember Master Ou saying to me more than once, even when we try our absolute best, we will be misunderstood and we will not make everyone happy. This is part of the agony of our path as human beings as we evolve. Through this process we are able to contain more, to learn patience, and broaden our hearts to embody more true love. I’ve recently felt these “growing pains," the confusion, the desire to let go but having a heart that won’t, the injustice, and also the deep prostration of knowing the need for humility, trusting that high standards and confidence in my choices will lead me to my most beautiful self and most beautiful life. The wound is where the light enters if we are willing to face the wound.

After experiencing many struggles of this nature in various communities through my 20’s and 30’s, I am so very grateful to have found a community here in these beautiful mountains where I truly feel safe, supported, accepted and loved for who I am without any projection from what’s lacking in another. It’s a true gift that often brings me to tears because it requires such trust, honesty with oneself, and each other, many times overlooking individual interests to achieve a greater goal. My tribe at Black mountain Yoga is such an example of a group of people that can achieve a beautiful vision out of genuine service, from hearts able and willing to bond through common ground, because what we want deep down is to uplift, inspire, help and care for others from a depth of sincerity in our hearts. I often wonder if every community in the world could carry this sentiment, how beautiful and different the world could be. I believe it’s possible. I’m sure we aren’t the only ones. Thank you for being a part of this community with me, for allowing me to teach and learn from you. I hope you know I always do my best with the resources I have. You have my promise always, for quality, substance and beauty. I am grateful beyond measure.

I’m beyond delighted to have the opportunity to guide you in to a 3 week series of Pangu Yoga: A Journey of the Heart this March!

AND....SAVE THE DATE! We have invited Master Ou Wen Wei to Black Mountain Yoga! Say What? Yep, it’s true. SEPTEMBER 19-22. Details coming soon.

I leave you with this quote, one of my favorites of all time.

“Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” _ Rumi

Love for the journey,
Anisha 

February 2019 | Inner Circle

I had picked the photo above for my blog a week ago but didn't know why.  Just yesterday I had a conversation with my sister who mentioned she had been feeling disconnected from her inner circle. Work was important, but it was more important for her to feel connected to those nearest and dearest. It really got me thinking. Am I making quality time to be with the people I love the most? The ones who inspire me, make me laugh until my belly hurts, love me no matter what? In other words, are my primary relationships well-tended?

Am I making enough space from the rest of the humans in my life so that my tank is actually full enough to share and offer myself fully with that inner circle? Yes, we all get depleted and feel like we are "overextended and busy" from the giving and working in the world that by day’s end, we've given the best of ourselves to things that certainly do matter, but do they matter the most?  This question requires consistent evaluation and re-evaluation. Connecting in a deep way to those we love is one of the primary fuels for well-being. I am reminded by the gentle nudging soul of my sister that it’s a must, not a maybe.

Even in the quiet of these mountains, there can be a surprising amount of noise coming at me, or quite possibly from within me. I'm radically self-driven and motivated by nature, and I also need an equal dose of radical self care.  However the real balance is about learning to both listen to and respond to the voices that come from within. The ones that tell you when to move and when to be still, when to find good company and when to be alone, when to push and work hard and when to rest and play.

Sometimes we choose to be busy and that's ok, and often necessary but it doesn't leave a whole lot of space for anything else. Our schedule easily can, and has many times been completely all-consuming- sometimes out of choice and others out of necessity. It takes discipline and dedication to make time to do other things, and I am sometimes successful, sometimes not so much in that effort.

Don’t get me wrong. I am fully aware that there are far worse things to be consumed with. I am so grateful and lucky to have a practice and work that connects and sustains me; I am in real community with people who are more interested in the project of cultivating a spiritual life than a material life; I have incredibly fulfilling work that I love with brilliant, dedicated, loving, compassionate teachers, staff and students. But though I’ve not always practiced what I preach I do absolutely believe that it’s never good to lean too far in any one direction – too much of a good thing is still too much. It’s out of balance and ultimately not healthy.

How much time do you carve out to explore, enjoy, learn, serve, share, study, play with the people, places and things that speak to your heart, that fill your very soul? What is missing or has been sidelined by your business or busyness or both?

It's an ever evolving and endless dance to listen to the voice of knowing that is the voice of the soul, with messages direct from the universe about the next best word or action to find harmony. What aspect of our life is asking for our attention a little more than the others so that our whole self and mission might be fed and realized? I ask you as I ask myself.

I've realized through my own reflection, which happened to coincide with this conversation, that expanding my creative artistic side deeply feeds my soul, so I've rekindled my passion and love for making jewelry again. It brings me a kind of happiness and fulfillment difficult to describe. Check out my shop below for some recent creations. These creations will soon be available at Black Mountain Yoga as well. Stay tuned..

Love for the journey,
Anisha