Here are your fresh Love & Inspirations for the week ahead:

1) Quote

• “Instead of measuring success in practicing a yoga posture by how far we go, we can ask how present we are in each moment. How aware are we of the movement of our breath, the sensations in our body, and the thoughts that pass through us? Instead of judging the correctness of a yoga posture by how we look, we can inquire what positioning makes us feel most integrated and honours rather than injures our unique physical body. If we are ill or emotionally overwhelmed, how skilfully can we make this challenge grist for the mill? Instead of, “How many hours did I spend meditating today, ” we can ask, “How did I live my practice in every moment of the day?” Something is tragically missing in our spiritual practice if through our most diligent efforts we manage to become a perfect yoga posture, rather than a person.”     – Donna Farhi 


2) Yoga 101:  Namaste

• What does namaste mean? 

Namaste is generally the first and last greeting you hear shared in a Yoga class.

It’s the common form of greeting in many south Asian and Hindu cultures and countries such as Nepal,  and India – the birthplace of Yoga.

Often accompanied by a slight bow, and hand gesture, anjali mudra, where hands are brought together in a prayer like position in front of the heart, to symbolise heart connection, honouring, worshiping, prayer, balance, union of dual nature, humility and internal focus

On a very simple level, namaste is a greeting – a gesture of acknowledgement and way of saying “hello”.

On a deeper more esoteric level, Namaste is  a deep recognition of the interconnected nature of being human. 

>>>READ MORE

3) Podcast I’m binging on:

• Yoga is Dead Podcast – with Tejal + Jesal

My dear sister Sofia Arajuo of Swara Yoga sent me this podcast a couple weeks back and I’ve been seriously enjoying the stories, research and discussion around the taboos of Yoga.  

Whiie I don’t agree with or endorse all of the opinions expressed here, I do appreciate the importance of shedding light, and raising questions and discussion around these important and fascinating topic areas living modern Yoga’s shadow:

from spiritual bypassing and cultural appropriation, to Karma Capitalism, corrupt Gurus, whether white women “killed yoga”, and what a Yogic diet really means.

4) Book I’m Reading / Loving

• Awakening Shakti: The Transformative Power of the Goddesses of Yoga – by Sally Kempton

Yoga mythology nerds – this one is for you.  I’m loving this book which s filled with rich and colourful, myth and meditation.  It’s been recommended to me for years by fellow Yoga teacher friends of mine, and I am grateful to now finally be delving in.  

How do you live a life of spiritual awakening as well as outer abundance, inner freedom as well as deep intimacy? How do you serve the world selflessly, yet passionately celebrate your life?

The sages of Tantra have known for centuries that when you follow the path of Shakti―the sacred feminine principle personified by the goddesses of yoga―these gifts can manifest spontaneously. Yet most of us, women as well as men, have yet to experience the full potential of our inner feminine energies. When you know these powers for what they are, they heighten your capacity to open spiritually, love more deeply and fearlessly, create with greater mastery, and move through the world with skill and delight. 

5) Music Playlist

• Heart Yoga Playlist 

This playlist was created by our Pure Flow Yoga retreat teacher Margit Selsjord

to help you feel, heal and flow. 

Press play and enjoy a beautiful slow flow / yin heart-opening vibe. 

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Hope you enjoyed this week’s Love & Inspiration.

So much LOVE, Gratitude & Blessings to you,

XOXO

Francie Love

Here are your fresh Love & Inspirations for the week ahead:

1) Quotes I’m pondering from Joseph Campbell 

• “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek”.  Joseph Campbell

  “Take one step towards the gods and they will take ten steps towards you.” – Joseph Campbell

2) Blog & Mantra for Inner Peace

• No Mud. No Lotus: Om Mani Padme Hum 

In Nepal, where I am currently visiting, you can hear this mantra on repeat everywhere you.  In all of the temples and shrines you can spin the prayer wheels, which all have this sacred mantra imprinted on it.

In many ancient cultures and traditions,  the lotus flower is considered a symbol of purity, enlightenment, awakening, perfection, and rebirth and serves as a metaphor for life,

Rooted in the mud, the lotus draws energy from the muddy waters below and grows towards the light,d transforming into a beautiful flower

The journey of the lotus from the darkness of the mud to the light of the sun is a perfect metaphor for the human condition,. We often forget that we are divine beings with seeds of infinite potential waiting to blossom within our hearts.

Read on to discover the lessons of the lotus.

3)Power of Prayer Flags

• Lung-Ta – Tibetan Prayer Flags

If you’ve been to our studio in Thailand, you’ll have noticed hundreds of Tibetan prayer flags – horizontal flags in sets of 5,  strewn around our space. After each retreat, we have our retreat students hang the Lung-ta, infused with their prayers and intentions to offer to help people around the world be happy and free from suffering.

Here in Nepal, they are everywhere.

Here is a picture from my recent trip to the VajraYogini Temple in Nepal:

It is said that these flags bring benefit to all, promoting compassion, peace, strength, and wisdom, and are used to carry prayers and mantras through the wind. 

Colour represent the 5 elements:

• Blue – the sky and space
• White – the air and wind
• Red – fire
• Green – water
• Yellow – Earth

4) Gods & Goddess Study Guide

• Gods, Goddesses & Religious Symbols of Hinduism, Buddhism & Tantrism – by Trilok Chandra Majupuria & Rohit Kumar 

This book is proving to be an excellent companion for helping to understand even an iota of the depth and scope of symbolism, religion, history and syncretism characteristic of the culture and it’s people.

5) Music

• Blessed to be a Witness – Ben Harper

LOVE this song as a reminder of the beauty and gift of life. I often feature it in the savasana portion of the Yoga classes i share.

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Hope you enjoyed this week’s Love & Inspiration.

So much LOVE, Gratitude & Blessings to you,

XOXO

Francie Love

Here are your fresh Love & Inspirations for the week ahead:

1) Quote

• “True belonging is the spiritual practice of believing in and belonging to yourself so deeply that you can share your most authentic self with the world and find sacredness in both being a part of something and standing alone in the wilderness.True belonging doesn’t require you to change who you are; it requires you to be who you are.”

   

  – Brene Brown

2) Tedx Talk – On Raising our Vibration & Serendipity

• Why raising your vibration increases serendipity – Joanna McEwen | TEDxUniversityofBrighton

Super cool talk.

We have the power and self-responsibility to tune, raise, and enhance our personal vibration and frequency using sound and entrainment to influence serendipitous events in our lives. 

This is what the practices of Yoga are all about; Attuning and aligning our body, minds, consciousness and energy field to bring more peace, joy, grace, serendipity…

3) Important Book I’m Revisiting

• Yoga for a World Out of Balance: Teachings on Ethics and Social Action – Michael Stone

As I prepare for our upcoming Yoga Teacher Training in February, I am revisiting what I’m now considering a modern classic for our Yoga Studies.  I’m excited to add this book to our recommended reading for this training.

“Every aspect of our life has a part to play in the greater ecological system, Michael Stone explains in this book. How do we bring this large view to our yoga practice?

According to Stone, our responsibility as human beings is to live in a sustainable and respectful way. He says two things need to change. First, we need to understand the relationship between our actions and the effects of our actions.

Second, once we see the effect of our actions in the human and non-human world, we need practical skills for learning how to make changes.

Using the five principles (yama) described in the Yoga-Sutra attributed to Patanjali, Michael Stone offers a basis for rethinking ethical action and the spiritual path”.

You can find more of Michael Stone’s teaching here:

4) Giving Back: Yoga for Social Change 

• Atira’s #40for40 Birthday Fundraiser 

Atira Tan, one of our incredible Pure Flow Yoga teachers on our upcoming 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training is celebrating her birthday this year by giving to others in an incredible way, and you can help!

#40for40: Atira’s wish is to sponsor 40 Indian & Nepali girls and women who have experienced sexual slavery, exploitation and trafficked to have a chance to regain their freedom, sovereignty and wholeness through attending Art to Healing’s trauma-recovery and education programs for 2020 by raising AUD$6000.

You can help make this dream come true.

5) PrayerSong / Eagle Medicine

• Aguila Aguile – Ivan Donaldson

Traditional and beautiful medicine song from the mountains of Ecuador that talks about the great eagle, likened to either a grandfather or grandmother who sings in love. Eagle symbolism means different things in different cultures – power, change coming your way, truth, honesty, connection to the divine, and balance are some interpretations.

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Hope you enjoyed this week’s Love & Inspiration.

So much LOVE, Gratitude & Blessings to you,

XOXO

Francie Love

Here are your fresh Love & Inspirations for the week ahead:

1) Quote

• “Look within. Approach everything with devotion and gratitude. Stay at heart”. – H.W.L Poonja

2) Reading & Practice on Mindfulness

• Thich Nhat Hanh on The Practice of Mindfulness – from Lion’s Roar

“Breathing in, I know that I am breathing in.”

Mindfulness of breath is a simple practice that can transform our lives.

In this article, the great meditation master Thich Nhat Hanh teaches five mindfulness exercises to help you live with happiness and joy.

3) Serenity Prayer

• The Serenity Prayer offers us simple, humble, timeless truths.  I first came across the serenity prayer in Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse Five” back in high school, yet it’s most widely canonised within the 12 step / Alcoholics Anonymous program. It reminds us that acceptance is an active pursuit, that courage is required in order to make changes to ourselves, our habits, our lives, and that ultimately these possibilities are in our own hands

God, grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change

Courage to change the things I can,

4) Mother Peace Round Tarot

• .Mother Peace Tarot – Vicky Noble & Karen Vogel

Created in the 1970s, the iconic, significant and rich Mother Peace Tarot is a deck of tarot cards inspired by the Goddess Movement and second-wave feminism.  This deck has just invited itself in to my world in a myriad of ways.   I’m beginning and loving to explore it’s depths and symbolism.  You can try picking form the deck here.  If you do purchase this deck, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you also get this book “Motherpeace: A Way to the Goddess Through Myth, Art, and Tarot” to more fully understand and appreciate.

“For over a decade, Motherpeace has been an inspiration and oracle for women all over the world. Motherpeace recovers the positive, nurturing peace-oriented values of pre-patriarchal times, and brilliantly combines art, history, mythology, folklore, philosophy, and comparative religion with an informed spiritual and feminist perspective.

Vicki Noble challenges us to celebrate our ancient peaceful heritage and to reclaim our right as a people to a life without war. The book is a vision of hope and transformation, made even more powerful by the vibrant pictorial images of the seventy-eight Motherpeace tarot cards.

Motherpeace shows how traditional myths and symbols can provide ideas and images for understanding the meaning and power of the Goddess for women and men today

5) Song on Repeat

• Crusade – Krystn Pixton

Walking endlessly through the streets of San Francisco, training my intuition to respond to the “full body yes” that has space to arise in these moments of flow, led me to the gift of discovering this incredible musician, vocalist and producer.  I instantly fell in love with the ephemeral beauty of her creations.  This is my favourite song so far. .  Hope you like it!. 

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So much LOVE & Blessings to you,

XOXO

Francie Love

Here are your fresh Love & Inspirations for the week ahead:

1) Quote

• We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time. – T.S Eliot

   

2) Poem

• Hokusai Says – Roger Keyes

Hokusai says Look carefully.

He says pay attention, notice.

He says keep looking, stay curious.

He says there is no end to seeing.

He says Look Forward to getting old.

He says keep changing, you just get more who you really are.

He says get stuck, accept it, repeat yourself as long as it’s interesting.

He says keep doing what you love.

He says keep praying.

He says every one of us is a child, every one of us is ancient, every one of us has a body.

He says every one of us is frightened.

He says every one of us has to find a way to live with fear.

He says everything is alive –shells, buildings, people, fish, mountains, trees.

Wood is alive.

Water is alive.

Everything has its own life.

Everything lives inside us.

He says live with the world inside you.

He says it doesn’t matter if you draw, or write books.

It doesn’t matter if you saw wood, or catch fish.

It doesn’t matter if you sit at home and stare at the ants on your veranda

or the shadows of the trees and grasses in your garden.

It matters that you care.

It matters that you feel.

It matters that you notice.

It matters that life lives through you.

Contentment is life living through you.

Joy is life living through you.

Satisfaction and strength is life living through you.

Peace is life living through you.

He says don’t be afraid.

Don’t be afraid.

Look, feel, let life take you by the hand.

Let life live through you.

3) Mantra Music Meditation

• Expand from the Heart Center – Aad Guray Nameh – Jai Jagdeesh

This kundalini mantra, in Gurmukhi language is a Prayer of Peace and Protection.  Yogi Bhajan taught that this mantra should be chanted 3X in a row to create a field of protective energy.

You can download the full 23 minutes version here.

Aad Guray Nameh – I bow to the Primal Wisdom.

Jugaad Guray Nameh – I bow to the Wisdom through the Ages.

Sat Guray Nameh – I bow to the True Wisdom.

Siri Guroo Dayvay Nameh – I bow to the great, unseen Wisdom

4) Astro-Carography

• .AstroClick Travel on Astro.com

Wanna know where to travel? Retreat? Settle down? Make money? Find love?

Astro-cartography is a fun and amazing tool to help you navigate your choices and opportunities with greater insight and ease.  You need to know your birth time and place.

Let me know if you try it.  I’d love to hear your insights!  

5) Spooky Halloween Thoughts

• from @Positively Present 

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So much LOVE & Blessings to you,

XOXO

Francie Love

Here are your fresh Love & Inspirations for the week ahead:

1) Quote I’m pondering:

• “The greatest danger in yoga, that by routine, is becoming mechanical and regimented. I find that the beauty of a mind-body discipline, such as yoga or qigong, is that it’s an endless process of discovery and surprise. This is often overlooked by students, driven by gain and strength and flexibility. I think that yoga, rather than a path leading to mastery, is an invitation to evoke mystery and a powerful, subtle, and unnameable energy that roams inside. A dedicated practice is like a rite of passage that guides one to sense, feel, and remember that which inevitably resists identification. I can testify that the further I travel into the inner processes of the body and mind, the more I realize I don’t know.” – Tias Little, Yoga of the Subtle Body

2) 5 Sutras of the Aquarian Age

• The Five Sutras of the Aquarian Age – Yogi Bhajan

  1. Recognize that the other person is you.
  2. There is a way through every block.
  3. When the time is on you, start, and the pressure will be off.
  4. Understand through compassion or you will misunderstand the times.
  5. Vibrate the Cosmos. The Cosmos shall clear the path.

This week I had the opportunity to attend some Kundalini Yoga classes and it got my curious.  Unlike your typical Vinyasa Flow type Yoga practice, Kundalini is much more a breath and energy centered practice.  I started to do a bit of research and came across Yogi Bhajan –  Master of Kundalini Yoga and spiritual teacher to thousands – five principles which he called the Five Sutras, to help us navigate this time of transition that is being called the Age of Aquarius – the age of information, of growth and connection, of breaking down hierarchies.

3) My favourite Autumn Tea

• Throat Coat – Traditional Medicinals
• Throat Comfort – Yogi Tea

A few years ago, my heart broke into a million pieces and I lost my voice for a 1.5 years.  As is often the case with life, my challenge has become my gift, and helping people to find their voice and connect to their song is becoming more and more a main passion and offering of mine. At that time I tried everything – ginger tea, salt water gargles, ninjaiom, medicated honey, steams, silent retreats….The thing I feel that works best for me, aside from working through the emotions and heartbreak,  when I get that slight tingle in the throat are these Organic Licorice Root based teas.  Yummm!

4) Yin Yoga Podcast Practice for the New Moon

• Yin Yoga – the Timeless Inner Being – 90 minute practice

New moon is coming up this weekend.  Are you feeling a bit more inner? Lower energy perhaps? More clear perhaps?

New moons are a great time to reflect, set new intentions, plant new seeds and get clear about how you’d like the new cycle to unfold.

Join us in the Jungle for this live-recorded class to help you melt away layers of emotions and stiffness held in your body’s connective tissues.

5) Music

• Deya Dova – Return of the Bird Tribes

Amazing and beautiful. Check out this powerful video. Deya Dova is musical medicine for awakening consciousness. 

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So much LOVE & Blessings to you,

XOXO

Francie Love