How to Practice Empty Bowl Meditation

Empty Bowl Meditation helps to calm the mind and move the practitioner toward stillness. It helps to foster creativity and intuition. The practice is useful for all, especially those working in the healing arts.

Come to a comfortable seat with any necessary support for your back and head. Start to notice the natural flow of your breath, in and out of the nose. Bring awareness to the pathway of your inhalation as it passes through the nostrils, the respiratory pathway, the lungs and diaphragm and then deep into the abdomen, behind the navel.

Quietly observe the natural pause at the top of your inhale. Keep your attention on the breath and follow the path of your exhalation as it exits the body. You might notice that the breath is about 9 inches or so away from the nostrils. Quietly notice the natural pause at the end of the exhale breath.

Continue the practice and notice the pause in between each breath. Notice that for a moment, everything stops-- time, thoughts and breath.  In this space, you become like an empty bowl, open and receptive to divine love.

It’s common for the pause to only last a second when you’re first beginning the practice. In time, you will notice the space in between each breath can increase anywhere from 30-60seconds. The pauses in between each breath should feel easy. If you notice that you feel stressed, allow the breath more freedom to move.

With time, you may notice a feeling of inner peace and contentment is more easily sustained.

Press play below to listen to the instruction of Empty Bowl Meditation.

Reference:

Lad, V., (2008). Marma points of ayurveda. Albuquerque, NM: The Ayurvedic Press

How Can We Process Trauma Through Movement?

According to Psychiatrist and author of The Body Keeps the Score (2015), Bessel van der Kolk, the effects of overwhelming experiences on people and society is what we refer to as "trauma". 

Studies are finally acknowledging that not all trauma can be talked about. When we experience unspeakable traumas, the unresolved issue gets stored in the tissues of the body. It may help to think about the adrenaline required to fight or flee. When we are unable to process and physically release overwhelming experiences, be they positive or negative, the energy produced by our body's adrenals gets trapped inside the body.

In the case of fight or flight, our body is full of adrenaline that is intended to protect and defend. If we are able to use the energy to physically run or physically fight, we can usually fully process the experience without being overwhelmed, or traumatized. If however, we are stopped short of fighting or inhibited from fleeing, and we find ourselves frozen and unable to process, these experiences are considered overwhelming and they become our "undigested mental experiences". 

In an attempt to make meaning we can replay "undigested mental experiences" over and over in our bodymind. The repetitive mental chatter leaves an impression on the mind and can create a trauma pattern.  Beyond our awareness, these patterns show up in our relationships with family, work colleagues, friends, strangers and even in our nightly dreams. When our movements are interrupted before the trauma and adrenaline can be released our nervous system and ultimately all other systems in our body are negatively impacted. 

By moving with intention, I believe we can become aware of our conditioned movement patterns and begin to discover and unlock new pathways and patterns of movement. When the bodymind can safely play out an old movement pattern and discover a new one, our mind can suddenly become freed to contemplate and experience other things with greater presence and joy.

I believe that a movement practice along with hands on energy healing can help clear mental, physical and psychic space for you to tend to your life's purpose with greater ease. I'm looking forward to sharing these offerings with you in 2020. Book your yoga & marma point therapy sessions today.

Ayurvedic Spring Wellness Tips

“As above, so below, as within, so without, as the universe, so the soul…” -Hermes Trismegistus

While winter is considered a season of accumulation, springtime is about growth and possibility. In Los Angeles we are seeing an incredibly luscious landscape bloom with confidence and mastery. As within so without… I’ve listed a few practices below that help to gently remove accumulated imbalances from your body so that you too can unfurl with confidence and natural beauty.

(Keep in mind that you are a unique flower and these are general recommendations that are good for many. Please speak with your doctor if you are uncertain about the appropriateness of any of these recommendations.)

• Wake up early (3-7am).  Kapha is especially aggravated by sleeping in beyond 7am.  (This does not pertain to you if you’re currently ill, pregnant, breast feeding, or elderly… trust your body and sleep in as necessary)                                                                                                                              
• Daily oil massage using organic sesame or sunflower oil.                                                                                                     
• Hot shower to refresh the body.                                                                                                                                           
• Visit a sauna during the early part of spring if possible.                                                                                                        
• Cup of hot ginger and lemon water in the morning to stimulate digestion and cut through accumulated mucous from the night before.                                                                                                                                                                                                      
• Practice more vigorous asanas (poses) to increase metabolism, including backbends, and forward bends to warm the kidneys and heart openers to help clear phlegm. (Ask about individual instruction for more details if you’re uncertain of your unique needs)                                                                      
• Diet should emphasize bitter, pungent and astringent foods that help to clear mucous and excess moisture from the body. Avoid sweet, sour and salty flavors that are heavy and cause water stagnation in the body.                                                                                                                            
• Eat meals that are warm, light and very easy to digest.                                                                                                       
• Avoid ice, refrigerated foods eaten cold, eating too much, eating between meals and sleeping during the day.                                                                                                                                         
• Honey is a wonderful sweetener this season. It helps to clear mucous.                                                                                    
• Dandelion tea is useful in cleansing the liver. 

What is a Prayer?

 

Last week I had the rare opportunity to be a student and practice yoga in a group class. The instructor made the emphatic point that we do not pray in yoga. I was immediately intrigued.  "When we put our hands together it is considered a mudra (gesture) and not 'prayer' hands".

The mudra or hand gesture of two hands pressed together is called Anjali mudra in Sanskrit. The word Anjali translates to offering. The instructor went on to say that when we come to our mat we are offering something to the group.  I appreciated his explanation, not because it was satisfying but because it made me wonder.  It made me curious, and investigative.  What is a prayer?

What is a prayer if not an offering of your hearts desire? An offering of humility, of gratitude, love, respect, beauty, and grace. When we come together as hands do to pray, we offer fuel to the fire that illuminates our deepest longing.  When we place our eyes upon our beloved are we not engaged in a prayer or an offering?  In conversation, when we lay our words next to the words of a friend, or beside the inquisitive question of a child can we recognize that connection as a prayer, a practice, an offering?

I long to live a luscious life! My prayer is that I can offer all that I have when we meet. I pray that I can relinquish my fears and love you.

Remain curious, investigative, and intrigued by this beautiful embodied experience we call life.


Peace,
Stacy

6 Yoga Poses To Relieve Lower Back Pain

I love to travel, and whether it’s for work or pleasure, sitting for long periods in one spot can wreak havoc on my back. Here are my 6 go to poses for long distance trips and sits.
 

This sequence can be done while you're on the road or at home to relieve tension in the lower back.  

Wake up feeling refreshed and ready to take on a new adventure.  

Your healing begins and ends with a breath...

Live a Luscious Life!                    
Stacy Na’ima       
 

Supta Kapotasana
(Reclining Pigeon Pose)
If the lower back is tight or tender place the foot of your lower leg on to the floor, a yoga block or the edge of your couch, or bed.  Over time, the knee and ankle of the top leg should be aligned.  This will happen naturally over time, no need to push here. Just breath.

Supta Padangustasana                                      
(Reclining hand to big toe pose)
Practice this pose with a strap around the heel of the foot, and allow the shoulders to relax. Hold the pose for at least 1 minute on each leg.

Ardha Virasana       
(Half Hero’s Pose)
Place a blanket, bolster or block underneath the forehead if the hips don’t easily touch the heels. 

Adho Mukha Svanasana        
(Downward Facing Dog)
Take the feet wide apart and bend the knees if the lower back is tight or tender. 

 Salamba Sarvangasana         
(Supported Shoulderstand)
Fold 2-3 yoga blankets in half and stack one on top of the other for shoulder and neck support.

Viparita Karani                  
(Water Fall Pose)
Take a deep breath.  The pelvis will begin to settle and the lower belly will soften with each exhalation.

Live a Luscious Life!                    
Stacy Scates  
Stacyscates.com

Yoga blankets to enhance your practice 

Yoga straps to deepen your practice 

Yoga blocks to improve your alignment 

Photos by  K. Scates Photography

http://www.kelliscates.com/