Practice Abundance: Simple Mindful Acts of Gratitude

Harness Your Breath

As the breath goes, so go the body and the mind. Every state of being, every state of conciousness posseses a particular quality of breath: a quick inhalation denoting surprise or fear, the slow sigh of contentment, the widely varied patterns of breath which accompanies laughter, etc. The breath is the gateway to our mind and body connection.

Next time you find yourself in a not so great mood, try laughing out loud for a few minutes. Find your way to a good sincere belly laugh, a chuckle, a giggle. Then back off the laughter naturally. You’ll feel better. It works because your body and your mind will follow your laughing breath. Harness your breath.

Here are two quotes about the breath to wrap up the week:

You know that our breathing is the inhaling and exhaling of air. The organ that serves for this is the lungs that lie round the heart, so that the air passing through them thereby envelops the heart. Thus breathing is a natural way to the heart. And so, having collected your mind within you, lead it into the channel of breathing through which air reaches the heart and, together with this inhaled air, force your mind to descend into the heart and to remain there. ~Nicephorus the Solitary

The practice is simply this: keep coming back to your breath during the day. Just take a moment. This will give your mind a steadiness and your breath a gracefulness…. There’s so much to let go of, isn’t there? Your nostalgia and your regrets. Your fantasies and your fears. What you think you want instead of what is happening right now. Breathe. ~Rodney Yee, Yoga: The Poetry of the Body

Quote source: http://www.quotegarden.com/breathing.html

Free Yoga Class: Oct. 4 @ 9:00 am

Just wanted to let you know–I’ll be leading an awesome Hatha Flow class at the Leawood Lululemon Athletica location. Great location, gear and free yoga, now that’s the way to kick off a Saturday. See you soon!

Lululemon Athletica-Leawood
4555 W 119th St
Leawood, Kansas 66209

Give Me Five Minutes to Improve Your Day

Five Minute Breathing Meditation: http://youtu.be/BVVUXi-8PU0

First We Breathe

My post on breath became a poem. Namaste.

Breath is the first marker of life.
Centering our awareness on the breath
begins our yoga practice.
Following the breath with our awareness
is the harbinger of mindfulness.
Mindfulness in the breath
leads to mindfulness in all things.
Mindfulness fosters equanimity.
First we breathe.

©Desiré Hendricks

Practice the Top Three Ways to Get a Yoga Body

1. Breathe giving full attention to each inhale and exhale.

2. Practice asanas, poses, which open your heart and allow you to be fully present, focused entirely on what you are doing–singing and dancing count.

3. Sit and meditate. Watch your thoughts for a period of time each day–until one day when you sit, you find there are none.

You have a yoga body the day you begin your practice, and you are a perfect miracle just the way you are.

Yoga Awesome Sauce

I fell in love with the yoga almost 20 years ago in college. It has remained a refuge or a kick in the pants whenever I needed it. Yoga is awesome because it offers what you need without demand: it’s true love.

Yoga is like the awesome sauce that makes a good dish great! I want to share the recipe for this awesome sauce with you. The best thing about this recipe is that you already have all of the ingredients and the tools to make the best sauce ever. Yoga just requires you, a little time and the intention to practice. I look forward to meeting you. Namaste.