Breathe, Hold Space, Be Present

28/08/2025

I was asked today by a student of mine that if the mindfulness sessions in breath and body we do are called formal practices in mindfulness, what do we call the integration and application of the mindfulness teachings in real life? Real-life practice, I replied. After all, all in life is a practice. Never perfection. We do the best we can in whatever capacity and agency we have at any given moment in our daily responsibilities in work and relationships. When we fail, we try again until we come to a place of alignment. Many times. Practice. Not perfection nor a performance. This life is a practice. Where repetition and consistency are our ally if we let it. Where loving kindness and self-compassion hold strong the fort to make way for resilience and courage so we are able to carry on until we reach our final place of arrival.

So we proceeded to practice mindfulness of the breath and the body and most importantly we practiced imbueing the quality of non-judgment, loving kindness and self-compassion to ourselves as sensations, emotions and thoughts emerged as they naturally do. We rinse and repeat. As many times as necessary, until our breath and body remember to do so intentionally as we go about our daily lives, which is THE real life practice.

13/08/2025

I am now available to chat with you on Premium.Chat at https://premium.chat/BeaAnMargaret

12/08/2025

3 questions to ask in practising or leading an asana according to Indu Arora in Yoga , Ancient Heritage Tomorrow's Vision:

Hitam Is it absolutely necessary?
Mitam How much of it is required?
Priaym Will it add to the pleasantness of the mind of the practitioner ( chitta prasadanam)

In the past, I thought doing several or more rounds of Sun Salutations is necessary to get the full benefits of the practice. But knowing what I know now and being more attentive and discerning to the needs of my body, one mindful complete round of Surya Namaskar is enough for what I need. Each pose, when done with careful precision, intention, activation, and release, derives for my body the energy it requires to optimally accomplish the necessary duties throughout the day. More importantly, as Asana's purpose is to provide for the mind a space to take a seat, to settle down, to regulate, a constant dialogue between mind and body during my practice is essential to arrive at a place of ease and peace.

How do you start your mornings? What keeps you energised during the day? If you are a practitioner of Yoga, have you considered asking Hitam, Mitam, Priaym in your personal practice?

06/08/2025

This was a beautiful learning experience sharing the practice of Yoga to staff of Clinica Gatchalian Mount Grace Hospital.

Send a message to learn more

05/08/2025

Delving deeper into the practice of Yoga has been an awakening and transmutational experience on and off the mat. Yoga is and always will be an inward work, one that may be difficult and overwhelming but certainly worthwhile.

Six Steps within an Asana

🪷Avahana
Visualisation of the asana to prepare body and mind

🪷Ugdati
Moving the body from neutral into asana

🪷Madhyasta
Steady and still, centering of body

🪷Adhogati
Releasing of asana, transition into neutral

🪷Shamana
Calming down of breath, mind, emotions and body, digestion of experience

🪷Manana
Contemplation, self-inquiry , reflection

-Yoga
Ancient Heritage, Tomorrow's Vision
Indu Arora

27/07/2025

Personal reflection on our Sunday Yoga Asana and Mindfulness Practice

Integrating insights in somatic healing into asana practice. Interoception is a core principle. Feeling the body from the inside out. Reconnecting to the body in a more visceral way. Giving the warring mind a reprieve and returning home to the physical container that holds all experience. Sensing the body and perhaps even arriving at the place where being the body is possible.

Polyvagal theory indicates that 80% of information comes from the body into the brain. 20% of information comes the other way. So imagine if we listen to the body, deeply inhabiting it and heeding its intelligence. We acquire the agency to calm down the body or activate it as necessary and appropriate. Nervous system regulation occurs. The body grounds the mind, materialising elements of healing that would otherwise just be swirling around in thoughts often discursive and critical. The practice of lovingkindness and self-compassion in mindfulness then holds the body and mind into an integrated, whole experience.

Pinsoy's Campsite Integrated Farm

20/07/2025

Sometimes, in the practice of yoga and mindfulness, to simply be with the breath is what we truly need. To breathe in the ten thousand joys and ten thousand sorrows in the life in front of us. To breathe out what no longer serves our body, mind, and spirit in the mantle of kindness and self-compassion.

May we invite breath to anchor us in the storms of life. May we be nourished and rejuvenated in its life-giving force
May we remember the source from which breath originates
May we give thanks for the breath, this given and gifted life.

What anchors you today?

15/07/2025

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Sending some your way today and every day.

13/07/2025

"The places in which we are seen and heard are holy places. They remind us of our value as human beings. They give us the strength to go on."

-Rachel Naomi Remen, Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories that Heal

Honoring the space where pain and joy and all the opposites and in-between's of life reside--- the body. We return home to the body, inhabit it and nourishing it with compassion and non-judgment offering it the gift of rest and recalibration.

Mental Health Aware Yoga Asana and Mindfulness Practice

11/07/2025

I roll out my mat, prepare my blocks, theraband, blanket, and everything else I need to practice. And just as I am ready to begin settling in my seat, my eldest son asks me to change his playlist, and then the other begins to get agitated for some reason. I leave the mat and attend to their needs. When they're satisfied and settled, I go back to my mat again and begin to breathe deeply. After a short while, they need something else. I stand up for the second time from my mat and give them what they need. Soon enough, the mat stays unoccupied, and I am deep into whatever it is that requires a mother to be at that point in time. Sometimes it is light and joyful. Other times, it is heavy and requires the full force of my mental, emotional, and yes, physical strength.

Yoga. This is yoga. This is the practice, the real one. Not where I am undisturbed in my pranayama or unfettered in meditation or uninterrupted during asana. It is in the realisation, recognition, manifestation, and the commitment to do what my chosen role is in this sacred life. The practice on the mat is simply a reminder of what that is. The reminder that nourishes, reinforces, and fortifies my physical, mental, and emotional agency so I can carry on with the dharma life has given, and I have consciously and unconsciously chosen with a multitude of imperfections.

Yesterday, as I was preparing the things I needed for my practice, I noticed a feather of a Brown Shrike on the ground just a few inches away from the edge of my mat. I've always associated the Brown Shrike with that of my mother's presence from beyond. This particular bird regularly visited our garden shortly after she passed and well past beyond their migratory period. Needless to say, my mother made her presence felt yesterday as well, just as I was in the middle of practising yoga, off the mat. Like an exquisite affirmation of what transpired between me, the unused mat, and my boys.

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If you are a practitioner of Yoga, how has it manifested in your life? What pertinent reminder does it imbue in your daily life?

08/07/2025

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