Relax Your Way to Creative Genius

There are many benefits of a regular yoga + meditation practice that people do not realize either because they have never stuck with it or simply have not embraced the practices. One of the most remarkable is a whole new access to creativity. Our culture under-values relaxation and yet idolizes creativity and innovation. Creativity brings us closer to our Source than almost anything else. Creativity can help mom discover new ways of making the mundane entertaining for the 5-year old. Creativity can inspire the teacher in the classroom to present that same material in fresh and fun ways for their students. Creativity is the impulse behind the artist and poet but also allows the government employee to find new ways of doing things that improves the system for everyone. But how do we access this fountain of innovation and inspiration?

Relaxation is paramount to opening the door of creativity in any given moment. Tension in the mind and body serves to limit our ability to get "outside the box". In fact, "the box" is made of tension and its resulting contractions at both a mental and physical level. Sometimes we hear of creativity happening as a result of overwhelming tension but I would argue it is when the individual has "surrendered" to their circumstance that the creative solution manifests. This does not mean "giving up" but rather speaks to a deep acceptance of the here and now that opens the door to an unbounded future.

Learning to relax may be the greatest thing you could do to improve your health and quality of life and it may just awaken that creative genius that lies within each of us. You have access to a well of creativity that is only yours and I pray you are able to access it and express it in your life for everyone's benefit.

Namaste,

Steve

Yogi Jayanta

CASTLE Principles: Courage

Hello All,

I have been feeling my heart in a new way and have been noticing how an open heart inspires courage not by battling through fear but by gently rising above it or simply dissolving it in the face of the subtle but profound energy of the heart. The root of the word courage relates to the beautiful French word for the heart, "la coeur". When the heart is opened love and acceptance dissolve fear like the light of a candle dissolves darkness.

As we practice yoga and meditation we become more aware of our interior space, more sensitive to the blossoming of the heart and to its slamming shut in a moment of contraction due to stress and fear. In addition to allowing yourself to become more courageous through a commitment to love and accept yourself, I encourage you...(there is that word again) to inspire courage in others. This doesn't mean trivializing someone else's fear! I learned long ago that you cannot compare one person's fear with another, ever. What you can do with your growing sensitivity is create a loving space of acceptance so another person need not be so courageous because your compassionate presence eliminates the fear.

Practice compassion by breathing into your heart and imagine a space emanating beyond your body and embracing others around you. Be generous with your presence and your space, don't be quick to fill the silence but allow someone else to step into the light of the moment and receive the blessings of your heart space.

We will work on opening our hearts tomorrow morning at the Boathouse, hope to see you there at 8:45am. Oh yeah, and we will get a great workout for the body too!

Namaste,

Jayanta