With New Years Resolutions in place they do no good unless we figure out how to take action on them, integrate them into your daily life, and make them a habit. One of my favorite quotes from the great yoga guru Paramhansa Yogananda is “Your trials may be great, but the greatest enemy of yourself is yourself!” In order for us to create a new habit that feels recharging, we have to figure out how to get ourselves out of the way.

We commonly talk about developing a buddy system where someone, a class, or a group program holds you accountable. Or we use our will power for a small amount of time when beginning new activities which will automatically develop a habit longer term. Below are five creative tips which we do not commonly think about on how to develop a recharging habit.

1. Conquer unwillingness: Do it when you least feel like it. Paramhansa Yogananda explains this in a really good way: “Unwillingness is an energy; willingness is a friend at times when...

With holiday travels around the corner and many people sick right now, how are we going to keep our bodies healthy, purified, and vibrant? Here’s another idea to add to the blog post Secrets of the Happy Traveler – Part 1.

2. Energization Exercises

Once I am all checked in for my flight, I find my gate, go to the bathroom, and fill my water bottle. Then I look for a gate without a plane taking off for a while. I love it if I can find a quiet private spot by a window. Now you do not have to find privacy but then you have to be ok with people looking at you funny. Most of the time I think they just wish they had the courage to join in because what you will do is so invigorating.

Here’s three Invigorating Energization Exercises:
These were developed by the great yoga guru Paramhansa Yogananda to help people feel more energy in their body, focus their mind, and get ready for meditation. Always tense from a low to medium to high tension, relax high, medium, low, and then...

How many times do you show up at your destination when traveling needing to recover from the journey? Wouldn’t it be nice if you arrived ready to delight in your vacation, perform your best on business travel, or be present for your family and friends at your destination?

Growing up living in Maryland and having my father living in Toronto, Canada, I have been a regular traveler since age 3. I also love to travel and somehow find myself always going somewhere whether for business, pleasure, or a training program. I have been to all 50 states in the U.S. and visited 23 countries. I would have continued around the world but Mexico, Italy, and India stole my heart. In college, I even got to design an airport as one of my engineering projects.

As you can imagine, I have been collecting a lot of travel tips that help me arrive at my destination refreshed and ready. Before holiday travel begins, I thought I would share four key ideas to consider for enjoying traveling by air a lot...

Meditation solutions offer a very peaceful and non-invasive way to heal the body, mind, and emotions. When I was going through my health challenges with Hashimoto’s and Hypothyroidism, I did everything possible on the physical, emotional, and mental levels to live as healthy as possible. All of that steadied my symptoms. When I started to meditate, I started to heal and did not need medication anymore even though that was not what the doctors predicted. My astrologer suggested that was because I was filling myself up with light.

Imagine having a glass full of black coffee. If you continuously pour water into that glass, eventually all of the darkness is flushed out by the clear water. As we draw light into our bodies while we meditate, it leaves no room for what may be considered “darkness.” That’s an esoteric way of explaining why scientific research is revealing the health benefits of meditation. With our bodies being made of energy, what we are doing is...

 
Get ready to learn something about energy that I have never shared before. I will also be suggesting we redefine how we use the word ‘energy.’

Here’s why: First thing to keep in mind as you read this blog is that science has shown our bodies are made of energy. A couple months ago I was going through a tired spell. That can happen in conjunction with the body trying to catch up to an immense spiritual growth that just happened. When the energy body of our consciousness has just transformed, the mind, emotions, heart, and body feel compelled to transform as well to match this new vibration in all of our parts. I believe that can happen in the opposite direction as well.

To offer another frame of reference, consciousness has just begun to form itself in a baby’s body. The body must rapidly grow to match the intention of the soul in human form. You would think a baby being new to the earth would have tons of energy, yet it naps a lot.

Ayurvedically...

Would you like to know how to align with your fullest potential? Do you want to feel a sense of freedom in every cell of your body? Would you like to have the flexibility and control to access whatever skills you need in any moment?

Me too! Actually those are the gifts that I have tapped into through my journey with movement and spirituality.

Starting before the age of five my parents put me in gymnastics programs. I liked it more than anything else and used to practice it in my backyard and create swingset circuses for the neighbors. Since the dance-like moves in the floor routines were my favorite,  as a teen I completely switched to dance.

I was in my first dance company in high school and got to choreograph for a couple of our school musicals. I majored in dance in college (alongside of Mechanical Engineering) and started teaching kids dance classes. Later I taught adult fitness dance classes and even had my own dance company briefly.

Everywhere I traveled, I...

With the rise of terrors in the news and controversial politics, are you sometimes feeling challenged and asking how to stay positive and loving?

My favorite question from the Bhagavad Gita just came up again in the online study group, “Which side has won?” Looking at today’s politics, you may ask: Donald Trump? Isis? Gays? Women? People with skin color other than white? Police Officers? The 1% or the 99%? But the battle is not over yet!

In the Bhagavad Gita shortly after the battle of Kurukshetra began, the blind man asked, "Which side has won?" This seems to be an odd question considering the battle was not over yet. Normally at that point one would ask, "Which side is winning?"

The one who has the gift of introspection replied to the question with the actions related to the consciousness of the people fighting. The winners are the ones holding their consciousness in a high place. In the game of consciousness everyone could be a winner.

I have never had an...

Last week’s blog post claimed one day, meditation will be considered a drug. Maybe it already is? Doctors are now prescribing meditation. It helps calm and relax people, as well as heal disease. When some people meditate they see beautiful color formations or hear intriguing sounds. Some people gain an expanded awareness, as some people claim drugs offer them.

Warning: side effects may include:
Not caring what others think of you.
Needing less sleep.
Getting along better with others.
Enhancing the immune system.
Causing your face to glow and eyes to shine.
Making you look younger.
Reducing Pre-Menstrual Syndrome symptoms.
Developing emotional maturity.
Giving you better test scores in school.
Helping you work more efficiently.

Side effects of overdosing may include:
Becoming addicted to meditation.
Not wanting to fulfill your daily duties.
Talking in a monotone voice.
Developing pride.
Isolating yourself from others.
Using it as validation for having greater awareness than others who do...

Last week in the blog post, “Is The Bhagavad Gita Timeless?”, I made five claims to dispel myths about the Bhagavad Gita, and stated I would explain them this week. Maybe you were patiently or anxiously waiting for that explanation. And here we have it!

Each claim depends on how you define the terms and relate to the statements. I believe the intention behind the Bhagavad Gita is to lay a supportive foundation that can be applied to any path and any life. Yet sometimes it felt to me as if it was getting too detailed with too much definition on how life “should” be. As I kept reading I would hit a statement that presented the underlying message I was feeling thus wiping away what was previously stated and taking things up a notch in understanding. These five statements are what I find helpful to focus on for today’s awakened consciousness.

First claim: There is no right and wrong.

 
Well, actually, there may be, but not in the way you think. What I...

With over 23 million people watching Game of Thrones, it should not be a question if people would be interested in reading about outdated battle scenes or ways of living. Of course, the ancient scripture, Bhagavad Gita, is not meant for entertainment, but to find a match that awakens people to their highest possibilities in an entertaining way.

The Bhagavad Gita depicts the conversation between Krishna, who represents God, and Arjuna, the Pandava brother who represents the third chakra, the seat of will power. The five Pandava brothers, representing the first five chakras, and their 100 cousins, the Kauravas, who represent what are deemed to be negative qualities, battle each other for the throne of their kingdom.

Just before the battle begins Arjuna asks his charioteer, Krishna, to drive between the armies to get a good look at the scene. As if he is in the center of a spine with upward moving energy on one side and downward moving energy on the other side he slackens his bow and...