We had a lot of fun one day omm-ing.  Here’s a short sound recording of us and our om’s.  Click here.

This is especially true for those of us committed to spiritual growth. Our lives present more transformational opportunities than most, and this is as it should be!

In order to grow and expand, we need to release the old. The process of letting go is often uncomfortable, so we may delay needed shifts. This can lead to resentment of activities which no longer serve our mission. Or we might become too busy, as we haven’t cleared space for new commitments.

Sometimes when we are not quick enough to let go, the universe will bring about the change for us, often in surprising ways! If so, relax and surrender. How can you flow with the inevitable change that is in front of you?

With practice, you can learn to anticipate needed changes before they are thrust upon you. Ask the following questions to determine what might need shifting in your life:

~ What activities no longer bring me bliss? Where do I experience resentment or resistance, and why?

~ Am I being guided to release the activity? What are the fears and doubts around releasing it?

~ Is this something I are being guided to stick with for now? If so, what responsibility do I have for the situation being uncomfortable, and what can I do to turn it around?

~ Am I clear that it’s time to let this go, even thought I’m sad about it? How can I be gentle with myself as I go through this transition?

Transition is not always easy, but we can learn to love ourselves in the midst of it. And as we release what no longer serves our mission, we will be able to dance with Kali, in the dance of universal bliss.

Join me ~ dance your true bliss with Kali!

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The truth is that goals based in “shoulds” don’t really benefit anybody. These types of goals weigh us down, and end up being a burden to us and others. But when we do what we love, and manifest the things we truly desire, everything falls into place. Our heart aligns with our actions, and everything we do rings true with the soulfulness of joy and love. We can’t help but be of great service in the world!

The Yoga tradition recognizes the unique path of each individual, and the uniqueness of our individual means of fulfilling this calling. The Bhagavad Gita recommends following our swadharma, our own right path, rather than someone else’s.

But where is the compass that will point us in the direction of this unique path? Luckily we are each born with such a compass: our inborn sense of joy, our attunement to our true desires. If you don’t feel very attuned to what you want, please know that this compass gets stronger with practice! As you begin to free your soul to express its wishes, it will speak more reliably and strongly to you.

I like to talk about Heart Goals, rather than intellectually-chosen or obligation-based goals. These are the goals that come from deep within and are uniquely ours. They may seem foolish or childish, but if true to the heart, they will lead us in the direction of soul and service.

Here are some questions to consider in setting your Heart Goals for 2012:

• What would you like to create in 2012?
• What would bring delight to your soul?
• What new service would be totally fulfilling to you?
• What would you like to call into your life this year?

Sometimes we’re afraid to admit what we really want. We’re afraid of looking ridiculous, or greedy, or selfish perhaps. Maybe we’re afraid we’ll never get what we want, so it feels safer not to name our desires.

I encourage you to go back to being about five years old, and imagine the things that would be ~ or were, or are ~ totally delightful to you. Allow yourself to play and dream as you set your goals, and watch the universe play with you in bringing you everything you desire! Then watch your service skyrocket as a result.

Wishing you all good things…. More soon!

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At the same time, I find that I and my clients need specific practices for staying balanced at this time.  I like to think of the darkest time of the year as a time of composting, of letting everything in our experience fall back into the earth and rest there, fallow with Mother Earth.

The following tips will strengthen your resilience so you travel this time grounded and rested, and emerge next spring with new energy and freshness like those bright green buds!

1. Go to bed earlier, and take more naps! Wrap yourself in the nourishment of sleep, and let your soul speak to you in your dreams. Once November arrives, I pull out my dream incubation goddess, a replica from the ancient Hypogeum cave in Malta, and put her near my bed as a reminder of the sanctity of sleep. She stays there with me until the flowers begin to blossom in February.
2. Put up extra lights around your home. It’s no accident that the major celebrations of this time of year–Diwali, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Christmas, and even Kwanzaa–all feature candles or lamps!  So go for it.  Embrace whichever festival best suits you, or put up extra lights just for the fun of it.  I like to put out a thick beeswax candle from November – March, and light it every night for several hours. Give yourself some time to gaze gently at the flickering flame, a meditative Yoga practice known as “tratak.”
3. Revel in the night sky! When the days are shorter, the nights are longer, and there’s more time to enjoy the Moon and stars.  Wrap up in a cozy scarf and hat, and get outside to take in the vastness of space.  Allow yourself to be nourished by the awe and wonder of the cosmos!
4. Let Goddess Durga out if that’s what wants to happen! Set a boundary, say no when you mean it, claim your power, and stick up for what you believe. Often, depression stems from anger turned inwards, and the dark time of year may be what brings this to the surface.  Get the support you need to clarify what is churning within. A circle of women, a close friend or a therapist, can provide space for you to honor and express your feelings.   If Durga wants to take form through you as the powerful warrior Goddess, celebrate that, even if privately!  Taking on the strength and empowerment of Durga is healing, both for you, and for the larger community
5. Do less. As we approach Winter Solstice, many people become more and more frenzied with social activities and travel.  This is actually a great time to do the opposite, and to cocoon at home.  Choose your activities judiciously, and feel free to snuggle up with a good book or movie. Give yourself a winter retreat for some extra down time!
6. Enjoy more. At the same time as you give yourself permission to say no to over-activity, make sure you plan in something special that you will really enjoy.  Fit in connect time with one or two of your favorite friends. And if you choose to say no to family gatherings — an important choice for some women — plan an alternative that will bring genuine pleasure to your soul.  Pleasure is not a luxury — it’s a Divine Feminine necessity!
7. Keep up your regular Yoga practice, and add in extra restorative poses as needed. Exercise, and Yoga postures in particular, provide excellent prevention against depression, so maintain your practice fully during the winter.  If you are tired or resistant to begin your practice, start with one or two restful poses accompanied by slow, deep breathing. This will energize you so that you can move into the more vigorous postures next.
8. Go for walks when the Sun is high. Walking is fun and safe exercise. It strengthens the legs and bringing joy and empowerment, and, depending on where you walk, can connect you with the soulfulness of nature. In the winter, plan your walks at a time when you are most likely to get direct sunlight in your eyes.  Natural sunlight regulates the hormone melatonin, which supports sleep and relaxation.  So go outside for movement and fresh air, and take a few moments to look directly towards the Sun, thanking it for warming the earth, and for providing the energy that feeds us.  If you work indoors, even getting a five or ten minute break outside at lunch helps.
9. Give yourself longer meditation time. Meditation supports the spiritual “composting” process that goes on at this time of year, and also connects you with the light of your soul within.  This will get you through winter with wisdom and gentleness, and provide strength for the year to come. If meditation is difficult for you, find a friend or a community to practice with.
10. Manage your eating with planning and accountability. The dark time of the year can be a time when we are most tempted to abandon healthy eating.  This only accentuates any downward spiral which led to the food craving or binge in the first place!  So plan to keep healthy snacks on hand, and take alternate foods with you to any events where you are likely to want to eat food that isn’t good for you.  Talk in advance with an accountability buddy about your plans for holiday eating.

Hill views masculine and feminine as essential and integral to the psyches of both genders. The flexibility of Hill’s model is a refreshing and necessary revisioning of Carl Jung’s theories, which slipped into overly stereotyped and gender-rigidified notions. Hill’s model of masculine and feminine provides a framework within which to understand these aspects of the Sun and Moon Salutations.  The Moon Salutation is one expression of the larger project of bringing feminine values and principles back into the collective sphere.

In his book Masculine and Feminine: The Natural Flow of Opposites in the Psyche (1992), Hill describes the interplay of dynamic and static aspects of of the psyche.  He divides psychic energy into four quadrants or principles: the static feminine, the dynamic feminine, the dynamic masculine, and the static masculine.  This model thereby ascribes to both masculine and feminine attributes relating to steadiness or constancy as well as attributes relating to change or newness.  These elements of the psyche are in constant interplay and balance in the healthy adult.  They also describe developmental stages, which are experienced beginning in infancy.

The static feminine is the principle of containing, grounding, and nurturing—the experience of being held and cared for. It is represented by the cycles of nature with their repetitive predictability: the seasons of the year, the cycles of the moon, or a woman’s cycle. Most elementally the static feminine is expressed by the containing womb.  Its shape is a circle.  In its negative aspect it may become smothering and entrapping, but in its positive aspect it is unconditional love and acceptance.

Developmentally, the static feminine is the first stage experienced as an infant.  In the protective embrace of the parenting matrix, we learn to trust our environment and to access our instincts.  As the individual matures the ground of bodily security is integrated, providing the foundation from which he or she will later move out independently into the world.  Adults who are well established in the static feminine are able to trust themselves and thus relate authentically to others.  They feel at ease with the world and experience themselves as whole.

The dynamic masculine is the counterbalance to the static feminine.  It is the principle of actively and consciously engaging with the world.  It is the ability to think and act independently and thus create an autonomous identity.  It is the zest for new knowledge, the acquisition of new skills, the impetus for new projects. Most elementally, the dynamic masculine is the sperm penetrating the egg.  Its shape is the arrow.  Unchecked and out of balance, the active masculine can lead to excessive activity which is destructive to individual, communal, and ecological well-being.  When it is in balance however, the dynamic masculine is the healthy manifestation of enterprise and vigor.

The dynamic masculine is the second stage of psychological development.  Here the child begins to break away from the symbiosis of the parenting matrix to explore what she or he may become apart from the family.  Adults who are well established in the dynamic male show initiative and enthusiasm, and are able to move purposefully toward their goals.

In Hill’s model, the energy of the psyche flows naturally from static feminine to dynamic masculine, and from there to static masculine.  The static masculine is the principle of rational order.  It is logos, the word, conscious thought.  It is the development of those aspects of community that allow for harmonious living: fair-minded rules and ethics, family structure and support, and the disciplined completion of projects. In its negative aspect, the static masculine becomes overly-rigidified rules and the mind-set which clings to them, even when devoid of meaning and thus lifeless.  In its positive aspect, the static masculine is a mindful way of organizing one’s approach to life, a sense of principled living.

Developmentally, the static masculine is the third stage of life, wherein the energy of the adolescent is tempered by constructive and necessary constraints. The demands of career, family, and balanced personal growth require a harnessing of the drive for independence into productive channels and a regularized life.  An individual who is well established in the static masculine will be able to accept these limitations, to plan and think reasonably and thereby contribute to the common good.

The static masculine is counterbalanced by the dynamic feminine.  The dynamic feminine is the muse, the connection to imagination and to the unconscious.  It is eros, feelings and emotions, an openness to connection with others.  The experience of the dynamic feminine is often fresh and surprising:  the unexpected shooting of Cupid’s bow in the igniting of erotic love or a startling insight gained from a dream.  In its negative aspect the emotionality of the dynamic feminine may become overwhelming or self-indulgent, resulting in chaotic stagnation or depression.  In its positive aspect, the dynamic feminine is a fountain of life-giving joy and creativity, intuition and improvisation.

Developmentally, the dynamic feminine may be considered the fourth stage of life.  After becoming established in family and career, the individual will need to examine the meaning of her or his life.  Is it authentic?  Is it connected to one’s deepest desires?  Does it contribute to relatedness to self and others?  Jung was especially attentive to this stage of life in his work with his clients.  Here one explores the choices one has made in the light (or darkness) of the unconscious;  one consults the soul and asks it to come to the fore, giving meaning and joy to the structures which have been created, or rendering them asunder if needed.  An adult who is well established in the dynamic feminine will be spontaneous and playful, open to new possibilities and flexible enough to change directions when needed.

While the four principles described here may be understood on a macro level as distinct stages of psychological development, they may also be understood on a micro level as interacting forces in shorter events.  For example, in creating the Moon Salutation, the women moved from their own organic, felt sense that at times their bodies needed a different way of doing yoga (static feminine) to the desire to explore and create a new form (dynamic masculine).  The form became standardized (static masculine) and as they and others practiced it, it would lead them each time to new discoveries and insight, to a deeper and more real connection to the soul (dynamic feminine).  These discoveries would become integrated and would lead to an enriched and broader sense of wholeness (static feminine).  If any one of these aspects had been missing—the organic body sense, the initiative to create a new form, the ability to organize, to standardize, and to teach others, or the connection to life-giving meaning—the Moon Salutation might never have been birthed, transmitted to others, or been so enthusiastically received.  Similarly, all four aspects of experience are present in any successful endeavor or significant learning.

For the women in Egypt, who call for freedom and non-violence,
And the women in Madison, who stand for dignity and fairness,
And the women in 1911, who marched not just for bread, but also roses,
To you, my sisters, I send my prayers.

For the women in burquas, whose faces I cannot see,
And the women in saris, whose bodies sparkle with color and bangles,
For the hotel maids of the world, who wear sensible shoes,
And the prostitutes outside, who wear high heels,
To you, my sisters, I send my blessings.

For the young college graduate, unable to find a job,
And the woman who lost her job and struggles to feed her children,
And the woman who works such long hours her children cry to see her,
To all of you, peace, comfort, and blessings.

For all the women who refused to “behave…”
For the women burned at the stake,
And the women who kept the faith when others were burned.
For the women who marched for my right to vote,
And the woman who refused to move to the back of the bus,
I send my blessings, love, and gratitude.

For the woman who was almost the first female president of the United States,
And the little girl who one day will be.

For all the mothers of this planet,
For the teachers, nurses, social workers, doctors, lawyers, and waitresses,
For those who birth their gifts in families and children,
And those who birth them in visions and movements.

For my own mother,
Who sends me inspiration by morning,
Cooks for my sister by afternoon,
And sings to her granddaughter by night.

For the women who have support, and those who do not.
For the women who live in mansions, and those on the street.
For the women who walk in marches and the women who stay at home,
For the young, the old, the healthy, and the sick, blessings on all these.

For my spiritual elders,
The woman who said, “Your tears are the anointing of the Soul”
And the other who taught me “Your sexual energy is a healing force,”
For the woman who spoke to me of listening to the Moon,
And the other who showed me how to love the startling spiders in my dreams.
Blessings to you, gratitude, love and blessings this day.

May we all love spiders.
May we all receive the wisdom of the Moon.
May we all speak our tenderness, unfurl our truth, stand up and be counted,
Create, multiply, participate, and act!

The world needs us to love each other.
I see you Sister.
I hold your hand across generations, across ages, across cultural divides.

Like the women of 1911,
We, the women of today, walk for roses, as well as bread.

May we,
all women everywhere,
have a roof over our heads,
food in our bellies,
and roses.

Yogeshwari Laura Cornell, March 8, 2011

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I invite you to join me in several opportunities for playful exploration, learning, and empowerment. For those of you curious about Yoga history, truly a fascinating topic, I’m giving a workshop this month at the California Institute of Integral Studies. This summer I’ll also be offering a series in the East Bay on beginning or deepening a home Yoga practice, one of the most empowering and joyful paths you can choose in life. And for the children in your life who would like to play Yoga, I’m sending a reminder of summer day camps for kids.

Please be in touch to tell me how your Yoga is going!