Sunie Yoga

suniemac.wix.com/yoga

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Be Generous



No matter how much money you are making or how much time you have to give, be generous.  I am a firm believer in what you give you get back.  That doesn’t mean I donate all of my money and time.  That doesn’t mean I overspend and go into bankruptcy.  That doesn’t really mean I actually expect anything in return either.  But somehow I’ve found time and time again, when I spend my money something is always given back in return, one way or another. 

Same goes for my time.  As we all know, life is quick and short.  The connections you can make with people are generally what you want them to be.  Either you can choose to spend more time with someone or not.  You can be protective and short with people or you can give your time to someone who will benefit from it and your presence.  People are so anxious to get away from the unknown, so desperate to find a resolution, whether it is right or not, so quick to respond to a text or voicemail without taking the time to think.  If we can allow ourselves to take time to feel things out with another person by being generous, the potential growth you and he/she could have could be enormous.

Generosity also brings happiness.  It can even make you feel that you are a better person for it. 

Don’t believe me?  Try it out yourself.  Spend a little more time with someone that you normally wouldn’t do or spend a little more money on that event you’re going to with a friend or date.  Notice the experience.  Is it more enjoyable?  Are you happier?  Are you receiving new insight into someone else or perhaps even yourself? 

Put your time and money into the world and it will come back to you.  Try it out.  Truly, you never know what you’re going to get.

Friday, January 25, 2013

Love Yourself

Sometimes life can be dark and scary.
Sometimes all you want is to find someone to give you a hug, but there is no one in sight.  

How do you cope with that?  

I continue to learn that you can fully depend on no one but yourself.  There is no one who can love you like yourself.  No one that can give you what you need like yourself.  No one can provide the safety you may be looking for but yourself.  Sure you can ask for help from your friends and family and they'll share with you words of love and support, but nothing will take care of you like you can.  

So, give yourself what you want and need.  Honor your desires and dreams.  Be who you are because no one else can be.  Find the love you need within yourself and don't be afraid to use it.  It's there and it's going to serve you, if you allow it to.  People come and go (and why not love them too?).  You are here for good.  Love yourself and the whole world will love you back.

You bring yourself!

Saturday, January 19, 2013

A Perfect Yogi

I want to be a perfect Yogi.  I want to see the light.  I want to be angelically good.  I want to make everyone around me happy and sing with delight.

Turns out I need a lot of  time on the mat to work through personal issues.  I can't do every posture a "true Yogi" can.  I can't see the light every single second of every single day.  My angelically good isn't always that.  I'm not able to make everyone happy, not even myself at times.  Some days our voices are silent and singing isn't a possibility.  Turns out life cannot be lived perfectly, it doesn't work that way.

Here's the good news:  It doesn't matter!

As long as you are striving to do the best you can, being the best version of yourself and always giving your 100% best effort at loving, you're doing alright.  We can't all be the perfect Yogi, in fact there is no such thing.  No one is angelically good, constantly happy and genuinely honest every second of every day.

It's okay.  Love yourself anyway.  Let your heart expand with raw emotion and honesty.  Let your whole being encompass your good and bad, your yin and yang, your black and white.  Find balance.  Find alignment.  Find your perfection.

I don't have all the answers and neither do you.  No one does.  Live your life with your eyes wide open.  Expect nothing and give everything in return.  Be true to yourself.  You are a perfectly imperfect Yogi, just like me.  Celebrate life.























Jai!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

The 5 Senses of Now



Gosh, NYC has some skyline.  Set your eyes on that!  Wow!  No other place in the world looks anything like it!

As I walk in the streets of Brooklyn, I find myself overwhelmed with the sweet smell of pine, as so many Christmas trees are lying on the sidewalks waiting to be collected.  What a treat to the nose.  Who knew NYC good smell so wonderful?  Maybe not for a great reason and not for very long, but it's there and I drink it in with the excitement of a hiker stomping through the great forests of Washington State.





I often wear gloves, but today, without a glove, I could feel the transferred warmth of a man's big soft hand that had just let go of a pole on the subway.  (Forget the germs for just a moment, won't you?)








 While tasting almost any meal in the city, I practically fall over in my deliriously delicious delight for dishes inspired from all over the world.  (I'm certainly not willing to taste anything else in this city!)
Photo by  Phil Penman





I often spend my days walking around with headphones in my ears to block the sounds of traffic.  You guessed it.  I took them off and was overjoyed to hear birds chirping, friendly laughter and little children yipping with delight.




Oh my, are we lucky!  We have 5 senses to explore this amazing world of ours.

We can see it!
We can smell it!
We can touch it!
We have taste it!
We can hear it!

For myself, I've moved from Cape Cod to NYC.  What a difference in every single sense.

Cape Cod looks beautiful.
Cape Cod smells salty fresh.
Cape Cod feels soft, smooth and wet.
Cape Cod tastes like fresh day-boat scallops.
Cape Cod sounds like a breezy ocean wave.

New York City looks inspiring, motivating, shocking, disgusting, lovely.
New York City smells fabulous, delicious, putrid, stinky, horrid.
New York City feels oh so good, hard, cramped, sweet.
New York City tastes like yellow mustard, rotten eggs, moldly bread, pizza, king crabs.
New York City sounds like a deaf child screaming, white noise, warm voices, clanging pots, charming clinks.

What do your 5 senses allow you to experience in your hometown?
Arrive in your presence now and explore.

Monday, January 14, 2013

The Laughing Buddhist

Stop all the nonsense and take a few minutes to laugh!



Laughing makes life so much more enjoyable.

Get a friend and go laugh together!  Bring yourself to hysterics where you can't help but snort.  Build tears in your eyes from squinting for so long.  Hold you belly, it hurts so much.  Laugh so hard you start drooling.

Oh, what good it will bring you.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Chill Out

I work at a Yoga Studio and some of the experiences I have had with the public just astonish me.

Today, I dealt with two situations that should have taken a few moments if any time at all, but instead they took an hour of my time.  These two particular people were deceitful.  They both tried to get away with taking a free Yoga class in very different ways.  I continue to come across so many people that try to get away with things and they are completely aware that they are doing it.  Since working here, it had astounded me how many people have blatantly lied to me.  And this is at a Yoga studio!  Something is misaligned.  

As people, we need to treat others with respect even if we disagree.  I always make sure to be professional, kind and understanding, but oftentimes I am not treated in the same manner.  So many people seem to be blind-sighted but what they want and will do anything to get it.  When they realize I cannot give it to them, they go beserk!  

It's quite appalling to watch.  How is that behavior okay?   

If I relay one thing to you through this blog, I hope it is this: please come to everything you do with compassion.  See both sides of the situation.  If you find yourself angry, take a step back.  Remind yourself of your reasoning and check in with why you feel the way you feel. Perhaps it has nothing to do with the situation.  Perhaps it's not that person's fault.  Being angry is not good for anyone, especially yourself.  It creates tension, adrenaline and can often lead to improper behavior, whether it be you go home to eat an entire pint of ice cream, hit someone, embarrass yourself and/or use your words in a negative and disrespectful manner.  Take responsibility for your actions and thoughts.  You are holding on to the negativity.  Take in several deep breaths and let it go.  Let.  It.  Go.  One of the biggest lessons we need to learn while we are living on this planet is just this: let it go.  Be love.  

Up to 60% of the human body is water.  The brain is composed of 70% water and the lungs are nearly 90% water.  Think about it...

Monday, January 7, 2013

Appreciate Your Life

Life is short.  I'd like to think I'm about 1/3 of the way through, more or less, (if I'm healthy and lead a safe life).  And that's scary!  I have so much left I want to do and so many people I have yet to meet.  How do I make the best of what I am doing right now to ensure that the next 2/3's of my life are beautiful and the way I want it?

Appreciate it!  Don't take life for granted!  Don't abuse ourselves and those around us.  Don't judge ourselves and those around us.  Be here now.  All we have is right here.

I lost my full-time job over a month ago.  It's for the better, there is no question; they presented themselves differently than how they actually acted.  So, I am currently unemployed and didn't qualify for unemployment, therefore I'm making zero income.  Sure, I could take a barista job or some other part-time gig, but I want something I believe in.  I want to work in my field.  Yoga & Health.

On top of this, I moved to NYC under the impression that I would be renting my house on Cape Cod in order to afford my rent in the city.  My tenant decided not to pay me and I am in the midst of eviction.  Have you ever had to evict someone?  The law is not on the side of the landlord no matter how much you believe you are in the right.  And believe me, morally, I am in the right.  My tenant owes me for 4 months of rent and he is STILL living in my house, because I can't legally kick him out.  I have been going through so many conflicting feelings.  Turns out those feelings help lead a horrible life.  I feel powerless by someone I trusted my own home with and by the law.  And to have to fight (and pay) for my rights to my house is absurd to me.  I cannot understand it.  And have no desire to.  I am oftentimes angry, defeated, sad, betrayed, helpless, vulnerable, confused and so so frustrated.

I truly believe I am a good person and yet somehow all of this is in my life.  People say we attract everything in our lives.  Did I attract all of these things?  What does that say about what sort of person I really am?  This scares me.  This makes me want to run away from my life and never look back.  This makes me question the choices I have made to get me where I am and what I've done to deserve this in my life.

But then I drop it.  Although it's present in my life, I can either choose to let these heavy issues eat me up and spit me out on the wrong side of the bed every morning or I can focus on what my present moment is -- I am enjoying a cup of tea next to my sleeping kitten and beautiful blossoming plants in a lovely little studio apartment in Brooklyn where I have space to practice Yoga, shower, cook and breath easy.  I know money will come back into my life when the time is right.  I know a good job will come as I continue my search.  I know my tenant will get out sooner than later now that I have begun the eviction process.  I know that I will find an honest tenant next time around.  I know that I will be happy.

But most of all, I know that I am happy.  I appreciate the little things.  I love my life.  I love the people in my life.  It's too short to focus on the things that I loathe and want out of my life.  They will go when they're ready to go.  In the meantime, I put my focus on what I want, who I want and how I am going to get them.  I am so thankful to have this outlook and so thankful to have my life in my own hands.

Light of Consciousness


Love life.  Give it your all and hope for the best.  It won't always be the way you thought you wanted it to be, but it will work out for the best.  I know it.  Live that!

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Express Yourself

Headed home anticipating the presence of my friend there.

I love her so dearly, because she makes it so clear how much I am needed in her life.  She jumps up and down for joy, screaming and laughing whenever we meet.  She shows me all the things she's been doing since we've separated, glowing with pride for her time well spent.  She gets close to me and gives me big hugs as she is absorbed with this emotion of happiness and joy around me.  In high squeaks, she tells me how thrilled she is to finally see me again.  As we head down our past paths, I find her stories are told with bright animation in a genuine voice.  She never stops to question whether her behavior is acceptable or her stories brilliant.  Once caught up on the past, we settle in and enjoy one another's company.  We sit close while we eat a meal and play games while we chat about our futures.  In the night, we watch movies, enjoying the energy and warmth our bodies share next to one another.  In the day, we enjoy the sunlight streaming in through my windows and celebrate the day by practicing Yoga side-by-side.  She tells me how much she will miss me when I go and how much she can't wait to see me when I get back.  She is pure honest love and feels no shame in expressing to me how much she loves me and needs me in her life.  This is a true friend.  A shining light of love in my life.  I will keep her in my life.
Hello!!!

Bedtime

Bye!!!

I'm sure by now many of you have guessed my sweet friend is a kitten.  Her name is Dierda.  She is 3 months old.  She is very special to me and a true joy in my life.  How many of you have pets?  Isn't it something special the way we are treated and loved by them and vice versa? Wouldn't it be wonderful if we humans could express our feelings so openly to other humans as Dierda does to me?  

A pet is a wonderful example for us to learn from.  Be honest with yourself about how you feel and we will be a better society because of it.  Express it in your words and your actions; your relationships will be happier for it.  Honor yourself.  Show your true feelings.  You want to cry?  Cry.  You want to love?  Love.  You want to play?  Play!  With each other.  Express yourself.  The positive effect it has on others and yourself is enormously beneficial.


Saturday, January 5, 2013

A Day Off

How many of us never actually take a day off entirely?  We have off from work, so we need to run errands, check out email, facebook, go from a run, call a friend, etc.  Do you ever give yourself a day (or even a half of a day) to just do nothing but take care of yourself?  No cell phone, computer, demands and work.  Just allow yourself to sit still and breathe.

Taking time to yourself will do us all loads of good.  You will free yourself of worry, stress and emotional baggage.  You'll remind yourself of the simple beauty of living and who you are.  You'll make more clear and precise decisions. You'll come back to work and your loved ones refreshed and more motivated.  

Take several hours a week off to do nothing but breathe.  Your life will become easier.  You will be able to handle the stress of your daily job with a little more grace.  

Try going for a walk and notice the smells and colors around you.  Take a yoga class and notice how your muscles respond.  Have a cup of tea and notice the taste and warmth in your mouth.  Meditate and notice your brain activity.  Find a way to be in the present moment in order to sit with yourself and know who you are.  Bring more peace to your life and you will, in turn, bring more peace to everyone else's.