Radical Honesty & Fearless Feathers

endless beauty

 

2010 was the most love-filled year I`ve ever had.

It wasn't without tears or challenges. There were plenty of those for sure!

There was connection and listening and no-words-needed and just the right touch.

There was real deep love. Inside me. Love that's taken years to form and grow comfortable in.

Love with the nature, a very special person and my very own heart.

Love that I am so so grateful for and will never take for granted.

I learned to have patience. With my injured hand. With myself. With life. 

My yoga teaching were growing, just like me. Side by side.

Everything in my way were a painful, beautiful and mysterious playful game.

2011 was the most unexpectedly challenging year I`ve ever had.

From sweet and luscious to a rough roller coaster. But also a lot of growth. 
I learned what it means to feel joy. And go home to my own heart.
I dared to embrace and explore my inner teacher.

Some memorable moments comin`here....
I visited India and had to face many of my fears.
I shared my wisdom at Celebrating The Heart on Crete. And discovered Mama Bear.
We also found a secret spot on Crete - my beloved and me.
I spent time in magnificant surroundings in Sweden.
I had an incredible helicopter ride over New York in July, just one day after the 22/7 attacks in Oslo.
I had many delicious moments at Cafe Gratitude in San Fransisco.
.............then the Darkness slapped me in the face like a hungry and tired Grizzly Bear.
I just wanted hibernate through Autumn.
My heart couldn`t stay awake so much longer.
But I never ever lost my hope.
Nature was there.
The Tramp was there. Somewhere.
Some peeps. With a heart ♥
 
My teaching was my glitter. My students my stardust.
I`ve learned to embrace my Light and my Darkness.

2010, thanks for such big love

2011, you are my teacher and trickster

2012,  I'm ready for you. The Complete. The endless being. Radical honesty.

I leave all my fears behind.

All you need is faith and trust... and a little bit of pixie dust  ♥ ♥ ♥
 
 

--Peter Pan

alias Maria

Merry X-mas

Wish you all an abundant holiday and a celebration of light!
Be just as beautiful as you can be.
Be true to yourself.
Naked as a newborn child.
Enjoy the emotional roller coaster.
The Love. The Chaos. The stillness.
The darkness & the light.
Give Love. Be Love.
Just Be. 
And enjoy the silence.

Yours Sincerely Maria

You Are Unlimited




Love consists of this: two solitudes that meet, protect and greet each other.

Rainer Maria Rilke

If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf

me dreaming in Kerala 2011

Each person in our lives is there to show us the way to our freedom



Lady & the Tramp

m a k e a w i s h

it might come true . . . .

rainbow at sagene september 2011

Lokah samastha sukhino bhavantu

May all beings everywhere be happy and free.
May the thoughts and actions of my own life, contribute in some way,to the happiness and freedom for all  ♥

Fall in love with yourself~

Wouldn't it be powerful if you fell in love with yourself so deeply that you would do just about anything if you knew it would make you happy?
This is precisely how much life loves you and wants you to nurture yourself.
The deeper you love yourself, the more the universe will affirm your worth.
Then you can enjoy a lifelong love affair that brings you the richest fulfillment from inside out.

Alan Cohen

shadow me

n e e d s

 

   m a k e   a   w i s h   



sometimes we need a reminder...

Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart.

Who looks outside dreams.

Who looks inside, awakens.

-Carl Jung

What you resist, persists

Carl Jung


You can resist the sweet things in life.
Love, intimacy or accepting yourself.
How does that make you feel?
Stuck?
What you resist persists. I could`nt say it better myself.
Resistance creates blocks, tension, stress and so on.
The more energy you put into something, the more power you give it.
Resisting means hiding, denying, or covering up.
What are Y O U resisting about yourself?
Where do you think you are supposed to be perfect?
Consider what you are hiding about you or ashamed of? ( yes we all do)
How can you start loving yourself a little bit more?
To recieve the wonderful gift of being loved.
I think the healing is to embrace.
Embrace what is. Embrace now. Embrace Life.
Let go.
Say yes.
To all what Is.

If you want to go fast, walk alone. If you want to go far, walk together

Abhyanga

Come October, come November, change is in the air.

Outdoors the temperature is cool, the air is dryer, and the winds pick up -- in an Ayurvedic perspective: it's Vata season!

The Vata inside your body will increase because of the condition of the weather outside.
This is because like increases like in Ayurveda.
Everyone will feel better pleasing and nourishing Vata for these coming months

As your Vata gets aggravated, you may start feeling stressed or fatigued, dry skin, and lack of sleep.You may also have huge sweet cravings.
Make sure to establish a steady daily routine , staying calm, warm and nourished...


Abhyanga - the sanskrit word for ayurvedic daily oil massage.

When I visited India earlier this year, I had a couple of Abhyangas.
It was not like any massage I had before.
The first massage was at my birthday.
Februar. A very hot day,
Totally naked. H U G E amount of oil.
Lying on a wooden bench while 2 or 3 peope using their warm hands releasing any stress in your body.
Oil everywhere.
Then the shower. They give you a shower. Yes - you do not need to do anything.
Just relaxing(?) on a chair, waiting, while they slowly, wash away the oil. Every little corner of your skin.
Washing your hair. Singing. Humming.Smiling.
I felt like a newborn child. Purified.

I use organic sesame oil for self- massage all year around.
But it`s even more important during these cold and dark months here in the North.

You need:
Organic sesame oil. Make a note: Not the toasted, dark oil !
To purify the massage oil, “cure” it by healing it to about 220 degrees Fahrenheit.
You don`t n e e d to purify the oil, but if you have the time - make a try!
Do this once
Before using the oil. Warm the bottle a few second in warm water from the spring.

You can use the oil for massage in the mornings and evenings.
Begin with the feet. Rub the soles of the feet, especially good before sleep.
Massage the hole body before showering in the morning. Or just around your hip area.
Rub the oil gently into the scalp, yes, it will be greasy so maybe save that to the evenings or before schampooing the hair.


You can also place the oil in your ears and nose to help prevent colds, flus, sore throats, sinus congestion and allergies.
Just dip the pinky in some warm oil and insert through the nose :)


Be kind to yourself.
Make the cold, dark months a little more sweet.

Blesings maria

Let your heart be your compass taking you home

To be touched

“It is just simple attention that allows us to truly listen to the sound of the bird, to see deeply the glory of the autumn leaf, to touch the heart of another and be touched.”

Jack Kornfield

Embrace Life

Hug everyone you meet, even if just in your mind.

Everyone has struggles and needs compassion, no matter how they act.
Wrap even the most difficult person in a mental & emotional body blanket of love and acceptance.
A hug presses the message into another person,
“You are not alone.”
The beautiful thing about a hug is that as you’re giving one, you’re also getting one.

Say to yourself: If my arms were long enough I would hug the whole world.

Recieve - I give Y O U
a Hugasana..................... maria



me embraces Life summer 2008

You Already Are

Always seeking for something new.
Restless. Longing. Waiting.

A lifetime of looking.

Until you discover that you already are.

Precious. Perfect. Peace.

You Already Are


Everything.

Ko Ngai

Your Life Is A Love Letter.....

Some inspiring words to begin the week

Your life is a love letter, addressed to all who are ready to see the truth of their inner beauty.
Every thought, word and action are left for others to find like anonymous love letters in the street.
The encounters seem to be random, but you know better.
You know that you have set out to intentionally imprint your message on all who can hear your message.

ACCEPT YOURSELF.
LOVE YOUR LIFE.


S O U L S E E D S
♥

Wear it like a crown

A show about wearing your fears and failures with pride.

I`m excited to meet Cirkus Cirkör again. I cried, laughed and got inspired during their last visit here with magic Inside Out.
Its about being human. About joy and sorrow, fear and courage. About love & life. About being vulnerable. And that vulnerable are the same as strong.
Life can be poetry. We just have to believe. In ourself. In life.
Peace!
maria



Wear it like a crown is the final part in Cirkus Cirkör’s trilogy about the body. The first part, 99% unknown, took the audience on a journey inside the body among cells and neurons. Inside out follows the heart, and Wear it like a crown seeks order in the collisions between the left and right cerebral hemispheres

A word from the director
Tilde Björfors - Director and artistic director

"All growth is preceded by risk-taking. There is no innovation, no great work of art or love story that has not involved a number of risks.
Since risk-taking has such valuable results, why does it have such a negative connotation?
Why don’t we all throw ourselves into all risks with great joy?
Is it the fear of hurting ourselves or the risk to our own or others’ lives?
Yes, but the majority of the factors that hold us back are based on a fear of quite harmless things.
No one has ever died from saying “I love you” even though it may feel like it, at that moment"

Vulnerable Is Beautiful

Share your life with someone who has enough time to look into your eyes and listen to the beating of your heart

Janesh Vaidya

Individually, we are one drop.
Together, we are an ocean.

Ryunosuke Satoro

I walk beside You today

words can be a precious gift

What`s Your Dosha?

In Ayurveda (often translated as the “science of life”)
the five elements of space, air, earth, fire and water make up everything in the universe including the human body. These elements come together to create three different constitutional types, or doshas, known as
Vata (airy), Pitta (fiery), and Kapha (earthy).
Knowing your type can help you understand what foods, exercises, and lifestyle elements can support and nurture your health and which ones can cause imbalance.
More than just a system of natural medicine, it is a way of living that encompasses lifestyle and diet, as well as medicine, bodywork, astrology, philosophy and psychology.
It touches upon every aspect of life.

Every individual will have one or more of these doshas in excess, and that is what defines one’s constitution. If you want to know your Dosha (or know more about yourself) I suggest you to visit an ayurvedic consultant. That can be a life changing process for sure.

You can also do a simple test on the web, just for fun.
Be honest when you read the 3 questions below, and get a hint of what dosha you might be ;)


Personality:
vata) “can I change my mind”?
pitta) “it’s my way or the highway”
kapha) “don’t worry be happy”


And smile ;)

What makes YOU come alive?

Do not ask yourself
what the world needs.

Ask yourself
what makes you come alive,
then go and do that.

Because what the world needs
is people who have come
alive.


-Harold Thurman Whitman-




me feeling alive summer 2010

Bird wings

In our never ending longing for balance in life, I give you this words from the poet Rumi:


"Your hand opens and closes and opens and closes.
If it were always a fist or always stretched open,
you would be paralysed.

Your deepest presence is in every small contracting and expanding,
the two as beautifully balanced and coordinated
as bird wings"


Rumi

Are you ready to follow your heart?

..... It begins by being able to hear it.


In June me and my yoga-brother Klaus arranged a yoga retreat at beautiful Triopetra on Crete. The name and theme were already from the beginning crystal clear; Celebrating the Heart
I can`t dream of a more loving way to share the yoga. It`s all about the heart. For me, communication and meeting through the hearts are essential.
I can`t say that to many times.
Dare to go deep within.
Dare to be vulnerble.
Be curious.
Like a bird on a rooftop in India.

Some inspiring words from Ronit Herzfeld:

We can’t hear our hearts when we are bombarded with feelings of insecurity,
loneliness, helplessness, and sadness.
Become the ambassador to your heart by learning how to recognize and
release these feelings so that your heart’s voice becomes louder.

Beyond your fears, your insecurities, and your not knowing resides your true nature.

“Your mind is looking to solve a problem,
your heart knows there is no problem.
Our minds perceive threats and divide us,
our hearts overflow to embrace and unite us.
Our minds deal with “others” as if they are tools or objects,
our hearts rejoice in our Oneness"

Let the walls around your heart break open to receive with abandon your highest nature.

Face your fears

Most of our fears are not based in reality.

It can be related to a situation. An emotion. To speak out in a big group. To surrender. To be vulnerable. To stop smoking. To eat chocolate. To love.
To show who we really are.

I`m still having a hard time flying, even if I`ve been traveling long distance for many years. This year I`ve visited India, Crete, New York & San Fransisco.
Not by car ;)
With a jumping heart, catastrophic thoughts and shaky hands.
Every single flight.

In NYC i had an amazing experience.
20 minutes, a hot sunday morning -in a helicopter!
I felt weightless, safe and ectatic!
That makes me even more convinced that I really can work that fear.
Mostly in my practice.
Embrace it.

Invite the fear in your yogapractice.
Step out of your comfort zone.
Dare to step back and rest - if that scares you.
Dare to sweat a litte bit more - if that scares you more.
Dare to open your heart.
Love!

Be brave.
Flirt with your fear tricksters :)




helicopter bliss over NYC 24 July 2011

Remember emotions pass. Don't get caught up in any particular one, another one is waiting right around the corner ♥

Ronit Herzfeld

Transition

It’s good to be quiet. Sometimes for a day. Sometimes a month.

Solitude calms the nervous system, as being in nature and practice yoga.
Paring down contacts both human and
technological, to the essentials are good ways to keep life flow smoother and to stay healthy and grounded.

We worry so much about visibility, missing out. And money. We grasp becasue we are afraid for our survival, our credit our fame. To bee seen.

We are afraid to just be.

We are afraid to stop the motion.
Sit back. Watch. Not participate in the usual striving ways.
Sure, we will feel lonely at times.
Loneliness is something that most humans have felt acutely their entire life. Including me.
I`ve learnt to enjoy the stillness. And still working on it.

Try to find your own type of deep quiet in the transition between summer and autumn.
Carve it out. Make the sacrifices and the leap that you need to make to find a little space and time for yourself. See yourself. Meet yourself.

Embrace yourself.
I`m embracing the nature!

♥

gratitude

When we complete the journey to our own heart, we will find ourselves in the hearts of everyone else

--Father Thomas Keating--




sleepy horses in Skåne Sweden - summer 2011

Lovers Rock

The only way to say no to fear is to say yes to love.
The only way to say yes to love is to say no to fear.

Buddha

Full Moon today.

For me, the days around full moon are usually good days for creativity and to get things done if Im in balance.
My practice are at the peak. To slow down a bit, I do a more cooling practice.
If I have been traveling - like now - I need more rest. Like restorative poses, meditation and again a cooling practice to slow things down.
Conserve and build more energy.

To turn inward and float with the universal waves, I like to practice Moon Salutations- Chandra Namaskar - instead of my regular Sun Salutations.
They allow us to honor the yin or feminine side of our energy, in contrast to the Sun Salutations, which are more yang, or masculine, in nature.


I`ve copied an article from YogaJournal about fullmoon and yoga practice.

"You may be familiar with the caution "Avoid practicing yoga on the full or new moon!" This tradition of observing "moon days" stems from the belief in the Ashtanga system that practicing at either extreme of the lunar cycle leaves you vulnerable to injury.
One theory is that because the body consists mainly of water, you are affected, like the ocean's tides, by the moon:
On full-moon days the pull of the moon is so strong that your prana (life force) moves upward, leaving you feeling headstrong and liable to push yourself beyond your limits; on new-moon days, the pull of the moon is so diminished that you find yourself lacking motivation.
The ultimate time to practice, then, is during the middle of the lunar cycle, when the moon is a half circle and your prana is balanced"






The diagram from Laura Cornell shows the sequence of Chandra Namaskar; 16 asanas that constitute the Yoga Moon Salutation.

a d v e n t u r e

nyc & sf - ready to be touched and embraced

Yoga is .................

Yoga is not a form of self improvement.
Yoga is about meeting ourselves where we are, in all our beautiful imperfection.

The Power of Words

On a rainy Sunday like this. With a few words. I give you this. Maybe you`ve seen it before.
See it again. It`s beautiful. And rare.

Your secret

This luscious piece of film makes me curious, dreamy, peaceful & present......

People whose hearts are full of gratitude and appreciation are truly beautiful. A humble heart is the wellspring of great growth and development.

---- Daisaku Ikeda ------

Forgive yourself

Words from a wall in Oslo. I like my morningwalks. Short, and always some messages along the way.

Forgivness is healing.
We need to forgive and know that whatever we see in others is just a reflection of ourselves.

Respect yourself, embrace yourself, honor yourself, so you can act & behave from your heart!

maria

How can we be more like our hearts?

"The heart is quiet rather than noisy, intuitive rather than deductive, lives entirely in the present, and is, at every moment accepting of reality as it is. Moreover, the heart does not seek to distance itself from, or dominate anything or anyone by labeling.
Rather, it begins with an awareness of its relationship with the rest of creation (and everything and everyone in it),

It accepts rather than rejects,
finding similarity rather than alienation and likeness rather than difference.
Your heart knows no fear, it experiences no desire,
and never finds the need to defend or justify itself.

Unlike your mind, your heart never seeks to impose itself.
It is patient and undemanding.
It nourishes our bodies in every moment.

Little wonder, then, that the mind, always impatient and very demanding, manages to dominate the heart so thoroughly"



Words from Fr. Archimandrite Meletios Webber

Yoga Is - A Love Affair with Life

Yoga is not a form of self improvement.
Yoga is about meeting ourselves where we are, in all our beautiful imperfection.

Humble Heart

”People whose hearts are full
of gratitude and appreciation
are truly beautiful.
A humble heart is the wellspring
of great growth and development“

DaisakuIkeda

Free in Heart

Time - Out

U N F O L D

Never chase love, affection or attention - if it isn’t given freely by another person, it isn’t worth having. (Unknown)

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom

Anaïs Nin

Keep love in your heart

“Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. The consciousness of loving and being loved brings a warmth and richness to life that nothing else can bring.”

- Oscar Wilde

Be Yourself See Yourself

Be Open

The meaning of staying “open,” in this context: listening instead of reacting, holding space instead of talking, being alert as an avenue to spirit.

We have always 2 choices: open or closed. Closed is a rejection, of ourselves or others; open leaves possibilities. When we stay open, we can listen better, we can feel our way into a solution, we can trust and be trusted.

Stay open.

From: The Daily Love / elena

To love

The one who watches is the one who is present...

We're alright

If it’s a misconception
Then why do I feel alone, with no direction anywhere, anyways
It’s such a crooked circle and I’m running around again
Looking for exit-signs and borderlines to take me
Somewhere different, someplace new
Where I can feel alive

I want to start to feel the world again
I want to find a place I’ve never been
Not gonna wait until they tell me when, we’re alright
And if you want to, you can meet me there
We’ll be together though we don’t know where
And for the first time I am so aware
We’re alright

If nothing ever changes, then why is it that I see
So many different faces always looking back at me
Have they always been there, maybe all that’s new is me
Facing the opportunities that set me free
Take me somewhere different, someplace new, where I can feel alive

I want to start to feel the world again
I want to find a place I’ve never been
Not gonna wait until they tell me when, we’re alright
And if you wan to, you can meet me there
We’ll be together though we don’t know where
And for the first time I am so aware
We’re alright

I won’t look back
I won’t go back
there’s no turning back this time

I want to start to feel the world again
I want to find a place I’ve never been
Not gonna wait until they tell me when, we’re alright
And if you wan to you can meet me there
We’ll be together though we don’t know where
And for the first time I am so aware
We’re alright

I Want To Tell You How Beautiful You Are