Thursday, November 30, 2017

Durga!!!!

Durga is currently one of my most beloved Goddesses. Several times I have done a sadhana for Durga chanting her mantra 108 x/ day for 41 days. It’s so powerful. 

Durga Mantra – Om Dum Durgayei Namaha

Below are some notes from Sianna Sherman one of my most beloved teachers and story tellers. Enjoy! 
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Durga 
Hindu Goddess of Power, Strength, Protection, Justice & Courage

Durga is an embodiment of the Warrioress, the one who courageously rides into battle on her lion or tiger to slay the demons of pride, greed and arrogance. She stands for Truth, Protection and the ultimate power of Love.
Durga is one of the most celebrated Goddesses around the world. She is MahaDevi & MahaShakti, the Great Goddess of spiritual illumination and creative dynamism.  When the going gets tough, she is the one to call on!  Durga awakens within us the power to show up fully in our lives to face our battles with fierce compassion, courage, tenacity, grace, and commitment to fight for justice and love. Durga is the great Warrior Goddess who encounters and slays many demons.  The demons represent the encounters we experience within ourselves.  They are the demons of our pride, arrogance and greed. The inner battle is how we must come to terms with ways we have become greedy, overly inflated, narcissistic and intoxicated by who we think  we are at times. As Durga rides her tiger into battle to conquer these demons, the alchemy of inner yoga is called into action.  She uses her strength and power to fight for Love. Durga is the Warrioress of our heroine's quest and shows us how to rise with empowerment, stand in our truth and fight for justice in this world. 
She is the Power of Love that defeats the love of power. 

Durga’s myth is the play of consciousness where love defeats tyranny. She goes face-to-face with the seemingly invincible Mahisha, the demon of arrogance, greed and tyranny.  In the end, the power of love defeats the abuse and misuse of power.

Durga's stories are found in the Devi Mahatmya, a Hindu text known as the "Glory of the Goddess", comprised of 700 shlokas or verses in praise of the Goddess.  
Remember that you are EVERY character in the story! Let the myth come to life inside of you and reveal its insight through your embodied form.
Durga is the Mother of the universe from whom comes forth the creation, sustenance and dissolution of all beings and all worlds. She is Chit-Shakti, the power of consciousness. The great Goddess Durga is born of the light and power of all the gods and goddesses at a time when all the worlds were in deep despair.  There once was a demon named Mahisha who was a powerful yogi.  He practiced yoga ceaselessly trying to impress and gain favor of the gods in order to receive a boon.  
He was so fiercely devoted to his practices and he began to blaze so brightly that eventually, Lord Brahma took notice and finally asked the demon, “What is it that you are requesting?”  Mahisha replied, “There is just one thing.  I want to be all powerful, invincible, and entirely immortal.”  Brahma said to Mahisha, “Well, I can only grant you that to a certain extent because everything that is created must at some point come to its death.  So the boon I can give you is that you may choose who you would like to be slain by. Who shall be the cause of your demise?”
Mahisha, in his arrogance and total disdain for the Feminine laughed and replied, “Oh easy! Let it be a woman. What woman could ever slay me?”
Now, this was his first great mistake. Nothing is more powerful than the great feminine power of the Maha Devi! But so it was that his boon was granted and Mahisha went about destroying the 3 worlds and sending all the realms into darkness.  Without respect for anything, Mahisha caused such destruction that the world became very dismal. The world was without color. The grass stopped growing. Agni, the god of Fire, lost his desire to burn and became shivering cold. Chandra, the Moon, became dull and lost her lustrous, inspirational force. Surya, the Sun, no longer felt like pushing his chariot of light through the sky. Vayu, the god of Wind, didn’t want to breathe life into the world. 
The gods and goddesses became so distraught in their despair that they finally decided something must be done. Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva – the great powers of Creation, Sustenance and Destruction- stood together in community and began to ignite the power of their practices.  They concentrated their strength and energy between them and blazed it through their third-eye centers.  From the collective third-eye, they beamed this light into the center and as it intensified, the most lustrous form of Devi began to rise up from the light.
Durga, born of this light, began to emerge and her body was the most radiant vessel of strength, radiance and beauty. Her toes were made of the light of the sun.  Her feet formed from Lord of Creation. She had legs of the power of water, hips formed of the earth. Her waist was the thunderbolt and her breasts of the moon. She waved her arms - thousands of arms made of the sustaining power. Her fingers formed from the children of creativity. The light of her face was from Shiva himself. One of her eyebrows was made of the sunrise, the other of the sunset. Her dark, intoxicating hair from the Lord of Death.  Her radiance was so blinding that even the gods had to close their eyes because they could not bear her immense light. The gods and goddesses offered their weapons to her that wielded an identical, yet even stronger form of their own power.
Although Durga "appeared" out of this  force field of light and intention of the deities, in truth, She was already the essence of everything and everyone.  With her emergence, all the grass became green again, the tail feathers of peacocks lifted to reveal their color, the birds sang beautifully and color was restored to the world.  
In some versions of the story, Durga retreated to a cave in the center of a mountain where she was attended to by 4 priestesses while she turned to her inner strength and power for the inevitable battle to come. As Durga committed to her own sadhana, the world began to blaze even brighter until Mahisha took notice.  Outraged, he demanded to know “Who dares to make my world beautiful? Who dares to do something I did not command?”
Mahisha sent his armies to destroy Durga.  She sat perfectly poised upon her great lion, wrapped in a red silk sari, and simply sighed "Hum" from which an infinite league of warriors emerged and defeated everyone. Finally, Mahisha had to face the Great Devi himself. When he asked her who she was, she simply responded: "Mahisha, you rush faster to your own death than a moth to a flame. I am the one who is the cause of your demise." He roared in laughter. She sat in stillness with the smile of Grace and composure in her eyes and the epic battle began. 
Mahisha was a trickster and shape-shifter, who used his power to control and manipulate. With each shape-shifting form, Durga always matched him until finally she had enough. In that moment, she took a sip of the sacred elixir, rose up into the sky and descended down upon him as he was about to shape-shift yet again. She landed upon him with the soft underside of her foot across his neck. The moment before his death, Mahisha looked to the Goddess and saw her True Form of Infinite Love. He cried out "MA" with recognition and she slayed him with her trident. With his last breath, all the demon armies sighed and disappeared from the world. Upon slaying the great demon, the Goddess Durga put down her weapons and held only lotus flowers. 
The Priestess as Warrioress wields the weapons of truth, love and justice. She rises within us and keeps us on the course of our path. Ultimately, she is the Power of Love that defeats stubborn, limiting beliefs and injustice in the world at large. 


Durga represents:
  • Truth
  • Power of Love
  • Grace under pressure
  • Strength to face our fears
  • Inner strength and protection
  • Primal instinct and regal beauty
  • The power of the collective whole
  • The eye in the middle of the storm
  • Composure in the midst of any challenge
  • Remembrance to carry the fortress in ourselves
  • Justice in the world and righteousness for humanity
  • Bravery to come out of hiding with our voices, gifts and power
  • Courage in the midst of fear and remembering what is truly possible
  • Feminine embrace of community and leadership that exalts all of humanity
  • How to fortify our boundaries emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually


Sunday, November 5, 2017

Choose LOVE

How do you choose LOVE daily over fear?
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“It takes courage to endure the sharp pains of self discovery rather than choose to take the dull pain of unconsciousness that would last the rest of our lives.” Marianne Williamson
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This is something I really started working on 6 years ago. I realized that the unconscious way I was living was based off of fear. Fear you don’t like me, Fear I wasn’t good enough, fear that if you were pretty I couldn’t be, fear I wouldn’t finish my t...o do list, fear I wasn’t doing enough, fear that I wouldn’t win and I didn’t even know what I was trying to win...
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I knew that i didn’t want to live like that in dull pain for the rest of my life.
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I realized that all of these fears were coming from my selfishness and could be summed up as 👉fear I would lose something I had. Or fear I would get something I wouldn’t want.
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Living off of fear had me constantly reacting (vs. responding) to life. My reactions unconsciously added more chaos to the world & to the situation.
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I intentionally decided that I would switch from fear based living to love based living. I would just love hard on everyone one. If you are doing great I send you love. If your not doing great I send you love. If I lose something I had I send myself love and remember that everything happens in perfect timing and everything passes. If I am doing great I send myself love and remind myself that everything passes. 😉
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When I get caught up in my selfishness (which is the root of fear). I pause. I breath. I pray. I reach out to friends. I respond to life from this place of love.
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When I respond to life I can consciously be aware of what I am contributing to the situation. How can I add more light? More usefulness? More forgiveness? More understanding? More inspiration?
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One action I take that helps me respond with love is reading how to do this. Because I don’t know. I had to learn how. I learned it from wise friends. And wise books like anything written by
#MarianneWilliamson
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I am not perfect. I still run off for fear sometimes unconsciously sometimes consciously. The difference is now I notice it. I switch to love. I apologize. And I try again from a place of ❤️
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Stretch YOURSELF

What are your go to affirmations?
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For way to many years I let the number on the scale determine my self worth. I could understand how irrational this was but I just couldn’t stop.
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I still struggle with this today from years of repeating limiting beliefs that are ingrained in my mind. ...
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Affirmation is one of my favorite tools to scrub my brain of these ingrained beliefs and thoughts. Two of my favorite affirmations are:
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“My happiness does not depend on my weight or my size!” And
“I love myself in every way as I am right now!”
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The first step to change is awareness. Becoming aware of those habitual scripts in your brain that make you feel less then the amazing soul that you are!
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Once you are aware switch the script! Sometimes I feel like I am having a conversation in My head between the little kim and my highest truth Kim.

Little kim “no body likes you, you look fat, your not smart”
Awareness
Higher Kim “I am awesome. I love myself. People like being in my company. I can do hard thing. I am confident. I am strong. I am at peace”
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You are WORTHY

What are your go to affirmations?
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For way to many years I let the number on the scale determine my self worth. I could understand how irrational this was but I just couldn’t stop.
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I still struggle with this today from years of repeating limiting beliefs that are ingrained in my mind. ...
.
Affirmation is one of my favorite tools to scrub my brain of these ingrained beliefs and thoughts. Two of my favorite affirmations are:
.
“My happiness does not depend on my weight or my size!” And
“I love myself in every way as I am right now!”
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The first step to change is awareness. Becoming aware of those habitual scripts in your brain that make you feel less then the amazing soul that you are!
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Once you are aware switch the script! Sometimes I feel like I am having a conversation in My head between the little kim and my highest truth Kim.

Little kim “no body likes you, you look fat, your not smart”
Awareness
Higher Kim “I am awesome. I love myself. People like being in my company. I can do hard thing. I am confident. I am strong. I am at peace”
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Fly HIGH

Let’s go fly a kite up to the highest height! 💨💨💨💨💨
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We took the kids to fly kites this evening. I haven’t flown a kite in so long. It’s hard to use the wind to help the kite sore because, what kept happening to me, is the wind crashed the kite...
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Until with practice I learned how to use the turbulence of the wind to help the kite ascend gracefully. ...
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This got me thinking. We all have turbulence in our life. Like the winds that threaten to blow us off track. The winds that bring unexpected change.
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These winds can cause us to nose dive and crash. Or with practice, an open mind and intention. We can learn how to use the challenges (the wind) in our life to support us in soaring to our greatest heights!
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Be KIND

How are you going to be kind today?
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In many different conversations lately I have been hearing how people are not being kind. Stranger not making eye contact. Not saying hi. No positive interaction happening.
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To this I say. Be the change you wish to see in the world! Most of the people I see on the street or in the market I smile big and say HI. I secretly hope my cheerfulness is contagious and plagues them with joy. ...
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What are three actions you can take today to add kindness into the world? I will:
💜call some friends who I know are hurting and talk to them, love them and ask how I can help.
👉I will ask people how they are doing and will actively listen to what they say. I will ask them more questions about how they are feeling.
👉I will smile and say hi to people I pass today.
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I was listening to a motivating YouTube video yesterday from #garyvee he was saying The fact that all 7 billion of us humans are not actively hurting each other is amazing. Think about how much damage we could do to each other if we really wanted to. The fact that the majority of the people are not activity causing violence to one another is pretty awesome.
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I like that way of looking at it. It is pretty amazing, most of us, choose to get along. However I think we can do better as humans and be kinder.
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It always comes back to choices. What do you choose?
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Be POWERFUL

How do you remember your power?
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One of the way I remember my power is through my Yoga and meditation. That was my intention today. To remember my innate POWER.
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You are powerful! ...
I am powerful!
We are powerful!
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And like we learn watching Spider Man “with great power comes great responsibility”
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Do you use your power for good?
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No more complaining!

Day 1 of: #nomorecomplaining!
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I posted about this yesterday and got a lot of people who wanted in on this challenge.
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It’s easy (for me) to say I won’t complain, it’s a lot harder to put it into practice. ...
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For example when someone says how are you doing? My first instinct is to say “pretty good” and then rattle of my top 3 problems.
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Today how ever I will say “pretty good” and say my top three blessings:
-love the weekend because I get to spend time with the whole family.
-super excited to launch my Uncover Your Best Self course on Monday.
-I have been feeling really happy and on fire lately.
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Then I am going to follow it up with... “what awesome things are happening in your life?”
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I am going to be keeping track of my struggles with this and the changes I see. I would love to hear from you too! Keep me posted on your 1 week of no complaining!

Be VULNERABLE

  1. How do you practice vulnerability? How do you grow?
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    I am dedicated to opening my heart to the places the scare me. To the things that make me want to run away.
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    I want to be vulnerable because when I play small and hide i feel like I am not worthy. Like my story isn’t meaningful enough to share. ...
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    In my not sharing. In my thinking I am not valueable. I am teaching that to my children. Teaching them that there stories don’t matter. Teaching them to play small, to stay in their comfort zones...
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    It is crystal clear to me that I want my kids to feel so proud of who they are, to show up exactly as they are with courage and compassion in their heart, to make meaningful connections with other. And to NEVER EVER doubt their worth!!
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    I have learned that my kids learn so much more from my actions then from my words (don’t we all)!
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    This is one reason I am putting myself out here. Posting about my life, my experiences, my struggles. Recognizing my fears and doing them anyways!
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    If I want my kids to have courage, compassion and connection I need to practice this stuff daily. If I want them to love and accept themselves as they are, I need to love and accept myself as I am!
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    This week I was selected to be the coach of the week in my team #fitgreenandgorgeous. This means every day monday-Sunday this coming week I have to go live and talk about my coaching experience in the group. Today I woke up with so much fear about this. Instead of keeping that fear alive until tomorrow what did I do? I said yes today. I challenge you fear! And I went live today.
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    Everyday I am learning more and more that in facing my fear and stepping out of my comfort zone is where massive growth happens. The cool thing is as I see myself growing, leaning into the discomfort isn’t as uncomfortable because I know the light it grows inside of me.
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    If you want a sneak peak into coaching and learning more about what I do, drop your name or dm me.

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Feelings are NOT Facts

I just went live in me Facebook group “live intentionally!” about this.
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Feelings are not facts! We choose which feelings we engage with and cultivate.
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I am BIG into being CLEAR about what your core desired feelings are. The feelings that if felt regularly would radically change your life!...
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Once you are clear on YOUR core desired feelings. CHOOSE to cultivate them. During this live stream I suggest that you choose to cultivate one of your core desired feelings while doing a task that you normally do habitually.
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For example. I often wash the dishes habitually. So today I am going to intentionally cultivate the feeling of love while I wash the dishes.
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If feelings your core desired feelings would radically change your life for the better... then choose to cultivate these feelings more frequently!

Self Love magic potion

What are ACTIONS you take DAILY to cultivate SELF LOVE?
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Heck for SELF LOVE. Unfortunately, I haven’t found a magical potion for self love I have to take consistent action daily!
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I work with so many women who struggle with self love, low self esteem and self worth. When I ask them what they are doing daily to up-level these they have no answer. ...
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Which I think is a good thing! If they were taking actions daily for self love and still were not feeling it then we have deeper work to do.
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But if you are not taking the actions that’s why you are not getting the results! Makes sense right?!
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What I do everyday:
👉I make time for pray, meditation, affirmations
👉I show up for what I say I will show up to
👉I move my body with yoga/exercise and cultivate gratitude for me body
👉 I cook food for myself intentionally and pour extra loads of love in
👉before I eat, I pray for the food nourish my body, mind and heart so I can be useful
👉I check in with friend daily to see how they are doing and if I can help them
👉I do personal development everyday, for a minimum for 20 mins, either an audible book, reading a book, and journaling


Be GRATEFUL

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What are you grateful for this morning?
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This is what I try to remember when my mind starts spinning to fast.
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Spinning out with fear that I won’t finish my to do lists, won’t get everything ready for my kids birthday party. That’s what my Fear was doing on Sunday. ...
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Now I am reminded of this as I have been up since 4am with one child throwing up, while the other child has been running around the house. If I am not care fear will take me to “what if my kids dies?” “what if I never get to rest?”
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I close my eyes and breath and think of all the things I am grateful for: these kids, a warm bed, Sages little voice that echos mine and he tells me “I am proud of you mom”, for friendships, for meditation, for remembering the teachings I forget, for COFFEE, for connection with other human beings, for the colors in nature, for my mom for always babysitting when I teach ...
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I asked Sage what he is grateful for “I am grateful for you mom”. I am grateful for this sweet soul I get to comfort and love on.
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Soon I will be teaching a yoga class in a Skelton costume ❤️ and depending on kids health we will treak or treat later or stay home and carve pumpkins.
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Intention and Testimonials

Testimonials & My Intention

My Intention It is my intention as a yoga teacher to help you bring more health and vibrancy to your body, ease and alertness to your mind...