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Category Archives: Self
Image Image“A Journey Of A Thousand Miles Begins With A Single Step” — The Way Of Lao-Tzu
February 11, 2013 in Balance, Knowledge, Life, Photos, Quotes, Self, Spirituality, Wisdom
Tagged Inner Wisdom, Jennifer Miller, Journeys, Lao Tzu, Life, Pictures, Quotes, Wisdom
Reflections On Raising Daughters To Call On Their Own Masculine While Maintaining Their Feminine
By Jennifer Miller
Witnessing my daughters Navigating life and
Concerned they do not haveA father around.They have learned to callOn their own masculineWhile maintaining their feminine.Transforming their painInto strength.Sorrow into wisdom.Broken hearts into kindness and compassion.Their wit and humor is always present.So many gifts come out of the struggles andJourney of life when we look close enoughTo see all the beauty and blessings.
Namaste
“I Dreamed I Was A Dancer, And What Did I See?” – By Jennifer Miller
January 13, 2013 in Asanas, Dreams, Life, Photos, Reflections, Self, Soul, Spirituality, Women, Yoga
“When You Are Steadfast In Your Abstention Of Thoughts Of Harm…” – Patanjali
“When you are steadfast in your abstention of thoughts of harm directed toward yourself and others, all living creatures will cease to feel fear in your presence.”
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
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Posted in Awareness, Freedom, Knowledge, Life, Meditation, Mind, Mindfulness, Quotes, Self, Wisdom
Tagged Abstention, Fear, Harm, Patanjali, Quotes, Yoga Sutras
“Breathing In The New Day…Keeping The Stillness Within My Mind”
By Jennifer Miller
Breathing in the new day,
Gazing at its sunrise beauty.
Gratitude fills my soul.
Ocean is still, reminding me to
Keep the stillness within my mind.
Accepting and knowing that all is
Well and perfect as it is.
Crisp air fills my lungs while
Sounds of nature calm my senses.
Birds chirping and the pond trickles,
Joy rises in my heart.
Namaste
Posted in Asanas, Breathing, Happiness, Life, Meditation, Mind, Mindfulness, Reflections, Self, Silence, Soul, Wisdom, Women, Yoga
Tagged Beauty, Breathing, Jennifer Miller, Mind, Mindfulness, Morning, Quiet, Quieting the Mind, Stillness
“The Present Moment Is Filled With Joy And Happiness…” – Thich Nhat Hanh
“The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.”
Thich Nhat Hanh from “Peace Is Every Step: The Path Of Mindfulness In Everyday Life”
Posted in Asanas, Happiness, Life, Mindfulness, Quotes, Reflections, Self, Wisdom, Women, Yoga
Tagged Happiness, In The Moment, Jennifer Miller, Mindfulness, Present, Quotes, Thich Nhat Hanh
“In An Asana, The Mind Has To Reach Inside The Body To Find A Quiet Space…” – Geeta Iyengar
“In an asana, the mind has to reach inside the body to find a quiet space until a point comes where perfect balance is felt. If the mind is wandering while practicing, then one is not fully present, and there can be no union. Involvement, interpenetration and insight are the required qualities for the practitioner.”
Geeta Iyengar, Eldest Daughter of B.K.S. Iyengar
“Awareness Is Not The Same As Thought…More Like A Vessel Which Can Hold And Contain Our Thinking” – Jon Kabat-Zinn
” Awareness is not the same as thought. It lies beyond thinking, although it makes use of thinking, honoring its value and its power. Awareness is more like a vessel which can hold and contain our thinking, helping us to see and know our thoughts rather than getting caught up in them as reality”
Click on Book To Purchase At Heart Based Healing Store
From “Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life” By Jon Kabat-Zinn
Posted in Awareness, Balance, Breathing, Detachment, Knowledge, Life, Meditation, Mind, Quotes, Reflections, Self, Soul
Tagged Awareness, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Mind, Mindfulness, Quotes, Thoughts
Taking Time To See, Listen To And Respect The Homeless This Holiday Season
By Jennifer Miller
Connecting with the homeless andPassing out gift bags.
Walking the boardwalk.
Men and women just starting to rise.
Observing, witnessing:
“Thank you for taking time to talk with us.”
“My blood pressure just went down
While petting your dogs.”
“Did you get the pups Christmas Bones?”
They truly just wanted to be seen, respected, heard.
Smiles with missing teeth, yet
Gratitude filled their presence.
Walking the boardwalk in the future,
Taking time to talk to them and
Have them pet my dogs.
The biggest gift of all.
Posted in Gratitude, Hope, Life, Men, Reflections, Self, Spirituality, Women
Tagged Charity, Gratitude, Homeless, Homelessness, Men, Women
Staying In Love, Not Fear…What Is Happening To Our Young Men?
By Jennifer Miller
Staying in love, not fear.Heart sinking.
Innocent children.
Brave, courageous adults.
How could this be?
Tears won’t stop, but
I must pick myself up.
Changing energy by
Sending love, strength, and healing.
What is happening to our young men?
Prayers, prayers, prayers.
Namaste, Jennifer
Posted in Darkness, Forgiveness, Hope, Meditation, Men, Prayers, Reflections, Self, Soul, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Women
Tagged Energy, Jennifer Miller, Men, Prayers, Tragedy, Young Men
Eyes Forever Opened: Is A Young Man’s Recovery Just Down The Road?
By Jennifer Miller
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Beautiful morning to wake upAnd fill the senses with sounds of nature.
Off to spin class for a good sweat.
Gratitude fills my body as
I am alive and healthy.
.
Getting ready with my daughter.
Sharing moments and the mirror,
While putting our make-up on.
Gazing at her face, so similar to mine.
Proud of her and the woman she is becoming.
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Heading out to see my son in recovery.
Have been down this road before.
Eyes forever opened, innocence gone.
Strength, courage, wisdom and hope prevail.
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My beautiful boy has 30 days.
Will this be it?
Will he ever know the emotions that
Only a mother could feel?
The sorrow and loss, the heartache?
.
Mother and sister will be there to support him.
A young man at 6’3″, but truly just a boy.
We laugh, we share, and feel the pain.
But healing only comes through feeling.
My love for him remains strong, as do the
Memories of joy and laughter through the years.
.
Life is life, but how do we respond?
Do we flow with what is?
Are we prepared for the unknown?
Yes, I choose yes!
Just let go and welcome the ride.
.
Namaste, Jennifer Miller
Posted in Addiction, Detachment, Family, Heart-Based Healing, Hope, Knowledge, Life, Love, Men, Mothers, Pain, Recovery, Reflections, Self, Suffering, Wisdom, Women
Tagged Addictions, Jennifer Miller, Life, Recovery, Sons, Wisdom
The Importance Of Always Listening For The Inner Voice Of Guidance Within Ourselves
By Jennifer Miller
Its seems so simple to always listen to Divine Guidance. We hear it as a small whisper, and it sounds different from our normal brain chatter. But, in truth, this voice is always with us, as Caroline Myss states below:
“Do not assume that divine guidance flows only when you are in need of help. Guidance continues to flow whether or not you have problems…Whether guidance comes during times of tranquility or trauma, however, it is up to you to have the courage to acknowledge it”
It could be just a word, for example, while grocery shopping, as to what I need. I will often ignore it and when I get home, sure enough, that is something I needed. It’s happened so often that I know it’s “TRUE”.
Before getting married, there were warning signs, all of which I ignored. When we are young and innocent, we don’t listen much to anyone. I remember, as a small girl, hearing the voice that I now know as guidance. Entering the teen years, I no longer listened to its counsel. Now, as a mother and wiser woman, I not only hear, but feel this guidance with my body. When something is truly right, my body sings with joy. I breathe freely and my heart feels alive while my spirit sores.
I now listen to my heart, which is like having your best friend inside of you. It knows me like no one else, offering unconditional love while wanting the best for me and my family. As I navigate life, I am now constantly listening for that small voice within. Like a soft caress, it has a smooth and loving feeling.
Click on the book to purchase and benefit the Heart Based Healing Foundation.
A great way to complete this connection is through controlled breathing, which helps to circulate the positive benefits throughout our body. Breathing in, I feel a soothing calm that is pulled upward from my feet until it reaches my head. Tensions melt as I close my eyes. Breathing out, negative thoughts and worries are expelled, leaving a feeling of contentment that comes with releasing, letting go, and not remaining attached to things and events.
So many good things happen when we maintain a healthy mind-body-spirit connection…
Namaste, Jennifer Miller
Posted in Balance, Heart-Based Healing, Knowledge, Life, Mothers, Quotes, Reflections, Self, Soul, Wisdom, Women
Tagged Body, Caroline Myss, Divine Guidance, Guidance, Inner Wisdom, Jennifer Miller, Mind, Quotes, Spirituality, Wisdom
“A Life Of Dharma Is Exactly Like A Great Yoga Posture…An Experience So Far Beyond Any Pleasure You’ve Ever Had…” – Stephen Cope
Dharma: Knowledge of or duty to undertake conduct set forth by the Buddha as a way to enlightenment.
“…A Life of dharma is exactly like a great yoga posture. Everything must be aligned around the spine. The dharma is a strict taskmaster. It will require you to reach — to work at your maximum potential.
In order to do this, you will have to learn to take better care of yourself. You will have to sleep and eat properly…You will probably have to create a regular schedule. And one day you’ll realize you’re in training like an Olympic athlete. But not any old training– a particular kind of training, the particular kind of training that will support your dharma and no one else’s.
The dharma itself will prescribe this training, and you will know it when you stumble onto it through trial and error. You’ll know it by its results, because in moments when you’re in proper training, you will feel yourself a channel…You will have stepped aside somehow (and let it come through you)…And this is an experience so far beyond any pleasure you’ve ever had that you will most definitely want more of it. And so you will henceforth be increasingly careful about your training regimen…You want to be clear…”
From: “The Great Work of Your Life: A Guide for the Journey to Your True Calling” By Stephen Cope
Posted in Asanas, Heart-Based Healing, Knowledge, Life, Mindfulness, Quotes, Reflections, Self, Soul, Spirituality, Wisdom, Women, Yoga
Tagged Asanas, Dharma, Jennifer Miller, Life, Stephen Cope, Training, Yoga
Quieting The Mind: Deepak Chopra Offers “21-Day Meditation Challenge” Starting November 5
CLICK “REGISTER” TO SIGN UP
Posted in Balance, Freedom, Knowledge, Life, Meditation, Men, Mindfulness, Self, Silence, Soul, Wisdom, Women
Tagged Deepak Chopra, Meditation, Mindfulness, Quieting the Mind
If We Are Conscious That Our Mind Makes Excuses, We Can Overcome Negative Attachments In Life
By Jennifer Miller
My yoga practice continues to teach me about my inner self. Working through advanced postures, I am conscious of how my mind makes “excuses” during periods where I struggle: too many babies, weak bandhas, arms and legs that are too long (very creative). But through discipline and focusing my mind, I am able to block out these thoughts and “distractions”.
This past Thursday at the Ashtanga Yoga Center in Encinitas, CA, I finally nailed the difficult Urdhva Kukkutasana B pose (a lifting lotus) in the advanced series. But this short-term success highlighted a major theme in my overall practice: that difficult transitions in my life had reduced the desire to “push forward”.
As mothers, we must be able to “detach” from the emotions and negative energy that arise as we watch our children grow older and naturally struggle with life’s journey. We need to remain objective with the strength to make the tough calls that do not enable a continuation of poor decisions and actions.
My yoga practice and personal life both thrive when I maintain a healthy mind-body connection. My teacher noticed from across the room when I succeeded with the difficult pose. I quickly do the pose again to confirm it in my muscle memory. My mind has thoughts of “I CAN” running through it and the body responds.
I remember with a smile back to a day when I worked with girls at the Recovery Home and demonstrated this same pose. The purpose was to show them that a yoga practice mirrors our daily lives. We can feel stifled and stuck in life, but we need to have the strength to push through the barriers holding us back.
One of the girls had said “…you’re so strong you could probably take us all out”. We all laughed. They had reacted to the positive energy I demonstrated when facing a seemingly impossible situation.
We must maintain the ability to focus our minds on the positive things we can accomplish each day in order to push through even the most difficult of times in our lives.
Namaste, Jennifer Miller
Posted in Asanas, Attachment, Detachment, Freedom, Knowledge, Life, Meditation, Mind, Mindfulness, Reflections, Self, Wisdom, Women, Yoga
Tagged Ashtanga, Attachment, Detachment, Jennifer Miller, Life, Yoga, Yoga Practice
“The Deepest Desire Within Each Of Us Is To Be Liberated From…Our Own Psychic Madness Or Patterns Of Fear” – Caroline Myss
Full Quote: “I am convinced that the deepest desire within each of us is to be liberated from the controlling influences of our own psychic madness or patterns of fear. All other things—the disdain of ordinary life, the need to control others rather than be controlled, the craving for material goods as a means of security and protection against the winds of chaos—are external props that serve as substitutes for the real battle, which is the one waged within the individual soul.”
Posted in Attachment, Freedom, Heart-Based Healing, Knowledge, Life, Meditation, Quotes, Reflections, Self, Soul, Wisdom, Women
Tagged Attachment, Caroline Myss, Fear, Happiness, Health, Jennifer Miller, Knowledge, Madness, Pictures, Quotes
Bringing The Mind And Heart Together “As One” For Healing To Begin At The Recovery House
By Jennifer Miller
Monday morning with the girls at the Recovery House was a time for true reflection. I have observed that there has been much less drama with this group than I have seen at other rehab centers. It has been very satisfying to hear from many that the yoga sessions have provided a calming and positive energy. I have turned it around to teach them of the importance of having the support of their “tribe”, women who truly care about them. In addition, many are mothers and have had their babies and children with them as they heal.
I looked around and didn’t see one of the regulars and asked where she was. There had been an incident and the police were called. My heart went out to her and I told the girls that I had felt her energy change last week. When she first arrived, she had been very low coming into rehab with a heroin addiction.
But I immediately saw a transformation take place as the yoga asanas had given her confidence, allowing for her to start believing in herself. She told me that she would continue yoga when she left.
But then I sensed her her energy shift back to a very low state last week when she asked to practice behind me, not wanting to be seen. I could feel her slipping away when I made attempts to reach inside her soul to bring her back…the drug was calling her.
The girls responded with comments that were very surprising and interesting:
Could I be honest with them and tell them if I felt them slipping?
Of course I would, feeling that honesty is so important to their recovery. Several went on to say that much of what is said in the house has ulterior motives. But with me, they sense and know that I care and feel safe being honest.
I feel in my heart that many in the room will continue practicing yoga and meditation when they leave. I have learned so much during my time with these young women. I felt hatred towards “addictions” based on how it had hurt and ravaged my family.
But if we meet the negative energy of addictions with an open heart, we can transform it into love. I would never have believed it until it happened to me.
Caroline Myss has spoken about addictions and says that it is “the hardest love you will ever experience”.
It’s like loving someone with a sword in their hand, and it is pointed right at you..
You love their heart, but it is their mind that is lost is not connected. The mind
Contact Jennifer Miller at yogagoddesslaguna@yahoo.com
and the heart must be brought together to become “one”. There can be no separation between the two if healing can begin. We have to learn to speak our truth and honor what is in our hearts.
Namaste, Jennifer Miller
Posted in Asanas, Heart-Based Healing, Hope, Knowledge, Life, Love, Mindfulness, Mothers, Recovery, Self, Soul, Spirituality, Suffering, Wisdom, Women, Yoga
Tagged Drug Addiction, Heart, Heart-Based Healing, Jennifer Miller, Mind, Mothers, Recovery, Recovery House, Women
