Each month, “My Better Day” newsletter contains tips for your yoga practice, yoga quotes to bring yoga off the mat and into your life, affirmations to brighten your day and motivate, and more! It is my wish for your well-being that I send this newsletter to help make your day a Better Day!
In this issue: Yoga quote, Practice yoga pose, Meditation on the go, Chakrascope, Hand Mudra, Featured Card Deck and Quote, Healthy News, Featured Recipe, Favorite Yoga Music / DVD, Happenings at Better Day Yoga LLC, Final Relaxation Quote.
*By the way–this newsletter is one of the 8 part/posts newsletters. They took quite a bit of time so I began doing single post newsletters after the February/March 2014 newsletter. That being said, if you want all of the posts of one newsletter for the 8 part/posts, please hit the back button to go back to all the posts listed with the newsletter your’re reading. Hope that makes sense!
*By the way–this newsletter is one of the 8 part/posts newsletters. They took quite a bit of time so I began doing single post newsletters after the February/March 2014 newsletter. That being said, if you want all of the posts of one newsletter for the 8 part/posts, please hit the back button to go back to all the posts listed with the newsletter your’re reading. Hope that makes sense!
Namasté,
Sandy Krzyzanowski
Founder, Better Day Yoga LLC
“Be with air, add water—physiological weather.” Dream message 4/28/11.
I introduced dream messages back in my March 2010 newsletter (https://betterdayyoga.com/how-better-day-yoga-got-its-name-from-the-march-2010-newsletter/1162) when I explained how Better Day Yoga got its name, and my yoga quote was Kermit the Frog singing “The Rainbow Connection” song:
Have you been fast asleep
And have you heard voices,
I’ve heard them calling my name,
……
I’ve heard it too many times to ignore it
It’s something that I’m s’posed to be…
Someday we’ll find it
The Rainbow Connection
The lovers, the dreamers and me”
The Rainbow Connection song sung by Kermit the Frog
My April 2010 newsletter also used a dream message as the yoga quote just in time for the Easter season. Here’s another dream message newsletter! I’m going to recap three of the opening paragraphs from March 2010 since it’s been a bit some time, and they’ll also serve as my “fair warning”:
I heard my favorite author, Wayne Dyer, once say in a presentation—and I’m paraphrasing here—that what he was about to say will sound a bit strange to some, but since he warned us in the listening crowd, it should be okay—like a “pass” of sorts. So fair warning to those out there who may think my story is a bit strange.
So, really, have YOU been half asleep, and have YOU heard voices? Well I have. I’m not the only one. Everyone has the ability to listen to their inner voice. Many cultures have considered the “between times”—the time between sleep and awake, dawn and dusk, or any time that is neither one nor the other—“times of greatest inspiration and power” when “You will find yourself more effective in all of your activities.” Animal Speak, Ted Andrews. If that doesn’t hit home for you, remember Albert Einstein developed his theory of relativity through a dream. Enough said.
I knew I’d get simple statements that would pop into my head that weren’t in my typical syntax as I was coming out of sleep. At first I thought little of them, but then realized they were, to say the least, a bit interesting. So I started to ask this inner voice/guide/insert your comfortable title here, to help with advice and inspiration.
I consistently receive these wonderful tidbits from the Universe. Sometimes they make sense, and other times they require more sleuthing.
Earlier this month (April, 2011), I’d been listening over and over to the section in “The Secret” CD where Rhonda Byrne explains how we are “the most powerful transmission tower in the Universe. In simple terms, all energy vibrates at a frequency. Being energy, you also vibrate at a frequency, and what determines your frequency at any time is whatever you are thinking and feeling. All the things you want are made of energy, and they are vibrating to you. Everything is energy.
Here is the ‘wow’ factor. When you think about what you want, and you emit that frequency, you cause the energy of what you want to vibrate at that frequency and you bring it to you! As you focus on what you want, you are changing the vibration of the atoms of that thing, and you are causing it to vibrate to You. The reason you are the most powerful transmission tower in the Universe is because you have been given the power to focus your energy through your thoughts and alter the vibrations of what you are focused on, which then magnetically draws it to you.”
I simply loved that excerpt and kept hitting the replay on that section over and over. Well a day or so after that, I got the in between sleep and awake message: “Get wired with your regrets. Will freely.” See what I mean by atypical syntax? You might think, what the heck? “Get wired” to me implied energy and vibration. I immediately knew that I was being told to take the regrets I have in life, and turn them around with the focus of what I want instead and use my will to do that “freely”, or “a lot”.
Here’s another dream message that like most personal messages, meant something to me immediately: “Be with air, add water—physiological weather”, is last night’s dream message. When I received this message, I immediately thought of it as an https://betterdayyoga.com/other-classes-services/Ayurvedic message (sister science to Yoga) since I’m the poster child for “Vata” which is of the elements “ether” and “air”. What’s Ayurveda you ask?
I touched upon Ayurveda in my June 2010 newsletter since I’d recently participated in a wonderful two-day introduction training through YogaFit® on Ayurveda taught by uber-qualified Felicia M. Tomasko, R.N., (Since this post, I have since become certified as an Ayurvedic Practitioner. I offer private consultations. There is also the Inner Resilience Program.)
Here’s a quick recap:
Ayurveda is the “sister science” to yoga and is a natural system of medicine that has been practiced for more than 5000 years. A dosha is your Ayurvedic mind and body type. There are three doshas (Vata, Pitta, and Kapha) and we all have all three doshas in us to varying degrees. Our “mix” of each dosha is our “constitution” or “Prakriti”.
Vata types (my dominant dosha) are connected to the air and space, so they are similar to the wind—dry, cool, and capable of fast, unpredictable movement and thought. Pittas are aligned with fire, influenced by air, and act with intense determination. Finally, kaphas are a combination of earth and water, move slowly and gracefully, and tend to be both stable and loyal.
Another interesting, knowledgeable yogi I follow specializes in Ayurveda—Melina Meza. Here’s an excerpt from her wonderful book, Art of Sequencing, Volume Two: “The more familiar you are with your Prakriti (constitution or “mix” of doshas), the more you can prepare yourself for the physical and mental health issues that typically affect people with your constitution. For example, if your constitution is composed predominantly of ether and air (Vata), you would typically see health issues related to anxiety, nerve disorders, joint issues, or constipation. Knowing these strengths and weaknesses based on the elements, you might consider drinking less caffeine, consuming less sugar, eating more fiber, and booking regular massages to ward off the typical imbalances related to ether and air.
Prakritis with strong affiliation to fire and water (Pitta) will often experience heat-related imbalances such as skin rashes, diarrhea, digestive disorders, or high blood pressure. To help manage the fire and water elements, you might consider decreasing hot and spicy foods, meditating, and avoiding being outside in the hottest part of the day.
Earth- and water-based constitutions (Kapha) often discover swelling, depression, excess mucus, or challenges managing their weight and metabolism with a base Prakriti rooted in the heavy, wet elements. Often proper diet, nutrition, and exercise will keep the earth- and water-based constitutions healthy. Knowing your Prakriti and your physical and mental patterns—something you can learn by a consultation with an Ayurvedic practitioner—might inspire you to cultivate a more holistic lifestyle, one connected to Nature and her five elements.”
To help you zero in on what your dominant dosha might be or which dosha might be out of balance, take my dosha quiz. Caution! Ayurveda is like eating potato chips…you can’t stop with just one piece! You’ll want to consume all you can! Remember, you have all three doshas in you so you’ll find attributes of each.
Being dominantly “Vata” makes me prone to worry and stress. The Vata dosha is aggravated by change (movement), and dryness, among other things. Too much activity (think of movement as an air quality), and too many thoughts causing anxiety (again think of the turbulence of monkey mind.)
The world we live in is Vata-oriented. So a Vata in a Vata environment, well that’s a recipe for becoming out of balance. We are constantly in motion, using electronics filled with movement, in cars and airplanes in dry environments, etc., etc. I think we’re all in agreement here. Vata is the one dosha that easily gets out of balance in today’s world.
So I thought the dream message was telling me to “be with air”—to be okay and present with that since that is what I am—Vata. I really have no choice but to be with it, and to learn how to be with it.
Yoga teaches us to accept what is both on and off the mat. The pose you’re in may not be perfect to you, but it’s perfect for your body for that moment of that day. So be with it. Listen to your body as it is in that pose. Listen to your body throughout the day and be with whatever is, without reacting to it. Notice the feelings in your body as they come up. Be with them.
My dream message says to “add water”. My secondary dosha is Pitta which is of the element fire and involves transformation of all kinds. Unbalanced Pitta has to do with being driven and overly ambitious which can create inflammatory conditions in the body and mind. The way to balance Pitta is to emphasize the relaxation of effort and flow like water to cool the heat and fire in the body and mind. Also cultivating a one-pointed mind will balance Pitta.
Have you heard the quote, “You can’t push the river”? That applies here. Nature’s time / the Universe’s time has its own schedule. We can’t push it. It will do no good. It’s like the infamous story of the gardener who plants carrots but keeps digging them up to see if they’re growing yet thinking that will help them along—no patience! It only deters their growth and adds frustration to the process. I know I get out of balance with my Pitta/fire dosha. I know that “add water” is definitely good advice! How about you? Remember we all have all three doshas in varying degrees.
So “Be with air, add water—physiological weather” was a perfect way to call out the Ayurvedic mind and body types and to refer to the “weather” of what was going on physiologically in my body. The thing that I love most about the dream messages is the unique, succinct way the message is given. I couldn’t have come up with a more succinct way to say “Ayurveda doshas” than to define them as physiological markers or the physiological weather of the body at the time.
I thought I was done analyzing this simple, beautiful dream message, but there is more. If you’ve been reading my recent newsletters, you know that I am currently participating in a second 200-hour yoga teacher training with TeriLeigh Schmidt. In addition to being able to see the energy centers (chakras and auras) of the body, TeriLeigh has studied extensively with West African Shaman, Malidoma Somé. In 2009, she was initiated as an Elder into the Dagara Tribe of Burkina Faso. The cosmology of the Dagara Tribe teaches the value of spiritual ritual, relationship to ancestors, and the healing powers of five elements: fire, water, earth, mineral, and nature.
Yesterday I met with TeriLeigh for a private “Shamanic divination” which makes my dream message even more magical since it came to me that night. I am sure the message was “divination induced” since a divination connects you to your ancestors and through the process that follows you are inviting them to speak back.
Here’s TeriLeigh’s description of a “Shamanic divination”: “A private cowry shell divination with TeriLeigh is conducted in the manner designed by Malidoma Some. TeriLeigh has completed Malidoma Some’s 2-year intensive training, which included sessions on conducting cowry shell divination. This personal session is ‘tailored to assist you in living more harmoniously in the natural world and in relationships with the spirit world. You may be assigned personal rituals designed to support your growth and your deepening relationship with the natural and spiritual worlds’ (www.malidoma.com).
After a brief interview in which the client expresses the intention for the divination, the client will spread a small pile of cowry shells and other small items on a divination cloth decorated with the Dagara medicine wheel. Where the items land on the cloth and in relation to each other offer information for the client from the Spirit realm.”
I can’t begin to do justice to how very interesting, thought-provoking, and downright cool the divination was. Some of the most interesting messages from my divination were in the “fire section” of the divination cloth. It was there that the “transformation stone” landed as well as the “Divine Feminine” piece. A small item that represented me landed in the water section.
Part of the message was to surrender to the flow of the universe—to let the flow happen vs. try to control everything. The item that represented me was face up in the water section, which represents the part of me that wants to control the flow and doesn’t trust, so it watches with eyes open. Had it been relaxed and face down with eyes closed, it would have represented that I had trust and that I was going with and surrendering to the flow.
How about you? How often do we want to “push the river” and not “surrender to the flow”? It’s hard isn’t it? But actuality attempting to “push the river” is what makes life hard. It’s when we can let go and surrender that life becomes easy. “Letting go” involves trust. Trust that the intelligence of the Universe knows what’s best and why wouldn’t it?
Matthew 6:26-30: Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
Now how about that “Divine Feminine” piece and the Transformation stone? We each have a feminine and a masculine side. The feminine energies give compassion, love, nurturing. It also allows us to receive those qualities—be it from others, or more importantly, ourselves. The masculine energies give strength, willpower, effort. It also enables us to create and do all the wonderful things in life we set out to do.
Surrendering to the flow of life adds the water element to your life—flow. Surrendering to the flow of life is letting the “divine feminine” within you receive all that life has to offer, no holds barred. Did you get that? No holds barred. That means no filtering of what comes through. No needing to control when, where, or how it comes through. No holds barred.
So “add water”, as my dream message directed, overlaps the Ayurvedic message to “cool it”. To quit “doing” and start just letting it “be”. To quit letting the masculine side be driven and overly ambitious just like the unbalanced “Pitta” dosha described above.
Air is the manifestation of movement and the power of the mind to think—masculine energies of effort and will. This overlaps with the Ayurvedic message acknowledging that “air” is my dominant dosha and starting point. “Vata” becomes unbalanced with too much movement, too many thoughts. This causes anxiety. So just be with it. “Be” vs. “do”.
The air is the masculine, the water the feminine. “Be with air, add water—physiological weather.” Let your desire “to do” relax and surrender to the flow. The abundance that will make you personally abundant will follow. Each of us has a different way to define what will make us abundant—that’s your physiological weather.
One of the rituals prescribed by the divination involves using water as medicine—running water, like a stream, river, or creek, and the use of milk which represents abundance. “Water allows things to be, gets out of the way to accept things as they are. Water represents the cycles of life always present. It equals the flow of life and milk represents abundance so you are adding abundance into the flow of life. Water flows, evaporates, and comes back to you. What you give away comes back.” –TeriLeigh Schmidt.
(I’m thinking by now most of my readers know what chakras are. Typically I discuss chakras in the “Chakrascope” section below. If you are one of those readers that don’t go there because chakras are foreign to you, please give the next paragraph a try. Chakra enthusiasts can skip the next paragraph!
Think of chakras like “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs”…remember those? You need food and shelter before you can think about becoming enlightened. For a crash course on chakras, here’s the intro to the chakrascope section just for you: There are seven energy centers called chakras (literally “wheels”) that store energy/life force/prana. They are along the spinal column and correlate to major nerve ganglia branching forth from the spinal column. Each has a different relationship to a gland in the body’s endocrine system. Each stimulates different organs and systems in the body. Hatha Yoga activates these energy centers releasing the energy that flows through the spine. Yoga helps these energy centers/nerve bundles to function correctly clearing blocks that may be there. Each chakra also is associated with a mental/emotional focus.)
In the chakra system, air is represented by the heart chakra—the love energy center, and water is represented by the sacral chakra—the creativity energy center. Every good thing in your life always begins with love and expands when love is added. Abundance cannot be obtained without love. When you do anything as a service out of love for others, your actions will always be abundant.
“Be with air, add water—physiological weather”. So the dream message deepens—Be with the heart, add water as medicine to create abundance. “Be with” or “focus on” doing things as a service to others with love, then release control by surrendering to the flow of life—allow life to deliver to you in its own natural time and way. This will create/transform into the abundance you are looking for—be it financial, spiritual, or other. How you define abundance for yourself will be what comes to you. How you feel about abundance is your physiological weather.
Ayurveda, Shamanic Divination, Chakras—All true, real wisdom and knowledge overlaps. They lead to the same message. Don’t they? Notice how each of these sources of information use the five elements of nature—they call them by different names, but they all go back to the creative forces in nature: fire, water, earth, mineral, and nature, or earth, water, fire, air, and ether/space. There are others.
Feng Shui, the science of placement, uses elements as well. My favorite local but internationally known author on this subject is Carole J. Hyder. My favorite book by her is—wait for it—“Wind and Water”! Be with air, add water! I drove behind a semi-truck yesterday with Asian markings. I was stuck behind it for some time so I started to ask what it might be telling me. (Yes, everything is a message. Are you listening?) My mind went to Feng Shui which is another topic I’m enthralled with. I realized as I drove that this system also uses the elements and I thought, gosh my intro this month is way too long already. Really? You think I should add another analogy of the dream message? It wasn’t until this very moment that I pulled my favorite book and made the title-to-dream message connection.
I looked up the “Bagua” map in the front of the book. It is a mental tool or map used to determine the placement of nine life issues as they are represented in your space. Feng Shui science tells us that your space reflects your life. Fix one, and the other benefits.
Be with air—the air element on the Bagua is represented by “wind” which corresponds to the wealth corner of the map. Add water—the water element on the map has a couple different appearances. “River” corresponds to the career area of the map and “Lake” corresponds to the creativity area. How cool is that? It starts with the abundance area—wealth—and adds career and creativity.
“Be with air, Add water—Physiological weather.” This becomes “to be with abundance, develop your career using your creative talents”. Be with what you already have and add creativity to experience the abundance you are looking for. You’ll find your particular version of abundance based upon what your DNA needs to feel abundant. Do what you love and what brings you joy, and the flow of abundance will come to you naturally, the way nature intended, without struggle.
Just as the words of the prophets repeat throughout time with the same messages. If you didn’t get it right or hear it the first time you, it will come to you in another form that perhaps now you’ll understand or accept. The Universe doesn’t give up on you. It will keep sending you the lessons in different forms.
“You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”—Buddha “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.“—Jesus (Matthew 22.37-40)
I invite you to listen for your own dream messages just as I did in March 2010: Ask for inspiration on some subject of interest before you go to sleep. Do it several times knowing there’s inspiration if you look for it. Obviously you have to put a little heart into it. Remember, “If you do not believe in magic, your life will not be magical”–Lynn V. Andrews.
Then find some mornings where it’s not the alarm waking you up. The key is to be in between sleep and awake, not jolted awake. Wait for it. You can also pay attention to your dreams. Find which works for you, and enjoy sleuthing out the answer. Just as many dream books suggest you are the only one who knows what your dreams mean, the same goes for between sleep and awake messages. Think of how you speak in code to those you love. My husband and I have our own language! Why not the Universe and you?
I’ve said it before—the more you practice listening, the easier it will be to hear the message. The more you acknowledge that you’ve heard, the more messages make their presence known. The more receptive you are, the more likely you’ll be aware of the miracles that surround you. Go ahead, what’s stopping you? There’s no reason you can’t receive your own magical messages. Let your journey begin.
