The Horror!

Om Kriya Babaji Namah Aum

Hey Soul-Starrs,
I've been praying and meditating alot lately.  The job, the family, and all of life's pressures can get to you. 

"Yeah, we know Mista Jaycee!"

One of the wonderful gifts of yoga and the eight fold path is the emphasis on your personal spiritual faith. The other gift is the HERE and NOW! These two things challenge us to stare into the HORROR of our own personal shit!

Yoga is more than just the asanas, chanting some strange mantra and talking about inner peace. We are all multi-layered, multi-faceted, fragmented people and we often have to peel back layers of bs just to get near the heart of us.

The HERE and NOW is the tool that we use to help us get over OLD SHIT!  The HERE AND NOW is the tool we use to stop being ruled solely by ego, angry, a sense of entitlement or any delusion of grandeur and get with the REAL.

So, your angry with some people on the job? Or maybe, instead of credit and a raise you got down-sized. Perhaps, you've seen one of your tormentors from high school and find that you are still angry, hurt and want to strike out at them! It's been years! Years! And now they smile at you and want to see pictures of your family and they've moved on and forgotten that they were the biggest, nastiest butt ever to you!

Hey guess what? They moved on and they don't remember. Guess what else? They don't care cause they didn't stay in the same place. Shit happened to them since y'all left high school too and they may not look back on high school either for what happened to THEM! Just cause they were hell on you doesn't mean that someone else wasn't hell on THEM!

Are you feeling me? Do you get what I'm saying? We have got to have the courage to take the tools of Yoga, Prayer, Meditation, and turn them into forgiveness and ultimately freedom.

Stare into the HORROR of your personal shit!

Om Shanti Baby!
BE Prayerful! BE Mindful! BE Careful!
Jaycee

You have got to have a Support System!

Om Kriya Babaji Namah Aum!

Hey Soul-Starr's,
It's been a little while since I had posted anything on my yoga blog.  I had not been faithful to my daily practice and so that contributed to my delinquency!  Sorry bout that!

I think that a post about not being faithful to your yoga practice is something that worth talking about though don't you?

Keeping a regularly scheduled yoga time can be hard.  It just is.  Work, School, Life!

Excuses huh? Well, they're good excuses. How long has it been since you been to Wednesday night prayer meeting? Huh?

How long has it been since you got on the treadmill, spin bike or used the core ball while watching your Tai Bo video?

Huh? Yeah, Huh indeed. (Laughter)

How many outfits fit on the treadmill? (Laughter)

Having a support system is great and everyone needs one.  My Wife, Mrs. Jaycee supported my interests in yoga and tai chi although she did not start a practice of her own.  She purchased my first yoga mat for me.

I would go to my Sunday Kriya Yoga class with George and come home.  Months later she kicked me out the house, one Sunday morning, cause she needed some alone time, but two cause she said that whenever I returned from Yoga I looked and acted so relaxed.  I stormed out the house that morning, irritated at the "Wife" but when I arrived at class, she called the Shades of Afrika to confirmed that I had indeed gone.

Support System!

She came to my Kriya Yoga class a couple of times, as did my daughter but it wasn't their cup of tea.  Well, my class at the Shades was on hiatus for a couple of months and in that time I took a yoga class at the local college. Four days a week, three hours a day. I gave up eating meat and drinking sodas.  I got in better shape, met some cool people and found a compliment yoga style to add to my Kriya home discipline. 

Then, I read about a class being held on the beach.  I went and my Wife came with me.  She enjoyed sitting out on the grass in the ocean breeze.  It reduced her stress.  Next she borrowed one of my mats. The next week against her protests I purchased one for her.  Yeah, I got her her own mat!

Now, she has a yoga practice of her own. She chants sometimes, and we practice breathing together. This motivates me! We are each others support system! Also now, we have two other buddies we come with us too. The four of us are practicing yoga.  Each person has their own reasons and their own journey but we are all connected.

Om Shanti Baby!

BE Prayerful! BE Mindful! BE Careful!
Jaycee

Yoga with Hayward and cat

Yoga by the Ocean!

This past Sunday, my regular Kriya Yoga class got cancelled so I went over to visit Yogini Dharma Shakti http://www.shalashakti.blogspot.com/  who teaches regular classes at Bluff Park in Long Beach.  Donation based Yoga seven days a week? Heck Yeah!

My Wife and a couple of friends came along and it was beautiful.  We laid our mats out underneath the shade trees and practiced our asanas as the ocean breeze kept us cool.  It was in the 100's that day so chillin in the shade was good but doing Yoga with new friends and someone you love in the shade.

AWESOME!

Happy Yoga Month! 

BE Prayerful! BE Mindful! BE Careful! 

Jaycee  

Shanti! Shanti! Shalom! SELAH! September 11th, 2001

Om Kriya Babaji Namah Aum!

It's the 11th day of National Yoga Month.  So, on the Sabbath of Creation, we give thanks to God (IAM)

OM! Mercy and forgiveness (Inhale) Exhale (Hatred and Anger) Shanti (Peace Loud) Shanti (Medium) Shanti (Soft) Shalom! Satnam! Sadhu! Tao! Em Aum Spirit! Kami! Swami! Amen! Aumen! Amin! Selah!

The word Selah in the Old Testament means is an anticipation mark like in music before something BIG and extraordinary happens!

SELAH for all those lost at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001!  Aum! (Breathe) We remember you but we DO NOT dwell in darkness of hatred! WE live in a spirit of Peace, extending love and brotherhood to all!

AUM!

BE Prayerful! BE Mindful! BE Careful!
Jaycee

10 Breaths!

Om Kriya Babaji Namah Aum!

First Take 2 Breaths standing in Mountain pose and exhale into prayer pose!

Hey Y'all,
It's day 10 of National Yoga Month! Whoo Whoo!

Breathe!

Now, for all y'all living in Los Angeles I know that the air may be a little dark, a little dirty, a little stinky sometimes but breathe anyway!

Take two more breaths! Still standing in mountain pose gooooo to prayer pose. (Breath one) then goooo to swan pose! (Breath two)

Inhale Monkey pose! (Breath one) exhale fold!

Now for the next five inhalations! Lets go to Child's pose then downward facing doggie! (That's right I said Doggie) then into cobra pose back to downward facing doggie into plank!

Gooooo  slow if you want to!

Feel better? Good!

BE Prayerful! BE Mindful! BE Careful!

Jaycee

Back to Yoga!

Om Kriya Babaji Namah Aum!

Hey Y'all

How's Yoga month going?  I have not been practicing daily. Shame on ME right? Nah! I don't feel shame but I don't feel Good! I don't feel as energetic! I don't feel as flexible, and I can feel the aches and pains that I was not feeling when I practice regularly.

So, back to the Asanas! Maybe you are going through the same thing! Get back to it!

BE Prayerful! BE Mindful! BE Careful!

Aum!

Jaycee