Patanjali and his 8 fold path of Yoga

This art of right living was perfected and practiced in India thousands of years ago and the foundations of yoga philosophy were written down in The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali, approximately 200 AD. The core of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra is an eight-limbed path that forms the structural framework for yoga practice.

In the video below Deepak Chopra gives a very brief description of the 8 limbs.

The 8 limbs are:

Yama : Universal morality

Niyama : Personal observances

Asanas : Body postures

Pranayama : Breathing exercises, and control of prana

Pratyahara : Control of the senses

Dharana : Concentration and cultivating inner perceptual awareness

Dhyana : Devotion, Meditation on the Divine

Samadhi : Union with the Divine

Ever wonder? I have been wondering lately. I've been saying "mine", "my", "I" and "me" too much lately.

Its amazing what doing a few little interviews does.

It makes you realize how you have defined yourself.

I love the press don't get me wrong... keep it comin'!

After all, this is yoga-land and teaching yoga is how I make my living so I do have to promote myself. I'd be crazy not to. If my classes are empty I'm not going to eat, plain and simple. But what I have been realizing lately is how I have been defining "myself" over and over again in a certain way, and by doing so I have been putting my happiness into the hands of something in which I have no control...

"I" am Lori Lucas and "I" am a yoga teacher.

If we label and define ourselves a certain way then what happens (and who are we), if it is all taken away? What if you label yourself a certain way, and then you get fired? Who are you then?

I have found myself putting too much stock into those things that are outside of myself lately.

Its all just a sign for me to up my meditation practice, thats all and it's all good.

I'm still hoping for busy classes and will quite happily take any good press that comes along!

I am just going to check in with myself and keep an eye on my mind (the ego).

Thats all we really can do.We are all sooo much more then our passing thoughts and feelings throughout the day, as well as any labels we or anyone else puts on us. It's important to remember that.

Namaste,xo

Do you do regular breast self-exams?

We want to be able to recognize any changes in our breasts as they come up if we can.

Nothing is fool proof, but whether you have noticed it or not our breasts change like the weather throughout our cycles and our lives.I was just up at the breast screening mammography clinic myself last week for a repeat mammogram and ultrasound due to some abnormalities in my own breasts (cysts). It happens to all of us whether we are aware of these changes or not. Our breasts are very busy through the month and always changing.

♥Make sure you Do them ♥ Get to know your breasts. Real well.

We want to do them throughout our lives, whether we are still having our periods, whether we have reached menopause, or any of the times in between. Including while pregnant, or if nursing.

-Check your breasts on a regular basis, (i.e. once a month)

-Check 5 to 10 days after your period starts so your breasts will be less tender.

-Irregular Periods? Pregnant? No longer have a period? Pick the same day of the month.

-Do not check more often than once a month, you might miss a change that is developing slowly.

-If you forget to check, don't worry; simply check your breasts the next month.

Click on the picture below and it will enlarge.

*I get a monthly reminder send to me via email. You can too!

Click here

Do you have a laptop?

I recently bought one. It's really more of a notebook and very similar to what's in the picture here. Small, lightweight and very inexpensive..

A macbook wasn't in my budget, although of course I would have loved one of those! But considering what I do on here my little Acer thingy is just fine for me, and we do have a lovely Mac desktop at home so we can still indulge while at home. I'm still not particularly computer saavy though (as you may notice by looking at my blog haha)

I was a late bloomer.

(I've even been known to call my ipod my walkman..haha..and thats no lie)!

Anyways, what I wanted to share here is that I recently found out that using a laptop uses 90% less energy then a desktop computer and I found that amazing. That is such a HUGE difference and definitely worth sharing. Knowing that, I plan on using my little laptop more, and my desktop a little less, as it sure can't hurt! Every little bit helps this beautiful world we live in ♥ .

Vancouver City

I love these time laspe videos. This one is incredible.

How do you deal with difficult people?

Sometimes taking the high road is very difficult lets face it. It isn't always easy to get through sticky situations with peace and grace.We're human and each one of us is so different.

We are all a work in progress and none of us are getting out of here alive. I'd like to believe that each of us is basically good. Relationships can still be tricky though. Very tricky. Not to mention painful.

We may never understand another's behavior, ever. And we may not have any other choice but to deal with it, and ultimately relationships can sometimes be a source of very real pain.

Sometimes you may wind up feeling used, tricked, or that you were never loved at all.That hurts. Big time :(

It is in those moments we may lose track of our higher selves (especially if we should feel an urge to protect ourselves or others, when being attacked). None of this crap is any fun. Maybe we ourselves are viewed as the difficult party at times?

Do you turn to your mat or meditation cushion during these times?

Yoga, meditation and pranayama are powerful tools.

Meditation shows us that we are so much more then those hurt feelings and thoughts running through our heads. It can really help you to move past the pain. I am also a fan of good 'ol fashioned Psychotherapy. There is professional help out there should you need it. Never feel ashamed! Its nobody's business and life can get very complicated at times for the best of us.Find a friend to listen, get on your mat, sit with the pain, (order some pecan pie like I did last night haha) have a good cry, go for a run...do what ever it takes. Just unload.

It might be something that takes a long time to heal from.

Give yourself the time to heal and remember that you are never alone. Chances are the person who hurt you is suffering at some very deep level themselves. Or maybe they are afraid? Afraid of what, you may never know. Sadly some deeply unhappy people want to bring you down emotionally so they aren't alone. Us humans act in strange ways sometimes. Lets face it we all do.

Relationship conflict and stress have been shown to have a clear negative impact on health, affecting blood pressure, contributing to heart disease, and correlating with other conditions. That’s why it’s in your best interest to minimize (or sometimes sadly) eliminate negative relationships in your life. We aren't going to change anyone. We can sometimes "influence" another person but in the end we can only change ourselves.

Be good to yourself and to the good people in your life and remember that line that rings so true..

"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."

And always remember that there is help out there and you are never alone.

And people do love you, just as you are ♥

With such a small life, with such a small energy source, it is simply stupid to waste it in sadness, in anger, in hatred, in jealousy. Use it in love, use it in some creative act, use it in friendship, use it in meditation: Do something with it which takes you higher. And the higher you go, the more energy sources become available to you. At the highest point of consciousness, you are almost a god. -OSHO