Projections

In a movie theater, you look at the screen, you never look at the back. The projector is in the back. The film is not really on the screen, it is just a projection of shadow and light. The film exists in the projector, in the back, but you never look at that. Your mind is at the back of everything. Your mind is the projector. But you always look at the screen - at the everything.

When you’re in love, the person is beautiful. When you hate, the person is ugly. You never become aware of how the same person can be beautiful and ugly.

The only way to reach the truth is to learn how to be immediate in your vision. The mind is the problem, because the mind projects its images on the screen you’re looking at. What you see is just your projection. And there are as many worlds as there are minds, because every mind lives in his own world.

We get caught up in projecting movies of our own making onto the situations and people surrounding us. Instead of taking responsibility for our own expectations, desires and judgments, we attribute them to others. A projection can be good or bad, beautiful or ugly, disturbing or comforting, but it is still a projection that prevents us from seeing reality as it is. The only way out is to recognize the game.

—Oshos

Just Sweat It All Out

Here's a great blog from CorePower about sweat and sweating...

CorePower: 5 Things to Know About Sweat & Sweating


Key take-aways from this article:

• Sweating boosts your immune system


• Sweating increases your heart health


• Sweating decreases and removes cellulite!


• Sweating removes toxins
  
  
  

Self Love

"Accept everything about yourself—I mean everything, you are you and that is the beginning and the end—no apologies, no regrets.” -Clark Moustakas



(& no that is not my finger =P...)

Yogamint.com - "Delete the Files"

Check out "Delete the Files" from www.yogamint.com as well as their other useful tips!

I'm always thinking about something, so occasionally it's hard to put my mind at rest for a good nights sleep. This tip from Yogamint is a helpful way of visualizing yourself deleting unnecesaary mental clutter so you can focus on getting some quality R&R.

Partner Yoga!

Although yoga is traditionally an individual practice, the new Partner Yoga practice looks amazing and really fun. It's a great way to build intimacy, trust, and enhance communication, especially between lovers. I know of studios that have partner yoga workshops and I think that would be a great alternative date night idea, or a good class to take as a bonding activity with your bf/gf on the regular. I love that two people utilize their strength to balance each other, to stretch further, and really expand themselves and their practice. It's also great touch therapy. Touch is the strongest and simplest way of giving and receiving love and support...Now that's hot!

Control Yourself!

I love how almost every Hot Yoga class I go to, the intructor always begins by saying "Let go of the day. Let go of whatever brought you here today. Let go of that person..." It seems that many of us are driven to Hot Yoga to find some stability, especially emotionally, and as much as you may want to deny it, your reason for coming may be to help forget about that one person or to just do better for yourself. I'll admit it, I've been guilty of this. I read this short quote today on emotions and how thoughts manifest themselves into actions and I feel that Hot Yoga can really help strengthen you not only physically, but mentally and emotionally.

"Remember that our physical actions are nothing more than a recording of what's going on in our mind. So in saying that; be sure to control what's going on in the mind so you can control your life at all times. Don't let you emotions direct your life. Emotions are nothing more than temporary illusions." -Maurice Clarett

I know that my emotional state is reflected in the strength of my poses in my practice. When I'm feeling out of control or that my life is out of balance, I have a hard time physically balancing in my poses.

A word to the wise, practice controlling what's going on in your mind so that even when you're caught off guard, you won't regret your actions later.

Hot Yoga & That Pretty Face of Yours

Your skin is the largest organ in your body, and the way it helps you detox is through sweat. We all know Hot Yoga helps you sweat buckets! After an intense session, I'm sure we all love that our skin looks like it's just glowing, but definitely be cautious with your skin-care and hygiene regime before and afterward. Here's some tips to help you keep that pretty face clear and getting the most out of your Hot Yoga skin detox:

• Hydrate! The amount of water you drink really shows up on your face, so make sure you're drinking lots of H2O, especially on days you're going to class.


• Cleanse your hands and feet before class since you'll need to grab your feet at some point, and they'll be walking all over your mat where your face is also going to by laying. People have a bad habit of touching their face, wiping off their sweat, and moving their hair out of the way, so washing your hands is a must!


• Remove makeup before class if possible, it's probably going to melt off in the heat anyways, and no matter how great your foundation is, it's probably going to clog your pores in that heat.


• Wash your face or shower immediately after class. Anytime you sweat, your skin pushes out toxins as well as salt, which is very irritating to the skin.


• Don't use an exfoliator or a scrub after class since your skin will be sensitive from the blood pumping, it'll be too intense.


• Do a mask if your studio has a shower since your pores will be open, it's a good time to take advantage.


• Finally, moisturize!