Regenerate & De-clutter
I’ll admit it: I’m a bit of a hoarder. Plus, spring is just around the corner and I find myself stuffing the place with items I don’t need nor use. And I don’t even know how they accumulated on the first place. But besides the “things” cluttering my personal space, I notice nasty habits like cramming my to-do-list with pressing activities, engagements and errands. I then get depressed when I look at the unopened envelopes of unpaid bills that have piled through the past weeks. My inbox is jammed, too, and on top of that a bitter guilt trip for not being able to meet all the deadlines and perform all the duties creeps in. The aftermath – sleepless nights and racing thoughts, sublingual melatonin and a morning’s resolution: “Tomorrow I will start anew.” Tomorrow is the quick fix or perhaps the “escape” button. But when the new day dawns I seem to find the best excuses for not being able to meet up my expectations. How do I start to gain some clarity of mind and heart and clean up my whole life?
The second limb of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali proposes an optimal path towards purifying and regenerating our lives by practicing a set of observances. The first observance or “contract with the self” is called “shaucha” or cleanliness. The yogis discovered that impurities in both the external environment and our internal body adversely affect our state of mind, and prevent us from living in creative freedom and abundance. Furthermore, maintaining a clear space promotes mental clarity, health and joy. The way to create lasting order in our outer life – in our home, schedule and the way we use our resources comes from clearing out our inner landscape and refocusing on our priorities. Then the excess naturally tones down and we find ourselves living in a less cluttered home, with a freer schedule and a more manageable budget.
How many times have you launched a clean-up mission only to be overwhelmed by a greater mess of half-sorted boxes from all your closets? Or sworn to stick to a more reasonable budget only to lose track and sweat in fear how to make ends meet? In the face of any challenge Yoga teaches you to pause and zoom into the source of your problems. In fact, the starting point for making order out of chaos is to clear the flow by focusing on the essential components of your being – a pure detoxified body, a lucid and flexible mind, an accepting and grateful attitude and a healthy sense of humor. Through such a reflection, you can cultivate clarity and align with what really matters to you. From that alignment, you can consciously choose to let go of what’s not important and make more room for what is, whether it is in your personal hygiene, your diet, your home ambiance, your finances or your busy schedule. Once you free up space for a daily meditation practice, for wholesome nutrition, and physical exercise you suddenly notice how time stretches miraculously, how you end up indulging in a favorite activity or interaction without feeling guilty or blaming yourself for what’s undone. One good way to make cleaning more effective and enjoyable is to look at the bigger picture and remind yourself that nothing is really urgent, unless it stems from an inner need to breathe harmony and natural order. And don’t forget, de-cluttering is not the goal – it is the transformational process which helps you sort things out. It is the impetus to readjust to the higher frequency of your renewed self. It is the portal to realign to your divine purpose by eliminating waste and opening space for creativity and fulfillment. And it starts now, not tomorrow.
Join me for a spongy detoxifying sequence infused with a fragrance of spring, sprinkled with moments of rinsing and soaking, savored with spices of re-nourishing and regeneration.
We are so grateful to Lisa Sharkey and her family for opening her magnificent eco-friendly townhouse to us and making this video possible.
Detox Yogea Routine Part 1: Regenerate and De-clutter (open level)
This detox sequence is the first part of a series of three detoxifying spring Yogea routines intended to be practiced sequentially or independently. A burst of wide-ranging twists runs throughout the entire sequence to unleash a detoxification process in the body through glandular secretion and lower abdominal rinsing. The sequence starts with gentle rocking twists to promote the open the nerve channels and stimulate circulation and deep tissue cleansing. Standing poses with twisting and meridian crossing action are then introduced to foster strength, promote flexibility and rebalance the right and left side of the brain. Seated twists alternate with semi-reclining forward bends and invigorating backbends to boost the immune system; stimulate the secretion of mood enhancing hormones and increase the space between the vertebrae to ensure a strong but supple spinal torsion. The practice picks up with various twisted variations introduced in standing, balancing, reclining, seated and kneeling poses. The winding down offers space for replenishing the body’s digestive and eliminating system by boosting metabolism and flushing toxins out of the main filtering organs. An overall feeling of purity and resurrection is attained while preparing the body and the mind for awakening to the freshness and delights of spring.
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