Blog Archives - Page 7 of 12 - Karen Nourizadeh

Filed Under: Blogs Tagged With: alignment, basics, conditioning, fun, habits, headstand, healthy, hips, inversions, kicking, meditation, recovering attorney, shoulders, workshop, yoga

The Headstand Workshop-Post Mortem

My colleague and I were clear at the Headstand Workshop about preventing certain tendencies that we witness commonly in class, such as aligning the hips on top of the shoulders, no hopping or kicking up into headstand and keeping the knees close to the chest in ‘egg-shape’ before attempting to straighten the legs. Clear, yes, as in crystal.

Yet, after 90 minutes of discussing, warming-up, strengthening, aligning and demonstrating, we watched fear and conditioning take over our participants and ease them back into the same ole, same ole habits of trying to go upside down. My voice picked up a few octaves and roared out the basics (after all, we were in Headstand Basics) as if the boom of my voice in their ears would break all the years of fear and conditioning Then I paused as this thought went through my mind, ‘If you want to pay me money to go right back to your same habits, go right ahead.’ Then, I heard my colleague’s voice in my ear, ‘I swear I just told him to work on the ‘tipping point’ and look, he’s back to kicking up.’ I looked, and he was indeed kicking, and smiling because he could claim, as he said, that he got upside down.

It is then, that I had to remind myself that these determined souls are here to learn new habits, not necessarily to break them. I have no control over their habits, nor does my colleague, but damned sure we wished we had. This is where my yoga philosophy took over, teaching me the grueling lessons of compassion and patience. When I want to break down one of my habits, infinitely small (such as changing where I place my toothbrush), it takes me days if not months for just the small stuff! We tell our students not to have advanced minds, but we, the teachers must heed the warnings too, and find compassion even after the 8th time repeating the same cues. It’s not only our jobs, it’s our evolution.

Overall the workshop was a great success with lots of enthusiasm and many making conscious efforts to change habits while leaving the destination or goal at bay. The faces seemed determined when they filed out of the room after the workshop, determined to break some of the old habits and build to the new. If they can do it, so can I.

Thanks to all who attended and participated! See you again on the mat to turn your world upside down!

Filed Under: Meditations Tagged With: audio, beginner's, breath, daily, guided, health, lungs, meditation, mindful breathing, mindfulness, prana, pranayama, recovering attorney, spiritual

Need a Breath? Take Three!

Three-Part Breathing helps to develop the lung capacity and restore the nervous system. This on-line audio is easy to follow and designed for beginners! Share with your friends, co-workers and family-those who need to take a breather in life!

Filed Under: Meditations

Beginner’s Meditation

Using basic techniques, in only 10 minutes, you will be guided to stilling of the body parts, focusing the mind, visualizing and setting an intention! This is a great method for beginners. Like a toothbrush for the mind, to remove mental plaque that builds up daily.

Filed Under: Blogs

July is Meditation Month!

Partnering with Pure Yoga, the focus is on meditation, and very well deserved. Not only is Pure Yoga, with over 5300 members collectively, sponsoring July’s Friday night meditations in Pilgrim Hill, Central Park, but they’ve asked me to teach, ‘Detox the Mind, Intro to Meditation Workshop’ at Pure Yoga West on July 26th, 2014.

So what’s the big deal with meditation and why is ‘mindfulness’ such a longstanding growing trend? Because it is so powerful to remove the layers of the mind, mostly repetitive, negative jibber-jabber, and access the true Self, the higher Self! Meditation slows the brain waves down and helps to not only release trapped energy, beliefs, experiences and emotions, but also helps to re-program both mind and brain to receive newer, healthier mental, physical and emotional behaviors.

As a result of a brief 5-10 minute meditation practice, practitioners usually see an alleviation of symptoms related to headaches, stress, physical pain, depression, anxiety, insomnia, circulatory disorders, inflammatory conditions, autoimmune disorders, digestive disorders and much more.

Looking forward to seeing you on the mat, for a Journey to the Inside!

Filed Under: Blogs Tagged With: alternative views, authority, compliance, confidence, conviction to be oneself, expectations, healthier life, individuality, inner strength, inner values, meditation, people pleaser, self-confidence, stress management, yoga

Are You a People Pleaser?

Are you a ‘People Pleaser’? If you are, then it is likely that you are living your life according to others’ standards at the cost of your own. I have been a ‘People Pleaser’ nearly all of my life, and was taught that others’ opinions of me, especially the whole of society, was like the ‘gold standard’ to determine how I should behave. I was taught to ignore my own value, unless others perceived what I was doing or achieving as having value. If I did or said the wrong thing, I was often asked as a child, “What will the neighbors, your teachers or our friends think?” The sense of not fitting in or belonging compels most of us to tailor our behavior and decisions so that we do fit in and please others.

Pleasing others is exhausting, and it simply fails as a formula for your true measure or happiness. How so? Because others expectations are either changing or dreadfully stuck, and then one is constantly second, third, fourth and fifth-guessing if one has said the right thing, or sent the proper thank you gift, or impressed the ‘right people’. Pleasing others is setting yourself up as ‘not-so-mighty mouse’ on a treadmill, now called, ‘your life’, with ‘the others’ hand at the wheel. It’s mental suicide eventually.

A whole crowd of people and their words or opinions, mostly authority figures-especially those of our families , peers, government and teachers-live in our minds. To gain approval of those authority figures or others who we seek approval from, whether conscious or unconsciously, changes the way we think about ourselves and the choices we make.

It took me many years before I ever realized how programmed I had become to think, react and judge. I had not wanted to understand how deeply I had lived my life in fear of not pleasing others, especially my family. If I chose to please myself, to free myself, I’d have to free myself from a prison of limitations, that were now self-imposed, a life of 40 years, automatic to the conditionings of my life. It is then that I stood in my heart’s voice and chose to become a yoga instructor. It is then that I realized how far against the grain I was going and how many people I did not please or impress with my choices.

I started to rid myself of the toxic icky guilt, shame or embarrassment I’d felt as a result of those who had knowingly or unknowingly ‘de-valued’ me or my potential. But their eyes no longer mattered. I had started looking inward, and honoring my values, interests and natural skills. Are you a People Pleaser? Who do you please and why? And at what cost?

Filed Under: Blogs Tagged With: busy, chaos, demanding life, lifestyle changes, meditation, no time for self, schedule, scheduled, space, stress, stress management, time, work hard, yoga

Have no time for ‘space’ in your life?

Where I live, New York City, many don’t have the time to make space. New Yorkers are working around the clock, either towards something (their children’s futures, entertainment, bigger homes, ski vacations out West, trips abroad) or working to stay away from something (the neighbor they don’t like, the sexist or narcissist boss, the candy store, the skinny jeans or burger joint). There is hardly time to breathe, we run so fast. We have no space in our schedules.

Why is space so important? Because, it is in space that our potential to create is heightened. It is in space, where an intense point of light expanded out, and exploded, making space out of darkness, i.e. The Big Bang. And in the space, where darkness once lie, that point of light created itself into a beautiful, expansive, mysterious, wondrous universe. If we don’t give ourselves space, we stay stuck in our conscious and nearly conscious mind, where thoughts, 70% of the time, according to some experts, are either repetitive or negative. If we created space, we could instead move into the subconscious mind, which is where deep belief systems were seeded, systems which go against our nature and our evolution.

Very few of us have the consciousness to really know what is hidden deep within, but without space, there is little chance one ever will. Once we move out of the small parts of our brain that we often use, away from sensory stimulation, away from constant activity, we can tap into other parts of our brain, the unconscious parts, and see how we’ve actually created the parts of our lives that we don’t want or like. It doesn’t take much effort, anywhere is fine, just give your mind a time to rest, and watch those backstage thoughts flash center stage. That’s the subconscious mind. It will start to reveal what you really think and feel, and you may be surprised to find out what that is!

Our brains are akin to a hard-drive and the beliefs and energy that surrounded us in the past, especially as a young child, is the software that has been ‘downloaded’ to our brains. Through meditation or ‘watching’ the mind’s subtler thoughts, one is creating the space to be able to start identifying the old beliefs, choices, actions and decisions, the out-of-date-software that has occupied mind and body for years. Once the internal beliefs wreaking havoc have been identified, a clearing of those beliefs is necessary for evolution. Once internal space is created, you can ‘download’ new software, new beliefs that will assist you in taking full responsibility for your own well-being and creating miracles. Nothing is created by wishing, action is required. But, honor the space, because without it, your internal ‘hard-drive’ will undoubtedly crash.

Subscribe to my email list for updates