Category: yoga

The Yoga of Overwhelm: A Practice of Self-Care #EMYoga #fiveelements

On By Alethea KehasIn Dreams, Energy Healing, Reflections, yoga9 Comments
Image by Joe from Pixabay

In the predawn hours of morning, I dream of water rising. How many times have I dreamt of a flood during this life? Sometimes, biblical in scale. Water seeps through the folds of gray matter, pushing open pathways as life searches for air and sun to grow. It is the element that holds our fear and also our courage.

To find courage, take a deep breath in, then bow to the element. Lift your head through its surface to face the sun, and release your fears with the sound of Whoooo.”

Almost daily, I cycle through the five elements of Chinese medicine while I read about the chaos of this world. In particular, the collapse of democracy in this stolen land that is also my home. How much overwhelm can a body endure? How many lies founded on hypocrisy can the mind decode?

To temper the anger inside of you, grab ahold of its roots before you release it into submission. “Shhhhhhhh!” Repeat as needed.

What will tomorrow look like? I haven’t yet tried to pull the cards, relying instead on the prophecy of dreams. The repetition of metaphors and the tug-of-war between nightmares and bliss. The overshadow of darkness can overwhelm the body as it waits for the light to break through.

Soften your jaw.

How do you always know? A participant asks. I can only guess at probability. The continuous strain of the levy. Sometimes the strain pushes to the point of extreme discomfort. Creating an excess of heat in the body.

To release anxiety, transmute the combustible fire in the body. Haaaaaaa! Becomes a balm to the nervous system, softening the flame inside. Turning the wheels of life with the gentle hands of creation. Haaaaaaa! Allow the light of the sun to fill the body, softening the internal fires.

Relax your forehead and shoulders.

To find faith, I must soften the fortifications of structure. My body knows the programming of words. Call it scripture if you will. I’ll call it a cult because it was the guru mantra chanted by the Hare Krishnas that brought my body to the seat of its traumas.

To free the body’s traumas, dig into the center of the heels with your fingers, or roll a marble under one heel and then the other while standing. Don’t overdo it, fifteen seconds is enough.

In this search for trust after trauma, the body must find a way to release its armor so that the soul can dance with its origins. Joy is not always without sorrow. Hug the inner child close in love first.

Cross your arms over your ribs and hug yourself. Bring the breath inside the body and cradle the infant-self who is close to the place of your origin. This light of life is yours too. Allow yourself become the beloved. Keep the breath cycling inside the body and allow it to feed your inner light.

Almost always, when I hug my inner child, I weep. Coming back to the sea of life, water finds its release in the form of rain to feed the roots of being. Here, rebirth is possible. Here, new life can find more stable roots as it reaches its face to the sun. Haaaaaa!

Usually, we are most protective of our hearts. This vital organ of life that pumps the energy of our bodies is shielded by our ribs, but also by whatever fortress we create in our metaphorical worlds of self- preservation. This is where we hide our grief through lack of trust. The breath, held in density, becomes shallow. The shoulders slump forward in protection. The lungs and heart strain against restraint.

To soften your armor, rake your fingers across your sternum as your move them down your chest. Be gentle, but deliberate. To free the density of the breath, breathe into the bottom of the lungs and allow your grief to find that thread of life that is your light of origin with an “Ssssssssss.” Cross your hands over your heart center (the top, center of your chest) and strengthen that thread of light with two more breaths into the lungs and exhales into the sound of “Sssssss.”

Repeat as needed.

The techniques in this blog are adaptations of the 5 Element practice of EMYoga (energy medicine yoga), of which I am a Foundations Instructor. These techniques are not intended to replace psychological care. If you find yourself struggling to lead a balanced lifestyle, please seek out the care you need. Calling or texting 988 will bring you in direct contact with a metal health Lifeline at no cost to you.

What our dreams may tell us in our search for service during these troubling times #dreamsymbolism #peace #healing

On By Alethea KehasIn Dreams, Energy Healing, Reflections, yoga14 Comments
How to use our dreams to find direction, purpose, healing and maybe even joy during challenging times
A recent photo of me taken by my husband. A reminder that when we live through our heart we find the thread of joy.

Last night, as so often happens, I found myself churning through scenes reflecting my fears and insecurities. Few would argue the fact that we are, collectively, living in challenging times. The upheaval that is occurring in our global community can be overwhelming to the point of feeling helpless. Many are wondering what to do. How to be of assistance to those in need. How to find their own inner sense of peace and wellbeing.

Last night, as so often happens, I found myself back at school. Each time I would wake from the dream-state, I would fall back into the same scene of unease. No more! I tried to convince my subconscious. I have had enough! And, then, finally, a scene of peace, healing and transformation. Out of the chaos, I had found my hope.

Our inner worlds reflect our outer worlds, and vice-versa. We are microcosms of the macrocosm. In each of us exists the universe the holds us together. I’d like to share the plot of my seemingly endless dream last night with you in the hope that perhaps it will be of use to not just myself.

As I mentioned before, I was at school in this dream. Being is school is a common theme for me. I believe I have these “school” dreams because my subconscious is literally asking me to learn something. Quite often, these school dreams are frustrating for me. I find myself back in high school, college, or graduate school often struggling with something I am holding onto. Last night, I was back in summer school, at the St. Paul’s School Advanced Studies program. I think this is significant because during that summer before my senior year in high school, I not only met my husband, but I solidified a career trajectory that I would later discover felt inauthentic to who I am and why I am here in this lifetime.

In the dream sequence(s), I discovered that in order to pass my course of study, advanced biology, I needed to complete a short, one page or more, essay on who or what inspired me to fall in love with this field of study. I was in a panic. I had forgotten the assignment until the very last minute. The dream turned incredibly chaotic as I tried to figure out a way to write the essay, literally at the last minute. I knew I could write fast, that was not the primary problem. Other obstacles kept being thrown in my way, including my inability to find my true source of inspiration for choosing this field of study.

And then, suddenly, before I could write this final essay to pass the class, the dream shifted. I found myself in the future with some of the people I work with in my per diem job. We were in a bus on a field trip. As we drove in this open-air bus, we traveled through beautiful coastal scenery. In reality, I find this job mostly unfulfilling and irksome. I stirs up my ego’s insecurities that I have not done enough with my life, and it is, more importantly perhaps, not soul-fulfilling. Yet, in the dream, I was given an opportunity.

Suddenly I found myself standing on this open-air bus holding a young man battling cancer. Beside us was his finance, and other members of the staff, including one of the physicians at the practice. As the bus moved along its journey, I stood in my brilliantly blue shirt holding steady this young man against my body. Healing and peace infused us. Amid everything that was going on around us, I stayed focused on this young man in need, fully present with him. I knew this was what I needed to be doing, holding this young man against my body. Blue, it is worth noting, is the color of the throat chakra; the color that represents our truth/purpose in life.

The messages here may be quite obvious, whether you know me or not, but I would like to extrapolate to a more universal meaning. In this chaotic global time, I have been searching for how best I can use my skills to be of service. My insecurities (that I have clearly not completely released) reside around this struggle between my ego and my heart and the feeling that choosing one over the other may not be enough.

The dream provided me clarity and guidance. It reminded me of who I am and why I am here, and that the essence of who I am is enough. None of us can do it all, or even perhaps, more focus on more than one facet of need. So if you, too, have been searching for how you can be of service in these difficult times, I hope you come to the realization that what your heart is calling you to do is enough. That you don’t have to try to do too much, or do something that doesn’t feel authentic to you. And if you are still uncertain, take a look at your dreams. What are they showing you? And if you can’t remember your night dreams, take a look at where your daydreams take you.

Can we find flexibility and growth in the Year of the Wood Snake? #yoga #2025 #fiveelements

On By Alethea KehasIn Reflections, yoga6 Comments
This photo was taken inside a magical forest in England. I don’t know about you, but I see at least three wood snakes.

As many of you are aware, we have entered the year of the wood snake in the Chinese Zodiac. I wanted to take a few moments to explore what this means on an individual and global level. The snake is a creatures that is sometimes revered and sometimes feared. Fossil evidence indicates snakes have been around for at least 165 million years. A highly adaptable organism, snakes exist on all continents except Antartica. Some species are deadly, while others are benign. Most often, snakes notice you before you notice them, if you do at all. Evolved to blend into their environments, snakes are masters of stealth.

In lore that spreads throughout the globe, snakes are depicted as symbols of wisdom and mystery. Sometimes they are heralded as gods, and sometimes as villains. Almost always, though, they are a symbolic of rebirth. Snakes offer an invitation to shed our old skins and find a new way of existence that is different from what we have become accustomed to. They can be both powerful messengers and omens, in both our waking hours and in our dreams.

In yoga, snakes are associated with the kundalini energy, also known as the serpent energy that is said to exist, coiled at the base of our spines until it is awakened. It is a powerful, yet sometimes dangerous energy. Stirring it to life too quickly can cause shock to our systems, yet with care it can lead to powerful creative awakening and healing.

When serpents appear in mythology, they often sprout wings, attesting to the magical, mystical nature of the snake. Consider the depictions of the god Quetzalcoatl from Aztec mythology, Hermes in Greek mythology, and Isis in Egyptian. All adopt the form of feathered serpent gods with the power to heal and transmute.

Add the element of wood to the snake, and the symbolism becomes more complex. In Chinese medicine, the wood element is associated with the season of spring and the emotions of anger and assertiveness. It is the second element in the cycle of five elements that repeat themselves (it might help to think of a snake here swallowing an egg). Beginning in the season of winter/birth and the element of water, we cycle through spring/adolescence/wood into summer/young adulthood/fire, equinox/middle-age/earth, ending in fall/end of life/metal, before we repeat the cycle. It can be an endless loop, or it can be a cycle of growth and transformation.

People who are stuck in the element of wood can become rigid with their thoughts and beliefs. Anger is their dominant defense mechanism. It can be a period of resistance to growth. Consider a tree refusing to release its buds. Consider the kundalini energy tightly coiled to the point of rigidity.

Let’s go back to the elemental wheel and look at in terms of the stages of growth in a human being. Water is the period of birth and infancy. When we move away from the womb and into the embodiment of the individual self, we find ourselves entering the season of spring and adolescence. Here is where the wood element resides. As we all know, adolescence is not an easy or comfortable time for most. In order to move into the early stages of maturity/ young adulthood, represented by summer and fire, adolescents must learn how to temper their emotions as they begin to establish their personal autonomy. It is a period of growth ruled by the ego. Or, in yoga speak, the “I Am” presence.

Many people who enter the world of politics often have wood as their primary element. If you are interested in gaining a better understanding of the five element system in relation to personality traits, I recommend Dondi Dahlin’s book The Five Elements.

Wood, in order to cycle, needs water and sun. It needs to be able to bend and grow. Consider now, the flexible nature of the snake. I find it interesting that we have entered the year of the wood snake when here in the USA (and throughout much of the globe) we are facing an onslaught of wood-driven energy in a quest for power and dominance. It is a chaotic and troubling time, yet the snake offers the promise of transmutation. The opportunity to, eventually, shed long-held beliefs dominated by the ego and move into the stages of growth and wisdom. “America” is very much in the wood stage of adolescence. We have been in this stage since colonialism took over a land that was once in a state of harmony and balance.

In this year of the wood snake, we have the opportunity, both individually and collectively, to move ourselves out of the rage-filled energy of adolescence and wood and into the stage of maturing growth represented by the next element of fire. Fire can be destructive when it is not controlled, but it is always transformative. Fire is the element of creative alchemy. It offers the opportunity to acquire wisdom and a different way of existence than what the ego might want to hold onto. It offers the ability to create something new out of the old.

Broken but still whole #2024election #grief #yoga

On By Alethea KehasIn Classes, Reflections, yoga15 Comments
Try these sounds to work through heavy emotions. Start with fear, move through anger, then anxiety and grief. End with a self hug.

I created the above image this morning, and posted it on my social media. Currently it has 15K views on TikTok. I’m surprised, but I’m not. This week, many of our deepest emotions have risen to the surface in the aftermath of the 2024 US election. Half the country is celebrating in bold, proud displays of MAGA pride, the other half is experiencing the trauma of shock, and an ungrounding mixture of fear, anger, anxiety and grief. We are in a stating of mourning and uncertainty. We are broken, but still whole.

For many, the everyday routine has become something that feels tenuous and fragile. The constant pounding of hatred has broken the hope that threaded the fabric of our collective humanity. We are broken, but still whole.

We need to find the frayed pieces. We need to find a way to sew the seams back together to find a feeling of unity. We need to find the goodness of common ground.

“Hello darkness my old friend. I’ve come to talk to you again,” this song of silence has words. We know it well. We have been here before. So many times we have cycled into our darkness, and once again, we are being asked to thread the light back into our collective story.

“We can do hard things,” because we’ve done them before. We can find “Goodness in common ground.” We can find “the light behind the story.” We have to, because we must.

It is a time of mourning and processing. It is a time of self-care and caring for others. Check on yourself, your friends, your family, your neighbors and your peers. If you are struggling, please ask for help. There are so many doors opened in kindness. Seek them out. There are more than ever. Be one of them.

If you don’t know what that door looks like right now, trust that its definition will form. I am relying on trust and faith. Navigating uncharted waters requires us to find the strength within, and the knowing that the way will find us.

I am also offering a free Zoom this evening, at 7pm EST. All are welcome. It’s spur of the moment, but that’s the nature of these uncharted waters. If you or anyone you know is struggling right now, please know this door is open to you. We will be working with the yoga and sound to process our emotions and find a greater sense of peace in these uncertain times.

Together we can find our way. One breath. One day at a time.

A Magical Day Leads to a Magical Night #bears #crows #northernlights

On By Alethea KehasIn Animal Messengers, Reflections, the labyrinth, Warriors of Light, yoga20 Comments

It began with a large murder of crows and ended with the Northern Lights. Hundreds of the black birds spread across the rooftops and trees, flying into the brilliant October sky to send their caws to the wind and my awakened ears as I ventured from the parking lot to my class.

This would not be an ordinary day.

After a morning of teaching yoga and running errands, I returned home to a day without work. I fed the demanding cat a second breakfast, and the dogs their treats, then settled on the couch to cull through emails. Moments later, I felt an impulse to lift my head. Beyond the layers of autumn leaves and woven arms of the old apple and surrounding pines and maples, I saw a black shape in the oldest pine at the edge of my property. Even though it yielded no discernible shape, I knew instantly it was a bear.

Throwing caution to the wind (I do not advise this), I grabbed my phone and, without alarming the oblivious mutts, made my way onto the porch, out the back door, and through the gate in my backyard so that I could get a better look at what was attached to the old pine.

Mama bear from her sentry position on the pine

And there she was, staring through the golden leaves, watching me. Slung of the lowest limb that would hold her weight was a mama bear. Scampering up the trees above, were her three cubs. I inched slightly closer as I tried to focus my camera through the foliage to capture my unexpected guests. Not a smart choice, but I was close enough to the fence door for a quick exit should she decide to leave her post. Strangely, I felt safe and calm. Mama watched me without alarm as I snapped a few photos, and filmed her family as they settled in for a nap (Sorry, I am not attaching them film because I did utter an S*&t in shock).

And nap they did, for the next hour or so, while I wandered back inside to observe behind the safety of glass with Millie the cat. The dogs, succumbing to a strange impulse to slumber through their lunch hour, slept on their respective sofas, unfazed until their internal alarms finally alerted them that they had missed their meal.

Well not really, I fed the dogs a late lunch (and the cat, of course), and heated up some leftover butternut squash soup for myself while I strategized how I was going to walk the dogs without disturbing my slumbering guests.

It was as though the bears had put a spell on the household, and in particular the dogs. Quick to react to a passing dear, even when the curtains are drawn to the darkness, they failed to detect the four ursine intruders in their backyard, even after we walked through the front door. The only challenge was convincing Rosy that she did not want to take her usual lap around the house before we ventured down the street.

We were gone a mere ten or fifteen minutes, which is not uncommon for our walks these days. Senior dogs prefer the couch to the pavement, and so we turned back home before too long. As we entered the driveway, two crows flew above our heads, cawing into the pine behind the house where our visitors slept. Continuing to caw, as though in warning, they stayed in the tree until we were back inside.

As the dogs settled onto their couches to rest after their strenuous walk, I scanned through the foliage for my four friends. An hour unfolded into another as the bears woke, one by one, and casually made their way down the pine to explore the wooded area behind my house. Five hours in total, as I watched in rapt wonder with the occasional break, as they wrestled and played to the drumming of the woodpecker on my apple tree.

The cub I called Sula, trying to figure out how to use the swing in my backyard

It was pure magic. Joy mingled with peace as the protective calm of mama bear flooded the area around my home and made its way to settle any energy of unease inside my home. What a gift it was to be present, for these five hours, in quiet observation of these wild wonders. Naturally, I could not help thinking of my Warriors of Light protagonist Sula while I watched the bears climb and play. Lover of trees and slumber, Sula carries inside of her the spirit of bear. And it is bear medicine that found me yesterday, as it always seems to at unexpected, yet perfect moments, to pull me through the veil of dreams. Tugging, gently, the cloak away from courage.

Sula bear on the seesaw

What are you waiting for…come play

And as if this was not enough magic for the one day, the night decided to compete for wonder in a show of Northern Lights:

The northern lights viewed from the back and front yards

Requests for Connection to Feed the Soul While (Not)Settling #balance #connection

On By Alethea KehasIn Dreams, Reflections, the labyrinth, Warriors of Light, yoga12 Comments
It all started with A maze, a crow, and six warriors of light…

I had a fitful night of sleep, again. My dreams have been vivid and detailed every night, one following the other in a breathless chase to be the most dramatic and wildly cast. But last night it was not just the dreams that kept me dancing between wake and slumber, but the ache on the right side of my neck and shoulder. It’s becoming a chronic reminder of imbalance. Yesterday, after teaching my Friday morning Zoom yoga class, I drove to the health center and spent four plus hours checking people out of their appointments and making reminder calls. The right side of my body taking on the onus of the repetitive work. By the end of my shift I was crabby and decidedly unsettled.

What the hell are you doing to yourself?

It’s a question I have begun asking myself (again). It’s a question several of my friends have formulated in various ways over the past several weeks. The ones who know what pulls my soul into the space of wonder and joy. But here we are again…

The truth is, I have settled. I have settled for a job that in many ways demoralizes me, but fulfills, in part, the nagging obligation I have to contribute more financially to my household. It’s not even close, though, to fulfilling the potential that exists inside of me. I return each day for the regularity of the paycheck, as well as the human interaction that comes with it. I work with a roomful of kind and compassionate souls, and most of the patients I connect with daily, whether I am checking them in or out of their appointments, allow me to share a moment of connection.

Connection is what pulls me forward. It is pulling me now, with persistence. You are here to do more, it tells me, This is not enough.

I know this. I have never deluded myself into thinking I would settle permanently, but the challenge I now face is how to bring an equal balance into my life at this time of financial obligations. This wildly expansive vision of connection I carry inside of me needs to somehow be tamed in a manner that allows me to grow it with logic and care. I cannot bring it fully into maturity all at once without winning the lottery, so practicality must become a friend.

I must reach out the hand of connection in the form of requests and find new mentors and means that allow this persistence to take root and grow. People do it all the time. They take their seeds of dreams and grow them into wonders. Why not me?

A few days ago, I reached out to SCORE and have been given a new mentor. Years ago, I gave it a try and it never went anywhere. The fit was not good and the time was not right. But I feel readier now. The vision more clear. The roots itching for space to spread and connect.

If anyone who is reading this knows about other mentorship programs or resources that help visions take root and grow, I would be grateful if you would leave them in the comments. In particular, how to create a nonprofit that serves a diverse community but also has a physical space(s). Or, better yet, someone who wants to donate 100 acres of land and a structure (or two or three…) to form deeper connections to Life! 😁

Thank you for reading and for connecting.

I’ve Joined TikTok! Join Me for an EMYoga Wake-up Routine #morningyoga #yoga

On By Alethea KehasIn yoga9 Comments

After years of people telling me I should join TikTok to help promote my work and books, I have finally done it! If you know me, that’s kind-of a big deal. Especially when it comes to getting behind a camera.

A couple of days ago, I created an impromptu video before leaving the house to teach a yoga class. It was quick and completely unscripted, which pushes my Virgo boundaries. And, I’ve decided to share it with my blogging community too! Mostly because I believe it the benefits of yoga, and I really love this EMYoga Wake-up routine. It’s a wonderful way to start the day.

I’ve also started a new job, as a per diem patient care coordinator, which is also something I never envisioned myself doing. Lots of new changes for me this year! Without yoga, I’m not sure I would have stuck through this first week of adjustments. I think I’ll enjoy the work, but it has been lots of change for someone who loves her alone time.

So, if you feel inclined to watch this video and learn some tips to get your energy optimized for the day, I hope you enjoy it. If you are on TikTok, you can follow me @labyrinthwalker for more yoga videos (I promise to post more), author videos, pet clips, and, most likely some wanders in nature, and who knows what else…

A True Ghost Story on the Eve of Halloween & Tips for Better Sleep #ghoststory #bedtimeyoga

On By Alethea KehasIn Uncategorized, yoga13 Comments
Image by Reinhold Silbermann from Pixabay

It was some time ago, but not so long that my body does not remember the feel of being woken in the dead of night to the tug of a hand that had no form.

I didn’t go there for the ghosts. In fact, I didn’t know about the residence specters until after I arrived on campus for my week’s stay. I’ll take a single room, I decided when the dormitory form came out. It’s worth the extra cost. It was a decision I would soon come to regret.

But I was an adult. A mom of two young kids in her mid thirties looking forward to some time alone amidst a community of fellow writers. I was looking forward to sleeping in my own space, undisturbed.

The first night was not so bad. The dorm was a bit rundown, with no extra frills. Still, it was better than my undergraduate residence. I had space to myself, even though I was sharing a bathroom with strangers. And I had a view with a dormered window overlooking fields once owned by rural Vermont farmers.

“At least you’re not in the faculty dorm, that one’s the worst.”

But I was told that later, after the events that occurred on the third night of my stay.

It had begun like the first two, but by then I had made friends with some of my fellow dorm mates. I was feeling more at home and relaxed. In fact, I was feeling rather elated with my decision to steal away from home for two weeks a year to study the craft of writing in a tiny town in the middle of New England. It was a dream coming true. A dream I had held inside of me since I was five years old.

So there I was on my third night of residency, ready for a good sleep in preparation for a full day immersed in this passion. I brushed my teeth and washed my face in the shared bathroom, then made my way down the hall to my room. The air around me felt a bit unsettled as I changed into my pajamas, and I found myself checking the corners like I did as a child before I turned out the lights.

Never mind, I told myself as I tugged the covers around my head (another habit carried over from childhood), you’re just not used to this space yet.

It took some time, but eventually I succumbed to sleep. A sleep deep enough to take me into the wee hours of the morning. Those hours where it was darkest before the dawn of light crested the hills beyond my window. Dark enough so that I could not see anything at all, if my eyes had been open.

But I was not so deep inside of sleep that I could not be woken. And wake I did, never to sleep again for the rest of the night, for at the back of my head I suddenly felt a violent tug.

My heart raced my eyes open to an inky blackness.

I could see nothing, but I could feel a presence. The presence of an unseen energy that had just pulled my hair.

I rubbed the back of my head, still scanning the room.

Alright, I told myself. Maybe it was just a dream. But how could a dream leave a physical mark?

I had no doubt my hair had been pulled.

I tried to will my eyes closed as I wrapped my head, once again, in blankets. Seconds passed into minutes before I realized there was no way my mind was going to allow a return to sleep. I stuck one brave arm out of the covers and turned on the light.

The next morning, after I showered and dressed, I went downstairs to meet up with my friends Stacey and Elisabeth so that we could walk to breakfast together. Elisabeth was still getting ready in her room, so Stacey and I began chatting in the hallway. Nearby, one of the housekeeping staff was fixing a broken light.

“How’d you sleep?” Stacey asked. “I’m sorry Elisabeth is taking so long,” she added. “It takes her awhile to get her affairs in order.”

“No worries,” I replied, then paused. “But something weird happened last night.”

“What, what was weird?” Elisabeth asked, appearing beside us with her backpack slung over her shoulder. She looked eager. Rather, I thought, like a child about to receive an ice cream cone.

I glanced around. The maintenance man was still tinkering with the ceiling light, but no one else was nearby.

“Well,” I paused again, “I barely slept.” I gulped some air and looked into Elisabeth’s eyes. “I could have sworn someone pulled my hair. I mean, I really felt it. It woke me up.”

Elisabeth didn’t blink, but the corners of her flickered. Stacey began to fidget, glancing from me, to Elisabeth, and back to me, as though waiting for someone to reveal the punchline of a joke.

“Oh,” a man’s voice came from behind me, and I turned to see the maintenance worker making his way down the ladder. “That must have been one of the resident ghosts. There’s one that is rather famous for pulling people’s hair.”

“You’re kidding,” Stacey said.

“I’m not,” he replied as he packed up and left. “Enjoy your stay.”

You might imagine any number of scenarios playing out for the rest of our residencies, and let me tell you there were quite a few. Soon enough we formed our own little ghost haunting unit of five women nearing middle age, but still young enough be a bit foolish. We had our share of unexplainable experiences over the course of the next two years during, and they turned out to be some of the best memories of my life. But, I never slept in a single again.

Although I can’t guarantee you’ll never experience your hair being pulled by a ghost in the middle of the night, I have accumulated some tricks and tips for a better night’s sleep over the years. Here are five of my favorites:

  • Zip Up Your Energy: This is an EMYoga exercise I often teach that involves placing one hand on top of the other on your lower abdomen and raising them to your lower lip like you are zipping up a zipper. Your hands can be gently pressing into your body as you zip up, or just above your body. When you get to your lower lip, flip your hands palms up and raise them as high as you can reach overhead, then exhale them around and out to the sides and back down to your lower abdomen. Repeat this exercise two more times, breathing in as your “zip up,” and exhaling as your lower your hands back down. This exercise helps to strength and protect your energy field as it “zips up” your central meridian. Give it a try and see how it feels. I find it helps ward off outside energies that may be unwelcome.
  • Spoon Your Feet: This is another technique I learned in my EMYoga training, although I have seen it taught in other classes too. All you need is a stainless steel spoon, preferably tablespoon size. Before you go to bed, take the spoon and rub the rounded bottom of it on the soles of your bare feet for about 30 seconds or so. Thoroughly massage the entire bottom of each of your feet in circular motions, or in figure eight patterns. This exercises helps to calm the body and reset its polarity.
  • Put Your Legs Up the Wall: This inversion is often used in yoga classes before or during final relaxation. Make sure you don’t have health contraindications before you try it. If you know inversions are safe for you, give it a try before bed. Maybe give yourself two minutes to scoot up to a wall and lean your legs against it (your bottom should be as close to the wall as possible). Try closing your eyes or softening your gaze with your legs raised and rested against the wall. Notice how you feel. This type of inversion is great for calming the nervous system and preparing the body for sleep.
  • Alternate Nostril Breathing: This is another yoga technique that works to calm and center the body and mind. It can be done with a hand, or with visualization. I find visualization is nice to use when lying in bed. Otherwise, you might try the hand technique. For visualization, close your eyes, lie on your back and imagine the air coming in through the right nostril, up towards the space between your eyes, then out the left nostril. Imagine air entering your left nostril as your breath in again, going up to the space between your eyes, and then exiting out your right nostril. Inhale right nostril. Exhale left. Inhale left. Exhale right. Repeat the pattern for about two minutes and then allow a return to your regular breathing pattern.
  • Take a Bath or Shower Before Bed: I started taking my showers at night during a particularly stressful period in my life, and I found it to be really beneficial in helping me feel more calm and relaxed before going to bed. A nice warm soak with a few drops of lavender oil (or another calming oil) can be especially nice (please make sure you don’t have an allergy if you are trying an oil).

I hope you enjoyed the real-life ghost story and the bedtime tips. I am starting a new Bedtime Yoga series next month via zoom on Monday evenings at 7pm EST. If you are interested in giving it a try, please visit my website for more information.

The Monk in the Bunker: A Visionary Experience #visions #mindfulness #dreams

On By Alethea KehasIn Dreams, Reflections, yoga28 Comments

Not exactly the vision I was given, but I like how this image presents a similar concept

I wasn’t exactly dreaming, in fact, I wish I were at the time. It was the middle of the night, or rather the wee hours of the morning long before the sun rises over the crest of Earth were I live. And, I was awake, too awake. My mind had become a playground for my thoughts, which ran amok in wild abandon, swinging from the neuron’s of my brain like defiant children refusing to go to bed.

As a teacher of yoga, you’d think I’d know how to tame these wild beasts into submission. I have plenty of tools tucked away in my yoga toolbox, but on nights like these I often find myself on the losing side of the battle. When the stress of life overwhelms me, I am reminded of how much I have become attached to worry. And, usually that reminder arrives around 3 am.

So, there I was, with my eyes closed upon the pillow encased in a womb of stillness, and a mind ablaze with color and action. Then, suddenly, in the midst of it all, the truculent children of my worries dispersed and a metal fortress began to take shape. The metal grew behind my closed lids in breadth and height until it was all that I could “see,” then wrapped itself into a half oval. It was, I realized, a mighty bunker so large and impenetrable I was sure it must be holding the most powerful of weapons known to humankind.

I was right. Even though what I saw inside was not what I had expected.

Floating within his own aura of light, sat a monk. His eyes were closed, his brow unfurled into a smooth canvas, and his lips lifted into the slightest of smiles. The armored shell that I thought was encasing him was nowhere in sight. Instead, all I saw was the monk, floating in his bubble of light.

The angst outside that armored fortress had disappeared and a pure, unfettered peace had taken its place, dissolving that false sheath that seems so real at those times when we succumb to our own distress. And that’s when sleep found me and welcomed me to rest.

A Reminder of Origin #yoga #toxic-masculinity #unity-consciousness

On By Alethea KehasIn Reflections, yoga30 Comments
A pond in Hooksett, NH that was a delightful destination to a nature walk with my husband. A popular path for many, yet walked with a reverence that holds the landscape with peace and joy.

If I go back to the origin of my blog’s title and consider the impetus of the name, I am reminded of the pulse behind the darkness. We are, undeniably, immersed in a time of chaos that can be over-whelming. More often than I’d like to, I find myself considering whether we are a World Gone Mad.

These days I can count insanity by just one degree of separation, sometimes less. On Sunday I conversed with a colleague who was trying to find her grounding after bearing witness to the aftermath of a senseless shooting: A father shot dead by a young man, unrelated. Two kids left behind to watch it from a car’s window.

In my hometown, the community FB page is filled with comments about a man who took it upon himself to drain an entire pond, destroying a beaver dam and countless lives, so that he and his friends could ride their snowmobiles in winter. A season used to be, but is not often, without snow.

I cannot help but wonder if the world has gone mad. Next door, the neighbor who talked to me about love and community years ago as we both displayed our Obama signs with hope has, it seems, turned to the dark side. The opposite of hope and love, staked to her ground.

What is happening? Why is it so easy for us to fall into hatred and fear? Why is it so difficult for us to pause, consider, and breathe the light back into our collective story?

We are succumbing to our own madness through a belief that our world is spinning out of our control. Thinking, ever-foolishly, that we are here to control it. The land is mine to mold my way…

Instead of, I am of the Earth, and therefore a part of all life it nourishes.

Simple facts forgotten. Ignored.

I honor the light in you that is also in me. Therefore, I will do no harm.

I find myself turning to the land with every excuse I can muster. I have taken up foraging as a reason to walk into my wild home and find peace and connection. Belonging returns when the heart opens back to its origins. More than ever I have become a fervent believer that our salvation as humans will only return when we turn to the Earth with reverence. And through this return, find our origin. We are of the Earth, but not limited by it.

One vast body boundless

Yet we allow ourselves to be limited by our own myopic vision. We allow fear to establish our parameters and this fear grows to mistrust, which too often turns to hatred.

I find myself using the term “toxic masculinity” all too often, but there is a disturbing truth to this phrase. It is what kills the hope and love inside of us. It is rapidly seeking dominance again, as it has so often done in our collective history. Why are we afraid of the softening? Why are we afraid of vulnerability? Of surrender? Of love?

We are not truly held by walls and barricades. They are blocks. Temporary, but more often than not, dangerous. They shut us out from the wider world. They block the light of life. They block the greater truth. They block the flow of energy that seeks our connection. They block our coming home to ourselves.

On Sunday, my colleague and I also spoke of this lose of connection. We are both yoga instructors, but our desire to thread this idea of union is not limited to the mat of practice. We spoke of Earth. Of nature and our connection to it. We spoke of how to bring the concepts of yoga, which share the teachings of all the ancient wisdoms, out into the community in a way that brings us home to ourselves through a reconnection with wonder and nature.

During one of my foraging walks with another friend, conversation led to physical education classes and how simple and effective it would be to switch the focus from competitive sports to exercises like nature walks. Imagine combining P.E. with science, writing, history, and, an inherent mindfulness. The possibilities turn from limiting, to limitless. It’s in some ways a radical shift in perspective, but it’s also a chance at our salvation. Each child given a sense of belonging instead of vying for one.

If we all had that sense of belonging, would we need to erect walls to separate? Would we need to point fingers and declare, “You are not good enough?”

True connection to one’s self and the greater “world,” unites. It is yoga. It is a coming home to the self and the self’s origins which, at its essence, is a limitless belonging.

One vast body, boundless