Artist unknown.
Here is a short video to guide you into a state where your inner feelings of aliveness and truth can be seen in the world.
I would love to connect with you. What outer expressions do you feel called to bring your inner aliveness to?
Blessings,
Anja
We hear a lot of talk about inner wisdom, and going "within."
Sometimes when we try to go within and experience the state of peace and unity that so many people talk about, we just feel like we are hitting against a brick wall. We might be tired, angry, or simply stressed out for too long. We can't sit still. It doesn't work.
These are the times when we need to be exceedingly gentle with ourselves. To continue committing ourselves to what we know to be true, but gently.
When we are having a hard time, and we know that going within, meditating and returning ti a state of mental and energetic equilibrium is what we need, we sometimes try to go within to "get" a specific result and to force ourselves into a better state of mind or into an answer to a problem.
Our inner world doesn't work that way. Come to think of it, our outer world doesn't work that way either.
You may have heard the phrase "how you do one thing is how you do everything." We ascend and heal ourselves on all levels at the same time, not just in one aspect of our life. So when we are searching for "the answer" to a problem by going within, and force ourselves to have an experience of some kind, we are also doing a disservice to our growth in other areas of our life. In fact, forcing ourselves and having an expectation of ourselves in spiritual practice can lead us to come up against our hard edges again and again, without progress.
To find the balance born of going within while holding the intention of knowing ourselves and experiencing truth, whatever that may be in this moment. We need to practice gently and without needing to return from the other side with some tangible prize of our efforts. We must go within in a very tender, light hearted way.
Fortunately for us, we are beings with physical bodies. This means that there are a whole host of different ways we can engage our body and breath to influence our mind and our inner experience.
Below is a basic practice for balancing this inner and outer striving. Don't think too much about it, just do it. Be fully present during the entire video and then let go of whatever results or attachments to the results might occur when you are finished. This is one moment in time where you can receive this gift. Sat Nam.
After practicing, I'd love to connect with you. What challenges are asking you to go deeper within yourself right now? How can I be of service to you?
In Light
Anja
Sage, or Salvia Officinalis, is a potent herb when used as medicine, and powerful plant when greeted as a plant spirit ally. The longish leaves carry an unmistakable scent, a prominent color has taken its name, and it has been mentioned throughout folk lore and song through the ages.
Recently, sage spoke to me. I have been exploring the sensation and definition of "home" during the past few months, and have landed in a temporarily living situation where sage has greeted me, at once as a friend, a sister, and a wise grandmother waiting silent and patiently for me to find my way towards her and her medicine.
This past full super moon I sat in ceremony, the cold New England wind biting my bare hands as I placed them over a bowl of water with sage and several quartz crystals. We sat together, sage, moon, quartz and I, in contemplation and prayer as I made a plant spirit essence. We communicated about the large cycles at play on our planet right now, and the opportunity given to us by an awareness of these cycles playing out globally, no matter how dark.
The message Sage shared was this: Who can fear death and darkness when they know they are connected to a cycle of wholeness which exists far beyond themselves and the lifespan of their body? When we know our true Power, darkness cannot be feared.
Sage allows us to tap into the darkness in and around us; darkness is a natural part of life. She allows us to connect to the darkness which is inside of us and see what lies there, sleeping. Not all of what lies in the darkness is scary- sometimes we find jewels waiting to be received in the shadows, other times we find shrouded aspects of ourselves, dusty with neglect, which may need to be brought back to life or fully let go of.
Whatever we may find there, sage is a powerful ally, standing sentinel, allowing us to see in the dark and uncover a greater truth and ultimately a greater lightness, one which holds the most power because it embraces the dark.
As we ride the wave of this recent full moon into its waning stages, We have an opportunity to feel, experience and know the grandmother who is keeper of cycles of light and dark. She can help teach us to clear away the old stagnant energy and give us the power to embrace the shadows, both individually in our psyche and collectively as a people.
I encourage you to connect with sage, ask for her medicine, and see what power through darkness is revealed to you.
Sage is patient. She will wait for an eternity if she has to. Her medicine is all permeating, strong, deeply connected to the earth, and led by the mother and grandmother archetypes. She will stand by you as you move through the darkness, and will ensure you will maintain your Power.
If you are a healer who wants to support the global consciousness and not be afraid of relating to and working in relation to the darkness in the world, consider ordering a bottle of my recent super- moon sage + quartz essence. Send me an email at anja.sofia.churchill@gmail.com and I will send you a bottle while my supply lasts.
With All my Love
Anja
I am in a period of change in my life where I feel effectively homeless, and am being called to return to my ultimate home: my body.
Home. What does it mean?
For the past several weeks I have a roof over my head every night, food to eat and abundance to support me, but have struggled with finding a sense of home. I just returned from one of my home continents of Europe, my spouse on the other side of the country, and I am floating around New England in a town where I grew up. I'm sleeping on a couch, feeling the seasons change, and trying to balance the bite of an autumn wind with my own inner strength and warmth.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the seat of our chi, or life force, is the kidneys. They hold the potential energy we inherited from our ancestors, and the seeds of life force which we will pass on to our children and future generations.
When our Kidney chi is weak and depleted, it is difficult to feel the sensation of safety, comfort and stability we so often associate with "home."
The life force of the kidneys is often effected during times of duress or change, and I have to say my life has been a whirlwind of change recently. As Bashar, one of my favorite channelled beings says when describing the laws of creation: "Everything changes. Change is the only constant."
So how do we find the stability, coziness and warmth of our Inner home when the outside world as awhirl which change? How do we embrace the constancy of change in a way which catalyzes our growth and healing, instead of letting it throw us into downward spirals?
Below are three things I do to honor my body, connect to my Self, and remind myself that I am my primary home in my life. I also use these techniques whenever I am traveling.
1. Come home to your body, with tenderness
The first thing I do when I'm feeling disconnected from my roots is to treat my body as if it were a small child. I take high quality massage oil and gently massage my own feet, opening up the meridians which connect me with the earth, my kidneys, and my sense of groundedness. I recommend doing this as many times a day as it takes for you to start to fully relax and feel your body's appreciation for your touch.
2. Eye Gazing
Stand in front of a mirror and stare into your own eyes. Breathe deeply and relax into your own gaze. Notice how you feel while making eye contact with yourself: relaxed? Alert? Insecure? Confident? Next tune into how much you recognize yourself in your eyes alone. If you are feeling disconnected from your own gaze, close your eyes and sense your body, while summoning up a sensation of unconditional joy and presence in your body. This feeling will be unique to you, as it is your own soul essence. Let it permeate your entire body. Then, open your eyes and reconnect with your own gaze. Do this as many times are you need to until you feel an unshakable connection wth your Self.
3. Honor your body's connection to the earth through food.
Choose seasonal ingredients which are local to the area where you currently reside, and calmly prepare a warm, healthful and delicious meal. Engage all of your senses; light candles and pair your meal with a favorite beverage. Before you eat, say a prayer of thanks to the land where the food was grown, and the people and resources who brought it to your plate. Eat the meal slowly, thoughtfully chewing each bite and noticing your body's response to each new flavor. After you finish the meal, sit or lay down in a restful position and be present with your body. Be content to be at home in you, and acknowledge the role of the earths energy in sustaining you.
What do you do when you need to cultivate a sense of home? Leave me a comment below this post- I want to hear how you ground yourself during times of change!
I'd love it if you shared these words with fellow travelers, journeyers and adventurers of all kinds. May they serve whoever reads them.
All Love,
Anja
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The brain. Those magical three pounds of fat which house the origins of our nervous system and are the assumed center of thought, knowledge and consciousness.
We have credited the evolution of the innocent brain with the building and destruction of civilizations, with the advent of agriculture and the very development of man as a species.
We all know that a healthy, optimally functioning brain is paramount to survival. The brain alone uses 60% of the all the glucose in the body every day and 85% of its makeup is water. Without the brain, we would be like deep sea divers fumbling around in the dark pressure of the ocean, more like somewhat responsive human seaweed than creating, imaginative, communicative beings.
We have books and medical professionals to help us take better care of our brains, but few of us give as much attention to our energetic brain as our physical one.
The energetic brain consists of the 6th and 7th chakras. A chakra is a spinning vortex of subtle energy which relates to an aspect of the physical body. The chakras are the portals through which we can bring spiritual inspiration and healing into the physical body and mental emotional life. The 6th and 7th Chakras are located at the point in between the eyebrows, and at the crown of the head.
Because science can not prove that the seat of consciousness is in the brain, it seems highly likely that the brains relationship with the mind is as a sort of epicenter or antennae for our consciousness; conscious awareness is enhanced and translated into the human experience by the functions of the brain, but it is not of the brain itself. We know that people who experience near death experiences can be declared clinically dead with no activity in the brain whatsoever, and have the experience of floating above their body, in complete consciousness.
Where the computing capacity of the brain leaves off, the 6th and 7th chakras take over. While the brain processes information and calculates its tasks, the 6th and 7th chakras are responsible for activating our brains ability to access higher levels of consciousness, intelligence and inspiration.
Why is it important to acknowledge the energetic realm when considering brain health?
As a species who are continually evolving, we need to start accessing these higher levels of our consciousness in order to find creative solutions to our global problems. The beauty of the energetic brain is that when the 6th and 7th chakras are healthy and in balance, not only are we able to dream up and receive "divine inspiration" to our problems, but we do so from a place of no fear and complete trust.
This is the nectar of which there is such a drought right now. These solutions which come to us from a balanced 6th and 7th chakra are based on a trust in a higher order: The order of nature, the order of the Divine, the order physics- the kind of inspiration free from human ego.
Of course, in order to experience these higher levels of intelligence we must first have an optimally functioning physical brain. Below of the essential steps to supercharging the brain:
Once we have a healthy physical foundation, we can expand our consciousness by balancing the 6th and 7th chakras. Below is a Kundalini Yoga Meditation to enhance our intuitive thinking capacities, connect with Divine inspiration and use our inspirations with humbleness and no ego.
'Bowing Before the Infinite'. Meditation taught by Yogi Bhajan in1971
Try these practices and leave a comment below with your experiences. What form of inspiration presents itself to you when you practice this meditation? How can you nurture and cultivate this connection to your brains physical and energetic health?
As always, share this post with somebody who you think might need to read it.
All my Love,
Anja
P.S Want to receive my weekly blog posts for healing inspiration delivered to your email inbox? Sign up below.
The end of the day, Wuppenau, Switzerland.
Sometimes we over commit ourselves to personal growth. We think "I should do this, and this and this, and at the end of the day I am going to do that. Every single day."
I know I have more self help books on my shelf and in storage than I know what to do with. I give them away as gifts, but somehow they keep coming back…
Yesterday evening on the autumn equinox, I was walking along a small country road where I am staying for two weeks in Switzerland. The sun had set, and I could hear the sound of the cows, making music with their weighty cowbells over the hill.
I veered off the road when I saw an opening in the bordering pasture. I walked slowly, without any goal or intention, entranced by my leather boots moving through the bursting ground cover- dandelion greens and clover as thick as the fur on Benny, the farm dog where I am staying.
This soil is healthy, I think.
I feel rich and purposeful just walking through it, watching the evening dew fly off the leaves as my shoes push through the greenery.
I surprise myself with a new thought:
I am so used to doing things, practicing things, striving for things, even in a non doing, spiritual sense..but this, this is pure being.
Practicing things- yoga, meditation, self care- are fabulous ways to keep us vital and live up to our highest potential, but at the end of the day, at the end of our life, we are only going to have truly lived and enjoyed and been nourished by what was closest to our own true nature.
You know what I mean, you were cut from a certain cloth and theres nothing you can do to change the fact that you just Love thunderstorms, or gardening, or designing your own clothes, playing music with friends or cooking the perfect eggs benedict.
For me right now, its being in nature, doing nothing. Absolute bliss.
I think when we acknowledge the things we truly love through the lens of personal transformation and meeting our highest potential, they can carry us farther than somebody else’s idea or theory of spiritual practice or self help ever could.
Be at home with what you truly love, and don't underestimate its evolutionary power to transform you.
What do you love that is in your true nature? How can you water it with intention and care so that it becomes your personal vehicle for transformation and joy?
Leave me a comment, I'd love to hear from you.
Love,
Anja
Fascia is a fancy word for our connective tissue. It is made up of layers of collagen rich tissue which covers, connects and protects our organs, muscles, nerves and tendons. Our skin may clothe our body, but it is the fascia which keeps all the major organs and our structural alignment physically together.
The energetic system which corresponds to the connective tissue is the aura- the electromagnetic field which surrounds our body and protects us from energetic harm. When we have beliefs or self talk which show up in our body as tension you can bet that it has shown up in our aura first.
I've drawn the connection between connective tissue and the aura for a simple reason: there have been many years of my life when I have experienced different types of body work, while trying to heal myself of chronic lyme disease. As a result I started to create my own form of energetic/physical healing technique using different pieces of practices I had learned. (I've included a sample exercise at the bottom of this post).
When we relate to the fascia and the aura together, we discover physical proof that mental and emotional states show up physically in the body, and understanding this connection gives us the power and the confidence to approach the delicate realm of our own healing.
If we experience hurtful criticism or verbal abuse for a long time- from others or even from ourselves- our upper back muscles become tight, we hunch over and the back of the heart becomes like a turtle shell stuck in a protective mode. Conversely, if our self talk is loving and joyful, our muscles and fascia naturally relax and our heart lifts, changing our posture.
Stress, thoughts and beliefs all effect our fascia. Sometimes a mental frame of reference (very strong belief) we have had for a long time shows up physically in the body when it no longer serves us. Unexplainable back pain, chest tightness and even inflexibility can be a result. If you want a more in depth read about the importance of fascia in releasing psychological trauma, click here.
Because the aura is part of our energetic body, it is possible to reverse and clear unhealthy energy here more quickly than in the physical body. In fact, working on this auric level is the best first step in repairing the patterning of the fascia. It is by no means the only step, but it is the first.
(We can see a million chiropractors and body workers but if our emotional patterns of holding the body don’t change, we are wasting our time. I always recommend a body worker, masseuse, etc, who has an understanding of the aura and how to connect with a clients emotional/energetic patterns as well as the physical ones).
Prolonged negativity of any kind: unproductive, criticizing talk from ourselves or others. Self limiting beliefs, oppressive or unhappy environments, prolonged malnutrition and not getting our physical needs met.
Positive thoughts, life affirming experiences, joy, exposure to negative ions: (spending time at the ocean, in the rain, in the woods),
Lack of activity, dehydration, stress, mental and emotional irritation.
Gentle movement & stretching, hydration, rest, eating healthy fats and foods rich in collagen. Finding a positive frame of mind which supports a healthy outlook on life.
When the aura is weak or clouded with unhealthy impressions, we feel sad, vulnerable, confused and unable to find our center. When it is strong we feel radiant, powerful, protected and vital.
When the fascia is out of balance we experience muscle pain, tightness and cramping throughout the body. We feel stiff out of whack and not quite "ourselves". When it is balanced we feel full range of mobility, flexibility and strength. We feel capable and confident in our body's ability to both exert itself and rest deeply.
Below is an exercise which both helps to strengthen and brighten the aura, as well as to to relax and balance the systems of fascia. It is very dear to my heart, as It is part of my own energy healing technique which I have developed over the years while trying to heal myself.
*For this exercise, choose one part of your body, like your stiff neck. As you become comfortable with it, repeat the exercise with other parts of the body.*
1. Lie down in a comfortable supported position. Take a moment to relax and center yourself.
2. Take 10 to fifteen long deep breaths. Don’t rush this step. Breathe deeply into your belly to create a state of deep relaxation.
3. close your eyes, and imagine that you are seeing 360 degrees around your body, even though your eyes are closed. Don’t focus on visualizing your actual surroundings, just experience the mental state of opening your consciousness to a wider state.
4. place your there index, middle and ring fingers on the part of your body which is experiencing tightness, stress or needs adjusting.
5. Begin to sense the pulsing of energy beneath your finger tips- this could be an actual energetic sensation or the feeling of your heartbeat in your body. Concentrate on this flow of energy without trying to change it. Stay here for 2-5 minutes
6. Now that you have a sense of the energy flow in the area, gently begin alternating the pressure of your fingers, individually. With continued long deep breathing, gently increase the pressure of just your index finger and hold this position for 2-5 minutes, continuing to sense your body’s energy.
7. When you feel the energy has shifted, release the pressure of your first finger and increase the pressure of your middle finger. Continue in the same way, alternating fingers. Listen to your body and change the pressure according to your intuition. As the fascia releases, you can move your hand slightly to a different part of the muscle or body to continue releasing.
8. Release your hand. and lie in deep relaxation to integrate your self healing. Allow any emotions, thoughts or sensations to arise. Welcome them, and welcome yourself back to your body.
Go deep with this technique, and let me know what comes up for you and how it supports you.
As always, please share these words with the people you know need to read them.
In Health,
Anja
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This morning I woke up in a cabin in the woods. The sun was rising and the dogs were itching to be let out. The garden was calling, and we reached her just as the first sun grazed the echinacea plants.
I washed my face with a calendula blossom which sparkled with morning dew. I closed my eyes to absorb the warmth of the sun, and allowed it to penetrate my body, pushing away the frosty morning chill. The blossom, gliding across my face, washed away the night which had been filled with strange dreams and my racing heart. I sat silently in the garden, painting my face with sun colored strokes.
Here I am, I thought. Like many times before, I'm about to say goodbye again to my childhood home. This time, I'm ready. I'm ready to close a cycle I once thought was just a ghost but now I know is real. Let me explain:
This particular eclipse is closing a cycle which started in September 1998. To read more about the astrological details about this eclipse check out my friend Jenn Racioppi and her report about this eclipse here.
Eighteen years ago this place, the land of cabins in the woods and morning dew, was about to became my home. I was six years old, and transitioning with my family from a life in Manhattan to Camden, Maine.
My uncle, my fathers identical twin brother, had committed suicide in this quiet slice of New England. My father, being tethered to an invisible cord, eventually pulled us to this picturesque place to live a new life and uncover the secret of small town living.
I grew and flourished and ran in the Maine woods, losing the hard edge I had acquired in New York City public school system. Maine became home. When I fell ill, home became a feeling of being trapped. The ghost of a thing, being stuck in one place, never leaves.
Today, on the full moon, I went to my uncles grave. Not to release him- he is peaceful, attentive and close at hand to my father when he is needed- but to free myself: a child swept up by an invisible cord and the loyalty to place and grief.
Thank you I say, and place a few small plants on his grave. Thank you for keeping us safe, thank you for keeping my family together. I have known many people who have passed, and have felt their wings. Now, I claim my own.
I'd love to hear your reflections on what you can let go of as this full lunar eclipse cycle closes.
Bless you,
Anja
P.S Want to be receive my weekly blog posts for healing inspiration delivered to your email inbox? Sign up below.
The circulatory system is made up of two parts: the cardiovascular, (the heart pumps blood to the cells throughout the body delivering nutrients), and the lymphatic, (the detoxification system which carries and purifies waste fluid from between the cells).
Okay, so now we know what the circulatory system is by definition, but what does it really do and why is it important on more than just a physical level?
The physical circulatory system is like an intricate web of channels which run through the body, delivering nutrients and expelling waste fluid through the lymphatic pathways. Energetically, it corresponds to the subtle network of energy pathways called Nadis in yoga and Ayurveda, and meridians, in traditional Chinese medicine.
The beauty of these energetic pathways is that in both the Chinese and Vedic systems, it is the carrier not for blood, but for our energetic blood: the intangible life force, chi, or prana, which keeps us alive and healthy. Good health is created through cultivating this life force energy, and removing the blockages in the pathways.
Rudolf Steiner, the Austrian mystic and philosopher, alluded to the energetic circulatory system when he said that it was not the heart which pumped the blood and gave cause of life in the body, but that it was the blood itself which held a special force, a special quality which moved itself through the body. According to Steiner, the heart was simply a vortex or meeting point which regulated this flow.
When the physical and energetic circulatory systems are strong, not only are healthy blood and nutrients are delivered to every cell of the body, your body becomes nourished on the most subtle of levels.
You cultivate the ability to tune into the most delicate of healing mechanisms of your body, and to know and sense when you are truly aligned with the flow of life or not. You develop an almost psychic relationship with your body, and any unwanted or negative energy is quickly processed and released from your system.
Below are two exercises to strengthen the physical and energetic circulatory systems:
This technique is used to increase circulation and help the lymphatic system flush out toxins. It should be practiced for 15 minutes every day.
1. Before a bath or shower, take off your clothes, and use a hard bristled bath brush to brush the skin of your body.
2. Begin at your extremities, brushing your feet, lower legs, then hands and arms. Brush with a firm pressure which is comfortable to you. Use long straight strokes, moving from your extremities inward. Your skin should become pink, and you should feel a sense of heat and movement in the outer layer of your body.
3. Once you reach your abdomen, brush firm circles around your chest and breasts, moving inwards towards your heart.
4. Once you are complete, you may apply a non hydrogentated oil to the brushed skin. I recommend virgin coconut oil, or almond oil.
1. Tune in by chanting Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo three times, to connect with the lineage of kundalini yoga teachings.
2. Sit in a chair or in a comfortable cross legged position with a straight spine. Close your eyes so that your lids are 1/10th open, and concentrate your awareness at your 3rd eye, the space in between your eyebrows
3. Bring your right hand up to your face, and close off your right nostril with your right thumb. Inhale for one count through your left nostril, suspend your breath in for four counts, and then exhale for two counts from your right nostril, as you block your left with your index finger. Then repeat this pattern of inhaling 1 count, holding 4 counts, exhaling 2 counts, from the other nostril.
4. Start with five minutes of this practice, and slowly build up to fifteen.
I encourage you to try these practices, and notice how your health improves, and your relationships to the healing mechanism of your body.
As always, if these words hit home for you, share them with somebody who will also benefit from them.
All my Love,
Anja
I could talk about the spiritual significance of the gut and digestive system for days, but for the sake of this blog post, (and you too, I know you're busy and just want that one golden nugget of wisdom) I will keep these words succinct and to the point.
Your belly. Your gut. That beautiful round tummy of yours, which houses your small and large intestines, stomach spleen, liver, gallbladder and pancreas. These organs comprise what I call your inner alchemist. When these organs and their energetic fields are strong, you have the capacity to transform and transmute anything in your life.
On a physical level, your gut is your bodies best asset. It provides you with a stable and joyful outlook on life (90 percent of your serotonin is created in the gut), and the billions of bacteria which reside there, both healthy and unhealthy, can actually change the way you think. It is well documented that the presence of too may unhealthy bacteria or parasites, or not enough healthy ones, actually cause the brain to function abnormally and exhibit cognitive dysfunction.
When you have a strong energetic digestive system, you are, like the yogis say, "like a lotus growing from the mud." The mud represents all the ungraceful qualities of every day life: the bills, the miscommunication, the heartbreak. But despite these situations you live like the lotus rising above them, as radiant as the sun. You are in the world but not of it, and yet your very nourishment comes from the mud of the world.
Taking nourishment from the mud of the world means we feel connected to life, we experience all the polarity and contrast it has to offer, and yet we move through our days with a resilience and a life force which courses through us and is independent of circumstance.
This is the very crux of the gut: to transform and transmute, to find gold and nourishment from all experiences situations and foods.
If the physical digestion is weak, we cannot break down our nourishment of food, or experiences into the pure potential energy which keeps our bodies vital and our minds awake. We must cultivate the power to completely deconstruct our nourishment to its innermost essence, to find its "gold" and then completely reconstruct it again into the waste matter which is not essential to our fullest self.
If the energetic gut is weak, we are easily depressed, anxious and brought down by the hardships and difficulties of life. Insecurity and a lack of faith in ones self arise from this imbalance.
Below are my three greatest tips for how to bring your physical and energetic gut health back into balance. Try them, they work.
This simple yet profound dietary change can completely reset the bacterial balance of your gut for the better. Conditions like Candida (yeast overgrowth) parasites, blood sugar sensitivities, digestive pain, inflammation and discomfort can all be resolved or improved when you stop or limit your sugar intake. Not ready to go cold turkey? Stop eating white and brown sugars, cane sugar or any foods with these ingredients. Rely instead on small amounts of honey, maple syrup and fruits. *Avoid agave if possible, as it produces inflammatory responses within the body.*
1. Finely chop 1 head of cabbage. Add cabbage to a large mixing bowl and add 2 tablespoons of sea salt
2. Massage and kneed the salt and cabbage mixture with your hands for 10-15 minutes. The cabbage will become limp, and water will begin to accumulate in the bottom of the bowl. Don't get rid of this liquid.
3. Add your spices! A traditional spice profile which is healthy for the gut is caraway seeds. Add one tablespoon to the cabbage mixture. *A more adventurous and anti inflammatory kraut can be made by adding 2 inches finely chopped turmeric root and or ginger root.*
4. Sterilize a 2 quart sized wide mouth mason jar and lid. Fill the jar about 3/4 full with the cabbage mixture. Be sure to press the cabbage down snugly into the jar so that there are no pockets of air.
5. Once the jar is full, use a wooden spoon to press the cabbage down firmly so that the liquid rises well above it.
6. Put on the lid and place the jar in a cool cupboard, and wait 3 days. Make sure you press down the kraut at least once a day to keep the liquid well above the cabbage, this prevents improper fermentation. If you need to, you can add a little bit of salt water for this purpose.
7. Enjoy anytime after 3 days of fermentation! You can experiment with longer fermenting times to create more intense flavors.
1. Come into a comfortable seated position, and begin the kundalini practice by chanting Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo three times. This connects you to your own inner teacher, and the lineage of this practice to provide you with the best results.
2. Bring your hands together in prayer mudra with your palms flat against each other, and place this mudra just in front of your body at the area of your solar plexus.
3. Close your eyes and focus your gaze at the point in between your eyebrows.
4. Chant the mantra "Humee Hum Brahm Hum". Pull your navel in towards the back of your spine once as you chant "Humee Hum" and a second time as you chant "Brahm Hum."
5. Continue for 3-11 minutes. When you are finished, inhale and suspend your breath for as long as is comfortable. Repeat this three times.
Please try these out and let me know what your results are!
Share your own thoughts, insights or personal transformations with the gut in the comments below, and as always, share these words with someone who needs to hear them!
All my Love, and in Health,
Anja
*This week begins a series of blog posts about different parts of the human body and their physical and energetic attributes which play a role in our good (or poor) health.*
Introducing: the lungs.
Think of your lungs like diplomats. They take in information (breath) from literally all over the world. They filter out impurities and then translate the information to another form which other beings (plants) can use.
They assist us in acquiring this absolutely essential nourishment. Sure some of us thrive better on vegetarian diets and some monks can go years without eating a real meal, but the nutrient of oxygen is essential for every living being.
While our gut and digestive system can separate us and show our differences, (more on that next week), our lungs unify us.
Because they are intimately connected to and cannot function without the heart, nervous system and blood, they teach us to remember and honor our connection to others.
They teach us is how to balance our relationship with other human beings: we are interconnected and must rely on others in order to share the gifts of the heart in relationship and realize our highest potential as a society.
We also need to understand our own connection to the "inner heart" , which is our primary relationship. This inner heart is "God", "Spirit", "Higher Self", "Tao" and any other number of names. I like to call it Self with a capital "S" because It resides inside us, as well as around us.
When we focus on this primary relationship with Self, it helps us navigate the challenging aspects of relationships with others; we get offended less easily, we don't get triggered to behave poorly as much, and we don't allow the oppression which comes from others who don't act from their Self.
When our physical lungs are strong, we can endure strenuous physical exercises, detoxify and cleans our body from any airborne contaminants with ease, and regulate our nervous system through the use of powerful breath techniques.
When our energetic lungs are strong, we feel compassion and connection to others, contribute and support others in relationships, while holding healthy boundaries based off of our understanding of Self.
Below are two different exercises from Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan, to support the lungs on a physical and energetic level. As always before beginning any Kundalini practice, tune in by chanting Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo three times to connect to the highest outcome and prepare your space.
Exercise to strengthen the physical lungs:
1. Sit in a comfortable cross legged position or in a chair. Place your hands on your knees with your elbows straight and chin slightly tucked down and in, elongating the back of your spine.
2. Take a deep inhale, and with the breath held in, begin flexing your spine forward and back. Alternate between flexing forward by lifting your chest up and out and rolling forward on your pelvis, and rounding your back, bringing your navel in towards your spine. Continue this spinal flex with the breath held in until you cannot comfortably hold your breath any longer.
3. Exhale and return to a neutral spinal position. Then repeat the exercise.
* Practice this exercise gently and slowly build up to 11 minutes of practice.
Exercise to strengthen the energetic lungs:
1. Sit in a comfortable cross legged position or in a chair with your back straight. Place your left hand over your heart center, elbow resting comfortably by your side. Bring your right hand up to your shoulder and point your index finger straight up to the sky, folding down the remaining fingers with your thumb. Your elbow should be tucked into the side of your ribs.
2. Lower your eyelids so they are 1/10 open, and stare straight ahead into your darkened lids.
3. Inhale deeply and slowly, while bringing your attention to the space of the heart and lungs beneath your left hand. At the top of the inhale, suspend your breath for as long as possible. When you are ready to exhale, do so at the same speed as the inhale. When you reach the bottom of the exhale, suspend the breath out again. Continue for 3-11 minutes.
If you are feeling stress in relationship, or just needing a bit more physical energy and stamina, I encourage you to try both of these practices and let me know what you experience.
As always, share these words with those you love, and those who need to read them!
All Love, Anja
P.S Stay tuned for the next post in this series about the digestive system, and sign up below to receive these weekly insights directly in your inbox.
One life. That is all we have.
Sometimes, despite my very strong belief that a part of us moves on after death, I have to put my beliefs of reincarnation aside as they lull me into a complacent state where a calm voice inside me seems to say:
Its okay, you don't have to get everything right this time around. Do your best, and you will have as many second shots as you can imagine.
Because one of my favorite ways to light a spiritual fire under my a** is to keep myself awake by giving myself a different kind of pep talk:
If life is eternal, deal with your sh*t now. If life is unending, you are going to have to face, let go of, uncover, forgive or grow in that uncomfortable way you know you need to at some point in your evolution. So do it now.
In our current cultural and global climate, we need both of these perspectives. We need to balance our trust in the eternalness of who we really are, and we need to feel that fire to do, to act, to change and to grow or else miss the opportunity for our evolution in this life.
We need to let go of those primitive insecurities driven by a fear of death, the ones which lead us to compulsively achieve without considering a more simple and lasting form of happiness. And we also need to acknowledge that our contribution to the world we live in matters. If we can engage and serve amidst the real world chaos, while possessing a calm knowing of ourselves as infinite, we have struck the golden chord.
As creatives, healers and all around sensory people, we have to strike this balance.
That thing you really want to do but might put off for another 20 years? Do it. The hard uncomfortable place inside yourself that makes you sad when you feel it, but you just can't figure out what it is, or what emotions its attached to? Talk to it. Start creating a dialogue, a relationship to the pain in your life that you are avoiding. Set yourself the intention to learn from it, and then transcend it.
For me, its a multitude of old fears and co-dependencies which rattle around like dead corn husks in my inner being; they're not actively ruling me, but they are taking up space and its time to clear them out.
What is it for you? What is coming up in your awareness right now that you have pushed away. You know its so important to your development, even to true happiness, but its been too obscure or deep to deal with? Share in the comments section on the blog, or send me a message, I want to know.
We don't know for sure if life continues after death. The sages and mystics think so. We know it begins anew each moment. In a sea of lifetimes, believed in or not, everything comes back to one single point which transcends time: Now. Use it wisely.
I am sitting at my desk writing this post while grappling with the fatal shootings of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling: violent acts amidst a daily stream of such mindlessness and suffering. In my own life, I have recently been working with the concept of forgiveness and healing trauma from the past. This week my offering to you is an opportunity to experience insight and healing in the face of trauma on the collective and personal level.
Forgiveness is compassion in action. It is the process of untangling all the chords which bind us to people and experiences which don't serve our evolution anymore. It is self love, and love for others, as choice.
Forgiveness means letting go of the burdens of pain, confusion and guilt from past relationships and situations which hurt us. It is choosing to not carry the weight of that pain anymore. By effectively feeling, allowing, integrating and acting appropriately in response to this pain without denying it, we can then let it go. We can let it go out of love for ourselves, not out of fear of more pain. To truly let go of anything we have to integrate and allow ourselves to fully experience it first with compassion.
Forgiveness doesn't mean what happened in the past was okay, or will every be okay. It means you are returning that burden of old energy to the sender while acknowledging we are universally connected to all human beings. This kind of energy return allows us clear seeing, and the ability to act righteously and with courage in the face of violence.
If you get to the part of feeling the pain, and it is so intense you can't quite imagine letting go or forgiving the other person fully, allow yourself to fully feel your pain without changing it, and call on a higher energy of compassion to assist you to feel love for yourself in the face of this pain.
Feeling this raw vulnerability brings us out of our own personal pain and into the universality of the heart, where we are all connected. In the Buddhist tradition the goddess Yuan Yin is the master of unconditional love and forgiveness. Her name means "The Iron Goddess of Mercy" and her love and ability to connect with and soothe the burdens of the heart are infinite. In his book 'Becoming Kuan Yin' Author and Teacher Stephen Levine writes:
"Breathing into the grief point of the world that had become the touch point of the heart, she sent out loving-kindness to all sentient beings."
Forgiveness involves these two processes: discovering the touch point of the heart, where pain becomes universal and we can sense that our pain is no different from the worlds pain, and then through the sense of love which begins to grow, we can let go of the burden of personal suffering out of our own understanding that we deserve freedom, as all beings do. Finally, after understanding we are all intrinsically connected, we reclaim our personal sovereignty by choosing to let compassion and self love replace our old wounds.
When we let go of our personal burden and connect to the universal pain of the situation, we can take integral action, stand up for our rights, assert ourselves with a calm and a power which is far greater than our own.
I encourage everyone to find actions we can take to prevent the violence and delusion that is present in our world on such a mass scale. And I also leave you this prayer from Kuan Yin, as channeled from Stephen Levine:
May all beings be free of fear and confusion
May we be liberated from hell, rising towards the light
May all the vow takers and bodhisattvas waiting between heaven and hell
find ample birth; and that the prayer, which cannot but amplify such duality,
subside into the One.
With all my Love,
Anja
A few months ago I felt like my spiritual practice was scattered and inconsistent. I would commit myself to one Kundalini meditation or kriya (sequence of physical exercises) only to discontinue it after seven days and move on to the next one. Over and over again this happened. I told myself I was searching for the "right" practice, but I was actually restless, not fully trusting that any of the yogic teachings were "right." In some sense, I was on to something.
There is no perfect meditation or yoga practice which is the end all be all of spiritual practices, there is nothing that can save or heal you without the acknowledgement and taking responsibility for your own Self.
After all, any practices we do are simply containers or ("permission slips", as Bashar calls them,) for us to experience our own consciousness and more of who we truly are.
During this time I had two enlightening conversations, and as usual, both individuals guided me back to what my own consciousness already knew, and what it was telling me.
The first conversation with my friend Guen went something like this:
Me: "I know I would be feeling so much better, happier, and brighter if I was doing a consistent daily practice, and fully surrendering to its results. I feel like I should be doing it, but at the same time I am also exploring other aspects of my spiritual connection."
Guen: "Maybe its just not the right time for you to be doing this, maybe you really are just supposed to be doing what you are right now."
Later, I came to the spontaneous realization that this "perfect yogi" self had so much compassion for my "not perfect yogi self" and my "perfect yogi self" could talk to me right then and there, she would be saying that everything is totally perfect, I am loved and to take my time figuring out how I want to connect inward."
This realization of talking to the "master" in my head guided me to drop the judgement and with it my resistance and excuses. I started showing up a little more.
Flash forward to more recently, when I met a beautiful Sivananda yogi who in our very first meeting, after we had exchanged no more than a few short words, looked at me with clear eyes and said:
"Anja, listen to yourself, have compassion for yourself, there is a reason you are where you are right now. Do your Sadhana. Don't do it for me, don't do it for your relationships, do it for yourself. Get to the point where you exclaim 'wow, thank you God this is amazing!' and just keep going. Nature and time will bend to serve you, don't attach to these amazing outcomes, just keep saying 'wow! Thank you!'. Let go of the past, let love guide you now. Stop waiting for a miracle to come heal and save you. You are the miracle."
Boom.
I went home and rediscovered the joy of doing the consistent work of bringing my own soul to meet a pattern of breath and posture, every day, again and again. And during the process I've dropped the judgement, the good, the bad, the should and the shouldn't.
I've thought of the words, 'your teaching is only as deep as your practice,' and while I usually apply these to yoga and meditation they also apply to life, to all the ways we are learning and exploring our own consciousness in the world. When you teach, heal, write or mentor clients or friends, remember to take responsibility for and honor your life practice. Share willingly the strength and grace you have learned from just living breath by breath in a crazy world.
If you take anything away from this post let it be this. Trust yourself, because you know where and who and how you are meant to be in this world. You are endlessly supported, and there are so many channels of help just waiting to guide you back home. If you are feeling the call for support in moving back towards what is important in your life or health practice, don't hesitate to reach out.
I've got your back. (And the universe does too.)
Anja
This week I reflect on what abundance really is, and some tips to truly get into alignment with it. If you are in a hurry, the skip straight to the meditation at 5:50.
Instead of sitting down and writing a well thought out post, this week I decided to share with you a video blog, and a sound healing meditation, yoga teacher style. After you watch the video, I'd love to hear about your own relationship to sound and your experience doing this meditation!
On a fundamental level, detoxifying your body is about boundaries.
When your immune system is strong and organs of elimination and detox pathways are clear, your body is very capable of discerning 'this is not nourishing or regenerating, in fact, it may be very harmful' and does everything in its power to escort the substance out of the body.
For most of us in our daily lives, it is not quite so easy to discern when situations, people, foods and experiences might not be nourishing or adding to our well being, but this skill is crucial for our happiness and health.
The basic rule of detoxification is that when we are able to let go of what doesn't nourish us, we allow the things which do nourish us to take root in our lives and create health. It makes sense then that this is a constant ongoing process; we don't have to use extreme fasts and cleanses which list deprivation as their rule to achieve a temporary state balance. Understanding and mastering the skills of gentle, daily detoxification can bring health in a more lasting way.
I recently listened to a lecture by Guru Singh where he said that living in this world is like walking through a smoke filled room: everyday you smell like smoke, even if you haven't been smoking. Thus it becomes necessary to take steps to clean away the mental, emotional and physical effects of this "smoke" every day.
The physical environmental toxins of our world today are many and unavoidable, and I believe we cannot truly release the physical toxins without simultaneously letting go of mental and emotional "toxins", too.
We can eat organically, minimize all household chemical based cleaners, get amalgam dental fillings removed, eat less seafood, drink high quality drinking water and not buy food from plastic or aluminum, (and I recommend all of these things,) but even so, we are all naturally exposed tothat which does not nourish us on a molecular level every day. When we do not understand what doesn't serve us in other areas of our life, our physical efforts become less effective. Add to that a common genetic mutation which disallows proper phase II detoxification, (more on this in another post,) and you have a recipe for disease.
As Mark Hyman puts it: "According to the nonprofit organization Environmental Working Group, the average newborn baby has 287 known toxins in his or her umbilical cord blood. If a newborn is exposed to that many toxins, imagine how many you have been exposed to in your life."
When we learn how to eliminate the toxins from our body, work with our emotions instead of against them, and clean the slate of the mind in a step by step way, we lay the foundation for a long and healthy life.
-Anja
P. S Have you tried any of these practices? What do you naturally do to reduce your toxic load? Leave a comment or send me a message and let me know!
