A modification of down and up dog, this exercise provides a nice stretch for the entire body, focus for the mind, enhances strength and an opening of the heart. Be mindful to coordinate your breaths with the movement. This is another exercise we use with the wounded warriors at Fort Bragg.

©2012 Lauralyn Harter

www.simplyserenityyoga.com

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I love the concept of mantras: our words are powerful and that by repeating positive or holy words the resonance can affect our own frequency and raise it to a higher state of being. Yoga mantras are in Sankrit, a challenging language that has pronunciations like this: Om Guhm Guh-nuh-puh-tuh-yeaNah-mah-hah. I’m an American girl. I have an appreciation and respect for various languages. But this….well, this language is as foreign to me in tongue as it is to my spirit. I simply don’t feel a twitch in my spirit when I repeat the words.

I believe for our words to be powerful, we must also resonate with them in our mind. They have to be the key that fits the lock to our hearts and souls. So if you’re not feeling “OM” is opening your heart, then try something else. There is no right or wrong way. There’s only your own truth that matters.

There are some Christian prayers that serve well as my mantras because I can feel them opening my heart. The prayer of St. Francis, the Lord’s Prayer and the serenity prayer boost my spiritual energy. I also love Buddha’s Metta (lovingkindness) meditation: May I be safe and protected. May I be peaceful and happy. May I be healthy and strong. May I have ease of well-being (and accept all the conditions of the world). And the Reiki ideals: Just for today, do not worry. Do not get angry. Have gratitude, give thanks. Be honest in your work. Be kind to others.

Positive affirmations are mantras. I love discovering a positive affirmation that changes a belief that’s no longer serving me. Such as, “I allow love and grace to flow throughout my life and touch every facet of my being.” Repeating such a phrase uplifts your mind and spirit and can put your body at ease.

To create your own mantra think about words that open your heart. What words bring you a sense of peace? What words make you feel happy? What words inspire you? What words feel healing? Your mantra may be repeating the word, “peace” over and over as you inhale and exhale. Your mantra may be repeating a prayer that you learned as a child that still holds heartfelt meaning and inspiration to you. Your mantra may be a positive thought that you repeat as you breathe in and out, asking that this thought resonate in each cell in your body, and deep within your heart.

My mantra creates my reality. My prayer asks God for help with it. See how you can use a mantra to open your heart and experience peace right where you are, right now.

©2012 Lauralyn Harter

www.simplyserenityyoga.com

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1. Don’t make it more than it is. Meditating isn’t a project, it’s time to simply be and notice yourself. You don’t have to “do” anything, so you don’t need a big plan for how, where and when you will meditate. You can do a one-minute meditation right now, as you read this. Close your eyes and set your timer to 60 seconds. Breathe. Done!

2. Inspire yourself. Creating a little nook to meditate is fun and inspiring. You can roll up a blanket, use a pillow or meditation chair to sit on. Light some incense. Place an inspirational image in front of you, like of a saint, angel, spiritual teacher or nature image. You can even put on some relaxing nature or instrumental music in the background.

3. Release expectations. If you approach meditation with a bunch of expectations, like your mind should be instantly clear or you should meditate like this or that, you may find yourself getting stressed or disappointed. Meditating isn’t about attaining a goal, although it certainly can help with your goals. The idea of meditation is self-soothing, self-nurturing, growth, time out. Sometimes meditating for even one minute will feel like a challenge. Other times, it will bring a delicious sense of peace and well-being. Allow your meditation to be what it is today. You can learn a lot about yourself and your needs this way.

4. Use your busy mind. When your mind is really busy with thoughts, instead of feeling frustrated that you can’t clear it while meditating, begin to direct the mind. You can visualize a goal you’re reaching for and imagine what it feels like to already have reached that goal. You can focus on a mantra – a word or prayer – that you silently repeat on your inhale and exhale. You can imagine an Archangel healing you with colored light. You can use counting to focus the mind: count from 1 to 5 on the inhale and 1-8 on the exhale. Maybe sitting in silence fighting off distracting thoughts isn’t the way for you today. Maybe the practice of disciplining your mind is where it’s at. There are many paths to reach that state of simply being.

5. Be unconventional. Do you think you need a quiet space to meditate? Maybe you won’t have many opportunities to be in a quiet space today. That doesn’t mean you can’t meditate. Your meditation for today may just be sitting in your car for an extra few minutes and breathing deeply with your eyes closed. It may be stopping your cart at the grocery store and taking a few breaths while tuning out the noise around you. It may be closing your eyes for a moment and feeling the breath flow in and out of your nose while you’re in the shower, at the dinner table, or your desk. Anytime you focus on your breath, notice it, and bring your attention inward you bring a gentle awareness to your state of being. Viola – you’re meditating!

©2012 Lauralyn Harter

www.simplyserenityyoga.com

This one-minute meditation was inspired by a brave and courageous veteran of the war in Afghanistan who is in our therapeutic yoga class at Fort Bragg. The young soldier said he hoped he had brought some light to the darkness when he was deployed. We then tried this meditation together. It helps focus the mind on the present moment, which is a useful tool in healing PTSD. Starting with just one-minute a day as your practice, you can increase the time as you feel comfortable.

©2012 Lauralyn Harter

Yoga, Reiki and Angel Therapist® specializing in stress management and intuitive mentoring.

www.simplyserenityyoga.com

The medical dictionary defines addiction as “ a persistent, compulsive dependence on a behavior or substance.” You may think addiction is limited to food, drugs or alcohol, but it can also be to a behavior or a habit that you just can’t let go of.

Fear is a powerful emotion. It’s intended to be a warning sign to support our survival on Earth. Back in the day, the fear response helped man run away from bear. These days, fear isn’t being used as for original intention, which is a positive, to help us survive. Fear now has been created as a daily ritual and reality in people’s lives. The message is “the world is a dangerous place” and it hooks people’s minds into believing that if they aren’t aware of every horrible thing that’s happening on our planet, then they will somehow be in danger. Just like other addictions, fear slowly begins to destroy trust.

The addiction to fear involves the nervous system and fight or flight response. It is possible for the body to get hooked on the “high” stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline provide. These stress hormones can be powerful enough for a parent to lift a car to save his or her trapped child. But what happens when you’re not using these hormones for emergency situations? You begin to get addicted to the high without a real threat present. Similar to a person who gets addicted to painkillers long after the pain has gone.

You can use the following twenty-one questions to discover whether you may be addicted to fear.

1. Do you feel compelled to read the news every day and feel drawn to the fear-based reports?

2. Do you often worry about what you’ve read or heard, even if it doesn’t relate to you?

3. Do you often worry that something bad will happen to you or a loved one that’s out of your control?

4. Do you keep the blinds closed, windows shut and double check locks when you’re home?

5. Do you often imagine the worst?

6. Do you feel a physical response to your fearful thoughts such as tingling, pins and needles, numbing, heart racing, trembling, dry throat or hot/cold flashes?

7. Do you focus on the negative of a situation and believe that you’re powerless over really changing anything?

8. When someone shares good news with you, do you find yourself feeling envious, jealous, angry or depressed?

9. Do you enjoy watching scary movies or violent TV dramas?

10. Do you often worry that people are thinking negatively of you, judging you or won’t like or accept you?

11. Do you feel failure so you won’t even try?

12. Do you avoid seeing a doctor because you’re worried you’ll get bad news or may even be sick or dying?

13. Do you fear that there’s something wrong with you and avoid reaching out getting support?

14. Do you have flashes of worse case scenarios running through your mind at random times like when driving, relaxing at home or when loved ones share things with you?

15. Do you fear you’ll be homeless, starve, will lose your job or some other security/financial fear even though every month your needs are presently met?

16. Do you find it hard to truly embrace feelings of safety and happiness, always feeling cautioned to prepare for when “the other shoe will drop”?

17. Do you often have nightmares?

18. Do you often have panic attacks? And have you ever feared that it was a heart attack?

19. Do you believe that if bad things happened in the past they are likely to repeat themselves even if you were to do things differently in the present?

20. Do you often imagine natural disasters?

21. Do you worry that you will lose a loved one unexpectedly?

If you answered yes to several of these questions, you may be addicted to fear. Like any addiction, the best way to heal it is to change your thoughts and behavior. Street smarts and premonition aside, if your brain is signaling off fear on a daily basis like loose, live wires, this constant jolt of negativity can take a toll on your health and well-being. Unless fear is being used for it’s natural purpose: in an emergency situation or to save your life, it needs to be dropped like a bad habit from your daily routine.

Surrender the need to get the high fears gives you, and instead begin to practice positive habits that give you a healthier high: feelings of bliss and true relaxation. Positive affirmations, uplifting music, yoga, prayer, meditation and other forms of mind/body exercises can help you gain control over your mind again and start producing health-enhancing thoughts and behaviors that allow you to see, and experience, the peace, love and beauty that’s all around you.

Please note: if you’ve experienced a traumatic or disturbing event at any point in your life, a qualified health care professional can help you heal. Do not assume time heals all. Self-care, not denial, is the true healer.

©2012 Lauralyn Harter

Lauralyn is a yoga, reiki and angel therapist® specializing in holistic healing and spiritual mentoring. She is currently providing yoga to the wounded warriors at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

Candlelight meditation is a yoga practice that calms and focuses the mind, and awakens the third eye chakra, the energy center that processes your intuition. This peaceful guided meditation uses the aid of candlelight to cleanse, clear, calm and inspire the mind. Use it to increase intuition, clear and open the third eye chakra, receive inspiration and guidance, and simply relax. Also can be helpful to relieve headaches and brain fog.

Lauralyn is a certified yoga and angel therapist and certified Reiki Master. She specializes in holistic healing and spiritual mentoring. She is currently providing yoga to the wounded warriors at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

©2012 Lauralyn Harter

www.simplyserenityyoga.com