FrequencyRiser Conscious Lifestyle Blog

What is yoga? The classical texts define yoga as a process of channelling the forces or expressions of the mind. How? By following a discipline. What is the aim of discipline? To establish yourself in your real nature. These are the first three statements in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, and are the foundation of yoga practice and philosophy. If yoga was only physical exercises, these statements would reflect that physical component. But they do not. If yoga was a religion, these introductory statements would reflect that religious inclination. But they do not; rather, in the yogic tradition yoga has to be seen as a discipline, a lifestyle and a science of practical living.

In order to create a system, a progressive practice, and to immerse oneself in yogic disciplines, there is a very beautiful sequence. Yoga begins with the body, goes to the mind and aims to realize the inner nature. The question can arise: If yoga deals with the mind, why does it begin with the body? Yoga looks at the well-being of the total personality, of the body, mind and spirit. Body, mind and spirit have to come together so that we can become a complete human being and experience the wholeness of life.

Is it possible to be grounded while globetrotting? Some may believe peaceful travel is an oxymoron, but the truth is that Colorado offers a multitude of unhurried spiritual and religious travel destinations. Sightseeing becomes elevated through divine explorations.

frequencyRiser wants to know where you will travel in Colorado? Undecided? This healthy list is helpful when planning trips in Colorado, especially for those who are seeking metaphysical or divine experiences.

Whether you're new to yoga or just want to enjoy a fun yoga sequence with Michael Franti, enjoy this yoga jam featuring a remix of Michael Franti and Spearhead's song "Once a Day!"

“My hope is that this short daily yoga practice will encourage playfulness and gratitude in your everyday life. I encourage you to do this practice in the morning, on your lunch break, before you go out on a Saturday night, or anytime you need a reset. By sharing this intentional practice with friends or family members from around the world, each day we will find ways to support each other to be our best, serve the greater good and rock out wherever we are!” - Michael Franti

Yoga has traditionally been seen as a path to heightened consciousness and mindfulness, though this aspect is increasingly less emphasized in the West. The practice facilitates a profound awareness of how body, mind, and spirit are linked and how each individual is connected to all life on the planet.

In a world dominated by nonstop activity and the proliferation of high-tech devices, yoga is one of the few popular endeavors that require only a sticky mat and a commitment to practice. No technology is needed.

As a yoga practitioner, you know that yoga practice is sometimes the only time of day when someone truly unplugs, enters a state of calm, moves their body, and simply breathes. As a yoga teacher, you have the honor and privilege of guiding people through that process — a process that is sometimes delightful and often challenging, but always rewarding.

Teaching yoga is often thought of as a lifestyle business. This means that you have chosen a pastime that is central to your own lifestyle and are taking the chance that you can create a career, or supplement other income, by devoting yourself to it.

We are called to teach because we love any excuse to get on our yoga mats, cherish watching our students develop, and likely have a pronounced aversion to cubicle life, endless meetings, and uncomfortable shoes!

Grab your copy of this amazing book today! The Art and Business of Teaching Yoga

Known for its open-minded and spiritual people, it’s no surprise that Boulder, Colorado is home to several authors who are passionate about consciousness, meditation and yoga. Also based in Boulder, frequencyRiser supports our local community of book lovers.

Why do books that were inspired in Boulder, Colorado stand out? It may be the many yoga centers, ashrams, meditation escapes, and the impressive Flatiron mountains that set the scene. (Or all of these fun things to do for a cheerful holiday season in Boulder.)

Find support in these books while supporting local Colorado authors!

The ever-present, unbounded sacred space of your nature is beyond distinctions of beauty or ugliness, pain or pleasure. Just as fear can drive you away from connection with your essential nature, beauty, too, can pull you away from it. And just as fear can lead you back to your essential nature, so can beauty. 

Normally when we have pain, we experience that we are the pain: I am hurting. But when you identify with the space, light, and warmth of the inner refuge, then even when blockages and pain are present, you recognize that you are fundamentally pure. In the midst of pain, remember that you always have the choice to connect to stillness, silence, and spaciousness, and rest in the inner refuge. As you rest there, open awareness can clear disturbing thoughts and emotions as well as soothe physical pain. 

How much is your life guided by light and awareness, and how much is it driven by reactivity and denial? The inner refuge is your unfailing support in any moment. Let it be your best friend.

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Buy Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's book, The True Source of Healing: How the Ancient Tibetan Practice of Soul Retrieval Can Transform and Enrich Your Life. Explore more titles from Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche's author collection.

Inspired by the author's own courage to ride the ancient Silk Road trade route on a motorcycle from Switzerland to Asia, The Courage Map outlines the concepts of courage through her experiences on the journey and offers valuable wisdom and insights for the reader to use to create their own courage map to live boldly in their own life. With an inspiring foreword by Sir Richard Branson, this book is not only a great read but offers tools for the reader to learn about themselves and open up to a life of adventure, compassion and fulfillment. Many of us have an idea of how we would like our life to be but often we don't have the courage to realize these dreams due to fear; fear of failure, money, how people might perceive us, whether our parents might approve, or just fear of stepping outside our comfort zone. This book will allow you to expand your boundaries and realize what can be possible for your life. The author not only outlines a path for you to create your own courage map but also provides a free Courage Map Journal for you to design your own unique Courage Map "for living boldly, going after your wildest dreams, and leaving your mark on the world."    

We weren't quite sure what to think of this book when the fine folks at New World Library sent it to us for review. All we knew is that we love Zen and if the content relates to Zen, we would more than likely enjoy it. Letters to a Dead Friend about Zen is exactly what it says. Author Brad Warner utilizes the format of writing informal letters to his friend, who recently passed away, to convey all the things he wanted to tell him about Zen and his life but didn't get the chance. The results are a refreshing compendium of Zen Buddhism filled with everything you might of wondered about Zen and more. 

This humorous and light hearted book cuts to the quick in relating basic Zen terms, Buddhist philosophy, koans, and concepts like karma, reincarnation and emptiness. There are many gems of wisdom throughout the book that will benefit the reader. We enjoyed the fact that Warner has a great grasp on the metaphorical context of many Buddhist stories in the sense that often the stories should not be taken literally but point to a deeper meaning. 

As the pace of the modern world continues to speed up, mindfulness has become more important than ever. From long work hours to an unending barrage of technology, mankind is faced with an unprecedented amount of factors vying for attention. There has never been a more relevant time for veteran mindfulness instructor Mark Coleman to release his newest book, From Suffering to Peace: The True Promise of Mindfulness. This gem of a book is one of the most comprehensive and practical books on mindfulness we've encountered. In the preface, Coleman states: "While I draw on the wealth of mindfulness teachings and practices from the ancient Buddhist tradition, my goal is to present this rich body of work - much of it developed by monastics living in a feudal, agrarian culture as far back as 500BC - in ways that are relevant and accessible to twenty-first-century life. I seek to honor this rich and vast tradition and adapt these practices to the needs and demands of our own era." Coleman clarifies that "mindfulness is so much more than simply 'focus' or attention, which is how it is often mistakenly described. Mindfulness refers to the depth of awareness we bring to our whole life, and in doing so we transform ourselves and the way we live in the world. Mindfulness supports us to live an intentional, meaningful life with presence, insight, and compassion."

 

Mindfulness meditation is simple, but not necessarily easy. Mindfulness is simply knowing what is happening in the present moment. If you are drinking a glass of water, it is feeling the smoothness of the glass as you pick it up and the coolness of the water in your mouth. However, because we are so habitually caught up in thinking, we are rarely aware of what we are doing. Meditation is a practice that reduces activity in order to increase the chances of being aware. We start with the training wheels of sitting still and being with the breath, but eventually we can expand our awareness to include all activities in our lives.

The instructions that follow are non-sectarian and can be practiced by anyone without regard to religious or spiritual beliefs. They are derived from insight meditation, or Vipassana, which comes out of the Theravada Buddhist tradition.