Yoga in the morning

photo from http://amitreiki.com
Is everyone else feeling sluggish and sleepy due to these high temperatures?

Thank goodness the nights are cool here in Southern California, I remember when I used to live in the East Coast, if the cold didn't get you, the Summer humidity did and lasted through the nights. Here we have a bit of a break when the sun goes down.

Speaking of the sun, as shown in picture above, it is burning quite bright in the middle of the young man practicing the Sun Salutation, a sequence of Hatha yoga asanas. The name comes from Surya namaskara which literally means "salute to the sun". Surya being a sun deity deserving of worship.

I practice the Sun Salutation every morning, not to salute any deity but to connect with the deity within me. However, I've added a twist to it - no not another body bending asana - rather I say an affirmation with each posture. I find this helps me focus, focus on my affirmation that is. When I start the first posture as the man at 12 o'clock going into 1o'clock, I affirm "I am a spiritual being having a human experience, and so on. I've discovered that I am better able to keep my mind from wandering thoughts when I practice my affirmations with the postures and because the Sun salutation is a flow of different postures, so do my thoughts beautifully flow from one affirmation to the next. You can create your own affirmations or follow the sequence of affirmations I've written down.

12 o'clock posture: breath
12 into 1: I am a spiritual being having a human experience
1 into 2: I am grateful for everything going on in my life
2 into 3: I am succesful with everything that I do
3 into 4: I am strong
4 into 5: I am confident
5 into 6: I am free
6 into 7: I am healthy, every cell in my body rejuvenates
7 into 9: I am wealthy, money flows into my life effortlessy
9 into 10: I am grateful for everyone in my life
10 into 11: I am a spiritual being having a human experience
12 is back into beginning posture: Breath

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