Moments of reflection...

In memory of Theo Karydis

my father, my inspiration, my guardian angel

 

We always find ourselves at the end of each and every year reflecting on what has been and pondering on what is yet to come. I am at this moment. 2011 has been an interesting but very difficult year. I have many students and loved ones around me who at this time of year have mentioned the same. There are ups and there are downs. Something we all know for certain is that nothing is for certain except death yet why is it that we live as if we are never going to die...

If there is one major lesson for me the year has brought forward it would be this - as quoted by an anonymous person – “Life is too short to wake up with regrets. So love and treasure the people who treat you right and forget the ones that don’t and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said it would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it”.

How many people reading this today live as if today were there last? How many of us worry about things that really and honestly do not matter? A moment wasted on worry, stress and negativity is a moment you could have had feeling gratitude for all the great in your life from simply having the ability to smile. Things that bring us joy and love in life are not the things purchased with money.

Take a moment every day in reflection to appreciate these things and why. Don’t let it come to the end of the year where you sit back and say I wish I did this and I wish I did that. Live every day to its fullest and don’t waste your precious time here on this earth doing things they do not delight your soul. You are your greatest teacher. Follow your intuition. Your decisions or gut feeling may not always make sense now but it will in the future. You are your greatest guide. You are unique expression of life. Live that way.

I am sending lots of love, blessings and light to all those around me and who inspire me whether they are in human or spirit form. I wish you all a safe, happy and healthy Christmas and New Year.

Feel deeply, enjoy simply and think freely.

Ourania x

SURRENDER

How often do we really bring our awareness to the present and surrender to the moment? … Not that often! And what if it was in these moments of complete surrender that uninterrupted tranquillity and complete oneness with all that is lie?

It is natural for us as friends, as family and as channels that when someone needs help or advice we tend to lean toward saying in one way or another “you have just got to surrender to what is and flow with it…everything happens for a reason”. This belief and knowingness is idle within us even when we don’t realise. Our spirit wants us to surrender but our mind continues to think and live in the past and the future.

Throughout my journey as a yoga teacher so far the biggest thing I find is that not only do we resist the notion of surrender out of fear but also to the misconception that surrendering to life is confused with weakness.

It takes every bit of strength in your entire being to really surrender. The people who I take most of my inspiration from in life are those who have the ability to let go. Those who live moment to moment with complete awareness of the present. That is not to say that those who surrender to life do not have goals and aspirations about the future or memories from the past but they practice non attachment toward these things not allowing the outcomes of the future or the past to determine their happiness and joy for each and every day.

This is a subject that I could talk about for a very long time but I read a quote by Eckhart Tolle that I found to be a very profound but simple explanation about surrendering to life –

“Surrender is the wisdom of yielding rather than opposing the flow of life. The only place where you can experience the flow of life is the now, so to surrender is to accept the present moment unconditionally and without reservation. It is to relinquish inner resistance to what is.”

The ability to surrender takes time, patience and strength. Begin today taking a moment just to be fully aware and present in whatever task or situation flows your way. When moments get tough just tune into your breath and allow your breath to be your guide; to take you deep within beyond the physical body, beyond the mind, and beyond the ego. Within you dwells a oneness that we all share. A presence that is great and divine. This is a place of pure joy, peace & love. A place that is available to you at anytime and anywhere.

Discover your true essence through surrender.

With Love,

Ourania x

What would you tell your younger self?

I was once given a beautiful book as a gift on my 18^th birthday titled “What I wish I knew at 18”. I have read this book constantly, over and over and each time I gain new inspiration and motivation to live my truth and love my life. There was definitely some clear advice and messages that I found when reading the letters of the many diverse people that contributed to this book. 

Below I have composed ten main inspirational messages I gain when reading this book. I hope you enjoy…

1.  Be who you are and embrace your qualities. Being an individual is what makes you stand out.

2.  Trust yourself – trust your inner voice and inner guidance. That feeling in your stomach when you know something is good or not is telling you the truth.

3.  Look for the good in any bad situation or experience. These experiences allow us to grow beyond belief.

4.  Don’t wait for the permission of others to live your life. Seeking approval from other people keeps you stuck in a life of regrets and resentment. Loosing this need of approval sets you free to live your best life!

5.  A sense of humour gets you through a lot. Laughing in life is incredibly important.

6.  It’s ok to make mistakes and take lots of chances. Through mistakes we learn to live meaningfully as opposed to simply adopting conventional ways of behaving.

7.  Enjoy every minute of your life because in an instant it can be over. Don’t put off til tomorrow what you can enjoy today.

8.  Seek balance – in work, relationships, family, friends, play time, etc. All are equally important, if we favour one we lose another.

9.  Thank more people often and be grateful. Realise that your life and every moment in it is precious.

10.         You don’t get happy, acquire happy or achieve happy you simply must choose to be happy.

What would you tell your younger self?

Take some time to write to your younger self filled with advice and messages from experiences had and lessons learned. It is amazing what you may discover about yourself and how far you really have come on life’s journey.

This letter may then become a keepsake. A letter you may wish to pass down to the children of your family. It is a beautiful way to journal and put your life into perspective. You may like to do one every year or simply one when you feel the time is right. It will become a beautiful memory to look back on.

With love,

Ourania x

BOOK REVIEW: The Power of Now By Eckhart Tolle

The Power Of Now is a book based on the understandings of being and living in the present moment.

When we live and be in the present moment we free ourselves from suffering and pain created by our own thoughts, emotions and ego. Being in the now allows us to surrender and let go of any attachments we have to our life situation. It’s not about blocking feelings, emotions and thoughts out; it is about not attaching to them. The more you are focused on time – past and future the more you miss the Now, the most precious thing there is. Why is it the most precious thing? Because it is the only thing there is.

Most of our worry, stress and pain in our lives either come from the past or future and when we let go of these things the mind becomes still, the body relaxes and you live lovingly and joyously with full acceptance no matter what life presents to us.

Being present in each moment; living mindfully with full awareness is the key to peace. If you have ever been to yoga or a meditation class at Ourano Yoga and My health yoga you will know that this is something practiced every moment you come to you mat.

Being is something that cannot be understood with the mind. You can only know it and feel it when the mind is still.

Being present in the now is an understanding that when fully felt can change your life situation dramatically. This is something we must practice with true belief and surrender and although we may not do it all the time we can still have pure intention to do so and that will then manifest into our reality.

As Eckhart Tolle says “whatever the present moment contains - accept it, as if you had chosen it. Always work with it not against it. Make it your friend not your enemy and this will miraculously transform your whole life.

Eckhart Tolle is straight to the point and answers questions on the power of now throughout the entire book which makes it easier to understand and apply the teachings.

A truly inspirational and powerful read that I highly recommend to all of my students and to those who wish to understand and live the true essence of what it means to be present in the moment.

With an abundance of love,

Ourania

Find Your Peace

Peace? Is it the same for everyone? In one sense of the word it is. You can feel peaceful when you are surrounded or engaged in things you love and when all is going great in your life.

But being peace is something more. To be peace you must have full acceptance of what is and live in the present moment where the worries about your past and future do not exist.

Some may have had fleeting moments of pure peace through meditation and other varying forms of stillness, but with this lies the attachment for us to do a certain thing to be a certain way. When we awaken, we realize that being peace is sustainable in our everyday human lives. In certain places such as being out in nature, doing something you love or during meditation it is easier for us to tap into this state but know that even in the hardest and stressful times in our lives that same peace is still available to us. Let go of having to do anything and simply BE. Peace is a natural state of being for us. It is buried deep within.

Peace is not always to be found by sitting or lying down for long amounts of time but can be found by living mindfully every day, with full awareness, acceptance, forgiveness and love of all things.

Know at any stage and anywhere in your life you will always find the peace you seek within you.

Today take a moment no matter where you are or what you’re doing to let go of any thoughts or attachments you have relating to your past and future. Listen to your breath. Slow it down as much as you can and be present in this moment. Observe how you feel after you have taken a moment to breathe mindfully. Keep on tapping into your breath throughout your day. When you lay down to sleep tonight take a moment to give gratitude for the day that was with full acceptance. Wake up tomorrow feeling rested, restored and relaxed. Live Peace. Be Peace.

With love,

Ourania

Book Review: Awakening Spirits by Tom Brown Jnr

A Native American path to inner peace, healing and spiritual growth

One of my beautiful friends Sue leant me a book she thought I may love… and she was right!!!

Tom Brown Jnr is a bestselling author of many books based on tracking and unique methods of meditation and self-discovery through nature.

He manages and teaches one of the largest wilderness and survival schools in the U.S and is pure to the teachings of the Native American methods working directly under an Apache Indian “grandfather”. For many years (since the age of 8) he went out into the wilderness and placed himself at the hands of Mother Nature to survive.

He shares the methods that he learnt on relaxation, meditation, insight, healing and communication with nature and spirits in this book.

Read with an open heart and open mind. Practice the teachings that reach out to you.

I have always had a strong draw to Native American culture and teachings and as you can imagine this book resonated deeply within me. I have taken a lot of inspiration and guidance from this book which not only am I applying to my everyday life but to my practice and teaching within yoga and holistic health.

This book is written in an easy to understand way and the methods are explained thoroughly.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking deeper into their connection with nature and spirit and for those wanting to explore the true oneness that every living being shares.

With love,

Ourania

CHOICE

I have the honour of meeting the most beautiful souls everyday through Yoga. I am constantly inspired by the unique expressions of life that come to their mat at both Ourano Yoga and My Health Yoga. I always leave a class wether I am teaching or a student learning something new about myself and life.

The other day I was talking to a student after class about making choices in life. This conversation reflected the meditation I had read just moments earlier and has inspired me to write today's entry.

We come to understand as we get older and presented with different situations, paths and opportunities in life that we have lots of choice. Spoilt for choice actually...

We don't tend to realise that even though choice sounds so simple it causes many people stress, pain, illness and constant worry due to us not understanding the true essence behind the word.

We have a choice in whatever we do, think and say. In life, as humans we are very fortunate to have this luxury and ability.

Only you can choose wether you want to be happy or sad and it is only though the choices you make that you can make a heaven or a hell out of any situation. You can blame no one else for your own happiness or despair.

The circumstances that arise in our lives we have not always consciously chosen and therefore cannot easily be changed. What we can change is the way we choose to react to these circumstances and situations. What we learn to do is choose gratitude and happiness.

I know it is easy to say and incredibly hard to do. I personally have been through the most testing, challenging and traumatic months of my life in the late and I am constantly bringing my awareness to the choices I make in every moment. I continue to choose peace, happiness and love. I found that with the ability to have gratitude for the moments, memories and experiences you  have, it is simple to choose happiness.

Choosing to be happy and peaceful is something that you constantly need to affirm and practice but with time it no longer becomes a choice but a state of being.

Remember that through choice you are in control of your own destiny. Choose to be present in this moment. Live with love, joy and peace.

feel deeply, enjoy simply and think freely

With love,
Ourania

What would you do if you knew you could not fail?

To dear divine souls,

I found a beautiful reflective question to ponder on while I was exploring the internet. What would you do if you knew you could not fail? It was in fact a question I had never asked myself before and brought to me personally many interesting visualizations to the surface. I was in a realm of unlimited possibilities and where failing really wasn't an option.

Ask yourself this same question and write down what comes to your surface in large uninhibited writing. Post it in a place you look regularly and allow your dreams to inspire you everyday!

We make our own limitations through self doubt, fear and conformity. You have the ability and the power to manifest what you desire and dream in your life - You just need to believe it...

Feel deeply, Enjoy simply and Think freely

Ourania

Namaste

Hello,

My name is Ourania and I am the founder and principle teacher of Ourano Yoga. I have decided to start a blog to allow me the opportunity to share my thoughts, inspirations and experiences with you. I will be taking some time each week to ride my bicycle to a place of nature that is special to me and rest my back against a tree as I write this.

The tree and I are breathing as one, the sun shining it’s divine rays upon me and the grass at my feet. All is well. All is one. I find incredible amounts of inspiration by being outside in open spaces and marvelling at the beauty before me. I have such a feeling of unity with nature and believe this is one of the reasons I started on my yoga journey.

I was always asking questions as a child and still till this day about the makings of this world. Who are we? And what exactly is life? And why do we have it? Questions that my beautiful mother answered leaving me more interested than I was before. She would always answer in a way that suggested perhaps I explore and find out the answers to these questions for myself. So here I am now, taller, wiser and still exploring!

Three things I have learnt along the way so far – No.1 that I have everything I need here is this present moment to be all that I may be. No.2 That we are all one and No.3 the answers you seek to life’s questions are within you. We don’t need to do anything but simply be.

I will go into further details of my findings and explorations in future entries. I am so excited about today and the new possibilities it holds, the new people I may meet and the new knowledge I may learn. I am thankful for this day. Until next time divine souls,

Feel deeply, Enjoy simply and Think freely.

Ourania x