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Am wondering how you're getting on LilyVanily? Did you try any of the beginner's stuff on YouTube? So much to choose from it can be a bit of a minefield. I have wanted to do yoga for years but struggled with it because I'm not very limber and a bit overweight. Even the videos for bigger girls didn't work for me because those girls were wonderfully fit and I'm not. Through endless searches I eventually found some simple stretches and seated yoga that I find absolutely brilliant and have been doing them for a couple of years now. One day, I hope to progress to floor work. Bought a mat and block and tried a while back but it was counter productive trying to run before I can walk. ? The simple stretches I do are great for relaxation before mediation helps me to settle quicker and meditation for longer.

Yoga and a bath sound heavenly! One often forgets that there's a body attached to the head/mind we find ourselves stuck in ?

When I feel empty or detached, I try to find ways to feel grounded again, and this means getting out of my head and back into my head. Showing myself compassion usually results in me wanting to do something physical - yoga, gentle stretching - but taking a bath, even short, can be very helpful too.

Hi Guys, Early bird tickets are available here - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sober-rave-conscious-clubbing-yoga-dance-music-festival-soberfestuk-tickets-71715415739 Many thanks Joe soberfestuk.com #soberfest

Hello Candy, Thanks for your message, lovely to 'meet' you too! I enjoy reading mostly fiction, anything with a good story, and recently have been reading self help books too. I do kundalini yoga, have been going to a small local class for several years, and recently have been increasing my meditation/mindfulness. Music is also important to me, I listen to a lot and sing/dance along whenever I can! looking forward to getting to know more like minded people here :)

Hi, I fell across this site via an ad on Facebook. I like the connectivity of Facebook and also realise that it is a part of the big corporate structure that tends towards dehumanising us. I hope this site has the potenial to offer an alternative to that approach. I practise mediatation on a daily basis and have been fascinated by Taoism since I was a teenager... some time ago. I live in Newcastle in North East England and love the vibe and the people here... that's why I choose to live here... and have many close connections with people I love here. I enjoy sharing ideas, thoughts and feelings and often do that by writing most days... I also work with others around ideas of what it is that makes us... this... and how we can build on becoming the person we wish to be rather than the person we felt we were expected to be by others. I was always a curious and daring youngster and determined to work out how the world worked for myself... that led me into a few precarious places and I often mistook fun and freedom for unsustainable harmful behaviours... after reading much and then practicing yoga in my mid twenties I started to see that a meaningful and fulfilling life was accessable through tapping into some of the oldest wisdoms. These days I find that I get most from life without the need for external stimulants and distractions... my physical and spirtual practice keeps my happy, open and well... thisness for me is what life is about... self awareness and the ability to grow each day. Anyway, that is how I ended up here today and I look forwards to making new connections with people I have yet to meet... here. Best wishes and namaste, Mark This.

Hi Alison and Joyce! Welcome to the happiness community! What do you both like reading? I read pretty much anything I find interesting, from self-help books to semi-romantic novels (sometimes ?). I really like yoga too, but I don't always make time to go, and music is a thing I can't live without. Happy to 'meet' you both. ?

I have been going to a Kundalini yoga class for several years and I really enjoy it. The exercises or kriyas benefit your body and then the meditations benefit your mind! Our class is very small and informal, and our teacher is very gentle - although sometimes it can be quite challenging there is no pressure. It's always different, sometrimes relaxing, sometimes energising. I have learned a great deal about the body, the chakras, the mind - I recommend it!

I'm reading a book about fertility that swears by it. I recently went to a Kundalini yoga class in Amsterdam and I really enjoyed it. It's more chanting mantras than the asanas, but the whole experience is quite powerful. I left the class feeling a great deal better, and a little blissed out. The book I'm reading suggests Kundalini yoga for pregnant women or those wanting to get pregnant, but I think it's accessible to anyone who wants to clean/heal their energy and just bring some more peace and mindfulness to one's daily life.

Anyone have experience with kundalini yoga? Any benefits to it? Thanks!

Example yoga https://dausel.co/bBBvCC Its Easy

I'm learning everyday & dnt no everything but i can definitely exchange knowledge with u. Im a starseed mystic. I use alot of crystals, oils, natural substances, yoga, tarot, meditation & reiki among other things.

Hi abbee, i love kundalini yoga its my favourite. Id love to try make friends with more like minded friends my self as i dont really have many that follow my spiritual path. Love and light ? ? ? ? ? ♥️

Hey Abee, I'm open to making new friends and love conversations about spirituality and meta subjects :). I don't know much about Kundalini yoga but would be happy to explore this with you. You seem like a like minded soul :) Aj

Hi Joyce, you're perfect like you are. Listening to your kids and leading by example by doing yoga is already the best what you can do. A loving and supporting relationship can be healing. I can imagine that you don't want to see your kids suffering. But if they see that you're fine and stable it will help them too overcome this difficult situation.❤

Hello Alison, I'm new here too, from Scotland, where are you from? I also like reading, yoga and meditation, also listening to music, and I like meeting new people and sharing thoughts.

Hello everyone, I'm new here and just trying to find my way around so any helpful advice would be appreciated! I'm a 62 year old mum and gran, loving life but at the moment have some challenges with 2 of my kids going through relationship breakups. I do yoga and meditation but it's difficult to communicate the benefits I find from these practices. I always try to give positive advice and support and just be a shoulder to cry on, wish I could do more!

The main topic in week 3 is "Mindfulness of the Breath and the Body in Movement: There is both pleasure and power in being present." For week 4 it's "Learning about our Patterns of Stress Reactivity: Wherever you go, there you are." In the two Mindful Yoga exercises, we tune in closely into our bodies which is similar to the bodyscan yet completely different as we are moving. What came up for you during the exercises? How do the practices evolve as you get more familiar with them? Share your experiences during the Mindful Yoga/ Movement exercises with your fellow participants. Personally, this is the exercise where I lead most from my own experience when guiding a group. Like for any other mindful exercise I have a script and a dramaturgical arch for the practice (yes, you do have that in mediations too) but here I let the practice and the group to guide us more. Where, what do we move next? While I enjoy mindful yoga, I struggle with mindful walking. I was mindfully walking in the most beautiful surroundings, in busy streets, even in Plum Village, and yet I struggle to find any sort of engagement with the practice I seem to be stuck with boredom. Now that I have said it out loud, I wonder if it'll change. Acceptance precedes change.

I am new here and looking forward to lively and informative chats with all of you. I am interested in reading good books, meditation, yoga and helping others. I am a student of philosophy and appreciate friendly and incisive debates on common topics.

I've always wanted to learn yoga. Thanks for the recommandations!

@Yvonne I have heard a lot of people snore even during the group bodyscan at retreats, so that normal. It depends on why you are practising the bodyscan. If it is to fall asleep then it looks like you are doing the right thing. Jennifer Piercy's "Yoga Nidra for Sleep" is super popular on insight timer and I have to agree, I doubt that I ever heard it till the end. It also includes several elements of the bodyscan. If you practice the bodyscan as part of MBSR with the intention to fall awake from the automatic pilot I'd recommend to try it sitting up so you are less likely to fall asleep and you can be relaxed and alert at the same time. I am collecting some guided meditations here in the forum and I already have 2 bodyscans here that you could try out.

Dear Emma, in lak ech! This feeling is a chance. This chance is a door opener to your true self. Connect with your heart and find out what you really feel good with, do things that provide you with energy. Fill the empty cup with yourself, your true self. You will remember it through your heart. It might takes some time to figure out what you really connect with, what your heart really tells you. The ego is just a reaction to your identity, the story you are telling yourself. In this moment you can celebrate because something tells you you are not your story, not your identity and you can create and be who you really are. The universe wants to be remembered through you, the beauty. Remember. Remember yourself. Honor yourself in this calibration that leads you towards your awakened inside. Since we lost our roots in nature, traditions, yearly cylces and ceremonies we are looking for exactly that. Maybe you find yourself in any of that, digging in ancestors lives, ideas, nature, your real mission, in foreign philosophy like yoga, shamanism etc. It is a exciting way to rediscover - not the most pleasant always. For further questions don't hesitate to contact me. Pamparios

Hi Tabarca! You can find a whole list of yoga places listed here: https://www.happiness.com/locations/ Hope that helps ?

Dear Members! I’m trying to find companions to practice yoga in Valldoreix, Sant CUGAT or even in BCN. Please let me know if someone could’ve the same interest! I love reading, cinema, walking, opera, gardening, dogs, cats and enjoy the life !!

Hi @Emma200904, those feelings might be very confusing for you. I had similar experiences. What helped me was to understand Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. This is kind of a life guide. Patanjali describes samsaya as one of the 10 obstacles in the yoga path. Samsaya means doubts. https://www.yogapedia.com/definition/5747/samsaya and it's a natural state of a yoga practice. Practicing non-attachment can be a good method to overcome those feelings. I saw a regular Meditation practice as helpful where I focussed on that. Remember we are not our thoughts. I use the app headspace to keep on meditating.