75. Drop Anchor

As you stroll down the street/isle at Target/your hallway, picture your body as a ship drawing an anchor into port.  This brings your pelvis into a safe "neutral" position, neither tilted too far forward or arched too far back

74. Attach Skyhooks

Each time you step outside today, imagine a hook at your breast-bone lifts your heart within your rib-cage, and another at the crown of your head connects you to the sky.

73. Dual Focus

"Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads" - hdt

72. Taking Root to Fly

As well as grounding yourself at the start of the day, it's important to embody ground's opposing force, ascension.  To do this, stand with your feet hip-width apart and try to gain a sense of drawing up your thigh muscles and knee caps, while your pelvis (your center of gravity) stays firmly on top of your legs, like Stonehenge.  Relax your spine and lift your rib-cage up and out of your pelvis.  Feel how the experience of grounding and ascending simultaneously brings a sense of renewed energy.

71. Energy Visualization

The Sanskrit word kundala refers to the coil of a rope, and the term kundalini describes a coiled female serpent, a symbol of divine energy.  Sitting comfortably, close your eyes and visualize her lying coiled at the base of your spine, near mooladhara chakra, the ground energy center.  The aim of yoga practice is eventually (with a teacher's guidance) to rouse this symbolic sleep serpent so she rises up the spine, vitalizing the chakras.

70. Supportive Energy Lock

Bandha is Sanskrit for "gate" or "lock".  Moola Bandha, at the site of Mooladhara Chakra, around your pelvic floor, is the first of the three main energetic locks.  Applying this helps to set your inner foundations at the start of the day, stabilizing your body and providing a sense of unshake-ability on which to build your day's activities.  To do this, lift your pelvic floor without contracting your abdominal muscles, and hold as you inhale.  Exhale and release.  Repeat several times.

69. Alternate Nostril Breathing

Anuloma Viloma This calming technique stabilizes your energy levels at the start of the day by regulating the flow of energy through your body's main subtle energy channels.  Sit with your spine straight, resting your hands on your thighs, palms facing upward.  Take a few deep breaths to center yourself.  Inhale through both nostrils, then raise your left thumb to depress your left nostril.  Exhale slowly through your right nostril.  Relax your left hand and inhale though both nostrils.  Raise your right thumb and close your right nostril.  Exhale slowly through your left nostril, then relax your right hand and inhale through both nostrils.  Repeat up to 12 breaths (6 on each side), aiming to lengthen each exhalation until it becomes twice the length of the inhalation

68. Sink Into a Pure Heart

An Indian swami told the tale of a man who asked a yoga disciple, "where can I find a place to discipline myself to understand my spirit?"  The disciple replied, "That place lies in the pure and honest spirit where there is no false vanity."  Try to connect with this sense of honesty and integrity within yourself each morning to infuse your day with a sense of purity.

67. The Importance of Trust

"Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon, and to let hime know that you trust him." - btw

66. Partner Squat

Doing a trust exercise with your partner in the morning sets you up well encounters with other people later in the day.  Stand facing each other at arm's distance, then grasp each others wrists.  Take a deep breath in.  As you exhale, descend into a squat together, keeping your backs straight.  To return to standing, inhale in unison, then push up through your feet.

65. Solid Grounding

"The foot feels the foot when it feels the ground." - the buddha

64. Squatting

Stand with your feet hip-width apart, exhale and descend into a squat, dropping your pelvis between your heels as far as possible. This is a natural sitting position for many yogis and helps the feet to connect with the ground.

63. Earth Wisdom

"...speak in the earth, and it shall teach thee."

 -the book of jacob

 

62. Absorb Earth Energy

In a morning asana practice, imagine that your hands are suction cups in poses such as Cat Pose and Downward Dog Pose, drawing energy from the earth.

Look at these guys!  Up and down dog while soaking up the glorious sun with strong suction cup paws!

Happy 2013

Happy New Years Daily Mantra'ers!

May the universe fill your cup full of love, happiness, positivity, laughter, and a beautiful year ahead.

♥ Shanti

61. Hand Energy

Like your feet, your hands are the site of a minor chakra that gathers in and distributes energy - in this case, the energy that equips you to reach out to others. Activate it before leaving home by stretching your digits, playing an imaginary piano and circling your wrist first in one direction, then the other.