SPIRITUAL YOGA: SADHANA FOR MOTHERS OF ALL AGES
THE HEALTHY HUMAN PROJECT
The Healthy Human Project is a community, a sisterhood of mothers sharing our experiences of living yoga off the mat. We strive to do no harm, to be truthful, to take only what we need and to take care of the tools we are given, our bodies and minds. We are the most important teachers of humanity, the main gurus of our time. We are responsible for cultivating, influencing, and shaping the future generations, the future of our families, our communities, our culture, and even the planet. It’s a significant role that often goes unnoticed. But who put us in charge, right? It’s time we recognize the importance of our roles, the need for self-care, and spiritual guidance.
We are spiritual warriors hidden in plain sight, doing our duty, or Dharma, and trying to be true to our highest selves.
We are a diverse group of healers, yoga teachers, nurses, writers, administrative assistants, scientists, counselors, students, hair stylists, coaches, wives, daughters. and grandmothers. Despite our different roles, we value living authentically, living in integrity and being kind. Our shared experiences and challenges unite us in this journey of self-discovery and spiritual growth.
We know the work we do is essential. We are household managers and CFOs, family chauffeurs, and seamstresses. We do it all. We work, have our businesses, and continue to study and learn to better ourselves. We strive to improve every day, or at least as often as we remember that we value growth and expansion. We are human after all and it’s easy to forget in the busyness of life.
At the end of the day – we know there’s more work to do, because there is always more to do. We smile for our families, clients, patients and colleagues, even when we don’t feel happy ourselves, because we want the people we care about, to feel seen, heard and safe.
In the busyness of life and in taking care of so many others- it’s easy to put ourselves last. We’ll stay up late to finish cleaning the kitchen or fold and put away laundry. In the past, we may have skipped yoga, exercise, meditation, or just having fun hanging out, because there are other things that need to get done, and time is finite. We do our best but often feel our best is not good enough. Whenever we fall short of our own expectations, we drop to mortal-status, like all other humans and promise we will do better the next time.
We are spiritual warriors, earth warriors, and light workers. We are empaths, mystics, and modern yogis. We are people of faith but don’t necessarily subscribe to any one religious doctrine or belief.
The Healthy Human Project, Yoga Sadhana for Mothers of all ages, is a sisterhood of women who are committed to prioritizing self-care and spiritual growth. We are all striving to be our best selves, not just for ourselves, but for our families, our communities and for the highest good of all. This is our shared goal and the essence of our community.
Spiritual Warrior training – happens in five areas.
- Physical
- Mental/emotional
- Spiritual
- Energetic
- Environmental
Physically, spiritual warriors need physical strength, mobility, flexibility, and endurance.
A body that does not distract or prevent us from doing our Dharma (duty).
Our bodies are the vehicles used to do our Dharma.
Play with this for a minute: Think of your body not as who you are but as a vehicle for this experience you call your life.
Imagine your body is a jet. It might be a 747 or an F-35 Lightening (Yes, I had to Google that one). Your vehicle will take you from – here, (wherever you are) – to paradise – Hawaii, maybe Bali – a place that is not only beautiful but where you are relaxed enough and present enough to appreciate its beauty.
You have this jet – you own it. It’s your responsibility, and you want to go to Hawaii.
You would take care of it, give it proper maintenance, a mechanic, fuel, and a pilot, and ensure it has everything it needs to fly safely, to make a round trip and to last a long time.
Like the jet, your body needs maintenance, fuel, a pilot, a mechanic, designated places to rest, and a destination. This is your jet for this one life. You want it flying safely for many years.
Now, you also have a conscious mind, like the pilot of a plane called Chitta in Sanskrit. The pilot, at first, is like a puppy that gets excited about everything it sees, from leaves to squirrels, cats, and balls. It chases after what it sees and doesn’t know how to sit and be still. That takes training. Just as leaves create ripples on a glassy lake, so too does sensory input create disturbances to the chitta. As spiritual warriors, we study, practice, and develop, training the mind to sit, stay and be present. Many assume they are powerless over their thoughts, but that’s an illusion. It’s like a trap door we fall into, stuck in a well of chitta vrittis – or tornados of thoughts. Instead, we choose liberation – freedom from the bondage of the thinking mind.
We are souls, our purest essences, pure love. As Spiritual Warriors, we bring our soul selves closer to the surface. We schedule and dedicate time to resonate with this beautiful part of ourselves.
We remove the veil between consciousness and body, Spirit and Material realms, Purusha and Prakrit, Heaven, and Earth. We do our best to live in both worlds, aware that where we put our attention is what we will see. We ask you to increase our awareness. We start to identify the times we shift into autopilot or unconscious living.
We also have an energetic self. This layer of ourselves extends beyond the physical body. You’ve probably felt when your aura met another person’s aura. We’ve all felt an instant connection with someone, and you feel like you’ve known them forever. This is your aura coming into resonance with another person’s. You can feel it from across the table and sometimes across the room. We also know what it feels like when you see someone and there’s an instant repulsion. It could be someone you’ve never met. It could also be someone you know, but one day, you don’t jive with them. That’s because our energetic layer changes as we change our states of being.
A person with a habit of thinking negative thoughts, seeing the glass half empty, or complaining (even to make a story sound better), these patterns become habits, and these consistent thoughts create our state of being. I’m always telling my kids to pay attention to their words and thoughts because they make our realities—far beyond what we see and hear.
We are products of our environments and have been since we were conceived. From the air we breathe to the water we drink to the shows we watch, the foods we consume, and the people we surround ourselves with, we ask to be more aware of environmental factors that prevent us from thriving, stunt our growth, or harm us.
Whether you have studied yoga philosophy in the past or not – doesn’t matter. Sadhana means to practice for a spiritual goal. Our goal is to become fully integrated – whole human health – body, mind, spirit, energy, and environment. We are waking up to a greater reality when that happens.
This month, we will be focused on increasing our physical health.
I’ll put a link to a 15-minute spiritual bootcamp to use daily. Try to do it at least 3-5x/week. This will help to create a new habit of breath work and postures into daily living, start to quiet the chitta vrittis.
Love & light,
Melisa