Your calling is your child

Nurture your
calling as if
it is your child
because it is.
It's the one
child you
perpetually
birth for eternity.
Alison Bristow
#theshaktishaman

Feel good vs looking good

Making sure you feel good about who you are is more important than just making yourself look good.
Alison Bristow
#theshaktishaman

Whole not fragmented

And you my precious,
when you go out,
go out whole and sharing;
not fragmented and looking.

Alison Bristow
#theshaktishaman

Marriage made in heaven

The real marriage
made in heaven is
an awareness of
the union of
masculine
and feminine
right within your
own being

Alison Bristow
#theshaktishaman #yoga #union #whole #one #unfragmented

Real vs right

When human consciousness
shakes off the imaginary tyranny
of right and wrong and anchors
itself in the inquiry of what's
real and authentic, then life becomes a
bold, expansive adventure.

Alison Bristow
#theshaktishaman

Five senses, One heart

The five physical
senses speak the
language of illusion,
the heart speaks
the language
of Truth.

Alison Bristow
#theshaktishaman

Are you a body or the embodiment of movement?

Along with the lastest ‪#‎shaktishamanvinyasa‬ sequence I wanted to share some thoughts on movement. Lately I've been thinking of what I and others experience as a physical body as the embodiment of movement. The truth is, even confirmed by quantum physics and physics (since we need microscopes to tell us what's true these days), everything is in motion even when it feels like or appears to be motionless to the five physical senses. Yesterday it came to me as I was running that bodies don't get stiff, stagnant, and atrophied because of the number of times they go around the sun. They become this way because people become narrow and limited in the ways they use their bodies and allow them to move. Age is a catchall excuse for so many problems. Sometimes I think it becomes a way of letting ourselves off the hook because if we blame age then we don't have to do anything about it. Yesterday evening life gave me the most amazing example that brought all of this home. I was sitting outside at a local tea place and there were a group of 5 year olds - mixed gender - playing. One of the mothers told me they had just graduated kindergarten - so cute! They were running, skipping, playing from the fountain to the tree and around and around - up, down, sideways, jumping, squatting (a lot of squatting by the way). They had no trepidations about getting too close to the ground or the water or touching the tree or dirt or sidewalk. They were lizards, frogs, horses, crows, cowboys, and much more. It was gorgeous! Comparing that to the movement variety of an average adult is quite a contrast. Think about it. Many times, we go from one stationary position to another. We sit in a moving box (car) to go sit at a desk or a concert or movie or restaurant, etc etc. Often life becomes about going from one sitting position to another or doing some other kind of activity over and over again. So when someone attributes their lack of flexibility or vitality to "age," I have to question that. Is it really due to age? Or is it because for the last 10, 20, 30, 40+ years you've allowed yourself to get into a rut of body/mind - doing the same actions (and most likely thinking the same thoughts) over and over again? One of my favorite quotes of Pattabhi Jois (yoga master) is "Body is not stiff. Mind is stiff." Let's stay alert and keep using our bodies and our minds to the fullest with variety, creativity, zest, and enthusiasm! As I reflect back on what I observed in these children, the word that comes to mind most prominently is FEARLESS.

Self-love rules

Never surrender the
satisfaction of self-love
for the fleeting gratification
of another's approval.

Alison Bristow
#theshakrishaman

Conditioning vs nature

Learn to know the difference
between your conditional mind and
your nature. Then boldly
let go of any conditioning
that doesn't align with
your nature.

Alison Bristow
#theshaktishaman