Wanted: a lung for my third eye.

Yoga teachers keep telling me to breathe into my third eye?  The third eye or ajna chakra is associated with intuition, imagination, concentration and Self-mastery. Knowing this, you can see why I would really like to breathe a little life into it.

I have been working on consiously breathing into my body for a good few months now and I understand breathing into my belly, my heart, my back, my pelvis.  But each time I try to breathe into my third eye, I only end up with a headache.  Do I have a lazy third eye? 

Maybe it's in part due to the fact that I can see my belly rise with each belly-breath, I can feel my back muscles expanding when I focus my breath on my posterior body.  Maybe the concept of the third eye is a little too 'out there' for me. Maybe I am not yet ready to dabble in the energy world.  I met a lady the other day at a yoga class and she heard that I had graduated from teacher training and she said, "Ah, you are now part of the Woo Woo Industry."  This comment tickled me and I have been thinking about it, wondering how many people feel that way about yoga?  How many yoga students feel that way about yoga?  I like working on my breathe, I like to chant, I have mala beads and I meditate, I wonder if she thinks I am Woo Woo?  Probably!

Her comment and the realisation that she probably thinks I am 'out there' actually helped me to see that I have come a long way on this path to self-awareness.  Maybe, one day, I will have a relationship with my third eye the same way I do with my other two eyes.  Maybe I will always need to think of anatomy and science to understand the concept of the third eye.

You see, it's been said that the third eye is actually the pineal gland, which rests between the two hemispheres of the brain. Reptiles and amphibians sense light through a structure associated with the pineal gland, called the parietal eye which regulates the circadian rhythms and helps with navigation.  This is helpful information, this is something I can work with.

Instead of breathing into my elusive third eye, I am going to try breathing into my pineal gland in hopes of waking something up. 

Happy Sunday friends.

xoxoxox.
Jacqui.

The West.

In Chinese Buddhism, the West represents movement toward enlightenment.

The Celts believed that beyond the Western Sea, off the edges of all maps, lay the Afterlife.

I believe that the sun rises in the East and sets, with my heart, at West Elm.

My boyfriend and I moved from Tampa, Florida to San Francisco with just a trailor full of clothes and a Tempur-Pedic matress. We made a fresh start, with fresh furniture and fresh ideals.

A while ago we stayed in a vacation home with a gorgeous silver drum side table, and for me, it was love at first sight. Although, in my heart, the drum was white ceramic with a single cut-out flower detail in the center. I have searched ebay and catalogues for over a year, and yesterday I finally found what I have been longing for. (I realise there is no flower, but this is beautiful.)

Let me introduce you to 'bubbles'.

Gorgeous?  I think so.


I have dinosaurs on my pillows, this is by choice! I cherish the child-like feel of animated dinosaurs, although this is not the Zen for everyone, it is the Zen for me and I smile each time I go to bed. I have 'playful' covered, but now I need a little 'peaceful'. A hanging air-plant you say? Don't mind if I do, or x2.

I also love these, not so much for bathroom storage, but close your eyes and imagine plants growing inside of these.  Little terrariums...growth on top of growth, on top of growth.  WINNING!

I hope the sun shines on you through your weekend, and remember to keep moving West toward enlightenment.

Namaste,
Jacqui.


To view the entire West Elm catalogue, click here

To view my dinosaur pillowcases, click here

I made a blog! Now what?

Hello friends.

I am trying to live a good life.  Not 'good' in the sense of wealth and pretty things, but 'good' as in pure, kind, honest, humble etc....  It's hard!

When I began this journey, I heard the word 'Ahimsa' and I liked it.  I like the way it sounds, I thought the word should be in "The Lion King", like it belonged in Mufasa's mouth.
 
I learned that 'Ahimsa' means non-violence, and, on my quest to be the perfect yogi, the best yogi, I decided to adapt it into my daily life. I was going to embody all things good, I was going to channel my inner Mother Teresa, Buddha, Krishna and all the rest of the the enlightened beings and I was determined to be non-violent.
I walked home from the studio that day and I smiled at the homeless man asking for change, I struck up a conversation with a lady in ugly shoes, I threw away all toiletries and house cleaning products that were not natural and I became a vegetarian.  Easy as that!  I am now non-violent, check that off the list, and let's move on to Truthfulness.

Now if you know me and have known me for a while you can find the comedy in this.  I am super competitive, to the extent that I will sometimes not even TRY something new, just in case I don't do it well.  I have come to learn that there is no such thing as the perfect yogi or the best yogi.  There is no trophy or medal that I can put on the fireplace for everyone to admire and say, "Gee, Jacqui, You won Best Yogi, Congratulations!"  This is something I am going to have to embody, this is something so much bigger, so much harder than anything I have done before.

I thought that smiling at the homeless man was enough.  Even though I was thinking, "Rather him than me", it was okay because I was showing him kindness.  Ummm, fail.  The same for the lady in the ugly shoes, being outwardly kind to someone does not atone you for the unkind thought.  You can't go searching for the people that you feel have bad hair and poor taste and then show them kindness, this is apparently not Ahimsa (damn!).  I am working on my unkind thoughts, it's going to be a lifetime before I can check that off my list.

Please join me on my journey to becoming 'good'.  I am no longer trying to be the best, I simply want to be good, and believe me, that's hard enough!

PS:  This is not the face of Ahimsa.

xoxoxox.
Jacqui.