In this Present Moment, we'll slow things down and simply breathe. Take a few minutes to notice your breath and heart beat. Relax and clear your thoughts by inhaling in vitality and resourcefulness. Exhale out worries and any thoughts or ailments that no longer serve you. Consciously breathing slow and deliberate is medicine that doesn't cost you a thing, and yet can be exactly what you need to regulate your nervous system and release stress.

For more episodes of Present Moments and to access the entire library of great content from 4 seasons-worth of reflections and mindfulness practices, subscribe for $5.99/month. Start your free 3-day trial at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ascendingspiritwp.com/present-moments⁠⁠⁠⁠. Subscribers also have access to 2 bonus seasons (Plant Medicine & Food as Medicine) and early access to Season 7, Bite-sized Ayurveda.

Grab your journal and drop into a moment of reflection and self-discovery. In Season 2 of Present Moments, we're using the 'What Really Matters' deck of cards created by MetaFox to explore a variety of core values. Each episode is a 5-7 minute guided process that reviews the card and it's meaning, before mindfully evaluating what the value means to you and how it is represented. You'll also be given examples of how you can create opportunities to embrace the value in your daily practices and routine.

Let's explore happiness today. Many people think the goal of life is to be happy, but personally, I believe learning to be content is more important. In yoga philosophy the sutras provide a path toward enlightenment with acceptance as a core tenet - acceptance of what is and discovering how to enjoy the present circumstances as a gift. It teaches us how to find happiness in all situations as you become the witness to the experience and detach from outcome orientations. Notice what makes you feel happy, how often it occurs and how long you can sustain the mood. Is there variability? Do you notice any patterns of dependency whereby your happiness is only achieved if certain parameters are met? How can you prolong your feelings of happiness?

For more episodes of Present Moments and to access the entire library of great content from 4 seasons-worth of reflections and mindfulness practices, subscribe for $5.99/month. Start your free 3-day trial at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ascendingspiritwp.com/present-moments⁠⁠⁠. Subscribers also have access to 2 bonus seasons (Plant Medicine & Food as Medicine) and early access to Season 7, Bite-sized Ayurveda.

Our bodies are a wonderful gift to house the soul. Without it, we wouldn't have this epic experience called life. How many times have we complained about our weight, appearance, aches & pains? When was the last time you took a moment to appreciate all that your body does for you? In this episode, we'll slowly and deliberately celebrate the body. We'll honor and witness the various systems, organs and cells that give us the opportunity to share our gifts with others.

For more episodes of Present Moments and to access the entire library of great content from 4 seasons-worth of reflections and mindfulness practices, subscribe for $5.99/month. Start your free 3-day trial at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ascendingspiritwp.com/present-moments⁠⁠. Subscribers also have access to 2 bonus seasons (Plant Medicine & Food as Medicine) and early access to Season 7, Bite-sized Ayurveda.

In Season 3 of Present Moments, we use a variety of oracle card decks as prompts for self-discovery. Each episode takes an affirmation, intention and/or message from the card to assist with exploration and evaluation. Oracle cards have been used to reveal blind spots and/or to bring awareness to thoughts, experiences, relationships, and behaviors that may or may not serve us. Additionally, they can be a powerful tool to remind us of what is truly important and activating energetic motion in the direction that supports our divine purpose.

Today's moment is about Vision and having purpose, goals and a heading. When we can see from a birds-eye view, we elevate ourselves out of the minutia and can see clearly the various paths ahead. The Falcon is the oracle card that represents vision and in this episode we reveal the message this majestic bird has for you.

For more episodes of Present Moments and to access the entire library of great content from 4 seasons-worth of reflections and mindfulness practices, subscribe for $5.99/month. Start your free 3-day trial at ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ascendingspiritwp.com/present-moments⁠. Subscribers also have access to 2 bonus seasons (Plant Medicine & Food as Medicine) and early access to Season 7, Bite-sized Ayurveda.

Today we explore intentions and how to use them to create a life by design. If you're stuck in a rut or going through the motions, this episode will help you break up the monotony and support your desires for a different outcome. Becoming aware and mindful of your behaviors, patterns, thoughts, actions, emotions, etc are prerequisites for intention setting. Once you are conscious of where your energy is going, you can interrupt the cycle by setting a different intention and becoming mindful of your alignment to that goal.

For more episodes of Present Moments and to access the entire library of great content from 4 seasons-worth of reflections and mindfulness practices, subscribe for $5.99/month. Start your free 3-day trial at ⁠⁠⁠www.ascendingspiritwp.com/present-moments. Subscribers also have access to 2 bonus seasons (Plant Medicine & Food as Medicine) and early access to Season 7, Bite-sized Ayurveda.

Season 4 of Present Moments uses excerpts from the book, The Eight Limbs of Yoga: A Handbook for Living Yoga Philosophy, by Stuart Ray Sarbacker and Kevin Kimple to dissect yoga beyond the mat. In each episode, I read a short selection from the book and offer an interpretation followed by some practical ways in which you can incorporate the concept in your daily life. Yoga is a spiritual practice that offers a framework for people who have the desire to walk the path of enlightenment.

This episode takes a break from reading the book and offers a little glimpse into my personal experience with yoga. We'll travel back to my 20s and 30s to see what yoga meant to me back then, and we'll explore the concept of competition. If you are someone who finds yourself pushing hard during a yoga class, may this be an invitation for you to do the opposite. You'll achieve better results by allowing and relaxing vs. pushing, pulling or overexerting. Who are you competing with and why?

If you'd like access to all the content for Season 4, Bite-sized Yoga, head over to the website and become a subscriber to the full podcast with access to a complete library of content and unpublished seasons at ⁠www.ascendingspiritwp.com/present-moments

Grab your journal and drop into a moment of reflection and self-discovery. In Season 2 of Present Moments, we're using the 'What Really Matters' deck of cards created by MetaFox to explore a variety of core values. Each episode is a 5-7 minute guided process that reviews the card and it's meaning, before mindfully evaluating what the value means to you and how it is represented. You'll also be given examples of how you can create opportunities to embrace the value in your daily practices and routine.

Today we explore the core value honesty. How many times do we withhold information, tell a little white lie, refuse to acknowledge a hard truth or flat out lie to avoid confrontation, failure, shame, guilt, pain or another lower vibration feeling? Whether we are choosing to avoid pain for ourselves or to spare another, honesty asks us to be comfortable in the discomfort of truthfulness. When you feel secure and your 3 lower chakras (root, sacral & solar plexus) are in alignment, speaking and acting from your heart with the intention to do no harm becomes the most honorable, honest thing you can do. You do a great kindness to others when you can hold your frequency with integrity and can be truthful about your feelings, needs, dreams, hopes, desires, fears, frustrations, pains, etc.

Truthfulness, or satya, is one of the five yamas (restraints) in yoga philosophy. We cover this topic in detail over several episodes in Season 4. If you'd like to take a deeper dive, you can head over to the website and become a subscriber to the full podcast with access to a complete library of content and unpublished seasons at www.ascendingspiritwp.com/present-moments

In Season 3 of Present Moments, we use a variety of oracle card decks as prompts for self-discovery. Each episode takes an affirmation, intention and/or message from the card to assist with exploration and evaluation. Oracle cards have been used to reveal blind spots and/or to bring awareness to thoughts, experiences, relationships, and behaviors that may or may not serve us. Additionally, they can be a powerful tool to remind us of what is truly important and activating energetic motion in the direction that supports our divine purpose.

I drew a card from the Mushroom Spirit Oracle deck by Nicola McIntosh for today's episode. The Blue Leratiomyces invites us to explore the unknown and hold space for the unfolding of events without a complete picture of what will be. Join me in this exploration of trust and lean into the process of child-like wonder and discovery.

For more episodes of Present Moments and to access the entire library of great content from 4 seasons-worth of reflections and mindfulness practices, subscribe for $5.99/month. Start your free 3-day trial at ⁠⁠www.ascendingspiritwp.com/present-moments