I know that healing work, especially energetic, can bring up issues, memories, and cause detoxification (sometimes severe). And with this chakra therapy I have been doing, I feel it.
During the week my class and I focused on the throat chakra, I really felt challenged. I felt tired. I felt irritated. I felt like I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I knew I needed to be in nature,away from the computer, away from the freeway, away from the city.
So on a whim,I booked a campsite in the Florida Keys, and went on ‘retreat’. I told my family and friends,” I will not be talking on the phone for the next two days, or responding to messages. I am going on retreat. ” My ‘retreat’ was an essential part of my healing.
The Healing Waters of the Florida Keys
So, we were on our way to the Florida Keys. Just me, my son, my dog, and my sweetheart. As soon as we got to Key Largo, I could really feel the energy change. I started to relax. And about 70 miles south of Key Largo was our campground. Bahia Honda State Park. Bahia Honda is my favorite place in the Keys. The park is beautiful. There are trails, a nature center, nice bathrooms, and hot showers. The park is popular, so Reserve early (or check for cancellations). By the way, there are three campgrounds in the park. My favorite campground is called Sandspur..And it has some campsites with amazing ocean views.
- Me and my dog Sadie:Dogs are welcome at the Park, and on the Trails, but no Dogs on the Beach
Reflecting, Cleansing,Healing…. Had the beach to myself…;)
As soon as we arrived and set up the tents,I felt so good. The entire weekend was spent relaxing, healing, cleansing. Yoga on the beach, walking on nature trails, long meditations, good food, camping under the stars. The stars were magical….
Sometimes the best therapy, is turning off the phone, getting out of the city, looking up at the stars, and taking a retreat.
Relax and Breathe~Yogini Tiff
It has been awhile since my last post. Sometimes I think I should become more disciplined with my blog. But most of the time, I think I should just relax and flow:
The weather is warm here in South Florida. All the windows are open. I am thankful for the breeze. I have been teaching a lot of yoga, both private and group classes, and more than ever, I have been giving Reiki treatments.. sometimes a few times a day.
The yoga and chakra therapy series I am teaching is really amazing.. Every week we focus on a different chakra, and every week we are processing, healing, and growing. Through Asana (poses), Pranayama (breath work), mantra (chants), and guided visualization, we are on a chakra journey. We are all learning so much.Sometimes there are tears, sometimes there is laughter. During the week we worked with the Sacral chakra, one person in the group discovered a new and unexpected pregnancy, and one in our group began menstruating again after menopause. Energy work… 
This week we have been studying, healing, and strengthening the heart chakra, the Anahata Chakra. For me, it has brought up events, issues,and memories that I haven’t consciously thought about in years. I know I am working through some deep wounds and healing my heart.
Healing through love in South Beach…
And as for healing my heart, my Portuguese sweetheart has been here visiting for nearly a month now (I lived in the Azores for 6 months). Our time together has been beautiful. Dancing, swimming, painting my house, exploring, theatre, yoga, friends, family, and good food. We speak Portuglish. Our own combination of Portuguese and English. We understand each other…. but when we don’t, we laugh, play a bit of charades, and slowly figure it out….. ahahahaha, the language of love.
Love in all forms is the most powerful healer.
To our Chakras and our healing~Yogini Tiff
I have a group of yoga students who have been studying and practicing with me for a few years now. We are all friends, and before class starts, we all laugh and ‘bitch’ a little, we help each other process stuff, we keep it real. Then class starts, we quiet our worries and thoughts, and focus on the breath. Then we begin to flow, linking the body and the breath in movement.
Anyways, after several years practicing together, everyone is able to do their asanas, listen to their bodies, honor their bodies, and comfortably meditiate. Everyone is becoming more sensitive. Last week, I felt intense amounts of energy,while teaching. I opened my eyes during our final seated meditation, looked at my students (friends) and I saw that everyone was really in a deep meditation. Blissed out, connected, and healing. After class ended, nobody moved. For about 20 minutes after class, no one spoke, no one moved. I decided then and there that it was time, to week by week, teach in depth, about the chakras. So starting today, with this particular class, I am going to add a new element to our practice -Yoga and Chakra Therapy..
My Lake Worth Yoga crew….I Love you!! (I am the one standing under the orb)
Focusing on the Chakras while practicing yoga helps activate, cleanse, and heal the Chakras and it helps encourage the energy to flow , upwards and towards the crown of the head. This is often referred to as awakening the Kundalini. Kundalini is often described as a coiled energy that lies dormant at the root chakra, and as people ‘awaken’ the energy activates and starts to move.. I have experienced major surges of energy and felt the power. It is intense. When you are able to truly feel the energy, there is no turning back, it is undeniable, it is life changing. It opens the door to a new path. A path of healing, connection, wisdom, and magic.
Chakra is a Sanskrit word that means spinning wheel or vortex. There are seven major chakras in the human body and over 72,000 nadis, smaller energy centers. The study of chakras and the human energy system is over 5,000 year old and various religions, ethnicities, and cultures in the past and present share the core belief of chakras.
Chakras are usually invisible to the human eye but practicing yoga and other healing arts and sciences helps bring the bring the practitioner into awareness of the subtle (or not so subtle) energies of the chakras, the nadis and the entire energetic system.
The seven major chakras in the human body run parallel from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. Chakras are centers of prana (life force energy).
The chakras basically act as pumps or valves and they regulate the flow of energy. Each chakra resonates with a certain color, sound, or frequency. Tuning into the chakras helps bring us closer our true nature.Each chakra gives off one of the seven colors of the rainbow. When all the chakras are open and balanced the person is vibrant, healthy, and all of the colors of the rainbow surround the persons body, which is known as the person’s aura.
There are specific issues, emotions, and energies that correspond with each chakra :
The Root Chakra, the Muladhara represents survival, relationship security, and inner safety. The element is earth.
A little farther up and orange in color is the Sacral or Svadhisthana Chakra. This Chakra represents water and the emotional connections are blame and guilt,money and sex, power and control and relationships.
The next chakra,the solar plexus, or Manipura represents the element of fire. The color is yellow and it said to be the core of our will power. The emotional connections are will power, self-esteem , sensitivity to criticism and care for oneself and for others.
The fourth Chakra, the heart Chakra, also known as Anahata is a vibrant green Chakra located at the heart center. The element is air and the emotions associated with this Chakra are, love and compassion, forgiveness and acceptance,but also hatred, loneliness, grief and anger. These emotions are all connected to the functioning of the heart Chakra.
The fifth Chakra is the Vissuddha, the throat Chakra. The element is ether or space and the emotions are personal expression, judgment, criticism, addiction.The key function of this Chakra is communication.
The sixth Chakra is commonly known as the third eye Chakra. The color is purple, or indigo and it is located near the center of the forehead. The Chakra is associated with truth and intuition. It is said that psychic abilities center around the third eye. The element is light.
The seventh Chakra the crown Chakra is located at the top of the head and is commonly thought to be white, violet, or gold in color. The element for this Chakra is ‘not of this world’ and awakening this Chakra is believed to lead one towards enlightenment.
If one finds they have unbalanced energy they can set their intention for their yoga practice to be on healing and balancing the chakras.
Practicing breathing exercises encourages the energy to balance. Finding time for self-care can have enormous healing effects on an unbalanced Chakra system. Sometimes people have excessive Chakra energy usually one or two Chakras. This can be seen in people with addiction to sex, drugs, alcohol, relationships, food, etc. or it can be seen on someone with a large ego or a “I am better than you” type of personality.
Sometimes a person is so ‘closed off’ that they are deficient in Chakra energy. This sometimes happens after a traumatic events, broken hearts, or health issues. Use of color therapy along with chanting, yoga and meditation will help balance the Chakras.
I have found that Gemstones that correspond to specific Chakras are very useful as well.
The goal is a strong clear and balanced energy system. Consciously and unconsciously yoga works to purify, re-balance and awaken the Chakras, individually and also as a whole. Through the practice of yoga we can awaken and cleanse the Chakras and heal our spirits. Once the Chakras are functioning in a healthy manner we are able to safely raise the Kundalini energy up the spine to the crown of the head. What a ‘trip.’
I know this post is a very basic introduction, but I hope you found it helpful..if you have any questions, or wish to add something.. please contact me..
Growing and Healing…retreat with my teacher
To our healing, and with love. ~T
I performed my first wedding ceremony on Saturday. It was something I had never even thought of doing, until last October, when my dear friend (and fellow yoga teacher) sent me an email and asked if I would perform the ceremony. I was honored and shocked.
The Magic of Love
I knew it was fairly easy to become an ordained minister, so I chose Halloween, Samhain, also known as “The day of the Witches” in the Azores, to officially become ordained to legally perform ceremonies. To me, the legal aspect of marriage is minor. The spirit of love, is what truly unites souls. I performed a ritual beforehand, and asked for blessings from my teachers and guides. And then, it took about 15 minutes online, to complete the majority of the legal stuff.
I spent a lot of time thinking of how to create a spiritual ceremony to represent the couple, and the love they share. Together, over several hang out sessions, we discussed ideas, and came up with a beautiful ceremony script that truly fit their relationship.
The ceremony was held on the beach, in South Florida at John MacArthur State Park. Before the ceremony, I snuck away and walked on a trail alone. I practiced my script a few times, and then found a place to sit down. I sat in easy pose (sukhasana), closed my eyes, and called upon the power of my inner Priestess. I asked to be guided during the ceremony.
Mind clear and calm, I was ready. We began the ceremony with our eyes closed. We invited the spirit of love to join us, in blessing their union. The ceremony was beautiful. Quotes from Paulo Coelho and Gandhi, Persian Poetry, a sand ceremony, part of a Persian Ceremony, and beautiful vows that were shared in both English and Portuguese.
Part of a Traditional Persian Wedding Ceremony..
Always connected, the circle of love
After pronouncing the couple, and after their kiss, we all formed a large circle, held hands and visualized love and blessings. We began our ceremony with love and we closed our ceremony with love.
Although the weather turned chilly as day turned to-night, the warmth of love blanketed us all.
Once again, I truly feel I am being led down the path of magic.
Blessings and Love ~Yogini Tiff
Last night my friends and I participated in a movement called One Billion Rising. The movement was founded by Eve Ensler, an activist, feminist, and the playwright who created The Vagina Monologues.
ONE BILLION RISING IS:
“A global strike.An invitation to dance.A call to men and women to refuse to participate in the status quo until rape and rape culture ends.An act of solidarity, demonstrating to women the commonality of their struggles and their power in numbers.A refusal to accept violence against women and girls as a given. A new time and a new way of being” (from official website)
A few months ago, a friend of mine sent me an email about the movement. She sent the short film, and asked if I had interest in learning and performing the dance. The beginning of the film was very disturbing. It was difficult for me to watch. It gave me chills and a feeling of deep sadness. But the energy changes. The film is powerful and beautiful. And it’s message motivated me and people all over the world, to rise up, take a stand, and DANCE!!
There is a song and a dance connected to this movement. The choreography is simple, and there is a youtube video available to help people learn it.
My friends and I (and my son), all learned the dance together. Our initial plan was to flash mob, and perform the dance all over Lake Worth. We set up a moving sound system, a projector and slide show on the back of my friends truck. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate. It was pouring down rain all night.
So we headed indoors, and performed the monologue and the dance at Coasters coffee shop, in downtown Lake Worth. No one was expecting our performance which made it even more powerful.
One Billion Rising ‘A Global Day of Dance’
It was fun to get together with friends and dance. Especially for a movement like this.
There were events and flash mobs all over the world. Take a look at the official website- http://onebillionrising.org/
Rise up and together create change.. ~T
Marlin Wagner with Burt Reynolds Alfred Clayton Photography
On February 9th, 2013, my son, Marlin Wagner, sang to Burt Reynolds.
The Server and the Star…
My son is a talented performer, it is true. But, we were still completely shocked when asked if Marlin would perform for Burt Reynolds!
The event was called the Diamond Jubilee. It was a fancy Gala that honored both the Lake Worth Playhouse and the talented Burt Reynolds. Burt Reynolds performed and directed at the playhouse when he was very young and starting his acting career.
I offered to work as a volunteer server, so I could both see the performance, and help out my Lake Worth Playhouse family. Let me tell you, serving is exhausting. And I am not sure the clothes are really my style (haha). But it was worth it!!!!
The Server and The Young Star…
The night began with a silent auction, followed by dinner, performances, and dancing.. When Burt Reynolds arrived, he saw me working as a server, but he stopped, he smiled at me, grabbed a hold of my hand, and said “Hi, how are you?”. I was flattered and completely surprised that he would take the time to stop and say hi to me.. I certainly thought that would be the end of my encounter with the Bandit.. But, I was wrong.
As the evening progressed and after dinner was served, I had a chance to talk to him for a few minutes. I told him my son was going to sing for him. He was so kind. I kissed his cheek.
The performances began, and they were incredible. Talented and beautiful performers. Performers I feel blessed to know.
My son Marlin, was the last to perform. I stood in the corner, a little nervous. With confidence, Marlin walked onto the stage, with microphone in hand, and he sang Cruella Deville from 101 Dalmatians He sang beautifully. Everyone smiled, including Burt.
Marlin singing for Burt Reynolds
When the song and the applause finished, Burt stood up, put his arm around my son, and talked to him. He asked Marlin how old he was, Marlin said “13″ . Burt Reynolds replied “I have underwear older than that.” Everyone laughed. He told my son he was handsome, and talented, he asked Marlin if acting was really what he wanted to do. My son said “Yes.” Burt got a little choked up and he gave my son some advice “Don’t ever, ever, let anyone talk you out of it.” It was advice that resonated with everyone in the room. We were all emotional.
It was a beautiful night that will stay with us for a very long time.I am so happy for my son, and I am full of gratitude… ~Yogini Tiff
Thank you so much to the Lake Worth Playhouse. And thank you so much to Burt Reynolds.
The Performers..photo taken by James Venable
A beautiful morning. Lake Worth Beach, with a group of beautiful friends. Connecting and healing in the ocean. Breathe in love. Breathe out gratitude.~Yogini Tiff
See the magic. ..
