mantra – Yoga with Katrina Ariel

“Thank you, Universe, for taking care of all the details.”

January 30, 2016Katrina Ariel

What do you think of the following quote?

“Thank you, Universe, for taking care of all the details.”

I’m pretty sure I got this from Mike Dooley, but I’ve used it so often it feels like my own. Every time I find my mind focusing on minutia, or worried about something, I fall back to this statement of trust.

gold buddha bud Life, according to the wisdom of yoga and other traditions, is a pattern of showing up and letting go.

For me, one of the most important ways to show up is to set intention every day. I sit quietly each morning (even if there is toddler mayhem happening around me), and choose the qualities I want to bring into my day. For example, “Today I choose joy. I am a patient and loving mother. I am healthy, creative, and choose a day full of goodness.”

Something like that. My intention is generally surrounded by gratitude music, as well. Setting intention and bringing forth an abundance of gratitude help me train my mind to show up to the present moment.

But, no matter how often you envision what you want to happen, the crucial piece is letting go, and trusting that everything will unfold perfectly. Especially when things don’t look like you think they should.

Here is one way to do that…

Mini-Meditation:

Adjust your posture so you are tall and comfortable.

Take several deep breaths, pressing pause on the rest of your day.

Bring your mind to the moment by thinking of a few things for which you are grateful.

Now, what is your intention for today?

Be clear, as you invite your higher self to help you, and set the tone for your day.

Once you’ve stated your intention (silently or out loud), let it go. Know that the energy is even now rippling out to manifest.

If you like, you can end with the affirming statement: “Thank you, Universe, for taking care of all the details.”

Sit for a little longer, enjoying the stillness of meditation.

When you take just a few moments to do this every day, it is AMAZING the difference it can make!

If you play in the realm of social media, please click the button below so we can tweet/facebook/youtube together. 🙂

Om Namah Shivaya – A Song of Peace and Love (VIDEO)

January 29, 2014Katrina Ariel

Music moves us in so many ways. Mantra in particular can help us to find ourselves again.

How you resonate, or the vibration you feel, can be a conscious choice. The more you choose your vibration consciously, the more you can influence life to unfold in the direction of your choosing.

For instance, if you continually bring yourself back to love, peace, joy, kindness, and the like, then these are the influences that will most often show up in your life. This is the “thoughts become things” theory in practice on a moment to moment basis.

But sometimes it isn’t so easy to stay in a pattern of love and joy, is it?

That’s where music can be so very helpful.

When you listen to (or create your own) music that brings a resonance of light and goodness, it is so much easier to bring the harmony you desire into your own vibration and surroundings.

So, without further ado, here is a music video that has both music and images to help brighten your heart and your day!

If you enjoyed this, please share! You’ll help others grow the feelings of love and peace in their own hearts (and therefore the world)!

This song is on my album, “Gratitude.” Click on the image to the right to purchase on iTunes.

The Words and Meanings of the Music on the album “Gratitude.”

June 19, 2013Katrina Ariel

Q. What is the music of “Gratitude” like?

A. It’s a collection of original songs and mantras. It is uplifting, bringing a feeling of calm and peace. You’ll hear beautiful vocals with occasional hints of tribal beats, blues inspired moments, and enchanting tranquility.

To purchase the album, please click here, or download on iTunes by clicking below:

I have been singing to my students in savasana for years.

Singing is part of my dharma, my spirit, my purpose in life, and a gift that I can freely offer out to the benefit of others and myself simultaneously. It feels good to sing, just as it is a joy to receive a song full of the purest, sweetest meaning.

Mantra is the repetition of sound, typically seen in the form of sacred song. One of the purposes of mantra is to take you into the heart of yourself, and also to help you recognize yourself in all that is around you.

This album, which I finally made after years of being asked to do so, is a collection of mantras.

However, though there is ancient tradition in all of these songs, many are original mantras in the way the words are combined, and all of the musical arrangements (i.e. melody, meter) have been inspired within my own heart.

Now, on to the words and meaning of the songs themselves.

Read More “The Words and Meanings of the Music on the album “Gratitude.””

Walking Meditation

January 26, 2010Katrina Ariel

ocean03 Yoga is a moving meditation, and walking can be a wonderful way to practice it.

The idea of walking meditation, just like other meditations, is to be fully present. You can bring such awareness to the way you walk, your surroundings, and the moment itself, that this practice can create a heightened state of connection and peace.

My first experience with walking meditation was at a yoga teacher training in Baja, Mexico. Each morning we got up super early, did a short asana practice, then we went out to the beach for walking meditation.

I would place my feet slowly, mindfully, listening to the waves crash on the shore. I felt the subtleties of each step, and often would close my eyes or even walk backwards to shift my perspective.

The Anusara Yoga Invocation: An Exploration

January 12, 2010Katrina Ariel11 Comments

When you unfold the treasure of the mantra that has become known as the Anusara Yoga Invocation, you see within it the philosophy that informs freedom and awakening which is the reason hundreds of thousands of people have been drawn to this path of celebrating and refining the self.

This mantra is the first part of the Niralambaya Upanishad.

Anusara yoga has its roots deep in the soil of ancient tradition. The chant itself is very old, and carries with it a resonance of powerful wisdom and transformation. Yet, while this school of hatha yoga joyfully honors that which has comes before, it also opens up to the unlimited possibilities of evolution.

One of the many strengths of Anusara yoga is its innovative spirit. There are Universal Principles of Alignment, which guide both the thought and action of the yoga. Using these guiding principles, you can do anything! Invention happens daily. Creative expression and beauty are a part of every practice, on and off the mat.

So let’s take a look at how a relatively short little song can describe an entire system of thought and practice.

The Anusara Yoga Invocation: A Story

December 7, 2009Katrina Ariel

My first experience with the Anusara Invocation mantra was a bit of a surprise, actually…

I’m referring to the Opening Invocation used by Anusara yogis all over the world. It’s a beautiful song that brings you into the energy of light and truth, and it has become my companion over the years.

But the first time I heard it I had no idea it was coming.

I’d just started teaching yoga at the request of my yoga teacher, who was moving away and asked me to take over her classes. I guess I’d been teaching for 6 months or so when I went to my first Anusara® yoga gathering.

Consciousness Altering Substances And Yoga

October 28, 2009Katrina Ariel1 Comment

buddhaBoy From the beginning of time, humans have been experimenting with different ways to shift and expand the way we see and experience life.

A couple of weeks ago I was in Santa Fe at a training with John Friend, and I found a new method of altering consciousness that left me high and happy without side effects or legal considerations.

Here’s the blog post describing that experience. Forget the bong, try a Gong Bath.

Now, aboriginal people around the world have used sacred medicines, such as peyote and ayahuasca, to attune with a bigger energy, heal and change themselves. Cannabis, that controversial plant, has been widely proven again and again to have more uses from hemp to healing than any other plant we know of.

Yoga Magic

October 3, 2009Katrina ArielLeave a comment

We all seek magic. That something special that sparks and dances in our eyes, minds, and hearts.

Yoga can help us find it…

Meditation, asana practice on the mat, mantra (chanting) and other traditional forms of yoga are deeply potent with magic.

Yet there is more – much more – that we often miss in every day life. This is where the practice steps off the mat. This is where our yoga is played out on every level.

Magic awaits…

We look for it in the eyes of others, in the color of the sky, in the soft petals of flowers, in the play of light on water.

We seek it in the whispering of the wind, in the words of teachers and the laughter of children.

You know the thrill of a good story? This is another way we engage magic. The imagination (i-magi-ation – notice the ‘magi’ in there) is such a wonderful tool of creation.