Open your Wings for/with Love

Love is something so simple that can be found everywhere. Love can reside in our heart if we give ourselves permission to receive it and rest in it. It's something that we create, and we allow access through every activity and experience. Love is not something that we can find outside. It’s a treasure we have been given with the power to bring happiness to our hearts and to our lives.

Love is the resident of Anahata, the fourth chakra of the seven energetic centers in our bodies; according to the yogi knowledge. It’s a light that we have inside of our heart represented with the color green. It's connected to the upper torso parts of our bodies, like the chest area (lungs, the heart, and the rib cage). Like any part of our body, it needs to move physically and energetically. Anahata can be opened with the practice of different yoga poses, like camel pose, cobra pose, upper facing dog, bow pose, and twisting poses, to name a few. These poses will expand the chest area and upper back to give space and liberate energy. If we connect with that beautiful energy of love that resides in your heart, it will be reflected in our mind and thoughts by developing and receiving positive and creative thoughts with love. The same thing happens if we connect this love energy behind our eyes, because it will reflect beautiful things to see and to admire around us. In our mouth we could express beautiful words when talking to others and receive food that nurture with love our bodies.

Here there are a few ways to start creating love for your body, mind, and your life:

- Very simple things can be done. One of the most important ones is self-respect. We can accomplish it with a good rest, eating healthy, and having relaxing breaks through your day (like meditation).

- In order to give space physically and energetically to this beautiful chakra Anahata, we need to practice movement around it; thinking that you are moving its energy from the front to back, from side to side, and all around it. One simple thing to start with is a yogi breath practice. When we breathe deeply, we expand the lungs, the lungs expand the rib cage, and this makes space to the heart and organs around them. While we are expanding the lungs, we can think that we are expanding our energy with a beautiful light. This light can be color green (or in any color that comes to your mind that make sense to you). Following, we can also practice listening our heart beat by putting your hands on top of your chest (on your heart area) to feel the rhythm of the heartbeat. This will connect your heart with your brain and your body and with practice it can help regulate your emotions, stress levels, and feelings like tiredness.

- As for the birds, this chakra is in close relationship with our imaginary wings that we can create. As a daily exercise we can practice extending our arms side to side; imagining the extension in our bodies starting from your collar bones and the front of your rib cage expanding and relaxing the shoulders, shoulder blades and upper spine. Here, we can take deep breaths in the extension and exhale in the relaxation.

We can hold this position for at least 5 to 10 breaths; enjoying the feeling of the created space and energy from the center of your spine and middle of your chest towards our extended arms, to the wrist, and to the fingers. We can notice the powerful feeling of energy extended side to side, up and down and the open space created.

With this exercise we're making space for our lungs to breathe easily making space for your lungs to open up. At the end of this exercise, bring your hands to rest on top of your thighs and notice the difference in your body. Notice the feeling of your chest and upper body and even your mind. Stay here for a couple breaths and allow yourself to receive the purest love energy finding its home within you. Whenever you feel ready to move on, very gently, with love bring soft movements to your body. Now you can keep going on your day ready and relaxed knowing that everything can come with love to you if you are able to give love to others. This is an activity that you can do every day (morning, afternoon or night). It allows us to make space to give, to receive, and to live love.

Actually, this exercise is a contrapose for those everyday bad postures we have nowadays, like hunching while sitting in front of computers, driving, walking, cooking, and others.

I invite you to practice paying attention to your physical postures. For example, notice while driving, if your spine is straight or if you are leaning forward. The same as when you were sitting on a desk in front of your computer, look at the position of your shoulders. Maybe you need to lower your shoulders and notice if your chest it’s positioned on top of your hips being present or if they are leaning forward to the future or leaning you back to stay behind in the past. When you're walking, pay attention if you are standing where your heart is, moving with love. This constant practice can help your physical and emotional postures connect with your heart (with love) and be present.

Love Is Magical. Love is everywhere and starts within you. At the moment we start practicing love in ourselves and in our lives, there won’t be need to look for love outside or need to construct love or our life.

Find your beautiful energy that resides within you to express love. Move through life and through experiences cultivating love. There aren’t big things to be made or to force, love will come back to you naturally when you know how to love yourself with richness and responsibility. You can find love while washing dishes, cooking, or exercising and your body is going to nurture you back with strength, energy, creativity, and passion.

Sometimes, we forget to feel that pure love energy that resides within us. I hope with all my heart that you can accept love from any source but mainly from yourself. Give yourself permission to find love, to receive love, and to live in love. Open your arms, open your wings and find love in your lifestyle, every day, and at every moment.

From my heart to yours,

Namaste - Cecilia de la Rocha

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Cecilia de la Rocha is founder of Yoga By Cecilia de la Rocha, a creative and enthusiastic yoga instructor with professional training in hatha & anusara yoga. Always willing to share more with people in a different, loving & fun ways. Her teaching is an innovative fusion of yoga, metaphysics, mindfulness and shadow work that has taught many families, from moms to be, to kids, to adults of all ages and limitations, and to celebrities who want to incorporate yoga as part of their lifestyle. She loves to facilitate privates and group workshops. For more information about her work, please visit: https://yogabycecilia.wixsite.com/yogalifestyle

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