12 Symtoms of Spiritual Awakening

I came across these "12 symptoms of Spiritual Awakening" and it made me smile. Each of these couldn't be more true and when I experience this connection it feels like my spirit is giggling.
What could be more healing then that?


1. An increased tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen.
2. Frequent attacks of smiling
3. Feeling of being connected with others and nature
4. Frequent overwhelming episodes of appreciation
5. A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than from fears based on past experience
6. An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.
7. A loss of ability to worry
8. A loss of interest in conflict.
9. A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.
10. A loss of interest in judging others.
11. A loss of interest in judging self.
12. Gaining the ability to one without expecting anything.

love and peace

Camilla

It's all about attitude isn't it?

Phyllis is her name and she has no idea I am writing about her, well soon she will because I am about to send this to her. I know she hear this all the time but I don't think she can ever hear it to much what  an inspiration she is to me and to so many people she come across. So who is she?
Well, a few years ago she stepped into my Yoga class I use to teach on Saturday mornings and she showed up every week for a long time. She was always early, which I love because I can never be late myself. The very  first thing she did was getting into a headstand. So what is so special about her?
Well, she is 88 years old but she looks and acts as if she is in her sixties, or if I compare her to some people, even fifties.
She began practicing  Yoga when she was 84, going to say it again, she began practicing when she was 84!!!
WOW, what more do I need to say?
She always told me that age has never stopped her doing what she wants to do and I can only wish I will have this attitude when I turn 80.  At age 84 she also began dancing Tango and is now performing with her 76 year old partner on the weekends. 
We become our thoughts, we hear this over and over and I know it sounds cliche however it is true. Whatever we believe is what we will create. Would I like to be able to do a headstand when I am 88? Heck yea!!!
But more then anything I would love to be able to look back on my life and feel I did most of the things I wanted to do and I did my best with what I was given
So to age well? I believe taking care of the body is essential, Yoga is something ANYONE can do at any age! And the benefit is not only for the  body but also the mind. 
So next time you THINK you are to old to do something you would like to do, see how you FEEL rather then focus on the number. Phyllis, I love you and adore you, thank you for the gift of proving that with a good attitude you can reach the stars!!!

With love

Camilla

Eighteen rules for living

At the start of the new millennium the Dalai Lama issued eighteen rules for living.





    1.Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

2. When you lose, don't lose the lesson.


3. Follow the three Rs: 1. Respect for self 2. Respect for others 3. Responsibility for all your actions.


4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.


5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly.


6. Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.


7. When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.


8. Spend some time alone every day.


9. Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.


10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.


11. Live a good, honourable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll be able to enjoy it a second time.


12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.


13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don't bring up the past.


14. Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality.


15. Be gentle with the earth.


16. Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.


17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.


18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.


"I have red these so many times and it's interesting how each time I end up feeling drawn to a different rule, number 4 to me hit a nerve for some reason today....you?"
with love


camilla

Good Morning life!!!

We live in a time where stress is a part of our everyday life, as a matter of fact we are so used to living in some kind of stress that it becomes our story. Even if we are not stressed one day we find something to stir it up and BANG,  we go from feeling good to stress ourselves out because that is all we know how to live.

I catch myself all the time with this and mainly when this happens is when I don't start my daily routine with meditation. Think about how the day will be if you jump out of bed, running around crazy, planning the day, drinking coffee to wake up and letting the day begin with having the thoughts already taking over, doubt, stress, never feeling there is enough time, worrying about stuff you have no control over, etc etc etc....... You are setting the tone for how you're day will look and I promise you by the end of the day you are so exhausted you crash into bed and barely remember what you did through out the day. Oh how much we miss out on the simple beauty when we get caught in this rat chase!!

SO, instead of being paralyzed with fear of "doing nothing" which is what a lot people feel when they think about meditation and there is NO WAY they can find time just sitting..... Trust me, I go trough phases when I battle an internal war about this.

But we all have 2 min to roll out of bed sit down and just breath and find our center......2 min!!

Then, when you get use to that, you go to 5, then 10, maybe even 20min.....hah!!

Try it, brake you're habit, see if you feel any different, see if you're day, you're story, you're thoughts will be calmer, more positive and clearer. The way you process information trough out the day will change if you begin the day with clarity. Negative phone calls, emails, interactions with people will have a complete different outcome.

Below are some simple tips I use, I know you have all seen them before but it's always nice to get reminded. 

                             ~DAILY MOTIVATIONS~

MEDITATE: Preferably sit for meditation for 5-10min, connect to breath.  Bring your self fully to the present. Let go of anything unnecessary. Notice any doubt, worry or stress, this is the mind being in the future. In this moment bring your breath down to belly and remind your self of the good stuff. 

BREATH: count each inhale to 8, hold count 8, then exhale out without counting.  Repeat twice, and then go up to 10. 

 MANTRA: some days we feel might might need something, ask for it! Repeat a word over and over you feel you want to receive: peace, courage, strength, love, health, clarity...etc.....       

 ATTITUDE:  it is always good to look at ourselves from outside in, would you want to  hang out with you?  

JOURNAL: each day write down all that you have accomplished, write down all that you are grateful for. Look at you’re day and evaluate the good and the challenges. Look at what you can do different.

 PLAY: when was the last time you had fun? I mean, REALLY FUN!  Do something EVERY day that you love, something that makes you’re spirit giggle.    

YOGA:  3 sun salutations, practice 15-60 min every day, stretches, abdominal work.        

HEARTBEAT:  get you’re heart beat up every day, go for a walk minimum 20min.       

BRAIN:  Stimulate it!!  Avoid to much TV, take  class and learn something knew, read; find books that inspires you, gives you daily affirmations etc.....      

PEOPLE:  surround yourself with people that inspire you and lift you up.  Notice how you’re body reacts to the different energy people will send off.    

BODY:  treat you’re body as if it is you’re child or someone you really love. You would only want the best for this person; you would never do any harm to the people you love.    

FOOD:  food has energy, we call this PRANA. Choose to eat as much organic as possible, processed food and frozen food has no energy, and less nutrience. We want to eat food that is fresh and makes us feel good. Eat less with every meal but eat regularly. We actually don't need to eat as much food as we think we do. Never go more then 4 hours without food, this will mess up the metabolism. Look out for sodium, trans fat, saturated fat and any kind of processed food. Eat breakfast and avoid eating a big meal after 7pm. I highly recommend green tea rather then coffee. 
Remember these are suggested guideline to follow every day. It might seem overwhelming but they really a very simple and can become a part of you’re daily routine. 

It generally takes about 40 days to brake a pattern so in the beginning you have really want to make a commitment. Sometimes it’s good to ask ourselves “how bad do I want it” in this case, make a change in our life. :-)

"Live each day as fully as you can, love, respect and accept you’re self. Life is the greatest gift we have…..enjoy it"!!!!!

LOVE&LOVE

camilla

I left Anusara on paper but not in my heart.

I few years ago I had an accident that basically knocked me around for a while but yet, it turns out to be greatest gift sent my way and I wouldn’t have it any other way. As I am going trough my healing on so many levels one thing became very clear to me, life can change any moment and I do not want to live my life any longer from what is expected but rather what is my truth. Trough the healing I realized I could no longer remain certified within Anusara. I resigned with no hard feelings quiet the contrary I had made peace with all the confusion I had felt for so long but I could not find a way to stay aligned with the system of Anusara and what I mean by this was with John Friend. It was one of the most painful decisions to come to terms with but when I finally took the step I felt nothing but relieved and my teaching could finally align with the way I did my own practice and that was with freedom and joy. Anusara changed my life; simple as that and for that I am forever grateful. The principals of alignment I not only teach to my students (although out of respect to the system I no longer call anything by name) I also live by them and so many beautiful things Anusara taught me.

I am now getting reminded of the confusion and pain I felt going trough this and it saddens me so many are now in the middle of it, so I thought for that reason I will reach out.

This morning I posted the below note on face book, and it is from my heart. I truly believe this had to happen sooner then later for everyone to get reminded its about the Yoga, teachers will come and go but YOGA is here to stay, it’s not going anywhere.

The greatest teacher is life itself, this I have learned. YOGA is the map the navigates me to my voice, this I have experienced, my voice is my essence, this I have felt. When we find it pause, listen. It becomes truly magical.

We make choices, we believe and we let go. No one can blame us when we follow our own truth. We lay so much trust on teachers, mentors, "guru's" and even doctors and in the end they are all human. People make mistakes, they disappoint us, and when they do it sometimes hurt like hell. We get knocked down and we get back up hopefully learned something or do we? So the question is, how will we respond? Change is and should be exciting because it will open door to something new, something more powerful, bigger and maybe even better. People will come together or go apart this is the nature of life. So I look at all the crap that sometimes happens in life and I say to myself, thank you for giving me the opportunity to teach me the greatest lesson there is, to find my own truth.

 with love

 Camilla

hmmmm, any regrets?

Just red an article that brought up the question what people regret the most when they are looking back on their lives and are now dying.

This woman worked as a nurse wrote this piece, thought is was interesting.

1, Didn’t go after their dreams, they wished they would have lived the life they wanted to live and not what was expected from other people.

2, A lot of men said they wished they didn’t work so hard and they missed out so much on spending time with their children.

3, Seeing more clearly who their true friends were and not waisting time with the one's who they didn't really have things in common with anymore, people grow apart.

4, Wished they would have spend more time with their really good  friends rather then always coming up with excuses they're to busy.

5, A lot of people didn’t realize until the end that happiness is a choice, and that fear of change made them stay in situations that truly made them unhappy.

If you were 80 years old and you are looking back at you’re life, what would you see? Did you live the life you truly wanted? If not, what hindered you?

Interesting questions to ponder over, life is so precious and it goes by so fast, it can change in an instant.

with love

Camilla

"Anything is possible"

Via Tanya Lee Markul

on Feb 7, 2011

Anything Is Possible: a weekend with Camilla Bergstrom.

         

If we really want something, anything is possible.

Yoga has the potential to become something much more than just exercise, and for many of us this exercise is exactly where the journey begins. Our body starts to tone, strengthen, open and then all of a sudden we start to think differently. Eventually the connection is made: as we work on the body, we are working on the mind, the two inseparable

When we become aware of our bodies and connect to what is happening physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, anything is possible, according to Camilla Bergstrom: when we are in sync, when we are in harmony with mind and body, we experience the strength and confidence that will lead to the feeling of I can do this and eventually the wisdom that goes beyond it.

Camilla’s 11-hour weekend workshop tested this theory. Students were offered an opportunity to find their boundaries by examining the thoughts behind the seemingly challenging or impossible. As Camilla put it, ‘the first step is to become aware of our thoughts. Thoughts create an emotion and emotion creates a reaction. If we change the negative thought into a positive, the body will respond and we will find strength we didn’t even know that we had.’

Offering a masterful sequence of inversions, handstands and a variety of standing poses, Camilla teaches a simplistic fusion of yoga style combining self-healing with her experiences, various teacher influences and philosophy. Her teaching approach was challenging, passionate and contagiously courageous. She also took a great deal of time to focus on alignment and individual needs.

The workshop was complemented with breathing techniques and meditation. Students were invited to elongate their inner experiences by writing down and sharing their inner dialogue, as, according to Camilla, there’s more to just feeling yoga in our shoulders or our hips, much, much more, and when we write it down, it helps us to become even more aware of ourselves; it helps us to figure out which plane we are living on. Are we too much in our head? Are our feet on the ground? When we write and share, the experience becomes deeper, more profound, and when we speak it, it almost becomes an agreement.

No stranger to the element of fear, Camilla helps students acknowledge their own veil’s through the process of taking a step back, finding the discipline in their fear and committing to it versus separating from it. Camilla believes that if it means something to us, if it’s important to us, it’s going to happen and we are going to move forward. When the veil is lifted, we find purpose and within purpose we find simplicity: the result of stability, honesty and acceptance.

If you are looking for a life-altering experience, I highly recommend Camilla. You’ll be guaranteed a powerful physical journey and perhaps discover a deeper sense of your own true nature.

The Anything Is Possible weekend workshop took place in December 2010 at Hamsa Yoga Studio in Copenhagen, Denmark. Camilla currently resides in Los Angeles, California and offers local and international private and group classes. She has a podcast and much more information on her website: http://camillabergstrom.com/.

HSP "Highly Sensitive Person"

I just finished reading a book called: “The Highly Sensitive Person” by bestselling author Elaine Aron.

It’s called HSP, Highly Sensitive Person; it’s someone who is very intuitive and extremely open emotionally. They notice every little thing in detail, take in people’s energy much stronger and feel every emotion much deeper then people who are not HSP.

 Ironically, the subject HSP has been coming to me from different blogs and discussions lately and it got me going, so I thought I would share some of my thoughts as well as research that has been done on this subject.

HSP is not a scientific diagnose, it’s not a disorder nor a mental dysfunction. There is nothing wrong with people with HSP, but all of you who feel a bit different, easily feel misunderstood, hypersensitive to crowds and noises, it’s just gives a sense of comfort to know you are just one in millions of people around you who also is HSP.

Basically HSP means the person has a sensitive nervous system, you worry deeper, you feel deeper, you get affected by other peoples mood easily, you get routed by you’re own feelings and you get easily overwhelmed when you are out in a highly stimulating environment for to long bombarded by sights and sounds until you feel exhausted. You like time alone, you are creative, actors, artists, musicians often are hsp, and often you probably felt different from a very young age.

It’s interesting when you read a book about a subject that in some ways hits home.

I have always felt highly sensitive but it’s not until I got older that I learned to use tools to make the best of it. When I was younger I always thought something was wrong with me and people would say; “don’t let it effect you”, “let it go”. Easier said then done when you’re whole body starts acing when someone else around you is suffering. I basically take in another person pain. I can’t even watch certain violence on TV, the image will stay with me and I will have a sleepless no doubt. If something happens trough out the day that get’s my heart going I will probably not get a very good night sleep either. Hard for people to understand whom is not Highly Sensitive trust me; I have had many talks about this.

So you learn to live with it, make choices trough out the day to stay connected, making sure you get you’re sleep even if that means leaving the party early :-)

Accepting you’re self and don’t compare you’re self with others, surround you’re self with people who don’t “steal” you’re energy. Staying present and be aware, seek beauty, things that calms you down and remove your self from situations that brings out negative feelings. Don’t question the people who don’t feel on you’re level, they are who they are.

Yoga, meditation, and breathing is a beautiful source to understand you’re inner self, as a matter of fact Yoga in so many ways changed my life and led me to self nurture, accepting and even loving myself better. I do find in the end, living as a highly sensitive person turns out to be a beautiful gift.

To learn more about this, I recommend reading this book,

Dr Elaine has a doctoral degree in clinical psychology and a thriving psychotherapy practice. She is the first therapist to tell HSP’s how to identify their trait and make the most out of it in everyday situation. 

 With love 


Camilla

"Crazy Moments Bliss"

Lately I have started the  Yoga sessions with different clients asking them from 1-10, physically, mentally and emotionally what number they would be at. 1 being the lowest; discomfort in body, restless mind, depressed, tired etc...10 being fully content, happy even a moment of enlightenment....
We sit for a moment, quiet so they can really bring the awareness to this question. I see they get uncomfortable, restless, fixing their hair etc...
We begin the practice and it doesn't take long until I  feel them shifting, their skin gets softer, they get more present, their eyes are more clear.
Depending on how they are that day is the level we practice and after one hour we meet back sitting or standing in Tadasana, mountain pose, eyes closed.


I then ask the same question; what number would you rate yourself in this moment between 1-10.
Ironically pretty much everyone, regardless if they are a CEO over a huge company, an artist or a housewife they always end up at 8...the brave ones says 8 1/2.  I then ask; what is hindering you being a 10?  Are you in physical discomfort? No, they say, I feel great!  Then what is it??
Well, I had a bad morning or I am thinking about work etc...they express. Ok, that is the past or the future I remind them of. What if you didn't know this, you only had NOW, this very moment.... Ok, they say with a smile, I am a 9!!!!
I dig a bit deeper, What is preventing you from being a 10?
The answers I have gotten are so interesting. " I don't feel worthy of a 10", "I can never be a 10 because then there is nothing more to strive for", I am a perfectionist, could never except 10, etc...
This is what intrigues me the most of us humans especially in western society.
We are not suppose to be a 10!!!! We are not suppose to admit we can have a moment of being fully content, a moment where we don't have to strive, please anyone, dwell, doubt, think!


See I find it essential to everyday have moments of where I am so happy my heart starts going crazy and actually feeling it, enjoying it, taking it all in, even saying it out loud, even if it is just for a minute.
we are all worthy to have those  brief moments of fullfillment, happiness, bliss, one with self, call it whatever.
We rush trough life, never stopping to take in the NOW, and even if we do we don't really bring attention to it.


So, during the day, pause, take a breath and take it all in. No matter what situation you are in, find those moments. You deserve them, as a matter of fact you need them.


with love


camilla