Healing Life Yoga
  • HOME
  • VIKKI
  • ABOUT
  • SCHEDULE
  • MUSINGS
  • PRAISE
  • CONNECT

Part Three - Three Simple (and FREE) Ways to Create Peace & Joy Everyday

6/13/2014

0 Comments

 
Commit to a Daily Sadhana Practice
Photo of woman meditating
Sat Nam and Welcome back for the last posting of this series.

Here are the Three Ways to Find Peace & Joy Everyday:

  • Get Out In Nature
  • Create a Sacred Space for Stillness
  • Commit to a Daily Sadhana Practice

Committing to a daily practice is the most important of these three suggestions.  The reason is that our lives and world are ever-changing, shifting, evolving, and we have very little control over those changes.  As a result, many people are living in a subtle but perpetual state of fear and anxiety – of feeling out of control over what happens that affects the quality of their lives.  Partners cheat, a friend betrays us, we get fired from our job after many years of loyal service, we get evicted or lose our home, we lose some one we love, inexplicably bad things happen to good people - obviously greatly impact our lives and our sense of security.  But is or was there anything we could have done to prevent these dreadful and life changing events - even if we spent considerable amounts of valuable time worrying and  fretting?  Probably not.



Read More
0 Comments

Part Two - Three Simple Ways to Create Peace and Joy Everyday

6/6/2014

0 Comments

 
Create a Sacred Space for Stillness
The answers you seek never come when the mind is busy, but come when the mind is still
This is a big one - Creating a time and space for Stillness!  Our lives are so jam packed with activity, stimulation, electronic devices, noise and endless demands of our time, finances and energy that finding stillness seems to be a near impossibility.  Everything on our list is a priority and everyone wants everything NOW.  There simply is no "down" time, or for a lot of us,  days off where we literally just rest and do nothing.  And if by chance, we do take a day off, we frequently end up feeling guilty or worse, feeling more stress because we are getting "behind".  Sound familiar?


Read More
0 Comments

Three Simple (and FREE) Ways to Create Peace and Joy Everyday

5/23/2014

0 Comments

 
Image of woman sitting in grass by water
Sat Nam and Welcome!  This week I am beginning a three part series entitled:


Three Simple (and FREE) Ways to Create Peace and Joy Everyday

   


NUMBER ONE:  Get out in Nature!   



Something as simple as sitting in your yard, quietly listening to the birds, feeling the cool breeze on your skin, gazing at the clouds and just slowly breathing can boost your mood instantly.  It can be anywhere that you love – a garden, beach, river, park, mountain, forest, creek, ocean, etc.  


Read More
0 Comments

Is Stress Damaging Your Brain and Accelerating Aging?

5/16/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture

Welcome to Healing Life Yoga Musings

Happy Friday!  I have said this before, but I find it so comforting that in our fast paced, ever changing world, the Universe consistently delivers its perfection  in predictable, perfect order and Divine Timing - another beautiful Friday right on time.


This week I have bad news/ good news. But don’t worry, the good news far exceeds the bad news.. so take a deep breath and please read on....




Read More
0 Comments

Vikki's Class News and Updates

4/30/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
Happy Spring! 


Whew..  I have been busy Manifesting and am excited to share my wonderful new exciting news! 

I have a New Class, Upcoming New Retreat, New Yoga Certification, and I am speaking at Cottage Hospital on Stress Reduction and Brain Health


Details below: 






 


Read More
0 Comments

Quieting The Mind

4/25/2014

0 Comments

 
Greetings!  Another Happy Friday has arrived right on time!  I love the absolute predictability of the Universe  in this sometimes chaotic world.

Last week I wrote about Finding the Divine in Everyday Life.  I hope you all were able to find some inspiration for finding the Divine in your everyday life.  If yes, please email me and let me know your special places and moments of Divine.  I would LOVE to hear from you.  This week I am writing about Quieting  and Mastering the Mind. 



Quote by Yogi Bhajan:  Our limited mind is our enemy and our unlimited mind is our best friend.  When you become a slave of the mind, it will limit you.  When you use it, it will bring you the whole Universe
I mentioned last week, Quieting the Mind, is on the top of the list of challenges that my students share with me in  my role as a Kundalini Yoga teacher in Santa Barbara, CA.  The interesting thing is that the more frustrated, annoyed, and angry we become with the mind chattering away, the more elusive the Quiet Mind becomes.  Have you ever been so overwhelmed with those nonstop “tapes” in your head that you just yell something like “SHUT UP”?  Or you start talking to yourself something like this, “Ok, enough is enough, I am just going to sit here and be quiet, this is ridiculous.. I should be able to do this, what’s wrong with me…. On and on.  Sound familiar??  Obviously, this doesn’t work.  Trying to “tell” your mind to be quiet is like trying to blow on a hurricane and expect it to stop!  It doesn’t happen.  Not now.  Not ever.




What if I told you that you really don’t actually have to DO anything to quiet the mind – that you can just ALLOW and guide your body to do what it does naturally and organically? AND that you can quiet your mind in as little as Three Minutes?? 


I hope I have your attention now.  




Read More
0 Comments

Seven Steps to Happiness - Step Seven - Happiness

4/11/2014

0 Comments

 
Yoga Woman with quote Be The Change You wish to see
“There’s no other way on this planet to free your soul unto the destiny and unto G.O.D. but by serving those who need a hand – smiling at them, wiping away their tears, forgiving them”.   Yogi Bhajan

Sat Nam!   Here we are - week seven - we have arrived at Happiness by carefully walking the six steps that guided us here.  When asked what the ONE thing that we, as humans want, Happiness always comes up in the top 3 answers.  Yet, when asked to describe what that looks like and feel like, most people cannot put into words this feeling. For me, Happiness, is finally arriving at a place in my life where I am doing what I love and loving what I do - immersing myself in the Yoga, Spiritual and healing world, and feeling like my Authentic Self. I am able to teach Kundalini Yoga in beautiful Santa Barbara, California and teach Yoga for Stress, Trauma and PTSD - nothing gives me more Happiness than guiding students home to themselves and witnessing their inevitable JOY when they find expression of their Authentic Selves.   What does Happiness look and feel like to you?  Let's learn what  Haribhajan S. Khalsa, and Yogi Bhajan say about Happiness.




Read More
0 Comments

Seven Steps to Happiness - Step Six-  Power to Sacrifice

4/4/2014

0 Comments

 
Woman doing yoga with caption Be The Change You Wish to see
"We are on this planet to love each other, to serve each other, and to uplift each other. We have come to this Earth to give, not to take",  Yogi Bhajan


Sat Nam!  Greetings and Welcome back to week six of our seven week study of the Seven Steps to Happiness, written by Haribhajan S. Khalsa, based on the teachings of Yogi Bhajan, PhD. 


Grace gives you the Power to Sacrifice – the sixth step to Happiness. The word sacrifice comes from the Latin word for sacred. To make sacred is to sacrifice the finite self and your egoic needs to the Higher self - your Divin­ity. We often think of sacrifice as giving up something we want or love for the good of someone else.  True sacrifice involves no suffering.  In fact, sacrifice is meant to bring you great joy and bliss.  To have the power to sacrifice is the ability to serve others from the heart without an agenda of our own.  The key concept is that to sacrifice is POWER.. With the power to sacrifice, you feel abundant and prosperous and naturally want to serve and share with others, and it does not feel like sacrifice because it feels like Love.  Love is our natural state, so it feels good, safe, and comforting.  When we sacrifice ourselves and learn to serve, we stop asking the ques­tion, “What’s in it for me?” and start asking, “How can my actions benefit the whole of humanity?”  When we allow ourselves to truly operate from the heart and in the action of giving, we will automatically do no harm to others because the heart intrinsically knows that we are all ONE, and to harm another is to harm ourselves.  We suddenly “Recognize the other person is you.” 




Read More
0 Comments

Seven Steps to Happiness - Step Five - Grace

3/28/2014

0 Comments

 
Quote Be the Change image of a yoga person
“How beautiful can you be in the memory of another person if your very touch, your presence, or a few words can miraculously take care of that person? Will they ever forget you?” - Yogi Bhajan

Sat Nam!  Greetings and Welcome back to week five of our seven week study of the Seven Steps to Happiness, written by Haribhajan S. Khalsa, based on the teachings of Yogi Bhajan, PhD.

GRACE is one of my personal all time favorite words and experiences - it has such a beautiful resonance and vibration when spoken!
  A state of Grace is so sacred and Infinite that I find it difficult to define it in finite words.  However, even though it is a Divine state, I believe that we can reside in this state on a daily basis.  As I am writing this, I am sitting on a train on my way to visit my beloved friends and family in Texas.   I am looking out of the window and watching a crimson sunrise over the blissfully quiet ocean - palm trees majestically gracing the landscape, and cotton candy clouds decorating the sky.  All of nature is blissfullly in harmony, and Life is gently waking up to greet the new day.  My favorite quote comes to mind, "In the Infinity of Life where I am, All is perfect, whole and complete".  This profound feeling of Infinite gratitude and reverence for the beauty of nature, and the blessing of my ability to travel to see loved ones is how I am experiencing Grace in this moment - being absolutely Present Moment and fully absorbed in all that surrounds me.    How do you experience Grace?  Let's see what Yogi Bhajan and Haribhajan Khalsa teach us about Grace.



Read More
0 Comments

Seven Steps to Happiness - Step Four - Divinity

3/21/2014

0 Comments

 
Image of Be The change you wish to see in the world
“You can have either ego or divinity - with ego you will be isolated -with divinity you  will have eveything you need", Yogi Bhajan



Sat Nam!  Greetings and Welcome back to week four of our seven week study of the Seven Steps to Happiness, written by Haribhajan S. Khalsa, based on the teachings of Yogi Bhajan, PhD.

Dignity will give you Divinity, which is the fourth step to success. Divinity is a state of majesty where the crown of spirituality is bestowed upon you. You cannot fake, take, bribe or buy the crown of spiri­tuality - it can only be given to you as a gift from In­finity. Divinity means to not be divided from Infinity. You and Infinity are ONE. This is your real power.

 But what is Divinity really?  Some people associate the word Divine or Divinity with organized religion or church.  Certainly, we find the Divine in church or religion.  But, we do not have to attend church or be a part of an organized religion to experience a deep sense of Divinity.  Sometimes, in my experience, quite the opposite.  I have found the most profound and intimate experiences in the most ordinary, every day activities, places, people and things.  One of my favorite experiences of pure Divinity was at my Grandson's basketball game!  I wrote about it on a earlier Musing if you are interested (Click Here to read the entire post).  But lets see what Haribhajan Khalsa and Yogi Bhajan teach us about Divinity.


Read More
0 Comments
<<Previous
Forward>>

    Learn more about the following programs:

    Kundalini Yoga
    Healing Life Yoga
    Yoga for Stress
    Workplace Wellness
    One on One
    You Can Heal Your Life®
    Picture
Vikki Taylor is a mind-body teacher who joyfully shares the wisdom gained from her own self-healing journey through the teachings of Kundalini Yoga, You Can Heal Your Life®, Healing Life Yoga, and Yoga for PTSD. She creates a safe and comfortable environment for her students, empowering and guiding them to dive deeply into their own experience of self-discovery.  A KRI certified Kundalini Yoga teacher with a specialty in PTSD and a licensed Heal Your Life ® workshop leader, Vikki teaches individuals and groups in Austin, Texas, and offers transformational retreats worldwide.


vgtaylor2@hotmail.com
​

Austin, TX
Website Design: Sagacious NY
Photography: Janaye Culton