Quote OSHO Life Soul Journey

"Hence my insistence not to renounce the world. Be in it, take its challenge, accept its dangers, its hurts, wounds. Go through it. Don't avoid it, don't try to find a shortcut because there is none. It is a struggle, it is arduous, it is an uphill task, but that is how one reaches the peak. And the joy will be more, far more than if you were dropped on the peak by a helicopter, because then you will have reached there ungrown; you will not be able to enjoy it. Just think of the difference. You try hard to reach Everest. It is so dangerous--every possibility of dying on the way, ever possibility of never reaching the peak; hazardous, dangerous. Death is waiting for you at each step, so many traps and so many possibilities there is only one possibility you may reach. But the closer you come to the peak, the higher the joy rises in you. Your spirit soars high. You earn it, it is not free. And the more you have paid for it, the more you will enjoy it. Then imagine--you can be dropped from a helicopter on the top. You will stand on the top and you will just look silly, stupid--what are you doing here? Within five minutes you will be finished, you will say, 'so I have seen it! There is nothing much here!' The journey creates the goal. the goal is not sitting there at the end of the journey, the journey creates each step. The journey is the goal. the journey and the goal are not separate, they are not two things. The end and the means are not two things. The end is spread over all the way; all the means contain the end in them. So never miss any opportunity of living, of being alive, of being responsible, of being committed, of getting involved. Don't be a coward. Face life, encounter it. And then slowly, slowly something inside you will crystallize. Yes, it takes time. But one has to earn it. Let me repeat it: in life you cannot get anything free. And if you do get it, it is useless. You have to pay, and the more you pay for it the more you will get out of it. If you can risk your whole life in love, great will be your attainment. Love will send you back to yourself; it will give you a few reflections of meditation. The first glimpses of meditation happen in love. And then a great desire arises in you to attain to those glimpses, not only as glimpses but as states, so that you can live in those states forever and forever. Love gives you the taste of meditation. A loving, orgasmic experience is the first experience of samadhi, of ecstasy. It will make you more thirsty. Now you will know what is possible and now you cannot be satisfied with the mundane. The sacred has penetrated you, the sacred has reached your heart. God has touched your heart, you have felt that touch. Now you would like to live in that moment forever, you would like that moment to become your whole life. It does become your whole life. It does become--and unless it becomes, we remain discontented. Love on the one hand will give you great joy and on the other hand will give you a thirst for eternal joy." - Osho (From the book called Maturity: The Responsibility of Being Oneself). This passage spoke deeply and directly to my heart & soul.

Salsa Dressing Dip Recipe

A few of you have been asking me for recipes, meal ideas, daily food menus etc. Here is a random dinner recipe. I am a very simple cook. I enjoy simple fresh foods and sometimes the less complicated the recipe the better it tastes for me. So most of the things I will post will be 5 minute recipes :)

This is a very simple recipe - salsa dip or dressing.
I was busy all day today and didn't have time to go shopping for food so dinner time comes and the fridge is empty. I had tomatoes, a few carrots, frozen veggies and kale. I have already gotten my calories from  a ton of sapote fruit, cherimoyas and bananas today so dinner was light. 
I made this ultra easy simple salsa dressing for my kale and steamed veggies. 
Ingredients for the Salsa Dressing/Dip
Tomatoes
Carrots
Onions
Garlic
White Pepper (Black will work)
Chipotle (Hot pepper would be fine)
A tbsp of Summer Savory (basil will be good)
On top I sprinkles lovage (basically a form of dried celery.  You  can substitute it for parsley, basil, cilantro)
Some almond milk (not sure if it's necessary but it added some creaminess) (Tahini would be great)
Balsamic Vinegar 


I would have added celery and a couple of dates, bell peppers and avocados... even fresh corn if I had any but my fridge was literally empty (this rarely happens around here)  :)

Blend and Serve 

Some hot sauce and mustard can be added.

I avoid adding salt and fat to my foods so there was some in the hot sauce and I left it at that. My taste buds seem to get used to low sodium meals quickly :) 
I also keep my fats at around 5-15% of my total calorie intake so I keep things relatively low in fats and high in carbs :) 

I loved the salsa and will definitely be making it again :)

Bon Appetit 

SOUL JOURNEY

“Though the road's been rocky it sure feels good to me.”
― Bob Marley

The intention for next practice: contemplating our journey as souls; our path as energy clusters...

The path we as humans walk every day isn't easy. It's filled with uncertainties, insecurities and doubt. We all hope that this journey we are on together brings us contentment, crystal clarity, understanding of the essence of all things and those wonderful feeling of connectedness and liberation. People we cross paths with can greatly affect the outcome of our journey. And sometimes we come across some truly amazing people; and we share a brief moment of eternity with them and they leave imprints so deep that you can't help but see them in everything you come across thereafter. And every time you turn around and look back and remember the steps that got you to where you are at now you see those souls and you can't help but to SMILE. And then the steps you are taking start setting  heavier and deeper into the ground and pain and suffering and sadness and loss sets in. So feeling conflicted you keep going; and you keep growing; and you keep learning and you keep knowing. And the knowing liberates you, frees your soul and wipes you clean again so you can again experience pure joy in spite and because of all that your soul has been through. And your path is what lets the true YOU shine through.

“You take people, you put them on a journey, you give them peril, you find out who they really are.” 
― Joss Whedon

NAMASTE 

Ali's BIO

So many of you have asked me to write about "me" haha so here it goes- my short yoga bio:

 It is by no means complete, or detailed. Just an outline of my yoga journey. 

NAMASTE BEAUTIFUL SOULS, 
My name is Ali, short for Albena. I was born in Bulgaria, I grew up in Sofia. I practiced gymnastics and track and field as a child. I went to school in Sofia for Public Administration, part of the philosophy department in Sofia University. I moved to the United States at the age of 22. I've lived mostly in Los Angeles with the exception of a couple of years spent in Las Vegas. I discovered yoga while living in Las Vegas where I also became an avid rock climber. My journey into yoga is a continuation of a spiritual quest I have been on since I was a teenager, and maybe way before that. I was always very drawn to the spiritual in terms of trying to understand our purpose here on Earth and the evolution of our souls in the great scheme of things. And the search into the depths of my psyche has been a very natural and intuitive process. I started my yoga path by studying on my own. From the very first second I did yoga I felt an old familiarity with it. I felt like I "got it" from the very first second I started my practice, like an old lover who was long lost but I knew so well and so intimately. :) 
Then I studied to become a yoga teacher, and ended up getting my 500 hours RYT. After that when I came back to LA I was fortunate enough to meet and start working for my biggest yoga inspiration. A soul I highly value and a "guru" (who would never admit he is a guru hehe) who influenced my view on yoga the most. I started teaching at MARK BLANCHARD'S POWER YOGA studios. And Mark's influence was a bench mark (no pun intended) in my understanding of the subtleties, fluidity, freedom and creativity in yoga. I discovered freedom in yoga through his teachings; dance and flow was there all along but I was able to see it and feel it more clearly than I ever had before. I developed my own style based on dance, high intensity interval training, bodybuilding, athletics and power yoga... and INTERVAL YOGA was born. 
For years I was teaching up to 20 classes a week and when I was getting burned out and ready to quit I discovered YouTube. It has allowed me to capture the essence of my teachings and style and place the freedom and flexibility back into my students hands.

Thanks for all you warm messages and support.

 So lets write the next INTERVAL YOGA Chapter together!


THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR LOVE AND ALL MY LOVE TO YOU! 

NAMASTE

THE KEY TO HAPPINESS

OK I am gonna come right out and admit there is no key to anything let alone to happiness. Further more there is no happiness at all. There is ecstasy and there is contentment. Happiness is an elusive idea that is making everyone in the western world so unhappy....

I like to simplify things in a deep way (yes, I meant to say this haha) Once you have spent a sufficient amount of years trying to understand yourself, analyze yourself, go in, go deep then you need to let all of that go and get out of yourself. Look at others, look how you can serve and help, look for ways to listen, to be there for others. Lose your self importance! The most important realization I have had about happiness has been to let go of my self.

So here are my steps to attaining "happiness":

1. Forget about your Self. We live in a ME-CULTURE, ME-SOCIETY. Everything revolves around our own happiness, our own spirituality, our own enlightenment, self healing, self realization, self, self, me, me. The pursuit of enlightenment has become one of the most selfish and self serving behaviors I have observed in my life. It's a trap and a prison that has been laid out by the NEW AGE literature and so many have fallen into it.
Let me explain. We have all heard the concept of the HUNGRY GHOST REALM. A place of insatiable desire/hunger that cannot be fulfilled. Chasing a physical satisfaction, an addiction with a body that does not fully emerge into the physical realm. So physical fulfillment becomes an elusive, self serving desire for satisfaction that can never be attained. So what does all of that have to do with our desire to grow on a spiritual level? Trying to attain happiness through a self serving desire to achieve spiritual growth can become an elusive place where happiness cannot be achieved... THE HUNGRY GHOST REALM. The desire to achieve enlightenment is in fact a selfish desire to begin with. And that's where the trick is because we go into spirituality with this new found enthusiasm to grow when in fact this can turn into a selfish motive. In Buddhism desire is the cause of all suffering. And the key is to seek liberation through enlightenment without attachment to the "wanting" . 

Letting go of your self importance will liberate you. It will not make you less important or diminish your significance as a soul instead it will liberate you enough so that you stop being a victim and become a glowing, serving, caring, loving, burning with inspiration creative heart :D You will not grow to know yourself less just because you think about yourself less. You will instead realize that your purpose here is to grow through serving the whole rather then separating yourself from the whole and you will grow to "SEE" yourself from a deeper place. You will grow to know yourself on a soul level. And the illusion of separateness will vanish.

2. Stop looking for happiness outside of yourself. Stop looking for external validation. Everything you need is within and yoga is here to teach you that. All you need is your body and you can delve deep into the layers of your consciousness. Just be quiet and observe. Don't draw conclusions as that's from the mind.


3. Stop looking for happiness period. You are already happy! You are where you need to be at this moment. And you are missing out on your lessons for as long as you are reminiscing about the past or day dreaming about the future. You are here and now, the sun is caressing your skin daily, the air is bringing vitality to you now, the sky is as blue as ever (minus the chemtrails), and your body is serving you 24/7 so that you can breath, move, smile, taste, think, love and be ecstatic.

4. Be empty. Allow the constant chatter in your head to dissolve into nothingness. Unhappiness is a state of thinking and not a state of being. There is a stream of your own consciousness that can step out and away from the chatter and simply observe the chatter happening. It is called "the witness" 

5. Realize that you are here with a mission and a purpose. And everything else is insignificant. You are here to serve and contribute to the growth of all of humanity and all of your problems are nothing in the great scope of all things.
We are all in fact evolving. And part of your evolution is serving. 

Think about your problems from a 200, 300, 1000 year perspective. Would they matter? 99% of them won't. So in essence you are happy. You just need to realize it :)
Love is the only thing that matters and the only thing that will matter 10,000 years from now. And I am speaking about universal love, true love that emanates from your heart, deep divine love. 


NAMASTE
LOVE YOU ALL

EXCELLENT ADDITIONS BY YOU GUYS:
An idea:
Stop worrying about things you can not change an accept them how they are.

Change the things that bother you if you can, instead of postponing it.

And have the wisdom to separate one from the other!

Oh and: Making other people happy makes you happy! But try to apply the "can not change thing".. Some people are resistant :D 



...most of the unhappiness we feel comes from the fact that we "constantly seek happiness itself." 

"Happiness is the absence of striving for happiness." Chuang Tsu

"Happiness is not what makes us grateful. It's gratefulness that makes us happy." ~ David Steindl-Rast

HAPPINESS IS NOT THE DESTINATION, IT'S THE WAY :)

THANK YOU GUYS

What to do if you fall off the wagon...

It's the beginning of January and everyone is going strong, running, practicing yoga, working out. I have never seen as many joggers in my neighborhood as I see right now.  Seems like everyone is motivated and excited to make this the healthiest year of their life. Unfortunately by next month half of the people would have backed off, slowed down or given up on their resolutions.
Why are we not able to keep our resolutions?
I am extremely persistent with the things I enjoy and with the goals that are achievable and reasonable. When I talk to friends and yoga enthusiasts who tend to fail I notice a definite pattern!! The people that are most likely to fail usually set unrealistic, big goals that would crush even a yoga pro and once they skip a day they let it all go down the drain. Then they try to "punish" themselves for failing and come back even stronger. Maybe do 2 MONSTER classes in a row because they skipped a few. It becomes this daunting thing we HAVE TO do rather than a fun time that we can dedicate to ourselves, that we can enjoy and benefit from on an emotional, physical, mental, spiritual level and let's not forget have fun while doing it.

So some things you can do to make sure you achieve your goals are:

1. SET REASONABLE GOALS!
You don't need to workout 1 hour a day, 6 days a week to be fit. Check out the post I wrote on workout schedule and base it off on that: weekly schedule  
Walk with friends, walk your dog, clean your house on off days and don't be harsh on yourself. If you are very busy make your goals achievable- 3x week rather than all or nothing approach.

2. Be sure to shift your perception and to "decide" that what you do is fun. COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS. Every time you roll out your mat make sure you realize how blessed you are to be able to sit and stretch and move and breath and goof on your mat while so many people in the world don't have that luxury. Be grateful and enjoy your blessings.

3. If you fall off the wagon don't sweat it. It's not the end of the world. Be kind to yourself. Even talk to yourself as if you are your own 5 year old child. Don't nag yourself. Tell yourself it's fine. And everything you do is enough. That way you are not laying the ground for self sabotaging out of guilt. (the most common reason why we fail is IMO guilt) Free yourself of guilt. It serves no one so why engage in a behavior that's not serving you or helping anyone else for that matter.

4. MOST IMPORTANTLY  when you do fall of the wagon come back to it SMALL. This has been the secret to me being persistent and constant for years. I forgive myself with ease which has helped me forgive everyone with ease. I don't hold on to hurts and grudges and I definitely don't waste precious time beating myself down over small things. :)
Come back to your routine with something so modest and doable that you would actually do without fretting. Do a beginner 10 minute routine, or a beginning of a class only. If it pulls you in of course you can do more than that but my rule of thumb is just get back on the wagon by dedicating 5-10 minutes to it. Next day your energy will be high enough for you to complete a strong 30 minute class. :D I PROMISE

These are my 4 tips on how to make yoga and working out a lifestyle not a fad.

Let me know if you if you have personal tips and secrets for staying in shape long term :)

NAMASTE

SENDING LOVE AND GRATITUDE TO ALL 

WEEKLY YOGA AND WORKOUT SCHEDULE

NAMASTE BEAUTIFUL YOGIS!

The following is a basic weekly Yoga/Interval Yoga schedule.

This is a very general outline. Please adjust to your individual needs, goals and time constraints.  

WEEKLY SCHEDULE FOR ACTIVE PEOPLE:

(If you have an active job or you walk 1.5-2 + miles a day you fall in this group)

Monday -Moderate to Strong Vinyasa or Power or Impact Yoga   20- 40 mins

Tuesday - HIIT OR HIIT YOGA ~10-20 mins

Wednesday - Light Vinyasa 30 minutes

Thursday - Strong Interval yoga 10-30 minutes

Friday - Rest 

Saturday - Either a hike or a deep Vinyasa 40-50 mins

Sunday - Rest/ Hike/meditate 

You can move the days around to fit the routines within your schedule, add more rest days if you feel tired, sore, or exhausted. 

Over working out is just as bad as being a couch potato. Exhaustion can tax the immune system, it can lead to injuries and hault your overall long term progress. 

If you feel tired either take a rest day or do something light that feels PLEASANT. 

Rest as much as you need to during the classes. It takes time to build strength, endurance and cardiovascular capacity. 

IF YOUR OBJECTIVE IS TO INCREASE YOUR FLEXIBILITY REPLACE ONE OF THE HIIT OR HIIT YOGA ROUTINES WITH ANOTHER DEEP VINYASA CLASS. 

DO NOT WORK ON DEEP FLEXIBILITY EVERY DAY. Allow for rest days. 

WEEKLY SCHEDULE for PEOPLE WITH AN INACTIVE LIFESTYLE:

(If you have a sedentary job, and you are not able to walk, move through the day you fit in this category) 

MONDAY WEDNESDAY FRIDAY  POWER OR VINYASA YOGA - 50mins -65mins long

TUESDAY  (THURSDAY) SATURDAY HIIT or HIIT Yoga 10-40 mins depending on energy level

Take Sunday AND/OR Thursday off or do some light yoga on these days. 

Listen to your body!!!!!

Also be mindful that overtraining can overstimulate your appetite. If you are trying to lose weight you don't need to overtrain. Train smart, train enough so that you are building muscle and flexibility, go for walks and include plenty of raw and steamed veggies and raw fruits into your diet! 

My personal practice is a lot shorter than you might think. I focus on effective moves and functional exercises. I make sure to be kind and gentle to my body rather than beat myself down. I find that this kindness-to-oneself approach to be much more effective in achieving my fitness goals than a bootcamp approach that leaves me exhausted and shaky. 

I don't believe in screaming ... period. In fitness, in yoga, in bootcamp. I don't yell at my dog or friends why would I want to yell or be yelled at when I am trying to nourish my body with conscious movement.  The purpose of my yoga and teaching is to learn and teach kindness and acceptance of oneself so that we can spread it out into the world. (Confession - I would actually never attend a class in which the instructor screams and yells at the students)

Everything we do should come from a pure place of connectivity rather than a desire to punish ourselves (which dieting and fitness can turn into)

If we do things out of guilt then we just perpetuate that behavior and we are doomed to fail long term. I want everyone to succeed long term and find a place of harmony and balance within themselves and their body!!!

So lets be kind to ourselves  and get ULTRA FIT too :)

LOVE AND BLESSINGS