Do Date a Girl Who Travels

October 5, 2018 // by Alana Roach// Leave a Comment

“SHE’S MAD BUT SHE’S MAGIC

THERE IS NO LIE IN HER FIRE”

Do date a girl who travels. Stroke her messy, unkempt, sun-bleached hair when she’s asleep and you’ll feel her whole being unfold in your arms.

Trace the map of her wounds, scars and wrinkles with your fingertips until you know it by heart and you’ll understand her story. It’s not easy to follow and there are more exclamation and question marks than full stops and commas, but it’s worth reading for not a single word is empty of meaning.

Do date a girl who travels and you won’t be bored. She’ll make you close your eyes, jump out of a plane, talk to strangers, watch the moon, climb rocks, hike mountains, dance barefoot, chat until sunrise, skinny dip, sing karaoke. She won’t be easy to keep up with. She won’t be easy to please. But every day you’ll be grateful for her endless energy, free spirit and infectious zest for life for it will make you live fearlessly, mindfully, blissfully.

Do date a girl who travels. You won’t need to buy her expensive dinners or gifts. You won’t need to prove you’re worth her. Walk with her, hold her hand, talk to her, laugh with her. Keep it simple. Be genuine and never try to impress her with anything else but who you are and who you’re working on being. And remember that she won’t be fooled. She’s seen it all.

Do date a girl who travels for she will show you the world you never knew existed. The world where the sky is no limit. The world of dreams made into reality. The world where willpower and determination are the only prerequisites for success. Success which is not measured by fame or material possessions, but by finding your purpose and living your truth and passions. The world often stripped of order, logic and analytical thinking, but full of intuitive decisions, spontaneous changes and internal conviction. Do date a girl who travels for she’ll knock out all the walls you’ve built around yourself and find her way to places you’d never let anyone into.

Do date a girl who travels. She won’t need you. She won’t be scared of losing you. She’ll be with you because she choses to. Because life is simply better with you. Trust her. Learn when to follow her and when to let her go. If you manage to touch her soul, she’ll be back. And when she is, hold her so tight that all the beautiful, wobbly, faulty, mismatched pieces of her stick together. And every day you’ll thank the universe for bringing her your way.

This post is a rebuttal to “Don’t Date a Girl Who Travels” available

here: https://medium.com/@adizarsadias/dont-date-a-girl-who-travels-802c49b9141c

Author: Magda Procner

Yoga Teacher, Retreat Guide for Peru, Found @ Mags Yoga

You can read more about her on her websites: www.magsyoga.com

And follow her on Instagram: @Magsyoga

A Yoga & Meditation Practice to Balance Your Throat Chakra during Mercury in Retrograde

August 28, 2017 // by Admin// Leave a Comment

Hello EOS Community,

This month’s pose is, “Plow Pose,” aka “Halasana,” (In Sanskrit, India’s sacred language of yoga) accompanied with the fifth of the 7 main energy centers in our body called the, “Throat Chakra,” or ,”Vishuddha,”in Sanskrit which translates to, “Especially pure.”

This blue, 16 petaled lotus of the throat chakra is located in your throat.

This energy center governs our ability to speak our inner truth through accepting our authenticity . When balanced, not only will you be able to express yourself with confidence and compassion, but you will also be a great listener.. You will have a sense of personal integrity and honor. Maintaining a regular chakra balancing practice is necessary to cultivate the dance between communicating and listening, which is ESSENTIAL during this month’s Mercury in Retrograde.

Halasana pose helps to nourish our throat chakra by activating our glandular system & directing the life force energy of prana to this center for activation. If this is your first time in Halasana, or you have a tight back, grab a chair to place behind your head for the feet to rest on, please do so now. You can also grab a block or a folded up blanket to place under your hips for support in this posture.

Let’s begin.

1. Lie down on your mat after doing some gentle warm ups.

2. Breath in, and draw your knees in towards your chest, holding your knees with your hands, while gently guiding your shoulders and head towards the earth.

3. Allow your entire back body to feel as though it were melting into the earth.

4. On an exhale, allow your feet to draw up towards the sky, keeping your head and shoulders rooted on the earth while breathing deeply, start to lift your lower back off of the earth, either placing a blanket or block underneath of your tailbone or walking your hands towards your mid back, fingers facing upwards. Shimmy your shoulders underneath of your chest a little more, while walking your hands as close to your shoulder blades as possible. Keeping your gaze at your toes or the sky directly above your head, start to breath deeply in and out through your nose while slight constricting the throat.

5. Visualize your throat chakra in the center of your throat as a swirling 16 petaled blue lotus flower. Every breath in you see your flower grow brighter and brighter, and with every exhale you see it spin faster and faster. As it spins, you may notice old energy leaving this energy center as dark and oily drainage. This is completely natural and to be expected during this meditation. Breathe slowly and rhythmically. Syncing your breath with your visualization will enhance this sadhana or spiritual practice.

6. Stay with the visualization for 15-20 breaths, and then slowly release your hands to use them as breakers while you unwind your spine vertebrae by vertebrae back down to the Earth. Stay in Savasana or Corpse Pose for a few minutes to allow this posture to marinate.

7. Feeling grateful for this time that you have taken to connect with yourself, smile softly, and blink your eyes, slowly coming back into the room to continue on with your day, a little more centered, calm, and happy.

Stay tuned to our weekly emails over the next 3 weeks to journey through yoga asana and the remaining 3 chakras!

Namaste,

Alana

Owner & Director of the Explorations of Self Travel Community

5 Steps to Manifesting Your Dream Lifestyle

May 4, 2017 // by Admin// Leave a Comment

Spring is here and how beautiful it is outside. Spring energy is ALL about creation. We plant seeds for them to grow into beautiful blooms of variety. We release the old. Welcome the new. What are you wanting to create this Spring? How can I support you in making your dreams a reality?

5 Steps to Manifesting Your Dream Lifestyle

…

A Heart Centered Yoga Practice

April 21, 2017 // by Admin// Leave a Comment

Hello EOS Community,

This week’s pose is, “Supine Bound Angle Pose,” aka “Supta Buddha Konasana,” (In Sanskrit, India’s sacred language of yoga) accompanied with the fourth of the 7 main energy centers in our body called the, “Heart Chakra,” or ,”Anahata,”in Sanskrit which translates to, “Unhurt, unstruck, & unbeaten.”

This green, 12 petaled lotus heart chakra is located in your chest.

This energy center governs our ability to give and receive love freely. When balanced you feel a sense of compassion for all living beings including a deep reverence for mother earth and father sky. You will have a sense of the interconnectedness between all. When others are in the presence of someone with a balanced heart chakra, they feel accepted and embraced by this benevolent force. An open heart is inspiring and not to be underestimated. When this center is out of balance, you can feel unworthy of love, untrusting, pessimistic, and reclusive. Maintaining a regular heart chakra balancing practice is necessary to feel at peace in your heart and to attract that peace into your life on an ongoing basis.

Supine Bound Angle Pose is a restorative pose. If you would like to grab a bolster or rolled up blanket to place under your spine for more itensity, please do so now. If you have tight hips, you can grab two pillows or folded up blankets that will be used underneath of your thighs and knees once we are in the full position.

Let’s begin.

1. Come
on to your mat with your back facing the mat or floor (If you are using the bolster or rolled up blanket, sit up first, slide on end of the prop to your lower back, and slowly recline your spine back down onto it, grabbing an extra pillow for underneath your head if you feel the support is needed.)

2. Breath in, and bend your knees and slide your heels in towards your sits bones.

3. Allow your entire back body to feel as though it were melting into the earth.

4. On an exhale, allow your knees to fall to either side (If you are using pillows for thigh and knee support, you can gently find the support now.) Allow you hands to rest on either side of your body, palms facing up. Close your eyes, and breath slowly.

5. Visualize your heart chakra in the center of your chest as a swirling 12 petaled green lotus flower. Every breath in you see your flower grow brighter and brighter, and with every exhale you see it spin faster and faster. As it spins, you may notice old energy leaving this energy center as dark and oily drainage. This is completely natural and to be expected during this meditation. Breathe slowly and rhythmically. Inhale through the nose slowly, and exhaling through the mouth while creating an, “O,” shape with the mouth as you exhale slowly. Syncing your breath with your visualization will enhance this sadhana or spiritual practice.

6. Stay with the visualization for about 10-20 breaths, and then slow release your chest, shoulders, neck & head back onto the mat.

About the author: Alana Diosa Roach

Yoga Instructor, Integrative Nutrition Coach, Reiki & Shamanic Energy Worker, Intuitive, Meditation Teacher

Alana Diosa is a world renowned Yoga and Wellness Teacher. She has been teaching her dynamic, breath centered style of yoga since 2011. Alana holds 2,000 hours of Yoga Alliance Certified teaching experience, including leadership of teacher trainings for upcoming yogis and yoginis, years of INTENSIVE Integrative Breath Work Trainings + is a graduate of the Institute of Integrative Health in NY, holding a certification as an Integrative Nutrition Coach. She harnesses an apt understanding and application of energy work both intimately and remotely as a certified Usui Reiki Practitioner, Ascension Clairvoyance, & Shamanic PLR Chord Cutting.

Yoga & Chakra Visualization Practice for the Full Moon & Spring Equinox

March 9, 2017 // by Admin// Leave a Comment

This week’s pose is, “Cobbler’s Pose,” aka “Baddha Konasana,” (In Sanskrit, India’s sacred language of yoga) accompanied with the second of the 7 main energy centers in our body called the, “Sacral Chakra,” or ,”Swadhistana,”in Sanskrit which translates to, “Your own place.”

The orange, six petaled lotus sacral chakra is located 3 inches below your navel at the lowest portion of the lumbar spine. It bares a crescent moon symbol in the center, representing the moon phases and the connection to the element of water which calls us to be fluid in thought and action during the lunar phases, because we all made up of about 50-65% water.

This energy center governs our sense of sensuality and creativity. When we desire to manifest something new in our life, it is important to harness the power of our sacral chakra. When this center is out of balance, one can become addicted to that which can not provide true fulfillment (Think substances, food, gambling, or sex.) On the other end of the spectrum, it is common to feel depressed, or a lack luster in their life whether it relates to relationships to self or other. Maintaining a regular sacral chakra balancing practice is necessary to feel grounded through life’s ups and downs while staying in touch with the way we choose to relate to the world and those in it.

As we enter the Pisces/Virgo full moon on March 12th, we prepare to let go of that which no longer serves us, in order to planet new seeds for the Spring Equinox on March 20th.

So, in order to get clear on what we WANT, and also to become ready to let go of what we do not, it is essential that we take the time to become centered through yoga and mindfulness practices

∞

Cobbler’s pose allows us to get in touch with pelvis while gently opening the hips, activating this energy center.

Cindy embodying her inner goddess in Playa Nosara

If you would like a more restorative variation of this pose, grab a couple of pillows and a folded blanket, and let’s begin.

1. Fold the blanket in half or thirds so that you have a half a foot length to sit on. If you have 2 pillows, place one on either side of you in arms reach. Come to sit on the edge of your blanket to gently raise the hips if your groin and/or hips are tight. Remember, the blanket is optional. First extend your legs out in front of you while breathing slowly in a soothing rhythm. Draw your awareness within your body and notice what your body feels like without judging the sensations.

2. On an inhale, bend your knees toward your chest, keeping your feet on the ground and drawing your heels as close to your sits bones as possible, and slowly let your knees drop out to the sides. The soles of your feet will be touching. (If your hips/groin are tight, your heels will be further away from you, creating more of a diamond shape with your legs. Place one pillow under each knee for support)

3. Allow your pelvis to stay neutral. Guiding the bottom tip of your tailbone towards the earth, while lengthening the crown of your head towards the sky.

4. Rest your hands gentle on your feet, massaging your feet with your thumbs for a few rounds of breath. Close your eyes, and start to center your mind by focusing on your breath. You can stay here, or if you would like to go further, draw your chin to your chest and allow your shoulders, neck, and head to be heavy as you round your cervical spine to forward fold. Only go as far as the body allows. Some may be able to draw the crown of their head to their feet, while others will feel great at a higher level.

5. Visualize your sacral chakra as a swirling 6 petaled orange lotus flower with a silver crescent moon in the center of it, 3 inches below your naval. Every breath in you see your flower grow brighter and brighter, and with every exhale you see it spin faster and faster. As it spins, you may notice old energy leaving this energy center as dark and oily drainage. This is completely natural and to be expected during this meditation. Breathe slowly and rhythmically. Inhale through the nose slowly, and exhaling through the mouth while creating an, “O,” shape with the mouth as you exhale slowly. Syncing your breath with your visualization will enhance this sadhana or spiritual practice.

6. Stay with the visualization for about 10-20 breaths.

Stay tuned to our blog to journey through yoga asana and the remaining 5 chakras!

So much love,

Alana

Alana Roach, founder of Explorations of Self, “A Mindful Travel Community.”

Yoga, Integrative Nutrition, Reiki, Tantra, Shamanista, Travel Enthusiast.

Contact me: info@explorationsofself.com

Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIN.

A Shameless Retreat

January 9, 2017 // by Admin// Leave a Comment

Retreat! Surrender! Give-in! Fall back!

We live in a culture where retreat means defeat. In the West, life is viewed as a competition and we are programmed to believe that if you are not winning you’re losing. We’ve heard it so many times: winning is not everything; it’s the only thing. So can we end up stressed out and spend our time living on a mental and emotional battlefield instead of authentically exploring our self. The masculine bravado and militaristic vibe of our culture has seeped into these words. It’s not by accident. There is a war that is being waged on going inside ourselves. The consumer culture can’t take that because if we all looked within we would learn that happiness is inside of us and we really wouldn’t be compelled to fill the void with useless products.

So, in this exploration of self, we are not called to force our way in. We are called to retake. Sure, we have re-take what ‘surrender’ and ‘retreat’ can mean, but we can do so peacefully. We have to fall back. When we fall back, we are vulnerable. This is the last thing the culture teaches and tells us that vulnerability leaves us open to attack. But vulnerability is going inside and taking an honest look about who we are and what we feel. And in that nakedness, we discover that we reject the struggle and the dog-eat-dog world and resent having to cling to it out of the necessity that our survival is at stake.

On retreat, we learn that we don’t have to cling to it! Meditation, yoga and sound healing create the space to silence the clamor of our minds and align us with our true nature. But we have to surrender to get there! What we are surrendering from is the way we think we ought to be and what we should do. In the clarity and understanding of our true nature, we naturally flow. We don’t have to think. There is just a knowing. That’s the beauty of it!

To retreat;

it is a quiet and relaxing space where we can feel the truth and beauty of our being. It’s in retreat that we lose the false ego that makes us fight outwardly to avoid the unrest we feel inwardly. By flowing with rest, we see that it was the unrest that made us fight and force in our lives in the first place! Enjoying our journey requires surrendering our false ego –that aspect of our being that runs programs contrary to our highest and best self. And when we do that, we reveal our true nature that is already there because we feel it from that quiet place of clarity and understanding. Surrender is tough for the false part of ourselves because it does not want to let go of the stories that keep fueling the patterns that don’t serve us. The catch is that the false ego has to turn itself in – or should I say inward – and see how it is sabotaging our greatest good by causing suffering based on craving, delusions and many other mental and emotional patterns.

The solution is simple. No matter what comes up, surrender. Your false ego can lay so many traps for your mind because it knows you so well. So let yourself be caught. Sit there. Don’t avoid it. Let the feelings come up to be known and cleared. Stop running from it. Once your thought or emotion has nothing to take from you, it has no power over you. It has no fuel to sustain itself. By virtue of your soul sovereignty, your essence cannot be taken away. You are eternal conscious light and love. So the only thing that you can surrender is what does not serve you –and then you are left with what you have always been – light and love. Surrender removes everything that obscures our light. In offering up our obstacles to the flames, we are transformed.

May you hear the call to retreat, so that your life may answer with all the joy, beauty and creativity you have to shine!

About the author: Brian is a teacher and healer. He brings the mind, body, heart and soul back into balance through overtone chanting, crystal and tibetan singing bowls and tuning forks.

He has the unique ability to hear oto-acoustic emissions, the natural
frequencies emitted by the body.

His spiritual name “Anahata Nada” means “unstruck sound” and echoes his ability to hear the sounds of the cosmos. Anahata also means heart and speaks to Brian’s passion to help others hear the sound of their heart to guide them on their journey. Follow on instagram @anahatanada333 www.besoundnow.com Contact: bjrusso333@gmail.com

A New Year to LIVE

December 31, 2016 // by Admin// Leave a Comment

I remember the first time I saw the picture that changed everything for me. It was of a man, somewhere on a seemingly deserted, white sandy beach, doing a one armed cart wheel. His legs were dancing in the brightly painted turquoise sky, and I knew in that moment that there was much, much more to life. There was more to life than the daily grind, and the striving for… what, exactly?

The Spiritual Path is like this. We get these glimpses into the very center of our SOUL and in an instant, we are changed forever. But we are not REALLY changed, we are just coming Home to, the inevitable and unshakeable Truth of our Existence, and who we REALLY ARE; who we were always meant to BE.

So how do we get so lost?

We wake up, brush our teeth, drink a cup or 2 of coffee, eat breakfast (If we are lucky) go to work or school or both, watch TV, distract, distract, more distraction. We spend money, consume, go into debt to make more money, and spend more money to get out of debt as debt consumes our lives. We end up angry, resentful, gaunt, and ultimately the lack of motivation to do anything is gone, and yet we keep going. We keep going as if we were somehow animated through wire and chord. We become caged in our thoughts, animated by our emotions, reactive, depressed, and spun out. We begin to think that THIS is the norm.

I remember the first time I saw the picture that changed everything for me, because it TOUCHED my Soul. Somewhere deep down in the core of my being, I felt like a tapestry that was just coming to life and woven by the Divine. Unlike the feeling of chord and plug, I felt powered by something far GREATER, far Superior to woman/man made (Though woman and man has made some really incredible things.) I can hardly describe it, as Spirit goes, It is ineffable. I do know that I couldn’t turn away or go back to sleep.

“The breezes at dawn have secrets to tell you

Don’t go back to sleep!

You must ask for what you really want.

Don’t go back to sleep!

People are going back and forth

across the doorsill where the two worlds touch,

The door is round and open

Don’t go back to sleep!”

― Jalaluddin Rumi

By the New Year of 2012 I had broken a lease, went on a leave of absence at work, finished a semester in college with notice that I would be taking at least one if not two semesters off. By February of 2012, I was living and back packing through my sacred heart’s home. India. Though my flesh isn’t from this INCREDIBLE land, my soul most definitely is.

By New Year’s of 2013 I became a full time yoga teacher & I started to fully allow my rainbow colored tapestry to become a muse and channel for other hearts’ songs. I woke up every morning asking how I could serve the Divine Energy that changed everything for me, that BREATHED Life back into me (As if it were lost somehow, lol.) Animated by this Divine Spirit, I came to step into my PURPOSE on this Earth. I was GUIDED to combine what inspired me and made me HAPPY in order to take it to the masses so that THEY could be HAPPY; while continuing DEEP inner work to shed the guiles of the ego so that I could be a CLEAR and unencumbered channel for God.

By New Year’s of 2014 I was looking at leading my 3rd yoga retreat in Costa Rica after living on the Nicoya Peninsula of that land for 6 months. I was leaving the man I thought I would spend the rest of my life with in order to marry the MAN/WOMAN that has never and will never leave my side. God/Goddess. In 2014 I began my courtship with Divine. Truly. Though I strayed (Or thought I strayed) from the ULTIMATE Truth of who and what I was, Divine always persisted that I was GREAT. Thank you, Divine, for always BELIEVING in ME! 😉

By New Year’s of 2015 I was incorporated as a full fledged wellness and yoga retreat business, and embarked on the most important business of all, motherhood. This was the year of fine tuning my skills. I registered for an Integrative Nutrition school that I had been wanting to go to for many years, but was too afraid to believe in myself enough to do it. This was the year of staying in touch with my dreams, whilst recognizing what didn’t serve me (Attachment to anything that was material and changeable.) It was surrendering selfishness in order to be able to serve my daughter and my Dharma.

By New Year’s of 2016 I was sitting alone in a hotel suite. I was taking time for myself, ringing in not only the New Year, but my 30th birthday, 7 months pregnant with my daughter, and fully open to learning more from Divine. “However can I serve YOU and this Planet,” was my daily morning prayer and invocation. I spent time mapping out my life on a Vision Board and hours meditating on what I was grateful for (Everything) and what I desired to CO-CREATE with the Universe and my daughter. This is a great practice for anyone on a New Year’s Day. I suggest you try it if you haven’t a ritual planned already!

The New Year of 2017 is upon us, with the Solar New Year already among us (Winter Solstice.) My beautiful, nearly 8 month old daughter is sitting in my lap as I finish writing this. I am now fully realizing my dreams, traveling the world and teaching what I believe will help AWAKEN individuals to their HIGHEST Potentials in this incarnation. I am so, SO grateful for what is to come, because in my experience, what the Universe DELIVERS is far Superior to what I can even imagine in my BIGGEST DREAMS!

What LIT you up and INSPIRED you in 2016? What were your happiest moments, and what challenges did you over come? What do you want to DREAM into being in the New Year of 2017? How can I help in praying for you to fulfill this? How can I help guide and support you? Leave comments below…

A New Year’s 30 Day Warrior Woman Course to LIVING YOUR DREAMS starts soon. Stay tuned to the, “Self Heal with Alana,” Facebook page or email SelfHealwithAlana@gmail.com for information. Come away with the Explorations of Self Tribe and me to fully be present with yourself and to unwind from the daily grind on one or more of these incredible Wellness Retreats, information at www.explorationsofself.com or email explorationsofself@gmail.com

In deep DEVOTION and AWE of this WILDLY ABUNDANT UNIVERSE,

I go in PEACE & JOY,

Alana

Namaste, soul family

BIO : Alana Roach is a International Yogi currently based out of Annapolis, MD. Formerly adorned by the city lights and the busy streets of America, she was then whisked away by the illustrious path of yoga and took to traveling the world to share it with others. A few years back she started to write about the transformation she undertook by practicing conscious meditation. Her passions became her career and she now holds RYS Teacher Trainings & International Retreats, Health Coaches, and writes every opportunity she gets. In her spare time she loves cuddling with her daughter, surfing, being in nature, and living amongst her ever growing and global loving and conscious community. She is on Facebook , Instagram, Twitter, and can be reached by email explorationsofself@gmail.com & for health coaching at SelfHealwithAlana@gmail.com

Do Date a Girl Who Travels

“SHE’S MAD BUT SHE’S MAGIC

THERE IS NO LIE IN HER FIRE”

Author: Magda Procner

A Yoga & Meditation Practice to Balance Your Throat Chakra during Mercury in Retrograde

Let’s begin.

5 Steps to Manifesting Your Dream Lifestyle

Spring is here and how beautiful it is outside. Spring energy is ALL about creation. We plant seeds for them to grow into beautiful blooms of variety. We release the old. Welcome the new. What are you wanting to create this Spring? How can I support you in making your dreams a reality?

5 Steps to Manifesting Your Dream Lifestyle

A Heart Centered Yoga Practice

Let’s begin.

Yoga & Chakra Visualization Practice for the Full Moon & Spring Equinox

As we enter the Pisces/Virgo full moon on March 12th, we prepare to let go of that which no longer serves us, in order to planet new seeds for the Spring Equinox on March 20th.

∞

Cobbler’s pose allows us to get in touch with pelvis while gently opening the hips, activating this energy center.

A Shameless Retreat

A New Year to LIVE

Services

Meet Alana

year spiritual

“SHE’S MAD BUT SHE’S MAGIC

THERE IS NO LIE IN HER FIRE”

Author: Magda Procner

Let’s begin.

Spring is here and how beautiful it is outside. Spring energy is ALL about creation. We plant seeds for them to grow into beautiful blooms of variety. We release the old. Welcome the new. What are you wanting to create this Spring? How can I support you in making your dreams a reality?

5 Steps to Manifesting Your Dream Lifestyle

Let’s begin.

As we enter the Pisces/Virgo full moon on March 12th, we prepare to let go of that which no longer serves us, in order to planet new seeds for the Spring Equinox on March 20th.

∞

Cobbler’s pose allows us to get in touch with pelvis while gently opening the hips, activating this energy center.

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Services

Meet Alana