These readings help create an atmosphere of mindfulness and introspection in those precious savasana moments.

At the end of a practice, we often feel a sense of introspection and presence, therefore it's the perfect time to soak up an inspiring read. I'd like to share some (current) readings that have consistently resonated with both myself and my students recently.

This blessing wants you to remember the gift of surrender.

It wants you to unclench your fists and soften your mind.

It wants you to let go of your ceaseless, empty struggles

in order to reclaim a cleaner breath and a deeper peace.

This blessing wants you to let life be, just as it is.

It wants you to reshape your vision until you can see

the gifts that arrive unbidden when we simply

relax into what is without holding on to a single thing.

Surrender calls us over, and over, to let go, to relinquish tight control over our lives, to settle in, perhaps sometimes even to sink. And it requires faith that, despite the letting go, we are still held in steady arms of life. This blessing wants you to remember the deep blue relief

that comes when we accept life on its own terms, full and free. It urges you to walk across the threshold of

acceptance and all the way home to contentment and true love.

Surrender

Claudia Cummings

Have patience.

Slow down.

The gap between

'Where I am'

and

'Where I want to be'

is full of possibility.

So don't rush through it.

Take time.

Find the dignity in slowness.

Learn to love the gap.

Grace it with your presence.

It is bursting with life, and creativity,

and it holds unexpected treasures.

Have patience. Slow down.

Life is only Now.

In Presence, there are no gaps.

Find rest in every step.

Rest in Every Step

Jeff Foster

A gentleman was walking through an elephant camp, and he spotted that the elephants weren’t being kept in cages or held by the use of chains.

All that was holding them back from escaping the camp, was a small piece of rope tied to one of their legs. As the man gazed upon the elephants, he was completely confused as to why the elephants didn’t just use their strength to break the rope and escape the camp. They could easily have done so, but instead, they didn’t try to at all.

Curious and wanting to know the answer, he asked a trainer nearby why the elephants were just standing there and never tried to escape.

The trainer replied; when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.The only reason that the elephants weren’t breaking free and escaping from the camp was that over time they adopted the belief that it just wasn’t possible.

Lesson learnt

No matter how much the world tries to hold you back, always continue with the belief that what you want to achieve is possible. Believing you can become successful is the most important step in actually achieving what you want to achieve. Believe in yourself.

The elephants’ rope

Author Unknown

When it comes right down to it, the challenge of mindfulness is to realize that “this is it” Right now is my life. The question is, What is my relationship to it going to be? Does my life just automatically “happen” to me? Am I a total prisoner of my circumstances or my obligations, of my body or my illness, or of my history? Do I become hostile or defensive or depressed if certain buttons get pushed, happy if other buttons are pushed, and frightened if something else happens? What are my choices? Do I have any options? It is an important point is to grasp the value of bringing the practice of mindfulness into the conduct of our daily lives. Is there any waking moment of your life that would not be richer and more alive for you if you were more fully awake while it was happening?

Mindfulness

Jon Kabat-Zinn

Every morning, when we wake up, we have 24 brand new hours to live. What a precious gift! We have the capacity to live in a way that these 24 hours will bring peace, joy and happiness to ourselves and others. Peace is present right here and now, in ourselves and in everything we see and do. The question is whether or not we are in touch with it. We are very good at preparing to live, but not very good at living. We know how to sacrifice ten years for a diploma, and we are willing to work very hard to get a job, a car, a house, and so on. But we have difficulty remembering that we are alive in the present moment, the only moment there is for us to be alive. Every breath we take, every step we make, can be filled with peace, joy and serenity. We need only to be awake and alive in the present moment.

Thích Nhất Hạnh

Without a thought or a word, she let go.

She let go of fear.

She let go of judgments.

She let go of the confluence of opinions swarming around her head. She let go of the committee of indecision within her.

She let go of all the ‘right’ reasons. Wholly and completely, without hesitation or worry, she just let go.

She didn’t ask anyone for advice.

She didn’t read a book on how to let go. She just let go. She let go of all the memories that held her back.

She let go of all of the anxiety that kept her from moving forward.

She let go of the planning and all of the calculations about how to do it just right.

She didn’t promise to let go.

She didn’t journal about it. She didn’t write the projected date in her Day-Timer.

She made no public announcement.

She didn’t check the weather report or read her daily horoscope. She just let go.

She didn’t analyze whether she should let go.

She didn’t call her friends to discuss the matter.

She didn’t utter one word. She just let go.

No one was around when it happened. There was no applause or congratulations. No one thanked her or praised her. No one noticed a thing. Like a leaf falling from a tree, she just let go.

There was no effort. There was no struggle.

It wasn’t good. It wasn’t bad. It was what it was, and it is just that. In the space of letting go, she let it all be.

A small smile came over her face. A light breeze blew through her.

And the sun and the moon shone forevermore.

Rev

Safire Rose

I hope you enjoy!