Note from Winifred: Ready to learn how yoga can help you manifest your dreams?  I am excited to host Irena Miller as a guest blogger.  Irena is a yoga instructor and teacher who loves to help busy, health conscious, spiritually driven seekers to create a yoga practice that works for them.  In this post she shares spiritual wisdom and yoga poses to help you transform dreams into reality.

Now over to Irena…

Ever wonder why some dreams just don’t take root?  A moment of inspiration hits us.  We can see it happening.  We get excited and share this dream with others.  Our heart is pumping now!  Then the bottom drops out.

Where does that dream go?  What happened to all that enthusiasm and passion?

It’s time to light a fire, do a little yoga, and figure it out.

Dreams Begin with Inspiration and Visualizing

The winter was a wonderful opportunity for day-dreaming.  A season of air to sweep us off into our thoughts.  Maybe you found yourself drawing out plans for a summer garden. Or simply being inspired by the seed catalogs.

Dreams Need Passion and Deep Feeling

Then we moved into spring, out of daydreaming mode and into a deep feeling sense.  The warmth of the sun on our skin after a long winter.  The smell of flowers in the garden.  A desire to create beauty all around us.  Excited to put into motion our plans that were made during winter.

Yet daydreaming and passion aren’t enough to manifest a dream.  Dreams require much more than that.

The Path from Dreaming to Manifesting

When that light bulb goes on over your head, take the time to:

SEE yourself living your dream

SHARE this dream with a confidant

let your heart bloom with ANTICIPATION and EXCITEMENT 

And know that these steps are fun and lighthearted, it doesn’t cost us anything physical to dream and talk.  We are more in the realm of spirit, water, and air – inspired, dreaming, and talking.

Stir Up the Fire In Your Belly

1. Put Value Behind Your Dream
2. Set Down Strong Roots
3. Bide Your Time – Patience
4. Keep Showing Up – Perseverance

Now we are moving into the realm of fire and earth.

The yogis knew that our internal landscape mirrors our physical experience and vice versa.  If thoughts engulf us, action will elude us.  If it’s all action and no thought, it’s wasted effort.  Let’s use some yoga postures to fire up our courage, tap into the value of our dreams, set down roots, and practice patience and perseverance.  Come join me in my garden and try these yoga postures!

Are you ready?

5 Steps to Manifesting Your Dream

1. Stir Up the Fire In Your Belly

Do we have the fire in our belly to make this happen?  There will be ups and downs in pursuit of our dream.  Prepare, and take courage – don’t live in fear.  This is our chance to let our true colors shine.  No more hiding behind talk.

Remember as Martha Graham said, “What people in the world think of you is really none of your business.”

This is your dream!  Get your fire going!

Modified Boat to Fire Belly (Navasana)

Activate the Third Chakra

• Lean back, draw the lower belly in,  and lift your feet.
• Legs bent, hold onto your shins.
• Press shins and hands into each other and look forward.

Full Boat (Navasana)

Continuing from the previous pose.

• Hold the backs of your legs.
• Stretch those legs straight!
• Press the backs of your legs into your hands and lift your chest.
• Look towards your feet.

2. Put Value Behind It

It’s time to get those creative juices flowing and put your money where your mouth is.  Because if you don’t put something of tangible value behind your dream, you’re showing the universe that it doesn’t really hold value for you.  The dream will fizzle out.

Cobra (Bhujangasana)

Activate the Second Chakra

• From your belly, place your hands flat on the ground next to the chest.
• Lift the head of your shoulders, drawing shoulder blades towards one another.
• Gently curl the chest forward and up, pressing the hands into the earth.
• Look straight ahead or up to the sky.

Baby Cobra (Bhujangasana)

• You always have the choice to do a baby cobra.
• Don’t lift up so high if your lower back is unhappy.
• Keep your chest just a few inches from the earth.

3. Set Down Strong Roots

Just like the Empress from the Tarot deck, you are getting ready to give birth to your dream and it needs strong roots and the ability to adapt with great patience.  Think of a nurturing mother.

Squat  (Malasana)

Activate the First Chakra

• Place feet outer hips distance wide and firmly planted on the earth (the heels must be pressing into something – this is great to do on a hillside).
• Gently lower the hips towards the earth.
• If this hurts your knees, sit on a little stool in this squatting position.
• Knees and toes always should point in the same direction.

Modified Squat (Sukhasana)

• This is a fun variation to the squat.
• From the squat, slowly stretch one leg off to the side, knee and toes pointed to the sky.

4. Bide Your Time

Dreams like babies need time to gestate.  It’s wise not to rush these things.

Meditation

• Listen to the sound of your breath.
• With every inhale, silently say to yourself, Ham.
• With every exhale, silently say to yourself, Sa.

Ham Sa = I Am That.

Thoughts are powerful.  Remember, where your attention goes, there your energy flows.

5. Keep Showing Up

Perseverance and determination will set your dream apart from others.

Even when things get difficult or uncomfortable we’ll keep showing up.

Why?  This is our dream.