HAPPY SUMMER SOLSTICE!!

Also known as Midsummer or Litha.

Longest day, shortest night, apex of the solar cycle, the sun reaches its peak!

The Summer Solstice is a combination of joyous celebration and the realisation that the wheel has reached a pinnacle and is now turning towards the dark again. It is a time to gather loved ones and to celebrate community!

• Call the fire energy, invite towards you, feel or imagine its warmth in your heart, and tune your warm heart with the Mother Earth heart beat below and tune into the Divine Love above, all heart is one now! Enjoy it, expand it and share with others!

• And yet, a few quiet moments in a darkened room with a lit candle, give a sense of peace. It's a time for inner connection as well, because the inner and outer communities are interwoven.

We're in the Fire Element season: the season of the heart. The heart is such an important organ, it connects with all the organs, if it stops, everything stops!
We need fire to do the Inner Alchemy Taoist practices, as our body is mostly composed of water.  The first practice starts with the inner-smile; inner-smile originates from self-love and self-acceptance towards our body.

• Sitting quietly, connect with your heart beat, relax all your body and your mind, and with your mind's eye look in front of you and see the sun, breathe in the sunlight through your midi-eyebrow, let this warm and energising feeling spread through all your being...and now smile at your heart, where the sun always shines, breathe in the light of love, and remember first love is self-love, the unconditional love towards yourself essential to receive and give true love; breathe in the red light of joy, think upon everyday life and its joyful gifts; breathe in red light of laughter and happiness, think of the laughter which always works as a spirit lift! And about happiness: The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.

"Without an open and loving heart, you can never taste the nectar and pure bliss of life." Jamie Sams. 

© Anamarta

July: Lets celebrate Beauty!

Hello Beautiful Women, 

Finally sunshine in UK! For others not seeing much sun at this moment, just a reminder that the sun is always shining inside your heart! Or even behind the cloud, always there smiling at you, illuminating you with light and life...
Summer, the Fire Element, the Heart, the important organ we can't live without, let's say the Emperor or Empress (why not?...) of your Internal Universe, very Taoist indeed... The virtues of the heart: love, joy, happiness, fun, laughter, enthusiasm, motivation, passion!

And Love creates beauty!
Do you know one way to attune yourself to beauty is by awakening the heart chakra?... So this month join me in the celebration of beauty, starting with your beautiful self and of course when you feel good you look good, so your inner beauty will spread into your outer world, inspiring all around you. As well be open to perceive beauty... as it is everywhere, as you know "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." For this celebration I'll be posting in our facebook page every few days this month (starting today) various beauty tips, so join me in the 'Jade Virtual Circle'.

And just for you here I share:

 ** Click here to read this 'Beauty' post for some inspiration on beauty along with some extra tips.

It's with enthusiasm and excitement, yes heart virtues, that I mention that the highlight of the Jade Circle Summer will be our special workshop to embrace and deeply connect with your inner fire, find out:

How can we use the secrets of Taoist practice to enjoy this life and enhance our inner beauty? 
...cultivate your inner beauty for your outer radiance! 
The 'Let Your Inner Beauty OuT!' workshop comes along with the opportunity for pampering, fun, learning feminine practices to integrate straight away into your life and reap their benefits such as: hormonal balance, wellbeing, rejuvenation, and more! 

With lots of beauty tips and revealing tantric secrets.
As well to have an introduction or to evolve (for those who learned them already) the foundation Taoist Practices (Inner smile, Healing Sounds & Microcosmic Orbit); and have a good taste of the Kalbelian Gypsy Dance, the root of Flamenco: yes the Gypsy original came from the Rajasthani desert in India! 

Why beauty secrets?...

• "They are no ugly women, only lazy women." Helena Rubinstein 
• "The body is fundamental and necessary for the realization of  the Divine intention." Rumi

Beautiful wishes for a beautiful July*** 

© Anamarta 

Laughter Medicine

Hello!

How is being your Summer?

This time of connecting with the fire within, with our yang energy of doing!

And this time of doing its balanced and sparkly with the heart virtues of love, joy, happiness, laughter, passion, enthusiasm, motivation.

A time of being out enjoying the warm sunshine, be spontaneous, having fun and spending time with loved ones!

I just got back from Portugal, where I connected and embraced the latin fire with loooots of laughter, fun and company of dear friends and family; then back to London to facilitate a lovely Step 2, where the Jade Circle ladies filled up the room with their radiant presence! So happy and proud to have them there!

I've been enjoying learning to balance sacredness with irreverence.

Looks like every time I start to get too serious or stressed, yes, caught in the web of the adult world we create, something happens which makes me realise... but for what?! And I end up of laughing at myself, yes, sometimes the lesson is even painful, but I laugh; so much more uplifting!...

• Here a great exercise: laughing at yourself!! I'm sure you've some reasons, episodes in your life, even attitudes, situations you had at the time were not funny at all , but now you can laugh of them! And when we can laugh at ourselves, we can make others truly laugh. Generating all good feelings, and I believe a much lighter surroundings and world!

"..laughing is a transforming and uplifting exercise, not only in a physical sense, but also mentally and spiritually..."

" The view will always expand if we use the Divine Medicine of Laughter. Nothing is beyond repair. We may need to use comedy to crack a smile so we can reclaim our Sacred Space."

Jamie Sams

Sometimes we really cannot change what is happening around us, things which are out of out control (like stuck in the traffic, train when going to get a plane or on our way to an important meeting, etc... I'm sure you can think about various examples...), but we always have in our hands the way we respond to it.

Definitely the Taoist practices help me to support this way of being, with the powerful and simple tools it offer to keep the harmony of my internal universe, just the deep awareness of my physical, emotional and energetic bodies and like this deal with them and take the most of the things they have to offer.

And one of my favourite practices, for the ones who know me, guess? Yes, that's right, smile!!:) I wrote a post about it: Smile And...Smile!! And definitely the laughing chi kung - what a burst of fresh and energizing chi!

• Try it! Just laugh, with the laughing chi kung with do it with different kind of laughs, starting with ohohohoh, then wowowowow, then ahahahahah, then heheheheh, and finish with hihiihiihiih. You laugh, you'll bounce your body, which its great for your uterus to move a bit, a fantastic to open your throat, which its connect with your sexual centre, a yin & yang connection, being one your creative center and the other the way you express your creativity, your truth, yourself - if one its blocked will reflect in the other and vice-versa - so this exercise its a important complement for your Jade Egg practice. And you'll feel great and energize after it!!

I remember to hear from the old wise ones: its nothing better that a guffaw from the soul.

Laughter actually increases production of an antibody that is responsible for our first line of defense against bacterial infection.

Laughter, love making and exercise are the best medicine of all!

"Humour is essential for balancing the energies in our organs. Humour is great regulator helping us to look with a sense of relativity, playfulness and lightness at ourselves. It is an expression of compassionate energy of the heart which helps to look with a sense of detachment at ourselves and not take ourselves so seriously that it becomes difficult to relax and be a witness rather than a severe judge." Mantak Chia in Cosmic Fusion.

If you want to learn more about this profound Fusion of 5 Elements practice, we have just a few places left on our annual workshop at the end of the coming week.

© Anamarta

Inner Beauty OuTer Radiance!!

The fire, yang energy is out there! Time of doing, what have you been doing for yourself this Summer?...  
Yes, its important when doing a lot, to have yourself on the top of the list 'To Do'. And of course you are always worth it for a treat or pampering time. Every time I have an opportunity I do it so! This includes cultivating your beauty, which starts by cultivating love, joy and happiness!
The secret of true love is to be lovable. LOVE Yourself, let the energy of love flow within you and be expressed in your outer world.
Joy!=) Every day do something that gives you pure joy, which happens when our heart smiles! And your face follows your heart, contributing to your natural beauty!...  
For a few beauty tips click here and benefits of smiling click here.
Happy people shine!...Notice in yourself when you're happy! Be happy! Get happy! Positive emotions have been linked to a lower risk of coronary heart disease. Also boosts your immune system, enabling it to handle stressful situations better.
Definitely true beauty comes from inside, but we are also allowed to be beautiful on the outside too, after all our body is the temple of our spirit!
"The body is fundamental and necessary for the realization of the Divine intention" (Rumi )
One of the things that really applied to me with the Taoist practices is the care and importance of the body as the soul, the important balance of physical, emotional, energetic and spiritual.
You already know you've to give special attention to your heart this season.
**Keep smiling to you heart... :)

***To let go the heart (negative) emotions, to cool down your heart heat do the healing sound.
Focus on you heart, delve into it and acknowledge any feelings of impatience, apathy, cruelty and hatred, breathe in from your heart and breathe out all these feelings with the heart sound HAWWWWWW. As the sound vibrates in your heart inhale now in the fresh red light of love, joy, happiness, laughter, honor, radiance and enthusiasm. To add the movement, when you breath out raise your arms and clasp above the head, then lean to the right.

***Do you know grapes are the heart's best friend?  
Being rich in vitamins A, B and C, besides proteins, carbohydrates, iodine, phosphorus and flavoides, grapes protect the heart against stroke, help clear clogged arteries and regulate the levels of cholesterol in the blood. Also improve the functioning of the kidneys and liver! But just be aware the green or white grapes do not have the same effect of the black or red grapes, because it does not contain flavoides - substances that act as anti-inflammatory and help in the protection of every organism against free radicals that cause aging.
*Grapes promote fertility and mental power and...
...you can use to clean your skin!
**Cut two large grapes in half horizontally and remove the seeds, rub the grapes all over your face in circular motions. Rinse and dry with a towel.

***Good news: chocolate protects the heart! Of course chocolate is just good only when consumed in moderation, the ideal is 30g to 50g per day of dark or milk chocolate. But experts say that one piece of dark chocolate a day can benefit the heart, as its high in antioxidants called polyphenols, that prevents the fats in the blood vessel walls, (is good for men's libido too!). And the chocolate is often associated with feelings of joy, happiness and well-being!

***If you don't like chocolate or grapes, maybe green tea is the best option for your heart! It is known that green tea has medicinal features that lower the levels of cholesterol, improves blood circulation and reduce the risk of stroke.

Ah! What was my treat and pampering this Summer? 
Well a few, contra-balanced with lots of doing... But the best one was the Lomi Lomi Nui massage, this lovely Hawaiian massage I received from Goddess Jusytna! Amazing! Such a delicious, relaxed and nurturing time I had. I recommend it. 

© Anamarta

Welcoming the Summer!!

The sun is shining, the warm weather is out there, the Summer approaches with the love, joy, laughter, happiness that symbolize this season, the season of the heart!

Welcoming the Summer?

*******Turn your face to the sun, breath *her warm, love, joy, let the sun light filling up all your being, all your organs, all your glands, all your bones, all your cells. Smile at the sun! *(the Japanese Taoist 'Shinto' have a Sun Goddess, Amaterasu).

*******Spread your arms out wide to embrace the happy breeze!

"Taoists perceive the heart as the seat of love, joy, and happiness, which can connect with the Universal Love", Mantak Chia in Cosmic Fusion. 
Many of you asked me what is the practice of 'Fusion'?
It is a great meditation(s) we learn in Step 3 - Fusion of the 5 Elements - as the name says, we go through all our organs (which link with each element) and transform the (negative) emotions, and enhance their positive virtues. This is not a just a process of deep refining of emotions, but to strengthen the energy field, harmonization with the self and the total freedom to be yourself!

If you want to learn more, we've the annual workshop coming in July- check the calendar. 
"Negative energies may be seen as a kind of garbage. If we discharge it into the environment, it becomes a major factor in generating toxins, bacteria, viruses and a variety of forms of disease by which negative emotions are multiplied and become more and more difficult to control. Or they can be seen as highly positive and urgently need for recycling to help us grow and improve our balance, so that we do not become a burden and threat for others or environment, but a blessing, as our energies contribute to a climate of harmony and peace. The more light chi that enters our body and the more we radiate it into others and our surroundings, the less bacteria and viruses have a chance to grow." Mantak Chia

© Anamarta

HAPPY SUMMER!!

Hello and Happy Summer!

Each year when the richness of Summer moves across the Earth Mother and Old Man Winter was just a memory, the seeds already sown, the flowers opened... We come into a time of warmth, which brings us energy and good feelings; a time of light, which illuminates and inspires to create; a time to enjoy the fruits of love and success; a time to celebrate joy, passion, enthusiasm and pleasure.

Enjoy the summertime!
The sultry air is an invitation to savour life. Let your inner playmate out of hiding; laughter is a great way to shake up your routine, hang out and giggle with people! And lets not forget romance, that's one thing the weather's never too hot to enjoy. Then again, some of the greatest pleasures are the simplest: walking in the nature; smell the flowers; napping in a hammock; licking an ice cream very, very slowly.

And don't forget that the sun always shines inside of our heart!
We are in the heart season, associate with the fire element. Fire dances, fire warms, fire burns, fire creates and fire destroys.

• SMILE at your heart breathing in the red light of love, starting for love yourself unconditionally; breathing in the red light of joy, joie de vivre, celebrating your everyday life's gifts.

Without an open and loving heart, you can never taste the nectar and pure bliss of life.

It has been suggested that our heart generates its own energy field, which interacts with the energy fields of other people.

• Consciously radiated love, caring feelings from your heart to everyone around you, and they’ll transmit these same energies to you in return.

One way to attune yourself to beauty is by awakening the heart chakra. And do you know our heart centre is the strongest generator of light energy in the body, even stronger than the brain?

• Sit quietly, take a few deep breaths and focus on your heart, imagine breathing in the sunlight and smile at your heart, call to someone you love. Let your heart fill with warmth and appreciation for them. The nourishment such a feelings give to body, mind and spirit enhance your own beauty.

Summon restful energy to care for yourself, strengthen your health and be your best to celebrate this Summer in the fullest and to reward yourself with a sip of life's joy and sweetness.

© Anamarta