“There is no such thing as maturity. There is instead an ever-evolving process of maturity, because when there is a maturity there is a conclusion and cessation. That’s the end. That’s when the coffin is closed. You might be deteriorating physically in the long process of aging, but your personal process of daily discovery is ongoing. You continue to learn more and more about yourself everyday.” – Bruce Lee

The process of emotional evolution and self-discovery is one that should last our entire lives. If we are the same person that we were 10 years ago, emotionally, it would be safe to say that we have become stagnant emotionally, consciously, and spiritually. When we really sit and think about it, the task of progressing as a person is really our only task while we are here on this earth.

“In total surrender of the ego, the transformation of our vibration unfolds by itself to levels far beyond our imagination” – Annette Duveroth

It is often discussed whether or not destiny and fate are real, or if we come here with complete free will to create our life however we choose. Technically we can see the evidence of both. We hear stories of how people were in the right place at the right time to discover someone or something that completely changed their life.

People have dreams or premonitions of instances before they happen, which can only lead us to believe that some circumstances are fated to occur. On the other side of the coin, we see people who waste their entire lives on an addiction or in a dysfunctional relationship only to just grow older, get sicker and eventually just die, which leads to the question, “Was that really their destiny?”

Couldn’t a few better choices in their life have led them down a path that would have eventually led them to a happier and more fulfilling life?

“When the Sacred Masculine is combined with the sacred feminine inside each of us, we create the ‘sacred marriage’ of compassion and passion in ourselves.” – Matthew Fox

The age of armored masculinity is dead and dying at our feet. It’s a bloody tangle of weaponry and bloated egos glued together by myopic one-upmanship and congealed rage.

But buried in the rot and decay are the seeds of a new way of being a man in this world, a reawakening of our awareness of the sacred brought on by the reemergence of the divine feminine. No amount of armor can suppress it. No amount of weaponry can keep it at bay. The New Shiva is growing robust and powerful alongside the New Shakti. The world may not be ready for this New Man to emerge, but emerge he must, if we are to continue living on a planet which is demanding that a healthier more sustainable man appear.

“Words fail to express the total value of yoga. It has to be experienced.” – B.K.S. Iyenger

A ballad with eternal music and perennial flow, yoga is an art form which requires commitment to the self, for the self & through the self. Practicing yoga regularly requires dedication, inclination and aptitude. It is an experience to be lived and felt.

But yoga is never love at first sight or in this case in the first class. Just like a relationship, it needs regularity, communication, patience and loyalty. From third or fourth class, it would grow on you and after 10th class, yoga will consume you. A committed relationship is what I would say, starts to build. However, in order to reach to the 10th class, we have to start with the first.

Here is a list of 8 asanas (body postures) for complete beginners to ignite the yogic passion –

1) Palm tree pose

“There are hundreds of paths up the mountain, all leading to the same place, so it doesn’t matter which path you take. The only person wasting time is the one who runs around the mountain telling everyone that her or his path is wrong.”- Hindu Proverb

Everything is God. God is all there is. Just let that sink in for a second. There is no other material or fabric to make anything in this universe out of other than the fabric of God. Every person, every leaf on a tree, every planet, it’s all God. Nothing can exist independently of God since it would be impossible for something to exist that is not made from the only material there is to make anything out of.

It has been said that God created us in his image and likeness. So if we are made from the very fabric that God itself is made of and if we have the power to create just like God does, then technically we can choose to create our version of how we see and experience God. Not only this, but we must know that our perception and image of our God may not be the exact same as the next person’s and that’s ok.