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Pratyahara is the fifth stage in Patanjali’s Eight Limbs of Yoga.  This word is a combination of two sanskrit words: Prati means “against” or “withdrawal,” and Ahara means “food” or any external thing that we allow into ourselves.  So Pratyahara is withdrawing of anything that we take in; in short, it is known as withdrawal of the senses.  This stage is where practicing Yoga starts to become a real challenge.  The four other limbs that precede Pratyahara are generally “easier” because they’re things that we can take action on.  Living in a world where we have so many things at our disposal, practicing pratyahara is a lot tougher but absolutely necessary.

The first thing I tend to do when I wake up in the morning is to check the time on my Fitbit or on my phone. (I usually wake up before my alarm goes off, so I like to check the time to see how long I have left before I need to get out of bed.)  Once I’m up, I get ready for the day and then go downstairs into the kitchen to make myself some tea.  While I’m drinking my tea, I read my Bible and pray.  Depending on whether or not I’m teaching that morning, I will either make breakfast or go into my home yoga studio and set up my equipment to teach virtually on Zoom.  From early afternoon until early evening, I either work on business-related tasks, exercise, run errands, or work on homeschool-related things.  In the early evenings, I have dinner with my family, teach evening classes, virtually meet with private clients, attend virtual midweek church services, or watch Netflix with my family.  By the end of the week, it’s easy to feel drained because of all the different things that were demanding attention of my senses: Sense of taste, smell, sight, touch, and hearing.  I feel that we need to take time to practice Pratyahara more than ever before.

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”
Mark 1:35

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”
1 Corinthians 9:24-27

I’m grateful for our senses.  I’m grateful that I can wake up every morning hearing the birds chirping in my yard, taste the warm cup of tea, smell the aroma of my scented candles, see the beautiful roses outside my window and feel the loving hugs from my family.  I’m also grateful for technology; if it weren’t for WiFi and my laptop, publishing my weekly blogs wouldn’t take place.  I’m grateful that I can keep in touch with my family and childhood friends through social media.  But it is so easy to become so attached to these things that we don’t stop to completely withdraw from all the physical, mental and emotional noises.  When I meditate, I use earplugs to block out all the noise and go into one of our walk-in closets and turn the light off.  I start with a pranayama practice and then sit still to just “Be.”

“Be still and know that I am God.”
Psalm 46:10

It’s amazing how deeply you can connect with God when you stop all the inner chatter and outer distractions.  This practice of Pratyahara isn’t something you will “master” right away.  In fact, I don’t know if there is such a thing as mastering complete sense withdrawal while you’re still alive because being physically alive requires us to engage in our senses; However, it is so essential for our well-being to routinely unplug and decompress so that we can be filled up with the goodness of God.  I encourage you to start with just 5 minutes of sitting still, create evenness in the breath (inhaling for the same length of time as exhaling), and just observe.  Be fully present in each moment, and see what God reveals to you.

With Gratitude,

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“I’m concerned for your soul,” “You’re doing the devil’s work by teaching yoga,” “How can you say you’re a Christian when you’re teaching the belief system of the Hindu religion?”  These are some of many comments and questions that I’ve received about me being a Christian who teaches yoga and meditation.  In my book, BE STILL: The Power of Biblical Meditation, I wrote about a specific incident that happened to me about 4 years ago.  I’m honestly not offended by people who express their concern for me; in fact, I appreciate the fact that they care enough to express their concerns.  What I am not crazy about is the fact that most of these people’s concerns are based on what they’ve heard other people say or on a negative experience that they’ve had either personally or through someone else.  I would like to take this time to dispel the rumor that Yoga is a religion.

YOGA IS NOT A RELIGION… UNLESS YOU WANT IT TO BE.

In my training as a Yoga Teacher (through the 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training I completed and all the advanced training I’ve received since then), I have learned that Yoga was not meant to be a religion but rather a tool to help you meet the Authentic You.  This “authentic you” is the pure essence of who you were created to be, before you accumulated all the baggage that you carry (which you received from yourself and from others).  For me, the goal of Yoga is to get in touch with who God has created me to be since the beginning of His plans for me (Jeremiah 29:11-13).  I use Yoga as a tool to get my mind quiet and my spirit still enough to hear the voice of God (1 Kings 19:12, Psalm 46:10).

Depending on the lineage and the style of Yoga a person practices, it can be a more physically-based practice or a more spiritually-based practice.  What I practice and teach are somewhere in the middle with a whole lot of science.  I start each class with setting an intention for the practice, whether it be “stillness” (to experience stillness in each movements), “gratitude” (to be grateful for breath, for movement, for strength, etc.), “perseverance” (to be okay with discomfort in the challenging poses), etc.  At the end of the postures, I guide my students through a guided relaxation during savasana which activates the parasympathetic nervous system (the “rest and digest” response to homeostasis).  We finish with a breathing exercise called Pranayama where I guide them to use their breath to continue creating a balance mentally, emotionally and spiritually.  This is where they (and I) really experience stillness.

In addition to considering their physical levels, I take time to create yoga practices for my students in a very scientific and methodical way.  Since I only teach morning yoga classes at the moment, I make sure that the poses that I incorporate into my sequences are balancing and uplifting (if you’ve ever done a back-bending yoga pose, you can attest to the energizing/uplifting effect and a balancing/centering effect if you’ve stayed in a standing pose like Tree Pose for several breaths).  There’s science to back up the neurological benefits of yoga such as increase in endorphins and reduction in cortisol level (check out this article about “Neurobiology of Asana“).

To me, Yoga is a tool, not a religion.  It’s like walking (I use this example a lot, so if you’ve ever heard me say this in a workshop or seen it in a blog or social media post, just bear with me):  You can be walking toward someone with the intent of giving them a hug or you can be walking toward someone with the intent of robbing them.  The walking itself is not good or bad.  The walking, in this case, is simply a tool to complete your goal.  Just like this example, you can use Yoga as a religion or as a tool to enhance your faith.

At the end of each class, I bring my hands to heart-center — in prayer position — and take a moment to give thanks to God for that very moment.  I also pray that I commit to keeping my yoga practice centered around Him and Him only.

So to answer the question, is Yoga a religion or not…  I must use what one of my Yoga Teachers, Nikki Myers says a lot:

It depends.

The answer depends on you.

With Gratitude,

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Have you ever felt like a weirdo?  While writing my blog last week about Self Love vs. Selfish Love, I mentioned that I’m the oddball in my family.  I used to hate feeling like none of my family members understood me.  What I hated even more was when I was told by my classmates that I was weird.  On the outside, I would act like I didn’t care what people thought of me, but those three words (“You’re so weird.”) stung deeply.  By the time I was in high school, I learned how to cover up my “weirdness” by conforming to the crowd.  I became a social chameleon, and I thought I had it all figured out; but deep inside, I was suppressing my oddities more and more each day.

I’m not sure when it changed, but it seems like as I grew older, it became easier to let go of the pretenses that I was “normal.”  I didn’t even know what “normal” really meant!  I just knew that I didn’t want to fit into a certain mold.  The more I became comfortable with being different, the more I felt free to be me.

I recently watched the first episode of Carpool Karaoke on Apple TV+, and the two “carpoolers” were Will Smith and James Corden.  While they were chatting about their careers and Will’s rise to stardom, he said that during his Fresh Prince of Bel Air days, he felt so free to be whoever he wanted to be.  In fact, his famous head rotation in the theme song/video was totally improvised, and he didn’t feel embarrassed about it, and nobody questioned why he did it.   He became famous for his clean rap about everyday things in the midst of rappers who were known for rapping about their dangerous lives and rough upbringing.  Will Smith was willing to stand out from the crowd and be “different” so that he can be himself.  My friends and I were drawn to his music because he stayed true to himself.

I’ve grown more comfortable in my own skin throughout the years.  I like the fact that I’m one of the few suburban moms who color her hair whatever color in the rainbow (although I’m currently rocking my natural dark brown color to give my hair a break).  I like the fact that while some of my friends and family are doctors, corporate executives, CEOs, scientists and college professors, I’m a homeschool educator, yoga & meditation teacher, indie author, and a pilates instructor.  I like that I find ridiculous comedy like Napoleon Dynamite hilarious and that I make up songs about anything throughout the day.

You will always have to live with yourself, and it is to your best interest to see that you have good company – a clean, pure, straight, honest, upright, generous, magnanimous companion.”
— Orison Swett Marden, Founder of SUCCESS Magazine

Embrace your uniqueness.  Love what makes you YOU.  Give yourself a mental high-five (aka clap 😂) next time you think to yourself, “I’m SO weird!” 

With Gratitude,

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It’s that time of the year…  Festively decorated houses, gridlock mall parking lots, free 2-day shipping (for us Amazon Prime Members), receiving packages, etc.  In the middle of all the hustle and bustle, it is so easy to forget what Christmas should really be all about.  So, using the “Holiday To-Do List” that I saw on-line (I recreated the photo on the left), I decided to personalize each point:

1.  Buy Presents Be Present

My love language is Receiving Gifts.  This doesn’t mean that you can buy my friendship.  It just means a lot to me when a family member or a friend gets me something (it could be a box of Altoids) because it reminded them of me.  It shows that they were thinking about me.  But because receiving gifts is my love language, I tend to default to giving gifts to show my appreciation and love (that’s probably one of the reasons why I do a monthly giveaway to my newsletter subscribers who have purchased a copy of my book).  I want to work on being more present in these last few days we have left in 2019.

2.  Wrap Gifts  Wrap Someone in a Hug

This one sounded a little cheesy to me at first, but I started thinking about how you just don’t know what kind of day someone is having.  Some time this year, my husband Shawn saw a homeless man near his office as he was walking to his car.  The homeless man asked for help, and Shawn gave him all the cash he had in his wallet (we generally don’t carry cash, so the fact that he had some was unusual); but what impacted the man more than the money was the fact that Shawn spent a few minutes talking to him afterwards, and he gave the man a hug before he got in his car and drove home.  I want to work on making people feel special with a hug the way Shawn made that homeless man feel that day.

3.  Send Gifts Give Love

Because we live on the opposite coast as our extended families, we send a lot of gifts during this time of the year.  But how much love am I giving during this holiday season?  Am I taking the time to make sure I’m loving people the way they feel loved (not everybody’s love language is going to be Receiving Gifts).  I want to make sure I take the time to figure out what my friends and family’s love languages are so that I can give love the way they will feel loved.

4. Shop for Food Donate Food

I must admit, I have not done a great job at donating food.  I mean, I feed all of my daughter’s friends when they come over (it’s amazing how much food teenagers can consume), so sometimes I feel like I’m donating food to them!  But seriously speaking, I know there are people in my community who may need extra help with food during the holidays.  In fact (as I’m writing this), I just remembered a friend who can probably use assistance with food this season.  I will reach out to her today to make sure she and her family have food to enjoy this week.

5.  Make Cookies Make Time for Others

I tend to like being alone.  I like going to bookstores alone, and I even enjoy having a meal at a fancy restaurant alone.  Not that I’m anti-social; I just enjoy “ME TIME” because that’s how I recharge (yes, spoken like a true introvert).  But this holiday season, I’ve been making plans with friends that have been wanting to spend time with me (and vice versa).  As I get older, I desire memories more than material things.

6.  See the Lights Be the Light

This is a big one.  In order to be the light, I need to be shining.  And in order to shine, I need to be intentional about walking in my authenticity.  I find myself wanting to get lazy and hibernate as the weather gets colder and life gets more hectic.  I need to make sure I go back to my Why’s.

I hope that this has inspired you to make your own Holiday To-Do List that goes beyond the hustle and bustle of Christmas!

With Gratitude,

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So I bet you’re wondering what my association to Kate Hudson is.

Kate is the co-founder of Fabletics, an active wear company for all shapes and sizes (they even have a men’s line called FL2)… and I represent her company as a Master Trainer.

The Master Trainers (known as “Fabletics Masters”) lead dance/fitness/yoga events that Fabletics sponsors. I get to give away Fabletics Swag at the events that I teach and answer questions and provide information on their VIP Program.

I have been a Fabletics Master for a little over a year now, and I am so proud to represent a company that celebrates all women! (Like I mentioned earlier, they do have a men’s line called FL2, but I’m going to focus on the women thing for now)

As you can see in my pictures on this website, I’m not exactly a size 0 fitness model. I’m a size 4, medium-build and average height (5’4″), and sometimes after eating a really great Indian Buffet, I get bloated and feel like someone should roll me out of the restaurant (it doesn’t happen often, but I do indulge at Indian Buffets once in a while). What I’m trying to say is, I’m not someone that would stand out in the crowd at the grocery store. But whenever I write blogs for Fabletics and send photos to them to publish on their site (like this one), they never retouch my photos to make me look leaner or more in shape.  I love that about Fabletics.

Kate is also very involved in the design process.  She and the design team listen to feedback from customers and us Masters.  In fact, we (Masters) provide feedback every quarter on the products (how they fit, the designs, etc.) to the design team… and our feedback to them is based on what the public (our students, friends, family, co-workers) expresses to us.

Here are a few of my Fabletics Outfits:

I’ve compiled a short list of common questions that I’ve been asked (and my answers to the questions):

• Q: What is the VIP Program?
  A:  It is like an on-line membership where you get special pricing on the clothing.
• Q:  Do you have to become a VIP Member to buy from Fabletics?
  A:  No, you can make purchases without being a VIP Member but you will have to pay full-price for the items.
• Q:  Do you have to buy something every month?
  A:  No, you can skip purchasing for the month by the 5th. You can skip as many months as you like. You will receive more than one e-mail in the beginning of each month to remind you.
• Q:  I just saw a Fabletics commercial on TV about getting the first outfit for 50%.  How do I take advantage of that?
  A:  Click here to go to the website and sign up as a VIP Member to take advantage of the 50% off on your first outfit!

I recommend getting the Salar Capri or Salar Leggings… They have maximum compression but don’t feel like they’re sucking your insides tight!

Happy Shopping!

Namaste,
Jheni