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Advice from a Tree

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What an opportunity to experience yoga’s tree pose (Vriksasana) while absorbing the energy from the trunk of this tree.  What a powerful experience to feel into the roots of this tree, to reflect on its life, and to stand where it stood for so many years.  It seemed perfect to pair the photo with “the advice from a tree.” from ‘anon.’  Learn the tree pose below. 

 

Advice from a TreeJulie's Tree pose

stand tall and proud

go out on a limb

remember your roots

drink plenty of water

be content with your natural beauty

enjoy the view

And I’d like to add…

bask in the sun

don’t mind the clouds

provide shelter for birds, squirrels, and other creatures

go with the winds that are blowing through your life

climb a tree once in a while

Practice yoga’s tree pose (vrksasana) to gain balance, core strength, humility, centering, and self-acceptance.

Stand tall. Balance your weight equally on both feet in mountain pose (tadasana). Put your hands on your hips. Breathe. Raise your right foot and press it into the inside of your left leg either above or below the knee. Steady your gaze. Raise your arms up like branches. Wobbling is normal and helpful. Hold for several breaths and repeat on the other side. See the picture above.

 

 

Yoga on Demand

Get Yoga on Demand!  Get unlimited yoga classes for streaming for personal, non-commercial use. Bonus videos & info links included.

It’s the perfect way to rekindle your health, happiness, and sense of wonder.

I’m having a great time with the Yoga on Demand! Lori N 

Practice anytime @ any hour.
Now till July 1, 2026

Class plans go month-to-month.

On sale now!
Only $45 for the entire month!
… Regular price is $60 

All you need ..

  • Smartphone, tablet or computer.
  • Zoom. Get it free here.
  • Yoga mat or towel and a floor.
  • Optional props (blankets, pillows, etc.)

Yoga on Demand works great for me.  DJ

Yoga Zoom Options |  In-person Options

Pick your plan.  Book it now.  Enjoy!

How it Works.

  • Pick your plan from 3 options.
  • Add it to your cart. 
  • Plans are only valid for dates specified.  Subscriptions go month-to-month. 
  • Get access link to your class plan in the Transaction Receipt on registration. Check spam or junk mail if you don’t see the link.

On sale now! Just $30 per plan | Regular price is $60 | | Contact Julie Lusk to pay by check or request a scholarship. 

I love Yoga on Demand. Thanks!  CR

♥ Plan A …. 5 Yoga Nidra Relaxation – Audio Classes

  1. Heartfelt Yoga Nidra Meditation | Feel relaxed and balanced by gently moving your awareness throughout your body. Sohum breathing is used as a mantra. Calm your mind and emotions with inner eye gazing (chidakasha). Awaken your intuition and inner guidance with guided imagery. Enjoy ample time to dwell in the peaceful presence of Yoga Nidra. A heartfelt pledge (sankalpa) is used to support enduring change.
  2. Tender Time Yoga Nidra | Relieve physical tension with a light progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) exercise. Balance energy and awareness with the booster breath that adds a pause and an extra boost after inhaling and exhaling. Mindfulness and guided imagination easily leads you into feeling peaceful and spacious. Intuition and unconditional joy often result. A heartfelt pledge (sankalpa) is used.
  3. Yoga Nidra for Restoring & Enhancing Health & Wellbeing | Generate deep calmness and enhance immunity and cell renewal using autogenic training with a special healing breath.  Experience health-enhancing intuitive guidance for insights. Enjoy guided imagination for remembering wellness to enhance health.
  4. Drop into Yoga Nidra Quickly | Relax completely by lifting and dropping portions of the body, a good substitute for anyone with contraindications for tensing muscles (PMR).  Rinse away tension with an imaginary waterway. Intuition comes alive when an imagined animal appears to give and receive messages. Peace and joy are sprinkled down for absorption.
  5. Yoga Nidra Heart Connections | Experience an amazing Yoga Nidra journey through all the dimensions of the heart starting with the physical organ itself to the heartbeat of lifeforce energy. The windows of the emotional heart are acknowledged and wiped clean to reveal the clarity of ones’ knowing heart and and the spiritual heart connection to ones’ path with a capital P.  Live harp music is played throughout.

Plan A 

♥  Plan B… 5 Hatha Yoga Posture – Video Classes| All classes include muscle and  joint warm-ups, breathwork, and mindfulness.  Enjoy savory savasana time for gaining relaxed energy.

  1. Tone & Strengthen | Yoga to strengthen and flatten abdominals, tone back, legs, hips, and more. The psoas sequence is featured.
  2. Fortify Bones, Muscles & Flexibility | Features 12 postures scientifically proven to increase bone density and improve alignment. Postures for balance and for strong muscles and bones are featured. Get a 75-minute and a 30-minute practice videos.
  3. Good for Core Alignment | Improve core strength, alignment, and energy.
  4. Moon Salute | Practice a fun yoga sequence that has it all … Flexibility. Strength. Coordination.
  5. Chair Yoga | Benefit from yoga sitting down. Additional info given from Julie Lusk’s book, Desktop Yoga (r)

Plan B

♥  Plan C … 3 + 3 is 3 Yoga Nidra Audio Classes + 3 Hatha Yoga Video Classes

Yoga Nidra

      1. Heartfelt Yoga Nidra Meditation | Description above
      2. Tender Time Yoga Nidra | Description above
      3. Drop into Yoga Nidra Quickly | Description above

 

Hatha Yoga Postures

      1. Fortify bones, muscles & flexibility | Description above
      2. Tone & Strengthen | Description above
      3. Chair Yoga | Description above


Plan C

Registration Help..

  1. Click here for the CART to review your order & check out. The cart is also in the right column and down below.
  2. Get access link to your class plan in the Transaction Receipt on registration. Check spam or junk mail if you don’t see the link.  You will be emailed sign-in info and instructions. Look in spam or junk mail if you don’t see it.
  3. Contact Julie Lusk anytime 

Click now to see Julie Lusk’s catalog of 6 books, dozens of audios, and more, including her book, Yoga Nidra for Complete Relaxation & Stress Relief.   

Contact me anytime!  

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

Yoga Alliance E-RYT-500

YACEP

 

 

My meeting with the Dalai Lama

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My notes from hearing the Dalai Lama on May 14, 2010 – Indianapolis, IN

The Dalai Lama was in Indianapolis to speak on Facing Challenges with Wisdom and Compassion.

It was at the Conseco basketball arena. Just like a basketball, the sound bounced around making it hard to hear clearly.  It reminded me of the acoustics when we heard Thich Nhat Hanh in Chicago.  Too much echo.

Still, I picked up a lot and I’d like to share it with you with the understanding that any misconceptions are on my part, and not on the part of the Dalai Lama.

All people want to achieve, and have the right to happiness and inner peace.

Should there be more Buddhism in America? No.  He said Americans already have the answers for finding true happiness and inner peace by way of the religions we already practice.  Practicing common sense is another viable path.

Different religions rely on different qualities and pathways  to achieve happiness and inner peace.  Some rely on faith, others promote surrender, while compassion is the path for others.  All these qualities, and religions, have the potential to take us to true happiness and inner peace.  We should do our best to respect the different religious paths and know that each has its own benefits that reach out to various cultures, temperaments, and times.   It’s about having respect for all religions.

All humans, no matter the color, culture, sex, or age, have a common connection to compassion that is biological and instinctual. The love of a mother and the instinct of protecting the child are good examples.  Even a mother bird may sacrifice her life for the sake of her baby.  Compassion is instinctual, however, it gets covered up and overruled by the thinking mind.

  • Rely on common sense.
  • Respect and have compassion toward all.
  • We all want and deserve true happiness and inner peace.
  • Rely on truth, trust, love, and compassion to lead to inner strength, peace and happiness.
  • Practice unbiased compassion – this is compassion that can even reach our enemies.
  • A negative mind causes suffering for the self and others.
  • Fear and hate interferes with health.
  • Compassion has actually been shown to lower blood pressure and stress.  Wounds heal quicker.  For example, a wound on a rat heals faster when it is affectionately licked by another rat.
  • The minds ‘intelligence’ can overrule our compassionate, instinctual, intrinsic nature.
  • Look for new opportunities and changes that come from things that anger us.
  • Have a global interest.  To have global disarmament, we have to start with inner, personal disarmament.  To have global peace, we must have inner peace first.  Go with truth, love, trust, unbiased compassion and inner beauty.  This is lasting.
  • He said that everything is/or can be good, very good.  This includes such things as money, technology, and divorce.  It’s the motivation and intent and how these things are used that makes the difference.  Are they used with compassion, openness, acceptance or not?
  • Money, objects, technology can be good – very good – if they are used with right motivation and intention and put to good use.
  • Put your affections where affections can be returned .
  • Don’t put affections toward objects as these things cannot return affection.
  • When we are affectionate toward objects, it leads to jealousy and greed for objects.  Objects cannot return affection.
  • Inner beauty is higher than outer beauty as it lasts. Rely on truth, trust, love, and unbiased compassion to bring inner peace and happiness.

12-Minute Meditation Technique called Kirtan Kriya for Memory Improvement

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Having and maintaining a good memory is an important ingredient that all of us need and want. Right?  Many of us get concerned when forgetfulness happens to us or to those close to us.  This is particularly troublesome as we age and especially if we have a family history of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.  Try the 12-minute meditation called Kirtan Kriya.

Here is an inspiring video with research to prove that there are easy things we can do for memory improvement with meditation.

Along with the conventional wisdom of good nutrition, supplements and mental and physical exercise, Dharma Singh Khalsa, MD says that meditation is key.  A research study is reviewed that shows increases in brain development for memory, concentration and focus using a simple 12-minute meditation, including a yoga mudra.

The Kirtan Kriya – the Sa Ta Na Ma 12 minute meditation for memory is from the Kundalini yoga tradition.  To get measurable results, it is done daily for only 8 weeks.  But, who would want to stop there.  Not me!

The Sa Ta Na Ma meditation technique also stops the mental chatter to bring about a clear mind.  It’s calming too.

     

This NY Times article Yoga May Be Good for the Brain  was published June 1, 2016 .  It discusses a study in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease in April 2016.

A combination of 1 hour of weekly yoga exercise and a daily 15-minute Kirtan Kriya Meditation is recommended to help with memory improvement, concentration and mood improvement (depression).  Improvements were also made in “visuospatial memory, a type of remembering that is important for balance, depth perception and the ability to recognize objects and navigate the world”.  It was compared to another highly regarded brain training program practiced that was practiced for 1 hour weekly with 15 minutes of daily memory exercises.

The yoga + meditation group “topped the benefits of the brain training group”  showing statistically significant results.

More Resources…

  • Get an audio recording that will help you practice the Sa Ta Na Ma meditation with the correct timing.

    Sa Ta Na Ma
    Kirtan Kriya Meditation

    Click HERE to buy this downloadable digital album
    (MP3, AAC, M4A)

    $7.99

Sa Ta Na Ma Meditation CD
Sa Ta Na Ma Meditation CD
Sa Ta Na Ma is a powerful mantra. Scientific studies show this 12-minute meditation increases memory, concentration, cognition, calmness & more. Repeating the mantra out loud, whispered & silently while doing simple finger movements (mudras) is done. A beautiful chorus of voices keep track of the time for you. A brief intro gets you off to a successful start. Digital downloads are available.
Quantity:  
Price: $9.99Price: $16.95 

How to do the Sa Ta Na Ma Meditation to Improve Memory

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Instructions on How to Do the Sa Ta Na Ma Meditation – Kirtan Kriya

  • Sit with a straight spine.
  • Mentally focus to the brow point.
  • Repeat Sa Ta Na Ma as follows with the finger movements pictured below
    • 2 minutes —  OUT LOUD
    • 2 minutes  —  WHISPER audibly
    • 4 minutes  —  SILENTLY.  Keep the hands moving
    • 2 minutes  —  WHISPER audibly
    • 2 minutes —  OUT LOUD
    • Sit quietly and listen inside for a few minutes.  Listen for the mantra internally and experience energy flowing in from the top of your head (crown chakra) and out through your brow (third eye chakra).
    • Either go about your day or go to sleep if it’s bed time.
    • Optional: 30 seconds: inhale deeply, raise the arms up in the air and vigorously shake the arms and fingers, involving the whole body and spine. Exhale.  Repeat 1 or 2 more time if you desire. This important part of the meditation helps move and release energy in the body.

Notes:

Why are mantras done out loud, whispering and silently and how does it help? When a mantra is spoken out loud, it primarily benefits the physical body.  When it’s whispered, it benefits our mental/emotional nature.  Our spiritual nature benefits from silent repetition.

If you experience memories of the past or thoughts about the future coming up in your mind. Simply notice them and release them with the mantra. This helps cleanse  the subconscious mind.

If emotions come up, you can also incorporate them in the chanting, i.e. if you feel frustration, then chant out the frustration.  Whatever you experience is okay. Don’t try to avoid, resist or control your experiences. Just notice what is happening and go through it. This is all part of the process.

SA – touch the thumbs to the index finger

Ta – touch the  thumbs to the middle finger

 

 

 

 

 

 

Na – touch the thumbs to the ring finger

Ma – touch the thumbs to the little fingers

 

 

 

 

 

 

Repeat the finger movements throughout the meditation.  

More Resources…

  • Get an audio recording that will help you practice the Sa Ta Na Ma meditation with the correct timing.

    Sa Ta Na Ma
    Kirtan Kriya Meditation

    Click HERE to buy this downloadable digital album
    (MP3, AAC, M4A)

    $7.99

  • Sa Ta Na Ma Meditation CD
    Sa Ta Na Ma Meditation CD
    Sa Ta Na Ma is a powerful mantra. Scientific studies show this 12-minute meditation increases memory, concentration, cognition, calmness & more. Repeating the mantra out loud, whispered & silently while doing simple finger movements (mudras) is done. A beautiful chorus of voices keep track of the time for you. A brief intro gets you off to a successful start. Digital downloads are available.
    Quantity:  
    Price: $9.99Price: $16.95 

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