Wednesday, March 31, 2010

'Do you need to lose ten or more pounds?'

'Do you need to lose ten or more pounds?'

Friends,

My return from the Chopra Center has inspired me to come up with a totally new program that is aimed at facilitating weight loss. I really want to focus on people who want to lose 10 or more pounds or have some time of physical situation. For example, perhaps you have digestive troubles, sleep troubles or are recovering from an illness. Perhaps you are starting to experience menopause. Perhaps you are simply just not all that happy.

This will be experimental on some level for me. I want the opportunity to fine-tune the Immersion (this is not the Immersion or a Cleanse) and I need to reach out to deeper situations in a more powerful way. Each class will include 20 minutes of meditation and 30 minutes of yoga. The yoga will be appropriate and modifiable for all people. I want to teach you a routine that you can do at home. The rest of the class will be discussion and learning how to eat for your element.

I intend to have one day as a potluck day with lunch. I want to get you to the bike trail for a little yoga and walking meditation. I want to show you how to take yoga into your life on every single level.

Shanti,

Pamela

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Back to the real world

My feet are finally starting to think about touching the ground after an amazing week at Seduction of Silence with Dr. Chopra. It's always a tough transition coming back to earth after having a week to meditate, practice yoga and eat amazing vegetarian food. While I did not levitate, I certainly did feel a sense of levity which I had hoped to take home with me.

Its funny because the return back to normal is leaving me feeling a little listless and purposeless. I'm not sure if this is because through intensive meditation you get such a huge glimpse of the "bigger picture" making this everyday existence seem dull in comparison or if your senses become so fine tuned that this everyday existence seems draining. More acutely, I'm aware that I have very few thoughts and a tendency to drift toward windows to stare at the pretty fluffy clouds. Napping sounds really good.

There is a stage in spiritual growth that is called the "hanged man". This is a stage of powerful stillness. This is a stage where the outside world goes away and you become engrossed in the most detached way in your inner stillness. You find yourself not concerned about anything or simply having complete faith in what is and what is to be. This is a step towards what we call "samadhi" or "bliss" in yoga. It is a big part of unification of body, mind and spirit. I am hoping that I have entered this stage of cocooning because it means that I will come out on the other side. I can't stay in this la la land. I have too much fun thinking thoughts. I got stuff to do!


Do I seem confused? I am. This I know, I will continue with this new meditation practice because I want to see where it leads me. I'm always excited to take a new form. My new practice is one hour each day with my primordial sound, my chakra sutras, my sensory sutras, my flying sutras and astral traveling. I don't really have any attachment to levitation or astral traveling, but the process is fun and does make you feel "lighter". Astral traveling, if nothing else, is a great exercise for your imagination which makes your brain happy.

I'm off to get some work done...and believe me...it feels like work!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

More from Seduction

Today, Thursday, was my emotional day. There is always one at these events. My emotional breakdown came in a wave of grumpiness and the desire to be nowhere near the other humans at this conference. Needless to say, I ate lunch on the outskirts and spend a few hours on the beach skipping lectures. I think it odd that of 250 people here, I'm the only one that feels free to just do whatever I want. What is that? Isn't anyone else grumpy and sick of sitting in a conference room. Anti-unity consciousness...crud.

To be honest, my grumpiness is a result of a headache. My headache is the result of focusing so hard on my mantras and sutras in this ridiculous attempt to levitate. Today we added astral travel to our plans as well, so you can imagine that I really really want to do this. Attachment....crud.

Your mantra is intended to simply drift through your head. There should be no focus. All of this is about letting go. I do know this, but I just wanna be able to tell everyone I did it. Ego....crud.

Let me tell you about astral travel. It's really cool. You picture this little tiny guy with big ears, eyes, nose, mouth and hands. This represents your senses. I called him Hanuman who is the monkey god of Hinduism because I couldn't understand the name that Deepak actually gave to that guy. Deepak was a little grumpy today too, so I didn't want to ask him to repeat himself because he is very aware that we cannot understand his accent sometimes. Anyhow, you send your little guy back to your house to sit on your bed and just observe. He can walk around and play with your pets if you have any. My little guy played with my Golden Retriever. This could all have been imagination or my little guy could have been there. Unfortunately, Goldens do not talk so we will never know!

Off to have some fun. All work and no play makes Pamela a very grumpy yogi.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Today it got weird...in a good way

So today was the day that we received Pantanjali's "flying sutra" as it is known. The purpose of which is to levitate you. The meditation began with my primordial sound. A primordial sound is kind of like "so hum" only it is specifically tailored to you based on the position of the moon on the day that you were born. I've had my sound for about 5 or 6 years now and am very comfortable with it. We next went to the sutras for the chakras. Each sutra has four chakras. These sutras were given to me the last time I attended Seduction of Silence. They must be passed down through a lineage to have power. We then went to the Sutras we received yesterday which were all about withdrawing or fine-tuning senses. We then went to our new Sutra which is the "flying sutra".

That's when life got crazy. Of course, my eyes were closed and I was very focused on my own experience, but I couldå hear people kinda popping up and down. It was really really cool. Lots of other things started to happen too. For me, I experienced an amazing shift of all my energy going up. It just went up. I can't explain it better than that. It was as if the energy of my entire body was going out of my head. This was accompanied by an overwhelming sense of lightness and giddiness. I laughed A LOT! It felt so good. My head did a little move of its own which was not of my control. I don't know what it was doing. I was very aware of all of this, but so happy and giddy that I just didn't worry about another thing.

Now I did not bounce and I did not float. I'm sure that other people did. What I did feel was, well, levity...lightness of being. I felt so light and so connected and so incredibly happy. It was awesome.

When that experience ended, we cleared the room...in silence. I really wanted to talk to everyone because I was just so surprised. I mean....are you kidding me????? Wow. Anyhow, we came back to the room and had a special treat. Dr. Simon led us through another mind-blowing experience. I'm going to get a little goofy here, so bare with me and know that I will eventually someday return to normal. We laid in Shavasana and Dr. Simon led us through Yoga Nidra. This in not the one we do in the studio, this one focused on turning our bodies into light. We then did holotropic breathing for 15 minutes straight. Holotropic breathing is when you breath in and out through your mouth. Each in is one second and each out is one second. It is very very forceful. You are NEVER to do holotropic breathing alone or unassisted. It's intense. The purpose of this breath is to shut down your brain on many levels so that only your reptilian brain is responding. This allows you to go off to la la land in a magical way.

Let me back up. The Yoga Nidra led us to the base of a beautiful tree. At the bottom, was someone that we wished to meet. At the bottom of my tree was BaBa, who I have been flirting with for some time. He's an old Indian (from India) man who is very slight. He has light skin though. His hair is whispy and white. He wears a white robe with an orange sash. From the side, he looks very kind and wise...just like you'd expect. From the front, however, his face is chiseled and he has no eyes. His eyes are simply black holes that you can see the entire universe through. At the end of Yoga Nidra and before holtropic breathing, I got to go through those eyes.....

Back to breathing. When you practice this breath, your lips go numb first and then your fingers and toes and it works its way to your entire core. You become freezing cold. You end up contracted into yourself, rolled on your side and curled up in a fetal position. None of this you are really chosing to do...your body simply goes there. When the fifteen minutes of breathing is completed (you should have heard the noise in the room....unimaginable), you drift.

Let me back up again. Going into this you ask the person at the bottom of the tree a question. You can ask any question you want to know the answer to. Whenever I have the opportunity to play in such a profound way, I always ask "how can I help, how can serve?". Today I added "how can I lead?" These questions stem from my unending desire to do things bigger and bigger and better and....those of you who know me know...

So, back to drifting....Seeing through the eyes of Baba I got to see the entire universe recreate itself. It was a beautiful storm that I can't describe and much much more. My answer came through a whisper...I will keep that to myself as I feel it was Baba's whisper to me alone. I will tell you laying in fetal position and just exhausted from breathing and completely out of my body....it was incredible. My eyes simply cried. My heart simply exploded. My flesh felt simply to small too hold me.

Profound gratitude. Thank you God...who I now call Baba although he may just be an Indian dude...for the blessings in my life. Thank you for my children. I don't know why they chose me or what I am to teach them, but I sure am learning a heck of a lot from them. Thank you for my mother. She is the kindest and sweetest woman on the planet. She always has my back. Thank you for my love, Michael...my chance to truly love someone the way that love was supposed to be loved.

I might be back to normal tomorrow...actually...I hope I am not.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

1st day of silence

So today was the first official day of silence at Seduction of Silence here on Marco Island. I rather enjoyed it. Of course, if you knew me well you would know that (1) I thoroughly entertain myself and (2) I'm actually quite shy and prefer NOT to talk to people I don't know. So, I was in heaven all day. I did break my silence when I came back to my condo though. I have three roommates who are awesome ladies and I believe you should always choose the joy of community over silence. After all, how often do you get to hang out with the girls or the guys? God created us in his image for delight. So delight in your life!

I received six new Sutras today without a whole lot of explanation. I'm assuming that the Sutras have to do with either sharpening my senses or withdrawing my senses. In yoga we call that Pratyahara. I did have some really good meditative experiences (we got in almost 4 hours of meditation), but I have to admit I was a little distracted by the others in the room. I have never loved to meditate as a group and it always takes me a while to give up my annoyance of the sniffers, the snorers and the people who must have their phone on vibrate! Tomorrow I will succumb to the others.

Today we practiced the Law of Karma. Karma is about action and the Law of Karma is about making the best choices possible for yourself AND for humanity. Its also about accepting all the choices you have made to get to this point and feeling confident that they were the perfect choice. That means that it is also about forgiving yourself all of the "socially" irresponsible choice making that you do. Forgiveness is key to spiritual growth.

Yesterday Dr. Chopra had some really cool discussions about quantum physics and intention. Apparently, focused attention collapses the waves of possibility narrowing the field and that is why it is so easy to manifest anything you want. You simply master focused attention and intention. To do this, you must have a nice foundation meaning that the drama of your life is under control. The most important practice that Dr. Chopra recommends is to ask yourself the following every night:

  • Who Am I? (this gives you connection to soul, affirms that you are not your thoughts, affirms that you are essentially spirit and I believe gives you some nice affirmations.)
  • What do I want? (this sets the intentions as discussed above. If you aren't getting what you want out of life, you probably don't know what yåou want. Find out what you want.)
  • Express Gratitude. (You can't be grateful and in your ego at the same time.)
  • Witness your day. (Simply walk through your day quickly beginning to end. This fosters the practice of thinking of yourself with witnessing awareness).
  • Tell yourself before you go to sleep that you are going to witness your dreams.
  • Witness your dreams when you wake from them.

I've added one more thing to his practice... Always choose the most nourishing choice.

Speaking of nourishing. This morning I got to walk on the beach. I meditated two hours. I ate an amazing Ayurvedic lunch. I laid on the beach in the sun for about an hour. I meditated two more hours. I said goodbye to the sun with nourishing gentle yoga on the beach. I'm off to bed to witness my dreams after a veggie dinner and a nice glass of wine! Shanti. Pamela

Tuesday at Seduction of Spirit

I promised to blog daily, but yesterday I was simply exhausted. We had a 7 am to 9 pm day. I wanted to blog after that, but my roommates and I got to chatting and I needed to chat knowing that I would wake up today, Tuesday, in silence. I will spend the next 3 days with a little tag around my neck that says "in silence". I'm not allowed to talk to anyone. It is also advisable to avoid TV, radio, reading, email, txting and writing.

I've arranged with my 10 year old daughter to call tonight and not say anything. She will ask yes and no questions and I will push a number either once or twice for yes or no. I know it sounds silly, but she and I both need to maintain a connection while I'm away and this sounded like a fun game to her...and to me. They didn't say anything about "no laughing".

I don't really understand why we go to silence or what it has to do with levitating. The word "levitation" was actually not even spoken and now I'm not so sure if that is what we are even doing. The silence is truly about "self-referral" or honoring the silent witness inside you. If you can't speak, then you are forced to simply observe yourself, your thoughts and others. Through silence, you make better choices because your senses become fine-tuned. The next 3 days were described to be "precious" and "life-changing". So far so good.

I had a great time with Dr. Chopra yesterday. He is very funny and real. We practiced the law of giving and receiving so gratitude was a big thing. Going to a place of gratitude is really a practice of letting your ego get out of the way. You can't be in your ego and in gratitude. Try it...it's impossible. Now there is nothing wrong with the ego. It's a nice part of you that gives you your personality, but sometimes it can get in the way of spirit.

The one thing Dr. Chopra said yesterday that I really liked was to forget about positive thinking. He cautioned us not to control our thoughts...to simply observe. Through meditation, you will naturally make better choices and have a better life and your thoughts will naturally become more positive. He thinks falsely cheery people are boring and annoying! Too funny.

Well, I gotta run. I got lots more to share, but beach meditation was at 6 am and yoga was at 7 am and I am still in my jammies. Session starts at 9 am today. I'm gonna walk on the beach alone in silence and then go. Today I will observe and journal and have an awesome day!

I miss my yogis and am already feeling very connected to this super consciousness which is our entire planet. Today I really do have so much gratitude for my life and for all of you. The beach is absoultely amazing and beautiful today. Shanti

Sunday, March 21, 2010

I'm off!

I'm on my way to Marco Island for the week to participate in a Chopra Conference called Seduction of Spirit. I and a few hundred other people will spend one week practicing yoga, breathing and meditation. I can't wait to get there. I participated in this event about 6 years ago when I decided to learn to meditate to manage chronic back pain. Each day begins with a gentle yoga practice and breathing. The rest of your day is broken into lectures and meditation. Each day you meditate for about four hours. Dr. Chopra is there and before each meditation, you receive a Sutra to incorporate into your meditation. Sutra translated means "a thread" or "that which holds together". They are basically intentions that are universally understood. At Seduction of Spirit, you receive 28 Sutras. Four for each of the seven chakras. The Sutras help to establish positive affirmations and actions in your life. They do work.

Because I've gone before, I get the honor of attending Seduction of Silence. A group of us will separate during the meditations to a different room where we will receive different Sutras than the larger group. The Sutras that we receive are intended to facilitate levitation. Yes, I said levitation. The room is padded floor to ceiling in case you start bouncing all over the place. I saw the room six years ago when I attended Seduction the first time. It's insane!

I don't know how I feel about levitation. I assume its possible. A physicist will tell you that anything is possible given enough time. If you were to try to walk through a wall for eternity, apparently you would. I've done lots of research on this subject in preparation for take-off. There are lots of stories about levitating saints, monks and shamans. There are even a few videos on youtube which look pretty real and include skeptical BBC reporters. Apparently, some Dutch scientists even levitated a frog in 2004 using a magnetic field.

I don't think I really care if I levitate or not. Deepak would be proud to know that I'm completely detached from the outcome. I'm a little worried that if I actually do levitate I will become completely insane. It will be difficult to teach yoga wearing a straight jacket. I don't understand the purpose of levitating. There must be some amazing spiritual reason to levitate or so many Saints (over 300 documented) and monks wouldn't have bothered. Dr. Chopra said of his own experience: "It's totally effortless; you're surprised. But after a while the surprise wears off and then it is not so interesting any more." So, follow my blogging this week. I'll let you know if this gets a little deeper than a party trick.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Ayurvedic Discussion

MuseRadio: Ayurveda and Pamela Quinn

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EOlogo jpeg

Monday's Show Topic: Ayurveda, an Interview with Pamela Quinn

Join me as I chat with Pamela Quinn, founder Elemental OM, as we discuss the basics of Ayurvedia medicine, a 5,000 year old science of life originating in India. We will discuss the 5 Great Elements and the doshas. Learn the power of this ancient science and how you can use it to take one more step into your Extraordinary Life.

Pamela Quinn is a certified instructor in the Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga and Perfect Heath through the Chopra Center for Well Being. Pam has trained under the direction of Drs. Deepak Chopra and David Simon along with Vedic Master, Claire Diab. Pam's training is based in Ayurveda which is a 5,000 year old science of life originating in India. Ayurveda combines lifestyle, yoga, meditation, and nutrition to offer a holistic way of life. Pam's purpose for creating Elemental OM is to introduce you to this amazing way of life in an "elemental" or easy to understand form.

Listen Live: Just click here to listen live on Monday, March 15 from 2-3pm CST (3pm Eastern and Noon Pacific.)

Find Archives here.

Subscribe for Free on Itunes: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=339894614

Friday, March 12, 2010

Turn on your Radio!

MuseRadio: Ayurveda and Pamela Quinn

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EOlogo jpeg

Monday's Show Topic: Ayurveda, an Interview with Pamela Quinn

Join me as I chat with Pamela Quinn, founder Elemental OM, as we discuss the basics of Ayurvedia medicine, a 5,000 year old science of life originating in India. We will discuss the 5 Great Elements and the doshas. Learn the power of this ancient science and how you can use it to take one more step into your Extraordinary Life.

Pamela Quinn is a certified instructor in the Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga and Perfect Heath through the Chopra Center for Well Being. Pam has trained under the direction of Drs. Deepak Chopra and David Simon along with Vedic Master, Claire Diab. Pam's training is based in Ayurveda which is a 5,000 year old science of life originating in India. Ayurveda combines lifestyle, yoga, meditation, and nutrition to offer a holistic way of life. Pam's purpose for creating Elemental OM is to introduce you to this amazing way of life in an "elemental" or easy to understand form.

Listen Live: Just click here to listen live on Monday, March 15 from 2-3pm CST (3pm Eastern and Noon Pacific.)

Find Archives here.

Subscribe for Free on Itunes: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=339894614

Thursday, March 11, 2010


Elemental OM's Cleansing Program, The Elemental Immersion is BACK. WE will be offering one session only this March on Tuesdays at 6 pm!

The human body can defend itself very well against most environmental insults and the effects of occasional indulgence. This means that most cleanses are pretty superficial.


The Elemental Immersion is not a typical "cleansing" or "detox" program. The Immersion is a total mind, body and spirit make-over. It's intent is to educate and empower you to take control of your life and health. Yes, your digestion will improve. Yes, you will lose weight if you need to. Yes, your skin will brighten, you will have more energy and you will feel a renewed sense of purpose. This is not without effort. You will learn how your body works, how your mind works and how spirit works. You will learn to shop better, choose better and cook better foods. You will learn how your brain works and re-train it with positive thoughts and emotions. You will learn how to connect to yourself and spirit.



The Elemental Immersion,

Tuesdays, 6 pm

$190

March 30th - April 20th.
REGISTER NOW!

We will meet for 4 consecutive weeks. Do plan to attend New to Yoga at 7:30 immediately following our Discussion Group. The cost of the Program includes:
  • Class Lecture Series: $80
  • New to Yoga at 7:30 for four weeks: $28 (or $7 class...that's a $6 savings per class)
  • Basic Detox Kit: (Neem: $15.95, Triphala Guggulu: 19.95, Sesame Oil: $15.95 and book: $29.95)
If you already have a class pass or product, please speak with Pam (513.315.5042) and we will adjust the price according. All participants will be required to participate in New to Yoga regardless of skill level as the lecture will continue into that class. New to Yoga will shift its focus to breathing modalities, establishing a home practice, meditation and the Seven Spriitual laws of Success.

You will be encouraged to receive a massage at the end of your journey. Dennis Smith, Ayurvedic Massage Specialist is happy to offer a traditional 75 minute Abyangha for $85. Compare that to other spas of $125.