There are two ways to go in an elevator: up or down. Even on Level One, there may be an L or even an LL button to press. It was 15 years ago that I was on the LL of my life. I reached a point when I had to stop and figure out how to move forward. Let me preface that statement by saying not all parts of my life were spiraling downward. I was successful in my job, and I had a beautiful home. My family loved me, and I had a loyal friend who stayed by my side. I didn’t know what Yoga was then, but I had always loved self-help books and read many. I had a solid grasp of my belief in God and Christianity; I had read the Bible from cover to cover and knew of the mystical power of the words. Despite all that going for me, I struggled with what to do next. I decided to take one year for self-reflection. Within that year, I told myself I would stay home with no big plans other than introspection for answers to my questions. I replayed my life when specific memories would pop up. I thought about the decisions and choices I made. It wasn’t long before I realized I was responsible for my suffering. Others may have contributed to the pain, but I chose to stay in the circumstances. That was a powerful recognition that changed my hopelessness to hopefulness. Why? Because I remembered my power to choose. Small decisions over time got me to that point, and the same would happen moving forward. I would pay attention to the small choices!
So, what did I want in my life? I think many of us struggle with that question. What would it look like if you could wave the magic wand and have the perfect life? My next step was to figure out what that new ideal life looked like. The latest version of my life would need to be very different from what I spent the past years envisioning. There would be no children, maybe no spouse, but something I wanted. I needed a paradigm shift in what I thought I needed for a happy, successful life. It’s easy for me to say now, but at the time, it felt like death. I realized that each decision I made in the past was about wanting love and joy in my life. That’s where I would start to rebuild. I had always supported myself through my teaching career and thought moving to higher education could be the answer.
I decided to go to Salisbury University on the Eastern Shore to learn how to be a professor. At that point, I had achieved more successes in my career; I was a National Board-Certified Physical Education teacher, I had overseen every type of school committee, I had started writing grants, and I was a wellness chairperson for years at my school, but I was ready for new challenges. When I went to Salisbury University, the dean of the health and physical education department told me to get my PhD in some kind of health topic. Whether it was health, public health, or community health education, if I had my PhD, I could write my ticket to any higher ed job. I drove home thinking, “I don’t want to do that. I can’t drive to a university three times a week and do it all summer to get my PhD.” That was the summer of 2010. By December 2012, I was enrolled in a PhD in Public Health; I was confident in earning degrees and teaching. Public health was a bit out of my scope as a teacher, but it was challenging, so I knew it would be interesting.
As time went on, the coursework became more intense, and I spent nights, early mornings, and weekends sitting at my computer reading research articles and writing papers. That’s when I became a morning person. For most of my teaching career, I was running late for work. Getting up early was a struggle, and I didn’t change that until I needed more time in my day. This was also around the time that I found Yoga! Remember my story of having chronic pain and finding the yoga magazine at the Physical Therapy office? That was at the same time I was deep into the PhD coursework. Did I have time to add one more thing to my schedule? I found the time! When there’s something you want to learn, you can carve out time in your schedule to do it. You may have to wake up early, or in my case, 4 AM. My desk faced east with a fantastic view of the Patuxent River leading out to the Chesapeake Bay. I watched the sunrise in the early mornings while I worked on my computer. This new habit changed my life. Check out my morning light meditation if you missed it.
In Yoga, watching the sunrise connects us to nature’s cycles, welcoming the new day, aligning our body’s cycles to nature, and sparking the creative spiritual power within. I watched the day turn from darkness to light and used that time to write. After earning the title Dr. Lisa Clow, I continued to wake up early, but instead of studying, I was meditating. Yoga Sutra Chapter 2, verse 1 tells us that the activities of Yoga are self-discipline, self-study, and dedication to the Lord. Remember when I thought I couldn’t do Yoga? If you ever thought you couldn’t, I hope this post has awakened a spark in you to try it!

When I say the magical factor in Yoga is YOU, it is your connection with the divine spirit within you. I learned the song “This Little Light of Mine” as a child. We sang it in Sunday school, and we even had movements using our fingers as a candle burning in our hearts. As a child, I didn’t realize that was the divine spirit inside of me. The Christian Bible tells us to be a vessel for God and to let Jesus live in our hearts. These ideas are part of our creative imagination that helps us see the divine within us. We imagine the light shining brightly, sending love to the world.
Tibetan Yoga has a practice called Guru or Deity Yoga, where the light from the Guru shines into your body and then out to the world. In Deity Yoga, one uses creative imagination to see oneself as the Deity, sending light out to the beings in the universe. The light is the power within us that helps us heal, connect our mind and body, and connect to others. In the post, Here, Right Now, I wrote, “The Ancient Yoga text, the Sutras, gives specific instructions for stopping the distractions that cause us suffering. Yoga Sutra Chapter 1, verses 32 to 34, tells us to lengthen the exhale and hold out the breath. Yoga Sutra, Chapter 1, verse 36, tells us we could also focus on that light free from sorrow. This sounds like the light I learned about in Sunday school.
Let’s try connecting with the light. While sitting in a comfortable position, feel your breath coming into your nose and filling your lungs. Let the breath go out of your nose, and notice the pause between breaths. Try that a few times until your focus is on you. I like to use at least five breaths, but you can practice that simple breathing for as long as you want. Let the attention move to your heart. You can put your hands over your heart in the middle of your chest or just think about a warm, glowing white light coming from your heart. Imagine the light reaching your arms, legs, fingers, and toes. Fill your back, belly, shoulders, and head with the light, imagining your entire body filled with the warm, white light from your heart.
As your body shines with that light, ask your divine self what you need to know about your body. I like to write down what comes to mind. If you want, you can ask again: what else must you know about your body? You may be wondering how you know the thoughts are from the divine inside of you or just your mind. One hint is that the divine power works in a positive nature. In other words, if the thoughts are negative, they aren’t from the divine.
Next, imagine the light healing your joints, organs, and tissues. You may notice a temperature difference in parts of your body, tingling, or a sense of energy moving. If you feel tightness or pain, take a focused breath in and out through your nose and shine the light brighter in that area. Use your creative imagination to let the light work the healing power in your body. When you are ready, let the light return to your heart; place your hands over your heart if you want. Thank you for spending time paying attention to the divine inside of you.
After meditating like that, I think about what happened and how I felt. Writing about your experiences in a journal can help you become familiar with the practice and allow you to reflect. I like looking back on journal entries to see similarities and differences in my experiences. You can also let us know how it went on our Facebook page. Check out other meditations on our website: https://www.drlisaclow.com/

You may be confused about why I say Yoga isn’t about the poses; it’s about You. Ancient Yogis taught that to be in Yoga or joined together, one should train the mind and heart. The instructions include both the conscious and subconscious portions of our mind. We’re on autopilot when we aren’t present or in the here and now. Have you ever been lost in thought when you were driving, and then when you arrived at your destination, you didn’t remember the trip? Your subconscious mind was telling your body what to do. The subconscious mind takes control when you aren’t mindful of your daily life, but how does it know what to do? This is where science enters the picture. Remember the All I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten poster? That poster’s creators explain Kindergarten learning as how we live the rest of our lives, and they are partly correct. Researchers identified early learning up to age seven as the subconscious mind’s programming. So, where do we learn our programming? You guessed correctly, from our parents! The saying, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree has meaning. Want to poke the bear when you and your loved one are arguing? Tell them they’re acting just like their mother or father. I’m not sure why this makes us so mad, but I’ve found that I’m more like my parents than I thought. One day, I was talking to my mom on the phone, and she was eating a snack of cheese and crackers. It wasn’t the highly processed ones, but the cheddar cheese you slice and saltines. She said she had some potato salad with it. Suddenly, I realized why I liked the food I liked; I wanted cheese and crackers with potato salad.
 If we want to break free from our programming, we can, but it takes time to repeat the new thoughts or behaviors we want to adopt. There’s a fast-track way to change things called self-hypnosis, which I’ll describe in a future blog post. Mindfulness takes on a new level of importance when you consider that it can get you what you want and change your can’t to can. Our Yoga practice is essential to this process, and it goes back to breathing. Paying attention to our breathing is one of the easiest ways to bring us into the present moment and awaken our consciousness. Whatever your goal is, you need your consciousness to get there. If you allow your subconscious mind to be your guide, you’re letting whoever programmed you take over. And it’s not just our parents who program us. Think about who influences a child younger than 7 years old: church, school, grandparents, neighbors, childcare workers, TV, and more. We’re like sponges just soaking it all in, from infants to children.
Since breathwork keeps us in the moment, we should practice daily. Picking a specific time for practice is a great way to make it a habit. Remember when I mentioned that you should practice breathing when your day isn’t stressful? For me, that’s during the early morning before the demands of the day beckon. I get up early before the sun rises but if that is intimidating to you, try this morning light meditation. Watching the sunrise can become something to look forward to. Plus, when we expose our eyes to morning light, we help to regulate our circadian rhythm for a good night’s sleep. After trying the meditation, visit our Facebook page and share your experiences.

I wrote about ten versions of the first sentence of this post. I can take many different directions on this subject, but I decided on one: here and now is a safe place to be. I’m not talking about therapy, time for reflection, dreaming of the future, or hoping for a better outcome. What I mean is the moment-to-moment living we all do. I often find myself lost in thought; sometimes, I think the thoughts aren’t mine. Maybe I’m picking up on other people’s emotions or residual energy that lingers. We’ll talk about energy in another post. I heard a podcast several years ago, and the expert said that living in the past is depression and living in the future is anxiety. I thought about it and kind of agreed.
Ancient Yogis spent hours in the wilderness, forests, caves, or anywhere else they could be alone. They knew the healing power of living in the moment and that it was hard to do around other people. I remember returning home from teaching and trying to stay in the present moment instead of dwelling on the day’s events. Stopping those never-ending thoughts can feel impossible. I would do a walking meditation, where each step I would say, “Here, now.” Sometimes, it worked, but other times, I couldn’t break free from the emotions. I found an ice bath helped with very stressful times. Nothing brings you to the present moment better than a tub of 32-degree water! PS, I took a few Wim Hof workshops before the full-body submersion. I don’t suggest just jumping in without some preparation.
My point is that while we think living in the present moment is a given, we’re often far from it. This is where practice is helpful. Tibetan and modern-day Yoga start each session with breath, connecting the yogi with the here and now. We practiced breath meditation in the last two posts. If you missed those posts, scroll down to check them out. Sometimes, doing Yoga means just staying with the breath; depending on your day, you may need more time. Sometimes, just one breath can snap us out of a downward spiral, like in my rollerblading story.
Existing here and now connects us to the world. Have you ever had a dog that knows it’s dinner time? It’s amazing how in tune animals are with the present moment. The dog won’t let you think of anything except the food bowl! Observing animals and nature can teach us how to bring our awareness to the current time. Have you ever been chased down by a mama turkey when you accidentally got too close to her baby chick? Probably not unless you have a farm, but you’ll be here now and wish you had paid attention.
The Ancient Yoga text, the Sutras, gives specific instructions for stopping the distractions that cause us suffering. Sutra Chapter 1, verses 32 to 34, tells us to lengthen the exhale and hold out the breath. That’s the first option suggested for relieving suffering caused by the human condition. A technique I learned in Yoga teacher training included noticing the space between the inhale and exhale and slowly lengthening that space. This mindful way of breathing brings us equanimity. Mindfulness and equanimity describe the practice and development of inner peace. With awareness of the moment, we can make better decisions, see the situation for what it is, and connect with our spiritual nature. Practicing being present in the moment is more manageable during a calm, quiet part of your day. That’s where you can start. As you get used to using your breath to help you focus, try doing that in a more stressful time. Below is the walking meditation I mentioned. Here’s a link to the recording. After trying the meditation, go to our Facebook page and let us know how it went!
This meditation can be used during a walk or by envisioning. If you cannot walk for safety, physical, or emotional reasons, you can receive the benefits of this meditation through envisioning. Consider what your body would feel if you were moving. Think about the opening and closing of the joints, the contraction and extension of the muscles, and the breath flowing and oxygenating the cells. Instead of seeing yourself walking, feel yourself walking to get the full effects of the vision.
As you begin your walk, notice the tempo or timing of your steps. The rhythm of your steps may change, and the pace of your inhale and exhale may shift. All is accepted in self-love and care.
As you step on one foot, think about the word HERE. In the next step, think of the word NOW. Now and then repeat HERE, NOW.
Choose a pace and pattern that soothes your mind, body, and soul.
Your foot approaching the ground is the future, moving toward your goals
Your foot on the ground, the present, HERE, NOW
Your foot leaves the ground, the past, leaving the past behind on each step of the walk.
On the inhale, think, HERE
On the exhale, think, NOW
HERE
NOW
HERE
NOW
Continue with your walk until you are ready to end this meditation
Knowing that you have received the full benefits of spending time here and now
Namaste

​As I sat in meditation this morning, I looked at my vision board and searched for the pain in my body and the answers to the questions I had been asking. What is the magical factor in yoga, and what do I want to share with my readers to help them realize that they can and should do yoga? The magical factor in yoga is the connection with the divine presence within you. So many people are afraid to connect with anything spiritual. Ask people to share their spiritual experiences, and you’ll find that not many want to share. I’m unsure how, but we have become a society void of connection with the spirit that drives us. Maybe we are so distracted with our busy lives, our lives of staring at the screen, that we have covered the light trying to shine through.
Most people think of the poses or physical movements as yoga. I admit that when I searched for answers to my physical pain back in 2012, I thought of the movement of yoga as the healing factor. When I had a healing experience with yoga in 2017, again, I thought it was the movement. After studying ancient yoga, I’ve realized that the movements may not have had anything to do with the healing. The pain was my awakening to my spirit that wanted to be seen, heard, and nurtured. Yoga was the path to awakening my body, breath, and consciousness to my divine presence.
As you read this blog, you will see the discovery unfold. When you read the real-life stories of how yoga impacted the people in this book, I hope you will awaken that divine connection within you. You already have the spirit within you. It’s there waiting for you; it is you. You are the magical factor in yoga, the healing power and strength to go through daily life awake and present.
Namaste: The divine light in me sees the divine light in you.