Spanda: Secret of Life

Spanda

Life’s Little Secret

What is Spanda

Spanda is one of the foundational teachings from the ancient tantric philosophies. To be clear, I am referring to the yoga traditions not the modern westernized term for sexual practices. Spanda refers to the pulse of the universe, the essence of life’s natural cycle and rhythm that is always occurring. What that really means is that everything in life is either moving toward expansion or contraction. For example, a seed that drops from a flower at the end of its life lands on the ground in a contracted state of pure potential. If that seed makes its way into the dirt and receives enough water and sunlight, it will move towards its expansion. The seed will begin to grow roots downward and eventually flowers upward. The seed represents limitless potential, while the flower is the manifestation of that potential. At the end of its life, the flower drops several seeds onto the earth and the cycle of potential begins yet again. The teaching is a reminder that all phases of the seed’s life are natural and inevitable. Even in its death, it leaves behind potential.

SEEING SPANDA IN OUR LIFE  

At first, this teaching can be something nice to think about, however, when you really observe your life you will begin to notice that it exists everywhere. Knowing that there is always a cycle of potential and manifestation, perhaps we could be less surprised and shaken when the projects, relationships, and circumstances of our life die and come back to the pure state of potential. The issue most of us face emotionally is that we believe everything that is happening now will continue to happen forever. This causes us tremendous suffering on both sides. Do you agree? Have you ever taken for granted the good things in your life? Have you lost something or someone special and spent far too long not moving forward? Yes, we all have, and this is where the teaching becomes helpful. It reminds us of the natural pulse of the universe, that sometimes we are the seed, eager to attain what we need in order to dig our roots into the earth and grow tall into our fullest manifestation. The eagerness is great, but it usually turns into impatience, forcefulness, or a retraction into the protective state of being where we give up far too soon wishing there was a shortcut. On the other side, there are aspects of our life where we are the flower, manifested and full of beauty. We all love this part of the process because it feels like everything is going the way we want it to. The potential downfall is either taking for granted the beauty of our life or simply lacking the clarity to see what we have created or who we have become. Look at your life. Where is your potential? Can you embrace the process, step into it, and let it unfold with every step? Look at what you have already created. Can you see it clearly without a sense of insecurity and self-doubt and find gratitude for who you have become and what you have built? 

Where can I practice with teachers who talk about spanda?

Chromatic Yoga Teachers around the world are teaching about Spanda in their classes. Find one near you at www.ChromaticYoga.com  

Embrace your potential

Most of our life is spent realizing our potential. To truly love life we must enjoy both the expansion and the contraction. This requires the ability to see the direction of your your actions. If you know where you are going and that you will get there, than you can relax right where you are now.

The Joy of Spanda

At first, the teaching of spanda was hard for me to embrace. I was annoyed at it in the beginning but I could see with great clarity that it was a teaching rooted in truth, not belief. It took some time to stop resisting the truth. I wanted to believe that if I practiced enough yoga and self-awareness I could live a life that is always in that sweet spot of expansion. The essence of what I was wanting was to feel the joy and freedom that I felt in the expanded states of life, and over time I realized that I could feel that regardless of the phase of spanda that my life was in. This is not about avoiding sadness, pain, or the challenges of life. It’s simply about having perspective and recognizing that life is a gift – ALL of it.

To apply this approach to the body,  I recommend you check out Hips: Rock and Unlock ‘Em! This online workshop is a journey through what I call the 4 quadrants of the hips, supporting you on the path toward mastery of the inner thighs, outer hips, posterior chain, and hip flexors. 

Elements of Mastery

The most in-depth online yoga immersion offered by Matt Giordano. This immersion contains several full-length workshops focusing on how the body relates to nature’s elements: Earth, Water, Fire, Air, & Space. In addition to deepening your physical practice, you will learn anatomy, adjustments, and the approach to Mastery!

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THE FREE TECHNIQUE PACK

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  • the Technique Pack: 15 yoga pose breakdowns
  • exclusive online course discounts
  • exclusive blogs and videos
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The Transformation Equation

The Transformation Equation

 

 

A.C.T.

Deep inside every one of us there exists a desire to be the best we can be during this short time that we have here in this life. It may be covered up by insecurities, shame, guilt, or the business of our day-to-day. You owe it to yourself to live a life that feels amazing and has a positive impact on everyone around you. Reading this means you are already stepping in the right direction. Only those called toward a path of self-awareness would get excited enough at the word “transformation.” Most would be terrified of the word and back away entirely. Acknowledge your courage and continue seeking the tools that support your growth.

A.C.T. is the acronym I use for the Transformation Equation. It stands for Awareness + Conscious Action = Transformation. Before we go over what I mean by this, let’s first get clear on one thing. Transformation in the spiritual sense of the word is not the same as change. Change is inevitable, it’s happening all around us, within us, and it is unstoppable. Try to take control and stop change and you will always lose as it is a law of life. On the other hand, Transformation is a choice. While everyone longs to transform their lives and live at their highest potential, few are willing to risk the comforts of the known over the adventure of the unknown. Stepping into your potential is not without risk. You can try and calculate it but ultimately you have no idea what lies ahead. All you can control is what you do with the time that you have. Do you choose to face the challenges that are required for you to step up to your potential, or do you sit back living in the known stagnancy of day-to-day tasks?

Dance With The Flames

Do you struggle with tight or weak hips, low back discomfort, or emotional stress? This workshop will provide you with a step-by-step approach to increase flexibility,  strength, and peace of mind. Evoke your inner fire and dance through life, the journey starts now!

AWARENESS + CONSCIOUS ACTION = TRANSFORMATION

    Step 1. Awareness

    Awareness is required before action if you want your efforts to produce positive outcomes. Action without awareness will still be productive but as we know, it often causes burn out and unfavorable results. Awareness can only be built through routine exercises of self-inquiry and observation. Self-inquiry is focused contemplation, asking yourself the questions to better understand your patterns of behavior. Most people are terrified of self-awareness simply because they don’t want to see all the aspects of themselves that they do not like. While it is true that you will see the darkness of who you are, you will also grow to see your amazing light that permeates every cell of your body. You cannot see your inner magnificence without cleaning off the lens that you see yourself through, which means you’ll have to be willing to see aspects of yourself that you are not proud of. No matter how much we each deny it, we all want to be the best we can be, and that requires facing our internal challenges, cleaning our lens of perception, and inquiring about who we are and why. Self-inquiry takes tremendous courage but as a result, we become self-aware, grateful for the person that we are, relaxed in our being, confident, filled with love to give, able to receive, more productive, less burnt out, more joyful, and so on.

    Step 2: Conscious action

    Action in alignment with awareness leads to profound results. Conscious Action requires awareness in every step, re-evaluation, and clear communication with anyone you are carrying out the actions with. Awareness produces a clarity inside of who you are and what you want to create with the time you have in this body. However, without Conscious Action, you can never grow into your potential. Potential is a trajectory, a path that you walk not a destination. Your potential could simply be to become a kind-hearted, loving human being, or it might be bigger than that: to become one who pulls others around them into their potential. Your potential will always grow as you take steps toward it – stay in tune through self-inquiry, and Consciously take action in alignment with it.

    Result: Transformation

    Transformation is the inevitable result of your awareness and actions. The choice to transform your current life for the person you are becoming is one that very few people take in this life. Transformation can not happen without Awareness because without seeing your own magnificence you can never expand upon it. If all you see is your self-doubt and insecurities, and you spend your energy hiding them from the majority of people you connect with, you will never have the energy to move forward. Do you choose to hide or do you choose to get courageous, see and share yourself, and expand into the person you are becoming? Watch the video below to see more about how to make use of the transformation equation and build the courage to step into your magnificence potential. You deserve it. 

    Create a Life You Love

    Place your energy on what you want to create in your life so that the short life that you get to live is filled with love! If you are looking to go deeper, I taught and recorded a workshop live called Dance with the Flames which uses the theme of stepping into the fire of transformation in order to live the life you deserve. I sincerely hope you make use of the transformation equation and that it serves you for the many years to come! Please share your comments, questions, and experiences. I look forward to hearing from you.

    DANCE WITH THE FLAMES

    A rare and exciting experience that will take you through an incredible adventure in both body and mind.  If you are looking to step into the fire of transformation so you can joyfully dance with the flames, this is the perfect workshop. It was filmed live to bring you the fullness of energy!

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    read more
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    read more
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    read more
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    read more
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    read more
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    read more

    TOP RECOMMENDATIONS 

    Handstand Training

    Learn the techniques that make Handstand fun, easy and accessible! This 2 part course consists of the top most effective exercises will increase your strength and technique so you can easefully balance a handstand.

    View Details

    SHOULDER REVELATION

    In this 12 class immersion  you will practice specific techniques to strengthen and unlock your shoulders. Each class focuses on a specific joint articulation and muscle group so you gain mastery in the shoulders.

    View Details

    HEART OPENERS

    Finally, a 12 class immersion designed specifically to help you discover the freedom of heart openers. Learn how to avoid uncomfortable compression, and awaken your true range of motion in a step by step manner.

    View Details

    THE FREE TECHNIQUE PACK

    When You Subscribe, You Will Get Instant Access to

    • the Technique Pack: 15 yoga pose breakdowns
    • exclusive online course discounts
    • exclusive blogs and videos
    • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

    Still Have Questions? Email Matt Directly

    • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

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