Chara Rodriguera is special, she loves life, she knows how to BREATHE, and she knows how to teach others how to breathe, live, and love. Chara is a Mother, The Creator of Sol Path Yoga and The Optimal Dream Life Programs, Inspirational Author, Actress, and Self as Art-ist. Let's dig in a little deeper and see what Chara can teach us all on episode # DE170 of the dHarmic Evolution.
Chara's "Sol Path":
Chara developed a unique style of Yoga over the years that is all about "supporting your dHarmic Evolution, so it's about the practice that we explore and experience on the mat, and tools and principals that really help you be more aware, more skilled, and more loving at being you, and being on your Sol's path, and also taking those awareness's and skills and tools with you off your mat and into your life, so that you can really live your full potential"
On the Treadmill:
"I was not tuned into my heart other than the fact that I felt that it was tight and I couldn't breathe, but I was not tuned into my truth, my needs, what was going to be supportive to my well being, it was like, all of that was put aside, to finish whatever task or job was at hand. It doesn't matter whether you practice yoga or not, as long as you are breathing into your truth and your heart and I actually started before I found yoga. I started with a book called "Simple Abundance" by Sarah Ban Breathnach and she teaches about little moments of connection, and little moments of gratitude".
YMCA:
"I first started yoga in 1995, there were no yoga wellness studios, my first class was in a YMCA, and I was very fortunate that there were some incredible teachers at this YMCA. Teachers that have gone on to own their own studios, and create their own teacher/training's and my family said to me, "are you sure it's not a cult"? They were a little concerned, and then, you know me being the inspirer that I am, as soon as I started feeling better and understanding that these tools were so powerful that I wanted to share them with everybody, but everybody was not interested, at the time"
Everybody felt that Love:
When I started teaching I had that joy of people coming because they wanted to, and then I got to fully share, and those were some of my best classes. My first classes when I knew hardly anything other than what I had been taught and trained to do just at the beginning. This is something that I wanted to share with your listeners, and anybody who is in the creative arts and whether you are a singer/songwriter or an artist of any type, or just a human being creating your life. We tend to think the best teachers are the most experienced, and it feels like we are never enough, we never know enough, we've never done enough, we're never educated enough, and I like to remind myself that the first classes were the best classes because I was so excited and passionate to share, and everybody felt that love, coming from me.
Casey Sabol:
"This is such a significant person in my life, and she started coming to my yoga classes, she is an amazing woman, she is the founder of a Juice company called "Lizzy Jays Juice" she is raising her two children on her own, she is so strong, she is in the fitness world also, so she was coming from a place of well being, but just needed that extra affirmation, just needed those extra tools to go to that next level. I knew that she was a visionary, and she had this skill set that I didn't have, so I called her for help, and I said I know my heart is telling me that I am ready for my next creative endeavor, but I have so many that I started, (maybe some of you listening out there can relate), you have so many things on your table and you just don't know which one to focus on, I couldn't even hear my own heart, and I'm pretty good at that at this point. She came to my house and said, "I know what you need to do, you need to put together your poems, and your photos" and she helped me step by step create this book, so by me giving my gifts with such enthusiasm and passion, because that's what I was made to do, that love, and her skills were brought back to me to create something that I didn't even know was possible yet.
The Original Selfie:
"25 years ago I had this weird bizarre calling to start photographing myself. This was before "Selfies" nobody was photographing themselves, and I was very aware that I had this feeling that I wanted to do this. I was in college at the time at Rutgers and I was taking a photography class and our teacher gave us an assignment of a self-portrait, and I thought wow, now I have permission to do a photo shoot of myself the way that I want to do it, I have permission. So many times we have a knowing in our heart, and we don't trust it. Were waiting for someone else to give us the affirmation or permission to go ahead with what we really know what were meant to do, so for any of you out there listening who have a knowing in your heart, this is your permission, go do it, go explore it.
Meditation:
Chara shares an online meditation and blessing for everyone listening to the podcast or tune into the video on The James O'Connor Agency Youtube channel (the video will be available in about 2 weeks from now)
Breathe:
Sacred poems from Chara, they and the accompanying photographs are all in the book of poems titled Breathe~ The Great Creator, Inhale Exhale, Snowing Flower Petals, God's Left Hand, Stand Tall, Incarnations, One Ray of Light, Avatar, My Crosses, Gratitude, I Have Arrived, I Sit in a Circle, Cry Love, Thank You For Not Holding My Hand, I Want, Alchemy, The Closed Door, Knowing God Changes Everything, Shadow & Illumination, and of course, Breathe~
Links that you might love to visit, and share...............
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007947167915
https://www.dharmicevolution.com/
https://jameskevinoconnor.squarespace.com/config/pages/51e71c5de4b072b82b773568