​These days we hear many words that may not hold much meaning; with the rise of advertising to entice us and the wellness space using colourful language to describe how we wish to feel, it's easy to feel confused.

Now you've found yourself here, which means you know I'm a yoga teacher, and I believe in the transformative power of meditation, movement, breath work and relaxation. It's through yoga that I explore my intentional living. But what the hell does that even mean?

With the decline of organised religion, certainly in people under 50 culturally, we find ourselves at a bit of a crossroads regarding divine guidance. As science fills in the factual blanks of worship, we're drawn to the data to place us firmly in reality. But this can make us feel small, possibly even insignificant, certainly when we see images of solar systems light years away that we may never be able to explore in this lifetime.

So, where do we find the balance between grounded, realistic fact and our hearts yearning for belonging, wonder and magic?

For me, mythology is the place bringing history, fable, geology and philosophy together. But there are a million different ways to find a connection to suit you and your beliefs.

Take my partner and me, for instance; I believe in a human soul, a part of us universally bound to be recycled into many lives, experiences and bodies. On the other hand, my partner accepts a more earthly wrapped pattern, that when we pass on from this life, what our bodies decay into creates rich nutrients found in the soil to feed the flowers, trees and meadows for wildlife to thrive.

While one is more factually accurate, neither can be wrong because it's a thought that comforts us in this lived experience and offers us solace in what is in store for us beyond this life.

If we can form an idea of what is beyond this life, it empowers us to find more meaning in the moment. After all, through the understanding of death, we learn to live.

And this is where modern intentional living can become paramount. Listening to guidance from within, a god, spirit, your soul, the universe or the earth itself, is a way of surrendering to the cosmic power of your actions. Finding a job that gives you purpose in the world, enjoying deeper conversations with friends and family and learning to spend time alone to harmonise the seemingly fractious parts of yourself through dedicated practice, whatever that may be.
I'll always recommend starting with a deep breathing practice to drop you in the present moment.

In a modern society where capitalism drives, we must look to simple everyday rituals that connect us with a more profoundly spiritual bond to ourselves. It may be religion or something you've created yourself, but acting with intention and purpose can illuminate seemingly simple or superfluous action, giving you more time and space to flourish.

You don't need goop products or a subscription to a fitness app. To get started, I'd recommend a space in your home filled with images that bring you joy, perhaps a nice view out a window, a notebook for journalling, poetry writing or drawing, some scents that uplift you, maybe a way to play music and a comfortable seat. What you do from there is your creation, your exploration, with your deepest intentions for the day, week, month and year ahead at the very centre.

If this kind of practice calls you I'm running a deep dive course into the spiritual side of yoga, offering you a window to peer within to enrich your experience. Fancy it? Email me: lauren@lg-yoga.com

My everlasting love of mythology offers me a window through which to peer through time to see the most prized virtues and customs of eras gone by. How civilisations separated by many miles and hundreds of years can reach similar conclusions about why the sun beats down upon us, why the moon fluctuates in size monthly or understanding how we can journey elegantly through the cycles of life.

No one encompasses the latter more than Tārā. Bodhisattva, Goddess and groundbreaking feminine icon who refused to reincarnate as a man to find enlightenment.

Pictured above as green Tārā, in a seated position, one leg tucked in the other ready to spring into action. The mudra in her left hand, known as 'Surya Ravi mudra',  unites the elements of earth and fire, promoting health, vitality, and positive life changes. Her open palm resting on her leg is a welcome sign of teaching and reassurance.

Her two main origin stories are very different but achieve the same message eloquently. Worshipped across Buddhism and Hinduism, I believe these two origin stories are from each belief system.

Most Buddhists believe Tārā was a member of a royal Tibetan family, affectionately called 'wisdom moon'; she was incredibly studious and was extremely close to attaining enlightenment. On the precipice of Buddhahood, she was to make a sacred vow before Buddha himself - a vow to remain on the path to elevate the needs of others above her own. Her devotion didn't go unnoticed, so Buddha decreed that if she prayed to be reincarnated as a man, she would attain enlightenment.

Tārā smiled and replied: "Here, there is no man; there is no woman, no self, no person, just consciousness. 'Male' and 'Female' are hollow, oh how worldly fools delude themselves. Those who wish to attain enlightenment in a man's body are many, but those who wish to serve the aims of beings in a woman's body are few indeed. Therefore may I, until this world is empty, work for the benefit of all humans in a woman's body?"

And it was so; Tārā was reborn in feminine form and went on to mediate for 10,100,000 years, consequently liberating the same number of beings from the bondage of small thinking. Through this mammoth achievement, she became a Goddess.

Her alternate origin tale speaks of the day she arrived earth-side through the tears of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. He cried as he saw all the pain of humankind; from his tears, a lake appeared, from which a single lotus flower grew. Tara appeared moments later from the lotus with a flash of energetic vibrancy to begin her work. 
Hinduism and Buddhism recognise the importance of suffering, a natural part of the human experience. However, suffering often comes from wanting or craving, giving way to disappointment.
Tārā's teaching is simple, recognise the impermanence of everything in life and fill this incarnation with the joys of simple living.

Tārā's origins are murky as she is considered the third oldest Goddess in human worship. Her roots are likely in Shaktism, a precursor to Hinduism, as Buddhism was devoid of deities altogether until the branches of Mahayana and Vajrayana began to spread across Nepal, Bhutan, Mongolia and Japan in the 3rd century BCE.
Due to this migration, she's become an embodiment of many things and now has 21 avatars:

Green Tārā; is the most widely recognised and worshipped throughout Asia. A manifestation of nature, she offers wisdom and protection through the worldly cycles of samsara (birth, death and rebirth), teaching individuals to journey ever closer to nirvana (bliss) every day.

White Tārā; personifies maternal compassion, offering healing to beings who are hurt physically, mentally or emotionally, promoting long life and serenity. 

Red Tārā; is a fierce model of attraction and positivity. She melts away the material and focuses on the raw, shifting lust and desire into compassion and love.

Blue Tārā; is associated with the transmutation of anger. Swift, sometimes painful spiritual growth is bound to her and often unwanted in the moment but necessary in the grand scheme of life.

You'll also find black, burgundy, yellow, orange, purple and pink Tārā's, each symbolising a unique element of this ancient Goddesses' power.

In recent history, Tārā is also the etymological origin for the word Terra; Latin for 'earth'. Binding her numerous earthly cycles of life to modern western language as well.

Which Tārā would you look to for guidance today?

If you enjoyed this article, I invite you to join me on a day retreat centred around the history of yoga. We'll delve into the origins of the tradition, the crossover with Hinduism, Taoism and Buddhism and how to colour your future practice.

Click here for more information and booking: ​https://www.laurengray-yoga.com/the-spiritual-side.html 

Before us all, was chaos.. 
​Before light and dark, before day and night, before joy and despair, before right and wrong. Before duality, division and discord, there was harmony in the darkness.
Think in this instance as chaos like a seed of potential and not a sink full of dishes, the aftermath of a children’s birthday party or worse, war. Chaos in its most primordial instance is a chasm from which potential, creation and life can spring forth. The reason for anything being in this universe is due to the imbalance of matter vs. anti-matter (the space which has vs. the space which has not). 

Sprung from chaos is the beginning of everything, from unity into separation. In many world mythologies, most prominently Greek, Vedic and Norse the source of life itself is chaos, a creative force filled with potential. Dark, unbound and vast. We observe that often there is a seed, a small moment that gives way to a separation. The earth and sky, or ocean and sky are separated to first make room for the budding growth of the world.

In greek mythology Gaia {earth} comes from chaos and births Ouranos {sky}. Gaia is the earth mother, the fertility, divine feminine and cosmic cyclical expression of life. From her union with Ouranos comes Erebus and Nyx {day and night} and Eros. The basis for the lives and days ahead and the pursuit of each day, love. At this point in time the gods and goddesses were primordial, offering people an explanation to nature’s happenings and not as an incarnation of human form. (That comes later..)

Similarly in Vedic mythology it is a chasm of darkness that unifies the concept of ‘not being’ until desire comes to be, the spring from which the seed of life is derived. This is often depicted as Brahma the four headed god of creation, or what could be. Alongside him is Krishna, the preserver and Shiva the destroyer, together known as the ‘Trimurti’ {three forms}. But of course what these three gods descend from is darkness, and that is Śakti {power}. She exists outside of time, outside of universal dwelling and is the force behind all that radiates across this earth. Similar to Gaia she is the primordial life we all derive from. We also see an incarnation of Śakti in the goddess Kali {she who is black/of the darkness}.

Norse mythology describes Ymir, a giant oceanic god sat in an abyss of space and time, surrounded by nothing. However he decays, and his body is used to create the 9 realms that interweave through Yggdrasil, the world tree. From his flesh earth was formed, from his bones the hills and mountains, from his skull the heavens, from his hair the trees and plants, from his blood the sea and from his brain the heavy clouds. 

Darkness is not to be feared but embraced as a place from which wisdom, creation and understanding evolve.

Chaoskampf - a second coming of chaos

Understandably with the cyclical nature of time being front and centre in creation stories we can sense a second coming of chaos in what’s known as a chaoskampf {chaos thought} tale. These usually arise far into the established world and come at a conjunction point on the precipice of a new beginning.
More often than not, a storm or sky god must fight and slay a great dragon, sea snake or winged serpent that threatens the way of life.

Perhaps you can recall the tale of Zeus, mighty god of lightening who overcame the titan, serpentine legged giant Typhôn who attempted overthrow Zeus for the reign of the cosmos and send it back into chaos. Mount Olympus was formed after Zeus’ succession, the palatial sky dwelling of the vast pantheon of greek gods and goddesses. This made room for people’s beliefs to move from primordial deities of earth and sky and move to more complex ones with human-like emotions. To bridge the gap between human and god, this significantly shifted worship from sacrifice to prayer and thought.

Or maybe think of Indra {sky god} defeating Vṛtrá the great winged snake of Vedic mythology. The mountains blocked passage of the migrating peoples so Indra was called upon slay Vṛtrá to crack the mountain open and bring forth the rivers of nourishment to the land of India. Funnily enough this tale dates around the neolithic period of ancient history when people were settling and farming land and of course, needed free-flowing water to grow crops and feed growing communities. 

But we also see this tale with Thor and Jörmungandr, god of thunder and the serpent of Midgard respectively. Jörmungandr was thrown into the ocean as a child for he disgusted Odin. As he absorbed the ocean of chaos he grew to encircle Midgard {home of man} and was able to grasp his own tail within his jaws - an example of an ouroboros (a serpent that continually circles itself and signifies the cycles of life). Jörmungandr then unleashed the chaos ocean and brought Ragnarök, Thor triumphs in defeating him and from this ocean of chaos springs new life.

In each of these tales lightening bolts are the weapons of victory for the storm and sky gods, striking the snake/dragon-like beings down. All of these tales begin through oral tradition, giving us the overarching similarities, with finer details differing through time and as the written word progresses.

We can date most of these tales back to the Indo-European migration pathway (spanning from modern day north India to Great Britain) which largely lasted from 4000-1000 BCE. This spanned the era in history where settling and community building was vast and prominent. I imagine a time where the ancestors of a Greek family, an Indian family and a Scandinavian family were sat round a fire sharing tales of chaos and creation, snakes and seas, gods and goddesses, all in search of finding the meaning of their being.

Like our ancestors, to embrace chaos is to embrace the unknown. All these mythological tales give us an insight into how the people of ancient Greece, neolithic India and old Norse civilisations explained the ever changing reality of the world around them. Telling tales of their sky, storm, thunder or lightening god, withstanding the vast sky and sprawling oceans of uncertainty, to invoke feelings of reverence while embarking on new adventures. Using the spark of radiant, striking light to slay lies, and illuminate the path ahead.