tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75891790718139319672024-03-13T00:17:22.834-04:00Living The Eight LimbsThis blog is dedicated to documenting the trials and tribulations of living modern life according to the eight-limb path of ashtanga yoga. Feel free to share thoughts and ideas from your own experience of the yogic path.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03737980586094406409noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589179071813931967.post-46969946877823564292010-12-18T12:38:00.003-05:002010-12-20T13:51:56.393-05:00The Great Debate: Who Owns Yoga?The yoga world has been all abuzz recently by the <a href="http://www.hafsite.org/media/pr/takebackyoga"><b>Take Back Yoga</b></a> campaign initiated by the <a href="http://www.hafsite.org">Hindu American Foundation</a>. This foundation has launched a complaint about western-style yoga practices with a campaign of letter-writing to various national journals, drawing attention to its cause and sparking debate. Their belief is simply that yoga needs to be reunited with its Hindu origins. Well, this has gotten the yoga world into a tizzy of American-style defensive posturing, more or less claiming the right of Americans to take yoga and make it their own. <br />
On November 27, the <i>New York Times</i> ran an article titled, "<b>Hindu Group Stirs a Debate Over Yoga's Soul</b>" documenting the efforts of the Hindu American Foundation (HAF). Diving head-first into the comment section, there was everything you can imagine in there, from incredibly ignorant people who clearly have never seen the inside of a yoga studio to those claiming both physical and spiritual benefits from a practice devoid of Hinduism. In a pool of about 50 comments (that is where I drew the line, though there were hundreds), only two really stood out for me:<br />
"<i>The purpose of Hatha yoga is to generate health that will enable individuals to attain spiritual and intellectual insights from practicing the higher forms of yoga as taught in the Upanishads</i>"; and "<i>Yoga uncoupled with a moral construct leads no where, except towards being more physically fit. Hinduism provides that moral construct</i>".<br />
Both sentiments ring true. The main focus of the <b>Hatha Yoga Pradipika</b> is to generate health for more advanced spiritual practice, the underlying reason being that a sick or unfit body does not get far on the spiritual path. Those of us who practice ashtanga yoga are well aware that asana without the other limbs is merely "kindergarten", or a foundational practice to teach the mind to pay attention while strengthening and realigning the body. In reality, yoga asana as practiced in the west is not so much a spiritual practice as it is physical therapy. It is kindergarten in that we are not yet concerned with algebraic equations; we simply would like everyone to sit quietly in a circle on the floor without back spasms. The <b>Hindu American Foundation</b> would like Americans to get out of kindergarten and at least enter first grade with a mere acknowledgement of yoga's spiritual link to Hinduism. This is a fair request. Too many yoga studios and teachers have embraced Hindu words and symbols and have marketed them to great economic benefit without any proper education as to what these symbols represent. Take the <i>Om</i> symbol. It is a sacred symbol to the Hindu people and yet it has been marketed to exhaustion in America as a symbol of kindergarten yoga, when in fact it is really part of a greater algebraic equation that very few yoga studios are teaching! It does not represent a yoga studio. Or yoga mats. Or yoga t-shirts. I will never forget B.K.S. Iyengar voicing his concern several years ago about this sacred symbol turning up everywhere among people who barely grasped its significance. This is akin to the calculus professor showing up in the remedial algebra class. If Americans are going to claim relentlessly, as HAF claims they do, that Hinduism is not an important part of American yoga, then Americans must cease and desist with the Hindu symbols and the Sanskrit. <br />
On the other hand, you can probably guess that this is most likely going to be a fruitless exercise on the part of a group that has failed to embrace the American principal of individuality, not to mention the American religion of Capitalism. Americans have always and will always borrow what they like from other cultures and make it their own, especially if there is a profit to be made. <br />
There are indeed many American yoga instructors out there who do embrace Hindu principals and incorporate them into their lessons. But the majority of American yogis hit the studio for a good work-out followed by the feeling of calm centeredness they experience from spending ninety minutes moving, holding poses and paying attention to their breath. <br />
America has always been the Land of Many Churches, and acknowledging and teaching Hindu principals in yoga class will most likely spark some interest in Hinduism. But it will evolve quickly into an American interpretation of Hinduism. Many Americans are practicing Christians, Jews or Muslims and will most likely walk out of a yoga class that spends too much time focusing on Ganesh, unless done skillfully within the frame of their "work-out". What Americans have discovered in yoga is how to pay attention, focus their energy, and by consequence, expand their awareness. This becomes a skill that people then bring with them to church or temple, a means for deepening their own spiritual practice. Those who are atheist develop a spiritual identity unique to themselves and begin to embrace life at a deeper level. It is not the <i>Hinduism</i> that causes this effect, it is the <i>yoga</i>. In fact it is <i>Patanjali's</i> yoga of the <i><b>Yoga Sutras</b></i>, an appealing handbook of spiritual enlightenment rejected by most Hindus as unorthodox and embraced by most Americans, atheists in particular, who have simply had it with the wrath of a vengeful God. <br />
We can admit that the yoga practice we have taken and Americanized originates from the Hindu canon, just as we can say that the English language we speak originates in England. The bottom line, though, is <i>this</i>: once it crosses the pond, it takes on a life of its own in a uniquely American fashion.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03737980586094406409noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589179071813931967.post-76574785635244864432010-09-22T19:52:00.000-04:002010-09-22T19:52:45.753-04:00Practicing Yoga When Life Gets in the WayI often joke with my fellow yogis that life is always getting in the way of my yoga practice. By this I mean that I have a habit of laying down a plan, a <i>yogic</i> plan, of how I am going to practice from now on, and then my plan gets derailed because of family responsibilities, work, emergencies, etc. Well, of course, that <i>is</i> the yoga. Trying to stay balanced and even-keeled wouldn't be much of a practice if life doesn't throw you a few curve-balls every so often. But how annoying! I want to practice Tapas by sticking to my asana and physical fitness routine, yet here comes a cold; I want to practice Ahimsa by nourishing myself better, yet here come the holidays and the bombardment of treats; I want to practice Pranayama but the phone keeps ringing. You get the picture. How often do we hear people say they would exercise more <i>if they could only find the time</i>? I have counseled many people over the years to <i>make</i> the time because time is not something that can be found. And so the same holds true for yoga practice. There is never a perfect time to practice. Something always wants to get in the way. And that is in fact part of the actual <i>practice</i>: staying present with our intentions regardless of what is currently in the way. This is not always easy - in fact it is usually pretty darn hard and we often fail! But the other part of actual practice is giving up the rigid structures we set up for ourselves in order to be more present with the true moment. My practice for this Fall is not to get down on myself when I fail to stay present with my intentions, but to try to remain conscious and open to the alternative experience. Being conscious of the fact that I have lapsed is half the battle. Staying present with the reason for lapsing, without judgement or resentment, is the other half and that for me is the trickier part! <br />
I long ago gave up <i>trying to meditate</i>. It is either going to happen or it is not. More recently I gave up running a certain distance or pace. I just start running and see what happens. Sometimes I'm fast. Sometimes I end up walking instead. I gave up trying to <i>get through the entire primary series</i>. I get on my mat and see what happens. Sometimes I just sit there! And that is my practice. <br />
It is good to have goals and to work toward them, but it is very liberating to give up the seeking of results sometimes. Usually what happens then is that you open completely to the reality of the moment rather than trying to force your ideals on the moment. Suddenly, you are <i>practicing yoga</i>.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03737980586094406409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589179071813931967.post-32848579667724858702010-07-11T13:11:00.002-04:002010-07-12T13:10:19.284-04:00Get your Mind in the Present.....<b>And the future will take care of itself</b>. This is something my teacher says a lot and I think it comes from Paramahansa Yogananda originally. It is a phrase I come back to a lot and can apply almost daily to my life. We live in a society that spends most of life planning for some kind of glorious future and ruminating over a less than stellar past. Most of us forget to live during this journey. It is fine to save money for your future and to think about what you might like to do or where you might like to go at some later point in your life. It is natural and beneficial to plan ahead sometimes. But when does all this planning get in the way of our actual <i>living today</i>? When we are constantly thinking, <i>believing</i>, that we haven't yet lived, that the good stuff is coming later, that we have not yet <i>arrived</i>. We all do this to some extent and some of us more than others. The bottom line is that we are all headed to the same place - a coffin - so we might as well pay attention to the journey and stop worrying so much about where the journey is taking us! <br />
Last night I watched an interesting documentary about a French con-artist who came to America in the mid-1990's, called himself a Rockefeller, and swindled many people out of millions of dollars! His victims were Hollywood celebrities and socialites from the Hamptons! Go figure! Aren't these the people with access to the savviest financial investors?? <br />
There were several things that struck me while viewing this documentary: 1) This Rockefeller spoke poor English with a strong French accent and claimed to be one of the <i>French Rockefellers</i> (has anyone ever heard of the <i>French Rockefellers</i>??); 2) No one ever <i>googled</i> him!; 3)He promised massive returns on investments in very short periods of time (Ponzi, anyone?), and only took investments in cash which was to be turned over in a paper-bag to a shady-looking character, dressed shabbily with no briefcase or other trappings of the "business-man". These cash hand-overs ranged from $25,000 to $500,000 at a pop!; 4) This French Rockefeller paid for everything in cash, rang up restaurant and bar tabs in the tens of thousands in one night, and partied like a rock star. Even the Kennedy's are not that ostentatious! <i>Old-Money</i> does not party like a rock star. That is for the <i>Newbies</i>.<br />
What really struck me about all these victims was how desperately they wanted to ally themselves with a famous name and get rich quick. All of these people were already fairly well-off, upper middle class people. They were living in places like Hollywood and the Hamptons, yet somehow their current lives didn't measure up; they were hanging on to some future notion of living like a millionnaire and partying with the Rockefellers! That future was never really there because it was never anything more than a delusion. The best part of this story is that the con-man himself believes these people got what they deserved by being greedy and status-oriented! He has no regrets! (He did violate a whole lot of <i>Yamas</i>, though!) <br />
I'd like to think that most of us are not this silly or desperate. However, we all give in to social pressures to <i>plan, plan, plan</i> and <i>climb, climb, climb</i>. A little planning is good, too much is not. If you inadvertantly climb, so be it, but be prepared to fall - it does happen. <i><b>Get your mind in the present and the future will take care of itself</b></i> is a powerful reminder that if we are doing what we are supposed to be doing, and <i>want</i> to be doing today, then tomorrow will unfold just as it is meant to do. It sounds simple enough intellectually, but put into practice it gets a little tough. Why is this? Because we all suffer from fear of the unknown. We don't trust that tomorrow will unfold as it is supposed to if we don't feel completely in control of it. Giving up the delusional control over a future we really have very little control over is the hardest part. Save your money. Get an education. Invest in a house. Have children. But take part in these moments without worrying too much how things will turn out later. Go with the flow and stop <i>worrying</i>. That is the key. Worrying is a waste of energy: you cannot control the future; you cannot control what your kids will be when they grow up; you cannot control the security of your life-savings or the value of your home down the road; you cannot control the security of your job. Just roll with the punches in the present and the future will take care of itself! Like all things yogic, it is easier said than done. But do the practice now so you can handle the upsets later! Life does take care of itself and things really do have a way of working out in the long run. The more we practice facing fear and abolishing worry, the better we will be able to handle ourselves when Life throws us a <i>doozy</i>. Start practicing now.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03737980586094406409noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589179071813931967.post-37555603960755597762010-06-18T19:48:00.001-04:002010-06-20T22:10:09.826-04:00Celebrate ImpermanenceMy yoga teacher, Beryl Bender Birch, has coined the term, "<i><b>celebrate impermanence</b>"</i>. She has been using this term now for several years and basically it means: <i>be here now, stay present, nothing lasts forever so don't long for the past or yearn for the future. Get your head in the here and the now</i>. A few years ago she had a bunch of t-shirts printed up that stated simply and in relatively small print: <b>Celebrate Impermanence</b>. These are beloved t-shirts for those of us lucky enough to have one. And as you might expect, when they ran out, they ran out; celebrate impermanence. No this is not going to be an entry about how much I miss my old t-shirt; I still have mine. It is a term that has been on my mind lately, though. We always need to remember it and Beryl makes a habit of reminding us. Usually, when things are going well in our lives, it is very easy to understand "celebrate impermanence", at least intellectually. We think, "cool, yeah, I get it". By it is a much harder concept to put into practice. <br />
My yearly 7-day retreat with Beryl is coming up, and I am grateful for another 7 days of truly doing the work of celebrating impermanence. This spring I lost my childhood friend to cancer; four bantam chicks, seven quail and one duck to predators; I nearly sheared off my thumb in the garden; and yesterday I had to give away my sole surviving duck, Gary, to a farmer who had more ducks for him to hang out with.<br />
These are the kinds of things that make us think, "how on earth am I supposed to celebrate <i>this</i>?? This is when the real work begins. I celebrated my friend's passing with photos, a visit to her family and a FaceBook memorial page. I also planted a small rose bush in her memory. And of course, I cried. Crying sometimes feels like such a luxury! Our lives get busy and we feel we need to "keep ourselves together". Looking through old photos, visiting with her grieving family and planting something alive into the earth in her memory left me with a feeling of celebrating her life. How then to celebrate the <i>impermanence</i> of life? Being present with these little rituals I set for myself allowed me to cry and grieve, a very important part of letting go. The grieving <i>was</i> the celebration. What happens to us if we don't grieve? We get angry, we may enter a state of denial, we might even put something out of our mind, banish it altogether. This is a recipe for disaster: psychological and physical ailments will surely follow. Grieving allows us to recognize our own impermanence as well as that of other loved ones. It can actually help us stay <i>present</i> in the moment of our loss and with what we cherish. <br />
Well, losing a few birds after that was no big deal. I mean, they're <i>birds</i>! We raised them from day-old chicks and we were sad to have lost them, but we did know that predators are definitely a risk when raising a backyard flock. We could celebrate having raised them, but how to celebrate their <i>impermanence</i>? This is when you really need to start thinking about the cycle of life, about how every living thing on earth is basically food for some other living thing! Most of the time we don't like to think about it, because then we start wondering who's is going to eat <i>us</i>! I did lose some sweet little birds, but now I have some well fed and healthy raccoons and fishers in my backyard! Dammit. Our sadness and grief are all part of that cycle, though. We can mourn a death one instant and rejoice at a birth the next. <i>Staying present</i> allows us to do both fully. We can't truly rejoice if we never allow ourselves to mourn. Mourning is a celebration of what we have lost; rejoicing is a celebration of what we have gained. Life involves both.<br />
We can get good at this, with practice. Mourning, rejoicing, staying present. And then life throws you a curve ball.<br />
How delighted I was to finally have a raised-bed for my vegetable patch this year- no more grass creeping in, much better soil, a few cute stepping-stones I put in around the perimeter. All it needed was a good sturdy fence, you know, to keep the predators out. How proud and relieved my husband was going to be to find I had done the fencing all by myself! I had a heavy mallet, a tape-measure and all my metal stakes. I was ready. The first stake went in beautifully. I measured carefully for the next one and drove it into the ground, only to find it clanking up against a rock. I moved it slightly and pounded again; more rock. I moved it once more, checking my measurements, and started to pound. And pound. I choked up on that mallet to give it one more bang and..... <i>pain and blood</i>, lots of it! Oh, my gosh, even more! The top of my thumb had been torn of, just above the cuticle! I ran up the steep hill toward the house and I could feel blood splashing down on my legs. And <i>splashing</i>. And <i>splashing</i>. All from such a tiny little digit! This was definitely an Emergency Room moment! After washing it, nearly fainting, and then drinking some water, it was off to the ER for me (so much for impressing my husband - he drove).<br />
A few hours, a few stitches, and one tetanus shot later, I found myself at home wondering, <i>how the heck did that happen</i>? I realized I had not actually hammered my thumb but rather tore it from the top of the metal stake! Not exactly a moment of aware presence! It was only then that I noticed I was still wearing my grungy gardening clothes, now quite blood-stained. I looked down to notice just exactly which t-shirt I was wearing that day: <b>Celebrate Impermanence</b>.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03737980586094406409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589179071813931967.post-85106751560573367152010-05-12T14:51:00.000-04:002010-05-12T14:51:07.439-04:00Stealing Wreaks Havoc with your KarmaIt has been a while since I have updated this blog. Lots going on, life and work, the death of a friend, and an upcoming trip abroad. I have been trying to write about<b> dharana</b>, or <i>concentration</i> for a while now, and interestingly, I have not been able to concentrate! <br />
Today I had some time to spare and went to a local coffee shop for my favorite double breve. I sat outdoors at one of the cafe's tables and was right next to a book display from the book store next door. There was a sign there that read:"<b>Please Pay Upstairs. Remember that Stealing Wreaks Havoc with your Karma</b>". This really made me laugh and I thought it was a great deterrent to anyone thinking they might just take a book and keep on walking. It's a little bit like, "God is Watching", which frankly, despite one's religious views, is probably a better deterrent than "Violators will be Prosecuted". <br />
Once the caffeine kicked in, my mind was off and running with asteya: non-stealing. (If I laid off the caffeine I might have a better chance at getting around to writing something interesting about dharana). I began to think about whether "borrowing" one of those books while sitting there sipping my coffee might in fact be a form of stealing itself. After all, we've all seen people at Border's making themselves comfy in one of those arm chairs while reading an entire book only to put it back on the shelf when done. The book I was eying did not belong to the cafe. It belonged to the used-book store next door. But the cafe's tables were right next to the book display. Oh, the temptation! I could reason that, of course there is no harm done in just taking that book down and reading the jacket cover, and maybe the first page or two. However, if everyone did that, how long before someone spills their coffee on one of those books? They are already devalued as "used" books. If we spill, we devalue the book further, in effect stealing from the merchant. My mind really does get going on caffeine. In fact, I may be stuck on pratyahara forever.<br />
Well, I did what I thought would not leave me with "bad" karma. I stood up, read the jacket cover, put the book back on the shelf and then sat back down to finish my coffee. And guess what? No regrets! <br />
I was still buzzed with caffeine, though, so my mind jumped on over to how different people would answer the question: is it a form of stealing to sit and read one of these books while being a customer of only the cafe? If I had had more time and more guts, it would have been fun to do a street survey, asking everyone who passed by. Some people, I am sure, would think it a perfectly harmless act, while others might not. This then would be a good example of the chaos of democracy. Uh-oh. The brain was off and running with that one. <br />
The idea of karma is that every action is linked inextricably to another. If we do not put enough thought into our actions we may suffer undesirable outcomes. There <i>will</i> be an outcome and we do not always have control over it, but mindfulness goes a long way toward avoiding unnecessary suffering. The karmic effect of the caffeine was a hyperactive mind. However, that mind has gotten good over the years at following a train of thought for a long distance. One might even argue that a gentle state of pratyahara is reached when the stealing issue is discussed internally at the expense of all other subjects. Alright, that may be pushing it a bit, but it was a beautifully written sentence, was it not? <b><i>Withdrawing</i></b> all other issues from the table to <b><i>concentrate</i></b> on non-stealing. At least that is how my mind is working today!Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03737980586094406409noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589179071813931967.post-7526491596499341862010-03-24T12:41:00.000-04:002010-03-24T12:41:21.389-04:00Living and DyingI seem to have reached the stage of life where people dear to me are starting to die. This is part of the natural cycle of life, yet knowing that does not make it any easier. My childhood friend is dying of cancer. She is forty-three years old. I have spent many weeks thinking about her, our history together and about losing her. I have also wondered how I would handle such a death-sentence myself. <br />
Two years ago, both my father and my aunt were dying of cancer. They had radically different approaches to dying. My father spent his final days in denial and my aunt spent her final days partying. I distinctly remember feeling grateful for the experience of watching these two different ways of dealing with death. I hoped that if ever I faced a similar situation, I would have the courage to live out my final days as well as my aunt did. <br />
Cancer can be seen as cruel, a long, drawn-out death sentence that forces us to think about our own death daily for weeks or months. Or it can be a gift: I remember reading a post-mortem account of a woman who had written at the end of her life that the best days of her life were her last days. She did not miss a minute of her final weeks and months, choosing to stay present and enjoy family and friends to the very end.<br />
I spoke to my friend's sister the other day to find out how things were going and she said to me, "She's really not handling this well at all. But then again, how can she be expected to handle it? How would we handle it?" The question has been on my mind ever since. How can we be expected to make the most of our last days, knowing they are indeed our <i>last</i> days?<br />
Reading <b><i>Physics of the Soul</i></b> by Amit Goswami I am attempting to familiarize myself with the physics of dying as well as the spiritual aspect. This book is no light read, but it is fascinating nonetheless. The author speak of the <i>Creativity of Dying</i> and that in order to make dying a less frightening experience we must prepare ourselves for the process of both struggle and surrender. If you have ever witnessed the dying process you will immediately know this process: from denial to anger to management to surrender. For even those who struggle the most mentally, the body slowly gives up the struggle to survive and the mind soon follows by disconnecting from the vital body. An individual can continue to live for several days to weeks in this state, but it is a state of mentally withdrawing from the action of life and the busyness of the mind. It is generally a very peaceful and even enlightened state. The yogis refer to it as the highest <i>samadhi</i>. But as in any other state of <i>samadhi</i>, it is going to require abandonment of the ego. This is where preparation comes in handy. We generally cannot reach a state of <i>samadhi</i> without first preparing: working the limbs, so to speak. So the creativity of dying requires a similar inquiry, examination, and the eventual <i>work</i> of detaching from the ego-centered form of existence. <br />
What I come away from this reading with is that the more we live our lives consciously, with greater and greater awareness, the more prepared we will be for the process of dying creatively. In other words, the fear of death is lessened when our lives are lived with awareness. We've all heard the phrase, "Live Each Day as if it Were Your Last". This is the <i>First Limb<i></i></i> of Dying Creatively.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03737980586094406409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589179071813931967.post-55543502135031822132010-02-12T14:58:00.000-05:002010-02-12T14:58:33.756-05:00Yoga CultsIt is very easy for people to take their spiritual path and get a bit carried away with it. By that I mean preaching to others how they should live, eat, sleep, worship, etc. As Ashtangis, we are reminded that ours is an individual journey. We can learn from yoga teachers and gurus, but ultimately we must decide what is right for us as individuals according to our means and to our discoveries through the work of Yama and Niyama.<br />
I came across a truly appalling story written by <i>Sabrina Rubin Erdely</i> in the February 18 issue of <i><b>Rolling Stone</b></i> magazine about a yoga cult called Dahn Yoga. If you are a Dahn practitioner, be warned that what you are practicing is not yoga and doesn't even vaguely resemble yoga. What Dahn Yoga is, in fact, is a scam run by a middle-aged Korean man named Seung Heun Lee who has managed to con a great many college students into thinking they can buy their way to enlightenment by giving all their money to his organization (Dahn Yoga) and relentless fund-raising. These students are drawn in gently by tai-chi and yoga-like exercises and are gradually driven to maxing out their credit cards in trying to make their weekly fund-raising quotas. They are then chided and driven toward damaging and humiliating acts such as: excessive exercise; holding their breath under water until their lungs strain and then jumping out to sing songs of praise to their Korean Master; drinking toilet-water; rubbing their faces in dirt; and even being sexually molested by the Master himself. In the end, those who make it that far are coerced into giving up all contact with family and friends and dedicating their lives exclusively to Dahn Yoga. Meanwhile, the Master himself is basking in his glory, jet-setting around the world, owning multi-million-dollar properties and canoodling with lovely young ladies. All, of course, paid for by the money he has stolen from these naive young people and their relentless fund-raising activities.<br />
The former Dahn members that Ms. Erdely interviewed for her article all had plenty of moments where they felt ridiculous and seriously questioned what they were doing. Yet they were somehow always convinced that their doubts were a sign of weakness and that they just had to try harder. These doubts were a very disturbing aspect of this article; everyone seemed to have them and yet no one ever heeded them. Doubts are never a sign of weakness; they are your inner voice warning you that something is not right and should always be heeded. Yoga is not boot camp - you do not need to "try harder". Yoga does not entail acts of self-humiliation. Yoga does not require payments of money if no service is being rendered. And yoga does not involve worshiping any individual.<br />
More disturbing still was the fact that even two years after getting out of this cult, the former members were still psychologically disturbed and confused about how to get on with their lives. The only enlightenment any of these former members seemed to receive from this experience was that they had been scammed and had wasted a few precious years of their lives. That is not the kind of yoga we want to be practicing.<br />
Living a yogic life means checking in daily with those doubts and your values. Please do not let anyone, under any guise of yoga, tell you what you need to do to be enlightened.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03737980586094406409noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589179071813931967.post-3928273156878129732010-01-22T12:53:00.000-05:002010-01-22T12:53:45.773-05:00Pratyahara - sense withdrawalSense-withdrawal. Why would we want to withdraw our senses and what exactly does that mean. <i>Pratyahara</i> is the fifth limb and it acts as a sort of bridge between the first four limbs and the last three. We are observing and enhancing our awareness of our behavior, our habits, our physical condition and our breath in the first four limbs and now we need away to turn inward to examine the functioning of our mind, and to surpass the mind and its ego to reach God Consciousness. It is not as simple as just sitting down and counting your breath. If it were that simple, we would all be enlightened by now and could probably get rid of those little purple mats. When we do sit down to observe our breath we are distracted, over and over again. What distracts us? The sounds from outside, the sounds or smell of the person next to us, our grumbling tummy or our sore bottom. Then what? Our mind travels to our thoughts about the person next to us, or to what we may want to eat for lunch after this god-forsaken session is over. Or to whether or not we ought to adjust our sitting position. This is a chain reaction that could go on and on until we catch ourselves so far removed from what we were initially trying to do that we don't even know how we got there! Sense withdrawal begins when we finally become aware of our distractedness. When we are able to catch ourselves moving "outward" with our thoughts and re-direct them back "inward", we are beginning to actually <i>practice</i> sense withdrawal. My teacher likes to make the distinction between the first four limbs and the last four limbs this way: the first four are things we <i>do</i>, or <i>practice</i>; the second four are things that will <i>happen</i> spontaneously after much practice. <i>Pratyahara</i> is that bridge where we can try to practice withdrawing our senses from outside stimuli but which will only truly be mastered when that sense withdrawal begins to happen spontaneously each time we sit to practice <i>pranayama</i> or meditation. In fact, most of the meditation exercises you learn in a class or from a book are really just practicing turning inward so that <i>eventually</i> meditation will happen. We can't make ourselves meditate, we can only encourage the process by withdrawing our senses.<br />
Again, why would we even want to do this? Studying the mind is a good way to learn what we actually give our attention to all day. It is a more advance practice of Yama and Niyama, in that we are taking ourselves further into the realm of the endless chatter of the mind to see what this is really all about and whether or not half of what distracts us is even necessary. We are attempting to become more efficient, to waste less fuel, so to speak. Distraction wastes energy. We want to be in control of what distracts us. Some distractions are necessary and even pleasant. Most are not. Who is in control? The <i>practice</i> of sense withdrawal puts us firmly in control. The <i>spontaneous</i> withdrawal of the senses suggests mastery of our senses while also taking us on a fascinating journey to the inner workings of our mind.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03737980586094406409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589179071813931967.post-35746701440859737622010-01-05T11:48:00.001-05:002010-01-05T12:03:47.632-05:00FoodBecause Yoga is practiced mostly as a form of fitness in this country, it is inevitable that the subject of food will arise. Fitness and Food always go together. On the other hand, when approaching yoga from a more spiritual perspective, the subject of food will also come up. How to nourish ourselves is deeply related to spirituality, especially when one considers the human body a vessel for the spiritual journey. <br />
I've been thinking about food a lot this month since I began working with a personal trainer who has asked me to track everything I consume on a daily basis for a few weeks to see how my diet affects my energy levels. This has been an interesting experiment in <i>Satya</i> and <i>Bramacharya</i>, Truth and Moderation.<br />
Picking up this month's issue of Yoga Journal, lo and behold, there is an article about this very topic! Funny how things work out that way. The author is writing from the perspective of having been an over-weight child and teen and learning to come to terms with food as nourishment for the body rather than medication for the mind. She talks about Satya and Bramacharya and how they play an enormous role in this transition.<br />
Food is a hot topic and one that people are very passionate about, especially those (like myself) who are inclined toward health and fitness. So it is not uncommon for people to really duke it out, in a philosophical "food fight" of sorts, over the topic of what to eat, or what not to eat. This really gets dicey.<br />
Full disclosure: I am a carnivore. This comes as a shock to some in the yoga world. A lot of yogis fervently believe you must be a vegetarian to <i>really</i> practice yoga. I was a vegetarian once. It made me fat and depressed. It has taken more than a decade for me to find a diet that truly suits my physiology. You may have noticed from my little "bio" above that I refer to myself as a "Food Fundamentalist". This is a term I lifted from somewhere off the internet, I don't remember where, from a raving individual who had had it up to here with "Liberal, Yuppie, Subaru-driving food fundamentalists from Vermont". I laughed so hard, recognizing myself immediately, that I have since come to describe myself that way every time I get the chance. A food fundamentalist is someone who only wants the highest quality of food available and has the income to purchase it. Think <i>organic</i>, <i>farmer's markets</i>, <i>raw milk</i>, and you get the picture. Well, that is me. I raise my own chicken for eggs, travel 40 minutes out of my way once a week for raw milk from traditional dairy cows (i.e. <i>not</i> Holsteins), and buy most of my meat, fruit and vegetables from local farmers. I spend a great deal of money on food. But I digress.<br />
The point I am trying to make here is that the one truly yogic approach to food and nutrition is, you guessed it, <i>paying attention</i>. It is not up to others to tell you what you should or should not ingest. It is entirely up to you. It is, in fact, one of the greatest responsibilities you have to yourself. Your physiology is unique to you, and what I eat may not necessarily be good for you. What works wonders for you may be poison for me. Read, learn and experiment with your diet. How does it make you feel? Does your energy crash at some point? Are you holding on to too much body fat? These are issues we all must eventually confront if we want to nourish ourselves optimally. However, if we require a change, the prescription will most likely be different for each one of us. <br />
My personal trainer asked me to limit my daily caloric intake to 1600 for a few weeks. She kept asking me, "how do you <i>feel</i>?" I kept thinking that she meant, "are you getting enough to eat at that level". Eventually I figured out that what she really was talking about was my day-long energy level. When I eliminated sugar and grain from my diet and kept as close to the 1600 calorie limit as possible, I started bouncing off the walls with energy. I finally got it. What my trainer was teaching me is that moderation done properly will give me sustained energy levels. She asked me just yesterday if I wanted to go another week counting calories and I said Yes. Not because I truly want to keep counting calories, which I think is a pain in the butt, but because it is an exercise in <i>Satya</i> and <i>Bramacharya</i>. It is a form of <i>Tapas</i>, or self-discipline which I feel I am greatly benefiting from at this point in my life. <br />
Choosing the diet that is correct for your unique physiology can at times conflict with your practice of <i>Yama</i> and <i>Niyama</i>. As a carnivore, I have to reckon with <i>ahimsa</i>: non-violence. Yogis often choose vegetarianism for this very reason. On the other hand, a high-carbohydrate vegetarian diet is a form of violence to my own body, trapping me in a vicious cycle of blood-sugar swings and robbing me of vital energy. How then do I practice ahimsa with regard to other animals? First and foremost I travel and spend money looking for farmers who raise their animals on a proper diet (e.g. grass) and take great care of them, which in fact extends to the way they even choose to slaughter. When we choose to raise animals, for whatever reason, we bear the responsibility for their proper care. For that reason, where I purchase animal products becomes a very important decision that takes into consideration my values regarding not only my own health, but the health and welfare of the animals involved. That may not seem like an adequate "excuse" for meat-eating to some vegetarians, and that is okay. It is simply the way I reconcile caring for myself as well as for others according to my yogic value system. Caring for the vessel that carries us through our spiritual journey requires a form of Satya that we may not always be comfortable with. But then again, Ashtanga Yoga never promised the path would be easy.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03737980586094406409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589179071813931967.post-55943131915504148932009-12-30T13:59:00.000-05:002009-12-30T13:59:05.713-05:00Using Breath in Every-Day SituationsHere is a good story. Years ago when my son was in pre-school, he had a little run-in with another kid on the playground that I believe involved a sandbox shovel. The mother of this other child, in all fairness, was chronically stressed out by the fact that her son did not handle everyday finagles very well. In retrospect, I believe she wanted her son's social issues to have a simple solution and therefore sought one at every opportunity. On this particular day, she accosted me in the middle of the playground, accusing my son of being some sort of tyrant who was bullying her son by stealing his shovel. She was very angry. Now, this sounds almost comical, and in hindsight it really was. But at the time, I perceived her as a threat. I am not a confrontational person by nature and I could feel my heart starting to race. Had I been confronted with this level of hostility just a few years earlier, before children, this could have developed into a fist-fight. But this was a children's playground! I was a mother, an adult. <i>What to do??</i> As I stood there with my heart racing, my inner voice said, "<i>just breathe</i>". I consciously slowed and deepened my breath while hearing this woman out. I never took my eyes off of her face. I just stood there, breathing and listening to what she was saying. My heart slowed down, I felt a bit calmer. And then this is what happened: she lowered her voice a bit. Then she removed the hostile tone from it. Then she began to think out loud about what actually happened. She ended up talking herself into a full circle from hostile and accusative to gentle and compassionate, even concluding that her son was most likely to blame for the altercation! How did <i>that</i> happen?? It turned out that remaining calm, quiet and focused allowed this other woman to really hear her tone and her words. She realized she needed to tone it down a bit. The more I listened to her the more she gave up the fight. After all, what she was really looking for was empathy, not a fight. By my withholding a defensive stance, she was able to let go of the hostility and return to a rational state. And it all started with a focus on the breath!<br />
This was a tremendous learning experience for me and I have used it since in other situations with hostile individuals. While it may seem "passive" to allow someone to finish their tirade as you just stand there and breathe, it is actually a very powerful stance in that you are able to remain in a rational state of mind. Anger is irrational - we lose sense of the bigger picture when we become angry. It is also contagious, in that when confronted by an angry individual we ourselves can become angry and defensive. This is how fights break out and usually need to be settled by other people who can distance themselves from the emotional material. To remain calm and rational is infinitely more powerful than even the most violent rage. It is also rather shocking to the enraged one, who is expecting a good fight. It forces your "opponent" to tone it down a notch if he wants to continue the debate. You, as the "breather", have the power to return the dialogue to one of civility, and no matter the outcome, you win because you exercised control over the hostility.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03737980586094406409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589179071813931967.post-20613952389324726662009-12-30T12:56:00.000-05:002009-12-30T12:56:46.060-05:00Pranayama 201This is my favorite pranayama practice. It is nice and easy and can be practiced just about anywhere. Once we've learned to relax the belly, we move on to bring the focus, finally, to the breath. Tune in to your breath. Notice how it feels: slow, fast, smooth, ragged, even, uneven? Just notice its quality for a few minutes without trying to change it. It is important to know that the quality of your breath changes from day to day, hour to hour. There is no one "correct" breath. Don't judge yourself, just notice. When you begin to settle in, feeling relaxed, begin to consciously change your breath. Slow it down a bit, or <i>lengthen</i> it, as I like to tell my students. Draw the breath in a little deeper and exhale a little longer. Try to keep the breath quiet and comfortable, so don't try to fill your lungs to maximum capacity - this will cause anxiety. When all those pesky little thoughts begin to bombard your mind, and they will over and over again, just return to focusing on your breath. Study the quality of this breath you have set for yourself. Is it comfortable enough to continue for several more minutes? If not, change it, soften it or make it a bit shallower. Try to establish a breath you can stick with for a good five minutes. Come back to it again and again each time you are interrupted by thoughts. <br />
If you are able to practice this at least a couple of times per week, you will find that you sink into a nice quiet rhythm pretty quickly and you finish feeling relaxed and refreshed. You may discover that your breath becomes deeper and even develops an aspirant sound to it. That is good. However, I don't recommend that you try to make any sound at the beginning. Trying too hard to make the sound of <i>ujjayi</i> breathing can lead to tension and anxiety and defeat your efforts. Pranayama takes a lot of time and practice, and the best way to be successful is to begin with a focus on relaxation. The breath will unfold from there, becoming deeper and aspirant on its own. Only then are you truly ready to begin the more advanced practices.<br />
Is this meditation? Well, yes, in a way. It is very elementary practice for meditation which comes much later down the road. It is the beginning of <i>pratyahara</i>, or turning inward, as well as gentle conditioning for more advanced pranayama practices. <br />
I use this practice frequently to turn inward and settle my mind. I also use it while lying in bed if I'm having trouble falling asleep. It quiets my mind and allows me to relax enough to let sleep unfold. Most of all, it puts you in touch with your breath, developing an the intuitive sense of when you are anxious or tense, or relaxed and peaceful. This becomes a very useful skill to have throughout life!Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03737980586094406409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589179071813931967.post-73175167466345060132009-12-29T13:00:00.002-05:002009-12-29T13:26:27.555-05:00Pranayama 101Very simple, straight-forward pranayama exercise that can be done just about anywhere: Sit with your back straight and make sure you are comfortable. If you are a practicing yogi and can sit cross-legged on the floor without support, this is the sitting position you should begin with. If you cannot sit upright without support, find a comfortable chair for this exercise. You should be upright in pranayama practices for two reasons: you are moving subtle energy through the chakra system which corresponds to your spinal column, and you don't want to fall asleep! Spend the first few minutes making sure you are comfortable - I mean <i>really</i> comfortable, because if you are not you will be defeated! Make sure your hips are relaxed. If you are cross-legged on the floor you may need a cushion or rolled blanket under your sit-bones. This will aid the pelvis in tilting forward and take the tension out of the hip-flexors. If you are seated in a chair, you may need a cushion, low stool or big book under your feet if you have short legs! Take the time to get your sitting position correct from the get-go.<br />
Once you feel you are upright but relaxed, close your eyes and let your chin drop slightly toward your chest. Bring your focus to your belly. Consciously relax your belly - just let it go. We all tend to suck our bellies in most of the day, so now we are <i>practicing</i> letting them go. It's harder than you think! I don't recommend tight t-shirts for this exercise - big and baggy is better! Let your breath guide you in relaxing the belly. With each inhalation let the belly rise - not the chest, but the belly. With each exhalation, let the belly collapse. The breath is soft and quiet, not at all forced. You may notice that you are beginning to elongate the breath a little and that is okay, but keep your focus on the belly. If you are brand-new to pranayama, this will be your practice: learning to sit upright but relaxed and focusing on letting go of all that tension in the belly. Practice it for 5 minutes each day until you get really good at it. You will notice at first that you keep sucking in the belly and have to remind yourself to let it go. That is okay- that is the practice. You will know you are ready to move on when you realize you no longer need to remind yourself to relax the belly. It may be two days or two months. It doesn't matter. What you are doing is tuning in to your body and using your breath to to release tension and truly relax. This is Pranayama 101.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03737980586094406409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589179071813931967.post-37949837949027444352009-12-09T12:34:00.000-05:002009-12-09T12:34:07.101-05:00PranayamaPrana means life force or vital energy. Ayama is the opposite of yama. Ayama is extention or lengthening, as Yama means restraint or restriction. Pranayama is often translated as breathing exercises while what it really refers to is both the expansion and control of prana. Initially one is introduced to pranayama through "breathing practices" in yoga class which we discover have a remarkable calming effect on the mind. Why is this? We are concentrating our minds, and therefore our energy, on the breath. Slowing down our busy minds relaxes us and allows us to focus our energy better without getting scattered. My teacher has a habit of repeating, "where the breath goes, prana follows". In other words, bring your attention to your breath and get your energy under control!<br />
There are a great many pranayama practices, each one more sophisticated than the previous, designed to take our minds and our energy to an ever increasing state of refinement. "What we want to do is to feel the finer motions that are going on in the body. Our minds have become externalized and have lost sight of the fine motions inside. If we can begin to feel them we can also begin to control them". That is how Swami Vivekananda exlains what we are trying to do with pranayama in <b><i>Raja Yoga</i></b>. It is how he summarized the more complex explanation he gives on <i>psychic prana</i>, explaining the <i>ida</i> and <i>pingala</i> currents which carry prana from the base of our spines up to the brain. "according to the Yogis, there are two nerve currents in the spinal column called the Pingala and the Ida, and a hollow canal called the Sushumna, running through the spinal cord. At the lower end of the spinal cord is what the Yogis called the lotus of the Kudalini. When the Kundalini awakes, it tries to force a passage through this hollow canal;and as it tries step by step, layer after layer of the mind opens up and many different visions and wonderful powers come to the Yogi." (Vivekananda, p.50).<br />
This gets to be exciting stuff. What does Feuerstein, the great scholar of yoga, have to say? "In Yoga practice, breath control equals mental control. This formula is as fundamental as Einstein's E=mc² and as far reaching in its practical implications. It is through the proper regulation of the life force that the yogin can not only influence the nervous system and bodily functioning in general but also gain access to the subtle dimensions of existence by transcending the brain-dependent activities of the mind" (Georg Feuerstein, <b><i>Shambhala Guide to Yoga</i></b>, pp. 69-71).<br />
Now, I don't know about you, but this just makes me want to sit right down and breathe! Don't worry about reaching enlightenment, just focus on your breath. Lengthen it. Deepen it. Listen to the sound it makes. Try to make your inhalations and your exhalation equal in length. That's all. Try that for five minutes a day and you will be off to a great start. Your chattery mind will settle right down. Any anxiety will be eased. Your blood pressure may drop. You will be experiencing the subtle control over your body's life force that you are capable of when you stop letting your mind be scattered by all the outside influences.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03737980586094406409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589179071813931967.post-68092085499312999052009-12-01T13:49:00.000-05:002009-12-01T13:49:31.116-05:00AsanaPosture. In the Yoga Sutra, the only reference to asana is this: "Posture should be steady and comfortable. It should be accompanied by the loosening of tension (prayatna) and by coinciding with the infinite space of consciousness" II:45-46 (translation by Georg Feuerstein in <i>Yoga</i>). So how did this elaborate tradition of hundreds of asanas come about?! Patanjali is clearly referring to a posture in which you sit to meditate. So where did Downward Dog and Triangle Pose come from? Asana, or the practice of posture, comes from <i>Hatha Yoga</i>, the school of yoga that prepares the body and mind for the eventual practice of <i>Raja Yoga</i>, the journey to Samadhi (enlightenment). Remember that <i>to reach enlightenment, we must be of sound body and mind</i>. <i>Asana</i> begins the work of cleansing the body and healing the body, while also training the mind to stay focused. My teacher, Beryl Bender Birch, has one of the best ways of explaining yogic concepts in plain English, and really says it best in her latest book, <i><b>Boomer Yoga</b></i>,"this particular system of asana practice is what in yoga is called a form of tapas, or detoxification. The word tapas literally means 'to burn'. The idea is that you use the work to start an internal fire, which then in turn burns impurities and clears toxins from the body, through squeezing, sweating, and breathing" (P. 31). That is what the practice of asana is really all about. While Patanjali is essentially saying, "make it steady and comfortable", that is a lot easier said than done! Try sitting cross-legged on the floor for half an hour in meditation. If you have poor postural muscles and weak blood flow, this will be nearly impossible, and quite possibly a form of torture that really should be banned internationally. You must be conditioned, that is, cleansed and healed both inside and out, and of strong mind and body, to sit for lengthy periods in meditation. It is when we sit and relax, turning inward, that we are able to have the insights that advance us on our spiritual paths, and eventually lead to a state of bliss.<br />
Asana is the form of yoga that most Americans are familiar with. It is usually the jumping-off point for us all on our yogic quests. Why is this? My experience of teaching asana for the past eleven years is that the practice itself gets people to do three things: pay attention to their breath, pay attention to their bodies, and quiet down all the chatter in their minds. I don't know of any other form of exercise that does this so effectively. This is what I call "turning inward 101". It is what Beryl call "kindergarten". By that we mean, you are beginning to turn inward, slow your mind's chatter and get connected with you body, without necessarily knowing it at first! Most people love the way they feel after yoga class: relaxed, de-stressed, calm. Only from that point can we begin to expand our awareness, in whatever direction we choose. Whether people like it or not, yoga class, or asana, turns them inward and calms them, at the same time that it works out the kinks, stimulates the kidneys and cleanses the liver!Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03737980586094406409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589179071813931967.post-50743549876143232122009-11-21T15:08:00.000-05:002009-11-21T15:08:19.500-05:00Ishvara PranidhanaDevotion to God, or a Power greater than oneself. This is the crowning glory of the Niyamas. After all, this <i>is</i> a spiritual path, so it is only right that at some point the mention of God, or a Higher Power, enters the discussion. For many people, this is not a problem. For others, this is where they shout, "<i>Stop the train, I want to get off!</i>" It is important to remember that the paternal God of the Judeo-Christian traditions is totally foreign to the Hindu practitioner. God is not a person, but a power, a form of energy that pervades everything in the world and the universe. Hinduism has many gods and goddesses, all of whom possess different human attributes and yet are only a small part of the Divine Energy. Hindu practitioners choose their own god or goddess, depending upon which human attributes they wish to cultivate. That is a system which is in line with Yoga, one of the six schools of orthodox Hinduism. On the yogic path, we are choosing what to pay attention to and what to work on: greedlessness, non-violence, truth, etc. You can practice yoga and be a devout Catholic at the same time. You can be a Hindu who chooses Jesus as your personal god. This is not sacrilegious but rather a mindful choice of spiritual practice based on <i>paying attention</i>: our personal needs are different from our neighbors, and only we ourselves can determine them with any accuracy. We can seek help and guidance from our spiritual leaders and mentors, but in the end it is we as individuals who are responsible for choosing our spiritual path. <br />
If you are an atheist, how do you practice <i>Ishvara Pranidhana</i>? Keep in mind that in this ancient tradition, there is no GOD but rather Divine Energy. Rather than a father figure who watches over us and keeps score, deciding who lives and who dies in any given year, divine energy is what the world was created from: it is a power greater than ourselves. I think we can all agree that the universe and all its mysteries is definitely a power greater than ourselves! The ultimate goal of a yoga practice is to experience first-hand this divine energy in ourselves and our interconnectedness through divine energy to every other form, animate and inanimate, on earth. If you have dabbled in quantum physics, you will begin to understand that it is the modern-day physicists who are the closest to understanding this concept. This Divine Energy can be proven scientifically. You don't need a messiah or a miracle to prove it, just a really good physicist who can explain some tricky concepts to you. Good luck! : )Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03737980586094406409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589179071813931967.post-2750380914377685282009-11-18T14:22:00.000-05:002009-11-18T14:22:01.044-05:00SvadhyayaSelf-study, self- analysis; also, studying sacred scripture. These are two different definitions for <i>Svadhyaya</i>. Initially, you might think, Huh? which is it - self analysis or study of sacred scripture? But further examination shows that these two definitions are meant to be together. Just recently I read the best explanation for this, and unfortunately I cannot remember who wrote it, but I do remember the explanation quite clearly as it made a whole lot of sense to me. We need to work on studying ourselves first, and for a long time, before we begin to study sacred scripture. This is because we need a good acquaintance with our inner-most selves, our strengths and our weaknesses, an acknowledgment of ego and knowing the difference between ego and true self, before we dive into scripture. Only then can we really choose the sacred scripture that is right for us as individuals. It is considered a waste of time to study lots of different sacred scriptures, dabbling a little with this or that religion or philosophy, if we have not yet done the work of getting to know ourselves. We get side-tracked, pulled this way and that way, and only really end up more confused than enlightened, if we spread ourselves too thin. So the concept of <i>Svadhyaya</i> is to study every aspect of ourselves (the <i>Yamas</i> help us get started!), practicing <i>Satya</i> (Truth) in everything we do, think, and say. Then, after many years of such practice, we will know intuitively which sacred scriptures will be most enlightening for us.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03737980586094406409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589179071813931967.post-44703419979982284752009-11-14T14:26:00.000-05:002009-11-14T14:26:17.310-05:00TapasSelf-Discipline. This can be defined many ways and the beautiful thing about the yogic path is that we get to define things for ourselves, according to our needs and where we are at any particular point in our lives. For instance, the self-discipline that I need to work on may be quite different from whatever it is that you need to work on. <i>Tapas</i> can be anything from getting out of bed a little earlier each morning, to giving up smoking, to sitting for longer in meditation. <i>Asana</i>, or the postures work we do on the mat in a typical yoga class, is a form of tapas. We are disciplining the body by correcting muscle imbalance and cleansing internal organs, eliminating toxins from our tissues as we sweat. You can choose one form of tapas or many. For me, <i>asana</i> is no problem, I do it every day. Getting enough exercise and eating healthy food is easy for me as well. For others, not so. For you, getting to the gym three times per week may be your <i>tapas</i> right now. For me, reducing my chocolate consumption is going to take a lot of hard work and determination. For instance, I walked into the grocery store just yesterday, and lo and behold, there was a lady standing just inside the door to greet all customers with a lovely display of Green & Blacks' Organic Chocolate in all different percentages and varieties. Now, not too long ago, I was able to to say to myself: "Well, would you look at that! God really <i>does</i> want me to eat more chocolate! After all, <i>Theobroma</i> (as in <i>theobroma cacao</i>) does mean food of the gods, so who would really ever want to deprive themselves of such a heavenly food!?" With a little creative imagination and a great deal of delusion we are often quite capable of talking ourselves right back into the habits we want to give up or cut back. This is where <i>Satya</i> comes back in. Being Truthful. Without it, our attempts at <i>tapas</i> are bound to fail. I did walk away from the chocolate lady, but in all honesty I still had the bar of Equal Exchange chocolate that I had bought the day before. So, tiny steps. Tiny steps are always okay, as long as they are heading in the direction we wish to travel.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03737980586094406409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589179071813931967.post-13760986120509594872009-11-13T17:25:00.000-05:002009-11-13T17:25:40.052-05:00SantoshaContentment. Practicing contentment can be more difficult than it would seem. We live in a fast-paced, success-oriented, consumerist society which seems to be sending the same message over and over again: you are not yet complete without the latest (fill in the blank). At what point, then, are we complete? When we've maxed out our last credit card?? I think a great many people have already tried that and guess what? It doesn't work! Practicing <i>santosha</i> means practicing regular reflection on what we have, not what we don't have. We do tend to do this from time to time: saying grace before dinner, saying blessings for our family, etc. But most of the time we get caught up in the rat race of status and consumption. <i>Santosha</i> is more than saying grace. It is remembering all day long what we are grateful for. Not obsessing about the car we want to have but rather reminding ourselves of how lucky we are to have a car that gets us where we want to go. <i>Santosha</i> means celebrating the healthy body you have rather than despising our legs that don't look good in skinny jeans. Get the gist? It is simply a matter of turning around the negative thoughts: they are only one side of the coin. Focus on the other side instead. It saves a lot of energy and helps you develop a far more satisfying life.<br />
A radical example of practicing <i>santosha</i> is that of a friend of mine in the yoga community whose house burned down a few years ago. She lost all of her possessions. This is everyone's nightmare. But what she walked away with was her life and her daughter's life. Neither was injured. Within one week she began to experience a feeling of great freedom and contentment. She no longer had all the clutter of everyday life, just the things that mattered, her daughter and herself. This is not such an unusual story. Many people have reported that same sense of freedom once they finally lost all their "stuff". We tend to cling to our belongings and fear losing them as we've identified with them as an integral part of ourselves. But once they are gone, we realize we are so much more than the sum of our belongings! <i>Aparigraha</i>, or non-hoarding, is practiced for this very reason. <br />
Every day we need to re-evaluate our contentment. Sometimes we are not healthy or we do not have a car. And sometimes we need to just kvetch and get it out of our system. But <i>Satya</i>, or truth, is a major component here. If we are truthful with ourselves about what is, we are more likely to cultivate contentment than if we simply sulk about what is not and long for something that no longer is or was never meant to be.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03737980586094406409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589179071813931967.post-29057736265951587222009-11-11T16:36:00.000-05:002009-11-11T16:36:44.128-05:00ShauchaCleanliness; purity of mind and body. Sanskrit is a fascinating ancient language in that one little word rarely has one little definition. <i>Shaucha</i> refers not only to keeping our body clean from the outside, but also from the inside. It also refers to a "cleanliness" or purity of mental energy as well as spiritual energy. From the simplest perspective, taking a bath, brushing our teeth, avoiding junk food, staying away from internet porn and going to church regularly would seem to cover the basics. But as we dive a bit deeper into ancient tradition, we discover an amazing array of cleansing techniques, from fasting to special diets, to purging and the use of enemas, to breathing exercises, chanting mantras and beginning meditation techniques. So <i>Shaucha</i> can encompass a wide array of cleansing possibilites! For most of us, unless you are into <i>colonics</i>, the idea of fasting, purging, or using enemas is hardly enticing. So back to basics: keep your body clean, every day. Floss and brush. Empty your bowels. Then take a good, honest look (<i>Satya</i>!) at your diet. How does it effect your energy? Your digestion? What can be eliminated or added to improve your nutrition? Is our diet generally life-enhancing, or is it harmful to our health (<i>Ahimsa</i>!) Are we not feeding ourselves enough (<i>Asteya</i>!) out of concern for body image, or are we gorging mindlessly (<i>Aparigraha</i>!). These are all considerations we must make when attending to our inner cleanliness, or purity. You can now see how the concepts of Non-Violence, Truth, Non-Stealing and Non-Hoarding come into play as we begin to consider our overall sense of inner and outer purity. <i>Yama</i> and <i>Niyama</i> are inherently connected. Do not let that confuse or discourage you. You don't even need to notice it initially. But as you practice, you will begin to see the interconnectedness clearly. I think of each limb along this path as not only preparing us for the next limb, but reinforcing the last one.<br />
The same considerations apply to purity of mind and spirit as well: what are we reading, watching on TV, listening to on our ipods? How is our mental energy affected when we go to work listening to heavy metal or to a Mozart concerto. What kind of people are we hanging around these days? Are they negative, angry, stuck-in-the-mud people, or are they contented, productive people? How does the company you keep effect your state of mind? Your state of mind will have either a positive or negative affect on your spiritual path: if your mental energy is negative, you won't be advancing spiritually anytime soon, I guarantee it! That doesn't mean we should plaster on a smiley face and pretend all is well, it simply means <i>pay attention</i>! Only with attention can we make the changes we need to improve our lot.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03737980586094406409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589179071813931967.post-52457057091988357992009-11-11T16:04:00.000-05:002009-11-11T16:04:40.791-05:00Niyama - Personal ObservancesThe second limb of the eight-limbed path is <i>Niyama</i>, or <i>personal observances</i>. Like <i>Yama</i>, there are five subsets of <i>Niyama</i>:<br />
1. <b>Shaucha</b>: cleanliness; purity of mind and body<br />
2. <b>Santosha</b>: contentment<br />
3. <b>Tapas</b>: vigorous self-discipline<br />
4. <b>Svadhyaya</b>: self-analysis; study of spiritual scriptures<br />
5. <b>Ishvara Pranidhana</b>: Devotion to God, or to a Power greater than oneself<br />
<br />
While <i>Yama</i> is focusing our attention on how we conduct ourselves in the <i>outside</i> world and working to develop a bit more discipline morally, <i>Niyama</i> is how we take care of our <i>inner-selves</i> and continuing to develop our self-discipline with regard to our physical, mental and spiritual health. Yama and Niyama are rarely ever separated, and it is difficult to focus on only the first limb without making detours through the second limb. This will become apparent with all the limbs, as the eight-limbed path is rarely linear. As I take you through each subset of <i>Niyama</i>, I will attempt to make a connection to some aspect of <i>Yama</i> so that you can see how interwoven these principals are.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03737980586094406409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589179071813931967.post-73620464581122364972009-11-10T12:06:00.000-05:002009-11-10T12:06:17.773-05:00AparigrahaNon-Greed, or Non-hoarding. This fifth Yama violates the basic tenets of the American National Religion: Capitalism. That does not mean you need to become a dreaded Socialist or, God-Forbid, Communist, but this Yama does force us to take a good, hard look at our consumption habits. Tread easy with this one - it can be painful. Let's face it, Ladies: just how many pairs of shoes do we <i>really</i> need? I'm sure you can see where I am going with this. Practicing <i>aparigraha</i> requires a good foundation in <i>satya</i> (truth) or we won't be making any progress. How much do we eat, sleep, shop or otherwise indulge in both material and sensual pleasures? This is the question we want to keep at the back of our minds and explore over a period of time. The more awareness we bring to our consumption habits the better able we are to make some better decisions, perhaps spend a little less, or at least only indulge in the best quality we can afford (see <i><b>Chocolate of the Week</b></i> box to your right). We should aim to make our lives less cluttered, not more so. It is easier said than done, and this topic will come up again when we take a good look at <i>Pratyahara</i>. In the meantime, think about the dread you feel when your parents or in-laws try to unload thirty years worth of junk from their attic into the back of your car. If you have not reached that point in your life yet, believe me you will soon enough and you might want to get your parents started on <i>aparigraha</i> right away! My husband is a master of aparigraha and I have a long way to go to catch up. For some of us, this yama may be easy and for others, it may take many years of patient practice to learn to take a little less and give a lot more. Good luck!Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03737980586094406409noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589179071813931967.post-784076083292258012009-11-09T13:27:00.000-05:002009-11-09T13:27:23.003-05:00BramacharyaContinence: exercising sexual self-restraint. As I mentioned in an earlier post, this Yama was initially a call to sexual abstinence, as it is believed that a man's semen can be reabsorbed as spiritual energy, and that spilling it needlessly leads to a backward slide on the spiritual path. This is something I may explore a little more and post on at a later date. Maybe. No promises. For the meantime, let's examine Bramacharya from the Average-Joe perspective, rather than the ascetic view. Sexual energy is intense and emotional. It does rob us of some energy. However, denying sexual gratification tends to lead to more problems than it solves. It is up to each individual then to restrain sexual activity to a level that allows gratification and release yet does not become an obsession. Excessive sexual activity can lead to addiction, and like all addictions, will contribute to the spiritual back-slide. Bramacharya is essentially a moral imperative: take what you need but don't be sleazy.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03737980586094406409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589179071813931967.post-85945447730257373722009-11-08T16:59:00.000-05:002009-11-08T16:59:13.867-05:00AsteyaAsteya- Non-Stealing. How do we steal things? Let us count the ways: we steal people's time when we demand too much of their attention, we steal people's energy when we burden them with too many of our problems. We steal extra packets of sugar and napkins from the diner, more than we intend to use at the moment, believing we have the right to do so since we just bought a cup of coffee. We steal food from the world when we pack our plates with more food than we can actually eat at the buffet. We steal water when we leave the faucet running, and energy when we leave the lights on. We steal more than our fair share of oil when we crank the heat on a cold day without putting on a sweater first. We steal fresh air from others when we leave our cars running to jump out for a quick errand. None of these examples are going to hold up in a court of law, as they are not even considered misdemeanors, never mind felonies. What they really are are examples of <i>mindlessness</i>. When we are not paying attention, we are apt to "steal" in some way, to show lack of consideration or even demonstrate a sense of entitlement that is not really ours for the taking. We are all guilty of this from time to time. <br />
Have you ever been to a dinner party where one person did all the talking all evening? It grows tiresome. It robs the host of the opportunity to talk to each guest . It robs the guests of the pleasure of conversing with one another. And it robs us all of our energy as we struggle to stay focused on a talker we have all grown quite tired of. <br />
My latest offense was taking my cousin's dog for a walk at a local park and discovering a dispenser for free doggy poop bags. I thought, "what a great idea!" and got so excited I took five of them to keep in my truck, just in case I need them on future outings! <i>Poop Bags</i>! I stole poop bags to take with me wherever I go with this dog, even though they were provided by the kind, tax-paying residents of my town to keep that particular park clean. Not some other park, somewhere else, some other time! Will I be hung on the town green for this offense? Probably not. But the point is, if everyone helped themselves to as many poop bags as they wanted whenever they chose, there would be none left for that big, giant pile left behind by someone's beloved canine. And we all know what that means: someone is going to step in it!<br />
So if you are still stealing bubble gum and lollipops from the corner store, <i>stop</i> already and move up to the next level. <i>Pay attention</i>.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03737980586094406409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589179071813931967.post-78614016144321078372009-11-08T16:25:00.000-05:002009-11-08T16:25:58.139-05:00Spiritual RevolutionariesAccording to my Master Teacher, Beryl Bender Birch of the Hard & The Soft Institute, we (her students) are the Spiritual Revolutionaries. To Beryl, asana is just kindergarten. She demands a bit more of her students, and that is to live yoga every day and bring it into the community in any way we can. This, of course, requires more than just familiarity with our toes, and challenges us to live the eight limbs in every creative form we can muster. We can sit in full-lotus pose and turn ourselves upside-down on to our heads. But if we aren't <i>paying attention</i>, we are not practicing yoga. That will be one of the first lessons you will learn from Beryl if you choose to study and practice with her. Poses are just poses until you begin to bring all of your attention to what you are doing. Only then are you just beginning to get an idea of what yoga really is. Beryl's Spiritual Revolutionaries are out in the world, teaching yoga to the elderly, to kids, to prisoners, to Marines. They are working in soup kitchens and building shelters. Practicing yoga means doing the work of identifying, and then shedding the ego to get out of ourselves and into the world, making the world a little bit better every day. This is not a one-time deal that you do to make yourself feel better during charity-week. This is everyday, for the rest of your life. Yoga is a life-long practice.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03737980586094406409noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7589179071813931967.post-10822721552533978422009-11-06T12:01:00.000-05:002009-11-06T12:01:20.428-05:00Satya - TruthThis is a good one. <i>Satya</i> is the second <i>Yama</i>. Just how truthful are we in our daily lives? Now if you know yourself to be someone who never lies, then congratulations, you have passed level one in <i>truthfulness</i>. Now you are going to have to look a little deeper to do the level 2 work. A good example comes from yesterday's post about <i>Ahimsa</i>, where I had to determine whether one more interval would be violent to my body or helpful to my fitness. I was tired. I wanted to quit after just four. But I made myself do one more. That is because I dealt with the truth of the situation -- I wasn't at all on the verge of injury, I was just wimping out. Whether I did the extra interval or not hardly mattered: what mattered was that I was at least truthful to myself about why I did or did not do it. <br />
That is an example of both <i>ahimsa</i> and <i>satya</i> at work together. I love when this happens! The <i>Yamas</i> are always reinforcing each other.<br />
Here is another example: two adult sisters are expecting a visit from their elderly parents. One sister is jealous that the parents have chosen to stay at the other sister's house during their visit. The jealous sister says, "why do they always stay with you when they visit?". The other sister replies, "Because I invite them!" So what is going on here? This is a classic example of feeling sorry for ourselves because it seems someone else always has the luck. Dig a little deeper and we realize that what appears as luck on the surface is really just a consequence of a particular action (Ah, <i>Karma</i>!). Had Jealous Sister extended an invitation, the parents might actually have stayed at <i>her</i> house during their visit. This is really a tough one. It is much easier to believe that others have all the luck than to try to figure out what we may have done or not done to deserve our lot in life. Now this is really Yoga - if we want to improve our lot, we are going to have to do the work (sort of like running the intervals!) to figure out which actions we can take, or eliminate, in order to change an outcome. That requires Truth. <i>Satya</i>.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03737980586094406409noreply@blogger.com0