There is a story of a woman who is being chased by tigers. She is running as fast as she can, trying to escape the deathly interaction with these ferocious beasts. She arrives to the edge of a cliff and the tigers are quickly approaching. She has no choice but to climb down the edge of the cliff—or face certain doom. As she leaps she grabs onto a vine, and yet she still hears the tigers that she thought she had out smarted. She looks down and sees many more tigers down below her. As she grabs more tightly to the rope she looks up and sees that the tigers above have caught back up to her swatting their paws in hunger in her direction. The tigers above and below are relentless and determined for certain victory. As she grips with (literally) all that is happening she notices a mouse gnawing away at the vine she is holding and seeing that he is only moments before eating all the way through the vine. Out of the corner of her eye she sees to her side a patch of green and a juicy sweet strawberry within reach. She looks up, she looks down, she looks at the mouse, and reaches for sweet delight and eats the strawberry enjoying it thoroughly. —My adaptation of an old eastern tale
Life is so vast and complex from moment to moment. Challenges arise within us and around us all the time and yet we are to live our life in the face of all of these experiences. We are asked to live bravely and couragously in the midst of all that comes our way. The root of courage, cour, means heart—and so we are asked to climb and navigate the mountains of life from our heart.
There will always be lions chasing us (challenges) there will always be the vine (security, attachments) that we think we can hold onto and the reminder (mouse) that we cannot hold onto anything. Most importantly there is love (the strawberry) always within reach and there to keep enough sweetness present to ground us, heal us, and keep us fresh and awake in our lives.
It is this sweetness that allows us to persevere and to step into life boldly knowing that it is why we are here. Life is sweet and precious and we must continue to light a path for ourselves and all others who wish to find and taste the sweetness.
God has written a thousand promises all over your heart
That say, Life, life, life is far too sacred to ever end.--Rumi
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
The Lotus Within-Out of the mud and into the light
Make friends with your breath, make friends with your body. Little by little by little, make friends with what's arising. Keep the awareness intense and a little more intense. And pretty soon, by familiarity, fear retreats.-- Norman Fischer
The journey into inspired living and open hearted awareness is one that can be filled with challenges. As soon as we have our sights set on living a life of love and care, we come face to face with the heaviness of the mud that has been covering us for so long. Often times, we allow ourselves to get dragged back down by the weight of the mud, which prevents us from the fullest blossom of beauty that we could be. We must learn to go deep and practice creating space with our “stuff” and from the spaciousness, arise like the lotus flower, out of the mud and into the light.
Opportunities to find deeper powers within ourselves come when life seems most challenging.- Joseph Campbell
The deeper we get on our journey the more muddy we realize we are. What’s even more fascinating is that just as we arrive at the moment where we think we are about to bloom and feel the light of the sun soak our petals, we fall face first back into the pool of mud because the touch of the first ray is so foreign, and while the mud is dirty it appears to be more comfortable than the embrace of the sun's rays.
I compare this experience to experiments that have been done with animals in captivity, who after being tortured into staying in their cages, when they try to leave, no longer try to leave because even though they are free now, they have been conditioned to believe that trying is futile (or worse will lead to torture).
Sometimes we don’t blossom, quite frankly, because we have forgotten the will and the power to bloom. Sometimes the mud, while disgusting, is still more comfortable than the uncertainty of the light.
It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life.
Where you stumble, there lies your treasure.~Joseph Campbell
When we are ready to make the courageous choice to open to the light and affirm it as our life giving energy that feeds us so that we may feed it right back we then open to the treasure and gift of life. It is because we have been so muddy and have been weighed down by the dark that we can with strength and radiance shine out with beauty.
Those who have dealt with dark yet have chosen the light have a depth and truth about them that cannot be mistaken. Those who constantly go to the well of love to quench their thirst have a fountain within themselves from which others may drink freely. We must remember we are not born a blossomed lotus, but that we grow into it and we must pass through the mud to get there.
Knowing this how do we uncover the mud? Quite simply we feel it and then from noticing it, quite literally shake it off. It can only be shaken off while it’s still wet though—if we let the mud dry up and harden it remains with us.
Eckhart Tolle’s, "A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose" tells a story of the Duck with the Human Mind. He observes that after two ducks get into a fight, which never lasts long, they will separate and float off in opposite directions. Then each duck will flap its wings vigorously a few times, thus releasing the surplus energy that built up during the fight. After they flap their wings, they float on peacefully, as if nothing had ever happened.
He points out that if the duck had a human mind, it would keep the fight alive by thinking, by story-making. This would probably be the duck’s story: "I don’t believe what he just did. He came to within five inches of me. He thinks he owns this pond. He has no consideration for my private space. I’m not going to stand for this. I’ll teach him a lesson he won’t forget. And on and on."
So literally like a duck we must shake the mud off us before it hardens into the never ending story. Whether it’s an external fight, or and internal fight—mud is mud—energy is energy—shake it off and shake it loose—and move on.
May you bloom beautifully!
Transition
It's amazing to me how quickly bad habits and behaviors can quickly slip back into everyday usage if we are not paying attention. The good news for me is that I have recognized my own slippage and am fully committed to bringing myself back on track. As I began my new job just over a month ago, I came in full of hope and excitement about contributing my talents to an organization that I thought was doing good for the local community, and the world. Within a week I quickly learned that the organization had some quirks and conflicts, and I chose to remain neutral and observe before reacting in any way. Then at about my two week mark, I chose sides completely missing an opportunity to bring peace, reconciliation, and love--of which I now commit to bringing again.
Personal transformation can and does have global effects. As we go, so goes the world, for the world is us. The revolution that will save the world is ultimately a personal one. --Marianne Williamson
This is always a comfort to me, and is something I think we all need to deeply understand. Whatever is lacking in any situation is what we are not personally willing to give. That is a deep metaphysical truth. We can always use the excuse-- "But they won't let me shine" which comes in many forms, yet it is truly our own lack of clarity and commitment that dims our light. No one else can take anything from you without your permission. If we are committed to a life of love and compassion then the only way to experience it is to live it in every moment. As we live it, it is reflected back to us in every interaction. This is where it can get tricky. If you are walking into a situation such as the one I recently walked into, where love and compassion are lacking, then what is reflected is the call to love. In fact there could be hostility, fear, manipulation, and everything unloving and evil that you can think of. The task then is not to respond from the place of attack, but to dig deeper and remember that love first must meet everything unloving and unjust in order to fully know itself as love. How deep would it be to say we are loving people and live a life in which you never faced off with the cold dark piercing gaze of evil looking you square in the eyes? Love that has faced off against and touched the dark is way more powerful than an empty conviction. The empty conviction quickly flees when the evil strikes, the love that has rooted it's heels down and met evil's glance with grace, is the love that transforms fear, through divine alchemy, into love.
As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being. Carl Jung
So I must move forward, and we all must move forward, remembering not to meet dark with dark (although that seems like the easiest thing to do) but remember that all forms of attack are a call to love and that if we are committed to love--then that act of commitment is met with a universal challenge. If you commit to love the universe will put you face to face to with all that is unloving--so that you can help love spread on this planet and forever remove the stale dark force of fear.
I extend my love and gratitude to all of you! Love fiercely and deeply!
Personal transformation can and does have global effects. As we go, so goes the world, for the world is us. The revolution that will save the world is ultimately a personal one. --Marianne Williamson
This is always a comfort to me, and is something I think we all need to deeply understand. Whatever is lacking in any situation is what we are not personally willing to give. That is a deep metaphysical truth. We can always use the excuse-- "But they won't let me shine" which comes in many forms, yet it is truly our own lack of clarity and commitment that dims our light. No one else can take anything from you without your permission. If we are committed to a life of love and compassion then the only way to experience it is to live it in every moment. As we live it, it is reflected back to us in every interaction. This is where it can get tricky. If you are walking into a situation such as the one I recently walked into, where love and compassion are lacking, then what is reflected is the call to love. In fact there could be hostility, fear, manipulation, and everything unloving and evil that you can think of. The task then is not to respond from the place of attack, but to dig deeper and remember that love first must meet everything unloving and unjust in order to fully know itself as love. How deep would it be to say we are loving people and live a life in which you never faced off with the cold dark piercing gaze of evil looking you square in the eyes? Love that has faced off against and touched the dark is way more powerful than an empty conviction. The empty conviction quickly flees when the evil strikes, the love that has rooted it's heels down and met evil's glance with grace, is the love that transforms fear, through divine alchemy, into love.
As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being. Carl Jung
So I must move forward, and we all must move forward, remembering not to meet dark with dark (although that seems like the easiest thing to do) but remember that all forms of attack are a call to love and that if we are committed to love--then that act of commitment is met with a universal challenge. If you commit to love the universe will put you face to face to with all that is unloving--so that you can help love spread on this planet and forever remove the stale dark force of fear.
I extend my love and gratitude to all of you! Love fiercely and deeply!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Loving What Is
“Through practice, I’ve come to see that the deepest source of my misery is not wanting things to be the way they are. Not wanting myself to be the way I am. Not wanting the world to be the way it is. Not wanting others to be the way they are. Whenever I’m suffering, I find this ‘war with reality’ to be at the heart of the problem.” Stephen Cope
Making peace with our practice is one of the most challenging aspects of physical yoga. If we approach yoga with the premise that we are not already whole as we are, we run the risk of doing more harm than good. If there is even a hint of aggression based in a desire to overcome what we cannot accept, we run the risk of forcing or controlling to achieve a goal, rather than being with and allowing the journey to unfold in peaceful and loving ways.
This idea runs counter to the cultural programming we are bombarded with daily. While we have tremendous freedom in this country, we relinquish a piece of it with our obsession with consumption. Capitalism itself is not to blame. But when the common good is eclipsed by the desire for the dollar, the system becomes the problem. Capitalism gone bad successfully convinces us we are not happy or whole in order to sell its products. In order to be, we have to have, and in order to matter, we must consume.
Nowhere is this tactic more convincing than in the health and beauty market. There assumption is that there is always a way to improve your diet and to "look your best." We're constantly introduced to new fitness trends that make unattainable promises. “Want to get rid of your wrinkles?—here’s a new cream." Advertising preys on our insecurities and our fears of aging. Name the fear and this multi-billion dollar industry has the remedy. Many of us buy into the myths and the stories of how we are “supposed to be” and in weaker moments of self-delusion, gladly consume these products without question.
The practice of yoga can begin to chip away at these stories and reveal a deeper essence - something that exists beyond the control of the advertising industry. As we shed the layers of misinformation and misidentification we are brought closer to the revelation that sits at our core - and the true self that resides there. The truth is that we do not need anything external to define what happiness or beauty means—happiness and beauty are available to us free of charge. Any authentic expression of happiness and beauty first came from within— it has never been the other way around.
Certainly external sources can enhance life experiences, but only if they accentuate the deep reservoir of unshakable truth that where we are, who we are, and what we are, is good. A practice born from the truth that we are intrinsically good takes flight, where one based on fear or hatred towards the body or life itself, can only crash and burn.
Most injuries in yoga, from my experience, take one of the following forms:
The practice of trying to achieve something before we are truly ready (because we feel it has to be a certain way)
Rushing to catch up with others when our pace is really slower
Becoming angry and frustrated and losing our breath and focus
Coming out of a pose too quickly, thereby losing our concentration and connection with the alchemical process
Each of these demonstrates a misplaced purpose of practice, often with aggression the pesky epicenter.
As you deepen your practice, or if even you’re new, check in and discover what your motivation for practice really is. Do you think that who are in this moment is sufficient? Can you love “what is” about your weight, your body, your life? Whatever your answer, this is good work, because the yoga, the movement towards life, demands that you love what is, exactly AS it is. It is only then that true alchemy - change and transformation - can occur. If we choose to practice without such awareness, we will have experiences that keep digging up more of what is buried, until we work with it and come to acceptance. We need this experience to truly rise and grow.
My own experience may illuminate this. Through my practice, often revealed during the simple direct moments of physical yoga, I became aware of some internalized core values that were based on input from outside myself. I realized that I had based my own worth as a human on things I had learned to believe about myself based on the childhood messages I picked up from peers, family, and religion. To this day as I come to greater acceptance of who I am—I bump up against these messages of fear, hate, and disdain towards myself and about myself. Every time I get conscious of one of these old messages I try to love them and accept them. And the miracle is that as I do, they disappear. I have to maintain a constant state of vigilance or the negative thoughts plant new seeds that grow into dark realities of self loathing. The sweetest moments in my life have been the moments from which I have consciously shifted from fear to love and remembered who I am by letting go of who I am not. There is nothing in me that can be held back or limited in any way if I remember that my truest source of life is love and that this supply of love is unlimited, vast, and eternal. While the vessels of love may change, love never does.
Loving what is paves a pathway for loving action. Loving action provides the gateway for evolution. We cannot grow until we accept. We cannot move on until we work with what is. The sickness on this planet right now and the preoccupation with what we don’t have, and who we are not, saddens me. We could be agents of celebration and poets of praise for how much we do have and how great we really are. We could learn the truth that we are miracles unfolding into more miracles.
So what can we do practically to achieve this understanding? I suggest beginning each day with an affirmation. Choose anything that affirms your inherent worth simply because you are. Be creative, but don't worry about getting it "right." Here is a mantra that may get you started: “Sat Nam,” which simply means “I am truth”.
Yoga teachings can seem to send out mixed messages. On one hand we learn about the transformative powers of practice—then on the other hand, we learn about acceptance and loving what is. The truth, like all things, is multi-faceted. What yoga is asking of us is to open to life, whereas so many of us are trapped in a cycle of death and attention to what is wrong or bad. When I speak of change or transformation I'm speaking of the return to a state of oneness. Yoga invites us into this awareness, this very real state of consciousness. In reality we advocate acceptance so that there is space to glimpse essence. Once we are conscious of our deeper essence, we can open to the transformational processes of spirit which may lead us back the oneness from which everything occurs. When we find ourselves in that familiar place, where we push and tug, trying to force ourselves to change, we must remember that we can't get to that enlightening state of oneness through force, control, or aggression. By its very nature, the doorway to enlightenment can only be entered by allowing ourselves to be a vessel in which life moves through without obstruction.
I am reminded of the quote “Just as the caterpillar thought the world was ending it turned into a butterfly”. The cycle of life and our acceptance of it, paves the way for transformation. We ride on the waves of life movements and we become conscious navigators of life’s flow.
Then it’s not about trying to be, but simply about being.
“These days, my practice is teaching me to embrace imperfection: to have compassion for all the ways things haven’t turned out as I planned, in my body and in my life – for the ways things keep falling apart, and failing, and breaking down. It’s less about fixing things, and more about learning to be present for exactly what is.” Anne Cushman
Making peace with our practice is one of the most challenging aspects of physical yoga. If we approach yoga with the premise that we are not already whole as we are, we run the risk of doing more harm than good. If there is even a hint of aggression based in a desire to overcome what we cannot accept, we run the risk of forcing or controlling to achieve a goal, rather than being with and allowing the journey to unfold in peaceful and loving ways.
This idea runs counter to the cultural programming we are bombarded with daily. While we have tremendous freedom in this country, we relinquish a piece of it with our obsession with consumption. Capitalism itself is not to blame. But when the common good is eclipsed by the desire for the dollar, the system becomes the problem. Capitalism gone bad successfully convinces us we are not happy or whole in order to sell its products. In order to be, we have to have, and in order to matter, we must consume.
Nowhere is this tactic more convincing than in the health and beauty market. There assumption is that there is always a way to improve your diet and to "look your best." We're constantly introduced to new fitness trends that make unattainable promises. “Want to get rid of your wrinkles?—here’s a new cream." Advertising preys on our insecurities and our fears of aging. Name the fear and this multi-billion dollar industry has the remedy. Many of us buy into the myths and the stories of how we are “supposed to be” and in weaker moments of self-delusion, gladly consume these products without question.
The practice of yoga can begin to chip away at these stories and reveal a deeper essence - something that exists beyond the control of the advertising industry. As we shed the layers of misinformation and misidentification we are brought closer to the revelation that sits at our core - and the true self that resides there. The truth is that we do not need anything external to define what happiness or beauty means—happiness and beauty are available to us free of charge. Any authentic expression of happiness and beauty first came from within— it has never been the other way around.
Certainly external sources can enhance life experiences, but only if they accentuate the deep reservoir of unshakable truth that where we are, who we are, and what we are, is good. A practice born from the truth that we are intrinsically good takes flight, where one based on fear or hatred towards the body or life itself, can only crash and burn.
Most injuries in yoga, from my experience, take one of the following forms:
The practice of trying to achieve something before we are truly ready (because we feel it has to be a certain way)
Rushing to catch up with others when our pace is really slower
Becoming angry and frustrated and losing our breath and focus
Coming out of a pose too quickly, thereby losing our concentration and connection with the alchemical process
Each of these demonstrates a misplaced purpose of practice, often with aggression the pesky epicenter.
As you deepen your practice, or if even you’re new, check in and discover what your motivation for practice really is. Do you think that who are in this moment is sufficient? Can you love “what is” about your weight, your body, your life? Whatever your answer, this is good work, because the yoga, the movement towards life, demands that you love what is, exactly AS it is. It is only then that true alchemy - change and transformation - can occur. If we choose to practice without such awareness, we will have experiences that keep digging up more of what is buried, until we work with it and come to acceptance. We need this experience to truly rise and grow.
My own experience may illuminate this. Through my practice, often revealed during the simple direct moments of physical yoga, I became aware of some internalized core values that were based on input from outside myself. I realized that I had based my own worth as a human on things I had learned to believe about myself based on the childhood messages I picked up from peers, family, and religion. To this day as I come to greater acceptance of who I am—I bump up against these messages of fear, hate, and disdain towards myself and about myself. Every time I get conscious of one of these old messages I try to love them and accept them. And the miracle is that as I do, they disappear. I have to maintain a constant state of vigilance or the negative thoughts plant new seeds that grow into dark realities of self loathing. The sweetest moments in my life have been the moments from which I have consciously shifted from fear to love and remembered who I am by letting go of who I am not. There is nothing in me that can be held back or limited in any way if I remember that my truest source of life is love and that this supply of love is unlimited, vast, and eternal. While the vessels of love may change, love never does.
Loving what is paves a pathway for loving action. Loving action provides the gateway for evolution. We cannot grow until we accept. We cannot move on until we work with what is. The sickness on this planet right now and the preoccupation with what we don’t have, and who we are not, saddens me. We could be agents of celebration and poets of praise for how much we do have and how great we really are. We could learn the truth that we are miracles unfolding into more miracles.
So what can we do practically to achieve this understanding? I suggest beginning each day with an affirmation. Choose anything that affirms your inherent worth simply because you are. Be creative, but don't worry about getting it "right." Here is a mantra that may get you started: “Sat Nam,” which simply means “I am truth”.
Yoga teachings can seem to send out mixed messages. On one hand we learn about the transformative powers of practice—then on the other hand, we learn about acceptance and loving what is. The truth, like all things, is multi-faceted. What yoga is asking of us is to open to life, whereas so many of us are trapped in a cycle of death and attention to what is wrong or bad. When I speak of change or transformation I'm speaking of the return to a state of oneness. Yoga invites us into this awareness, this very real state of consciousness. In reality we advocate acceptance so that there is space to glimpse essence. Once we are conscious of our deeper essence, we can open to the transformational processes of spirit which may lead us back the oneness from which everything occurs. When we find ourselves in that familiar place, where we push and tug, trying to force ourselves to change, we must remember that we can't get to that enlightening state of oneness through force, control, or aggression. By its very nature, the doorway to enlightenment can only be entered by allowing ourselves to be a vessel in which life moves through without obstruction.
I am reminded of the quote “Just as the caterpillar thought the world was ending it turned into a butterfly”. The cycle of life and our acceptance of it, paves the way for transformation. We ride on the waves of life movements and we become conscious navigators of life’s flow.
Then it’s not about trying to be, but simply about being.
“These days, my practice is teaching me to embrace imperfection: to have compassion for all the ways things haven’t turned out as I planned, in my body and in my life – for the ways things keep falling apart, and failing, and breaking down. It’s less about fixing things, and more about learning to be present for exactly what is.” Anne Cushman
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
The Joy of Discovery
I have heard before that there are two main reasons to practice Hatha Yoga:
1. To celebrate life
2. To create spaciousness and open hearted awareness
Knowing this then allows for all of us to be free from anything else that detracts from the intent of the practice. It is not about sticking our leg behind our head (unless trying that makes you smile and brings about a celebratory experience), or accomplishing a set of poses. At the end of the day we are not a good yogi because we can stand on our hands or heads—but because we live from the heart and extend the joy of our “heart fire” into the world.
A yoga practice revolved around seeking perfection, and that weaves together nuances just for the sake of nuance, doesn’t serve the experience of life celebration. The attainment of a pose is just that, a pose. However, if we can use alignment to remind us to connect to something larger than ourselves, and use the poses as opportunities to claim space and live life—then that takes us closer to being participants in the big party. The first way stifles life, the later uplifts it. The way in which we move our body and line up is in respect for the experience of nature, and in honor of the craftsmanship and architecture of the vessel we inhabit.
I like the idea of principles to work from so that we do not connect to our practice time as a time to put ourselves into poses---but rather to create poses as acts of celebration and artistry of praise. If you work with principles you are co-creator, if you work with rules designed to get you into a pose—you are just following orders.
Poses are unique just like snow flakes and you have to align yourself with the principles of nature to find your way into the moments. What each pose asks of us is how do we adapt, change, evolve, and grow to meet what this pose/challenge is asking of us. The following principles give a map—and it’s just that a map—not rules or regulations. The beauty of this method is that you decide how much of each principle you need in every moment and that determines the outcome for the experience of the pose and the practice.
Align and Refine
The following alignment principles are my understanding of the Universal Principles of Anusara Yoga. It is not a comprehensive explanation, nor is it “by the book”. I am not an Anusara teacher—I just happen to use this method in my own practice and have laid out my evolutionary understanding of some of the principles. While giving my best to honor the tradition, I also have including elements I have found to be true in the execution of them. There are many rich nuances that can be revealed under the direct study of an Anusara teacher (or any skilled teacher) These principles are laid out here for you to work with in the your ritual of practice and are helpful reminders at how powerfully you can check in and use the body as a gateway to being in the moment.
Open to Grace-
“Observe the wonders as they occur around you. Don't claim them. Feel the artistry
moving through and be silent.”
This principle allows for space—before setting up the pose or rushing in it’s an opportunity to soak in what is and with reverence and allowing be with what is. It’s the spender of recognition of the life force within in you and giving time to connect to that energy as the source of power for movement within the practice.
The following two energies can be worked with on their own as you are learning the principles, yet, as you grow in the practice the order that creates space for grace to blossom is muscle energy, inner spiral, outer spiral, and organic energy. First learn the synergy of balanced action within ME and OE
Muscle Energy- A contracting energy that moves from outside to in beginning from periphery to core. You can describe the sensation like that of hugging the muscles to the bone, or drawing up from the earth deep into your center. This action creates stability and strength. The idea is that you have to be strong in order to be soft.
Organic Energy- An expanding energy that moves from inside out-- beginning from the core and expands out evenly in all directions through the periphery. This action is finding depth from which to move from. In this energy you find freedom from the deep and powerful stability of ME. You cannot expand without first hugging in. You cannot be free until you are stable. You must root to rise.
A way to play with this to “get it” is to come to a lunge and rise up onto your finer tips. Lift and spread you front toes (that is muscle energy) and draw your legs towards the midline (squeeze them together like your hugging a wall between your legs) focus on pooling energy from earth into your pelvic floor—simultaneously bow into your heart and feel your spine round and belly tone. From this place of deep muscle energy consciously from your centermost experience radiate energy out pressing from the center through your front shin and back heel and lifting the heart while pressing the hips back (elongating the spine in both directions). Do that a few times—inhale ME and exhale OE.
The idea is that in every pose you reach in and touch something deep, something strong, and from that place of inner recognition of profound power--expand out and find freedom.
This concept is really helpful in poses like down dog in which we could check out in several ways. As we check out the shoulder may collapse, or we may roll out onto the outer edges of the hands and the wrists could hurt. Essentially we could be in the pose and not really be in the pose. Another thing that happens is when the legs check out and the heels roll into each other. It is important to note that none of these things make you bad, and doing the opposite doesn't make you good or right. What can happen though is that by seeking something powerful within yourself and touching it, tasting it, and so thoroughly understanding it---you become that very power. Then from the penetrative power of that understanding you have so much depth to come from that when you do expand out, when you do "stretch" it is a satisfying, illuminating, and touching experience.
In down dog to have that deep remembrance take a block between your legs. Be soft for a moment and know what it is to be soft and feel the sweet hum in all your muscles. Feel the anticipation building, the desire of freedom budding in every cell of you body. Then starting with your hands let the muscles in your hands accept the strength of muscle hugging to the bone squeezing arms towards each other isometrically and then press it back down to the earth sending the heart to the thighs. Keep that and then work your legs--spreading toes and feeling the shins hug in while you firm your thighs up and press the thighs back. When you connect to this work, your tail bone presses down to the heels--strength and steadiness, grace and fullness.
Pulse with this a few times--Hug arms and legs to the midline simultaneously and then press out from the heart to hands and from hips to heels. You can also try it another way, by engaging the dynamic play of opposites in back and front bodies. Inhale come onto the toes lifting heels and round the spine like cat pose, then take that strength and press it out through the hands and down through the heels. Pulse with the breath and discover how deep you can dig in and how dedicated you can be--to touch something inside yourself that you never knew was there. You will discover gems. You just have to be willing to shine them!
Play with this dance and reach in and find your power--extend it out playfully, joyfully, and completely.
Another way to understand this is through the concept “root to rise”. Come on to your belly in Cobra pose and place your hands on the ground spreading fingers out right by your chest and arm pit—bring the head of your arm bones up and back so that your chest is slightly lifting. Spread your toes and press them down, feel the knees lift up and the thighs firm— hugging muscles to bone—then from that deep strength and rootedness, pull the hands towards you (like your dragging yourself forward lengthening out of the rootedness and rise—lift your heart—but only lift while you are strongly and equally rooting the legs down and back.
The following two actions also work complimentary with each other and specifically work within the legs and hips to create balanced action in the body.
Inner Spiral- Begins down at the earth with the feet creating a spiral of energy that widens the thighs back and apart (sits bones spread) which create space in the sacrum and low back. This action provides a lumbar curve and helps to press the head of the thigh bones deep into the hip socket. This action is healing and therapeutic to the low back and hips.
Outer Spiral- Begins with the tailbone pressing into the space that you created with inner spiral and sends energy all the way into the earth through the heels. The inner spiral creates space and the outer spiral fills that space with strength. Outer spiral firms the top of the thigh muscles and tones the belly muscles. It also creates a sense of lift into the kidney region of the body.
A way to make these actions real within your body is to take a block between the legs and come into down dog. Begin with the knees bent and squeeze the block and try to slide the block back like a reverse “pedz” dispenser-- do this till you feel your thigh bones press back into the hip sockets and the sits bones spread. It may take a few breathes. Then when you feel you have created some space press the tail bone down just a little and feel energy move all the way to your heels. Pulse with this a few times without the block too—inhale widen the thighs back and apart and exhale press the tailbone down and heels towards the earth.
Side Bodies Long—Creating space and length all through the torso. From the waistline all the way to the arm pits getting long and spacious. The shoulders (head of arm bones) lift up to the neckline and there is a buoyancy under the arm pits like your holding something under them that you don’t want to crush yet don’t want to drop.
Shoulder Loop—Begins in the upper palate. Press back and slightly up through the skull (think almost giving yourself a double chin while someone is pulling your ears up and back) as you also bring the shoulders back (from the neck line) and the shoulder blades down the back as the tips of the shoulder blades curl into the heart. This action evenly opens the spine and creates space for the heart to shine.
Open to something bigger—Bow into the source of being. The back of the body is the symbol of the universal and the front is how it connects to the world through us. Every chance we get in practice we remember the source of where we come from and where we return to. This action softens us and creates room for breath to fill the sides and lungs and back body (think how easy it is to catch your breath after a long run when you place your hands on your thighs and “bow in”. This action also lifts your kidneys up, makes yours sides long, and tones the belly (brings low ribs into the body). This is a perfect step before backbends.
Play with these principles and observe the flow of grace as it blossoms open new territory for you to explore!
1. To celebrate life
2. To create spaciousness and open hearted awareness
Knowing this then allows for all of us to be free from anything else that detracts from the intent of the practice. It is not about sticking our leg behind our head (unless trying that makes you smile and brings about a celebratory experience), or accomplishing a set of poses. At the end of the day we are not a good yogi because we can stand on our hands or heads—but because we live from the heart and extend the joy of our “heart fire” into the world.
A yoga practice revolved around seeking perfection, and that weaves together nuances just for the sake of nuance, doesn’t serve the experience of life celebration. The attainment of a pose is just that, a pose. However, if we can use alignment to remind us to connect to something larger than ourselves, and use the poses as opportunities to claim space and live life—then that takes us closer to being participants in the big party. The first way stifles life, the later uplifts it. The way in which we move our body and line up is in respect for the experience of nature, and in honor of the craftsmanship and architecture of the vessel we inhabit.
I like the idea of principles to work from so that we do not connect to our practice time as a time to put ourselves into poses---but rather to create poses as acts of celebration and artistry of praise. If you work with principles you are co-creator, if you work with rules designed to get you into a pose—you are just following orders.
Poses are unique just like snow flakes and you have to align yourself with the principles of nature to find your way into the moments. What each pose asks of us is how do we adapt, change, evolve, and grow to meet what this pose/challenge is asking of us. The following principles give a map—and it’s just that a map—not rules or regulations. The beauty of this method is that you decide how much of each principle you need in every moment and that determines the outcome for the experience of the pose and the practice.
Align and Refine
The following alignment principles are my understanding of the Universal Principles of Anusara Yoga. It is not a comprehensive explanation, nor is it “by the book”. I am not an Anusara teacher—I just happen to use this method in my own practice and have laid out my evolutionary understanding of some of the principles. While giving my best to honor the tradition, I also have including elements I have found to be true in the execution of them. There are many rich nuances that can be revealed under the direct study of an Anusara teacher (or any skilled teacher) These principles are laid out here for you to work with in the your ritual of practice and are helpful reminders at how powerfully you can check in and use the body as a gateway to being in the moment.
Open to Grace-
“Observe the wonders as they occur around you. Don't claim them. Feel the artistry
moving through and be silent.”
This principle allows for space—before setting up the pose or rushing in it’s an opportunity to soak in what is and with reverence and allowing be with what is. It’s the spender of recognition of the life force within in you and giving time to connect to that energy as the source of power for movement within the practice.
The following two energies can be worked with on their own as you are learning the principles, yet, as you grow in the practice the order that creates space for grace to blossom is muscle energy, inner spiral, outer spiral, and organic energy. First learn the synergy of balanced action within ME and OE
Muscle Energy- A contracting energy that moves from outside to in beginning from periphery to core. You can describe the sensation like that of hugging the muscles to the bone, or drawing up from the earth deep into your center. This action creates stability and strength. The idea is that you have to be strong in order to be soft.
Organic Energy- An expanding energy that moves from inside out-- beginning from the core and expands out evenly in all directions through the periphery. This action is finding depth from which to move from. In this energy you find freedom from the deep and powerful stability of ME. You cannot expand without first hugging in. You cannot be free until you are stable. You must root to rise.
A way to play with this to “get it” is to come to a lunge and rise up onto your finer tips. Lift and spread you front toes (that is muscle energy) and draw your legs towards the midline (squeeze them together like your hugging a wall between your legs) focus on pooling energy from earth into your pelvic floor—simultaneously bow into your heart and feel your spine round and belly tone. From this place of deep muscle energy consciously from your centermost experience radiate energy out pressing from the center through your front shin and back heel and lifting the heart while pressing the hips back (elongating the spine in both directions). Do that a few times—inhale ME and exhale OE.
The idea is that in every pose you reach in and touch something deep, something strong, and from that place of inner recognition of profound power--expand out and find freedom.
This concept is really helpful in poses like down dog in which we could check out in several ways. As we check out the shoulder may collapse, or we may roll out onto the outer edges of the hands and the wrists could hurt. Essentially we could be in the pose and not really be in the pose. Another thing that happens is when the legs check out and the heels roll into each other. It is important to note that none of these things make you bad, and doing the opposite doesn't make you good or right. What can happen though is that by seeking something powerful within yourself and touching it, tasting it, and so thoroughly understanding it---you become that very power. Then from the penetrative power of that understanding you have so much depth to come from that when you do expand out, when you do "stretch" it is a satisfying, illuminating, and touching experience.
In down dog to have that deep remembrance take a block between your legs. Be soft for a moment and know what it is to be soft and feel the sweet hum in all your muscles. Feel the anticipation building, the desire of freedom budding in every cell of you body. Then starting with your hands let the muscles in your hands accept the strength of muscle hugging to the bone squeezing arms towards each other isometrically and then press it back down to the earth sending the heart to the thighs. Keep that and then work your legs--spreading toes and feeling the shins hug in while you firm your thighs up and press the thighs back. When you connect to this work, your tail bone presses down to the heels--strength and steadiness, grace and fullness.
Pulse with this a few times--Hug arms and legs to the midline simultaneously and then press out from the heart to hands and from hips to heels. You can also try it another way, by engaging the dynamic play of opposites in back and front bodies. Inhale come onto the toes lifting heels and round the spine like cat pose, then take that strength and press it out through the hands and down through the heels. Pulse with the breath and discover how deep you can dig in and how dedicated you can be--to touch something inside yourself that you never knew was there. You will discover gems. You just have to be willing to shine them!
Play with this dance and reach in and find your power--extend it out playfully, joyfully, and completely.
Another way to understand this is through the concept “root to rise”. Come on to your belly in Cobra pose and place your hands on the ground spreading fingers out right by your chest and arm pit—bring the head of your arm bones up and back so that your chest is slightly lifting. Spread your toes and press them down, feel the knees lift up and the thighs firm— hugging muscles to bone—then from that deep strength and rootedness, pull the hands towards you (like your dragging yourself forward lengthening out of the rootedness and rise—lift your heart—but only lift while you are strongly and equally rooting the legs down and back.
The following two actions also work complimentary with each other and specifically work within the legs and hips to create balanced action in the body.
Inner Spiral- Begins down at the earth with the feet creating a spiral of energy that widens the thighs back and apart (sits bones spread) which create space in the sacrum and low back. This action provides a lumbar curve and helps to press the head of the thigh bones deep into the hip socket. This action is healing and therapeutic to the low back and hips.
Outer Spiral- Begins with the tailbone pressing into the space that you created with inner spiral and sends energy all the way into the earth through the heels. The inner spiral creates space and the outer spiral fills that space with strength. Outer spiral firms the top of the thigh muscles and tones the belly muscles. It also creates a sense of lift into the kidney region of the body.
A way to make these actions real within your body is to take a block between the legs and come into down dog. Begin with the knees bent and squeeze the block and try to slide the block back like a reverse “pedz” dispenser-- do this till you feel your thigh bones press back into the hip sockets and the sits bones spread. It may take a few breathes. Then when you feel you have created some space press the tail bone down just a little and feel energy move all the way to your heels. Pulse with this a few times without the block too—inhale widen the thighs back and apart and exhale press the tailbone down and heels towards the earth.
Side Bodies Long—Creating space and length all through the torso. From the waistline all the way to the arm pits getting long and spacious. The shoulders (head of arm bones) lift up to the neckline and there is a buoyancy under the arm pits like your holding something under them that you don’t want to crush yet don’t want to drop.
Shoulder Loop—Begins in the upper palate. Press back and slightly up through the skull (think almost giving yourself a double chin while someone is pulling your ears up and back) as you also bring the shoulders back (from the neck line) and the shoulder blades down the back as the tips of the shoulder blades curl into the heart. This action evenly opens the spine and creates space for the heart to shine.
Open to something bigger—Bow into the source of being. The back of the body is the symbol of the universal and the front is how it connects to the world through us. Every chance we get in practice we remember the source of where we come from and where we return to. This action softens us and creates room for breath to fill the sides and lungs and back body (think how easy it is to catch your breath after a long run when you place your hands on your thighs and “bow in”. This action also lifts your kidneys up, makes yours sides long, and tones the belly (brings low ribs into the body). This is a perfect step before backbends.
Play with these principles and observe the flow of grace as it blossoms open new territory for you to explore!
Friday, July 17, 2009
A time to pause.
Be still and know that I am God. Be still and know that I am. Be still and know. Be still. Be. ---sbnr.org
Sit still for a moment and notice all the sound around you. Listening for all the rich details and nuances--all the way to the most subtle sounds you can decipher, until it all leads back to silence. Find your quiet not by ignoring the sounds around you but by allowing yourself to be penetrated by them, and through entering you, you truly become absorbed into it, and are not separate from them.
See how long you can sit in this space without the need to do anything--no controlling the stories in your head, no entertaining yourself, just allowing yourself to be bathed in direct experience of what is going on around you and in you.
Emerge from this place of deep discovery full of an all encompassing spaciousness, a wellspring of depth and power from which worlds are created.
"The only way to gain power in a world that is moving to fast,is to learn to slow down. The only way to spread ones influence wide is to learn to go deep. The world that we want for ourselves and loved ones will not come about from electronic speed, but rather from a spiritual stillness that takes root in the soul. Then and only then will we create a world that reflects the heart rather than shatters it."--Marianne Williamson
Sit still for a moment and notice all the sound around you. Listening for all the rich details and nuances--all the way to the most subtle sounds you can decipher, until it all leads back to silence. Find your quiet not by ignoring the sounds around you but by allowing yourself to be penetrated by them, and through entering you, you truly become absorbed into it, and are not separate from them.
See how long you can sit in this space without the need to do anything--no controlling the stories in your head, no entertaining yourself, just allowing yourself to be bathed in direct experience of what is going on around you and in you.
Emerge from this place of deep discovery full of an all encompassing spaciousness, a wellspring of depth and power from which worlds are created.
"The only way to gain power in a world that is moving to fast,is to learn to slow down. The only way to spread ones influence wide is to learn to go deep. The world that we want for ourselves and loved ones will not come about from electronic speed, but rather from a spiritual stillness that takes root in the soul. Then and only then will we create a world that reflects the heart rather than shatters it."--Marianne Williamson
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Finding Freedom to become yourself!
"There's a part of every living thing that wants to become itself: the tadpole into the frog, the chrysalis into the butterfly, a damaged human being into a whole one. That is spirituality." Ellen Bass
That is also the journey and practice of yoga--reaching deep inside ourselves to heal and grow and to find freedom in our growth to become greater expressions of our deepest and truest self.
Nothing outside of us can truly help us to become whole, that is a choice we must make. The practice of yoga can empower us to discover strength within that maybe we never knew was there--but ultimately as we find that strength we also have to be willing to use it and grow.
For many of us we give up just as we are about to hit the break through of transformtion--whether we "think" we can longer do something (because it's to hard or laziness kicks in), or quite simply we give up on our spiritual practice because we can't see all that is happening and burgeoning under the surface.
"Just as the caterpillar thought the world was ending it turned into a butterfly"....
Don't give up on yourself--just when you think it's not going to happen, just when you want to give up, just when it all seems like it's not worth it---you begin to spread your wings and fly.
Remember we didn't come here for ease--we came here to grow and Yoga is a tool so kindly given to us to grow. As Sharath Rangaswamy says "Anybody can practice yoga…Except lazy people. Lazy people can’t practice yoga". Yoga is for everyone but you have to choose to do the Yoga.
In practice you can use the tools from the previous post on Muscle and Organic energy to awaken the remembrance of who are and the path to become the you that is truly whole and alive. It is deep and powerful work capable of unleashing a deep and powerful you!
Staying with the theme of ME and OE--read the previous post and then reflect on this:
You hug in to remember and you expand out to become a greater reflection of that deeper truth. You hug in and you find the strength to sustain your journey to become and you expand out to celebrate and encourage others to do the same. You hug in to find your roots and you expand out to rise into a deep and powerful purpose to your life.
This weekend celebrate freedom in all its forms and allow yourself to become the truest expression of brilliance you can be.
“Today you are You, that is truer than true.
There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”
Dr. Suess
That is also the journey and practice of yoga--reaching deep inside ourselves to heal and grow and to find freedom in our growth to become greater expressions of our deepest and truest self.
Nothing outside of us can truly help us to become whole, that is a choice we must make. The practice of yoga can empower us to discover strength within that maybe we never knew was there--but ultimately as we find that strength we also have to be willing to use it and grow.
For many of us we give up just as we are about to hit the break through of transformtion--whether we "think" we can longer do something (because it's to hard or laziness kicks in), or quite simply we give up on our spiritual practice because we can't see all that is happening and burgeoning under the surface.
"Just as the caterpillar thought the world was ending it turned into a butterfly"....
Don't give up on yourself--just when you think it's not going to happen, just when you want to give up, just when it all seems like it's not worth it---you begin to spread your wings and fly.
Remember we didn't come here for ease--we came here to grow and Yoga is a tool so kindly given to us to grow. As Sharath Rangaswamy says "Anybody can practice yoga…Except lazy people. Lazy people can’t practice yoga". Yoga is for everyone but you have to choose to do the Yoga.
In practice you can use the tools from the previous post on Muscle and Organic energy to awaken the remembrance of who are and the path to become the you that is truly whole and alive. It is deep and powerful work capable of unleashing a deep and powerful you!
Staying with the theme of ME and OE--read the previous post and then reflect on this:
You hug in to remember and you expand out to become a greater reflection of that deeper truth. You hug in and you find the strength to sustain your journey to become and you expand out to celebrate and encourage others to do the same. You hug in to find your roots and you expand out to rise into a deep and powerful purpose to your life.
This weekend celebrate freedom in all its forms and allow yourself to become the truest expression of brilliance you can be.
“Today you are You, that is truer than true.
There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”
Dr. Suess
Monday, June 29, 2009
Touching something deep
Your hand opens and closes and opens and closes. If it were always a fist or always stretched open, you would be paralyzed. Your deepest presence is in every small contracting and expanding, the two as beautifully balanced and coordinated as bird wings." – Rumi
This week in class we are exploring the dynamic play of Muscle and Organic energy. For those who are unfamiliar with this:
Muscle Energy- A contracting energy that moves from outside to in beginning from periphery to core. You can describe the sensation like that of hugging the muscles to the bone, or drawing up from the earth deep into your center. This action creates stability and strength. The idea is that you have to be strong in order to be soft.
Organic Energy- An expanding energy that moves from inside out-- beginning from the core and expands out evenly in all directions through the periphery. This action is finding depth from which to move from. In this energy you find freedom from the deep and powerful stability of ME. You cannot expand without first hugging in. You cannot be free until you are stable. You must root to rise.
A way to play with this to “get it” is to come to a lunge and rise up onto your finger tips. Lift and spread you front toes (that is muscle energy) and draw your legs towards the midline (squeeze them together like your hugging a wall between your legs) focus on pooling energy from earth into your pelvic floor—simultaneously bow into your heart and feel your spine round and belly tone. From this place of deep muscle energy--consciously from your centermost experience--radiate energy out pressing from the center through your front shin and back heel and lifting the heart while pressing the hips back (elongating the spine in both directions). Do that a few times—inhale ME and exhale OE.
The idea is that in every pose you reach in and touch something deep, something strong, and from that place of inner recognition of profound power--expand out and find freedom.
This concept is really helpful in poses like down dog in which we could check out in several ways. As we check out the shoulder may collapse, or we may roll out onto the outer edges of the hands and the wrists could hurt. Essentially we could be in the pose and not really be in the pose. Another thing that happens is when the legs check out and the heels roll into each other. It is important to note that none of these things make you bad, and doing the opposite doesn't make you good or right. What can happen though is that by seeking something powerful within yourself and touching it, tasting it, and so throughly understanding it---you become that very power. Then from the penetrative power of that understanding you have so much depth to come from that when you do expand out, when you do "stretch" it is a satisfying, illuminating, and touching experience.
In down dog to have that deep remembrance take a block between your legs. Be soft for a moment and know what it is to be soft and feel the sweet hum in all your muscles. Feel the anticipation building, the desire of freedom budding in every cell of you body. Then starting with your hands let the muscles in your hands accept the strength of muscle hugging to the bone squeezing arms towards each other isometrically and then press it back down to the earth sending the heart to the thighs. Keep that and then work your legs--spreading toes and feeling the shins hug in while you firm your thighs up and press the thighs back. When you connect to this work your tail bone down to the heels--strength and steadiness, grace and fullness.
Pulse with this a few times. Hug arms and legs to the midline simultaneously and then press out from the heart to hands and from hips to heels. You can also try this another way engaging the dynamic play of opposites in back and front bodies. Inhale come onto the toes lifting heels and round the spine like cat pose, then take that strength and press it out through the hands and down through the heels. Pulse with the breath and discover how deep you can dig in and how dedicated you can be--to touch something inside yourself that you never knew was there. You will discover gems. You just have to be willing to shine them!
Play with this dance this week. Reach in and find your power, and extend it out playfully, joyfully, and completely.
This week in class we are exploring the dynamic play of Muscle and Organic energy. For those who are unfamiliar with this:
Muscle Energy- A contracting energy that moves from outside to in beginning from periphery to core. You can describe the sensation like that of hugging the muscles to the bone, or drawing up from the earth deep into your center. This action creates stability and strength. The idea is that you have to be strong in order to be soft.
Organic Energy- An expanding energy that moves from inside out-- beginning from the core and expands out evenly in all directions through the periphery. This action is finding depth from which to move from. In this energy you find freedom from the deep and powerful stability of ME. You cannot expand without first hugging in. You cannot be free until you are stable. You must root to rise.
A way to play with this to “get it” is to come to a lunge and rise up onto your finger tips. Lift and spread you front toes (that is muscle energy) and draw your legs towards the midline (squeeze them together like your hugging a wall between your legs) focus on pooling energy from earth into your pelvic floor—simultaneously bow into your heart and feel your spine round and belly tone. From this place of deep muscle energy--consciously from your centermost experience--radiate energy out pressing from the center through your front shin and back heel and lifting the heart while pressing the hips back (elongating the spine in both directions). Do that a few times—inhale ME and exhale OE.
The idea is that in every pose you reach in and touch something deep, something strong, and from that place of inner recognition of profound power--expand out and find freedom.
This concept is really helpful in poses like down dog in which we could check out in several ways. As we check out the shoulder may collapse, or we may roll out onto the outer edges of the hands and the wrists could hurt. Essentially we could be in the pose and not really be in the pose. Another thing that happens is when the legs check out and the heels roll into each other. It is important to note that none of these things make you bad, and doing the opposite doesn't make you good or right. What can happen though is that by seeking something powerful within yourself and touching it, tasting it, and so throughly understanding it---you become that very power. Then from the penetrative power of that understanding you have so much depth to come from that when you do expand out, when you do "stretch" it is a satisfying, illuminating, and touching experience.
In down dog to have that deep remembrance take a block between your legs. Be soft for a moment and know what it is to be soft and feel the sweet hum in all your muscles. Feel the anticipation building, the desire of freedom budding in every cell of you body. Then starting with your hands let the muscles in your hands accept the strength of muscle hugging to the bone squeezing arms towards each other isometrically and then press it back down to the earth sending the heart to the thighs. Keep that and then work your legs--spreading toes and feeling the shins hug in while you firm your thighs up and press the thighs back. When you connect to this work your tail bone down to the heels--strength and steadiness, grace and fullness.
Pulse with this a few times. Hug arms and legs to the midline simultaneously and then press out from the heart to hands and from hips to heels. You can also try this another way engaging the dynamic play of opposites in back and front bodies. Inhale come onto the toes lifting heels and round the spine like cat pose, then take that strength and press it out through the hands and down through the heels. Pulse with the breath and discover how deep you can dig in and how dedicated you can be--to touch something inside yourself that you never knew was there. You will discover gems. You just have to be willing to shine them!
Play with this dance this week. Reach in and find your power, and extend it out playfully, joyfully, and completely.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Magic Mystery and Awe
“Observe the wonders as they occur around you. Don't claim them. Feel the artistry moving through and be silent”
The magic of practice is finding the sacred in every day moments. You begin to shift energy from the external world of needing to be entertained or “do” something and allow the opening to awe in what’s already happening right in front of you, all around you, and inside of you.
The way to experience the magic of the now in all its simplicity and complexity is to realize that this very moment, this very point in your life, is the moment you have been waiting for (Notice how often we get taken away from what we are doing only to be seeking the next thing). Now is the time to show up for your life.
Having this reverence for life begins very simply by taking an interest in all the details of your life. Not in a neurotic way but in an appreciative way. Soaking in the details of what is going on grounds you in what is actually going on. It creates a process from which you shift from thinking to awareness. This awareness is the opening to a fertile and potent magic. When all of our energy is directed and focused in what we are actually doing it paves the way for more power to be drawn forth into the actions we do—this is a state of supreme aliveness.
By having a reverence for life, we enter into a spiritual relation with the world. By practicing reverence for life we become good, deep, and alive. Albert Schweitzer
If all of us began the practice of finding the sacred in every moment think of the implications. Every word we uttered would be of reverence. Every action we put forth into the world would be one to uplift peace and harmonize relations. Life would stop becoming a busy dance just for the sake of busy dancing—but would rather become a dance with a beat to connect to the beat of the universe.
The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature.-Joseph Campbell
Aligned with nature and in rhythm with the universe we tap into the power of the creative energy of the world. Magic then is the ability to harness that power in real and tangible ways. Magic is not something found only in Harry Potter books or fairy tales but it is the power to open doors and windows into the shed that contains the tools of a transformative life.
“When we begin to live the greater life--not "seek" it, so much as simply choose to participate in it--then and only then do we find that it's all around us, all the time."--Marianne Williamson
As we become full participants in life, life grants us access to its tool chest of magic. In fact life has granted us all a special power that can only be used if we are in the moment and in our lives as active co-creators-not spectators. ABRACADABRA means create as you speak--so literally as we think, as we speak, we begin to create. However, what we conjure with our spells only works if we are in the mystery (now) and the magic uplifts the vision and mission of creating harmony with life. Meaning we don’t get what we want, but through clear intention align with what we need. The magic is creating the connection that aligns heart and head to create a powerful life. We have to be mindful crafters of our words and use spells to uplift our heart, and to put forth our vision into the world with integrity. It is not about the attainment of things but about the fulfillment of life. So the spell is not “God grant me and give me more stuff”, but rather “God grant me the ability to seek and find life--to live and love from a wild and passionate heart”. “Give me grace to create beauty in the world and to send magic and miracles to the world to heal and uplift”. “Give me the strength to move mountains and alchemical prowess to transform hate into love”. You can probably think of many spells on your own—but you get the point. The magic of the universe only works when it’s aligned with the highest purpose of divine love.
“When the heart of your heart opens, you can take deep pleasure in the company of the people around you . . . When you are open to the beauty, mystery, and grandeur of ordinary existence, you "get it" that it always has been beautiful, mysterious, and grand and always will be.” - Timothy Ray Miller
Take time right now to align with the mystery. Take notice of the beauty around you and inside of you. Feel connected to the spirit of awe and to the community of souls that have joined with you to create this critical moment in history. Feel the breath you are breathing now and know it comes from the same source that all others on this planet are breathing now too. As you breathe out know that all others breathe out into space creating fertile compost from which creation sparks forth new visions of possibility.
What you are a part of is far greater than you ever could imagine and so simple is your task. You only need to align with the divine (now) and channel grace (magic) into the world. The rest quite simply is in higher hands.
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. Albert Einstein
The magic of practice is finding the sacred in every day moments. You begin to shift energy from the external world of needing to be entertained or “do” something and allow the opening to awe in what’s already happening right in front of you, all around you, and inside of you.
The way to experience the magic of the now in all its simplicity and complexity is to realize that this very moment, this very point in your life, is the moment you have been waiting for (Notice how often we get taken away from what we are doing only to be seeking the next thing). Now is the time to show up for your life.
Having this reverence for life begins very simply by taking an interest in all the details of your life. Not in a neurotic way but in an appreciative way. Soaking in the details of what is going on grounds you in what is actually going on. It creates a process from which you shift from thinking to awareness. This awareness is the opening to a fertile and potent magic. When all of our energy is directed and focused in what we are actually doing it paves the way for more power to be drawn forth into the actions we do—this is a state of supreme aliveness.
By having a reverence for life, we enter into a spiritual relation with the world. By practicing reverence for life we become good, deep, and alive. Albert Schweitzer
If all of us began the practice of finding the sacred in every moment think of the implications. Every word we uttered would be of reverence. Every action we put forth into the world would be one to uplift peace and harmonize relations. Life would stop becoming a busy dance just for the sake of busy dancing—but would rather become a dance with a beat to connect to the beat of the universe.
The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature.-Joseph Campbell
Aligned with nature and in rhythm with the universe we tap into the power of the creative energy of the world. Magic then is the ability to harness that power in real and tangible ways. Magic is not something found only in Harry Potter books or fairy tales but it is the power to open doors and windows into the shed that contains the tools of a transformative life.
“When we begin to live the greater life--not "seek" it, so much as simply choose to participate in it--then and only then do we find that it's all around us, all the time."--Marianne Williamson
As we become full participants in life, life grants us access to its tool chest of magic. In fact life has granted us all a special power that can only be used if we are in the moment and in our lives as active co-creators-not spectators. ABRACADABRA means create as you speak--so literally as we think, as we speak, we begin to create. However, what we conjure with our spells only works if we are in the mystery (now) and the magic uplifts the vision and mission of creating harmony with life. Meaning we don’t get what we want, but through clear intention align with what we need. The magic is creating the connection that aligns heart and head to create a powerful life. We have to be mindful crafters of our words and use spells to uplift our heart, and to put forth our vision into the world with integrity. It is not about the attainment of things but about the fulfillment of life. So the spell is not “God grant me and give me more stuff”, but rather “God grant me the ability to seek and find life--to live and love from a wild and passionate heart”. “Give me grace to create beauty in the world and to send magic and miracles to the world to heal and uplift”. “Give me the strength to move mountains and alchemical prowess to transform hate into love”. You can probably think of many spells on your own—but you get the point. The magic of the universe only works when it’s aligned with the highest purpose of divine love.
“When the heart of your heart opens, you can take deep pleasure in the company of the people around you . . . When you are open to the beauty, mystery, and grandeur of ordinary existence, you "get it" that it always has been beautiful, mysterious, and grand and always will be.” - Timothy Ray Miller
Take time right now to align with the mystery. Take notice of the beauty around you and inside of you. Feel connected to the spirit of awe and to the community of souls that have joined with you to create this critical moment in history. Feel the breath you are breathing now and know it comes from the same source that all others on this planet are breathing now too. As you breathe out know that all others breathe out into space creating fertile compost from which creation sparks forth new visions of possibility.
What you are a part of is far greater than you ever could imagine and so simple is your task. You only need to align with the divine (now) and channel grace (magic) into the world. The rest quite simply is in higher hands.
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. Albert Einstein
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Heart Wide Open
Inspired by my yogi's tonight I am offering up a progression towards Urdhva Dhanurasana (wheel pose). Have fun with this and please take your time to really feel that the body is granting you permission to do this. Ease your way into the pose breath by breath and feel invited into the pose rather than forcing your way into it.
"A kind of deep flame of inner ecstasy burnt more and more strongly in his heart."--Dostoyevsky
Begin standing in Tadasana (Mountain pose) First begin by deepening your breath as you place your hands stacked on top of each other on your heart center. Spend a few moments circling your hands clock wise over your heart and set the intention to let the deep flame within your heart burn to inner ecstasy. Backbends are a celebration of life so allow the celebration to be expressed in every breath. Take a moment right now to give thanks for all that you can celebrate within your life.
Now invite life fully into your body. Lift and spread your toes and draw energy up your thighs--as you hug up--also root down through the heels from the power of the tailbone and hips. Feel the top of the head lifting up to the sky bringing length and space into every vertebrae in the spine.
Inhale lift your arms up to the sky--plug your shoulders into the back and as you plug reach up more through your fingers to the sky. Maintain the deep rootedness in the heels while lifting up your thighs (hugging muscle to bone).
Exhale fold forward and interlace the hands behind your back. Microbend the elbows and draw your armbones (top of the shoulders) to the neckline then hug shoulder blades on the back more and pull arms straight. Fold more deeply. Keep the heels grounded as you shift more energy towards the toes. Microbend the knees lean forward stretching the arms more to earth, plug the heel deeper and press your thighs back. Take a deep breath into the spine and soften the heart to the earth,. Pulse with the breath this way a few times--sinking deeper into the fold while rooting fully into the earth and pressing thighs back.
Inhale free the hands and step the right foot back for a long lunge. Come up onto the finger tips. Keep rt fingertips on the ground and twist lt up to the sky. Press your thighs back (think back thigh to sky) then press even through front shin and back heel. Keep working lt hip back and pull navel and heart open to sky. Curl head back and bring shoulders back too. Legs are stable and strong so that the upper body can be free.
Step back to down dog. Come to down dog in a way that gives apace to the shoulders. Bend the knees a little and then press your thighs back. Shift awareness to the hands and spread the finger out so much that the webbing of the fingers stretches. Root the hands so that you know they are grounded. Squeeze your arms together and lift the armbones up to the sky creating space in the armpits. Keep that space and press the heart to your thighs. Notice if the shoulders collapse--try to keep them lifted--armpits buoyant.
Shift forward to plank. Keep sides of the body long. Thighs firm and heels press back. Soften the heart to earth (blades move together) and lower all the way to earth. Come onto finger tips, armbones back, head back, cobra pose. Feel that you are pulling forward and up at the same time. Keep the legs grounded (toes spreading and thighs firm--tailbone lengthening to the heels).---check in with Cobra ask if the body is liberated or oppressed, celebrating or over partying. Soften more--breath into the heart expand bright from the breath inside--expand from inside out.
Press to table top. In table lengthen your sides and soften the heart--press the soft heart to your thighs as you lift up to down dog.
Step the right foot through for lunge. Come onto the finger tips, keep lt hand grounded and twist right arm up. Then lower it and step forward fold.
Repeat that opening sequence a few times to warm up--you can also add in side plank to spice it up (vasisthasana).
Main Sequence:
Warrior 1 with Garudasana arms
From Down dog step the rt foot forward between the hands and root the back foot down 45 degrees. Lift and spread toes and hug legs to the midline. Press strongly through the legs. Take both hands on to the rt thigh. Bow in and feel the back body expand. Take the expansion and lengthen the spine up to the sky--arms lift up. hug arms together and bring shoulder blades on the back. Cross rt arm under lt elbow and bind hands as best you can coming to eagle arms. Lift elbows up and hands away from the face--feel a stretch between the shoulder blades.Curl head back (by pressing through the back of the skull while lifting up the tops of your ears up and back. Keep length and space in the neck).
Release arm bind and lower hands to earth.
Lower left knee to ground and shift it back some. Step right foot our 45 degrees. Keep toes active. Left hand roots down and the rt hand reaches back for the left foot/ankle for twisted thigh stretch. Tail bone is grounding to the earth, navel and heart twist open. Think cobra with your spine. Press through the back shin. Stay alert and active everywhere--celebrate the pose give it life through the breath.
Release and step back to plank. Pivot to outer edge of rt foot and keep right hand grounded. Step left foot behind right knee about 5-8 inches. Come on the toes of the left foot. Press your waistline back and tail bone to the right heel. Shift hips and heart to the sky and curl into a back bend with the upper body--Wild thing vasisthasana.
Release and bring left knee to chest--puff the spine up to the sky and step back to plank. Lower slow all the way to the earth.
Come to sphinx elbows under shoulders. Legs grounded. Focus on the pelvic floor and hug legs to the midline. Hug energy from toes to pelvic floor and extend back out from pelvic floor to the toes.Pull heart forward as you feel the legs press back.
From here grab rt ankle with rt hand -Ardha Dhanurasana press through the shin and you try to touch heel to sky. Lengthen upper body forward as you stretch the heart to sky. Switch sides. If you want take your opposite hand out in front on finger tips place it way off to the side and lift up you front body to deepen the stretch.
Repeat standing pose sequence second side.
When finished with standing sequence second side come down and do full Dhanurasana (bow pose) --Before you come up make sure you press your thighs back--it helps to lift the butt up and feel the sit bones spread then press the tail bone into that space then thighs firm and shins back--then you'll get a big heart lift.
Handstand
Go to a wall and practice the handstand L (come to table top feet against wall. Make sides of the body long and back body full (cat pose) rise up to dog pose and then walk feet up the wall) Keep shoulders buoyant. and press powerfully from heart into earth and follow the echo of that movement up to the tail bone and then press the tail bone into the heels and root deep into the wall with your heels.
Take it deeper:
Face the wall and from down dog step one foot forward half way and come onto the toes. Lift back leg up and squeeze thighs towards the center. Lengthen your sides and firm the belly. Look toward your fingers. Just lean and lift as far as you can into the handstand. Harness the wildness and discipline it into powerful yet soft lifts into the handstand. Even if it's a inch off the ground--your learning to lift lightly.
Intermediate/Advanced option:
Measure fingertip to elbow away from wall. Place hands where elbows were. Lift up to hand stand and bring both legs to the wall. Press your butt to wall so that your thighs are pressed back all the way--lengthen your tailbone up to the heels. Pump your heart out to the front of the room opening up the shoulders--think wheel pose here while legs are against the wall. This may trigger a fear factor :0 Keep arms steady by hugging in and root the hands down--while pressing up through the heels.
Forearm balance.
Beginners--just come to dolphin--elbows under shoulders--arm bones forward to neckline then soften heart. Keep kidneys buoyant. Lift legs up like down dog and press heart towards thighs--while keeping sides of the body long (waistline to armpits stays spacious while your melt the heart and press it back).
Intermediate. Take block between hands (thumb on front rooted into earth and fingers spreading around sides of block flat against the earth). Prep same as dolphin but have feet against wall like the handstand prep. Press up feet against wall--press heart to wall(you'll be like the handstand L except in forearm prep).
Come down to earth and onto your back. Come to Robot pose (feet grounded, knees up, arm bones grounded, forearms and finger tips lifting to the sky, palms face each other--think robot on its back.
Press through arms and skull and feet and lift just your chest--a curve will enter the spine. Keep the hips down and just try to work the shoulder back while lifting the heart. Feel the shoulders and the skull looping back into the earth to open your heart.
Repeat this a few times.
Wheel:
Face a wall and place a rolled up blanket right against the wall/floor corner.Go wide with the hands and place them against the rolled up blanket--palms pressed into the thickest part and fingers facing your head spreading out wide. Turn your fingers out at an angle just slightly. Spread your toes and make your legs strong. Inner thighs press down to the earth--and tailbone lengthens into that space as you lift your hips up. Plug you shoulders in again here as you press up onto your head. Use this moment to go a little wider with your hands and hug your shoulders in more--shoulder blades are supporting you. Then start to press your skull back and your heart to the wall.
Wheel Two--set up the same but place two blocks at the wall and place your hands on the blocks and try to lift up this way into the pose.
Now try it without any props :)
The key is to keep the shoulders plugged in and the legs strong. Notice if the feet are turning out--if this is the case for you squeeze a block between the thighs.
Also many people skip the step of coming onto the head--don't skip this part. Press onto the top of the head, then go wider with the hands and spin them out to an angle. Draw the shoulder blades on the back then press up like a push up--press strong through the legs and arms. Make sure the hands are solidly connecting to earth from the power of your heart.
If the low back is hurting in this pose make sure that you begin with thighs back(sit bones spreading, curve in low back, and thighs pressed down to earth--and that the tailbone lengthens into this just a little bit. What happens for most is that we have too much outer spiral in this rather then a strong inner spiral.
Have fun!!! Let me know if you have any questions on this.
"A kind of deep flame of inner ecstasy burnt more and more strongly in his heart."--Dostoyevsky
Begin standing in Tadasana (Mountain pose) First begin by deepening your breath as you place your hands stacked on top of each other on your heart center. Spend a few moments circling your hands clock wise over your heart and set the intention to let the deep flame within your heart burn to inner ecstasy. Backbends are a celebration of life so allow the celebration to be expressed in every breath. Take a moment right now to give thanks for all that you can celebrate within your life.
Now invite life fully into your body. Lift and spread your toes and draw energy up your thighs--as you hug up--also root down through the heels from the power of the tailbone and hips. Feel the top of the head lifting up to the sky bringing length and space into every vertebrae in the spine.
Inhale lift your arms up to the sky--plug your shoulders into the back and as you plug reach up more through your fingers to the sky. Maintain the deep rootedness in the heels while lifting up your thighs (hugging muscle to bone).
Exhale fold forward and interlace the hands behind your back. Microbend the elbows and draw your armbones (top of the shoulders) to the neckline then hug shoulder blades on the back more and pull arms straight. Fold more deeply. Keep the heels grounded as you shift more energy towards the toes. Microbend the knees lean forward stretching the arms more to earth, plug the heel deeper and press your thighs back. Take a deep breath into the spine and soften the heart to the earth,. Pulse with the breath this way a few times--sinking deeper into the fold while rooting fully into the earth and pressing thighs back.
Inhale free the hands and step the right foot back for a long lunge. Come up onto the finger tips. Keep rt fingertips on the ground and twist lt up to the sky. Press your thighs back (think back thigh to sky) then press even through front shin and back heel. Keep working lt hip back and pull navel and heart open to sky. Curl head back and bring shoulders back too. Legs are stable and strong so that the upper body can be free.
Step back to down dog. Come to down dog in a way that gives apace to the shoulders. Bend the knees a little and then press your thighs back. Shift awareness to the hands and spread the finger out so much that the webbing of the fingers stretches. Root the hands so that you know they are grounded. Squeeze your arms together and lift the armbones up to the sky creating space in the armpits. Keep that space and press the heart to your thighs. Notice if the shoulders collapse--try to keep them lifted--armpits buoyant.
Shift forward to plank. Keep sides of the body long. Thighs firm and heels press back. Soften the heart to earth (blades move together) and lower all the way to earth. Come onto finger tips, armbones back, head back, cobra pose. Feel that you are pulling forward and up at the same time. Keep the legs grounded (toes spreading and thighs firm--tailbone lengthening to the heels).---check in with Cobra ask if the body is liberated or oppressed, celebrating or over partying. Soften more--breath into the heart expand bright from the breath inside--expand from inside out.
Press to table top. In table lengthen your sides and soften the heart--press the soft heart to your thighs as you lift up to down dog.
Step the right foot through for lunge. Come onto the finger tips, keep lt hand grounded and twist right arm up. Then lower it and step forward fold.
Repeat that opening sequence a few times to warm up--you can also add in side plank to spice it up (vasisthasana).
Main Sequence:
Warrior 1 with Garudasana arms
From Down dog step the rt foot forward between the hands and root the back foot down 45 degrees. Lift and spread toes and hug legs to the midline. Press strongly through the legs. Take both hands on to the rt thigh. Bow in and feel the back body expand. Take the expansion and lengthen the spine up to the sky--arms lift up. hug arms together and bring shoulder blades on the back. Cross rt arm under lt elbow and bind hands as best you can coming to eagle arms. Lift elbows up and hands away from the face--feel a stretch between the shoulder blades.Curl head back (by pressing through the back of the skull while lifting up the tops of your ears up and back. Keep length and space in the neck).
Release arm bind and lower hands to earth.
Lower left knee to ground and shift it back some. Step right foot our 45 degrees. Keep toes active. Left hand roots down and the rt hand reaches back for the left foot/ankle for twisted thigh stretch. Tail bone is grounding to the earth, navel and heart twist open. Think cobra with your spine. Press through the back shin. Stay alert and active everywhere--celebrate the pose give it life through the breath.
Release and step back to plank. Pivot to outer edge of rt foot and keep right hand grounded. Step left foot behind right knee about 5-8 inches. Come on the toes of the left foot. Press your waistline back and tail bone to the right heel. Shift hips and heart to the sky and curl into a back bend with the upper body--Wild thing vasisthasana.
Release and bring left knee to chest--puff the spine up to the sky and step back to plank. Lower slow all the way to the earth.
Come to sphinx elbows under shoulders. Legs grounded. Focus on the pelvic floor and hug legs to the midline. Hug energy from toes to pelvic floor and extend back out from pelvic floor to the toes.Pull heart forward as you feel the legs press back.
From here grab rt ankle with rt hand -Ardha Dhanurasana press through the shin and you try to touch heel to sky. Lengthen upper body forward as you stretch the heart to sky. Switch sides. If you want take your opposite hand out in front on finger tips place it way off to the side and lift up you front body to deepen the stretch.
Repeat standing pose sequence second side.
When finished with standing sequence second side come down and do full Dhanurasana (bow pose) --Before you come up make sure you press your thighs back--it helps to lift the butt up and feel the sit bones spread then press the tail bone into that space then thighs firm and shins back--then you'll get a big heart lift.
Handstand
Go to a wall and practice the handstand L (come to table top feet against wall. Make sides of the body long and back body full (cat pose) rise up to dog pose and then walk feet up the wall) Keep shoulders buoyant. and press powerfully from heart into earth and follow the echo of that movement up to the tail bone and then press the tail bone into the heels and root deep into the wall with your heels.
Take it deeper:
Face the wall and from down dog step one foot forward half way and come onto the toes. Lift back leg up and squeeze thighs towards the center. Lengthen your sides and firm the belly. Look toward your fingers. Just lean and lift as far as you can into the handstand. Harness the wildness and discipline it into powerful yet soft lifts into the handstand. Even if it's a inch off the ground--your learning to lift lightly.
Intermediate/Advanced option:
Measure fingertip to elbow away from wall. Place hands where elbows were. Lift up to hand stand and bring both legs to the wall. Press your butt to wall so that your thighs are pressed back all the way--lengthen your tailbone up to the heels. Pump your heart out to the front of the room opening up the shoulders--think wheel pose here while legs are against the wall. This may trigger a fear factor :0 Keep arms steady by hugging in and root the hands down--while pressing up through the heels.
Forearm balance.
Beginners--just come to dolphin--elbows under shoulders--arm bones forward to neckline then soften heart. Keep kidneys buoyant. Lift legs up like down dog and press heart towards thighs--while keeping sides of the body long (waistline to armpits stays spacious while your melt the heart and press it back).
Intermediate. Take block between hands (thumb on front rooted into earth and fingers spreading around sides of block flat against the earth). Prep same as dolphin but have feet against wall like the handstand prep. Press up feet against wall--press heart to wall(you'll be like the handstand L except in forearm prep).
Come down to earth and onto your back. Come to Robot pose (feet grounded, knees up, arm bones grounded, forearms and finger tips lifting to the sky, palms face each other--think robot on its back.
Press through arms and skull and feet and lift just your chest--a curve will enter the spine. Keep the hips down and just try to work the shoulder back while lifting the heart. Feel the shoulders and the skull looping back into the earth to open your heart.
Repeat this a few times.
Wheel:
Face a wall and place a rolled up blanket right against the wall/floor corner.Go wide with the hands and place them against the rolled up blanket--palms pressed into the thickest part and fingers facing your head spreading out wide. Turn your fingers out at an angle just slightly. Spread your toes and make your legs strong. Inner thighs press down to the earth--and tailbone lengthens into that space as you lift your hips up. Plug you shoulders in again here as you press up onto your head. Use this moment to go a little wider with your hands and hug your shoulders in more--shoulder blades are supporting you. Then start to press your skull back and your heart to the wall.
Wheel Two--set up the same but place two blocks at the wall and place your hands on the blocks and try to lift up this way into the pose.
Now try it without any props :)
The key is to keep the shoulders plugged in and the legs strong. Notice if the feet are turning out--if this is the case for you squeeze a block between the thighs.
Also many people skip the step of coming onto the head--don't skip this part. Press onto the top of the head, then go wider with the hands and spin them out to an angle. Draw the shoulder blades on the back then press up like a push up--press strong through the legs and arms. Make sure the hands are solidly connecting to earth from the power of your heart.
If the low back is hurting in this pose make sure that you begin with thighs back(sit bones spreading, curve in low back, and thighs pressed down to earth--and that the tailbone lengthens into this just a little bit. What happens for most is that we have too much outer spiral in this rather then a strong inner spiral.
Have fun!!! Let me know if you have any questions on this.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
The violets in the mountains have broken the rocks--Tennessee Williams
I just got done listening to an amazing speech from Patricia Clarkson from which she quotes Tennessee William's Epitaph "The violets in the mountain have broken the rocks".
She began with those words and then went on. "To me, its meaning is simple. The hard, the cold, the oppressive will--at long last--be broken apart by a force that is beautiful, natural, colorful, and alive.
We're a bunch of violets breaking through the rocks. And it is happening. The rock is cracking away. The rock of hate and falsehood is being broken apart."
I haven't seen the Tennessee Williams quote used in this way before, but I love it.
I am applying those words to my practice this week and allowing what is beautiful, natural, colorful, and alive to break through the rocks in my life and the boulders in my heart, mind, and body.
Most of the time what is needed in practice (much like society) is just a change of heart or mind. The biggest breakthroughs (the sweetest violets) are the moments where perception shifts--this is because the thickest rock is usually a thought through the form of attachment.
How many times do we cause harm to ourselves because we force things too quickly? How many times to we oppress ourselves in the search for freedom because we're attached to freedom meaning something outside of us--rather than in us? Freedom is a state of mind that then permeates the body. The purpose of practice is to find that place and work from it rather than think we have to start from scratch. Freedom is a place that is already in us and yoga is the art of recognition.
There is a gentle strength within us that seeks the light and finds the light no matter what. The violets in the mountains will break the rocks. The light in our soul will break through our rocks--because that's what violets do---from the rich nourishment of the earth they lift up to greet the sun.
In practice nourish yourself with the breath. Feel the mountain that you are a part of and breathe to expand inside it-feel how much space there is. While solid there is still permeability to the mountain--openings for new life from your already fertile seeds to spring forth and cover the mountain top; and sides, and to extend in all directions to the farthest foothills. Be soft as you begin your practice and allow the breath to animate your body. Be filled with a deep strength filled with the support of spirit. That way when you start to engage the muscles they wrap around the spaciousness of the breath and can extend out from that breath. As you begin to move in to the body recognize the violets within you--feel their roots and allow a gradual blossoming to unfold. We don't have to take dynamite to the rocks--our light of transformation is explosive enough.
When we finally recognize the essence of the violent within us than all that is oppressive from outside of us and inside us will fall away. When in reflection of the beauty of the violet within we will become reminded that something that beautiful can only be grown from love--and all hate from outside won't stop our growth, and all hate from inside will be composted into love.
The beauty and aliveness within you has broken through the rocks. Enjoy the freedom.
She began with those words and then went on. "To me, its meaning is simple. The hard, the cold, the oppressive will--at long last--be broken apart by a force that is beautiful, natural, colorful, and alive.
We're a bunch of violets breaking through the rocks. And it is happening. The rock is cracking away. The rock of hate and falsehood is being broken apart."
I haven't seen the Tennessee Williams quote used in this way before, but I love it.
I am applying those words to my practice this week and allowing what is beautiful, natural, colorful, and alive to break through the rocks in my life and the boulders in my heart, mind, and body.
Most of the time what is needed in practice (much like society) is just a change of heart or mind. The biggest breakthroughs (the sweetest violets) are the moments where perception shifts--this is because the thickest rock is usually a thought through the form of attachment.
How many times do we cause harm to ourselves because we force things too quickly? How many times to we oppress ourselves in the search for freedom because we're attached to freedom meaning something outside of us--rather than in us? Freedom is a state of mind that then permeates the body. The purpose of practice is to find that place and work from it rather than think we have to start from scratch. Freedom is a place that is already in us and yoga is the art of recognition.
There is a gentle strength within us that seeks the light and finds the light no matter what. The violets in the mountains will break the rocks. The light in our soul will break through our rocks--because that's what violets do---from the rich nourishment of the earth they lift up to greet the sun.
In practice nourish yourself with the breath. Feel the mountain that you are a part of and breathe to expand inside it-feel how much space there is. While solid there is still permeability to the mountain--openings for new life from your already fertile seeds to spring forth and cover the mountain top; and sides, and to extend in all directions to the farthest foothills. Be soft as you begin your practice and allow the breath to animate your body. Be filled with a deep strength filled with the support of spirit. That way when you start to engage the muscles they wrap around the spaciousness of the breath and can extend out from that breath. As you begin to move in to the body recognize the violets within you--feel their roots and allow a gradual blossoming to unfold. We don't have to take dynamite to the rocks--our light of transformation is explosive enough.
When we finally recognize the essence of the violent within us than all that is oppressive from outside of us and inside us will fall away. When in reflection of the beauty of the violet within we will become reminded that something that beautiful can only be grown from love--and all hate from outside won't stop our growth, and all hate from inside will be composted into love.
The beauty and aliveness within you has broken through the rocks. Enjoy the freedom.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Mandala Namaskar-Journey to the center
"The word "mandala" is from the classical Indian language of Sanskrit. Loosely translated to mean "circle," a mandala is far more than a simple shape. It represents wholeness, and can be seen as a model for the organizational structure of life itself--a cosmic diagram that reminds us of our relation to the infinite, the world that extends both beyond and within our bodies and minds.
Describing both material and non-material realities, the mandala appears in all aspects of life: the celestial circles we call earth, sun, and moon, as well as conceptual circles of friends, family, and community.
"The integrated view of the world represented by the mandala, while long embraced by some Eastern religions, has now begun to emerge in Western religious and secular cultures. Awareness of the mandala may have the potential of changing how we see ourselves, our planet, and perhaps even our own life purpose."
(From Mandala: Journey to the Center, by Bailey Cunningham)
This week in practice we are engaging in the ritual invocation of the mandala. Carving out a sacred space from which we connect to all that is. We step out of the rectilinear pathway that so often takes up space in the practice and instead invite the spherical--a living embodiment and reflection of nature. We invite ourselves to the center of creation and find it to be the source of our nature. The circle reminds us of our infiniteness and paves a pathway to shift our awareness from external sources to the rich internal planes of consciousness that take us to the evolutionary "big bang"--the recognition of the fertile energy inside us.
Each of the mandalas I have crafted for this week's practice are rooted in one of the elements: Earth, Fire, Water, Air. Connecting the elements in way that allows us to experience the sustaining, nurturing, and transforming qualities of those elements. To invite the ritual of connection and celebration of co-creation with the elements.
Earth- A very real sense of groundedness, nurturing, support. Something that we can root into so that we can rise. Something symbolic that we can compost our issues into that will transform into rich nutrients for our soul.
Fire- Giver of life, spark of divine energy. To burn through whatever separates you from you. To create from the depths of spirit.
Water- Ritual cleanse. A current from which we can navigate life. An ocean of power and support. Shiva Rea a teacher of mine often points out “Our bodies are 70% water, which nourishes and purifies and is the conductor of prana, nutrients and life energy.” For Shiva, the way to tap into the potential of our fluid being is to connect to the wave motion within the body and nature. “How do we relate to the fluid beings we are?"
Air- The freedom of flight. The vast spaciousness which reflects the nature of consciousness itself. The wind that cuts through our obstacles and free us.
Sequence
Child's pose (I am grounded, I am supported)
Table Top
(Flow between the two with breath--and then eventually add in half push-up)
Exhale Child's pose, Inhale Table, Exhale half push-up, Inhale Table etc..
Transition- Down Dog
Grounding in the earth element. Focus on what is touching earth and feel the nourishment in the hands and feet. Hug the rich nutrients from the earth into the body and then compost it through deep attentive breathing and give it right back to the earth through your fingertips and your heels.
Inhale to plank (push-up) and press through the hands and feel the support of earth, then press through the heels to send that energy through the body. Make your heart soft and lower all the way down to earth. Become rooted through the legs, making them strong (spread the toes) Keep the legs rooted and rise through the heart for a low Cobra. Feel the hands isometrically pulling towards you so that you rise forward and up simultaneously.
Exhale Back to Down Dog
Mandala Prep:
Inhale the Rt leg up behind you. Stay strong in your body--feeding the earth element from hands to feet. When you lift a leg up the shoulder could become unstable and sink--squeeze your arms towards each other-- that will help to keep your arm bones lifted--stay lifted then press your heart to the legs.
From single leg down dog step through for low lunge. Come up onto your finger tips inviting more lift. Inhale bow to the heart (look into it) the spine will round and belly firm and exhale lift the heart and press energetically through both the legs. Do this a few times. Keep the back leg active with the exhale so you feel a stretch at the top of the thigh. Think front shin pressing forward and back heel presses back. In this pose you can also squeeze hips together with the inhale (like you have a block between the thighs).
Inhale spin to the left facing the side of your mat for squat. Turn feet out 45 degrees and grab the inside of your ankles. Lift and spread the toes and ground the heels. Traction knees over ankles and align elbows with knees. Inhale bow to the heart and round the spine (back of the body becomes full and spacious) and Exhale pull heart forward as you press your thighs back. Repeat three times.
Inhale spin to the back of the mat lunging lt leg. Three pulses like first side.
Inhale step back plank. Hold it--be strong. Exhale lower down all the way heart first to earth, Press up Cobra. Exhale Down Dog.
Leading with the rt leg again. Inhale leg up behind you and exhale step through for lunge. Repeat earlier steps to circle back through the the front.
You make a full circle.
Repeat circle with Left Leg (make sure to make a full circle and keep leading with the left).
Now if you want to do one more round of the Mandala prep--you can, or you can deepen it if you like by adding in Maha Pigeon instead of lunge (go to outer edge of foot and walk hands out further in front. Leg is like pigeon and you press through the outer edge of the foot while keeping it strongly engaged and foot flexed/ankle strong. Inhale same process of bowing in and then exhale like a push up come down and widen the outer thigh bone of to the side. Head of thigh bone goes into the hip socket more fully.
Then rather than malasana squat you can do sideways lunges side to side (skandasana) Foot pivots out 45 degrees, knee over ankle, press thighs back and upper body pulses in and out of a push-up shape.
End the earth element with Bakasana (Crow)
Ground your hands, and expand your back body (round it with power and depth) go wide with your hands and shift into your finger tips like your clawing the earth, and then squeeze your feet to your butt. Feel that your kidneys are lifting up more than your butt.
Fire-- I am burning. I am creating. I am Rising
Begin in down dog. Inhale extend rt leg behind towards to sky. Invite fire by hugging to the mid-line-spread toes to feel fire all through the legs. Step through to lunge, rise up crescent warrior (arms to sky). Pulse in the warrior, Inhale bow to the heart and firm the legs and exhale curl the heart open to the sky energize the arms and press proudly through the legs. When you inhale the back body puffs up and as you exhale the spine elongates and expresses the fullness and power of the back body.
Inhale step into warrior three (back leg lifts up arms stretch out in front of you). Stay in the fire and lift your belly. Keep arms and legs pulsing with the aliveness in your center. The rt leg is grounded into earth from the top of the hip to the bottom of the heal. The back leg is reaching to the wall behind you. The back foot is flexed so you can press through the heel--like stepping into earth.
Step back crescent. Inhale pivot to the left high squat. Feet turn out 45 degrees. Clasp hands behind head. Press thighs back and deepen the squat (this is a wide leg squat. Knees over ankles. Exhale side bend to the right,and inhale back to center, exhale to the left and inhale back to center. Do this several times, lengthening the sides of the body and strengthening the core.
Pivot the the left facing back of mat and when ready step forward into warrior three second side. Hold for 5 breaths.
Step back to lunge then to plank. Lower down to earth. Interlace hands behind back and rise up bound locust. Keep legs grounded. Press up down dog.
Continue the circle leading with the right leg.
Second circle begins with the left and you lead with the left the whole time. If you want to deepen the fire experience you can add in bound warrior three--hands interlace around the back ankle--ends up looking like Nataraj.
Water: I am bathing in. I am washing away. I am in the current of.
Continuing the journey of the circle. Begin in down dog but add the element of water. Bend your knees and shift onto your toes lifting the heels. Scoop your tail bone and begin to round the spine shifting towards plank. Get to plank and bends the knees to the earth and press butt back towards the heels and keep doing that--creating a wave in your spine.
Then lift the right leg up. Exhale knee to chest and circle leg off to the side and repeat 5 times. On the fifth step through to lunge. Rise up Warrior Two. In warrior two inhale make the front leg straight and bring hands to heart. Exhale lunge back into it and radiate the arms our in both directions. Express even energy in the legs. Inhale you hug muscle to bone and hug energy from earth to pelvic floor and as you exhale send the energy out in all directions.
After a few times--pivot to the left and come to wide leg squat. Embody water element here (this is like a loosely inspired tai chi movement) The arms become like the ocean swaying side to side as you sink to the hips more.
Pivot to second side warrior two. Repeat pulse. Lower to earth and step back to plank. Lower all the way down to the earth. Come up to cobra and sway side to side and floss the shoulders out, let a river run through and remove the silt of tightness.
Repeat leading with the right side again. Second circle you start with left side.
Air: The freedom of flight. I am spreading my wings. I am free.
Handstand/Tripod circle
(Note this round is for advanced yogi's only) If you are newer than go to a wall and practice the handstand L (come to table top feet against wall. Make sides of the body long and back body full (cat pose) rise up to dog pose and then walk feet up the wall) Keep shoulders buoyant. and press powerfully from heart into earth and follow the echo of that movement up to the tail bone and then press the tail bone into the heels and root deep into the wall with your heels.
If you want to move into the circle from down dog step one foot forward half way and come onto the toes. Lift back leg up and squeeze thighs towards the center. Lengthen your sides and firm the belly. Look toward your fingers. Just lean and lift as far as you can into the handstand. Harness the wildness and discipline it into powerful yet soft lifts into the handstand. Even if it's a inch off the ground--your learning to lift lightly.
Then pivot to the left wide leg forward fold. If your head easily touches root the head and hands in prep for tripod. Press into the head--rooting it. Head of arms bones forward and shoulder blades on the back. Come onto the toes lifting heals up and rise up tripod headstand. Lift through the heals as you squeeze your thighs. Come down. Pivot to the back leg lunge and try handstand with second side. Repeat circle.
Bringing back to the earth. Child's pose
Finish practice with some forward folding and then a sweet long resting pose.
Enjoy!
So what you just went through is the experience of finding your connection to the sacred pulse of the all that is. Your place in the larger circle of life.
"Micro to macro
Representing the universe itself, a mandala is both the microcosm and the macrocosm, and we are all part of its intricate design. The mandala is more than an image seen with our eyes; it is an actual moment in time. It can be can be used as a vehicle to explore art, science, religion and life itself. The mandala contains an encyclopedia of the finite and a road map to infinity.
Carl Jung said that a mandala symbolizes "a safe refuge of inner reconciliation and wholeness." It is "a synthesis of distinctive elements in a unified scheme representing the basic nature of existence." Jung used the mandala for his own personal growth and wrote about his experiences.
It is said by Tibetan Buddhists that a mandala consists of five "excellencies":
The teacher • The message • The audience • The site • The time
An audience or "viewer" is necessary to create a mandala. Where there is no you, there is no mandala. (from: You Are the Eyes of the World, by Longchenpa, translated by Lipman and Peterson)."
Find out more about symbolic meaning of mandalas at http://www.mandalaproject.org
Describing both material and non-material realities, the mandala appears in all aspects of life: the celestial circles we call earth, sun, and moon, as well as conceptual circles of friends, family, and community.
"The integrated view of the world represented by the mandala, while long embraced by some Eastern religions, has now begun to emerge in Western religious and secular cultures. Awareness of the mandala may have the potential of changing how we see ourselves, our planet, and perhaps even our own life purpose."
(From Mandala: Journey to the Center, by Bailey Cunningham)
This week in practice we are engaging in the ritual invocation of the mandala. Carving out a sacred space from which we connect to all that is. We step out of the rectilinear pathway that so often takes up space in the practice and instead invite the spherical--a living embodiment and reflection of nature. We invite ourselves to the center of creation and find it to be the source of our nature. The circle reminds us of our infiniteness and paves a pathway to shift our awareness from external sources to the rich internal planes of consciousness that take us to the evolutionary "big bang"--the recognition of the fertile energy inside us.
Each of the mandalas I have crafted for this week's practice are rooted in one of the elements: Earth, Fire, Water, Air. Connecting the elements in way that allows us to experience the sustaining, nurturing, and transforming qualities of those elements. To invite the ritual of connection and celebration of co-creation with the elements.
Earth- A very real sense of groundedness, nurturing, support. Something that we can root into so that we can rise. Something symbolic that we can compost our issues into that will transform into rich nutrients for our soul.
Fire- Giver of life, spark of divine energy. To burn through whatever separates you from you. To create from the depths of spirit.
Water- Ritual cleanse. A current from which we can navigate life. An ocean of power and support. Shiva Rea a teacher of mine often points out “Our bodies are 70% water, which nourishes and purifies and is the conductor of prana, nutrients and life energy.” For Shiva, the way to tap into the potential of our fluid being is to connect to the wave motion within the body and nature. “How do we relate to the fluid beings we are?"
Air- The freedom of flight. The vast spaciousness which reflects the nature of consciousness itself. The wind that cuts through our obstacles and free us.
Sequence
Child's pose (I am grounded, I am supported)
Table Top
(Flow between the two with breath--and then eventually add in half push-up)
Exhale Child's pose, Inhale Table, Exhale half push-up, Inhale Table etc..
Transition- Down Dog
Grounding in the earth element. Focus on what is touching earth and feel the nourishment in the hands and feet. Hug the rich nutrients from the earth into the body and then compost it through deep attentive breathing and give it right back to the earth through your fingertips and your heels.
Inhale to plank (push-up) and press through the hands and feel the support of earth, then press through the heels to send that energy through the body. Make your heart soft and lower all the way down to earth. Become rooted through the legs, making them strong (spread the toes) Keep the legs rooted and rise through the heart for a low Cobra. Feel the hands isometrically pulling towards you so that you rise forward and up simultaneously.
Exhale Back to Down Dog
Mandala Prep:
Inhale the Rt leg up behind you. Stay strong in your body--feeding the earth element from hands to feet. When you lift a leg up the shoulder could become unstable and sink--squeeze your arms towards each other-- that will help to keep your arm bones lifted--stay lifted then press your heart to the legs.
From single leg down dog step through for low lunge. Come up onto your finger tips inviting more lift. Inhale bow to the heart (look into it) the spine will round and belly firm and exhale lift the heart and press energetically through both the legs. Do this a few times. Keep the back leg active with the exhale so you feel a stretch at the top of the thigh. Think front shin pressing forward and back heel presses back. In this pose you can also squeeze hips together with the inhale (like you have a block between the thighs).
Inhale spin to the left facing the side of your mat for squat. Turn feet out 45 degrees and grab the inside of your ankles. Lift and spread the toes and ground the heels. Traction knees over ankles and align elbows with knees. Inhale bow to the heart and round the spine (back of the body becomes full and spacious) and Exhale pull heart forward as you press your thighs back. Repeat three times.
Inhale spin to the back of the mat lunging lt leg. Three pulses like first side.
Inhale step back plank. Hold it--be strong. Exhale lower down all the way heart first to earth, Press up Cobra. Exhale Down Dog.
Leading with the rt leg again. Inhale leg up behind you and exhale step through for lunge. Repeat earlier steps to circle back through the the front.
You make a full circle.
Repeat circle with Left Leg (make sure to make a full circle and keep leading with the left).
Now if you want to do one more round of the Mandala prep--you can, or you can deepen it if you like by adding in Maha Pigeon instead of lunge (go to outer edge of foot and walk hands out further in front. Leg is like pigeon and you press through the outer edge of the foot while keeping it strongly engaged and foot flexed/ankle strong. Inhale same process of bowing in and then exhale like a push up come down and widen the outer thigh bone of to the side. Head of thigh bone goes into the hip socket more fully.
Then rather than malasana squat you can do sideways lunges side to side (skandasana) Foot pivots out 45 degrees, knee over ankle, press thighs back and upper body pulses in and out of a push-up shape.
End the earth element with Bakasana (Crow)
Ground your hands, and expand your back body (round it with power and depth) go wide with your hands and shift into your finger tips like your clawing the earth, and then squeeze your feet to your butt. Feel that your kidneys are lifting up more than your butt.
Fire-- I am burning. I am creating. I am Rising
Begin in down dog. Inhale extend rt leg behind towards to sky. Invite fire by hugging to the mid-line-spread toes to feel fire all through the legs. Step through to lunge, rise up crescent warrior (arms to sky). Pulse in the warrior, Inhale bow to the heart and firm the legs and exhale curl the heart open to the sky energize the arms and press proudly through the legs. When you inhale the back body puffs up and as you exhale the spine elongates and expresses the fullness and power of the back body.
Inhale step into warrior three (back leg lifts up arms stretch out in front of you). Stay in the fire and lift your belly. Keep arms and legs pulsing with the aliveness in your center. The rt leg is grounded into earth from the top of the hip to the bottom of the heal. The back leg is reaching to the wall behind you. The back foot is flexed so you can press through the heel--like stepping into earth.
Step back crescent. Inhale pivot to the left high squat. Feet turn out 45 degrees. Clasp hands behind head. Press thighs back and deepen the squat (this is a wide leg squat. Knees over ankles. Exhale side bend to the right,and inhale back to center, exhale to the left and inhale back to center. Do this several times, lengthening the sides of the body and strengthening the core.
Pivot the the left facing back of mat and when ready step forward into warrior three second side. Hold for 5 breaths.
Step back to lunge then to plank. Lower down to earth. Interlace hands behind back and rise up bound locust. Keep legs grounded. Press up down dog.
Continue the circle leading with the right leg.
Second circle begins with the left and you lead with the left the whole time. If you want to deepen the fire experience you can add in bound warrior three--hands interlace around the back ankle--ends up looking like Nataraj.
Water: I am bathing in. I am washing away. I am in the current of.
Continuing the journey of the circle. Begin in down dog but add the element of water. Bend your knees and shift onto your toes lifting the heels. Scoop your tail bone and begin to round the spine shifting towards plank. Get to plank and bends the knees to the earth and press butt back towards the heels and keep doing that--creating a wave in your spine.
Then lift the right leg up. Exhale knee to chest and circle leg off to the side and repeat 5 times. On the fifth step through to lunge. Rise up Warrior Two. In warrior two inhale make the front leg straight and bring hands to heart. Exhale lunge back into it and radiate the arms our in both directions. Express even energy in the legs. Inhale you hug muscle to bone and hug energy from earth to pelvic floor and as you exhale send the energy out in all directions.
After a few times--pivot to the left and come to wide leg squat. Embody water element here (this is like a loosely inspired tai chi movement) The arms become like the ocean swaying side to side as you sink to the hips more.
Pivot to second side warrior two. Repeat pulse. Lower to earth and step back to plank. Lower all the way down to the earth. Come up to cobra and sway side to side and floss the shoulders out, let a river run through and remove the silt of tightness.
Repeat leading with the right side again. Second circle you start with left side.
Air: The freedom of flight. I am spreading my wings. I am free.
Handstand/Tripod circle
(Note this round is for advanced yogi's only) If you are newer than go to a wall and practice the handstand L (come to table top feet against wall. Make sides of the body long and back body full (cat pose) rise up to dog pose and then walk feet up the wall) Keep shoulders buoyant. and press powerfully from heart into earth and follow the echo of that movement up to the tail bone and then press the tail bone into the heels and root deep into the wall with your heels.
If you want to move into the circle from down dog step one foot forward half way and come onto the toes. Lift back leg up and squeeze thighs towards the center. Lengthen your sides and firm the belly. Look toward your fingers. Just lean and lift as far as you can into the handstand. Harness the wildness and discipline it into powerful yet soft lifts into the handstand. Even if it's a inch off the ground--your learning to lift lightly.
Then pivot to the left wide leg forward fold. If your head easily touches root the head and hands in prep for tripod. Press into the head--rooting it. Head of arms bones forward and shoulder blades on the back. Come onto the toes lifting heals up and rise up tripod headstand. Lift through the heals as you squeeze your thighs. Come down. Pivot to the back leg lunge and try handstand with second side. Repeat circle.
Bringing back to the earth. Child's pose
Finish practice with some forward folding and then a sweet long resting pose.
Enjoy!
So what you just went through is the experience of finding your connection to the sacred pulse of the all that is. Your place in the larger circle of life.
"Micro to macro
Representing the universe itself, a mandala is both the microcosm and the macrocosm, and we are all part of its intricate design. The mandala is more than an image seen with our eyes; it is an actual moment in time. It can be can be used as a vehicle to explore art, science, religion and life itself. The mandala contains an encyclopedia of the finite and a road map to infinity.
Carl Jung said that a mandala symbolizes "a safe refuge of inner reconciliation and wholeness." It is "a synthesis of distinctive elements in a unified scheme representing the basic nature of existence." Jung used the mandala for his own personal growth and wrote about his experiences.
It is said by Tibetan Buddhists that a mandala consists of five "excellencies":
The teacher • The message • The audience • The site • The time
An audience or "viewer" is necessary to create a mandala. Where there is no you, there is no mandala. (from: You Are the Eyes of the World, by Longchenpa, translated by Lipman and Peterson)."
Find out more about symbolic meaning of mandalas at http://www.mandalaproject.org
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Is there a goal?
The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature. ~Joseph Campbell
If there were a goal to our practice of yoga I would like think of it as being something along the lines of what Joseph Campbell describes. There is instant recognition upon reading the words "to match your nature with nature" of what occurs within the practice of yoga. The very act of breathing with consciousness starts the journey of alignment to our nature--the return to primordial essence. Primordial essence in this case refers to a concept laid out in "SHAMBALA The Sacred Path of the Warrior" as meaning without condition.
It is a place that we can attune to through a disciplined engagement of movement and breath--synchronizing mind and body to unite with Spirit. It is through this union that the heartbeat of the individual connects with the beat of the universe.
It is an amazing discovery that can be made on the mat with a dedicated practice. The promise of practice, rather than the goal, is a heightened sense of connectedness to the underlying current of aliveness contained within the world around us. The poses and breath unite to act as pathways into the rich energy of the universal beat--which provides a cosmic metronome for us to step into rhythm with.
For brief yet increasing periods of time we march to a larger rhythm than ourselves and rather than being the sole instrument, we play in the grandest orchestra that surpasses all that we have ever felt, heard, or played for.
The practice and life it offers us deepens our relationship with the world and all sentient beings because it connects us to the source of where we have come from and where we are going. For moment after precious moment that we are in this space--which is spaciousness itself, we are all that ever was and all that ever will be.
Stepping onto the mat is an act of celebration, creation, performance, giving, receiving, acknowledging, sacrificing, surrendering, and opening. It gives us access to the cycle of life and the story of our place in it. It is the wow factor, the hugeness of what we are actually a part of--and the recognition of the sacredness of being alive.
"There are moments when one feels free from one's own identification with human limitations and inadequacies. At such moments one imagines that one stands on some spot of a small planet, gazing in amazement at the cold yet profoundly moving beauty of the eternal, the unfathomable; life and death flow into one, and there is neither evolution nor destiny; only Being." ~ Albert Einstein
If there were a goal to our practice of yoga I would like think of it as being something along the lines of what Joseph Campbell describes. There is instant recognition upon reading the words "to match your nature with nature" of what occurs within the practice of yoga. The very act of breathing with consciousness starts the journey of alignment to our nature--the return to primordial essence. Primordial essence in this case refers to a concept laid out in "SHAMBALA The Sacred Path of the Warrior" as meaning without condition.
It is a place that we can attune to through a disciplined engagement of movement and breath--synchronizing mind and body to unite with Spirit. It is through this union that the heartbeat of the individual connects with the beat of the universe.
It is an amazing discovery that can be made on the mat with a dedicated practice. The promise of practice, rather than the goal, is a heightened sense of connectedness to the underlying current of aliveness contained within the world around us. The poses and breath unite to act as pathways into the rich energy of the universal beat--which provides a cosmic metronome for us to step into rhythm with.
For brief yet increasing periods of time we march to a larger rhythm than ourselves and rather than being the sole instrument, we play in the grandest orchestra that surpasses all that we have ever felt, heard, or played for.
The practice and life it offers us deepens our relationship with the world and all sentient beings because it connects us to the source of where we have come from and where we are going. For moment after precious moment that we are in this space--which is spaciousness itself, we are all that ever was and all that ever will be.
Stepping onto the mat is an act of celebration, creation, performance, giving, receiving, acknowledging, sacrificing, surrendering, and opening. It gives us access to the cycle of life and the story of our place in it. It is the wow factor, the hugeness of what we are actually a part of--and the recognition of the sacredness of being alive.
"There are moments when one feels free from one's own identification with human limitations and inadequacies. At such moments one imagines that one stands on some spot of a small planet, gazing in amazement at the cold yet profoundly moving beauty of the eternal, the unfathomable; life and death flow into one, and there is neither evolution nor destiny; only Being." ~ Albert Einstein
Sunday, June 7, 2009
The Power of Prayer
What I know for certain is that when I remember to pray miracles happen. While I am not sure prayer changes anything about the situations in my life--it changes me. A Course in Miracles says that a miracle is just a shift in perception and that's exactly what prayer does.
It had been a long time for me since I have prayed--somehow in the midst of all the practices I do (yoga and meditation) I forgot just how cleansing and cathartic prayer can be. Prayer also helps me to clarify what I am willing to put forth into the world and what I need support from the universe for that vision to happen.
Today in the middle of a really hard feeling state I remembered to pray. It was very simple but it shifted things enough to create a miracle. I simply just asked to be supported in bringing more light and love into the world and to be led and guided for the right words to say to my classes and the best actions to take with my students today. I asked to be inspired so that I may inspire, and then I just spent a few minutes in gratitude--deeply appreciating the circumstances of my life.
Einstein has a quote that I love that says "The problems of the world cannot be solved from the same level of thinking that created them" so literally we have to pray so that our minds can be lifted up out of the level they are at in which we were suffering. That is exactly what happened for me today.
So while I am not sure praying "gets" us anything it surely does align us with the right frequency so that we are clearer and in tune with the will and energy of the universe.
I was humbled by this remembrance--that a tool so powerful is always available to create a miracle. Thank you universe for such an awesome blessing!
It had been a long time for me since I have prayed--somehow in the midst of all the practices I do (yoga and meditation) I forgot just how cleansing and cathartic prayer can be. Prayer also helps me to clarify what I am willing to put forth into the world and what I need support from the universe for that vision to happen.
Today in the middle of a really hard feeling state I remembered to pray. It was very simple but it shifted things enough to create a miracle. I simply just asked to be supported in bringing more light and love into the world and to be led and guided for the right words to say to my classes and the best actions to take with my students today. I asked to be inspired so that I may inspire, and then I just spent a few minutes in gratitude--deeply appreciating the circumstances of my life.
Einstein has a quote that I love that says "The problems of the world cannot be solved from the same level of thinking that created them" so literally we have to pray so that our minds can be lifted up out of the level they are at in which we were suffering. That is exactly what happened for me today.
So while I am not sure praying "gets" us anything it surely does align us with the right frequency so that we are clearer and in tune with the will and energy of the universe.
I was humbled by this remembrance--that a tool so powerful is always available to create a miracle. Thank you universe for such an awesome blessing!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Ahimsa--Cultivating peace
It has been said that the foundation of a yoga practice is built on the concept of Ahimsa which means "non-violence", or the cultivation of peace. I like to think of it as a simultaneous expression of what we don't do and what we do to ourselves and others.
As I was recently engrossed in Pema Chodron's book "Comfortable with Uncertainty" I came across her chapter on "Not Causing Harm" and deeply appreciated her perspective on this path of peaceful living.
She writes that "non aggression has the power to heal and transform society". Her premise is that the most harm, the most aggressive act we can do to ourselves or others is remain ignorant by not having the courage and respect to look at ourselves truthfully and gently. She states that the ground of not causing harm is mindfulness. With mindfulness we gain clarity and compassion for what we truly see--without hiding, denying, suppressing, or imagining things to be some other way.
When we look sincerely and openly at ourselves we see how we are in the world and we see how much aggression and violence (thoughts, actions, etc) we put out into the world. Without judging we just see, truly see, and that is what creates space for grace. Without seeing we can't do anything about it and live as though we are not leaving a trail of suffering behind us. First notice, then create space, then operate from that deep and profound space that allows room for growth--for love to take its course.
Ahimsa has many expressions but I have to agree mindfulness comes first. Before we act we have to act from a place of knowing. It's like the difference between speaking off the cuff, or taking time to dig deep and come from a place of depth as you begin to give birth to words in the world.
Peaceful living means we allow ourselves to be with things, our lives, as they are. We just sit with and open to life as it is. At the same time we stay open to the moment and remember that nothing is fixed. This is why acceptance of this moment is key. Without acceptance without opening--there is gripping and clinging which can only lead to violence as we try to change rather than allow what needs to unfold to unfold. We open and stay open. We feel and simultaneously explore all the possible options and paths that the freedom of openness in the moment allows for us.
There is freedom that comes from this opening and the freedom creates space for peace. It's a steady peace that does not rely on things "working" or becoming "fixed" but it's a peace that fueled on the knowledge that life is a wild ride filled with adventures and growth expeditions (we came here to grow). Peace begins when we truly get on the ride and quite trying to stop it, or change it, or get off it.
Peace externally begins from the peace of deep opening within us. The more you open and allow, the more allowing and grace flow through you. Then Ahimsa is not a thing you do--but it is a thing you are---and that makes all the difference.
As I was recently engrossed in Pema Chodron's book "Comfortable with Uncertainty" I came across her chapter on "Not Causing Harm" and deeply appreciated her perspective on this path of peaceful living.
She writes that "non aggression has the power to heal and transform society". Her premise is that the most harm, the most aggressive act we can do to ourselves or others is remain ignorant by not having the courage and respect to look at ourselves truthfully and gently. She states that the ground of not causing harm is mindfulness. With mindfulness we gain clarity and compassion for what we truly see--without hiding, denying, suppressing, or imagining things to be some other way.
When we look sincerely and openly at ourselves we see how we are in the world and we see how much aggression and violence (thoughts, actions, etc) we put out into the world. Without judging we just see, truly see, and that is what creates space for grace. Without seeing we can't do anything about it and live as though we are not leaving a trail of suffering behind us. First notice, then create space, then operate from that deep and profound space that allows room for growth--for love to take its course.
Ahimsa has many expressions but I have to agree mindfulness comes first. Before we act we have to act from a place of knowing. It's like the difference between speaking off the cuff, or taking time to dig deep and come from a place of depth as you begin to give birth to words in the world.
Peaceful living means we allow ourselves to be with things, our lives, as they are. We just sit with and open to life as it is. At the same time we stay open to the moment and remember that nothing is fixed. This is why acceptance of this moment is key. Without acceptance without opening--there is gripping and clinging which can only lead to violence as we try to change rather than allow what needs to unfold to unfold. We open and stay open. We feel and simultaneously explore all the possible options and paths that the freedom of openness in the moment allows for us.
There is freedom that comes from this opening and the freedom creates space for peace. It's a steady peace that does not rely on things "working" or becoming "fixed" but it's a peace that fueled on the knowledge that life is a wild ride filled with adventures and growth expeditions (we came here to grow). Peace begins when we truly get on the ride and quite trying to stop it, or change it, or get off it.
Peace externally begins from the peace of deep opening within us. The more you open and allow, the more allowing and grace flow through you. Then Ahimsa is not a thing you do--but it is a thing you are---and that makes all the difference.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
The thrill of revelation
I have written on the concept of concealment and revealment before on this blog (like maybe a year ago). With all things as we grow in practice, the practice reveals more to us about a given subject including ourselves, and so in the spirit of evolutionary growth, I offer my thoughts on the idea of concealment and revealment.
In Hatha yoga and meditation there is an opportunity to open up to ourselves in such a way that anything that is concealed (hidden) can be brought forth into conscious presence so that we can align with it, create with it, or allow it space, or to release it. We are like the sculptor who in the moment has a slab of concrete and through his or her art form (yoga, meditation) reveals the art beneath the slab. They do not create anew, but reveal the inherent beauty that is there already. They allow space for the form to emerge from the formless. They release the heaviness and allow freedom for the art to express itself.
The practice is this, and yet, I am finding it is much more in the context of revealation. Not only is it the total process, but also the individual moments of practice. Each breath, each pose, reveals to us, if we pay attention--something that has been concealed or something that can assist us in freeing up more space and beauty inside ourselves.
Each pose can reveal what we are holding back, how we respond to fear, what excites us, what we are passionate about, what makes us laugh and smile, what challenges us and how we respond to challenge, what feels sensual, what feels pleasurable, what bores us and how we react to boredom. All these things and so much more are revealed to us within a moment, within a practice.
Our task then when on the mat is to practice being with the revelations without judgment and remain open to the process of self study that this provides for us. We allow what has been hidden or stuck to come forward. We have tremendous freedom in opening up to the revelations because the more we allow what is concealed to be revealed--we know more about ourselves but also allow more space around everything.
From this place of deep and healing space our inherent spaciousness is revealed and we remember that in any given moment we can align with that as infinite creative energy. From this energy we can sustain our artistry and allow our artistry to expand to new heights.
Sit with this passage from the radiance sutras:
#20
The radiance of space permeates the body
and all directions simultaneously.
Space is always here,
Already here before your noticing of it.
What we call space is a presence,
Permission to exist
And worlds within which to express.
Without thinking about it,
Without forming mental images of it,
Rest in this vast expanse,
Friends with Infinity.
(find out more about the radiance sustras www.lorinroche.com)
In Hatha yoga and meditation there is an opportunity to open up to ourselves in such a way that anything that is concealed (hidden) can be brought forth into conscious presence so that we can align with it, create with it, or allow it space, or to release it. We are like the sculptor who in the moment has a slab of concrete and through his or her art form (yoga, meditation) reveals the art beneath the slab. They do not create anew, but reveal the inherent beauty that is there already. They allow space for the form to emerge from the formless. They release the heaviness and allow freedom for the art to express itself.
The practice is this, and yet, I am finding it is much more in the context of revealation. Not only is it the total process, but also the individual moments of practice. Each breath, each pose, reveals to us, if we pay attention--something that has been concealed or something that can assist us in freeing up more space and beauty inside ourselves.
Each pose can reveal what we are holding back, how we respond to fear, what excites us, what we are passionate about, what makes us laugh and smile, what challenges us and how we respond to challenge, what feels sensual, what feels pleasurable, what bores us and how we react to boredom. All these things and so much more are revealed to us within a moment, within a practice.
Our task then when on the mat is to practice being with the revelations without judgment and remain open to the process of self study that this provides for us. We allow what has been hidden or stuck to come forward. We have tremendous freedom in opening up to the revelations because the more we allow what is concealed to be revealed--we know more about ourselves but also allow more space around everything.
From this place of deep and healing space our inherent spaciousness is revealed and we remember that in any given moment we can align with that as infinite creative energy. From this energy we can sustain our artistry and allow our artistry to expand to new heights.
Sit with this passage from the radiance sutras:
#20
The radiance of space permeates the body
and all directions simultaneously.
Space is always here,
Already here before your noticing of it.
What we call space is a presence,
Permission to exist
And worlds within which to express.
Without thinking about it,
Without forming mental images of it,
Rest in this vast expanse,
Friends with Infinity.
(find out more about the radiance sustras www.lorinroche.com)
Saturday, May 30, 2009
A leap towards love
One of the avenues that we must travel down eventually on the path to the heart's full expression into the world---is how we engage with the physical world around us--and how to cultivate a fully loving and supportive relationship with the world.
The more we align with the fire of the heart, the more we connect to the inherent oneness of the world--we realize that we are the world and the world is us. I love the following description from Deepak Chopra who gives a great example of how we must connect to the heart to shift from thinking to awareness, from mind to heart--then back again in the context of building a right relationship with the earth.
"The best thing you can do for the planet is to shift your perception. There is no hope of healing the planet as long as the word 'environment' means something separate from you. Each of us has built our happiness on ignoring the Earth's balance. We wouldn't do that to our own homes: who would tolerate a living room filled with decaying garbage? We wouldn't do that to our own bodies: who would deprive their body of half the oxygen it needed? So, forget that you ever heard the word 'environment.’ Instead, think of ‘my world’, and look upon Nature as ‘my body’ in extended form. Having done that, treat the world with care and intimate regard. This should be your guide to a new way of being happy. Until millions of people have made the same shift, saving the planet will remain a worthy cause that never quite gains the whole-hearted support it needs".
The truth is we can "do" all we want and the little steps surely help. However, the most radical and most powerful shift begins within the heart/mind connection. A Course In Miracles says that "A miracle is just a shift in perception" and a miracle is truly what we need to save our relationship with the earth.
This is not about wishful thinking, or wishing the problems of the world to go away. In fact it's the opposite--it's about becoming real and checking ourselves back into the relationship. It's like we're the lover who abandoned our partner and left the house in shambles and decided that we didn't have to do anything and that someone else was going to take care of the mess we left behind.
However when we connect to the path of the heart and begin to feel the shift from smallness to the vast all encompassing reality of who we are--the oneness, the richness, the sweetness of possibility and potential of this human experience--we have no choice but to go back to our lover and clean things up. We must atone and with humility and deep reverence apologize and at the same time be grateful that our partner is resilient and capable of healing beyond our comprehension.
Must connect now and invite the shift into our hearts fully and make it a practice everyday to see ourselves intimately connected to the earth and her ways. To think of ourselves as a lover, a partner, and in the love relationship feel the union of possibility.
In every choice we make we ask not is this good for me--but is it good to the whole of me. Not the small me, but the vast me--the me that is in union with all that is--the earth and all her inhabitants. Can you feel the enormity of every decision play out and the chain reaction of effects that it has on all parts of your unified body and consciousness.
When you deeply get this your life will transform and you will no longer be capable of making decisions that are not rooted in deep love to the earth. But you must be willing to love yourself whole heartedly--all of you.
If you can sit down and meditate right now and begin to do this work of shifting your perception. Focus on your heart and breath deeply into the heart. Begin to feel your heart beat and relax into the vastness of the heart. Begin to visualize the earth as best you can and when you see it clearly place it lovingly into the chamber of your heart. Breath consciously into the earth and place your awareness into the center of the earth. Feel your essence there feel connected and at home there. Feel yourself as earth and feel yourself expanding to fill the earth with your essence. When you feel alive inside the earth from the rootedness of being inside and all through the earth--channel your awareness back into the heart of your physical body and feel the essence of yourself as earth inside the power of your heart. Feel the radical shift of aliveness--the hum of the earth inside the beat of your heart. Feel the union. Be the union.
In every act you put forth into the world ask yourself is this the best I can do in the spirit of love? Does this actions serve "me" out of convenience or is there a better choice that would serve the vast ME and contribute to the health and well being of all those who reside in vast expanse of the heart of hearts.
Love to you all!
The more we align with the fire of the heart, the more we connect to the inherent oneness of the world--we realize that we are the world and the world is us. I love the following description from Deepak Chopra who gives a great example of how we must connect to the heart to shift from thinking to awareness, from mind to heart--then back again in the context of building a right relationship with the earth.
"The best thing you can do for the planet is to shift your perception. There is no hope of healing the planet as long as the word 'environment' means something separate from you. Each of us has built our happiness on ignoring the Earth's balance. We wouldn't do that to our own homes: who would tolerate a living room filled with decaying garbage? We wouldn't do that to our own bodies: who would deprive their body of half the oxygen it needed? So, forget that you ever heard the word 'environment.’ Instead, think of ‘my world’, and look upon Nature as ‘my body’ in extended form. Having done that, treat the world with care and intimate regard. This should be your guide to a new way of being happy. Until millions of people have made the same shift, saving the planet will remain a worthy cause that never quite gains the whole-hearted support it needs".
The truth is we can "do" all we want and the little steps surely help. However, the most radical and most powerful shift begins within the heart/mind connection. A Course In Miracles says that "A miracle is just a shift in perception" and a miracle is truly what we need to save our relationship with the earth.
This is not about wishful thinking, or wishing the problems of the world to go away. In fact it's the opposite--it's about becoming real and checking ourselves back into the relationship. It's like we're the lover who abandoned our partner and left the house in shambles and decided that we didn't have to do anything and that someone else was going to take care of the mess we left behind.
However when we connect to the path of the heart and begin to feel the shift from smallness to the vast all encompassing reality of who we are--the oneness, the richness, the sweetness of possibility and potential of this human experience--we have no choice but to go back to our lover and clean things up. We must atone and with humility and deep reverence apologize and at the same time be grateful that our partner is resilient and capable of healing beyond our comprehension.
Must connect now and invite the shift into our hearts fully and make it a practice everyday to see ourselves intimately connected to the earth and her ways. To think of ourselves as a lover, a partner, and in the love relationship feel the union of possibility.
In every choice we make we ask not is this good for me--but is it good to the whole of me. Not the small me, but the vast me--the me that is in union with all that is--the earth and all her inhabitants. Can you feel the enormity of every decision play out and the chain reaction of effects that it has on all parts of your unified body and consciousness.
When you deeply get this your life will transform and you will no longer be capable of making decisions that are not rooted in deep love to the earth. But you must be willing to love yourself whole heartedly--all of you.
If you can sit down and meditate right now and begin to do this work of shifting your perception. Focus on your heart and breath deeply into the heart. Begin to feel your heart beat and relax into the vastness of the heart. Begin to visualize the earth as best you can and when you see it clearly place it lovingly into the chamber of your heart. Breath consciously into the earth and place your awareness into the center of the earth. Feel your essence there feel connected and at home there. Feel yourself as earth and feel yourself expanding to fill the earth with your essence. When you feel alive inside the earth from the rootedness of being inside and all through the earth--channel your awareness back into the heart of your physical body and feel the essence of yourself as earth inside the power of your heart. Feel the radical shift of aliveness--the hum of the earth inside the beat of your heart. Feel the union. Be the union.
In every act you put forth into the world ask yourself is this the best I can do in the spirit of love? Does this actions serve "me" out of convenience or is there a better choice that would serve the vast ME and contribute to the health and well being of all those who reside in vast expanse of the heart of hearts.
Love to you all!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Modern Day Disciple
"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back-- Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now."-- Goethe
I was inspired by this passage and am using it as a frame work for inviting tapas into the practice for this weeks classes.
“Tapas” is a powerful concept laid out in the Yoga Sutras. The word “tapas” comes from the Sanskrit verb “tap” which means “to burn”. The traditional interpretation of tapas is that it is “fiery discipline”.
When I had brought this up to my class at the beginning of our session today many of the students responded with nervous laughter :) Tapas it seems has quite a reputation! The idea of discipline and especially fiery discipline it seems can trigger certain responses of fear, trepidation, or resistance.
I reminded my students that Tapas really is the invitation into the depth of practice. Tapas is commitment to the practice and to the awakening of our spirit through the work. We know from our time on the mat--even after the first time there, that the "work" and the ritual of practice has far more power than we could ever imagine. The discipline comes into being when we feel the fire of commitment to invoke that magic on a conscious level time and time again.
It's the old saying "you know what's good for you, and you like what's good for you, but sometimes you still choose not to do it anyway". Sometimes we just need the fire of Tapas to bring us back to the practice--to remember what it means to be a disciple ready to learn and burn from the practice.
The word discipline comes from the same Latin root "discere" as discipleship; it means, literally, "to learn." So Tapas really is the burning enthusiasm/desire to learn and to be a student. Yoga is incredible because it is not only the study of the self, but the study of the current of life. You become a conscious student of life--not in an abstract way--but in a deeply relevant way--life as it manifests through you!
Practice then becomes an invitation to immerse oneself in the intensive of life. Every practice becomes a ritual of learning--a dynamic synergy between student, teacher, classmates--a circle of knowledge and learning fueled collectively by those thirsty for knowledge.
The words from Goethe that I feel invoke the potency of Tapas are "Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it" Tapas is boldness. It's the path of learning in which one shifts from just being a receiver of knowledge to one who is pursuing knowledge. One who can not only listen but also simultaneously explore. One who can feel magic and power in ritual and use the ritual as a doorway, a path towards a higher learning.
Tapas then begins to take on a fresh meaning one not laden with fear or hesitancy--but one that requires the seeker, the disciple to awaken to empowerment. You set the intention , and the practice (the teacher) takes steps to light your fire even more, and the practice grows within all involved in the learning process. The more drive you bring to learn the more your practice will illuminate and brighten your path of self discovery.
May we all remember what it means to be a disciple--ready to learn--ready to burn!
I was inspired by this passage and am using it as a frame work for inviting tapas into the practice for this weeks classes.
“Tapas” is a powerful concept laid out in the Yoga Sutras. The word “tapas” comes from the Sanskrit verb “tap” which means “to burn”. The traditional interpretation of tapas is that it is “fiery discipline”.
When I had brought this up to my class at the beginning of our session today many of the students responded with nervous laughter :) Tapas it seems has quite a reputation! The idea of discipline and especially fiery discipline it seems can trigger certain responses of fear, trepidation, or resistance.
I reminded my students that Tapas really is the invitation into the depth of practice. Tapas is commitment to the practice and to the awakening of our spirit through the work. We know from our time on the mat--even after the first time there, that the "work" and the ritual of practice has far more power than we could ever imagine. The discipline comes into being when we feel the fire of commitment to invoke that magic on a conscious level time and time again.
It's the old saying "you know what's good for you, and you like what's good for you, but sometimes you still choose not to do it anyway". Sometimes we just need the fire of Tapas to bring us back to the practice--to remember what it means to be a disciple ready to learn and burn from the practice.
The word discipline comes from the same Latin root "discere" as discipleship; it means, literally, "to learn." So Tapas really is the burning enthusiasm/desire to learn and to be a student. Yoga is incredible because it is not only the study of the self, but the study of the current of life. You become a conscious student of life--not in an abstract way--but in a deeply relevant way--life as it manifests through you!
Practice then becomes an invitation to immerse oneself in the intensive of life. Every practice becomes a ritual of learning--a dynamic synergy between student, teacher, classmates--a circle of knowledge and learning fueled collectively by those thirsty for knowledge.
The words from Goethe that I feel invoke the potency of Tapas are "Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it" Tapas is boldness. It's the path of learning in which one shifts from just being a receiver of knowledge to one who is pursuing knowledge. One who can not only listen but also simultaneously explore. One who can feel magic and power in ritual and use the ritual as a doorway, a path towards a higher learning.
Tapas then begins to take on a fresh meaning one not laden with fear or hesitancy--but one that requires the seeker, the disciple to awaken to empowerment. You set the intention , and the practice (the teacher) takes steps to light your fire even more, and the practice grows within all involved in the learning process. The more drive you bring to learn the more your practice will illuminate and brighten your path of self discovery.
May we all remember what it means to be a disciple--ready to learn--ready to burn!
Friday, May 22, 2009
The ocean and the wave
My theme in classes this week as been the invocation of the water element--Jala Namaskar. In the first part of the week I focused on weaving together movements that helped us to align with the currents of our breath much like a river and allowing the body to tap into the current helping to create a pathway for the river to flow through with ease. Just like in nature--over time a river carves out its pathway through the thickest of earth--we too can carve through with the water element the thickest of "earth" in us as well. The movements of the practice were very fluid, creative, and liquidy.
Later this week I focused on invoking the power of the ocean as it expresses its waves. I brought in the principle of opening to something bigger (which makes the sides of the body long, head of the arms bones draw forward, and creates a strong kidney loop *puff*) We sometimes refer to this as opening to grace. In the practice this week I was referring to it as receiving the power of the ocean and as we moved from that power expressing the unique wave of movement from that depth and strength.
You can think of the movement into the ocean like cat pose, but with power and focus. Think of the tides receding and going back into the fullness of the ocean from which they came, and then with full force come back. Think of a Tsunami that draws back and then with intensity unleashes its strength again. The idea is that we are a part of something much larger and in practice we can align with that to create more depth and power as we express our uniqueness and personalization in the practice.
The emphasis was also that when a wave expresses itself out of the ocean, what we see is it's peak out of the body of water, but it's important to remember that below the surface its power is still connected to the ocean and the power of the wave begins from underneath not above. So as our wave expands, we have to remember to stay connected to the body of the ocean. Keeping our depth while expanding our fullness.
It's a basic evolutionary practice of transcending and including. As we evolve, we also hold space for the energy that made the leap possible. So as we tap into the back of the body and feel its power we don't then just let it go into the wave. We draw into it and skillfully navigate the waters as the wave hits it's peak and begins to move back towards the ocean or earth it still does with the remembrance of the inner energy it took to draw it's strength from.
For example in a backbend such as Ustrasana (camel) You would open to something bigger and feel the back of the body expand (draw into the ocean) from there keep the ocean buoyant and full and lift up out of it keeping the sides long, the kidneys lifting to support the spine, lifting the heart with the tips of the shoulder blades, feeling the power of the wave curling the shoulders, heart, head and neck all back together--keeping the wave beautifully symmetrical so the spine is one wave of energy. Keeping it not just a wave, but a wave with the support of the ocean. This same principle can help to reduce the bananas in your inversions as well. You want to feel a deep ocean of support before you express the wave of uniqueness in each pose. Something of depth to refine the beauty.
O friend , understand: the body
is like the ocean
rich with hidden treasures.
Open your innermost chamber and light its lamp
-- Mirabai
May we all dive in and find the possibility for great expansion and powerful expression of our innermost treasure!
Later this week I focused on invoking the power of the ocean as it expresses its waves. I brought in the principle of opening to something bigger (which makes the sides of the body long, head of the arms bones draw forward, and creates a strong kidney loop *puff*) We sometimes refer to this as opening to grace. In the practice this week I was referring to it as receiving the power of the ocean and as we moved from that power expressing the unique wave of movement from that depth and strength.
You can think of the movement into the ocean like cat pose, but with power and focus. Think of the tides receding and going back into the fullness of the ocean from which they came, and then with full force come back. Think of a Tsunami that draws back and then with intensity unleashes its strength again. The idea is that we are a part of something much larger and in practice we can align with that to create more depth and power as we express our uniqueness and personalization in the practice.
The emphasis was also that when a wave expresses itself out of the ocean, what we see is it's peak out of the body of water, but it's important to remember that below the surface its power is still connected to the ocean and the power of the wave begins from underneath not above. So as our wave expands, we have to remember to stay connected to the body of the ocean. Keeping our depth while expanding our fullness.
It's a basic evolutionary practice of transcending and including. As we evolve, we also hold space for the energy that made the leap possible. So as we tap into the back of the body and feel its power we don't then just let it go into the wave. We draw into it and skillfully navigate the waters as the wave hits it's peak and begins to move back towards the ocean or earth it still does with the remembrance of the inner energy it took to draw it's strength from.
For example in a backbend such as Ustrasana (camel) You would open to something bigger and feel the back of the body expand (draw into the ocean) from there keep the ocean buoyant and full and lift up out of it keeping the sides long, the kidneys lifting to support the spine, lifting the heart with the tips of the shoulder blades, feeling the power of the wave curling the shoulders, heart, head and neck all back together--keeping the wave beautifully symmetrical so the spine is one wave of energy. Keeping it not just a wave, but a wave with the support of the ocean. This same principle can help to reduce the bananas in your inversions as well. You want to feel a deep ocean of support before you express the wave of uniqueness in each pose. Something of depth to refine the beauty.
O friend , understand: the body
is like the ocean
rich with hidden treasures.
Open your innermost chamber and light its lamp
-- Mirabai
May we all dive in and find the possibility for great expansion and powerful expression of our innermost treasure!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Be like a duck
"Try to be like a duck, with its joyful body paddling along in the loving water of the river. Just enjoy that"---Rumi
Our friends in nature are powerful reminders of how to live in the now. Anyone who has an animal companion such as a dog or cat knows how they live moment to moment so fresh and so unique. A dog gets excited to eat every day as if they have never had this food before (even though mine have had the same food for quite some time) Every time the leash gets picked up they get excited, every time I come home they get excited. Nothing gets boring, their world is fresh and alive and in the present. Every time I start to get bored with things in my life I try to connect to this energy and remember that things are only boring if I myself am boring. It's like the rumi poem above--we just have to enjoy the simplicity of our essence--doing exactly what we are doing with a spirit of buoyant contentment.
Peace!
Our friends in nature are powerful reminders of how to live in the now. Anyone who has an animal companion such as a dog or cat knows how they live moment to moment so fresh and so unique. A dog gets excited to eat every day as if they have never had this food before (even though mine have had the same food for quite some time) Every time the leash gets picked up they get excited, every time I come home they get excited. Nothing gets boring, their world is fresh and alive and in the present. Every time I start to get bored with things in my life I try to connect to this energy and remember that things are only boring if I myself am boring. It's like the rumi poem above--we just have to enjoy the simplicity of our essence--doing exactly what we are doing with a spirit of buoyant contentment.
Peace!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Aligning With Nature
The Pathless Path to Immortality, Shri Gurudev Mahendranath wrote:
Man is born with an instinct for naturalness. He has never forgotten the days of his primordial perfection, except insomuch as the memory became buried under the artificial superstructure of civilization and its artificial concepts. Sahaja means natural. It not only implies natural on physical and spiritual levels, but on the mystic level of the miraculous. It means that easy or natural of living without planning, designing, contriving, seeking, wanting, striving or intention. What is to come must come of itself.
It is the seed which falls in the ground, becomes seedling, sapling, and then a vast shady tree of wisdom and teachings. The tree grows according to Sahaja, natural and spontaneous in complete conformity with the Natural Law of the Universe. Nobody tells it what to do or how to grow. It has no swadharma or rules, duties and obligations incurred by birth. It has only svabhava - its own inborn self or essence to guide it. Sahaja is that nature which, when established in oneself, bring the state of absolute freedom and peace.
This past weekend I did a workshop on Sahaja within the yoga practice. The session was an invitation to align with nature. Connecting to that place within ourselves that is free of condition and rules of how things "should" be and movement instead towards the living and creative energy inside of us that can give birth to freedom in the body, heart, and soul.
So many of us have so carefully been handed down rules and regulations for all the many expressions of asana. We have come to know our bodies in such rigid and regulated ways. For many the ways in which we have lined up have been forced or contrived and while it looks good, has never really felt good. We have learned so much about the way things are "supposed" to be that we are fearful to stray at all. In essence we have shifted a practice that is born to create freedom to one that has imposed so many rules that have left many fearful to play, change, grow, evolve, and return to and align with nature.
I want to be clear that I think that there are many really wonderful reasons to line up in certain ways. It surely has it's place--especially when we have been so far removed from our nature that we really are so disconnected that we no longer have any intelligence in the body. Things such as learning some basic biomechanical principles are important. At the same time however, it's important to remember that even biomechanical inspired ideas and practices need to be explored to align to the unique sahaja of each person's body and practice (You cannot have cookie cutter approaches to the body when everyone is navigating vessels that are so unique). As practioners we need to be empowered to align with our nature--what shapes make us come to life. Each pose should be like sticking the prong of a plug into a light socket--we light up from it's power and electricity and feel the powerful life flow through us.
Nothing in nature is linear, nothing in nature stands still. Yet in practice so many of us think of that as the goal. To come to a pose, hold it very very still, and some are even being told to keep it rigid. Not only this but if we stray from this form we are doing it "wrong" or worse "you're going to hurt yourself".
Nature is spherical and nature is vibrating dynamically all the time. Even things that appear to be still such as the stones and mountains are teeming with life and vibrating with space and spaciousness.
Aligning with nature means returning to the spherical. Within our bodies recognizing the patterns of nature and moving in ways with our body that mimic nature. Sometimes in modern day yoga classes it feels like modern day construction. We tear down all the nature first and then construct our house, or new building, and then try to put some new nature in to accomodate our new structure. Meanwhile we just displaced thousands of nature's inhabitants and whatever we put in was not in alignment with nature. Same is true for the body. First we must listen to our Svabhava--from deep listening hear and feel the deep life force within and allow movement to erupt into the dance of yoga. Stillness does have its place, but in service to the recognition of the life intelligence inside from which we breath and move.
Emerson says "Everything in nature contains all the power of nature, everything is made of one hidden stuff" Our practice then is to awaken to the "stuff". We invite the power of the waves, the flight of the bird, the power of the mountain, the speed of the cheetah, the strength of the wind, whatever quality we wish to align with that in that moment can liberate our body and open our heart.
Movement then in the practice is not about forcing, controlling, subjugating our body, but rather on returning to the natural state of sahaja--free of condition and just as spherical as one wave crashing down into the other.
"Rocking, undulating, swaying,
Carried by rhythm,
Cherish the streaming energy
Flooding your body
As a current of the divine.
Oh radiant one,
Ride the waves of ecstatic motion
Into a sublime fusion of passion and peace."
--Radiance Sustra 60 translated by Lorin Roche
May we all be inspired towards a living practice rooted deep in our svabhava!
Peace!
Man is born with an instinct for naturalness. He has never forgotten the days of his primordial perfection, except insomuch as the memory became buried under the artificial superstructure of civilization and its artificial concepts. Sahaja means natural. It not only implies natural on physical and spiritual levels, but on the mystic level of the miraculous. It means that easy or natural of living without planning, designing, contriving, seeking, wanting, striving or intention. What is to come must come of itself.
It is the seed which falls in the ground, becomes seedling, sapling, and then a vast shady tree of wisdom and teachings. The tree grows according to Sahaja, natural and spontaneous in complete conformity with the Natural Law of the Universe. Nobody tells it what to do or how to grow. It has no swadharma or rules, duties and obligations incurred by birth. It has only svabhava - its own inborn self or essence to guide it. Sahaja is that nature which, when established in oneself, bring the state of absolute freedom and peace.
This past weekend I did a workshop on Sahaja within the yoga practice. The session was an invitation to align with nature. Connecting to that place within ourselves that is free of condition and rules of how things "should" be and movement instead towards the living and creative energy inside of us that can give birth to freedom in the body, heart, and soul.
So many of us have so carefully been handed down rules and regulations for all the many expressions of asana. We have come to know our bodies in such rigid and regulated ways. For many the ways in which we have lined up have been forced or contrived and while it looks good, has never really felt good. We have learned so much about the way things are "supposed" to be that we are fearful to stray at all. In essence we have shifted a practice that is born to create freedom to one that has imposed so many rules that have left many fearful to play, change, grow, evolve, and return to and align with nature.
I want to be clear that I think that there are many really wonderful reasons to line up in certain ways. It surely has it's place--especially when we have been so far removed from our nature that we really are so disconnected that we no longer have any intelligence in the body. Things such as learning some basic biomechanical principles are important. At the same time however, it's important to remember that even biomechanical inspired ideas and practices need to be explored to align to the unique sahaja of each person's body and practice (You cannot have cookie cutter approaches to the body when everyone is navigating vessels that are so unique). As practioners we need to be empowered to align with our nature--what shapes make us come to life. Each pose should be like sticking the prong of a plug into a light socket--we light up from it's power and electricity and feel the powerful life flow through us.
Nothing in nature is linear, nothing in nature stands still. Yet in practice so many of us think of that as the goal. To come to a pose, hold it very very still, and some are even being told to keep it rigid. Not only this but if we stray from this form we are doing it "wrong" or worse "you're going to hurt yourself".
Nature is spherical and nature is vibrating dynamically all the time. Even things that appear to be still such as the stones and mountains are teeming with life and vibrating with space and spaciousness.
Aligning with nature means returning to the spherical. Within our bodies recognizing the patterns of nature and moving in ways with our body that mimic nature. Sometimes in modern day yoga classes it feels like modern day construction. We tear down all the nature first and then construct our house, or new building, and then try to put some new nature in to accomodate our new structure. Meanwhile we just displaced thousands of nature's inhabitants and whatever we put in was not in alignment with nature. Same is true for the body. First we must listen to our Svabhava--from deep listening hear and feel the deep life force within and allow movement to erupt into the dance of yoga. Stillness does have its place, but in service to the recognition of the life intelligence inside from which we breath and move.
Emerson says "Everything in nature contains all the power of nature, everything is made of one hidden stuff" Our practice then is to awaken to the "stuff". We invite the power of the waves, the flight of the bird, the power of the mountain, the speed of the cheetah, the strength of the wind, whatever quality we wish to align with that in that moment can liberate our body and open our heart.
Movement then in the practice is not about forcing, controlling, subjugating our body, but rather on returning to the natural state of sahaja--free of condition and just as spherical as one wave crashing down into the other.
"Rocking, undulating, swaying,
Carried by rhythm,
Cherish the streaming energy
Flooding your body
As a current of the divine.
Oh radiant one,
Ride the waves of ecstatic motion
Into a sublime fusion of passion and peace."
--Radiance Sustra 60 translated by Lorin Roche
May we all be inspired towards a living practice rooted deep in our svabhava!
Peace!
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