Waking up to such a gorgeous, sunny day has inspired me to talk about Surya Namaskara - Sun Salutations!
I think a lot of practitioners see Surya Namaskara as something to get through at the beginning of practice. I, myself, tend to "push through" my rounds of sun salutations motivated by the need to warm my body up enough to continue onto the standing sequence. But the sun coming through my window this morning has reminded me of a different side of this asanas series, saluting the sun!
Today, when you start your practice with Surya Namaskara, think about the energy of a fresh, new, bright morning. Bring that energy inside you and let it power you through your practice. At the end of the practice, you may find yourself feeling refreshed and renewed - like waking up to a beautiful new day.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Sattvic Diet
In the March 1 post about saucha (purity, cleanliness) I mentioned following a sattvic diet to purify the body. Let's take a look at exactly what that means.
Nature is comprised of three qualities; tama (inertia, obscurity), raja (action), and sattva (purity). When relating to food, these represent putrified, overstimulating, and pure foods, respectively.
"Foods that promote longevity, vitality, endurance, health, cheerfulness, and good appetite; and that are savory, mild, substantial, and agreeable to the body, are liked by the pure-minded (sattvic) persons." Bhagavad Gita XVII, 8
Sattvic foods consist of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and moderate amounts of dairy products. Food should be mildly seasoned with natural herbs and sweetened with natural sweeteners like honey or apple juice concentrate. Ideally, foods should be unprocessed and not contain artificial color or preservatives. Sattvic eating habits also include the way in which food is eaten. Meal times should be quiet and peaceful. Food should be eaten slowly and calmly.
"Foods that are bitter, sour, salty, excessively hot, pungent, hard, and burning are preferred by rajasic men; and produce pain, sorrow, and disease." Bhagavad Gita XVII, 9
Rajasic foods are overstimulating to the mind and body. Onions, garlic, radishes, coffee, tea, tobacco, heavily spiced or salted, and chemical-ridden foods are considered rajasic. In his commentary on the Gita, Paramahansa Yogananda says, "All such stimulation is not wholly 'bad' and to be fanatically avoided. For the average materially active person, moderation is enjoined." As with sattvic eating habits, rajasic eating includes the way the food is consumed. Sattvic foods eaten on the run or in a boisterous situation become rajasic.
"Foods that are nutritionally worthless, insipid, putrid, stale, refuse, and impure and enjoyed by tamasic persons." Bhagavad Gita XVII, 10
Where rajasic foods can be taken in moderation, tamasic foods should, ideally, be removed completely from the diet of those seeking soul reunification. Tamasic foods include those that have been fermented (including alcohol and vinegar), burned, fried, and overcooked. Unripe or overripe fruits are tamasic in nature. Additionally, meat is also considered tamasic (sorry carnivores). Sattvic foods taken in excess become tamasic.
Most people understand the difference between foods that are healthy and those that are not. What I would encourage taking from this is how sattvic foods can become rajasic or tamasic. A lot of people I know eat dinner, or at the very least snack, in front of the t.v. Changing this one habit - creating a peaceful eating environment - can make a world of difference in how you eat and how your body uses those nutrients.
Nature is comprised of three qualities; tama (inertia, obscurity), raja (action), and sattva (purity). When relating to food, these represent putrified, overstimulating, and pure foods, respectively.
"Foods that promote longevity, vitality, endurance, health, cheerfulness, and good appetite; and that are savory, mild, substantial, and agreeable to the body, are liked by the pure-minded (sattvic) persons." Bhagavad Gita XVII, 8
Sattvic foods consist of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and moderate amounts of dairy products. Food should be mildly seasoned with natural herbs and sweetened with natural sweeteners like honey or apple juice concentrate. Ideally, foods should be unprocessed and not contain artificial color or preservatives. Sattvic eating habits also include the way in which food is eaten. Meal times should be quiet and peaceful. Food should be eaten slowly and calmly.
"Foods that are bitter, sour, salty, excessively hot, pungent, hard, and burning are preferred by rajasic men; and produce pain, sorrow, and disease." Bhagavad Gita XVII, 9
Rajasic foods are overstimulating to the mind and body. Onions, garlic, radishes, coffee, tea, tobacco, heavily spiced or salted, and chemical-ridden foods are considered rajasic. In his commentary on the Gita, Paramahansa Yogananda says, "All such stimulation is not wholly 'bad' and to be fanatically avoided. For the average materially active person, moderation is enjoined." As with sattvic eating habits, rajasic eating includes the way the food is consumed. Sattvic foods eaten on the run or in a boisterous situation become rajasic.
"Foods that are nutritionally worthless, insipid, putrid, stale, refuse, and impure and enjoyed by tamasic persons." Bhagavad Gita XVII, 10
Where rajasic foods can be taken in moderation, tamasic foods should, ideally, be removed completely from the diet of those seeking soul reunification. Tamasic foods include those that have been fermented (including alcohol and vinegar), burned, fried, and overcooked. Unripe or overripe fruits are tamasic in nature. Additionally, meat is also considered tamasic (sorry carnivores). Sattvic foods taken in excess become tamasic.
Most people understand the difference between foods that are healthy and those that are not. What I would encourage taking from this is how sattvic foods can become rajasic or tamasic. A lot of people I know eat dinner, or at the very least snack, in front of the t.v. Changing this one habit - creating a peaceful eating environment - can make a world of difference in how you eat and how your body uses those nutrients.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Karma's a Bleep!
Don't you just love the concept of karma? Mess with me and the world will get even! Poetic justice at it's greatest. But what is karma, really?
Karma is the sum total of our actions and consequential results of those actions, both in the present life and preceding ones. The Doctrine of Karma can be broken down into three laws; the law of action and reaction, the law of compensation, and the law of retribution.
We all remember Newton's law of motion; every action has an equal and opposite reaction. This law applies not only to physical actions, but to thought, desire, imagination, and sentiment. Karma also includes a law of compensation which keeps balance and establishes peace, equilibrium, and harmony. Fuel burns and is destroyed, but there is heat. Give and take. And finally the law of retribution (everyone's favorite). Each wrong action brings its punishment. (ref. Tirisula Yoga's, Yoga Philosophy Manual)
Put simply, everything happens for a reason; a reason which only you are responsible for. All of this can seem rather depressing at times, but part of the journey of yoga is overcoming and transcending past karma. Yoga Sutra II.14 says, "According to our good, bad or mixed actions, the quality of our life, its span, and the nature of birth are experienced as being pleasant or painful." This sutra is about perception. If you perceive the events of your life as generally ‘good’, then the quality of your life will seem pleasant. If you perceive the events of your life as generally ‘bad’, then the quality of your life will seem painful. But yoga teaches us to remove duality from our perception. Experiences are neither good, nor bad. They are just experiences, opportunities to clear our karma.
Past life karma must be lived, there is nothing you can do about that. But, you can alter your thoughts and actions now and secure a destiny of your choosing.
Think happy thoughts! =)
Karma is the sum total of our actions and consequential results of those actions, both in the present life and preceding ones. The Doctrine of Karma can be broken down into three laws; the law of action and reaction, the law of compensation, and the law of retribution.
We all remember Newton's law of motion; every action has an equal and opposite reaction. This law applies not only to physical actions, but to thought, desire, imagination, and sentiment. Karma also includes a law of compensation which keeps balance and establishes peace, equilibrium, and harmony. Fuel burns and is destroyed, but there is heat. Give and take. And finally the law of retribution (everyone's favorite). Each wrong action brings its punishment. (ref. Tirisula Yoga's, Yoga Philosophy Manual)
Put simply, everything happens for a reason; a reason which only you are responsible for. All of this can seem rather depressing at times, but part of the journey of yoga is overcoming and transcending past karma. Yoga Sutra II.14 says, "According to our good, bad or mixed actions, the quality of our life, its span, and the nature of birth are experienced as being pleasant or painful." This sutra is about perception. If you perceive the events of your life as generally ‘good’, then the quality of your life will seem pleasant. If you perceive the events of your life as generally ‘bad’, then the quality of your life will seem painful. But yoga teaches us to remove duality from our perception. Experiences are neither good, nor bad. They are just experiences, opportunities to clear our karma.
Past life karma must be lived, there is nothing you can do about that. But, you can alter your thoughts and actions now and secure a destiny of your choosing.
Think happy thoughts! =)
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Meditation Prep - Silence
Useless conversation is one of the obstacles to meditation. When we were looking into satya (truthfulness) we discussed differentiating between information that is true and information that is true and valuable. In preparation for meditation we are going to take this concept one step further and learn to embrace silence.
Spiritual power is lost with the energy expended in excessive talking. In my experience there are two forms of excessive talk; mindless drivel and intellectual discussion. The first is pretty obvious. I'm fairly certain everyone has been subjected to mindless drivel at some point. Aside from sparing your friends from boredom and irritation, keeping the babble to a minimum will enable that energy to be directed inward. Now, I imagine that the second form of excessive talk, intellectual discussion, gave you pause. Who doesn't enjoy and often learn from an intelligent conversation? While intellectual reasoning used for metaphysical inquiry can lead you to the threshold of intuition, pure knowledge is internal and will only be found through introspection. The truly wise speak few words and those only when necessary.
Conversations are part of our daily lives and often cannot be avoided. So what should we do to overcome this obstacle? To help calm and discipline the mind, try to observe two hours of silence daily. If that seems like a lot, start with 30 minutes and go from there. "True silence is the rest of the mind; it is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment." ~William Penn
Spiritual power is lost with the energy expended in excessive talking. In my experience there are two forms of excessive talk; mindless drivel and intellectual discussion. The first is pretty obvious. I'm fairly certain everyone has been subjected to mindless drivel at some point. Aside from sparing your friends from boredom and irritation, keeping the babble to a minimum will enable that energy to be directed inward. Now, I imagine that the second form of excessive talk, intellectual discussion, gave you pause. Who doesn't enjoy and often learn from an intelligent conversation? While intellectual reasoning used for metaphysical inquiry can lead you to the threshold of intuition, pure knowledge is internal and will only be found through introspection. The truly wise speak few words and those only when necessary.
Conversations are part of our daily lives and often cannot be avoided. So what should we do to overcome this obstacle? To help calm and discipline the mind, try to observe two hours of silence daily. If that seems like a lot, start with 30 minutes and go from there. "True silence is the rest of the mind; it is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment." ~William Penn
Monday, April 25, 2011
Daily Battles
Today we are going to start getting into The Bhagavad Gita! The Bhagavad Gita is a sacred Hindu text centered around a battle between the families of two half-brothers; Dhritarashtra (the blind sense-mind), and Pandu (pure discriminating intelligence). They are fighting the battle of Kurukshetra for control of the Bodily Kingdom. The sons of Dhristarashtra represent vainglorious desire and the one hundred sense tendencies (the negative aspects of these tendencies include material desire, anger, greed, avarice, hate, jealousy, wickedness, lust, abuse, promiscuity, dishonesty, etc.). The sons of Pandu are the five tattvas or vibratory elements that inform all matter. When mastered they represent calmness, life-force control, the nonattachment of self-control, the power to adhere to good rules, and the power to resist evil. In battle, they are joined by good habits and spiritual inclinations.
The battle of Kurukshetra is fought every single day within ourselves on three levels; moral, psychological, and spiritual.
Few men are even aware that a state of constant warfare exists in their kingdom. Usually, it is only when the devastation is nearly complete that men helplessly realize the sad ruin of their lives. The psychological conflict for health, prosperity, self-control, and wisdom has to be started anew each day in order for man to advance toward victory, reclaiming inch by inch the territories of the soul occupied by the rebels of ignorance.
For the Soul's armies to win the war, we must be brutally honest with ourselves. Every night we should ask our intuition whether our spiritual faculties or our physical inclinations of temptation won the day's battle "between good and bad habits; between temperance and greed; between self-control and lust; between honest desire for necessary money and inordinate craving for gold; between forgiveness and anger; between joy and grief; between moroseness and pleasantness; between kindness and cruelty; between selfishness and unselfishness; between understanding and jealousy; between bravery and cowardice; between confidence and fear; between spiritual and material desires; between divine ecstasy and sensory perceptions; between soul consciousness and egoity."
Who's winning your battle now?
Quotes taken from The Bhagavad Gita and commentary by Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda
Friday, April 22, 2011
Earth Day!
Happy Earth Day, everyone! There is a stereotype that yogis are hippie tree-huggers.... well, it's true! =) But for good reason.
The universe is reflected in each of our bodies. We are made up of the same five elements as everything around us: earth, water, fire, air, and ether (space). Earth represents our skin, hair, bones, nails, muscles, and cartilage. Water is our blood, tears, saliva, enzymes, hormones, urine, and sweat. Fire is represented in our digestive system, mental energy, thirst, hunger, passion, and enthusiasm. Air fills our lungs in respiration and is carried throughout our body by the circulatory system. All of the elements are responsible for the creation of comfortable, pleasant, determinant, vibrant and satisfying spaces for habitation (ether), our body as a whole. In yoga we exercise and heal the body and mind in order to find inner peace in our souls. Likewise, treating the world with the same respect will reflect in our bodies.
I know everyone does big Earth Day challenges like walking to work instead of driving - great for one day, but not practical in the long run. My Earth Day challenge is to make one small change that you can stick with! And, ladies, what better way to do that than to buy pretty bags! I was introduced to Envirosax by a friend in Australia and I LOVE them! They come in all sorts of awesome designs, roll up to a ridiculously small and portable size (I carry two in my purse at all times), and can hold a remarkable amount. Oh yeah, and they're reusable! You can find them online at www.envirosax.com. I'm sure there are many other fantastic brands, I'm just partial to these. Happy shopping and Happy Earth Day!
The universe is reflected in each of our bodies. We are made up of the same five elements as everything around us: earth, water, fire, air, and ether (space). Earth represents our skin, hair, bones, nails, muscles, and cartilage. Water is our blood, tears, saliva, enzymes, hormones, urine, and sweat. Fire is represented in our digestive system, mental energy, thirst, hunger, passion, and enthusiasm. Air fills our lungs in respiration and is carried throughout our body by the circulatory system. All of the elements are responsible for the creation of comfortable, pleasant, determinant, vibrant and satisfying spaces for habitation (ether), our body as a whole. In yoga we exercise and heal the body and mind in order to find inner peace in our souls. Likewise, treating the world with the same respect will reflect in our bodies.
I know everyone does big Earth Day challenges like walking to work instead of driving - great for one day, but not practical in the long run. My Earth Day challenge is to make one small change that you can stick with! And, ladies, what better way to do that than to buy pretty bags! I was introduced to Envirosax by a friend in Australia and I LOVE them! They come in all sorts of awesome designs, roll up to a ridiculously small and portable size (I carry two in my purse at all times), and can hold a remarkable amount. Oh yeah, and they're reusable! You can find them online at www.envirosax.com. I'm sure there are many other fantastic brands, I'm just partial to these. Happy shopping and Happy Earth Day!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Ridding Yourself of the Negatives
One of the primary obstacles to meditation I mentioned the other day is 'complications of daily life'. Overcoming this obstacle is about ridding your life of undesirable company. At times it may not seem like it, but you do in fact get to choose your friends. People who lie, steal, are greedy, or indulge in gossip have no place in the life of a spiritual person. It sounds simple - you don't want negative people in your life - but it can be challenging to get out from under the influence of this type of person. So what's the secret? Detachment.
Yoga Sutra II.7 tells us that pleasure leads to emotional attachment. At some point these people have done something that made you feel good; it could be something simple like bringing you coffee, or something complicated like winning your heart. These positive feelings led to an emotional attachment. Now, their actions or words are bringing you down but you feel like you owe them something. You don't want to hurt their feelings or create more drama so you do nothing. Sutra II.17 teaches us that the remedy to this pain lies in dissociation. I understand that you may not be able to physically remove yourself from the negative people in your life (coworkers, family, etc.), but if you start to focus on yourself, on your own inner peace, you will find that mentally and emotionally removing yourself from their influence becomes easy. And, once you see the improvement in your own life, you will learn to avoid future attachments that lead to negativity.
Note: Undesirable company isn't exclusive to people. Anything that brings about negative thoughts is considered undesirable company: raucous surroundings, books and songs that create discontent, movies and television programs centering on violence. These distractions draw the mind outward rather than focusing it inward.
Yoga Sutra II.7 tells us that pleasure leads to emotional attachment. At some point these people have done something that made you feel good; it could be something simple like bringing you coffee, or something complicated like winning your heart. These positive feelings led to an emotional attachment. Now, their actions or words are bringing you down but you feel like you owe them something. You don't want to hurt their feelings or create more drama so you do nothing. Sutra II.17 teaches us that the remedy to this pain lies in dissociation. I understand that you may not be able to physically remove yourself from the negative people in your life (coworkers, family, etc.), but if you start to focus on yourself, on your own inner peace, you will find that mentally and emotionally removing yourself from their influence becomes easy. And, once you see the improvement in your own life, you will learn to avoid future attachments that lead to negativity.
Note: Undesirable company isn't exclusive to people. Anything that brings about negative thoughts is considered undesirable company: raucous surroundings, books and songs that create discontent, movies and television programs centering on violence. These distractions draw the mind outward rather than focusing it inward.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Samadhi - Super-Conscious State
There were a shocking number of hits on yesterday's blog, so I'm assuming you are all interested in meditation! And so... I think I am going to start putting up a weekly mediation technique once we get through some basic theory!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Dhyana - Meditation
Yoga Sutra III.2 defines meditation as a steady, continuous flow of attention directed towards the same point or region. "The difference between dharana and dhyana is that dharana is more concerned with the elimination of fluctuating thought waves in order to achieve single-pointed concentration; in dhyana, the emphasis is on the maintenance of steady and profound contemplative observation."
I heard once that meditation cannot be taught, the way sleep cannot be taught. You can set the environment and advice a state of mind, provide various techniques, but 'sleep itself is not in anyone's hands. One falls into it. In the same way, meditation comes by itself.' Later on, I will provide some meditation techniques. First, let's look at some common obstacles to meditation so you can start to prepare for it. (I will discuss all of these in more detail as we progress)
Physical Obstacles
- Aimless Wandering
- Cessation of Practice
- Health and Diet
- Laziness and Sleep
- Complications of Daily Life
- Useless Conversation
- Self-Justification
- Lack of Spiritual Preceptor
Mental Obstacles
*mental health is very important when practicing dhyana as meditation will amplify ones emotions
- Anger
- Depression
- Doubt
- Memory, or Recalling Past Events
- Fear
- Greed
- Hatred
- Loss of Vital Energy
Monday, April 18, 2011
Dharana - Concentration
Dharana is one-pointed concentration. Continuing from Saturday's post on pratyahara, BKS Iyengar has the following to say about dharana in asana practice:
Samasthiti - tip of nose
Ardha Chakrasana - third eye
Uttanasana - tip of nose
Ashwa Sanchalasana - third eye
Santolasana - tip of nose
Ashtanga Namaskar - tip of nose
Bhujangasana - third eye
Adho Mukha Swanasana - big toes (or navel for more advanced)
Ashwa Sanchalasana - third eye
Uttanasana - tip of nose
Ardha Chakrasana - third eye
Samasthiti - tip of nose
Practice Practice Practice! =)
"...most people, even yoga practitioners, are under the impression that asanas are merely external and physical... Patanjali defines concentration as the focusing of attention either within or outside the body. If, in performing an asana, one directs the organs of action and senses of perception towards the mind, and the mind towards the core, the external sadhana (practice) is transformed into internal sadhana. If the limbs, the senses of perception, the mind and the discriminative intelligence are then yoked and fused with the energy of the soul, this becomes the innermost sadhana."In my opinion, the easiest way to focus concentration is visually. Fortunately, there's a visual focal point built into all of our asanas! They are called drishti points. There are eight drishti points used in Ashtanga Vinyasa:
- upward
- the third eye
- the corners of each eye (both to the right or left)
- the tip of the nose
- the hands
- the thumbs
- the navel
- the big toes
Samasthiti - tip of nose
Ardha Chakrasana - third eye
Uttanasana - tip of nose
Ashwa Sanchalasana - third eye
Santolasana - tip of nose
Ashtanga Namaskar - tip of nose
Bhujangasana - third eye
Adho Mukha Swanasana - big toes (or navel for more advanced)
Ashwa Sanchalasana - third eye
Uttanasana - tip of nose
Ardha Chakrasana - third eye
Samasthiti - tip of nose
Practice Practice Practice! =)
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Pratyahara
Pratyahara is the withdrawal of senses. It is the bridge between the external and internal aspects of yoga. In normal daily life, consciousness extends the senses out into the world bringing back feelings of desire, rejection, and resignation. In this alluring state the senses are continually drawn towards pleasure. Pratyahara directs the senses inward, towards the realization of the soul. "Now the mind is able to concentrate and the senses no longer importune the mind." (BKS Iyengar, Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali)
I know this is starting to sound a bit abstract, so let's take a look at how this applies to asana practice. Yoga Sutra II.47 says, "Perfection in an asana is achieved when the effort to perform it becomes effortless and the infinite being within (the soul) is reached." Think back to the last time you were holding a warrior pose. I'm pretty sure it wasn't effortless! If you're like me, you were actively counting your breaths trying to distract yourself from your trembling quadriceps. 'Feeling the burn', if you will, is an external sense perception. When the senses move inward, mind and intelligence are also drawn inward and the body is free from the duality of pain and pleasure, contraction and extension, heat and cold, etc.
This isn't an easy practice to master, but the next limb - dharana - will help, so stay tuned!
I know this is starting to sound a bit abstract, so let's take a look at how this applies to asana practice. Yoga Sutra II.47 says, "Perfection in an asana is achieved when the effort to perform it becomes effortless and the infinite being within (the soul) is reached." Think back to the last time you were holding a warrior pose. I'm pretty sure it wasn't effortless! If you're like me, you were actively counting your breaths trying to distract yourself from your trembling quadriceps. 'Feeling the burn', if you will, is an external sense perception. When the senses move inward, mind and intelligence are also drawn inward and the body is free from the duality of pain and pleasure, contraction and extension, heat and cold, etc.
This isn't an easy practice to master, but the next limb - dharana - will help, so stay tuned!
Friday, April 15, 2011
Pranayama
Let's start by talking a moment about prana. In Sanskrit, prana means life force energy. We obtain life force energy from breathing, the food we eat, and energy obtained by using our senses. In other words, prana is the sum of all forces that exist in all things. So what is pranayama?
According to Patanjali, "Pranayama is the regulation of the incoming and outgoing flow of breath with retention. It is to be practiced after perfection in asana is attained." (II.49) Whoa. Wait, what? I have to perfect asanas before I do pranayama? So that will be like...forever? Well...no. This is one of those chicken and the egg conundrums. You must attain stillness of the mind (perfection in asana) in order to practice pranayama, and you must practice pranayama to stabilize energy and consciousness and to prepare the mind for concentration. And so, we practice both.
I believe the best explanation is experience so I'm going to save the rest of the theory for a later date. Here's a simple pranayama practice. Try doing this daily, before bed, for a week and see how you feel. You may want to find a private place to do this if your family is around (or include them!).....it admittedly looks a little ridiculous.
Brahmari Pranayama
I'd love to know how it goes! =) Share your experiences! I'll let you know in a week what the benefits of this practice are "supposed" to be.
According to Patanjali, "Pranayama is the regulation of the incoming and outgoing flow of breath with retention. It is to be practiced after perfection in asana is attained." (II.49) Whoa. Wait, what? I have to perfect asanas before I do pranayama? So that will be like...forever? Well...no. This is one of those chicken and the egg conundrums. You must attain stillness of the mind (perfection in asana) in order to practice pranayama, and you must practice pranayama to stabilize energy and consciousness and to prepare the mind for concentration. And so, we practice both.
I believe the best explanation is experience so I'm going to save the rest of the theory for a later date. Here's a simple pranayama practice. Try doing this daily, before bed, for a week and see how you feel. You may want to find a private place to do this if your family is around (or include them!).....it admittedly looks a little ridiculous.
Brahmari Pranayama
- Sit in any comfortable posture with the spine and head erect.
- Close your eyes gently and relax all your muscles.
- Keeping your lips closed, relax your jaw. Your teeth should be slightly separated throughout the practice.
- Spend a few moments being aware of your natural breath as it passes in and out of the body.
- Bring your hands up to your ears, with the elbows pointed out to the side, and plus your ears with the index fingers.
- Bring awareness to the eyebrow center (third eye)
- Inhale and exhale deeply through the nose and make a smooth and steady buzzing sound from behind the throat bringing the sound through the nasal passages.
- Focus your awareness on the vibrations inside the head space. Do it consciously and slowly.
- Practice for 10 minutes.
I'd love to know how it goes! =) Share your experiences! I'll let you know in a week what the benefits of this practice are "supposed" to be.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Asanas
And we are on to the third limb of Ashtanga Yoga, asanas! In the Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga tradition there are six series of postures. For now, we will concentrate on the Primary Series, known as Yoga Chikitsa (yoga therapy).
"In the Ashtanga system, asanas are performed in a specific order, which has the effect of 'unlocking' the body in an intelligent and scientific way, each pose preparing the body for ones to come. Each pose has specific health benefits for the practitioner and when combined into a flowing sequence this has the effect of realigning and detoxifying the body and the nervous system as well as developing inner strength, flexibility, and improving general health and wellbeing."Since becoming a yoga teacher I've learned that a lot of people think they can't do yoga because they aren't flexible.
"The Primary Series is the time in our yogic journey when we have the greatest number of obstacles to overcome. Primarily these obstacles arise out of mental inflexibility; erroneous beliefs about ourselves, others and the world (or God), which inhibit our progress. Most of us will complain that it is our body's limitations that are the problem throughout the Primary Series, but more often than not, rigidity, stiffness, and weakness in the body is a mirror of our limited thinking habits."For those who don't practice yoga, I would challenge you to give it a try! So what if you can't touch your toes yet? You can get there if you let go of the negative thoughts. For those who do practice yoga, stop thinking so much! Don't let your mind talk you out of being as awesome as you can be!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Ishwara Pranidhana - Self-surrender
Whoa. Where does the time go?! It's been almost a month since I posted a blog! Sorry folks. I've made it to Boston and am going to try to discipline myself again.... let's start by finishing up these niyamas!
Ishwara Pranidhana. This niyama is most often translated as "surrender to God." I prefer to translate it as "self-surrender." (I am not going to dive into the murky waters of religious discussion today, I will simply say that yoga unites and transcends all religions, all beliefs, so you can insert whatever word you choose for God. I will use "self" here in an attempt to avoid conflict.)
Ishwara Pranidhana is about surrendering desires, surrendering the pulls of the senses, and surrendering the ego. To simplify the concept, let's look at surrendering the senses. The most basic sense is the sense of smell. Think about walking past the bakery section at the grocery store at 4pm. All of the fresh breads are coming out of the oven and the smell is Amazing! Your mouth starts watering and you can see the entire meal you'll plan around that fresh loaf. And freeze. This one little sense stimulation has developed into a great big desire. So how do you surrender that? To be honest, I don't know. I still love the smell of that bread. =) But, one technique I've found helpful has been to stop, acknowledge my increased desire, experience it, and keep walking!
An important note - surrender and deprivation are not the same thing! In the above example, I kept walking past the bread and didn't think about it again. Feelings of deprivation will only make that desire grow. It's not an easy thing to master, but if you can get that last step down - experiencing the desire without fulfilling it - eventually that desire will fade. Often it's the desire that we crave more so than the actual object.
Ishwara Pranidhana. This niyama is most often translated as "surrender to God." I prefer to translate it as "self-surrender." (I am not going to dive into the murky waters of religious discussion today, I will simply say that yoga unites and transcends all religions, all beliefs, so you can insert whatever word you choose for God. I will use "self" here in an attempt to avoid conflict.)
Ishwara Pranidhana is about surrendering desires, surrendering the pulls of the senses, and surrendering the ego. To simplify the concept, let's look at surrendering the senses. The most basic sense is the sense of smell. Think about walking past the bakery section at the grocery store at 4pm. All of the fresh breads are coming out of the oven and the smell is Amazing! Your mouth starts watering and you can see the entire meal you'll plan around that fresh loaf. And freeze. This one little sense stimulation has developed into a great big desire. So how do you surrender that? To be honest, I don't know. I still love the smell of that bread. =) But, one technique I've found helpful has been to stop, acknowledge my increased desire, experience it, and keep walking!
An important note - surrender and deprivation are not the same thing! In the above example, I kept walking past the bread and didn't think about it again. Feelings of deprivation will only make that desire grow. It's not an easy thing to master, but if you can get that last step down - experiencing the desire without fulfilling it - eventually that desire will fade. Often it's the desire that we crave more so than the actual object.
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