Monthly Archives: August 2008

Yoga Sutra 2.48 NONDUALISM

Posted on by
Reply

Japanese Fern - Fredonia NY

SUTRA II.48 tatah dvandva-anabhighatah Tatah: then, at this point dvandva: opposing pair or couple, duality, dualism Anabhighatah: invulnerability, undisturbed

As a result, one is invulnerable to dualism. (Bouanchaud)

Then one is no longer assailed by pairs of opposites (D.Brooks)

When these principles are correctly followed, asana practice will help a person endure and even minimize the external influences on the body such as age,climate, diet, and work. (Desikachar)

From then on, the sadhaka is undisturbed by dualities. (Iyengar)

Can our yoga practice truly free us from the ambivalent feelings and thoughts that pervade our lives? Is there a Middle Path? And do we seek it?

If we practice faithfully, do we have faith that yoga will take us there as this aphorism asserts? Does svadhyaya (self-study) help us master this aphorism? In my mind, this is the most important teaching of yoga; this is the most important lesson of asana. It is the hardest to learn and takes the longest time–usually many years–for most of us.

Is all life, including our personal qualities and gifts a double-edged sword? One side of every gift positive, the other side negative?

Can we develop the ability to see ourselves this way, thereby helping us walk an invulnerable path? A middle way?

Can we see others in this light?

What is the effect on self-confidence when one looks at the world through a nondualistic lens?

What does invulnerable mean in terms of one’s everyday life and relationships?

Is there a relationship between being invulnerable and acceptance, or between invulnerable and contentment?

Are opposing pairs intrinsic to the universe, or are they a construct of the human psyche?

Do we consciously seek out relationships with people who accept the world’s dualities? Do relationships enable a nondual existence?

This aphorism tells us that our asana practice will result in a “yoking” of our world on all levels. Making a conscious decision to practice seeing the world in all of its duality will take us a long way toward achieving a non-dual mentality. Here is the ironic duality: Through a lens of the duality inherent in life, one can achieve a non-dual state. Perhaps here is the crux of the classical yoga/tantra argument regarding dualism!

The foremost yoga scholar of our time, Georg Feuerstein writes about this sutra in his book, The Yoga-Sutra of Patanjali:

This drives home the all-important point, usually overlooked by western Yoga enthusiasts, that asana is not just a physical exercise, but has a strong psychic component as well. Relaxed posture is the foundation of the practice of sense-withdrawal. When the body is perfectly relaxed, a pin-prick and, at a more advanced stage, even the dentist’s drill fail to cause the familiar sensation of pain.


What are the effects of yoga and-or- meditation in your life? Are they inward? Outward? Can you handle pain in a softer manner? Do you feel life’s challenges and the global suffering more deeply, but with more equanimity perhaps? Do others remark upon how you’ve changed? We’d love to hear how!

deer skull on a castle wall in Poland

Transformation, Body Mind Spirit

Posted on by
Reply

malva - fredonia ny

Yoga is about transformation. If you don’t wanna change, don’t do it!

If you are a scaredy cat, grab a hold of your fear, breathe it in, be present to it in all of it’s self-deprecating and destructive glory AND THEN BREATHE OUT THE OPPOSITE–whatever that is for you: courage, confidence, happiness, or anything else that has kept you away from yourself!

I don’t mean that you will change into, or that you even should want to have a supermodel’s body, or
a body like that great looking uber-yogi on your dvd. I don’t mean that you will be able to twist yourself like the beautiful Lunga. I don’t mean that you will achieve the personality of Mother Teresa, or the devotion to cause of Gandhi or Aung San Suu Kyi or the equanimity of the Dalai Lama.

And I don’t want mean that you won’t become a supermodel or an uber-yogini or a saint or great healer of the world’s ills–If that is WHO YOU ARE–that is who you should become. Unfortunately, many of us have filled our lives with CRAP that has nothing to do with who we are and what our purpose in existence is. And with the explosion of the media in this golden information age that we live in, we have, oh so many more, voices clamoring for room inside our little lives.

The ONLY THING to yearn to change into is YOUR SELF.

The path is about ditching all of the garbage cluttering your existence (sounding very Feng Shui here, aren’t I?). This is a universal, cross-cultural concept.

What is it that blocks the Self’s existence? Whose voices are tripping us up, enabling us to live in ways that do not honor our true selves? We need to learn to listen to our SELF for a change.

Check out Swami Rhadanada’s beautiful inner light meditation from ascent magazine.

Coupling hatha yoga practice with breathwork and mindfulness will enable a paradigm shift over time in the most stubborn of students. I know; I was that stubborn.

Through my years of practice I have experienced an incredible transformation. It’s been a beautiful (sometimes rough, sometimes ugly) inner as well as outer journey. I am connecting with my SELF and learning to listen to the voice that honors that SELF.

Our cravings and addictions are all about running from this SELF.

If one of your blocks is weight–and it certainly has been one of mine–one that is dissolving in every thought and breath!–you may be interested in Our Lady of Weight Loss’ site and blog. Here I excerpt a recent post with good advice for anyone, no matter their shape or size:

Fatten the Statistical Pie or Permanently Remove Fat:
Your Choice
Ten Tips from Janice Taylor, Maverick Weight Loss Coach and Author

1. Let’s move away from the usual weight loss dialogue, speak a new language, and I don’t mean French.

Your Words. As I mentioned above, permanent fat removal is different than losing weight. If you lose weight, you will find it.

Think about the word ‘loss.’ If we lose something, we search for it. We mourn it. We feel loss. We tend to hold on to things in fear of loss. And further who wants to lose their weight. Weight can equal substance, importance.

If the word ‘fat’ jars you, get over it. Let me ask you. Would you prefer to lose weight or permanently remove fat? Speaking of which, do patients say to their plastic surgeons, “I’d like to lose weight.” No, they say, “suck that fat outta’ me.”

More on words (or moron words): ‘Try’ to lose weight. If I say I’m going to try and make your dinner party, don’t set a place for me. When one tries, it is a way (weigh) out! As Yoda from Star Wars says, “Do or do not. There is no try.”

“I struggle” with my weight. You have just identified yourself with struggle. “Try” getting someone to give up their identity! That, my friends, is “difficult.” While I won’t say Permanent Fat Removal is easy, it’s as “difficult” or “hard” as you want to make it.

That’s just for starters (like the first course). Plenty more words floating out there that are used that do not support our permanent fat removal efforts.

Words organize our reality and have more power than you might realize.

2. Add Laughter and Fun to Your Statistical Pie. “What IS she talking about? Laughter, fun, permanent fat removal?” Puzzled are you?

You are all so serious merious about the whole thing. Who’d want to jump on the proverbial bandwagon with you?

According to the legendary Bob Newhart, “Laughter gives us distance. It allows us to step back from an event, deal with and then move on.” Humor and laughter also activate the will to live, lower stress, elevate mood, improve brain function, dissolve anger, burn calories and exercise muscles.

Isn’t that something that should be added to America’s Permanent Fat Removal recipe?

3. Permanent Fat Removal Is a HOLISTIC Event. What about the rest of the pie? You keep focusing on food and exercise as THE way to lose weight.

Like hello. Food and exercise are merely two slivers of the pie. Permanent Fat Removal encompasses all areas of life. It’s about how each and every part of our life affects our healthy lifestyle and how our healthy lifestyle affects each and every part of our life. Further, if one is lacking and lagging and troubled in their relationship, finance, career, spirituality, creativity, physical environment slices of life pie, how will they gather enough strength and fortitude to make meaningful lifestyle changes? Let’s focus on, talk about all of life as we permanently remove fat!

4. Permanent Fat Removal Is a Creative Process. People tell me that they are not creative. PEOPLE (Yes, I’m fired up and almost yelling – well, speaking in a strong and amplified manner)… PEOPLE create their lives. Whether we want to look at life squarely in the face and waist or not, we created our lives. Creativity is an essential part of the human experience. It helps us to create balance and order and a sense of control. And, I’d like to point out that those who have being ‘trying’ to get America to lose weight and get fit, are somehow creating the opposite.

5. Pushing Off the Proverbial Pool. Have you ever watched an Olympic swimmer push off the side of the pool? (How about Michael Phelps?) It is quite amazing, isn’t it? The thrust, the power, their determination is enormous. Often the strength of this one solitary push can propel the Olympian right straight the middle of the Olympic sized pool.

When we decide to go on a ‘diet,’ we essentially push off from the side of the pool of discontent. We gather a vast amount of energy from not liking ourselves, being disgusted, and ashamed of how we look. We don’t like ourselves. No, we sure don’t. Sometimes this energy takes us half way to our goal weight. Sometimes all the way … 10, 20, 30, 100, 200 pounds lost. Then what?

Unlike the Olympic swimmer who has a plan; who is moving toward her big win; who sees herself as a champion and knows with every cell and fiber of her being that she is the victor, we only know ourselves to be losers. We are basing this attempt on past attempts to lose, which have failed.

It is easy to get lost if you don’t know where you are going.
If we want to be victorious at the game of Permanent Fat Removal, then we need to focus on our compelling future. We need to know where we are going; what we want. We need to be moving toward something positive instead of expending enormous energy pushing away from negativity. Go with the flow of life. Negativity is like swimming with lead weights tied to your ankles.

6. Speaking of the often-dreaded “E” word. A good number of Americans do not exercise at all. “Can we please start croquet teams across America?” I ask, in an exasperated tone. Let’s just get people out of their homes, away from their televisions and computers and have some fun while doing it. Oh, NO! There’s that fun word again.

Do you think going to a gym and walking on a treadmill is fun for the majority of us? Like HELLO again. Croquet teams would be great! Jackets that say Kick in the Tush Club* (that’s a fun name) on them! Miniature golf and bowling are other possibilities. Think ‘getting out’ first. What fun and inspiring activities can we create that will get people out and having fun? Let’s talk about aerobics and exercise later (maybe). I’m not saying that exercise isn’t vital to one’s health. I’m just saying, let’s captivate imaginations, excite people, bring the energy up, and get people out and moving first.

*The Kick in the Tush Club is a club that I created. Members receive a weekly e-letter from Our Lady of Weight Loss via my website (www.ourladyofweightloss.com). Over 14,000 people across the nation signed-up for their weekly Kick. Truly, who couldn’t use a kick in the tush?

7. Permanent Fat Removal Is a Spiritual Event. It is about self-love, forgiveness, connecting to and manifesting your higher-self – a new self. It’s about taking care of yourself; being kind to yourself … being gentle and embracing self.

It’s not about saying self-deprecating things to self, heaping platters of guilt on oneself or feeling sad that you’re not a super-model, or even a model, or even a large-sized model for that fact. It’s about acceptance.

8. The Collective Fat Removal Consciousness. There’s a lot of industry and money floating out there that support ‘weight loss.’ Yes, they support your losing weight and finding it. The weight loss industry alone (diet programs and products) brings in more than $40 billion per year. Add in the pharmaceuticals, the food industry, and those who make those less-than-healthy ingredients for the food industry (i.e. high fructose corn syrup, enrich flour, et al.) and geeze louise, you’ve got the economy hanging itself by a fat rope. A new industry that makes more money has to be born.

9. The Fair Grounds. Please stop deep frying Twinkies. Please stop going out of your creative way to deep fry everything, sometimes double deep fried. Please stop putting caffeine in chips. Or crispy fried chicken skins in little colorful bags that say 90 calories per serving on the nutritional label (4 servings per bag). Why not just put the full calorie count? Why be so dubious? Play nice. Be fair!

10. The After Math. Continue reading →

OpenSky Yoga Teacher Training

Posted on by
Reply

Since I am on a roll, thinking about my teachers, and because some of you have asked me about teacher training, I thought it would helpful to post a poem I wrote for Francois at the completion of the Essential Teacher Training of Open Sky Yoga in Rochester NY. A link to his monthly newsletter is on Laughing Yogini’s Article Recommendations page.

A Little Light At the End of the Day

Silently we crept to the opening circle

in the hall where Buddha

in padmasana beamed larger than life

and the big blue bell hung

over the stairwell. Trying to look calm,

we were so nervous that when asked

to name our favorite movie, we could

barely find a voice. Yet, when we sang

OM, the sound grew like a great wind

among us.


Our broken bodies,

over-fired minds, erratic emotions,

and our simple spirits fell

into your cupped palms-

the wonder of us all made you pause-

and the snow kept shifting

out of the great open sky.


Some days fluttered by

like dreams,

some days the sweet movement of our bodies

defining space in this world became easy-

our limbs flew off our spines-

then you’d say,

“I’m not convinced of that,”

so we’d push harder against old patterns

until collapsing from the effort,

laughing at our little limitations.


While explaining some detail

of lordosis, or deep fascia release,

or the way sandbags can help vata,

your gray eyes would scan the room

trying not to betray your disappointment

that half of us were watching the snow drift,

the other half fluttering eyelids close to sleep.


We were hungry students:

you fed us ginger crisps, blue chips, and oranges;

we’d slip out to Java Joe’s

before class, beg for breaks

long enough to linger,

lunch on foccaccia, pita pockets,

or granola from Montana Mills.

It was never enough.


Talking asana, doshas and gunas,

pranayama, then shifting topics

to father ghosts, wedding dresses,

Van Morrison, or the Dalai Lama,

we were ravenous for so much more than bread.

You taught us to nurture ourselves

from within.

Not always the best of students,

but with our journals, mountains of texts,

home practice assignments fit for BKS himself,

we eventually learned something

about long steady exhalations

and how our own breath

can deepen any given moment.


We will take these lessons with us:

flexibility, patience, strength, humor;

others we’re still working on,

such as teaching in the first person;

many lessons we won’t “get”

for a long long time-

but when we’re standing in front of a class,

stumbling over words

your voice will drift in,

“description, not prescription”

and we’ll set to work once again.


Winter’s snows blew into April and melted.

Now, sunlight plays on the maple;

the magnolia’s ripe leaves hang dappled,

and the new fence gate swings open

without a sound.

We gather once again finding joy, steadiness.

And when our lives bloom

crazy and humble,

we’ll remember a cedar room

where white candles glimmer

in a sand bed,

where pale shells lie rearranged

with a great deal of lovingkindness,

and your voice channeling

through us, holding

us in a firm embrace.

The Teacher

Posted on by
Reply

It is generally recommended that a practitioner, whether yogi, meditator, or both, work with a teacher. After my first teacher, who was a another student at the Catholic high school I attended, I practiced for many years on my own, using what I learned from books. This worked–to a point. My asana practice was sloppy and haphazard. My meditation was irregular, with my mind running loose and wild most of the time I sat.

In the meanwhile, I was going to college, nourishing my family, moving back and forth across the country–all the things we do throughout our young adult years. Other than a college course on Eastern Christian Mysticism I hungrily devoured at the Jesuit college I attended in Seattle, when and where would I look for a teacher? Most of the time, I was fairly content using what I had already learned as well as what I continued to study and practice from the books and TV shows here and there along my path. The cover of my Richard Hittelman yoga text was worn away. When yoga videotapes appeared in bookstores, I scooped up a couple and practiced diligently, even daily for an entire year, with Rodney Yee and Patricia Walden, two very flexible, and strong yogis.

When I caught an ad for a teacher at the local gym, I immediately signed up even though I’d never belonged to a gym in my life. (see About the Yogini for the story of my second yoga teacher) In addition to seeing an immediate improvement in my poses, the class began short guided meditations after savasana on Thursday evenings.

My home meditation practice grew after reading Herbert Benson’s now classic, The Relaxation Response, just before beginning teacher training in Rochester. My sitting practice became an anticipated, and very important, part of my daily routine.

After a couple of years though, primarily working on my own with my meditation, I grew lax and wondered if I was doing it right. After all, so often, it seemed as if I was just sitting and thinking. My collection of guided meditation cds grew, and I listened diligently, but still felt as if I wasn’t doing it quite right and I longed to go deeper into the practice. I knew I needed a teacher, but where in this little rural town would one ever appear? I couldn’t afford going off to idyllic retreats that promised peace of mind in a weekend. i worked for a short while with someone who’d returned home after living and studying meditation in South Asia, but his partner gave birth to their first child and she really needed him at home, so our classes ended. There was another teacher who occasionally offered classes in a not-so-nearby town, but somehow I was never able to attend those sessions.

Suddenly though, I found someone who would work with me. The first thing he taught me was to RELAX and accept my meditation practice as it was.

The relationship that developed with this teacher was very intense and even though I’d had strong relationships with several of my teachers, this one was in a different class. Perhaps the intensity developed because he only lived a couple of blocks away and we began daily walks, whereas I only saw my other teachers once or twice per week, if that. It wasn’t exactly a comfortable relationship though; it was more like therapy–on steroids! I had constant inner work to do. At one point, when I was more grateful than angry with him, I wrote the following poem:

THE TEACHER

The teacher already knows
what lies hiding within the student.
The student, blind to her life;
draws others’ natures onto her self
as blankets of warmth and comfort,
as protection from her self–
the student begs for a hand,
seeks the path of least resistance.
The teacher nudges sometimes gently,
sometimes with a hint of harshness.
The student clings as if to life itself –
trying to escape the inescapable,
she looks to become enveloped
by the teacher’s nature or simply by the teachings–
The student cannot imagine life alone;
she cannot envision how she creates life.
The teacher sees wholeness, beauty,
and completion of the task.
The student suffers in the frustration
of the moment with ignorance and
nonacceptance of the nature of all learning.


Waking Up

Posted on by
Reply

malbork (poland) castle door (RKG)

What happens when you first open your eyes in the morning?

What are your first thoughts, and feelings?

How do you transition from sleep and dreaming to “reality” ?

There are a couple of different patterns of waking I have noticed:

  • Acting as if on autopilot, I head to the bathroom
  • Opening my eyes to grumbling-or curse- due to some noise or t’other that has waken me “before my time” –or the sunlight shining upon me little shut eyes
  • Slapping the alarm and jumping head first into the day’s ToDo list
  • Rolling over, keeping my eyes closed, trying to relax back into whatever delicious dream I’d been having–or I begin immediately analyzing the dream I’d just had
  • Acting as if on autopilot, asking my sweet partner if there was any coffee made
  • Savoring the between sleep and wakefulness stage, writing in my mind–listening to my voices
  • Upon realizing physical stiffness and perhaps soreness, I begin stretching in bed

The few moments when coming into conscious wakefulness are precious and there are several practices that can maximize our wakefulness, enabling us to establish a more mindful existence.

  1. Practice half-smiling even before you open your eyes.
  2. Allow the light and any noise you hear to remind you of your true nature.
  3. Observing which nostril is dominant. Observing nostril dominance can remind you of your state of awareness at any time of the day or night.
  4. Simply BE. Be aware of your awareness. Don’t think about it; feel it; be awareness pure and simple. Yoga nidra teaches us that this awareness is always available, always aware–even during sleep–if we are consciously awake during sleep.

Panterra entrance swing (Hardscrabble Rd, Westfield NY)

Living in a state of awareness is a practice. It’s a key to walking through the door of numbness into conscious awareness. Beginning our day “awakened” would benefit the rest of our life. The voices, creative and otherwise will still be there, but we’ll see them existing in this pure awareness of all beings. We’ll begin to know who “we” are.

Why Yoga Class?

Posted on by
2

In a sense, there are two types of yoga classes. Yes, there are other ways of distinguishing yoga, but I’ll try to clear away what I have found to be common mis-perceptions regarding students’ reasons and expectations for coming to a yoga class.

One is what I call the practice class. Generally, students come to these classes to “work out” as they would an aerobics class. Students usually follow along the movements of the teacher. Generally, they are flow-type classes with the teacher pointing out some particular points as the class moves from pose to pose. Often it is a set-sequence of poses that the class does in the same order every week, though not necessarily. Some examples are Bikram yoga, and Ashtanga series 1,2,3 and the Fredonia Yoga Club chair flow. Other practice type classes do not have a set sequence each week; they are more free-form. Still the students follow the teacher, generally with little teacher input as to how exactly each pose should be performed.

Because the student is performing the same set of poses each time, it is relatively easy to gauge progress from week to week. The student knows what to expect–that can be both good and bad. Yoga is not about getting stuck in a rut. It can happen to the most experienced practitioners.

Furthermore, it can be a limiting experience because, in an hour and a half long class, there is a limitation on how many poses can be attempted. The practitioner needs to know to practice more at home to make up for whatever was missed in class. The yogic repertoire is vast! Unfortunately, many students don’t realize this and they come to flow class thinking it is the same as coming to an aerobics class. Their hour and a half is their yoga for the week.

However, these set routines can be beneficial for those who are experiencing difficulty practicing at home for any number of reasons. I went to many classes each week when I was grieving because I just didn’t have the mental where-with-all to practice on my own. I needed all the support I could receive and was very grateful for the existence of the local yoga studio.

Bell Creek Gorge Waterfall (Westfield NY)

The other type of class I term a Teaching class. In this class, the teacher spends a lot of time showing the students how to achieve correct alignment and joy in the pose. Questions are strongly encouraged. There is much more discussion of issues and difficulties. Students come to class to learn. Individual classes have great variation as the teacher tries to keep students on the edge of practice. In the class I take at Panterra, for instance, we began sitting beside the creek to practice centering and breathwork. This certainly underscored the point that breathwork can and should be practiced in other times and areas of life, not just in class.

What is actually performed in a given teaching class may be vigorous or gentle, but it is only a portion of the week’s practice. Students are expected to work at their own pace and incorporate what was learned in their home practice sessions. For example, The Fredonia Yoga Club Monday classes are that way. The teaching is geared to individual student needs for that day. Practices that can be integrated into daily life are stressed as well as home sequences. This web site aims to assist students with their home sessions.

The problem with a teaching class is that if students do not practice at home, they may not gain the strength or flexibility necessary for advancing further with more difficult poses.

Despite what I have said here, I absolutely do recommend students take more than one class per week. Especially in the beginning years, students need support for their practice. They need to imbibe the teachings until they can channel the teacher’s directions themselves. A combination of teaching, practice, and relaxation classes would be ideal. The student then has freedom to practice whatever s/he needs at home. Each class builds upon and supports the other classes and the home practice.

If unsure of what or how to practice when you are on your own, you can use one of the sequences detailed on this site. Excellent practice sequences are also detailed in Yoga, The Iyengar Way by Silva, Mira, and Shyam Mehta. Most other yoga books contain practice sequences in the back. Just remember, strive for joy in every single pose. Practicing joy is as important as any physical gains that may be realized.

Buttercup (Fredonia NY)

contentment sutra

Posted on by
1

I’ve been thinking a lot about the importance of contentment. It’s an old topic, one the ancient Indian sage Patanjali included in his Yoga Sutras.

YOGA SUTRA STUDY

(trans. Bouanchaud)
II.42 samtosad anuttamah sukha-labhah

Samtosat: through or by contentment

Anuttamah: the strongest

Sukha: of happiness

Labhah: obtaining, gain
Contentment brings supreme happiness. (B.Bouanchaud)
From contentment one gains unsurpassed joy. (D. Brooks)
The result of contentment is total happiness. (Desikachar)
From contentment and benevolence of consciousness comes supreme happiness (BKS Iyengar)

Is contentment the aim of yoga practice?

Is all suffering alleviated through contentment or do we look at the sufferings in our own lives in a contented fashion?

Does happiness imply a different vision of suffering? Or can the two emotions exist simultaneously?

Is total happiness only possible through a practice of contentment?

If all life is suffering as the Buddha tells us, why should we bother trying to attain happiness?
Does contentment imply a turning away from the difficulties of life, an acceptance of poverty, cruelty, and violence in the world?

Won’t we be missing out on much of our human emotional range if we practice contentment? Won’t we become zombies? Can one’s passions be ignited while one is content?

Are there any other effects or side effects of contentment?

Is it possible for contentment to exist on a greater scale, say in a community or in a nation? Would this be the same as peace? What is the relationship between contentment and peace?

Is there a relationship between contentment and the practice of svadhyaya (self-study)?

What is the relationship of asana practice and contentment?

wet leaf (Zoar Valley NY - MPG))

The sutra tells us there is a direct relationship between contentment and personal happiness. With contentment, one’s emotions are brought under an even keel, the fluctuations of the mind are stilled. Isn’t this the purpose of yoga?

I try to search for sukha in each pose, to achieve joy while my body works on the edge of pain. This has incredible implications when suffering from emotional lability. We learn to accept where we are at at any given moment; this is contentment and the sages tell us that if we work on this, we will attain the supreme gift of happiness.
Patanjali tells us something profound, yet really simple: be content and you will be happy. Want what you have and don’t want what you don’t have. A recipe for happiness that has one ingredient: contentment.