Category Archives: Compassion

Sacred Self Care

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"Oklahoma" rosebud in October (barefoot photos)


One of my teachers offered a teleconference course on sacred self-care. Oh, I thought, this is pushing things a bit, I mean, really sacred self care?

Furthermore, why should I sign up, I already teach self-care. Certainly I know how important it is to devote some time everyday to the important task and pleasure of taking care of myself.

Well, it was time for me to wake up to the essence as well as the deep importance of self-care practice.

The journaling and meditations I did highlighted long held resistance to my own self-care. Could I be hard-wired to NOT take care of myself? I wondered. Was it a genetic trait? Am I simply and incorrigibly lazy?

As the class progressed week by week, I found a deep well of pleasure arose in my bodymind whenever I gave myself a gift of self-care. It’s possible to tap into that well as a means of motivating myself to continue developing self-care practices.

This week, our homework was to identify one self-care practice to focus on and try to develop it. A small step it would seem, but progress and transformation happens in small simple steps repeated time and again.

So, what am I working on? My negative self-talk. I’m growing my mindfulness around the times I call myself names or otherwise speak poorly to my beautiful self. It’s tough. Sometimes I catch myself disparaging the voice that catches, “Oh, there you go again, you idiot.” Yes, I can even use mindfulness against myself! So I’m continuing to practice softening and then softening again. I need a lot of practice. Unfortunately, it seems I’m giving myself plenty of opportunity. Grrr.

I do recognize how terribly important this is though. It forms the foundation of the spiritual path. Think about it. Better yet, conjure up the feelings in your body of an abundance of self-care. Then ask yourself what would happen if you had that available all the time….

Here’s hoping that you are floating in nirvana-land with me on this one. It’s just a little bit of self-care away!

If you are jazzed by the thought of floating on a cushion of wondrous self-care, READ MORE; visit LUMINOUS HEART.

Lovingkindness meditation

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Fredonia NY Daylily (ckg photo)

This is a GREAT time to practice METTA or Lovingkindness meditation. HAITI challenges us to step up to the compassion plate. Please try to offer some lovingkindness for not only the Haitians effected by the earthquake, but also for their families,the aid workers, and the governments involved that something may be done to ease the long-term suffering of the Haitians. Teachers, please consider beginning or ending your classes by teaching your students the metta phrases and offering them for Haitians everywhere.

This post is a looooong overdue response to Svasti’s comment on LaughingYogini’s Home or Homeless? post regarding Lovingkindness meditation. In the post I said:

MEDITATION: Georg Feuerstein, in The Yoga-Sutra of Patanjali, says that there is a meditation wherein the four virtues: friendliness, compassion, gladness, and equanimity are radiated from the practitioner into the universe. This sounds very similar to metta or lovingkindness meditation that I have mentioned before. Beginning with oneself, and eventually including all sentient beings, the meditator offers the following phrases (or others that resonate more deeply):

May I be free from danger.

May I be happy.

May I be healthy.

May I live with ease and abundance.

Svasti responded to that excerpt:

What annoys me about the Feuerstein quote is the ‘I’, ‘I’, ‘I’. Generally most prayers are phrased as:

May all beings be free from danger.
May all beings be happy.
May all beings be healthy.
May all beings live with ease and abundance.

To me, this is much healthier, because its recognizing all conscious beings and offering to one and all, Self included.

I am afraid that I misrepresented Feuerstein in that piece.There should be a break in the middle of that paragraph, when I begin MY thoughts (& depart from paraphrasing GF): This sounds very similar to metta or lovingkindness meditation that I have mentioned before. Beginning with oneself, and eventually including all sentient beings, the meditator offers the following phrases (or others that resonate more deeply).

The other misunderstanding comes from an insufficient explanation of metta practice in the earlier post. For that I refer the reader to LaughingYogini’s page on Lovingkindness Meditation, which can be found here.

NAMASTE

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In class recently, a new student asked me what “namaste” meant. I answered simply, “It means that the sacred in me honors the sacred in you.” I didn’t tell her that in Bengal, they usually say “namascara” as my meditation teacher did. He had lived and studied in Calcutta Bengal India, so naturally he insisted the proper phrase was “namascara.” And the year we lived in India, I heard “namascara” often as not. But I also bow to the yogic tradition in America and use “namaste” in my classes.

Linguistic technicality aside, today I post with a heart weeping for all Haitians. If I could be of any help to those suffering on the island, I’d be there in a breath. I’m sure you would as well. It is difficult to sit here and feel helpless as far as lifting one of those slabs of concrete, or even soothing a traumatized brow. This earthquake is a disaster of unbelievable magnitude. I need to practice ujjayi breath!

This post is dedicated to all Haitians who are injured, mentally or physically. I bow to the sacred in you. NAMASTE.

The Mother of All Intentions

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During this season of intention-setting, it might be helpful to contemplate the mother-of-all-intentions: COMPASSION.

And all compassion, from the grandest benevolent foundation to the tiniest gesture of human kindness, begins with oneself.

During 2010, how can I treat myself with greater friendship, honor, and love? Can I develop kinder thoughts as well as healthier responses? What simple action can I take to implement this intention?

My first method of creating more compassion in my life and in the lives of folks I touch ~ including my online friends ~ is to work on my physical and mental health. I can develop healthier personal patterns: MORE vegetables, MORE exercise, MORE focus.

A second action is to develop a greater support system. I have taken some first steps toward gaining mentors and will continue contemplating what other sorts of support may be beneficial.

I work on these areas so that I may better serve you.

Developing a fundamental attitude of compassion, not just day-by-day, but by really paying attention, becoming mindful of moment-by-moment turns toward or away from compassion will change the world.

Seva, Miracle Doctors

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For this video I have to thank a Facebook friend. I was terribly moved by how radically the doctors changed lives in the rural areas. How? By contributing their gifts, what they do well, and offering that to others in need. A simple remedy for ennui. Duh, now.

Do You Believe in Prayer?

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Yoga and prayer…do they go together…do YOU bring them together? Yoga asana IS prayer for me. It’s the prayer of the body in motion. It’s opening my SELF to the grace of the universe.It is working to create a sustainable body/mind/spirit and therefore family/friendships/community/nation/world.

Sitting meditation – is it a prayer? Yes’m indeed. We sit to develop compassion; all practice is for compassion. Imagine if those in the West Wing sat everyday, hell, sat once a week and practiced Lovingkindness meditation.…Imagine (as John Lennon did but the world has not quite grasped the work involved yet…Imagination + Prayer/Practice =  a more loverly world!) ahhh, for today – as we enter upon the inauguration of a new era – just imagine….

This post is dedicated to another Jersey girl, a member of the original Mater Dei yoga club back in 1971: “White Cathy” – and the benevolent work she has done and continues to do! It’s a blessing and inspiration to know you.

Yoga and meditation teach us to open ourselves; to free ourselves from the confines of our “programming,” of what we have been inculcated by society. The practice informs us of a greater existence, a greater SELF that we can aspire to and it is a SELF that we all belong to in this great human family – some would say in this family of all sentient beings.

Do you believe in the power of prayer to change the world? Do you act on that belief? How does it affect your life? – or the lives of those around you?

Just Another Day, Another Gift

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As the days pass one after another and we tumble towards the holidays with all of the attendant socializing, as we are pulled from our routine and from our meditation and yogic practices, as we get swept up in holiday traditions that don’t suit our present lifestyle or values, it’s worthwhile to take a break from it all, and pray with Brother Steindl-Rast for gratitude to fill our lives. It’s such a cliche, but come on, what IS really important? What is the most meaningful gift we can give to our family, friends, to the world?

In a way, all of our practices are geared towards cultivating an attitude of gratefulness. Gratefulness grows out of mindfulness practice. Each and every breath is unique. Multiple gifts: both the breath itself, the prana that flows, as well as the ability to see and feel it. Gratefulness radiates from a healthy asana practice. Again, we observe many gifts in a single pose: the physical ability to “perform,” the areas of personal challenge which push us to go deeper, the beauty of synchronizing mind, breath, spirit when it happens. Gratitude showers upon us in sitting meditation when we recognize the gift of the practice itself in our lives, the boon of insight when it occurs, the attendant emotional states that teach us about our hearts.

JOURNAL EXERCISE: In this season of gift giving, it is very worthwhile to compile one or more gratitude lists BEFORE any gift exchange you may be involved in. What are you grateful for in your partner, your parents, your children, your coworkers, your neighbor (especially that really annoying one!), your gramma. How about creating a new list each morning before the day rumbles into full gear. Be sure to give yourself a list too. There is after all, no one more deserving of your love!

If any of the above are difficult, then try ramping up your lovingkindness or tonglen meditation practices.

Here is a seven minute lovingkindness meditation with insight meditation teacher, Sharon Salzburg if you are unfamiliar with this practice.

And here is a five minute description, also from Beliefnet, of Shambala teacher Pema Chodron leading tonglen practice if you are unsure of this technique.

Let’s head into the holidays with a commitment to being grateful for every single moment in our lives and for every single person in our lives. The blessing of every single day will then become the most meaningful gift and truly, one that radiates outward as it “keeps on giving.”

NAMASTE!