Charleston Yogi

I treated myself to a pedicure today and lo and behold I experienced what we hear so often from our yoga teachers, “take the practice off your mat.”  Never would I have thought it would transfer over to the pedicure chair!

As I put my feet in the water, I envisioned Jesus washing the disciples’ feet.   I contemplated on His words…”Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them” (John 13:12-17).

So I am sitting and playing around with the lovely massage chair and chose “kneading.” Closed my eyes and asked God to knead the planks in my own eyes, roll it out, wash away the things I don’t see, that I so easily point out in others. Breathing deeper and moving more inward, the guy washing my feet, must have thought I was crazy, but I am free from worrying about what others think of me these day; so I bathed him in prayer, asking the Lord to bless him and work through his hands as he touched my feet.  As he took the buffer and scrubber to my feet and spent what felt like an eternity on one foot, I thought…so like our God to slough away the calluses, so gentle, thorough, and firm. I have been receiving pedicures for who knows how long now, and think I will never experience them the same again.  At that moment I realized I was experiencing a pedicure meditation.

What is meditation?  I like the way Wikipedia defines meditation:  “Meditation is a holistic discipline by which the practitioner attempts to get beyond the reflexive, “thinking” mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness. Meditation is a component of many religions, and has been practiced since antiquity. It is also practiced outside religious traditions. Different meditative disciplines encompass a wide range of spiritual and non-spiritual goals; achieving a higher state of consciousness or enlightenment, developing and increasing compassion and loving kindness, receiving spiritual inspiration or guidance from God, achieving greater focus, creativity or self-awareness, or simply cultivating a more relaxed and peaceful frame of mind.” Just reading that makes my shoulders melt away from my ears. Experiencing higher states of consciousness is not limited to our “yoga mat,” although our mat serves as a tool to discipline the body so that we can become more aware and conscious beings off our mat.

Meditation for me is “receiving spiritual guidance from God to develop and increase more compassion and love towards others.”  T.K.V Desikachar a yogi master and author of “The Heart of Yoga, Developing a Personal Practice,” defines the term bhakti. “The term bhakti comes from the root bhaj, which means to ‘serve.’ By following bhakti yoga, we offer all our thoughts and actions to this higher power. In everything we see, and in every other human being, we recognize God-truth.  We act out of a conviction that we are serving God. We always carry his name within us. We mediate on him. We go into his temples. We are completely devoted to him. That is bhakti yoga.”  Even in a pedicure char!

So the next time you treat yourself to a pedicure consider experiencing bhakti yoga.

1. Greet the person with your eyes and heart. Bathe them in prayer and send them love.
2. As you place your feet in the water visualize Jesus washing your feet.
3. Close your eyes and take deep full breaths.
4. As the pumice stone sloughs away calluses or hard edges bring to mind something that needs to be smoothed out in your heart or mind.  Observe with the mind’s eye and see it wash away in the water.
5. Finally,absorb, receive, soak it all in and then go “love your neighbor as yourself.”

           On Friday evening, my husband and I went to Voodoo Lounge for their delicious tacos during happy hour.  Mattie had a few beers throughout the evening, but I do not drink.  Over the years, I found that my yoga practice actually taught my body to reject alcohol in most forms.  On special occasions such as weddings or New Year’s celebrations, I will have a small glass of champagne.  For the most part, I steer clear because my body tells me to do so, but tonight was different.  For some reason, my body said, “Tequila.”

            The last time I had tequila was over two years ago at a bar downtown.  I used to love tequila; it was certainly my liquor of choice.  I always preferred it to everything else, beer included.  Our last encounter was messy and was a red flag – my body just did not want exposure to the stuff any longer.  So, why was tonight different?  What was going inside of my body that made me desire tequila?  After a short discussion about varieties with the waitress, I finally decided.  Within moments, there it was – a shot glass of clear liquid.  My body taught me for so long to run the other way.  I figured there must be something to learn.  Perhaps my body wanted me to experience this differently and in light of my practice.

            There were about a dozen lime slices on a couple plates in front of me.  My husband looked on surprised and concerned; he knows I do not drink for anyone or any reason.  I said to him, “My mother told me once that tequila makes you brave.  It is not like any other liquor in the world.  I wonder why that is?”  Mattie replied, “I hate the stuff.  It makes me shake.”  I brought the shot glass to my lips, took a deep breath, and sipped.  I did not throw it back.  There was a lesson inside the tiny vessel and I needed to pay attention.  My tongue recoiled and the heat went down my throat and erupted inside my chest, as if encasing my heart in a sauna.

            I thought: “This is why I do not drink.”  The tequila felt like an invader.  It felt like spiritual oppression.  It felt as though the sip was someone I allowed into my body to overtake it, to ravage it, to harm me.  But this small voice inside encouraged me to continue.  Each sip was terrible – yes, awful.  I bit deeply into the limes and felt respite there.  I had never used salt or lime in the past.  After taking the invader into my mouth and then biting deeply into the lime slice, I realized that my body craved that natural fruit.  The taste was soothing and peaceful.  Tequila was a predator.

            I said to Mattie, “So, tequila comes from blue agave, a plant that grows in high altitudes and dry, sandy soil.  I wonder if its effects upon a person are similar to those conditions.”  My husband is in mid-bite, wondering why I am trying to justify my alcohol venture with a deep discussion.  He just wants to eat and drink his beer, but I am truly thinking this through.  If I were in an arid climate with high altitudes, I would feel a little loopy.  I would follow a thought process not typical of me.  Over time without much water, I would feel my body ration out every last bit until all that was left of me was – well, a hallucinating mess.  Is that why it makes you “brave”?

            The very last sip of that shot glass made me giggle involuntarily.  Mattie could not believe his wife was wasted after a shot.  I wasn’t, but I was different.  I was affected.  That small amount of tequila reminded me so much of why I practice yoga.  Pranayama and asana have the opposite effects of alcohol.  When I practice, I am protecting my mind, my body, my spirit, and my heart.  I gain control over the physical aspects of self in order to harness the others.  Alcohol wreaks havoc on my efforts.  It is a thief.  I sat in that booth in Voodoo Lounge, practicing my yoga with greater ferocity because an enemy was in my body.  I allowed myself to succumb in order to be and to learn.

            On Friday night, tequila was a slimy guy in a bad suit, whispering sweet nothings in my ear.  There was a battle inside: tequila enamored me, but also repulsed me.  It soothed me, but also terrified me.  I think that is the nature of things that contradict the yogic practice.  They have very similar results, but deep down one can feel the betrayal of self and of Divine Truth.  Tequila can be an escape much like yoga, but the difference is that the latter shows you reality.  The former pulls you deeper into illusion.  Nonetheless, tequila taught me an important lesson, that all things and all people can teach you so long as you sit near and listen.

Peace be with you,
Natasha Alexandra Akery

http://www.yeshuyoga.blogspot.com

Did you know that one of the definitions of  haṭhayoga हठ is “tied to a post”?   It always makes me smile when I hear people talking about how much they love  their calm, peaceful music, gentle, sleepy yoga classes.  What about “Gentle Yoga”, that’s an oxymoron!

According to Wikipedia:

Haṭhayoga हठयोग is a system of Yoga introduced by Yogi Swatmarama, a sage of 15th century India, and compiler of the haṭhayogapradīpikā हठयोगप्रदीपिका.   In this treatise, Swatmarama introduces Haṭhayoga as preparatory stage of physical purification that the body practices for higher meditation. The āsanas and Prāṇāyāma in Rāja Yoga were what the Hindu Yogis used to physically train their body for long periods of meditation. This practice is called shatkarma.

The word Haṭhayoga is a compound of the words Ha and ṭha meaning sun and moon ( हकारः कीर्तितः सूर्यष्ठकारश्चंद्र उच्यते | सूर्यचंद्रमसोर्योगाद्धठयोग निगद्यते || ), referring to Prāṇa प्राण and Apāna अपान, and also to the principal nadis (energy channels) of the subtle body that must be fully operational to attain a state of dhyana or samādhi.  According to the Monier-Williams Sanskrit Dictionary, the word “Haṭha” means forceful. It is a strong practice done for purification. In other respects Haṭhayoga follows the same principles as the Rāja Yoga of Maharṣi Patañjali महर्षि पतञ्जलि including moral restraint yama यम and spiritual observances niyama नियम.  Haṭhayoga is what most people in the Western world associate with the word “Yoga” most commonly practiced for mental and physical health.  The word “ha” refers to the solar nadi (pingala) in the subtle body and “ṭha” the lunar nadi (ida). However, when the two components of the word are placed together, “haṭha” means “forceful”, implying that powerful work must be done to purify the body. Yoga means to yoke, or to join two things together, hence hatha yoga is meant to join together sun (masculine, active) energy with the moon (feminine, receptive) energy, thus producing balance and greater power in an individual.  The signs of success in hatha yoga are slenderness of the body, cheerful face, hearing mystical sound, bright eyes, sense of well-being, control over the bindu, increase in gastric fire and purification of the nadis.

The  Bhagavad Gītā भगवद् गीता as well as Maharṣi Patañjali महर्षि पतञ्जलि tell us that the practicing of āsana, prāṇāyāma, and the other four limbs of Haṭhayoga are not necessarily the best way to go about seeking enlightenment.  See “With Intensity of Spiritual Practice” posted earlier.  Yet, if we have chosen this path it makes sense to understand what is expected of us.

Sadhana

This word is frequently translated as conscious spiritual practice.  It is made up of two words: sad from siddh which means to reach, and dānaṁ to give.  So the true meaning of the word is to give oneself over to reaching.

This can seem strange when we think of yoga as stress relief.  What constitutes stress, where does it come from?  If we follow Maharṣi Patañjali’s Yoga sūtra 2.3 we have the answer:

avidyāsmitā rāga dveṣābhiniveśāḥ kleśāḥ ||3|| अविद्यास्मिता राग द्वेषाभिनिवेशाः क्लेशाः ॥३॥

avidyā-ignorance of the true self, asmitā-ego, rāga-attachment to that which is pleasureable, dveṣa-aversion to that which is uncomfortable, ābhiniveśāḥ- fear of death, these are the obstacles to yoga- kleśāḥ

The order in Sanskrit is important, one leads into the other.  Try it.  If I am ignorant of my Divine nature, then I think I’m perhaps a white, male yoga teacher, therefore I like things which support this pleasurable story I’ve created for myself.  So, of course I must not like things which challenge this incorrect view.  Once I’ve spent years creating and re-enforcing this initial avidyā and it has grown to gigantic proportions and more or less things are acceptable in my world I fear losing it all.  This scenario may repeat itself by the second, hour, minute, day, month, or year.  This continuous attempt at controlling the outcome of events is stress.  Sound familiar?  It’s at this point we usually have exhausted a good many efforts to CONTROL this stress.  We may find ourselves in a yoga class (YAY!!  Hopefully a Jivamukti Yoga Class!) as a last resort.

My Teacher śrī David Life said at a workshop I attended said “If you’ve made it to a yoga class, something in your life isn’t going the way you would like.”  This is important.  Many people think that their lives are perfectly under their control.  They will inevitably become angry at God if they don’t receive something they have pleaded for.  Even worse, they may become violent towards others who they mistakenly believe deprive them of something they feel deserving of.

Many people use alcohol and drugs, shopping and sex, food and exercise to TEMPORARILY relieve this stress.  It transports us away from the uncomfortable place.  Yet, as any addiction specialist will tell you (or any alcoholic for that matter!) when the distracting substance is used up, the feelings which drove the person towards them will return, sometimes hundredfold.  The person may even form a resistance to the substance, requiring even more to escape.

If we go to a yoga class to blow incense, wave candles and only engage in postures which stroke our ego, or that we have lulled ourselves into thinking they’re all we’re worthy of, we are missing out on a great benefit of yoga; the ability to change our perception of the world and our relationship to it.   However, it may be take a little effort.  Everything is initially uncomfortable, challenging maybe.  Your High school degree was challenging, your climb up the corporate ladder, your desire to become a Vegan may have been especially challenging (congratulations!).

This is why Maharṣi Patañjali tells us:

1.12

अभ्यास वैराग्याभ्यां तन्निरोधः

abhyāsa vairāgyābhyāṁ tannirodhaḥ

Mental modifications are restrained by practice and non-attachment

Remember the order of YS 2.3?  If you cut the root of a plant all the growth above the cut dies.  If we practice this sūtra we cut very close to the root-ego, and this in turn will help us realize our divine nature.

1.14

स तु दीर्घ काल नैरन्तर्य सत्कारासेवितो दृढभूमिः

sa tu dīrgha kāla nairantarya satkārāsevito dṛḍhabhūmiḥ

Practice becomes firmly grounded when well attended to for a long time, without break and in all earnestness

To do be able to attend to the practice for a long period of time (at least 12 years) we have to remember to offer the practice each time.  Almost always the students who come religiously for a while and then give up have been expecting some sort of gain from yoga.  My Teacher śrī Jeffrey Cohen says “What can you do for Yoga, not what can Yoga do for you.”  Try this, next time you practice, take a variation (if the breath allows you to) but before you do, think of a being who may be experiencing a difficult time in their life.  Then, as you move through the posture notice how they are very similar to you in that you too are trying to overcome a challenge, that as soon as this one is over, another will come, and above all how YOU created this challenge.

We don’t have to do funky postures.  Sometimes just being present for each breath and offering every posture to the Divine is enough to make it a very demanding class.  Whether it’s Primary Series, Open Level Class, or Candlelight Waffle Yoga, you can turn each class into an opportunity to grow.  You can lean against your post , or beat yourself up with it.  Or untie yourself from it.

I humbly bow at the lotus feet of my great Teachers

ॐ शान्ति शान्ति शान्तिः

om śānti śānti śāntiḥ

SNORES

HA! Just the words snores and farts bring a chuckle to the body and smile to the face. The normal bodily functions somehow bring out laughter and embarrassing moments.  I recently taught a class when a student started to snore heavily during final relaxation (corpse pose/ savasana). The room was already silent, there was a peaceful presence in the room, the lights were dimmed, and the music played softly and then we hear a big fat grandpa-like snore, the one from the back of throat. I chose not to say anything  when I noticed two of my friends cracking up uncontrollably, bodies shaking, hands over mouth. I went over to her and rubbed her neck and she stopped, but as soon as I walked away, the snoring began, even louder this time.

The room was filled with thirty people, and all I could think of was; this is really disturbing to others. So, I walked back over, lifted her legs and gave her a gentle tap on the feet. And then what do you know? Yep… she started snoring with a great big roar again. At this point the whole front row was busting out in laughter and I couldn’t even talk without my voice cracking, holding back my laughter…oh that calm soft voice we teachers get at the end of class to awaken the mind back to the body. “Bring awareness to your breath”…blah blah blah….hehehehe.  And we all let it go…it just turned into a laughing yoga session and a beautiful teaching opportunity of what it means to enter final savasana. Two important lessons were learned that day for me as a teacher and for my students.

1. Honor thy body, if you fall asleep, that is yoking to what your body needs that day.
2. There will be times that savasna will transcend us into higher states of consciousness. A time in which the physical body enjoys being absorbed with the soul, to connect with a deeper part of ourselves or hopefully communing with The Divine essence of LIFE. That the time is so sweet and peaceful that we don’t want to fall to asleep because we will miss that depth and nourishment, which fills our spirits.

FARTS

So what about farts? They are normal too! It makes complete sense that gas is expelled by the detoxifying postures such as twisting poses that aid in digestion and allow the body to release.  I remember taking both my boys to infant massage classes at 8 weeks old to bond and to help alleviate gas. They were so constipated, the poor little guys. And the exercises suggested were knees to chest (apanasana), and even rubbing the belly in a clock wise motion, the same flow as the large intestines to help push it all along.  There are ways to prevent and aid your personal digestion, and this is what happens to you in yoga class. Try to eliminate before class and keep a food diary to see if there are any foods that trigger flatulence, like acidic foods; beans, dairy, yeast. And perhaps add spices such as cumin, coriander, or caraway that help counteract the gas.  It is better to let it out then keep it in! LETTING IT ALL GO!  Remind yourself we all fart! Laugh it off!

LAUGHTER

I will never forget attending a New Year’s Day class at Holy Cow Yoga with Amy Quesenbery and being guided into a laughing meditation. At first I was like, “What? This is silly!” And that’s exactly what it was; silly, fun, contagious, and therapeutic.  The challenge was to stop laughing when the instructor said, “stop laughing.” Infusing the discipline of the mind that yoga offers. Laughter is so good for you and is way more contagious then any cold or a yawn. I was laughing so hard at others laughing that I totally let go of my desire to be in control. It was a true mark of a change in my practice (thank you Amy!) that I now teach a laughing meditation regularly.  Laughing relieves stress, boosts the immune system and strengthens relationships. I felt like I did about 1,000 crunches! No need for an ab workout with a laughing meditation.  Laughing relaxes the whole body and eases tension in the muscles up to 45 minutes after. Laughter also releases endorphins, the happy chemicals that are released in the body.  The Proverb “A happy heart is good medicine,” is utmost merit for laughing increases blood flow and may help in preventing heart disease.  Laughter creates lightness and joy in heart, mind, and soul.  Just say, “hee, hee, ha, ha, ho, ho! “Are you laughing?

TEARS

My mat has become my sacred place to let it all go, a place to bow to the Lord in worship, adoration, and reverence. A place to come to my knees in repentance; stretched out palms in receiving His grace, and a place to stand on Holy ground. A prayerful expression of love and gratitude to the God of the Universe and Savior of the World, Yeshu Nam.  Not only am I moved in laughter but also to tears. If you ever experienced a tear flow during the flow of a class you are not alone.  Tears, like laughter, relieve stress and cleanse the body from emotional grief, but also a release of joy too.  Tears have enzymes that act like antibacterial agent called lysozyme and without it, eye infections could lead to possible blindness. Emotional tears are scientific phenomena, for human beings are the only creatures that shed tears beyond just lubricating the eyes and preventing dehydration. Tears have similar healing benefits like laughing, to releasing endorphins, cleansing the body by eliminating toxins and feeling lighter in heart. Biochemist William Frey spent 15 years of research studying the miracles of tears and found that  “suppressing tears increases stress levels, and contributes to diseases aggravated by stress, such as high blood pressure, heart problems and peptic ulcers.”  When we step on our mat, we step into the world of our inner self and discover the things that are pent up inside.   So like the sweat that falls from our brow in head stand, the tears that flow from our eyes will fall at His feet to cleanse the deepest parts of ourselves.

LET GO…LET GOD

The alarm rings and I barely stir.  My muscles are sore, still tired and though the sun is starting to come out all I want to do is bury my head in the covers.  I am instantly faced with a choice and this decision will determine the course of everything. 
I have come to realize that choosing ‘comfort’ rarely leads to it, but only makes me more uncomfortable.  As I unroll my mat I start to wonder what the next hour and ½ will bring.  Will I be able to do it?  Will they ask me to do something difficult, or worse yet something that I don’t want to do?  And then I smile, knowing that choosing authentic development is a harsh mistress, indeed.  The things I fear will always be hurled right in my path and I know the answer is ‘yes’ to all of the above.  I will again be faced with a choice and this decision will determine the course of everything.  
We have been in warrior II for at least a minute.  My legs are starting to shake, I want to give up, and then he says ‘are you breathing?’….oh, right I forgot about that part.  The minute I inhale that sweet dose of oxygen, I feel everything release and I move into a place of ease.  He walks up behind me and puts his hands on my shoulders, moving them down a few inches.  My neck and shoulder blades begin to release and I wonder how I didn’t even realize how hard they were working?  Why is it that trying so hard is, well…so hard?  It was only four years ago in this very class that I began to discover that resistance is so much more difficult than surrender.  That trying to be perfect at every asana was so much more difficult than allowing myself to melt into it with ease.  Many of us consistently move through our day with absolute confidence that we are actually in charge.  We fool ourselves into thinking that we consciously know what ‘perfection’ is and that we can attain it whenever we want. 
This practice is based on the premise of cultivating awareness of where we are in relation to time, space, and the continuum of development.  I am always grateful to reach that perfect balance in class when I am pushed far enough to be uncomfortable, while simultaneously given enough time to be present inside of my head, alone with my thoughts even for just a few seconds.  In the middle of this struggle I am challenged to be still in the face of the internal chaos.  As I am confronted with the limits of my abilities, I am also given the opportunity to witness how interested I truly am in development.  When I focus on where I am and where I want to be, I know I have to ‘mind the gap’ between what I know and how I am living.  The practice isn’t over when I roll up my mat and walk out of the studio.  It is only just beginning.  I know that I will be given hundreds of opportunities to close the gap between what I know and how I am walking my talk, and the choice that I make in that moment will determine everything.

 
Amy Jo Gengler, LAc
Re-Soul Acupuncture & Chinese Herbal Medicine

843.566.2855

www.re-soul.com