Charleston Yogi

With the start of a new year Yoga Teachers, Philanthropists, Preachers, Smokers, Drunks, and maybe some normal people make lofty ideas, create great plans, and write these little blogs.  These “Spiritual Geniuses” regurgitate a few old positive wafflings like “Empower Yourself, Take Control of Your Destiny, or Get Ready to Realize your Full Potential!”  We embark upon a few things which we are sure will either 1) change our lives or 2) change the world.  I’m reminded of a saying “Know how to make God laugh?  Tell him you plans.”  If you’re like most people, God’s in stitches right now.

We spend a great deal of time deciding how our plans will effect others.  How if we could just practice yoga 6 days a week we’d make the world a better place.  We could volunteer at the soup kitchen a little, THAT would certainly make a difference.  AND we’ll go to church/synagogue/temple/mandir/shack/woods more often. 

Now, you might  ask, what’s wrong with that?  I’ll tell you.

It’s what WE want to do, not God’s will.  Please, when I say God, plug in your version of the Divine.

This means a few things.  It means that whatever plans we create are driven by: अविद्य(avidya-ignorance of true self),   अस्मिता (asmitā-ego) राग (rāga-attachment to pleasure),  द्वेष (dveṣa-aversion), अभिनिवेष  (abhiniveṣa-attachment to physical form/fear of death).  These are the पङ्च क्लेष paṅca kleṣa.  The 5 obstacles to yoga.

We may even say “God, show me your will, and I’ll do it!”.  How many times do we decide what God’s will is for us?  We try to fix an ego with an ego.  There are some beings who were so open, so receptive to the Divine’s will that they were able to truly be instruments for His plan.  Joan of Ark got explicit instructions.  Lord Buddha knew he was going to die and how, yet he knowingly ate the food that would kill him.  The great Yogi, J.C. was also such a rare gem.  They’re no different from us.  They just listened harder.   

Mahaṛṣi Patañjali says in his  yoga sūtra ईश्वरप्रणिधानाद् वा॥२३॥ ( īśvarapraṇidhānād vā- By COMPLETE surrender to God you attain His identity).  It’s known as the one step method to attain yoga, but it’s really difficult to do that.  So there’s the 2-step method(practice and non-attachment), the 3-step method(intense spiritual practice, self-study, and then surrender), and of course the favorite अष्टाण्ग (aṣṭāṇga) 8-step method.  If youre like most people you don’t recognize any of these except the last one…see?  Most of us would rather do the more difficult thing that we’ve created as God’s will than surrender.  8 steps, or 1 step.hmmmmm

This New Year try this, DON’T DO ANTHING.

A great Teacher of mine once said “NOTHING in God’s world happens by accident”, so what do I need to change? 

And if you must pray, at least listen for the answer.

ॐ शान्ति शान्ति शान्तिः

om śānti śānti śāntiḥ

How many times have you suddenly stopped what you were doing––just for a split second––to glance at the clock (for no apparent reason, kind of like an impulse or reflex), and when you did, the clock read 11:11, or maybe 1:11?

So here is your first little tidbit. Take it to heart:

• Make amends;
• Ditch 2010’s bad habits;
• Decide on what you really want; and
• Map out your plan of action.

1. Find all the things in your life you have to be grateful for NOW… because what you appreciate, appreciates.
2. As for all the OTHER STUFF, look at it and say, “Thank you for the lovely contrast. Because of it, I now know what I REALLY REALLY want… and I’m READY for it!
3. As you define this experience, this circumstance, or this thing that you REALLY REALLY want, focus on WHAT you want, and WHY. Trust that the HOW will show up at the perfect time, in the ideal way, and that when it does, you’ll know it because it will feel so “in your flow”. Claim your desires, own them, feel proud and worthy of them… because you are.
4. Take action as inspiration, insight, and inner hunches lead you to (never out of obligation). You really can’t get the action part wrong as long as you follow your pleasure, trust your gut, and do what excites you and makes you come alive! And if you ever hit a wall where you don’t know what to do, just engage in something… ANYTHING! And remember to be easy about it because nothing you want is upstream.
5. At all costs, DO NOT sit and “spin”. Spinning in your monkey mind––worrying, doubting, comparing, fearing, what-if-ing––it’s never your truth. Your truth is likely right behind what scares and excites you the most. So run, don’t walk, straight towards it with an open heart.

P.S. You know that teaching what you’ve just learned, discussing it, or writing down your thoughts on it helps you integrate it, right? So I suggest you do it… NOW.

Thinking about it is one thing, but expressing/sharing this desire of yours brings it another step closer to you. And I want to support you in that so spill the beans.

Leave me a comment below and tell me about YOUR “lovely contrast” from 2010, and what, as a result, you’re now SUPER CLEAR that you’re READY for now…. in 2011!! 

Read more from Kris at www.abundantyogi.com

I had a really phenomenal experience this past Sunday morning teaching a yoga class to a dance group at the College of Charleston. About a dozen people showed up for the class, which took place in a beautiful dance room located inside the brand new Cato Arts Center on the CofC campus. In preparing for the class, I did a lot of thinking about what a yoga practice might offer people who are passionate about dance and creative movement.

One of the central aspects of yoga is cultivating a harmonious relationship between mind and body. Such harmony is of course essential to creating beautiful and graceful movement in dance. In many Eastern spiritual paths, the mind and the body are seen as equal halves of an integral whole. This is the philosophy of yin and yang: things that appear to be opposites – light and dark, tall and short, earth and sky, spirit and flesh – are in fact inseparably connected with one another.

In Western culture, however, there is a very rigid division between mind and body. In the last year, I’ve stumbled upon a number of brilliant Western thinkers who have addressed this division and the disharmony is creates in individuals.

The first is Sir Ken Robinson, an expert on human creativity, who gave a brilliant address at the 2006 TED Conference on creativity in children and whether or not educational systems around the world do an adequate job of fostering that creativity. (The whole talk is worth watching, but the part I’ll be focusing on begins around the 9:00 minute mark).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY

During his talk, he spoke about the fact that almost all schools around the world tend to place a great emphasis on language and mathematics over the arts, particularly drama and dance. He says: “As children grow up, we start to educate them progressively from the waist-up. Then we focus on their heads – and slightly to one side.”

He goes on to describe what type of person this emphasis on head-only education creates, particularly in the form of the stereotypical academic professor: “They live in their heads. They live up there – and slightly to one side. They’re disembodied, in a kind of literal way. They look upon their body as a form of transport for their heads. It’s a way of getting their heads to meetings.”

Another brilliant thinker I’ve come across in the past year is Alan Watts, who came to popular attention during the 1960’s as an interpreter of Eastern spiritual traditions (especially Zen Buddhism) for Western audiences. In one of his talks featured on YouTube, delightfully illustrated by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, he addresses this split between mind and body that exists in the West and how it shapes our sense of self.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAVM_Xk_o9E&feature=related

“I’ve always been tremendously interested in what people mean by the word “I” – because it comes out in curious lapses of speech. We don’t say: “I am a body.” We say: “I have a body.” Somehow we don’t seem to identify ourselves with all of ourselves. We say “my feet,” “my hands,” “my teeth,” as if they were something outside me. As far as I can make out, most people feel that they are something or other about halfway between the ears and a little ways behind the eyes, inside the head. That’s what you call the “ego.” That’s not what you are at all, because it gives you the idea that you are a chauffeur inside your own body – as if you your body were an automobile and you are the chauffeur principle inside it.”

The point that both Robinson and Watts are making is that when we identify primarily with our mind and our thoughts, we disconnect ourselves from our bodily existence. The results are usually disastrous, particularly in our modern culture. We stuff food into our mouths that are deeply gratifying to the mind (products high in fat and processed sugar) but which are nutritionally disastrous to the body. On the opposite extreme, we flock to gyms in order to sculpt our bodies into an idealized mental image of what we should like like – usually based on digitalized media images of the super skinny or ultra buff.

What is lacking is a deep listening to the wisdom of the body. Oftentimes, we only start to listen when we are forced to, usually as a result of an illness or life-threatening condition. Many people then realize that they must flip their entire life-style upside down and start living from a more holistic understanding of themselves.

Many of these people, of course, find their way to yoga classes and meditation retreats.

A great deal of the popularity of such practices as yoga, tai chi, and seated meditation are found in the fact that they help cultivate a holistic way of looking at ourselves and our place in the world. These practices are based on the realization that the mind and body form an inseparable wholeness – just as each individual human being, animal, or plant is an integral part of the interdependent environment in which they live. The process of yoga, in my mind, is a process of extending the feeling of identity outwards, away from the narrow confines of our egos, and connecting with our bodies, our communities, the planet, and the universe.

In the yoga class I taught to the dance group, I continually encouraged the participants to focus on their breath. The breath is an incredible tool for helping us cultivate mind/body harmony. Mindful breathing helps us turn down the volume on our mental noise so that the wisdom of the body may begin to be heard. A yogi or dancer can then begin to truly feel his or her body. They can begin to discover where they are tight or sore, where they hold anxiety or stress, in what movements they feel confident or terrified. This deep listening to the body can give us insight into the ways we live and in what ways we may need to change.

When the body and mind begin to move and function as one, we become more effective in what we do, we become more graceful and effortless in our actions, we become less worried and anxious in our inner lives. This is obviously helpful not just on the yoga mat or on the dance stage, but in all aspects of our lives.

So the question is… What might your body be trying to tell you? And if you start to really listen, what changes would begin to happen in your life?

~ Matthew Foley

There is a class at Jivamukti Yoga on Sundays at noon that is called Family Yoga.  It is intended to be for all people of all ages and can be shared by any and all family members.  The teachings are simple and useful, there is a sense of fun, and songs that help students easily learn the movements.

It is my favorite class that I have the honor of teaching.  I am often so touched by family togetherness that I am moved to tears.  There have been students who bring in their sisters who visit from out of town, there have been father-son moments, and grandparents and small children who delight us all.  But most regular has been one family, who, come almost every Sunday, because they make it THEIR Family time.  Their time to BE and grow together!  Their time to stretch, and breathe, and SEE each other.  Often they go on a picnic or to the beach or even to the grocery store together afterwards.  But for that one hour, every Sunday, they practice together.   I revel in their beauty every week. 

Last Sunday they were telling me how they invite other families to join them, how they spread the word because they have experienced such value from the practice together.  They inspire me and I am so grateful to their dedication and enthusiasm.  They humble me and are a living example of light.  So may this, my first blog, be a sincere offering to this family who has shown me so much love.  Thank you. 

And thank you for coming to practice yoga together in my presence so many times over.  We invite more Charleston yoga families to join us! And look forward to growing, being, and seeing you more often.

“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2).

We come to our mat over and over again with expectations, striving for poses, looking for a feeling of peace, swimming around in our thoughts, to find that those natural feelings are part of the practice.  That is why we continue to show up, observe the breath, and offer thanks for the present moment.  For me, my yoga practice is a physical expression of body prayer. Prayer is a practice, but it does not have to be separate from the body. The body, mind, heart, and soul are a unified whole.  When we bring our hands to heart center in prayer (Anjali Mudra) it’s a symbolic hand gesture that reflects reverence and union with the Divine.

With our fast pace culture during the holiday season,  our stress levels are on the rise with an increase of depression, anxiety, missing past loved ones, arguing with loved ones, who is not talking to who….we all can identify with the chaos that happens within our bodies and our surroundings. The paradox is we are celebrating Thankfulness and often times get swept away into the spirit of ungratefulness.

So like brushing your teeth is a daily practice, so can prayer!

Stand in mountain pose (Tadasana) with hands at heart center in prayer

Ground your feet steadfastly into the earth

Watch the breath fill your heart with thankfulness

Breathe in from your toes, shins, thighs, hips, belly, ribs expand, chest lifts, throat, nose, third eye to the crown of the head

Breathe out from the back of your crown, neck, shoulder blades, lower back, backs of thighs, knees, ankles, and heels

Continue to the cycle of the breath ebbing and flowing from the front side of the body and feeling the breath roll off the back of the body.  Whatever is causing stress in your life, allow that to roll off with the breath of Peace. And inhale whatever you are grateful for.

May your holiday season be filled with Love, and as you pass the salt at your Thanksgiving feast, may your conversations with loved ones be seasoned with salt and light.

I seal all my prayers through my Master Guru, Jesus Christ (Yeshua Sat Nam).