Charleston Yogi

One of the classic texts of the Yoga tradition, along with the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads, is the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Within these teachings, Patanjali lays down a quintessential definition of “yoga” that has become a bedrock of modern Yoga practice. In Verse 2, the Sutras read:

YOGAS CITTA VRTTI NIRODHAH

Which can translated in various ways:
“Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuation of consciousness”
“Yoga is the restraint of the modifications of the mind-stuff.”
“Yoga is the stopping of the turnings of the mind.”

Well, what on earth are the “fluctuations of consciousness,” “modifications of the mind-stuff,” or “turnings of the mind”? And why should we be concerned with them coming to an end?

The turnings of the mind are our habitual mental chatter, the interior monologue running through our brains almost every moment of every day. It is the voice that constantly proclaims its like, its dislikes, its judgments, and its comparisons. It is what carries on our inner autobiography; our feelings of being a good or a bad person, beautiful or ugly, a success or failure, worthy of love or deserving of contempt. It is what worries and obsesses about the future, as well as lives in pride or shame over the past.

Now, there is nothing inherently wrong with this mental chatter. But it tends to create a problem when we habitually identity ourselves with this stream of thought.

Ask yourself this question: where do you most strongly experience your sense of “I”? If you were to say “I exist”, where do you most feel that coming from? Your big toe? Your arteries? Or perhaps your spleen? No, most people (at least in our culture) would answer that “I” is most strongly located somewhere behind the eyes and between the ears. Located ourselves primarily in the head, we connect our identity with the stream of thoughts passing through the mind. This forms our most basic sense of who we are.

From the time of some of our earliest records of human history, human beings have sought through various contemplative practices to bring this mental stream to a stop. Meditation, yoga, tai chi, breathing exercises, ascetic practices, drumming, dancing, and singing can all become paths towards turning down the volume of our inner chatter so that something else, something deeper, might be heard. Why? Is it a form of intellectual suicide? Does it mean becoming a mindless bump on a log? No, not at all. By such an attempt, human beings have sought a way to peace, profound happiness, and liberation from suffering.

They realized that the reflective nature of our thoughts – our ability to think about our thinking, and even think about our thinking about our thinking – leaves us in perpetual anxiety about our lives and actually creates an illusory barrier between ourselves and the world around us.

When we give all our attention to this constantly critiquing voice in the head, we subtly disconnect ourselves from what is happening right in front of us. If you are in the midst of an experience and are busy the entire time judging and commenting to yourself on everything – the warmth or coldness of the room, the quality of the company around you, other things you could be doing at this moment – then you aren’t really living in that present moment. You are “stuck up in the head,” too self-conscious to fully be engaged with the experience you are having. It is a little like constantly checking your phone for missed calls or texts while on a first date – it shows you aren’t really interested.

There are days when, feeling a little blue or tired, I can walk through the entire day in a sort of “blah” feeling, wrapped up in whatever crummy feelings I’m going through. If someone were to ask me later how my day went or what I did or saw, I might draw a blank on the contents of the day. I was so wrapped up in my mental “stuff” that I didn’t really notice the beautiful park I drove by on my way to work, or the smell of the rain during the afternoon, or the way my cat stretched himself as I opened the door coming home. This mental chatter keeps us from, in the words of Ram Dass, “being here now.”

Awakening to life therefore involves turning down the volume on this inner noise and instead listening more deeply to what is really going on.

For instance, if you are in a conversation with someone and you’re the one doing all the talking, you aren’t really connecting at all with the other person. You aren’t really having a conversation; you are having a monologue in someone else’s presence. It also means that you probably won’t learn or grow much from that conversation, because you’re just repeating what you already know. But when you become silent and listen, allowing the other person to speak, you expose yourself to new perspective and points of view. You grow, you evolve, you expand.

Well, life is the same way. We could think of our every day lives as a conversation with the world. If we are the ones doing all the talking, by means of our constant internal judgments, comparison, and commentary, then we aren’t really listening to what life may be trying to tell us. Even in prayer, when we are supposed to be seeking answers from God, most people in our culture pray by talking the whole time. Thus it has been said that whereas prayer is talking to God, meditation is listening to God.

So, let us try a meditation of deep listening. You may want to read this first and then go and experiment.

Find a comfortable seat, whether in a chair or sitting in meditation on the floor. Close your eyes and place your hands comfortably in the lap or on the knees.

Bring all of your attention to your sense of hearing. Imagine that you are one giant ear and your only purpose is to hear. Listen to the sounds around you. Maybe you hear a bird chirping outside, or cars driving some distance away, or the sound of faint music in the background.

Whatever it is, just listen, with no judgment, commentary, or interpretation. As Alan Watts once said, “The sound of the rain needs no translation.”

When thoughts begin to arise in the mind, treat them as just another thing to listen to. There is just a deep listening.

What you may begin to notice is that within the quietness of mind, the most ordinary sounds of every day life take on a staggering quality of beauty. The sound of the wind becomes a music just as beautiful as those played by orchestras. The flowing sounds of ocean waves become poems for the ear.

If you listen deeply enough, you may notice that in the midst of such beautiful sound, there is no sound of one listening. That is because there is no real separation between the knower and the known, the experience and the one having the experience. This lack of separation, which was only an illusion in the first place, is the experience of “yoga,” which literally means “yoke” or “union.”

Yoga is a practice of deep listening, turning down the volume of our mental noise, so that we may hear the wisdom of the Universe more clearly.

~ Matthew Foley

Most people start a yoga class to reduce stress. They do not go to their first class with the intention of walking out with more stress, but that is exactly what can happen.  Yoga does reduce stress, but sometimes a few simple tips might help you maximize your effectiveness in class.

One simple idea is that you won’t be perfect. No matter how long you practice your yoga poses, you will never get it right. So let it go. Don’t try to do it just like your instructor. Try to do it as he or she teaches you, but thats it.  Let go of the stiff ideas of having to do it perfect and just do your best. Understanding this releases a lot of unnecessary stress and makes doing yoga fun and relaxing.

A second way to reduce stress is to let go of the idea of maintaining a calm mind. Most people think that when you do some sort of meditation that your mind should be calm and blank. That is called being dead. We have thoughts, we want to have thoughts, it’s getting attached and following the thoughts that causes us the problems. When you are in a yoga class and you notice your mind wandering off, just gently bring it back to focus on the here and now. Don’t beat yourself up, just bring your mind back. If it wanders again, bring it back again. The more you practice being present, the easier it gets.

A third way to lessen your stress during your yoga class is to not get attached to thoughts. It’s like my teacher Lama Ole says, let your mind be like an empty house. If a thief comes in, there is nothing to take, so he or she leaves. So if your mind starts thinking about what your going to eat after class, let it, but don’t give the thought any attention. If you don’t give it energy or follow the thought, it will just fade off on its own.

Those are few ways you can reduce your stress and enjoy your yoga classes better. If you have any questions leave a comment or check out my stress management site at www.istress.org.

Dr. John Zipp DC
Foundation for Stress Relief & Education
Chiropractor, Zipp Chiropractic
(843) 303-4227
www.drzipp.com
www.istress.org
Facebook: Zipp Chiropractic
Twitter: @DoctorZipp
Skype: drzipp

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

*Looking for an affordable way to practice yoga, plus an opportunity to support and give to others in need?  Then check out Charleston Twestival on Thursday, March 25th!*

Tweet, meet, and give. That’s what Twestival is all about – using social media for social good.

Twestival Global is an event where local businesses and social networking individuals come together in over 300 international cities to support a good cause.  Twestival events worldwide are planned and completely carried out by volunteers.

This year, on Thursday, March 25th, hundreds of people in cities around the world will come together offline to rally around the important cause of education by hosting local events to have fun and create awareness.  The organization they will support is Concern Worldwide.

Concern Worldwide was founded over 50 years ago to meet the needs of people living in extreme poverty, for whom every day is a fight for survival.  Concern’s education programs currently reach over 700,000 people in 25 countries across the regions of Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.  They build schools, train teachers and outfit students with uniforms and school supplies in the world’s poorest nations.

To kick off Charleston’s local celebration of Twestival,  Caryn Antos of Yoga Benefits will be heading up a yoga event in Marion Square Park.  Come on Thursday and do your own practice, or follow Caryn’s guided lesson that begins at 1:30.  The event is donation-based, so bring cash to support a good cause.  All yoga practice levels are welcome.

Yoga Benefits is a local organization that teaches yoga to at risk children.  That is how Antos, the founder of the organization, is related to and was approached about volunteering her time for the Twestival mission.

Antos started Yoga Benefits because she believes that everyone can benefit from yoga.  “Yoga is powerful and empowering,” she said.  “It can help people work through fear, anxiety, sorrow, and aggression and turn those emotions into confidence, peace, compassion and love.  When I started teaching yoga, I did it because I wanted to share what I have learned.”

We at Charleston Yogi and Antos believe that a personal dedication to wellness is a pathway to large successes, and that yoga can build not only a stronger and more confident individual, but a healthier, more powerful community.

For Antos, donation-based classes are a way to share yoga with others without having to put a price on the value.  “I already know there is value on the lesson,” she stated, “but assigning a number to it might mean that some people will not participate.”  Antos has been an instructor at The Sutra Shack, a donation-based James Island community studio, and often supports causes similar to Twestival, where people can donate their practice to a good cause.

Charleston’s Twestival doesn’t stop with yoga in Marion Square Park.  The schedule of events on Thursday, March 25th is as follows:

1:00pm – 3:00pm: Yoga fundraising event in Marion Square Park.  It is asked that you bring a donation for Concern – whatever you can spare.  Maybe it’s what you would have spent on coffee that day, or lunch out with co-workers.

5:30pm – 7:00pm: Meet at Rebekah Jacob Gallery (169 King Street) for networking and pre-event cocktails.

6:30pm – 9:30pm: The event will move along to The Real Estate Studio (214 King Street).  DJ Natty Heavy will be donating his time and entertainment for the event.  Shine your shoes and check out some of the things that are up for grabs in the silent auction.

Tickets for the evening events are $15, which includes music, food, adult beverages and a silent auction.  100% of ticket donations and funds raised will go to Concern Worldwide.

Thanks to the generosity of EF/AVHHF, all donations and ticket sales are being matched through March 25 up to $100,000.  To make a donation via Charleston Twestival to Concern Worldwide, visit http://charleston.twestival.com.

(Charleston’s local Twestival celebration is sponsored by Charleston Yogi, Yoga Benefits, Blackbaud, Rebekah Jacob Gallery, Stasmayer Incorporated, The Buccaneer, Queen Anne’s Revenge, Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina, Red Dog Designs, Holaola Screen Printing, The Real Estate Studio, DJ Natty Heavy, Ben Arnold Beverage Co, Baked, The Modern Connection and Palmettobug Digital.)

**Charleston Yogi and Yoga Benefits hope to see our fellow yogis out in Marion Square on Thursday!  Come and donate your practice to Concern Worldwide. Even if you cannot contribute with a monetary donation, take time to be a part of your community and offer your energy and support to someone who truly needs it.**

Want to keep up with all these fab organizations?  Follow them on Twitter!

Twestival Global: @twestival

Concern Worldwide: @concern

Charleston Twestival: @CHSTwestival

DJ Natty Heavy: @nattyheavy

Charleston Yogi: @CharlestonYogi