Charleston Yogi

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

All of us have been shocked and saddened by the news of a devastating earthquake that struck the nation of Haiti on Tuesday, January 12th. Reports estimate that 3 million people have been affected, with as many as 100,000 feared dead. Many people have been wondering how they can help respond to this tragedy and ease the suffering of Haiti.

On Wednesday, January 20th from 6 to 8 PM, a benefit yoga class will be offered at the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture. A $10 donation at the door is suggested. All proceeds from the class will go to Partners in Health, an agency that has been working on the ground in Haiti for over 20 years. Your donations will go towards vital medical care desperately needed by those impacted by the earthquake.

Yoga, more than just a form of exercise, is a tool for creating harmony, compassion, and peace – both within ourselves and in the world we share. No prior yoga experience is necessary. There will also be a time for quiet meditation and prayer for those affected by this tragedy.

The class will be taught by Matthew Foley, a Yoga Alliance Certified Instructor. Music will be provided by DJ Anwar Staggers.

For more information, please contact Matthew Foley at (803)361-3842 or foleym@cofc.edu.

$10 Donation Suggested

For me, yoga is a practice.  It is not a performance, not an on-again-off-again thing, nor is it perfect. In this practice I have found a lifestyle–a way of moving and flowing and being that keeps me and my ego in checkity-check mode! 

We all have them–egos that is.  But what do we do with them?  To me, humility is huge.  Humility is being brought to my knees after falling down a time or twenty in handstand and getting back up.  It is coming right back to my mat with a smile and tear after my mother’s death, expressing that loss in the form of movement and receiving energy from the practice.  It’s moving deeper into my faith after many sleepless nights, on hands and knees in deep prayer and meditation after a longtime relationship fell apart, then picking up the pieces (or lessons) from it all, understanding and taking what I need from that moment, inhaling a deep breath, then moving on.  Most can relate…right? 

I believe yoga should be accessible to all types of hearts, souls, bodies, and minds.  Many of us start our yoga journey on the mat…we then take the choice of conscious movement and intention and apply it to other areas of life–eating, socializing, sharing, speaking, loving, and connecting.  On the mat, we deepen our understanding of compassion for ourselves and then dedicate that same expression of compassion to the rest of the world as a whole.  Personally, if I come to class and take care of myself, then once I roll my mat up and go back out onto the street and see someone who needs a hand, a dollar, a ride, or a meal, I feel more open to give.  And in turn, when I am down, I feel deserving of receiving that same love. 

Power Yoga also pushes me to my edge, takes me right out of my comfort zone and challenges me. This too is a HUGE help in my life off the mat.  When I am in a situation that is uncomfortable or challenging, I no longer run away or get pissed off, but rather breath and see the lesson in it all.

The practice of yoga is so humbling and beautiful and whole.  Yoga can touch all areas of our lives, leading to a greater understanding of liberation from attachment, faith, connectedness, love, and so much more.  I believe a strong dedication to the physical practice–every day on the mat, moving energy and cleaning out the body–is a huge tool in creating a sense of balance and well being.  I really could go on and on, however, I have a class to get too so with that being said… I hope to see you on the mat soon or on the street for a chat and hug! 

Namaste People!

Sarah Finn

Charleston Power Yoga

See us in action!

On Saturday, November 21, I attended a yoga workshop at Atmah Ja’s, The Art of Core Consciousness, yoga/massage studio and art gallery.   The workshop was titled “The Alchemy of Silk,” and was designed to inspire the potential to experience the abundant and ever infinite dream texture in which we exist.

I first discovered The Art of Core Consciousness in early October during one of my favorite Charleston events, the French Quarter Art Walk.  When I stepped into the studio for the first time, I immediately felt a striking presence spinning about the room.  The studio is a fantastic space, and features the beautiful artwork of Iamikan.  In many of his pieces, Iamikan uses oil and acrylics in such a way that the material seems to remain in its liquid form, surging with energy behind its glass coat.  His pieces are quite unique to the Charleston area–or to anything I’ve ever seen, for that matter–and possess an immense amount of livelihood.

In speaking with Atmah Ja, the creator of The Art of Core Consciousness, I discovered that in addition to art and massage, the studio offers yoga.  Atmah Ja created the space to share her passion for these three mediums and to offer courses from a rich and varied yoga practice, stemming from her world travel and intermingling with many awakened beings.  Now as a seasoned art enthusiast, and a somewhat new (but so eager to grow) yogi, I was thrilled by this opportunity to experience the two at once, where I imagined one could thrive and expand through the other, enhancing the experience of each. 

Early into Saturday morning’s “Alchemy” experience, Atmah Ja made sure that all of the participants got to know each other and went on to say, “What happens in the alchemy of a yoga workshop is the opportunity to experience oneself in a collective-connective consciousness. We are all linked through a unified force as we come together with an intention and just as it takes a mere thread to hold together silk, there is a thread that connects all beings.   She shared, “It is not the yoga itself that is the catalyst… but rather what the yoga opens inside of us to explore and expand.  It is in that place of silence in the meditative mind, that the infinite lies.”

Now every yogi has their niche in yoga, and over the past 6 months I have come to find mine in power vinyasa flow.  But what I discovered on Saturday is the importance of venturing out of your “box” and changing your pace; your routine.  In Atmah Ja’s class, we moved at a slower pace, but held poses for much longer than I’m used to.  We did so in order to observe the energy as it travels through the body.  I was able to find a strength in familiar poses that I didn’t know existed.  And of course, I was introduced to new movements that I am happy to add to my practice.

But Atmah Ja’s experience is not souly about the movement, but emphasizes reflection, discovery, and empowering the consciousness.

Atmah Ja has a beautiful way with words and meditation, and I would like to share with you some of the reflection she shared with us:

“Our thoughts are like radio waves.”  Though people cannot hear our thoughts, our thoughts, attitudes and intentions are vibrations that can be felt by others and are always being sent and received through our “antenna”.  It is through each thought transmission that we create our reality.

“We were birthed by our own desire to live, love and play and by that desire, or thought, we created ourselves into existence and continue to rebirth ourselves based on that which is unfulfilled.”

“This is your canvas, your life, use the brush of imagination to paint it as you will.  Express yourself with passion and purpose, thereby nourishing in the substantive well of infinite creative bliss, that is your birth right..

In addition to the internal reflection and self-discovery I found during Atmah Ja’s workshop, I found connection between yoga and art–the thread I had hoped to discover in this particular space on that beautiful Southern fall morning.  Just as in art, yoga is imaginative.  It pulls from a deep place within you. Both practices challenge you to pull this beauty and energy you find in your heart and mind and bring it into the physical world through movement or creation, which can then be shared with others. 

If you missed out on The Alchemy of Silk, it’s not too late–Atmah Ja will lead a follow-up workshop on Saturday, December 12 at 9:30 am.  Registration is required, so check out www.atmahjas.com for more information.

I’ve subbed quite a few classes over the years and have been quite surprised when the students were asked what yoga was.  They answered “Postures; a way to relax; a snack made from fermented milk and bacteria cultures?”  It’s difficult sometimes to determine the true purpose of doing something.  “I’m working at _____________to get money for rent, kids, to make the world a better place, to get out of the house, etc”.

There are many reasons for doing something.  The practices of yoga, however, spells it out for us: yoga=union.  śrī Brahmananda Saraswati defines yoga as “The state of missing nothing.”  Once we unite things we are no longer able to tell them apart.  Through the consistent application of the principles of yoga, we will find that happiness and peace extend beyond our daily yoga class, perhaps beyond the gross physical into the subtle energetic, emotional, and mental.  So if that is your purpose for practicing yoga, read on.

We may practice asana.  Asana purifies karma: past actions.  The process then requires us not to create the same karma we purged ourselves of.  Otherwise, it is like going to the gym and burning 500 calories, then immediately eating a snack which contains 500 calories.  We don’t get anywhere.  We want to purify more karma than we create, or at least create less harmful karma. ie: by eating vegetables instead of other sentient beings.  How can we expect to reach a state of union, eternal bliss, when we deprive others of happiness by seeing them as ours to eat?  It’s no coincidence that yoga practitioners who adopt a vegetarian diet are more flexible than meat eaters.

śrī K. Pattabhi Jois, the aṣṭāṇga yoga guru, when questioned on the subject of meat eating and yoga:
Questioner: “Some yoga teachers say that a vegetarian diet is not necessary.”
Guruji: (laughing) “Oh… a new method!”
Q: “Many Indians and Westerners eat meat.”
Guruji: ”They are not practicing yoga.  Meat eating makes you stiff.”
Q: “What is the most important Yogic practice in this time?”
Guruji:  “Vegetarian diet is the most important practice for Yoga.”

महर्षि पतञ्जलि योग सूत्र ।१।
अहिंसा प्रतिष्ठायां तत् संनिधौ वैर त्यागः॥३५॥
Maharṣi Patañjali Yoga Sūtra |1|
ahiṁsā pratiṣṭhāyāṁ tat saṁnidhau vaira tyāgaḥ ||35||
When in the presence of one firmly established in non violence, all hostilities cease.

If we have not yet reached the goal of yoga and still perceive others, the Yama are guidelines as to how we must treat them to maintain the serenity of our minds.  Master Patañjali gives the first limb of the eight limbed path of Yoga as Yama: that which we do to others.  Ahimsa, or non-harming, is the first practice of the first limb.

All our yoga practices must, if we still believe in the goal of yoga, be based upon a solid scriptural source.  We cannot simply create or disregard that which is inconvenient.  If I wish to bake a chocolate cake (vegan, of course) I cannot leave out the sugar simply because I don’t have it.  The result will not be the same as if I used it.  These sutra are also commonly translated and manipulated to suit us: “I practice ahimsa toward myself, I don’t want to hurt myself, so I eat meat.”  What!?  Meat itself is harmful, both spiritually, as our bodies become the graves of murdered beings, and physically, as our bodies are not suited for meat consumption.  Further, there is no nutrient necessary to our survival that can only be gained from the consumption of meat.

Master Patañjali gives the first two limbs as: Yama-Restraints, that which we do to others and Niyama-Observances, that which we do to ourselves ie: cleanliness, contentment…  After introducing each Yama specifically ie. ahiṁsā, he then gives the benefit to the sadhak (spiritual practitioner) pratiṣṭhāyāṁ tat saṁnidhau vaira tyāgaḥ.  This would be redundant if the Yama were indeed practices we do to ourselves.  With this in mind we could turn it into the negative:  One who is firmly established in violence or who causes violence to be performed will continuously encounter violence.
 
The Ethic of Reciprocity states “Do not do to others what you would not like to be done to you.”  This is actually an evolution of the commonly known Golden Rule.  Every wisdom tradition has a similar version.

We get closer to Yoga when we realize that if we do something to another it will eventually come back to us. Keeping this in mind we strive to practice compassion in our food choices by choosing not to contribute to the suffering of others.  We attain Yoga when we realize there are no others.

We may not practice Asana every day but we eat every day, sometimes more than once.  Our fork can be a weapon of mass destruction.

ॐ शान्ति शान्ति शान्तिः
om śānti śānti śāntiḥ

Mark Knowles
Certified Jivamukti Yoga Teacher
www.bahamayogi.com
843.991.2272