AWAKENING SELF NEWSLETTER — September 2005

1) Announcements
2) Yoga of the Seasons: Back to School
3) Class, Workshop, and Retreat Schedule
4) This month's article - "Help, Heal, and Love" by Connie Habash
5) Spiritual Quotes

1) Announcements

Five years of writing articles for the Awakening Self newsletter - I can hardly believe it! Some people ask me how I have the time or energy, especially with the baby, and I have to tell you, I don't always know. But as with anything that matters, I find that if I don't make the time, it doesn't happen. Is there something you'd like to commit to making the time for in your life?

INTRO TO SANSKRIT comes to Moksha Yoga Shala in Walnut Creek on Saturday, Sept 17th, 2-5pm. Curious about Sanskrit, the sacred language of yoga? Love chanting mantras or the Sanskrit names of poses? Want to learn correct pronunciation? Want a review from a previous Intro to Sanskrit course? This workshop is for you! You can print the registration form HERE $40 by 9/10, $45 thereafter.

***Coming in early 2006: Level 1 Sanskrit Intensive***
(Intro workshop is a good preparation for the intensive)

108 SURYA NAMASKARS (salutation the sun) for the Fall Equinox:
Thursday, Sept 22nd at YIY in Mountain View. Starts at 7am - come anytime in the first hour. You can do 1 or 108, chant the mantras to the sun, or just meditate. By donation, with refreshments afterwards.

FALL YOGA RETREAT: "Balancing Body and Mind: Ayurveda and Yoga"
will be at Mount Madonna Center again on Oct 14th-16th. Special yoga classes for each body-mind "dosha", plus evening programs exploring the basics of Ayurveda. I've already received some registrations for this retreat, so it's likely to sell out early.
Save $30 if you register by September 16th! Print the registration form HERE

***NOTE: I am not planning, as of yet, any retreats for next year, so if you have wanted to attend a yoga retreat with me, this will be your last opportunity until 2007***

TEACHING BEGINNERS: A continuing education workshop for yoga teachers, will be held at the Yoga & Movement Center in Walnut Creek on SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6TH from 1-4pm. Beginners have different needs than more experienced students. Learn to think like a beginner and develop skills to work with the myriad of new students that can walk into your class.
$40 if paid by October 30th; $50 thereafter. More information HERE

NEW PHOTOS in the photo gallery from the WOMEN'S SPRING RENEWAL RETREAT IN APRIL! check them out HERE.

2) Yoga of the Seasons: Back to School

     As the end of summer rolls around and we spend our last warm days playing in the sun, something pulls at us from our childhood. Even if we don't have children, we can't help but feel the pull to go "back to school" at this time of year. Fall is upon us and now is the time to get back into class.

      So, what have you been longing to learn? It's a natural time to delve into a new hobby, take an art class, go back for training that will enhance your career, or learn about something you know nothing about. It's also a good time to recommit to the study and practice of things that are meaningful to you, such as a meditation or yoga.

     In yoga philosophy, an essential part of the practice is "Svadhyaya". This means to study the Self. The "Self" with the capital S is our true Divine essence, our nature. Svadhyaya is a practice of getting to know our true nature through various means. It can mean studying ancient, spiritual texts, practicing meditation or breathwork, chanting, or prayer. It may involve going to a teacher, minister, or spiritual gathering for inspiration and understanding. There are many ways in which we can unearth a deeper connection to the Divine within.

     Svadhyaya also has the two-fold meaning of studying the small "s" self - our mind, ego, and personality. This can be a moment to moment practice of self-observation. It also includes reading books that help us understand ourselves, going to counseling, doing journaling or artwork, and a vast number of other experiences that help us to improve and understand ourselves more. In Svadhyaya, we study ourselves so that we may become more of who we truly are - our highest and greatest good within.

    Let this ending of summer create a beginning of the practice of Svadhyaya, or a recommitment to that. When we understand ourselves and our Self, we can experience more meaning, joy, and peace in our lives.

Copyright © 2661, 2005 by Constance L. Habash

RETREATS:

FALL YOGA RETREAT
Balancing Body and Mind: Yoga & Ayurveda
October 14-16 at Mt. Madonna Center
Early Bird Registration (by 9/16) : $260-350 after 9/16: add $30
Print the registration form at ttp://www.awakeningself.com/FallYoga05.htm


WORKSHOPS:

INTRODUCTION TO SANSKRIT WORKSHOP
Moksha Yoga Shala, Walnut Creek
Saturday, September 17th, 2-5pm
$40 if paid by Sept. 10th; $45 thereafter

108 SURYA NAMASKARS
YIY, Mountain View
Thursday, September 22nd
7-9am, by donation

TEACHING BEGINNERS
Yoga & Movement Center, Walnut Creek
Sunday, November 6th, 1-4pm
$40 if paid by October 30th: $50 thereafter

EARLY 2006: LEVEL 1 SANSKRIT INTENSIVE (tba)

TUESDAYS
9:30-11AM Iyengar & Vinyasa, Beginning
YIY, Mountain View

FRIDAYS
9:30-11AM Iyengar & Vinyasa, All Levels
YIY, Mountain View

4) This month's article: "Help, Heal, and Love" by Connie Habash

    For several days, I avoided the computer. The newsletter was due, and like other months, I was procrastinating. I had in mind to write a particular article, but I was uninspired. The theme I had picked wasn't speaking to me in the moment.

    As I sat looking at my template for September and the gaping hole under "this month's article", I recalled that I have always done best with writing what is really present - not just for me, but for everyone. If there is something going on that we are all experiencing, it will more naturally flow onto the keyboard.

     I don't need to remind you that we are all grieving right now. Katrina has hit hard in what seems to be the soft underbelly of the United States - the deep South is warm, sensitive, and vulnerable. Poverty is commonplace, family and community are pivotal to survival, the land appears fragile, and the cities have fewer resources than many more heavily populated and economically robust areas of the country. There's little that I really know about New Orleans or these other places that have been devastated, having never travelled there. I can only speak from what I glean from the media.

     It occurred to me that I've been keeping the hurricane devastation at a distance. I trace this back to the tsunami, where images of a 6 year old boy being helped by the few surviving members of his community to light the funeral pyre of his parents sent me into wrenching sobs. Orphaned children and parents who lost their precious sons and daughters break my heart to see, being a parent now. Remains floating on the waters and carcasses of once-beloved pets became too vivid in my mind. It was too much to feel the suffering I witnessed in those scenes.

     Suffering, according to the Buddhists, is part of the human condition. But that doesn't mean that we stand idly by and allow suffering to continue. We all feel drawn to do something to help, yet we often feel helpless to make much of a difference. Buddhists, Jains, Hindus, Christians and Pagans all share a similar principle that addresses the alleviation of suffering: Ahimsa, the yogic principle of non-harming.

     The first and arguably most essential of the ethical practices of Yoga, Ahimsa is usually translated as non-violence or non- cruelty. But as TKV Desikachar reminds us, Ahimsa is more than that: "it means kindness, friendliness, and thoughtful consideration of other people and things." It is not enough to simply refrain from inflicting harm on others - we must learn to help, heal, and love all other beings.

    Watching the devastation, there may be some that feel,"It's too bad, but it's not my fault. I didn't build New Orleans. I'm not in charge of disaster relief." Some may feel that they are not doing harm because they weren't the ones responsible. Yet if we know of something that is hurting another, and we don't take action to help, then our inaction continues the suffering. Ahimsa is a proactive stance of helping and healing, of sharing compassion and love. When we see despair and devastation, we bring those qualities forth regardless of who is to blame.

     It can be easy to distance ourselves when a hurricane hits thousands of miles from where we are. We're busy, we have our own problems, and we feel there's little we can do to make a real difference. Yet one of the gifts of Ahimsa is that we can begin to shift our own lives as well as others by practicing its essence - compassion.

     Sharon Gannon and David Life, founders of Jivamukti Yoga, assert that "through compassion you begin to see yourself in other beings... it trains the mind to see past outer differences of form. You begin to catch glimpses of the inner essence of other beings, which is happiness." As we cultivate compassion towards all beings, we see that we are essentially the same. That person who lost their home and every possession they had
desires happiness. So do I. That's the bottom line. I can feel their pain, and I can feel their longing to be happy. This motivates me to extend a hand, as if I am extending it to my very own self. Compassion and the practice of Ahimsa are seeing all beings as our own selves. When we do that, we treat them with the same love and care that we would wish to be treated.

     I realised that distance should not matter - why would I feel more motivated to help someone that is next door than someone who is thousands of miles away? The only answer that came to me is that you can't avoid it if it's in your own backyard. The suffering of the soul, the need for love, and the essence of the spirit is the same between myself and the man whose parents drowned in a nursing home in New Orleans. How can I say that the person next door matters more to me?

     My mind, however, resists. When a tsunami hits on the other side of the planet I might sigh, resigned and somewhat relieved, believing that there is nothing that I can do, and therefore I don't really need to make the effort. The belief that we can't make a difference gets us off the hook from practicing Ahimsa. There is much that we can do to alleviate the suffering not just of the beings of the gulf coast, but of all living things. Disasters remind us of what we are capable of and how much we do have to give.

      Money is not the only thing that can make a difference. And giving food, clothing, and shelter aren't the limitations of the positive impact we can make towards healing others' lives, although I'll bet there are many of us who have items we don't need or never use that would be treasures to many of the evacuees right now. But if you don't have money to spare and don't have possessions you can part with, you still have much to give. Time and energy can make a great difference. And even if you don't have an abundance of that, your thoughts and prayers can help, heal, and spread the energy of love.

     If you don't believe that simply having compassionate thoughts and sending love to those who suffer can make any difference, take a moment to reflect on the energy of love.
When we strongly feel compassion and kindness towards another, how does it affect us? We soften, our hearts open, we let go of judgement. Compassion acknowledges the connection between ourselves and what we see in the other. Barriers of race, species, culture, and religion melt. The more people feel this compassion, the more people reach out and connect to each other. The respect for each living thing deepens. Imagine the impact that could be made if thousands or millions of people simply felt this deep kindness towards all. We are already beginning to see some of this effect. If there is any redeeming aspect to a natural disaster, it is that it reawakens this sense of love for all of life that we too easily forget in the minute distractions of our day to day existence.

     Compassion heals the heart of the one that offers it as well as the one who receives. Perhaps this is why Ahimsa is so revered by so many spiritual traditions of the world. It is
self- and other-transforming. There are many hearts in need of healing in the wake of Katrina. Perhaps one of them is your own.

  Copyright ©2005 by Constance L. Habash

5) Spiritual Quotes

"Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding."
~ Kahlil Gibran

"Although gold dust is precious, when it gets in your eyes it obstructs your vision."
~ Hsi-Tang

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great ones make you feel that you too, can become great."
~ Mark Twain

Blessings,
Connie

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