This week, starting July 7th, we begin our summer series on Opening the Heart in all YiY classes until Labor Day. Each week, we focus on a spiritual principle that supports the blossoming of the heart and unconditional love. Plus, Paul Grilley, renown for Yin Yoga and Yoga Anatomy, is joining the Mind-Body Zone Advanced Studies and Teacher Training Program! For more details, see the right sidebar.
Blessings,
Connie
NEW Yoga Teacher
Training at Mind Body Zone in Fremont, CA
Begins September 2009
Directed by Lynn Cheng Kaylor, Connie Habash teaches
Philosophy, Sanskrit, Ethics, and Lifestyle, and
is joined by other excellent teachers.
For more information: http://www.mindbody-zone.com/index.php?id=49
Each year, on July 4th, we celebrate "Independence Day" in the United States -- our country's birthday. It's a good time to pause and reflect about the origins of this nation. What did our founding fathers really want for us? Well, we know that they wanted freedom - freedom from tyranny, freedom from taxation without representation, and freedom to enjoy "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". No matter what nation you are currently from, the ideal of freedom is valued the world over, and all of us can benefit from seeking its true meaning.
Here we are, over two centuries later, and we have the freedoms that the men who created the Declaration of Independence sought after. But are we truly free? Are these freedoms that we established at the birth of our country really bringing us the happiness that was desired? On an external, material level, we certainly have much to be grateful for in our country - we're able to enjoy a standard of living that the majority of the planet doesn't. What's interesting is that it doesn't seem to have brought more happiness or satisfaction. People speak out, using their freedom of speech, and they don't seem to be happy. People own their own businesses, are able to vote in elections, bear arms as the constitution gives them the freedom to, and yet do they really feel free?
The philosophy of yoga has quite a bit to say about true freedom. Certainly these external freedoms are important and essential for the evolution of the human race, to treat each other with more respect and with equality. But if we only focus on these external freedoms, we become dependent on them to be happy -- certainly not the idea of independence, by any means! The Sanskrit words for liberation - mukti or moksha - represent true internal freedom. What is that internal liberation? I don't claim to know from experience, but here are some thoughts from some of the great mystics and yogic philosophers of our time.
Mukti is considered to be the inherent state of our existence. One of the great sages of the 20th century, Ramana Maharshi, stated that "liberation is our very nature. We are that... all that is necessary is to get rid of the false notion that we are bound." Sounds simple, doesn't it? Yet consider how many notions we have that bind us and limit us, restricting true freedom. How many of us have ideas that we need a certain income in order to live? How many of us believe that we need certain items that we possess in order to be comfortable? We are bound by our possessions quite easily in our culture. A jivanmukti, or one who is in the state of liberation while alive in this body, can drop any possessions at any moment, without a thought of attachment. Now that's quite liberating! Think how difficult it would be to just drop your car, and not think anything of it. So having possessions is not the problem, but our attachments to them that limits our freedom.
India's liberation teachings affirm that whatever our present condition and life experience might be, we are inherently unfettered and absolutely blissful." No matter what is happening in our lives, we can be unmoved from that natural state of bliss. We can be sick, we can be healthy and we can still be free within. Whether we've gained capital in the stock market or lost everything, our inner, inherent state of mukti is unchanged. This isn't mere happiness, but a much deeper state that doesn't divide life's experiences into happy/sad or good/bad. It is a state that is able to meet all of those experiences without holding back, resisting, or pushing away. And our mental habits tend to cling to, to hold back from, or push away what life brings us.
Our minds tend to hold on to what we like, and avoid what we don't. We love to eat ice cream, so we buy more; we hate weeding the yard, so we ignore it. Someone who is attached to the feeling of infatuation jumps from one relationship to another to continue the experience of "falling in love": someone who fears getting their heart broken may avoid relationships altogether. These habits result in a state of bondage to what our mind believes, desires, fears, etc. True freedom lies in recognizing that these thoughts bind us, and detaching ourselves from them.
The Diamond Sutra, a Buddhist text from the 4th century, states that "the mind should be kept independent of any thoughts that arise within it. If the mind depends upon anything, it has no sure haven." Thus, independence in the deeper sense is stepping back from the thoughts that constantly swim through our mind and identifying instead with consciousness itself, the space in which the thoughts arise. This is liberation. This, say the great seers, is a state of bliss.
Rumi said it so beautifully in this poem: "Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,/there is a field. I'll meet you there./When the soul lies down in that grass,/the world is too full to talk about./Ideas, language, even the phrase 'each other'/doesn't make sense." That field is the place that's beyond our thoughts. It's free of beliefs, attachments, aversions, and embraces the fullness of existence.
How do we get to that field, that place of true freedom? That is the difficult part! But we are given some clues. The yogic disciplines of non-violence, self-observation, purity, truthfulness, and self-control all help us to get there. Serving others selflessly certainly can lead us there, as does heartfelt devotion to one's own understanding of the Divine. Perhaps most critical in attaining mukti, however, is self-knowledge.
In the yogic philosophy, the ultimate self-knowledge is the realization that we are not separate from anything else - that we are in a state of union with all of life, and it is our thoughts, habits, and beliefs that get in the way of experiencing this. When we're one with everything, what is there to be bound by? What is there to be afraid of? That's mukti.
Georg Feuerstein says "yoga is the means by which we can discover our innate freedom, and this is accomplished through an extensive process of self-purification; the cleansing of the mirror of the mind. So long as the mind is clouded, we believe ourselves to be limited." This process of un-clouding the mind requires continual practice of self-awareness, and clearing out what is in the way of seeing our true nature. Meditation aids us in this practice as well. As we watch the thoughts, we come to realize that there's an observer of those thoughts. We aren't the thoughts, but are witness to them. This is one step towards the experience of mukti, which is our true nature.
Ramana Maharshi tells a story to help us understand. "We dig a well and create a huge pit. The space in the pit has not been created by us. We have just removed the earth which was filling the space there. The space was there then and is also there now. Similarly we have to throw out all the age-long innate tendencies (samskaras) which reside inside us. When all of them have been given up, the Self will shine alone." When we dig out the thoughts that cloud our minds, our essence, that has always been there, is realized.
Our external freedoms, of which we have so many in this country, are vitality important to the world and to each human being on this planet. As we celebrate this liberty represented by the birth of the United States, let's also turn ourselves inward to the practice of reaching that ultimate freedom - mukti, the liberation of the self. No matter what happens in our country or our world, we always have the ability to be free within, unconditionally. Let freedom ring!
You don't have to want to be a teacher - just have a desire to deepen your experience of yoga! NEW ADVANCED STUDIES/YOGA TEACHER TRAINING IN FREMONT begins this September. Do you long to have a deeper experience of your yoga practice, on all levels? I have joined the faculty of Mind-Body Zone's Advanced Studies/Yoga Teacher Training program, teaching Philosophy, Ethics, Sanskrit, Ayurvedic Yoga, and Lifestyle. I am so excited about this training!!! Many wonderful teachers join this new program, including Lynn Cheng Kaylor and Setareh Moafi. ***PAUL GRILLEY JUST ADDED!*** Paul is an international expert in Yoga Anatomy and will be teaching our Anatomy segment!!! See the Mind-Body Zone website for details: http://www.mindbody-zone.com/index.php?id=49
OPENING THE HEART Series - All summer long, until Labor Day, we focus our attention on the heart chakra and cultivating the qualities of an open heart, drawn from yogic philosophy and many spiritual traditions. Each week focuses on a specific quality, and the practice supports awareness of the center of the chest as well as the connection between the heart center and the belly. Topics include Kindness, Trust, Innocence, and Presence, to name just a few. Deepen your connection to the Divine and heal your heart all summer long in all YiY classes.
DOWNLOAD
YOGA CDS and CLASSES!
MORE DOWNLOADABLE CLASSES!
My Level
1 "Balanced Yoga Practice" is now available
for download online to your MP3 player - by donation!
Also, several of my current yoga classes (from
the 5-week series on the Yamas) are ready to download,
too. Here's what is available so far:
Meditation Class #2 NEW!
(you can find class #1 for free on my website -
see below)
Meditation Class #3 NEW!
A Balanced Yoga Practice, Level 1 (with original music!)
Gentle Ahimsa (Non-Violence) Class
All Levels Ahimsa (Non-Violence) Class
Beginning Satya (Truthfulness) Class
All Levels Satya (Truthfulness) Class
Check out http://www.yogichocolate.com/teachers-bio.php?u=1149
Donate whatever
you feel inspired to give. More classes to download coming soon.
FREE MEDITATION CLASS on my website...
Check
out the 30-minute meditation class
("Meditation
Class #1") from Awakening Self! You don't
have to download it - just click, play, and listen. http://www.awakeningself.com/cd.html
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The Seasons
of Yoga:
Calm, Cool, and Collected
[The title of
this section has shifted to "The Seasons of Yoga",
and with it is a shift to a suggested yoga pose appropriate
for the season each month. Allow each one to attune
you to the energy of this time of year.]
July brings us full swing into the hottest time of the year, and you may be feeling it. As we explored last month, summer is dominated by Pitta dosha in the Ayurvedic tradition, the health science of India. Which means that fire element - that increased heat - and a bit of water (higher humidity) create a steamy environment, indeed. On those particularly long, toasty days, you may feel more testy, impatient, and even burned out. So cooling and calming body and mind is essential.
One of the quintessential poses for becoming more calm, cool, and collected is Upavishtha Konasana, the seated "open-angle" pose. Upavishtha Konasana has all the ingredients to counteract excess heat. First of all, it's a seated pose, connecting you to the earth, inducing the feeling of being "collected", rather than reactive and scattered. Secondly, the fact that the legs are wide in this position brings about expansiveness. Expansion is naturally cooling: when you want a cooked dish to cool off, you remove the cover from the pot, or take it out of the oven. By practicing poses that open and expand the body (especially in the region of the small intestine, one of the focal points of Pitta dosha), we reduce internal heat. Lastly, Upavishtha Konasana is a forward bend, a class of poses renown for settling the nervous system. Forward bends induce the parasympatheic nervous system, responsible for the relaxation response, that calm feeling when you're "resting and digesting". This wide-leg forward bend is more cooling than the classic Paschimottanasana (seated forward bend with legs together), because it leaves expansion and openness in the small intestine area.
Ready to become calm, cool, and collected? Then sit down on the floor, with the back upright, and the legs spread wide - if possible, slightly wider than a right angle [see the Yoga Journal image and instructions for Upavishtha Konasana here: http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/684]. Connect to the earth by rooting the thighs, and rise up out of that rooting through the spine. Create a cooling spaciousness between the vertebrae, through the belly, and also between the toes. Place your hands behind your hips on the floor to support your back, and when you're ready, exhale and tilt the pelvis forward, taking your torso along with the angle of the hips. The hands or fingertips can press back behind you to support the forward tilt of the hips; or, if you're quite flexible, you can reach the arms out in front of you, or hold the big toes. Let go of struggle and striving (which increase inner heat) and just be in the experience of the asana, feeling the inner thighs and hamstrings lengthen. To maximize the calming benefits of Upavishtha Konasana, practice it as a restorative pose: place folded blankets or pillows in front of you, stacked up high enough to rest your torso on. Ahhhhh. Allow yourself to enjoy the pose for a few minutes and feel cool, refreshed, and serene.
You can find a photo and another good description
of Ardha Chandrasana on the Yoga Journal
website here: http://www.yogajournal.com/poses/784
As you reach for the soft glow of the moon,
allow its cool energy to bathe your body
and mind.
Each month, I'll recommend some things
I find inspiring, healing, or helpful, and some local
services, too! For more of my recommendations, check
out my website:
for yoga and inspirational books, CDs, and tools: check my store HERE.
For local practitioners and services, as well as websites, check my Resources
page HERE
After many years of yoga practice, what is the one book I still reach for first when I want to learn about a pose?Light on Yoga by BKS Iyengar. It's a classic, the "yoga bible" to many, with 200 postures explained clearly and photos for each. There are more current yoga asana books with clearer photos of the basics, but this book is especially useful for the intermediate and advanced postures. Plus it has a good introduction to yoga philosophy, pranayama, and bandhas (energy locks). See
my store for details.
My favorite Indian restaurant, bar none, is Spice Hut in Menlo Park. They've changed their format a bit (used to be all you can eat buffet, now it's cafeteria style), but the food is still great and the most authentic South Indian Cuisine in the area. The chef is excellent and is also a yogi himself (and hence, I find the energetic quality of the food better than most). They have amazing lunch deals ($3.99 to $5.99!) and the portions are generous. Spice is medium in most dishes (not mild in most, so if you're sensitive, be cautious!). My one caveat: they use dispoable plates, bowls, and silverware. So if you're really going to be eco-friendly, bring your own. http://www.spicehut.us/spicehut/
Spiritual
Quotes
"Don't we live in the same objective world?" a disciple once queried his guru. "Yes," his master replied, "but you see yourself in the world and I see the world in myself. This minor perceptual shift makes all the difference between freedom and bondage."
~ Deepak Chopra
It is good to have an end to journey toward: but it is the journey that matters, in the end.
~ Ursula K. Le Guin
To live competely, wholly, every day as if it were a new loveliness, there must be dying to everything of yesterday, otherwise you live mechanically, and a mechanical mind can never know what love or freedom is.
~ Jiddu Krishnamurti
