Peace,
Derik
Ganesha's Blessing
Finding Peace in a Twist
A Field of Postures
Time Out
Preparing for Natarajasana
Preparing to Teach
Back Bend Prep
~Bliss~
Dear Viewer,
I want to take just a simple moment to invite you to our final graduating practicum. These classes mark the end of a long journey into the heart of yoga practice. Our twenty graduating students have dedicated themselves tirelessly to study of the ancient tradition of yoga. All of them have well exceeded the minimal two hundred hour commitment to graduate from Axis Yoga Trainings.
The practicum gives the students an opportunity to synthesise their studies of yogic theory, pranayama, meditation, subtle body, ayurveda, personal experimentation and of course asana. Asana comprises about 65% of the program and students are taught from both a flowing and stationary perspective.
How the students have assimilated the information, we shall soon see. Each of them will inevitable bring their previous studies to their classes. Some will integrate music or sequences they’ve gathered from prior classes. Others will present some of the more contemplative aspects they gleaned from this training.
At the end of the day the practicum is an opportunity to celebrate a significant achievement, to participate in the process of yoga as it evolves in this country, and also an opportunity for Axis Yoga to give something back to the community.
As such, the entire event will be offered free of charge and sumptuous refreshments will be served at every session. For those of you who are prospectively interested in the program this will obviously be an opportunity to meet with the current students first hand and experience the fruits of their efforts.
Namaste,
Derik
Dates & Times:
Sunday January 10th; 1-3pm & 3:30-5:30pm
Saturday January 16th; 1-3pm & 3:30-5:30pm
Sunday January 17th; 1-3pm
Location: Sixth Ave UCC. 3250 E. 6th Ave. (Sixth and Adams -7 blocks W. of Colorado Blvd.)
That word “Satya” literally means “to be” and has existential connotations. When one is truly being there is no qualification or rationalization required; one resides in the essential truth of their nature.
More commonly the term is translated to mean “truthfulness.” When one is centered in a clear state of presence, truthfulness is an innate extension of who they fundamentally are. It is a natural expression of being identified more with the present moment than agitated about the past or fantasizing about the future.
Conventionally, truthfulness has to do with how accurately we present information to others and how credible our word is. While this is a very valid standard the practice of yoga requires that one take it a step further, to bridge the inner and outer worlds and examine the level of truth one presents to themselves.
This practice cuts right to the core of our identity as our mind’s perpetual tendency is to fabricate stories about who it thinks it is. These stories can be very convincing and keep us more identified with our circumstances than our spiritual essence.
What the practice of truthfulness does is shine a light on the egos tendency to cling fiercely to its own identity. From the yogic perspective this congested identity is a fundamental lie, held in place by ignorance. We are not our possessions our circumstances, bodies or even our thoughts, though it is easy to mistake them for our who we are.
The practice of truthfulness gives us some standard by which we can release the fear of life and soften into our spiritual identity. Truthfulness requires self reflection and a relaxation of effort. This quality of effort is the very substance of yogic practice. Yoga allows us to rest in our essential nature, a state in which one is simple being.
The first limb of the 8-limbed Ashtanga Yoga vehicle is called Yama. Yama is often translated as restraints. It also has a mythological connotation as Lord Yama who is none other than the presiding deity of death. What is being referred to hear is not death in the morbid sense that you might find in a B-grade horror flick or a sterile tucked away semitary. Yama in this context is referring to the death of separate existence, the death of ego.
While the five-tenants of Yama practice have very practical applications, and are intended to harmonize our social lives, their ultimate intention is to transform us, to move us from a contracted identity into union with Spirit.
The first of these five-tenants is called ahimsa or non-harming. Often it is translated as nonviolence, though I consider this to be a limited translation because of gratuitous connotations that often go along with the word violence. Culturally we tend to think of violence just in physical terms; the most recent car bombing on the evening news or even reruns of Tom and Jerry, all of these are overt examples of violence.
The practice of ahimsa is much more subtle. It is intended to be practiced on every level; physically, verbally and mentally. From this perspective, passive aggressive behavior, setting someone up to fail or holding a grudge are all considered forms of violence.
As one begins to consciously take on the practice of non-harming one of the first realizations is how much violence plays a roll in one’s day to day life. It gets reflected in one’s diet, relationships and image of oneself to name just a few breading grounds of aggression.
At the center of violence stands a sense of separation, a feeling of isolation from the object of disdain, weather it be another person or oneself. The more our identity contracts the more resentment builds up. Yoga is the reverse of this process, it promises and requires an expansion of our identity.
The potential for this expansion is boundless. The practice of ahimsa offers a kind of road sign to tell us when we’ve veered off into the ditch of pain and delusion. Progress is measured one choice or action at a time. Gradually the practitioner begins to disidentify with thoughts of harm and offers their contracted ego up to Yama, the Lord of Death, the death of the separate self.
We can engage in yoga practice long before we ever roll out our mat. As I’ve mentioned in past entries asanas or postures are actually the third out of eight limbs of yoga practice. So there are many other references points to be had as one travels deeper and deeper upon the path of yoga.
Despite the glossy images in the magazine and the tremendous feeling of integration that can arise through practice, everyone’s passage through life is marked with adversity. In part, this is why there are so many limbs to yoga practice. The limbs give us some reference points for how to best maneuver through life’s challenges and achievements and not be defeated in the process.
These core reference points are called Yama and Niyama (restraints and observances) and they are the foundation of yoga practice. Without them, it does not matter how open our hamstrings are or if we can launch up into handstand. These practices outline our basic moral instinct and encourage us to challenge our egocentric limitations. This is how we can practice yoga “off the mat.”
The first rung of our eight-limb yoga latter is called yama or restraints. Interestingly, the author of this system (a sage named Patanjali born around 200A.D.) begins not by telling us what to do but rather what we should refrain from doing, there by leaving it up to the aspirant to arrive at the appropriate course of action.
These restraints are to be practiced on a physical, verbal and even mental basis. They offer the student of yoga the opportunity to practice in every aspect of their lives regardless of weather or not they can touch their toes. The yamas are further broken down into five sub categories, each of them deeply interrelated. The first of these sub categories is called ahimsa or none-harming and it will be the subject of the next entry.
Yoga practice has the potential to touch upon every single aspect of one’s life. How is this so? To begin, we must expand our definition of yoga beyond the postures and begin to recognize the other components of traditional yogic practice. In-fact, there are eight limbs of practice that constitute a formal system of yoga. The name for these limbs is Ashtanga Yoga or the eight limbs of yoga.
A complete discussion of each of these limbs is the subject of another entry and I wish to touch upon two of the foundational limbs. The limbs that have to do with our day to day existence are called yama and niyama or the restraints and observances.
What these two limbs do is give some reference point as to how to conduct ourselves socially, in our actions, in our words and even our thoughts. Our very lives are constituted by our actions, words and thoughts so the application of yama and niyama will pervade every aspect of one’s life.
I was once having an enduring conversation with a woman in her 80’s. She was a very sweet soul who I had an ongoing relationship with. Her name was Vishnu Ma. We were discussing stories from the past and how people operated. Then she said something in passing that left an impression upon me.
“There are no guidelines anymore.”
I found that to be a resonate, simple and astute observation. What do we reference as a culture for guidance?
In the coming weeks I’ll give a more detailed account of yogic tenants for living and how they can be applied to life.
Our fall training program is underway and the students are deeply immersed in the study of yoga. As part of our studies we are examining the classical yogic code of conduct called Yama and Niyama. The idea behind these guidelines is to give the practitioner some reference for how they conduct themselves in the world, away from their mat.
These guidelines, such as non-harming, truthfulness, cleanliness and self study can be referenced in every circumstance and are deeply interrelated. They are not only intended to harmonize our social relationships but to invoke deep transformation within the practitioner. These principles can be applied not only to our physical actions but to speech and thoughts as well.
Each student had the opportunity to choose one of these precepts and apply it to their lives. My group chose “satya” which literally means “To Be” and is more commonly translated at “truthfulness.” The implication here is that when we are in accord with our essential beingness, truth arises spontaneously and unswervingly.
As part of our experiment we emailed one another daily to report our discoveries. I thought I’d just share a few of my entries to give you a sense of this experiment.
“I was walking in the park this morning with my young son. I thought it would take 20min instead it took an hour. I wanted to go home and complain to Brenna how Rama, took to much time looking at little things! The complaining functioned at a pretty low frequency of truth and underneath it was more aggression than anything else. So I refrained. Lesson: Truth can be not saying something as well.”
“In practicing truthfullness I find myself editing my words and choosing to align myself with my higher ideas, words and actions. Part of the implication in the reading was that the truth carries it’s own potency. I can sense this in the small examples I’ve listed and am curious to discover the source of truth itself….
“…This is when the truth flows most easily. There is no effort or justification required. At these times the truth starts to look a lot like love, peace and compassion. The truth seems to be a port-hole into a deeper dimension of ourselves.”
Om bhur bhuva svah
Tat savitur-varenyam
Bhargo devasya dhimahi
Dhiyo yo nah prachodyat
Om. Let us meditate upon the wondrous spirit of the Divine, creator of the earth, space and the heavens. Oh God, may our minds be inspired by the light of that Supreme Self and be filled with divine qualities.
Probable the most well know and revered mantra is the Gayatri. It is believed to be the foremost accustic manifestation of the Divine Mother, Creation itself. It is both a mantra and a prayer, beginning with essential seed sounds called bija mantras and gradually evolving into a personal petition.
Bija mantras have no literal translation; there meaning is conveyed through their deep resonance –as pure sound. The mantra then evolves into a more literal prayer, that the mind be illuminated by universal light.
In other translations the word “Sun” or “Solar Spirit” is used in place of “the light of the Supreme Self.” This gives more immediacy and personal context to the prayer. We have only to step outside, and look up at the sky to appreciate the magnitude of that radiant form that makes all life on earth possible. The Sun is a classic icon for resplendent spiritual insight.
Further dementions of the Gayatri mantra are revealed by a brief commentary from the Chandogya Upanishad:
This entire Creation is Gayatri. And the Gayatri is speech
–for speech sings and protects the entire creationWhat I appreciate most about this verse is how it begins by conveying the largest magnitude possible, the entire Creation, then distils that enormity into a more embodied form (speech and song) and finally, loops back upon itself to embrace the entire creation., the song of the universe. Thus we can begin to get in touch with the unending reverberation of the Cosmos.
As we read a little deeper into the verse, we find that the Creation is embued with beauty, in the form of song. The Creation is the Mother, the Mother is Beauty, Beauty is the Creation.
What’s more we are assured protection as we embrace the current of beauty in our own lives. In that sense our very life process is an offering unto the creation itself. We can trust that the creative process is in accord with the forces of nature.
Our creative instincts and expressions play an intimate roll in the greater life process. Despite the often fear based and editing tendencies of the mind, the Universal Mother embraces Herself with an intimate appreciation for beauty in its multitude of forms. We are an inherent expression in that Universal Song. We are that Song.
Oh God, may our minds be inspired by the light of that
Supreme Self and be filled with divine qualities.
Occasionally I go for a run. It is a great way to get some fresh air, take care of the body and listen to some music along the way. I set my MP3 on shuffle so I never know what will be playing next. It keeps it interesting.
As I rounded the bend on mile number three the music change and the unmistakable voice of Swami Muktibodhananda fill my eardrums. Among his many productions, the Swami has created an audio series on meditative practices. I reached for the shuffle button.
With the button at my fingertips, I changed my mind. Who knows, I might learn something new I reasoned. He began with a detailed description of establishing one’s meditative posture. He emphasized the importance of remaining still. And then he uttered one simple phrase that dramatically caught my attention.
“Now we will practice the Yoga of the Body.”
What initially caught my attention was the reverence in his voice. We were about to enter sacred territory, to enter a temple full of mystery, depth and elusive truths. His words opened up a whole new field of possibility. The entire path of yoga was held, cradled, hidden, within the innocuous folds of our skin. From this perspective the body was a port-hole into the secrets of the cosmos.
His comment implied that there were many other forms of yoga practice, each holding the same limitless possibility that was held within the body. “Yoga” stood as the center most expression in his sentence. The feeling behind the word conveyed a kind of sacred endeavor or elixir that could be applied to any discipline; the Yoga of Sound, the Yoga of the Breath. The Yoga of the Mind.
The hidden promise contained within the sentence was that mastery was possible, yoga practice, in its many forms led to profound spiritual unity, that Yoga was a sacred vehicle. I was grateful for this lesson as the miles pealed away.
The yogic tradition is rich in methods and techniques. It is important to remember that the techniques are a means to a much greater end, the complete physical, mental and spiritual integration of the human being. It is equally important to recognize the moment to moment process of transformation that arises within the application of these various methods. As we pay close attention to our breath or the sensations within a posture, we gain insight into the nature of our own experience. From this perspective the path is the destination.
What we call life is already existent inside of us. The various means, including asana, are a way to explore that inner reality that we live with on a day to day basis. While the postures and breathing practices may initially appear quite foreign, they draw upon what is most available, namely our breath our body and our mind. All of the postures and other related practices give us a way to explore the phenomenon of the body and re-pattern it in ways that are much more conducive to deeper states of realization.
This process of re-patterning is what we call transformation. What the practices give us the opportunity to consciously transform our breath-body-mind, in essence our lives, on multiple levels; physically, mentally, spiritually. That is one of the reasons people experience such deep currents of change once they start practicing. Yoga consists of moment to moment dedicated attention to the practices and the ultimate realization of our deepest nature… Everything in-between is called life!