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Don't we all feel a slight sense of normality when a really smart teacher forgets a fact or a calm Buddha-like friend gets stressed or someone who really does seem to always be right, for once, is not? It reminds us we are all human and, no matter how hard we try, we will have human moments.
Sonia Choquette is a psychic medium who has a strong grasp on spirit and life and what's beyond. Yet, she sent out her newsletter a couple days ago admitting an encounter with stress and I was so happy she sent it. If someone like her were to pretend she never fell into negative emotions, we would feel like those people were so much more enlightened than us; that we can never get to that place in our heads so...why try? But, for someone we admire or find more knowledgeable than us to express a relatable experience, we are more likely to respond with, okay times may get rough, and do for everyone, but I can make everything better, again. Since I hear we may get 4-6 more inches of snow tomorrow, I wanted to share the gist of Sonia's words as they are also timely! She wrote about the lovely Chicago weather we are having (facetiously put!) and how stressed she became one day as her car slid about on the roads. Her stress level rose when she tried to find parking on the snow-mounded Chicago streets and she found herself in a mood that matched the grayness of the skies. It wasn't until she was back in her warm house did she remember to breathe. Breathe deeply in stressed out times. But, should you forget because you were so stressed out, you can still do it later when you remember! And you will still find it helpful. Wayne Dyer wrote: "The components of anxiety, stress, fear, and anger do not exist independently of you in the world. They simply do not exist in the physical world, even though we talk about them as if they do." This is so true! But if that thought doesn't seem to help matters, rely on the following quote by David Mamet: "We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie.”
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Sonia Choquette often asks at her workshops, where does your spirit live? And then she looks around at the multitude of answers being gestured and, finally, she says, your heart.
Your spirit lives in your heart. That being so, do you understand when you refuse the truths of your heart you stifle your spirit? The poem below, The Bluebird, portrays the struggle between two common places, the heart and the mind. The poem is sad, but, aren't we often, as well, when we hide our heart away? The Bluebird- By Charles Bukowski there's a bluebird in my heart that wants to get out but I'm too tough for him, I say, stay in there, I'm not going to let anybody see you. there's a bluebird in my heart that wants to get out but I pour whiskey on him and inhale cigarette smoke and the whores and the bartenders and the grocery clerks never know that he's in there. there's a bluebird in my heart that wants to get out but I'm too tough for him, I say, stay down, do you want to mess me up? you want to screw up the works? you want to blow my book sales in Europe? there's a bluebird in my heart that wants to get out but I'm too clever, I only let him out at night sometimes when everybody's asleep. I say, I know that you're there, so don't be sad. then I put him back, but he's singing a little in there, I haven't quite let him die and we sleep together like that with our secret pact and it's nice enough to make a man weep, but I don't weep, do you? Hafiz wrote: We have not come here to take prisoners, But to surrender ever more deeply To freedom and JOY. We have not come into this exquisite world To hold ourselves hostage from love. Run my dear, From anything That may not strengthen Your precious budding wings. Run like hell my dear, From anyone likely To put a sharp knife Into the sacred, tender vision Of your beautiful heart. For we have not come here to take prisoners Or to confine our wondrous spirits, But to experience ever and ever more deeply Our divine courage, freedom and Light! The Sankrit expression Svatantra means freedom from the past and the future; freedom to linger in the present and freedom to change. You have the power to change. Just listen to your satya, your truth...I'm guessing you will find that in your heart. A waiver is a document that you willingly sign that relinquishes someone else's responsibility for what you are about to do. You decide it would be fun to jump off a bridge with a bungee jump and you sign you are responsible for the consequences, whether they are exhilarating or somewhat painful! You want to go horseback riding, rafting, skiing...you sign a waiver. Before you take an aerobics class, yoga class, sports lessons...you sign a waiver.
Melody Beattie writes this: "I think waivers are a good reminder that ultimately no one is responsible for my life but me. There is no one to blame, no one to sue, no one to ask for a refund. I make my own decisions and I live with the result of those choices each day. So do you. It's your life. Sign a waiver saying that you take responsibility for it. Set yourself and others free." Even better, Melody Beattie even wrote out you Life Waiver; all you need to do is sign it! It is copied below and if you CHOOSE to sign it and take on a new unwhining, uncomplaining responsibility for your choices in your life, then either comment to this page with your name or nickname indicating your "Signature" or go to my Inspired by Earth Yoga and Reiki Facebook page and comment there! "Waiver (written by Melody Beattie, livinglifefully.com) "I understand that during the course of my life I will be required to make many decisions, such as where I want to live, whom I want to live with, where I work, how much fun I have, and how I spend my money and time, including how much time I spend waiting for things to get better and people to change, and whom I choose to love. "I understand that many events that occur will be out of my hands and that there are inherent dangers and risks in all decisions I make. Life and people have no obligation whatsoever to live up to my expectations; I have no obligation to live up to the expectations of anybody else. Life is a high-risk sport, and I may become injured along the way. "I agree that all the decisions I make are mine and mine alone, including how I choose to handle the events that are beyond my control. I hereby forfeit my right to recourse as a victim, including my rights to blame, complain, and whine or hold someone else responsible for the path I choose to take. I am responsible for my participation--or lack of it--in life. And I take complete responsibility for the outcomes and consequences of all decisions I make, understanding that ultimately it is my choice whether I become happy, joyous, and free or stay miserable and trapped. "Although people may voluntarily nurture and love me, I and I alone am responsible for taking care of and loving myself. Signed: _________________________" Holy Lisle wrote, "If you don't accept responsibility for your own actions, then you are forever chained to a position of defense." Do you really want to live from a justifying position of defense? A defensive position does not move you forward in life. It is simply you struggling to hold stuff back.  In life (as well as yoga!), we try to maintain balance. The reason we find it difficult to stay in balance is because everything around us, and even within us, is made up of dualistic energies. Our feminine side, our masculine side. Our inner lightness contrasting with our even deeper shadows. Existing only in light is not possible because you cannot know light without knowing darkness. You cannot always be happy because, in order to be happy, you have to comprehend sad. Yin and yang.
Most people would say they are familiar with the yin and yang symbol, also recognized as the symbol for Tai Chi. And, maybe, half could guess by merely looking at the symbol that it has something to do with duality or contrasts or opposites. But, in fact, yin and yang are not opposites, though they may appear to be. They are rooted in eachother. One does not exist without the other. Were you to draw a diameter through the yin yang symbol, you would separate the circle into two halves that both contain some white and some black because they are entertwined. A line through the center does not divide yin yang into white on one side and black on the other. Therefore, they cannot and do not exist alone. Yet they do exist everywhere. Let's take a look at the yin side, the black side with the white dot. Yin is a feminine lunar energy. This energy associates with the earth and water elements and is slow, cold and passive. Sadness is yin. Even the physical aspects of your body are either yin or yang. Imagine you are outside and it is really hot and sunny out. You turn away from the sun to shade your eyes. The front side of the body, which is softer and now shaded is yin. Your back, structurally supported by your spine and now facing the warm sun, is yang. The terms yin and yang originally appear in early Chinese culture to describe how when the sun comes up, people get up and go to the fields to work. When the sun goes down , people go to bed. Movement and sun and warmth are yang. Darkness and immobility are yin. But note that as the sun fades away to be replaced by darkness and vice versa, one reveals what was hidden while the other hides what had been revealed. Yang is the white side of the symbol with the black dot. It is a masculine energy. It is heat and solid and agressive and is associated with the elements of fire and sky. Because of its solar energy, daytime is yang. Let's go back to the body. Anything below the waist is yin because it is closer to the earth element. Anything above the waist is yang, closer to the sun and sky. The outside of the body, yang, protects the inside, yin. The upper part of the body, being yang, is more affected by yang elements, ie. heat, sun, wind. The lower yin body parts are more affected by cold, damp and wet. When you have a cold, yin has taken over yang. When you are really mad, yang has overtaken yin. If you are cold and pale, yin is excessive. If you are red in the face, yang is in excess. Are you beginning to see how life is about attempting to stay in balance? It really is a lot like chakras. When one chakra is out of balance, illness manifests in that part of the body. People themselves can have yin or yang tendencies. How you determine if you are more yin than yang is based on the year you were born according to a Chinese calendar. The chart is listed below. How does this relate to your yoga practice? Let's assume you find yourself in a challenging pose. The body is a little stressed by this, ie yang. If you allow the mind to start in with the self-judgement and get angry at the yoga instructor(!) for introducing such a ridiculous pose anyway, your mental being adds even more yang energy to that of the physical body. So we look for the softness in the pose as well as the strength; the easy versus the challenging. So here's a great example I came across online. Let's say you are in the midst of a conversation and the person you are speaking to suddenly becomes very mad. You can choose to raise your voice as well or you can choose to stay calm, right? The person who is upset has excessive yang energy. If you get mad, too, there is no balance; yang abuts yang. But if you choose to take a breath and stay calm, your yin balances his yang. You have altered the yang energy. Yin and yang are always changing. Situations and people can never be fully one energy or the other because they constantly change, melding with one another. That is why the yin yang symbol is encased in a circle depicting constant motion and interactions of the two polar energies. “Accept your dark side, understanding it will help you to move with the light. Knowing both sides of our souls, helps us all to move forward in life and to understand that, perfection doesn't exist.” ― Martin R. Lemieux Year Sign/Element Dates 1900 Rat Metal (1/31/1900 to 2/18/1901) 1901 Ox Metal (2/19/1902 to 2/7/1902) 1902 Tiger Water (2/8/1902 to 1/28/1903) 1903 Cat Water (1/29/1903 to 2/15/1904) 1904 Dragon Wood (2/16/1904 to 2/3/1905) 1905 Snake Wood 2/4/1905 to 1/24/1906) 1906 Horse Fire (1/25/1906 to 2/12/1907) 1907 Goat Fire (2/13/1907 to 2/1/1908) 1908 Monkey Earth (2/2/1908 to 1/21/1909) 1909 Rooster Earth 1/22/1909 to 2/9/1910) 1910 Dog Metal (2/10/1910 to 1/29/1911) Year Sign/Element Dates 1911 Pig Metal (1/30/1911 to 2/17/1912 1912 Rat Water (2/18/1912 to 2/5/1913) 1913 Ox Water (2/6/1913 to 1/25/1914) 1914 Tiger Wood (1/26/1914 to 2/13/1915) 1915 Cat Wood (2/14/1915 to 2/2/1916) 1916 Dragon Fire (2/3/1916 to 1/22/1917) 1917 Snake Fire (1/23/1917 to 2/10/1918) 1918 Horse Earth (2/11/1918 to 1/31/1919) 1919 Goat Earth (2/1/1919 to 2/19/1920) 1920 Monkey Metal (2/20/1920 to 2/7/1921) Year Sign/Element Dates 1921 Rooster Metal (2/8/1921 to 1/27/1922) 1922 Dog Water (1/28/1922 to 2/15/1923) 1923 Pig Water (2/16/1923 to 2/4/1924) 1924 Rat Wood (2/5/1924 to 1/23/1925) 1925 Ox Wood (1/24/1925 to 2/12/1926) 1926 Tiger Fire (2/13/1926 to 2/1/1927) 1927 Cat Fire (2/2/1927 to 1/22/1928) 1928 Dragon Earth (1/23/1928 to 2/9/1929) 1929 Snake Earth (2/10/1929 to 1/29/1930) 1930 Horse Metal (1/30/1930 to 2/16/1931) Year Sign/Element Dates 1931 Goat Metal (2/17/1931 to 2/5/1932) 1932 Monkey Water (2/6/1932 to 1/25/1933) 1933 Rooster Water (1/26/1933 to 2/13/1934) 1934 Dog Wood (2/14/1934 to 2/3/1935) 1935 Pig Wood (2/4/1935 to 1/23/1936) 1936 Rat Fire (1/24/1936 to 2/10/1937) 1937 Ox Fire (2/11/1937 to 1/30/1938) 1938 Tiger Earth (1/31/1938 to 2/18/1939) 1939 Cat Earth (2/19/1939 to 2/7/1940) 1940 Dragon Metal (2/8/1940 to 1/26/1941) Year Sign/Element Dates 1941 Snake Metal (1/27/1941 to 2/14/1942) 1942 Horse Water (2/15/1942 to 2/4/1943) 1943 Goat Water (2/5/1943 to 1/24/1944) 1944 Monkey Wood (1/25/1944 to 2/12/1945) 1945 Rooster Wood (2/13/1945 to 2/1/1946) 1946 Dog Fire (2/2/1946 to 1/21/1947) 1947 Pig Fire (1/22/1947 to 2/9/1948) 1948 Rat Earth (2/10/1948 to 1/28/1949) 1949 Ox Earth (1/29/1949 to 2/16/1950) 1950 Tiger Metal (2/17/1950 to 2/5/1951) Year Sign/Element Dates 1951 Cat Metal (2/6/1951 to 1/26/1952) 1952 Dragon Water (1/27/1952 to 2/13/1953) 1953 Snake Water (2/14/1953 to 2/2/1954) 1954 Horse Wood (2/3/1954 to 1/23/1955) 1955 Goat Wood (1/24/1955 to 2/11/1956) 1956 Monkey Fire (2/12/1956 to 1/30/1957) 1957 Rooster Fire (1/31/1957 to 2/17/1958) 1958 Dog Earth (2/18/1958 to 2/7/1959) 1959 Pig Earth (2/8/1959 to 1/27/1960) 1960 Rat Metal (1/28/1960 to 2/14/1961) Year Sign/Element Dates 1961 Ox Metal (2/15/1961 to 2/4/1962 1962 Tiger Water (2/5/1962 to 1/24/1963) 1963 Cat Water (1/25/1963 to 2/12/1964) 1964 Dragon Wood (2/13/1964 to 2/1/1965) 1965 Snake Wood (2/2/1965 to 1/20/1966) 1966 Horse Fire (1/21/1966 to 2/8/1967) 1967 Goat Fire (2/9/1967 to 1/29/1968) 1968 Monkey Earth (1/30/1968 to 2/16/1969) 1969 Rooster Earth (2/17/1969 to 2/5/1970) 1970 Dog Metal (2/6/1970 to 1/26/1971) Year Sign/Element Dates 1971 Pig Metal (1/27/1971 to 2/14/1972) 1972 Rat Water (2/15/1972 to 2/2/1973) 1973 Ox Water (2/3/1973 to 1/22/1974) 1974 Tiger Wood (1/23/1974 to 2/10/1975) 1975 Cat Wood (2/11/1975 to 1/30/1976) 1976 Dragon Fire (1/31/1976 to 2/17/1977) 1977 Snake Fire (2/18/1977 to 2/6/1978) 1978 Horse Earth (2/7/1978 to 1/27/1979) 1979 Goat Earth (1/28/1979 to 2/15/1980) 1980 Monkey Metal (2/16/1980 to 2/4/1981) Year Sign/Element Dates 1981 Rooster Metal (2/5/1981 to 1/24/1982) 1982 Dog Water (1/25/1982 to 2/12/1983) 1983 Pig Water (2/13/1983 to 2/1/1984) 1984 Rat Wood (2/2/1984 to 2/19/1985) 1985 Ox Wood (2/20/1985 to 2/8/1986) 1986 Tiger Fire (2/9/1986 to 1/28/1987) 1987 Cat Fire (1/29/1987 to 2/16/1988) 1988 Dragon Earth (2/17/1988 to 2/5/1989) 1989 Snake Earth (2/6/1989 to 1/26/1990) 1990 Horse Metal (1/27/1990 to 2/14/1991) Year Sign/Element Dates 1991 Goat Metal (2/15/1991 to 2/3/1992) 1992 Monkey Water (2/4/1992 to 1/22/1993) 1993 Rooster Water (1/23/1993 to 2/9/1994) 1994 Dog Wood (2/10/1994 to 1/30/1995) 1995 Pig Wood (1/31/1995 to 2/18/1996) 1996 Rat Fire (2/19/1996 to 2/6/1997) 1997 Ox Fire (2/7/1997 to 1/27/1998) 1998 Tiger Earth (1/28/1998 to 2/15/1999) 1999 Cat Earth (2/16/1999 to 2/4/2000) 2000 Dragon Metal (2/5/2000 to 1/23/2001) My theme is about time..
Are you ready to relax, to let tedious thoughts go, to release worry into the ground, to simply focus on you and what it feels like to breathe? Are you ready to appreciate the minutes you've been given? It's about time. Today's theme focused around a story by Ursula Wills-Jones called The Time- Sweepers. It is a fictional short story about time sweepers whose job it is to sweep up everyone's wasted time. Here's a link to the full story (http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/Time898.shtml) but I loved the last bit of it: "There isn't a moral to this story. It's just that if you are planning on throwing away your time, please remember - somebody has to pick it up. " And why would be so careless as to throw away time? Do what you enjoy, laugh and love and take time for yourself. Other quotes/poems from today's class: "TODAY IS A GIFT - I thought I was taking it away from someone else but the halls were empty so I gifted the time to me. Within seconds a snuffed inner light began to burn, embers of orange became flickers flickers patiently growing to flame a resurgence of spirit and life consumed me my breath faltered for a moment until I remembered I breathe for me an inhale found an exhale found an inhale again release embraced me" "Watch for the judgmental mind that discounts small movements as insignificant or unimportant or the ambitious mind that jumps in to tell you to make your breath bigger or deeper,or labels your perceptions as good or bad in order to arrive at a conclusion."- Donna Farhi "There is a force within that gives you life--- Seek That. In your body there lies a priceless jewel--- Seek That. If you want to find the greatest treasure, Don't look outside,Look within, and seek That". — Rumi Sean Johnson: "I ask myself daily: What is worth my time, attention, prana, love? The insight that comes from this inquiry is like a torch leading me through the dark."
I want you to close your eyes enveloping yourself in still darkness. Then imagine you light a torch. See how the light spills out in front of you. See how the light spills to your right; to your left. It wants to illuminate your path and show you the way. All you need to do is set aside fear, worry, anxiety and follow. Are you ready to do that? Can you trust the Universe will lead you where you are supposed to go? Imagine your yoga mat is that light. In your practice, explore all four corners of the mat! Create mandalas (circular patterns), explore, play, flow. Do not keep yourself confined to the center of your mat. Maybe, just maybe, you don't even keep yourself confined to the edges of your mat...I know!!! Rebellious, scary! Let one foot drift off, then the othe,r trusting your practice, trusting the light, trusting your life. There is a small island off the western coast of Scotland called Iona. On this island is a bay named St Columba after the missionary who could be seen dragging his boat up the beach with his disciples. "St Columba’s bay splits into two...beaches named the Port of the Coracle and The Port of the False Man. Legend has it that members of the druidic priest class who sought initiation were set adrift in an oarless boat. The currents would take them round to the bay where, if they drifted into The Port of the Coracle they were deemed ready for priestly initiation, but if they drifted into the Port of the False Man they were rejected and sent home." (jctravel.com) Can you lay back and trust where your current is taking you? We will practice this in svasana today! "A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going somewhere." Groucho Marx “I thought how lovely and how strange a river is. A river is a river, always there, and yet the water flowing through it is never the same water and is never still. It’s always changing and is always on the move. And over time the river itself changes too. It widens and deepens as it rubs and scours, gnaws and kneads, eats and bores its way through the land. ...Do I change like a river, widening and deepening, eddying back on myself sometimes, bursting my banks sometimes when there’s too much water, too much life in me, and sometimes dried up from lack of rain? Will the I that is me grow and widen and deepen? Or will I stagnate and become an arid riverbed? Will I allow people to dam me up and confine me to wall so that I flow only where they want? Will I allow them to turn me into a canal to use for they own purposes? Or will I make sure I flow freely, coursing my way through the land and ploughing a valley of my own?” ― Aidan Chambers, This is All: The Pillow Book of Cordelia Kenn  Ajna is the third eye chakra, the sixth chakra, located in the space between the eyebrows. The word Ajna means command; this is your command center of your internal and intuitive wisdom, should you choose to access it. This chakra is characterized by two lotus petals, one on either side as shown. Each petal reflects the opposing attribute of the other. For example, if one represents your masculine Shiva energy, the other is your feminine Shakti energy. One is your manifest mind, the other your unmanifest. Ego self versus spiritual self; pineal gland versus pituitary. Both sides converge at Ajna, the center point.
Along with the chakras, there are meridians and nadis, which are other points and lines of energy within the body. The three main nadis are the Sushumna, Ida and Pingala. The Sushumna travels straight up the spine. The other two start at the base of the spine, as well, but they keep crossing over each other in and around the chakras. Ida and Pingala end up at the two petals of Ajna. In class, to activate the third eye energy center, we first journeyed through various poses (asanas) to distract our minds from random thoughts. Once the mind is able to let go of to-do lists and grocery lists and kid-lists, it is able to recognize stillness. And from there, it is so much easier to access the intuitive and psychic wisdom that Ajna offers each one of us. We created an amazing stillness in class that I hope you will try at home. First, take a comfortable seat and close your eyes. Enjoy your natural breath as you elongate the spine. Sitting up straight allows for a more direct line connecting the energy flow of the chakras. Keeping your eyes closed, lift your eyes to focus on the third eye, the space between the eyebrows. After a few moments of breathing, add the following. In your head, every time you inhale, say the first part of "Om" and see the "O" part coming in through Ajna. As you exhale, say "Mmmm" in your head and see that vibration coming out of Ajna. Do this for a few moments and then repeat, except add on saying the "Mmmm" out loud, like a hum. Pay close attention; you may literally feel the vibration in your third eye center. So peaceful.... I read aloud a translation in class of a song called "Nirvana Shatakam" or "Atma Shatakam". As a young boy of eight, Adi Shankara (who later becomes the first Shankaracharya- head of a monastery) is wandering in the Himalayas attempting to seek out his guru, when he encounters a sage who asks him, "Who are you?" The boy's response are the following stanzas of the song, which explain his personal insights into non-duality. It turns out that the sage the boy is speaking to is, in fact, Swami Govindapada Acharya, the teacher he was looking for. "I am neither the mind, nor the intellect, nor the ego, nor the mind stuff. I am neither the body, nor the changes of the body. I am neither the senses of hearing, taste, smell or sight. Nor am I ether, the earth, the fire, the air. I am existence absolute, knowledge absolute bliss absolute. I am He, I am He. I am neither the Prana, nor the five vital airs. I am neither the materials of the body, nor the five sheaths. Neither am I the organs of action nor objects of the senses. I am existence absolute, knowledge absolute bliss absolute. I am He, I am He. I have neither aversion nor attachment, neither greed nor delusion, neither egotism nor envy, neither Dharma nor Moksha. I have neither desire nor object of desire. I am existence absolute, knowledge absolute, bliss absolute. I am He, I am He. I am neither sin nor virtue, neither pleasure nor pain, nor temple, nor worship, nor pilgrimage, nor scriptures. And I am neither the act of enjoying, the enjoyable nor the enjoyer. I am existence absolute, knowledge absolute, bliss absolute. I am He, I am He. I have neither death, nor fear of death, nor caste nor was I ever born, nor had I parents, friends and relations. I have neither Guru nor disciple. I am existence absolute, knowledge absolute, bliss absolute. I am He, I am He. I am untouched by the senses. I am neither Mukti nor knowable, I am without form, without limit, beyond space, beyond time. I am in everything, I am the basis of the universe, everywhere am I. I am existence absolute, knowledge absolute, bliss absolute. I am He, I am He." "Every decision you make - every decision - is not a decision about what to do. It's a decision about Who You Are. When you see this, when you understand it, everything changes. You begin to see life in a new way. All events, occurrences, and situations turn into opportunities to do what you came here to do." - Neale Donald Walsch There's a story in the book Bits and Pieces about a man who is driving through the dark country in the middle of the night when his tire goes flat. He gets out of his car and opens the trunk only to realize he doesn't have a lug wrench with which to change the tire. Up ahead, there is a farm house so the man starts walking towards it. In the span of time that it takes him to walk from his car to the house, his mind begins to play out the possible scenarios of what is about to happen. He sees himself ringing this door in the middle of the night and some really mad farmer answering the door. The man, in fact, gets himself so worked up and angry that the farmer might yell at him that by the time he rings the doorbell, his fear is no longer fiction in his head. A voice yells out, who is? And the man screams, you know who it is and I don't want your lug wrench now, anyway!
The outcome stories that our minds can make up are CRAZY! I often catch myself in the middle of one of these stories and just think what is going on in my head?! Try out this definition of fear: "Fear is: Foreseeing a negative potential as an outcome." Have you ever been in a yoga class where the instructor gently leads her sequence to headstand and you stop, immobilized with fear, because you KNOW the end result is you flipping over? You may have even done headstand a million times before but you know, because fear has gripped your biceps with her talon-like fingers, that you are going to fall. So, let's back up, because who wants that story in their head?! Is it possible to stop yourself in the midst of one of these stories and focus on courage? There's a Zen story called Without Fear. It goes like this... " During the civil wars in feudal Japan, an invading army would quickly sweep into a town and take control. In one particular village, everyone fled just before the army arrived - everyone except the Zen master. Curious about this old fellow, the general went to the temple to see for himself what kind of man this master was. When he wasn't treated with the deference and submissiveness to which he was accustomed, the general burst into anger. "You fool," he shouted as he reached for his sword, "don't you realize you are standing before a man who could run you through without blinking an eye!" But despite the threat, the master seemed unmoved. "And do you realize," the master replied calmly, "that you are standing before a man who can be run through without blinking an eye?'" If in calm, happy times we soundly understand fear is a discreditable emotion, why does it always return? Remember that, in the Yoga Sutras, Patangali says we create our own suffering. The man heading to the farmhouse created his own suffering and angst by imagining the worst outcome. Fear survives because we feed it and allow it to. Eckhart Tolle said, "The greater part of human pain is unnecessary. It is self-created as long as the unobserved mind runs your life." So, today's mantra: "I am strong. I am brave. I control my outcomes." Lolo Jones is an Olympian bobsledder heading to Sochi next month but most people know her name from a different sport altogether. As a track and fielder, Lolo was winning the 2008 100 meter hurdles in Beijing when she tripped over a hurdle. She ran the same race in London and finished 1/10 of a second behind the bronze medalist. She picked up bobsledding as a way of training and became a front runner for being chosen on the US bobsled team this year.
A guest on the Biggest Loser, she told the contestants that if she hadn't picked herself up after the first failure, she didn't know where she would be right now. "I'd encourage you", she said, "to dig down deep and know if you push past all the things your mind is telling you you can't do, that you can achieve something great." I love The Biggest Loser because every episode is so inspiring. The show's theme is about second chances. In tonight's yoga class, every student will have the opportunity to do each pose twice! That way, if your ego-mind tells you how crappy your first fold was because you couldn't touch your toes, you have a second chance to tell your mind, I may not be able to touch them but I can see them and that's enough! But, what if you are having one of those moments on the mat where you can't seem to snap back into your yoga mindset? Contestant Marie from BL said, "If you start something and finish it, you're a winner." Did you hear that? You cannot allow your mind to convince you that you had a bad yoga practice. For one, I don't believe that is even possible and, two, if you made it to your mat, pushed back into a relaxing Child's Pose for an hour and went straight into Svasana, you still won. You won well needed time for yourself. You won restorative time for your body to relax and renew. You won 60 minutes well spent with your breath. Your knees in Balasana (Child's Pose) for an hour might have something to say to you but when is the last time you spent an hour having a conversation with your knees???! So, you are still a winner! There are a multitude of quotes on second chances but here are the three that caught my eye: "Sometimes, life gives you a second chance because just maybe the first time you weren't ready." Unknown Author "Life offers you always a second chance, it's called TOMORROW..." Unknown Author "All discarded lovers should be given a second chance, but with somebody else." Mae West I thought the last one was funny but it has a good lesson encased in its humor. A second chance does not mean you try to do things over as they were or as you did before. I saw some poem online begging an ex to give them a second chance so things could be as they were before. No, no, no! And why would the author want things to be as before when she already knows how that turns out?! When one of the BL contestant's was going on and on about how she has never felt good enough and that's why she couldn't jump onto a box, Jillian told her, "It's your story and you're sticking to it. You have to tell a new story." Tell your own new story on the mat because the yoga lessons on the mat extend off the mat into life. Do you always go to pigeon from down dog? What other ways could you get there? Or, are you not able to get into pigeon from down dog yet continue to mentally beat yourself up because you think you should be able to? Why? Again, how else could you get there?! I apologize if I bore everyone with my Biggest Loser quotes and analogies. I am just so inspired by all the contestants and the wisdom of the trainers. But that just made me think of something else one of the contestants said on the last episode... she was referring to life before BL and life 12 weeks in at the Ranch, where most are between 70-105 pounds lighter. She said, "In my past life..." I knew she meant before the show, but it made me think of reincarnation. Your current life is your last life's second chance. So make every day important and memorable; not just the ones with the ups and downs. In Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, sutra 1.3 translates to "then the seer abides in its essence" (tada drashtuh svarupe avasthanam). Meaning, when you are in a state of yoga you rest or reside in your own true nature. But what is our true nature? The answer I most frequently come across is bliss. Bliss can be defined as being so enveloped in happiness you are oblivious to anything that is not.
From the book Living Your Yoga, "There is nothing we need to be whole that does not already exist within us." You have every answer you need in life because you already encompass this wholeness. Most of the time, we don't see or understand the answers but that doesn't mean we don't have them somewhere deep within. It's just that they get easily covered with layers of labels and reactionary emotions to temporary situations. There is something called Buddha Nature. It is the premise that all sentient beings have the ability to attain enlightenment. When we speak of Buddha, we traditionally think of Prince Guatama who became Buddha sitting under the Bodhi tree. But the word "Buddha" actually refers to someone who is enlightened. Guatama laid out the steps he took to become enlightened. One can choose to follow them or not exercising their free will, hence our ability to create our own destiny. In the book, The Secret Power of Yoga, "Seek not to learn the sutras, instead seek to learn who is the one who studies the scripture." That would be you! Take that principle, along with the idea we have the answers we need, and both refer to a turning inward. Contrary to all the fabulous mythological Gods of Hinduism, Buddhists do not believe in God. They feel that needing a belief in a non-proven God is based in human fear and fear, as we know from yoga, comes from Ego. Buddhists feel we all have the same opportunity to turn within and follow Guatama's steps to become enlightened on our own if we so choose. Jodi Hills writes, " I am part of it all...I am part of the wishes blown over burning candles, the ingredients, the left-overs, the dreams behind cracked open windows, the prayers at the edge of the bed, the worries swept under... I am part of the roads that lead to and from here, the neighbors near and far, all under one sky, trying to get to their own place of unconditional, outstretched arms. I am part of it all...and I am home." As for your yoga practice, you are part of all the poses and they you. I think of bow pose, which I would like except for the fact that it hurts my knee joints. The issues with my knees is part of me and, therefore, the pose reminds me of this aspect of myself. How will I react? How will I breathe? How will I encompass the pose yet find a variation that works for me and with me if "I am part of it all"? For these answers, I turn within. |
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