Day 294 Intention ~ Finish My Book

Day 294 Intention ~ Finish My Book

I have been nursing Richard Freeman's book, The Mirror of Yoga, for months and months now. I only read it before bed and only about 5-10 pages at a time. I love it and I have cherished my time with it. 

Last night I was down to the last 6 pages, so I read only two before turning off the light. Tonight has got to be the night. I need to practice vairagya or non-attachment with this book. It will always be there for me to refer to and it is time. I have several lined up and ready to go for my reading pleasure! Vairagya is in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and it is something, as yogis, we should all practice. Now, my interpretation here is very loose on the non-attachment front, but the way I have been coveting this book...perhaps not! 

Til tomorrow...

Shanti, 

Marcia

Day 259 Intention ~ Get Positive

Day 259 Intention ~ Get Positive

Monday morning. Some mornings just have a more gloomy factor to them than others. For me, this morning is one of those. Why? Not sure. Mondays really don't make too much difference to me since I work pretty much every day of the week. The sun is even peeking out through the clouds. 

So what's the problem here? 

My attitude. I need to get positive and know it's going to be a good day...if I decide to make it that way. In the Yoga Sutras it reads, "When transgressions hinder, the weight of the imagination should be thrown to the other side." A.k.a., change your attitude. Make the negative energy positive. 

Still working on it for today, but I am getting there. 

Til tomorrow...

Shanti,

Marcia

Day 132 Intention ~ Review the Niyamas

Day 132 Intention ~ Review the Niyamas

We can all use a refresher course when it comes to the yoga teachings. Patanjali's eight limbed path of yoga is the logical place to start. We went through the yamas a little bit the other day, but today, to continue applying my practice off the mat, I would like to review the niyamas or observances to practice daily also. 

There are five niyamas:

• Saucha ~ cleanliness or purity
• Samtosha ~ contentment
• Tapah ~ accepting pain and not causing pain
• Svadhyaya ~ study of spiritual books and Self
• Isvarapranidhana ~ worship of God, self-surrender

Saucha most obviously can be practiced through physical cleanliness and scrubbing of oneself. We should be clean before we practice any of the eight limbs, including asana. The tougher part of this is purity and cleanliness of the mind. Staying away from negative thoughts or saying dirty words, etc. can help purify the mind. So can meditation practice. Especially in this day and age when there is so much media coming at us from all different directions, keeping things positive is tough. Try to listen to uplifting music, watch positive movies or shows, read uplifting books. 

Samtosha is finding contentment with whatever is going on around you. Accepting the good, the bad, the ugly, the beautiful. Keeping a level head. Not being reactionary. It doesn't mean that you don't feel, but you take whatever comes your way with grace. 

Tapas means "to burn". Physically, we cleanse the body through the physical practice, burning the toxins out. We can eat a healthy, clean and green diet to help the process move more efficiently. We practice tapas in our mind when we let go of our ideas of things...when we change our perspective and let our minds (and our hearts) open. Sri Swami Satchidananda says that "Don't think that if someone causes us pain they hate us, but rather that they are helping us to purify ourselves. If we can think like this, we are real Yogis."

Svadhyaya is spiritual study and study of the Self. Studying the scriptures, whether it is in the Bible, the Torah, The Puranas, or The Bhagavad Gita, whatever your religion or spiritual belief or path, you will get closer to God and to your own personal sadhana. 

The last of the niyamas is Isvarapranidhana and it is total surrender to God. It is giving everything up to God. Give everything you do up to God. Giving our lives to help others is isvarapranidhana. Once we can give it all up, we don't possess anything anymore and therefore no longer have worry. We know that God will take care of us. Peace and joy will come to those who give it all up to God and to humanity. With this samadhi will come. 

Til tomorrow...

Shanti,

Marcia

Day 130 Intention ~ Practice Yoga Off the Mat

Day 130 Intention ~ Practice Yoga Off the Mat

I've been thinking about my yoga practice a lot lately. Although, I do some practice off the mat, when I really think about the eight limbs of yoga in Patanjali's yoga sutras, I try to think about adapting them to my daily life. 

How much are we all really practicing? 

For review, the eight limbs taken straight from my Yoga Sutra book translated by Sri Swami Satchidananda:

• yama (abstinence)
• niyama (observance)
• asana (posture)
• pranayama (breath control)
• pratyahara (sense withdrawal)
• dharana (concentration)
• dhyana (meditation)
• samadhi (contemplation, absorption, or superconscious state)

To really bring consciousness to my practice off the mat (most of us already get the third limb asana), I will start with the yamas today. This first limb has five parts to it and these are all things that we should abstain from in our behavior. 

The five parts of the yamas: 

• ahimsa: non-harming
• satya: truthfulness
• asteya: non-stealing
• brahmacharya: continence
• aparigraha: non-greed

As far as ahimsa goes, I eat a vegan diet so as not to harm animals and be a little less harmful to the environment. I try to be environmentally responsible when possible. And I also try not to harm others with my words, thoughts and actions.

Satya, that is easy. I try to tell the truth at all times...to myself also! Don't get me wrong, if the truth is a mean statement, I most likely don't say anything at all. 

Asteya, or non-stealing. This one seems pretty straight forward and easy. Don't steal! Even if it's a pen from work or stealing time from others. 

Brahmacharya: continence. Well, in the Western world we translate this into moderation. Live in moderation. I try to do this, although, sometimes when there's a bag of Terra sweet potato chips in front of me, forget about it! :)

Lastly, aparigraha, non-greed: just take what you need. (see last paragraph, I try!) Whether it's shoes, food, time, love, whatever it is, don't hoard it. If you have enough, save some for the rest. The less "stuff" you have, the clearer your mind can be. Less clutter.

So, there's my list to start working on! Just becoming more conscious of these things (we'll go through some of the other eight limbs in future days), can help us actually live our yoga. 

Til tomorrow...

Shanti, 

Marcia

Day 100 Intention ~ Think Positive Thoughts

Day 100 Intention ~ Think Positive Thoughts

I was perusing last month's Yoga Journal this morning when I came across a little snippet about how studies have been done at the Medical Research Council in England about replacing negative thoughts with positive thoughts and how it actually worked in research participants. 

In Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, it reads: 

PYS II:33

Vitarka badhane pratipaksa bhavanam.

When disturbed by negative thoughts, opposite ones should be thought of. 

So when you find yourself feeling low or negative about things, try some positive thinking to change your mind. It's all about attitude. This can be difficult in the heat of the moment, say, if you are arguing with someone or if you lose someone you love, but trying to come to the opposite emotion can help. Remember a time when you were laughing with the person you are arguing with or find gratitude for having the person you lost in your life. Find a way to change your attitude to a positive one and your whole day may be on the upswing. 

Til tomorrow...

Shanti, 

Marcia

Day 92 Intention ~ Lose the Ego

Day 92 Intention ~ Lose the Ego

Yoga. It's so funny. It always knows what I need to hear. Just in the last 15 hours or so, ego keeps getting mentioned in whichever yoga writings I end up reading. 

Whether it's a slow class, a disagreement, a failed handstand attempt or just trying to be heard, I, like everyone else, will let my ego take over at times. 

That's when those yoga lessons sneak their way in...

I am currently reading Richard Freeman's book, The Mirror of Yoga:Awakening the Intelligence of Body and Mind, (highly recommend by the way!) and the parts I was reading last night discussed ego getting in the way of kundalini rising. As soon as we get excited about freeing kundalini, the ego is there to bring it back down. 

Then this morning, I was reading the Jivamukti focus of the month, and one of the suggested mantras to chant was from Patanjali's Yoga Sutras:

PYS III:38

Te samadhav upasarga vyutthane.

By giving up the love of power, you attain the power of love.

Lose the ego. If we can let go of our egos, we can truly open our heart and find pure love in the Self. 

Is it easy? Heck no, it's not easy! But, we can try and try and try again. That is all we can do. That is all we can ask of ourselves to do. If we truly and purely try, it will happen and all that we need will come our way. 

Til tomorrow...

Shanti, 

Marcia

Day 86 Intention ~ Be True

Day 86 Intention ~ Be True

PYS II:36 - Satya Pratisthayam Kriya Phalasrayatvam.

To one established in truthfulness, actions and their results become subservient. 

Satya means truthfulness. It is one of the yamas, or ethical guidelines in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. As Swami Satchidananda describes it in his book interpreting the Yoga Sutras, "With establishment in honesty, the state of fearlessness comes. One need not be afraid of anybody and can always lead an open life. When there are no lies, the entire life becomes an open book. But this comes only with an absolutely honest mind." 

So, being true in words, actions, and thoughts. The more we are true, the easier it becomes. For a yogi, even telling little white lies must end. The mind must become clear and true in order to see the bigger Truth in ones Self. 

Pattabhi Jois is known for saying, "Practice and all is coming." This also applies to practicing the yamas and niyamas...and speaking, feeling and living the truth. 

Til tomorrow...

Shanti, 

Marcia

Day 80 Intention ~ Find Santosha

Day 80 Intention ~ Find Santosha

Close your eyes, click your heels 3 times and repeat: "Find santosha, find santosha, find santosha." That is how I feel today. I know it's silly, but this winter has worn me out. Now, the 2nd day of spring and a winter weather advisory is out and it's snowy and just plain cold. Yes, it's Cleveland. Do I expect this? Yes, yes I do. But, for some reason, I'm struggling to find santosha today. 

Santosha is contentment or satisfaction with what you have. It is yoga 101. It is one of the niyamas, also known as a restraint or observance, in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, and I am usually pretty good about it. Usually. But, old man winter weather has got me down today. 

Things to do to bring santosha back you ask? 

Well, the obvious and most costly is to book a quick trip to somewhere warm...Caribbean preferred, but anywhere would do. The smarter, wiser choice is to practice yoga asana and meditate. This is what I will do and what I can afford. 

If you are also struggling to find santosha in your day...no matter what is creating the block, yoga asana and meditation will help. Even if it is a short practice. Remember, meditation is a practice too. Start with a few minutes and build. Eventually the mind chatter will start to dissolve or at least give you a break for a few minutes. 

Til tomorrow...

Shanti, 

Marcia

Day 41 Intention ~ To Let Go

Day 41 Intention ~ To Let Go

For those of you that read yesterday's intention, yes, I was a little bit upset. It happens. I don't usually like to bring it out to everyone, but I feel very strongly about how others treat others in general, and especially within the yoga community. Practicing ahimsa is one of the first things we are taught to practice in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, and practicing it towards one another just seems like a no-brainer. 

But, it is a new day, and it is time to let go of my negative emotions from yesterday. I feel very lucky to have gotten to practice with advanced Jivamukti teacher, Julie Kirkpatrick, today. There was a gentleness to her teaching, although a Jivamukti asana practice is a rigorous practice, and we all moved and breathed together as one. The energy in the room was lovely and supportive. It felt like home. I felt reaffirmed in my practice and of how yogis behave towards one another. I also realized it was time to let go of my emotions from the day before and move forward. Each exhale allowed more release, each inhale, I felt myself expand towards new life and new energy. As I laid in savasana, I felt release and relief. Carrying around those heavy, angry emotions is exhausting. As we breathed in, we mentally said, "let", as we exhaled, we mentally said, "go". As we practiced this over and over, I could feel a lightness take a hold of me and I felt like myself again. 

"Let Go." If you ever find yourself obsessing over something in a negative way or if you are just feeling a little bit stressed and you can't find release, I suggest you try this technique. It can lead you into a nice meditation. Inhale "let", exhale "go". 

Til tomorrow...

Shanti & Namaste, 

Marcia

Day 25 Intention ~ Find Ease and Breath

Day 25 Intention ~ Find Ease & Breath

Maybe it should be find ease and breathe, both work. My African proverb calendar for today offers up a Kenyan proverb that reads, "The bird which flaps its wings too much will drop its feathers." Bringing this to my Westernized world, I read it two ways. The first as flapping one's mouth or talking too much or perhaps talking about others or even just plain complaining about things. Well, it happens. Not gonna lie, I already talked a little sh*t today, so maybe my feathers are going to drop. I hope not. But, I won't do it anymore :)

The other way I interrupt this is to just calm down. Period. Let the mind relax and just become focused and present. Lose the mind chatter. It's #2 in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras: "Yogash chitta vritti nirodhah"...yoga happens when the mind-stuff (or chatter) ceases. This will let the other things in life fall into place. Breath work is a great way to calm the mind and find focus. Practicing meditation is another wonderful way to find this focus, or concentration that eventually will lead to real meditation where there are no thoughts and one can enter samadhi, also known as bliss. 

For today, as the snow continues to fall in Cleveland, leaving road conditions less than ideal, I am going to try to use the calm and the breath to allow me to take it easy on my drive to Berea (@ 45 minutes away) and focus on the road and getting there and back safely. Deep breaths...deep breaths....

Til tomorrow.

Shanti, 

Marcia