I find the most success in fighting this “SAD” time of year in forcing myself to stay busy going out with friends and being around the students at the studio. I get out my weekly calendar and start contacting people to get together so that most days, I have something nice to look forward to. Taking care of myself in this way helps me to move through these dark winter days. The friendships I take time to nurture sustain me and keep my spirits lifted.

I’m very interested in finding out about ways you might cope with “SAD” if you get it. Please take time to respond below and share your brief story.  Thank you for taking time each week to read my blog, and for the encouragement to keep at it. Let’s remember that we’re all on this planet together, sharing our community, and find ways to remove that feeling of separateness.  Reach out to me today!

Jacque

Happy Thanksgiving.

Prayahara is the withdrawing from the senses. In other words, it’s tuning out the physical and mental stimulators that take in the world around you. In this practice, we use pranayama as the tool for withdrawing our senses.

Dharana is acute focus and concentration. The practitioner strives for complete absorption into one thought by stilling the busy, turning mind.

Dhyana is moving into Meditation, or concentration upon a point of focus with the intention of knowing the truth about it.

Samadhi means to bring together to merge. In this state, the body and senses are at rest, but the faculty of mind and reason are alert. You need to control the feelings of Avidya (ignorance), Asmita (egoism), Raga-Dvesha (likes and dislikes), Abhinivesha (clinging to mundane life).

We practice the first four limbs in order to prepare the body and mind to take on the task of moving inward. Do we reach Samadhi? Is that the final outcome? Most likely, we won’t. Or if you obtain a bright flash of the brilliance of Samadhi, it goes as quickly as it comes. Seeking the state of perfect consciousness is the essence of the practice of yoga. Come, and let’s practice together. Let’s change the world by changing ourselves.  One step at a time.

In our Ashtanga vinyasa yoga practice, and in our Hot Yoga 40 and 41 sequences, we use Ujjayi  (pronounced “OO-ja-ee”) pranayama, or Victorious Breath. It’s a deep, full breath through the nose with a lift or constriction of the glottis, or back of the throat. The resulting sound is a loud “whisper” often compared to the sound of the ocean as the waves wash in and out from the shore. So, using this Ujjayi breath, we put the effort of maintaining connection to the breath throughout the entire practice. Aside from the physical benefits of deep, concentrated breathing (increased lung capacity, more movement of the muscles involved with breath…) we find the concentration required is soothing to the nervous system and helps the body stay in a state of relaxation during an extremely demanding physical practice.

If life force = breath control, it would follow that the study of the practice of pranayama is the study of being alive; much like the study of Asana is practice being ourselves. And in addition to the Ujjayi pranayama, there are many other types of breathing exercises that are available to us in the study of Yoga. There are many teachers at our studio who can instruct you if you’re interested in studying pranayama. We’re here to help you.

I always like to leave you with some motivation to explore the subjects of my blog, and today’s motivation can be simply this: watch yourself breathing today. Come back to the observance continually throughout today and for the week ahead. Give yourself a trigger that you will associate with remembering this task. It could be each time the phone rings, or every red traffic light. Just watch how you breathe in the different situations that arise through your day. Watch and take note. You only need a minimum of 5 breaths, but shoot for more. Are you breathing deeply or shallowly? Do you use conscious awareness of breath? Try to breathe your way through difficult situations such as a working at a demanding job, the compulsion to eat because of stress, experiencing feelings of loneliness or anxiety… stay with your breath and stay connected to yourself and to being alive in this physical body. Take note of all you observe as you breathe. You will notice immediately a sense of peace. There are many things will learn from this practice.

Pay attention. Seek information from your body. Breathe deeply and keep practicing.

Namaste.

You may still be a beginner and working on opening up the back body (hamstrings, lower back, etc. ) or you might be more advanced and your asana work is in the demanding inversions of 2^nd  or 3^rd series. The same benefits of asana apply to us all. We learn a new posture, working on alignment, transitions into and out of it, and by repetition we come familiar and more comfortable with it. Asana practice is a parallel to the study of the self in all areas of life. Asana practice is practice being you. It requires discipline over avoidance, compassion over coldness, and love over fear.  It’s learning to see the beauty  and the power of a single breath.  It’s the consciousness of our contribution, through practicing mindfulness, to peace on earth. It’s learning to love ourselves  just the way we are, right now, as if there were no tomorrow.

That is asana.

Practice and all is coming.

Saucha or Purity. Think of purity of mind, purity of body (diet), cleanliness of your living spaces.

Santosha or contentment. Learning to live within our means, and having gratitude for the life we live right now.

Tapas or fiery disclipline. This is the niyama of abiding commitment.  It is energetically showing up each day in your life (or on your mat…) and meeting that day’s challenges with passion.  What are ways you can keep your fire fueled?

Swadhyaya or study.  Seeking after knowledge and wisdom.  Specifically, this refers to the study of spiritual texts, but applies to all things that inspire us. Further, it is  study of ourselves in our practice and our day to day lives.

Ishvar Pranidhana  or surrender. Think of letting go of our fears for the future, and regrets of the past. This niyama is related to faith that “things are as they should be”.  For those religious people,  you might  see this as “ Faith that God is in charge”.

As we strive to improve ourselves, we can find wisdom and guidance through the Niyamas.  You may see parallels between Yamas and Niyamas and many religious teachings.  Remember that truth is constant, no matter where you find it.

Namaste.

1)      Ahimsa – or Non-violence. Ahimsa can be practiced toward all beings and toward yourself.

2)      Satya –  or Truthfulness.  Honesty that does not cause Ahimsa. Sometimes a challenge!

3)      Asteya – or Non-stealing.  Is it really free, or just free to you?

4)      Brahmacharya –  or Moderation / restraint. Where do you over-indulge?

5)      Apraragraha -  or Non-possessiveness.  Do the things you possess really own you?

I gave a brief description and a short thought regarding each Yama just to get you thinking. This is just the surface of this first rung, and requires reflection, self-study and humility from the yogi.  I encourage you to write them down and keep them in a location you’ll see throughout the day.  Think about these in relation to some different areas of your life: your yoga practice, your relationships with others, and the way you tend to view and treat yourself.

Namaste,

Jacque

Before I begin, though, I would like to take a moment to clarify that Yoga is not a religion. Rather, it is a spiritual practice that helps the practitioner draw nearer to the higher power, god, or universal consciousness that they believe in. It is devoid of actual religious teaching, yet enhances the understanding of spiritual things.  You can be Catholic, Evangelical, Baptist, Jewish, Unitarian, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu and practice yoga. You can be agnostic or atheist and practice yoga. You just need a sense of understanding that all beings can coexist together if we live with kindness and compassion for one another. And putting our faith in truth, love and the harmonious connection of all living things we find the light that yoga can bring to life.

The Eight Limbs of Yoga are:

Yamas or Ethics

Niyamas, or Observances

Asana, or postures of yoga

Pranayama, or breath awareness

Pratyahara, or sense withdrawal

Dharana, or concentration

Dhyana, or meditation

Samadhi, or clarity of pure consciousness.

Each limb is represented for the purpose of this study as a rung in a ladder. Beginning with the Yamas and moving upward to reach the ultimate goal of Samadhi.  In ages past, the yogis would retreat from village life to work at “climbing the ladder” of the Eight Limbs. In our day, this approach is impractical. We simply cannot leave our lives behind to find our way to peace and light. So, we find ourselves trapped in a life filled with stress, impossible schedules, and unending pressure to make ends meet. And, the result of such living is evident in the many varieties of illness, both physical and mental, that torment so many people.  Instead of retreating, we can turn off the busy mind for that hour or so of practice in a yoga class. I tell you that embarking on a yoga practice can bring balance, steadiness and peace into your lives. And, for those of you who currently are practicing, you feel that peace settle upon you as you take your rest (savasana) at the end of class, and it keeps you coming back. Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, or any form of a yoga practice you prefer, can help you set your feet firmly in the NOW. And, so much of the causes of our suffering are results of being unconnected to the present moment.

And, now we have our eyes and hearts open to see and learn about the philosophy of yoga. Visit next week’s blog to learn more.

Namaste,

Jacque

I’m finding that off the mat, this lesson is an important one as well. It may be the single most important thing I’ve learned so far.  I tend to rush into and out of things quickly. I make lists and cross off the items as fast as possible. In operating this way, I feel like I’m productive. And, if you have lots of little mundane tasks, this is not a bad method. But, I carry this over into many other areas of my life – relationships, self-examination, and personal growth are some examples… And these, similar to my yoga postures, should not be gotten speedily into and out of. They should be lived with awareness, mindfully and patiently, for some time. I need to soften my need for grasping, wanting, measuring and inventing time lines. This behavior has been a cause of suffering for me and for other people that are dear to me. I’m trying to stay present for “many breaths”, appreciating the moment and letting that be enough. It’s so challenging to lose these life- long habits. It’s a fight to become unattached to future outcomes.  But, if I can soften my will and build a relationship with those things I fight, maybe there will be space to study truth patiently, for many breaths and find lasting happiness.

Compassion is the willingness to take on the perspective and suffering of another in order to share that burden and in exchange, to give that person love, hope and support. So, it actually is much more active than I had realized. It becomes an effort in reaching out and allowing your mind to rest on the suffering of another person. You must somehow identify with their pain, not just sympathize. True compassion requires dialing into the other person’s emotional responses to their circumstance rather than seeing or feeling your own personal response. It requires “energetic listening” and a desire to really understand what the other person is going through.

I have been going at this all wrong.  My instinct is to provide nurturing to people and trying to come up with ways of getting them to see another perspective of their situation. I see that this approach can make people feel that their state of suffering is not valid, that their feelings are being dismissed.  Compassion, in its fullness, means to take on that suffering as if I am the other person. So, instead… I must allow myself to experience their pain, and from that place, provide comfort in the form of quiet meditation that they may be free of their suffering and the cause of that suffering.

This practice of compassion is going to be an ongoing effort now, for me. I’ll just try to catch myself when I start going back to my old patterns and remember what I’m learning…  Practice and all is coming, once again.