The Living Practice Online

Yoga Articles, Yoga Essays, Yoga Stories, Yoga Wisdom

Check back often as we refresh and renew our online treasure-trove of inspirational articles in our Living Practice Online. Our writers are a devoted group of yoga practitioners from all lineages with the intention to illustrate ways to incorporate yoga in to everyone's daily practice ... everywhere!

Pinca Mayurasana Peacock Tailfeather

When you’ve perfected

this posture

throw it away –

a peacock cannot see

the beautiful feathers

behind it.

Reprinted from Yoga Poems: Lines to Unfold By, Stone Bridge Press.

Leza is a published author, yoga instructor and co-owner of Sun and Moon Yoga Studio located in Meguro, Japan. 

Workshop Report

Body Landscapes

Dancing the Feminine

By Charlotte Holtzermann

With instructors Georgianne Cowan and Stephanie Franz on June 12, 2006.

"Summer is upon us and there is a blossoming into shape and space." Stephanie Franz welcomed a circle of seven women in a large, carpeted studio.

On the threshold of summer, I visit this class to renew my soul in movement, to feel space with closed eyes, to let impulse unfold.  It is a feminine way to move intuitively through uncharted ground.  I feel liquid, serpent-like and free in this context of exploring movement and ritual play.

The space is dressed with fabric and symbols; an altar on the floor hosts a bowl of water, small buddha figures, candles and broad green leaves.  Panels of violet, sage, saffron and red chiffon hang from high beams.  Piles of small, smooth stones suggest to my feet that it's time for summer walks at low tide.

We begin a warm up holding hands with our left palm up and right hand down. A current of air envelopes us.  We emit an audible "ah" on our exhale, letting our inhale grow into a full, suspended breath.  Georgianne suggests that we use our left hand to stroke the back of our neck and our right hand to circle the abdomen.

We shift on to our hands and knees and let our pelvis move in a figure eight; letting this movement be the source of opening the torso and legs.  After years of beginning class at the barre in ballet or standing on the mat in yoga, I feel animal like - grounded, as we begin to warm up from all fours.  Georgianne encourages us to sense the ember, the heat in our tail bone.

We continue to stretch into our feet, to make gestures touching our heart.  We move for the first hour to haunting chants and drums.  Each woman passing through her inner worlds.  I revel in exploring trance, dance and ritual.

After a short break, Stephanie introduces the second round by talking about recent evidence in science which shows the function of mirror neurons in our brain; how much we understand through empathic intake and imitation.  She mentioned a recent study of a monkey's brain wired to a monitor in a lab showing the monkey's neurons mirroring a lab technician licking an ice cream cone.

This idea is key to our next round:  To be in a state of mirroring and offering to each other.  "This is about meeting, blessing and exposing yourself," said Stephanie. Each of us took turns moving before and interacting with the group. I was moved watching some women reveal raw angst and rapture.  This rite of exposing internal terrain in movement brought us into more intimate space.

In the third round, each of us took time to dwell at various altars in the room, exploring self in stillness and with stones, bells, veils, corridors, cushions and the floor.  After years of training in various dance and movement disciplines, I am drawn into this domain of exploring space and gesture.  It feels like feminine yoga - joining psyche and soma.

Georgianne Cowan and Stephanie Franz embody and articulate womanly, earthy and ethereal dance.  They met while studying Continuum movement with Emile Conrad and Susan Harper. Their idiom is guided and mimetic movement incorporating myth, dream and prayer. They inspire women to tap into a feminine landscape of exploration and healing.

With Michael Tobias, Georgianne edited a book of collected essays on The Soul of Nature.  She is a photographer and performance artist in a video she produced entitled Earth Dreaming.  Stephanie Franz, M.A., is a movement therapist and professional Birth Assistant.  They blend and complement each other in a shared evening of guiding the group.

Georgianne and Stephanie will resume classes in Body Landscapes on Monday

evenings beginning September 11th.  For more information, contact GCowan2000@aol.com  

Charlotte Holtzermann teaches Beginning Hatha Yoga at LMU Extension and for children in STAR Education.  She works with individuals in Alexander Technique, Aquatic Exercise and Watsu.

mailto:Charlotteholtz@yahoo.com

Milk In The Age of Convenience

By Arun Deva

As with all great treasures, milk comes with certain caveats. As our society further distances itself from nature and turns gradually more synthetic, these caveats turn into dire warning signals. A look at milk’s qualities as expressed in the magnificent Ayurvedic text, the Caraka Samhita, shows the potentiality of both misuse and overuse.  Caraka lists milk’s qualities as sweet, cold, soft, lubricant, unctuous, smooth, slippery, heavy, slow and pleasant. In Ayurveda, milk is almost never drunk cold, as it is harder to digest and thus turns the milk from sattvic to tamasic in nature. Sattva is a state of lightness, equanimity, clarity, and, in this case, fortification, strength and vitality. Tamas, on the other hand, reflects dullness, confusion, sloth, and in this case, the process of compromising its quality, leading to ill health and the potentiality of allergies. But what exactly is “compromised” milk?

To answer this is to look first and foremost at its source: the Mother. When a nursing mother makes choices regarding her diet, she does so with the welfare of her infant in mind. She instinctively knows that what she eats will be passed on to her child through her milk, thus confirming milk as the essence of her diet, her emotional state and her health. It is not a far-fetched theory that makes a mother stay away from alcohol and cigarettes when she is nursing. It is, however, an act of “putting on the blinders” when she stops at that and does not extend the logic to her diet, her health and her emotional state. This begins the process of compromisation of the quality of her milk and the obvious implication is the shifting of her milk away from the desired sattvic state. As in life, there is not just black and white; there are various shades of grey in between.

The Caraka Samhita, at least 2000 years old, lists eight recommended sources of milk, including cow, sheep, mare, elephant and human. It lists the varying qualities of each. Of all, cow’s milk is considered the best for its ability to increase ojas, the essence of our immunity and vitality. Yet today, milk is a subject of great controversy regarding its benefits, especially as compared to its potential risks. These risks include high and unhealthful cholesterol levels, heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, high blood pressure, constipation, lactose intolerance and allergies, among others.

So, how did our perception of milk shift from “best among rasayanas (rejuvenative)” to a highly suspect source of many illnesses? The answer must lie in the changing quality of milk as precipitated by the manner in which we treat its source: the mother. Whether cow, human or other, it is still only a mother that naturally provides milk. When I advice my clients or students about milk, I often tell them to get a healthy cow, put it in a large pasture with lots of green grass, let its calf play with it as a child does, then let the calf drink its full from it and then when you look into its large, liquid, loving eyes and you put a pail under it, you may not even need to milk it, the milk will be given to you that readily! This milk drunk fresh, warm and raw will nourish you like no other food in this world! Realistically, this scenario is almost impossible for most but its essential message can and should exist symbolically for all of us. 

As is the case of the human mother, it helps to put things in perspective by remembering that the cow is, first and foremost, also a mother. The cow was always revered in India, her special status enshrined by the law. But now, as you walk the streets of India, in many alleys you will find a cow rummaging through the garbage for food. As a result one reads every few days about a dead cow, her stomach stuffed with discarded plastic bags.

In farm factories around the world, cows are forced into yearly pregnancies for their milk. After giving birth they are milked for 10 months, often they are artificially inseminated during the third month so that they can be milked even when pregnant. This stressful demand for production of milk is more than her body can take, so she starts breaking down body tissue to produce milk. The result is an illness called ketosis. Most of the day the cow is tied up in a narrow stall usually wallowing in her own excrement till she goes lame. She may get mastitis because the hands that milk her so often are rough and usually unclean, so imagine her fate when milked by machines. She gets rumen acidosis from unnatural feed. She is also subject to the use of an array of drugs, including bovine growth hormone (BGH); prostaglandin, which is used to bring a cow into heat whenever the farmer wants to have her inseminated; antibiotics; and even tranquilizers, in order to influence her productivity and behavior. In India, when Mahatma Gandhi heard about the inhumane manner in which cows were being treated, he gave up drinking milk, something he had cherished all his life.

Cows on today's dairy factory farms live only about four to five years (often slaughtered because of mastitis), as opposed to the life expectancy of 20-25 years enjoyed by cows who are treated humanely and are free to roam and free of violent drugs. No cow lives out her normal life cycle. She is milked, made sick and then killed. Perhaps the greatest pain suffered by cows in the dairy industry is the repeated loss of their young. Female calves may join the ranks of the milk producers, but the males are generally taken from their mothers within 24 hours of birth and sold at auction either to the veal industry or to beef producers.

And what of the milk itself? Each cow has its own qualities of health and emotion, yet the milk we drink is freely mixed from all the cows on the farm. Ayurvedically, this milk is already tamasic and indigestible, causing confusion, lethargy, fear and anger. Surely a cow that lives in constant dread, fear of its life and deprivation from its calf, will carry emotions such as anger, outrage, fear and hate. These then are the emotions we digest when we drink its milk. The milk is further pasteurized (in this age of sterile metal containers, an oxymoron) and the good bacteria as well as the bad are destroyed. Since we need the good bacteria to help in the formation of lactase within us, we turn lactose intolerant. Ultra pasteurization, where the milk is violently heated from cold refrigerated to boiling in a couple of minutes changes the chemical composition into a mutated form the horrors of which we can only imagine.

It is this milk that we are expected to equate with the sattvic milk of the Vedas, of the yogis and of Ayurveda. By all standards it will fail. It is in fact no longer the panacea promised by Surabhi, the celestial cow of the Vedas. In the epic myth of the churning of the ocean (manthanam), among the fourteen great treasures that arose was this “cow of plenty”. The ancient texts say that in Satyuga (age of perfection), dharma stands as a cow on four legs, in the Tretayuga (age of less than perfection), she stands on three, in Dwaparayuga (dwindling and disappearing perfection), just two and today, in what is widely believed to be Kaliyuga (age of decadence and destruction), she stands on but one leg.

If milk is the essence of a cow’s diet, then what is this milk that arises from a steady diet of soy meal, cottonseed meal or other commercial feeds, even bakery waste, chicken manure or citrus peel cake, all laced with pesticides. Vitamins A and D are greatly diminished when milk cows are fed commercial feed, needing to be added in artificially. Soy meal has the wrong protein profile for the dairy cow, resulting in a short burst of high milk production followed by premature death. Real feed for cows is rapidly growing green grass, green feed, silage, hay and root vegetables. From a yogin’s perspective, a cow is revered for the fortifying and complete meal offered by her milk. In the Mahabharata (Anusasana Parva), in a discussion between the Rishis Bhishma, Vasishta and Vyasa, is a sloka, a verse:

Cows constitute the stay of all creatures. Cows are the refuge of all creatures. Cows are the embodiment of merit. Cows are sacred and blessed and are sanctifiers of all.

One should never, in even one’s heart, do an injury to cows. One should, indeed, always confer happiness on them.

When treated humanely, as is the case with all mothers, there is a magical quality to the milk of a cow. In 1929, Dr. J.R. Crewe of the Mayo Foundation published an article called The "Milk Cure." The treatment was a combination of a detoxifying fast and nutrient-dense feeding. The milk used was, in all cases, the only kind of milk available in those days—raw milk from pasture-fed cows, rich in butterfat. The patients were all fed small quantities of milk all day coming up to 5-10 quarts total and nothing else. Striking results were seen in diseases of the heart and kidneys and high blood pressure as well as edema, which is even more surprising because it is unorthodox to treat dropsy (edema) with large quantities of liquids. In the old Ayurvedic texts, milk acts often as an “anupasana,” a carrier of medicinal herbs. In his wonderful Ayurvedic cookbook, Dr. Lad lists different medicated milks for different doshic disorders. Ayurveda strongly recommends a glass of warm milk with ginger and cinnamon at bedtime to help one sleep. Milk is considered both an aphrodisiac as well as replenishing after sexual activity. It is said that it takes up to 35 days for food’s nutritional value to reach the reproductive tissue but that milk goes straight to it.

There is also a protocol to the drinking of this nutrient rich elixir.  Since milk is a fortifying food/beverage, it has a kapha increasing nature; basically this means that it should not be had in addition to your meal. The concept of a glass of milk with breakfast, lunch or dinner is alien to Ayurveda for common sense reasons. Milk, because of its nourishing properties, which include cold and heavy, usually needs to be drunk warm and, unless you have a very strong agni, (the digestive fire) some digestive herbs like ginger or cinnamon should be added. It can be drunk at night before bed or as a complete morning beverage. Milk also gives us some of our other favorite foods: butter, ghee, lassi, yogurt or curds and of course, cheeses. All of these should be used with care and not indulged in because of their richness. It is said that the poorer nations suffer the curse of malnutrition and that the richer ones, where overindulgence is the norm, suffer from the curse of malabsorption.

We live now in an age of convenience. Many of our children in the big cities associate apples with a supermarket shelf and not a tree in an orchard. We expect to find any and all foods at any and all times conveniently provided, forgetting that Nature gives us seasonal foods for a reason. Milk is associated with plastic and paper cartons with the picture of a grazing cow, and yet the reality is what is inside that carton, not in its outside advertisement.  It is understandable to want this convenience, after all it is the fruit of our social and cultural advancement, but we must at some point ask not just at what price but also how many of God’s fair creatures, of whom we are supposed to show the most promise, are actually paying this price and in the end, we have to ask ourselves, what does this say about us? In the war between cows and humans and there is no question that we have subjugated them much as prisoners of such a war, there can never be any winners. After all, we started out as the best of friends and how could a war between friends ever end in a victory for one? They have not only been our partners all through our rural growth, but in a mutual trust and respect, continued to act as our mothers after we had become adults, providing us with milk, cheese, butter, and even fuel for our fires as cow dung and buffalo chips.

A cow digests the essence of the earth through its grass, a very concentrated and hard food to assimilate, but because of their four stomachs, they are able to draw the earth’s energy out of it and, having fed their babies, they share this wonderful panacea with us. When we treat a cow as a commodity to increase our convenience, when we refuse to see it as a living being, we demean ourselves. And in the end, when we make a cow sick with the wrong foods and inhumane treatment, it, in turn, makes us sick with mutated and perverted milk that is no longer a panacea but is instead very much a poison.

When we respect Nature, she will respect us. When we divorce ourselves from her, she has no choice but to honor that by staying away from us. In this age of convenience we have created diseases that reflect our alienation from that which gave us life and from whose elemental structure arises our own elemental structure. In this age of irrefutable global warming we have forgotten that in the end we must return to Nature in the shape of dust and that when we go to war with her, we actually go to war with ourselves. In this age of Kaliyuga, when Surabhi, the celestial cow, stands on one foot, Milk, the complete food, turns into Milk, the complete destroyer. If we heed the cries of Nature, we will in fact, hear the cries of the Mother. Every mother wants her milk to nourish her child, not be its poison.

It is also imperative that in this age that we see the potentiality of the next age of perfection.  We can begin living it by honoring one of the symbols of that age, the cow standing on all four of her legs…if we begin to drink only milk that comes from cows that roam free, that eat good grass, that are able to nurture their calves, we may just find that indeed, milk is the perfect food of the yogis, both a cure and a rejuvenative.                                                                     

Arun Deva practices yoga and Ayurveda in Los Angeles. He has a Diploma in Ayurveda from the Ayurvedic Institute of America. He has twice completed the Ayur-yoga Teacher Training from the Ayurvedic Institute, New Mexico and has also done teacher trainings in both Vinyasa Krama and Anusara Yoga. Having started his studies as a child growing up India, Arun has made his home in Los Angeles for the past 30 years. He is the founder of Arunachala Yoga & Ayurveda, teaches Ayurvedic and Yogic lifestyle workshops, writes articles for different publications and does ayurvedic and yoga cikitsa treatment therapies called “Yoga Rasayana”. He can be reached at yogarasayana@yahoo.com .

Sanmukhi Mudra Six-Mouth Breaths

By Leza Lowitz 

Who owns the wind?

Who owns my breath?

These impossible riddles

haunt me.

Turning into the wind

The wind turns into me.

Those possible answers

Keep me breathing.

Reprinted from Yoga Poems: Lines to Unfold By, Stone Bridge Press.
Leza is a published author, yoga instructor and co-owner of
Sun and Moon Yoga Studio located in Meguro, Japan.

For Beginners: Anjali Mudra

By Shiva Rea  

Anjali means "offering," and in India this mudra is often accompanied by the word "namaste." 

If you have attended even one yoga class, it is a familiar gesture: the drawing together of one's palms at the heart. Your teacher may bring his or her hands together while saying "Namaste" at the beginning or end of a class. You may find his gesture within certain asanas—in Tadasana (Mountain Pose), before you begin Sun Salutations, or in balance poses such as Vrksasana (Tree Pose).

This sacred hand position, called anjali mudra (AHN-jah-lee MOO-dra), is found throughout Asia and has become synonymous with our images of the East, from the smiling face of the Dalai Lama peering over his fingertips to images of devotees before a Hindu or Buddhist altar.

In the West, we translate this gesture as a posture of prayer. Because we have grown up with this gesture as part of our culture, each of us probably has our own personal connection to this mudra—positive or negative. Some of us may find a subconscious resistance to bringing our hands together as if it were a sign of submission. However, the beauty of this gesture, which positions us right at the core of our being, is timeless and universal.  

I know a 3-year-old who is delighted to greet people this way and an actor who prepares himself with this gesture before entering the stage. As we explore the significance and potential of this mudra, be open to your own experience and ways that this simple yet powerful hand position can be a practical tool in your practice and daily life. In Sanskrit, mudra means "seal" or "sign" and refers not only to sacred hand gestures but also whole body positions that elicit a certain inner state or symbolize a particular meaning.

Anjali mudra is but one of thousands of types of mudras that are used in Hindu rituals, classical dance, and yoga. Anjali itself means "offering," and in India this mudra is often accompanied by the word "namaste" (or "namaskar," depending on one's dialect). As the consummate Indian greeting, like a sacred hello, namaste is often translated as "I bow to the divinity within you from the divinity within me." This salutation is at the essence of the yogic practice of seeing the Divine within all of creation. Hence, this gesture is offered equally to temple deities, teachers, family, friends, strangers, and before sacred rivers and trees. Anjali mudra is used as a posture of composure, of returning to one's heart, whether you are greeting someone or saying goodbye, initiating or completing an action.

As you bring your hands together at your center, you are literally connecting the right and left hemispheres of your brain. This is the yogic process of unification, the yoking of our active and receptive natures. In the yogic view of the body, the energetic or spiritual heart is visualized as a lotus at the center of the chest. Anjali mudra nourishes this lotus heart with awareness, gently encouraging it to open as water and light do a flower.

Begin by coming into a comfortable sitting position like Sukhasana (Easy Pose). Lengthen your spine out of your pelvis and extend the back of your neck by dropping your chin slightly in. Now, with open palms, slowly draw your hands together at the center of your chest as if to gather all of your resources into your heart. Repeat that movement several times, contemplating your own metaphors for bringing the right and left side of yourself—masculine and feminine, logic and intuition, strength and tenderness—into wholeness.  

Now, to reveal how potent the placement of your hands at your heart can be, try shifting your hands to one side or the other of your midline and pause there for a moment. Don't you feel slightly off kilter? Now shift back to center and notice how satisfying the center line is, like a magnet pulling you into your core. Gently touch your thumbs into your sternum (the bony plate at the center of the rib cage) as if you were ringing the bell to open the door to your heart. Broaden your shoulder blades to spread your chest open from the inside. Feel space under your armpits as you bring your elbows into alignment with your wrists. Stay here for some time and take in your experience. What initial shifts of consciousness do you experience? Is there a change in your mood?  

Now imagine that you are beginning your yoga practice—or any activity in which you want to be centered and conscious of how your inner state will affect the outcome of your experience. Take anjali mudra again, but this time slightly part your palms as if to make a cup, so that your hands resemble the bud of a lotus flower. Depending on your spiritual orientation, you can metaphorically plant a seed prayer, affirmation, or quality such as "peace," "clarity," or "vitality" within your anjali mudra. Drop your chin towards your chest and awaken a sense of humility and awe with which to begin your practice, as if waiting to receive a blessing of good things to come. It is important that this anjali or offering be true to your Self as that will be the most effective and uplifting for you. Traditionally, yogis might visualize their ishta devata or personal connection to God within the shrine of their hands. For some people this may be a sacred mountain, for others, Jesus, Krishna, or the Mother Goddess. Align your mind (awareness), feeling (heart), and actions (body) within this gesture. When you feel your invocation is complete, draw your fingertips to the center of your forehead, ajna chakra, and pause there feeling the calming effect of your touch. Bring your hands back to your center to ground your intention within your heart. 

From here you can begin your yoga asanas, meditation, or any activity from a place of connectedness. Notice how much easier it is to be present and joyous with whatever you are doing. Look for other times to integrate anjali mudra into your practice and life. Besides the beginning and end of your yoga sessions, anjali mudra can be used within the Sun Salutations and many other asanas as a way to come back to and maintain your center. When your hands come together overhead in Virabhadrasana I (Warrior I) or in Tree Pose, this is still anjali mudra. Consciously connecting this upward movement of your hands through an invisible line of energy to your heart will help your posture and your inner attitude.

In daily life, this prayerful gesture can be used as a way of bridging inner and outer experience, when saying grace before meals, communicating our truth within a relationship, or as a means of cooling the fires of stress when feeling rushed or reactionary. Anjali mudra is an age-old means of helping human beings to remember the gift of life and to use it wisely. 

Shiva Rea teaches flow (vinyasa) based yoga integrating alignment and intuition, strength and fluidity, meditation and wisdom in action at Sacred Movement in Santa Monica, California, and UCLA's World Arts and Cultures Program. She is the author of the home practice CD, Yoga Sanctuary (Sounds True), and leads workshops and adventure retreats worldwide. Visit Shiva at shivarea.com.

Workshop Report: Whole Yoga with Saul David Raye

By Charlotte Holtzermann

January 6-8, 2006 at Shakti's Elements

"The secret of energy is breath."  Saul's voice wraps around thirty strong bodies in morning practice of meditation, pranayama and asana in a recent workshop at Shakti's Elements in Santa Monica. Living Yoga in Balance and Peace is the name of this weekend, one in a deepen your practice series, which offers a yogic way of living in the world - our dharma. 

We reach into shafts of sunlight.  It's early Saturday morning in the first weekend of the New Year.  Everyone is lunging low in the deep rooting flow of sun salutes; each of us in the freedom of our own rhythm of breathing.  Diving down through dog and up into snake.  Then up into warrior.  Rooting our legs in the New Year. Drawing arms outward like a bow and arrow. I am setting my course for '06.  Feel buoyed up by others in class.  We let our breath settle out through our limbs.  

Members of this workshop acknowledge each other.  This is a group of yogis who know the way we are in the world with each other in any moment is yoga, is dharma. 

Saul writes in a booklet we each get: The word bhava means feeling or mood in a devotional sense.  The qualities of our heart that are expressed in the world through our words and actions.  Bhavana is associated with the practice of Bhakti - devotional yoga.  In a large sense, this quality is entwined with everything we do, who we are.  Devotion is the heart of yoga practice. As we open ourselves up, we allow reverence for life.  We experience sacred moments.  

The mood of bhavana is palpable in the room.  I am grateful to be here, home in the sunlight of southern California after twelve days of rain up north. These yogis are breathing independently.  No one is saying "okay, now everyone inhale."  It feels like free will in the room.  The pores in my skin open.  I'm glad to be in warm space with breath stirring the air.  Knowing this is my path, my dharma; moving with yogis.  It feels healing to be home after the distance of holidays away.  We gaze upward in cobra through an arched window to a dome ceiling into skylights.  

During twists, seeing the burnt orange, fuchsia and lime green walls of Shakti's Elements.  Owner’s Nisha Rodrigo and Zi Malonga chose these Indian/African colors from their native Sri Lanka and the Sudan, for their communal center for dance, martial arts and yoga. The shelves are lined with clothing, books, oils, herbs, incense and jewelry. 

Bathing my face in the steam of a cup of chai tea, watching the crowd at the coffee and tea bar engage after class.  The break is filled with body talk among the group, many of whom know each other from Saul's teacher training programs.  It's lively.  Nisha and Zi saw yoga class in India amidst the market place and wanted to have a studio like a house in a village, open to everyone, full of community life. 

Saul offers an embodied approach to Yoga.  He aims to integrate the teachings of Yoga, Ayurveda, Tantra and Universal Light which he considers the essence of all spiritual teachings.  Practicing yoga within a warm community is my experience of this crowd, this house, this weekend. 

In pranayama practice, Saul guides us through three part breaths; inhaling through the low, middle and upper chest and exhaling out through our upper, middle and low lung. We also practice long, slow nadi shodanum, alternate nostril breathing, through the right and left nostril. Listening to the smooth snake flow of my breath. 

Saul weaves strands of thought around us while offering precise, hands on corrections to individual students.  Yukiko Amaya and three other assistants offer guidance in poses to everyone in class.  There is a mood of careful support  with deep, relaxed working in the poses. 

Feeling aches in my joints, I'm inspired to hear Saul say: "About 300 billion cells are created in our body’s everyday.  The regenerative power of the universe is inside us." Ah......hearing a fact of science assures me.  These aches too shall pass.  

Saul teaches asana as a process of self healing.  He refers to the teachings of pancha kosha, the five sheaths, the layers of our outer and inner being.  I am reminded of the layers in life, to keep breathing through them, integrate them, recognize them and let them dissolve.  A transparent feeling of just breathing returns.  I am grateful to be in a morning class which begins with an hour of pranayama and meditation before asana.  

In our closing session on Sunday afternoon, we are sitting on mats taking notes on Saul's introduction to Auryvedic philosophy; an explanation of the three doshas, the three types of energy which are present in everyone and everything: Vata, Pitta and Kapha. 

Understanding these qualities can help us understand the wisdom of Auryvedic philosophy which is balance.  "In asana, he said, this means working with your unique constitution, learning to balance your doshas with appropriate asana." Questions from the group reveal self exploring thought. 

Our weekend in Holistic Yoga touched on a wealth of ideas to incorporate into our practice.  Our 60 page booklet contains diagrams, poems, mantras and articles by Saul and other authors on the yamas and niyamas, tantra, principles of alignment, laws of healing and the art of balanced action.  There is much material to take home and absorb.

A revered teacher of Thai Yoga Massage, Vinyasa flow and teacher training programs, Saul David Raye offers his students a plate of deeper practice with a rich menu of reference.  In his presence, he offers bhavana, more bowing to the whole tradition of yoga, to dharma - our way of being in the world. 

Charlotte Holtzermann teaches Beginning Hatha Yoga at LMU Extension and for children in STAR Education.  She works with individuals in Alexander Technique, Aquatic Exercise and Watsu.

mailto:Charlotteholtz@yahoo.com

What Is Ayurveda?

Part II: The Vision By Arun Deva 

Vata, Pitta, Kapha

While in Albuquerque, attending an Ayurvedic workshop, a group of us went to a restaurant to have some lunch. When the waiter overheard us talking “shop” he became quite excited. “I know all about Vata, Pitta and Kapha!” he said, “I just know I am a Pitta!”

There are many aspects to this story. The first is that I believe he was right. The second is how heartening it is to see the knowledge of Ayurveda spreading into the general consciousness of our society. I even know people who do not know the word “Ayurveda” but know Vata, Pitta and Kapha! The third has more serious consequences for those of us who teach about it. As the awareness of the doshas spreads, it becomes our responsibility to make sure that the truth of what they are does not get distorted.

Vata, Pitta and Kapha collectively are known as the tri-dosha. The word Dosha is difficult to translate as it has so many layers. Literally, it means “fault” or “blame.” It also has been translated as “humor.” If we think of humor as an “ill wind” then we can see how this connects to the first translation. However, taking responsibility for our actions does not necessarily mean taking “blame” for them. Therefore, the best way to look at the doshas is as “that which is responsible.”

To understand the doshas we have to first understand their composition. Ayurveda believes that all creation arises from five basic elements. The first of these is Ether and it is the container for all the others. It symbolizes all space within which structure can exist, from the space in the heavens to the space in your mouth. When ether begins to stir it takes the form of Air, which is as much the movement of wind as it is the force that moves our hands and our thoughts. As this wind moves through you (and the universe) it creates friction leading to heat and is symbolized by Fire which is not only the visible fire we are familiar with but also the fire of our digestion. As this fire heats, it liquefies, leading to the Water element and in this manner, water is water as we know it but it is also the blood, plasma and other fluids within us. Eventually it will cool and cohere and we are left with the last and most stable element, Earth. Earth includes the structure of our bodies: the skeleton as well as the muscles and flesh.

Not only are these five elements the basic fabric of the Universe, they are also what make up the tri-dosha. Vata is composed primarily of the elements of air and ether; pitta of fire and water; and kapha is water and earth. These three together are the governing principles of our existence. As such, each lends its qualities towards creating our personalities and that is where we begin to learn about our individual natures. What makes us unique is the proportion and combination of these forces within us.

Because these principles are in reality nothing more than a collection of their qualities, even if you and I have the same dominant dosha, we may have quite different personalities. We will however have more in common with each other than with someone of a different doshic constitution.

Vata dosha will have certain qualities inherent from its elemental roots of air and space. People of this dosha may tend to feel cold and have dry skin. While either tall or short, they are invariably light framed: if they do put on weight, it will be mostly around the hips. They may be easily excited, and tend towards poor or light sleep. Under stress, they tend towards nervousness, anxiety, or fear. Although they grasp concepts rather easily, they have poor retention. In balance, vata types are creative and expansive, and can be very sensitive and intuitive individuals.


People of a predominantly Pitta nature have the qualities of fire and water, reflecting courage and intensity. They have a strong metabolism and their physique will be better formed than that of a vata. With their radiant eyes and sharp features, they are very focused and dedicated and are blessed with intelligence and a good memory. They generally eat well and often. Due to their fiery nature they are subject to inflammatory diseases and often their skin will reflect this by breaking out. Emotionally they may foster anger, hatred and jealousy. When in balance, they are focused, decisive and passionate, thus having good leadership qualities.

Kapha being primarily water and earth, people of this constitution are well built, even stocky. They have excellent bone structure and are very strong. Unfortunately they tend to put on weight easily and can end up becoming heavy. They have well-rounded faces with large eyes, a pleasant nose and full lips. Slow to comprehend things, once grasped they rarely forget them. Although they have tremendous stores of energy, they tend to be lazy and need motivation. Their systems are very strong but they are susceptible to colds and coughs when weakened. Naturally easy to get along with, they can become quite attached to things and even people and this can make them greedy and possessive. Given a goal, they will be meticulous in their performance, without one, they would rather just relax! In balance they are just, objective and easy to rely on.

Since none of us is entirely composed of just one dosha, we all have traits that we can identify with in each of these characterizations. However, we will also identify more with one of the dosha than the others and that gives us a clue to our nature. It also gives a trained Ayurvedic practitioner the keys to helping us heal. In the end, better health is based on being in harmony with our own inherent nature. When we are in balance, the different facets of our constitution reflect each other as one. This leads to a state in which we are well established and content in ourselves: swastha.

Namaste!
Arun Deva

Arun Deva practices yoga and Ayurveda in Los Angeles. He has a Diploma in Ayurveda from the Ayurvedic Institute of America. He has twice completed the Ayur-yoga Teacher Training from the Ayurvedic Institute, New Mexico and has also done teacher trainings in both Vinyasa Krama and Anusara Yoga. Having started his studies as a child growing up India, Arun has made his home in Los Angeles for the past 30 years. His commitment is to the “trimurti” of studying, practicing and teaching, in order to further his travels along the Yogic path. He is the founder of Arunachala Yoga & Ayurveda, teaches Ayurvedic and Yogic lifestyle workshops, writes articles for different publications and does ayurvedic and yoga cikitsa treatment therapies called “Yoga Rasayana”. He can be reached at yogarasayana@yahoo.com .

Tadasana Mountain

By Leza Lowitz

This is the place
The journey begins.
Half rooted in the earth,

half floating in the endless sky.
What would it be like
To be the mountain?
The air is perhaps thinner,
Thought the sky is not always clear.
The view is sometimes shrouded in fog
Sometimes in plain and glorious sight,
But the ascent or descent can kill.
The earth is stable
Or sometimes not.
So it is
At base or summit,
Yet the mountain never asks
Why or for what purpose
It exists.
This is the one difference between the climber
and the climbed.

Reprinted from Yoga Poems: Lines to Unfold By, Stone Bridge Press.
Leza is a published author, yoga instructor and co-owner of
Sun and Moon Yoga Studio located in Meguro, Japan.
 

Consciousness in Motion By Shiva Rea
Vinyasa yoga teaches us to cultivate an awareness that links each action to the next—on the mat and in our lives.

Sit back and relax. Take in these images and see if you can sense the underlying pattern: the flow of the seasons, the rise and fall of the tides in response to the moon, a baby fern unfurling, a Ravi Shankar sitar raga or Ravel's "Bolero," the creation and the dissolution of a Tibetan sand mandala, the flow of Suryanamaskar (Sun Salutation).

What do these diverse phenomena have in common? They are all vinyasas, progressive sequences that unfold with an inherent harmony and intelligence. "Vinyasa" is derived from the Sanskrit term nyasa, which means "to place," and the prefix vi, "in a special way"—as in the arrangement of notes in a raga, the steps along a path to the top of a mountain, or the linking of one asana to the next. In the yoga world the most common understanding of vinyasa is as a flowing sequence of specific asanas coordinated with the movements of the breath. The six series of Pattabhi Jois's Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga are by far the best known and most influential.

Jois's own teacher, the great South Indian master Krishnamacharya, championed the vinyasa approach as central to the transformative process of yoga. But Krishnamacharya had a broader vision of the meaning of vinyasa than most Western students realize. He not only taught specific asana sequences like those of Jois's system, but he also saw vinyasa as a method that could be applied to all the aspects of yoga. In Krishnamacharya's teachings, the vinyasa method included assessing the needs of the individual student (or group) and then building a complementary, step-by-step practice to meet those needs. Beyond this, Krishnamacharya also emphasized vinyasa as an artful approach to living, a way of applying the skill and awareness of yoga to all the rhythms and sequences of life, including self-care, relationships, work, and personal evolution.

Desikachar, Krishnamacharya's son, an author and renowned teacher in his own right, has written, "Vinyasa is, I believe, one of the richest concepts to emerge from yoga for the successful conduct of our actions and relationships." In his book Health, Healing, and Beyond (Aperture, 1998), he gives a subtle yet powerful example of how his father attended to the vinyasa of teaching yoga. Krishnamacharya, to the amazement of his private students, would always greet them at the gate of his center, guide them through their practice, and then honor the completion of their time together by escorting them back to the gate.

The way he honored every phase of their session—initiating the work, sustaining it and then building to a peak, and completing and integrating it—illustrates two of the primary teachings of the vinyasa method: Each of these phases has its own lessons to impart, and each relies on the work of the previous phase. Just as we can't frame a house without a proper foundation, we can't build a good yoga practice unless we pay attention to how we begin. And just as a house is flawed if the workmen don't finish the roof properly, we have to bring our actions to completion in order to receive yoga's full benefits. Vinyasa yoga requires that we cultivate an awareness that links each action to the next—one breath at a time.

Initiating a Course of Action

Applying vinyasa in your yoga practice and daily life has many parallels not just to building a house but also sailing a boat. Like sailing, moving through life demands a synchronization with natural forces that requires skill and intuition, the ability to set a course yet change with the wind and currents. If you want to sail, you have to know how to assess the conditions of the weather—blustery, calm, choppy—which constantly fluctuate, as do our physical, emotional, and spiritual states.

The teachings of yoga include a view called parinamavada, the idea that constant change is an inherent part of life. Therefore, to proceed skillfully with any action, we must first assess where we are starting from today; we cannot assume we are quite the same person we were yesterday. We are all prone to ignoring the changing conditions of our body-mind; we often distort the reality of who we are based on who we think that we should be. This can show up on the yoga mat in any number of inappropriate choices: engaging in a heating, rigorous practice when we're agitated or fatigued; doing a restorative practice when we're stagnant; going to an advanced yoga class when a beginning class better suits our experience and skills. In order to avoid such unbeneficial actions, we need to start out with an accurate assessment of our current state.

So what are the observations a good yogic sailor should make before initiating a vinyasa? Like checking out the boat, wind, and waves before you sail, an initial survey of your being can become an instinctive ritual. Ask yourself: What is my energy level? Am I raring to go? Holding any tension? Am I experiencing any little physical twinges or injury flare-ups? Do I feel balanced and ready to sail into my practice? How is my internal state? Am I calm, agitated, focused, scattered, emotionally vulnerable, mentally overloaded, clear and open?

These questions are relevant to how we begin any action, not just our asana practice. In choosing what foods we eat, when we sleep, our conversations and our actions with others—everything that we do—we must understand where we are coming from and choose actions that address any imbalances.

In teaching my students about vinyasa, I offer them ways of checking in with their current state at the start of their session. I also will suggest specific strategies for addressing impediments that may break up the flow of their practice. For example, on the bodily level students can choose a more calming practice or one that provides them with a more invigorating opening. If they have a twinge in the lower back, they might want to modify certain postures, perhaps substituting Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose) for Urdhva Mukha Svanasana (Upward-Facing Dog Pose). If they're suffering from typical urban tensions in the neck and shoulders, they can use a small series of stretches—a mini-vinyasa, you might say—to encourage softening and release. On a more internal level, agitated students can focus on releasing tension by relaxing the face and breath; if their energy is more lethargic and diffused, they can focus on their drishti, or gaze, to increase their concentration.

The same insight that we use on the yoga mat can be applied to the way that we initiate actions elsewhere in our lives. Are you feeling anxious on your way to a big appointment? Drive more slowly and listen to some calming music to ensure that this imbalance doesn't carry over into your meeting. Such adjustments do not show an unwillingness to accept what is or a compulsive attempt to fix everything until it is just right. Rather, they are evidence of a deep awareness of and appropriate response to reality. A yogic sailor embraces the changing winds and current and the challenge of setting course in harmony with the ebb and flow of nature.

Sustaining Power

Once you've properly assessed conditions and initiated action, you can focus on the next phase of vinyasa: building up your power, your capacity for a given action. Power is the sailor's ability to tack with the wind, a musician's ability to sustain the rise and fall of a melody, a yogi's deepening capability for absorption in meditation.

The vinyasa method has many teachings to offer about how to build and sustain our capacity for action, both on and off the mat. One of the primary teachings is to align and initiate action from our breath—our life force—as a way of opening to the natural flow and power of prana, the energy that sustains us all on a cellular level. Thus in a vinyasa yoga practice, expansive actions are initiated with the inhalation, contractive actions with the exhalation.

Take a few minutes to explore how this feels: As you inhale, lift your arms up over your head (expansion); as you exhale, lower your arms (contraction). Now try this: Start lifting your arms as you exhale, and inhale as you lower your arms. Chances are that the first method felt intuitively right and natural, while the second felt counterintuitive and subtly "off."

This intuitive feeling of being "off" is an inborn signal that helps us learn how to sustain an action by harmonizing with the flow of nature. Just as a sagging sail tells a sailor to tack and realign with the energy of the wind, a drop in our mental or physical energy within an action is a sign we need to realign our course. In an asana, when the muscular effort of a pose is creating tension, it's often a signal that we are not relying on the support of our breath. When we learn how to sustain the power and momentum of the breath, the result is like the feeling of sailing in the wind—effortless effort.

To build real change in a student's capacity for action, Krishnamacharya utilized a method which he entitled vinyasa krama ("krama" means "stages"). This step-by-step process involves the knowledge of how one builds, in gradual stages, toward a "peak" within a practice session. This progression can include elements like using asanas of ever-increasing complexity and challenge or gradually building one's breath capacity.

Vinyasa krama is also the art of knowing when you have integrated the work of a certain stage of practice and are ready to move on. I frequently see students ignore the importance of this step-by-step integration. On the one hand, some students will tend to jump ahead to more challenging poses like Pincha Mayurasana (Forearm Balance) before developing the necessary strength and flexibility in less-demanding postures like Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog), Sirsasana (Headstand), Adho Mukha Vrksasana (Handstand), and other, easier arm balances. The result: They strug-gle to hold themselves up, becoming frustrated and possibly injured. These Type-A students should remember that strain is always a sign that integration of the previous krama has not yet occurred.

On the other hand, some students may congeal around the comfort of a beginning stage and become stagnant; they often become totally energized when given encouragement to open to a new stage which they had written off as beyond their abilities.

The Art of Completion

All of us are better at some part of the vinyasa cycle than others. I love to initiate action and catalyze change but have to consciously cultivate the completion phase. As Desikachar explains it, "It is not enough to climb a tree; we must be able to get down too. In asana practice and elsewhere in life, this often requires that we know how to follow and balance one action with another. In the vinyasa method this is known as pratikriyasana, "compensation," or literally counterpose-the art of complementing and completing an action to create integration. Can you imagine doing asanas without a Savasana (Corpse Pose) to end your practice? In vinyasa, how we complete an action and then make the transition into the next is very important in determining whether we will receive the action's entire benefit. These days I invite my students to complete classes by invoking the quality of yoga into the very next movements of their lives—how they walk, drive, and speak to people once they leave the studio.

Pathways of Transformation

It is important to remember a vinyasa is not just any sequence of actions: It is one that awakens and sustains consciousness. In this way vinyasa connects with the meditative practice of nyasa within the Tantric Yoga traditions. In nyasa practice, which is designed to awaken our inherent divine energy, practitioners bring awareness to different parts of the body and then, through mantra and visualization, awaken the inner pathways for shakti (divine force) to flow through the entire field of their being. As we bring the techniques of vinyasa to bear throughout our lives, we open similar pathways of transformation, inner and outer-step by step and breath by breath.

Visit Shiva at shivarea.com. This article can be found online at yogajournal.com/wisdom/909_1.c .

What Is Ayurveda?

Part I: The Vision By Arun Deva 

As with all things whose origins are shrouded in the mists of time, the beginnings of Ayurveda are rooted in a mythological past. A myth is not necessarily a lie. Very much like a parable, it usually expresses a higher truth.

It is believed that the Ashwini twins gave the secrets of “the science of self-healing” to Indra and he, in turn, passed it on to Bharadwaja, one of the seven seers of the Rgveda. As Indra, the king of the Devas, represents Prana, and the Ashwini twins represent the duality of all cosmic creation, this myth can be seen symbolically as the natural progression of the eternal life force into the two sustaining forces of the Universe: inhalation and exhalation: the cosmic “spanda” or pulsation of all life. Bharadwaja represents the ability of man to access deep truths when in a state of full awareness or “samadhi.”

Similar to this are other myths with other persona, some divine, some mystical and some human. What is easier for us to comprehend is the belief that the great Rishis (seers) of India, moved by compassion for the welfare of all living beings, went into a deep state of samadhi (absorption) from which they extracted and made available the “science of life.”

The root words for Ayurveda are “Ayus” and “Veda”. Since Ayus refers to all life and Veda is pure knowledge, Ayurveda is much more than a medical codification; it is actually the knowledge of all life. As all healing arises from a “knowing” of health and what constitutes ill health, Ayurveda is thus best suited to address our well being and the lack of such.

It is said that perfect health is equated with happiness. It follows thus that perfect health means not thinking about your health. This is not as simple as it sounds. Every day we think about our aches and pains, about whether we have a headache, are stressed, are tired and worn out and even about whether we are constipated or worse! Imagine living in a state of such harmony that none of these factors are an issue. We are not talking about cancer, heart disease or immune system deficiency. We are talking about states that we consider normal! If we accept headaches and/or constipation as our “normal” state, worrying instead about the arising of any of the major diseases that afflict modern man, imagine what our lives would be like if even our “normal” state of discomfort did not exist! That we had no aches and pains, no stress related exhaustion, always fresh and alert, able to rest exactly when we need to, eat correctly and wisely and function with clear, content minds, what would our lives be like?

This is the goal of Ayurveda and to achieve this goal, this wonderful science has mapped the human terrain: physical, mental and spiritual. It has mapped the terrain of the world that we live in. It has mapped the interaction between the two and found that the microcosm and the macrocosm do not exist independently, that when the two do not support each other harmoniously, we suffer ill health. That the further we get away from nature, the unhappier our lives become.

Ayurveda believes that each one of us has an original “blueprint”, not unlike that of RNA/DNA. As long as we stay true to this “blueprint” which we call Prakruti, we will be healthy. Prakruti refers to our unique constitution or our “first nature”. Over our lives we deviate from this Prakruti for a variety of reasons, of which Ayurveda lists eleven. We move away from harmony, which is nothing less than the correct balance of the forces and elements within us, not unlike the perfect “idle” of a car. Just as a car, over a period of time, needs to be serviced and the idle brought back to normal, similarly, to counteract the forces that shift us away from our Prakruti, we need to “be serviced” and then we need to “maintain”.

Ayurveda is a living science in that it is based upon universal truths and not upon external circumstances that may and do change constantly. This allows it to be as valid to our lives today as it was to the lives of the people of the Indus/Saraswati Valley Civilization from where it arose, thousands of years ago. It has stood the test of time; it has survived countless invasions, the burning and other losses of its texts, the suppression of its practice and the lack of faith in its own homeland after the advent of western medicine.

Today, it is recognized once again as a valid, holistic science whose theories and texts are responsible for the discovery of many modern medicines and techniques. Many of our medicines today have arisen from research into the qualities and effects of herbs that were listed in the Charaka Samhita at least 1500 years ago. There is a society of surgeons in the United States named after Sushruta, who wrote surgical texts just as long ago. The two German scientists responsible for plastic surgery and rhinoplasty credit and acknowledge this same text as their primary source and inspiration.

Ayurveda has stood the test of time because it is a living science. It has and continues to evolve to meet the needs of all people at all times. Many great physicians have come along and using the theories of Ayurveda, created new healing modalities to address new illnesses. From the original texts of Charaka and Sushruta, through Vagbhatta and Madhava to present day scholars and teachers such as Drs. Lad, Robert Svoboda and David Frawley. What remain true and unchanging are the original principles. Principles that explain the very fabric of our existence and what that is woven from.

Arun Deva practices yoga and Ayurveda in Los Angeles and a very good friend of Yogaeverywhere.com. He has a Diploma in Ayurveda from the Ayurvedic Institute of America. He has twice completed the Ayur-yoga Teacher Training from the Ayurvedic Institute, New Mexico and has also done teacher trainings in both Vinyasa Krama and Anusara Yoga. Having started his studies as a child growing up India, Arun has made his home in Los Angeles for the past 30 years. His commitment is to the “trimurti” of studying, practicing and teaching, in order to further his travels along the Yogic path. He is the founder of Arunachala Yoga & Ayurveda, teaches Ayurvedic and Yogic lifestyle workshops, writes articles for different publications and does ayurvedic and yoga cikitsa treatment therapies called “Yoga Rasayana”. He can be reached at yogarasayana@yahoo.com .

Ocean Yoga By Charlotte Holtzermann 

Green Yoga Conference, Santa Cruz, California, September 16-18, 2005.

A Pre Conference Workshop , A Day of Metta Earth Yoga  with Gillian and Russell Comstock

On Friday morning we car pooled down Eureka Canyon into the flat land orchards of Coroletos, passing small farms and groves of cedar trees, to the beach for a day of ocean yoga with Gillian and Russell Comstock. 

Standing at the edge of the dunes, Gillian and Russell gave us an overview of the day's sadhana.  We walked in single file silence on a path through beach grass. Pausing on a dune crest, we practiced Ujjayi - ocean sounding breath. 

We continued walking far down the beach, sat in a circle on the sand and shared our intentions for creating sanctuary.  We paired up for our first practice of Dharana, concentration, and sat facing each other for Drishti - eye gazing, in bright beach light.  The intensity of peering into Hasita's eyes, looking in her right eye, then her left, then balancing in both her eyes was a deep experience of meeting her. 

As the morning gray sky opened into blue, Russell led a strong series of standing poses.  With feet delving into sand and arms reaching into sky, we spread into Warrior, Tree, Eagle, and Crescent Moon pose. 

Filling our pores with air and the sound of surf, we walked in partnered silence back to the parking area for lunch.  Arm in arm, we took turns leading each other with one partner closing eyes.  A trust game to make us open our senses and let go.  

After sandwiches and fruit, we returned to our beach area to make altars.  Gathering feathers, seaweed, shells and driftwood, I felt so happy, bending over in the wind, near my napping partner, making a mandala of sand dollar stars.  This was Green Yoga I love, a day of being together in yoga, in nature.  

We walked around and looked at our altars and chose another partner for our earth Shavasana, taking turns burying each other in sand.  My partner scooped out a trough. I laid down in it and covered me completely except for my face.  

Under the weight of the sand, I keenly felt the movements of my breathing.  Watching thoughts roll by:  I'm in Egypt, I'm a mummy.  I will do this when near dying.  This is so peaceful.  My partner Jake, sat nearby and chanted "Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti." 

Walking back to the parking area in Seva, we picked up trash on an empty September beach and circled for the last time to thank Gillian and Russell for a profound day of Metta-Earth-Yoga.  They work eloquently together, taking turns leading us.   

Russell is working on a self designed master's degree in contemplative and ecological leadership.  Daughter of a theologian, writer, painter and teacher, Gillian is a psychotherapist, mother of three sons, gardener and with Russell, leader of wilderness retreats and quests. For more info, see www.mettaearth.org.  Driving back to the monastery, we were filled with wind and light.  

Charlotte Holtzermann teaches the Alexander Technique, Hatha Yoga and T'ai Chi Chuan at Loyola Marymount University and for STAR Education. She is an aquatic therapist, specializing in Watsu©.  Charlotteholtz@yahoo.com .

No Worries BY Aaron
Worrying about what might happen in the future makes life so much more difficult. No matter how much you worry about something, fretting about the outcome or stressing about the ramifications, the actual situation will surely turn out different than what you are thinking. Once you begin worrying, however, it is hard to stop. You begin to wonder if you have thought enough. Then you realize that you couldn't have taken every possible development into consideration, so you think about it some more. This is a sure path to anxiety. It is much better to deal with things as they come up. In this way it is possible to react to the present situation as it happens , without all the baggage of worry dragging behind you. Why waste all of that time worrying about something that you cannot do anything about until the time comes to deal with it? A clear and calm mind is your best weapon to deal with problems that arise.

Worries perpetuate worry. Let them go. Imagine a beach on a beautiful ocean. As the tide comes in, write your worries in the sand...and see how long they last.

Visit Aaron at www.artofzenyoga.com .

Three Pillars of Life BY Robert Talbert

The three pillars of life are a part of the bedrock that Ayurveda is built upon. They are so important that the Caraka Samhita, a classical ayurvedic text, states that one who manages these three pillars properly is guaranteed a full life span that will not be cut short by disease.

The three pillars of life are the proper management digestion, sleep and sexual energy. When digestion is proper, a person is able to rest well and when sexual energy is maintained, the body will reach its full potential. Much of what Ayurveda considers proper lifestyle surrounds these three pillars.

Digestion:

Proper digestion is paramount to our well being. Through proper digestion, our bodies are able to extract from the food all the nutrients present as well as the life energy (prana) of the food. Proper digestion, according to ayurveda, has multiple levels. The end result of proper digestion on all levels is ojas, a subtle energy that protects the body and mind from disease. Proper digestion requires the intake of the ideal foods for a person’s constitution. It also requires that food be consumed properly with due regard for how the foods taken are combined. When the choice of food is not appropriate for the constitution of the person or the food is taken improperly the result is a disturbance of one or more of the doshas. This eventually results in disease. Normal digestion for all doshic types should be symptom-less.

Sleep:

Proper rest is essential for the well being of any person. The body utilizes sleep as an opportunity to use its energy for healing and repairing damage to the body that accumulated during the waking hours. If the body does not receive enough sleep, the body cannot repair the damage caused by stress and strain. This leads to the body breaking down. Too much or too little sleep brings on consequences. Too little sleep upsets the vata dosha, while too much disturbs the kapha dosha. Disturbance of the vata dosha results in weaker tissues that are more susceptible to injury. Disturbance of the kapha dosha results in tissues that become excessive, stagnant, lethargic and immobile. As a general suggestion, be in bed by 10 pm and rise with the sun.

Management of Sexual Energy:

Ayurveda recognizes the value of the practice of brahmacharya, which is the practice of sexual abstinence. The sexual restraint requested by Vedic teachings does not come from a place of judgment or the threat of eternal damnation but as practical advice for those who desire to return to balance and build energy reserves in the body. Sexual release is understood to reduce the energy available for supporting the healing of the body and mind. Hence excessive sexual indulgence can leave a person in a weakened and exhausted state. This state is not conductive to healing. Sexual energy, called shukra, is needed to build ojas, the energy that provides stability to the body and mind and underlies the strength of the immune system. When shukra is depleted, ojas becomes depleted as well. A general guideline is for chronically ill to avoid sexual release for at least 30 days or longer. For balanced individuals a weekly release is appropriate.

Rob Talbert, MS, CAS Clinical Ayurvedic Specialist, Holistic Health and Longevity through the “Science of Life”. In private practice, working one-on-one with clients out of a home office in Laguna Beach. Emphasis on rebalancing through food programs, herbology, self-massage, aromatherapy, color and sound therapies, yoga, meditation, breathing exercises, and other lifestyle adjustments. www.jivaka.com

Yoga, Meditation and Compassion

The Keys to Meditation By Aaron Hoopes

In true meditation there is none of the nonsense about emptying the mind or stopping your thoughts, or even contemplating your navel. That having been said, the Buddha listed roughly forty different methods of meditation and other ancient texts speak of over one hundred different ways to practice. There are more than enough books that go into the details of meditation methods, so I will refrain from doing that here. Just be aware that if you are having difficulty meditating, there are methods that might help put you into the ideal frame of mind.

Everyone is different and the methods of reaching a perfect state of meditation differ for each individual. It is important to find a method of quieting the mind and relaxing the body that suits you particularly, but remember not to get caught up in the method itself. The act of sitting quietly and breathing is what is important. Set aside whatever time you can spare (five minutes in the morning and evening is plenty to start). Remember you are not doing this for anyone but yourself. It makes no difference to anyone if you sit for five minutes or five hours. It is the state of existing that matters. Awareness of the thoughts in the mind and the breath in the body is all you need to be concerned with.

The Keys
The body and the mind reflect each other. As one calms, the other relaxes and vice versa. Sometimes it helps to have some keys to concentration in order to bring the mind in tune with the body. These keys are general qualities of the breath that we want to have as a framework for our breathing. They work in two ways. First, by bringing quality to the breath within the body, we relax and enhance our breathing practice. Second, by focusing on these keys to concentration, we calm the mind and bring our thoughts into harmony with our breath.

Deep and Long
Breathing that concentrates on the keys of deep and long draws the air fully and completely within the body - not in the sense of inhaling to the maximum and tensing up the muscles, but in the sense of actually feeling the breath reach all of the deepest recesses within. Keeping the chest and surrounding muscles relaxed allows the breath to fill the lungs to their ideal capacity. Then inhalation and exhalation should be lengthened, allowing the body time to become used to the deep expansion within. The longer and deeper the breath, the more in tune with the natural world around us we become. Deep and long breathing relaxes the body, calms the mind, and focuses the spirit.

Silent and Slow
Breathing that concentrates on the keys of silent and slow allows even more relaxation. The silent breath is felt with the whole body instead of being heard. We become aware of the feeling of the lungs being filled. Slowing the breath relaxes the entire breathing process and extends the length of the breath to a point where it reaches a calm and natural state. Silent and slow breathing calms the body, relaxes the mind, and brings peace to the spirit.

Soft, Even and Continuous
Breathing that concentrates on the keys of soft, even and continuous brings completeness to the breath. Soft breath loosens the mind’s control over the breath allowing it to reach a more spiritual level. Keeping the breath even brings the mind into a meditative state where thoughts flow with the breath. Continuous breath is like a circle. Inhalation creates exhalation which in turn creates inhalation. Soft, even and continuous breath brings the body and mind together in a pure calm and relaxed state that allows the spirit to open up and expand.

With the tranquility that meditation brings, comes an appreciation for life as you begin to truly observe the world around you. You also begin to experience improved health as your body relaxes and functions naturally without the blockage that stress and tension bring. Meditation is simply the practice of existing in a quiet place and turning the attention inwards. By concentrating on your breathing and letting your thoughts flow of their own accord, you can find a deep inner stillness that will help you deal with the stresses and tension of life.

Aaron Hoopes has over twenty years experience in the martial arts and yoga. He has lived and trained in Japan and Australia and is the founder of Zen Yoga. He is the author of two books; Perfecting Ourselves: Coordinating Body, Mind and Spirit and Breathe Smart: The Secret to Happiness, Health and Long Life. His new deep relaxation CD, Inner Sunrise, has just been released. He has taught the Art of Breathing, Stretching and Relaxing to his students around the world, from children to seniors - his teachings are accessible to all. For more information see his website at www.artofzenyoga.com

Personal Ritual, Creating Your Meditation Practice By Maryann Laraia

When beginning to meditate, it is good to have a routine or ritual. Routine and ritual will key the mind into what is going to follow. The routine / ritual can be simple or elaborate, whatever suits your personality.  A basic routine is deciding to relax and meditate every day at the same time and in the same setting. 

Time

What time of day is best for meditation? Decide on  what time slot fits your schedule best to meditate.  For beginners to make meditation a habit, it is recommended to set a definite time each day. This way if you miss your meditation appointment you are aware of the omission and can reschedule with yourself before the day is over.  

Setting

Meditating in the same place when starting is also helpful to develop habit and focus. The optimum setting is one that is comfortable and quiet with minimum distractions obviously away from telephones, TV, adults or children interrupting. Some meditators have to compromise on comfort to gain quiet. I know people who meditate in their bathroom or garage to access quiet time. You might want to try several locations before settling on your favorite. If you are interrupted, just acknowledge what is happening and return to your practice when possible. Eventually you will be able to be in a light meditative state anywhere, even with your eyes open.  

Ritual can be as simple as just knowing it is the time that you decided to meditate and going to your meditation place. Or, you can elaborate and use candles, incense, crystals and other background objects that aid your sensation of peace or power. I do not recommend using music during meditation as your mind will listen to the music instead of focusing. Keeping brief notes or a journal on your daily sessions is also recommended.  

Clothing

It is best to wear non-restrictive clothing with as much natural fiber as possible. Loosen belts, ties and if possible remove shoes and socks for some styles.  

Posture

Sit however is comfortable for you. If you enjoy sitting with a pillow on the floor, go for it. It is also perfectly acceptable to sit with a straight back in a chair and let the chair support your back. (I sit in a chair with my back supported and my legs crossed under me.) Your legs do not need to be crossed and the feet can rest on the floor. Observe the position of your shoulders, neck and head. Relax your shoulders down and lengthen them straight out. Relax your neck muscles. Feel that your head is balanced and centered on your neck. Image that your head is a fish bowl and if it is tipped forward or back, you will spill water and fish out! Check if your jaw is relaxed by allowing the lower jaw to drop slightly.  

Breathe through your nose. Begin each lesson observing a few breathes expanding the abdomen on the inhale and contracting the abdomen on the exhale.  

How long to meditate? A ten to fifteen minute meditation session will give you results. If you choose to meditate longer, it is because you enjoy the activity (or should I say non-activity). Greater results are not necessarily achieved by time spent in practice as much as your consistency and concentration during practice. Decide how long your meditation will be. Choose whatever works best for you to time the session. Set a timer to ring when your session ends or tell your mind to alert you when the set time has passed. Eventually your mind will know precisely when your set time is up. Do not use this method until you have perfected it if you are on a tight schedule.  

During meditation and visualization you will be aware of any outer physical situation that requires your immediate attention. Remember, meditation is a state of heightened awareness, not of unconsciousness. Most important, enjoy yourself as you explore your meditation practice.  

Maryann Laraia is a Certificated  Hypnotherapist, researcher and Meditation Teacher.  She began studying the mind / body connection after a telepathic experience in 1971.  For more instruction on meditation from Maryann, please visit  http://www.lulu.com/maryannlaraia 

For information on biofeedback, brain entrainment, affirmation and subliminal software which enhances hypnosis, meditation and visualization please go to  http://www.hypnosisimprovelife.com

Pause for Thought By Barbara Griggs 

I am a tree which stands by the path you tread,

If you can learn something from me, stay awhile,

I cannot take you my way because my roots are in my own piece of ground

and my branches reach up to my own personal sky,

If you wish to lean against me for a time and warm in the sun

which filters through the leaves

then share my stillness and become one with me,

But do not stay too long -

or part of you will become lost in me,

Do not take one of my branches to use as a prop

for I am unaware of which are weak and which are strong,

While looking at me reflect on what we may share

and maybe we can tread this path in harmony.

Elkanah Children's Orphanage By Nicole Daignault (Coco)

Born to Manifest the Glory - Nelson Mandela, 1994 Inaugural Speech

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking,

so that other people won't feel insecure around you

.
We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine,

we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,

 our presence automatically liberates others.

Namaste!  Greetings from India!  This is my second trip to Mother India.  Four years ago I did my Yoga teacher training in Benares and then traveled to south India, Mamallapuram, where I met the children of the Elkanah Orphanage.  My heart opened. Here is my story of inspiration for you. 

Elkanah Children's Orphanage is a one-room, one-man show.  Beginning with two abandoned children seven years ago, Reverend Bilaventhiran (Bila) now cares for thirty-five children and has sold all his possessions in order to feed and clothe them.  They sleep on the floor without sheets and pillows, they eat on the floor of the "kitchen" - a thatched-roof hut with two small fire pits over which meager meals of rice and dhal are cooked.  They have neither toys nor toothbrushes but what they do have in abundance is the love of Bila and the local women who volunteer their time to cook for the lot of them. 

It was Bila’s love and enthusiasm that inspired me to return to the orphanage. Four years later, I emailed Bila from Thailand to let him know I was ready to help.  His response to me was that I had helped all along simply by staying in contact, unlike any other tourist he'd met.  This had helped to keep his hopes alive.  He told me that the love I had sent to the children was the most important gift of all.  

Bila's positive attitude has allowed me to maintain my own light. The children call me "Aunty Coco" and they showered me with hugs and kisses!  I began to learn their individual personalities, despite language barriers.  The older boys and girls were so helpful, loving, and playful with the younger ones.  There are no single quarrels or discipline problem and not once has a child expressed desire or want for anything material.  I am humbled each moment by the positive attitudes I have witnessed here. I am lifted by each pile of laundry I cleaned, each floor I swept, and each long head of thick black hair I braided.

These actions helped to keep me in the here.  And now, I believe in the power of LIVING IN THE NOW and SHINING YOUR LIGHT as a means of making one's dreams manifest.  I am aware of my divinity and have declared myself a magician!   

Stepping into the light can be painful at first.  It is the most difficult path to walk and those who dare to do so find themselves continuously tested, but when presence is maintained the tests are easily passed. One's faith in the now only grows stronger!  I hope my story inspires others to live out their dreams no matter how large and intimidating they may be.   

I welcome your communication elkanahorphanagevisions@yahoo.ca

The website for the orphanage is www.elkanah-orphanage.com  and is full of photos, information and updates on what is currently happening!  Namaste, Coco.

Yoga & Joy

On Yoga & Joy By Dr. Kev

No matter how rough it gets,
without yoga, it would be worse.
With it, everything becomes possible,
and that is my limitless spring of joy!
www.yogaclass.com

The Joy of Yoga by Trudy at Rainbow Yoga

Why do I do yoga?
Yes... I understand that yoga enhances the metabolism and helps to regulate weight.

Yes... I am aware that I do everything better when I am true to my yoga practice. I have more patience, endurance and a clearer mind.

Yes... I know about the therapeutic side of yoga, I myself have experienced the healing power of yoga in so many ways.

Yes... I realize that regular practice can often prevent the illnesses or aches and pains of daily life. I am living proof, after over 30 years of practicing yoga, I feel physically and mentally stronger than many people my age around me. I carry wood, cook on a fire, walk long distances, teach yoga, teach 14 4 year olds and work 14 hour days but I am rarely sick and almost never really sick. I put it to yoga.

But I do not practice yoga for any of the above reasons.

I practice yoga because it gives me joy! I never fail to feel better after my yoga practice, I walk with a feeling of lightness, I feel at one with my body, I feel glad to be alive, I feel a tingling all over, I radiate joy and feelings of well being. Ah, the joy of yoga!

Rainbow Yoga, Dominica
Yoga in the Isle of Nature
http://www.geocities.com/rainbowyoga
(767) 315-6722

"What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity.

These are but trifles, to be sure; but, scattered along life's pathway,

the good they do is inconceivable."  - Joseph Addison
 

This Work is Very Fun By Mark Lilly

One of the joys of this work that I didn't foresee was how fun it is. On Friday I was teaching at the Community Transitional School. We did crow pose, half hand stand and the other usual poses, and then everyone lay down for Savasana. We were in a cafeteria, since they were removing insulation from the gym where we usually have class. Ten seconds after our group of ten to fourteen olds let go into the relaxation, a troop of five, six and seven year olds came barreling down the stairs for snack. They stopped abruptly, surprised to see the big kids lying on their backs where the snack tables should be. I told the big kids to lie back down and appreciate their breath and I walked over to the group of youngsters and told them we were doing yoga. Then i asked them to raise their arms as high overhead as they could. They all did.

For the next few minutes, I talked the big kids through an appreciation of the hard work they had done that day, a mindfulness of their breath and uniqueness, all the while miming to the little kids to rise up on their toes, to quietly sweep their arms out to the sides, to be still but strong. They got it, and didn't make a sound.

We ended soon thereafter, and while the big kids moved on to kickball, the younger ones helped me fold neglected mats, move the tables back, push chairs into place. They were way into it!

I left that day feeling so touched to have connected with so many young people, and so grateful to have been able to share this practice of yoga with two dozen of tomorrow's adults.

Another day I was blessed to watch nine youth at Outside In practice sun salutations in unison. It was a spiritual choreography. Another class a young woman at the White Shield Center told me she couldn't do shoulder stretches because she had an injury, only to have her tell me ten minutes later that she had been lying and she could do it. She trusted me and herself enough to tell the truth. It was beautiful.

We're working on putting together a plan to directly help the youth with critical issues, issues that go beyond the yoga mat. Details are still sketchy, but a peek at Home Boy Industries will give you a heads up to some of our ideas.

In closing, thanks for your sustaining interest in Street Yoga. All the emails and phone calls, with ideas and support are wonderful. Blessings to you all! Mark Lilly, director of StreetYoga. http://www.streetyoga.org

Yoga and Joy by Jan Throndson

Joy...A very glad feeling, happiness, great pleasure, delight.  Sometimes I feel I know so little about this topic.  Other days joy just springs upon me unbeckoned.  It just is.  I love when that happens.  I probably take it for granted while it's happening, though awakening to it first thing in the morning definitely gets my attention.  I bounce out of bed, head into the day, and
everything just falls into place, flows beautifully, feels amazing. 

On the days, and sometimes it's been weeks, or even years, that joy seems hidden, hard to find, impossible to reach, I've got to pull out my life tools. Yoga is one of them, a very big one.  As soon as I get down on the cool floor and spread out on my back, resting my weight, it's like a huge surrender.  I let go of my weight, physical, mental, emotional, even spiritual, and begin to
feel the relief of not going or doing.  Just being on this floor, my back on the earth, my chest spread open, my heart relaxing, my lungs opening, my eyes sinking deep into my skull is IT!!  IT is bliss, joy, all-pervading happiness through every muscle, bone, cell and point of awareness in my Being.  Oh my God, I'm actually just being, and it's feeling really, really good.  I could do
this some more, and I even feel a little smile creeping into my body.

Yes, my body is actually smiling now, and by and by this smile even reveals itself upon my lips, cheeks, forehead and eyes.  My face is smiling now and only a moment ago I was so caught up in getting my ducks in a row, doing things right.  But this just feels right.  Just being becomes joy, and I let go some more and here comes another mega-wave of the joy stuff again!

Somehow, as I relax into this, I get the picture...the Bigger Picture, that all is ok, right, even good with everything, everyone, and most especially with me.  This makes me very happy, and then the feeling of gratitude comes over me.  Gratitude seems to magnify joy a billion times over, and this makes me even happier in a deeper way.  Gratitude becomes the way to sustain my joy, even find my joy when it appears to be missing.  On a down day, if I can find my way to a tiny bit of gratitude for something, and then something else, and maybe one more thing, the joy begins to flow again.  Of course, it was never missing.  Just my awareness was.

Now, back to this floor. How happy I feel to be here. The feeling great pleasure in my back being connected to the floor to the Earth, and the stream of breath coming from the air, the Sky, through my nose is just adding to the delight of it all.  It's really simple, this joy stuff, if I let it be.  If this is
all it takes, maybe I'll let go and sink deeper into this joy, bliss, and the wonderment of how gratitude amplifies it all.  What a lovely ride.

Jan Throndson teaches yoga and dance at YogaWorks in Orange County.  She teaches a workshop called Cosmic Radiance Rainbow Dance  and Woman Retreats too.  Contact Jan at JanThrn@aol.com

Joy Is Who We Are By Veronica Vaiti

If you’re new to yoga or a seasoned practitioner, chances are you’ve come across the concept of “joy” being expounded upon in one way or another by teachers or fellow yogis. What exactly is meant by this JOY, where does it reside or derive from and more importantly, how does it relate to yoga?

As my teacher’s teacher says, “Joy is who we are if we are not preoccupied with something else.” Ok, pretty simple, right!? If we move from the position that our lives are basically molded by our perceptions, through our senses that is, then the moments when our direct perceiving/experiencing is impeded by our uncanny tendency and temptation to evaluate what we perceive we ultimately cast a judgment upon that experience.  It is this tendency of ours to appraise and attach a value to our perceptions that leads us to then stand in our own way of the direct experience of joy gleaned from pure perceiving.

How can this experience of joy be found in my yoga practice you may ask? The next time you find yourself struggling with your balance in poses like natarajasana (dancer’s pose) and bakasana (crow pose), or cringing in shoulder and hip openers like baddha parivrtta trikonasana (bound revolving triangle pose) and eka-pada-rajakapotasana (one leg king pigeon pose) first take note of the words of praise or ridicule or ideals floating about in your mind. For instance you might think “oh, why can’t my pose look like the picture I saw in last months Yoga Journal,” or “I hate that my hips are awfully tight.” Then, return your focus to your breath, again without judgment, just noticing the movement of the breath in your body as it exists in this moment in whatever contortion your body may be in. With focus on your breath and not lost in your ideals of what your pose should be tune into the fact that your body IS breathing, your body IS moving and just experience the present state of “whatever your pose at this very moment may be.” Perhaps, your heart and mind may stumble into that space in which sheer joy resides. And just enjoy!

Veronica Vaiti, MSW, RYT teaches Hatha Vinyasa yoga and conducts individual and couples psychotherapy in New York City. Veronica can be reached at vvaiti@nyc.rr.com

Inspirational Quotes and Wisdom

"That's what learning is. You suddenly understand something

you understood all your life, but in a new way."  - Doris Lessing - Novelist

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