In tonight’s class I taught, I had an interesting thought I shared with my students. Do you often go into a pose assuming it will look exactly as you did it last time? I am guessing there are a few poses in which you do. Personally, basic standing poses such as Warrior II and Triangle Poses are my weak spot. I just plop myself into my usual position and hang out there until I think it is time to go to the other side. I don’t even try to take myself more deeply. I just assume my pose will look the same today as it did yesterday and it will tomorrow.
When I realized what I was doing, it made me think. Where else in my life do I just plunk myself down and assume I have gone as far as I can go? There are so many places we can limit ourselves in what we have – happiness (really, test yourself – being happier than you are comfortable with can be incredibly uncomfortable and we usually only allow it for brief periods), love, money, career, health, even the number of vacations or where we go on our vacations! Where in your life do you feel a bit stale? Is it time to blow past a self-imposed limitation? You see, the irony of physical limitations is they are primarily perceived. What I mean is you can move beyond your “wall”, which is, in fact, merely a speed bump. Our flexibility is tied mostly to our consciousness. If you think you are tight, guess what? You are right! If you think you can loosen up and move past your inflexibility or weakness, guess what? You are right, too. If you think you can move past your current health crisis, guess what? You are right! Maybe it is time to blow past a few of those limitations and experience the joy on the other side…Then you can guide your students to the other side as well.
Showing posts with label Philosophy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Philosophy. Show all posts
Monday, April 21, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
Grievances With My Body
I have been reading and fully enjoying, along with Oprah and well over 2 million others, A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. What a powerful book!
I read this quote this morning and it struck a chord as a teacher. How often do we see our students (and ourselves) stuck in the past when doing yoga. “My bad shoulder/knee/hip.” “My weak core.” “My tight hamstrings.” “My tension and stress.” “I can’t do that pose.” “I will never be strong enough/flexible enough to do that pose.” When you think about it, these are merely grievances, baggage of old thought and emotion. When we continue to label our body with old thoughts, we keep the body stuck in the old consciousness. As teachers, we can guide our students into a new awareness, to begin seeing their body fresh each day.
How? Teach the same old pose in a brand new way. Instead of focusing on the hamstring stretch in Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend), focus on the contraction of the quadriceps. Instead of speaking of “releasing tension”, speak of “creating space”. You can also encourage them to change their language to a more compassionate speech that leaves space for growth. Instead of “my bad shoulder”, try “I am still learning what my shoulder has to teach me.” (Speaking from someone who had hamstring pain for 13 years, it was this shift that finally guided me to the other side – very powerful!) Or, “I am learning what I need to create space in my hamstrings.” I also find breaking down a difficult pose into bite size pieces makes it less scary. Language is incredibly powerful! Moving past our grievances opens us up to a brand new life!
“The past has no power to stop you from being present now.
Only your grievance about the past can do that.
And what is a grievance? The baggage of old thought and emotion.”
(A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle)
Only your grievance about the past can do that.
And what is a grievance? The baggage of old thought and emotion.”
(A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle)
I read this quote this morning and it struck a chord as a teacher. How often do we see our students (and ourselves) stuck in the past when doing yoga. “My bad shoulder/knee/hip.” “My weak core.” “My tight hamstrings.” “My tension and stress.” “I can’t do that pose.” “I will never be strong enough/flexible enough to do that pose.” When you think about it, these are merely grievances, baggage of old thought and emotion. When we continue to label our body with old thoughts, we keep the body stuck in the old consciousness. As teachers, we can guide our students into a new awareness, to begin seeing their body fresh each day.
How? Teach the same old pose in a brand new way. Instead of focusing on the hamstring stretch in Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend), focus on the contraction of the quadriceps. Instead of speaking of “releasing tension”, speak of “creating space”. You can also encourage them to change their language to a more compassionate speech that leaves space for growth. Instead of “my bad shoulder”, try “I am still learning what my shoulder has to teach me.” (Speaking from someone who had hamstring pain for 13 years, it was this shift that finally guided me to the other side – very powerful!) Or, “I am learning what I need to create space in my hamstrings.” I also find breaking down a difficult pose into bite size pieces makes it less scary. Language is incredibly powerful! Moving past our grievances opens us up to a brand new life!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Sitting with Dignity
“Sitting down to meditate, our posture talks to us. It makes its own statement. You might say the posture itself is the meditation. If we slump, it reflects low energy, passivity, a lack of clarity. If we sit ramrod-straight, we are tense, making too much of an effort, trying too hard. When I use the word ‘dignity’ in teaching situations, as in ‘Sit in a way that embodies dignity,’ everybody immediately adjusts their posture to sit up straighter. But they don’t stiffen. Faces relax, shoulders drop, head, neck, and back come into easy alignment. The spine rises out of the pelvis with energy. Sometimes people tend to sit forward, away from the backs fo their chairs, more autonomously. Everybody seems to instantly know that inner feeling of dignity and how to embody it.”
Remember Wherever You Go, There You Are? by John Kabat Zinn? I recently pulled my old copy off the shelf and opened it at random. This entry was what I read. I love the thought. What does it mean to you? My computer dictionary defines dignity as: “the state or quality of being worthy of honor or respect”. Mmmmm...doesn’t that thought feel good?
I have begun practicing the idea when I am preparing to begin class. I sit before my students as they do their breathing. I sit with dignity, imagine grace coming through me, feel gratitude for the opportunity to be a teacher, and then I use the Mudra I described in a previous blog post to open my throat chakra and make my voice more resonant. Then, and only then, do I begin.
Remember Wherever You Go, There You Are? by John Kabat Zinn? I recently pulled my old copy off the shelf and opened it at random. This entry was what I read. I love the thought. What does it mean to you? My computer dictionary defines dignity as: “the state or quality of being worthy of honor or respect”. Mmmmm...doesn’t that thought feel good?
I have begun practicing the idea when I am preparing to begin class. I sit before my students as they do their breathing. I sit with dignity, imagine grace coming through me, feel gratitude for the opportunity to be a teacher, and then I use the Mudra I described in a previous blog post to open my throat chakra and make my voice more resonant. Then, and only then, do I begin.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Teaching Surrender
According to Patanjali and the Yoga Sutras, the last of the yoga precepts is Ishvara Pranidhana. Translated many ways, the one I use the most is “surrender” or “letting go”. Here is a great way to help students understand the concept. Using partners, have one student move into Maricyasana III. Maricyasana III is a twist in which one leg is straight out and the other is bent with the foot next to the thigh. Then you twist into the bent knee. Have the student twist to the right first, into the right knee. Have the partner place her hands on the front of the right shoulder and on the left shoulder blade. Get a good solid grip so the student in the pose gets a good feeling of being completely supported. Now, have the student in the pose release and allow the partner to support her. It is much trickier than it looks and is a great lesson in learning surrender. Those who tend toward control in their life will keep holding themselves in the pose and not be able to release into their partner's hold as well as those who can surrender or let go and trust well.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
“I’ve Been in the Final Pose"
“I’ve been in the final pose. There is nothing there. There is no hurry.” My very favorite quote by Ramanand Patel. If you have ever had an opportunity to study with him you know about his dry humor. It comes at you when you least expect it and when you need it most. My class received this quote when we were all struggling, and I mean struggling, into a hard pose. As I recall, it was a pose that made us wonder if Ramanand had any ligaments when he demonstrated it for us. In his dry, light-hearted humor, Ramanand came out with this quote to lighten us all up. It worked and I have used it numerous times since.
Our students (and ourselves!) need to be reminded, sometimes frequently, that the goal of their yoga practice is not the final variation of the pose. (To be honest, there is never a final variation. There is always some way to modify the pose and move more deeply energetically if not physically as well.) Yoga is about challenging our bodies, not about harming them or being violent. So forcing ourselves into the pose is contrary to the goal of yoga. I’ve have been in many of those “final poses” over the years and have been amazed to find that there isn’t a dramatic difference between them and the preparatory poses I did for years to get me into that pose. (And, just so you know, there is no fanfare and no parade – although sometimes you wish there was!) And, being in the pose before you are truly ready will only serve to eliminate any benefits of the pose anyway. “I’ve been in the final pose. There is nothing there. There is no hurry.”
Our students (and ourselves!) need to be reminded, sometimes frequently, that the goal of their yoga practice is not the final variation of the pose. (To be honest, there is never a final variation. There is always some way to modify the pose and move more deeply energetically if not physically as well.) Yoga is about challenging our bodies, not about harming them or being violent. So forcing ourselves into the pose is contrary to the goal of yoga. I’ve have been in many of those “final poses” over the years and have been amazed to find that there isn’t a dramatic difference between them and the preparatory poses I did for years to get me into that pose. (And, just so you know, there is no fanfare and no parade – although sometimes you wish there was!) And, being in the pose before you are truly ready will only serve to eliminate any benefits of the pose anyway. “I’ve been in the final pose. There is nothing there. There is no hurry.”
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Using Yoga to Find our Center
At the center of your being you have the answer;
you know who you are and you know what you want.
- Lao Tzu
you know who you are and you know what you want.
- Lao Tzu
As Lao Tzu says in this month’s quote, we all have the answer to what we want at the center of our being. Our challenge is quieting our outer being enough to hear what the center has to say! We have become so disconnected with our center, though, that voice inside of us, that we can’t hear it and, even if we are hearing it, we often do not trust it. Yoga helps us clear away the clutter and unclog the connection with our inner self. Then you can listen more effectively and have an inner knowing that what you are hearing is your truth.
But your yoga will aid you in uncovering your inner self only if your practice is balancing you. Otherwise your practice may only serve to bury your inner self more deeply within your physical consciousness. If you are someone who tends toward busy-ness and adrenalin, chances are you crave power yoga and ashtanga. You feel great sweating and getting a great workout. But that type of yoga, for you, is only keeping you entrenched in the way your mind likes to function and your practice is not balancing yourself. If you tend toward lethargy you may crave more of a restorative practice. Again, doing something restorative when you already have those tendencies will keep you stuck in that tendency, not uncover your inner self.
Being a recovering stress-aholic, I loved a strong workout with my yoga. I also know that when I do too strong of a practice, I can feel the adrenalin begin to return and that begins to feed the stress in the other areas of my life. Think about your own tendencies. What would balance you? Pay attention to your practice. Are you feeling balanced when you are done? Or are you further feeding where you are comfortable? Yes, there is a good chance that the very best practice for you is not the one you really want to be doing!
Friday, April 20, 2007
Asteya: Non-Stealing
“We fail when we steal from ourselves – by neglecting a talent,
or by letting a lack of commitment keep us from practicing yoga.” - Judith Lasater
How about this quote for a thought? In my Advanced Study group we spent the past two months considering the yama, Asteya, or non-stealing. The yamas are part of Ashtanga, or the eight-fold path to a yogic state. The yamas are the first rung and refer to the way we act with other people. (The other yamas are non-violence, truthfulness, moderation, and non-greed.)
Over the years of teaching the yamas, I find Asteya is the one people most easily gloss over, thinking only of the material, physical items. Most of us don’t steal objects directly from others. There is so much more to Asteya, as this wonderful quote from Judith states. Have you ever considered not doing your practice as stealing from yourself? Take a moment to think about what you are stealing. What are you missing? What are you not sharing with the world because you are not doing your practice?
or by letting a lack of commitment keep us from practicing yoga.” - Judith Lasater
How about this quote for a thought? In my Advanced Study group we spent the past two months considering the yama, Asteya, or non-stealing. The yamas are part of Ashtanga, or the eight-fold path to a yogic state. The yamas are the first rung and refer to the way we act with other people. (The other yamas are non-violence, truthfulness, moderation, and non-greed.)
Over the years of teaching the yamas, I find Asteya is the one people most easily gloss over, thinking only of the material, physical items. Most of us don’t steal objects directly from others. There is so much more to Asteya, as this wonderful quote from Judith states. Have you ever considered not doing your practice as stealing from yourself? Take a moment to think about what you are stealing. What are you missing? What are you not sharing with the world because you are not doing your practice?
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Yielding: Part II
Last time I discussed Donna Farhi’s concept of yielding as it relates to daily living. Now let’s bring it to the mat. It is particularly useful to learn how to do it on the mat since what we do there is reflected in our daily lives. If you find your energy is either collapsed or propped in your life, practice yielding on the mat to help you bring yielding into your life.
The concept of yielding refers to being able to use gravity to ground yourself and still lengthen your physical without losing the groundedness of your energy. If you are a teacher, play with these exercises with beginners. I am amazed at how often they get this and it is rewarding for them to realize they are beginning to connect with their energy.
First let’s do it sitting. You can do this sitting on the floor or on a chair. Begin by slumping. Yes, you heard me correctly. I know it isn’t aligned, but it can dramatically connect you to your grounding ability. Go ahead and slump. Did you notice that you felt heavier as you slumped? You aren’t actually heavier; you are just grounding your energy or letting it drop. Now, the goal is to begin to align your body and lengthen without losing the weight in your sit bones.
I find I need to align from the bottom up. If I bring my attention to my upper back prematurely, I lose the connection in the grounding. First, tip your pelvis upright, then align your lower back, then open the back of your heart, feel it fan open and bring your head into alignment. Do all of this without losing the weight in your sit bones.
Now let’s do it standing in Tadasana. Be sure you take your shoes off first, grounding is much more effective without shoes. Come to standing and find your Tadasana. Balance your weight between the four corners of your feet to align yourself over your feet. The standing equivalent of the slumping to ground your energy is bending your knees. Just bend your knees and feel the weight in your feet. Now align just as we did sitting, from the bottom up. Straighten the legs, draw the tailbone toward your heals, open the back of your heart. Are you still grounded in your feet?
Now practice this concept in all the poses you do. How does it change in other seated or standing poses? What about in inversions?
Pose
Once you have read the information about Yielding on my blog and perhaps listened to the Audio blog. Take the process into Vrksasana or Tree Pose. Tree Pose is the natural extension of Yielding. With the roots going deeply down and the branches reaching high into the sky. What often happens is as people create their extension; they lose the grounding (just as I discussed in the blog). Use the concept of Yielding to maintain your ground as you extend.
The concept of yielding refers to being able to use gravity to ground yourself and still lengthen your physical without losing the groundedness of your energy. If you are a teacher, play with these exercises with beginners. I am amazed at how often they get this and it is rewarding for them to realize they are beginning to connect with their energy.
First let’s do it sitting. You can do this sitting on the floor or on a chair. Begin by slumping. Yes, you heard me correctly. I know it isn’t aligned, but it can dramatically connect you to your grounding ability. Go ahead and slump. Did you notice that you felt heavier as you slumped? You aren’t actually heavier; you are just grounding your energy or letting it drop. Now, the goal is to begin to align your body and lengthen without losing the weight in your sit bones.
I find I need to align from the bottom up. If I bring my attention to my upper back prematurely, I lose the connection in the grounding. First, tip your pelvis upright, then align your lower back, then open the back of your heart, feel it fan open and bring your head into alignment. Do all of this without losing the weight in your sit bones.
Now let’s do it standing in Tadasana. Be sure you take your shoes off first, grounding is much more effective without shoes. Come to standing and find your Tadasana. Balance your weight between the four corners of your feet to align yourself over your feet. The standing equivalent of the slumping to ground your energy is bending your knees. Just bend your knees and feel the weight in your feet. Now align just as we did sitting, from the bottom up. Straighten the legs, draw the tailbone toward your heals, open the back of your heart. Are you still grounded in your feet?
Now practice this concept in all the poses you do. How does it change in other seated or standing poses? What about in inversions?
Pose
Once you have read the information about Yielding on my blog and perhaps listened to the Audio blog. Take the process into Vrksasana or Tree Pose. Tree Pose is the natural extension of Yielding. With the roots going deeply down and the branches reaching high into the sky. What often happens is as people create their extension; they lose the grounding (just as I discussed in the blog). Use the concept of Yielding to maintain your ground as you extend.
Yielding: Part I
Something I have been considering lately is what it means to be fully present. In her book, Yoga Mind Body Spirit, Donna Farhi discusses the concept of "yielding". She describes it as a way of being that is perfectly balanced.
The concept is easier to understand when you consider the extremes. On one side you are collapsed, that is the student who is new and doesn't yet understand lengthening. On the other side is "propped". This propped student forces extension on him or herself, looking military in stance. Neither position feels good nor conducts energy well. The balance is yielding. Yielding is being able to feel the ground firmly and extend without losing that contact.
I see this as a fabulous metaphor for life. When we are collapsed, we are not engaged in life. We may be stuck in the past or just "sitting on the couch eating potato chips". When we are propped, we are forcing life, trying to make things happen that aren't ready to happen. We are pushing toward the future.
Which do you do? I find people have a tendency toward one way or the other. Where do you fall? Whatever you do in life will show up on your mat in your practice as well...Next time I will discuss how to transfer this to yoga poses.
The concept is easier to understand when you consider the extremes. On one side you are collapsed, that is the student who is new and doesn't yet understand lengthening. On the other side is "propped". This propped student forces extension on him or herself, looking military in stance. Neither position feels good nor conducts energy well. The balance is yielding. Yielding is being able to feel the ground firmly and extend without losing that contact.
I see this as a fabulous metaphor for life. When we are collapsed, we are not engaged in life. We may be stuck in the past or just "sitting on the couch eating potato chips". When we are propped, we are forcing life, trying to make things happen that aren't ready to happen. We are pushing toward the future.
Which do you do? I find people have a tendency toward one way or the other. Where do you fall? Whatever you do in life will show up on your mat in your practice as well...Next time I will discuss how to transfer this to yoga poses.
Detachment
I had an interesting experience this spring I would like to share with all of you. I had been considering the topic of detachment and curious about what it really means. I understood it in an academic way, but I was yearning for a deeper experience and understanding. Leave it to the universe to provide!
I had planned many things for the spring, for expanding the website, activities with the kids, my own practice, and, of course, classes and trainings I was teaching for which people were counting on me. Then I got sick, really sick. It took me five weeks to fully recover and during that time, the rest of my family came down with the illness as well.
During that time, I kept thinking of the things I had scheduled and wanted to be doing. I found myself saying, “I’ll be better by Saturday so I won’t have to cancel that meeting.” I had so much resistance to my lack of control over being sick! (“Hmmm”, I thought, “could this be my lesson in attachment?”) Then Saturday would come along and there was no way I was well enough yet to attend. That occurred week after week after week. During that time, I cancelled a day-long training, a weekend spiritual retreat, untold classes, and my daughter’s birthday party (we rescheduled it three times!)
When I finally released to the reality of the situation, and I mean literally relaxed the resistance in my body, I realized my attachment to my responsibilities. I also got how that attachment was affecting me and holding me back. I was seeing from a limited perspective – “I have to do this or people will be disappointed.” Rather than trusting the process, that there was a lesson involved, and I was going to be greater because of it and knowing that people understand (and continue living their lives quite happily with out me. ☺ )
I am still working on this one. I recently had a “set back” in which I became caught up in my responsibilities again. I needed to let go and be with the flow of what was happening, but I resisted and remained attached to my plan. I became full of adrenalin and very stressed. I am still feeling the effects in my body and mind almost 2 weeks later.
When I am not attached, it feels like I am floating in the ocean. I just allow the movement of the current to take me where it wants me to go. That may sound as if I am limp and not engaged in life. On the contrary, it makes me very engaged and dynamic. When I allow the flow of life to move me, I am in harmony with my surroundings and what the Universe wants for and from me. I feel the guidance I am receiving from my higher self. When I resist that flow, it is because my mind feels it knows better than the Universe and I become hard and unbending. I feel the discord in my heart and soul.
So, now the question is, how do we become detached? Do you even know what it feels like to be detached? I know I didn’t fully feel it until this year. According to the Yoga Sutras, the key is your practice. Moreover, maintaining your practice for a long, uninterrupted time. Being dedicated to it. Trust me, it is well worth your effort. The feeling of detachment is glorious!
When we give up attachment to everything, including the little self, then we find wisdom, power, and freedom. —Harold Klemp
I had planned many things for the spring, for expanding the website, activities with the kids, my own practice, and, of course, classes and trainings I was teaching for which people were counting on me. Then I got sick, really sick. It took me five weeks to fully recover and during that time, the rest of my family came down with the illness as well.
During that time, I kept thinking of the things I had scheduled and wanted to be doing. I found myself saying, “I’ll be better by Saturday so I won’t have to cancel that meeting.” I had so much resistance to my lack of control over being sick! (“Hmmm”, I thought, “could this be my lesson in attachment?”) Then Saturday would come along and there was no way I was well enough yet to attend. That occurred week after week after week. During that time, I cancelled a day-long training, a weekend spiritual retreat, untold classes, and my daughter’s birthday party (we rescheduled it three times!)
When I finally released to the reality of the situation, and I mean literally relaxed the resistance in my body, I realized my attachment to my responsibilities. I also got how that attachment was affecting me and holding me back. I was seeing from a limited perspective – “I have to do this or people will be disappointed.” Rather than trusting the process, that there was a lesson involved, and I was going to be greater because of it and knowing that people understand (and continue living their lives quite happily with out me. ☺ )
I am still working on this one. I recently had a “set back” in which I became caught up in my responsibilities again. I needed to let go and be with the flow of what was happening, but I resisted and remained attached to my plan. I became full of adrenalin and very stressed. I am still feeling the effects in my body and mind almost 2 weeks later.
When I am not attached, it feels like I am floating in the ocean. I just allow the movement of the current to take me where it wants me to go. That may sound as if I am limp and not engaged in life. On the contrary, it makes me very engaged and dynamic. When I allow the flow of life to move me, I am in harmony with my surroundings and what the Universe wants for and from me. I feel the guidance I am receiving from my higher self. When I resist that flow, it is because my mind feels it knows better than the Universe and I become hard and unbending. I feel the discord in my heart and soul.
So, now the question is, how do we become detached? Do you even know what it feels like to be detached? I know I didn’t fully feel it until this year. According to the Yoga Sutras, the key is your practice. Moreover, maintaining your practice for a long, uninterrupted time. Being dedicated to it. Trust me, it is well worth your effort. The feeling of detachment is glorious!
When we give up attachment to everything, including the little self, then we find wisdom, power, and freedom. —Harold Klemp
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