Welcome to the Living
Practice – April 2003
Editor’s
Letter with Megan McCarver
Following
the Breath by Thich Nhat Hanh
Ananda
Mouse by Debbie Grossblatt
Yoga, Is It
Affordable? By Janet Schriever
Ayurvedic
Awareness - Spring by Venkat and Christine Machiraju
Mystical Siddha Yoga- the Path of Light by Nandhi
Quote by
Swami Vivekananda
Spirituality
Article 6- How to Lead a Spiritual Life or How to be Spiritual - Bhaktiyoga by Neel Kulkarni
Music
Review by Megan McCarver
A Note from YogaEverywhere
Yoga
Classifieds and Events
Namaste Lovely Viewers,
Welcome new
viewers and old friends and thank you. As my yoga brother Neel say’s, “we are all
yoga brothers and sisters” … sharing one song, the song of the heart. Oh how we
thrive on with connection … and I so look forward to hearing from you all. I
can’t emphasize enough how important you are to me. Thank you for sharing your
teachings with me, and our yoga family. And special thanks to our authors and
our sponsors.
My message
to you during this tumultuous time is very simple. Please be extra patient and kind to your self and others. Please
continue to exercise your faith,
whether you are praying to God,
With love and care,
megan
Following the
Breath by Thich Nhat Hanh
Breathing
in, I know I’m breathing in.
Breathing
out, I know
As the
in-breath grows deep,
The
out-breath grows slow.
Breathing in makes me calm.
Breathing
out makes me ease.
With the
in-breath, I smile.
With the
out-breath, I release.
Breathing
in, there is only the present moment.
Breathing
out, it is a wonderful moment.
Ananda Mouse
by Debbie Grossblatt
I have discovered during my many years of teaching yoga that each and every
class is an opportunity for me to learn more about my students and how yoga
works. In one of my beginners' classes, I had instructed the students to sit
upright in easy posture with eyes closed and to breath smoothly and quietly so
as to center themselves. Soon after closing my own eyes, I sensed the need to
visually check their alignment and facial expressions for any signs of tension.
As I looked out into this calm sea of wonderful faces, I noticed one student in
the back row with her eyes wide open and a smile growing on her face. Ah I
thought, she has attained a state of yogic bliss and cannot contain the joy
that she is experiencing. I smiled back at her, and then closed my eyes to
finish the opening relaxation but she had definitely aroused my yogic
curiosity.
I asked myself, "How can a beginner attain a state of bliss (ananda) so
early in her yoga experience when I have not personally done so after a decade
of intense study and practice?" As soon as I opened my eyes and began
presenting the active portion of the class, my mind drifted away from her and
focused on teaching asana. Starting with cat/cow stretches to release the back,
I proceeded to move through asana after asana but for some reason I could not
take my eyes off this one student. For the next hour she worked diligently
through each posture but no additional smiles appeared. As the class came to a
close, my mind was still asking itself what had happened to make her smile.
After most of the students had exited the room, my happy student approached me.
I wondered what she was going to tell me about that treasured moment of bliss.
She said she had seen a mouse enter the room from the doorway behind me while I
was guiding the class in focused breathing. The mouse sat for a few
moments, watched us, and then quickly turned around and ran out the door
unbeknownst to everyone other than her. We were so focused on the internal
world and our breath that we had remained calm and centered even though this
unwelcome visitor had walked into our space. At that moment I realized it was
not just this one student who had experienced bliss, but all of us had when Mr.
Mouse made his unexpected entrance. In that brief moment, I had learned how
effective yoga is for reducing fear of the unknown and that bliss can appear in
many forms, sometimes as small as a
mouse.
Debbie Grossblatt remains calm and balanced through her practice
and teaching of yoga. She is currently teaching pregnancy yoga and gentle
mindful yoga at Lifebridge Health and Fitness in
Yoga, Is It Affordable? By Janet Schriever,
RYT
It seems as though the commercialization of yoga is a
subject of hot debate these days. In Yoga Journal’s article "Yoga, Inc.",
professor Weissler certainly stated a plain truth
that "Nothing in our society escapes co modification."
As an American, I do believe that consumerism is something that we are taught
from birth. It is deeply ingrained in our psyche, as if it is part of our
birthright, our genetic makeup. To the general public, yoga is no
different than any other commodity to be sold in any form that will be
bought. To the yoga enthusiast and the yoga teacher, the sacred teachings of
yoga may seem exploited....but is this really any surprise?
The article mentioned the high cost of clothing, mats, retreats, training,
etc. As a full time yoga teacher, I struggle to make ends meet and cannot
afford expensive yoga clothing or other products. While I do not need the
designer clothing or other paraphernalia to make me a better teacher, I do need
the continuing education. I feel a yoga teacher should have a personal
practice, which should include classes from other teachers. We should be
able to continue our yoga studies at an affordable price. The prices of
teacher trainings and conferences are frankly out of reach for many yoga
teachers, including myself. As I strum through your magazine, I
salivate over the wonderful trainings and Yoga Journal conferences that are
available, but know that I simply cannot afford them.
I am thrilled that there are so many knowledgeable and gifted teachers out
there that are making a living doing what they love to do and giving back to
the world. I personally think it is great that yoga is not only providing
a healthy body, mind and rich spiritual life, but financial means as
well. I hope to have more financial ease in my life at some point
too. However, I wish that at least some of your events/conferences might
offer a discount to yoga teachers so that we can continue our learning journey
of yoga and pass down the knowledge to our students. I also feel it would
be a great service for yoga studios everywhere to offer a discount to teachers
on daily classes, workshops and teacher trainings as continuing
education. After all, that is what teaching yoga is all about....isn't
it? Namaste,
Janet Schriever teaches Hatha Yoga/Vinyasa Flow Yoga in
Ayurvedic
Awareness - Spring by Venkat and Christine Machiraju
Often when
we think of spring we think of new growth, blooming flowers, budding leaves,
new baby animals and the singing birds. We long for the warming of the
atmosphere and the lengthening of the days. But we forget to take care of our
health so that we can prevent the allergies, flus and
colds that often accompany this long awaited season. We can observe that in
nature many changes take place.
The water
in lakes, which has become cool or frozen in the winter
begins to thaw. The same thing is happening with our own bodies. The increased
temperatures help to make the lymphatic fluids and mucus in our body warmer and
more liquidly and so we experience chest and sinus congestion or running
noses. We may experience swelling in the
glands, which can result in a weakened immune system. The result of the weakened immune system is
the cause of many of the flus and colds that occur in
the spring.
A weakened
immune system is also often the cause of allergies. During the winter months
the digestive fire is stronger, this creates an increased appetite, which
results in overeating. Often in the
winter people do not exercise as much and the result of the combined excess
eating and less exercise is improperly digested food.
This undigested
food builds up in the body as toxins.
Some symptoms of built up toxins are; rashes on the skin, lack of luster
in the skin, constipation, weight gain, a feeling of lethargy after eating,
drowsiness, sluggishness, fatigue, muscle pains and throbbing headaches. During the spring, the body begins to try to
eliminate these toxins. We can help the body by introducing foods and
activities that promote the removal of toxins.
We should
try to eat foods that are spicy, easy to digest and warming in nature. Soups, teas, hot spices like cinnamon,
ginger, chili peppers, oregano and basil are examples of foods and herbs that
promote detoxification.
If we are
eating foods that prevent the toxins from being released we will notice a
further increase in the symptoms of toxicity coupled with a weakened immune
system and will probably experience the colds and flus
associated with the season - sweet, salty, heavy and oily foods are the foods
that should be avoided during the spring.
We should
also try to increase our activity level.
Increasing our exercise helps to increase the metabolism, this intern
increases the rate at which food is digested and then eliminated from the
body. The toxins along with the food
waste will be eliminated together and the body will quickly return to its clean
and healthy state. One will notice an
increase in energy, a healthy glow to the skin, a feeling of lightness in the
body and a zest for life once the toxins begin to be removed.
The
exercise need not be strenuous or difficult to be beneficial.
Suggested
exercises would be yoga and walking.
Yoga helps to remove toxins from every channel in the body by combining
stretching and breathing exercises.
Walking, especially outdoors, walking helps to increase the heart rate
and metabolism and is good for the joints and muscles. Walking outside in the fresh air helps to
boost the immune system by increasing oxygen intake, which purifies and
strengthens all tissue.
It is also
helpful to alter lifestyle to some degree.
Getting up with the sun helps to keep the body in tune with nature and
thus prevents illness and promotes internal cleansing. Eating in the evening before sunset is a good
idea as the warmth of the solar energy helps to promote digestion of food. Eating later than
Venkat and Christine Machiraju teach yoga and use Vedic sciences of Ayurveda and Jyotish – Vedic astrology to help people enhance their lives. Venkat and Christine also create herbal formulas to help people move toward natural and holistic living. Many of their clients and students have mentioned that Ayurveda and guided relaxations have helped them to relax. They have combined the tips that have given people over the years relief. Ayurvedic Tips for a Restful Sleep is a booklet of simple tips on how to attain a restful sleep.
Mystical Siddha Yoga - the Path of Light by Nandhi
Much less
is known of the yogic traditions of
'Siddhars' were evolved spiritual beings, who went beyond
enlightenment to accomplish the final yoga of attaining the ultimate perfection
as becoming one with God. Perfection in this sense means the state of the
highly evolved as Christ after resurrection. This is the ultimate objective of
yoga in the Siddha philosophy. Yoga of Siddha tradition in
The realm
of Siddhars is mystical, most times unbelievable and
has remained unchanged over thousands of years. To envision this world, it is
comparable to the life present in the extreme depth of the ocean existing under
intense high pressure and total darkness, hardly ever disturbed by external
forces. This would be an example to illustrate the world of the Siddhars beneath the known in
This higher yogic path was called in ancient Tamil, 'Tantiram',
which means tantra (it had nothing to do with the
sexual orientation the word tantra has often been
perceived in the West. Tantra as in the philosophy of
the Siddhar means, encompassing all of human nature
to be divine with worship of the primal energy residing in our sexuality as one
among the many facets of energy fields, with progress made under strict yogic
discipline and almost always in a monogamous relationship). This divine tantra as revealed by the Siddhars
meant breaking through ego arising though duality that separates us from the
divine, by worshipping the three dimensional context in every thought arising
as seeds of knowing from the mind. Household life was considered sacred and
celibacy was advocated until one could dissolve away their animal nature.
There are so many forms of seed thoughts such as - as perceiver, perceived and
as perception; space, matter, energy; past, present and future; creation,
preservation and destruction; and so on. Once the three dimensions of thought
are understood and held sacred, with the unity behind duality achieved, the
mind would break into becoming single pointed. It would be natural for Oneness
to emerge as Source with the Self illumined in knowing 'All Is' as "I am That' and 'I am'. Merging into the Source was then the only
grand reality as the destination of this yogic journey towards Light.
With the soul recognized in its pure form as the 'Holy Ghost' and a divine
teacher as Guru to guide knowing All as the Absolute nameless Father, the
higher tantra manifests the primal urge for the
divine union in the 'trinity of knowing'. Applying this wisdom as yogic
techniques within a spiritual environment to the single pointed mind and
conditioned body, true yoga of the Siddhars taught
that the eternal is attained with the wisdom of the mind along with intellect
absorbed in divine grace, powerful enough to manifest its Light body! Aum Shanthi
The author Nandhi, is
an initiate in the path of the Siddhars. He lived in
Quote by
Swami Vivekananda
A still higher stage of love is reached when life itself is maintained
for the sake of the one ideal of Love, when life itself is considered beautiful
and worth living only on account of that Love. With out it, such a life would
not remain even for a moment. Life is sweet, because it thinks of the Beloved.
Spirituality
Article 6- How to Lead a Spiritual Life or How to be Spiritual - Bhaktiyoga by Neel Kulkarni
Salutations to Lord Ganesha. In the 'Spirituality -
Article 1' (posted in January's Living Practice2002 ,
we saw what is meant by Spiritual Life or Spirituality. Then, in the
'Spirituality - Article 2' (posted in April's Living Practice2002, we started with
ways of actually leading a spiritual life and stated certain salient features
of them. Then, in the 'Spirituality - Article 3' (posted in August's Living Practice2002 ), we saw one specific way of Spirituality,
called as 'Rajayoga'. In the 'Spirituality - Article
4' (posted in the Living Practice Winter2002), we saw the specific way called
as 'Karmayoga'. Where as in the 'Sprituality - Article 5' (posted in the Living Practice,
January 2003) we saw the specific way called as 'Jnanayoga'.
In this article, we shall see another specific way, called as 'Bhaktiyoga'.
Once a person truly realizes existence of the Spirit and develops an intense
desire to realize it, he or she takes up one of the paths as a main path
depending on the person's nature. A person of emotional nature (and more humans
fall into this category than any other!) takes up Bhaktiyoga
or the path of devotion.
The word 'Bhakti' in the Sanskrit has three aspects;
1. 'Bhakta' meaning the person who
is involved in the action of Bhakti. 2. 'Bhagavanta or Bhagavaana' meaning the subject of Bhakti.
3. 'Bhakti' meaning the action of being
together. One of the world famous devotee, Shree
Samartha Ramadas (the Guru,
Master of the famous king, Shivaji) says about Bhakti, 'Bhakta Mhanaje Vibhakta Nave (Marathi language of
The being together of the path of devotion belongs to Mind. Because physical togetherness is dependent on and limited by the
circumstances. Also, the souls never have to come together, they
are already together, as there is only one Soul or Spirit (see the previous
articles for explanation). This mind's desire for being together or
mind's action of being together is called as 'Bhakti' or 'Love' or 'Devotion'.
The nature of 'Bhakta or Devotee' is in intially in the form of Indriyas or Senses, then it takes the form of Manas or Mind, and then it takes the form of Atma or Spirit. The nature of 'Bhagavan
or God or Subject of Devotee' is initally 'Bahya Saguna' or an External with
Form, that is a physical Idol of some
kind. Then, it changes to 'Antarika Sauna' or
an Internal with Form, that is a mental image of some
kind. Finally, it changes to 'Nirguna' or the
formless one. Similary, the nature of the 'Bhakti or Devotion' is initially 'Salokata'
that is being in the same place or neighbourhood' Then, it changes to 'Sameepata'
meaning being very near to each other. And, finally it changes to 'Saayujyata' meaning becoming one. In the 'Saayujyataa' stage the Bhakta or
Devotee, and the Bhagavaana or Deity become one and
then the devotee gets the experience of Samaadhi, that is Superconcious state of
mind.
The main tool or means in the Bhaktiyoga or the path
of devotion is 'Love' or Devotion. A human being can not live without
Love. That is Love is totally inborn in a human being. Therefore,
the path of devotion is much easy to follow or to take up. When this Love
becomes pure that is without any expectation, the devotee has nothing to ask
from the deity or God. This way the devotee becomes one with the deity,
and this is the Samaadhi, or superconscious
stage in the path of Devotion. But, the path of devotion, which is very
easy to follow or to start with, becomes as challenging as any other path in
later or final stages. This is because it is very difficult to love
without having any expectation. Also, as the path of devotion always
starts with devotion to some kind of Form, this results in various sects
(called as Religions in some circles) which adhere to
a particular form or forms. This might lead to Fanaticism for a chosen
Sect or Religion.
All devotional paths, at one time or the other, definitely reach the 'Naama' or God's Name. At the final stage, the devotee
realizes that Name of God and God are the Same
thing. This God's name is also called as '
Not only that, but all the Spiritual paths finally become stable or settled in
the Path of Devotionn or Bhaktiyoga.
For Example, the greatest Jnanayogi or the Scholar of
Advaita Vedanta (Nondualistic
Philosophy) Adi Shankara
(600 A.D.), who was a writer of Viveka Chudamani, an impotant work in
the Philosophy explaining the path of Knowledge (translation of Viveka Chudamana - Crest Jewel of
Discrimination), in later stages formulates the devotional song called 'Bhaja Govindam' which explains
the path of devotion. Also, the greates Karmayogi, the King Shivaji of
But, it is also true that the devotee who takes pride in his path alone, and
discards all other paths, becomes Fanatic, and remains incomplete. Also,
until the devotee reaches the stage of 'Saayujyata
(becoming one)', the health of body and mind is important. When the
devotee reaches the final stage, the God takes care of his welbeing
and the devotee does not worry about it anymore. Lord Krishna states in
the Shrimad Bhagavadgita, 'ananyashchintayanto mam ye jana pari
upaasate, teshaam nityaabhiyuktaanaam yogakshemam vahaamyaham', briefly meaning 'I take responsibility of the
welbeing of devotees who are forever fixed on
me'. But, until such a stage is reached, the appropriate thing is to care
for the health of the body and mind, using Hathayoga
and Rajayoga.
Many a times, a fully realized devotee leaves the legacy of immortal
works. For example, 'Jnanadeva's
Hareepaatha'. Not only this, but even
totally illiterate devotees form immortal works.
For example, 'Gatha of Santa Tukaaram'
or ' Chants of Saint Meeraabai'.
Neel Kulkarni, born in
Music Review
by Megan McCarver
Appropriate music during your yoga practice should not
demand your attention nor should it distract you from your breath. Music to
enhance your practice should stabilize your attention and support your breath.
Here is this month’s pick for your yoga practice music collection.
Yoga Tranquility in a “must buy now”! Riley Lee playing the Shakuhachi Flute melts away all your unnecessary stress
held in your body and mind. Peaceful, soothing and heart
expressive. It is another CD I could listen to over and over and over
and over again. I highly recommend it for listening, teaching, practice and
gift giving.
Name of CD: Yoga Tranquility
By: Riley Lee
A Note From YogaEverywhere
We want to hear from you! Please continue to share your emails, teachings, articles and insights with YogaEverywhere and her viewers. Currently YogaEverywhere.com does not pay for articles submitted, but know that The Living Practice touches many lives each month and you will be doing great service to yoga practioners everywhere. Please try to keep submissions under 200 words and include a short biography (3-4 sentences long). Please send your submissions to my attention
Dear Megan,
Just a quickie... Need batteries for the WebTV. Plus my TV has been
busted, etc. Want to thank you for your wonderful and glowing Website. And for such golden words of wisdom here.
Thank you
for the Helen Keller quotes and for the uplifting Dr. Northrup words. I
have been
slipping rapidly into madness of late, and this website is helping a lot.
Have pulled out my shabby old blanket and am going to throw m'self
on the floor and start stretching these crumbling muscles. Recently, I
thought I would collapse from these current events and thought of you and that
old blanket of mine (you're much more attractive, believe me).
Well, I
will never be able to reach the stars, but maybe, I just might be able to reach
that peaceful place inside. I'll give it a try. And -- thank you
loads and loads for that Dr. Victor Frankl's
selection last time. I love that man. Man's Search for Meaning, for
all of its
horrors, is one of the most beautiful books I've ever read. It even gave
me a sense of peace despite its narrative of an insane period -- may it never
return -- I pray. And pray. And hope deeply with all of my heart. Thank
you again. And take care.
Blessings,
Christine