Yoga

Move to Freedom

A student wrote me recently concerning her stuggle with work:

"Bruce! I have really enjoyed being back in your classes this past week. I am hoping you could give me some pearls of wisdom with regards to work...

I have started a new job and I feel really off balance. Some days I work 14 hours in front of a computer. I thought it would be different. How do you know if something is right for you or when you are investing too much time at work at not enough on yourself and home life. I feel very overworked. I’m afraid if I mention this that I will be looked down on for not wanting to "move up". I totally work hard but have no desire for work to be my main focus. Just reaching out for any advice.”

 

 That is always a hard question for any of us. I had a "great career" in advertising that I left after about 10 years. It just never felt right. It was also really demanding of my energy and my time and was relentless that way. I felt like it was destroying me! Obviously I am not there now. 

It may be different for you. You may be doing what you love but the job in which you are doing it isn't the right fit. If it is a short-term step that will lead to bigger things, it may be worth the effort. If this job isn't leading anywhere and it feels like it is only tearing you down, then look for something where they don't demand so much and suck you dry. Unfortunately it is our work culture in this country. More demands for not much in return. A bad economy is just an excuse. 

We only have this one life to live and our own happiness and peace of mind is OUR responsibility. If your employers don't want to hear that you are overworked, if they don't value your contribution and don't value you showing up with enthusiasm for what you do, then start looking elsewhere.

But first, remember, in any job, you will only receive what you ask for.

More and more, the simple advice I offering in class seems pretty right for the other aspects of life: “If something in the pose hurts or just doesn’t feel right, your body is asking you to pay attention. Pause, back off, reassess, then make an adjustment to create more stability, ease and freedom in what you are doing.”

 This is something I remind myself of often.

Siva - Shakti

Think of a few things that are complementary opposites; up and down, in and out, sun and moon, sea and shore, earth and sky, stillness and action. The list could go on and on.

Everything in nature is subject to these complements or polarities. A tree must grow its stabilizing roots deep into dark soil so that it’s branches may reach out for life’s nourishment and play in the light. Within each of us, not only do our biological functions, such as the breath, reflect this same primordial rhythm, but our minds, emotions and relationship with the world around us are subject to this dance. The nature of nature is polarity, from the magnetism that flows between the North and South poles of the earth, to the attraction between the masculine core and feminine radiance and beauty.

 On a personal level, this dance is a skillful reconciliation between what we view as our strengths and our weaknesses, our fears and our deepest loving, what is expected of us and what may be our deepest truth. It’s a balance of our desire to be safe and comfortable and the compelling need for personal growth. If we push beyond our edge in constant challenge, we’ll be unable to metabolize our experience. Neither can we happily stagnate in a zone of security and comfort. To do this we must learn to relax into fearlessness. We must lean into our edge with sensitivity and compassion. Fear shuts us down while love coaxes us to open our heart. We must learn to be free and loving in the chaos of change and growth, not quitting when we seem to fail, but rather we must learn from our failures and return to love. We must do so by standing our ground and loving so strongly that only love prevails.

 One aspect of us (*Siva) has as its ultimate reason for doing anything the discovery of our deepest truth and total freedom. The other aspect in all of us (*Shakti) is a deep desire to relate to the world fully and experience boundless love and creativity.  Ultimate true love and true freedom are the same, yet the paths to this unity are very different. Nature, in its essence is unstoppable change and growth. Because of this every moment of our lives is either a test or a celebration. When we can engage in the dance and deeply commune in love we may then, with no boundaries, and fully open, offer our greatest gifts as they are revealed.

 This is yoga. This is the dance of Siva and Shakti.

  *Siva- the Divine masculine essence: imperturbable, totally loving, fully present, and all pervading.

 *Shakti – the Divine feminine essence: The power of creation and growth, action, nurturance and the flow of love in relationship, the force of life.

 

 

The Invitation

I Just love this by Oriah Mountain Dreamer.

Live Juicy...!

   

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing. It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive. It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain! I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it, or fix it. I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human. It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be faithlessand therefore trustworthy. I want to know if you can see beauty even when it's not pretty, every day,and if you can source your own life from its presence. I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, “Yes!” It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children. It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back. It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away. I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments. 

By Oriah Mountain Dreamer copyright © 1999 by Oriah Mountain Dreamer.

Photo of Jade by Flagstaff Rob

Asana Names

I got an email from a yogi who has been using my first book, The Yoga Practice Guide. His question is a good one and I hope to address it in what follows. Thank you Jason!

“Quite a beautiful book. It's obvious that you took some care in its preparation. One thing I'm curious about -- you show gomukhasana with the person sitting between the lower legs instead of sitting on them (as illustrated in Iyengar's "Light on Yoga" and practiced in Pattabhi Jois' ashtanga second series).Why is that? It seems to me that there is a very profound difference between those two postures.  I was always taught that sitting between the legs is samkatasana, not gomukhasana”.  - Jason

  

Very good observation and good question. We are talking about the two asana pictured above. Yes, in both Iyengar and Ashtanga yoga (the Krishnamacharya lineage) they predominantly use the second variation pictured here and call it Gomukhasana. Yet, in verse 20 of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, the sutra detailing gomukhasana seems very much to be describing the first pose above:

 “Place the right ankle next to the left buttock and the left [ankle] next to the right [buttock]. This is Gomukhasana and it resembles the face of a cow”.

It is in reference to the “Cow’s Mouth” 

which is the glacial source of the 

Ganges River 

in the Himalayas

(*Mukha translates as  both face and mouth).

 Samkata means “dangerous” in Sanskrit and you will find it described in verse 28 of the Gheranda Samhita (second pose shown above). You may even find it referred to (erroneously) in some systems as vajrasana, with the hands placed on the top knee or ground. In the Anusara system we use both variations of the pose pictured above. Most major yoga systems commonly referred to both poses as gomukhasana. They do have differences. In my experience though, the first version, shown above, gets deeper into the outer hip rotators (piriformis, obturator internus and gemelli) as well as the tensor fasciae latae to some degree. For this reason, we tend to use this version more than the second. The version with the foot underneath may be intended primarily to stimulate muladhara.

I have done an exhaustive book on a huge variety of asana from all styles titled, The Yoga Asana Index. In it I tried to use a common standard wherever possible, and to include as many variations on the same pose as seemed practical and helpful. Many poses have significant variations to the point of verging on becoming a different pose. It’s fascinating. Yet even in the book, I held back from including every possible variation. In some cases they just weren’t significant enough and in others the variations I found were, well, not always very healthy alignment. In other cases my choices may have been based on my personal bias. In my research on the many poses, various schools often have different names for the same pose. It can get a bit maddening. There is even variance between different classic texts on yoga such as the two mentioned earlier.  At some point you just usethe name you like best as well as the variation you prefer.

“Cat” and “Cow” may be another example (included neither in Iyengar’s or Jois’ repertoire). We often find the pose separated into two distinct poses ; one being called bidalasana the other marjarasana. Both these words actually translate as “cat” in Sanskrit. The pose is in fact a movement through both forms, a dynamic movement up and down of the spine as one pose, correctly named marjarasana (more accurate Sanskrit for cat).

Even within the one lineage that both Iyengar and Jois came out of, there are several cases where they each name the same pose differently.  For example, “mandalasana” and “parivrittasana”  are their names respectively for walking the feet in a circle around the head in sirsasana 1. One means“revolved” while the other means “circle”. Both describe the movement well. “Adho Dandasana” is another example. They are completely different poses with the same name in each system. To make things even more confusing, even within the same system, a very few poses have accumulated more than one name or have changed names over time. My point is that it starts getting subjective, with at times more grey than black and white. There are names given to poses in some schools that are just plain using the Sanskrit erroneously. An example would be Parsva Urdhva Padmasana in Sarvangasana. The grammatically correct usage is, Parsvordhva Padmasana in Sarvangasana (I can’t display the diacritical marks here). I debated long and hard about changing what has now been established by some prominent sources. But after working with several world renowned Sanskrit Scholars as well as the American Sanskrit Institute, we decided that the corrected Sanskrit was necessary and beneficial to those interested.  

Never mind funky grammar, sometimes poses got misnamed along the way, different styles developed their own names, and some poses never got named at all. Having said this, most styles share a standard name for the asana. And new poses or variations get made up all the time. So voila'...we all have interesting new poses to work with. That is kind of how this whole thing has been going for some time now. Limitless expansion.

The main thing is to practice the variation of the pose that makes most sense in your own body. Try both variations of gomukhasana and then do the one you prefer.

I hope this helps.

Foundation of the Heart

  
 A student and friend recently shared a quote with me via email. The words brought me back to an experience I had many years ago. In a meeting hall somewhere in downtown Melbourne Australia, I had the great opportunity to be in the presence of Sudhamani (Amma), a living saint and one of India’s leading Bhakti yogis. I have to admit; at the time I had no real idea who she was. I wasn’t even sure why I had gone. Yet on that summer evening this tiny Indian woman, wittingly or not, began a shift in me that changed the course of my life. Surrounded by a community of purely loving strangers, I was touched by Grace and believe I tasted yoga in its purest form for the first time. I fought it with strong resistance (isn’t that weird?) but have pursued it with increasing momentum ever since. As my resistance wore thin, the door opened to many other wonderful teachers, both official and in disguise.

Below is the lovely quote my dear friend shared. I in turn wanted to share these words with you. They show the vast, simple beauty that resides in all our hearts.

 “A great deal of people's physical and mental diseases are due to the lack of love and attention. Each of us carries a lot of sorrow and pain from past experiences. These sorrows create many wounds within. Each of us is going around, afflicted with hundreds of such festering and infected wounds. The cure for these maladies is to develop love, compassion, and reverence for our fellow beings. This will heal the wounds. Love is the universal remedy. When there is mutual love, attention, and understanding in life; when we have faith in each other, our problems and worries decrease. And when this love, attention, and faith increases, problems will thereby decrease. Love is the foundation of a happy life. But we are ignorant of this fact. We knowingly or unknowingly are neglecting this. Just like our bodies need proper food to live and grow, our soul needs love to grow properly. Pure love can give more vigor and strength than the mother's milk. We all live for and crave this love. We are born for this and we die in search of this love. By loving each other, children, become united in Love.”

~Amma

The Diamond Body

The “Diamond Body” or vajra deha is a Tantric term used to describe the process of refining both the physical body and “energy body” through the practices of hatha yoga. Like the intense heat and pressure needed to form the pure, luminous crystals of a diamond, the physical and energetic body are cleansed and refined to a radiant strength of clarity through yoga. Traditionally it was thought that this method would not only bring the practitioner to the ultimate level of consciousness but could give them magical powers and even make them immune to death itself!

 Refining the Diamond Body is a process of letting go of all the accumulated stories we tell ourselves about who we are. It is about healing the pain we may carry in our body and our heart. It is about clarifying our highest intentions for our self and living from those. It is a surrendering of our often limited perceptions and moving to a higher knowing. It is perceiving through the eyes of love.

In yoga practice, we connect more deeply with how we think, feel and behave within our world. It helps us see where we are. We shine a bright light into our hearts and see where we are blocked.  We begin to recognize our wounds, our perceived limitations and our long-held attitudes. When we let go of our limited perceptions, things that have us feeling guilty, shameful, angry, blaming, jealous or lacking, we can start to live from our deeper wisdom. This process is designed to work on the many facets of our self because everything is connected. Bringing light and understanding to one facet begins a healing transformation in another. Self-acceptance, forgiveness and compassion are the powerful tools that polish us to our full brilliance. A diamond in its purest form passes light through it and even intensifies it. The diamond is our heart and the light is our happiness. There are infinite ways to express our happiness, but only one way to really be happy, and that is self-love. We cannot offer what we do not have. Creating the Diamond Body is a process of healing, of restoring ourselves to our true radiance so that we may offer that more fully to the world.  

Also see chakras

Yoga Asana

 

In asana practice, our body can reveal how we are relating to our ever-changing mental, emotional and physical states. When we are tired, we feel it. When we are frustrated or stressed we get to really taste that. When we are joyous our body and soul sing brightly and we feel as light as a feather. The practice can get us to see how transient our perceptions and feelings are, thereby helping us to become less caught up in and ruled by them.

 The Sanskrit word yoga means to bind together and asana literally means seat. Yoga asana then, in the context of hatha yoga (the practice of physical postures), could mean how we process, integrate and meld our outer and inner experiences. Put another way, yoga asana is how our experience of the world and our relationship to it sits within us. Understanding this is the real goal of the practice; the end to the means.

 It says several times in various ways in The Bhagavad Gita, “They alone see truly who see the Divine in all creatures. The Supreme Spirit dwells in the heart of all.”  With this core teaching, yoga becomes a method of cultivating or heightening our understanding of who we are. As this understanding deepens, our sadhana or yogic practices become an honoring celebration of our truest Divine nature (and that of everyone and everything else). So when we treat ourselves with compassion and love, we are honoring the Divine and deepening our connection with Spirit. When we practice our asana full-heartedly we are celebrating Divine creation that is our very essence. When given our fullest attention every breath, every action, becomes a transformative vehicle of our perceptions of who we are at heart (and who we are not). If we begin to see the essence of ourselves and everything around us as an expression of Divine Spirit, then we will naturally bring a deeper sense of honoring and gratitude to our interactions with ourselves and others.

 Below are a few quotes by various world teachers that I think eloquently express this and expand on it.

 "God dwells in you, as you, and you don't have to 'do' anything to be God-realized or Self-realized, it is already your true and natural state. Just drop all seeking, turn your attention inward, and sacrifice your mind to the One Self radiating in the Heart of your very being. For this to be your own presently lived experience, Self-Inquiry is the one direct and immediate way."

 - Sri Ramana Maharshi

 

 "We are kept from the experience of Spirit because our inner world is cluttered with past traumas....As we begin to clear away this clutter, the energy of divine light and love begins to flow through our beings."

 -Thomas Keating

 

“And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”

 - Anais Nin

The Power of Beauty

By Bruce Bowditch

Sri Yantra by Piete Weltevrede

 

  By now everyone understands that yoga practice is meant to help establish balance and health in our lives. Most familiar is the active practice of asana (postures), and possibly meditation and breath work. If you have read the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, you are familiar with the “eight limbed path” of “classical yoga”. This is a time proven, rigorous approach for the individual to find inner peace and a deeper spiritual experience and has abundant merit to be sure. Yet it’s easy to get the impression after awhile that yoga requires us to suspend our everyday lives for the pursuit of higher spiritual endeavors.

 The creators of Tantra may have felt the same way. Centuries ago they began developing techniques to actually use everyday experience as a practice in itself, to see and experience the Divine all around us directly – right here, right now. Finding the Divine in nature, in relationships, in everyday tasks is one defining aspect of this radically different, all-encompassing perspective. The basic premise is, you don’t have to search for the Divine: It already permeates everything!

 

 Appreciating and in fact becoming enraptured with the intrinsic beauty of the Divine in all things is a major theme of Tantra. A term used for this is Shringara, which means both beauty and love. Cultivating the ability to experience Shringara in all interactions with the world has a profound effect on our mental, emotional and physical states. For the Tantric, an aspect of chanting mantras or viewing the pleasing designs of yantras or depictions of deities all have this intention of deep self-transformation through the direct experience of beauty and love.

 

 Anyone today can positively enhance their state of mind and quality of life by using similar approaches of deeply appreciating beauty. Recall how spacious and peaceful you feel while viewing a spectacular sunset, smelling the scent of flowers or listening to beautiful music. How good do you feel about yourself and the world around you while taking the time to enjoy a meal of pure, healthy, delicious tasting food? To hold the hand of someone you care about?

 

 From the Tantric point of view, beauty and love are a profound, conscious sadhana (practice) that can be done anywhere, at any time that can lead to vibrant well-being. This Shringara Sadhana could include consciously surrounding yourself with attractive art, images from nature, soothing melodies, tasty, pure food and positive people. It means looking for the good, first in yourself, then others and striving to find the ultimate benefit from every situation or interaction. It’s about creating new, positive habits to replace old ones that may no longer serve you.

 

 It is said that when our minds are filled with light, there is no room for darkness. beauty and love are the Divine light that is our truest nature.

Solar Salutations - Happy Solstice

 As sky is kissed by rose-lipped dawn a yogi stands in the coolness of morning. A sliver of bright light crests the horizon as Surya, the bestower of all life on Earth, begins his arced ride in the boundless blue. Breath moves in and arm stretch high like the rays of the Sun God.  With eyes on the line where heaven and Earth meet, the yogi begins an offering to the God of the Sun. Twelve salutations accompanied by one of the twelve names of Surya are chanted with reverence and humility, clearing the path to a freer future.

Any student of yoga has performed innumerable “Sun Salutations” or surya namaskara. Yet as most things Indian, this basic series of postures are steeped in deep meaning beyond the physical act. Surya is the chief solar deity and the term surya also refers to the Sun in general. The deity Surya is most often depicted driving through the heavens in his triumphal chariot harnessed by seven horses or one horse with seven heads that represent the seven colors of the rainbow or the seven chakras. He presides over "Surya-waar" or Sunday.

Surya namaskara in a traditional Hindu context, when performed as puja or spiritual offering, is done facing the sun at sunrise or sunset. These are considered to be the most spiritually favorable times of day. Focusing the eyes toward the sun is a type of darshan or spiritual communion with the diety. Twelve cycles are traditionally performed. Each new cycle would be initiated by chanting one of the twelve other names of Surya. Savasana would conclude the offering. Physical prostration to the Sun, showing complete surrender of oneself to God, is the main aspect of this practice. The purpose of many such rituals is also to improve the balance of karma in ones life. There are numerous references in the Vedas, the most ancient spiritual teachings of India, to praising the Sun for the enhancement of good health and prosperity.

In current yoga traditions, depending on the style and the yogi’s preference, there are several configurations of this cycle from gentle to vigorous and athletic.

(see asana sequences for example)

Sacred Space

Where I live in Tucson, Arizona I can walk just half a mile from my home into the hills and find places were ancient worshipers etched symbols in the rock to honor and connect with the Sun or the spirits of the land. I often hike in the desert and find such images in places that are naturally awe inspiring and distinctive; hill tops with grand vistas, cliff faces, or womb-like caves. In other places I might stumble upon a campsite in some desert valley that was probably used for generations, with it’s scattered pot shards and discarded stone tools. If I look around, I’ll soon find some intimate spot were people have carved or painted symbols of the hunt or ceremonies. After seeing enough of these you begin to recognize many of the same symbols that seem to be icons representing an event, experience or entity. They are obviously places of reverence, to be returned to over and over again. From our earliest beginnings, we humans have created special areas in our personal environment to honor the mysteries and forces of our world. 

Prasad

I saw prasad being offered for the first time many years ago on the Hindu island of Bali in Indonesia. First thing in the morning, Balinese practice this very personal form of worship by offering small, colorful rice cakes, flowers or fruit to their household deities. The sweetness and simplicity of it is very touching. In a quiet and casual puja or ceremonial offering accompanied by a short prayer, everyday activity is aligned with the unseen, Divine forces. Honoring and evoking the spirit world insures protection, support and a higher collaboration. It sets a tone of mindfulness and reverence.

In India, there are grand temples dedicated to specific forms of the Divine - Ganesh, Siva, Kali and others. These are moving, powerful places. Even the smallest village has its modest “temple”. This might be a tree or rock with a collection of sacred items on or around it. And every Indian home has a altar that is the focus of household prayer and offering. Where the monumental temples have specific conventions of geometry, form and function, the home altar can be very personal and individual. Each household has its particular deity that the family honors. Within that each individual my honor his or her own special form of the Divine.

Personal Sacred Space

Many of us naturally collect mementos from our lives, things that remind us of special events or meaningful experiences. If we see our own lives as a manifestation of the Divine then these things can take on an even deeper significance. In my own home I have created a special area on the mantel of my fireplace were I have placed collected objects that represent various things to me. I have a lovely silver sculpture of Ganesh, the remover of obstacles. There is a bronze of Siva Nataraj. These things you might expect from someone who studies and practices yoga. Yet arranged around these established icons are very personal, one of kind objects with deep, personal symbolism. Four feathers are at the feet of Ganesh: an owl feature for wisdom, a falcon feather for insight, a colorful macaw feather to remind me of the joy in life, a blue jay feather for self-expression and a woodpecker feather for perseverance. There are photos of people I consider my teachers, small books of prayers in various languages. Spiraling shells to remind me of the path of experience, learning and the movement of the universe. I’ve placed various stones and crystals meant to carry and emit special energies. There are other natural objects I’ve picked up and kept to evoke the memory of some specific event in my life. I’ve also evolved my own sort of prasad that I perform at this spot each morning. It’s a sort of small ceremony that is a time for me to reflect and align my intentions for the day. I honor and offer gratitude for the abundance, support and love I receive from the people in my life, from the earth, from my teachers as well as for the guidance I receive from I know not were. It helps me feel a gentler, more open connection to the world around me and to feel supported in all I do.