Seeing God
Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure and heart, for they shall see, God.”- Matthew 5:8. “Everywhere looking, God seeing” -Pattabi Jois You know that feeling you have when you start something new? When something is just pure possibility? You are excited and full of energy, anticipation and joy. That is the feeling of a pure heart. That is the feeling of a heart that has not been beaten down by expectations, comparison and disappointment. That is the heart that yoga is looking to uncover;the spiritual heart. Up to a certain age, children naturally exist in this realm. My grand baby is so excited about the world that he cannot…
- Adventures in Mysore India, Alignment and Injuries, Ashtanga Adaptability, Conference Notes, Teaching Ashtanga, Yoga Philosophy, Yoga Sutras
The Lesson, Not the Event
“By this time I had learned that it was more fruitful to pay attention to the lessons rather than to events themselves.”- Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, At The Eleventh Hour We all come into this practice carrying the results of our life and DNA in our bodies. In Mysore, Sharath would joke, “Don’t get mad at me because you are stiff. Get mad at your parents!” Last week, a student said, “I have been doing hip openers for a couple years now and my hips are still not open.” I said, “Sometimes, it is not possible to undo 40 years in a few years of practice, if at all”. Working…
The Aggressive Yoga Practice
During Monday’s practice, I felt myself slowly sliding into anger. Every pose, every touch, every sound was pissing me off. I wanted to quit. I did quit. I stopped well before my last pose. And on that pose, my fellow teacher came over and said, “Do you hear how shallow your breaths are?” I shook my head “yes” and something clicked. I immediately started breathing deeper. With each breath, the anger started to let go of my heart. For whatever reason, I had completely lost control of my breath. My breathing had to have been crazy because, the next day, when I focused on my breath, I didn’t even get…
To Be of Service
“Do what you can to uplift and enlighten people, but never forget your path.”-Babaji, At the Eleventh Hour by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, Ph.D. “Practice becomes firmly grounded when well attended to for a long time, without break and with all earnestness.” Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 1:14 When many practitioners become teachers, studio owners, and activists, they slowly, over time, stop practicing or practice very little. This is the worst thing we can do. As leaders in the community, we need the practice more than ever. When dealing with customers and students, we absorb their energy. We are effected by their stories. The stories and experiences of our students and community,…
Waiting For It To Be Easy
If you are waiting for it to be easy to get up at 4AM for morning practice, you will never consistently get up for practice. If you are waiting for it to be easy to practice at home, you will never have a consistent home practice. If you are waiting for Ashtanga asana to be easy, you will never have a consistent Ashtanga asana practice. If you are waiting for meditation to be easy, you will never have a consistent meditation practice. If you are waiting for pranayama to be easy, you will never have a consistent pranayama practice. If you are waiting for life to be easy, you will never have…
Making the Philosophy and Poses of Ashtanga Accessible for All
