Since my first trip to India in March of 2008 for a 500 hour yoga teacher training program with my teacher Yogi Vishkvketu ji of World Conscious Yoga Family, I am on my way there for a 5th time. It marks my third anniversary on the day of departure this time around March 2, 2011 and arriving March 3 from that very first trip March 4, 2008.
Honestly, I never imagined I would be back, let alone 4 other times. I came to that conclusion that I probably would not come back because I was going for a yoga teacher training course. I wanted an immersion with an Authentic Teacher in an Authentic Place and done. Who knew?
I am not going to get into the whole history between trips as I have written about it but it is just not that. I have been feeling that it may be some time that I will go to India again. Not sure why. Just feeling. I am going for 6 1/2 weeks. Two and half weeks with a group that I am co leading and teaching but then I will take a month for personal reflection, study and some holiday time. It has been a challenging year for me and I really need a break and India is where I run too. I have some things booked, a meditation course, spending time with a beloved Swami and teachers but also there is a good chunk of time that is unaccounted for. We will see. I will figure it out when I am there.
The feeling that is accompanying this decision is that I feel I need to shed some layers and get some clarity as life has been a bit foggy. Actually this is an oxymoron because India can get a little dusty and foggy??? Hmmmm....maybe I just need a hand to shake some of it off.
So Dharamasala is one of my stops where I will take a meditation course and from there I am not too certain. Will visit some friends and their family for a few days which I am quite looking forward to.
Going back to feeling that I won't return for sometime. A friend mentioned to me, well there are plenty of other places to go and yes, I do agree, but I just don't travel to India for a vacation. This is something deeply spiritual and profound and like there is something there but at the same time I am not chasing to find something. Always with an open mind, no expectations, no judgement...just "we will see"...it usually works for me.
There has been some huge shift and some small over the years...shifting and sliding along. One thing I must say from all these trips is that I find certain things intolerable. Things that I once thought were part of human nature, everyday life...just has no place in my life anymore. The word "hate" makes me cringe. How often do you hear people talking about good news...okay..things happen in this world. That is life. I am not saying being in denial, but I am finding that people are addicted to being miserable and are totally oblivious. They live in this blanket of illusion. We are right and everyone else is wrong. Strong opinions flying here and there never stopping to think maybe there is another side to the story. I just listen but it just drags me down. I obviously have to learn something here or I would not be irritated by it.
India has taught me patience in some manner and a more go with the flow and ultimately the universe is going to decide what is going to happen anyways so why fight and get so upset?
Going back to living in the cloud of illusion. That is what separates us. We live in Canada and we think we should look, act, dress a certain way, others do that in their country or community. People have perceptions of others and way things should be and if doesn't fit into their status quo...well it is just wrong and silly and offensive. So they get together and gossip about it ... getting back to what they are comfortable with.
On a positive note - shifts are happening around us...doesn't take going to India for it to happen. People are starting to realize that they are just not happy with the way things are. At the end of the day we are a drop of water in one big ocean.
So Ham
Monday, February 28, 2011
Spring Renewal: Rest and Rejuvenate Mind Body Spirit
Spring Renewal: Rest and Rejuvenate Mind Body Spirit
I have taken inspiration at what typically happens at the end of a yoga class to reflect upon and write about new beginnings. This inspiration comes from a yoga asana; otherwise known as yoga posture, called Savasana. It is a yoga asana often used to conclude a yoga class. It is a relaxing resting posture intended to rejuvenate body, mind and spirit
At the conclusion of every yoga class, there is a period of rest, where we lay comfortably down on our mats. It is a period of complete stillness and integration of the shifts that occurred in the body just earlier in the class from exercising the bodies with asanas ( postures) and pranayama (breathing exercises).
This welcomed part of the class, Savasana (pronounced Shavasana derived from the language Sanskrit) literally meaning “corpse pose”, brings to the practitioner an awareness of the stillness and peace of the posture in body, mind and spirit. Initially, when we hear and think of the word “corpse” or final rest, we immediately feel some apprehension to finality that accompanies that word and what it means to most of us.
Once immersed in this deep, relaxed state, out from the distance, we hear the voice of the yoga teacher, softly calling us out of Savasana. By this point, many of us are now relishing every last second of this delicious rest and taking our sweetest time to come back. The class is over! “No, no… “, exclaiming silently in our minds. Now we are thinking Savasana was too short or how we could just remain here a little while longer. What do we want? Sometimes we want things to never come to an end, or to close a chapter for good. We are eager to see a light at the end of the tunnel or a continuous flow of everlasting joy. We can have both! Seems like a paradox. Doesn’t it?
Now let’s get back to Savasana. Once we are called out of this rest period by being guided by the instructor’s voice to wiggle our fingers and toes, moving our head from side to side and other gentle movements so not to suddenly disrupt this energy, we are then asked to turn over to our side into a foetal-type position. It is a sign of rebirth; a sign of starting anew. As we slowly get up, then we move into a seated meditation and final closing of the class and journey onward off the mat, out of the classroom and back into our world until the next class, the next day, the next chapter with a renewed sense of optimism and peace.
Life is a cycle. Now, we are welcoming the spring. This is Mother Earth’s seasonal time of being born anew being reflected by warmer and longer sunnier days, blooming flowers and budding trees. Signs of life are everywhere. Birds are singing and so are we. Mother Nature is waking up from a three month Savasana. Very well rested and ready with a renewed sense of optimism and peace.
We can certainly learn a lot from a yoga class besides how to stretch, balance and perform a myriad of yoga posture as well breathing techniques, meditation and rest. We can learn to take wisdom from this 5000 year old plus tradition off our mats and integrate this philosophy of beginning anew into our everyday lives same way as Mother Earth teaches us (on a side note every yoga posture has a virtue and symbolizes something in nature). Take from this what you will. It can be bidding adeu to a long stressful day and being thankful it is all over or sadly having to let something go; always grateful from lessons learned. However you want to look at this paradox, letting something go or not wanting to let go at all, it is a cycle life, rest, and rebirth and integration, and once we are aware and accept this and embrace the cycle as we often do with the spring, then we live life with a little more equanimity with a renewed sense of optimism and peace.
Take a moment to enjoy a short rest and experience renewal for yourself. Find a comfortable and quiet place to lay down. Place a small pillow under your neck and cover yourself with a blanket. An eye pillow is optional. Scan your body from head to toe. Systematically releasing and letting go each part. Next just observe your breath. Watch the rise and fall of the natural inhalation of your breath and when you feel ready, begin counting back from 27 to 1. For example, inhale 27, exhale 27, inhale 26, exhale 26, inhale 25, and exhale 25 until you reach 1. If at any point, you lose count or your mind drifts away, that is okay, but you need to start over until the count is complete. Once it is complete, remain for a while and when you are ready, wiggle your fingers and toes, move your head gently from side to side, raise your right are overhead and slowly turn to your left hand side (right side if you are pregnant) and stay a little while. Again, when you are ready, using the help of your hands and preferably with your eyes closes, come up to a comfortable seated position. Take a deep breath in and out three times, cover your eyes with your hands and slowly remove your hands from your eyes and slowly open your eyes. With this short 15 minute experience like this, you will have a rejuvenated mind, body and spirit.
I have taken inspiration at what typically happens at the end of a yoga class to reflect upon and write about new beginnings. This inspiration comes from a yoga asana; otherwise known as yoga posture, called Savasana. It is a yoga asana often used to conclude a yoga class. It is a relaxing resting posture intended to rejuvenate body, mind and spirit
At the conclusion of every yoga class, there is a period of rest, where we lay comfortably down on our mats. It is a period of complete stillness and integration of the shifts that occurred in the body just earlier in the class from exercising the bodies with asanas ( postures) and pranayama (breathing exercises).
This welcomed part of the class, Savasana (pronounced Shavasana derived from the language Sanskrit) literally meaning “corpse pose”, brings to the practitioner an awareness of the stillness and peace of the posture in body, mind and spirit. Initially, when we hear and think of the word “corpse” or final rest, we immediately feel some apprehension to finality that accompanies that word and what it means to most of us.
Once immersed in this deep, relaxed state, out from the distance, we hear the voice of the yoga teacher, softly calling us out of Savasana. By this point, many of us are now relishing every last second of this delicious rest and taking our sweetest time to come back. The class is over! “No, no… “, exclaiming silently in our minds. Now we are thinking Savasana was too short or how we could just remain here a little while longer. What do we want? Sometimes we want things to never come to an end, or to close a chapter for good. We are eager to see a light at the end of the tunnel or a continuous flow of everlasting joy. We can have both! Seems like a paradox. Doesn’t it?
Now let’s get back to Savasana. Once we are called out of this rest period by being guided by the instructor’s voice to wiggle our fingers and toes, moving our head from side to side and other gentle movements so not to suddenly disrupt this energy, we are then asked to turn over to our side into a foetal-type position. It is a sign of rebirth; a sign of starting anew. As we slowly get up, then we move into a seated meditation and final closing of the class and journey onward off the mat, out of the classroom and back into our world until the next class, the next day, the next chapter with a renewed sense of optimism and peace.
Life is a cycle. Now, we are welcoming the spring. This is Mother Earth’s seasonal time of being born anew being reflected by warmer and longer sunnier days, blooming flowers and budding trees. Signs of life are everywhere. Birds are singing and so are we. Mother Nature is waking up from a three month Savasana. Very well rested and ready with a renewed sense of optimism and peace.
We can certainly learn a lot from a yoga class besides how to stretch, balance and perform a myriad of yoga posture as well breathing techniques, meditation and rest. We can learn to take wisdom from this 5000 year old plus tradition off our mats and integrate this philosophy of beginning anew into our everyday lives same way as Mother Earth teaches us (on a side note every yoga posture has a virtue and symbolizes something in nature). Take from this what you will. It can be bidding adeu to a long stressful day and being thankful it is all over or sadly having to let something go; always grateful from lessons learned. However you want to look at this paradox, letting something go or not wanting to let go at all, it is a cycle life, rest, and rebirth and integration, and once we are aware and accept this and embrace the cycle as we often do with the spring, then we live life with a little more equanimity with a renewed sense of optimism and peace.
Take a moment to enjoy a short rest and experience renewal for yourself. Find a comfortable and quiet place to lay down. Place a small pillow under your neck and cover yourself with a blanket. An eye pillow is optional. Scan your body from head to toe. Systematically releasing and letting go each part. Next just observe your breath. Watch the rise and fall of the natural inhalation of your breath and when you feel ready, begin counting back from 27 to 1. For example, inhale 27, exhale 27, inhale 26, exhale 26, inhale 25, and exhale 25 until you reach 1. If at any point, you lose count or your mind drifts away, that is okay, but you need to start over until the count is complete. Once it is complete, remain for a while and when you are ready, wiggle your fingers and toes, move your head gently from side to side, raise your right are overhead and slowly turn to your left hand side (right side if you are pregnant) and stay a little while. Again, when you are ready, using the help of your hands and preferably with your eyes closes, come up to a comfortable seated position. Take a deep breath in and out three times, cover your eyes with your hands and slowly remove your hands from your eyes and slowly open your eyes. With this short 15 minute experience like this, you will have a rejuvenated mind, body and spirit.
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