Asana, Pranayama, and Yoga Practice | Food for the Mind (Yoga Philosophy, etc) | Meditation | Photos
When We Look Inward
When we go deep inside with our practice, we should recognize that we are just spirit reflecting back on itself.
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?shva=1
is part of the string of characters for one of my email accounts. Is it a sign or is it a coincidence (that I would be asked every day whether “shva” is one)? Is something still a sign even if we do not recognize it? Is something a sign if we read it as one even if no meaning was intended? Do we deepen or diminish our understanding by naming thoughts?
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Working with Chaos
I’ve had more than one yoga/meditation teacher who has suggested that in order to make true spiritual shifts, it is necessary to pick one path (theirs) and stick to it. I agree with that up to a point. If we just stay on the surface of lots of different things, it will be hard to go deep.
Nonetheless, living in a multicultural nation of immigrants and working in a field where being open to diversity is in my mind a job requirement and having grown up with the multifarious influences of New York and both Jewish culture and Quaker practice, it would be hard to think that sticking to a single-sourced spiritual path could be possible for me. Better then, perhaps, to go deep by also looking broadly and openly.
In that regard, though I do not consider myself a Buddhist, I often find Buddhist teachings instructive. This article by Pema Chodron on working with chaos seems particularly useful for me today.
Sadness (Sukha hara, dukha hara)
Last night I was feeling deeply sad not having Becky with me any more. The first week, I was telling myself how lucky I was to have had her for so long, that she lived a long, happy, well-loved life, and that it was truly time. Then I threw myself into work, errands, the garden, etc. This week, I have been filled with a deep sense of grief and loss.
Classical yoga would have us try to transcend the pair of opposites — pleasure and pain. Tantra would have us experience the full range deeply, knowing it is all part of the play of being manifest in human form. I have been thinking about my teacher, John Friend, who often talks of the intensity of grieving for loved ones who have died, because of having loved truly and fully.
Thinking about Becky, this chant started repeating itself in my head (I have it recorded by Dave Stringer): “sukha hara, dukha hara, hara, hara Shankara.” “Hara” is an epithet of Shiva, from the root word to bear away or destroy. “Sukha” means ease; “dukha” pain. “Shankara” is another epithet of Shiva in benevolent form. I think of this chant not so much a call to have Shiva energy destroy or remove both pleasure and pain, but rather a reminder that both pleasure and pain are integral parts of our experience of being. Recognizing that grief and loss are as much part of our own humanity as love and pleasure, helps remind me of my own connection to spirit. It ultimately inspires me to try and live in a way that is more benevolent and generous, and to respond with the most light, whatever I face. (This of course is a life work).
I would not give up the full and wonderful years of companionship I had with Becky and her sister Henrietta (and others who I have loved) just to avoid the grief of loss.
Balasana (child’s pose)
Whenever I am studying with John Friend, and we are invited to move into balasana I recall as story he told of seeing Gurumayi move into the pose. He told us of the reverence with which she did the pranam — the bowing forward to touch the earth as she went into the pose. I like to start my asana practice with balasana because it reminds me to honor the teachings, the history of the practice, my teachers, and myself for coming to the mat. I think of the name of the pose, and I am reminded of the wonder (abhuta) of being embodied. I think of how children marvel and delight at everything they encounter. It is all new for them, but we can cultivate the sense of everything being new and wonderful. When we cultivate a sense of wonder, it brings us to the other meaning of bala, which is strength. For our lives will be stronger and fuller, if we can approach each pose on the mat, and each moment on and off the mat, with wonder and interest.
Balasana is also a good way to start the practice because it is a sweet, gentle way to open up the hips, groins, low back, and shoulders. It is a good way to shift from more active poses towards savasana because, as a forward bend, it is inward-going and quieting.
