I don’t know whether
It’s just me or if everyone else
Encountering issues
Let me know
if this is happening
More beautiful than I imagined!
Truth small absolutely.
But despite it I delighted.
Good, I would say…
I have had a more stressful than usual couple of weeks at the office. While I was walking into the office, I was thinking about how the more deadlines I needed to meet and the more difficult interchanges I had to bring to the most optimal resolution, the harder it was also to have energy to give to those who are in far greater need, though I seek ways to be of service.
When I saw the oversized half moon dwarfed by the cherry blossoms, it helped put things in perspective. Nothing I do immediately impacts life or death. A hard week does not mean much in my life as a whole, my tribulations are only so much play in the midst of the outrageous ground of all human being, human being is only one small part of life on this planet in this galaxy in this universe, and who knows how vast is the realm of consciousness. I smiled at the moon and the blossoms and thought of their beauty throughout the day.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
Dear Friends ,
What could be better with the topsy turvy weather and the pace of our town these days than to spend a delicious afternoon relaxing into optimal alignment?
This month’s workshop theme will explore the second line of the Anusara invocation: satcitananda murtaye.–roughly meaning being, consciousness, and bliss embodied. We will spend two extraordinary hours inviting ourselves to go into each pose fully present and aware to the possibility of bringing ourselves into complete bliss by aligning through the Anusara principles.
Or you could just think it is relaxing and lovely, while listening to great music, to lie in a series of supported poses that realign the physical body to help release tension and invite a sense of ease. The thing about restoratives is that they offer much on many levels.
If you sometimes think that restoratives are not for you because your mind has a tendency to race, please come join us, ask a question about what to do when the mind races, either privately before, or with the whole group when I ask for questions. I have offerings from my teachers and my own experience that have proven for me to be incredibly helpful, and I love to pass them on.
Cannot come this Saturday, please mark your calendars for March 19th (Yoga for Gardeners to Benefit the Washington Youth Garden) and March 26th for the final workshop in the “Relaxing into Optimal Alignment” series.
Hope to see you soon.
Peace and light,
Elizabeth
One meaning of the phrase vinyasa krama is “the yoga of sequencing.” This is the art of knowing how to practice in an order that will be most optimal for where you are in space, time, and health in any given practice. Part of a true practice of vinyasa krama, like beautifully played music or an exquisitely presented music, is the silences and the pauses.
I’m sure you have all seen the “mind the gap” warning, the admonishment to notice the space between the train and the platform, the place where one thing ends and another begins. In that case, it is presented as a warning of danger, but it also can be seen just as an exhortation to be mindful.
When we are truly mindful of the space between things — both spatially and temporally — then we are better able to honor what has just come and to be open and conscious for what is to come.
In our yoga practice, noticing the space between coming in and coming out of the pose helps keep us aligned in the transition and enables us to better reap and experience the benefits of the pose. The reason we are advised always to practice savasana at the end of any practice is so that we will have a good pause between a practice and going back to our other activities.
Off the mat, taking time to pause in between thoughts and activities, helps us appreciate little moments of joy during a busy day. It also helps us sequence our day more optimally and can prevent mistakes and misalignments by giving us time to be more aware of what will work best next.
When I saw this headline the other day, the first thought that came to mind was how much pleasanter life would be if those spending huge amounts of effort and money to “fight” gay marriage would pour that energy into educating children, tending gardens, and being friendly with their neighbors. The next thought, which was not unrelated, was that the headline was a prime example of how the action of mayiya mala serves to alienate us and cause unnecessary rancor.
The three malas or cloakings, in tantric philosophy, are aspects of consciousness that prevent us from recognizing the unifying spirit in all beings. We tend to hear a fair amount in yoga class about the first of these —anava mala, which clouds or covers over our recognition of the divine in ourselves, thus leading to feelings of unworthiness–but there is less focus on the other two (the third is karma mala, which is the illusion that we are doing everything all by ourselves–that’s an oversimplification. Perhaps more another time).
At an elemental level, mayiya mala is the distinction between subject and object that leads us to feel separate from other beings. When this separateness makes us feel threatened or needy, then we can behave very badly indeed (mild understatement). I believe that our superficial requirements of outer sameness–think dress codes or neighborhood rules on what one can plant in one’s front yard–are exactly because we fear difference. If we can instead accept difference as part of the play of what actually connects us (see through mayiya mala, then we can more easily love and embrace others and widest variety of creative expression.
On our mats, one of the things that leads to injury is mayiya mala. When we forget that we the purpose of the practice is to seek the peaceful joyous space within ourselves and instead get competitive or acquisitive about postures (or external emblems of “spiritual advancement”), we are getting caught up in the differences and comparisons generated by mayiya mala and get compelled to push and strive in unhealthy and dangerous ways. When we remember the true purpose of practice, we will seek to expand, but with such sensitivity that we do not hurt ourselves. This, of course, is easier said than done.
Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.
It was perhaps because it was the most moonless night of the year–the last absent moon of winter–when absence and darkness reveal the plenum of potentiality, that I was able to see (and photograph with a phone) some of the stars recognized as the constellation Orion, despite the lights of the city.
