To Chant, or Not To Chant?

I decided early in my "career" for teaching yoga that I would chant at the end of class. It was a decision not taken lightly. I understand that some students do not want to invoke the spirit of Hindu Gods and Goddesses, and I am not Hindu. So why chant in sanskrit?

I am trained in Ashtanga. In most Ashtanga classes there is an opening and closing chant. I enjoy the sound of the closing chant. I also enjoy the sound of OM. I think that OM bring a purity to the end of class, something that lingers in people's minds as they exit the class.

But I also chant in sanskrit to remember the roots of yoga I feel that through chanting in sanskrit, I express my gratitude to the yogis who passed their wisdom and knowledge down over generations, yogis who chanted the same words time and time again.

Being in a health club or other non-yoga studio setting, it is not as comfortable to chant. Many chants are religious in nature. But through the words I strive not to invoke the words of Gods, but the words of history passed down, and a feeling of knowing there is something beyond my physical self, just waiting to be discovered.

As I chant, I smile. I invoke peace and happiness. I hope my students feel it.

Easy does It

Subbing for Sylvia this summer. Today I subbed her gentle and Easy Does It classes. I forgot how I need to make it really easy for the EDI class. But using the chair, props and lots of slow stretches I almost ran out of time. Feels good to be so involved in yoga.

Junior Yogis at Project Inside Out

Last week, I volunteered at Porters Point Project Inside Out to lead a yoga workshop for four days. In each workshop with eight children, I had to fill up about 4 hours of time. Although we were in a tent, it was still hot on some days, and stormy on others. So needless to say, flexibility was KEY. Kids can't just do poses for four hours. Attention span, physical endurance, behavior issues all came into play. I have developed a bag of tricks I'd like to share with you all.

Each child had a yoga mat, and I started off with some basic warm ups not just to limber up, but to remind them of their "personal space". With arms and legs spread, we swept our arms around in an imaginary bubble. If two "bubbles" touched, the kids rearranged to make sure they had enough space.

We then began to go through poses. I have read many different kids' yoga books to come up with 36 poses that can all be named after animals or objects. The reason I did this is because I have a bag of little plastic animals and shapes that the kids use to learn from. They closes their eyes, reach into the bag, draw one out, then we learn that pose. Those animals are also good for Savasana breathing at the end: I place one animal on each child's chest and have them watch the animal rise and fall with their breath.

We did modified Sun Salutations. We did handstands using the baseball backstop. We did partner poses. We also did the three Warrior poses in a series I call "Flight of the Arrow" (I changed the names to "Archer" poses). We start in Warrior 2, "put your hands together in front, and draw back your bow". Then we "make the arrow" by putting our arms up into Warrior 1. "Place the arrow in the bow" (bend forward with arms parallel to ground, bent over knee) "then let the arrow fly!" by bringing the back leg up into Warrior 3.

One thing that amazed me was the fact that almost every child could do Crow by the end of the workshop. And it was, by far, the most favored pose. As I said, poses are physically demanding, and frustrating for some children who are still learning balance and coordination. That is where some hands on stuff comes in!

The first activity we did was to review the poses using marshmallows and toothpicks. One large marshmallow, 6 mini marshmallows, and 9 toothpicks. After we assembled, the kids arranged the figure into yoga poses that they learned. The best part, of course, was eating the marshmallows at the end!


The second activity was coloring mandalas. I bought the stained-glass mandala coloring book by Dover publishing. Using markers, the kids had some quiet time coloring their mandalas to take home.

Other things I did was teaching them about breathing, placing their hands on their chest to feel their heart, ribs, belly and how they move while breathing. I also made up a story with words that were the yoga poses they learned. As I said each yoga pose word, they were to show me that pose. I.e. "Then the EAGLE landed on the TREE."

This is one of the most rewarding yoga workshops I have been, and probably will ever be, a part of.

Brahmaviharas

Treat those who are happy with friendliness
Treat those who are unhappy with compassion
Treat those who are virtuous with supreme joy
Treat those who are wicked with indifference

About a year ago, I was in class and Kathy mentioned these Buddhist "sublime attitudes". I wrote some of it down, then went home to Google it (completely missing the fact that they were in my Yoga Sutras!). I found nothing, punching in terms that were delivering other results. I decided to come back to it again later.

And, as life does, it came back to me at a time I needed it most. Dealing with frustration, trying hard to control and detach from emotion...it was hard to breathe! And there they were. Like a key to finding peace of mind. I read them over and over thinking, how can I remember these in the future? So, I thought I would share them with you all.

In Buddhism, this is the Brahmaviharas: the Four Immeasureables. It is discussed in Yoga Sutra 1.33: "In relationships, the mind becomes purified by cultivating feelings of friendliness towards those who are happy, compassion for those who are suffering, goodwill towards those who are virtuous, and indifference or neutrality towards those we perceive as wicked or evil."(maitri karuna mudita upekshanam sukha duhka punya apunya vishayanam bhavanatah chitta prasadanam)

To break the sanskrit down, I found this direct translation:

• maitri = friendliness, pleasantness, lovingness
• karuna = compassion, mercy
• mudita = gladness, goodwill
• upekshanam = acceptance, equanimity, indifference, disregard, neutrality
• sukha = happy, comfortable, joyous
• duhka = pain, misery, suffering, sorrow
• punya = virtuous, meritorious, benevolent
• apunya = non-virtuous, vice, bad, wicked, evil, bad, demerit, non-meritorious,
• vishayanam = regarding those subjects, in relation to those objects
• bhavanatah = by cultivating habits, by constant reflection, developing attitude, cultivating, impressing on oneself
• chitta = mind field, consciousness
• prasadanam = purified, clear, serene, pleasant, pacified, undisturbed, peaceful, calm

RYT

As of April 29, 2010, I became an official Registered Yoga Teacher! With Yoga Alliance.

Daily Resolution

I will go about this day with an open heart and a compassionate mind. If I falter, I will not depreciate myself, but simply start over again tomorrow.

Reset

The last five months has been a roller coaster. I got on the ride, though, barely had time to buckle up. But I'm hanging on, and throwing my hands up when the movement hits me on the high side. I resolve to refocus on my yoga. And blog it.

Jay Peak yoga

I have been wanting to teach yoga at Jay Peak for a while and tomorrow at 7am I will get to fulfill my wish!





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Veni Emmanuel

I am really into the meanings of songs. When I hear one that particularly moves me, I tend to research it, listen over and over. Much like a passage meditation. I did it with Love Rescue Me. and now I have heard O Come O Come Emmanuel (Veni Emmanuel). What a beautiful song! I don't think I have heard it before, or at least I did not know about it. Until we sang it in church this morning. It's the first song I really raised my voice to sing aloud. Once I figured out how it went.

And I looked up the full prayer. There are so many contexts and facets to it, that I think I will spend years rereading it. It is about the coming of "God among us" (maybe Jesus, maybe not) and how he is said to help people out of their misery and show us a way to peace. And although I try to see life universally beyond a prophet of this world, the idea of an Emmanuel does not have to be a person, place or thing. I think it is the idea that there is a spirit or movement of God Among Us that brings us hope because that spirit lives eternal, where as nouns have a shelf-life.

Oh Come Emmanuel

Oh, come, oh, come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Oh, come, our Wisdom from on high,
Who ordered all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
and teach us in her ways to go.

Oh, come, oh, come, our Lord of might,
Who to your tribes on Sinai's height
In ancient times gave holy law,
In cloud and majesty and awe.

Oh, come O Rod of Jesse's stem,
From ev'ry foe deliver them
That trust your mighty pow'r to save;
Bring them in vict'ry through the grave.

Oh, come, O Key of David, come,
And open wide our heav'nly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

Oh, come, our Dayspring from on high,
And cheer us by your drawing nigh,
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death's dark shadows put to flight.

Oh, come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Oh, bid our sad divisions cease,
And be yourself our King of Peace.

Passage meditation

Eknath Easwaran is known for helping establish Passage Meditation. Pick an inspirational passage, memorize it. Say it over and over when you need guidance the most...it's a concentrated effort to find peace. It's a form of dharana, focus with concentration.

CPR/AED certified

For the job at S&FE I am required to be CPR/AED certified and I got that today! Hooray! I feel that this is an important thing to know anyway, to be prepared in an emergency. The class was taught by a wonderful instructor and everyone there was eager to learn as was I. I'm going to miss my dummy...I think I was growing fond of him by the end of class.

Yoga is the evenness of mind

I began reading the Bhagavad Gita in August. In September, I opened up an emotional floodgate. My svadhyaya was taken in a new direction, away from yoga books. I was, and am still, unsure where that new track is taking me. But I'm trying to do explore it with the utmost care and personal awareness that I think I can extend. Meanwhile, now that I am getting a grip around my new path, I picked up the Gita again.

And, of course, Self-realization is the second chapter (the first being the one that describes the setting of the Gita). It's the chapter that helps set up the rest of the Gita, starting with learning to detach from desire and aversion, and control the senses of the body. And break from Ego. This Summer, I feel as though I was getting there. Taking steps to be more involved in my community, to concentrate on the things important in my life. Keeping my mind steady, calm.

Now, I will continue to strive for Self-realization, but it seems I need to get into my Ego a bit and enjoy some kind of desire to live my life right now. My mind is not steady, but I come to the conclusion that I am experiencing waves...like of yin and yang...too much of something I was not ready for exploded into a new mindset. Once that paradigm is undercontrol, I can refocus back to what I was doing so well before. And now with a new awareness that I will strive to act on my desires in a way that celebrates the Universal Self.

Branching

I have many pots stirring on my yoga stove. I currently teach at Yoga Vermont. Next month, I plan to offer a community yoga class to benefit my son's primary school PTO. I also plan to offer classes at my friend's health club again (as I did last Fall).

AND I'm trying to get classes at another health club! I have an interview tomorrow. I'm not nervous, funny thing. The Wheel turns as it Will.

I am getting CPR/AED certified THIS Friday and going to another yoga workshop on Dhrana/Dhyana. In March I plan to get my Yoga Alliance registration to be an official "RYT" (read as: paid money tot he big conglomerate that everyone recognizes as a funtional body but it's really not).

Next thing I need to do it MARKET MYSELF. I think I can do that.

Call us out!

This morning, Rev. Mary's Prayer of Confession seemed to ring a bell for me. Something that I strive to do for myself, and try to refrain from getting deep into with others around me:

"...we are so caught up in our own agendas that we cannot see your bigger picture...Call us out of ourselves, and direct our attention above the turmoil and drama of our own small lives."

One thing I attempt to do often is not get "sucked into" the drama of other people's lives. Oh, I'm not good at it yet. It's hard to not listen when someone begins to gossip. And I have started it myself, aching to tell someone something that I learned, even if it has no significant bearing on anyone's life! I reflect back to the post I wrote last year on satya, truthfulness. Many times, I do not feel good about it after, and I try to remind myself from refrain the next time I find myself seduced by juicy gossip.

There is also drama around us all of the time. My most memorable instances are when I'm shopping, and women are shopping and just talking inanely about ...nothing! It is something to them, maybe. But the drama about it is intensified when they begin to make their own assumptions and twists to stories. Or, if I am in a meeting, invariably, someone has to add their own personal story to a point of business we are discussing. Everyone is polite and lets that person go on about something irrelevant to the meeting. And it takes us of track.

Just like getting off track when you are trying to be steadfast in your meditation, or your humanitarian efforts, or anything. I just continue to keep in mind what is the bigger picture for me; getting in touch with my Universal Self.

And I thank Rev. Mary and the families at MBCC for helping me form a path toward my goal.

Thanksgiving

I am thankful for...

• My loving husband. Who has finally come around to his senses about his health and my hyoga...and we are connecting more now, than ever.
• My children. Sometimes I get frustrated, I think about how easy it would be to do whatever I wanted if they were not here. But then I think about how empty my life would be without them. My love for them is fulfilling and all-encompassing. I live for their hugs and kisses everyday.
  
• My mother is in a good place. Good job, good relationship. I am happy for her.
• My sisters and brothers finding their own happiness in different ways.
• My in-laws who sometime irritate me, but have hearts of gold and love my kids (almost) as much as I do.
• YOGA...oooooom. I am thankful that I found yoga, its philosophy, and am practicing it regularly.
• Dancing and singing. I enjoy dancing almost as much as yoga, and I don't care who catches me singing aloud out of tune.
• Reverend Mary. I am SO thankful that a pastor can listen and help put my thoughts into a meaningful order, without criticism or "preaching". I can talk WITH her, and not be talked "at" by her.
• My cat Phoebe, who has more patience than ANYONE I know. And her undying love for me. And how she follows me around the house.
  
• Lake Champlain. A large body of water that provide serene meditation opportunities, and lots of fun with the boys in the Summer!
• Warm coats and mittens. I am thankful for a home, food on the table and warm clothes to get me through the Winters.
• Wood stoves. Oh, man. They rock!