by embodytrue | Mar 7, 2016 | Yoga of True Embodiment
It is a cold winter day in Burlington Vermont a few days before christmas. Inspired by a friend’s facebook post that encouraged me to do something for others rather than buy her a gift, a vision popped into my mind.
Despite some fear and insecurity, I stood on Church st, blindfolded, open hearted and arms held wide. Next to me was a sign that read “When seen just as you are, Only love remains. I see you. Do you see me? Hug me if you do.”
Staying grounded in each moment, meeting each person, matching their energy. To let go of the stories that would come up about what I was doing and who these people were, in my mind I repeated “Only Love is Real.” With each hug the selfishness in my heart melted a little. Observing that I could not see who was hugging me, my mind did not have the chance to put them into a box of someone I would like or dislike. Just two bodies meeting in space, not knowing who they are, allowing me to see them just as they are. Until only love remained.
This practice helped me to see how often I am making judgments about others on a subtle level. That there are those who I make an effort to give my love to, those who are just strangers that I don’t really care about and those who I don’t identify with and would rather stay away from. Not only do I make these judgments without noticing it, but these judgments limits the love that I allow to flow out into the world.
Removing the sense of sight I was left with only the sensations in my body. This allowed me to release these judgments and connect to something deeper. Something that has always been there, an intention, a motivation to love each person equally. I did not know who they were and they didn’t know who I was. But that didn’t matter, one by one they still came and I could feel them. Knowing that each person just wants to love and be loved. Each person wants to make a connection. Each person wants to feel supported in their bodies.
To do something like this requires the ability to stay grounded and connected, remaining equanimous with the various sensations that come and go. To be fully present and embodied. These are the foundational skills we explore in the Yoga of True Embodiment. In the last session using dance ,eye gazing and talking in circle we will explore this embodiment while in connection with others. To see them just as they are, until only love remains.
by embodytrue | Feb 4, 2016 | Yoga of True Embodiment
The method of Yoga Nidra that I teach comes from the tradition of Swami Rama. I learned it while at a 3 week intensive self transformation program at Swami Rama’s Ashram in Rishikesh. I will make no claims that this method is the true or real method of yoga nidra, there are many different forms and styles of yoga nidra that are commonly taught. I myself have practiced many other forms and have received great benefit from them, although from my own personal experience this method has been the most profound and transformative. I was actually very surprised when we started to practice it since it was so different than all the other yoga nidra experiences i have had. The emphasis here was to do some preparatory exercises that lead the practitioner into the state of deep formless sleep while remaining conscious of the journey. The experience that i had doing this practice has been the most profound of all other practice i have done to that point, including meditation.
The reason I found it so intriguing is that it created yet another bridge between Yogic and Buddhist practices. I have been following the teachings of Alan Wallace on Shamatha, Lucid dreaming and Dream Yoga ( from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition) for some time. Alan speaks of the alaya and alaya vijnana which he translates as the substrate and the substrate conscious which is the destination of Shamatha ( concentration / calm abiding) meditation. It is the ground state of the mind when all appearances have settled into their natural state. It has the three qualities of Bliss, Luminosity and Non conceptuality. What he often likes to call a “stem consciousness” that is unconfigured and what is postulated that actually goes from life to life and becomes configured by the form of rebirth taken. This state is accessed in three ways, through mediation, deep sleep and at the time of death. We access this state every night when we fall deep asleep, but are unaware of it. The Tibetan practice of dream yoga has many aims but one of them is to access this state of deep sleep but remain awake and aware. I find this form of Yoga Nidra a complementary practice that provides a straight forward and simple method to achieve the same goal. Bringing the yogi to the very ground state of the mind, the most fundamental basis of who we think we are, allowing us then to break through even that to something that transcends all states of consciousness.
In brief the practice involves:
A systematic relaxation of the entire body and mind.
The Shava Yantra (Pilgrimage of the corpse ) also know as the 61 points exercise.
Shithali karana point to point spinal breathing.
Side to Side expansive and contractive breathing.
Guiding the awareness to the eyebrow center (seat of the waking state), throat (seat of the dreaming state), heart (seat of the deep sleep state) and finally the cave of the heart (seat of yoga nidra). Resting there for up to 10 minutes.
“There is a method called yoga nidra in which you can have conscious sleep. Yoga nidra is a state between sleep and samadhi.
The aspirant learns to analyze or resolve all his desires, thoughts, and feelings through the practice of yoga nidra. He attains a state in which he consciously learns to place his mind in deep rest. Yoga nidra cannot be translated into any other language, but for the convenience of modern students it is called “yogic sleep” or “sleepless sleep.” This is a state of conscious sleep in which the student is in deep sleep and yet remains fully conscious. The yogis use this technique for both sleep and meditation. The quality of rest one receives through this method is entirely different from that which is derived through ordinary sleep.
Yoga nidra is a revitalizing exercise that gives total rest to the mind, brain, nervous system, senses, and body. Except through meditation and yoga nidra, one cannot give rest to the totality of the mind. There is no drug and no scientific or physical technique so far discovered that gives rest to the unconscious part of the mind, except the technique of yoga nidra.” Swami Rama
“Yoga Nidra brings an incredible calmness, quietness and clarity. Yoga Nidra is one of the deepest of all meditations, leading awareness through many levels of mental process to a state of supreme stillness and insight.
Yoga Nidra means Yogic Sleep. It is a state of conscious Deep Sleep. In Meditation, you remain in the Waking state of consciousness, and gently focus the mind, while allowing thought patterns, emotions, sensations, and images to arise and go on. However, in Yoga Nidra, you leave the Waking state, go past the Dreaming state, and go to Deep Sleep, yet remain awake. While Yoga Nidra is a state that is very relaxing, it is also used by Yogis to purify the Samskaras, the deep impressions that are the driving force behind Karma.
Yoga Nidra brings access to the to latent, or subconscious level of mind, that is underneath even the processing, fantasizing, imaging level of mind. It is the doorway to the causal level of reality, out of which springs the subtle, psychic, astral plane of reality, which in turn brings forth the gross level.” Swami J
“There is a cave in the heart, the interior cave of the heart … and that cave is absolutely silent and absolutely dark. Darkness so thick you cannot cut it with a knife. That is the one into which all senses dissolve. Remember then that yoga nidra and laya, dissolution of the universe, are very closely linked. When there is no thought, no light, no sound, no stir, no movement, then you are there. It feels as though that darkness is breathing. Then in that absolute stillness you are not unconscious, you are conscious of being there. You are not unconscious the way people are unconscious in sleep. You are conscious in that cave, and you are observing the fact of being there without any words, without any sound, without any light, without any movement, without any memory, without any samskaras arising; then it is yoga nidra. Then out of that laya state you can create a whole universe. You can write poetry, you can write an epic, you can have the vision of any subject in a flash.” Swami Veda Bharati
by embodytrue | Feb 4, 2016 | Yoga of True Embodiment
I began my meditation and yoga practice at roughly the same time about 10 years ago. As the fruits of the practice manifested in my life, I had a sense there was something deeper, something more than simply being more relaxed and flexible. Through my study and exploration of various yogic and buddhist traditions, concepts would come up like samadhi, the subtle body, bliss, chakras, meditative absorption, Insight, chitta vritti nirodhah, etc … These terms were thrown around, but as far as I could tell very few could speak of these things from direct experience. The practice more or less stopped with asana, with the occasional brief pranayama or simple meditation practice. Having experienced enormous benefit from that form of practice, something inside of me called out, wanting to know with my own experience. Is this real? Are these ancient texts and engaging mythologies from the east actually pointing to an experience that can be realized? Or are they just nice stories to believe and talk about.
When the time came for me to answer those questions for myself, I dropped everything to seek out and practice full time with those who could guide me from their own direct experience. For the last 4 years I have been blessed to find such beings and blessed with the conditions such that I could do intensive retreat and practice on a regular basis. I will make no claims that I have reached some high attainment or have come to fully realize what the traditions are pointing to. My experience continues to unfold and subtler and subtler aspects are revealed as the process of letting go occurs. Although I will say that things that were mere theory, I can no longer deny after experiencing them directly. Seeing that as the path deepens there is an awareness of the natural flow of energy in the body. Staying with this flow is such a consuming experience there is no more energy left in the mind to maintain narrow minded stories that perpetuate suffering. Resting in this experience for prolonged periods of time, the subtle body is purified as blockages are released. The mental patterns that we find ourselves stuck in, that we know are causing suffering for ourselves, others and the world, finally begin to break down. A new wisdom emerges, one that can be trusted, one that is based on the direct experience of life force energy flowing in a natural way.
This weekend is the result of a welling up from within. A calling to share this with others who are looking to take this practice to a deeper level. There are many paths and many methods, what I have to share is not some kind of ultimate truth. It is merely what I have the confidence to share based on how the process has unfolded for me. As my teachers have helped me see, this path is not magic it is technical. These practices are simple, yet subtle and require time to experience the ins and outs of them. No one can do this for us, we need to dedicate the time to practice and experience for ourselves. In this practice intensive I share essential practices in a step by step way that will guide an aspiring yogi to the freedom of true embodiment.
by embodytrue | Nov 20, 2013 | Uncategorized
The path of meditation is not easy and straight forward . Day by day, moments of stillness, moments of confusion. Moments of peace and joy, moments of anxiety and fear. As i dredge the Psyche my mind moves through its ups and downs. Day by day its hard to tell where this thing is going, but it is clear that the goal of this practice is not to develop some imaginary ideal state where everything is wonderful by conventional standards. Behind the peace, behind the chaos, there is the same awareness abiding in equanimity. Seeing through the surface appearances, pleasant unpleasant or neutral, there is awareness, there is life. No matter what happened yesterday, what happens today, or what will happen tomorrow something keeps me going. When i find out what that is, ill let you know …
by embodytrue | Nov 4, 2012 | Balance, CEB, happiness, Meditation
Throughout the emotional skills portion of the retreat, we spent most of our time in lecture , discussion and group work but got started on mindfulness of breathing which is the first method taught for shamatha meditation. When Alan finally arrived we shifted gears into more of a retreat setting. The suggested rule was to maintain some degree of silence , although there was some meaningful chat as we went on walks after the evening teachings. There was also a lot of material to cover in a short time. Our day was broken down into 2, 3 hour chunks where we would spend roughly 1.5 hours in guided meditation and 1.5 hours lecture / discussion. The rest of the day was left for us to practice on our own. I had the great opportunity to offer yoga classes each day at lunch where i would try to incorporate the meditation we were doing that day into a yoga practice.
The first week we would focus on Shamatha or focused attention meditation in the three modes that Alan teaches : Mindfulness of breathing, Settling the mind in its natural state and Awareness of awareness.
Week two would be focused on the four application of mindfulness: mindfulness of the body, mindfulness of feelings, mindfulness of the mind and mindfulness of phenomena.
The last week focusing on the 4 immeasurables: Loving Kindness, Compassion, Empathetic Joy, and Equanimity
Before i describe the practice ill outline the framework in which these are all used in order to cultivate emotional balance. First of all it is helpful to have an understanding of Genuine Happiness.
When we think of happiness we might be able to break it down into two categories: Hedonic Happiness and Genuine Happiness or Eudaimonia. When most of us think of happiness we are most likely focused on the hedonic form of happiness. Which is short is the happiness we get “from” the world. This includes the things out there that will make us happy: money, a nice house, nice car, the perfect job, a healthy good looking body, a partner, fame, power, the newest iphone etc … The problem with hedonic happiness is that ultimately it is unsatisfying because it doesn’t last and it is based on things that are out of your control. What ever material possessions you acquire, just as easy as you got it you can lose it. As we get older our bodies don’t work the way they used to, we have to deal with illness and decay. What ever person we thought was the source of our happiness, will most likely change and not fulfill our unrealistic expectation of being an endless source of happiness. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with enjoying the hedonic pleasures of the world but in so far as there is attachment to them and they are our only source of happiness, we put of self’s in a very vulnerable position. Because as much as we want to hold on to these things that we think are the sources of our happiness they are impermanent and its not a matter of if they will change, it is only a matter of when. All that being said there are certain forms of hedonic happiness that are critical such as , food , shelter/clothing, medical care, education etc .. having our basic needs met. A funny thing about people in the modern world is that once we have our basic needs met, we are not struggling to survive, we have a decent job , friends , family , a house , a car , some entertainment etc … we are not satisfied. When we are really doing OK and there is nothing we should be complaining about for some reason we are still not happy, we need more , we need better, always thinking there is something out there that will finally make us happy.
This is where genuine happiness can finally bring some clarity to the situation. genuine happiness or eudaimonia is a sense of well being, of being at peace, at ease, contentment. It is not a happiness that comes “from” the world , but it is a happiness that comes from what we “bring to” the world. A type of happiness that arises right from the nature of having a balanced mind that is stable, clear and sees reality as it is. A type of happiness that comes from living a life of ethics and virtue. It does not depend on any external stimulus, but comes from within. It is something no one or thing can give us and no one or thing can take away. Its source is unlimited and boundless. You can reflect on your own life and see for your self where most of your time energy and effort is spent. Towards the hunter gatherer approach of trying to seek out and hold on to hedonic happiness or towards the cultivator approach of developing genuine happiness. If you can imagine making the shift where your priorities are towards to cultivation of genuine happiness a source of well being that is always with you, then you can still enjoy hedonic happiness but without attachment because it is not your only true source of happiness. So when things changes, when hedonicly times are good and bad, your happiness does not lie out of your control.
The only way these concepts move from something that sounds good to something that actually transforms your life, is to have some taste, some direct experience that genuine happiness does exist and there is a way to cultivate it. The way to cultivate it, is Dharma. Not only buddhist dharma but jewish, hindu, christian, non religious etc.. By definition the practice of dharma is a practice that leads you closer to genuine happiness, call it by what ever name you like. These particular practices offer one such framework that i can say from my own experience has given me a taste of genuine happiness.
Where the primary focus of the training was on Emotional balance, emotional balance its self isn’t directly achieved it arises as a symptom of cultivating conative balance , attentional balance and cognitive balance. Work on these other areas and you get emotional balance for free.
Conative balance has to do with our intention and motivation, a way of life that is rooted in ethics and virtue. We cant expect to be emotionally balanced our selves if we are living a life that creates emotional imbalance for others.
Attentional balance is making our mind serviceable. Being able to direct our attention at will. To think when you want and be able to keep the mind still when there is no need to think. To some extent we all suffer from what Alan calls OCDD ( Obsessive Compulsive Delusional Disorder ). We have a constant stream of thoughts running through our minds, we tend to identify with these thoughts and we think they are the truth and nothing but the truth. To attain attentional balance is to rid our self’s of this disorder and have a mind, instead of the mind having you.
Cognitive balance allows us to see reality as it actually is. By removing our cognitive bias and distinguishing what is actually being presented to our senses and what we are super imposing on that experience. To not identify with every thought or emotion that happens to us with out our asking. To see that all phenomena are impermanent, not intrinsically satisfying and not who we are.
More on meditation to come …
by embodytrue | Oct 31, 2012 | Balance, CEB, happiness, Uncategorized
First up in this year long series of retreats was the Cultivating Emotional Balance Teacher Training Led by Eve Ekman ( The Daughter of Paul Ekman ) and Alan Wallace. The original reason i wanted to do this training was mostly to spend some time with Alan Wallace personally. For those of you who are not familiar with him , i highly recommend you check him out. He has written many books on practical meditation practice with a deep appreciation of modern science, as well as criticizing views in modern science that are not based on fact and harmful to society. Such as the stand point of scientific materialism, which claims the only things that are real and important are physical and quantifiable, reducing the enormous capacity and mystery of the mind to complex configurations of brain activity. I’ll be writing much of his framework here, but if i could recommend one book that was the basis of this training it would be “Genuine Happiness”. In addition to Alan, I was interested in receiving a credible training and certification to teach a complex framework of meditation in a secular fashion, that would be beneficial across many areas. What i actually experienced from this training was far more than i would have anticipated and I am incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of it.
From the CEB Web site:
“Cultivating Emotional Balance is a research project, which arose from a dialogue between biobehavioral scientists studying emotion and the Dalai Lama, Buddhist monks, and scholars at the Mind and Life Institute in Dharamsala, India in March of 2000. This meeting was one in a series sponsored by the Mind and Life Institute to foster an interchange between Buddhist tradition and Western science.
At this meeting, the Dalai Lama asked scientists if they could conduct research to determine whether or not secularized Buddhist practices would be helpful to Westerners dealing with “destructive” emotional experiences. In response to this request, Dr. Paul Ekman and Dr. B. Alan Wallace, developed a training program that integrated Buddhist contemplative practices with Western techniques for dealing with negative emotional experiences. The training’s purpose is to reduce emotional responses that are destructive to self and others and enhance compassion and empathy. This research project, “Cultivating Emotional Balance In Challenging Times” (CEB), is the result of that interchange.”
The training was broken down into two parts. For the first two weeks we would spend time with Eve Ekman Learning emotional skills based on the framework of her father Paul Ekman. The last 3 weeks would be a retreat led by Alan focusing on attentional balance (shamatha meditation), cognitive balance (the four applications of mindfulness) and conative / emotional balance (the four immeasurables).
I’ll start with a summary of the emotional skills which is the western psychological portion of the training. If your interested in learning more most of the material can be found in the book “Emotions Revealed” by Paul Ekman.
The idea of emotional balance is not to get rid of our emotions. Emotions are necessary aspects of our conscious experience. Not only is it not possible to turn them off I’m not sure anyone would really want to. There are obviously the emotions that we enjoy, and then ones we don’t and sometimes wish they would go away. There isn’t a problem with the constructive ones, but its the destructive ones we would like to have better control over. Among the seven major families of emotions ( Anger, Fear, Sadness, Disgust, Contempt, Surprise Happiness) any one of them can be experienced in a constructive or destructive way. Constructive emotions furthers cooperation/collaboration between you and the other person(s) in a way that will benefit humanity, or at least not be harmful to the other person or to others who are not present. Destructive emotions create conflict and separation and may led to regrettable episodes.
Cultivating Emotional Balance means creating choice:
• Whether to engage emotionally
• If you do engage, to have a choice over how to engage
• Have your emotions work for you not against you
• Have your experience of emotions be constructive not destructive
One of the most surprising things i learned about emotions is what the they actually are ! They are short (ones that tend to linger are actually re triggering of the same emotion or may turn into a mood), they have a quick onset, they are unbidden and happen to us not by us, they involve a quick automatic appraisal, they have universal triggers, they produce a refractory period that filters and focuses what information is available to us, they contain physical and psychological components. Emotions are so complex it difficult to really define them , but easier to list characteristics of them, this list above is not the whole picture but some of the more interesting aspects. The take away for me is that for the most part the onset of emotions are mostly out of our control, they happen to us quickly in response to triggers from the environment, once they arise they filter our experience such that we only see the world through the lens of that emotion. From a psychological perspective we cant really do much about the arising of emotions, what we can do is notice that we have been caught in their grip as quickly as possible and then choose if we wish to act in response to them. That is where the meditative component can make a big difference (more on that later).
To briefly give an overview of emotions ill describe whats called the emotional episode timeline. As we experience the world around us we are automatically appraising the appearances to our senses. Information from our environment is being checked against our emotional alert database, which is the stored collection of our triggered experiences from the past as well as universal triggers for emotions. Triggers are those things that set us off emotionally, some of them are biologically ingrained and universal while others are learned. When something we experience matches a trigger in our database the process has begun. The affect program takes effect and we begin to experience preset and learned changes in our physiology. Shortly after that begins the refractory period where we are caught in the grip of the emotion and our cognitive frame of reference filters our experience in a way that reinforces the emotion. We then act either physically or mentally, in a reactive way if we are unaware of the emotion or in a mindful way if we can bring in some awareness.
This process happens very quickly, and may happen again and again as we spin in emotion. Once we understand that this is going on what can we do about it ? The most important is to see if we can be aware of the spark before the flame, increase the gap between impulse and action. If we can, through self reflection, become aware of what our triggers are ? What sets us off ? What are the common themes to our emotional reactions. We can prepare for situations that we know have a high likely hood to cause an emotional response. At the time we are triggered, when the very first signs of an emotion arises, if through developing our awareness skills we can recognize that an emotion has arisen we can stop the onset of the refractory period and have greater freedom in our choice of action.
In the training we went through each of the 7 emotional families to understand, what are our own triggers, what are the universal facial and physical responses to these emotions. Through various exercises of recalling memories, role playing, creating facial expressions we would gain greater awareness of each emotion to be able to recognize it as soon as it is present.
Understanding this much alone is a great basis for beginning to develop some freedom from your destructive emotions. Although coupled with the contemplative components of developing greater awareness, attentional control, seeing what reality is presenting and what you are superimposing on reality and cultivating qualities of the heart some real changes can occur.
More on the contemplative part coming soon.
by embodytrue | Oct 27, 2012 | happiness, Meditation, Yoga
It has been some time now since my actual journey began, although before I go into detail it might be helpful to start from the beginning. What am I doing ? Where am I going ? What are my motivations and intentions ?
More than ever i am becoming a believer that everything happens for a reason. So many moments of my life leading me to where i am right now. Finally feeling that although i really no no idea what the future will bring that i am pointed in a direction, down a path that has meaning and value for me. Always having an interest in science, studying Electrical Engineering, taking a job with IBM in Vermont.
Vermont ! Was really where it all began. I am so grateful that these series of circumstances led me to a place where i would discover my true passion, even though it would mean leaving mostly everything i have been doing behind. As my time living in Vermont went by , my interest , study and practice of Yoga, Meditation, Mindfulness, the relationship with modern physics and science, etc … continued to grow exponentially. Inspired by so many wonderful teachers both locally and through books/media. I started to see the transformation of my own mind an body, subtle, slow and gradual, it was not sudden and dramatic. Noticeable enough that it was worth continuing to explore and push the limits.
Eventually beginning to teach Yoga and bring mindfulness practices into my work at IBM, it dawned upon me that this was really where my passion was, where i really saw there could be benefit to help and connect with other living beings. Something that is really needed in a world where we are driven by a fast paced, technology, consumerism driven culture. Sharing some great wisdom that i have learned from my teachers and resources that I have connected with the most, I was feeling as on some level I was more passing on things that logically sounded good to me , than totally coming from my own direct experience. If all that i was talking about was actually true, than wouldn’t it be nice to actually know so from my own direct experience. To see what the true potential of the mind and heart is. To approach it from radically empirical, scientific perspective, going deep into the practice and seeing what emerges. Not reading a whole bunch of interesting books and agreeing with the points that are made.
When certain circumstances is my life happened to occur, i knew the time was right to give this some honest effort. Extremely grateful for my Job and experiences that i had in Vermont, it was time for a change. So with out knowing exactly what will happen when i return, i downsized my life , quit my job and started to plan for a year long adventure through Thailand , Nepal and India. Although the aspect of travel and adventure is exciting and a wonderful experience, the specific purpose of this trip is not to travel for travel sake. But to spend most of my time in full time Meditation retreat or Yoga Immersion to deeply travel through the inner world as the outer world arises and passes around me. Therefore what i would like to share in this blog , is not the details of the places i have been, but the details of what i have learned about myself , the mind and meditation practice. Exploring the inner landscape instead of the outer. I am no travel writer and if you want to know about these countries I’m sure your time will be better spent reading someone else.
This is an extremely brief introduction, as there were many more details leading up to the start of this trip. Its good to set a little bit of context.
The proposed plan is :
5 Week Cultivating Emotional Balance Teacher Training , with Eve Ekman and Alan Wallace in Phuket Thailand
8 Week Shamatha and the 4 application of mindfulness retreat with Alan Wallace in Phuket Thailand
1 Month Lam Rim / Introduction to the Gelupa school of Tibetan Buddhism at the Kopan Monastery in Nepal
1 Month of Solitary retreat in a retreat house in Baktapur Nepal
10 Day Discovering Buddhism at the Root , Root Institute , Bodhgaya India
2 Weeks at the Kryia Yoga Research Institute / Ashram During the Kumbh Mela
2 Week Insight Meditation retreat Root Institute , Bodhgaya India
1 Month in Rishikesh , Staying ind an Ashram or finding an authentic yogi to study and practice with
3 Week Iyengar Intensive in Deradun India
1 Month of retreat at the Songsten Library in Deradun India
2 More months of retreat in Dharamsala / Tso Pema , India
I will give an update and summary on each retreat experience as i go along. I hope to provide some valuable insights that will be inspiration and helpful for your own practice.
May we all find Happiness and its causes , free from suffering and its causes. In order to do so it would be nice to know what are the causes ? Let see if i can find out and share 🙂
by embodytrue | Jan 21, 2012 | Yoga
It has been a while since I have posted but inspired by tonight’s Yoga Dance Class i have some thoughts to share. Reflecting on my own teaching style and asking my self why do i teach the way i do ? Was i taught to do it this particular way ? Am i emulating what i have experienced in other classes and enjoyed ? Am i just repeating what i have heard others say ? Or am i coming from my own direct experience and sharing what i have experienced to be true, not just what i have heard or seen. There were various flavors of yes and no for each question, but with these questions came a perspective that i feel would be a valuable one to consider. Making no claim this is a correct or superior perspective, each teaching style has something to offer. Here is one of many:
The thing that got me thinking about this in the first place is that i often don’t assist while i am leading a class. I find it difficult to maintain a good rhythm and flow , while assisting individual people (perhaps this is something that comes with experience). You also never really know if a particular person on a particular day would even prefer having an assist. If they do happen to prefer one and they notice others getting an assist, they may start to subtly crave one and throw off the balance of the mind. Any form of outside stimulation , like a physical adjustment or a verbal command directed towards an individual can be a distraction to the meditative aspect of the flow. Of course there are benefits as well for being physical guided into proper alignment or verbally corrected if your doing something that may injure you. There is a place for each perspective, here i focus on the non assist perspective.
When i say non assist i am referring to no physical assists, as well as no verbal assists directed at a particular person. So if your not assisting either physically or verbally what are you doing as you teach ? Practicing. Just like everyone else, we come to yoga to practice. What are we practicing ? Absorption. Absorption with our direct experience. Being fully present. Awake and aware, content and non attached. Taping into our energetic nature and observing as it unfolds. Although when you need to lead a class, how do you direct the practice of others ? By being completely present with your own practice and describing in as much detail as possible, exactly what you are doing moment by moment. As you feel the adjustments you make in your own practice coming into alignment, describing that experience. Clearly seeing what your doing physically and mentally, then finding the words to explain. Not only then are you practicing what you preach , but you are only preaching what you yourself are practicing in that moment. Instead of having thoughts about what you will teach and how you will teach it, actually practicing your self and just describe what you are aware of.
This can be a practice its self for the teacher. Staying so present with your own practice that you are able to explain exactly what your body is doing. Letting the students take in that information and apply little parts of it that relate to them at that moment. While still allowing the freedom of the students to make their own decisions on what feels right in their body. With out ever correcting them , but offering general detailed enough alignment principles that they will correct them selves when ready. Finding the alignment in their own body which only they have the direct experience of. No one else can find that for them.
I offer this approach as an option to consider. Making it very easy to show up to teach. Simply practice and describe. Do not disturb, the natural flow of each persons individual experience. This may not be the optimal approach for beginners, but can potentially be used once a practitioner has become aware enough to not injure themselves. What do you think ?
by embodytrue | May 18, 2011 | Meditation, Yoga
What is your purpose of practicing yoga ? Why do you do it ? What does it do for you ?
On the surface Yoga practice is great exercise. Asana and Pranayama how ever you happen to practice them are great for the body and mind. Given that the body and mind are so interrelated keeping the body in good health will also help to keep the mind in good health. Some might also practice yoga for temporary stress relief, deep relaxation, getting into your body and out of the constant chatter of the mind. You come to your practice with all of the struggles from the day and hopefully leave rejuvenated ready to face what ever comes your way. Although when challenging situations come up, things don’t go as you expected or deep emotions bubble up where is that peaceful feeling that you left your practice with ?
Physical health, relaxation, and a few moments of peace are nothing to be taken lightly and if that’s what brings you to Yoga your still doing much better than many others struggling to find those things in life. Although with a deeper understanding of the practice there is an opportunity for more than just a temporary relief. How about liberation, happiness independent of conditions, insight into who you are, a sense of lasting peace that does not fade in the hard times as well as the good times.
Through my recent experience at a 10 day Vipassana course, during which we were encouraged not to practice yoga, a few things about my own practice and what Yoga means to me became a little more clear. It was apparent to me, that at some level i was indeed attached to yoga practice. That great feeling you get working the body, and the deep relaxation that comes when you are done. What an amazing feeling ! Who would not want to have that ? To what extent though is that useful ? Does yoga just become yet another thing in your life that you feel like you need to be happy ? Something outside of your self that is bringing you this happiness. If only i could practice yoga everyday , maybe a few times a week , ahhh then i would be really happy? That feeling of craving that might arise after a stressful day, “practicing some yoga would really make me feel better right now”. If you know anything about yoga philosophy you probability know that yoga is about being in the moment, allowing things to be as they are, contentment and non attachment. I make no claims to say that your not actually doing that, but really investigate your own experience especially when it comes to practicing yoga its self.
I really feel that the insight from Vipassana mediation has much to offer a Yoga practice. Turing it from a temporary relief to a real beginning of transformation and change. Here are the basics of Vipassana mediation and why it is useful:
Buddhism is primary based on what is called the four noble truths:
1) There is suffering
2) The origin of suffering is craving and aversion
3) There is a way to stop suffering
4) This is a path leading to the end of suffering ( Enlightenment )
You could go on in great detail about these four topics, but what is important for my purpose here is the second noble truth. Simply put the very root of our suffering is because we crave things that we like and avoid things we don’t like. If the world was a perfect place and we could always get what we want and completely avoid the thing we don’t want then there would be no problem here. Unfortunately at least from my own experience that is not the case, sometimes we don’t get what we want and sometimes we can not avoid situations we would not like to be in. What is interesting here is that we often attribute the cause of this suffering to outside factors. If only i could acquire some thing or have some experience then i would be happy. Even when we get that thing or experience we are still not satisfied looking for yet another external thing to bring us happiness. If only that person would change or act differently to me then i would be happy. We attribute our happiness outside of our self’s because we don’t understand what is going on at a deeper level. How do we maintain peace and balance of mind though all of life’s ups and downs ?
It is said that there are five things that make up our experience:
1) Physical Matter
2) Consciousness
3) Perception / Evaluation
4) Feeling / Sensation
5) Reaction / Mental Conditioning
With everything that we experience through any of the 6 sense doors ( Sound, Sight, Smell, Taste, Touch, Mind), anything we experience outside or that we generate inside with our own minds:
We first are aware of it through Consciousness. We then perceive it through the lens of our past experience and conditioning, evaluating the raw data and making logical sense out of it. That evaluation results in a positive, negative or neutral sensation arising somewhere in the body (regardless if we are able to detect it). We then react to that sensation with craving or aversion. Wanting to hold on the the pleasant sensations and get rid of the negative ones. This is not something we are normally directly aware of, when very strong emotions or sensations come up we are very aware of them. When very subtle emotions or sensations come up we are not aware but the deepest level of the mind is always aware and reacting to sensations on the body. We think that things outside our of selves are making us feel good or bad, where we are recognizing the object, evaluating it and then reacting to the sensation that was produced. Mind and Body are interconnected, with an experience in the mind manifests a sensation in the body. It is in fact our reaction to the sensations that we are holding on to or pushing away, not any person , experience or material object that is the root of our habitual reactions.
Through the practice of Vipassana you first focus your attention on the breath to calm the thoughts and focus the mind. You do this in a very specific way concentrating on the very small area right underneath your nostrils. Simply observing the breath as it passes through the gateway of your nose, in and out. You begin to become aware of the very subtle sensation that the touch of the breath has as the inhale and exhale come and go. As the breath becomes more subtle the sensations become more subtle and your mind becomes more subtle maintaining awareness of the increasingly subtle sensations. Eventually your mind becomes so focused that you are constantly aware of this subtle level of sensation that is always there, right under the threshold of ordinary awareness, even if the breath is flowing or not. At that point you are ready to begin to scan your entire body , bringing this focused mind, becoming aware of the subtle sensations that are present through out the entire body. These sensations will manifest in many ways, some times pleasant, some times unpleasant, some times you don’t notice anything, sometimes extremely blissful, sometimes painful or horrific. Just like life sometimes good , some times bad. What will become very clear is that all of these sensations are impermanent, constantly changing, pulsing, vibrating. They come and the go, stay for a little while and then dissipate, arise and pass almost instantaneous. When you get to this very subtle level, nothing is solid that you can hold on to, even a very solidified pain when probed deeper is changing and pulsing. If all these sensations are impermanent and constantly changing what is the purpose of clinging to or avoiding them ? As soon as you reacted it has already come and gone. The practice now is to simply, objectively observe the sensations with equanimity. Meaning seeing them for exactly what they are, not identifying with them, not reacting to them, allow them to be and pass through you. To the extent you can be aware of sensations and have equanimity towards them, the process of purification and liberation has begun.
Understanding this how do we relate it to Yoga practice. In Yoga you are already slowing down the mind, focusing on the breath, you are already aware of sensations in your body. What may be missing is this concept of equanimity. Balance, non reactivity, freedom from attachment or aversion. On the surface we all understand this, but it can be really hard to do, speaking for my self at least. It can also be a fine line, for instance how can you approach a pose with complete non attachment yet still exert some effort. If your in a simple forward fold, you get in there and reach your edge. Some craving may arise to want to go a little bit deeper, you almost have your chest on your thighs but not just yet. At this point what is really the goal ? Is it to get as deep as you possibly can in the pose, get your chest flat against your legs ? Or is it to bring your self to your edge, where you need to be in that moment and let go. Become aware of the sensations in your body and observe them with equanimity. If there is a pleasant sensation that arises because maybe the stretch feels good, maybe your deeper than you have ever been before, don’t become attached to it just observe it knowing that it is impermanent and will change. If there is an unpleasant sensation that arises because maybe there is a little bit of strain, or something in that moment triggered an emotional response, don’t push it away just observe it knowing that this too will pass.
Combining the insight of Vipassana meditation with Yoga practice may be able to transform and not just bring temporary relief. Don’t believe me because logically this all makes sense, experiment, practice, know for your self through your own direct experience. Go to the level where the subtle mind is reacting with attachment or aversion to the sensations throughout the body. Our mind has been trained to react, to cling to the things we like , avoid the things we don’t. Not recognizing the impermanent nature of all these sensations we try so hard to control but never can. It’s not too late, this pattern can be changed with time and practice. Practice patiently with determination. Bring this awareness into your yoga practice. What ever sensation arises observe it, as it is, with equanimity. Bring this awareness into your meditation, what ever arises observe it, as it is, with equanimity. Free your self from the habit of reacting and just observe, allow sensations to be, allow your self to be. Be Liberated !
by embodytrue | Jan 3, 2011 | happiness
Each Holiday season we overindulge, with material goods , food, drinking and celebrations. Then once the new year hits we are so burnt out from the over indulgence we set resolutions to cut back, eat better, exercise, make better choices etc ….
Year after year the cycle repeats. Not that there is anything wrong with it or we don’t have great times and then make positive improvements in our life. Although if you take a moment to reflect about this cycle it’s kind of funny. In the constant search for happiness, we hope to find it in the activities of the Holidays, food, gifts, celebrations. When the holiday season is over although we thoroughly enjoyed it as is was happening that sense of happiness does not sustain. Life goes back to normal and with the coming of the new year we set intentions for personal improvements in search of true unconditional happiness.
This cycle is a source of Insight for what may bring unconditional happiness. We often fool our selves in thinking that happiness will come from material goods or experiences but if you reflect on your own experience how well does that really work out ? True happiness comes from within, through the thoughts and intentions you create for your life. Nothing out there will bring it to you, but you already have everything you need to create it with in yourself.
