The Power of Integrating Yoga into your Life

How you chose to live one day - is how you will chose to live your life. 

I am finding this to be both simple and true.   All I need to do is just live one day well - then do it again the next day.  I don't need to worry about "the future" or "becoming".  I just need to BE and do it NOW.   

Yoga - that is, the Yoga of Practicing Detachment - guides me with clear intent on how to live one day, and thus, my life.   

I chose to live today by practicing detachment - but it's not easy because i have a chronically sick way of living,  

My chronic habit is to "attach" and cling and hang-onto stuff and not let things go,  Then, I judge and criticize and I worry and fret and end up in fear and it's awful.  

Had I just let go at the beginning all would have been well. But it takes practice - and that is the practice of Yoga.  And doing that simple little thing - "detaching" - each moment - every day - day after day - creates a very powerful life.  I must let go now.

The Ultimate Guru - YOU!

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali state that "...God is the ultimate guru ...untouched by previous actions, time or space - and is the teacher of the ancients (1:24 - 1:26)"

Further on in the sutras, when the discussion turns to the asana practice, Patanajli says that "...Perfection in the pose is achieved when the effort to perform the pose becomes effortless and the infinite being within is realized (2.47)"

Lastly, he says in sutra 1:20 that this state of "connection and consciousness" is..."near to those who apply themselves."

I love bringing the wisdom and practicality of the sutras into my own personal yoga practice.

On October 9, 2015,  I will be leading a 2-night/3-day retreat at the Land of Medicine Buddha in Soquel entitled:  Finding & Reclaiming your Inner Power - through a Personal Yoga Practice.

This retreat is about YOU - about you discovering & designing a personal yoga practice that heals you - that feeds you - that takes into consideration your body, your particular requirements, your limitations and your hopes, goals and dreams.  

Many people go to a yoga class to be led by the teacher.  During this retreat each participant will be directed and encouraged to connect with their own unique Inner Teacher - the Guru within - as described in the Yoga Sutras.  

My intention and hope is that everyone comes away from this weekend with a clearer connection with their inner guru - and - as a result, develops a personal practice that allows them to find and reclaim their inner power.

Sound good?  I think so.  Join me if you like.   Write me a note if you're interested.   It will be on our website this week at www.pleasantonyoga.com


Oct 9-11, 2015.  Write me for details.

Yoga is the vehicle - not the destination

I've been thinking about this theme in my own practice, and also during the classes that I have been offering this week.

Yoga is not the destination - it's the vehicle.  What do I mean by that?

So often we think of Yoga as the end result.  I've even said to myself "When I am finally able to do (enter pose name) then I will have made it."   As if being able to perform a pose was the end result or destination I was seeking.

What I know now more than ever is that Yoga is the vehicle not the destination.  Just like a car is a vehicle that takes you to your destination (i.e., your work, home or vacation spot)

So, if yoga is the vehicle - what or where is my destination?  It's within.   The destination is the deepest places of my heart, my soul, my inner being - a.k.a. - the atman.  

Thus, Yoga is the vehicle that I ride inside!

It's an inner journey to my deepest Self.

Om namah Shivaya

Meditation - it's not what you think!

I've been meditating more lately. It's good for the mind (and the brain). 

Meditation is not what you think - literally!   In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - they talk about aligning your mind with pure consciousness (something they call "Purusha").

Meditation requires you to do two activities, which are very difficult for most people:

1) Sit still

2) Stay Present

To help one in meditation, it's a good idea to "ask for help" (what a concept!)

In days past, people would ask for help by calling out a chant - and repeating it over and over again. This process of repetition is called - JAPA.  The process of japa is important as it "cuts a new groove" in your old patterns.

One of the oldest chants in the world is from the Rig Veda  (approximately 3,500 years ago).  It's called the Gayatri Mantra and its still chanted today.

It sounds like this: (chanted by Deva Premal) -  http://devapremalmiten.com/the-essence/

The words are as follows:

Om bhoor bhuvah svah 

    (to the supreme essence of everything that permeates of all levels of existence, time & space - 

and that eliminates suffering and embodies happiness)

tat savitur varenyam 

    (to THAT luminous brilliance that is the most virtuous and best for human consciousness)

bhargo devasya dheemahi 

    (Destroy our weaknesses, flaws and defects, so that we may receive in our meditation divine and abundant strength and joy) 

dhiyo yo nah prachodayaat 

    (In order to propel our intellect towards the path of supreme consciousness)

I chant this every day - sometimes out loud - sometimes driving in the car - mostly silently to myself. 

The simplest pose can be the one!

We've all seen the pictures of those amazing yoga poses - the poses that look like Cirque du Soleil performers are doing them. Nearly every issue of Yoga Journal has one.  These types of photos are now used to advertise everything from car insurance to bank credit.  Crazy!

These images of "fantastic" yoga poses can be inspiring - but also damaging in a number of ways.  Not the least of which is that it sets a person up for an unrealistic standard and expectation.  

My own experience with practicing yoga is that the simplest of poses can have the most profound effect. Just sitting still is perhaps the most powerful pose that I have performed in some time.   The hard part is being still and that's where the magic happens.  

What if, the next time you rolled out your mat you just took 10 minutes and got as still as you possibly could - either standing, sitting or flat on your back.   This is the practice of yoga. 

After 10 years of practice

What happens after you practice yoga for a period of time?   The pictures below represent a 10 year span for me.  The picture on the left is from 2004.  The picture on the right is from last week (12/31/2014).

What I notice from this is that I'm a little longer, a little more grey, and a little more serene.  

What would have happened if I hadn't kept up my practice for the last 10 years?  No one knows the answer to that question.   But, at 57 years old I hope I can show similar results in the next 10 years.

However, the most important practice is today.  So it's just a good idea to get started when you can.

Kerala - "God's own Country"

That's what all the brochures and tour guides call this place. "God's own Country". Supposedly one of the top 10 destination spots of a lifetime and I can see why.  The climate, food, people, culture are all amazing. Kate and I have spent 3 nights here now and our last night is tonight. We've enjoyed Ayurvedic massages, amazing food, cultural performances and exhibits galore, local people, backwater beauty and the all the western comforts one would want in a 5-star hotel (the Taj Malabar Vivante). It's been super great and relaxing. Total we will be going on our village tour to Poothota in the outskirts of Cochin. The plan is to be on a country boat driven by a long bamboo stick (think the canals of Venice).  Pictures will post soon.