Wheelin' Along our Path with the 6th Limb: DHARANA/CONCENTRATION

As we ADD THIS 6TH SPOKE TO OUR WHEEL, a SUPPORT for this JOURNEY in our lives, we consider this 6th Limb of Yoga~ Concentration...

"FIXING THE CONSCIOUSNESS AT ONE POINT OR REGION IS CONCENTRATION." ~ B.K.S. Iyengar

As Rolf Gates shares: "We learn to bring our attention to one point, and train our minds to stay there. The point of concentration can be external, as in asana, or it can be internal, as in meditation.

On the mat we experience DHARANA quite often, during those moments when we lose track of time, when our mids become so absorbed in the physical experience of a posture that we are no longer connected to everyday concerns. In dharana, the past and the future have dissolved and we are simply existing in the NOW...

When we are doing something we truly love, we connot help but give ourselves to it wholeheartedly. DHARANA, therefore, is a by-product of love. In the clarity of a focused mind, we find that timeless place where we connect with our soul...

In baseball, pitchers are told, 'Throw the ball, don't aim it.' This is a good example of the difference between knowledge and the knowing that is beyond knowledge. To aim the ball is to come from a place of knowledge, of trying to control events. To throw the ball is to let go into the flow of the moment, to trust events and your place in them. To aim the ball is to affirm your separateness; to throw the ball is to affirm your connectedness. In aiming there is much mental chatter; in throwing there is no sound; there does not need to be.

The regularity of asana and meditation practice provides us with the chance to see both forms of activity for what they are. We can think about a posture or we can embody it fully, without reservation. We can sit in meditation at war with ourselves, trying to stay with the breath, or we can surrender and soften into stillness...

DHARANA is throwing the ball. It is the quiet that occurs when we flow into a posture or let go into meditation. It is the mind pouring itself like water into a moment. It is the stillness that is beyond knowledge.

OM SHANTI, OM PEACE, OM DHARANA,
Lee Ann

PRANAYAMA: Breath = LIFE

As we continue this SACRED SAGA on our Life's Journey, we discover in the Yoga Sutras the 4th Limb: PRANAYAMA, defined:

"PRANAYAMA IS THE REGULATION OF THE INCOMING AND OUTGOING FLOW OF BREATH WITH RETENTION." ~ Yoga Sutras

You and I KNOW that without breath, we have NO LIFE, and yoga utilizes the breath to infuse more meaning, more depth & breadth into our beings in each PRESENT MOMENT. As Rolf Gates states, "Standing at the crossroads between asana and the purely contemplative aspects of the eight-limb path, PRANAYAMA encompasses both the physical and the contemplative.

The science of yogic breathing trains the mind in one-pointed concentration while radically improving our ability to accrue, store, regulate, and use the energy we receive from the air we breathe. Utilizing physical technique, we begin our journey into the metaphysical.

The wording of the Yoga Sutras on pranayama is quite easy to follow. To begin, simply do what you have already been doing. Pay attention to your breath while practicing asana. your breath should be calm and deliberate, but flowing without force or effort. Breathing in and out through the nose, let there be a pause after the inhalation, and a pause after the exhalation. If this becomes difficult, just stop and breathe freely. Begin again when it is possible to do so without difficulty. Observe the effect this measured breathing has on your physical and emotional experience. Follow the ebb and flow of your attention.

Pranayama and asana, energy and matter.

Om shanti, om peace, om breathe deeply....and LET GO!

Love, Lee Ann

This SACRED SAGA called LIFE

WHEELING ALONG this SACRED SAGA called LIFE.

The 3rd Limb/3rd SPOKE OF THE WHEEL is: ASANA (yoga poses,postures)

So many of us FIRST COME TO YOGA for more flexibility....and YOGA'S very subtle ways & means 'catches us' coming back FOR MORE THAN WORKING THE FLEXIBILITIES in our spinal vertebrae and discs....the ASANA are the GATEWAYS to the mind, the heart and the soul.....

We do a FORWARD FOLD/bend (i.e Paschimothanasana) and not only stretch the spine, low back, hamstrings, knee ligaments, calves, Achilles....WE ALSO MASSAGE THE ABDOMINAL VISCERA, as well as our 'emotional chakra'/Manipura....

So many times, students come up to me after class and say: "Why am I crying?" "What's going on with me? ~these tears running down my face are inexplicable!"...Yoga provides a very healthy release of MORE THAN MUSCLES, TENDONS, LIGAMENTS, FASCIA...emotions that have been 'stored' in our head, our heart, our gut are massaged, and released...just as tight muscles release tension and tiredness, as they relax into resistance, and melt away stress....

We often find that the ASANA get us on the mat, to stretch, to breathe, to open & awaken locked shoulders & hips...and subliminally we unlock the protective bindings of our hearts...we open to MORE LAUGHTER, forgiveness, loving kindness/compassion, as we stretch into our thoracic cavities; we stretch into more open-mindedness, and relinquish more judgment; we release muscle tension and awaken to healing our wounded hearts & souls...

I invite you to join me, RIGHT NOW, and do a SEATED FORWARD FOLD/BEND, sustaining the asana for 5-8 breaths....and follow it with a gentle backbend / heart opener (i.e. inverted table, cobra, bow or wheel), and SEAL THE DEAL with a spinal twist....

BREATHE SLOWLY, DEEPLY, GENTLY & COMPLETELY...

and now, let your HEART SING, your spine DANCE, your face SMILE 

Om Shanti, om peace, om love, om laughter

WHEELING ALONG THIS 8 LIMB PATH...

WHEELING ALONG THIS 8 LIMB PATH with our 5th NIYAMA: ISVARA-PRANIDHANA

SURRENDER TO GOD...during this Holiday Season...

Rolf Gates shares his experience via these words: "...to be spiritual is to act like an adult, to take responsibility for one's actions, to manifest love in one's interactions. I often come to the mat to be comforted. I turn to God as a child to have my pain taken away. There is nothing wrong with this. In fact, seeking comfort is often a necessary first step in summoning the help of a higher power to intervene in a given situation. comforted, it is then our duty to comfort. Our problem solved, it is up to us to become a part of the solution. There is nothing wrong with coming to our mats to receive. But in order for what we receive there to flourish in our lives, we must take the next step: we must share our gifts with the world.

Try this today in your own practice: As you inhale, draw life energy in. Then, as you exhale, radiate that heart energy out into the world. Both actions must be honored in our spiritual lives. We must ask for help when we need it, and we must give to others ..." 

Especially in this SEASON OF GIVING....Let us share what we have, be a ray of light in the lives of those around us, and demonstrate that we trust our God....in surrendering to God, we give our trust ...

Om shanti, om peace in this Season of being grateful, of giving, of receiving, of sharing, of caring...of trusting, of surrendering to a POWER GREATER THAN OURSELVES...

Lee Ann