WHEELING ALONG THIS SOJOURN WITH THE SUTRAS

Wheeling along this sojourn with the sutras: our 3rd NIYAMA is: TAPAS, defined as: 'burning zeal in practice'.

If TAPAS is embraced with LOVE, then, this burning zeal to do our best, to BE our best, encompasses wonder, and gratitude, and respect~ for ourselves, as well as for others on our 'sacred journey' in this lifetime. 


So, WHERE DO WE BEGIN in manifesting this 3rd Niyama?....each "beginning" requires us to establish our BHAVANA, our INTENTION....WHAT DO I WANT? WHY? 


And then, CLEARLY SEE what is motivating me to 'get up and move into this new day? this new endeavor? this new beginning?'

Rolf Gates says: "Whenever I think of TAPAS burning away my impurities, I imagine it as the yogic equivalent of being in the fat-burning zone of exercise. I envision TAPAS burning off some of the toxins I consumed with my Chinese takeout last night. This is in fact the case. There is an aspect of our yoga practice that is simply about staying healthy. But a far more profound aspect of TAPAS is described in these lines from SIDDHARTHA, by Hermann Hesse.

"Now," he thought, "that all these transitory things have slipped away from me again, I stand once more beneath the sun, as I once stood as a small child. Nothing is mine, I know nothing, I possess nothing, I have learned nothing..." he had to smile again. Yes, his destiny was strange! he was going backwards, and now he stood empty and naked and ignorant in the world. But he did not grieve about it; no, he even felt a great desire to laugh, to laugh at himself, to laugh at this strange, foolish world."


It's interesting for me to imagine Buddha (Prince Siddhartha) saying these words...

Our yoga sadhana/practice opens us, to an energy within each of us, that reveals THOSE PEOPLE/THINGS WHICH NO LONGER SERVE US WELL...layers of gunk and junk start to fall away, and we SEE...."REAL EYES. REALIZE. REAL LIES."


This TAPAS we're speaking of, this BURNING ZEAL to BE/DO our best, assists us in relinquishing old selves, our old friends, our old patterns of behavior....and though there may be times of emptiness, inquiry, uncertainty, there are also moments of surety, of LAUGHTER EVEN, that 'things are right', 'things are as they're meant to be'...on this journey we call LIFE!

Blessings on your sojourn into this new day on your path....I'm looking forward to TRAVELLING WITH YOU AND TAPAS some more in the weeks ahead.

Om Shanti, Om Peace, Om TAPAS!
Lee Ann
Yoga Center for Healthy Living, LLC.

Listening to the WIND of our SOULS... with BRAHMACARYA

We could surely spend an entire lifetime embracing the idiosyncrasies of this 4th YAMA, on our 8 LIMB SAGA....BRAHMACARYA....

As Rolf Gates so succinctly states: Brahmacarya, or temperance, gets a very bad rap in our culture. Most of us associate moderation with repression. The hero of the story loves the fair maiden, loves her passionately, and then the repressive forces come in to wreck the day. NO ONE EVER SEEMS TO DEDICATE POEMS, SCREENPLAYS, OR ODES TO THE JOYS OF MODERATION OR THE REWARDS OF PASSIONATE BALANCE. As a species we seem unable to see the forest for the trees. Despite the staggering amount of evidence that excess destroys our dreams, there appears to be a human blind spot when it comes to the possibility that our most passionate existence might actually be accessed through balance and moderation. Once we actually start to bring BRAHMACARYA into our lives, we find that this YAMA is about truly following one's heart. We see that the chaos of immoderation brings us pain and anguish ~ and that the calm, clear energy released by moderation actually affords us the opportunity to realize all our dreams.

The moment I fall off the moderation wagon, my mind becomes consumed by the fact that I am no longer living up to my potential. My mind fills with obsessive concern; I know all too well the ways I am self-sabotaging. My heart yearns for peace. Then I wake up one morning and find that I have a made a decision. I am ready to let go of whatever it is that's consuming me. I am ready to reestablish brahmacarya in my life. I am ready to follow my heart. " I listen to the wind, to the wind of my soul...."~ Cat Stevens

When we are ready, and willing, we, too, will listen to the wind of our souls.....

Are you ready to join me? Listen carefully.....

om shanti, om peace, om listen, om...................

BALANCE in the midst of giving and LIVING...

Wheeling along this journey in our lives, we turn onto the path of the FOURTH YAMA: BRAHMACARYA, which is translated to mean: BALANCE...

WHAT A PERFECT TIME OF YEAR TO EMBRACE THE DISCIPLINE OF BALANCE IN OUR LIVES~ the planet Mercury has just gone 'direct', and we are in the midst of the Holiday Season....where we encounter frantic schedules of shopping, food prep, partying, shopping, wrapping, rushing, hurrying, shopping, driving....BALANCE in the midst of this season of 'giving'....BALANCE in the midst of LIVING...

Where do we begin? For me, the very beginning of each day starts with my meditation....sitting down, breathing mindfully, grounding myself with my mantra...and, no matter what the day holds, beginning each day with this quiet time allows me to be more present to the rest of my day. As Deepak Chopra says: "The hour one spends meditating is for the other 23 hours in the day." It sets the tone of being a little more centered in the midst of life's ROLLER COASTER RIDE....

Oftentimes, Brahmacarya is associated with sexuality, and the expectation that one should be celibate, and thus, more enlightened...Brahmacarya is not a vocation of abstinence, but rather an invitation for temperance...to temper our thoughts, our words, our actions...to strive for a healthy balance in our lives.

During this season of hustling and bustling, are we also SCHEDULING TIME for quiet, solitude, a walk with nature, a quiet talk over tea with a loved one, time to just BE? While we share festive meals and snacks and drinks with business associates, neighbors, family & friends, are we consciously choosing to prepare healthy meals for other times of day? or, even to fast from specific unhealthy foods? As we're 'booking' our visits & party plans, are we also scheduling in quiet times to enjoy the decorations we put up, the gifts we so beautifully wrapped, the lights on neighborhood houses, as we take a stroll around the block?...

The choice is ours to make: time for ourselves AND others? or, just taking care of our list of things to do? We could CHOOSE to write on our "TO DO LIST": 'time for a soak in the tub'; or 'time for my yoga practice'; or both even; YOU get to CHOOSE.
May this Holiday season be extra-special because you are GIFTING YOURSELF with balance, with peace, with something simple that 'feeds your own soul'....

Om shanti, om peace~ as you wheel through your Christmas and the Holidays and New Year's... with balance & bliss!

WHEELING THROUGH LIFE, ON THE PATH OF ASTEYA/NON-STEALING, HONESTY...Our 3rd Yama

In this month of November, of GIVING THANKS, it is ironic to even think about TAKING AWAY....each day of this month is an invitation to GIVE....we ask for whom, or for what am I grateful today? or, am I choosing to TAKE AWAY from myself or another, the potential JOY IN THIS MOMENT? the GIFT of this day, this challenge, this conversation, this friendship, this love?

Novelist Tom Robbins offers us the choice of a daily mantra: Do I choose " YUM" or "YUCK"~ as my mantra this moment? Do I give myself an opportunity to see and embrace miracles, or grievances?

A popular Zen proverb states: "THE OBSTACLE IS THE PATH." Am I choosing, on my yogic journey, to embrace the obstacles? the little, and the BIG obstacles...as part of my life lessons or am I stealing these simple (as well as GRAND) lessons, wishing/willing them AWAY....

Rolf Gates explains that we "no longer have to believe that if YOU win, I lose. We no longer have to defend our opinions, or anything else for that matter. We can begin to live in harmony with the flow of life. We find that we have been like salmon, who, mistaking ourselves for beaver, have vigorously set about damming the river & making lodges. Despite the fact that we find this extremely difficult without beaver teeth and beaver paws, we spend a lifetime working to create the perfect beaver pond. Then an enlightened salmon comes along and explains that the river will take us effortlessly out to the ocean~where we belong and where we will grow into our full salmonhood. We are told that the river we have spent so much energy blocking and hoarding is actually endless and will deliver us to a place of unimaginable abundance. All that is required is for us to stop blocking the flow with our misguided efforts, our misguided beliefs."

To steal, or not to steal...to be honest & truthful or not...

A choice is presented to us again and again...on our paths, what will we choose today? Right here, right now?

Blessings on your choices...on your day...on your journey...

When we meet again, let's explore the 4th YAMA ~ Brahmacarya

Om Shanti, Om Peace,
Lee Ann

As We WHEEL through THIS DAY - ASTEYA

CONTINUING THE JOURNEY, as we WHEEL through THIS DAY, embracing the 3rd YAMA: ASTEYA, or: nonstealing...which invites the question: HOW DO I STEAL? and immediately the response, reaction can be: I DON'T STEAL! (I don't shoplift....etc., etc.) 

And yet, YOGA, as always, gently encourages us to explore this YAMA a little more deeply, for ASTEYA is a WAKE-UP CALL...ASTEYA nudges us to recollect ALL the ways, minute & major ways, that we DO STEAL: not claiming all our income on our taxes; RE-using our 'old stickers' to transport our bikes from the mainland, to the island; NOT RETURNING borrowed items to those to whom they belong; the 'shortcuts' we take at work: arriving JUST A LITTLE LATE, LEAVING JUST A LITTLE EARLY, NOT CLEANING UP AFTER OURSELVES....and once we get THINKING ON THIS, the LIST GROWS & GROWS....

And, then, the realization that, 'HEY, MAYBE I DO 'STEAL'!!!' confronts us center stage....

Recently, while studying at the Chopra Center, another definition was introduced to me for ASTEYA: HONESTY (also: NON-STEALING)...and, I found myself reflecting on Patanjali's YOGA SUTRAS, and how the 2nd YAMA IS: SATYA, which translates in our vernacular to mean: HONESTY....and the train of thought wheels along this path: 'ALRIGHT, THEN, HONESTY IS A BIG DEAL to be emphasized in TWO of the FIVE YAMAS!'...inviting us ALL to contemplate, a little longer on HOW, WHY, WHEN, WHERE, WITH WHOM I am sharing honesty? and, again, WITH WHOM, WHAT, WHERE, WHY, and WHEN am I 'stealing'?

Rolf Gates, in his beautiful book, MEDITATIONS FROM THE MAT, slips into this discussion that ASTEYA is "our first encounter with nonattachment. When we look honestly at the ways in which we have been stealing, we come to understand that in each instance, there is an attachment to a specific result that overrides our deeper values." Because "I WANT what I want, when I want it, I can so easily JUSTIFY lying about a friend or co-worker, and STEAL and try to sully their reputation...." "It's alright for me to steal from this employer, because of an attachment to the outcome." Or, in the words of a famous cliche', THE END JUSTIFIES THE MEANS....and, thus, it's not so much what I do, but HOW I GO ABOUT DOING IT that is dishonest, that is stealing, that no longer allows me to LIVE YOGA...

And, again, at the end of each day, we're invited to ask ONE QUESTION: 'DID I LOVE WELL TODAY?' According to the 3rd Yama, with stealing, with honesty, the answer is very simply~very clear: I DID, or I DID NOT! ....and again, as a compassionate witness to ourselves and others, as we WHEEL through THIS DAY, I have a choice to make amends when/wherever necessary; and I can continue to rationalize my thoughts, words and actions into righteousness...

Yoga is clear. The Yamas are clear. Choose honesty/nonstealing, or not...always, ALL ways, the choices are ours, as we travel on this road in life: do I take the honest fork in the road, or not...it's my life, my choice....it's your choice, your life....we cannot control one another's choices...we are each responsible for our OWN souls...and, again, we can ask: AM I LOVING WELL, thus far, this day?

Wishing you peaceful contemplation on this journey...
Om shanti, om peace,
Lee Ann

EIGHT SPOKES ON THIS 'WHEEL OF LIFE'~ EIGHT-LIMB PATH OF YOGA...

Rolf Gates makes it very clear that without the first two LIMBS OF YOGA (YAMAS and NIYAMAS), the other six Limbs are meaningless.....and I find it so interesting that the YAMAS (moral restraints) and the NIYAMAS (moral observations) are the REAL SUPPORT and STRENGTH of this 8 Limb Path~ more vitally important than yoga ASANAS (postures), PRANAYAMA (breathing exercises), PRATYAHARA (withdrawal of the senses), DHARANA (concentration), DHYANA (meditation), SAMADHI (bliss/Union with the Divine)....Rolf implies that 'Anyone can DO yoga postures'...the real question is: DO I CHOOSE TO LIVE MY YOGA, when I walk away from my mat?

And it's even more interesting that the FIRST YAMA IS: AHIMSA~ NON-VIOLENCE in our thoughts, words, actions....on the yoga mat, am I willing to explore the asanas, and do no violence to myself: not twist TOO HARD, and yet, 'go to my edge': where I feel sensations in my body, but not pain, not violence? Is my desire to do/be MY BEST, or 'keep up' with that awesome form next to my mat? "Wow, he does a masterful 'peacock pose'! I want to do that!"...Am I conscious of 'backing off' when my hip (or shoulder or back) hurt, or is my ego mucking up AHIMSA....if I choose to push, pull, harder, deeper, so I can KEEP UP with those around me....once again, muting the 'voice within me' IS VIOLENCE TO MYSELF! So, we could be doing a nice 'asana practice, with pranayama, and concentration' but experiencing the antithesis of AHIMSA....

As we've been discussing, AHIMSA takes many forms, whether it be people practicing a vegetarian diet because they choose "not to be violent to anything with 'eyes'" (eating no meat or fish, or any variation thereof), or 'not taking up "arms" to fight', or mindfully watching the thoughts they think and the words they choose to speak....

It's easy to say: "Oh, I'm not violent~ got that yama covered~ check!"...It seems to me that this FIRST ASPECT of the FIRST SPOKE entails far more contemplation, thought, meditation, focus and effort than we realize...than we may even want to consider...too much time, too much work, too much....

It's a TRUE JOURNEY, as we wheel our way through our lives, with each twist and turn in the road, to practice ahimsa, and yet, on our journeys, as we 'wheel along', we have ample opportunities to grow, to learn, to let go, to re-learn, to PRACTICE again and again~ AHIMSA...non-violence...

We're human, beautiful in our own unique ways; we're still here on the highways, the dirt roads of our lives, because OUR WORK IS NOT YET DONE. We're learning where the potholes are in our roadways; we're learning our lessons; we're learning ahimsa, again and again...and again....

Do we choose this direction or that? This road or that? Ahimsa or not? Our choice, our journey....Wishing you a 'smooth road' as you 'wheel on through this day'~ om shanti, om peace!

The Journey Continues on the FIRST SPOKE OF THE WHEEL~ AHIMSA

Namaste', and welcome to today's journey on our path in this lifetime....we continue to saga with AHIMSA, NON-VIOLENCE in our thoughts words, and deeds.....once again, easy to say....THE INVITATION is to apply this YAMA  to the conversation we had this morning with a family member, friend, loved one or foe.....are my thoughts about him/her honest, and kind, true, or "what I want to make true for myself so as to "rationalize my words and actions into righteousness"?  Is there violence in my verbiage, as well as my self-talk to my own body, mind & soul?  Is my thinking judgmental? demeaning? and is this the energy I want to put out there in my world, on my path.....again, this is applicable to myself and those in my lives....
What about my comments (or even thoughts) about a TV personality~ I may never meet them, yet, I could have a strong opinion about them....Are these opinions critical? Are they even necessary?  Asking ourselves 3 questions before we open our mouths and utter words, could help us be more aware and conscientious about violent words:
1. Is what I am thinking/saying/doing KIND?
2. Is it TRUE?
3. Is it NECESSARY?

You are invited to contemplate, consider these 3 questions in the moments, the days, the encounters ahead ....invite AHIMSA to journey with you....
Until we meet again...NAMASTE'!

The FIRST SPOKE on the Wheel

As we sojourn through this JOURNEY OF OUR LIVES, via the YOGA SUTRAS, the first spoke of this wheel is labelled: THE YAMAS~ some interpret the Yamas as: MORAL RESTRAINTS.....others could put a different spin/interpretation on this spoke....which is neither here nor there...we're all talking about the same thing....this first  spoke, along with its partner, the second spoke, create the real foundation of the SUTRAS and this 8-Limb Path of Yoga.

Rolling through this moment, this day of our lives, what restraints do we put on ourselves, our morals?  What guidelines do we follow?  What boundaries do we establish for acceptable behavior, towards ourselves and others?  Just as the lines on the roadways give us directions and directives for when to pass another vehicle, or NOT pass, or speed limits around curves, etc. ...what morals and ethics do we honor?

Yoga provides us with 5  aspects of this 'spoke', and all 5 comprise the YAMAS...and the first yama is
labelled: AHIMSA, which translates from sanskrit to our vernacular as: NONVIOLENCE.....
We could immediately think: "No problem! I don't support violence!....this Sutra 'stuff' is easy!"
Yoga invites us to GO DEEPER....how am I violent in my thoughts, words and actions with myself & with others?................this OPENS UP  a whole new avenue on this saga of our lives.....
One we'll discuss in more detail in our next connection....THINK ON THIS: HOW AM I BEING VIOLENT with myself right now?  What thoughts am I repeating to myself, about myself?  What words am I choosing to use right here, right now?  THIS IS HOW this 'Journey through the 8-Limb class' begins...and continues...as we roll through our lives....NAMASTE'!