EMBRACING the 7th LIMB OF YOGA: DHYANA~ meditation...

WHEELING ALONG OUR PATHS, on this SACRED SAGA, we embrace the 7th LIMB OF YOGA: DHYANA~ meditation...

"In DHYANA, psychological and chronological time come to a standstill as the mind observes its own behavior. The intensity of attention in the field of consciousness neither alters nor wavers, remaining as stable, smooth, and constant as oil pouring from a jug. Maintaining the same intensity of awareness, the attentive awareness moves from one-pointed concentration to no pointed attentiveness...in DHYANA the empahsis is on the maintenance of a steady and profound contemplative observation." -B.K.S.Iyengar

As we continue to utilize Rolf Gates' book MEDITATIONS FROM THE MAT, as a guideline along this 8 LIMB PATH of YOGA, he states that: "It is important to understand that DHARANA and DHYANA are skills we can cultivate. In fact, the eight-limb path itself and the names given these states of mind were established long after the fact. The YOGA SUTRAS are simply describing experiences that human beings had already been having for centuries. The point of understanding the difference between DHARANA and DHYANA is that our understanding can inform the way we approach any endeavor.

Think of DHARANA and DHYANA as aspects of the anatomy of excellence in action. Equipped with a model of how we and others have achieved excellence, we can better prepare ourselves to live our dreams. DHYANA is that profound place that sports psychologists call "the zone." It is that place where the musician and her instrument disappear and there is only the music; the timeless place in which the public speaker no longer speaks from knowledge but from an unerring sense of the moment. Through fearlessness and dedication we leave behind the everyday impediments and enter the realm of pure energy...unerring right action. All of us have the capacity to live from this place if we practice.

We've so often heard the famous yogic quote: "YOGA IS 99% PRACTICE AND 1% THEORY."....So, let's take a deep breath, and go practice...practice BREATHING INTO THIS MOMENT, NOW...practice CONCENTRATING ON THIS BREATH, NOW...practice MEDITATING wherever we find ourselves right HERE, RIGHT NOW...practice~again & again...

om shanti, om love, om practice...
om peace,
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

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

ISVARA-PRANIDHANA: Surrender to God

Wheeling Along on this Sacred Saga called: LIFE....we need not 'reinvent the wheel'....

The 5th and final niyama is: ISVARA-PRANIDHANA, or surrender to God. This Niyama is asking us to LET GO COMPLETELY. HOW DO WE DO THIS? Yoga invites us to bring our questions to our yoga mat, again and again....to surrender our confusion, our frustration, our joys & celebrations, our grieving, our whining, our winning & losing....all of it....poured forth onto the mat. And, we're told, that our mats receive everything we bring them....

We're also reminded, quite frequently, that we are SPIRITUAL BEINGS having a HUMAN EXPERIENCE... Rolf Gates reminds us that to "be spiritual is to act like an adult, to take responsibility for one's actions, to manifest love in one's interactions..."

We come to our yoga mats to be comforted, and often simultaneously we are confronted with our demons & our angels.

ACT AS IF YOU TRUST YOUR GOD. ~ anonymous

What does this quote mean for me, for you, for each of us, TODAY? There seem to be an awful lot of questions, and not as many answers....and yet, we're continually invited to TRUST, and to LET GO..... How about today, this moment, is there something, some little upset, miscommunication, that we can look at honestly, and release it/surrender it to God? And then, are we willing and able to trust that it'll be okay...?

Are you ready? willing to try to LET GO, and LET GOD?

Let me know how it's going....and, I will do the same....In fact, right now, I am 'naming' something on my mind, in my head, heart & gut, that I don't want to 'carry around with me' anymore, and I'm asking for help w/ the 'load', and turning it over to a POWER GREATER THAN MYSELF.....

om shanti, om peace, om blessings,
Lee Ann

TRAVELING WITH TAPAS A BIT MORE....

Carl Jung invites us to "Explore daily, the will of God."


...Tapas is the deep depth of the soul's inquiry within and, as Rolf Gates says, tapas is also embracing the heart of an explorer. Tapas is the willingness to work hard in practice, the desire to know oneself, and the will to be honest (satya). 


And yet, each of these virtues are predicated on the genuine desire for spiritual health. This burning zeal & desire will give us consistency. We'll have our shares of 'ups' and 'down's on this ROLLER COASTER WE CALL LIFE; days when our minds are ready and able to 'give it our all', and our bodies just DON'T, and vice versa.


As we practice being a COMPASSIONATE witness to ourselves, to our own soul's journey, to our humanness, we learn that hard, fast rules need not be held so tightly... And, we can focus on our hearts' desires to KNOW MORE, BE MORE....


We're traveling with tapas in the 'pocket of our hearts'...exploring the desire of God...as we live upon our answers to our questions, as we discover our Dharma (our reason for being, life's purpose).


Tapas helps us keep trying, consistently opening ourselves to potential, to possibilities, to miracles, to more.... and also allows us to rest on our mats in a difficult pose, surrender to savasana when our minds are too full, take a 'day off' when we're too overwhelmed... 


So often we expect more of ourselves than we do other people...


Tapas allows us to love and respect ourselves, to not be the harsh judge, but rather, the loving arms to welcome our own selves home at the end of the day...trusting in the new dawn, new beginning...tapas! Always there, awaiting our journey onward, inward....such an amazing saga, blessed with zeal, devotion, dedication, desire, intention, will, destiny...
Inhale each moment, each new experience, each breath, and exhale each judgment...


Enjoy the travels with tapas in your heart and soul!


Om shanti, Om peace, Om tapas!
Lee Ann

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.

SAVORING THE SAGA WITH SATYA....

In our culture today, staying in SATYA invites & invokes multiple challenges, so we need to ask ourselves: "Am I truly willing to embark upon a saga, a journey with truthfulness, honesty, integrity, impeccability of my word with myself, as well as with each person who crosses my path?" Nowhere in the Yoga Sutras is it stated that 'SATYA IS EASY'...the Sutras encourage us to LIVE OUR TRUTH, IN OUR THOUGHTS, WORDS AND ACTIONS because we'll discover more SUKHA, more 'ease', and be more peaceful, and thus share more peace with our 'world'. We stay in truth, and thus, not have to work hard to remember which 'half-truths', 'sins of omission', lies we've shared with others, as well as the lies I'm telling myself, the ways I've chosen to rationalize my actions into righteousness...

So where do we begin??? Right here, right now~ We can learn from our past experiences, mistakes, celebrations, contracts, friendships, and still not be able to CHANGE our past. We can plan for, worry about our future, yet, we are here, now....are we ready to savor this saga with Satya?

We can choose to RSVP to this YOGIC INVITATION with regrets: "With regrets, I'm just not ready for Satya."..."Nope, it's not happening for me in my world today!"..."Okay, I'll try this 'Satya stuff', but it does not apply to my relationship with my boss~no one can talk to him without....blah, blah..." "Yes, I embrace Satya, but I am not claiming this extra money I made on the side~we all know the government isn't fair anyway!" "Oh yeah, I live a yogic lifestyle, but I'm not telling this rental company the REAL date of my party, 'cuz they didn't deliver the party tent on time last year~ I'm not getting caught up in their trap again, so I'll just extend our party times with them so we don't need to worry."

Satya is satya is satya....And when we begin living in truth, sharing our truth, first within ourselves, our own minds & thoughts, and then, with others WE EMPOWER OTHERS TO DO THE SAME! Easy? Not necessarily. Yet, it becomes easier and easier to RE-EXAMINE our own thoughts, get CLEAR with our own integrity, so it flows more freely from our minds, to our mouths, to members of our family, our work relationships, and our friendships, as well as to strangers.

We open to this Saga, in our humanness, one thought, one word, one step at a time...and when we make a mistake, we own it, claim it, embrace it, learn from it, let it go~ in satya, in peace...today, RIGHT here, RIGHT NOW, how are you able to apply Satya to your thoughts, your words, your work, your love, your rationalization? It's a personal journey, yet a SAGA to be SHARED, as we wheel on into this day...breath by breath, moment by moment, truth by truth...

What stories can you share? What challenges, what changes are you experiencing?

Wishing you SATYA in SHANTI,
Truthfulness in your Peacefulness....

NAMASTE'

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'!

WHEELIN' THROUGH LIFE!

The Yoga Sutras provide us with a recipe for living, right here, right now!  Patanjali provides us with the the 8 LIMB PATH OF YOGA, and each limb can be 'likened' to a spoke on a wheel....when all 8 spokes/limbs are functioning well, we 'ROLL MORE SMOOTHLY THROUGH OUR DAY/OUR LIVES', and when there is stress, weakness, the wheel of our lives hits the potholes on the road, the bumps, twists, turns, roadblocks in our relationships, discontentment with our decisions, upset when things don't go our way.....and the GREAT PART OF THIS JOURNEY THROUGH OUR LIVES is: learning our lessons, growing from an unfortunate experience, embracing our fears, letting go of our past, trusting in our precious  present moments as well as our futures....it can sound and seem overwhelming, yet, if we take the wheel of our own life, and explore each spoke of the wheel, one at a time, we establish strength, support, stability.....and, we learn flexibility, open-mindedness & open-heartedness....bit by bit, one roll of our wheel at a time.

 In our next blog, let's look at the first spoke of our individual wheels...and grow more familiar and comfortable with this spoke....NAMASTE'!

All the wonders you seek ~ are within yourself

A wise man, a sage, Patanjali, wrote the YOGA SUTRAS, which are 'THREADS' that tie together/unite
ways to live our lives more peacefully.... these Sutras were written between 500-200 B.C.  His words of wisdom are the basis, the foundation of a healthy, balanced yogic lifestyle and the foundation on which YOGA IS BUILT.... He provides us with 196 succinct lessons on our human nature, how to actualize our potential, very simple, clear-cut guidelines on how to live our lives more fully.

I LOVE that he reminds us of something we so often forget: everything that we need, in this lifetime, we already possess....yet we spend so much, too much time, looking outside of ourselves to find peace, happiness, joy.... We're reminded by the music group America, that "Oz never did give nothin' to the Tin Man, that he didn't already have.....", and by Rolf Gates: "Dorothy, having travelled across time time and space to the land of Oz, and having struggled separately to find her way back to Kansas, discovers that she could have gone home at any time...."

Yoga helps us remember, each time we come to our mat, that each in breath can bring us peace, and each out breath can release stress, fear, heartache....if we choose....the CHOICE IS ALWAYS, ALL WAYS OURS...