The 21st Came Late This Year

Jai Bhagwan!

So, last month on the 3^rd I left off with a cliff hanger (of sorts) before leaving for Florida.  Life happened and there was no announcement on my birthday.  Here, for those of you desperately waiting for it...HAH...is the big news:  Yoga At Om will vanish at the end of the year.  Shanta Yoga will be replacing—actually, it already has—Yoga At Om.

The musing and entries I have made on this blog will, eventually, be moved over to Shanta Yoga and the updates I would have made here will now show up on the blog at the new site.  There is also the option to subscribe to the new blog's news feed.

This blog/journal contains my thoughts and views on Yoga both on and off the mat.  My daily sadhana journal is located at Everyday Yoga.

Finding Space

Find space within yourself to accept what is.  That is something you might well hear me say in class and would fit well with this title of this post; however, that is not what this post is about.  Rather, this post is about finding space to change and it seems that I have.

I know, that was terribly cryptic.  If you're curious, come back on the 21^st for more details.  Why wait until then?  Firstly, I leave for the Amrit Yoga Institute in the morning and will be incommunicado until the 15^th.  Secondly, I need a little more time to set things in motion and thirdly, that is my birthday and letting you in on my secret is a present to myself.

Jai Bhagwan!

This blog/journal contains my thoughts and views on Yoga both on and off the mat.  My daily sadhana journal is located at Everyday Yoga.

Sadhana

This morning as I arose to my morning sadhana, I did something I have not done for a long time:  I put on gym clothes, lycra and cotton mix shorts and shirt.  What did I find?  I found great difficulty in having this be sadhana rather than workout.  What is the difference?  Sadhana appears to be formed as a compound word made of sat meaning good, right or true and dhana meaning donation, gift, wealth and is often translated as diligent practice or spiritual practice.  If, and that is a big if, I understand the origin of the word, I find it interesting that this diligent, spiritual practice can also be seen as a true gift or as true wealth.

A workout is just that, working the body for a desired outcome.  While that desired outcome could be the same as what one might consider sadhana, the tendency is definitely skewed toward a more healthy body.

You can find more about my experience this morning over at my sadhana blog on Everyday Yoga which is also linked at the bottom of every post.

Jai Bhagwan!

This blog/journal contains my thoughts and views on Yoga both on and off the mat.  My daily sadhana journal is located at Everyday Yoga.

Blissfully Addicted

Yoga provides a wealth of incredible experiences:  Toned muscles and improved health, deep calm and peace, peering into the vastness within oneself, coming out of a pose and feeling waves of euphoria and the list could grow ever longer.  Many of these experiences are usually described with one word:  Bliss and rightly so; whether it is feeling the ripple of long, lean muscles or the all encompassing awareness of meditation or the intimate connection of all things in samadhi; bliss describes them all very well.  Bliss, however, can prove to be a danger.  It is easy to start focusing on creating the next nirvana moment when bliss, in whatever form, takes over and the mind steps out.  Such a focus will soon turn into an attachment, a craving for such experiences and it is then that you no longer have bliss but that bliss has you.

How to avoid becoming a bliss addict?  Let yourself go, completely, while you are in the moment and then let the moment go, completely, when you are out of the moment.  This is true of any thing.  When you eat a strawberry, delight in every taste but once you finish it, don't start wishing that everything you eat were a strawberry.

Jai Bhagwan!

This blog/journal contains my thoughts and views on Yoga both on and off the mat.  My daily sadhana journal is located at Everyday Yoga.

Me, You and the Guru

I have been asked on a number of occasions if I am a Yogi or a Guru.  In the past I have vehemently put down such notions.  Looking back, I see that was a bit harsh of me.  Here's the crux of the matter:  Those who practice Yoga are yogis—yogin, male or yogini, female—but I would never name myself a Yogi.^*  Guru means one who leads another from darkness to light, a teacher.  There are those who name themselves as Guru but a true Guru is so named by others.

Having said that, am I a Yogi or a Guru?  If you say so but if you say so, then it is your problem and not mine.

Jai Bhagwan!

^*When I actually had this conversation a couple of days ago, I realized that I had named myself a Yogi to a degree by using yogi@yogaatom.net.  That address now forwards to tyran@yogaatom.net, please update your address books if you have me listed.

This blog/journal contains my thoughts and views on Yoga both on and off the mat.  My daily sadhana journal is located at Everyday Yoga.

Yoga:  Path of Perfection

Gurudev says, “Let go of the need to be perfect.”  He also says, “The path toward lasting happiness in life doesn't involve accomplishing many things, accumulating more money, gaining more recognition, acquiring more power and feeling more security.  It involves accepting yourself as you are.  Self-acceptance is the foundation of all achievements.  Having many accomplishments and achievements without developing self-acceptance is like erecting a building without a foundation.”  Why then would I contradict my guru and say that Yoga is the Path of Perfection?  Isn't striving for perfection the absolute opposite of self-acceptance?

Most frequently, perfection is viewed as a goal to reach, a destination.  That is a flawed view of perfection.  If perfection means that there is nothing more to learn, nothing more to improve, then I would prefer to have none of it as that is boredom and tedium.  Think about the sky for a moment.  Is it ever not the sky?  Of course it is never not the sky; the sky is unchanging, it is always the sky.  Is the sky perfect?  Have you ever seen an imperfect sky?  Can you even conceive of an imperfect sky?  The sky is unchanging and the sky is perfect; yet, the sky is constantly changing.  One moment it is clear, the next a bird flies by, the next a cloud appears, the next it is night and full of stars, the next it is day and full of clouds, the next it is sunset and purple, the next it is dawn and golden.  The sky is always the sky, always perfect and always changing.  Put another way, the sky is always the very best sky it can be under the given circumstances.  This is perfection:  Being the very best one can be under the given circumstances.

Being perfect, being the best one can be under the given circumstances, actually requires self-acceptance.  I have to accept that as I topple in vrksasana it is exactly as it should be, perfect and wonderful.  Why?  How?  Simply because everything I have ever done in life has prepared me to do that posture exactly the way I did it.  Trees do not stand still, unmovable.  Trees sway when the wind blows and, eventually, all trees fall to the ground.  How then is my swaying, falling tree pose any different from a majestic oak?  The next time I am in vrksasana, I will build upon this experience and the pose will change and yet, it will still be exactly as it should be, perfect and wonderful.

Perfection is not a destination to reach but a path to be traveled.

Jai Bhagwan!

This blog/journal contains my thoughts and views on Yoga both on and off the mat.  My daily sadhana journal is located at Everyday Yoga.

Mostly Meatless

There are a number of topics in the realm of Yoga which can cause controversy of one degree or another.  One of the strongest is vegetarianism.  As I attended Level I teacher training last year, one of the senior instructors talked about stillness and how one person might find a certain stillness in watching a horror film while another might find the same film entirely dis-integrating.  He went on to say the same thing in relation to a steak dinner.  Afterward, I heard a fellow student remark with some vehemence that this teacher should not have used the steak example.  “Aren't we all supposed to be vegetarians around here?”  It was clear that this individual felt scandalized by the steak example.

One can easily find other such examples through a simple search:

Although you do not need to be a vegetarian to practice Yoga, a Yoga teacher must conform to different standards. Someone who is taking responsibility for teaching others how to use Yoga meditation techniques must have the steadiness and nonviolent attitude that can only be attained through a vegetarian diet.

American Yoga Association, How to Choose a Qualified Teacher

One of my jobs for this publication is to interview yoga instructors (very respectable people in my humble opinion). I’ve been shocked to find that about half of those interviewed are not strict vegetarians.

While I am not judging them, I am curious as to how carnivorous yoga teachers justify breaking the number one rule in this ancient tradition.

Elephant Journal, Non-vegetarian Yoga Instructors? by Ryan Nadlonek

There are many beliefs and myths about what one should do to become a Yoga teacher. Some Yoga teacher organizations do make official statements in regard to Yoga teacher ethics; and diet is included, sometimes

However, if you teach Yoga, should you be a vegan? Are dairy foods and eggs okay? What about goats, chicken, or fish? Yes, some Yoga teachers do eat goat, but not beef. Some people still claim that fish feel no pain, but I never heard that from a Yogi. Are you confused? What is right and what is wrong?

Editorial at Streetdirectory.com, Teaching Hatha Yoga: Should a Yoga Teacher be a Vegetarian? by JACKIE

The one writing on this matter that I find most interesting is below:

For many, ahimsa means doing no harm of any kind under any circumstances and as such many yogis are vegetarian or vegan.  This is understandable from a certain point of view, especially if one believes in reincarnation.  Is doing harm acceptable under certain circumstances?  Normally cutting a person's arm off would be prohibited by ahimsa but what if cutting the arm off is the only way to save that person's life?  It is important to remember that not all circumstances are equal.  My own belief does not encompass reincarnation and is that God has placed all life, animals and plants, under the stewardship of man and that all life has been placed here for our use, including using meat for food.  That stewardship requires that I use these things wisely and with gratitude.  I am grateful for each life, plant or animal, which makes my life possible whether it be the trees which were felled to build my home or the vegetables and fish which will make my meal tonight.

Everyday Yoga, Ahimsa by Tyran Ormond

It may seem somewhat self-serving for me to write that I find my own statement on Ahimsa and its application to vegetarianism to be the most interesting.  Be that as it may, here is the reason I find it intriguing:  “Is doing harm acceptable under certain circumstances?  Normally cutting a person's arm off would be prohibited by ahimsa but what if cutting the arm off is the only way to save that person's life?  It is important to remember that not all circumstances are equal.”  When I originally wrote that article back in 2005, I was firmly rooted in a meat eating lifestyle and had no intention of ever changing that lifestyle.  I still embody the reasoning behind that decision:  All life should be treated with respect and gratitude.

I went to the Amrit Yoga Institute twice last year for formal teacher certification.  Imagine my surprise on returning the first time when I discovered that eating a hamburger left me feeling unwell for three days.  My body adjusted and soon meat was back on my menu but in small portions.  After returning the second time, that feeling of unwellness intensified and so it was that I silently started swearing off meat.  Please note, however, that I did not simply write off all meat as being unfit for maintaining my own stillness.  I took this litterally one bite at a time:  Beef, no.  Chicken, no.  What about chicken stock?  Stock also became a no.

What have I discovered as I mindfully try this or that meat and listen for my body's experience with it?  Meat on the hoof—beef, pork, venison and the likes—along with fowl simply do not agree with my body any longer.    Eggs, fish and shellfish, however, still agree with me.  I now enjoy the occasional bowl of clam chowder, plate of fish or boiled egg and I leave the other meats for others to eat.  Who knows, perhaps I will discover one day that eggs or fish or shellfish also begin to create disquiet in my body as I eat.

So, what should you do?  My dear reader, I cannot tell you that you must or must not choose a vegetarian or semi-vegetarian or vegan or omniverous diet.  What I can tell you, however, is that you must listen to your body as it will not lie to you.  If, as you listen, you discover that you are eating something that you “shouldn't” because it creates disquiet in the body, then stop eating it.  What is the key to this?  Be mindful, be fully aware of what you experience and do not simply eat mindlessly.

Jai Bhagwan!

This blog/journal contains my thoughts and views on Yoga both on and off the mat.  My daily sadhana journal is located at Everyday Yoga.