Yogafly2

mining for gold

A few weeks ago, I went hOMe.  Home to Ananda Ashram - which is home on a very clear spiritual-physical dimension.  But I also get this big teaching - that the proof of Ananda Ashram and our Guruji's grace is that everywhere IS home.  Which is really an interesting "concept" - until (like) last night - somehow this super wonderful understanding descended beyond the "idea" of it:  Everywhere is home.  

Now this doesn't mean I don't like my own bat cave, lion's den...I do love to renovate a space into my own creative nook in the world.  But there is now this understanding, which is just nice, that everywhere is home.  For instance, lately, I seem to want be in bodies of water, swimming, and it just feels like the water is embracing me and saying, "hi love, you're home."  And then I step out of the water and there's home in the grass and in the blue sky.  now if only i can feel this in the corporate environment...oh wait, well, i've been in corporate environs for so long, so perhaps....ah - drat.  There's nothing like a corporate environment to make me want to RUN.  Which is why when people ask how I am at work, I sometimes say, "I am having a deeply spiritual experience."  Which basically means, here I am in corporate america and this seat is my meditation cushion and although I want to RUN out of the room, I am sitting here plunking away at keys on a computer keyboard.  And yes, sometimes, rapture descends there.  Oh that is such a lie.  But hey...

The thing that isn't a lie - is that at times - yes, at the desk, at work - I do get this thing called Santosha - in Sanskrit - contentment.  And I like that this particular contentment I am speaking of doesn't come with the Producer/Project Manager's  (my job function, which is some sort of karmic thing) constant desire to get things DONE.  Of Done factors and finished projects.  But over and over again, my lesson is that it's WAY more of a divine miracle if something gets Done , on time, on budget than otherwise.  Like my own creative projects.  Man Alive.  Patience.  Patience.  Patience.  Is key.  

Really I wanted to blog about the fact that every single trip I take to Ananda Ashram results in some sort of ridiculous HUGE transformation.  This recent transformation has felt volcanic.  But not in that crazy spurting molten lava everywhere kind of way.  It more feels like the insides are melting.  The igneous rocks inside are being melted.  And I have been feeling good.  and then not so good.  and then GOOD.  and then not so good.  And then GREAT.  And then totally crazy.  And then this thing takes over - and it stays - which I can only call, love.

I want to be able to write that this spiritual practice is so damn rewarding - but it should come with all that fine print legal copy that we spend a lot of time spinning our tails around in corporate america.  You know all that legal copy that tells you that we promise you nothing, but try this product or service, it might do something for ya.  Ramakrishna did say, "Do not seek illumination unless you seek it like a man whose hair is on fire seeks a pond."  But man, I didn't realize that going on this path with consciousness meant that I would light my own hair on fire by sitting close to my Guru's teachings and spend so much time finding ponds to cool myself off in when all the transformation takes over.

So I don't know why I willingly, with such innocence, run to Ananda Ashram.  It is such an amazing spiritual mecca, but I always, always, always know that during and after each visit that SHIT will hit the fan.  But always after the mining,  I get gold.  I was explaining this to one of my spiritual teachers the other day, that there's all this CHANGE and transformation going on - and it's all a bit uncomfortable - but I FEEL GOOD.  Strangely, I feel good.  Weird.  Awesome.  Why is this weird?  And awesome?  Because this kind of molten lava experience never felt good before.  And somehow right now it does.  

Om AIM HRIM SHRIM LAKSHMIYAI NAMAHA

OM DUUM DURGAYE SVAHA

OM MA MA MA MA MA MA JAI MA

Again and again.  Repeat.  Ad infinitum.

 

 

 

Yoga and the Vrittis

I see each Yoga sutra as this condensation of multiple layers of wisdom strung together in a few Sanskrit words.  The first two sutras of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are incredibly potent.  Forgive my effort in blog-form to transliterate Sanskrit/Devanagari into English sounds in the following:

1) Atha Yoga Anushasanam  - Now Yoga Begins/Now the Discipline of Yoga is taught

2) Yogah Citta Vritti Nirodhah - Yoga is the intentional cessation of the fluctuations of the mind-stuff - for the time-being

We translate Vrittis as "fluctuations of the mind-stuff" or "movements of the mind"-  and Patanjali explains - that the Vrittis are:

1) Pramana - right knowledge

2) Viparyaya - wrong knowledge

3) Vikalpa - imagination or utopic thinking

4) Nidra - sleep and dream

5) Smriti - memory

When one defines Yoga as the intentional cessation of the fluctuations of all of the above - then perhaps, many of us who practice Yoga - new to the path - or even practicing for so many years - wonder - hmmm, have I actually achieved any Yoga?  We are rescued a bit by the sweet translator who says that the cessation of the fluctuations happens - "for the time-being."  Guruji - Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati, Ramamurti S. Mishra, M.D.'s translation explains Ch. 1, Sutra 2 as:  "Yoga or union is the cessation of  the movements of the thinking mind for the time being in order to feel 'Who am I?".

I love that in our lineage at Ananda Ashram, the emphasis is on the Sanskrit - chant the Sutras directly.  Meaning and Sound are One.  Translations are necessary but secondary.  

When we look at all the current hullabaloo in the news about Yoga, it's interesting to note that so much of the news are fabulous Vrittis that writers in the media want readers to Hook into.  The photo above shows how beautiful a drop of water looks when plopping into a still body of water.  It's interesting to note how many of us in the world have bought into our Vrittis (I include myself in this, I'm working on it, working on it, just like many of you) with such grand attachment that we don't really know Who we are.  "Be still and know I-am."  Popular, conventional media, television, newspapers, and yes blogs, heavily rely on hooking you and your Vrittis.   

What's it like to put out a body of work that stills the readers' minds while you read/chant/and work with them?  Versus putting out bodies of work that get you all riled up, all bull in pulpit, all rah rah rah sis boom bah!  It's why the Sanskrit scriptures to me are so appealing.  I chant the scriptures and they work on me at the same time.  Meaning and Sound are One.  

To say that Pramana - right knowledge - and Viparyaya - wrong knowledge are both Vrittis has enormous significance.  This reminds me of Rumi's sentiment - "Out beyond the ideas of wrong-doing and right-doing, there is a Field.  I'll meet you there.  And as our Souls lie in this grass, even the words 'each other' seem strange."  I probably got this from Coleman Barks.  Forgive me, I have one of those sponge like Vata brains that absorb so much on a sound/word level, but sometimes I don't remember the exact source.  Coleman Barks is a safe bet for English translations of Rumi's words.

Feel this, how many times do we get Hooked into a cycle or Drama with our ideas of Right and Wrong?  I can totally feel it now, with all of these years of practice, when I staunchly want to defend a Right way of doing things or Right way of thinking.  And then I go into meditation and see a much bigger picture of things.  In meditation, you see that everything balances out.  It's not to say that there aren't sutras in Yoga - that talk about actions that bring on more goodness in your being.  But at the same time, the Sutras are not saying, yo! if you don't follow the Yamas (non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, abiding in God/chastity, non-attachment) and Niyamas (cleanliness, contentment, self-discipline, self-study, surrender to God) - then you will burn in Hellfire and brimstone.

The Sutras simply say, hey, you have these 5 Vrittis - and you can endlessly hold on to them and be stuck going up and down and up and down with them, or you can look at them all from the Bigger perspective of Consciousness = Citta.  Chitta:  that Consciousness in you that does not need the Mind.

The Sutras also give you definitions of what happens when you see the Vrittis for what they are.

So we get to the 3rd Vritti - Imagination or Utopic Thinking.

I have a grand imagination.  I love to make the most mundane thing in my head interesting by imagining stuff all over it.  But I am able to see much of my imagination as Imagination - through years of meditation practice.  When I was younger (okay, well maybe even so much as just last year) - it was much more difficult for me to discern between my imagination and the Real.  Whew.  What is Real?  Now that's a big subject.  Another blog post.  But on the very fundamental level - we need imagination - it's a fantastic gift - but if it is not put in its proper place - then all sorts of disorders can happen.  This is where the meditation practices of Yoga can be so powerful.   I have done Open-Eye meditation where I see images and occurrences that happen in Dream-time, play out in my mind.  Yet I know that I am sitting in meditation in a room filled with other people meditating.  How is it that I can both be simultaneously dreaming, with my eyes open and sitting in a meditation room?  This is glorious stuff.

The 4th Vritti is Nidra - Sleep and Dream.  The state of dreamless, deep sleep - now this is not Nidra.  This is when the brainwaves are at their most Nirodahaed.  I like to translate Nirodaha as "smoothing out" - kinda like what a massage therapist does to a knot of muscles and nerves.   How often are we really awake?  When Buddha was asked whether he was a man or a god - he explained that he was: "Neither.  I am Awake."  It doesn't mean that we don't sleep.  I love my sleep.  But it does mean that we are conscious even when we are sleeping.  I literally switch my dreams around when I'm sleeping if I don't like em now.  

I'm still working on not being attached to dreams period and ellipses...

The 5th Vritti is Smriti - Memory.  We all know that our memories are relative only to the individual.  For instance, a group of ten of us could all have witnessed something happen 5 years ago, but each of the ten individuals - though describing the scene in general, in the same way - will have a different perspective.  So we say that Memory is a Vritti.  It's a fluctuation.  Its ability to keep you from the Present Moment, from Now is powerful.  Yoga is the ability not to be a slave to your memories.  Yoga helps you forgive your past, present and your future.

And all of the above are in The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.  You can use these Sutras to help inform your Hatha Yoga practice.  Yes you can.  This is what Zoe and I are teaching in the Yoga Illumined Teacher Training, and then some.  

Much love!

The Six Schools of Indian Philosophy

I kinda like to title a blog post with the word "Six" and have a picture of Guruji - Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati, Ramamurti S. Mishra holding up his hand - as if to denote "Five".  This first Weekend of Yoga Illumined, we went over the Six Schools of Indian Philosophy.   I've added a picture of Guruji - because on so many levels, his books, CDs, writings, teachings come from all six schools of Philosophy --- a large amount of his teachings come from two of the schools - Yoga and Vedanta, and he also refers to Sankhya a lot --- and the other schools of philosophy are also all incredibly helpful.  The School of Doubt - Nyaya - for instance is important, you can't believe everything you hear - you must test it and see if it's true.  Scratch the surface, see what's underneath type thing.

So I met Swami J at Ananda Ashram a few years ago.  And I love how he breaks down the Six Schools of Indian Philosophy on his Web site:  http://swamij.com/six-schools-indian-philosophy.htm

1) Yoga - as described in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

2) Sankhya - describes how Consciousness and Energy brought everything into being

3) Vedanta - with the Mahavakyas and the Upanishads

4) Vaisheshika - physical sciences

5) Nyaya - reasoning and doubt

6) Mimasa - foundation for the laws of Karma

It's intriguing to look at these schools from a purely philosophical standpoint - and quite another to put them all to the test.  And on so many levels when you've got a teacher like Guruji, he's constantly asking you (me) the aspirant to put all these schools to the test and see how Yoga (Union) manifests in you at every given moment.

On so many levels, I realize that having been raised in Western academic institutions, one of my favorite ways to figure out whether or not something is good or real is through Doubt - skepticism.  It's been so important for me to have this - then I don't believe anything at face-value.  I test stuff.  Which is a whole heck of a lot of fun.  

I love this as an approach to all of the above philosophies - this Test and Learn type of thing.  We learn Yoga first through mimicking our teachers - strike a pose.  See what happens.  Simon - the yoga teacher - says breathe - and you breathe.  Simon - the yoga teacher says - relax and you relax.  And eventually, you strike poses, breathe and relax without Simon, the yoga teacher.  

And then suddenly you become Simon, the yoga teacher.  But it's not that simple, yes?  A teacher's role is to transmit energy into a student so that eventually each student can be his or her own greatest teacher.  To me, this is the essence of teaching folks how to be Yoga teachers.  The essence of teaching Yoga is to help people wash away any debris that keeps them from knowing and loving themselves.  The Yoga teacher tests his or her own ability to teach by how much one knows and has tested the material on him or herself.  I can say that yeah - some lovely magic happens every single time I consciously put myself on the yoga mat or sit in meditation.  And at other times (yes - aside from every single time), it all seems totally pointless.  And then the magic seeps in and voila!  Yoga Yoga Yoga everywhere.  Chidananda Rupam Shivo'Ham Shivo'Ham.  Bliss-consciousness-embodied.  I-AM Shiva.  I-AM Shiva. (Okay, the English translation holds not a candle to what the Sanskrit is actually embodying, but we try, try, try with the English language.  Everyone, learn Sanskrit NOW).

As Zoe Mantarakis explained this past weekend in class, the need is there for the Teacher, for the reminders of who we are because we are in the Leela (leeeeela, the play of consciousness) and in this play we remember and we forget.  We remember that we are Complete and Ananda Itself and then we forget.  So we have these reminders through our teachers of Yoga, through our practices of Yoga, through our studies of the Six schools of Indian philosophy.   And we Inhale and Exhale.  

Hare Om.

Yoga Illumined is NOW a 200-Hr. Registered Yoga School with Yoga Alliance

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am pleased to announce that Yoga Illumined is now a 200 Hour Registered Yoga School with the Yoga Alliance.  What does this mean?  It means that those who graduate and have graduated from this program that I am now co-teaching with Zoe Mantarakis will be able to get their 200 Hour Registrations with the Yoga Alliance - www.yogaalliance.org.  Yoga Illumined 2011 graduates can now Register.  Woohoo!

It's interesting to note that just a few years ago, I wasn't sure it was necessary to be Yoga Allianced as a school.  Let me explain.  I know Yogis who have been teaching and practicing Yoga for lifetimes who have no certificates, no diplomas, no calling cards, no business cards - who hands down are what I would give the name Yogi to with a capital Y.  What is a Yogi?  A yogi is someone who is at ONE - completely at ONE with the Source of All that IS.  The rest of us are simply working on it.  Including yours truly.  

So I know Yogis who have never struck a pose, done any Pranayamas, chanted in Sanskrit nor meditated.  Yes I do.  These are people whose Hearts are so Wide open, the sun has no light in comparison.  The rest of us are simply working on this - and today's Yogis - the ones, like me that need to be known as a Yogi - are basically plastering a sign on ourselves that says "Hey, I'm not enlightened, but I'm working on it.  I'm working on it."  And the ones who teach Yoga and tell others about it have this sign on:  "Hey, I'm not enlightened, I'm working on it - won't you work on this thing called enlightenment with me too?"

And now I realize that Yoga Alliance is necessary in the West.  In the United States, we value diplomas and accreditations.  Yoga Alliance is a simple way to acknowledge one's self as a Teacher of Yoga.  It's a forum to show that one has done quite a bit of work as a Teacher of Yoga and that one stands by some basic guidelines and ethics when working with the public.   

What we teach in Yoga classes are techniques, techniques to help you and me become Yogis.  Got that?  Doing an asana does not immediately mean you are Yogi - on one level, yes you are a Yogi - on another level - you just found yourself in a class upside down with a lot of people gazing at their navels or between their legs and breathing heavily.  

What we teach in Yoga Illumined are techniques - and I have so many Yoga techniques up my sleeve, it ain't even funny.  And in Yoga Illumined we have 80 publicized classroom hours on the flyer that we post and over 160 Hours of private time with me and Zoe in-between, plus observations in our public classes and then some.  So on so many levels, what we offer in Yoga Illumined is well beyond 200 Hours, if you decide, and if you do as I suggest - then what you will be practicing with Yoga Illumined is Yoga every single milli-second of the day.

And it's a Practice.

Yes, indeed it's a Practice.  Because we are not born knowing we are One with the Source of All that Is.  Even Ramana Maharshi experienced Nirvikalpa Samadhi only when he was 16 years old, not when he was born, not when he popped out of his mama, but 16 years later.  We need the techniques and the practices of Yoga to remind us of who we are.  Otherwise, we get caught up in the petty things. 

With Yoga Illumined, we teach you how to incorporate the practices in your everyday relationships, in corporate America, with your children, with your pets, with your friends, with your family and with your Self.  We teach that the Practice of Yoga is more important than the Teaching of Yoga.  That without the constant and daily practice of Yoga, then there is nothing to teach.  I can only teach the way I have learned.  And I'm a stubborn learner.  I can regurgitate easily, I can puppet easily, but this is not learning.  Learning is in itself a shift into another level of consciousness that wipes out former levels of consciousness.  Until I absolutely understood what my Pineal gland did, it was just an abstract thing on paper that I learned about in my studies in Biology.

I don't want folks to know they have a Pineal gland that relates to their 6th chakra.  I want folks to feel their Pineal gland working and how their 6th chakra relates to the way they think, process and go about their days.  It's a completely different way of learning.  And it's challenging.  Because I rely a lot on the student to do the practices of Yoga with me and on their own.  Without the practices of Yoga at every second - yes - even when I'm working at my corporate job, I'm practicing Yoga. I'm not necessarily striking a Chaturanga Dandasana at my desk or doing drop-backs (sometimes I do this) -  but I do watch my breath, I watch my reactions, the moments when I am impatient, the moments when I talk too much or when I don't talk enough.  I watch the Yogini working out her kinks with others as she relates with them - and I work with my Self.  If I need to calm down, I might go take a walk.  If I need to chant but I'm in my office with a lot of people around me, I chant silently in my Heart until I get to my car or go Home.  This is my Yoga.  

So during the day, I work at a brokerage company.  This yogini loves this brokerage company.  It's the best.  I mean it, it's got some of the sweetest, kindest people you'll ever meet, conscious and smart, working there. You know the moment I knew I would get a job at brokerage firm?  It was when I listened to Guruji (Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati, Ramamurti S. Mishra, M.D.) on CD talk about the stock market.  He related the stock market to the mind and meditation.  He said the mind should stay even - at peace - even when the market went down and up, up and down.  He compared it to life - the stock market.  It goes up and it goes down.  Up and down.  But the Yogi remains centered, calm, at ease with all that is.

I'm still working on this.  

I invite you to join me in any of my public classes I teach around Austin to work on this enlightenment thing together.  There's also 4 more days until this year's Yoga Illumined starts on Saturday, February 25.  It's your last chance to join us this year.  E-mail me at yogafly@yahoo.com or call me at 917-446-0936 to register.

If you can't make it this year, of course, there's always next year, God and Guruji willing...

Om Namah Shivaya !!!  Om Namah Shivaya !!!  (I'll write more about this mantra later - but it's 10,000-30,000x more powerful to chant this today - on Maha-Shivaratri).  Don't believe me when I say this.  Try it your Self.  Om Namah Shivaya!

 

Yogafly Retreat with Sumukhi and Vicharini at Ananda Ashram - April 20-22, 2012

Please join me and Vicharini at Ananda Ashram (www.anandaashram.org) in Monroe, New York for a weekend Yoga retreat.  Here is the schedule for the weekend:

Friday, April 20

Arrive - 3-5:30 pm, check-in, get settled
Dinner - 5:30 - 6:30 pm
Welcome event - 7:00-8:30 pm - Blue Sky Center

Saturday, April 21

Hatha Yoga with Sumukhi and Vicharini - 7-8 am, Blue Sky Center

Breakfast - 8-9 am

Ashram Program - Fire Ceremony/Meditation - 9-9:45 am 

Ashram Program - 9:45 am Yoga-Vedanta/Chanting

Ashram Program - 11 am - Open Sanskrit Class

Lunch - 12:30-1:30

Yoga with Sumukhi and Vicharini - 2:30-4:30 - Blue Sky Center

Dinner - 5-6 pm

Evening Ashram Program with Readings from the Masters by Joan Suval - 7 pm

Sunday, April 22

Yoga with Sumukhi and Vicharini - 7-8 am, Blue Sky Center 

Breakfast - 8-9 am

Ashram Program - Fire Ceremony/Meditation - 9-9:45 am 

Yoga with Sumukhi and Vicharini 11 am-12:30, Blue Sky Center

Lunch - 12:30-1:30 

 

Retreat Prices - includes lodging, meals and all yoga programs listed above, does not include your travel to the Ashram expenses - 

$300 - Semi-private - share with one other person

$250 - Dorm - share with up to 5 Females or Males

$150 - Camping - bring tent and own camping gear

Please bring your own soap and shampoo 

All methods of payment accepted.  This is an Ashram rental, therefore please make all checks payable to Kristina Lanuza.

Some Ashram ground rules:

1) Don't feed the bears (smile)

2) Ananda Ashram is vegetarian, leave your meat at home.

3) Ananda Ashram is a place for meditation.  Try to keep talking to a minimum for the retreat time.

4) Ananda Ashram has some hotspots - but a retreat is time for you to leave your cell phones, laptops mostly unplugged.  Use electronics sparingly, and you'll get more out of your retreat experience.

5) Ashram is shared space with many, many other Yogis/Yoginis from all over the world and NYC, try to maintain your areas as cleanly as possible.  

6)  Please don't stretch your legs towards the teacher who is leading in front of the room, unless we ask you to do this.  Why is this?  When you sit with legs crossed, you are maintaining your energy within your boundaries.  Boundaries are important at spiritual centers - lots of Spirits galore.

If you would like to join or would like more information, please e-mail me at yogafly@yahoo.com or call me at 917-446-0936.  For those flying in from Austin, I will have a rental car and can pick people up at any of the major airports in New York on Friday with an expected arrival time at the ashram by 3 pm to greet folks.  Please make sure to coordinate this with me.  

If you are flying into New York for the retreat, the closest airport is Stewart International Airport - it's one exit away from Harriman/Monroe.  But I get the best flight deals into any of the major NYC airports - Newark, LaGuardia and JFK.  I like to go to kayak.com for the best flight deals.

Looking forward to seeing everyone in New York!

Om Namah Shivaya,

Sumukhi

www.yogafly.com