Yogafly2

YOGALife 1 Training at Love Yoga Co-op - January 2010 - March 2010

Lauran Janes and I are finalizing our curriculum for our YOGALife Training (series of weekend workshops) -  1st 100 hours - at Love Yoga Co-op in Austin, Texas from January 2010 through March 2010.  For those interested in earning a 200-hour yoga certification, you will take YOGALife 1, a trainining intensive in the Summer of 2010 and then the next 100 hours of YOGALife from September to November 2010.

For those who just wish to deepen their practice of YOGA (Most of those signed up are in this category) - you have a couple of options including taking the entire 3 months training for $1500 or taking one weekend workshop at a time at $185 each weekend.

A full course curriculum will be announced shortly.  Here's a sneak peek at some YOGALife weekends:

1) Self Expression Through Sound -

Wake up your pipes and channel the Force in your heart!  Vibrations inside deepen our relationship to Source.  Create an outlet through Sound to Express your Self.

2) Anatomy of the Mind-Body-Spirit -

Anatomy from a purely physical perspective is just one aspect of who YOU are according to Yoga.   Let’s review our human form from the 3 levels of Mind-Body- Spirit and then a 4^th level – Energetic, thereby expanding the definition of Anatomy beyond Physiology and Biology. 

3) Prana - The Yogic Power of Breath -

Expand your lung capacity and your experience of life through breath and movement.  

4) The Extraordinary in the Ordinary - Yogic Scriptures Unscripted

An in-depth look at Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita as they bring light and meaning into life’s challenges. 

5) Contact Yoga - The Art of Hands-on Assists 

Learn the fundamentals of steadfast support to help each other experience the fullest effects of Yoga asanas.

6) Eat, Drink, Yoga - 

Explore the balance of Sustenance and Indulgence with YOGA in your everyday eating and drinking LIFE.

Prayers from my dad

"Jesus, Mercy.  Mary Help me."

- my dad asked that I repeat whenever I felt worry and it became a song in my heart

and this one:

Lead, Kindly Light

Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom,

Lead thou me on;

The night is dark and I am far from home;

Keep thou my feet.  I do not ask to see

The distant scene; one step enough for me.

I was not ever thus, nor prayed that thou

shouldst lead me on;

I loved to choose and see my path; but 

now Lead me on;

I loved the garrish day, and spite of fears,

Pride ruled my will:  remember not past years.

So long thy power hath blest me, sure it still

will lead me on,

O'er moon and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till

The night is gone; and with morn those angels faces smile

which I have loved long since,

and lost awhile.

- John Henry Cardinal Newman

Om to Guruji and Joan Suval

Satsang yesterday with Joan and Guruji - intense. The heart center, city of Brahman, has been undergoing physical and spiritual tremors. The kind where I'm not sure if it's because I have not done enough cardio lately but then my left arm will suddenly shoot up during meditation. And I realize the tremor in the heart is the origin. It's not common that people with heart disease have manifestations like this kriya.

In satsang yesterday, Joan, in full Guruji mode - what a fabulous combo of forces - asked me directly what my question is. And explained to the group that I have been with Guruji many lifetimes. And she asked me why is it that I have that mistrust, that knot (granthi Vishnu) in the heart? And I said, I wish I knew! And Joan explained that the answer was in the question.

And Dorothy - sitting next to Joan - said "look, she's thinking hard, Joan," about my face as it looked up at them. And I was thinking that I didn't have a question, not really. I just had this feeling in my chest, in my heart - palpable, big, tremors, vibrations. And Joan said so what is it about trust? And spoke to the group as I sat there and felt that I was going to cry. But that wasn't the question nor the answer either.

"Do not seek illumination unless you seek it like a man whose hair is on fire seeks a pond." - Ramakrishna. These words I read in "Franny & Zooey" in 6th grade/7th grade when I realized that this "illumination" thing was what I wanted in this life. But what the heck is it??????

And all of a sudden, I got it! And I said just that, "I got it!" And I began to explain that even though I have always DONE everything through intuition, not through intelligence, really. I am very average in terms of intelligence, but I can intuit the right answer in any given moment - even when it pisses everyone off. That even though I shot from the hip. That I did not trust this intuition, the feelings inside, the guidance inside - UNTIL I had my thinking mind analyze it. And when my thinking mind gets in the way - BAM the heart chakra gets all knotted up - knots upon knots upon knots as Joan says.

And just this REALIZATION - AHA!!!!!!

is going to switch the whole paradigm of this existence. woah. I mean seriously, it's TREMENDOUS. For something tremendous has happened...

now I have to go do the laundry. and empty my car out. and get it ready for the mechanic - whom Guruji guided me too. I mean, seriously yesterday, Guruji came to me 1) wondering why I was driving the wrong direction and ended up at the right Gulf station in Monroe where Armando will make sure my car is in good shape to drive across the country and 2) in the form of the Red Hot Chili Peppers when I was thinking about my STUFF -- I turn on the radio and I get, "GIVE it away, give it away, give it away now. Give it away, give it away, give it away now..." So there was no qualms about donating everything to the Ashram - have fun with the stuff. Donating to St. Something church down the street. Giving stuff away in NYC. the only things I'm keeping are books and clothes. amazing how stuff comes any way.

And the stories from Dave Washburn of Guruji's maha siddhis. And this quote from Neem Karoli Baba when asked about Sai Baba's siddhis - including manifestation of vibbhuti:
"He has reduced God to the miraculous."

phenomenal explanation. Phenomenal explanation. the mundane is also the sacred. the sacred is also the mundane. Now let me remember this as I clean out my car now...

OM NAMAH Shivaya.

And Krishnamurti's Coca-cola, coca-cola, coca-cola mantra buzzing with fizzy pop. pop. pop. pop. we don't stop.

light up the world

tripping the fountain lights fantastic this weekend at columbus circle. I fall in love with this city over and over again. Shanti - visiting from California - and I had some amazing satsangs, transforming energy and past karma by talking through all of the mysteries of attachment and non-attachment. Grace are good friends who stop and drop in with you into those spaces inside and TRANSFORM the moment. funny because we were fine trying and not quite making it to the BOB (brooklyn outdoor bbq put together by brandi w. and hubby) and then to vicki christina barcelona (packed theater thwarted our desire to see the movie). but then satsang between she and I ensued until 3 in the morning. and the next day, nappingn then running in central park, and Andree from Ananda Ashram came over. I taught yoga and then satsang with Adhyshanti on dvd. I mean, can a yogini be more blessed? It seems so, because all sorts of divine delights are landing at my doorstep, showering me with fountains and fountains of light.

How Dr. Phil is like the Yoga Sutras

I've been immersed deep in all sorts of fabulous projects - including opening Mudita Yoga Center! yippeee. Ayurveda, promoting music...and catching up with all my wonderful buddies in the city of New York.

Anyhow, I'm teaching yoga tonight at Equinox and tomorrow morning as well - 7:30 tonight at 50th and Broadway and 7 am tomorrow in Soho Equi. Sexy Equinox.

I've been meaning to blog - but life - takes one away from the computer quite often. My friend Ramona Barnes gave me a Dr. Phil book - and I have to admit that a lot of his quotes are straight from the Yoga Sutras. Truth is universal.

More later - I'll give you the Dr. Phil quote and the Yoga Sutra for comparison. Makes my heart laugh with JOY, Muditah!

Quote from Dr. Phil:
"If you know who you are, if you are secure in who you are and, most important, if you accept who you are, then it will take a lot to knock you off your balance."

And who are we?

Well Dr. Phil goes on about what people do in their heads/minds when they are insecure - they self-sabotage and wonder why everyone else is so happy and they are not. The sutras explain in great detail - all the obstacles that distract the mind.

And then the remedy - "Know who you are."

Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, Chapter 1, Verses 30 and 31
Translated by Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati, Ananda Ashram

30. Vyadhi styana sansaya pramadalasyavirati
bhranti darsanalabdha bhumikatvanava sthitatvani citta
viksepas te'ntarayah.

"The obstacles which distract the mind are: vyadhi - physical and mental disease, styana - indolence and absolute confusion about what to do and what not to do, sansaya - doubt and skepticism, pramada - carelessness, lack of interest, alasy - lethargy and laziness, avirati - awakening of worldly-mindedness, sensuality, bhranti-darsana - delusion, erroneous perception, hallucinatory experience, alabdha-bhumikatva - fall from the desired state, and anavasthitatva - instability or inability to remain permanently in that state."

31. Tat pratisedhartam eka tattvabhyasah

"To overcome these obstacles, meditate on the chief principle; that is to say, hold on to 'I-AM.'"

And Dr. Phil says, "to combat the sweaty-palms syndrome, successful entrepreneurs tell themselves...: 'Whatever happens, it's not going to change my life.'...To tell yourself this and really believe it, you have to take a step back and realize that the things you really enjoy, the things that give you the most pleasure and make life worth living, are all things you already have. A walk in the park with your dog. Some quality time with your friends. An hour in the sun - just you and your iPod. No one can give these things to you or take them away..."

And Chapter 1 of the Yoga Sutras, verse 39 says:

39. Yathabhimata-dhyanad va.

"Also, meditate on anything that pleases you and brings calmness to the mind. This Sutra indicates occupational therapy."

And Dr. Phil then says, "Confident people are calm without being aloof or arrogant. This sense of peace comes from an awareness of their authentic self, the part of you that can found at your absolute core. It is the part of you that is not defined by your job, your function or your role."

Chapter 2 of the Yoga Sutras, verse 6:

6. Drg darsana saktyor ekatmatevasmita

"Asmita, egoism or personal 'I-amness," is the false identification of the seer, the 'I-am,' with the mental faculty, buddhi, which is the instrument of seeing. Here the two blend together, and the soul or 'I-am' becomes identified with the individual body and thinking mind, even though the body and thinking mind are time- and space-bound, and the pure principle of 'I-am' is beyone time and space. The individual, personal 'I-am' here is called asmita, that is to say, 'I-amness,' which is part of ignorance or avidya."

Know thy self.
The essence of all the great teachings, in these three words - "Know your Self."

love and rockets,
Sumukhi

zen and creativity

"One great Zen master was a carpenter, and whenever he made tables, chairs, somehow they had some ineffable quality in them, a tremendous magnetism. He was asked, ":How do you make them?" He said, "I don't make them. I simply go to the forest...the basic thing is to inquire of the forest, of trees, which tree is ready to become a chair." Now these things look absurd because we don't know, we don't know the language." - Osho from his book "Creativity." I realize that my own impatience is the barrier to creating things with this same "ineffable magnetism." I watch impatience as she storms through all the gates of this body and I calm her down. Intriguingly much of how I calm her down is through the acts of creation - bang this thing out and the other, and then I am calm enough to create something else with ease and love. The key is to relax and not judge. My sister always said, "You cannot be creative and critical at the same time." I incarnated into a good family. Timeless words of wisdom she gave. Artists on this heavenly canvas of earth we are.

Dream Wildly

Every morning, I have been awakening to tremendously wild, active dreams. What I've been noticing is my own manipulation of the dreams. The people, conversations, actions stream through the mind vividly, in technicolor, surround sound reality. And then when I feel helpless at all in the dream, like I'm about to die, get bamboozled, swindled or hurt, I change the direction so that I end up fine. In fact, I wake up from the dream - many of them occur in the morning - sit up and begin to meditate and chant. It's as if my practice is saying, go ahead, dream wildly, we'll help you rein it all in through meditation and yoga. I opened up the book "Talks with Ramana Maharshi," pictured on our bookshelf here at Mudita Yoga Center, and he explains that this transition time between waking and sleeping is key for realizing the illusory nature of the mind. I feel that I can stand outside of my dreams now and direct them, but not completely, because they come from a mysterious source. They come in streams and streams with me as the protagonist taking myriad forms. Wonder of wonders!

Sep 4, 2008

shiva and shakti continued...I'm actually blogging on my blackberry juice, device. I just published that last entry without finishing because I was excited about the technology! I can even upload photos - like this one of my Kamaniya painted hand and foot. Lucky me! Anyways, about tapas, the reason why it's good to exert a liittle more effort once in a while in your yoga practice is because yout "tapas," heat-making, creates even more boons in energy for you. You simply gain more energy - shakti - cosmic energy. This energy helps you spread your wings and fly across the world, across the universe. So sweat a little. Get a little muscle. Breathe a little heavier. It's no wonder that my yoga students who own and run large corporations are also marathon runners. They understand "tapas." It's quite different from "tamas" or dark, dense energy in Sanskrit. In Tagalog, my native language, the word "tamad" means lazy. Can you tell the difference between relaxed and lazy? It varies per person. But it's good to figure this out for your self and the world.

shiva and shakti

the marriage of shiva and shakti. Shiva is in-drawing energy and shakti is out-going energy. Balance the two and you get happiness. Let me tell you what happens, based on my own experience, when I go inward, when I draw deeper into Shiva, I get a lot of Shakti - outpouring, out-going energy. And I don't mean that I want to "go out," necessarily. I just mean that I can feel that there's huge, big beams of energy pouring out of this little body. It's why pushing yourself a little deeper in your practice is called "tapas" - "heat" in Sanskrit.