Certified Authentic, Sold As Is

Most anyone practicing yoga will tell you they are on a path of self-improvement and probably on some sort of mission to change something within the world. Yogis have admirable and lofty goals, but along the way they often become confused about their true identity, adopting “what-they-believe-the-yoga-community-deems-proper” personas.

I have witnessed teachers and students beat themselves up because they eat meat, party like an un-yogic rock star, feel feelings of anger, or physically struggle to practice arm balances and inversions. On the flip side, I’ve witnessed teachers and students subtly and overtly judge each other for all those same reasons. If yoga is ultimately about Unity with the Divine and unity begins with self-acceptance, why then do we not allow ourselves and others to BE “real” at any given time without labeling one reality better than another? What is it to BE anyway? It’s just what it says: “authenticity” in a much shorter word.

When we begin practicing the Niyamas or personal disciplines, the second limb of The Eight Limbs of Yoga, we are challenged to “get real”. Svadhyaya (Self Examination or Study) is the fourth of the five Niyamas and it is a swift kick in the asana. Svadhyaya means to intentionally find self-awareness in all our activities and efforts. It teaches us to be truth centered and non-reactive to what we label “good” or “bad” about ourselves. It eventually exposes what we can change and what we must simply accept as a part of who we are.

As we study, we are forced to ask: what is real and true? What are we making up through cloudy perception? What serves us, what doesn’t?

What ultimately serves us is embracing our authenticity by learning tools to express ourselves as compassionately as possible. What gets in the way of authenticity is fear of rejection. To protect ourselves from rejection, we build a walls around our hearts. And we create different masks to wear, believing these will help us become more acceptable, more loveable, and for us Yogis, more “Yogic”.

e.e. Cummings said it best, “To be nobody but yourself in a world that's doing its best to make you somebody else, is to fight the hardest battle you are ever going to fight. Never stop fighting.” To practice this quote is to be brave, to risk being disliked for who you truly are, but the reward for this bravery is that you are loved for all that you are, imperfections and all.

My Grandfather recently passed away and he taught me, above anything else, to be myself. He never actually told me to be myself; he simply modeled it for me through what my Mom calls “being eccentric to the extreme”. What I once saw as embarrassing or overtly opinionated, I now see as bravery through self-love and acceptance. My Grandfather was the same around everyone because he didn’t have any of those silly masks to hide behind.

I believe the practice of Yoga as a philosophy leads to the burning of masks. In order to do this, we must look at where we maintain false realities based on fear and rejection. Honest evaluation of these false realities is where healing begins. As I am prone to say,”Heal yourself, heal the world.” Nobody said Svadhyaya was easy. My own path of self-discovery and healing has been ugly and painful … but no more so than anyone else’s. And I still have a lot of work to do. Sometimes I want to hide behind a mask or start building up another wall around my heart, but then I remember who I am, that I am doing my best and that even my best won’t ever be good enough for some. I remember I am Divine Love (and so are you) and just so I don’t forget this, I’ve tattooed Aham Prema (I Am Divine Love in Sanskrit) on my wrist and when I doubt myself, I close my eyes and chant this mantra: “You get me, as I am, flaws and all. I accept you, flaws and all.” I believe, at our core, Divine Love is a piece of us all. As we examine ourselves further, practicing Svadhyaya, ultimately this is what we learn. We cannot learn this lesson without the study.

I am on day two of my 108 Days of Svadhyaya adventure and well, it's not going as planned and what I am learning is plans mean nothing and the waves of the Universe will re-direct your plans as needed, whether you think it is good for you or not {meditates on wrist and repeats mantra}.

Freedom From Suffering

"Karuna is not merely showing pity or compassion and shedding tears of despair for the misery (duhkha) of others. It is compassion coupled with devoted action to relieve the misery of the afflicted. The yogi uses all his resources -- physical, economic, mental or moral -- to alleviate the pain and suffering of others. He shares his strength with the weak until they become strong. He shares his courage with those that are timid until they become brave by his example. He denies the maxim of the 'survival of the fittest', but makes the weak strong enough to survive. He becomes a shelter to one and all."
-B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Yoga, 45th paragraph of the Introduction.

Mother Theresa also said,"If we have no peace in the world, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."

As I put together a special class for Haiti this coming Sunday, I realize the destruction or tragedy it often takes for most people to stop and show compassion. Perhaps they are unaware that what happens to you also happens to me and what happens to me also happens to you. While I am honored to teach a class for a special purpose, openly advertised as such, I like to think that every class I teach is an offering to relieve suffering of others. Relieving suffering has always been the intention behind my teaching, but it seems, in the coming together for a specific purpose, the energy and intention behind it is greater because people's emotions are more open.

The following is a video I came across awhile back. The images are disturbing, but the message can not do anything but bring out the compassion in others and the realization that we all need and want the same things.

The chant is Lokha Samasta Sukino Bhavantu "May all the world be happy."

Resolving to Resolve Nothing in 2010

Here is my list of resolutions for 2009.

Ameliorate my patois since people tend to repudiate the fact that I possess a Master’s Degree. (I kept this up for about one week, I only learned about two new words all year long).

Train to run a ½ Marathon (I said train…..not actually do it, if I do it, I want a platinum cookie). (Never even came close to happening, most I ever ran was 3 miles...almost).

Learn at least one song on my guitar and post on U-Tube for all to enjoy/make fun of. (I learned about 4 chords and forgot all of them already.)

Expand my knowledge of Ayurveda to a more substantial level. (Okay, I did do this! YES!)

Renew my wedding vows, written by yours truly, using my expanded vocabulary! (This never happened either, but in my heart it's all good.)

So, I figure I'll have much more success this year if I resolve to resolve nothing.

CHEERS!

Namaste'

Sat Nam

Amen

Yoga East, Yoga West?

It has been my experience that the question "What is Yoga?" is answered in various ways, depending on the individuals experience and needs. While I tend to lean towards the Eastern philosophy of lifestyle and self-realization, many of my peers bend towards the Western experience of yoga as physical fitness. Is one a better approach than the other? This depends on what the person is looking for. Is one more complete than the other? My opinion is yes, but again, this is my experience, not every ones. We are all on our own path and each path is special and unique.

So what is this yoga thang? Yoga is the union of the mind, body and spirit. While asana (or the physical postures) is one of the eight limbs of yoga in the Sutras of Pantanjali, Yoga is not asana as is commonly thought in the West. In the West "yoga" and "asana" are used interchangeably. I also wonder if most yoga studios should be called "Asana Studios" rather than "Yoga Studios". As it seems very few offer lessons from ancient texts, history, chanting etc.., but rather focus more on a physical workout.

I am not writing this post to prove my belief system, but rather to encourage people to question what they know as Yoga. The Yoga Sutras of Pantanjali is the foundation of Yoga. The soul (pun intended) purpose of yoga is Yoga, not physical fitness.

In the West are we practicing yoga or are we mainly practicing asana? Asana aids us on the path to yoga, so it is important, but it is not the point.

The Yoga Sutras of Pantanjali begins with threads 1.1-1.4, when combined is something along the lines of:

1.1 Atha Yoganusasanam
1.2 Yogash chitta vritti nirodhah.
1.3 Tada drashtuh svarupe avasthanam.
1.4 Vrtti Sarupyam Itaratra

1.1 "Now the practice of yoga begins".
To me, yoga is not something I do, it is something I practice daily. Do not ask your self, "Do I do yoga?" Ask yourself, "Do I practice yoga?"

1.2 "Yoga is the mastery of the activities of the mind-field". Ask yourself if you are aware of your thoughts and do you explore harnessing those thoughts if they do not serve the purposes of uniting mind, body, and spirit? Do you do this while practising asana only or is the something you strive for off the mat also?

1.3 "Then the seer rests in His true nature". We are all Knowers or Seers, not body nor mind. The truest YOU is always the same,but is confused or mixed up due to funky mind-stuff.

1.4 "At times the true Self assumes the form of the mind-field". If you detach yourself from all of your labels and possessions that you identify yourself with, you have the purest and truest you or "I". Yoga , when practiced in it's complete form aids us in self-control and constant self-adjustment in order to keep you from prescribing to false identifications of the self.


I was in a training recently where there topic of "yoga" as a workout and yoga as a way of life were equal. Is a teacher who prescribes more to the physical asana practice less than a teacher who studies to teach a more complete and Eastern influenced yoga class? I would say no, but I would ask if some teachers should call themselves asana teachers rather than yoga teachers. This is not a black or white issue, but it is true that asana alone is not yoga, but only one part of it. Asana does not offer the complete yoga experience. In the West if you can practice handstand you are considered an advanced yogi. I would say you are most likely advanced in your asana practice and I might even ask if you if you have a background in gymnastics because most likely the answer is yes. I introduce the notion that an advanced yogi is one who harnesses the mind and tries to maintain contact with the pure "I". I consider myself, after 15 years to be advanced in asana, but still a beginner in the "true" practice of yoga, but my goal is to at least reach intermediate status in my own spirit by the time I pass from this planet.

So, bluntly, I will argue that in the West we are mainly practicing asana, not yoga. This is simply my opinion and while I do believe this is not a complete practice, I respect that this is part of the path to yoga. I only hope that we do not confuse ourselves too much with the notion that we have "made it" in yoga because we are only starting in asana.

Namaste' and may you find your Sat Nam!