why you should try yoga, according to max

So, here's a little-viewed video on youtube of Max at a yoga conference in Malaysia. [thanks to liz for the note. beware: the video is a tad grainy.]

in it, he talks about what brings us to yoga--and what keeps us coming back a year later. maybe you'll recognize yourself.

or, maybe you're still wanting something else, needing to be somewhere else, unable to sit still, unable to sleep. if so, you need to try yoga.

enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwHyitEcGsY&feature=related

[remember: Max is coming to NMY Sept. 5-7 to teach 4 workshops. One is on breathing and sleeping better. the deadline to get the early registration fee ($10 less/class) is Aug. 15]

why we (sometimes) 'OM' after class

It's the end of class, and somewhere from the depths of savasana you think you hear the teacher's voice rousing you. So, all warm and loose, you roll to your side and then up to seated. If your eyes were opened, things would still be murky. But your eyes are closed, and everything is dark.

And from this hazy state, your teacher asks you to join the class in chanting three OMs. You freeze.

At least that's what I did the first time. Confused thoughts ran through my mind. . .the same thoughts that you may have experienced when I or another teacher sprang an OM on you after class.

I forget who it was, but someone asked me after class Wednesday what OM meant. It's a good question--one with many answers.

Although OM has highly significant meaning in Eastern cultures and religions, it is possible to chant it without belonging to those religions and without affirming them. They all draw from the same ideas that make "Amen" sacred to Protestants.

My teacher described it once as the universal sound, or a vibration that cleanses and unifies the whole being--body, mind and soul. It makes sense to chant it after a yoga class in which the purpose is just that.

The following is a definition I'm borrowing from Om Village:

"Om, according to the ancient scripts of the Vedic civilization, is the sound of life. It is the infinite vibration that shimmers through the Universe, providing life and sustenance to everything. Om is the beginning and will continue till the end; the one constant that unites all of creation at its deepest level.

The chanting of Om revitalizes the body, soothes the mind and nourishes the soul. Hence, Om is considered the most powerful of all Indian mantras (chants), and is the prefix to or the beginning sound of all other mantras.

The Upanishads (Indian Vedic texts), describe Om (or Aum) as the complete sound that encapsulates the entire range of sounds the human voice can make. It starts with A at the base of the throat, moves on to U with the tongue and the palette, and ends with M where the lips are closed and no more sound emanates.

If Divinity were to be represented in sound codes, it would be Om. Om is the purifier, the all powerful tool that awakens in us the deepest reflection of Spirit, or God, or the Universal energy. This is because Om is the representation of this energy and flows through our breath in our waking and sleeping state. Om is the essence that unites all of us at our most intuitive level."

So, if you ascribe to a certain religion, you can chant OM to unite with your God. If not, it still has deep meaning. If the word is still frightening, you can always substitute "Amen."

OM to you.

[questions or comments? want to know how to OM boldly? comment here]

simpsonville studio change

An announcement for all my Sports Club students:

Starting Monday [7.21] the Simpsonville Studio 3 will be converted into a Pilates Reformer ONLY studio, and all yoga classes will be moved to Studio 2.

meditation class [Aug. 17]: being more giving

As part of the North Main Yoga studio's third-year anniversary next month, they will be hosting a meditation class on a subject that reflects the gratefulness of the owners and teachers for being in the community. Thanks to Craig for this announcement:

dana practice: the practice of giving
During this class, we will listen to a teaching on the cultivation of a personal giving practice, followed by a meditation on the practice of giving.

Dana (generosity) is one of the Six Paramitas (perfections) of Buddhist practice. Through the practice of wisely offering others our time, kind words, material goods, etc., we can generate vast amounts of merit, increase our inner peace, eliminate our delusions and help our entire community in both temporary and lasting ways. We will discuss the benefits of giving, as well as how to give in the most appropriate and beneficial ways.

details
*to be held at North Main Yoga [Corner of North Main and Stone Ave, Downtown Greenville]
*Sunday, August 17th, from 3:30-5
*suggested donation: $7 [Proceeds from this class will help support the Ganden Center’s various educational programs.]

For further information about the Ganden Buddhist Center, please visit: www.meditateinsouthcarolina.org

The Ganden Center will resume regular, bi-weekly meditation classes at NMY beginning this Fall. More details to come.

[note from kelly: although this meditation technique will be taught from a Buddhist perspective, the ideas are useful for all practitioners, no matter what religion they ascribe to or don't.]

questions for Craig? post them here, and I'll see he gets them.

[guest blog] chris: learning how to work with our minds

[note from kelly: chris just returned from a weekend with Shala in Asheville, studying the Yoga Sutras. his quotes come from a translation by Sri Swami Satchidananda. Chris reminds us that no matter what brings us to our practice, the end goal is our mind]

"progressing toward undisturbed calmness"
--by chris brown

Most of us come to yoga for flexibility or strength. Maybe our doctor or our friend told us it would help us to be a little calmer or to relax our high blood pressure. Some come for a spiritual goal or to find some sort of prayerful meditation as they sweat away a difficult day at work. Some practice to give that "Type A" personality a break for a time or to let go of some past difficulty.

Yoga will work for all of these things and more, but none of these things is exactly what yoga was designed for. According to Sutra 1.2 of Patanjali, “The restraint of the modifications of the mind-stuff is yoga.” We have heard that it is all in our minds from Buddhists, psychologists, even Beck. Yoga teaches us to begin learning how to work with our minds.

Yogic philosophy suggests that we come into this world fairly complete and as we grow up we develop a sense of ego that allows us to deal with the world around us and also separates us from the Self, which is thought to be that infinite part of us that connects with all others. Carl Jung called this connection the collective unconscious. Christians refer to it as the Body of Christ.

Other philosophies and religions tell the story of how we all connect in this world or somewhere out there in the infinite. Quantum mechanics explores how all matter comes into being from energy and has begun to explore how our thoughts and actions affect the matter and the force.

Sutra 1.30 states that “Disease, dullness, doubt, carelessness, laziness, sensuality, false perception, failure to reach firm ground and slipping from the ground gained – these distractions of the mind-stuff are the obstacles.” We can use yoga to deal with all of these challenges, but we must understand that the yogic solution to the symptoms of these obstacles requires not force but rather practice, study, and surrender. What we face, we face because we need it to progress on our unique path.

Our society likes blame and responsibility so long as it attaches to someone else. From a yogic viewpoint, we are the authors of our own experience. We are responsible for everything in our worlds. The sutras give an insightful way of dealing with others. Sutra 1.33 states that “By cultivating attitudes of friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and disregard toward the wicked, the mind-stuff retains its undisturbed calmness.”

So in the breath and in the sweat we find that release that allows us to slow down our minds and meditate. Most yogic thought regards Hatha yoga as a way to strengthen the body and calm the mind to prepare for the important practice of working with the mind while relaxing the sense of I and mine, and creating a sense of unity with that which holds us all in grace.

Practice often, Namaste--Chris
[comments, questions for chris? post a comment here]

[guest blog] anna: accepting what is

[note from kelly: I met Anna at Shala's Yin Yoga training in Asheville, where she teaches. thanks to her for allowing me to copy this story here. . .sometimes accepting "what is" requires only a deep breath and a new perspective. sometimes it means fighting for your life. whatever it means for you today, this story may give you new courage to accept WHAT IS]

"when life asks us to open to what is, rather than what we wish it could be"
--anna ferguson

I received the below message from another teacher recently, and I felt compelled to pass it on. After having gone through my own health crises in the past two years and having to shoulder that burden both financially and emotionally from a medical system which is sometimes sadly ignorant of healing practices, I feel Sarah and her family's challenges deeply and to my core.

Please read her story here. She is being asked to open to WHAT IS in life, rather than what we wish would be, truly living in the present moment. Bless and adorn her journey with anything you can give; it is a gift to all of us, for we are all one.
--namaste, anna

Last fall, Sarah was diagnosed with breast cancer. She has been using Chinese medicine and diet to treat her condition. Recently, her oncologist told her that she was no longer a candidate for surgery and that chemotherapy and radiation could only prolong her life, not cure her.

Despite the diagnosis from her Western Doctors, Sarah's attitude is positive. Instead of succumbing to the fear that comes up when a doctor tells her she is going to die, Sarah has decided to pursue her life with everything she's got. Sarah believes she is going through this journey for a reason and will come out the other end with the tools she needs to help others face their own fears.

She is exploring several alternative cancer treatments and raising money to go to a clinic in Mexico where she can be under the care of oncologists while she undergoes deep detoxification and uses complementary medicine to treat her cancer. A serious martial artist, Sarah has a very tough exterior. Anyone who meets her can tell she is not to be messed with. But this is not why I think she has courage.

The definition of courage is moving past your fears. To a tough cookie like Sarah, nothing is scarier than being vulnerable. Sarah is learning that in order to heal, she needs help. She is learning that people want to help and support her, and she is learning to soften her toughness to accept that help.

In our yoga practice as well as in life, we want to begin from a place of softness. We call it opening to grace. When we open to what is going on right now in our lives as if it were grace, we are able to live life fully right now, no matter what challenges we face. To Sarah, cancer is grace. It is an opportunity for her to open in ways she never has before.

[to read sarah's story or donate in any way, click here: http://www.supportingsarah.blogspot.com/]

upstate yogis unite!

Thanks to Liz, there is a new way to stay connected to your favorite local yoga teacher or find new teachers, studios, events, resources and too many other things to name. . .

Check out the two new sites, posted this month:
http://www.upstateyogis.com/
http://namastegreenville.ning.com/

Join, create your own page, or look at the Upstate-wide charity fundraiser coming up in November. . .

[questions, comments? leave them here, or e-mail Liz at lizdelaney@bellsouth.net]

[guest blog] liz: commit to being here

[liz spent a weekend retreat at Kripalu in June with Max Strom and Pir Zia Inayat Khan on yoga and Sufism. her retreat offers an example, if intensified, of the struggle we face each time we roll up our mats and leave the studio.]

"Wife, Mother, Yogini"--By Liz Delaney

Bags packed. Kids’ schedules written. Keys in hand. I am off with no kids, no husband, no phone. I am not sure what to expect of my first weekend away by myself. I am hopeful for some rejuvenation and down time.

I arrive at Kripalu with my nervous system still reacting. I am not sure if it is fear from flying or fear of leaving my two small children. I show up for my first yoga class struggling to be present. Max (my teacher) walks over to me and says, “You look like you’ve just spent hours in an airport.” I think to myself, “You don’t know half of the story.”

Class settled me down slightly; I am still worried about the kids. Should I call? What did I forget to tell my husband? Even though I am worried, I am excited about the prospect of a full night’s sleep uninterrupted.

Instead I have a fitful sleep and awaken at 5:30am. (I am not a morning person, so this doesn’t make sense to me.) I have no excuse but to walk down the hall and take the 6am gentle yoga class before breakfast.

I walk in and find child’s pose, the only pose that feels right at six in the morning. The teacher asks us to rest and find our intention, then adds, “You may simply wish to commit to being here.” Commit to being here! That’s it! At home I long for solitude, time for yoga and meditations. Since I have gotten here, I long to be at home with my family. Commit to being here. So simple… So why is this so hard?

The weekend of classes on breathing, meditation and asana left me feeling whole and understanding my world in a completely different way. I feel more open, more mindful, forgiven and full of gratitude. Everything feels as it should be.

I am ready to go home, committed to enjoying everything and letting go of my qualities that hold me back. I feel like a being of light. My movements have slowed down; my mind no longer races faster than I can keep up. I believe that this has been the next step on my journey awakening my spirit. My experience with these great teachers is beyond what can be conveyed with words. All I know is that I am fortunate to have received such powerful teachings.

Flying home, my normal fear is replaced by a sense of wonder and freedom. I return thinking how different I will seem. Everyone will see the transformation as I walk, eat or breathe in awareness. This lasts about an hour after my arrival home. I walk in to the best greeting in the world from my four year old and six month old.

Moments later both are in tears and whining. I can’t get a word in edge-wise to share my experience with my husband. I am deflated, sad and a little raw. Somehow, I am worse the next day. Then it hits me: commit to being here. I let myself sit, raw and rough around the edges then my husband starts to laugh, “No wonder great teachers never had kids. They’d never get very far.”

Now I know the truly enlightened are the ones who have children, jobs, schedules, whining, crying and can commit to being here with love for it all. It is easy to resent the things that take time away from nurturing our spirits, but when will we see these things as gifts to open our hearts even more and challenge us to go beyond?

Anyone can find peace on a yoga mat in a quiet room. The true sages are the ones who find it among the struggles of day to day life. These are my teachers and I am committed to being here wife, mother, yogini, messy path and all.

In the words of Pir Zia Inayat Khan, “My life is part of a greater purpose. There is an exactness to who I have become.”

--Liz and her husband Brian own the North Main Yoga studio.
[questions for liz about Kripalu or her reactions to the Sufi teachings? comment here]

'an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind'

[or why the dalai lama believes tibet's nonviolent cause will prevail in that neck of the woods and closer to home]

Those interested in the Olympic saga--which is bringing the clash between China and Tibet to the global forefront again--might want to read this article on Salon today: http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2008/07/01/dalai_lama/index.html.

Although it addresses what some might say is a larger, more removed example of the urge to fight back against injustice, it reminds us of why nonviolence is so powerful.

As the Dalai Lama says, following the mentality of "an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind." If we could just remember that when someone flicks us off in traffic or when (insert your drama of the day here) happens. . . .