obstacles

Why Can’t We Just All Get Along?

Amanda / Reflections, Thoughts / , , / 0 Comment

I read an interesting article recently about snobbery in yoga.  Having been a Bikram yoga teacher since 2004. I have experienced my fair share of this.  It posed the question for me, why can’t we just all get along?

I completely understand why Bikram gets a bad rap.  Copyrighting yoga poses, “Mcyoga”, etc.   I have been in Bikram classes where the teacher has told students who come from other styles that they don’t practice “real” yoga.  However, the argument goes both ways.   I have been told that Bikram is not “real” yoga.  The negativty is not limited to Bikram yoga.  I have a friend who is a Yin teacher.  A Vinyasa teacher once told her that Yin is not considered yoga because the muscles are not engaged during practice.

Why all the bullying?  To paraphrase Abraham-Hicks, the more you push against something, the more you bring it into your experience.  Why can’t we just allow people to be who they are and practice the style of yoga they want to practice?  The next time you find yourself dissing a style of yoga, unpack that, really look at it.  I am sure you will find something within yourself that needs love and attention.  Yoga is good in my books, whether you want to practice Bikram, Yin, Kundalini, Iyengar, Ashtanga, etc.

I would like to know how others feel about this topic.  Any comments would be appreciated.

Namaste.

Learning to Fly

Alison Boons / Reflections, Thoughts / , , , , / 0 Comment

Through instinct and practice we learn to walk, just as a bird learns to fly. Just as we cannot walk right away, many birds cannot fly right away and must wait for their muscule structure to develop but in order to survive learning to fly is envitable.

As a baby bird takes its first leap into the air, they are not overcome by fear and merely, awkward as it may be, are following their instincts. Since fear is a learned behaviour, a baby bird does not yet know to be afraid of jumping off the edge, as they watch their siblings take that leap and their parents flying overhead they know that that is what they are supposed to do. With many hard falls from nest to ground followed by an even longer journey home, the bird begins to learn, through their challenges and dissappointment, the mechanics of flight.

Day 29: Learning to Fly {Source: http://games-strike.com/games/577/learn-to-fly.aspx}

As they continue to practice, their falls to the ground become more controlled and with a little encouragement from their folks, they begin to leave the nest for longer periods of time as they learn more advanced techiniques on how to utilize the wind and begin to control their landings. Eventually all of these tools become instinictual and requires no thought or analyzation on how to get from Point A to Point B.

As we watch a bird soaring through the sky, and a few flaps of their wings as they play in the wind, diving and circling around we think how wonderful it would be to be able to fly.

In yoga, arm balances are often referred to as our chance to “fly.” But unlike a baby bird, many of us, for years have developed a fear of stepping outside our comfort zone. A birds body is made to fly, just like ours is made to walk. They are able to use their lungs, and their pectoral muscles to float through the air as the air below them keeps them afloat.

Our years of overdevelopment of fear causes us to be afraid to fall, afraid to learn through trial and error, whether from embarrasement or the determined words “I can’t do it!” As we watch the people beside us, with ease, jump into crow or handstand or even bird of paradise and stare in amazement “how do they do that?” 

To start, let go of the fear! Let go of the fear of falling on your face, you probably will at one point or another, probably in front of a room of people. It’s OKAY! Everybody else in the room was there at one point or will be in the future. Use your falls as way to learn what NOT to do next time. We learn to let go of fear and learn lessons from the challenges or falls every day, whether its taking a chance on a relationship and then learning from the mistakes to not repeat them in your next relationship or getting in front of a crowd of hundreds to speak.  Fear is constantly with us! Yoga Journal has a great article on the “Fear of Falling” and says;

“it’s time to consider another necessary ingredient for progress: mental discipline. Just as much as you’ll be excited by your first successes, you’ll be deeply frustrated and discouraged by your failures. Arm balances are therefore the perfect poses to practice persistence in the face of challenge, as well as non-attachment to the fruits of your labors.”

While I’m no expert on arm balances and continue to tackle this “fear of flying”, I’ve slowly come to realize that it is really only fear that is holding me back. If I take a deep breath, and not worry if I fall on my face and who sees me, it makes Bakasana that much easier to get into and perhaps even hold for a few breaths but there are still the days when my fear wins and I can’t for the life of me even take one foot of the floor. It’s an ongoing battle, this fear and me, I know it exists and try with every effort to bring it out in the open. Some days I win, some days the fear wins, but knowing that it exists is the first step to letting it go.

{source: http://www.wisegeek.com/how-do-birds-learn-how-to-fly.htm)}

Chataranga Dandasana

Guest Author / Styles, Yogis / , , , , , , , / 0 Comment

My subject today is the dreaded chatarunga (dreaded by me, anyway).

Source: yogaflavoredlife.com

We all have poses that teach us about our limitations. For many people these are poses like paschimottanasana or other hamstring zingers. But there is the other side– the upper body strength poses– like chataranga. I have been blessed with flexible, long hamstring muscles, which makes yoga much “easier” for me. So my challenges are different. I can find full hanumanasana on some days, but I cannot do a sun salutation!

Chataranga continues to elude me.

I do yoga because of how it makes me feel, because of how it allows me to be in the world– the freedom I get from my practice both in my life and in my body. But there is a part of me that would like to be able to do a vinyasa properly. So I get up every morning and do my yoga and muddle through my vinyasas. My difficulty with chatarunga teaches me to be humble and to continue to experiment in my own body.

Strength and ease in chatarunga is different for me than it is in other postures, but just as worthwhile to explore. Every vinyasa is an opportunity to laugh at myself and let go of any expectations that I have. I aspire to do the pose like this guy:

Source: blog.ricecracker.net

Uncovering the Internal Drishti

Alison Boons / Reflections, Thoughts / , , , / 0 Comment

As we stand in Vrksasana (tree pose), our bodies waver back and forth, our gaze turns to those beside or in front of us and we stumble and fall. Teachers remind us to find our “drishti point”, a focal point, to help with our strength and stability in a balancing posture and a way to bring our focus on ourselves instead of others around you. A Drishti point, is so beneficial to us in our balancing postures, allowing us to have that little extra stability that we need to get through, but how else can a Drishti help us?

{Source: http://most-interesting-pictures.blogspot.com}

Our eyes are one of our most powerful senses, giving us the ability to see the world the way we want, the colours, the shapes but are also, for many of us, a doorway to our soul. Our eyes control our brains, enhance our ability to concentrate and based on how the eyes “see things” we alter our emotions. When we want to be sincere, or show our concern or cares for another, we look them in the eyes. It is difficult for our eyes to hide our feelings or our emotions when they have the capacity to smile and show sadness.

Our Drishti can be in the literal sense, that spot on the floor or the mark on the wall that helps us to stay strong and focused on our balance postures, or the figurative sense; that point that is inside of us, our centre, our inner truth, our third eye point (Ajna) . But what does it all mean?

As you delve into your yoga practice you begin to hear more and more about inner truths, centres, still points that sometimes leave us wondering “what are you talking about?”  But ultimately causing us to take a bigger look at ourselves, who we are and what we want to be and how we see the world around us. This can be overwhelming and a huge lesson as we begin to take a deeper look at how our internal drishti changes based on our perceptions as we try to find “balance” in it all.

So, what do we do? While training our minds to find this drishti point during our yoga practice can sometimes offer a challenge as our curiousity about others gets the best of us, it is even harder to find this internal drishti. How do we deal with what is there, what if we don’t like what we see, how do we change what we don’t like?

First off, nothing is a bad as it seems, our minds have a way of telling us that things are worse than they actually are, since our minds are ruled by our emotions. For many of us, we may learn a lot about how we interact with the world, and how others can be cruel and unkind to others that perhaps we never really noticed before. This internal drishti will ultimately change how we interact with those around us and cause us to associate with those with similar qualities and let go of the ones in our lives that don’t. We may come across our inner truth that what we are doing and how we are living our lives is not what we really want, its not our dharma.

The internal drishti can uncover a “wow” moment or a “what am I doing” moment but whatever comes up take a deep breathe! Look at what you want to see and where you want to be, what little things can you change to ultimately live the life you imagine? How can you make small changes in your life to be kinder to those around you, to make a difference in somebody else’s life and in by doing so making a difference in your own life? Don’t be afraid of what you uncover, it is there to help you, to make you even happier and even to learn a thing or two. Remember, the simplest thing to bring even more happiness into your life and those around you is to smile!

What have you uncovered about yourself in your yoga practice and what did you end up doing to make a change?

Baby Steps

Leeann / Reflections, Thoughts, Tips / , , , , , / 0 Comment

As mentioned in a previous post of mine, I have just recently had an operation; an operation to remove my gallbladder and gallstones. As this is right in the region of the core muscles, and having practice yoga for over 13 years, I was nervous as to how this would affect not only my ability to practice but also my ability to teach.

When I asked my surgeon how long my recovery would take the expected response was “as long as it takes, it depends on each individual”. What about yoga, I asked. Again the response, “take it easy and play it by how you feel; your body will tell you how slow or fast you should go”.

When he said that I was curious, but also hopeful that my body would tell me what was okay, hopeful that my mind would not get in the way of my recovery. As we have all experienced, the mind has its own set of rules, expectations and judgements. Sometimes these expectations are perfectly reasonable. Other times we can be very critical on ourselves.

As I am just on the early side of recovery I am hoping I will not fall into any false expectations or overly critical judgements of myself, but really I won’t be surprise when I do. It is natural to set up goals for oneself. I am hoping that if I keep reminding myself to take it easy, be kind and just accept whatever happens as being exactly what is supposed to happen, things will be fine.

I know that at least I have a foundation of yoga within me. That yogic breathing sets one up to regulate the body, to slowly calm and focus the mind away from all the rushing thoughts and expectations back to what is truly important: to remain focused on the breathe and try to relax.

It is also important to note that when trying to manage pain, a three pronged approach of yogic breathing, relaxation and meditation has be proven to help. According to an article in WomenFitness.net, meditation can have a 40% reduction in pain intensity. As muscles tend to relax when exhaling, it seems only logical that to extend the exhalation could only help reduce any built up tension. When in pain there is an increase in stress and tension, as the body tries to push the pain away. But by allowing yourself to remain focused on your breathing, allowing yourself to relax, this gives you an opportunity to move through the pain rather than resist it.

Of course this is all about taking baby steps back to a practice that is so important. I am hoping that if you or anyone you know are dealing with an injury or possibly chronic pain that you will continue to give yoga a try. And please remember to be kind to yourself.

(source: weightlosssteps.net)

Grateful

Guest Author / Thoughts / , , , / 1 Comment

The subject this week is gratitude, again. Here I am living my life and then I got news that an old friend who has cystic fibrosis just got a double lung transplant after waiting for years. So there you go. I am so happy for him and so thankful that it makes me cry.

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle”
-Plato

I talk a lot about being grateful for each breath in my classes, but imagine getting new lungs after having to fight for each breath for years. Plus he asked his girlfriend to marry him before the surgery and she said yes.

It puts everything in perspective

So I’m standing tall here in my life, breathing one sweet full breath after another. Each breath is an opportunity to begin again. To start over and live the life I want. Make the choices that I want to make.

And be grateful that I can.

The more I understand this life– my opportunities, the incredible gifts that I have been given that I am oblivious to– the more grateful I become for every inch of it. Every moment. It is such a gift to be able to practice and teach yoga with a healthy body and an open heart because I am safe.

Every time that something holds me back from happiness I have the opportunity to let it go– shed everything that I don’t want and stand here, full of breath, grateful.

Grateful for Jamie’s new lungs and grateful for mine too.

(source: www.thepointhocc.blogspot.com)

The Beauty of Grace

Leeann / Reflections, Thoughts, Tips / , , , / 0 Comment

I came to my mat this morning and was reminded to let go of any judgements.

Maybe you are like me in that there is a continuous stream of running commentary throughout your practice.

Some days are better than others; sometimes I can completely surrender to my breath. I silence the “monkey mind”, let go and just appreciate the flow of my body, the steady in and out of my breath. Only a few comments slip out under my breath, but mostly I can forget about everything but the sound of my breath coming in and out of my nostrils.

Other times I am continuously judging my every move; where am I, how am I doing, comparing everything to yesterday’s session or perhaps the day before. This can get very frustrating as the more judgemental I get the less I seem to enjoy my class, I feel as if there is nothing I can do right.

Yet, if I just let go; if I can just practice Aparigraha by letting go of my expectations; letting go of all my worries, fears, and judgements – I will fall into the ease of just being.

Even the phrase sounds lovely… to just fall into being my true self. To allow myself to be who I am supposed to be without any expectations of being other that what I am at this perfect moment.

Have you found yourself comparing a previous class to one you are currently in and found something lacking? I have…

I compare the teacher to another. I compare how well I am doing; how the flow is going. So many things to think about, yet really…  why was that class more fulfilling. What expectations do I have of myself in this class; why is the class not working for me today?

Is it possible that I more fully surrendered into just existing; that I surrendered more deeply? That I allowed myself to relax, to let go of everything – with no thought as to how things should be, or how I want things to be.

Just the pure bliss of experiencing the present moment with no thought tied in yesterday or tomorrow.

If I can just admit that I am choosing not to be fulfilled in this present moment; that my expectations of this moment is what is holding me back from just being. If I allowed myself the pleasure of just experiencing I would receive the grace of just being.

Aparigraha reminds us to let go, to allow you the space to fill with grace.

(source: luna0729.blogspot.com)

Practicing Ease

Leeann / Reflections, Thoughts, Tips / , , , / 1 Comment

Are there times in your practice when you feel like you can give it your all and other times when you can hardly get on to your mat?

Our lives are so busy these days that adding one more item on to the list can feel over whelming. If you have a regular yoga practice you may have come to the realization that yoga definitely helps with dealing with the stress in your life. But sometimes you just don’t have the energy to get yourself to the mat.

I have noticed that if I can get to my yoga class, sit on my mat, start breathing that everything else in my life falls away, if only for an hour, but I end up feeling much better than if I just lounged on my couch for an hour.

The trick I find is to remember the reason why you have come to yoga. It is not to compete with your neighbour or even yourself. That is the Ego talking. The striving to always out-do yourself can not only add stress but also misses the true gift in yoga.

Peace or the gift of equanimity; a state of even minded openness that allows for a balanced, clear response to all situations, rather than a response borne of reactivity or emotion, can come through a regular yoga practice. When you are always reacting to events and situations rather than just calmly observing these events stress is added to your life. By always striving to get better results there is no joy in life as you are never satisfied.

We live in a culture where striving for results colors our every endeavor. The chatter of our mind is constant; how much did I accomplish today? Did I meet /exceed my quota? Is there something else I need to do to make myself feel complete and purposeful? Why is it never enough?

Having a regular yoga practice can help you to recognize where, when and how you get caught up in the results. It also clearly shows your reaction/attachment to those results; either good or bad. When practicing your asana (postures) you might start to notice your internal running commentary; I got deeper into my breath yesterday, I had more energy, and I got lower in my Utkatasana.

All these judgments on yourself create stress and is counter- productive to your growth and ultimate happiness. If you allow yourself to step back from the experience; with all the things attached to it, such as; thoughts, emotions and pure sensations, by not getting caught up in a reaction which would have you identifying with those thoughts, emotions and sensations that would give you the peace you need.

To just purely experience things without attaching any emotional baggage gives you the ability to calmly remain balanced in any situation.

To practice with ease will bring you closer to the pure joy awaiting you in yoga.

Namaste

(source: topnews.net.nz)

6 Tips to Deal with the Elephant in the Room

Alison Boons / Reflections, Thoughts, Tips / , , , , , , / 2 Comments

Okay so I’m just going to say it! Many of us our ruled by our emotions! 

{Source: http://www.function1.com}

 There’s the over emotional, unemotional or those who deny emotion. There are the people that react or overreact or just act, or the people who are boisterous, quiet or confident all of which are tied to our emotions. Sure our emotions encompass our personalities, but they shouldn’t have to define us. Our patterns, actions and behaviours, that result from our emotions, can be “trained” without changing our personalities, but for some reason we seem to grow up with this disconnect. 

What are emotions exactly? Well, according to the dictionary; 

Emotion is the complex psychophysiological experience of an individuals state of mind as interacting with biochemical (internal) and environmental (external) influences. In humans, emotion fundamentally involves “physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience.”Emotion is associated with mood, temperament, personality and disposition, and motivation. Motivations direct and energize behavior, while emotions provide the affective component to motivation, positive or negative. 

Therefore, those individuals who say they aren’t “emotional” are wrong. They are, they just don’t see their anger or aloofness as an emotion. So what are we supposed to do with all of these emotions in our lives?

Well, here are 6 tips to begin dealing with the elephant in the room; 

  • Be Aware– Start to take notice of how you interact with the world. Notice when you are acting or reacting or even overreacting. While in the moment your emotions may not let you see this, take a moment after a conversation or any social interaction and review how it went. Were you polite, interruptive, reactive to their thoughts, beliefs or opinions, this affects you and them!
  • Practice Patience –  While a fairly simple concept, be patient with yourself and others around you. Remember that everybody has to deal with their own emotions and while you may not like the way somebody interacts with you, remember you don’t know where they were or what happened to them 5 minutes before they saw you. Take a deep breath and let it go, maybe they are dealing with something really hard, don’t take it personally.
  • Keep a Journal – Keeping a journal is a great tool to “get it all out” or make sense of the clutter in your head. It is a great resource to say the things you wish you could say but feel you can’t, and to “let go” of everything that weighs you down.
  • Do One Thing a Day That You Love – Whether its yoga, or a hike or a run, or something a simple as reading a chapter of a book. Take that 10 minutes or 2 hours to do something for you! Your emotions and your soul will thank you and your presence will show that happiness to all.
  • Be Authentic –  There is a way to express your feelings, desires and emotions to those that surround you without causing them any ill emotions in return. Don’t do the things you don’t want to do if it doesn’t serve you, but let people know why. “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.” ~ Dr. Suess.
  • Breathe – You know in the heat of the moment that you are either angry or upset, take a moment to breathe before reacting. Remember that everybody has problems, challenges and obstacles in their lives and we can interact and still be our own person without being ruled by our emotions.

Our emotions shouldn’t define who we are, and while they can make all the difference in our lives by building lasting emotions of love and happiness, they can also make us live a life of bitterness or sadness. Remember, when you wake up in the morning you have a choice; choose to smile!

3 Ways to Pamper Your Soul!

Alison Boons / Reflections, Thoughts, Tips / , , , , , , / 0 Comment

{Source: http://www.portalmico.com/?p=244}

Who doesn’t love a relaxing massage or a stroll on a beautiful spring sunny day, but how can we continuously pamper our soul? How do we make the time to make our soul and or our heart feel good? We may get these feelings from the above, but generally they are only temporary solutions.

Our lives are made up of a bunch of moments, and while every moment may not be the best experience it makes an impact on our soul and our subconscious.

Here’s 3 Ways for Long Term Soul Pampering;

  • KARMA
    Seems to be pretty self explanatory, especially with the old adages “what goes around comes around” or “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”Derived from the Sanskrit word “kri,” karma literally means “to do.” Then if we take the meaning of yoga as “union”; karma yoga translates to the path of union through action. In some philosophies the word karmanot only means action but the effects that your actions have and can be further described as a way of acting, thinking and willing by which someone acts in accordance to their dharma (one’s duty) without personal self-centred desires, like or dislikes.In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says:

Therefore, without being attached to the fruits of activities, one should act as a matter of duty, for by working without attachment one attains the Supreme.

           Take into consideration how your actions influence life around you and your life.

  • SEVA
    Otherwise known as Selfless Service, Seva is the action of giving back, it is a sincere sharing of wealth (money, talents, service).  Our community is nurtured through voluntary gatherings, where teachers and students can connect with each other while, at the same time, doing something that makes the world a better place.Swami Niranjan, a modern master of yoga, explains the word Seva is made up of two words, ‘saha’ (with that) and ‘eva’ (to). Therefore, the word Seva means ‘together with’ and is describing actions that is an expression of compassion, of the desire to uplift and assist people and can be a strong practice for self-purification.How do you do this? Start small, maybe helping a senior citizen with their groceries or offering to run an errand for a friend. Or take a look at www.govolunteer.ca which lists countless of opportunities to volunteer from bringing your dog to visit the local care home or teaching yoga.

Only those who have learned the power of sincere and selfless contribution experience life’s deepest joy: true fulfillment.
Anthony Robbins

  • DHARMA
    Buddhists believe in the Law of “Dharma,” which means, the purpose in life. This law says that we have taken manifestation in physical form to fulfill a purpose. You have a unique talent and a unique way of expressing it meaning there is something that you can do better than anyone else in the world. By understanding your purpose and special qualities, you will be able to reach your goals and get closer to your dreams.Is what you are doing in life your dharma, are you not sure? Write down all your biggest hopes and desires and work to live by them!

Souls have different journeys. The best thing to know is, not what everybody else does, but what you do. Self-discovery essentially is finding your own dharma, your own rhythm.
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While all of these items are life skills and or lifelong ways of interacting with the world, they can lead to healthier, happier you and a pampered soul!

Continuing Along The Path

Leeann / Reflections, Thoughts, Tips / , , , , , / 1 Comment

Within last week’s blog post: Letting in the New, I wrote about Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and the Eight Fold Path. Patanjali offers guidelines to help you cleanse the body and mind in order to lead a more meaningful and purposeful life by following an eight limbed path. One limb of that path is the Yamas.

One of the five Yamas I focused on was Aparigraha: non-covetousness/non-hoarding. By allowing yourself permission to let go of those things that no longer serve you, you lessen the burdens in your life. The less clutter you have in your life the more meaningful life becomes. The more you practice Aparigraha the more you will come to understand that Aparigraha embodies the idea of letting good things come to you.

Not only does this apply to actual physical things, but also to our own thinking. Getting stuck in old patterns of belief can become very harmful. As we age it is necessary to continually re-evaluate old thought patterns based on the new knowledge we have gained; although sometimes thought patterns are so ingrained in our sub-conscience that we hardly question them. Thus it is necessary to always be in a state of awareness; to live in a state of acting not re-acting. Allowing yourself a moment to breathe, step back and look at the situation with new eyes. Ask yourself why you are feeling the way you are, is it because of something in the past or are you truly in the moment. Allowing yourself to let go of old patterns opens you up to new ways of relating.

I also mentioned that Sophie Legrand discussed Brahmacharya in her post titled “Browse with Moderation”. She discusses the concept of Brahmacharya: sensory control; not giving into the ego’s excessive demands & striving to live a balanced life, without squandering precious energy.

Further to the above two Yamas there is Ahimsa: nonviolence.

Ahimsa refers to not only the abstention of physical violence but also discouraging violent words or thoughts. It is necessary to be actively aware of our thoughts and interactions with ourselves and others in order to eliminate these destructive behaviours. Remember that thoughts become actions and actions eventually become behaviours.

To truly practice Ahimsa one needs to participate in the practices of compassion, love, understanding, patience, self-love and worthiness.  First and foremost it is necessary to begin with oneself. You cannot be patient or understanding or compassionate with others if you haven’t first started with yourself. It begins from within. It is only from the love of oneself that you understand that ultimately there is no separation between you and me. To do violence to you is to do violence to me.

Starting with little baby steps, such as on your mat, be kind to yourself. The body is always changing; what you were able to do one day you might not be able to do the next. Just try to believe that you are exactly where you are supposed to be. Practice forgiveness within yourself so that you can give that to others. This patience and understand that you give to yourself on your mat will naturally flow into other aspects of your life given time.

(Source: cominohotels.co.uk)

Letting In The New

Leeann / Reflections, Studios / , , / 2 Comments

With spring in the air, it’s possible that you have been going through your closet with the intention of spring cleaning. I certainly have been trying my best to purge those things I no longer need.

Sadly I have a habit of holding onto things longer than necessary.  I have a tendency to attach memories to specific items making it hard for me to let go. That in itself is not a bad thing, but when you become attached to items because of memories, these memories literally become burdensome.

The Eight Fold Path

Within Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras there is an Eight Fold Path offering guidelines to cleanse the body and mind in order to lead a more meaningful and purposeful life.

The first four limbs of this path are concerned with gaining control over the physical body, fine tuning our personalities and developing an awareness of ourselves.

Over the years, with the help of my yoga practice, I have gained a deeper awareness of myself. I have found that there are certain personality traits and behaviours that no longer serve me. By following the Eight Fold Path I am striving to reach my true potential. This has not been easy, nor am I anywhere near finished. Perhaps I never will, but it’s the journey, right?

The First Limb: Yama

According to the Sutras, Yama focuses on behaviour and how you conduct yourself in life. An individual’s ethical standards and sense of integrity become very important when concentrating on this first limb.

There are five Yamas:

Ahimsa: nonviolence

Satya: truthfulness

Asteya: non-stealing

Brahmacharya: sensory control

Aparigraha: non-covetousness/non-hoarding

Sophie Legrand discussed Brahmacharya in her post titled “Browse with Moderation”. To further continue along my journey, I am concentrating on Aparigraha.

According to the Sutras, Aparigraha literally means the non-accumulation of worldly objects caused by covetousness and attachment. Looking honestly into my life, I can see that I have accumulated a lot of “stuff” which I have attached sentimental value. Holding each object in my hand, asking myself, “Do I really need this anymore?” I can answer truthfully. I come to the understanding that the memories attached to that object are within me; I do not need the object. Do you also attach memories to objects and then feel you will lose those memories without that object?

Aparigraha asks us to travel light; to let go of the old, in order to make room for the new. New possibilities await if you only make room.

I was very lucky to learn these lessons while earning my 200 Hr Yoga Certification at Semperviva Yoga.

I encourage anyone who is interested in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras to search out Rolf Gates & Katrina Kenison’s Meditations from the Mat. Rolf Gates approach to the Eight Limb Path is very readable.

(Source: Yoga.am)

Uncovering the Patterns

Alison Boons / Meditation, Reflections / , , , , , / 3 Comments

I went and saw the movie “Limitless” this weekend and I got to thinking about the “subconscious mind”. The idea behind the film is that as humans we only utilize approximately 20% of our brain power, but imagine if were able to use 100% and what we could accomplish. The movie briefly touches on the patterns that are embedded into our subconscious mind and how they can govern our lives. We also refer to the subconscious mind in yoga and meditation and how these practices can help us to uncover the patterns and thoughts that lie there.

Source: http://www.subliminalgateway.com

This idea of the subconscious mind is not a new thing, nor strictly linked to yoga, and has been brought up and researched by the likes of many scholars throughout history. If you google, “Subconscious Mind”, you will find many articles on how uncovering these patterns can help us to be more successful and happier.

Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalytic theory, divided the mind into multiple categories, including the conscious, subconscious, ego and super ego minds. But for our sake, we will just look at the subconscious mind; also referred to as the unconscious mind. The subconscious mind contains all of our feelings, urges, memories or our thoughts that are outside of our awareness, all of which can influence our behaviours and experiences even though we are unaware of their influence.

The images of the unconscious place a great responsibility upon a man. Failure to understand them, or a shirking of ethical responsibility, deprives him of his wholeness and imposes a painful fragmentariness on his life. – Carl Jung

As yogis, we know that by practicing yoga and meditation we can begin to train our subconscious mind and discover the patterns that lie there and perhaps do a little “housekeeping.” Many of you may have discovered, through an intense practice or a meditation practice, you feel lighter “more free”, shed a tear or two, or find anger boiling you to the point that you want to scream. These are elements of our subconscious that we have ultimately “stirred up” and can begin the process of dealing with, cleaning out and then moving on!

The patterns that lie in the subconscious, have been there since the day we were born. These feelings and thoughts have influenced our decisions and have played an important roll in who we are, however they may have also steered us away from things that we want, due to fear and anxiety that “we cannot” do something for risk of failing.  Take for example an example from the book Kundalini Yoga: The Flow of Eternal Power;

“Think about an elephant. They say elephants never forget (neither do people). Have you ever wondered why a huge two thousand pound elephant will stand so obediently in one place, tied to a short stake in the ground, held only by a thin chain around its ankle? The elephant doesn’t try to move, because he has been programmed to believe he can’t. How? Simple. The baby elephant is tied to the stake when he is very young. Whenever he tries to move, the chain bites into his leg. He can’t get away, because he’s not strong enough. Every time he tries to move, he gets hurt – a lot. The elephant very quickly catches on to the fact that moving is painful. In order to avoid getting hurt, he gives up trying. Even after he has grown to full size, and could easily tear out the chain, along with the post, and probably the whole circus tent, this gigantic, powerful elephant doesn’t even try to get free, because he believes he can’t.”

When the book The Secret was released, it focused on the fact that we can access our subconscious mind utilizing the Law of Attraction. The Law of attraction briefly states that; like attracts like! You attract yourself to whatever you give your focus, attention or energy to whether wanted or unwanted. While this isn’t a new philosophy and tends to be pretty self explanatory, it makes us see how our thoughts and beliefs can manifest our lives.

The subconscious mind makes no distinction between constructive and destructive thought impulses. It works with the material we feed it, through our thought impulses. The subconscious mind will translate into reality a thought driven by fear, just as readily as it will translate into reality a thought driven by courage or faith. ~ Napoleon Hill

If we look at both the scenario of the elephant and the Law of Attraction and back at our lives, we may notice similar “ideas” or “perceptions” we may have about our own reality. Our yoga and meditation practice helps us to battle our stresses and to “unlock” the ideas of our subconscious mind and by doing so we become more aware of our “self” and begin our journey to the ultimate goal of yoga; enlightenment!

Back to the movie, while it has nothing to do with yoga & would certainly not be the best way of discovering the patterns in your subconscious, it shows you that by unlocking your potential you can become everything you want to be and so much more. The power of thought, and the power of believing in our true selves can help to make us bountiful, beautiful and blissful and live the life that we have always imagined!

What patterns have you unlocked in your subconscious mind through your yoga and meditation practice?

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