Yoga in a Hurry » Yoga Philosophy

Are You OK Day on 29 November 2009

Connie — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:51:42 +0000

This Sunday 29th November is RUOK? Day here in Australia. By starting a simple conversation you could change or even save a life.

Yoga is all about compassion and putting yourself into another person’s shoes. Being non-attached and non-judgemental are great virtues to live by and regular yoga practice will eventually help you to live in a non-attached and non-judgemental way for at least some of the time…

This coming Sunday is a chance to put some of your good intentions into action. It is all about reaching out to another person and simply asking “Are you ok?”

To find out more about the RUOK? initiative go to http://www.ruok.org.au

Have a look at the videos there – they are well worth watching, they really made me think.

Are you caring for someone with depression and finding it very difficult? A book has been written specifically for carers who look after somebody with depression. It is called “Back from the Brink too” written by Graeme Cowan. Watch him talk about his book here:

Till next time
Connie
Your Yoga Partner
from
www.yogainahurry.com

How Yoga Can Help Carers

Connie — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 12:22:41 +0000

I never even thought for one moment that I might end up in the role of a full time carer, so I was very badly prepared when my life changed a few weeks ago….

My husband was diagnosed with a serious illness and suddenly my life revolves around treatment schedules, doctors’ appointments, specialists’ appointments, picking up scripts from the chemist and personal care. Constantly disrupted sleep and suddenly being responsible for everything is taking its toll. As one woman I spoke to put it: “You lose your identity”.

At first I didn’t think that it was so much about losing my identity – it was more about suddenly being thrown into a role that is not of my choosing and that consumes an enormous amount of time and energy (both physical and emotional). Then it slowly dawned on me that it is a real struggle to do anything that is just for me (whether this is something essential like a doctor’s appointment or something that is just for fun). Maybe my identity is being threatened. All my other roles are still there as well, they have not disappeared just because I suddenly became a full time carer. As time goes by, it is getting more and more difficult to juggle all the roles. This is why my blog posts have become somewhat irregular and it will stay like that way for quite a while.

I am really grateful for my yoga training. Yoga philosphy applies to this situation as well, it is more important now than at any other time in my life. I have the ability to bring myself back to the present moment whenever the mind wanders off into some catastrophic and destructive territory. Right now this is one of my most important skills. I don’t know what the future holds and I have no control over it anyway. I have to deal with things as they happen.

The physcial fitness that yoga has given me is a great asset – without it things would be very difficult.

Yoga is also about simplifying and sorting the essential from the non-essential. At the moment I am concentrating on essential tasks. It is essential to eat well and have healthy and balanced meals but they can be simple. It is not essential to have a clean house or have ironed clothes. I had to become firm and quick at making decisions. No time to waste. Decision was wrong – simply change it and move forward.

I forget things because of overload and lack of sleep. I now make lists for essential things (no more than 3 or 4 per day), tick them off as they are done and I don’t promise to do anything for anybody. I don’t have to remember or apologise later for not getting around to it.

When things get really difficult I practice my yoga breathing - long, slow, deep breaths. It takes practice to be able to do that during difficult situations. Luckily I had lots of practice over many years and it has become second nature for me to resort to my breath when the going gets tough. It also helps to breathe slowly and delibarately around other people who are in distress and encourage them to breathe with you. Sometimes their breath will synchronise with yours and then they automatically calm down. It is not always that simple but it is worth a try.

As time goes on I will try and write more about my insights and experiences. It might be helpful if you ever get into a similar situation (but I sincerely hope you won’t).

Till next time,

Connie

Your Yoga Partner

from

http://www.yogainahurry.com

How to achieve Serenity or Peace Within

Connie — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 23:30:21 +0000

To live a truly yogic lifestyle we need to develop certain mental qualities that help us to be a “true yogi (or yogini) no matter what life brings and what happens around us. For most of us (including myself) this is quite a challenge. Let us explore some of the things that might help us along our path.

Swami Sivananda talks about 18 “ities” that we need to cultivate. They will eventually replace the not-so-healthy programmes going on in our minds.

The first one is serenity. It seems a very old fashioned or scarce thing – I have met very, very few truly serene people in my life. You know the sort of person I am talking about – they are truly calm, composed and happy, they ooze joy, they are light hearted and it is a pleasure to be around them.

How can we cultivate serenity? We need to let go of our mental and emotional reactions. This seems like a very big ask! The other way of looking at it is this: when we are serene we are at peace with ourselves. Why can’t we maintain this peace within?

Serenity is like our body. The body consists of many parts – legs, arms, head, internal organs – all of them have to function as a whole for us to feel well. Serenity is also made up of many different components. It has been defined as the “experience of an integrated personality”.

In a yoga journal published by Sivananda Math, India, October 2007, page 18, it says the following: “We identify with a false idea of ourselves. It is akin to pointing at our image in a mirror and saying: “that’s me.” How can that person be us? We are not saying: “That is my reflection.” We are identifying with that image. We don’t see ourselves, we don’t see the real us. We think the appearance is real.”

How often do we desperately try to project an image to the outside world that is not “us” out of fear that we won’t be liked, loved or accepted. How much energy is wasted, how much trouble caused?

The other thing that comes to mind is the story about seeing the “splinter in the other person’s eye” but being completely unaware of the “beam in our own eye”. This happens because we like to see the image of ourselves but not how we really are inside, “warts and all”. We waste time and energy critizising the other person instead of working on ourselves to overcome old hurts, damaging behaviour patterns and addictions. We all have some addictions, some are very obvious to us and the outside world, others are very hidden and not commonly recognised. Some are very damaging, others are more of a nuisance.

I think that part of developing an “integrated personality” is coming to terms with our flaws and short comings, acknowledging them and then working towards changing them into something more constructive and beneficial.

It is a life long job, but every step we take towards a more integrated personality is also a step towards “serenity” or “emotional intelligence”.

Till next time

Connie

Your Yoga Partner

from

http://www.yogainahurry.com

Joy – Some Inspirational Thoughts

Connie — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 09:51:14 +0000

When I attended Spiritfest recently (I will tell you more about that in a different post)

I was asked to give a reading on the topic of “Joy”. I searched the internet and my own literature and found some real gems. I then put together all the bits and pieces that appealed the most to me. Enjoy!

“Joy and happiness are part of the design of every life. You are the only one who can bring joy and happiness into your life. Joy is hard to come by if you are not aligned with the universe.”

…”The skills we need to bring joy and happiness” into our lives “are the tools of living passionately, the ability to commit to our soul’s purpose and to stay open to unimagined outcomes. These skills allow us to function with focus in chaos and in the Unknown.”

Christine Pratt from www.lastmaskcenter.org

“Joy is an essential spiritual practice growing out of faith, grace, gratitude, hope and love. It is the pure and simple delight in being alive. “…..Joy is the “ awareness of abundance. It is also the deep satisfaction we know when we are able to serve others and be glad for their good fortune.”

www.spiritualityandpractice.com

“Joy is not dependant on circumstances. Joy is strength. Joy is internal. Joy is eternal. ”

http://dsimple.wordpress.com

Joy is sustainable happiness. Happiness is fleeting, doesn’t last, joy can be there all the time, even when life is not going too well for us.

“Spiritual joy is a holy, sensitive plant, it shrinks from the rude, ungentle touch, uncongenial with its heaven borne nature. Watch it with sleepless vigilance, shield it with every hallowed defence.”

Octavius Winslow

www.gracegems.org

St. Francis of Assissi who lived in the Middle Ages had a great deal to say about spiritual joy and the benefits of joy in general. One line is a famous prayer attributed to him goes: “Where there is sadness, let me sow joy…”

“St. Francis can teach us how we can face an uncertain future with peace. What we need is a good dose of spiritual joy. this saint….can teach us in this age of technology where authentic joy can be found – not in accumulating material goods, but in spiritual goods.”

“St. Francis knew all too well …. the “demon of sadness”. He knew this spirit’s ability to cripple our lives in fear, sadness, discouragement and self-pity.”

He wrote rules for the friars and they explicitly talk about the importance of joy in monastic life. The monks should “let it be seen that they are happy in God, cheerful and courteous, as is expected of them and be careful not to appear gloomy or depressed …”

“Interestingly, St. Francis recognised that spiritual joy and worldly sadness have one quality in common – they are contagious! That was one of the many reasons he was so insistent that his friars overcome despondency and gloom. Their joy would be a source of inner strength to others.”

The writer (A. Apostoli) then goes on to say that joy is a gift from a higher source which illuminates our path and lightens our load. He speculates that it might just be the spiritual antidote we need cure the spiritual and psychological ills of our age.

Fr. Andrew Apostoli, C.F.R.

www.franciscanfriars.com

“Invite joy into your life by staging celebrations. Host festivities to mark transitions and changes. Toast moments of happiness you notice as you go through your day.”

www.spiritualityandpractice.com

Passing a smiling person on the street is our cue to practise joy.

“Laughter is the jam on the toast of life. It adds flavour, keeps it from being too dry and makes it easier to swallow.”

The above quote comes from a book called “Zen Soup” by Laurence G. Boldt.

Dance, jump for joy as often as possible. Let go, lose yourself. Life is meant to be enjoyed, not to be endured.

I hope the above will help to bring some joy into your life and then this joy will pass on to others you meet along the way….

Till next time,

Connie Your Yoga Partner

from

http://www.yogainahurry.com

Ayurvedic Personality Types

Connie — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 23:54:31 +0000

A predominantly Vata person is of light build, has dry hair, quick by nature and is easily excitable.

A Pitta person is of medium build, has the colours of fire, sensitive skin, and a good intellect – they organise, like lists, are punctual, often hungry, they need to eat or get irritable (blood sugar levels drop quickly) and they have a fairly constant energy level.

A Kapha person has a heavy build, more oil in skin, big eyes, large features. They have increased endurance, a sluggish digestion, gain weight easily. They don’t like changes, are emotionally stable, good nurturers. Often they are found in the healing, teaching and nursing profession.

Remember, we all are made up of all 3 energies and we are born with one energy that is more predominant, which determines our “type”. We are healthy and well when the energies are balanced within our system, according to our particular pattern.

There are many different ways to balance these energies and ayurveda employs them all. Just to give you some examples – food, diet, hot or cold water, specific yoga postures, herbs – are all part of the ayurvedic way of healing and cleansing the body.

There are also some very general rules that will help to keep us balanced. Here are some of them:

Live in accord with nature, body does much better with regular cycles, routine, rhythm.

10am to 2pm is Pita time – have your main meal then, digestive fire is at its best.

6am to 10am is Kapha time – do exercise, physical work, because there is steady energy and it will feel easier to do these chores then.

Go to bed before 10pm and get up before 6am. This is very hard to do nowadays, but your body will reward you!

I hope you enjoyed this little excursion into Ayurveda.

Till next time,

Connie

Your Yoga Partner

from

http://www.yogainahurry.com

Ayurveda Basics

Connie — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 23:43:55 +0000

I hope you had a relaxing time over the holidays. Let us start the new year by looking at a fascinating ancient science called Ayurveda.

Both - Ayurveda and yoga are ancient sciences. They complement each other and both are concerned with creating a person that is healthy and balanced in body, mind and spirit. Both are designed to heal, cleanse and purify body, mind and spirit.
They share very similar philosophies and “ground rules”. I think there are areas that overlap. In this post I want to give you a very basic understanding of Ayurveda. It has so many subtleties that it takes many years to become really proficient. If you are considering using Ayurvedic medicine for yourself, find an experienced practitioner.
Ayurveda means, literally translated, “Knowledge of Life”.

As I said before it is an ancient system – Maharishi Mahesh Yogi brought that system to the West. He is better known for the “Transcendental Meditation” he taught.

One of the very fundamental philosophies underlying ayurveda is that there are three energies active in the world – they are also called the 3 doshas – and they are Vata, Pitta, and Kapha.

Vata is like the wind, made of space and air

Pitta is like fire

Kapha is like mind

The above is a very rough description, but I just wanted to give you a very brief overview in this blogpost. Ayurveda is full of amazing intricacies and I believe it takes a life time to study it really well.

Vata governs thinking, breathing, talking and the nervous system

Pitta conists of fire and some water energy, it is the energy of transformation and metabolism, digestion, intellect, vision and regulates body temperature.

Kapha – consists of earth and water = mud
Properties are: cold, heavy, like mud. It governs the cohesive elements, structure, bones, mucus, digestive juices.

Our basic nature is made up of those 3 doshas. Each of these energies can be overactive or underactive. The symptoms we experience will vary accordingly.

In my next post I will look at some of the different personality types and how we can tell which energy may be predominant in that person. Remember, we all are a combination of those 3 energies.

Till next time,

Connie

Your Yoga Partner

from

http://yogainahurry.com

Ayurvedic Personality Types (0)

Mind Your Words – an interesting parable

Connie — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 11:50:53 +0000

After I published my last post about how we should be mindful with our words, I received an email containing the following story:

A bishop met a woman at the markets. It was known that this woman spread all kinds of gossip everywhere she went. The bishop took the goose which the woman had just bought, plucked all the feathers and scattered them in all directions.

The woman was wondering about the bishop’s strange behaviour and asked in astonishment why he was doing this. The bishop replied to her: “Go and collect all these feathers, every single one of them! You carelessly cast all your words to the wind. I scattered the feathers in all directions the same way you spread your words. Go and see whether you can get all the feathers back again. “ After the bishop said this to the woman, she suddenly understood that words, once spoken, are very difficult to capture again.

From this time onwards the woman was much more cautious with her words.

Thank you Irmgard for this lovely tale.

Till next time,

Connie,

Your Yoga Partner

from

http://www.yogainahurry.com

Yoga And The Web – Words And Thoughts Caught In The Web Forever? (0)

Yoga And The Web – Words And Thoughts Caught In The Web Forever?

Connie — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:37:02 +0000

I had an interesting discussion with a friend of mine just a couple of days ago. Her daughter, who is only 12 years old, wanted her own personal website. After a lot of family discussions it was decided that she was going to have her own site. There would be strict rules attached in regards to the management of the site.

One of the things her mother said to her was: “Remember, once you put something out there onto the web, once it is published, it is out of your control, you cannot take it back, no matter what you do.”

I had never really thought about the web this way. I suppose the word “web” says it all. Think of the spider web – whatever gets trapped in there doesn’t ever get out. If it is not eaten straight away it gets wrapped up and conserved by the resident spider to be consumed another day.

It suddenly dawned on me that removing something from my blog or site does not really remove it from the web or the world. Whatever I write will possibly stay out there forever. Quite a scary thought. What if I change my mind about something? Of course it also depends on how widely read my blog is, but nevertheless an article could circulate in weird and wonderful ways till the end of time. (or till the end of civilisation as we know it!)

The lesson is: only write and publish things that you can live with, that are in harmony with your being, your philosophy, your way of thinking and that do no harm to other beings in any way.

Of course the same goes for thoughts, words and deeds. Once a word is spoken, a thought is thought or you have done something it also cannot be taken back, cannot be undone. You might think that at least words or thoughts are not written and there is no trace left.

Yogic thinking is very different. Everything is energy, also thoughts and words. Very focused thoughts and strong intentions are particularly powerful. Once you send your words and thoughts out into the ether, they take on a life of their own. Beware especially of negative thoughts and words. Don’t put them out there. In a way they are going to be out there forever too, just not as tangible as something that I publish on the web. The energy of those thoughts and words may be changed into something else but in essence energy never gets lost, just transmuted.

Somewhere I once read that it was lucky that most people only had fairly muddled, shallow and scattered thoughts. Those thoughts were out there, floating around and muddying the waters so to speak, but they were not powerful and therefore didn’t do much damage. They never amounted to anything much. In contrast, laser-sharp focus and clear, directed thoughts were extremely powerful and always created tangible results. For this reason you have to be very careful what you wish for….

I heard all this a long time ago, long before it became “fashionable” to think that way. I firmly believe that the mind and the web are very powerful tools for creating all sorts of amazing results. Just use them wisely.

Till next time

Connie

Your Yoga Partner

from

http://www.yogainahurry.com

Mind Your Words – an interesting parable (0)

Adversity Doesn’t Build Character – It Reveals It!

Connie — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 12:54:07 +0000

Recently I bought a box of fortune cookies – you know the ones that are hollow inside and contain a little message each. I think originally they were meant for the Chinese New Year but now you can get them all year round.

When I opened the packet I posed a question to the universe: “What is the most important thing I need to know for building my internet business?”

The answer that came out of the cookie was: “Adversity doesn’t build character – it reveals it”. I thought about that for a moment and then seriously thought about what I do (or don’t do) when adversity strikes.

What do I do when things get difficult, when I get overloaded, overwhelmed, when others say “this can’t be done”, when technical challenges seem unsurmountable?

I realised that my reaction isn’t always the same – it is influenced by a lot of different things: what else is going on in my life, how much other pressures and stresses I have, whether I slept enough, whether I had done a yoga session or not, how my body feels in general and whether I was talking to uplifting people or someone who only sees gloom and doom on the horizon.

My reaction to adversity can stretch from giving up completely to putting things on the back-burner to asking an expert for help or trying to work things out for myself. I always try to take some time out, get away for while, and if it is only to the garden, out into the sunshine for a 10 minutes or so.

The first question I ask myself is: how important is it to achieve this? Will it get me closer to my goal? Is it vital to achieving this goal or is there another way?

Also, as life went on I learnt that time is the most valuable commodity we have. It cannot be replenished or replaced, once its gone, it is gone forever. I need to use it wisely, to the best of my ability. Giving up sometimes is a wise choice.

All in all I am not sure whether my reaction to adversity is revealing my character, I think it reveals my general state of being, where I am at at this particular point in time.

As always, the yogic practice of detachment comes in very handy – the only problem is that staying detached in the midst of adversity is very difficult. But – even short periods of detachment and neutrality give some relief and with practice those times will get expanded. I greatly admire people who can stay truly detached and balanced in the midst of chaos.

Do you know anybody like that? How have they managed to achieve this skill? Let me know via your comments.

Connie,

Your Yoga Partner

from

http://www.yogainahurry.com

Yoga or meditation – what comes first?

Connie — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 23:39:20 +0000

Last week there were a few minutes to spare before I was teaching my class. One of my students asked: “What comes first, yoga or meditation?”

I had to think for a moment on how to answer that question. Historically, traditionally the opinion is that the end goal of any type of yoga practice is enlightenment. Enlightenment is the ability to live in a permanently blissful state regardless of what is going on around you. The blissful state arises from the knowledge that there is no separation from the divine (however you define this for you). This is the highest goal of yoga. The word “yoga” actually means “union”. Some argue it is the union of body and mind, or breath, body and mind, others are of the opinion that it is the union with the “source”.

According to the traditional teachings, to reach that enlightened, blissful state, regular meditation practice is required. Meditation was done sitting cross legged and motionless for long periods of time. It is thought that all the yoga postures were designed to make the body supple and flexible, pain-free and disease free so that the practitioner was able to:

sit cross legged
sit upright with a straight spine without slumping
sit for long periods of time without the body distracting him/her
have a healthy and undisturbed energy flow along the meridians (energy channels) in his/her body
stay healthy
live longer and therefore have more time and more of a chance to reach enlightenment (remember life expectancy a few thousand years ago was not what it is today!)

So, answering the question from a traditional point of view, I would have to say that the physical yoga postures (or hatha yoga as it is commonly referred to) are only a means to facilitate meditation and eventually enlightenment. They are the vehicle to reach that blissful state. They are secondary to the desired goal of enlightenment. My first teacher, Acharya, fully supported that view and tried to live and teach accordingly.

In our modern times, not many people in the western world are striving to reach enlightenment. Even if they did, it would be a long, hard road. Most people are unable to sit cross legged on the floor with a straight spine for long periods of time. Hip flexibility is at an all time low in the developed world.

Lots of people are struggling to get a reasonable amount of sleep due to too many commitments. A lot of women in particular arrive at my class totally exhausted.

One of my classes at the gym has a 5 minute relaxation at the the end. (A classic case of “Yoga in a Hurry”). As soon as I get people to lie down, a number of them fall asleep literally within seconds.

It is a pity, because they don’t hear what I say, they are unable to pick up the skills to eventually put themselves through the process of relaxation without me. They don’t internalise the breathing techniques so they will never become second nature to them and help them through difficult times in their lives. The only time they let go and relax is during class.

For a number of my students, doing the yoga postures with a lot of awareness and staying in one single pose for up to 60 seconds is a massive challenge. It is not the physical level that is so challenging, but the emotional and mental side of things is extremely difficult. Most people are not used to spending time with themselves and their bodies. 60 seconds of silence and complete focus on oneself is stressful and disconcerting. Mental images may arise, memories might surface, uncomfortable questions may pop up, physical pain suddenly gets noticed…..All of this is covered up during normal, everyday life through overcommitment and being busy.

I think this is scary. What are we doing to ourselves? As a society, as human beings in general, as parents and as partners?

Coming back to my student’s question: What comes first, Yoga or Meditation?

For a lot of people in the western world the physical yoga postures double up as their meditation. Yoga students have to slow down, become aware of things they normally never observe (like their breath, their posture, they way they use their joints and many more….). Awareness gets rotated around the body, breathing slows down, the mind becomes less restless. Just having the mind track only one thing for a full hour provides immediate relief for stressed-out minds. It is like a holiday. No multitasking. Not 100 things clamouring for our attention all at the same time. The only task is to be present in class to focus on only one thing at a time.

So my answer to the question: “What comes first, Yoga or Meditation?” is:

traditionally physical yoga precedes meditation
physical yoga postures are a tool to prepare the body and mind for meditation
meditation is considered more valuable than the physical postures
meditation is a tool to reach enlightenment

BUT my opinion is:

for a lot of students doing the physical yoga poses actually is their meditation
western minds are in great need of relaxation
relaxation has to be re-learnt, most of my students have the lost the ability
relaxation has to be mastered before meditation can be attempted
the body has to be comfortable for the mind to be able to relax
meditation needs to be introduced slowly and gradually, in short bursts

So this is my long answer to a seemingly simple question. You may have a completely different opinion. I would love to hear your comments.

Connie,

Your Yoga Partner

from

http://www.yogainahurry.com

Yoga in a Hurry » Yoga Philosophy

Are You OK Day on 29 November 2009

Related posts

How Yoga Can Help Carers

Related posts

How to achieve Serenity or Peace Within

Related posts

Joy – Some Inspirational Thoughts

Related posts

Ayurvedic Personality Types

Related posts

Ayurveda Basics

Related posts

Mind Your Words – an interesting parable

Related posts

Yoga And The Web – Words And Thoughts Caught In The Web Forever?

Related posts

Adversity Doesn’t Build Character – It Reveals It!

Related posts

Yoga or meditation – what comes first?

Related posts