The following is from the “Daily Message” section of Paulo Coelho’s Blog. Paulo Coelho is a famous writer who wrote “The Alchemist”.

The person who drew my attention to this post is Paul Blackburn, a well known, very experienced self development teacher. I will tell you a bit more about Paul’s work in another post.

Heaven and Hell

A violent samurai warrior with a reputation for provoking fights for no reason arrived at the gates of a Zen monastery and asked to speak to the master.

Without hesitating, Ryokan went to meet him.

‘They say that intelligence is more powerful than brute force,’ said the samurai. ‘Can you explain to me what heaven and hell are?’

Ryokan said nothing.

‘You see?’ bellowed the samurai. ‘I could explain quite easily: to show someone what hell is, you just have to punch them. To show them what heaven is, you just have threaten them with terrible violence and then let them go.’

‘I don’t talk to stupid people like you,’ said the Zen master.

The blood rushed to the samurai’s head. His brain became thick with hatred.

‘That is hell,’ said Ryokan, smiling. ‘Allowing yourself to be upset by silly remarks.’

Taken aback by the monk’s courage, the samurai warrior softened.

‘And that is heaven,’ said Ryokan, inviting him in. ‘Not reacting to foolish provocations.’

Yoga takes a very similar approach:

• Detach, stay back, observe. Observe your own thoughts. Thoughts create emotions. Thoughts come first. Sometimes it happens so quickly that we miss it. We only notice the emotion but not the underlying thought.
• By observing and controlling your thoughts you can keep your emotions in check rather than your emotions controlling you.
• I know, this is much easier said than done. With practice you will make progress.
• Your first job is to notice and then observe when negative, self destructive and unhelpful thoughts are starting to rush through your mind.
• Set yourself a task for this week: every time you notice negative, unhelpful, fearful thoughts or self talk, say to yourself “stop”. This takes practice, initially you might be 5 or 10 minutes down the track before you even realise what you are doing to yourself. It doesn’t matter - just stop.
• Take a deep breath.
• Turn your mind to something positive about yourself, something you achieved today, this week, yesterday…. enjoy the feeling you create by thinking about something positive.
• Praise yourself, pat yourself on the back - say to yourself: “Well done, you are a star, this is great…” Don’t cringe, just keep encouraging yourself. After a while, it will feel quite natural.

Have a lovely day!

Stress has become a household word. I am not sure when that happened. It is written about, talked about, countless books, tapes and DVDs are available, promising quick and lasting relief. Most of those gather dust on people’s bookshelves while their stressful life continues.

What Causes Stress?

Let us have a closer look. Where does stress originate? Where does it actually start? I can hear you say: it is caused by my boss, my spouse, my teenage children, living in the city, technology……STOP!

Stress is created in one place and one place only - and that is your mind. Your big toe can’t make you tense nor can your little finger make you tense. In your mind you create all your fears, worries, stressful ideas and thoughts. Even if you wanted to, you could not go to a shop and buy a jar full of fear.

Take responsibility for your own thoughts and feelings. It is much easier to blame somebody else outside of you.This is not where the problem originates! You are creating your thoughts and feelings.

All of these feelings cannot be measured or weighed, they are intangible. Yet, they create very real, negative results in your body. They can cause high blood pressure, stomach ulcers, insomnia, tension headaches and migraines, just to name a few.

How to Manage Stress?

To free yourself from physical and mental problems you have to tame your mind. You  have to take responsibility for your mind’s actions. This might be difficult at first. You are the only one who can control your mind! You are the boss.

In a lot of the yoga literature the mind has been compared to a monkey, hopping around on a tree or from tree to tree, constantly moving around and playing tricks on us. The mind is very restless, unable to concentrate and focus on one thing for any length of time. It creates ideas of fear, anxiety and guilt which turn into feelings.

Our body responds to those feelings by tensing certain parts, cutting blood flow to one area and sending more to another one, pouring out stress hormones which then cause blood pressure to rise and lots of other nasty things. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

How to Tame Your Monkey

• First of all, be gentle with yourself. It takes tame to re-learn the art of relaxation. Don’t feel bad if your mind wanders off, gently bring it back.
• Choose a method of relaxation that suits your personality and lifestyle. It is not going to work for you to buy a lovely 1 hour relaxation CD if you can only spare 10 minutes a day.
• Some simple methods to use:
  1. Buy a guided relaxation CD that you really like and feel comfortable with. Play it as it is or download it onto your computer or ipod.
  2. Create a quiet environment without disruptions. Take the phone off the hook and turn off your mobile.
  3. Make sure you are comfortable, sit or lie down. Don’t fall asleep.
  4. Keep bringing your mind back to the relaxation, no matter how often it wanders off. Keep persevering. In the beginning that might be very difficult.
  5. Join a stress management or yoga class, it might be easier for you to be in a group environment.
  6. Get private coaching or sessions with someone you trust till you feel comfortable working on your own.
  7. Get your partner involved. Have a relaxation session together. You then will be able to support each other during the day if you notice that the other person is starting to get tense or stressed out.
  8. Teach your children how to relax - you will have a much more peaceful household. They will be able to use the techniques they learnt before their exams.
  9. As time goes on, you will feel calmer and more relaxed overall. It will take longer to “stress you out”. You will be more aware of your body and where you hold your tension.
  10. Take action! No results without doing something. Do yourself and your family a favour and start “Taming your Monkey” today.  Remember that even the longest journey starts with that single, very first step! I wish you good luck on your journey

Connie,

Your Yoga Partner

In my last post I commented on the article “Why inner peace is losing to yoga rage” published in the Sunday Telegraph on 10-2-08.

It has a section called Mat Manners which I want to share with you here:

• Aim to arrive at least five minutes before a class begins. Don’t enter if you are more than 10 minutes late.
• Turn off mobile phones or leave them outside, and do not answer a call during the class.
• Don’t wander around the room with shoes on. Take them off before you enter.
• Don’t chat or gossip with friends during the class.
• Avoid trying to compete with more advanced yoga students - attempting difficult moves can injure you and others.
• Don’t position your yoga mat too closely to others or you could hit them while attempting a pose.
• Go to the toilet beforehand.
• If you need to leave early, do so as quietly as possible.
• Attend classes that are appropriate to your experience.
• Wear deodorant.

Hmmm…seems all pretty much common sense and courtesy to me, shouldn’t be unique to yoga classes.

One point I would like to mention is that a lot of new students have no idea that yoga is done with bare feet. Make sure your feet are clean.

For a safe and effective yoga practice, a mat is essential. Most gyms here do not provide yoga mats. (Partially for financial reasons, but the other problem is to keep them clean, nice smelling and free of germs, fungi and other nasties).

You are better off to get your own mat. 

Also, make sure you wear something stretchy that clings to your body. It can get quite embarrassing when a loose t-shirt slips upwards when doing dog pose or any inverted poses, revealing your bra!

For the guys: don’t wear very short shorts - certain stretches may reveal a lot more than you bargained for.

I never forget a very overweight lady who turned up to one of my classes in a tight fitting silk blouse with buttons that were shaped like big, white pearls….you can imagine what happened……

That’s it from me for today,

Connie

from yogainahurry.com

 The Sunday Telegraph of 10-2-08 contained an article with the above heading. The subheading reads: “inconsiderate beginners are spoiling classes”.

It claims that “yoga rage is on the rise as beginners squeeze into overcrowded classes”. Newcomers are “ignorant of etiquette” and upset the “veteran students”.

After I read the whole article, I realised that it was talking mainly about classes held at gyms and one particular private yoga studio.

One yoga student who has been practising yoga for 7 years gets quoted extensively in this article. I have no idea which studio or class she attends and why the journalist chose her. The final paragraph is quoting her and it certainly is completely lacking in yoga spirit. I don’t want to quote it, it is not the sort of language I would want to put on my blog.

This only goes to show that yoga has become a very physical pursuit and that the attainment of perfect yoga poses has become the be all and end all. Never mind about the philosophy or the deeper elements - no time  - yoga in a hurry! Even so “meditation” is mentioned, at a gym it usually consists of  3-5 minutes lying down and closing your eyes with not much instruction.

Having said all this, I have to say that I never have encountered any of the problems mentioned in the article in my classes - be it at the gym or a private studio. I think it is really important to convey to students right at the beginning of each class what the expectations are and what yoga is all about. The teacher needs to show respect for the practice and lead by example. Participants who don’t like what is being said or who feel that it is just not their cup of tea will not come back.

The other problem that I can see that gyms are allowing far too many participants per class. It is all about money and profitability. This is simply not safe. It is up to the teachers to speak up about these issues and either request an assistant teacher or ask for the class to be downsized.

A separate “Mat Manners” write up accompanied the article. I will share this with you in my next post.

The Vision

It all started about 4 weeks ago. My son and I went on a bushwalk and found two beautiful, smooth stones. They both had the ideal shape to be painted, varnished and turned into beautiful snakes.

Stone snakes

My snake ended up with brown and yellow stripes with zig-zag borders. It has big eyes, two nostrils and a smiling mouth. My son’s snake has rainbow coloured stripes and the same face. According to his instructions I had to paint a big marone zig-zag stripe along its back.

Rubber and velvet snakes 

Two weeks ago we had seen a beautiful play whose main character was a cobra called “Parvati”. It was sewn out of purple velvety material, had a red tongue, big eyes and was simply magnificent.

Then my son remembered that he had a rubber rattle snake and brought it to the table while we were painting. We talked about where they lived and why they might have a rattle. We talked about pythons and the different types of snakes that lived on different continents, and discussed what they ate.

The Real Thing Materialises

Two weeks ago we went away camping with a number of other people. It got quite hot and there was a tidal creek nearby.

About eight people were jumping about in the creek, making lots of noise and splashing around. I stood near the edge, the water was only up to my knees. You can take a guess at what happened next. Suddenly there were screams from the group of people. I turned around and couldn’t believe my eyes.

There was a snake swimming across the creek, right past the noisy group of people. I had never seen anything like it - the snake swam by moving its body like it does on land. Its head and 20cm of its body were upright and sticking out of the water. It could see exactly where it was going and it could breathe.

I froze and screamed as it swam past me (less than a metre away), then it landed at the shore and slithered away into the bushes. It was at least 1.5 metres long.

I am afraid I have to inform you that all yogic thoughts, breathing techniques or anything else I learnt to cope with unexpected, stressful situations completely vanished. This was a matter of survival!

The Brown Snake

The swimming snake was identified as a Brown Snake by a knowledgable person who was swimming in the creek. I did some research today and all I can say is that sometimes “ignorance is bliss”!

This is what my research unearthed:

• The brown snake is one of Australia’s more deadly creatures. They have venom which can cause death to humans relatively quickly if left untreated.
• Snakes have no eyelids and cannot close their eyes. Their eyes are protected by a clear scale which is part of their skin and functions like a spectacle. Many snakes have excellent eyesight and most have good eyesight at least over short distances.
• Scientific Name: Common or Eastern Brown Snake = Pseudonaja textilis
• The Brown Snake may be found all over Australia. It has extremely potent venom, and although the quantity of venom injected is usually small, this snake causes more snakebite deaths in Australia than any other. Sudden and relatively early deaths have been recorded.

The above information was compiled by Chris Thompson, RPAH, Camperdown, Australia 2050

Recommended Action for you:

• Go to a reputable website for First Aid and read up about snake bites
• Australian Red Cross or St. John Ambulance are the ones in Australia
• Attend a First Aid Course and keep it up to date, procedures change all the time
• Buy two full length elastic bandages and carry them with you on all your bushwalks

By the way, snakes and their symbolism have a lot to do with Yoga! I will talk more about that in future articles.