Whew. It’s a good thing that making regular blog postings wasn’t one of my resolutions for 2012. These past 8+ months have been joyfully full – I’ve moved back to dc, continued offering classes and workshops in DC and Frederick, launched an mp3 series, and made another pilgrimage to India.

As summer winds down and school starts again, there is a palpable rise of both excitement and anxiety in the air. The excitement is great, but the anxiety certainly isn’t and can often be caused by attachment to results. Because of this, I find that the following lines from the Bhagavad Gita are particularly useful for students:

You have the right to work, but never to the

fruit of the work. You should never engage in action

for the sake of reward, nor should you long for

inaction. Perform work in this world, Arjuna,

as a man established within himself – without

selfish attachments, and alike in success and

defeat. For yoga is perfect evenness of mind.

…Those who are motivated only by desire for the

fruits of action are miserable, for they are constantly

anxious about the results of what they do. When

consciousness is unified, however, all vain anxiety

is left behind. There is no cause for worry, whether

things go well or ill. Therefore, devote yourself to

the disciplines of yoga, for yoga in skill in action.” (Chapter 2, 47-50)

I remember when I was in graduate school, there were times when I would feel so anxious about how a professor might read my paper, it would become much more difficult to work because less of my energy and awareness was available for thinking and writing. I was so attached to the end result that my capacity to actually do the work and contribute my research was diminished.  At other times, when I was focused on research and writing in itself to contribute, not only was I happier working, but my work was better.

Now, much of my work is on the yoga mat and this teaching becomes more physically obvious. In shapes that are challenging for me, like pinchamayurasana, when I think about placing myself upside down as a goal and attach myself to whether is it going to happen, I can feel so anxious that it becomes impossible, but when I attend to the key actions of pressing the forearms down, lifting through the legs and pulling the inner thighs together, it becomes possible.  Perhaps, better said, I am able to do the work precisely because I am not focusing on receiving a reward to my ego. By not focusing so much on achieving a final shape or end result, more attention is available to engage in every moment. Maybe think about this when you are writing that first or final paper.

One way that the Merriam – Webster dictionary defines resolution is:

• firm or unwavering adherence to one’s purpose

As we cross into the new year, many people are inspired to make a resolution or two. This year, I hope to be able to make resolutions that are truly meaningful. By being meaningful, the resolutions in themselves will be worthwhile and easier to keep. Following the above definition, to make a resolution that is significant, we first need to identify our purpose. Finding purpose can be an immense task, so great advice is needed.

To uncover purpose in the greatest sense, I find the advice given by Krishna to Arjuna in Bhagavad Gita to be very valuable. In this ancient Hindu text, which centers on how to live, Krishna instructs Arjuna,

“Strive constantly to serve the welfare of the world; by devotion to selfless work one attains the supreme goal of life. Do your work with the welfare of others in mind…What the outstanding person does, others will try to do. The standards such people create will be followed by the world…The ignorant work for their own profit, Arjuna; the wise work for the welfare of the world, without thought for themselves.”

This guidance encourages us to have the largest of purposes – to serve others – and in doing so, we work for the good of the world.  So how might serving others play into the making and keeping of a New Year’s Resolution? If our purpose is to serve others, we can define our resolutions as offerings. Although how others are served can be direct or indirect, the crucial part is remembering why we are doing whatever we are doing, and how we word our resolutions can impact this. To illustrate this, here are 3 of my resolution-offerings for 2012:

1. I will offer to the planet and future generations my devoted use of public transportation, a water bottle and travel coffee mug.
2. I will offer one simple (or not so simple) act of service to another person each day.
3. I will offer my consistent personal morning pranayama and meditation practice to my interactions with all people. By being more energized and centered, I will be better able to serve others.

What will you offer in 2012? (Please post below)

I wish you a fantastic new year that is full of meaning!!!

Five Things That I am Very Grateful For

• This great planet that supports us all. Not only do we have everything we need to live here, but we are also able to enjoy natural beauty without manufacturing it.
• My students. These fantastic people give me a reason to teach what I love. They are often also my teachers! A special thanks to those of you who get me out of bed before the sun rises.
• My teachers.  Teachers certainly come in all forms. I am deeply grateful for my many generous formal teachers throughout my life in many disciplines. I also give thanks for my countless informal teachers that have come (as people or as situations) and have challenged me or taught me something about myself, encouraging me to grow.
• My family, friends and collaborators. Without all your support and love I would surely not even be writing this post right now!
• That I exist in this time and space. I feel so fortunate to be alive – it is wonderful to get to breathe, move, receive, offer, and express.

What are you most grateful for? Please post it as a comment below.

Even at the risk of sounding like a very cliché yoga instructor, I must admit that I am grateful for doublepigeon. No, I was not born with open hips and running over 60 miles a week for several years certainly did not open my hips. I am not a masochist or someone who adheres to a “no pain, no gain” philosophy. There are even days when my top knee is several inches above my bottom ankle. Nevertheless, I am grateful for double pigeon. Here are the top three reasons for my gratitude:

1. It is an effective hip-opener. No matter how deep I go into the shape, I enjoy the benefits of the hip and low back release.
2. It reminds me of the importance the depth of experience as opposed to physical depth into the actual asana. There was a long time when I would try to force my knee to my ankle and become numb to sensation. Since I was forcing, my hips resisted and would not open. Nowadays, I know that the hips cannot be forced open, so I take my time and enjoy (ok, at least experience) the sensations of the hip release. As I let go into this process rather than force it, my hips release faster.
3. It fully engages my attention. On days when I have done a lot of standing or activity, the intense sensation in the outer hip obliges me to pay full attention to the moment at hand. It is an incredibly strong reminder that I am alive and that I *get* to open my hips.

In his commentary on the Yoga Spandakarika, Daniel Odier explains that when we give up trying to make our lives fixed, our experience becomes more intense because movement can come into fullness.  I would add that our experience becomes larger and more expansive because we no longer dedicate part of ourselves to trying to control the uncontrollable and thus have more of ourselves available to experience. For example, if I forcefully tried to keep the leaves from falling off of the trees, I would expend a lot of energy doing so and would also not get to experience the graceful beauty with which they fall or their fabulous blooming in the spring.  In contrast, by simply experiencing the change, more of myself would be available to watch the exquisiteness of their natural cycle.

In yoga asana practice, we experience something similar when we try to balance standing on one leg. If we try too hard to balance, to be completely, rigidly still, we are almost doomed to ungracefully fall. Conversely, if we allow our weight to subtly shift so that we can realign our bodies in space, our balance becomes both more dynamic and sustainable. In this way, balance becomes a dance. This is not too idealized if we can understand nature as a dance. Wolf Dieter Storl poetically explains:

“All of Nature is dance; the dance of the wind and waves, the rounds                of seasons and tides, the swirl of the planets and galaxies, the coming and going of thoughts and feelings, going on endlessly. At long last, even the scientists cannot ignore the metaphor and begin to talk meaningfully of the dance of subatomic particles swirling through the cosmos as ever transforming fields of matter and energy…What is dance, but the continual loss and instantaneous regaining of balance?” (139)

When we allow a standing balance shape to be a dance, our jaws soften, our breath deepens and we are able to more fully experience what it feels like to stand on one leg. Fortunately, we also fall less and more gracefully when we do fall.

Imagine if we could apply this to the flow of our daily lives. What would happen if we could experience any shift in our lives– joyful, sad, monumental, subtle, terrifying – as simply part of the great dance of being alive. How would our day-to-day, moment-to-moment experience shift?

To explore the embodied dance of standing balance in a backbending shape, come join me at my Natarajasana workshop on November 5^th.  While you don’t need to be able to catch your foot behind your head to join us, you do need to bring your breath and awareness. For more info, see the “Workshops” tab.

Also, if you are interested in hip opening, you could stop by the early morning classes  at Dupont where we are developing hip opening, standing balance shapes until Thanksgiving.

As the trees lose their leaves in a blaze of red, orange, and yellow and nature moves through a great exhalation in the transition from warm to cool weather, I have a confession to make: I love to exhale. Although I appreciate that inhales are both necessary and nourishing as they bring in the needed oxygen to cells to stay alive, I find exhaling immensely satisfying.

Here are a few reasons why you will also come to love exhaling:

Exhales are purifying. When we exhale, we get rid of unnecessary gases, namely carbon dioxide, out of the blood and body.

Exhales are calming and always accessible. When you exhale, receptors in the aortic and carotoid sinuses stimulate a shift for your heart to beat more slowly. This means that if you take longer to exhale than inhale, the effect will be a slower heart rate. Exhaling more slowly than you inhale is a way—and one that is always available to you—to reduce fear and anxiety. Try inhaling for 3 counts and exhaling of 6 counts several times and see if you can feel the difference.

Exhalations are relaxing by nature. By contrast, inhalations can take place only as a result of muscular activity. The elasticity of the lungs keeps pulling them to a smaller size. This means that we can exhale simply by relaxing.

Exhaling facilitate letting go.  Many people exhale loudly and fully when they feel their stress levels rising and subconsciously (or consciously) know that they need to let go. Perhaps this is because when we breathe out, we can let go of unnecessary holding and surrender to the present moment. In the poetic words of B.K.S Iyengar, “Exhalation is the outflow of the individual energy to unite with the cosmic energy. It quiets and silences the brain. It is the surrender of the sādhaka’s ego to and immersion in the Self.” (100)

 

To learn more, check out:

Science of Breath: A Practical Guide by Swami Rama, Rudolph Ballentine, and Alan Hymes

Anatomy of Hatha Yoga by H. David Coulter

Prana Pranayama Prana Vidya by Swami Niranjananda Saraswati

Light on Pranayama: The Yogic Art of Breathing by B.K.S. Iyengar

I used to not be a morning person (Gasp!). Better said, I had poorly aligned my daily rhythms with the natural cycles of sunrise and sunset. Nowadays, I don’t just wake up most mornings at 5 a.m., I wake up refreshed and inspired. This pattern didn’t happen overnight, but through much trial and error over many years. Recently, several students have asked me how to get up early enough to come to a sunrise yoga class, so I would like to offer what I have learned through this process. I hope this is useful for those of you who would like to get up at the break of day.

For several years, I tried, rather unsuccessfully, to consistently wake with the sun. Then, three years ago, I began teaching early morning yoga classes and was compelled to rise early with regularity. I always woke up on time, but not always with inspiration or with even any desire to get myself out of bed. Some mornings, it felt like my sheets actually conspired with my blankets to pull me back into bed. Fortunately, after working with some very simple Ayurvedic practices, I now wake early consistently, and with energy and inspiration. The following is what I have learned through this process.

Why you might want to wake early:

1. It works with, rather than against, the natural rhythms of sunrise and sunset, which are linked to the circadian rhythms that our bodies follow. Dr. John Douillard explains, “All of nature’s creatures, including human beings, operate according to daily diurnal or circadian rhythms – patterns of physiological functioning that repeat every 24 hours…In humans, specific biochemical patterns recur regularly and predictably, day after day. For example, cortisol, which is produced by the body and released into the bloodstream to help you deal with the stress of daily life, increases in the early morning hours and decreases in the evening. When you sleep, blood pressure, heart rate, and body temperature drop, then rise again in the morning.” (77) By waking early, you are able to take advantage of your body’s chemistry, rather than find ways to overcome it.
2. Waking early sets the tone for your day with intention. There are many ways to set the tone of your day such as through meditation, prayer, or spending time with loved ones. You may even like to start your day with a yoga practice.
3. An early rise allows you to see the sun rise and enjoy natural beauty before there is a lot of activity and distraction outside. There are more than a few poems written about this beauty, so I don’t need to write about how awe-inspiring it is—experience the early hours of the day and you will see why they are almost magical.

How to wake early, feeling refreshed and inspired:

1. Have a good reason. (See above.) Without sincere motivation, everything else on this list becomes harder to do. Conversely, with a good reason, everything else becomes easier to do, because you want to do it.  There are an infinite number of reasons to wake early and you probably have your own reasons, the above are just a few more. Whatever your own personal motivations are, be clear and sincere about them.
2. Go to bed early – sleep is important. “Early” most likely means before or around 10 p.m. Also, in the Ayurvedic system, it is good to go to bed early because, between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., your internal cleansing cycle works at its peak if you are not busy with something else. If you have trouble sleeping, try drinking a glass of warm milk an hour or two beforehand or enjoy a relaxing yoga practice in the evening.
3. Don’t eat late. Try it and see if you feel more refreshed when you wake up. Dr. Vasant Lad writes, “Eating late at night will completely change the body chemistry; sleep will be disturbed and one will have unsettling dreams so that upon awakening one will not feel refreshed. If dinner is eaten by six o’clock, by nine the stomach will be empty and sleep will be sound.” (105)
4. Make your first (or second) thought of the day worthwhile.  For example, sometime before I get out of bed, I give thanks that I woke up again and get to experience another day.
5. Have a routine. Knowing exactly what you are going to do once you get out of bed will give you more motivation to get up and get going.

A few books either cited above or that I find useful:

Douillard, John. Body, Mind and Sport: The Mind-Body Guide to Lifelong Fitness and Your Personal Best. New York, Harmony Books, 1994.

Johari, Harish. Dhanwantri: A Complete Guide to the Ayurvedic Life. Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press, 1998.

Lad, Vasant. Ayurveda: The Science of Self-Healing, A Practical Guide. Twin Lakes, WI: Lotus Press, 2004.

Tiwari, Maya. The Path of Practice: A Woman’s Book of Ayurvedic Healing. New York: Ballantine Books, 2000.

See you at sunrise!