mantra

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Yoga Books

September 21, 2009 in Yoga, abundance, books | Add Your Comment

 I’m often asked "What Yoga books would you recommend?"   I have more than a few favorites, but first a caveat.

Jnanna Yoga is the pursuit of knowledge.  However it can be a trap.  When we approach our Yoga studies like the rest of our modern lives we ‘collect’ Yoga knowledge. We stuff ourselves with the facts and figures and leave no room for clear understanding.  Our culture is about more.  Yoga is about less.  

There are acres of ancient texts available, ancient maps to liberation, We’re fortunate that the modern masters have translated them for us.  As usual in our culture, we can drown in our abundance.  

Paramahansa Yogananda taught that once we integrate a single sentence into our lives, only then should we move on to the next line.  A book would last a while huh?

When we approach our practice from the point of less is more, then we can appreciate the subtle.  No need to run after every workshop, or fill your schedule with classes.  Honor the space between things.  This practice of space shows up in our lives, doing less, needing less, making some space for the unfolding.  Pour a cup of something. Sit and sip. That’s enough.  

I was brought to this most amazing Puja, (fire worship) for Chamundi, a form of the Mother. Very complex.  All sorts of Mudras, Mantras, songs, and offerings to the fire.  It took 4+ hours to conclude.  At the end my teacher handed me a mala, and whispered a mantra in my ear.  "Condensed" he said.  The entire 4 hour ceremony contained in 7 words.  Yes, the rituals are sacred and important, but balance is key.

You’ll never learn all the mantras.  No need to, they are all contained in our sacred sound ‘Om.’  Can you really feel Om?  It’s no surprise that we need to approach our Yoga Studies in a Yogic mindset of balance.  Can we practice that most ancient Mantra of ‘enough?"  Okay.  here’s the short list:

I have a well used, and often referred to copy of the Jivamukti book:  

Jivamukti Yoga: Practices for Liberating Body and Soul

and you’ll need a copy of the Sutras:

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: Commentary on the Raja Yoga Sutras by Sri Swami Satchidananda

 and perhaps a  translation of the Bhagavad Gita:

The Bhagavad Gita : A Walkthrough for Westerners

Start there.  Savor them, a page a day.  Let me know what you think. The teachings are vast, give up the idea of absorbing them all this time around.  

Om Shanti,  I’ll see you in class.

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Kirtan

July 24, 2009 in Yoga, music | 2 comments

 I’ve been asked several times this week, "What is Kirtan?"   

The experience of Kirtan is beyond words, But I’ll give it a try.  Technically, Kirtan is a method of learning via call and response. Back before teachings were written down, they were passed in an oral tradition.  Students would learn the acres of scripture by repetition and rhythm.  

In the Vaishnava tradition, Kirtan is the only way to self-realization that works in our current times. Way back in the Sat-Yuga, (age of truth) people lived to be 100,000 years old, and that is the last time that Yoga really worked.  In our current age, Kali-Yug,  the age of darkness, we don’t have enough time, and must recite the name of divinity to realize our own divine nature. 

If we lived to be 100,000 years old, our IRA’s might have enough time to recover huh?

In our culture, Kirtan has come to mean songs of devotion, called out in Sanskrit by a leader; responded to in chorus along with some instruments.  You hear some of these songs in Yoga class.  The voices unite, and you feel really good after.  You can ‘hide’ in the chorus until you find your range, and join in…. Everyone can sing kirtan.  Really.

My personal experience of Kirtan is that the whole of Yoga is contained within it.

The songs are sweet, or Ahimsic in nature.  They are devotional: Ishvara Pranidad.  We sit still, in Asana.  These Mantras takes all our breath, a focused Pranayama.

Once The rhythm is established, we slide into Pratyahara, a withdrawal from the external senses.  This brings about a single point of focus: Dharana, the gateway to Meditation: Dhyana.  In this meditation we are cleansed of negative thoughts and emotions: Kriya.

When the music stops, In that viscous-stillness we look within: Swadyaya, and get a glimpse of Samadhi, our blissful true nature.  

That’s a sliver of how Kirtan has unfolded for me.  To find your truth about Kirtan, come try.  I host at least once a month, and maintain the Boston Kirtan Facebook group where you can find out about all the local offerings.

Namaste.

-j

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Guru Purnima

July 7, 2009 in Yoga | 3 comments

On this Day, the full moon between July and August.  We are asked to remember our teachers, and honor the scriptures and textbooks that bring us knowledge and light the way on our path.

GURU BRAHMA,
GURU VISHNU,
GURU DEVO MAHESHWARAH
GURU SAKSHAT PARA-BRAHMA,
TASMAI SHRI GURUVE NAMAH.
  

Guru is creator

Guru is Sustainer

Guru is Transformer

Reverence for all my teachers.

Guru Sakshat is the phrase that is most predominant in our Physical Yoga practice.  this is the current teacher, in this moment what can you learn about yourself, and your world-view.  

 Create the posture, you are Brahma.  

Sustain the posture you are Vishnu.   

Watch for what is revealed in this moment.  The fragile space between doing. This is the essence of Guru Sakshat.  Learning what we can from our current predicament.  

Whether the quiet space of child’s posture, or becoming the eye of the storm in your most challenging posture.  This is it, this is where the Yoga comes.  don’t miss it. 

Release the posture back to where it came from,

you are Maheshwarah, or Shiva.  Transformation.

 We have to release what is, to make room for what we are becoming.  

 See all as your Guru, especially your biggest challenges.

Om Shanti, I’ll see you in class.

John

 


 

 

 

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Making Time for Practice

June 4, 2009 in Yoga | 2 comments

Namaste!

Just when I had thought I’d heard all the reasons not to practice, A regular and committed student told me: "My Dog ate my mala."  Didn’t we all try that in grade school with our homework?

For those new to Yoga, a Mala is a string of beads we use to keep track in our mantra, or Japa Mala practice.  The beads help focus our mind, and keep our commitment to the practice.

There are countless distractions to our regular practice, and without a firm commitment, our practice can become peripheral, or slip away completely. 

 There’s a great story from my teacher’s teacher Sri Brahmananda Saraswati.  A student asked how to make time for his meditation practice, and he replied, "No problem, 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes in the evening."  The student replied, "But I don’t have 10 minutes."  "Oh, Then you need an hour" was the teachers response.  

With regular practice, lasting benefits come, 10 minutes a day in between the days you take a class really help your practice to stay fresh, your mind, and body to stay supple. Where can we slow down, and make space for stillness, and a concentrated practice?  

What works best for me is getting some early morning practice in, then finding opportunities throughout the day to practice Asana and Mantra;  I plant and tend a garden at a friends house, and the walk there is a beautiful opportunity for spontaneous meditation practice.  

Sometimes it’s Japa Mala, a song, or silent appreciation is what’s needed.  What serves me best is getting out of my own way, and letting my practice out.   Slow down. Breathe. A glass of iced tea can be a meditation.  Weave practice into your day and your day will become practice.  

As the ‘nice’ weather rewards us for the Tapas of New England Winter, it’s been traditional over the years for the studios to empty out.  Not so these last few years, especially at Yoga and Nia For Life.  (Sometimes we take refuge in turning on the air conditioning)  

A bunch of us are meeting up for the special 108 minute Summer Solstice class on Sunday June 21, 12:30.   Hope you can join us!

For the record, L. and M’s dog really did eat their Mala.  I made sure to get them another, and they are practicing regularly.  If you’d like to learn Japa meditation, (it’s great beach-walking practice) let me know, we often practice this in our workshops and focus classes.  

Please share where you fit in practice, click on the ‘add your comment’ link in the upper left hand corner.  We can all learn from each other.

Om Shanti, I’ll see you in class.

-john

P.S.  Our Fall retreat is fully booked up, I’m forming a short wait-list, and if there’s enough people interested in coming we can explore adding a second weekend.  There’s also been many requests for a Spring retreat.  Let me know if that interests you, and I’ll see if we can set something up.  

 

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Mantra Yoga

May 20, 2008 in Yoga | 2 comments

Namaste.

In Japa Mala Mantra practice, once you learn the technique and mechanics, the key to results is focus, and practice.

Focus: on the result you wish to see, if it’s change, phrase it in a positive tense, see yourself as already in that new state. Really experience it with all your senses. How does it feel?

Practice: if this is new to you resolve to practice your mantra 4,000 times then, follow through with it.

Sounds like a lot? just 1 round a day for 40 days, a round each in the am and pm for 20 days, or the fast track, 4 times a day for 10 days. You can do this. You’ll be glad you’ve done this.

In the engineering community we had a saying, Want change? Make change.

Change takes action!

Thought is a start, plants the seed.

Thought + intention = the potential for change.

Thought + intention + regular practice = Transformation

This is a science. The science of clearly focusing the mind, (dharana) to make space for meditation(Dhyanna.) If you practice, you will see the results. Remember that it’s just one of many paths.

Don’t rush, fully articulate your mantra, respect the space between the beads, and the sounds. Like the transitions in your breath and your asanas, everything matters…. or nothing matters.

If you’re wearing your mala, it’s the right wrist (sun) for men, the left wrist (Lunar) for women.

I’d be glad to answer any questions, send an email or ask me after class.

Om shanti, peace… I’ll see you in class

john

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