Old ideas and new teachings

Recently one of the students in a class I taught suggested that I get into Ashtanga Yoga. I have been doing soley Vinyasa style for most of my 14 years of practice. Though nowadays every style seems to be a blend of "Vinyasa, Ashtanga and Iyengar" -still not sure what that means! I have dabbled in Iyengar style which definitely speaks to me. Though it just has not come up for me yet to find myself in Ashtanga. And there is nothing I have against it -despite the fact that many of my fellow Yogi's who are into it have told me its hard on the body and it makes them more prone to injury, but I just have not been in a place in life where it has led me there. The student who suggested it to me seemed to think I was closed off to it but really my life schedule is just filled with all kinds of things like full-time school which also includes constant studying, family, relationships and working. And then on top of that...making time for my own Yoga practice, Muay Thai training and distance running. I would love to try all the studios and all kinds of Yoga -if only I had the means and time. I often sign up for trials or buy class packages for studios to try them out but I find I rarely have time to really use them. I think that its great to be all in with all kinds of Yoga however I do feel that currently its not in my dharma. There is simply no room. So for now...I am focusing on maintaining my regular routines but still finding newness in them. Currently, I am re visiting all of my teacher training materials to discover new ways of getting into poses and also better ways of teaching them to people. Although I am limited in my time I can still make space...as well as practice practice practice!

For Samadhi, See Union.

That's what it says in Iyengar's book, Light on Life. I feel like some people put Samadhi on a pedestal. Yoga, even. Practicing Yoga doesn't make a person better than anyone else. Its a choice, "a path", a way to conduct ones life. Other people do things like Qi Gong, making art, Akido, running, Olympic weight lifting, singing - you get it. Samadhi can be translated as bliss. We experience bliss all the time! It's always there for us. Ever have that moment or day where all things align and feel right? You just feel so content there are no words. Things feel like they should be how they are. There are really no other words to explain it, but I guarantee that we've all felt it more than once.

This is the cool thing about Samadhi. It's always there for us to experience. What Yoga does is help us realize its there. Practicing Yoga helps us recognize it, feel it, and realize that its there when we want it. Maybe today things aren't going your way. You always have a choice -be really upset at the fact you cannot control the universe, OR let it go and let things run its course. The worries and stresses of everyday life are natural. We cannot always escape them, and we cannot live our lives in Samadhi everyday -its just not natural. What we can do is recognize when we've steered away from it and try to steer ourselves back to, or as close as we can to Samadhi. The union of yoga is finding that sweet spot in life where things are lined up, you feel oneness and content.

You don't have to be a monk or a swami. Just trust yourself and find it.

How do you find your center?

In studying the Yamas and Niyamas of Yoga I find great importance to the idea of Ethics. Yamas and Niyamas are all about how you treat the world around and you and how you treat yourself.

"Ethics is the glue that binds earth to Heaven. One cannot serve two masters. The only way a human being can reconcile the paradox of the demands of earth and soul is through the observation of ethical principles." From Iyengar's Light on Life

I am a person who relies on ethics in life. I find it important establishing what my limits are and how I treat the world around me. I am constantly checking and re-checking myself. Where is the boundary of right and wrong and how close do I allow myself to be to it? Does this boundary still work for me? Do I need to change my limits?

I also find that being so ethical ties me very closely to the earth. This can sometimes be a heavy and burdensome. I'm by nature and over-thinker. So, I have this breathing exercise for meditation in which I imagine I am inhaling in heaven -not religious heaven but more like the universe, the air and sky that is infinite. And on the exhale I imagine rooting in to the earth.

And with this exercise I think about this Heaven and Earth thing and what lies between...us, people. Some of use are more Heaven oriented -have you ever met someone who is so up in the clouds? Flighty? Free spirited? And then there are Earthy types...myself -very grounded and realistic, easily brought down. There is this great middle path that has a little of both of these concepts. I like this breathing exercise because I'm overly grounded it helps me to breath in the heavens and take something in that is lighter. I feel lifted and freer. For my flighty heaven people, the rooting and grounding helps balance them out as well.