Yoga is a Cure for Blindness

Yoga, and meditation in particular, is a cure for blindness, one of my teachers likes to say. In meditation, we consciously empty the mind space of old stories and make way for a new magical space of innocence, of infinite possibility. A space that is both Empty and Full at the same time. In that new space is clarity of vision.

The distance between railway tracks is always, exactly 143.5 centimeters. Why this crazy measurement? Turns out, this goes back to ancient history. The first railways were built with the same tools for building horse drawn carriages and the carriages needed to be the width of the old roads that the carriages travelled on. The Romans built the first roads and decided to make their roads that width to accommodate war chariots and the chariots were pulled by 2 horses. The horses used at the time, when side by side, measured 143.5 centimeters or 4 feet 8 1/2 inches. We built railways that way because it had always been done that way. This even affected the size of fuel tanks on the space shuttle. Engineers thought the fuel tanks should be wider, but they needed to be transported by railway!

Most of the ideas that we have about life are not really our own. We believe what we believe, more often than not, because of what others have told us to believe, or what others already believe or because that is the way it has always been done. For the adept to be able to receive new wisdom, the cup needs to have some wiggle room. We need to empty out old ideas and habitual responses that no longer serve us in order to make way for a new reality. "We need to forget who we were in order to become who we are."

If we were to change the width of railroad tracks now, the task would be enormous because of the magnitude of the size of the structure that has been built around this measurement. In life as well, the effort to change a belief is as large as the infrastructure that we have constructed around it.

"As we empty our minds of old stories, a new space opens up, a mysterious feeling of joy slips in, our intuitions grow sharper, we become braver, take more risks, do things which might be right or wrong, we can't be sure, but we do them anyway."

Paulo Coelho, The Zahir

Yoga Teacher Training

5 Day Preliminary or Supplemental Vinyasa Flow Yoga Teacher Training with Shri:
Monday thru Friday, March 15-19, 9 am to 3 pm each day
Tuition: $600

• Daily Asana Practice
• Daily Chanting Practice
• Daily Pranayama Practice
• Daily Meditation Practice
• Yoga Philosophy- 8 Limbs of Yoga
• Principles of Energetic Alignment
• 4 Techniques of Krishnamacharya Lineage
• Principles of Sequencing
• Introduction to Tantra
• 5 Tantric Kriya Meditations
• Enlightenment 101
• Yoga Nidra- Yogic Sleep

Pay Attention

The most practical advice I can give someone practicing Yoga asanas, or in life for that matter, is to pay attention. Listen carefully to your body as it speaks to you in the language of sensation, follow the thread of your breath with fascination, observe the nature of mind and be a welcoming presence that embraces all emotions. Stay present- radically aware. There is an animating quality to your attention and focus. Embedded in attention is love. We begin to love what we focus on. It is no surprise that Yogis have documented increased body acceptance.

When we pay attention on the mat- we naturally begin to pay attention in life. The Universe speaks to us in the language of signs and symbols. It speaks to us about mundane, practical issues and it speaks to us of more lofty notions. If we pay attention, we begin to access Divine guidance and inspiration and we are delivered to the perfect place at the perfect time. If we pay attention, we begin to be guided by synchronicities, one of the organizing principles of the Universe, and we might begin to get Divine nudges in more subtle ways. Perhaps the light slightly changes in a way that makes you look at something just a bit differently, maybe you feel subtle currents of energy in your body when you read something or hear something that is an important message for you at a pivotal moment- life is an adventure when we live in this way. Open to possibility- guided toward a dream bigger than we might ever dream for ourselves. She speaks....all the time....it is your job to learn how to pay attention and listen.

Rainbow Bridge Meditation

This week in the studio we are practicing the Rainbow Bridge Meditation, or Antahkarana Meditation. The Antahkarana is the highest aspect of the mind and the Rainbow Bridge Meditation builds a bridge from lower mind to higher mind, from one human to another and from the individual soul to the cosmic soul.

In Tibetan Buddhism, there is a place called Shamballa, which is most certainly the root of the legends of Shangri-la and El Dorado. Shamballa is a community of enlightened beings who are creating a Utopian society in order to teach humans how to recreate this model on Earth. There are 7 kings of Shamballa, probably a symbol for the 7 energy centers, or chakras, in humans. The kings of Shamballa are the guardians of esoteric knowledge, preserving it for a time when much of the world will be destroyed, the story goes. Each Dalai Lama is entrusted with the secret location of Shamballa and there is a ritual that each DL performs that is to create a connection between humans and Shamballa, the Kalachakra Empowerment. Kalachakra is an archetypal deity, the Time Machine Buddha, and Kalachakra Empowerment also serves to alter the participant's relationship with time. In the past, DLs have performed this ritual about every 10 years, but this 14th Dalai Lama performs it several times every year. Some say His Holiness feels that more humans are now able to build the bridge.

The Rainbow Bridge meditation also creates the link between humans and the 7 kings of Shamballa. Practitioners learn how to bring Heaven down to Earth.

Year of the Tiger

It is said that when the Buddha was on his deathbed, 12 animals came to say goodbye. To honor those animals, the Buddha used each animal as one of the 12 signs of the Zodiac in Chinese Astrology. The upcoming year is the year of the Tiger.

There are no accidents for Yogis. Everything has meaning. The location of celestial bodies at the time of your birth has meaning and most mystery schools use some science of astronomy and astrology as a means of self discovery. If you are a Tiger by your birth year, then this upcoming year will be auspicious for you, but all humans will be learning the lessons of the Tiger in this year. The gift of Tiger is to learn to place your paws mindfully. To slow down and move deliberately. We slow down so that we understand what is motivating us to speak or act right now. Are we acting from love and compassion or are we acting from fear or anger? The Upanishads teach us that action is the seed we plant that grows into the reality of our life. The actions we perform now create our future experience and what is happening right now in life is a result of past actions. It is the Yogi's work to learn to experience negative emotion without acting out. If we can resist speaking or acting from negative emotion, that negative emotion loses its power and eventually ceases to be.

Slow down.....create consciously by choosing the actions you perform.

PS: The Dalai Lama is a Dragon like me! Our next year is 2012- watch out!

Core Strengthening with Yogic Breathing

This data is from The Journal of Applied Research citing a study by the Department of Physical Therapy, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, California and the Department of Physical Therapy, Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, California.

The focus of the study was to compare the amount of core work created from traditional crunches with the core strengthening effect of Yogic breathing. The Yogic breath that was used in the study is very similar to round 1 of the breathing that is utilized in Agni Sara Kriya- the Fire Series. (The Fire Series is the 3 rounds of core work that begins with contraction and release, then the hollowing of the belly, full Uddiyana Bandha, and finally Agni Sara, the pumping in and out of the belly. The Pranayama Kappalabhati uses the same action, but with Agni Sara the goal is to pump the belly as many times as possible while holding the breath outside of the body and with Kappalabhati each contraction is synchronized with an exhale.)

"The results showed that while muscle activity during this Yoga breathing exercise was comparable to that seen during the performance of abdominal crunches, the longer duration of the breathing exercises increased the total work on the abdominal muscles up to 5 times greater than the work during crunches. Because of the high muscle activity, this form of exercise would be good for people who cannot easily exercise of the floor such as people with disabilities or obese people."
"Thus the work performed in a single breathing exercise was equivalent to 5 crunches. For the rectus abdominus, the work was about 2.5 times higher in the breathing exercises than the crunches, whereas for the obliques, the work was 6 times higher than for the crunches."

This is the work of the advanced practitioner- to create a relationship between core and breath. Our tradition is core based for physical reasons and esoteric reasons. Core strength is an indicator of overall physical fitness and the Yogis believe that your pain is stored in your core and your greatest potential lies dormant deep in the core. Keeping the core engaged requires full concentration and one pointed focus.

PS: Swami Rama says that if you only have time for one Hatha Yoga technique that it should be Agni Sara Kriya.

Mixed Level Flow Vinyasa with Live DJ Mix!

Join Us!
Thursday, Jan. 28, 6 pm to 8 pm, Mixed Level Flow Vinyasa with Shri flowing to a Live DJ Mix of Soulful Music.
$30 in advance (registration online available at http://www.blissyogashala.com/ )
$35 at the door
Ian Hyman, DJ HyFi, believes that bliss is our birthright and will be weaving together a tapestry of tunes that he feels are reflective of that state of being. Come soak up the vibe and dive deep into asana.

(Regularly scheduled 5:30 and 7:15 pm classes cancelled for this day ONLY.)