ClemsonYoga

Letter to Yoga Journal August 2010 by Judith Lasater

 

 

Posted Yesterday on Facebook

 

 

 

Yoga Journal was born in my living room in Berkeley in 1975, where I was one of
five yoga practitioner-teachers who gathered to create the magazine. I have
loved the magazine ever since. But I'm concerned about ads that have stimulated
both confusion and sadness in me about where the magazine is now and where it is
headed.

I am confused because I do not understand how photos of naked or half-naked
women are connected with the sale of practice products for asana, an important
part of yoga. These pictures do not teach the viewer about yoga practice or
themselves. They aren't even about the celebration of the beauty of the human
body or the beauty of the poses, which I support. These ads are just about
selling a product. This approach is something I though belonged (unfortunately)
to the larger culture, but not in Yoga Journal.

Finally, I feel sad because it seems that Yoga Journal has become just another
voice for the status quo and not for elevating us to the higher values of yoga:
spiritual integration, compassion and selfless service. My request is that Yoga
Journal doesn't run ads with photos that exploit the sexuality of young women in
order to sell products or more magazines. Thank you for your attention and
willingness to hear another point of view.

Judith Hanson Lasater
San Francisco, CA

 

To Samadhi and Back

The eight limbs of yoga were first introduced to me as something that you experience in a linear fashion.  First you practice the yamas, niyamas, pranayma and asana.  Then as your practice advances, the remaining limbs naturally unfold and you naturally come to live in a permanent and complete state of samadhi.

But there is very little in yoga that is linear.  Maybe triangle pose and side angle pose, but even then what is linear in these poses is translated by the landscape of each person's body, mind, and breath.  Instead of this journey from point a to point h, could it be that we travel this route continuously and this is how our awareness expands?  Is it possible that each time we come to a state of samadhi, we carry a little bit of it with us?

Since nothing is perfect, challenges lay in wait everywhere, even after a complete state of unity.  But still, we are better able to move through challenges and recover equilibrium if we get blown off track because we have experienced a complete unity, even if it was for just a moment.   With each experience in samadhi, we are better able to avoid getting caught up in turmoil and wasting a lot of time and energy on frustration or anxiety.  Maybe this little piece of samadhi gets bigger and bigger each time we reach that state.  Maybe at some point we do live full time in samadhi. 

I definitely think it's something that can be visited by any of us, whether or not we practice yoga.  And I definitely think it's something that can be cultivated.  There are few things in life where after just one moment, your state of being is completely altered and you come to live in that state for the rest of your life.  The birth of a child is like that, but even new parents go through months of adjustment to their new life after birth.  It's not like you get an injection of something that replaces every cell of your body and suddenly you are enlightened.  Some may argue this.

But the things that come quickly can quickly fall apart and often don't have holding power.  Also, the consequential shifts (in mind, body, relationships, you name it) to maintain balance are too great.  Why not visit and revisit states of being to better understand them and maintain them?  Why not invest your entire life to experience rather than an end point?

Embodiment

The reason that I love to practice hatha yoga is because it is a way for me to embody the things that I believe and the truths that I have come to understand.  Vinyasa, or breath linked with movement, is a way to distill my awareness, a way for me to see more clearly, and a way to find my own counsel.  What I come to realize is in my own body.  This brings a great deal of satisfaction to me and groundedness. 

I have a lot of work to do.  I am someone who overthinks things.  So, to have a physical practice, is a way to get out of my head and bring the things that I believe into being in my own life.  By doing this everyday, it helps me off the mat in making decisions and taking action.  I can do both in better alignment with what I understand as central to me. 

It's easy to think about things, how they should be, how they are, etc.  It's a whole other bucket of fish when you take what you think and bring it into your being and into the world.  A hatha yoga practice is a way to fortify these efforts and make real something that is only an idea or truth that you have captured.

For New Yoga Students

Here is a guideline for new students

1. The class I am offering at the moment is an all levels class and ongoing.  You can join in anytime and if you get a class package, it is good for six months.
2. Be sure to tell me if you have any physical limitations and, ladies, certainly tell me if you are/might be pregnant.
3. Bring a mat to class if you have one.  Wal-Mart and Target carry mats.  Sometimes Big Lots, and places like TJ Maxx and Ross do too.
4. Wear clothes to class that will stretch with you, nothing too tight or too loose.  Track pants and a form fitting t-shirt do the trick.  You don't necessarily need a yoga wardrobe. 
5. Sometimes new students want to keep their socks on in class.  We do yoga barefoot and for a few reasons:  a) you have better traction on the mat; b) it helps you become more grounded which is one of the basic objectives in practicing; and c) everyone else is barefoot, why not you? (yes, I am preying on a newbie's sense of conformity there, but only for the highest good.)
6. Be sure to thank yourself for showing up.

An Exercise for too many questions and confusion in the experience

When we are in a state of confusion or indecision and don't know what to do, most of the time it's because we are caught between two points of view.  My neighbor, Dori, gives good counsel and told me something we can do when we are in this state. 

Most of the time, when we feel conflict or doubt, it's because we are questioning too much.  I know for me I get caught up in this and often it comes out when I see all sides of a situation and don't know what is right for all.  So, I question any potential decisions.  But we need to take a step back and observe the questions and how they affect us in the moment.  We also need to get in touch with what we are experiencing and even ask what exactly are we experiencing in this moment.  The whole time going through this interplay between questioning and experiencing, we need to observe.  From observing the interplay, we can find our way and the right answers to a situation. 

May this help us all be a little more clear and a little more at peace.

Meditation

Meditation is pretty straightforward.  You sit and clear your mind of all thoughts.  Simple enough, right?  The thing is the mind does not just stop thinking.  So, meditation in the beginning is training the mind to stop thinking. 

There are many meditation techniques, and the one that I use most is mindfulness meditation, also known as insight meditation.  This one goes anywhere and with any activity, not just sitting in one spot.  To start, sitting in one spot can get you plugged into the technique.  Choose a quiet space where there will be no interruptions and sit comfortably.  Let yourself settle a little and keep your attention at the bottom of your naval, gaze at the tip of your nose or a spot in front of you no more than three feet away.  On the in breath count one, out breath two.  Keep counting until you get to 10, then start over.  For one session, do 10 rounds to start, which takes about 10 minutes.

The mindfulness part is when thoughts start to creep in and draw your attention away.  When you realize this is happening, just notice it and let it ride out of your mind with your next outbreath.  Some of the static that the mind  generates can be very persistent.  Just be patient.  Acknowledge the thought, the feeling, the image, the sound, the whatever and most of the time is dissipates immediately. 

There's a part of everyone that is the Observer.  When we meditate, we are simply clearing the space for the Observer.

If you are interested in learning other techniques or more about insight meditation, there are a ton of books out there.  But we really don't need to read all that much about meditation.  It's like yoga, a practice.

As for me, meditation has been one of my anchors.  Like yoga, it helps me understand myself and to stay centered rather than getting pulled around by the nose by my emotions or stuff going on outside of me. 

If you want peace, start meditating. 

Focal Points Part II

October Schedule

At The Garden
Week of Oct 2nd we will have class on Weds the 4th only.  The rest of the month is the normal Weds Thurs schedule.

At the Rec Center
October 21st and 28th

Hope to see you!

Practice Notes
One thing about using the dristi in practice is that suddenly it's not your head that is in charge.  Using the focal points puts our heads in the right place - as part of the body.  Using dristi can also pull us into a state of concentration because the eyes are not floating around the room settling on one thing and then another which stimulates thoughts about other things and keeps us from experiencing yoga in our practice.  Sticking with the gazing point is much like meditation, the eyes will fight this kind of focus to wander.  As we bring ourselves time and again back to the gazing point in a pose, eventually our heads will surrender to being part of the body rather than the leader.

The Eight Limbs

The Eight Limbs of Yoga are

Yamas - restraints

Niyamas - observances

Asanas - postures

Pranayama - breath work

Pratyahara - withdrawal of the senses

Dharana - concentration, which leads to

Dhyana - meditation, which leads to

Samadhi - Complete unity with the Self

In ashtanga vinyasa yoga, the sequence of poses is considered a complete way through the eight limbs of yoga.  The first two limbs, a practitioner cultivates in his or her life while practicing the asanas.  This is also cultivated through the use of intention in practice.  After some time with practicing the asanas, there is a formal pranayama practice in ashtanga vinyasa yoga.  The pranayama practice is introduced by a qualified teacher.  From the instruction that I have received, there are a couple of techniques that are fine to introduce to students who may not be ready for the full formal pranayama practice.  As for what we are doing, I can introduce these techniques in class, and complement our pranayama practice with other breathing techniques that we know and love such as the three part breath, six part breath, and alternate nostril breath.

It is advised that the yoga practitioner concentrate his or her practice in the first four limbs and subsequently, the other half of ashtanga yoga will develop naturally.  If we are fully concentrating on postures, breath (this includes bandhas), and dristi (gazing point), over time we will naturally flow into a withdrawal of the senses, thus bringing about a state of concentration which leads to a meditative state which eventually brings about samadhi, the final merging or Yoga.

How long does it take?  Coming to a state of meditation where the mind is at complete rest is a tricky thing.  We use our brains to process this information, and so, is immediately accessible  to the mind.  It is easy for the mind to fool us into thinking that we have achieved things that we truly have not achieved.  I think it can work the other way.  Maybe we do not believe that a final unity in our lifietime is possible and so we block ourselves because we don't think that it can or has happened.  This think is overseen by the mind.  The best that we can do is to be clear about our intentions when we practice and be the watcher as we move through the process on and off the mat.

Focal Points

In July, we will have the normal Wednesday and Thursday classes at the garden, except for Thursday, July 28th.  I will teach one Saturday at the Rec Center this month on the 15th.

Class Notes

Each yoga pose has a focal point.  Rather than letting the eyes roam all over the body and general vicinity, the gaze should stay steady.  A steady gaze, listening to the breath, using bandhas, and holding the pose in the most complete way you can are all what should be happening when practicing yoga.  This creates a withdrawal of the senses, cultivates concentration, and helps you on your way to experiencing a true meditative state.
Ah, but training the eyes can be like training the mind.  A small child that wants to go everywhere and resist sitting still.  As with children, once the eyes have wandered, just bring them back to the focal point.  And this is what I want to emphasize in class for the next while, especially in sun salutations.

Hope you can join me!
-Renee

Rec Center Schedule and Class Notes

This month I'm at the Rec Center April 1st, 15th, and 29th.

Class Notes
The bandhas are elusive to talk about, but here's some new understandings that I have gained and have been trying to share in class.  Bandhas and breath are considered the same.  There is a triad in yoga practice that we all should strive to use.  Breath and bandhas is the first component, the postures are the second, and the third component of a good yoga practice is the gazing point.  The most basic engagement of a bandha is the contraction of muscles.  Lately, I have come to realize that through the use of bandha, the breath becomes more refined and so the body can more effectively go into, hold, and move out of a pose.  The two main bandhas that I emphasize are at the perineum and just below the naval.  However, there is a bandha at the throat, in the palms of the hands, and the soles of the feet to name a few more.  I will offer more on this subject as I come to understand more. 
Thanks,
Renee

The Closing Chant - Mangala Mantra

Below is the closing chant that we have been practicing in the Thursday class.  I also have the translation below.

OM
SWASTHI PRAJA BHYAH PARI PALA YANTAM
NYA YENA MARGENA MAHI MAHISHAHA
GO BRAHMANEBHYAHA SHUBHAMASTU NITYAM
LOKKA SAMASTHA SUKHINO BHAVANTHU
OH
SHANTI SHANTI SHANTI
OM

Let prosperity be glorified
Let rulers (administrators) rule the world with law and justice
Let Divinity and Erudition be protected
Let people of the whole world be happy and prosperous

peace peace peace