by Pete Peterson | Feb 23, 2017 | Meditation & Breathwork |
In Patanjalii’s Yoga Sutras, the 8 limbs include Pratyahara (withdrawing the senses), Dharana (intense focus), and Dhyana (meditation, or the uninterrupted awareness). Each of these limbs is in essence some form of meditation. Meditation therefore is often a part of a daily yoga practice, along with the physical postures and breathing exercises.
The number of ways and types of meditation is just as great as the number and ways of doing yoga poses. In this post I’ll explore one way to incorporate meditation into your day. This approach is called mindfulness meditation. Within this form you do things in a meditative or mindful manner, paying attention to whatever you are doing in that moment. I ran across an excellent explanation of this in a book (The Miracle of Mindfulness, 1975) by Thich Nhat Hanh.
“I usually wash the dishes after we’ve finished the evening meal, before sitting down and drinking tea with everyone else. One night, Jim asked if he might do the dishes. I said, ‘Go ahead, but if you wash the dishes you must know the way to wash them.’ Jim replied, ‘Come one, you think I don’t know how to wash the dishes?’ I answered, ‘There are two ways to wash the dishes. The first is to wash the dishes in order to have clean dishes and the second is to wash the dishes in order to wash the dishes.’…
“If while washing dishes, we think only of the cup of tea that awaits us, thus hurrying to get the dishes out of the way as if they were a nuisance, then we are not ‘washing the dishes to wash the dishes.’ What’s more, we are not alive during the time we are washing the dishes. In fact we are completely incapable of realizing the miracle of life while standing at the sink. If we can’t wash the dishes, the chances are we won’t be able to drink our tea either. While drinking the cup of tea, we will only be thinking of other things, barely aware of the cup in our hands. Thus we are sucked away into the future – and we are incapable of actually living one minute of life.” (p. 4-5).
The reason to practice mindfulness in your life is just as these paragraphs explain – to actually live the minutes of your life. Have you ever wondered where a day went? It may be that you could enjoy more, and feel less like life is slipping by practicing paying attention. Try to bring mindfulness into something each day, be it brushing your teeth, getting dressed, or even washing your dishes. See if the being present during that one activity starts to bring more mindfulness to other areas of your life as well.
Namaste,
Mary
by Pete Peterson | Feb 23, 2017 | Meditation & Breathwork |
A couple years ago, I spent an incredible month in Bali, adding to my yoga teacher tools. Imagine if you will, spending all day for a month practicing and absorbing teachings of yoga – it was amazing. Plus being in the spiritual center of Bali, Ubud, where each day the sights and sounds of their deep honoring of deities and nature abounded.
What did I come back with? A further commitment and deepening of my own practice, along with more ways to share the ancient art and science of yoga with others. I had particularly chosen the course I did for its emphasis on the breathing practices of yoga, called pranayama, as well as for the advanced meditation techniques. There are a large number of techniques for working with the breath in the yogic tradition, for many different purposes. In looking at what techniques are most generally useful, one clearly stands out. Nadi Shodhana Pranayama, or alternate nostril breathing can be helpful for almost anyone. Looking at the words of Sanskrit: Nadi = subtle energy channel; shodhan = cleansing or purification; and pranayama = breathing extending or breath controlling practice or technique.
Doing this practice, even if only for a few minutes can help you feel calmer and release accumulated tension and fatigue. The mind is typically calmer after a few minutes of this practice and your breathing tends to deepen, which can also help move the nervous system from the “fight or flight” response. If you have any stress in your life, you can benefit from this practice. While there are other energetic benefits (the cleansing of the Ida and Pingala nadis), the feeling of calmness and clarity is what most people notice and appreciate. The nice thing is that you can do this technique without any equipment or special clothing! You just need to have a quiet place and a few minutes to yourself.
To begin, find a comfortable seated position, either in a chair or on the floor. It is important to have the natural shape of your spine, so do take the time to set yourself up well. You will use one of your hands to alternately close and open one and then the other of your nostrils. With your hand in front of your nose, the traditional position is to either bring your first and second fingers toward your palm or place the tips of those fingers lightly in between your eyebrows. You then use your third finger and thumb for closing the nostrils. Close your eyes, and breathe in through both nostrils. Closing the right nostril, breathe out through the left, then breathe in through that same side. On the exhale, close off the left, and breathe out through the right.
Breathe in through the right, and switch again on your exhale. Continue in this pattern, alternating the nostril used on the exhale. In the morning, you begin with an exhale through the left nostril, in the afternoon and evening, begin with an exhale through the right nostril.
Let your breath be smooth and even – it should never feel as though you are struggling for air. If one of your nostrils is completely blocked for any reason, then you won’t be able to do this practice at that time. Wait until you can bring breath in through both nostrils. As with any of the pranayamas, you do not want to battle or fight your way through it! If both your nostrils are open, however, you may still find that your even and smooth inhales and exhales gets disturbed sometimes. Return then to your normal breath for a little while until it stabilizes. Then try again. Especially when you are beginning your practice of Nadi Shodhana, this can happen.
If Nadi Shodhana is new to you, begin with breathing in this manner for 3-5 minutes, and then watch within for what effects it brings for you. Gradually increase your time as it is comfortable to 10 minutes or more. Keep aware of what this simple, yet profound practice may bring to you in your life off your mat!
Namaste,
Mary
by Pete Peterson | Feb 23, 2017 | Living Your Yoga |
Now Begins the Study of Yoga
Over 2000 years ago Patanjali wrote the Yoga Sutras, 196 short statements that are considered the source of what yoga is about. In the Sutras, Patanjali explains that classical yoga has eight limbs, the first two of these limbs being the Yamas and the Niyamas. The Yamas and Niyamas are ethical statements to guide us in our lives, very similar to moral codes found in the world’s religions. All well and good you say, yet what does this have to do with what most of us think of as yoga, you know, those crazy poses?
What Patanjali lets us know is that in all of the eight limbs, only two of them have to do with physical activity; the asanas, or poses, and pranayama, cultivating the prana or energy of our breath. Within the Sutras, its explained that when working with all of the limbs, not just those poses, we can achieve freedom that comes with being, knowing, connecting with our true self, this being the real purpose of yoga. Without this purpose of connection, yoga becomes just another form of exercise. Yoga requires us to become mindful within the physical activity of the practice and beyond.
The Yamas and Niyamas are a great way to begin to bring something of the whole of yoga into your life.
So while many of us come into yoga by doing the poses,It is a great addition to your asana practice to take one of the Yamas or Niyamas to focus on for a while, whether it be one a day, week, month, or even a year. Here are the ten precepts:
The Yamas
- Ahimsa – compassion for all living things
- Satya – truth in thought, words, and deeds
- Asteya – not stealing
- Brahmacharya – merging your energy with spirit
- Aparigraha – generosity
The Niyamas
- Saucha – living purely
- Santosha – contentment
- Tapas – disciplined use of your energy
- Svadhyaya – Study of self
- Ishvarapranidhana – Acting from love, devotion, and good intent, and letting go of attachment to results of your actions.
There are many interpretations of the Yamas and Niyamas. Some of my favorites are: How to Know God by Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood, The Heart of Yoga by T.K.V. Desikachar, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Edwin F. Bryant, Threads of Yoga by Matthew Remski, and most recently I have been appreciating the depth of Donna Farhi’s interpretations of the sutras, which can be found in just about any of her work (if you are not sure, begin with her book, Bringing Yoga to Life).
I highly encourage you to begin exploring how the Yoga Sutras can contribute to your practice of yoga, your life, and the connection to your true self. This is what the study of yoga is all about.
Namastè,
Mary
