The last couple of weeks have been a swirl of activity. From teaching a group of high schoolers in The Bronx, to a Chair Yoga class in Manhattan, a Flow & Slow Yoga at my regular Staten Island spot and a few others, plus actually finding time to take classes myself... well, it's been a great time. When I first contemplated teacher training, I thought that I had very clear ideas of what I might "accompish" with my certificate; however, the reality has been very different. First of all, I realize that I am accomplishing very little, I am only a guide to help my students find bliss for themselves. Secondly, I've found that the spiritual opportunities created through Yoga have far exceeded my expectations. While I still enjoy a good vinyasa, there is something so very "home-like" about teaching and taking time to contemplate the asanas and then practice this contemplation in the rest of my life.
It's also been an interesting week for hard questions and then observing my answers with an eye to how I might have responded not so long ago. Recently a student asked about the connection between yoga and sex, for example. I was shocked and speechless, which surprised me in itself because, as a jazz singer there's not too much I haven't heard of or seen. But then I realized that I had an answer inside of me, whether it was right or not, who can say? But I told her that yoga was about mindfulness and not to confuse feelings of pleasure or passion with the midfulness and awareness and suggested that it can be difficult to be fully involved with another person and mindful of one's own awareness -- for example, I enjoyed talking with her but I found it hard to be a good listener and notice my own breathing or posture at the same time. I had to turn one kind of awareness off to fully participate in the other. So, I suggested she look to her intentions and realize that if she is noticing someone else, then she is probably disconnected from herself, just as the opposite is true. Noticing those moments when your awareness shifts can be very telling -- are you truly "connected?" -- or are you experiencing moments of awareness interrupted by moments of passion?
I think not too long ago, I would have made a long case for the beauty of the simple human connection. While I can still make this case, there is also a beauty to the more difficult work of observing another person while also remaining fully present in one's own mind. This effort is also yoga.
Om shanti
धर्मशक्ति
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Great classes this week
I have been very blessed all week with lovely classes of all lengths of time and number of students. Monday's 45-minute evening class was quick and yet full as the regulars and newcomers continued our work in focusing on creating an intention for practice. Tuesday's 90-minute class was wonderful as we practiced Chandra Namaskaram (Moon Salutation) -- the room was full (14 students) and the energy was delectable. During the side-lying twist, I asked everyone to hold hands and we created a horseshoe around the room for the energy to flow! This morning, my 7am class was quieter with two regulars attending. We repeated Chandra Namaskaram (it's new moon time) and really got to sink into this wonderful series of poses. If anyone would like a copy of the series, visit my website at Dharmashakti.com and send me a note with your email.
Last week, I pulled a hamstring during a class while demonstrating Trikonasana and showing the students what "not to do." Well, I succeeded in doing it wrong! so this week I am walking with a little limp, exacerbated by the lingering effects of the car accident. But my muscles are already so much better than last week and I was able to demo poses today without being afraid that I would buckle as my anamayakosha (physical body) felt pain. Even healing through yoga has been so beautiful and different to observe within my own body. I can feel the pain but also feel the healing effects of the prana as I practice and direct good energy to the tender places. Will keep reporting on this.
Yesterday, as I waited for the Ferry, a group of people were talking near me. At first, I started to move away because they were quite loud, almost shouting, but I reconsidered and decided that I was being silly and precious and I could just as easily find peace there as anywhere. Anyway, because of the volume, it was impossible not to eavesdrop, and I noticed that they were sharing personal philosophies. Lots of it sounded sort of "bubblegum" to me, but one fellow said something that remains with me. He said, "How is it possible that a world full of people who all want the same things -- a stable life, a happy home, a healthy family -- that all of these people can want the same things and still be so cruel to each other?" His rhetorical question really threw me back, it was so spot-on true.
I suspect it is a kind of greed and a fear of deprivation that causes us to be so unkind to each other. If there is something good, we desire it and, easily, that desire can get out of control, leading to grasping and hoarding, grabbing and taking from others as if any of the things we can hold in our hand could provide peace to our spirit. We fear that others will take all of the good things for themselves, leaving us destitute. So we fight, scheme, war and even kill one another for a little piece of something that won't go with us when we're gone. How much happier to pursue the things that travel with us through eternity? Instead of grasping for more materialism, to seek a warm day, a comfortable seat, good conversation and nourishing food that keeps our minds focused and blissful. Using our time for less competition and more collaboration, laughter and learning. Finding something good and sharing it to fully experience the bounty of generosity, not selfishness. Mankind seeks god and meaning ourside of ourselves in religion, relationships and rewards, but god (bliss, happiness) abides with us already -- in rest and in peace.
In a world where we all want the same things and are still so cruel to one another, "Blessed are the peace makers, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Om shanti
धर्मशक्ति
Last week, I pulled a hamstring during a class while demonstrating Trikonasana and showing the students what "not to do." Well, I succeeded in doing it wrong! so this week I am walking with a little limp, exacerbated by the lingering effects of the car accident. But my muscles are already so much better than last week and I was able to demo poses today without being afraid that I would buckle as my anamayakosha (physical body) felt pain. Even healing through yoga has been so beautiful and different to observe within my own body. I can feel the pain but also feel the healing effects of the prana as I practice and direct good energy to the tender places. Will keep reporting on this.
Yesterday, as I waited for the Ferry, a group of people were talking near me. At first, I started to move away because they were quite loud, almost shouting, but I reconsidered and decided that I was being silly and precious and I could just as easily find peace there as anywhere. Anyway, because of the volume, it was impossible not to eavesdrop, and I noticed that they were sharing personal philosophies. Lots of it sounded sort of "bubblegum" to me, but one fellow said something that remains with me. He said, "How is it possible that a world full of people who all want the same things -- a stable life, a happy home, a healthy family -- that all of these people can want the same things and still be so cruel to each other?" His rhetorical question really threw me back, it was so spot-on true.
I suspect it is a kind of greed and a fear of deprivation that causes us to be so unkind to each other. If there is something good, we desire it and, easily, that desire can get out of control, leading to grasping and hoarding, grabbing and taking from others as if any of the things we can hold in our hand could provide peace to our spirit. We fear that others will take all of the good things for themselves, leaving us destitute. So we fight, scheme, war and even kill one another for a little piece of something that won't go with us when we're gone. How much happier to pursue the things that travel with us through eternity? Instead of grasping for more materialism, to seek a warm day, a comfortable seat, good conversation and nourishing food that keeps our minds focused and blissful. Using our time for less competition and more collaboration, laughter and learning. Finding something good and sharing it to fully experience the bounty of generosity, not selfishness. Mankind seeks god and meaning ourside of ourselves in religion, relationships and rewards, but god (bliss, happiness) abides with us already -- in rest and in peace.
In a world where we all want the same things and are still so cruel to one another, "Blessed are the peace makers, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Om shanti
धर्मशक्ति
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Obsessing
Here's a tip: Don't obsess over things that haven't happened yet. Live inside of today. Look around you -- THIS is your reality, this is your world today. Don't avoid real life by worrying over a future that hasn't happened. Things may bother you -- why not? we're human. But limit yourself to REAL things -- relationships that are unresolved, mistakes that are affecting you today, real hurts that need to be healed. Worrying about an imagined future is just inviting drama for you and for those around you. It's wasted energy, spilled prana. Likewise, putting off doing good things because you're waiting for "your ship to come in" is equally useless. You are (statistically) unlikely to win the lottery, be the next American Idol, or have the President call you for advice on solving Middle East peace -- but you can get out of your chair, go through the door and accomplish something to bring joy to others and to yourself. Small steps begin big adventures!
Om shanti, Om peace, ॐ शांति
धर्मशक्ति
Om shanti, Om peace, ॐ शांति
धर्मशक्ति
Monday, May 14, 2007
The drive home.
Last night, I took a taxi home. As I got in, the driver noticed that I looked tired at the end of very long day and I confirmed that, "Yes, I am definitely ready to be home." I asked how long he worked and he said, "I work every day, 12 hours a day."
We talked a bit more and I asked about his family and why he worked so much. Sure enough, he told me what I already knew -- that it's hard to get by these days as everything costs more and more, children and spouses need more and more and he feels like he can't stop working or he won't be able to keep up. As we drove along the F.D.R. in Manhattan, we talked about the media and the constant advertisements which push and push and push more and more goods onto us, with lower and lower quality so they have to be replaced often at increasing prices. He told me how helpless he feels when his daughter asks for something (already at only 2 years old!) and he feels he must give it to her because he is seldom home and how his spouse often shops for new things just to feel better, even with a closet full. Even his job now required him to buy a new GPS navigator and we both laughed when I asked rhetorically, "How did cab drivers navigate the streets of New York 30 years ago? Has New York really changed that much?"
It is sad to me when someone feels trapped on such a mouse's wheel. He must work to buy even more things, which means he is gone from home every day and is missing his child's growth and development, which makes him feel guilty so he gives her more things, which means he must work more hours. How do you get off the wheel?
I have so many childhood memories that revolve around time with my family. We took vacations together, went fishing, saw movies, attended church. True, I watched a lot of TV, but mostly this was when I was alone after school as my generation became more and more a battalion of latch-key children. One summer, we drove from New Mexico to Disneyland -- my parents, brother, sisters and me -- SEVEN of us in an Impala! -- of course, seatbelts weren't the norm and so I often sat on the hump in the backseat or slept on the long window ledge. My parents both worked in the family business and yet, we ate dinner together most evenings -- at the table, not in front of the television. We talked about our days, politics and obscure ideas like morality and justice. My mind was awakened during this time -- imagine a house of seven people, genetically linked but swapping opinions left and right as if we'd just met! Not long ago, I watched home movies taken by my parents over the years. We were a normal, middle-class family and still, as the camera panned the house, I was surprised to see how simple the house was -- a picture or two on the wall, a comfortable sofa, a television. I was even more struck by the difference in that home and today's middle-class home, bursting with things from Wal-Mart and BestBuy, groaning under the weight of clothes and toys and videos and computers and stuff and stuff and even more stuff of decreasing quality, lived in by people all moving in separate directions. Over stimulated, over-fed and disconnected from one another.
Last week, I heard a radio interview on The Economist podcast where the guest (a renowned economist no doubt) was discussing the poor countries of the world and he said something that completely threw me off. Paraphrasing here, he said, "So many poor countries could be doing so much more to participate in commerce and in improving their standard of living. Sure when you go to a poor farm or village, the people may SEEM happy, but you can't help but think how much better life could be for them if they just had more money." Imagine that! "Pity the poor, but happy farmer -- let's get him to a shopping center immediately so he can have as much unmet desire as the rest of us. THEN he'll truly be happy!" Incredible!
We are rich today, by any material standard. But, like my driver last night, our material wealth buys us little peace and costs us time with ourselves and with those we love.
So, can we get off of the wheel? No surprise, but it is a choice we make every time we say, "Yes" to an advertisement or to the pressure from others to "keep up." We give away our own power to decide our worth every time we agree that, "Yes, I would be better/smarter/more attractive if only I had a new car/computer/shirt." Does this mean that I'm opposed to shopping or buying or trading? NO, not at all! I LOVE to shop, too. But my practice now is to shop for more often for I need and less often for what I want.
We talked a bit more and I asked about his family and why he worked so much. Sure enough, he told me what I already knew -- that it's hard to get by these days as everything costs more and more, children and spouses need more and more and he feels like he can't stop working or he won't be able to keep up. As we drove along the F.D.R. in Manhattan, we talked about the media and the constant advertisements which push and push and push more and more goods onto us, with lower and lower quality so they have to be replaced often at increasing prices. He told me how helpless he feels when his daughter asks for something (already at only 2 years old!) and he feels he must give it to her because he is seldom home and how his spouse often shops for new things just to feel better, even with a closet full. Even his job now required him to buy a new GPS navigator and we both laughed when I asked rhetorically, "How did cab drivers navigate the streets of New York 30 years ago? Has New York really changed that much?"
It is sad to me when someone feels trapped on such a mouse's wheel. He must work to buy even more things, which means he is gone from home every day and is missing his child's growth and development, which makes him feel guilty so he gives her more things, which means he must work more hours. How do you get off the wheel?
I have so many childhood memories that revolve around time with my family. We took vacations together, went fishing, saw movies, attended church. True, I watched a lot of TV, but mostly this was when I was alone after school as my generation became more and more a battalion of latch-key children. One summer, we drove from New Mexico to Disneyland -- my parents, brother, sisters and me -- SEVEN of us in an Impala! -- of course, seatbelts weren't the norm and so I often sat on the hump in the backseat or slept on the long window ledge. My parents both worked in the family business and yet, we ate dinner together most evenings -- at the table, not in front of the television. We talked about our days, politics and obscure ideas like morality and justice. My mind was awakened during this time -- imagine a house of seven people, genetically linked but swapping opinions left and right as if we'd just met! Not long ago, I watched home movies taken by my parents over the years. We were a normal, middle-class family and still, as the camera panned the house, I was surprised to see how simple the house was -- a picture or two on the wall, a comfortable sofa, a television. I was even more struck by the difference in that home and today's middle-class home, bursting with things from Wal-Mart and BestBuy, groaning under the weight of clothes and toys and videos and computers and stuff and stuff and even more stuff of decreasing quality, lived in by people all moving in separate directions. Over stimulated, over-fed and disconnected from one another.
Last week, I heard a radio interview on The Economist podcast where the guest (a renowned economist no doubt) was discussing the poor countries of the world and he said something that completely threw me off. Paraphrasing here, he said, "So many poor countries could be doing so much more to participate in commerce and in improving their standard of living. Sure when you go to a poor farm or village, the people may SEEM happy, but you can't help but think how much better life could be for them if they just had more money." Imagine that! "Pity the poor, but happy farmer -- let's get him to a shopping center immediately so he can have as much unmet desire as the rest of us. THEN he'll truly be happy!" Incredible!
We are rich today, by any material standard. But, like my driver last night, our material wealth buys us little peace and costs us time with ourselves and with those we love.
So, can we get off of the wheel? No surprise, but it is a choice we make every time we say, "Yes" to an advertisement or to the pressure from others to "keep up." We give away our own power to decide our worth every time we agree that, "Yes, I would be better/smarter/more attractive if only I had a new car/computer/shirt." Does this mean that I'm opposed to shopping or buying or trading? NO, not at all! I LOVE to shop, too. But my practice now is to shop for more often for I need and less often for what I want.
- Do I need a brand new car? No, I need reliable transportation -- so I have a used car.
- Do I need Nacho Cheese Doritos? No, my mind might think I do but my body knows better and understands that I need an orange or an apple, not a deep fried plastic-food-laced corn chip.
- I just bought some new tennis shoes after five years; did I really need them? Yes or maybe yes. My old pair had been making my feet hurt for awhile so I shopped for something reliable at a fair price. I could have looked at 2nd hand shoes, but there's something odd about wearing used tennis shoes (and wasn't I replacing an already-used pair anyway?) and I am fortunate to live in America with access to affordable goods. So I shopped.
The trick is to buy things when I NEED them, not just when I WANT them because I'm sad, lonesome, celebrating, turned-on or whatever. And because I'm shopping less, I'm enjoying it more.
Here are some questions to ask yourself before heading out to the Halls of the Malls of America:
- Is this something I NEED or something I WANT?
- Is this something I would get if no one was pressuring me?
- Am I shopping because an advertisement told me this would make my life better?
- If it's a durable product, will it really last?
- If it's food or drink, is it really good for my body, overall wellness and mind?
- Can I pay cash for it or do I have to go into debt? Will the debt outlast the pleasure?
- What would my life be like without it?
- How many minutes, hours or days must I work to earn the money to pay for it?
- How could I use that time if I spent it instead with my family, friends or Self?
- Is this something I NEED or something I WANT?
Here's a link to some information on "Affluenza" -- a PBS video and book that discusses the problems our growing consumer society has with acquisition. Start here. Or here.
Om shanti, Om peace
धर्मशक्ति
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