Dear Yogis & Yoginis,The common saying, “A watched pot never boils” applies to yoga practice as well. Sometimes we are too impatient to “accomplish” certain poses that it seems to take forever or never happen!I heard an analogy on the importance of regular and consistent practice. If you fill a pot of water and turn on the stove to boil the water, but a couple minutes later, you turn it off and leave to do something else. You return after a while, turn on the stove to boil the water. A couple of minutes later, you turn it off and leave to do something else. Again you return after a while, turn on the stove to boil the water. Then (you guessed it) after a couple of minutes, you repeat the same thing. The water never boils. When we first start practicing yoga, we are happy about how good it makes us feel after a practice session but there are some difficult poses that may take a long time to accomplish. Then we become distracted by another interesting activity. We stop practicing yoga and engage in the other activity. Months later we return to yoga and find it difficult all over again. We then repeat the same pattern, with each returning practice feeling like starting over. We don’t make progress. The water never boils. The same boiling water analogy has universal application to many things we do. We sometimes lack patience. We think too much about how fast we are progressing, and not enough about listening from our heart and to our body.I watched the movie “Ramen Girl” last night, a B movie about a girl trying to learn how to cook ramen from a master ramen chef in Tokyo. She has learned all the technique of putting together the ingredients of making the “perfect” broth, but the master dumped her broth in the drain each time. Even though the broth seemed perfect, it did not taste it, because he said she was using too much of her head to cook, and not enough of her heart! The broth was bland. It reminded me of the importance of practicing a pose from the heart, so that the pose doesn’t just look beautiful without feeling, but may look plain yet from deep within the heart. A broth cooked with love.Namaste,Clarie
Dear Yogis & Yoginis,
My grandkids are great source of inspiration for me. When they were much younger (they are now 9 and 8) they provided me with a constant pool of rich anecdotes related to our own life experiences. I rather miss those days when they were much more spontaneous in their behavior. Now that they are older, they no longer throw fits of emotional outbreaks that I actually admired and learned. However, they are not beyond teaching me even now.
On a weekly basis, I pick them up from school four days a week, and take them to school once a week when they spend the night. They are different each day after school. I can always tell, on a Monday, when they did not get a good night sleep the night before, as they slump on the seat, barely acknowledging my existence despite my attempt to engage them in conversation. Some days they are bubbly and talk non-stop because they had a good day at school or a good rest the previous night. It reminds me of our own disposition everyday depending on our own experiences. Some days I feel strong and focused and able to practice a good routine of yoga. Some days I cannot stand on one leg to save my life. I have to remind myself that each day is a new page of my life's journey and no two days are alike. We all like consistency and expect similar results for similar activities. But the old saying of "Nothing remains the same" holds true in all aspects of life, including the practice of yoga. When we step on the yoga mat, if we open our hearts to welcome whatever condition we are in and accept whatever we can do in each moment, then we are living the yoga life.
"Ask not that events should happen as you will, but let your will be that events should happen as they do, and you shall have peace." --- Epictetus ---
Namaste,
Clarie
Dear Yogis & Yoginis,
I am back on Saipan and the practice of yoga. During my trip to the States, I realized how easy it was to put my practice on hold with various good reasons (excuses.) I was too busy; the weather was too cold and I didn't want to take my shoes and socks off; it's too hard to stretch and bend wearing several layers of clothing; etc. etc. I had planned to continue my practice throughout the trip, but it was so easy to find any excuse not to.
In the past, I always carried a traveling yoga mat whereever we went and I would faithfully spread the mat out even in small hotel rooms. But during winter months, it becomes a real challenge. For me, the cold weather, even though I am getting more used to it, is still a tough time to get motivated. It is especially difficult to get up when it is still dark and the thermometer is registered in the 30's and 40's. Eventually I did manage to attend several classes at a nearby yoga studio and thoroughly enjoyed them.
We all have our own challenges in getting a regular yoga practice. I know some of you probably set yoga practice as one of your New Year's resolutions. But daily busyness, at home, at work, at social activities, and at sporting events, often offer convenient excuses. I am not one to condemn anyone for not following their New Year's resolutions. But by knowing and recognizing the challenge you are facing on a daily basis, you can set priority in your daily activities.
Patanjali's Eight Limbs of Yoga set Svadhyaya as "deligently studying of the scripture and of one self." If we study and know ourselves well enough to direct our attention to the right path, we will overcome some, if not many of the excuses facing us daily, not only in the practice of yogs, but also in other important aspects of our lives.
"What we hope ever to do with ease, we must first learn to do with diligence."
---- Samuel Johnson ---
Namaste,
Clarie
Dear Yogis & Yoginis, One day about two months ago, I took my wrist watch off and put it in my purse. It was bothering me as I was sweating and the metal left a band of black marks. The watch has remained in my purse ever since. The removal of the watch gave me a great sense of freedom. I was no longer constantly looking at it to make sure I was not late; or how long I had been waiting in a grocery store line; or how much time I should allot myself to reading in the garden; and so on. It’s not that I had become irresponsible about managing my time, I just freed myself from being dictated by the habit of clock-watching. I do what is important at the moment and focus my attention in that moment. I still look at the clock to check the time and to make sure I am not late for important appointments or to pick up my grandkids, but my watch is no longer the center piece of my daily plans. Taking time out from being controlled by it makes me more relaxed and allows me to enjoy being in the moment doing whatever it is. One of the most common remarks I hear people give for not exercising, or practicing yoga, or starting any projects, is that they would really like to start practicing yoga, but they just don’t have the time. They feel that the time spent practicing yoga is a luxury they cannot afford. They count every minute of the day doing things that are “important” and feel that people who have time to practice yoga are those people with nothing else to do (I actually heard someone said that one day.) These folks are in locked steps with their watch and clock, not realizing that if they truly want to practice yoga, or exercise, they could and would find the time to do so. They can still fulfill their responsibilities at work, and at home, and take time out to take care of themselves. "It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important."
--- Antoine de Saint-Exupery --
Namaste,
Clarie
Several years ago, I attended a week-long workshop taught by my yoga teacher. I was really enjoying the whole experience, learning more about the proper alignment of poses, anatomical relationship between body and poses, and so on. I sat in the front during lectures so I could focus and hear clearly what the teacher was saying, as my teacher spoke excellent English with just enough of an Indian accent to throw me off at times. During one of the sessions, he directed a question at me to explain what is the meaning of ahimsa. I said, “It means do not harm.” He agreed and said that it also meant do-not-kill.
Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra listed eight limbs of the yoga path, or Eightfold path. The first limb is called “yama” or rein and restraint. Self-restraint can be applied to our daily lives in many ways to develop into the necessary self discipline we need. There are five yamas, and the first one is Ahimsa, do not harm or kill.
Unfortunately for me, during the workshop I was well versed in explaining ahimsa, but forgot to practice it. In my enthusiasm, I must have overdone one of the more challenging twists. Several days later, my lower back felt the pain on the right side, an obvious injury of the sacroiliac joint. For the next three years the injury caused me many sleepless nights, uncomfortable sitting at length, even difficulty to bend down to put on pants. I cursed myself for being careless and for forgetting to be mindful. I am almost fully recovered, but the experience taught me a valuable lesson.
When we step on the yoga mat, we need to set aside our tendency to compete and to push our body beyond its capability. Each time we practice, we have to be mindful of the state we are in at that moment. We must not do violence to our body. Our body readily rebels when abused. Listen and be aware of our body and how it feels at all times.
Recently I read again the story of how to catch a monkey told by Ram Dass. You put a bunch of nuts in a jar with a small opening. The monkey reaches inside and grab a handful of nuts. He finds out that he cannot get his hand out through the small opening. If only he would just let go of the nuts, he could escape. But he won't. I love the graphic image of this story. If only we could let go of what is holding us down in life, be it anger, disappointment, expectation, judgment, and a slew of negative feelings. Attachment to these feelings make us unhappy. Last week my dog Coco passed away. I was devastated. For some reason I thought she was going to live on and on with me, even though she was already over 19 year old and had gone blind and deaf. I was aware of her impending demise, I just could not let go. Fortunately I finally realized the futility of attaching to the impossible. Letting Coco go frees me from being paralyzed by the loss. I am able to detach.Detachment does not mean to wantonly discard all feelings. It just means that we don't allow those feelings control our lives.We are no longer enslaved by low self image, resentment, and harsh judgment and worry.Letting go of the preconceived idea of what your yoga practice should be like can release you of worry and judgment. It lets you relax without expectation. Your body will respond positively as you become free of the bondage of tight muscles. Letting go of the handful of nuts will allow you to escape from being imprisoned in the the jar of attachments. Be free and relax...Namaste,Clarie
Dear Yogis & Yoginis,
Are you a worrier? More specifically, do you worry about everything or just a few things? Some people seem to worry more, others less. Taking the issue into a narrower focus, many of us worry about not being a good yogi or yogini.
I am basically not a big worrier, although as an "organizer" type, I do have to be concerned about things I am responsible for, and that covers a lot.
What saves me from becoming an obsessive worrier is the practice of yoga. Yoga is all about focusing on what we do from moment to moment. Each time we step on the mat, we shed the heavy burden of expectation. We surrender to what we are able to do each moment. We must accept the fact that we are not the same person as we were the day before, nor the same person as we will be the next day. Or more precisely, we are a different person every second of the day. What we can do yesterday, or a moment ago, may not be what we can do now. Our natural tendency is to hang on to the good times and reject the bad times. So when we are able to get into a pose beautifully we want to be able to repeat that "performance" again and again. We cling to that beautiful image and rebuke ourselves when the same experience may not return.
Some days I can lift into a tree pose (Vrishasana) easily and steadily, yet some times I sway, my feet and ankle feel weak, or eye unfocused. If I worry that I have lost it then my focus will become even more impossible. So I just tell myself "today I am not grounded and steady" and accept the results of lack of sleep or general lethargy. Some days I can forward bend all the way, other days that same pose is a real challenge. If I worry that others may think less of me and my skills, and if I cling to my good day image and force myself to bend all the way down, a sure injury is waiting to happen.
So step on your yoga mat with an open mind of acceptance. Enjoy progress if it happens, if not, just relax and welcome the opportunity to stretch your body, open your heart and get to know yourself better and better.
Namaste,
Clarie
