YOGA TATS





Last Sunday's New York Times had featured a spread on yoga tattoos by photographer Piotr Redlinski and Emily S. Rueb.

(That is, pictures of tattoos on the skin of those who practice yoga).

Most of those featured are teachers of course.

(Of course they are. Every third person at a BBQ these days is a yoga instructor).

Check out the rest here.










* * *







I don't have any tattoos. Do you?

(This former Mohawk-wearer came to the conclusion that it can far more subversive to look like a square on the outside while internally rejecting the mainstream lifestyle and the mainstream ways of rebelling against said lifestyle).

(This former agnostic also came around to the idea that the body is indeed a temple that houses the soul, and is thankful that hers doesn't have any graffiti on it. Scars, yes. Imperfections, yes. Wrinkles, yes. But not graffiti).

(This former hipster has also, finally, concluded that this preoccupation with name and form is an indulgence of the mind that serves as a distraction from the task at hand: discerning between what is real and Unreal, and seeing all as One.)











Thanks to Claudia for the tip.

JUNE NEWSLETTER
Get it while it's hot.





My monthly newsletter is out (and has been for ten days).

Learn about upcoming workshops, retreats, kirtans, and visits by saints as well as my upcoming teacher training.

Plus there are always some helpful tips at the bottom.

Check it out here.

Subscribe here. It's free!

NEXT THURSDAY (6/16) AT MILLENNIUM PARK
Alim Qasimov Ensemble of Azerbaijan




Alim Qasimov is a master of Mugham - a complicated vocal music that is often based on ancient Azerbaijani poetry, with recurrent themes of love and mysticism; performances can last for hours.


The performance by this living master is free! And out of doors! At 6:30pm!






Also on the bill.... The super-poppy Hakim - "The Lion of Egypt" - opens:


Hakim - HAKIM (The Lion Of Egypt) "Habousou"




More info on the weekly "Music Without Borders" series here.

AN OLDIE BUT GOODIE
Circa 2008 (pre-iPhone era)

SHORTENED HOME PRACTICE FOR ASTHANGIs
For when there isn’t enough time for a full practice




-20 Minutes: 5 Surya Namaskar A, 3B, Final Seated Poses, Take Rest

-30 Minutes: 5A, 3B, Fundamental Standing Poses, Final Seated Poses, Take Rest

-45 Minutes: 5A, 5B, Standing Poses, Final Seated Poses, Take Rest

-60 Minutes: 5A, 5B, Standing Poses, Backbends, Closing Sequence, Take Rest

-75 Minutes: 5A, 5B, Standing, Seated Poses through Navasana, Closing Sequence, Take Rest

POSER
Claire Dederer's Life in 23 Yoga Poses



I just finished Claire Dederer's memoir, Poser: My Life in 23 Yoga Poses.

I was prepared to dislike this Seattle writer's memoir about her husband, kids and ongoing relationship with various yoga poses and instructors (including Richard Freeman, whom she refers to as "the genius."

But in the end I rather liked this memoir. Despite Dederer's sometimes clunky attempts to be glib, it is a love letter to yoga and, in a way, a growing up story.

I think that reading it somehow improved my teaching. One tends to forget that people are actually listening to what one says in class (and, apparently, that some are writing it down).

I also think it's improved my own writing.

You can read a review here.

I recommend it.

I do, however, have a few clarifications:

-On page 64 she described the five koshas but neglects to explain what they're covering. Instead, she confuses Anandamaya Kosha (the bliss sheath) with the Atman or soul. "'The bliss sheath is the truest self, the self most connected to the divine.'" No, even Anandamaya kosha is not the real, real self. It too is a covering (and, according to my guru, many yogis get stuck there because it is so pleasant, and go no further).

-Page 121's description of alternate nostril breathing is not correct. "You held your right hand to your nose, held your right nostril shut with your thumb while you breathed through your left nostril, held the breath for a bit, and then held the left nostril with your forefinger while you breathed out through your right nostril." Not the forefinger - which represents the ego and doesn't touch the face. The middle finger.

-On page 135 she says the two main Nadis (energy channels) are Ida and Pingala. There are actually three main Nadis: Ida (left), Pingala (right) and Shoshumna (the biggie in the middle).







--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


NOTE: I got this book from the library. They let you order books online (and call you when they arrive). You can even renew online. Heck, I've head they even have something called e-books nowadays.

LITTLE HOUSES



I've been intrigued by small places for a long time. I'm always shocked when I see shows like "House Hunters," where single people often won't settle for less than three bedrooms and two baths. The mainstream American lifestyle is all about taking more than one actually needs. It also brings up the issue of greed, which is addressed in the Yoga Sutras:

aparigrahasthairye janmakathamtasambodhah
One who is not greedy is secure. He has time to think deeply.
His understanding of himself is complete. ~ Yoga Sutra II.39

The interest in small places was re-ignited while reading Swami Muktananda's "Play of Consciousness." He did much of his sadhana in the small hut, above. (The picture in the book is far more dear: it shows him as well as the beautiful mango tree that was like his best friend....the path can be very lonely even for the oldest of souls).

Then I saw this video, of a family that lives in 320-square-foot shotgun shack that cost just $15,000 new and is in a rural area, where they pay a little over $100 a month to lease the land:




And I thought, what a perfect place for sadhana....








Learn more about the Small House Movement here.

QUOTE OF THE DAY (WEEK, MONTH, YEAR.... LIFETIME)
From the Bhagavad-Gita...




“The mind acts like an enemy for those who do not control it.”

A NEW (RECENT) RECORD
Three Kapotasana Assists in a Single Month



It is the best of poses.

It is the worst of poses.

And my rendition of Kapotasana has been going backwards since my 2008 trip to Mysore (when I'd do it up to five times while waiting for Sharath to get to me. My left arm and fingers would tingle and go numb later in the day, and at some point I finally realized it was time leave. First, though, I had to get into a scooter accident to drive the point home).

Usually I work on Kapotasana at home, alone.

When the back and neck are feeling good, I try to do it three times - as Dharma instructed me.

He had us do the pose three times each time I practiced with him on a recent trip to NYC. Like Sri K. Pattabhi Jois (who adjusted me in Janu Sirsasana C the first time I practiced with him back in 2000), he zeroes in on the student's weak spot. Even with his help, the hands barely touched the toes and the elbows were nowhere near the floor.

(Dharma says that upper back tightness comes from anger; to loosen it he recommends actively moving the head towards the floor in Downward-Facing Dog).

On Thursday, Bill S helped me. We tried it twice (at my request), and the second time was much better.

Today Suddha gave me an assist in it. The fingers got on the toes, and more or less stayed.

(We won't talk about what happened in Karandavasana).

The other nice thing about today - apart from practicing asthanga with other people. And a teacher - was that MariKay, Joy N and Inside Owl were there, too.

Lovely group.

Lovely space (where Manju will give a workshop next month).

Lovely practice.






(The ego also thought it was nice to hear S. say that the new hairdo brought to mind Emmylou Harris).



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NOTE: That pic is *not* of this body. I don't know whose it is. I found the image here.

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE



Cartoon by Dan B.




"Do your practice and all is coming."
-Sri K. Pattabhi jois


"The secret to success in yoga is constant practice."
-Sri Dharma Mittra





I didn't practice while I was under the weather (I did, however, eat, sleep and watch TV and eat, sleep, and watch TV. So much TV in fact that I eventually came upon Animal Planet's stealthy charmer, "My Cat From Hell," which is actually about couples rather than cats). I did no sitting, no pranayama, no asana. Just japa - which can be done just about anywhere, even the deathbed.

Each day the body felt worse.

It brought the mind right down with it.

The mind started playing with its favorite toys - Doubt, Self-Recrimination, Judgment, Anxiety and Fear - and wouldn't give them up.

It started to think that Maid in Manhattan, Where God Left His Shoes and Delirious were masterpieces.

The mind also became convinced that the body would be sick for the rest of its life; that it deserved to be sick, and that the all-too-familiar accompanying depression would last forever, too.

In short, container felt like the hell - inside and out.....

Until Monday, that is - when the body felt a bit better, albeit weak, fat and stiff. So it did 5A, 3B, the standing poses, backbends and the closing sequence.

Suddenly, the mood improved.

Perhaps the body won't be sick forever, posited the mind.

So the same practice was performed the following day.

Again, the mood improved.

The mind calmed down, and put down its toys for a few minutes.

There was energy.

The appetite began to diminish.

On Wednesday, the body was still weak. So it did half primary, backbends, and the closing sequence.

Even better.

And I saw clearly how in my case - again - that the key is to use the body to trick the mind into feeling normal..

It works again and again and again.


(I literally start to get sick when I don't practice ashtanga for more than three days - unless I'm with Dharma and doing his practice. Whatever the mind thinks I am is irrelevant; at heart it seems I'm a hatha raja yogi [with a minor in jnana.] For now, anyway.).




* * *



Morning classes were canceled Thursday because they were re-doing the floors at the gym.

Normally, this would mean one thing: time to sleep in.

Instead, I got up early and did some breathing.

Then I went to a 6:30am Mysore class subbed by Bill S.

The body felt good, so it did second series.

It was a treat to practice ashtanga with other people. With a teacher.

The body was even weaker, fatter, stiffer and sweatier than usual. It got assists in some of the dreaded K poses (Kapotasana and Karandavasana).

Yet afterwords there was energy to spare.

There was love for humanity.

The body and mind felt good.

So good in fact that I was able to tackle several unpleasant tasks that have been piling up (getting lumber cut at Crafty Beaver, picking a book up at the library, having the car serviced, doing the recycling in the wind and rain, going to the bank for a new ATM card, eyebrow threading, etc).

And it was all due to the practice.

As I told a student earlier this week,

"When I practice, the arrows that life throws at me are deflected.

"When I don't practice, each one hits its target."












NOTE:

My favorite episode of My Cat From Hell featured a yoga teacher who did not get along with her boyfriend's cat. She's allergic to the cat, and the cat always attacks her.

The rock 'n' roll cat whisperer who is the star of the show determines that the yoga teacher is bringing tension to the situation.

So he asks her to pretend she's teaching a yoga class, and that he's the student.

She agrees, and instructs him to stand comfortably. He complies.

Then she says, "OK, let it go."

"What?" he asks.

"Just let it go!" she says brightly.

"Let what go?" he asks.

Brilliant.

BEST ASHTANGA CARTOON YET

The hits keep comin'..,
By Dan B:








Check out the rest of his oeuvre here.


- Posted while having the car serviced, using BlogPress from a mobile device.

ALL IZZ WELL
When things fall apart, put your hand on your heart, exhale and say "All izz Well...."





I was under the weather this weekend, and on Saturday spent $4.99 to watch the 2009 Hindi megahit 3 Idiots on pay-per-view.

It was worth every rupee.

Here're the lyrics - followed by the English translation - from one of the movie's hit videos, above:


ALL IZZ WELL

Jab life ho out of control
Honthon ko kar ke gol
Honthon ki kar ke gol
Seeti bajaa ke bol

When life goes out of control,
Draw back your lips,
Whistle and Exclaim!!
Aal Izz Well!!

Murgi kya jaane aande ka kya hoga
Aree life milegi ya tawee pe
fry hoga
Koi na jaane apna future kya hoga

How can a hen know the future of its egg?
Will it get life or get fried on a pan,
No one knows what our future will be.

Honth ghuma
Seeti bajaa
Seeti bajaa ke bol
Bhaiyaa aal izz well
Aree bhaiyaa all izz well
Aree chachu aal izz well
Aree bhaiyaa all izz well



So Draw back your lips,
Whistle and Exclaim,
Brother, Aal Izz Well!!
O Brother, Aal Izz Well!!
Uncle, Aal Izz Well!!

Confusuin hi confusion hai
Solution kuch pata nahin
Solution jo mila to saala
Question kya tha pata nahin


Confusion Prevails,
Nobody knows the solution
When a solution is found,
We lost the track of ‘What was the question?’

Dil jo tera baat baat pe
Ghabraaye
Dil pe rakh ke haath usae tu fuslaa le
Dil idiot hai pyaar se usko samjha le

When your heart is restless everytime,
Keep a hand on your heart and console it,
The heart’s an idiot, knock sense into it with kindness

Honth ghuma
Seeti bajaa
Seeti bajaa ke bol
Bhaiyaa aal izz well
Aree bhaiyaa all izz well
Aree chachu aal izz well
Aree bhaiyaa all izz well

So Draw back your lips,
Whistle and Exclaim,
Brother, Aal Izz Well!!
O Brother, Aal Izz Well!!
Uncle, Aal Izz Well!!

Scholarship ki pi gayaa daaru
Ghum to phir bhi mitaa nahin
Agarbattiyan raakh ho gayi
God to phir bhi dikha nahi

I guzzled te liqour of scholarship,
but the despair, didn’t lessen.
The incense sticks burnt to ash,
But we didn’t see the God!!

Bakra kya jaan uski jaan ka kya hoga
Sekh ghusegi ya saala Keema hoga
Koi na jaane apna future kya hoga

How can a goat know what happens to it (life)?
Will it be skewered or will it be minced?
No one knows what our future will be.

To Honth ghuma
Seeti bajaa
Seeti bajaa ke bol
Bhaiyaa aal izz well

Aree bhaiyaa all izz well
Aree chachu aal izz well
Aree bhaiyaa all izz well

So Draw back your lips,
Whistle and Exclaim,
Brother, Aal Izz Well!!
O Brother, Aal Izz Well!!
Uncle, Aal Izz Well!!



The other megahit song from 3 Idiots is "Zoobi Doobi," which has a funny, sophisticated video that makes our American ones look rather sad. Like the fillum, it stars the great Aamir Khan, along with Kareena Kapoor, Boman Irani and others:



The song is a sendup of Italian crooner Paolo Conte's "Via con me." I saw Mr. Conte perform at Symphony Center some years ago and he was all that and then some. Chips! Chips! Chips! Da-du-du-du-du!. See for yourself:







_______________________________________________________________________________
from Moira G. Weigel's WSJ review of "3 Idiots":

Directed by Rajkumar Hirani, with a screenplay he adapted from a novel with Abhijat Joshi, “3 Idiots” satirizes elite institutions of higher education in India. Set at the fictitious Imperial College of Engineering, which it depicts as mere a way-station where rote learning ushers students toward corporate advancement, the film relates the story of three rebels against this system, who become friends while living in a hostel (residence) together. Aamir Khan, whom American viewers may recognize from the 2008 hit “Ghajini,” (or from the critically-acclaimed 2001 film “Lagaan”), plays the protagonist “Rancho” Chanchad. The most gifted of the trio, he is a wealthy student who pursues knowledge for its own sake, while his compatriots Farhan (R. Madhavan) and Raju (Sharman Joshi), struggle under pressure from families of humbler origin. Rancho’s cheeky idealism brings him and his comrades into conflict both with his more cynical rival, a fellow student nicknamed the “Silencer” (Omi Vaidya), and with the professor they dub ViruS (Boman Irani), who in turn labels them “idiots” and seeks ruthlessly to destroy their bond. Add to this the fact that Khan’s character falls in love with ViruS’ daughter, a toothsome medical student played by Kareena Kapoor, and you have the makings of some two hours and forty minutes of tuneful capers.

THERE'S NO LAUGHING IN YOGA...
....Unless you watch this:






Thanks to Jafet for the tip.

DHARMA AT YOGA JOURNAL CONFERENCE IN WISCONSIN, JULY 8-10
Sign up Soon! Early Bird Discount Ends Tuesday, May 24
Use Promo Code MID15 to get $50 off the weekend conference
Learn more - and sign up - here.




This is a rare opportunity to study with Sri Dharma Mittra in the Midwest. He tends to share everything he knows at these events, and this one is not to be missed - especially for those who understand that yoga is more than just postures. (Learn more about Dharma's amazing, life-changing workshops in my 2005 article, here).



For those on a budget, he'll be doing all all-day intensive on July 8:

All in One
Sri Dharma Mittra - Course ID: AFMITT
Friday, July 8 — 9:00am - 4:30pm
Friday All-Day Intensives
Mixed Levels

A comprehensive day of yoga instruction incorporating the many facets of Dharma Yoga and including spiritual discourses, yoga asanas, and knowledge for the goal of self-realization, the true goal of yoga. The absolute best of Sri Dharma Mittra's 50 years of yoga practice is offered here. Highly recommended for all levels. Newcomers are especially welcome, since Sri Dharma is known to accelerate the practice of attendees on the physical, mental, and astral levels.

Asana and lecture.

Cost: $225 ($285 after May 24)






He'll also teach smaller segments during the weekend conference ($460/$495 after 5/24; Use Promo Code MID15 to receive $50 off):

Maha Sadhana
Dharma Mittra - Course ID: M1MITT

Saturday, July 9 — 8:00am - 10:00am
Main Conference - Session 1
Mixed Levels

This One Great Practice of Sri Dharma Mittra is modeled after his packed monthly workshop in New York City. Built around Sri Dharma's formidable Shiva Namaskar vinyasa posture practice, this class is designed to bring the highest radiant physical and mental health. As always, Sri Dharma will introduce spiritual and practical everyday topics to the session, which can be applied to your daily life.

Mostly asana.





Shortcut to Bliss
Dharma Mittra - Course ID: M3MITT

Saturday, July 9 — 3:30pm - 5:30pm
Main Conference - Session 3
Contemplative, Mixed Levels

Sri Dharma Mittra often refers to the "most important part of yoga" being the spoken lessons, not the postures. Come discover the critical and effective ancient practices of pranayamas, learn powerful tools for developing one's own creative powers, and listen to talks on self-knowledge and bhakti. An essential course for those looking to deepen their overall yoga practice beyond the physical layer and who want to quickly advance on the esoteric understanding of yoga.

Mostly lecture.





Maha Sadhana
Dharma Mittra - Course ID: M4MITT

Sunday, July 10 — 8:00am - 10:00am
Main Conference - Session 4
Mixed Levels

This One Great Practice of Sri Dharma Mittra is modeled after his packed monthly workshop in New York City. Built around Sri Dharma's formidable Shiva Namaskar vinyasa posture practice, this class is designed to bring the highest radiant physical and mental health. As always, Sri Dharma will introduce spiritual and practical everyday topics to the session, which can be applied to your daily life.

Mostly asana.




Learn more - and sign up - here.

MAHA SADHANA TOMORROW (FRI) NIGHT
7:30-9:30 at YogaNow






I just returned from studying with Sri Dharma Mittra, and boy am I sore!

But I'm thrilled to be teaching a Dharma Mittra Vinyasa Yoga Maha Sadhana workshop This Friday night at YogaNow.

There will be asanas and philosophy, chanting and breathing.

And perhaps I'll share a new (to me) balance pose I've never seen before, which we did on Tuesday....

as long as I master it first, of course.








Click here to see a video of Dharma chanting the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra and inviting students to his Saturday Maha Sadhana in NYC.






Om Tryambakam yajamahe sugandhim pushhtivardhanam
Urvarukamiva bandhanan mrityor mukshiya maamritath

PATTABJI JOIS, JULY 26, 1915 - MAY 18, 2009

5 Facts about LaGuardia Airport

-The e-ticket scanner for smart phones isn't working (it's a full moon)

-Many flights are delayed (it's raining)

-There are more people than seats in the waiting area - even if they cleared all the luggage off the seats (they're renovating)

-Au Bon Pain serves vegan soup (tre' comforting on a rainy day)

-There's a Ganesh murti in the MoMa.shop (overlooking everything)

VASANAS / DEJA VU

While walking down 23rd Street this morn I realized I an again staying in a favorite (cheap, clean, safe) hotel near the old Shala & making the trip across town to see the guru in the new Shala.

Just like in India in 2004, 2006, 2007 & 2008....

Only this time around I'm quite certain that I'm meant to be here.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Happy Birthday, Sri Dharma!

From Swami Sivananda's book, "May I Answer That?"

QUESTION #87:
What are the qualifications of a real Guru or a true guide? Is it possible for an ordinary human being to select a real guide? If so, how?

ANSWER:
A real Guru is a Srotriya and a Brahmanishtha, one who is learned in the scriptures and established in Brahman. He who is wise, desireless and sinless can be a true teacher and guide. The Guru, by virtue of his wisdom and capacity, draws towards himself the souls fit to be guided by him. When one feels that he is thus spontaneously drawn to a Mahapurusha whom he cannot help loving, admiring and serving, who is an embodiment of unruffled tranquillity, mercy and spiritual experience, such a great one can be taken as the Guru. A Guru is one in whom the disciple can find no defect and who serves as the ideal to be reached by the disciple. In short, the Guru is God in manifested form, and when Divinity is seen in a person, he can be chosen as the Guru. The relation between the Guru and the Sishya is genuine and unbreakable, even as that between God and man is. It is a natural law that when a certain event has to take place in the universe, the conditions necessary for the same are brought about exactly at the proper time. When the disciple is ready to receive the higher Light, he is brought into contact with a suitable Guru by the Supreme Dispensation.



* All these quotes are from Swami Sivananda's book
'May I Answer That?', available for purchase
on line at http://www.sivananda.org/yogastore/








- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

SRI NATHAMUNI'S YOGARAHASYA
Presented by Yogacharya T. Krishnamacharya
(English Version by TKV Desikachar)





Shiva loaned this obscure 1998 book to me awhile ago. It's time to give it back.

It is a text attributed to the Vaishnavite saint and disappeared from the yogic heritage more than a thousand years ago. It was revealed in a vision to Krishnamacharya the sixteen year old pilgrim on the banks of the River Tamraparni in South India.....




Here are some highlights....





YOGARAHASYA


SLOKA 44
Through the practice of pranayama, the koshas are rid of impurities. When the koshas become clean, the body in turn will be rid of impurities. Through proper intake of food, the indriyas [ten senses], including the mind, will be rid of impurities.

SLOKA 46
If the mind is controlled, there is said to be happiness and peace. All yogi achievements are possible for one whose mind is strong and calm. For people whose minds are disturbed by the objects of the senses the practice of pranayama is the best remedy.

SLOKA 70
Tiredness is removed by uddiyana bandha. All the benefits of uddiyana bandhas can be obtained only when a proper diet restriction is maintained. The food taken should be sattvic in nature, limited in amount and should be appealing and agreeable to the individual.

SLOKA 71
Now we will talk about what is called Jalandhara Bandha
Through a nadi between the nose and the throat flows the essence of life which is responsible for the sustenance of life. It is called amrtam or jama. The essence of nourishment which is stored above the throat slowly trickles down, being consumed by jataragni. The jalandhara bandha regulates this.

SLOKA 72
This bandha earns the name jalandhara in yoga. The flow of this amrta pervades all over the body and regenerates the body and senses which depend on this. Therefore it is called jalandhara.
This essence if not regulated, will reduce the life span. Jalandhara bandha controls this movement so that the essence is distributed to the different parts of the body. The world jala here means the 'essence of the life.' this is supposed to be in the center of the head. Bandha is the term given in yoga for the technique that regulates the flow of this amrta.

SLOKA 84
According to the capacity and faith of the person, he should think of different mantras while doing the pranayama. Pranayama done along with a mantra has a role to play in the therapy of all kinds of diseases.

SLOKA 85
The teacher must first examine the movement of breath and the physical strength of the sick or afflicted person before teaching him anything. Emphasis is on a thorough and complete examination of the person prior to introducing pranayama. Otherwise, there will be no benefit. The mantra should be careful designed and introduced into practice.

SLOKA 91
Breathing should be done by the student in such a way that a subtle sound passes from the throat through the nostrils. The mouth is kept closed.
Breathing should never be done through the mouth, but should be done only through the nostrils. Breathing should be smooth with a hissing sound.





VINIYOGADHYAYAH

SLOKA 13
Srstikrama consists of the asanas in the following slokas: different variations of sirsasana, sarvangasana, mahamudra, tadakamudra, baddhakonasana, baddhapadmasana, dandasana and pascimatanasana.
Mahamudra is usually followed by baddhakonasana.

SLOKA 57
A person must practice pranayama in a quiet place four times a day. It must be done before sunrise, at midday, in the evening and at midnight.

SLOKA 58
Pranayama must be practiced according to the instructions given by a teacher - with or without a mantra respecting one's family tradition.






VIMARSANADHYAYAH

SLOKA 13
If a pregnant woman has disturbed sleep, regular practice of ujjayi pranayama in the padmasana posture with a short retention is suggested.

SLOKA 14
Kapalabhati and bastrika pranayama must be generally avoided. All the other pranayamas can be done without uddiyana bandha and mula bandha.
Kapalabhati and bastrika reduce the fluid in the body. Uddiyana bandha and mula bandha will disturb the normal bowel and urine functions. Sleep may also be disturbed.

SLOKA 15
Jalandharabandha is very important for a pregnant woman for it will reduce the formation of gas. That is why all the sastras have approved of the practice of jalandharabandha for pregnant women.

SLOKA 16
After five months of pregnancy, the most comfortable pranayama will be sitali and naidosodhanam. When there is a stomach upset, suryabhedana must be done.

SLOKA 41
Only the correct practitioners of pranayama can purify the koshas. Disturbed breathing patterns lead to diseases.

SLOKA 42
It is through the proper praccice of asana and pranayama and proper discipline that one can master breathing. There is no other way.







KALADHYAYAH

SLOKA 6
Favorable or not favorable is only in the mind. The mind itself is a changing entity.

SLOKA 12
This vast world which consists of many visayas undergoes changes every moment, leading to duhkha and sukha.

SLOKA 13
Some people sit quietly in the belief that all that happens is God's will. Why then do they take the trouble of complaining of what is happening around them?
Therefore instead of being adamant and spending time wastefully describing whatever is happening around them, they must take to abhyasa (kriya yoga).

SLOKA 14
Through the practice of yoga one realizes that the association with the senses leads to sukha and dukha.

SLOKA 15
When his/her body becomes strong on account of yoga practice, a person will be inclined to do those things that will give him sukham.
Yoga sadhana can never encourage tamas (laziness). The alertness that yoga practice provides can give little room for dullness.

SLOKA 16
If a person becomes even a little weak on account of yoga sadhana, he must examine the various causes with great attention and remove them.
Such weakness could arise out of wrong practice (which is not guided by a teacher), and one's own habits and food.

SLOKA 25
Just as an idle person cannot cross the river sitting in a boat which is leaking, so too a person who follows the instructions of an ignorant teacher cannot attain moksha.

TO THE GURU: SRI DHARMA MITTRA







Guru Brahma Gurur Vishnu
Guru Devo Maheshwaraha
Guru Saakshat Para Brahma
Tasmai Sree Gurave Namaha

Guru is verily the representative of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva.
He creates, sustains knowledge and destroys the weeds of ignorance.
I salute such a Guru.

GO VEG(AN), PART I: THE "OTHER" REASON TO GO VEGETARIAN
The Film Forks over Knives opens Friday in Chicago




The first reason to go veg (from a yoga perspective) is compassion. The foundational precept of yoga is Ahimsa, or not harming any living being in word, thought and deed.

The other reason to go veg. is for health. (Which seems selfish but in fact is a form of self-compassion, or non-harming of one's own body).

The feature film Forks Over Knives examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods.






Learn more about the movie here.



Starting Friday, it's playing @:

Webster Place 11 (Regal), 1471 W. Webster Ave., Chicago, IL
Century Theaters (Cinemark), 1715 Maple Ave., Evanston, IL



Thanks to Boodiba for the movie tip.

JAI SWAMI KAILASHANANDA (YOGA GUPTA)!
Jai Parama-Guru!






Swami Kailashananda, also known as Yogi Gupta, was one of the very first Yoga Masters to bring Hatha Yoga to America. In 1954, he was invited to speak at a Health Convention in Chicago, and thereafter he began teaching in the U.S. Born in Kanpur in Northern India, he practiced law before renouncing all worldly ties and being ordained as a monk in Benares (in the Holy Order of Sanyasa) as Swami Kailashananda. He practiced yoga in the Himalaya Mountains until mastering 9 forms of Yoga; and he was an Acharya of the Yoga Vedanta Forest University. In 1952, he established the Kailashananda Mission Trust (including the Kailashananda Nature Cure Centre), in Rishikesh, India, which has been serving humanity continuously since that time.






He is the Guru of Sri Dharma Mittra.

He was an early proponent of a live diet.

He was a Master of Nine Main Forms of Yoga: Raja, Kundalini, Bhakti, Mantra, Tantra, Yantra, Jnana, Karma and Hatha Yoga.

He's the author of Yoga and Long Life and Yoga and Yogic Powers.

When I first saw his picture in one of those books, the heart melted. How could I not love him; he is my Guru's Guru.

He left his body last Friday.

In class last night, Dharma said that no one dies and that God is everything and everywhere.






Om Tryambakam Yajamahe
Sugandhim Pushtivardhanam
Urvarukamiva Bandhanan
Mrityor Mukshiya Maamritat

We Meditate on the Three-eyed reality
Which permeates and nourishes all like a fragrance.
May we be liberated from death for the sake of immortality,
Even as the cucumber is severed from bondage to the creeper.






Read some of Yogi Gupta's writings, here.



Learn about Dharma's famous poster - a selfless gift to his beloved Guru - here and here.

SRI DHARMA AT OMEGA, PT III
Better Late Than Never




The final segment on Sunday began with the longest pranayama session I've ever done with Dharma; we did at least six different types. It was intense.

Partway through, the mind and body began to feel very good indeed.

Between breathings Dharma spoke of various things, including the need to copy the teacher (which he says about as often as SKPJ said that yoga is 99 percent practice, one percent theory). He said that Indra became the king of gods just by watching.

He also said, "Control your food and you will easily be able to control your mind."

This was hard to do at Omega, which features an amazing organic, locally-sourced vegetarian buffet for each and every meal. Most of the food is vegan, and it was GOOD. I especially liked the giant vats of lightly-cooked beets and kale, and the fact that there were three types of gluten-free bread. Three!

It was also difficult to practice asteya, and not save seats for friends.



The little dorm room was as cozy and comfortable as could be, and I was thrilled to be housed in the same cabin as Parvati and Kim, who assisted Dharma.

The former and I went on a delightful post-dinner walk through the woods on Saturday.



But the best part was of course seeing Dharma.

He concluded the intensive by doing one of my favorite things in the whole wide world (no, it was not the hands-free headstand):

He read a chapter from the Bhagavad-Gita, and paused from time to time to give commentary.

It was like heaven.

And then he thanked us, and that was that.







There are three gates leading to this hell--lust, anger and greed. Every sane man should give these up, for they lead to the degradation of the soul.

BIN LADEN REACTION
A Measured Response from The New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good*









"Do not rejoice when your enemies fall"
Statement by David P. Gushee
on behalf of the New Evangelical Partnership
May 2, 2011

"Do not rejoice when your enemies fall,
and do not let your heart be glad when they stumble."
Proverbs 24:17

We feel compelled to respond today to the killing of Osama bin Laden by the United States and to the jubilant response across the nation.

A nation has a right to defend itself. From the perspective of the fundamental national security of the United States, this action is legitimately viewed as an expression of self-defense.

But as Christians, we believe that there can no celebrating, no dancing in the streets, no joy, in relation to the death of Osama bin Laden. In obedience to scripture, there can be no rejoicing when our enemies fall.

In that sense, President Obama's sober announcement was far preferable to the happy celebrations outside the White House, in New York, and around the country, however predictable and even cathartic they may be.

For those of us who embrace a version of the just war theory, honed carefully over the centuries of Christian tradition, our response is disciplined by belief that war itself is tragic and that all killing in war, even in self-defense, must be treated with sobriety and even mournfulness. War and all of its killing reflects the brokenness of our world. That is the proper spirit with which to greet this news.

This event does provide new opportunities for our nation.

President Obama's respectful treatment of Islam in his remarks, and his declaration that Osama bin Laden's body was treated with respect according to Islamic custom, offers all of us an opportunity to follow that example and turn away from the rising disrespect toward Muslims in our nation.

A second opportunity is for the United States to reconsider the questionable moves we have made in the name of the war on terror. From our perspective, this includes the indefinite detentions of scores of men at Guantanamo Bay, the failure to undertake an official investigation of detainee interrogation practices, the increase in Predator attacks in Pakistan, and the expansion rather than ending of the ten-year-old war in Afghanistan.

We also now have the opportunity for national reflection on how our broader military and foreign policies--including the placement of our troops throughout the largely Muslim Arab world, our posture on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and our regular military interventions around the world, create a steady supply of new enemies.

There can never be any moral justification for terrorist attacks on innocent people, such as the terrible deeds of 9/11. But we must recognize that to the extent that our nation's policies routinely create enemies, we can kill a Bin Laden on May 1 and face ten more like him on May 2. Might it now be possible for us to have an honest national conversation about these issues?

May we learn the right lessons from the news of this day. For Jesus' sake.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
*I don't know anything about this group; I just like the statement.


Thanks to Merrilly Mac for the tip.

Dharma @ Omega II

"If anyone here is still eating meat, don't eat meat anymore. Eating flesh is out of date. Think about it: eating animals - that's for cavemen.

"You should visit a slaughterhouse. I myself visited one in Brazil. You see it and it makes you cry. You see animals being skinned alive. ...

"When you eat meat, your meditation goes nowhere. The subtle body becomes polluted with the vibrations of the slaughtered animal. Before they die they experience a terrible fear. Their glands release poison into their bloodstream before they die, and you eat it....."


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Dharma @ Omega

Last night Dharma shared the highest truths for two hours straight.

Among other things, he told us that his guru said to practice all the paths of yoga (jnana, bhakti, hatha, karma, etc) to make faster spiritual progress, and to focus most on the one the sadhaka likes best.




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Pic snapped a few minutes ago, from an Adirondack chair!


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ASTHANGA CARTOONS
It's harder (and funnier) than it looks....






Seasoned practitioners of ashtanga vinyasa yoga can forget how hellish (and hilarious) the practice can be.... is.








Ashtanga student Dan Borden started creating these awesome drawings while struggling through his first few weeks of Mysore classes with me.










He showed them to me some time later.









They're wonderful reminder of how ashtanga can be poison in the beginning.....










....and nectar in the end.








If you stick with it, that is.







See the whole set here.


And get Miserable YogaMen on t-shirts, stickers, buttons, etc. here. Dan says he'll donate any profits to a yoga charity.

SODDEN
The Midwest Monsoon Continues....





and the students have tight shoulders and the old injuries are flaring up and everyone is as tired as hell....



The past few days reminded me of Ray Bradbury's great short story, "The Long Rain,"

"The rain continued. It was a hard rain, a perpetual rain, a sweating and steaming rain; it was a mizzle, a downpour, a fountain, a whipping at the eyes, an undertow at the ankles; it was a rain to drown all rains and the memory of rains. It came by the pound and the ton, it hacked at the jungle and cut the trees like scissors and shaved the grass and tunneled the soil and molted the bushes. It shrank men's hands into the hands of wrinkled apes; it rained a solid glassy rain, and it never stopped."

But that's the nature of April, isn't it?

May flowers are coming, Madame.


In the meantime, enjoy these (sweet, joyous, sexy) Bollywood monsoon clips.

I AM
Now Playing in Chicago





Blockbuster comedy film director Tom Shadyac's new documentary I Am is screening in Chicago.

It's about how the multimillionaire fell off his bike, suffered for a long time, and came to the realization that the affluent life that's held up as the American ideal is actually empty and meaningless. So he gets rid of a lot of his stuff, sells his Pasadena mansion, moves into a (posh) trailer (in Malibu) and sets out to find answers to two questions - What’s wrong with our world? And what can we do to make it better? - by interviewing everyone from Archbishop Desmond Tutu to the late Howard Zinn.

(You can read the Los Angeles Times's not-too-keen review here).


The film's title is based on the one of the most basic mantras, "Soham" (I Am), and it espouses some concepts that will be familiar to any serious student of yoga:

-All living things (even yogurt cultures) are connected.

-Not following your intuition (ie; your heart's desire) will cause you to die a little every day.

-All living things are hard-wired to be empathetic - not competitive.

-Nature functions because it is cooperative, with each being taking only what it needs.





Sadly, the film has nothing to do with Neil Diamond - whose songs sound even better now than they did in the Seventies:





Here are the screening details:


AMC River East 21
322 East Illinois Street, Chicago, IL
11:55am 2:20 4:55 7:20 9:35pm



See Tom Shadyac on Oprah here.

DHARMA YOGA WEEKEND





This Saturday I'll teach a Maha Sadhana (Dharma Mittra vinyasa yoga workshop) at YogaNow from 1-3:30pm. This is an amazing way to deepen your practice (and try some poses you may not have seen before); details here.

On Easter Sunday I'll teach my usual 10-11:30am Dharma Yoga Level I-III class at Chicago Yoga Center; we will definitely do the Sacrifice Pose! More info here.





(Somehow, I'll have to tear myself away from the TV and temporarily cease my new addiction: the spate of the Jesus reality and Bible shows on Planet Green. ).

SNOW TODAY







So the parka, boots & snow brush came out again....

The ashtangis came to class (they love bad weather)....

And the daffodils cringed in horror.





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TO FOLLOW THE GURU OR NOT TO FOLLOW THE GURU, PART I:
THE GARBHA PINDASANA QUESTION





Garbha Pidasana is the Embryo in the Womb Pose, and is part of the Ashtanga Primary Series.

It's basically rolling around on the back nine times clockwise while in the lotus position. First, one takes lotus. Then the arms are wedged behind the knees. The hands cover the ears for five breaths while you balance on the buttocks. Then the hands are placed over the face, and you rock around nine times in a clockwise circle.

At least, it used to be nine times.

When I studied with ashtanga vinyasa yoga guru Pattabhi Jois, from 2000 to 2008, he would call out the pose. Once we'd assumed it and held it for five breaths, he'd say, "Nine times rounding!" and we would go around nine times while he counted to five (most of the ashtanga poses are held for a count of five).

In 2008, in Mysore, when Guruji was still alive but not teaching anymore, Sharath (Guruji's grandson), told us to go around five times - not nine. Of course I did it his way in his presence.

But later, I asked Manju (Guruji's son, who teaches in America and with whom I've studied for years) how many times we should rock around. "It doesn't matter," he said.



To recap:

Guruji: "Nine times rounding!"

Sharath: Five times (as of 2008)

Manju: It doesn't matter





As I said on Grimmly's blog, I prefer to go with the guru.


Lino Miele put it best, in a workshop he taught in Chicago last year:

"Once the guru dies, everyone goes like this," he said, spreading out his arms. "I don't want to go like this."




Lino - who wrote the book with Guruji - also addressed why we rock around nine times in the pose:

"Because of gestation. According to Pattabhi Jois, when the baby is breach, by doing this you put the baby at the right position."


Read the rest of my review of Lino's workshop here

BE LOVE NOW: THE PATH OF THE HEART
Nuggets from Ram Dass's 2010 bhakti yoga book


Here are some bits I found helpful:

"There are three levels from the thinking mind to the heart-mind. The thinking mind is manas. The intuitive intellect and the faculty of discrimination is buddhi. Individual awareness, the pure sense of I-ness, is ahamkara, which is the heart-mind and the witness. All of these levels of mind emanate from the individual soul, or jivatman, which is our connection to the all-pervading, universal soul, the atman.

"It may be helpful to see these planes as a series of veils or illusions (maya) that keep us separate from the atman, or universal soul. In another sense they are a schematic of the conscious universe. The universal consciousness of the atman is localized in the jivatman, our individual soul. Our most basic experience of selfhood is the individual awareness, the ahamkara. The higher mind, or buddhi, is the discriminating wisdom that mediates between pure awareness and the world of form. The everyday continuum of disparate thoughts and feelings that keeps us identified with sensory expereince is the manas, the thinking mind."

"We cannot cling to forms or our experiences of them, because they decay and dissolve back into their formless state. Attempting to hold on to anything in time is ultimately futile and a cause of much suffering. What is really there to hold on to? In reality there is nothing permanent, nothing sold, nothing constant except relativity and change themselves"

[NOTE: I - CK - would argue that there is one constant: the atman / purusha / Supreme Self / Brahman].

"When we realize how finite are the limits of gratification or possible fulfillment within the play of forms, then despair rises. That despair is born of the world-weary understanding that nothing in form can provide ultimate meaning. It also forces and demands awakening and seeks transcendence of suffering."





"You're giving up stuff that is so connected to the root of your worldly identity that it's like a death. You go through some of the same things people go through when they are physically dying -- denial, anger, resentment -- 'Why is this happening to me?' or 'Can I bargain may way out of it?' First come depression and despair, then surrendering to the situation, and finally the lightness of a new state of being."










"Someone asked Maharaj-ji, 'How do I know if someone is my guru?' Maharaj-ji said, 'Do you think s/he can fulfill you in every way spiritually? Do you feel s/he can free you from all desires and attachments? Do you feel s/he can lead you to final liberation?'"




"The difference between a guru and us is that s/he inhabits those [higher] planes always, with no discontinuity. S/he lives in the atman, the One. We experience our consciousness as separate, but through the guru's love we begin to experience it as shared in common, because love dissolves boundaries, love is universal. Maharaj-ji brings us as far back as we can go into that state of merging into love before our individuality kicks in and we hold back out of fear of letting go. That's the crux of the whole matter."









"Once one is established in infinite consciousness, one becomes silent and, though knowing everything, goes about as if s/he does not know anything. Though s/he might be doing a lot of things in several places, to all outward appearance s/he will remain as if s/he does nothing. He will awlays remain as if s/he is a witness to everything that goes on, like a spectator at a cinema show, and is not affected by the pleasant or the unpleasant. To be able to forget everything and to be aloof, that alone is the highest state to be in."

-Bhagwan Nityananda












"The Atman or divine Self, is separate from the body. This Atman is One without a second, pure, self-luminous, without attributes, free, all-pervading. He is the eternal witness. Blessed is he who knows the Atman, for though an embodied being, he shall be free from the changes and qualities pertaining to the body. He alone is ever united in me."


-Srimad Bhagavatam 74








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[NOTE: I changed "he" to "s/he" when they refer to gurus - some of the greatest of whom have been (and are) female incarnations].

H20 II
But wait, there's more!






How about these statistics:

One billion people in the world lack safe drinking water, and 2.6 billion people lack access to a toilet.

And here I am with THREE taps in an apartment for just one person!


Today's "Worldview" show on public radio featured a segment on drinking water around the world and the upcoming global water crisis.

Jerome McDonnell interviewed people from The Peer Water Exchange and Ann Feldman, founder of the Chicago group Artistic Circles - which just released the documentary Water Pressures, about water scarcity in Rajasthan, India. It is the most water-distressed region in the world.

Some stats from the movie:

1 in 8 people worldwide lack access to safe water. In the Thar Desert outside Rajasthan, India, local rainfall is just two inches/year. The average individual in Rajasthan uses 4 liters of water/day. In the US 400 liters/day.



Hear the radio show here.







On Saturday, the India Development Service will present a seminar called, "Water: Sacredness, Scarcity and Sustainability" from 9:00a.m. to 3:00p.m. at the Loyola University Medical Center Strich School of Medicine in Maywood. Click here for more.

H20



I woke up last night and was thirsty.

Before doing anything about it, I marveled that I have the good fortune to live in a place where you can walk a few feet, pull a knob, and watch drinkable water come out of the tap.

I realized that this is not possible in many parts of the world (where the water is not drinkable, or you have to walk far to get it, or there isn't any at all, or it's radioactive).

So I said a prayer for those parts of the world and gave thanks before drinking.

BIG PARADE TODAY






I was riding the bike up to Devon for a dosa & came across an Assyrian parade.

That's one of the things I love about living in a big city....

All kinds of people love, er, live there.

(and when you ring the bike-bell they just might cheer).







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PACKING IT IN
This blog ends September 1