Most Westerners are familiar with the third limb of yoga: asana practice. The purpose of the yoga postures is to help the body rest comfortably during meditation. In order to accomplish this, the early rishis created a plethora of  different poses to benefit the body in many ways. Before beginning, it is helpful to ask the body how it is feeling and what it needs to be more balanced and comfortable. Sit quietly for a few moments and reflect on this. Study of the many benefits of each posture is vital so that once the body's needs have been determined and understood, the correct posture(s) can be selected. For example, today I chose to open and balance 6 of the 7 major chakras using asana practice and an affirmation. The 7th chakra was balanced with a sitting meditation. To illustrate how each posture might have more than one benefit,  I've listed them below. We used 2 techniques for each chakra, but really you could use as many or as few as feels appropriate.

Saturn Chakra

Squat Pose
Assists in the elimination of constipation. Strenghthens calves, loosens hips, flexes feet.

Sway Pose
Stretches Thoracic cavity, spine and shoulders. Reduces waistline.

Jupiter Chakra

Twist-Around-Waist Pose
Corrects stomach disorders. Reduces abdomen. Strengthens chest. Improves appetite and digestion.

Head-on-Knee Pose
Improves digestion, reduces abdomen and makes spine flexible.

Mars Chakra

Half Wheel Pose
Tones liver, spleen and intestines.

Boat Pose
Tones the intestines and helps prevent stomach disorders.

Venus Chakra

Sri Mahavira Pose
Develops chest strength. Strengthens and improves prana intake and its circulation. Invigorates lungs and arms. Prevents disorders caused by phlegm in the chest.

Black Bee Pose
Keeps intestines healthy and helps prevent stomach disorders.

Mercury Chakra

Knee-Pressing-Ear Pose
The ears, neck and waist are strengthened. Benefits the spleen, liver and digestion. Spinal cord is strengthed and becomes more flexible. Helps overcome obesity.

Bridge Pose
Spine becomes more flexible and strong. Improves digestion. Reduces abdomen and backaches. Helps regulate thyroid.

Sun and Moon Chakra

Spiritual Prostration Pose
Pays respect to spiritual and holy people. Honors our teachers. It engenders humility, softens arrogance, enhances respect and devotion. Brings a feeling of gratitude.

Affirmation (whispered softly)
"The greater my sorrows, the more valuable my smiles."

Single pointed concentration. Laser focus. Meditation is like concentration with the exception that it is effortless. Concentration takes effort. It is an important step on the way to achieving a meditative state,  but it is not meditation. It is, however, necessary to cultivate concentration if one is to become a meditator. So, what is the opposite of meditation? Multi-tasking. We are forever losing our moments when we are doing one thing and yet thinking about something else. Meditation takes commitment. Multi-tasking fragments the mind so that we always have one foot out the door, so to speak, and are not able to commit our attention to any one thing fully. I invite you to try some simple exercises to move away from multi-tasking and toward a mind that is capable of being in the moment. Here are some examples:

1) When you are pushing your baby in a stroller, just take your baby. Leave your cell phone @ home.

2) Eat a meal completely uninterrupted. Really notice the aroma, flavor and texture of your food.

3) Instead of listening to music while you are working on the computer, try stepping away from the computer, close your eyes and really listen to the music.

4) If you make a date to spend time with friends, give yourself enough time that you are not worrying about being somewhere else.

5) Drive with the stereo off. Pay attention to what it feels like to sit behind the wheel of your car. Notice how the seat feels beneath you. Listen to the hum of the engine. Become one with the experience of driving.

If you start with just those five things, soon you'll begin thinking of other ways to let go of multi-tasking. Concentration will become easier. Meditation will follow.

I leave you with the timeless wisdom of the Tao Te Ching...

SIXTEEN

Empty yourself of everything.
Let the mind rest at peace.
The ten thousand things rise and fall while the Self watches their return.
They grow and flourish and then return to the source.
Returning to the source is stillness, which is the way of nature.
The way of nature is unchanging.
Knowing constancy is insight.
Not knowing constancy leads to disaster.
Knowing constancy, the mind is open.
With an open mind, you will be openhearted.
Being openhearted, you will act royally.
Being royal, you will attain the divine.
Being divine, you will be @ one with the Tao.
Being @ one with the Tao is eternal.
And though the body dies, the Tao will never pass away.
~ Lao Tzu

Classical Yogic Purification techniques (Shat Kriyas) are quite beneficial to any total mind/body health routine. The purpose of these practices is to remove toxins from the body. These are the techniques we discussed:

*Stomach Cleansing
*Colon Cleansing
*Nasal Cleansing
*Eye Cleansing
*Skin Cleansing
*Tongue Cleansing
*Teeth Cleansing

The removal impurities is very important because it:

1) Allows pranic energies to flow over the nerves, increasing resistance to disease.
2) Allows pranic energy to flow through the astral channels increasing the horizon of awareness.
3) Inhibits accumulation of toxins in the body, thus improving health and mentality.
4) Extends your physical life.
5) Increases your perceptual awareness.
6) Increases your psychic attunement.
7) Leads toward enlightenment.

Here is something that I would like everyone to consider: Cancer cells occur naturally in the body. A healthy immune system regularly eliminates these cells. As we grow older and our immune systems weaken, it might not be unexpected for a person in advanced years to develop this kind of illness. What is not natural is the regularity that our bodies are bombarded in our modern culture with a wide variety of toxins on a daily basis. Our immune systems are taxed beyond what our earlier predecessors' bodies ever had to deal with. We see more cases of cancer in people of all ages everyday. Many scientists are looking into toxins in the environment and ways to cure cancer. While practicing the Shat Kriyas will help remove toxins from the body, they are no guarantee that you will not become afflicted with some kind of cancer.

In addition to practicing daily purification techniques, it is important to look @ what we put into and on the body. Eating organic foods that are naturally full of nutrients is important. Also, read the labels of the shampoos, soaps, conditioners, lotions, toothpaste, mouthwash and cosmetics that you use. Do you know what those ingredients are? Would you consider eating them? If not, they probably should not go on the body. The most essential and simple thing we can do to keep ourselves healthy is to use pure water in and on the body. Ideally, one would drink, cook and shower with filtered water. This is not practical for everyone. Boiling water will remove chlorine, but flouride actually becomes more condensed when we treat water this way. There is a lot of controversy concerning chlorine and flouride in the water. I am not here to create controversy. But I think that we can all agree that pure water does the body no harm and is always beneficial taken internally and used externally.

Shanti,
  S.

Yesterday, I had a long talk with my web hosting service. It seems that to correct a problem I was having with my account, I would need to completely tear down and rebuild this site. I didn't want the previous blog entries to be lost, so I copied them before starting over. They are all pasted below. Enjoy!

Sacred Sanctuary 3/18/2014

Meditation is our High Holy Place. It's a place we can always return to, not to forget about life, but to remember. Remembering who we truly are gives us freedom from everyday attachments. We are centered, purified and whole.

When we return from our quietude we can bring the feeling with us. Cherish the meditative state. Don't discard it. It will bring you peace throughout the day. Any time you need it. And although maintaining the feeling may be difficult @ first, you can return to your meditation sanctuary again and again vivifying your practice and balancing your life. This is your place. It is within you. It is yours to keep. Forever.

Shanti,
  S.

Disciplining the Mind 3/11/2014

Meditation isn't a break from life, it is a lifestyle. How we live our lives helps facilitate our meditation practice. And by practicing meditation, we learn how to better live our lives. How does this work? Let me give you an example using my own experience.

Before I begin a meditation lesson, I arrive early and begin to tell the mind/body complex that it is time to settle down. I slowly focus on getting the space ready holding my intent on each task. Then I ask my body if it is comfortable. If it is not, then I focus on the parts of the body that need attention and I practice the appropriate posture(s) to put the body @ ease. When the body is ready I ask the mind if it is in a calm, intuitive feeling state. If it is not, then I spend the last few moments meditating before the person or people (if it is a group) arrive. In this way, I know that I will be better able to give the lesson. When the lesson is finished, I hold the feeling of the meditative state until the very last person has left. I do not mind if people stay after to ask questions. It is a joy to teach. But I will not be the best meditation teacher if my mind is not still in a calm, intuitive feeling state. I do not jump up and let my thoughts go wondering all over the place. This is of no use to anyone. Keeping the mind focused effortlessly takes discipline. And discipline takes practice.

In our everyday lives remembering the feeling of meditation can help us carry that state throughout the day. When we are calm, we make better decisions. We begin letting go of emotionality which is to say that we don't let everyday events upset us. We can cope. We begin to enjoy life.

Shanti,
  S.

Centering on God 3/9/2014

Today we talked about the Second Limb of Yoga: Niyama (Observances).
After we finished, one of our members returned and we had a very pleasant discussion about spiritual study. Centering on God is one of the key points of a Kriya Yoga practice. Of course, this is a very personal experience as every individual will have his or her own ideas and feelings about what constitutes Divinity. I would like to recommend a book for anyone interested in an overview of similar beliefs within four of the major world religions:

Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, Lao Tzu - The Parellel Sayings
~ Edited and with an introduction by Richard Hooper

I'll close with excerpts from some spiritual texts. Shanti.

The wise, through meditation on the Self, recognizes the Ancient - who is difficult to see - enters the darkness for that which is hidden in a cave, and dwells in the abyss as God. This one leaves joy and sorrow far behind.
~ The Upanishads

Recognize those things that lead you forward, and those things that hold you back. Choose the way that leads to wisdom.
~ The Buddha

The wise person sees and hears like a child. He sees what is in front of him, but does not judge or discriminate.
~ The Tao Te Ching

I Am the first Thought that dwells in the Light. I Am the movement that dwells in the All. I Am She in whom the All manifests. I Am the invisible and the revealed. I cannot be measured. No words can describe me. Yet I can be known within the silence of the One. I move in all things.
~ Trimorphic Protennoia

The Power of Affirmations 3/04/2014

Meditation clearly, and without reservations, brings the self-realization that life is not so much about the events and actions that come to us as it is our reaction to those events.

Once you understand this, you truly begin to gain control of your life. And with that gaining of control comes a deep relaxation. Life is no longer as challenging, as threatening, as stressful. Many people find that the pre-meditation technique of profound affirmation improves their lives by improving their attitude, for attitude is all.

Try asking yourself these questions:

What is my attitude toward life?
What is my attitude toward sex?
What is my attitude toward money?
What is my attitude toward my home environment?
What is my attitude toward pleasure and enjoyment?
What is my attitude towards my health?
What is my attitude toward creativity?
What is my attitude toward sharing my life with someone?

Auto-suggestion, or affirmation, should be based on your suggestion, not someone else's. You are constantly being bombarded by suggestions from people. These suggestions are typically not designed to bring you happiness! And you need to establish a primary attitude that will take you through life happy and joy-filled.

Try phrasing an affirmation in the progressive tense this way:

"Every day, in every way, I am becoming happier and happier!"

You can use any attitude that you want to affirm (sexier and sexier, wealthier and wealthier, healthier and healthier, ect.).

Remember YOU are the creative principle!!!! Every thought you think is creating your future! You have unlimited choices about what you think. Choose wisely.

Please, do not confuse auto-suggestion, affirmations and other techniques with meditation. These are not meditation. Meditation is returning to the primal state of consciousness. Meditation is effortless. It is letting go and quieting the mind.

There are three preliminary steps that must be completed to enter meditation:

1) Relax the mind/body complex.
2) To gather the mind through concentration.
3) To let go of that concentration.

On Tuesday, March 11th we will be meeting to study a technique for quieting the mind during meditation. It is called the "neti" technique. It is used to control the wanderings of your restless mind. To learn more about this and other yogic techniques, you can contact me for a private lesson or you can enjoy a community group lesson. To find out more about our next group meeting, cut and paste this link into your browser:

http://www.meetup.com/Yoga-Meditation-for-Beginners-Meetup/

"What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us
are tiny matters compared to what lives within us."
~Henry David Thoreau

Blessings,
  S.

Introduction to the 7 Major Chakras 2/25/2014

This evening we practiced the Yogoda relaxation technique before exploring various aspects of the body's chakra system. It was a lively, interactive group study utilizing postures, mantra and meditation to balance the chakras. What a joy it was to facilitate this group!

Practicing relaxation techniques like Yogoda is different from asana practice. When applying a relaxation technique it is important to attune to the concept that the separate parts of the body are combined to make a unified whole and that the mind is also part of the body. YOU/WE, the Spirit, control the mind/body complex. As we begin to relax, it is often helpful to include an affirmation.

I will leave you this evening with an affirmation that you can practice @ home as you relax the body completely. I hope you find it meaningful. Shanti.

I am the master of this body...
I control this mind/body complex...
I create this feeling of peace, tranquility, harmony, and equanimity from the cosmic energy that emanates within me and the universe...
I am the creative principle...

Subtle Teachings 2/23/2014

Today was a beautiful day sharing the teachings and insights about the first limb of Yoga: Yama (Abstenstion). These teachings are so essential  to leading a harmonious life and can be understood on three levels:

1) Intellectual
2) Verbal
3) Physical

When we think of the third Yama, Asteya (Non-Stealing), the physical form of stealing or taking something away may come to mind. But there are other, more subtle forms of stealing. For example, if someone asks us for information or something else that they really need and we make the decision that we are not going to give them the information (or whatever else it is that they are needing), that is a form of stealing. In Kriya Yoga we are taught that we should not interfere in people's lives, but if they truly need our help, then we must help them. That does not mean giving them what we think they need, but to give that of which they are asking. Here's another example of verbal stealing: To say something with the intent to take away from a person's sense of self worth. This is sometimes commonly referred to as 'stealing someone's thunder.'

There is a lot to learn by reflecting on the first limb of Yoga. For further study on this subject and a whole host of other information on Kriya Yoga techniques, I recommend this book:

The Spiritual Science of Kriya Yoga by Goswami Kriyananda

Also, the first book I ever read about meditation is a must for every single beginning meditator trying to navigate our modern culture:

Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn

At the height of my struggles with serious physical and emotional pain, I happened upon this book in the laundry room "book share" pile in the building where I lived in Chicago. Was it Karma? Happenstance? For whatever reason it was there, picking up and reading this book in many ways changed my life. I can't think of a better book for anyone wanting to make positive changes in theirs.

Finally, many thank the folks that trekked out on this wonderful Sunday afternoon to share Meditations and teachings. Deepest Gratitude.

The Universe is the Best Teacher 2/18/2014

This evening we discussed Gratitude and the practice of Loving Kindness. We started by showing loving kindness to ourselves in the form of a gentle yogic massage. After appreciating and thanking the body we practiced Shavasana, relaxing completely.

Changing the thought patterns of the mind takes practice. A good way to begin is by learning the practice of Okagesamade (this is "thank you" or "thanks to you" in Japanese), a form of gratitude for everything that was brought to us by another human being. Keeping a Gratitude Journal is a nice complement to this type of practice.

We also discussed comfort in the physical body. By loving ourselves - taking care of our bodies, learning to develop positive thoughts - we become more comfortable with ourselves which in turn helps others around us become more loving and comfortable, too.

We practiced Fish Pose and and Easy Pose Forward Fold to help prepare our spines for meditation. We closed with a version of the Meadow Mountain Waterfall meditation which focuses on receiving Love. Learning to receive love is so important not only to ourselves, but to those whom we love. Why? Because they love us, and want us to be happy.

Now, something very funny happened this evening. It was a wonderful reminder about how the Universe will tell you what you need and when you need it. After our meetings, we sometimes share some snacks and have a little chat. Tonight, I was reciting the 8 limbs of yoga and completely forgot the 6th limb. I was trying so hard to remember it that I just drew a blank. Remarking that I must be a little low blood sugar, one of our Yoga Meditation Group members offered me something to eat. Walking home the answer effortlessly bubbled up in my consciousness. Do you know what the 6th limb of yoga is? Dharana (concentration). Yes, of course! If I had cared for myself by eating a little more protein today I would have been better able to concentrate. I bow with love and in humble gratitude to the Universe which clearly is not only the best teacher, but also has a sense of humor. Shanti.

Honoring the Child Within 2/09/2014

Today our topic for group meditation was Honoring the Child Within. We practiced the following asanas: Happy Baby Pose, 2 Versions of Child's Pose and Camel's Pose. Everyday we practice Shavasana. We learned and practiced a mantra meditation that activates, heals and opens the heart center. We meditated on Joy and the feeling of Joyfulness. I feel inspired to share these quotations on the Joy of Feeling the Child Within. Shanti.

In every real man a child is hidden that wants to play.  ~Friedrich Nietzsche


Happy is he who still loves something he loved in the nursery:  He has not been broken in two by time; he is not two men, but one, and he has saved not only his soul but his life.  ~G.K. Chesterton


The great man is he who does not lose his child's-heart.  ~Mencius, Book IV


Every child is an artist.  The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.  ~Pablo Picasso


Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.  ~Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince, 1943


Everybody's 12 years old in an apple orchard.  ~Rachael Ray

Anticipate the day as if it was your birthday and you are turning six again.  ~Mike Dolan


To speak truly, few adult persons can see nature.  Most persons do not see the sun.  At least they have a very superficial seeing.  The sun illuminates only the eye of the man, but shines into the eye and heart of the child.  The lover of nature is he whose inward and outward senses are still truly adjusted to each other; who has retained the spirit of infancy even into the era of manhood.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson


The reluctance to put away childish things may be a requirement of genius.  ~Rebecca Pepper Sinkler


Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon.  A happiness weapon.  A beauty bomb.  And every time a crisis developed, we would launch one.  It would explode high in the air - explode softly - and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air.  Floating down to earth - boxes of Crayolas.  And we wouldn't go cheap, either - not little boxes of eight.  Boxes of sixty-four, with the sharpener built right in.  With silver and gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime, amber and umber and all the rest.  And people would smile and get a little funny look on their faces and cover the world with imagination.  ~Robert Fulghum


A grownup is a child with layers on.  ~Woody Harrelson


Some things can only be understood when you're in a tree house.  With a pile of warm chocolate chip cookies.  And a book.  ~Dr. SunWolf


A child who does not play is not a child, but the man who does not play has lost forever the child who lived in him.  ~Pablo Neruda


I am often accused of being childish.  I prefer to interpret that as child-like.  I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things.  I tend to exaggerate and fantasize and embellish.  I still listen to instinctual urges.  I play with leaves.  I skip down the street and run against the wind.  I never water my garden without soaking myself.  It has been after such times of joy that I have achieved my greatest creativity and produced my best work. ~Leo F. Buscaglia


Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play.  ~Heraclitus



 
One of the virtues of being very young is that you don't let the facts get in the way of your imagination. 
~Sam Levenson


Creativity represents a miraculous coming together of the uninhibited energy of the child with its apparent opposite and enemy, the sense of order imposed on the disciplined adult intelligence.  ~Norman Podhoretz


In my soul, I am still that small child who did not care about anything else but the beautiful colors of a rainbow.  ~Papiha Ghosh


Each man carries within him the soul of a poet who died young.  ~Sainte-Beuve, Portraits littéraires, 1862


Those who play rarely become brittle in the face of stress or lose the healing capacity for humor.  ~Stuart Brown


O men, grown sick with toil and care,
Leave for awhile the crowded mart;
O women, sinking with despair,
Weary of limb and faint of heart,
Forget your years to-day and come
As children back to childhood's house.
~Phoebe Cary


It is a happy talent to know how to play.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson


If you want to be creative, stay in part a child, with the creativity and invention that characterizes children before they are deformed by adult society.  ~Jean Piaget


Think what a better world it would be if we all - the whole world - had cookies and milk about three o’clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap.  ~Robert Fulghum

My childhood may be over, but that doesn't mean playtime is.  ~Ron Olson


The opposite of play is not work.  It's depression.  ~Brian Sutton-Smith (play theorist, b.1924)


We must remain as close to the flowers, the grass, and the butterflies as the child is who is not yet so much taller than they are.  We adults, on the other hand, have outgrown them and have to lower ourselves to stoop down to them.  It seems to me that the grass hates us when we confess our love for it.  Whoever would partake of all good things must understand how to be small at times.  ~Friedrich Nietzsche


Always jump in the puddles! Always skip alongside the flowers. The only fights worth fighting are the pillow and food varieties. ~Terri Guillemets


The playing adult steps sideward into another reality; the playing child advances forward to new stages of mastery.  ~Erik H. Erikson


Grown-ups love figures.  When you tell them that you have made a new friend, they never ask you any questions about essential matters.  They never say to you, "What does his voice sound like?  What games does he love best?  Does he collect butterflies?" Instead, they demand:  "How old is he?  How many brothers has he?  How much does he weigh?  How much money does his father make?"  Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him.  ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince, 1943, translated from French


Whoever wants to understand much must play much.  ~Gottfried Benn


Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again. ~C.S. Lewis


I want to giggle myself to sleep each night and jump on the fluffy, comforting pillows of faith. ~Terri Guillemets


Deep meaning lies often in childish play. ~Johann Friedrich von Schiller


There are children playing in the streets who could solve some of my top problems in physics, because they have modes of sensory perception that I lost long ago.  ~J. Robert Oppenheimer


Children have neither past nor future; they enjoy the present, which very few of us do.  ~Jean de la Bruyere