Our higher practice is actually the postures that challenge us the most, our least favorite, We've all got one that feels like Charlie Brown's Christmas tree:

Now this, is a tree that we can work with…

These are the places where we can learn ourselves, if we dare to look.  Who do we become when our feathers are ruffled? 

I was filling my Kleen Canteen at the Yoga studio today and found myself getting irritated, willing the water to move quicker. There it is, in that moment, noticing how I was being, The water bubble became my teacher.  Guru Sakshat,  What's happening right now – in this moment, becomes our teacher.  

I was able to come around pretty quickly, and used the time to practice my Mantra, and gratitude for my access to unlimited clean water. These bits of mindfulness bring richness to our lives, and all we have to do is pay attention.

Of course, Many times our challenges have much bigger impact, and are much more challenging to see in this way.  Practicing with the little ones, will help us deal with the big ones.

I've also found that the depth of the teaching is proportional to the depth of my inconvenience.  I'm sure that I'm not alone in my experience of major letdowns turning out to be a huge favors with passing time.

Much of our suffering is avoidable.  

There's a Yoga Sutra for this. Here's some homework: Lookup Patanjali's Yoga Sutra II.16. Google: Heyam Dukham Anagatam

Buddhist teacher  Tich Nhat Hanh, never hurries, for anything. This irks his entourage at times, cause they miss many planes, He says "Why hurry, We'll have more time for meditation."  I'm not saying we should all aspire to this level of patience, but a little goes a long way to reduce the stress in our lives.

What's your least favorite Yoga posture, What's your pet peeve?, Who irritates you the most?  These are gold nuggets of opportunity. They are your teacher, they are your Guru Sakshat.  If you slow down, and allow them to be.

All Day Yoga 

Next time you're frustrated, or your Sun Salutation feels like a rusty-hinge, let your discomfort become the meditation chime. Ask, "what can I learn?" This is the Yoga you can do all day.  This is the Yoga that will bring depth to your experience of this life.

I got another chance to practice at the supermarket. Molasses moves faster than this cashier! This time, I was ready for her.  Cool as the cucumbers I was buying, I thanked her, and meant it.  Slow down…

Om Shanti, I'll see you in class… and let me know what you find out about that Sutra II.16

-j

P.S. Yes, Joy can be a great teacher as well, next post… 

Whatever it takes to get us to the mat…

The busier life gets, the more important Yoga becomes, and while crib notes may work for politicians, there are better ways to get your Om on.  

Sri Brahmananda Saraswati would say "Practice 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes in the evening, how hard is that?" When a reluctant student said "I don't have 10 minutes in the morning!"  he replied "oh, then you need an hour!"  

1. Make it a priority.  Remember how good you feel after your Yoga.  Plant the seeds for a daily practice.

2. Mark the classes you plan to attend on your calendar.   Go ahead, turn ahead to next month and write those classes in too!

3. Some people like to have a Yoga buddy.  Take turns driving to class, and now they're counting on you.

4. Technology can help,  Nowadays it's very-easy to send yourself a class reminder. Set it once and it will remind you every week.  Check out one of these free email and text message reminder services:

ReSnooze:  - Quick and easy to setup. The simplest of the bunch.

Time Cave:   –  Many more options,  precision timing.

My Email Reminders:  -   Highly configurable.

5. If you can't make the time for a full practice, 10-15 minutes of Yoga can really help keep the peace.  

If that's a challenge, Individual sessions really shine here, where we work together to develop a personalized home-practice.  

Hope this helps, I'd love to hear your ideas on making time to practice, just click on comment link and let us know how you get to the mat.

Om Shanti, I'll see you in class.

John

P.S.  check out the First Day of Spring countdown timer!, scroll down the left hand side of my website.  We'll be gathering for our special spring equinox class.  email me your rsvp.  -j   

And how we get there matters…

The teachings are clear, and very simple.  We tend to become what we do all the time.  Whether that is good news or bad, depends on how we practice. How much of life are we really present for?

Skim the surface, and the benefits of class are fading before we even reach the parking lot.  Dig a bit deeper. and we experience lasting benefits, benefits that we can share with others… That's the Yoga that counts.

The recipe is simple.  Set a clear intention, then follow through with a steady and focused effort.  Don't succumb to the tyranny of  a superficial practice.  

No, you don't have to become a sadhu, Just focus. One thing at a time.  It's that easy, and that difficult.  Therein lies the practice, the returning to – right now.  Slow down, live deep. Practice.

Change that old saying.  Say no to the either-or.  We can have both, The Journey, and the Destination.  

You're closer than you think, Keep going.  

I'll see you in class,  we'll keep it simple, we'll focus, and we'll keep it real.

Om Shanti.

-John

P.S.   A great post on Snow Shoveling Backache Yoga from Diane at the Everything Yoga Blog.  Great job Diane, thanks!

Caring for a Little Girl

I never wanted to have children, at least that’s what I’ve always told myself. I often think, “There are too many people on the planet already, I don’t want to give up my freedoms, I don’t want to change my lifestyle, and what is the world going to be like when they’re my age”.

Yet, now I find one of my greatests joys is caring for a little girl. My love and admiration of her grows daily. She frolics around outside for most of the day, eats lots of veggies and grains, and sleeps inside for company and warmer comfort at night. She lets me know her likes and dislikes, loves to be held, wakes me up in the morning with her clucks, and entertains me with her curious ways.

‘2Blindy’ is her name. She once lived in a small backyard flock. I first noticed her when she squawked and flapped away from another girl who had just pecked her in the eye. I saw this happen time after time as I worked in the vegetable garden near by. Part of my job there at the farm was to feed and get the chickens water each morning and collect eggs. I accepted this task reluctantly at first because I did not like the idea of “stealing” their eggs from under the nesting hens.

Gradually I got used to it and started accepting that if this ‘had’ to get done by someone, why not let it be me. After all, I sing to them calmly and quietly as I “steal”!

The more I witnessed 2Blindy getting pecked each day, the more I realized how much I wanted her to feel at least a few minutes of peace while she tried to get some food and water. So I started to pick her up and put her on my lap two times a day, while blocking her head so she wouldn’t get pecked. I can only imagine how horrible it was to not have peace and kindness while just trying to live.

She got used to me and would come running around the corner when she heard my voice, sometimes even tripping over a rock in the dirt pen. Needless to say, I also fell…. (and what I mean by that was, in love with her). 

One 19 degree morning when I got to work I found her outside on a ladder, puffed up in a ball, shivering. She had a bloody wing and looked hopeless and lonely. I told the farmer of this chickens condition, and it was recommended that I, “put her inside the house in a box with the other dying bird”. As I did this my heart sank. Sometime later I found it stuck in my throat, not knowing what to do or to say.

As a gift for my hard work, the farmer had set up a massage appointment for me that day, with the rest of the day off. As I left for the appointment I started crying. I was mad at myself for going to get a ‘frivolous’ massage as this little orange girl lay inside a box to die. I just couldn’t take it, so I went back to the farm afterwards and asked if the chicken could slumber party at my house for the night.
What was I thinking? What was I going to be doing with a dying, bloody bird in a box? 

Rescued!

She spent that night in the box on my bed….. It took days for her to recover, and then get used to her surroundings. She learned by feeling with her beak and I also helped her find the food and water by tapping on the dishes. She is completely blind afterall. I don’t know if this is from getting pecked in the eyes all the time, or if by birth or some disease. This doesn’t seem to affect her other special qualities though.

One day I woke to find an egg on the floor outside my bedroom door. “How amazingly perfect” I thought, yet I don’t eat eggs. Or chickens. And never will.

 Once the weather warmed and we finished a safe outdoor enclosure for 2Blindy (Boo), she quickly became more of her chicken-self, partaking in her normal chicken behaviors of dust bathing, scratching dirt, and soaking up the sun while laying on her side. 

Indoors, she became a ‘lap’ chicken. She’d follow me around into the kitchen, my bedroom and the hallway until I would pick her up and give her some love. She’d fall asleep in my lap and purr. Yes, purr like a cat, only with a chicken twist to it.

So I guess it can be said that I adopted this 2 winged girl- yet to be clear, it was not an adoption for my sake, to keep me company, to help me feel fulfilled acting as a ‘mother’. It was one based on doing what I thought was in her best interest and needs. 

She is not my pet. I am her care giver. 

Some people may think it’s strange to treat a chicken like this- I can accept that, yet I wonder, why eat a chicken…, yet love a dog or cat or….? Why do we perceive the ones we eat differently? Is it because we need to belittle them in order to then go ahead and eat them? Do people really think that the killing process would feel different for a cat…. compared to a chicken, cow….?

I highly encourage people to think about these things, to question their habitual thoughts, to examine themselves for what may be hypocritical actions based on what they truly value. I would love to see people living in non-violence in even more aspects of their lives.

Knowing that there are billions upon billions of chickens slaughtered per year for human consumption, crammed in tiny cages for their eggs, and that unwanted male chicks are killed since they have no economic value to the industry, I feel relieved to know that at least this one girl may live out the rest of her life in peace. I think my joy shared with Boo is a joy doubled when her individual life is saved rather than created and killed in the animal agricultural industry.

I never thought I would have this motherly instinct, yet I am proud to announce that I am a mother, hen-like, of a most wonderful girl. I try to give her everything she wants, so she can live out her life, experiencing love and kindness from a human. I too need peace of mind…. and everyday we make choices that can change the world.  -Carrie.

For me, Yoga itself is an art form, the multi-dimensional sculpting of a whole-life.  I also have the great pleasure to know many artists who call Yoga their muse.

One of our fellow students is currently preparing a study on Yoga and Art, how Yoga practice can expand creativity and expression. I'd love for some our very-own artists and Yoga students to participate! let me know if you'd like to hear more about her vision.

Here's an example of living Yoga:

Aaron L. Jones, a local artist, musician, and very-humble yogi, has been painting and drawing since he was a child. His passion has been to imbue his images with the subtle nature of ethereal energy, and his latest paintings express this vibe. I've just got to share this video with you. He's painting Virabhadra, Warrior I pose with his music playing in the backround. Enjoy!

We're bringing Aaron's work to Lumina, where they will be on display, and for sale as well.  He accepts selective commissions for custom pieces, and does Yoga portraits too! Now that's one great way to check your alignment huh?  

Contact Tara at OmRachel@hotmail.com for more information about Aaron's work.  Or talk with Aaron as he headlines our Open Mic Kirtan on Sat Feb 20th.  6:30 at Yoga and Nia for Life in West Concord.  I'll ask him to bring the painting!   By request, I'll be telling a few stories of my India travels. 

Om Shanti,

John

P.S.  The next few weeks are busy, with a special Valentines Day Heart Opening Yoga class on the 14th, and I'm teaching the next few Saturday 8am classes at Yoga and Nia for Life in W. Concord.  Kirtan on the 20'th, Global 5:45pm on the 26th, and Restorative Yoga returns on the 28th.  The Events page has the scoop.  

Don't miss posts like this, you can subscribe in the upper left hand corner.  -j

The Om tapestry that covers my television

I've been asked so many questions about India, most of which have no easy answer.
I wouldn't say that India transformed me, but she did expand me.

In the picture above I'm wandering Rishikesh with the equivalent of a $20 bill. I couldn't find a shop that can make change for a bottle of water, it's all I've got and I'm thirsty. I remember laughing about being rich, and poor at the same time.  

The man in the brown coat behind me had just literally saved my life.  I wish I had given him my thousand rupees. There should be some sort of exchange for something like that right?

My mind's thresholds of what is possible have been completely blown away, and the limits 
have not settled yet, will they ever?

But, I still have my center, and it's a nice place to begin again.

I have an incredible logjam of experience to share with you all as I decompress.



Here's a start though, A bit mindless from malaria pills, and without sleep for two days, a reporter called from the Metrowest Daily News. There's a story about our classes and my travels in India slated for todays paper.  They even took a few pictures of 
the Tuesday night class!  I just found the link to the story
.  

I've been taking a poll on how high Yoga students are scoring on this Happiness Quiz  Let me know how you do!

we'll post the results.

See you in class, oh, and the Events page is updated, check out the Valentines Day class, and the return of Restorative Yoga.  


-john

P.S.  I finally got water, Swami Sathasivom smiled at my predicament and gave me 20 rupees to quench my thirst.  The big bill went to a driver in Assam, probably a months pay for him.

Heading out for a day-trip, I left most of my things in Mumbai. The day-trip turned into 4 days on the road, sleeping on floors and in cars.  Without my bag.

Traveling even lighter left room for new levels of gratitude. I found myself basking in the treasured cup of warm water I made each night.

Of course, if by design the next place had no power. Sigh, it's all perfect.

Through challenging our consumptive ways, we gain clearer perspective on our needs vs. wants.  Our needs are mostly simple. It's our unchecked wants that get us into trouble, setting ourselves up for Duhka, or suffering.  Was it needs or wants that crashed the economy? 

On the stiff mattress, I wished for the cozy bed at home. sleeping on the floor I desired the stiff mattress, and trying to sleep in the car made the marble floor a dream.  Back at civilization, if by magic, the impossibly-stiff matress is now luxurious. 

What changed?

If we could cling less to comfort – Raga, and resist discomfort less – Dvesha, we'd be more content.  One of the points made in Yoga Sutra II.3

How much do we really need to pad ourselves from reality?  These are the conditions we place on our happiness.    As Yogis, we choose to peel away the padding… we dare to un-spoil ourselves.

We seek a closer connection to the earth.  Sthira Suhkam Asanam.

Many here sleep in the streets.  Whole familes sleep soundly in a row, their heads literally 2 inches from the passing tires.  In the first few weeks here, seeing things like this would surprise me.

On return to Mumbai, My host family slept on the floor, insisting I sleep in their bed.  A very humbling experience, and I was sure to lighten my bag before moving on. 

We don't need to sleep in the street, but we can learn from those who do.  Before indulging, pause… do you need it, or want it?  How will it serve your intentions?  

Perhaps try a little less on for size.

Practice gratitude, and sleep well.  I'll be back soon.

Om Shanti, 

-j

I'm taking rest in Chennai, after visiting the southern peninsula of Rameshwar, and the temple towns of Thanjavur, Madurai, Chidambaram, Trichy, and Arunachala.  I was able to visit the ashram of Ramana Maharishi, who's teachings of reverence for all life, even the simple blade of grass, I resonate with.  

Internet and phone have been very scarce, which can be a very good thing, thanks for all your messages and well-wishes.  I send all these blessings back to you all.

I've been challenged in my travels, there are so many lessons and opportunities to practice equanimity and letting go….  but my hardships are nothing compared to what the majority of beings who live here face every day.  Life is difficult, yet, joy abounds.  When I can put myself in their place for just a moment, I can realize how abundant I am.  Empathy is our awareness expanding to include all.

Sending you all the best for the new year.  I've got a few more places to cover, and have a pending appointment to see Sri Desikachar at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandir here in Chennai.

I look forward to seeing you all very soon.

john

It was about 85 degrees and sunny.  I had plenty of good food,. and abundant water.  Could it get any better?

There are places of pilgirmage that are so hard to get to, and so stunning that the travellers skip the journey back and settle.

I have seen places here so beautiful it brings tears to your eyes, I've seen places so bleak it bring tears to your eyes.  Sometimes we cannot recognize the beauty until we've experienced the dark.  It's like that with empathy.  To really know empathy, you've got to have suffered.  In India, the opposites are extreme, and right in your face. 

There's a Sutra I was going to quote, but the power just went out and this battery will go along with it very soon, but you get the drift.  If we want the rainbow, we've got to ride through the rain. 

As Yogis, we see our challenges as teachings, as preparation, as the needed opposite.  Right now, if it's good or bad for you, don't worry, it will change. try to find the beauty in it all.  Sometimes hard…. but the practice is in the trying.

I've been warned to trust nobody, and have had minor scams tried on me… yet a stranger probably saved my life in Haridwar, and on a train a man returned a 500 rupee bill (around $10) that I had dropped. 

This pm I'm off to Mumbai by overnight train.  it's 12+ hours.  I've been well and appreciate all the well wishes in my inbox. Internet has been scarce and unreliable…. and sloooow.   I'll have new-found appreciation for my fiberoptic connection at home. 

Travelling has been wild.  planes, traints, boats, trucks, rickshaws, motorbikes, helicopters, horseback… whatever it takes to get there.  At 2am yesterday morning, rode to the temple clinging to the back of an ancient bread delivery truck.  The man back there with me didn't understand a speck of english, but we laughed together.   

Take care, I'll do my best to write from Mysore and Shirdi.

-j