Isha is now offering CranioSacral Therapy in Longmont on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at the Family Chiropractic Clinic of Dr. Brenda Shelton! You may call the office directly at 303-678-0266 to book an appointment on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. The office is located at 1112 Francis Street in Longmont, Colorado 80501 or contact Isha at 303-913-6980 to schedule on another day in the Lyons office.

Open Yoga Classes are temporarily suspended for the summer. Isha is offering private and/or small group classes based on inquiry; contact 303-823-2459 you are interested in starting a group!

Isha will be focusing on CranioSacral work as taught by the Upledger Institute. According to http://www.upledger.com/content.asp?id=26 “CST is a gentle, hands-on method of evaluating and enhancing the functioning of a physiological body system called the craniosacral system – comprised of the membranes and cerebrospinal fluid that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord.

“Using a soft touch generally no greater than 5 grams, or about the weight of a nickel, practitioners release restrictions in the craniosacral system to improve the functioning of the central nervous system.

“By complementing the body’s natural healing processes, CST is increasingly used as a preventive health measure for its ability to bolster resistance to disease, and is effective for a wide range of medical problems associated with pain and dysfunction, including:
Migraine Headaches
Chronic Neck and Back Pain
Motor-Coordination Impairments
Colic
Autism
Central Nervous System Disorders
Orthopedic Problems
Traumatic Brain and Spinal Cord Injuries
Scoliosis
Infantile Disorders
Learning Disabilities
Chronic Fatigue
Emotional Difficulties
Stress and Tension-Related Problems
Fibromyalgia and other Connective-Tissue Disorders
Temporomandibular Joint Syndrome (TMJ)
Neurovascular or Immune Disorders
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Post-Surgical Dysfunction”

Contact Isha with any questions or to schedule an appointment!

Easter is the awakening of that which is the Christ in each and every one of us.
We will celebrate the dawn of this light on Easter Morning, April 24th, 7:00a.m.-8:30a.m. The service will include a message about Easter, songs of Paramahansa Yogananda, meditation, and a cosmic easter egg hunt.
All are welcome!

We’re offering yoga classes for children beginning in April! See the yoga schedule for details!

This Wednesday, March 9 is Ash Wednesday. We will hold a special Raja Yoga class dedicated to deepening our understanding and receptivity to this holy day. This also marks the beginning of the season of Lent, a time of inner preparation for the arrival of the consciousness of Christ.
All are welcome!

Tonight we celebrate Shivaratri! It is a holy day honoring the aspect of God that creates and destroys, birthing all of creation and calling all manifestations back to the One.
Last year we spent this night in practice with Swami Isa at his ashram in Southern India. Tonight the experience of Shivaratri rises again, as if for the very first time. I am in awe at the magnitude of perfection unfolding in creation, one leaf, one petal, one moment at a time.
Sitting with my sister having tea this morning, I hear in her story my own reflected. Her struggles, her joy, her rising awareness, all bursting upon the canvas of life. We talked about the nightmare of doubt, and the relief in remembrance. We see the brilliance in the design of creation is whispering pure love….and wake up wake up! We belly-laughed at ourselves, the silliness of forgetfulness, as we basked in the warmth of forgiveness within.
As dusk approaches on this eve of Shivaratri, let us remember we are dancing the dance of creation through our lives. Creating a new future with each thought in the now, and living in this dream of life. Simulaneously, we are dancing the destruction of delusion, removing all obstacles, slaying all ignorance, all on our way home. Whether this moment is laughing or crying, joy-filled or nightmare riddled, it is just a dream. It is Shiva dancing. When we awaken, and wipe the sleepy dreams from our eyes, all the stories will fall away, and we will dwell in pure awareness. In the meantime….
Om Namah Shivaya!

OM SAHANA VAVATU

SAHANAU BHUNAKTU

SAHAVIRYAN KARAVAVAHAI

TEJASVINA VADHI TAMASTU MA VIDVISAVAHAI

OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTI

May He protect both of us. May He indeed nourish us. May we perform wonderful feats in our endeavor. May our brains be sharpened. May we have no disharmony and conflict.

Om Peace, Peace, Peace.

(Prayers & Mantras, Parmarth Yoga and Meditation Centre, chanted by Isha as given by Sadhvi Abha Saraswati)

On Sunday we embarked on the mighty chore of hanging lights on the house. Digging out old dusty boxes from the shed, fumbling through miles of tangled wires and garland while I shivered in the cold was not my idea of enjoying the Sabbath.

And yet, as I stood at the end of the drive way that night, admiring the twinkling white lights through the thick black night, I smiled ear to ear. It seems to me the hanging of lights is an incredible spiritual practice and ritual of recognizing luminosity no matter how dark the night.

Climbing into the womb of winter, we enter a metaphorical season of internal focus. We turn our attention to the life within as the life without fades; gardens die, flowers fade, summer dissolves. If we peel back the wisdom of the seasons, we find the deeper invitation to discover the eternal truth untouched and undistracted by such change.

Some know this particular time of year as Advent, the season of preparation for the coming Christ. What does “preparation for the coming Christ” mean as a universal teaching?

Birthing our enlightened consciousness and living a luminous, loving life is a moment to moment alignment with truth; and I can think of no better preparation then that! Yet as the days grow shorter and darker, it seems ever more important to kindle the remembrance of light that never dims, to feed the eternal flame of love in the hearth of the heart, to hold a vigil to the radiance of the Beloved, and to become anointed in our true divine heritage.

So as I begin my new ritual of turning on the house lights at dusk, I will light my own awareness of what is pure, perfected luminosity in the soul of humanity. And as the darkest nights of winter are yet to come, let us hold this light of remembrance for each other.

(Please contact me in December for private yogic or meditation instruction. We will resume group classes in January.)

The definition of bodhi as defined by Webster’s Dictionary is “enlightenment or awakening achieved by a Buddha.” As I look across the room at this dog I have known as Bodhi, I can think of no better definition of my experience with him.

          Bodhi came into my life like a summer storm on a hot dry day. As a self-confessed cat person, I was perplexed by his doggie ways; his wobble-walk and clumsy run, his chirp-like bark, and his skipping alongside the bunnies seemed strange. Yet after watching him more closely, these didn’t seem like typical dog behaviors. He didn’t seem to fit the “dog” model in my head at all, especially during his bucking-bronco routine, when he’d jump sideways and kick while spinning in circles.

          As a puppy, Bodhi would flop along behind his big sister Reina, happy to stop and eat dandelions, rolling his belly up to the sun while she chased bunnies, deer, coyotes, and anything that moved. During catch, his sister would race furiously after the ball and sprint back with it in her teeth. Bodhi would trot along behind her, disinterested in the circles she seemed to be running. When it was time to go bye-bye she would do a flying-leap into the backseat, and he would stand at the truck door with one paw up and look back at me as if to say, “Can I get a lift here?”

          When we suddenly lost Reina due to a spontaneous auto-immune disorder we were all lost, especially Bodhi. He laid around for days, heavy and tired. His bronco-buck lost its spring, and he gave me an empty look when I tossed his ball. I took to running around their loop outside and chasing bunnies in a weak attempt to encourage him. He would wobble behind me, often it seemed to please me more than himself. I’d roll on my back next to him and put my “paws up” to play, he’d give me a disinterested half-smile and roll over too. Soon I realized he was just as happy to sit by me on the front porch and sniff at the wind, and I was relieved.

          Before leaving for my extended-stay in India, we carefully chose some friends for Bodhi to stay with. They had a dog too, and I thought that was probably the best for him to have someone to play with, along with a loving family to attend to. I held him on my lap in the front seat of the car to drop him off, and wept openly. “I’m not even a dog-person!” I lamented as he gently licked my hand.

          His first “episode” occurred at the groomers when he was having his hair dried. They said it was a seizure, and he’d need to be medicated. We hesitated, and instead took him to several specialists, had numerous blood tests, doggie massage, orthobionics, got second opinions, third and fourths.

Bodhi had always had unique behaviors. From the time he was a puppy he’d shake when he got excited. His eyes were often red and “itchy.” He’d run into things and often trip down the steps. I attributed it to his sweet personality, and gave it little thought. Yet, as a few tender year passed, these endearing qualities seem to get in his way more and more.

          Now after his fourth “episode,” Bodhi has made it clear that his little form doesn’t fit. During his last three seizures, I held him gently and soothed his violent convulsions with my softest sounds, chanting and praying until his body stopped trembling.

As we prepare for Bodhi’s exit tomorrow, I find waves of gratitude and understanding in this ocean of tears. I’m reminded that all matter must return to its source; that what can die, will die.

This manifest world is so lovely, and it can be lived and loved and played. But it cannot be clung to or stopped; change is its very nature, and any attachment ensures suffering. It seems strange to look at Bodhi asleep on the floor beside me, and know that tomorrow his form will end; but I know this is true of everything I see with these two eyes. His body can no longer contain the spirit of freedom within it. When the form no longer follows function, its purpose is finished.

As I look at him again, through the true eye, I see light that has no beginning and no end. In this openness, I understand the energy called “Bodhi” is pure divine life force lending itself to his dog body, as to all of manifestation. Energy is borrowed to animate form; as the form relinquishes itself back to the earth, the essence within it returns to an everlasting source. Suddenly, in my mind’s eye, I see Bodhi like a beautiful sand mandala a moment before it’s poured into the sea.

As time turns and winter takes hold, I am reminded to greet the season of death; both within my own home and in the rhythm of all life. To witness the passing of all things with non-attachment and non-aversion, I allow the entirety of this experience to burn to completion. My tears are a flood, for a dog, yes, but also for the opportunity to witness such devotion, love, loyalty, and kindness in form.

It is winter, and this may be called death; yet, the true season of awakening is a perennial invitation to see God in all things, and all things in God.  So when I rise tomorrow morning, if I stumble on my way, I will remember “enlightenment or awakening achieved by a Buddha” is a living truth with nowhere to go but now here.

The practice of Yoga–merging our self with the Divine, or our sense of limitation into the infinite–requires the dissolution of all our fixations.

Fixations create definition. If we examine our personality, we’ll find in the design many opinions, preferences, shades of likes and dislikes, and volumes of stories. These lines of definition divide and shape an individual. When we recognize that these lines and shapes are ever changing, merging into and out of definition like clouds, we delight in God’s Play.

When we hold on to one line of this design, suffering ensues. We’re trying to play Marbles with Dominoes, frustrated because nothing seems to roll the way we want it to. All we have to do is let go of yesterday’s game pieces and work with what is here now.

It is a little funny to examine the definition of Yoga as “union with God.” We are already united fully with the Supreme Creator who is drumming away in the rhythm section of our heart, each beat in perfect time!  So what is it we are uniting?

Maybe it is more like dissolving the lines that define who we think we are. What defines who we think we are, is what we think. So how about renouncing all our likes and dislikes, pains and pleasures, renouncing all our thoughts, in service to our true luminous nature that is beyond preferences and more expansive than the mind can contain. Then what will we find?

We are likely to find the root of what feeds the idea of our self, and where the idea of separation begins. We may find we value the idea of our self more than the truth of our soul identity. And yet, if we find we really do want God more than anything else, we will. When our devotion strengthens, we overcome all obstacles. Nothing can stand in the way of the true devotee of God. We will knock, and the door will be opened.

Yoga is a path to dissolution, and a way home. Patanjali outlines this path with precision. The eight limbs of practice include: Yama (ethical disciplines) and Niyama (self observation) laying the foundation for right living; asana (postures) help to develop the awareness to align in form and enter the formless; pranayama (breathing practices) helps to discipline a wandering mind and tune us into the flow of Divine Law; pratyahara (sense withdrawal) teaches us to develop non-attachment to outer directed senses, and draw our focus within; dharana (concentration) teaches single-pointed focus; dhyana (meditation) offers an opportunity to experience our true nature. Samadhi is the final limb and is often described as “a state of joy and peace,” but is an experience that expands beyond the limitation of description into pure union with the Divine.

Yama and Niyama are the primary requirement for yoga practice. If we are not living a life of ethical integrity and purity, sitting in mediation will only reinforce our negation. Purification through right living is the first and constant step. Skillful application of asana balances the body, not by imposing another limiting pattern, but through releasing the binds. Effective sadhana works this way; it leads not to more bondage (more techniques or more tricks of mind), but to the freedom found in true relinquishment.

Through surrender our essence shines forth, revealing the present moment is all there ever is. The opportunity for awakening does not exist outside of this moment. Patanjali’s first sutra says now is the beginning of instruction in yoga. Now, not later, not yesterday, not last year…now.

We have heard this spoken many times in many ways. Yet, yoga practices can either ignite our receptivity to this grace filled moment, or fill our minds with more fixations. When we release everything outside of now, we receive the perfection of God before and behind our eyes. We feel the presence of the Divine Love within and all around. It is humbling to realize that everything we need for realization has already been given; all we have to do now is wake up from the dream of delusion. We find our willingness to surrender any fixation or idea that is in the way; even surrendering the idea that there is something in the way.