Unplug

As technology has seeped into our lives over the past decade, it is not an unusual to have a conversation about the need to avoid too much screen time. The obvious times to begin unwinding and avoid looking at the blue screen are before we head off to sleep and when we awake in the morning. However, my theme of the week has looked deeper at what it means to unplug, beyond the obvious of having less connection to technology and trying to have more connection to ourselves.

This past week I've been talking about unplugging the energetic and somatic clots that we hold in our organism. This can relate to prana (read my blog on prana if you missed it by clicking here), the subtle life force flowing through us and all living things. Take a moment to close your eyes and see if you can feel tension anywhere in your body. Got it? That's an energetic clog where the tissues are tight and the energy doesn't flow easily through them. And we know that we want to remove the clogs whether they be in our kitchen drain, sinuses, muscles, arteries or in our subtle energy bodies. 

When traumatic or life changing events occur we have a physical sensation of the experience. The event lives in our tissues and if we have no skills by which to remove the clogs, they'll linger deep within until we find a way to release them. For me, I had an energetic clog that took 24 years before it was cleared. At the age of 46, my father passed away from cancer. I was 19 years old and we had a close and loving relationship. When he died, nobody in my family or circle of people had the skills to cope with such a life altering event. I was devastated by his passing and stumbled through the next several months in a haze of grief.

Then, during my yoga therapy studies, we were spending time working on yoga and cancer. I remember going through the practice thinking, "I wish I knew then, what I know now...perhaps it would have brought more peace into the process of Dad's death". And it was in that practice that I had this incredible experience. I went into a pose and much to my surprise, began to sob. Bone wracking sobs. It surprised me so much that I sat up out of the pose and just like that, I stopped crying. It was as though a switch had been thrown to shut it down.  I was so surprised with this reaction that Ient back into the pose and started sobbing all over again. This went back and forth a few times as I was stunned by how a position of my body could turn the water works on or off. Thankfully, I was in a safe environment with a compassionate teacher who just handed me a box of tissues, assured me she was there and let me be. At the end of the practice, with swollen eyes and a snotty nose, I felt compelled to tell my fellow trainees about what an amazing and intense experience I had just had. It was a turning point in how I perceived our mind-body-soul connection and how if we tamp emotions and trauma down into our bodies without letting them clear, it might just take some time for us to fully heal. I had managed to push grief into the deepest part of my being and it wasn't until I had undertaken years of practice and finding the tools that I was able to be free of the painful grip that grief held on me.

A second story to illustrate this happened recently with my younger brother, Ken, who had a car accident and his car was totalled. Thankfully, he wasn't injured and spent the morning following the crash dealing with the Highway Patrol, tow trucks, work, a visit to a medical practitioner and insurance companies. Ken is currently enrolled in my 200-hour yoga teacher training program and there was a point in the training where he was undertaking a 21-day meditation challenge. So when he arrived home, he hadn't yet meditated for the day but didn't really feel like he wanted to...he had been through a traumatic experience and was somewhat in a state of shock. Yet, he told me that something deep within him felt that he knew that whatever was within the practice would help him. So he sat. Then he cried. He cried through the many emotions of the morning-gratitude for being alive; thankful for helpful officers, insurance agents and tow truck drivers; anger at the guy who ran into him; fear over the whole experience and that he could have been badly injured; and sadness that a car he loved was crushed and he had to say goodbye to it. In withdrawing into his own space, he was able to unplug the trauma. He didn't allow himself to stuff the experience down but to face what he was feeling without judgment.

Challenging events happen to all of us and having skills by which to support ourselves and others through the difficult times can be practiced by anyone. The point though is, we need to do a couple of things to put them into action. The first is to make space for ourselves everyday. Even the most simple act of conscious breathing is an act of unplugging. The second is to avoid getting bogged down by distractions whether they be our cell phones, TV, online shopping, obsession with politics or world disasters. Clear the space for your own inquiry and learn how to be fully present with whatever it is that you might be feeling, without judgment.

I am grateful for my unplugging and the journey I've taken to awaken it. I sit and practice every day and will forever hold my Dad in my heart with gratitude for all that he taught me, both in life and through his death. 

May the power of my practice, be shared with you. 

Kindness

The book,  "The Secret Power of Yoga", a translation of the yoga sutras by author Nischala Joy Devi, is a story that illustrates a deeper practice as it relates to kindness. Instead of the easier practice of random acts of being kind to others, this story describes a picnic on a beautiful day, in a peaceful garden with a picnic basket filled with yummy food and perhaps good company in tow. Soon after setting up the picnic another person, a man that appears to be enjoying the same beauty of the day arrives and sits close by...and then lights up an expensive cigar. 

So what would be your reaction? How would you feel if this were you who had anticipated a pleasurable outing only to have it intersected with something that you deem as unpleasant?

Sutra 1.33 describes keys that support us in unlocking our own inner peacefulness. The first key is to show kindness towards those who are happy. In the story above, it is likely that most of us would react with a sense of indignation..."How could he be so inconsiderate? We were here first! Is he completely unconscious as to know how this might impact others?". As a result, our emotional reaction will linger with us for quite some time. It might be difficult to let the feelings of indignation subside quickly, unless we shift our energy around the situation. If we can send thoughts of kindness to the stranger and, as Nischala Devi says, "Instead, try opening your heart and allowing kindness to meet his happiness...Try overriding the mind's indignation with the heart's desire to love everyone."

From another perspective, when we start to offer a feeling of kindness to those who are happy, we can initially be confronted by our own feelings of jealousy or disappointment. In the practice of lovingkindness, we offer statements as gifts not only to others, but ultimately to ourselves. In repeating the statements of "May I be happy, may you be happy and may all beings everywhere be happy" we truly begin to see that what we wish for ourselves is the same as what all beings everywhere also wish for themselves. It reminds us how intricately we are all connected even if we have moments of disappointment, jealousy or disagreement.

We practice with ourselves so that a different vibration can be sent out from us, one that has a resounding and positive impact rather than one that keeps us stuck in our own suffering. As Nischala Joy Devi states, " we hold the key to our own peace". I love that! We hold the key. Nobody else can bring peace into our hearts except ourselves and until we start to look more consciously at our own inner selves we often don't even realize that we ARE the ones in possession of the key. We look to others wondering what they can do for us to make life easier or more peaceful.

In another translation of Sutra 1.33, Swami Jnaneshvara states, "In relationships, the mind becomes purified by cultivating feelings of friendliness towards those who are happy, compassion for those who are suffering, goodwill towards those who are virtuous, and indifference or neutrality towards those we perceive as wicked or evil". (from The Unadorned Thread of Yoga" a compilation of translations of the yoga-sutra of patanjali by Salvatore Zambita). So as we travel throughout our day, let's notice those moments when we are triggered by indignation, view our reaction as perfectly human and make an attempt "to cultivate feelings of friendliness towards those who are happy" and see how it might just shift our perspective.

May I be kind.

May I offer kindness to those who are happy.

May I offer kindness to all beings everywhere.

Prana

The word "Prana" is unique to the practice of yoga insofar as that it describes the Universal flow of energy. It's thought to be pervasive, flowing through everything and everyone. It can be thought of as an energetic current that enlivens and invigorates each and every living thing. When this energy flows through us individually, it's called "prana" (with a small "p") and can be reflective of our current state. This life force is also referred to as "chi" or "Qi" (think of the martial art of Tai Chi) but in yoga, we simply call it prana.

Prana is meant to move through us, rather than stay locked away within. When prana isn't moving or is stuck, it can take us out of balance.  What brings us back into balance? Yoga and breath. Thankfully, one of the prime benefits of undertaking the various practices of yoga is that it moves and accesses the subtle energy of prana.  One descriptor of energy is through the five layers of our being, called the "koshas". Referred to as concentric sheaths of energy, they begin with the most obvious and move to the most esoteric. Our first layer or sheath is the annamaya kosha or "food/body" sheath as we need food to keep it going. We can easily sense the energy of this layer simply by paying attention to what's going on in our bodies. As we practice various poses/asanas in yoga, we become better acquainted with this aspect of our being. The next layer is the pranamaya kosha, or our energy sheath. The third sheath, the manomaya kosha, is our mental layer.

As you can see, the energy sheath lies between the physical (annamaya) and the mental (manomaya) kosha and is the interwoven force that connects mind and body. What assists in moving prana not only throughout our body but through the layers of koshas is that it travels on the breath. The practices of "pranayama", or breath control, is a vital and central part to all of yoga. This conduit of breath not only penetrates through the first three sheaths, but carries us into the last two of the intellect (vijnanamaya kosha) and the bliss body (anandamaya kosha). The more we connect and understand our breath, the more deeply we travel to the more subtle parts of who we are. The vijnanamaya kosha is described as the intellectual layer but is broader in that it includes higher consciousness and will.  The final and thinnest layer is our anandamaya kosha, or bliss sheath, most visited by people who've done the work in reaching higher states of consciousness and connecting to the higher self. Saints, sages and spiritual mystics have done the inner work but it lies within all of us, with many people having glimpsed those moments of feeling vastly connected and limitless.

As we travel the path of yoga and realize that it's much grander than just doing poses, we begin to familiarize ourselves with how we can alter our state of being through practice. Many of us know the shift in how we feel by the end of a yoga class or seated meditation. The more we bring our awareness to breath and start to feel our prana moving, the wider the door opens toward more and more moments of feeling truly connected.

In order to know what your pranic body feels like, try the following. Allow yourself to be in stillness either sitting, standing or lying down. Take a deep breath and allow your eyes to soften or close. Notice your physical body and how it feels. Notice points of tension, areas of discomfort or ease. Next, notice what types of thoughts are currently in your awareness. Try to avoid focusing on them, simply take a peak into what is present. Then allow a smooth deep breath to come into your body and direct this breath into your hands. Focus on the palms of the hands and notice any feelings of tingling, buzzing, pulsation or vibration. Notice if they're hot or cold. If your hands were lit up from the inside, what color would the light be? As you sit with these sensations, even if they're barely detectable, you are sitting and noticing the prana in your body. This subtle energy is less familiar to us, but easily accessible through practice.

The cool thing about feeling the prana in our body is that we begin to see where it flows and where it doesn't. The saying of "where your awareness goes, prana flows" gives us an opportunity to enliven what is dark within us. Prana is known as the great dissolver as it removes pain, heartache and negativity. It can bring light into the dark recesses of the many layers of our body and carry us more deeply towards states of bliss. And beyond our personal experience, the prana that flows through us is connecting us into the gigantic and endless field of energy within our world and beyond.

Begin with breath. Take a ride on the waves of  your inhale and exhale. Allow your senses to focus on the subtle energies pulsing through your being and feel the rise and fall of your abdomen. You are on your way to the land of bliss...breathe deeply!

It's Not About The Pose

When asked the question, "what is yoga ?", many people in Western societies think of the uber-bendy people who have the capacity to move their bodies into amazing configurations. The image is of lithe and flexible people, most often younger, white women who can easily touch their toes. And indeed, that element does exist within the realm of yoga. The renunciate yogis of India often perform extreme contortions as a representation of their devotion to their practice and how they overcome the limitations of the physical self. To me, however, yoga is not about the pose.

It's true...I, like thousands of other people, love how my body feels through the practice of yoga and to see where my current edge is each time I step onto the mat. But when the poses become the primary aim of the practice we start to deviate from the full spectrum of magic that is inherent within the more classical approaches of what yoga is all about. In the yoga sutras of Patanjali, an ancient Indian text, yoga is described as having eight limbs or facets with only one of these eight being asana (physical postures). The other limbs comprise internal and external observances and behaviors; breath work; withdrawal of outward focus of the senses; concentration; meditation and enlightenment. So if our focus is only on the poses we are only tasting  a sliver of the full yoga buffet.

This blog is inspired by a long-time yoga student who for the past few years has been working on getting into an inversion without assistance. It happened to be during her birthday week that we were practicing when she kicked herself up into a headless headstand all by herself. Having seen many repetitions of attempting to turn upside down sans assistance, the moment she found herself upside down through her own effort I threw out a cheer and reached my hands to the sky. "You did it!" I enthusiastically beamed and when she came down I said to the entire class, "that is the perfect example of persistence and patience! It's not about the pose, but the determined and disciplined effort it took to get there."

How many times have we focused on the end result, the destination rather than the journey? We look ahead perhaps holding an expectation of "I should be there by now" and in the process we miss the beauty of where we actually are. A couple of years ago, we hiked the Inca Trail in Peru to Machu Picchu. We had four days on the trail and early on the fourth day arrived through the Sun Gates to see the incredibly beautiful and iconic image of this ancient city. However, upon reflection when asked what our highlight was we felt that the entire trail was the highlight. Each step we took along the path, sensing that we were walking in the footsteps of Incans, seeing other ruins, glaciers and incredible vistas completely enriched the moment of arrival at the destination. It wasn't about just getting to Machu Picchu, it was the experience of how we got there that made it such a profound experience.

So the next time you step on your mat, realize that there's something beyond the poses. Allow yourself to become aware of the many experiences that you have with your body, thoughts and emotions. See if you can practice a sense of kindness throughout or give yourself permission to not compete with your neighbor. How often can you notice what is happening with your breathing? How often does your to-do list arise? And if you're curious about learning more, pick up a book on the yoga sutras, many translations have been written. One of my favorites is by Nischala Joy Devi, The Secret Power of Yoga. 

And just like my long-time student who persevered for years toward one pose, keep at it. The magic is in the journey and it might just turn your world upside down in the most beautiful way!

The Crown Chakra

What began at the beginning of 2016 as a journey through the five elements has extended into completing the exploration of all seven of the energy centers known as Chakras, or wheels of spinning light. Rising from the base of the spine they extend up through the body to the crown of the head and, this final week, we have been exploring the highest of these seven chakras, the Sahasrara or crown chakra.

The crown chakra is represented by the color violet and connects to all expanding consciousness. When we are balanced in our Sahasrara chakra, Geof Jowett  from his book, "The Power of I Am" states that "we understand things from a wider context with creativity, compassion, and an expansive imagination. The more balanced and stable my crown is, the more open I am to divine energy and universal consciousness" (p. 161). To paraphrase, when we are connected here, we see things from the wide angle lens of our life, to how we are merging with all that is and to not sweat the small stuff. It puts things into the big picture perspective of why we are here and how we are all connected.

When we are experiencing life from this crown center, we are coming from our highest self...who we are fundamentally, as well as who we strive to be. This feeling is one of open spaciousness where we truly feel as though we have dissolved into the whole and that no separation exists between all beings. In working with the five elements, we begin to see how each element is affected by the other as we ascend up the chain. The earth element of the base chakra, dissolves into the water element of the sacral chakra. The water element is altered as it interacts with the fire element of the solar plexus. Fire is affected by the air element of the hearts fourth chakra. Air expands into the ethers of the throat energy and all elements. As Swami Saradananda writes in the book "Chakra Meditation", "This enables you to transcend worldly experience and to understand your connection with universal consciousness."

It is thought that when we are connected with universal consciousness we experience feelings of freedom (moksha) and bliss (ananda), but in order to connect more frequently, we need to do the work. "Doing the work" means to truly commit to getting to know and understand the geography of our own inner landscape. It means turning our awareness away from the outer world to our inner world. We withdraw our senses by stopping, closing our eyes and finding stillness (pratyahara). We begin to bring our focus into one thing such as the movement of our breath or a mantra (dharana). As we continue, we begin to find an inner state of peacefulness (dhyana) which leads us to moments of expanded bliss (samadhi).

Now most of us have only fleeting glimpses of what pure ecstatic bliss feels like, however the yogis believe that disciplined effort can take us into these states more and more frequently. As Sharon Salzberg said recently, "Holding onto thoughts is like holding a bird in our hands. When we realize we're doing it, we can release our grip and let go of the bird". The same is true for thoughts. What can keep us from reaching expanded states of consciousness is that we hold onto thoughts and perpetuate their energy by going into the past or future or making a story out of it. When we recognize that we're holding, we can open our hands and let go. And we might have to do this over and over, but when we do we experience the realness of the present moment and when we're in the present, it's easier to connect to the big picture.

Six of the chakras have bija (seed) mantras: Lam, Vam, Ram, Yam, Ham and Om but the seventh chakra is silent (there is no sound in space). Another way to connect to the seventh chakra is by wearing violet and repeating affirmations such as:

I connect with spirit.

I invite sacred transformation.

I embrace the unity of all beings.

When we raise the vibration of consciousness we begin to listen to the wisdom and truth of our individual soul as it connects to the whole cosmos. And as I did last week, I would like to finish my thought of the week, by sharing a quote from Geof's book:

Crown Chakra Prayer

Gracious and pure guru consciousness, may I realize my oneness with Source.

Help me to recognize the goodness and beauty in all of creation.

With gratitude, I identify and accept the limitless possibilities gifted to me.

My channels are open to receive the divine and eternal wisdom of the ages.

May I master my spiritual nature and achieve the awareness of higher self.

Allow me to accept and teach the wisdom of the miracles of love, faith, and charity.

Enable me to know the I AM presence and be the essence of Eternal Source.

Om shanti to that!

The Third Eye

Last week we completed our exploration of the five elements: earth, water, fire, air and space/ether. All of these elements are associated with the subtle energy systems of the chakras. We have seven chakras or spinning wheels of energy that run from the base of our spine to the crown of our head. When we experience our connection to the elements we are able to deepen our sense of an inherent relationship to all that's around and within us. Each chakra represents varying aspects of ourselves from the most physical to the most ethereal. And although we have completed the five elements two remaining chakras exist: the third eye and the crown chakras. 

The sixth chakra or spinning wheel of energy is called the Ajna chakra and is represented by the color indigo. In his book, "The Power of I Am" author Geof Jowett describes the color of this chakra through the visualization of flowers. Two that I can see and relate to most vividly are annual lobelia and bearded iris. Their deep rich blue/purple hue brings us into the third eye. We visualize a spinning or expanding wheel of indigo light to open and connect with our intuition, that place of deep inner knowing. When we are connected to our intuitive selves, we have a sense of simply knowing something to be true. 

Think of a time when you made a decision based on a flash of insight that in your heart, bones and gut, you just knew it was the right choice. Debating, arguing or intellectualizing wouldn't make any difference to the decision. You simple had the insight of the "right" answer.

When we are focussing on our third eye, it allows us to open the door to a widening consciousness. Geof Jowett says that this chakra can be represented by light which makes complete sense as we deepen our awareness around something, it's as though we are bringing it from the dark shadows into the light so we can see it more clearly. The overall practice of yoga is one of awareness. We become more aware of the blind spots that exist in our bodies as we move them. We start to notice the thoughts that arise during our practice and begin to see if our inner critic/judge/performer is making an appearance. We peel away the layers of our spiritual awareness and conscious connection through turning inward. As we close our physical eyes, we open our third eye to the inner realm of who we are.

In order to explore the sixth chakra we move away from the more physical practices and toward the practices of meditation and contemplation. We can work on opening and aligning our third eye chakra by wearing indigo and chanting the bija mantra-OM, often described as the sacred sound of the universe and using such affirmations as:

I honor my intuition.

I accept my path.

I am healing body, mind and spirit.

When we raise the vibration of consciousness we begin to listen to the wisdom and truth of our individual soul.  As we begin to trust this intuitive, knowing self we become more open to the unseen messages and truths being given to us on a regular basis. This truth is a reflection of our higher self and purpose. To finish off my thought of the week, I'd like to share a quote from Geof's book:

The Wise Intuitive Consciousness

The intuitive consciousness offers me the gift of insight, imagination, and wisdom to understand the essence of life. Freely accessing me the awareness of my inner knowing, which provides me guidance through life. I fully trust and accept the messages, insights, and wisdom provided to me and I recognize and believe in the synchronicity of my life.

I AM intuitive and I listen to my higher self. 

I AM one with universal mind.

The Ether/Space Element

This past week we have come to our final element of the five: earth, water, fire, air and ether/space. This week's focus is on the ether or space element, located in the throat or fifth chakra. It's name in Sanskrit is the Vishuddha chakra and has the color of vibrant blue. 

As previously stated, these elements are an integral part, not only of our Universal environment, but of the subtle energy systems of the chakras. We have seven chakras, spinning wheels of energy, that run from the base of our spine to the crown of our head. When we experience our connection to the elements we are able to deepen our sense of an inherent relationship to all that's around and within us. Each chakra represents varying aspects of ourselves from the most physical to the most ethereal.

My first impressions of ether were from the movie, "Cider House Rules" where one of the characters would sniff ether and pass out, so I looked up its definition. Ether is described as "the clear sky; the upper regions of air beyond the clouds". And this makes beautiful sense as the heart chakra (the fourth) is represented by air and ether is the next element beyond the heart chakra..."the upper regions of air beyond the clouds". As we begin to explore the higher chakras, we start to see that they are a bit more difficult to sense, more ethereal in nature with less concrete examples of their essence. The first three chakras and elements, earth, water and fire are familiar to us in that we know what each of these are, how they look and how we interact with them. This more vague concept begins as we rise from the lower three chakras to merge into the heart/air chakra. We all know what air is but it becomes more difficult to actually see. And so it goes as we rise into the upper three energy centers and into the realms of expanding consciousness, intuition and our connection to something that is often difficult to comprehend.

Yet all of the energy centers and elements interact and align with one another. The lower three create the foundation upon which our energy rises toward the heart and when we begin to open to the elements of the heart, connecting to breath we start to tap into the vast potential that lies within each of us. 

When I was growing up, my father, who was a metallurgical engineer doing research in aerospace, would talk about outer space. In doing so, my reaction was often one of incomprehensibility - how could anyone imagine infinite space that moves into ever expanding realms? It was difficult to wrap my head around and, in a sense, as we move away from the lower physically grounding chakras and into our own potentially expanding spaciousness, it can seem difficult to comprehend. What does it mean to "speak my truth"? How am I connected to something bigger? "How am I connected to all else that is?" "What is my purpose?" 

In order to investigate the ether element we move away from the more physical practices and toward the practices of meditation, mantra and chanting. We can work on opening and aligning our throat chakra by wearing vibrant blues and chanting the bija mantra-ham, ham, ham and using such affirmations as:

I play in my imagination.

I create my reality.

I know and speak my truth.

When we raise the vibration of spaciousness, we begin to share our purpose with others by speaking our truth. This truth rises up from the heart and speaks from a place of authenticity, love and compassion. This center is connected to our creativity, so if you're an artist, musician, writer or someone generating new ideas, then spending time on the throat center can encourage things to move into manifestation. Sing, chant, hum and meditate to get the good vibes going. Share your unique voice with the world and trust that what you have to say is worthy.