June 10th, 2007
This month’s theme at my yoga studio-Laughing Lotus-is Puja, or rituals. I thought it was interesting to think not just about rituals that are meaningful such as those involved around a special occasion, but the little every day rituals that make up our day. I bet there are tons of rituals you perform, without even thinking about them. For me it could be something as simple as checking my feed count each morning to the joy of opening a fresh bottle of wine before a night out. These little things are so trite but often important to our happiness. It’s interesting to ponder how it might affect our day if we could not perform our normal rituals. How would it change your mood? What type of rituals do you perform on a regular basis?
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April 7th, 2007
So, if you have been here along with me throughout my yoga epiphanies, you know that I usually try to think about what we do in class and apply it to everyday life. In tonight’s class I was doing a balance pose and thought about what it requires to stay balanced. Balance is actually a lot about your gaze and choosing a focus for your eyes. If you dart your eyes around the room, balancing can be incredibly challenging. A drill that I do in spinning classes called “stabilization” uses the same principle. We move up from the saddle and rather than bouncing on the bike, we focus our eyes in one position and remove the bouncing, putting all of the work into our quadriceps. Balancing in yoga or in spinning may be difficult initially, but once you maintain your focus it becomes achievable.
It is interesting to think about this concept as applied to real life, rather than exercise. People may tout the idea of keeping your eyes wide open to the world and being free for any opportunity that may cross your path. But perhaps it is focusing on what you want and removing the obstacles that distract you, which will provide you with the balance that you seek. How can you get anywhere when your eyes are darting around the room?
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March 11th, 2007
Edward had a really nice message in last night’s class that I wanted to share with you all. Every month, Laughing Lotus has a different theme and this month’s theme is the chakras. The chakras are various points of consciousness throughout the body. One important chakra is known as “the third eye”, or the space between the eyes on the forehead. Though of course we do not have a third eye, this place on the body is the center of our intuition. Throughout the practice, Edward spoke a lot about intuition and awareness. As we moved we would place our hands on our third eye and then float the hand away to symbolize the removal of obstacles. We were asked to choose something that we’d like to get rid of in our lives i.e. frustration, anger, weakness and imagine that with each touch of our third eye we were rubbing away the obstacle. The message is essentially that the more aware you are of your own obstacles, the easier they will be to remove and the more open and liberated you will be in the end. As we touched our third eye we did a lot of heart opening and back bending exercises which would ultimately symbolize one’s ability to open themselves to something else such as a new opportunity, an idea or even another individual. One can only be completely open when they use their own intuition to be aware and content with themselves. In order to do this, you must trust that your own intuition will lead you on the right path, otherwise you will be lost.
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January 27th, 2007
OK I’ll admit it: I am a slave to my watch. Friends of mine are well aware that I never, EVER take it off. I wear it all day long including at the gym, in the shower and in bed. My watch is an extension of my wrist. This does not cause me serious issues in my life but it does cause me to feel the pressure of time in every situation. I am always aware of the time. I constantly check my watch in order to maximize every minute of the day. Being unaware of time is pretty scary to me. Lately I have felt that I need to throw myself off a bit by provoking that notion. So, in yoga tonight, I made the decision to remove my watch and place it in my purse, far from where I could reach it. This means that I was watch-less for a full 2 hours of conscious time.
Now I don’t expect you all to pat me on the back for a grandiose gesture that I made. This was a very small move and I recognize that. However, the subtle change of having no access to the time made quite a difference. Though I normally only check the time once throughout the practice, the mere fact that time was out of my control actually made me relaxed and made class more enjoyable.
As we moved through the poses I thought about how this small decision to let go of time improved my state of mind. I also thought about how the concept applied to the practice itself. The simpler poses were sometimes causing me more trouble than the harder ones. I would move through an Ardha Chandrasana with ease but then my limbs would shake and I’d hobble over in a tree pose. It was the smaller, simpler elements of class which were making a difference and causing me difficulty.
Edward (my instructor) often talks about how minor problems can have major effects. Making a decision to let go of small issues can have a large impact by bringing peace. Letting go often sounds like the simplest of things but is actually quite difficult. People frequently talk about things they should be doing, rather than not doing in their life. But perhaps it is letting go and choosing to not do that is most important. The longer one dwells on a negative situation, the longer that situation will have a negative impact. This concept may not be novel, but recognizing how it applies to one’s own life can lend it new meaning-as I let go of my watch dependence.
In class tonight, Edward read from a book called “The Lives of Billionaires” (He certainly seems to love his money, see “Happiness or Neutrality”) and he discussed how a common characteristic of billionaires is that they enjoy the struggle and the steps that take them along the way to success. They let go of failures and recognize them as small in terms of the bigger picture and this is what makes them great.
“Success is moving from failure to failure with un-diminishing enthusiasm” – Winston Churchill
How can this concept be applied to your own life? What kind of small changes could you make and what could you let go of? Something as small as removing a watch for 2 hours can generate a whole new state of mind. Imagine the possibilities.
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December 23rd, 2006
In tonight’s yoga class, my favorite instructor (Edward) read passages from a book called “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind” by T Harv Eker. This is not exactly a traditional Hindu scripture, which is why I love Edward so much. He goes outside of convention by reading from any book he finds poignant, regardless of the title, and by playing any music that suits the tone of the practice (anything from Madonna to the Yin Yang twins to Gregorian chanting). He leads us through unique poses and continuously delivers a thought-provoking practice. Tonight’s class was no different. Here are some of the mantras which I found most interesting and wanted to share with you:
Happiness is Not Neutrality- in this idea, the book tells us that comfort does not equal happiness. In order to be happy, one must always lend themselves to discomfort in order to be challenged. This is not to say that people must always be in pain, but a little discomfort is necessary for growth. “If you don’t grow, you are dying.”
Everything is of Neutral Meaning- nothing has a meaning until we assign or perceive the existence of that meaning. Objects, situations, and people are of neutral meaning until we decide that they mean something to us. In this sense, the meaning of things is nothing but our own projection.
I found this concept to be really interesting because I am always a proponent of the idea that people can create their own happiness. By this I mean that things don’t happen to us, things happen… and it is what we make of them that will create or impede our own happiness.
An Insane Person Plays through the same situation twice and expects a different outcome- if you do not change your thinking or the way you perceive a situation, it will not change. The situation will never change but it is you that must change.
The Three Most Dangerous Words are “I Know That”- one can never know anything until they experience, feel, or see it for themselves. At that point you have “learned.” Otherwise, a person has merely heard or read something. If we are open minded then we can be “learn it alls” rather than “know it alls.” This also means that nothing is inherently true/false or right/wrong it may only be so based on individual experiences.
There was much more to it but the above is a sampling of what I recall from class. What do you think? Feel free to share any opinions that you have…
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