100 Incredible Yoga Teachers Who Blog
Tweeted by Esther Ekhart, Yogatic.
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"You cannot do yoga. Yoga is your natural state. What you can do are yoga exercises, which may reveal to you where your are resisting your natural state." ~ Sharon Gannon |
“One with the attitude of a beginner will have the patience to learn anything.” ~ Amma The fall schedule at Sri Yoga Center begins today and every day offers me great choices depending on what my body, mind or spirit needs that day.
There are also several events and workshops coming up. The Bhakti Vinyasa Project with Kristin Luna Ray and Katy Knowles is returning on September 26th. I’ve always enjoyed Katy’s practice and Luna’s music in this event. (This will be my fourth time attending.) Following the BVP will be a workshop on Nada and Bhakti Yoga. There are also workshops with Lila Lolling and Katy Knowles in the works. I’m looking forward to a lot of yoga this fall. Namaste
I don’t consider myself any sort of music critic or reviewer. I just know what I like even if I can’t explain why I like or dislike it. I like these selections from Sharanam. I like the energy in the music and the more I listen to these songs, the more they grow on me. Namaste Technorati Tags: Sharanam,Sharon Gannon
"Inhale, and God approaches you. Hold the inhalation, and God remains with you. Exhale, and you approach God. Hold the exhalation, and surrender to God." ~ Krishnamacharya I enjoyed the Jim Bennitt workshops over the weekend. I was expecting a little more lecture/discussion but the asana portion was good. I left each workshop feeling that I’d learned something new and feeling quite relaxed and at peace. I enjoyed the extended Savasana at the end of each session and found them quite relaxing. I think I may have either fallen asleep or drifted off somewhere during the Savasana in the 3rd one. I liked the mediations at the very end of each class and I hope to incorporate some of these techniques into my own meditation practice. His demonstrations of the advanced techniques and poses were quite impressive, maybe someday I might actually be able to do them. The pranayama techniques, the mudras and the bandhas will come with practice although I can’t really imagine myself doing some of the poses anytime soon. I absorbed a lot of new information and practiced some new techniques and poses. I may not be able to apply it all right now but it’s stored away for future reference. Namaste “Abhyasa Vairagyabhyam Tannirodhah” ~ Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, I.12 (These mental modifications are restrained by practice and non-attachment.) Tonight was the first of the Jim Bennitt workshops at Sri Yoga Center. The subject of the workshop was The Yoga Sutras from a Tantric Perspective. I was expecting a lot more lecture and discussion and a lot less asana so I wore jeans and left my mat at home. I did bring my prop bag because I expected I’d need a reasonably comfortable seat. He explained his concept of Tantric Vinyasa and very briefly talked about the Sutras. He related a story about his studies in India where he studied an ancient text with a teacher and only covered two words in two weeks. His discussion of the Sutras boiled down to two words — Abhyasa (practice) and Vairagyam (detachment). Ironic? Despite wearing jeans and using a borrowed mat, I enjoyed the asana portion. I had trouble following the Moon Salutation without guidance but I did the best I could. I remember that it took me quite a while to get the Sun Salutation sequences down. I was surprised by how deep I was able to get into some poses such as Utthita Trikonasana and Halasana and how easily I was able to go that deep. It was one of those times when things come together. Of course, there were poses and variations that were way beyond my edge. I especially enjoyed the extended Savasana and the long meditation practice even if my feet fell asleep during the meditation. At the end of the workshop I felt more relaxed than I have in quite a while. I’m looking forward to the remaining workshops and I’ll be sure to bring my gear and wear something more comfortable. Even if I can’t do it all or use it now, it will be in the back of my mind, in my yoga toolbox for future reference. Namaste “Believe nothing just because a so-called wise person said it. Believe nothing just because a belief is generally held. Believe nothing just because it is said in ancient books. Believe nothing just because it is said to be of divine origin. Believe nothing just because someone else believes it. Believe only what you yourself test and judge to be true.” ~ The Buddha I found “I don’t believe in Reincarnation. Am I still a Buddhist?” on Elephant Journal interesting. While it didn’t really answer the question (at lest not for me) it did get me thinking about it. I’m not a Buddhist nor do I claim to follow any other religion. However, I do find that many ideas in Buddhism and Yoga closely align with ideas and philosophies I’ve held for many years. One of these ideas is reincarnation which has been at least in the back of my mind since a young age when I’d read about Edgar Cayce. I’ve always found the concept of reincarnation both comforting and appealing. The idea propagated by Western religions that we only have one shot at life and attaining enlightenment or entering Heaven has never set well with me. It seemed rather incomplete. The idea that we have more than one opportunity to get it right, to learn from previous lives (even if we are not conscious of them) and the possibility we might take lessons learned in this life into a subsequent life, is, to me, rather reassuring. Since I am not consciously aware of any previous incarnations, it is difficult, if not impossible to test and judge reincarnation to be true. Is it enough to take concepts such as reincarnation and karma on the basis of faith? Taking things on faith alone doesn’t set well with me either. Faith should have basis in reason and should be supported by universal truths. Until such time that I can test and judge it to be true for myself, I will remain open to the possibility. Perhaps we do only have one chance to get it right. I remain open to that possibility as well. Namaste
“If there is no sense of humor, then life is not worth living.” ~ B.K.S. Iyengar Ben Ralston’s article at Elephant Journal, Four reasons why Toesox Suck may be the best article I’ve read on the “nudity in yoga ads” debate in that it doesn’t attack or defend the use of nudity in ads. Instead, Mr. Ralston looks at whether we need the product (ToeSox) in the first place. I like the ads for aesthetic reasons. I admire the pose and the photography. I actually find the footwear to be a distraction since in the ads I’ve seen, she clearly isn’t using them. In the article Ben raises the following points:
I particularly agree with his fourth point about how every piece of restrictive clothing you wear inhibits your energy flow and not wearing anything that’s unnecessary. I follow that advice whenever possible. I find that tight, restrictive clothing often interferes with my alignment, is uncomfortable, and can be a distraction. I’ve taken a position of non-attachment. I do not have a problem with simple nudity, Nudity is neutral. It’s our interpretations and reactions that create controversy and conflict. Namaste “Life is change. Learn to surf.” ~ Swami Satchidananda It’s hard to avoid reading or having an about the Yoga Journal nude ads controversy so here’s my two cents. I don’t have a problem with them. Is that because I’m a guy and I like looking at naked women? Maybe a little bit. I simply don’t have a problem with nudity and I’m quite comfortable with it. I don’t see a nude person (or an image of one) as arousing, titillating, provocative or offensive. I see a person who happens to be nude. How they present themselves will, of course, affect my reaction but simply being nude is neutral. Arousal, titillation and offensiveness are products of the mind, not the nudity itself. We choose our response. We can choose to be aroused. We can choose to be titillated. We can choose to be offended. We can also choose to admire and appreciate. Or we can choose not to be affected by it at all. There is one thing about all this that leaves me wondering. Do any of the advertisements in Yoga Journal teach us about yoga? Aren’t they all trying to sell us a product? I don’t have a problem with that either. Namaste I’ve found that convincing people they should try yoga, like trying to get people to try nudism, is generally like talking to a wall. They seem mildly interested but you know they’ll never step on a mat (or go to a nudist resort). In her article at Huffington Post, Sadie Nardini gives her Top 10 Reasons Not To Do Yoga. Now when someone tells me why they can’t do yoga, I have a link where I can send them. People just don’t know what they’re missing. Namaste Technorati Tags: reasons,Sadie Nardini
"The longest journey is the journey inward." ~ Dag Hammarskjold The Top 5 Benefits I Get From Meditating by Ricardo das Neves on Elephant Journal reminded me of my lack of dedication and commitment to my practice. It’s not just dedication and commitment to meditation but to my yoga in general.
Lately, I’ve been feeling out of sorts, out of touch with myself. That’s the very thing that meditation and yoga will take care of. It’s time to find a comfortable seated position, close my eyes, and surrender myself to that place of calm within me. Namaste Technorati Tags: commitment,dedication
“The real Guru is within.” ~ Lo, y is for yogini Sat Kriya is a core practice of Kundalini Yoga and was developed by Yogi Bhajan. The mantra chanted during this kriya is Sat Nam, which means “Truth is my identity.” Her post lists several benefits of this kriya and how to do it. I’m going to give this 40-day Sadhana a try. I’ve been practicing yoga for a year but I really haven’t made a commitment to practicing. This seems like a good way to start. Source: i am truth { sat kriya for 40 days } from y is for yogini Namaste |
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I’ve downloaded and listened to four tracks from Sharon Gannon’s 
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