Can you name these yoga poses?

upper left: Is that a Christmas tree, or a person sitting in meditation?
upper right: Is that a person in shavaasana, or simply a taadaasana turned sideways?
lower left: Is that downward dog? Or naavaasana upside down?
lower right: Clearly, this person is grinning wildly at their ability to do tree pose!

During the coming year, may we all enjoy a lot of creative playfulness!

Nudging into Alignment

A student is in downward dog. My hands nudge their hips a little higher, lifting up away from spine and shoulders. I watch her spine lengthen. I hear her say, "Ahh!" At some point I can feel the lift reach its maximum. The potential movement is complete...for today.

When I was trained as a yoga teacher, we were taught to feel how hard and how gently to touch a student. Our hands must listen, even as we touch. And, our touch must always be toward the goal of alignment. If I try to move a student to look a certain way in a pose, but am not watching their foundation and alignment, I risk doing harm.

So it is on the spiritual journey. I can remember times in my life when mentors and spiritual directors nudged me. They nudged me only as far as a I was ready to stretch in that situation. I imagine that they were not seeking for me to act a certain way, but for me to act in alignment with God's movement in my life. I imagine that they were watching, listening, feeling my response, and decided when to stop nudging. If they had tried to force my spirit, that would have been in vain, and perhaps harmful.

May all of us cultivate sensitivity to energy and to spirit so that we can choose wisely how far to nudge ourselves and each other---always in alignment with energy and spirit.

Adapting to Your Mental State

I have long been an advocate of adapting each pose to each student, each day. Further, over time, I've learned how to adapt breathing exercises, also. But, this week, for the first time, it occurred to me that the mental focus must be adapted to each student.

But how can a teacher do that in a room full of students? The workings of the mind, the regulation of the nervous system is not easily visible to the teacher, despite some clues.

In Sutra II.50, Patanjali explains that the breath cycles can be counted. This helps one develop a sensitive self awareness and focus one's mind.

So, now I plan on teaching my students not only how to adapt the poses to their physical level of ability for each day and each stage of life---but also how to adapt for the times that they need more tools for mental focus.

Next time you are in triangle pose and find yourself getting bored, try counting five breaths of equal length of inhale and exhale. If that tool of mental focus works for you, keep on applying it and adapting it whenever you find your mind wandering.

Season of Rest

The autumn leaves cover the forest floor, giving it bedding for the winter. This reminds us of the importance of rest.

Yoga also reminds us to rest. If you live in a four-season climate, this is a great time of year to make sure you do some restorative poses each week. (For you blog readers who belong to ACAC---there's a restorative class!). In the restorative poses, our bodies are laid carefully into a position which is healthy for the spine, lungs, and nervous system. The body has plenty support through yoga props.

Although we often think of "yoga" as doing poses, it is also about getting enough sleep. This is a great time of year to let ourselves hibernate a little. This allows time for the immune system to build itself and then we are less likely to get winter illnesses.

And don't forget that every exhale is a rest. So, whether you are taking a break from your computer, or in shavasana, let your exhale have all the time it needs.

Framing the Spiritual Journey

"Spiritual director" is a term for someone who companions someone else on their exploration of how the divine is moving in their lives. Most commonly known in the Catholic monastic tradition, monks and nuns who spent a lot of time in meditation and prayer would check in with a superior to guide them on the path. Also a universal phenomenon, most religions and cultures have a way of making space for spiritual seekers to have conversation and receive insight from someone else about how they are using ritual and making choices.

At this point in my life, I feel called to offer spiritual direction and to teach yoga. The two have common ground in Sutra II.1. Tapah Svaadyhaya Isvarapranidhana Kriya Yoga. This means that we follow a discipline, we practice self-reflection, and we acknowledge a divinity.

Certainly, it is clear in the U.S. today, from stereotypical yoga, that the postures take discipline and practice. And one pretty soon finds out that self-awareness is helpful and surfaces whether one is seeking it or not. Emphasizing faith in the divine is not common in all yoga classes today, and yet many teachers creatively slip it in, especially as Anusara teachers remind us: "Open to Grace!"

In a parallel way, a healthy prayer life has the discipline of a regular practice. This might mean attending Taize services, walking the Labyrinth, or doing daily private scripture reading. Also, a healthy prayer life includes space for self-reflection: we allow humbling insights to show us our patterns and convert us to new ones. Finally, a healthy prayer life means we surrender to a higher power and acknowledge that we are not the master of all things.

On Saturday night at 8 pm, I joined the "Coming of Age" teens at the Unitarian Universalist church during their overnight "lock-in", and offered them an experience of yoga and discussion of spiritual practice. I used Kriya yoga to frame the discussion, because I believe those three elements are present no matter what path a person chooses.

So, I wish for each of us, whether we call ourselves yogis or not, to know the richness of Kriya Yoga: that we make time for a discipline that purifies our body and mind, that we attune to our inner workings, and that we take faith in that which is greater than we are.

In coming days and weeks I hope to add more reflections here about tapas, svadhyaya, and Isvarapranidhana and how each of them shows up in the postures and in our lives, and the Sanskrit etymology.

Monday evening classes at TJMC UU

I am so excited to be teaching a class which blends philosophy, discussion, asana, breathing, and meditation. After teaching at studios and fitness centers for many years, I have found that the church is a perfect place to offer a class blending the ancient sacred theory with the modern perception of yoga postures.

All are welcome to come to Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church, Unitarian Universalist on Monday evenings, 5:30 - 7 pm through November 23. $10 donation requested. Each week we will take up a new set of sutras. Bring along a towel or mat, and a journal. This class is open to any member of the Charlottesville community---TJMC is a welcoming congregation affirming many paths to the Divine.

After the holidays, we will begin again in February, continuing through April. Mark your calendars for Monday evenings as winter turns into spring. Please register with the church office so that we'll have your contact info in case of weather or other class changes.

Doors to Learning

I am finally, a week later, writing the final report on my experience at the San Francisco workshop with Desikachar. I have been reflecting on obstacles and structures in learning.

I guess it comes as no surprise that every person who came to the workshop had something else on their mind --- in addition to the poses, breathing, and meditation. At the breaks, as I chatted with people, I heard about family illnesses, marital strife, economic worries, and physical pains.

This reminds me of many years ago, when a teacher said, "The thoughts that pass through your mind during the poses---they are part of the yoga."

On the one hand, they are distractions. For, they are not the chosen focus at the time. To practice vairagya, we need to set aside whatever thoughts are not on task.

But on the other hand, once we have finished our practice, the yoga has --- we hope --- made us more clear-headed. So then, we can focus on these life issues and make more intelligent, compassionate responses.

The other area of learning that I've been reflecting on in the last week is how Desikachar taught. He didn't have much, if any, Q&A time. I am curious about this choice. When I saw him at the week-long Omega conference in 2000, he did have Q&A. But perhaps he has decided that it is best to give people an experience and let that be the learning.

Also, contrary to popular conception of yoga, we didn't do much asana. We did a lot of breathing, meditation, and chanting. Perhaps this was because he didn't want to strain people, and he couldn't easily assess 150 people on the spot. Or, perhaps his notion of what we needed were the tools of breathing, meditation, and chanting. In Desikachar's system, these simple, clear, accessible techniques are crucial to creating positive change.

Why I Believe Yoga Can Help All Believers

Prayer. What does that conjure up for you?

In my twenties, I discovered that my most reverent times were during yoga practice; especially when I slipped off during church retreats and did yoga on my own in nature.

My friend and teacher, Chase Bossart, asserts that the second sutra should be translated that yoga directs the thoughts (instead of "ceases" the thoughts).

Thus, yoga can help us direct our mind to any chosen object. Including God. Or the Holy Spirit. Or the Virgin of Guadalupe. Or, Mother Earth, or the Full Moon. Or whatever connects you to the Greater, the Divine, the Source of All Life.

Now, along with this mental focus comes a handy trick: lots of people, especially young people, have trouble sitting still. So...being able to move along with prayer really helps!

Last month I spent an evening with thirty Episcopalian college students at UVA. We used arm movements to represent the Trinity. Next month I will meet with junior high age students at the Unitarian Universalist church. They are just beginning to define their spiritual practices. I want them to know that movement, including yoga, is one of many ways to pray.

When I was a brand new teacher in central Virginia in 1994, some of my students got together on their own to practice yoga one day, and reported, "Well, we just felt like having a prayer circle after that, so we did!"

I am grateful that Starr King School for the Ministry allowed me to get my Masters of Divinity following my call to a yoga ministry, even when some people weren't sure what that meant. And now, I am finding people around me in Charlottesville hungry to integrate their faith and yoga together.

TKV Desikachar has observed hundreds of yoga students over the years and has seen many agnostics become interested in a higher power. I wish for you and for all seekers that you let the Spirit guide your yoga, and your yoga guide you to the Spirit. May mental focus and movement be with you. Amen.

Heat, Cool, and Balance

Here continues my report from the Heart of Yoga conference with Desikachar in San Francisco this week. On Monday he taught the concepts of brahmana, langhana, and samaana.

Brahmana are activities which raise our energy. These can be useful when we are sleepy, lethargic, blue, or any other emotional/mental/physical state of slowness. Brahmana activities in yoga include backbends, inhale retention during pranayama, meditating on the sun, or chanting at a higher pitch.

Langhana activities lower our energy. These can be useful when one is feeling hyper, scattered, overly wakeful or warm. Langhana activities include twists, mild forward bends, slow exhalations, holding an exhale out, meditating on the moon, and chanting at a low pitch.

Samaana activities balance and maintain balance. These activities mix forward and back bends, and might include meditating on water or the lotus.

What I found remarkable about doing these practices in a group of a hundred or more people, was that on the breaks, different people were feeling benefit or agitation from the practices. Some hyper people didn't need more brahmana! Some slow people didn't need more langhana. And this is exactly why Desikachar continuously reminded us: "Practice self observation. Practice self observation."

So, I wish for all of us to have many pauses during the day to observe our energy level. And when our time for yoga comes, to choose the proper practice to raise, lower, or balance our energy.

Day 2 - Conference Report: Choices and Layers

We can not live without food and therefore should be grateful for our food.
We can not live without breath and therefore should be grateful for our breath.
We should be grateful for education because it helps us in life.
We should apply our knowledge correctly.
We should have fun.

On Saturday morning of the "Heart of Yoga Conference," Mr. Desikachar structured the chanting and meditation around these five points.

After he introduced the concept of fun, I had expected him to use the Sanskrit translation: िलल lila. This is commonly translated as play, including divine play. Yet, he used the word ananda, which is often translated as bliss. Hmmmm....I would be curious to ask him about this distinction. His examples implied that our fun should lead us to laughter, which has healing qualities.

He also spoke on the origin of illness. He named three factors. First, illness of our own making due to our expectations and disappointments. Second, genetic factors. Third, external factors. He said that treatments are often effective when medications and meditations are mixed. I found it ironic, and meaningful, that as I jotted my handwritten notes, I used the abbreviation med'n to mean both "meditation" and "medication"!

As in the previous evening's lecture, he emphasized that faith, hope, and positive attitude play a huge part in healing. He quoted Jesus as saying "Your own faith has saved you."

Desikachar called on his student, Chase Bossart to speak. Because Chase was raised in this culture and is similar to my age, I find his perspective a helpful bridge. Chase pointed out that the only vehicle we have for getting around in this life is...our body. Since the body is affected by how it interacts with different foods, or different teachings, that we must choose carefully what we put in our bodies and minds so that we get a desired outcome.

In the afternoon, Menaka Desikachar spoke on therapeutic aspects of yoga. She also emphasized the layers of the body, breath, mind, emotions, and soul, each of which can be a location of illness or an input for healing. Because the layers pervade each other, we can chose to affect one by affecting the other. For example, although asthma may be an illness of the breath, it can also lead to stooped posture and mental agitation. Conversely, calming the mind or straightening the posture can be part of the avenue to making space for the breath and remedying the asthma.

Systems. Layers. Choices. Hope.

May each of us on the path remember the many parts that make up the whole, and when one isn't working, may we harness hope, and try a different way through.

Visit this blog again in the coming days for more updates on the conference.

Report from The Heart of Yoga Conference in San Francisco

This photo shows Grace Cathedral, high on a hill in San Francisco, where TKV Desikachar spoke tonight.

He traveled from India, some attendees traveled from other countries, and I traveled from Charlottesville, Virginia. First in a car. Then a plane. Then the BART, a local train which whooshes at high speed in a tunnel under the San Francisco Bay, an engineering feat which repeatedly amazes me. Then, finally, I took a cable car, with its old wooden slats, hand-operated brakes, and open air railings where passengers hang on. What a mix of old and new technologies. In San Francisco, the cable cars have been preserved as a highly useful technology.

Maybe kind of like yoga? An old and useful thing for travelers on a journey.

About 400 people gathered to hear Desikachar speak, and I'd like to summarize his points. He began by emphasizing his reliance on his teacher, "his Master," who happened also to be his father.

Next he expressed concern that yoga is too often limited to postures. Much more than that, he says: "Yoga is inner reflection." Going on, he quoted Sutra 2.1, which defines three aspects of yoga as action, knowledge, and faith. He claimed that he has seen many students over the years begin yoga as agnostics, but that the asana and pranayama practice make them curious about a higher power, and eventually leads them to faith. And after that stage, he emphasized that asana remains a critical element in order for a person to stay healthy and clear.

Speaking about the title of the event, "The Heart of Yoga," he says that a long time ago, the highest deity decided to wait inside people's hearts. And that if we can realize that God is in our hearts, then we will be happy and calm.

I admire how Desikachar is constantly finding teaching moments. In front of this large gathering, he asked specific questions of two of his long-time students, Kate Holcombe and Chase Bossart, about their yoga journeys. Both emphasized the choices found in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, saying that this makes it very accessible for real life. Depending on one's inclinations, circumstance, challenges, or opportunities, many avenues into yoga are possible.

I hope for each of us to consider our journeys, how they turn and change, how the new meets the old, and what choices for spiritual discipline will lead us further into our hearts.

Tune in for more conference insights in the coming week!

October 18 workshop on Yoga Sutras

One of the richest times of my yoga study was when I journaled about one Sutra each day. A wonderful book by Bernard Bouanchaud called The Essence of Yoga gave me reflection questions for each sutra. I would like to help more people access and use the Sutras this way.

So, on October 18, I'm teaching a yoga class with no asanas, no mats, no sweating. Well, maybe sweating---if philosophical concepts are highly exciting to you.

Using a mix of lecture (and that means teeny lecture), discussion, and journaling, I'll help people understand how to dive into (or dip your toe into) the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. We will compare translations, summarize the four books, discuss the Eight Limbs (ashtanga), and explore the verses relating to posture (asana). You will leave with an idea of how to study the Yoga Sutras at home to enhance your outlook on daily life and your yoga practice.

If you have a favorite translation of the Yoga Sutras, bring it along! Although we are meeting at ACAC, you don't have to be a member, although there's a $15 visit fee. Please come join us... 1 - 3 pm on Sunday October 18 at ACAC Albemarle Square in Charlottesville.

Matters of Life and Breath

In my hospital chaplaincy work last year, I spent time with people who were dying or the bodies of those who had died. I saw breath happening, and then cease happening. So, in my own yoga practice, when I am instructed to pay attention to the pause after the exhale, I am very aware that one day, I will pause after exhaling, and then not inhale again.

Perhaps this seems like a scary thought. If one has not resolved ones notions about death and what comes next, then yes, it could be scary. Even if one is sure that good things lie ahead after death, it is still an unknown journey and could be scary.

But what I find amazing is how yoga helps us practice for death, for the ultimate surrender. And if I practice this everyday as part of my yoga practice, then surely the annoyances of daily life seem much smaller! Thus, as many spiritual teachers have taught us, when we make peace with death, we make peace with life. Yoga is one way to do this.

Yesterday was the Fall Equinox. All over the earth, people experienced day and night in equal amounts.

For folks in the northern hemisphere (as I am), this means that the days will gradually get shorter until Winter Solstice, around December 21.

What does it mean to have equal amount of light and dark? This reminds me of practicing pranayama with equal amounts of inhale and exhale.

Just as the day and night are balancing, so the inbreath and outbreath are balanced.

Yet, just as we need the heaty excitement of summer and the cool dormancy of winter, so we sometimes need the alertness of a long inhale or the soothing of a long exhale. So, may this Equinox remind us that just as there are seasons to the tilting of the earth, so there are seasons to our breath.

Satya: Yes, I See You!

I was playing with a five year old boy, who put his jacket over his head and said, “Find me again!” I responded in loud, exaggerated tones, making a game out of looking at all the places that he might be except for under his jacket. Finally, each time, he giggled with delight, wriggled out from under the jacket, and said, “Here I am!” I said his name each time, saying, “Yes, I see you!”

Being seen. Being found out for who we really are.

Isn’t that what we each desire?

As we interact with others, social, cultural, or economic pressures sometimes cause us to not show who we really are. This can be seen clearly during the teen years, which are an exaggerated time of experimenting with different appearances and behaviors. And yet, throughout our lives, we continue to figure out ways of coping by adapting with different ways of relating to the world around us. The problem arises when we mix-up our true, inner identity with our outer, coping identity.

And isn’t that our spiritual journey?

As I’ve been meditating on the practice of satya recently, I’ve been thinking about what truth means. What does it mean to be honest with others? To be honest with ourselves?

No matter what happens in our social lives, whether we feel seen for who we are in this complex cultural world we live in, in our spiritual lives, we can find a way to see our true selves.

True self. One form of satya.

Practicing yoga poses, breathing, and meditation give quiet time away from social pressures so that our true self has time to speak up loud enough for us to hear. Once we hear that voice, if we are practicing yoga compassionately, then we have a chance to listen to that inner truth, even if it is inconvenient. That is why slow, patient breathing is incredibly important. If we can do the patient work of hearing the inner truth, saying “Yes, I see you!” and living it out in the world, then we are certainly practicing satya.

Breathing through Life's Contortions

One of my greatest joys is when a yoga student tells me that their yoga practice is making them deal with life’s stressors in different ways.

For example, a woman told me that a coworker called her with an urgent problem, and she responded by simply taking a few slow breaths. She didn’t even think about it---her new daily yoga practice made it automatic. As a result, she didn’t get into a tense situation with her coworker.

Slowing down the breath is one of the most radical things I have learned in yoga. It is true that breathing more slowly in poses makes them easier and more sustainable. But how we breathe is about way more than our poses, but about how we approach our whole lives. When I worked in a hospital emergency room, I could see which staff had learned to breathe evenly.

In addition to practicing the poses with steady, sustained breath, we can also practice pranayama, in which we learn to change the duration, timing, and location of the breath. This is a subtle and deep practice with great long term benefits.

My wish for all of us is that we can do our yoga poses with easeful breath, that we can practice pranayama with attentiveness, and then walk into the day ready to inhale and exhale along with all of life around us.

Content with your discipline?

One day I was reviewing each of the yamas and niyamas to see how I was doing at abiding by them.

The five niyamas are (depending on your translation): cleanliness, contentment, discipline, self-awareness, and faith.

As I reviewed the niyamas one by one, I got to “contentment” (santosa). Contemplating the glass half full. Having gratitude for all I have. Focusing on what is going well in life. Realizing that I am doing the best I can.

Proceeding through the list, I got to the next one: discipline (tapas). Working a little harder. Structuring my efforts to be streamlined and effective.

Hmmmm. What a contrast. I had just finished focusing on contentment---accepting things as they are. Discipline seemed to be the opposite: making things better than they are. Are contentment and discipline contradictory?

No, I don’t think so. But they do form a creative tension.

In these two niyamas, we are reminded to have a gentle open gratitude while also keeping an eye on a steady effort to do what we have chosen on the path toward our goals. One is about allowing the moment to be as it is, while another is building toward a future with patient steps. Many areas of life require this creative tension.

In our yoga asanas, we have many chances to practice this. We can give thanks for simply having the time to practice, for having a teacher, for having willpower to come practice. We can be content that we are simply engaging in yoga (as opposed to being so blue that we are staying in bed all day). At the same time, we can be disciplined: to go through the poses even though our minds wander, even though the phone rings, and even though we may not like each pose.

So, today, whether on your yoga mat, or on the welcome mat of life, may you find a creative blend of contentment and discipline.

Yoga Philosophy Accessible

One day I ran into a friend who said, "I'm so sorry that I couldn't come to yoga class, but please tell me the theme that you used for the class. It just helps me to have those little nuggets of inspiration." So, I realized that my students are longing for the philosophical tips that I give at the beginning of class.

Do the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali seem like a thick impenetrable mass to you? In fact, they are wonderfully woven threads that have full pertinence to our daily lives.

As I am driving, or lying in bed at night, or browsing the Sutras, I often think of exactly how they've helped me through my day. I want to share this with my yoga students! Sometimes students are ready to hear this. Sometimes people are voraciously hungry for it. Sometimes they just want to come do some poses and go home, without being overloaded with philosophy.

Thus this blog.

This blog accompanies other threads in my life...spiritual direction, chaplaincy, sermon-writing, and trying to live well on this planet with all my fellow creatures. Please come often and I hope you will find nuggets of nourishment.

And if you happen to live in or near Charlottesville, Virginia, you can find my classes at ACAC or the TJMC UU church. More soon to come!