Life Force

Prana is the all pervading life force energy.
Without prana there is no life.
When we breathe, prana flows.
When we practice yoga, prana flows.

In yoga we are clearing the pathways of blocks, stagnation, tightness, stress, so that prana can flow and the various forms of prana can work optimally in keeping the body well. Ultimately, yoga becomes a practice of increasing flow of prana and learning to contain it within the body. According to T.K.V. Desikachar, one definition of the word "yogi" is, "one whose prana is all within."

Prana Vayu the upward moving force. associated with chest, lungs, heart; and is responsible for circulation of breath.

Apana Vayu downward moving force. associated with pelvic region, kidneys, excretory organs. is responsible for elimination of waste.

Samana Vayu lateral , contractive moving force. associated with center of body, the core, stomach, liver, pancreas; responsible for digestion.

Vyana Vayu the all pervasive expansive force. associated with entire body, all cells, and is the reserve force. Responsible for storing prana in body.

Udana Vayu the circulatory force. associated with legs, arms, neck and head. responsible for speech and action of arms and legs.

References: 

Desikachar, TK.S. The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice. 1995. Inner Traditions International, Rochester Vermont. p. 57

Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati. Yoga Darshan. 1993. Yoga Publications Trust, Bihar India. p 144-146

This Sucks! but Thank You

I've always loved Thanksgiving. It is probably my most favorite holiday of the year, because it is based on the principle of celebrating harvests together, and offering thanks for what we have. However, when I look back there have been many Thanksgiving holidays in which I have been emotionally charged and unstable. And there were several Thanksgiving holidays where I happily traveled out of the country. In hindsight, I attribute this to being surrounded with my family. As with any family, no matter how loving and open, there is always going to be shit to deal with. Sometimes its easy, sometimes not. Of course we feel the most gratitude during times of abundance, of ease, when we are full and radiant. But what about when we are stuck, when we are challenged, when the furnance breaks? I know. Its not so easy. When we are being challenged in some way, saying "thank you" is not the first response. It isn't until much later we might actually consider being grateful for the experience.

Saying "thank you" in the heat of an argument or the minute the furnace breaks aint gonna happen, unless we are Buddhist monks. But, maybe we can slow down the reaction time; by inviting breath in and allowing ourselves to be more open and receptive to the experience. It might lessen the intensity and lead us to gratitude sooner than later. Being receptive requires letting go of control, and listening to what the present moment has to offer.

Regardless of how we perceive it to be, it is what it is. So, we have a choice, we always have a choice. We can choose to resist the situation we have been presented with and continue to go about our life cursing and blaming, get through it, and find ourself in the same situation again and again. Or we can choose to accept what is happening, open up to it in a receptive way, so we can listen to what is begging for our attention and journey through it towards greater wisdom.

For me, Thanksgiving holidays and other family gatherings have gotten smoother over the years. Yoga has been an essential tool in this journey.  Yoga has taught me to breathe and thus relax my physical body. But mostly yoga has taught me to look within and recognize that my circumstances are my own, no one is at fault and that only I have the power to change them. This has helped me to be able to thank my parents, my siblings, my grandparents, my friends, my husband and now my daughter for all the opportunities for growth that they have given me and will continue to give me.

Thank you everyone!

Align With the Divine

Stop waiting to arrive at a certain place, a place of ideal, a perfect scenario. Stop hoping. Master right now, master balance, centeredness. Find something within the moment of transition. The in-between breath. Every moment is transitioning, transforming, changing, evolving, turning into the next moment and the next. Just like the breath.

We must remember who we are. The fire that burns in one heart is not the same as another. Tend your own fire, be steady. What keeps it going? What will make it brighter, more bold? Feel that pulse?

Its already there. This is the beacon for the wandering flame.

Remember, we are born divine, it is our birthright to align. 

Navaratri

Today is a new moon and the night before the most celebrated Hindu festival in India, Navaratri! Navaratri is the celebration of the power of the feminine aspect of divinity. During the 10 day festival the trishakti or triple goddess' are celebrated, including Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati. With Navaratri sadhana, we have the opportunity to renew, and give thanks for all we have and what has been given to us from the Great Mother, the Earth, the essence of Sri.

During the darkest time of the month, we might feel our own "darkness", we feel most vulnerable, experiencing challenges in our outer life or what's stirring internally within the shadow self might be projected outward. In addition, we are in the midst of a major transformative time of year. Everyday the leaves are a new color and the light lessens exponentially. Through our sadhana we can easily connect with what needs to go, what we want to sustain and what is emerging within.  Navaratri sadhana should be nurturing to our body, our soul, and should prepare us for winter (vata) season.

Because we have lives to live, we should keep it simple and avoid causing any stress or neurosis around Navaratri sadhana. Most important is the daily ritual or sadhana which should include at the minimum, meditation. The duration is not as important as the consistency; quality not quantity. Here are a few practices to integrate into daily sadhana for the next 10 days.

• lighting altar (candle, or oil lamp)
• prostrations (minimum of 3 rounds, up to 108)
• regular asana practice
• journaling
• fasting is some form (i.e. cleanse, eliminating alcohol, vegetarian diet)
• limiting use of electronics

Durga

The first 3 days (Tuesday-Thursday) of Navratri are dedicated to the goddess Durga. Durga expresses shakti as the warrior goddess, she is indestructible, and fights to eliminate all human suffering with her many "weapons" of consciousness.

During this time our practices should invoke purification of inner and outer obstacles on the spiritual path. This is the time to clean and clear out sacred spaces, your body, your home, your altar. Also letting go, "burning" what is not needed during this transformative time.

Om Dum Durgaye Namaha

Lakshmi
The next three days (Friday-Sunday) are dedicated to the goddess Lakshmi, invoking healing beauty and prosperity in both material and spiritual realms, which is the goal of all human life.
She is the mother goddess, Shri.

Following three days of purification practices dedicated to Durga, we are ready to reflect, in our sadhana, the beauty and grace that is Lakshmi. At this time we can offer gratitude to the Great Mother, the Earth. Invoking Lakshmi in our lives, also helps us to maintain balanced effort that is required toprosper in our sadhana.

Om Srim Maha Lakshmiyaye Namaha 

Saraswati

The final three days (Monday-Wednesday) are dedicated to Saraswati, awakening divine wisdom and creativity. She is the goddess of knowledge. Saraswati expresses shakti through art, creativity and her wisdom. Invoking the energy of saraswati we bring awareness to what is emerging within our creative center, inner and outer.

During this time we bring our awareness more inward. Our sadhana should reflect our own wisdom. The essence of Saraswati is invoked through meditation, contemplation, playing music, chanting, reading sacred texts and acquiring knowledge with complete awareness.

Om Aim Saraswatiye Namaha

The tenth day is for celebration!

Our Deepest Fear

On being authentic...

Sometimes it is simple. Sometimes complicated. Sometimes it means igniting some fire under our ass. Sometimes it means cooling the fire. Most of the time it requires dropping down into the heart and being there. Letting the heart do the thinking and talking. Oh ya...and Trust.

Our Deepest Fear

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,

gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking

so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.

It is not just in some; it is in everyone.

And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give

other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our fear,

our presence automatically liberates others.

~Marianne Williamson

Yoga Is...

As we settle into fall and soon winter, we also settle into a more refined rhythm as we contract inside, and perhaps, deepening our dedication to the practice of yoga. What does that look like? And what does it really mean? What is yoga anyway? These questions often come up for me as I evolve in my practice and what I offer through teaching. Asking these questions often allows for further refinement of how I can fully benefit from my practice. As I evolve, the answers evolve.


For every yogi, there is a different answer. I have come up with some for now:

Yoga can be simple, but we easily complicate it. I often think I need to have a perfect clean space, my mat, some sort of scent wafting in the air, and a perfected playlist, in order to get into asana practice. Yes it all helps. But if that is not all there, the yoga begins when I let go of this perfect scenario and start breathing and moving. Or within the larger sense, we might say, “that’s not real yoga,” or “this is yoga.” And we are sent down the analytical spiral of what makes yoga, yoga. And judging others for om-ing or not om-ing. Yet, we still haven’t had a still moment with ourself. To make any practice of yoga simple, start where you are and accept it as is, breathe in, breathe out and repeat with full awareness.

Yoga is a relationship between the observer (You) and the observed (You!). We practice yoga because we want to change in some way, even in the most subtle way. Whether the desired change is a lifetime of wellness or to open up and sweat from a one hour hot yoga class. We are still in observance of the self and becoming more and more aware of the challenges along the way and how we might overcome them. In The Heart of Yoga, T.K.V. Desikachar suggests that yoga can mean, “to attain what was previously unattainable.” And that yoga is acting in a way such that our attention is directed toward the activity we are engaged in. The advantage of our attentiveness is that we perform better (speaking, writing, asanas, cooking, walking, ect.), making less mistakes, being more loving and compassionate with ourself and others, extinguishing judgement, and expressing our True Self. We practice in hope that we will not repeat the same mistakes we did yesterday or today, and become a better person tomorrow.

Yoga is being unattached to results and the effort it takes. This is a principle straight from the Gita (Bhagavad Gita). Work for the sake of work. Finding the action within inaction, and the inaction within action. Following the path of dharma from the heart, and trusting it as truth. Getting your foot behind your head is not practical or that important in our day to day living, and nobody really cares except for You. Arriving at that place, on the mat, following years of preparation (or hours for some), matters only to the yogi. It signifies completion and arrival at a juncture that holds within it a very personal story. The story of the effort, the dedication, the tears, the laughter, the challenges that were overcome along the way.

Yoga is art. An expression of shakti through and within us.
“...to benefit most fully from the creative process, we must give up the need to benefit; we must surrender to the dictates of the process, not dictate the process....the therapeutic value of art making lies in the power of the subconscious having free rein as the eyes track the design that emerges, feeding information back to the subconscious so that a dialog is established. The more we are able to submit to the impulses of the inner being, the more enjoyable the process becomes, and the more authentic the product.”
~Nina Wise from A Big New Free Happy Unusual Life

There is so much more. But that's plenty enough for now.

Our Work is Never Done

The equinox has come and gone, marking our portal into fall and winter. Since the beiginning of summer, the solstice, I started a creative project to track transformation in my garden space and in my practice; because the two are an expression and reflection of my Self. My goal in my practice was to do full natarajasana. My goals within the garden space, was to create beauty, to create a private patio space (deck), to build a luscious garden and watch it grow and produce. To this date I have not gotten into full nataraj (I may never, and I am learning to be okay with that). I have a beautiful garden and space, that is still in a process of transformation. A garden is never “done”. As our yoga practice is never done.

How does this reflect my inner self?
To be in full nataraj the upper back needs to be flexible and strong, thighs open, shoulders open, and front body sooo open. I have this place in my back that is stuck. Right in the middle, below my shoulder blades. It is the place in my body that mostly communicates to me. When its painful, when it feels like a rock in my back...I know I have been mentally or emotionally stressed, or I have been eating too much refined sugar and flour, or too much alcohol (even a couple of drinks is too much) or all of the above. Energetically this space is connected to the heart. And the heart chakra is the place in which we connect with each other. Where we can allow the circuit of give and receive to flow. It is the home to joy and to the smile that expresses it. This is also how we connect with our community of friends, family and colleagues. I’ve been working on this. Learning how to open up to others in a real authentic way. This is not easy for most of us; when we live in a culture that makes it easy to isolate and separate ourselves from each other and difficult to depend on each other for the support that we really need.

There is so much more going on with nataraj, the cosmic dance of Shiva. It is most challenging, and emanates ultimate balance of strength and grace. Through the process of some deep healing of my spine, I have realized a weakness in holding myself up. In times of stress or discomfort, my shoulders roll in, chest folds in, core collapses and I miss an opportunity to transform and grow stronger because I am essentially shutting down. So for me, there are other things that need to happen before experiencing nataraj. Cultivation of strength in lower belly (lifting up), flexibility in mid and upper spine and shoulders, open heart, and dedication to the practice in times of difficulty and ease.

Nataraj will remain a goal. As will a beautiful sacred garden space. Both require devotion; patience; constant weeding of unnecessary, non-beneficial plants that are in competition with the more desirable ones; years of cultivating fertile ground; recognition of patterns and an open receptive heart.

Strong Foundation, Light Heart

There is a subtle urgency happening; watch the birds, the bees, the animals, even the plants as they soak up and store the suns energy in its seed. The early morning chill tells us it wont be long before the wind pushes us to stillness and a freeze jolts us into dormancy. And the people...we scurry to save food, gather to celebrate, run around trying to get "it" all done before the anticipated cold wraps around us. Through all this I feel drawn to the Earth and all its harvest; I crave stability in daily and weekly rhythms. Lately, I have been staying with poses longer, taking in a more deep breaths, finding stillness.

Just as we prepare our home, the container of our daily living, for rain, snow, and cold. I am looking to strengthen the vessel that holds my interior Self, such that I am protected from the harshness of winter and can safely allow vulnerability of the emotional and mental bodies to come forth.  I am looking forward to the journey inward, and cultivating tapas in a grounding, energizing sadhana that will sustain me through fall, winter and early spring.

The sadhana looks like this: backbends, backbends, and more backbends!

Strong Foundation
Poses that strengthen legs, especially the inner thighs and pelvic region, help us to find deeper connection to Earth, strengthens our foundation for backbending, and helps to ground and find steady flow of prana rising from below, and further awakens our embodiment.
Key asanas: virabhadrasana 1 and 2, anjaneyasana, ardha candrasana, parsvakonasana, ekapadarajakapotnasana variations.

Light Heart
Lessening the intensity of the inner self. Poses that lengthen our sides, lengthening the spine, and open the chest and shoulders help to lift "the load", creating more space for light.
Key asanas: gomukasana, dhanurasana, anjaneyasana, salambasana, bhujangasana.

Jai ma!
Marcy

Bhakti, Divine Devotion

Our igniting of and careful tending to Manipura (third chakra) we journey upwards to Anahata (fourth chakra); connecting our individual Self with the rest of the world. This is where we find devotional love, sacrifice, self-less service. When we live from the heart our actions become more fluid, less controlled, without hesitation, and from the reservoir of faith cultivated, in Manipura, by our own will power.

The pose Natarajasana, the cosmic dance of Shiva embodies so much strength and grace together and brings these two points of the physical and pranic bodies together beautifully.

"Riding on the golden flames of our power center, we now arrive at the very heart of the chakra system...Like the green growing plants which push toward the heavens from their roots in the earth, we, too, reach outward in two directions-anchoring the manifesting current deep in our bodies and expanding the liberating current as we reach beyond ourselves. In the heart chakra, these currents come to perfect balance in the center of our being. From that sacred center-the heart fo the system-we enter the mystery of love."
Eastern Body, Western Mind by Anodea Judith

"Be wildly devoted to someone, or something.
Cherish every perception.
At the same time, forget about control.
Allow the Beloved to be itself and to change.
Passion and compassion, holding and letting go,
This ache in your heart is holy,
Accept it as the rise of intimacy with life's secret ways.

Devotion is the Divine streaming through you
From that place in you before time.
Love's energy flows through your body,
Toward a body, and into eternity again.
Surrender to this current of devotion
and become one with the body of love."

The Radiance Sutras by Lorin Roche

Manipura, the Lustrous Gem

I've been tending to the fire of my third chakra lately; because its spring and because I need to. Tending this fire means building core strength to support my physical self and more importantly to support my emotional and mental health. The Manipura chakra, meaning lustrous gem, located at the very center of our being, the solar plexus, right at the base of where our ribs come together in the front body. The purpose of the third chakra, is transformation of energy into action and the power of will. Instinctual energy rising from below (lower chakras) meets the descending energy (consciousness) from above and thus transforming impulse into willed activity. This is where we find our will power by exercising our right to choose. We have the choice to continue to feed instinctual desires that temporarily satisfy the senses or the choice to meet challenges and move forward and deepen our understanding of our True Self. The choices we make shape who we are, and create our individual self. As Anodea Judith explains in Eastern Body, Western Mind, the ego is the one making all the executive decisions, becoming the operating system of our Self.

In the spiritual community, the word "ego" can sometimes sound like a bad word. As spiritual aspirants or yogis we are so hard on ourselves because we have not transcended the egoic self; as if we need to satisfy some spiritual expection based on tradition or a certain belief system. Unless we choose renunciation, the ego is necessary. It is like consciousness within consciousness. Goals, intentions, living affirmations would be meaningless without the help of our ego. When in balance, the ego helps us to transmit our interior Self with the outer world.

How does this relate with my personal practice as I tend to that fire? Discipline, discipline, discipline. Instead of collapsing (physically and energetically) I might say to myself, "I CAN do it". This is will power. This is transformation.

I am no where near the point of letting go of ego. I am actually nurturing my ego so that it can become stronger, more clear, ...however, being careful to inflate only enough to build confidence but not so much that it is overbearing.

Poses that help to build confidence: warrior one and two, most all arm balances including handstand, bakasana, vasithasana,

The Soul Needs Daily Nurturing

Nature cannot be forced. Growth cannot be forced. Like a seed needs to be planted in the depths of

darkness in the fertile ground, watered and tended to daily in order to sprout, grow, mature and fruit to its fullness; we too must tend to our deepest potential, to that center of our being that wants to break free of its protective shell and pour open, melt with the light of the sun and sit on the altar of the universe.

Like the seed, there exists a perfect alignment when it is ready to send roots and sprout; for the sprouting of our inner radiance, all bodies (mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical) must be clear and aligned. Supreme alignment is in our nature. But we get thrown off center, out of balance and cover up with layers of fear because we forget again and again that we are the seed, we are the sun and the universe all in one small container, the body, which is so powerful and confusing at the same time. It is fear that keeps us from living to our highest potential. Sometimes it is simply the fear of how high and far we can actually fly that keeps us tethered. For if we take off, it usually requires letting go of something. To align with the divine we must constantly tend the garden of our heart and allow the intelligence of nature to unfold and evolve. 

In the Yoga Sutras 1.14, Patanjali explains the meaning of abhyasa, uninterrupted continuous practice. It is through faith that we cultivate the patience and energy to continue to practice under any circumstance; when we feel depleted, full, radiant, angry, or depressed. And we must practice with satkara, willingness, reverence, and devotion.