MOVING INTO STILLNESS: 2019 Kiss My Asana Offering #18 (for Day 29) April 30, 2019

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in 31-Day Challenge, Bhakti, Books, Buddhism, Changing Perspectives, Donate, Faith, Healing Stories, Karma Yoga, Life, Meditation, Men, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Music, Mysticism, Peace, Poetry, Religion, Twin Cities, Wisdom, Writing.
Tags: cello, cello music, Guy Johnston, Hero Pose, Hilary Tann, inspiration, KISS MY ASANA, kneeling, meditation, Mind Body Solutions, Poetry, R. S. Thomas, stillness, Thunderbolt, Vajrasana, Virasana
add a comment

The ~~(slightly belated)~~ “practice preview” below is part of my offering for the 2019 Kiss My Asana yogathon. I encourage you to set aside at least 5 minutes a day during April, to practice with today’s theme or concept as inspiration. You can practice in a class or on your own, but since the Kiss My Asana yogathon raises resources as well as awareness, I invite you to join me at a donation-based class on May 4^th.

I also challenge you to set aside a certain amount every day that you practice with this concept/theme in mind. It doesn’t matter if you set aside one dollar per practice or $25 – set aside that amount each time you practice and donate it by April 30th.

Founded by Matthew Sanford, Mind Body Solutions helps those who have experienced trauma, loss, and disability find new ways to live by integrating both mind and body. They provide classes, workshops, and outreach programs. They also train yoga teachers and offer highly specialized training for health care professionals. By participating in the Kiss My Asana yogathon you join a global movement, but in a personal way. In other words, you practice yoga. Or, as this year’s tag line states….

do yoga. share yoga. help others.

***

“Movement is a language spoken by us all. Movement is a universal language that belongs to everybody If only we open our senses and listen. Listening is what is required, listening without interference, listening without judgment, listening in silence and allowing the movement to pass through the body in the moment, because everything inside us and around us is in motion, constant motion. This is when the body doesn’t lie because it is listening to its truth and manifesting it.”

– excerpt from Karima Monsour’s message for 2019 International Dance Day

“….Then there is movement,
Change, as slowly the cloud bruises
Are healed by sunlight, or snow caps
A black mood; but gold at evening
To cheer the heart. All through history”

– from “The Other View from the Window” by R. S. Thomas, with accompanying music composed by Hilary Tann, featuring Guy Johnston

It may seem odd, to some, that on International Dance Day (4/29) I was thinking about stillness – and silence. The thing is, as a yoga teacher and practitioner who likes to keep things in context, I am hyper aware that the physical practice of yoga is traditionally a way to prepare the mind-body for stillness and silence. Not for nothing that Patanjali defined yoga as “citta vritti nirodaha” (ceasing the fluctuations of the mind). Also remember, the practice is a mirror of our lives and we are, from the moment we are born, moving towards stillness. In that context, our “final pose” is always our peak pose.

Yes, yes, I know – the “final pose” is the pose that people routinely skip or that teachers (myself included) sometimes give the least amount of time. And yet, the “final pose” is the most important pose; it is the time when the mind-body has an opportunity to absorb and process the work/effort of the practice. It is when we rest, when the parasympathetic nervous system is paramount, that we digest. We digest what we consume physically – in terms of food, drink, air, etc. – and also what we consume through experience. The parasympathetic nervous system is also associated with creation.

“For the first twenty years you are still growing,
Bodily that is; as a poet, of course,
You are not born yet. It’s the next ten
You cut your teeth on to emerge smirking
For your brash courtship of the muse.”

– from “To a Young Poet” by R. S. Thomas*

“early April
out in my bathrobe
and gardening boots”

– Hilary Tann

R. S. Thomas was a Welsh poet and Anglican priest whose poetry is often compared to the landscape of Wales and the work ethic of the Welsh people. He was born March 29, 1913 – so, not an April poet to the date, but the timing of his birthday does get me thinking about poetry and poets at their essence.

Hilary Tann was born November 2, 1947 – so not an April poet either. But, she is a Welsh-born composer who lives and teaches in Upstate New York. In 2015, Tann released a composition set to seven (7) of Thomas’s poems. The music manages to capture the essence of the poems – as well as the poet. Perhaps it helps that Tann is also a published haiku poet who has been inspired by the same natural elements as Thomas. It definitely doesn’t hurt that Thomas himself recites the poems. But regardless of why it works, practicing to Seven Poems of Stillness is like practicing in an empty, abandoned cathedral with the wind carrying in a voice and notes that seem to echo one another. When one ends and the other begins you might question that you ever heard the other: it is as if they are one and the same.

“There are nights that are so still
that I can hear the small owl
calling
far off and a fox barking
miles away.”

– from “The Other” by R. S. Thomas, with accompanying music composed by Hilary Tann, featuring Guy Johnston

Above I placed the words “final pose” in quotes, because although I often refer to Savasana (or its modification) as the final pose, the truth is it’s really the penultimate pose: Every practice inevitably ends not with Savasana, but with a seated (on your sits-bones) pose. The physical practice ends where the breathing practice and the seated meditation practice begin.

“…It is then that I lie
in the lean hours awake listening
to the swell born somewhere in
the Atlantic
rising and falling, rising and
falling”

– from “The Other” by R. S. Thomas, with accompanying music composed by Hilary Tann, featuring Guy Johnston

FEATURED POSE for April 29^th: Thunderbolt Pose (Vajrasana) or Hero Pose (Virasana)

As I mentioned in this year’s April 8^th offering, seiza (which literally means “proper sitting”) in Zen Buddhism is a kneeling position. It places the body in a similar position to one the body is in when kneeling on a kneeler in a church pew or at a prie-dieu (literally “pray to God”) desk. It is one of the few poses not contraindicated by a full stomach and is prenatal approved. With modifications, these poses are accessible to almost anyone. (The big exception to practice these poses would be certain – but not all – knee issues.)

The big differences between Thunderbolt Pose (Vajrasana) and Hero Pose (Virasana) are the placement of the knees and feet, which in turn affects the placement of the hips. For Thunderbolt Pose, both the feet and the knees are pressed together. For Hero Pose, the knees touch, but the feet (and shins) are spread wider than the hips. If you have tight quads, tight hips, and or knee issues, you will need props for these poses. Helpful props for Thunderbolt and Hero include a bench, meditation cushion, blankets, and/or blocks. You do not necessarily need all of these – and you can definitely get creative with common household objects instead of using “yoga props.” If you feel these poses are not for you, even with props, you can practice by sitting in a chair.

To come into either pose, start on your hands and knees, with your toes pointed away from the knees. You’ll either bring your knees and feet together, for Thunderbolt, or bring your knees together and spread your feet apart, for Hero. (Note, the position of the knees and feet is the opposite of the Auspicious Pose described in the April 8^th offering.) For Thunderbolt, sit on the heels. For Hero Pose, sit in the space between the heels. If the hips don’t touch the ground in Hero Pose, place a prop underneath the hips. In both poses, you want the hips grounded. If the ankles are uncomfortable (in either pose), place a rolled up blanket, towel, or shirt (even socks) under the ankles and feet. Another ankle option (for Thunderbolt only) is to curl the toes under so that the toes point towards the knees. If there is too much pressure on the knees (in either pose) place rolled up blankets, towels, or shirts between the hips and the shins/heels.

Once you’re seated in the pose, spread the toes and press down into your foundation in order to extend the spine. Ribs and hips are reaching away from each other. Engage your pelvic floor and your core. Relax your shoulders and jaw. Hands rest on the thighs, with palms up if you want a little energy or palms down if you want to be grounded. With the chin parallel to your legs, close your eyes if that is comfortable for you. Listen to at least one (1) of the Seven Poems of Stillness.

Each track of Seven Poems of Stillness is 2:25 – 4.36 minutes long. The entire composition is 24:53 – which is a pretty nice length for a seated meditation. Whenever you feel like you’re done with the pose, lean forward and ease out of the pose. Take a moment to stretch out your legs, maybe rotate your ankles or flex and point your toes. If you are practicing both poses, start with Thunderbolt.

“Moments of great calm,
Kneeling before an alter
Of wood in a stone church”

– from “Kneeling” by R. S. Thomas, with accompanying music composed by Hilary Tann, featuring Guy Johnston

(*NOTE: To a Young Poet is not one of the seven featured “stillness” poems, but as a little something extra, here’s a beautiful variation of it.)

### OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTHI OM ###

ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES: 2019 Kiss My Asana Offering #17 (on Day 28) April 29, 2019

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in 31-Day Challenge, Books, Buddhism, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Healing Stories, Karma Yoga, Love, Meditation, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Music, Poetry, Twin Cities, Writing, Yoga.
Tags: Bhujangasana, Cobra Pose, inspiration, KISS MY ASANA, Mind Body Solutions, Poetry, poetry month
add a comment

The ~~(slightly belated~~) “practice preview” below is part of my offering for the 2019 Kiss My Asana yogathon. I encourage you to set aside at least 5 minutes a day during April, to practice with today’s theme or concept as inspiration. You can practice in a class or on your own, but since the Kiss My Asana yogathon raises resources as well as awareness, I invite you to join me at a donation-based class on May 4^th.

I also challenge you to set aside a certain amount every day that you practice with this concept/theme in mind. It doesn’t matter if you set aside one dollar per practice or $25 – set aside that amount each time you practice and donate it by April 30th.

Founded by Matthew Sanford, Mind Body Solutions helps those who have experienced trauma, loss, and disability find new ways to live by integrating both mind and body. They provide classes, workshops, and outreach programs. They also train yoga teachers and offer highly specialized training for health care professionals. By participating in the Kiss My Asana yogathon you join a global movement, but in a personal way. In other words, you practice yoga. Or, as this year’s tag line states….

do yoga. share yoga. help others.

***

What I’ve seen in my lifetime –

and in the last few days, weeks, years

is that us human beings:

We’re capable of anything.

We are full

of possibilities.

BIG possibilities…and little possibilities

Great acts of LOVE / great acts of hate

We can CREATE. Or destroy.

It’s all the same energy – I think /

it’s all about how we CHANNEL it.

It’s a choice. &

To choose PEACE requires WISDOM.

– MKR, April 2019

April is one of my favorite months – not because of the weather, the coming flowers, or even because of the opportunity to Kiss My Asana. (Although, let’s be real, Kiss My Asana in April does make April rock!) No, I love April because ever since 1996, April is National Poetry Month. Organized by the Academy of American Poets, National Poetry Month is a celebration of poetry…all poetry…every kind of poetry, and every kind of poet. The organizers say, “[I]t has become largest literary celebration in the world with schools, publishers, libraries, booksellers, and poets celebrating poetry’s vital place in our culture.”

If you go to poets.org (see link above), you will find official events, poems, and opportunities to read, write, and share poems. They actually have a list of “30 more ways to celebrate” – which means you could celebrate poetry every day, possibly in more than one way.

Over the years, I’ve celebrated poetry month in different ways. One of my favorite ways to celebrate combines my love of poetry with my love of music and yoga: a poetry-themed yoga class featuring music inspired by poems. Depending on when Easter and Passover fall, I can sometimes offer (at least) one poetry celebration for all of the classes I teach. Sometimes it’s an “April is Poetry Month” class, featuring a playlist of different music and poets. Other times, if a poet’s birthday falls in April, the class only features music related to the birthday poet and/or their poetry. (But, let’s be real, I do birthday poets all year long!)

As we finish out the 6^th Annual Kiss My Asana yogathon and another April full of poetry, I’m going to finish up my online offerings with some of my poetry playlists. First up: “April is Poetry Month.” (This is an extend playlist featuring poems set to music and songs that sample poems. Psalm 23 as the music for Savasana.)

FEATURED POSE for April 16^th: Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana)

Spend a moment in stillness. You can be in any pose; however, you want to make sure you are comfortable and that your spine is extended and that you feel balanced on the left and right side of your spine. Notice how the vertebrae of the spine stack one on top of the other. Check in with your breath. Begin to extend as you inhale and engage your core and pelvic floor as you exhale. So that your inhale creates space and your exhale supports that created space. Make sure you’re not slumping on the exhale. No matter your position, roll the shoulders down and back – squeezing the shoulder blades together – and notice how that affects the front of your chest. Let your mind settle into your heart, knowing that wisdom is a heart practice.

You can warm-up the spine with Cat/Cow or Cat/Puppy. Moving one-breath-one-movement, the heart lifts on the inhale and the spine rounds (flexes) on the exhale for Cat/Cow. For Cat/Puppy, the heart lifts on the inhale and the spine stays long as you flex at your hips and sink the hips to the heels on the exhale. This warm-up can be done in a seated position, a standing position, or on hands and knees.

To move into Cobra Pose (literally “seat of the snake”), you need to lie down flat on your belly. This is not a prenatal friendly position. If you are pregnant, you could modify Cobra Pose by placing a bolster or blankets underneath the thighs (ensuring that your baby-belly is not compressed). Other options include standing and using the wall as you would use the floor (again, not compressing the baby-belly) or picking a different back bend (like Camel or Cow). Whichever choice you make, you always want to be mindful with back bends so that you do not hyper-extend the belly.

Once you are on your belly (or have arranged props for a prenatal variation), straighten out the legs and point the toes behind you. Place the hands directly under the shoulders – so the elbows bend back and squeeze in like grasshopper legs. Make sure the elbows are behind the back, not squeezing into the ribs. (NOTE: There is a “Baby Cobra” variation in some styles of yoga where the hands are in front of the shoulders. However, that is not the variation I am describing.) From toes to hips, squeeze the legs together as you inhale. Engage your core and pelvic floor as you exhale. Next time you inhale, press the feet, the pubic bone, and the hands down in order to lift the heart and ribs off the mat. Look up, but do not over extend your neck. Make this pose a poem about your foundation and your core – not a poem about the strength of your arms.

Roll the shoulders down and back to push the heart forward. Make sure you are not compressing your low back. Keep breathing. After about 6 breaths, exhale and lower down to your prep position.

Once you have the basic shape and engagement, there are lots of possibilities. You can practice Cobra Pose with your arms hovering off the mat or you could isometrically engage the arms and pull your heart forward by engaging your arms as if you are lying on a skateboard and propelling your body forward. This will be isometric engagement, because the arms engage as if you are moving, but your arms don’t move. Another option is to extend your cobra: Press down and lift up until the arms straighten. Again, shoulders are down and back, hands are under the shoulders even when you extend. Keep the front hip bones on the mat even if you extend your Cobra Pose.

If you want to practice Cobra with some movement, “Bowing Cobra” can be done with the nose and forehead lowering straight down on the exhale (and then inhale to lift back up) or turn your head to one side when you exhale. If you turn your head on the exhale, lift back up to center on the inhale and then turn the opposite cheek to the mat on the exhale. A “Writhing Cobra” is similar to a “Bowing Cobra” except that you start with your head turned so that right cheek is on the mat and as you inhale you look up and lift up on the left, move your head/eyes from left to right during the same inhale so that you lower down on the right side when you exhale. During the exhale, your head/eyes complete the circle so that you end up lifting up on the left when you inhale. After 3 – 5 circles, reverse the circles and writhe in the other direction.

Once you finish practicing Cobra Pose, move into Child’s Pose or Puppy Dog. If you want to stay off of your knees, you can lie on your back with legs stretched out of knees hugging into your chest. After a few breaths, finish with Corpse Pose (Savasana) or return to your starting pose – sitting, kneeling, standing, or lying on your back or belly. Scan your body and settle into your breath.

### NAMASTE: The poem in me honors and appreciates the poem that is also inside you. ###

We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Programing…. April 21, 2019

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Confessions, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Health, Loss, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Twin Cities, Yoga.
Tags: Karma Yoga, KISS MY ASANA, Mind Body Solutions, truth
2 comments

I have a confession to make: I haven’t been practicing what I preach and, after almost 3.5 weeks of all-nighters, my body had enough and demanded a little rest. As a result, I am sorry to say that I have had to put the blogging on hold and take a couple of days off.

Thanks to Vance G and Nancy B for agreeing to cover my Monday classes on Earth Day (4/22)! You can check the “Schedule” tab for updates on my classes, but at this point I am planning to teach on Tuesday (assuming I get my voice back) and will still host the following two (2) donation-based events as part of the sixth annual Kiss My Asana yogathon:

Saturday, April 27th (2:15 PM – 4:15 PM) at Nokomis Yoga (2722 E 50th Street, Minneapolis), as part of the Karma Yoga Project

Inspired by Matthew Sanford’s teachings, as well as the spirits of everyone practicing yoga together – regardless of their size, shape, or physical and mental abilities – this practice includes partner work and is open to all abilities. We’re going to have some energetic fun and donate all the proceeds to Mind Body Solutions. Space is limited. NOTE: There is an accessible bathroom available in an adjacent business.

Saturday, May 4th (4:00 PM – 6:00 PM) at Flourish pilates+yoga+bodywork (3347 42nd Ave S, Minneapolis)

A very wise teacher once said, “Do. Or do not. There is no try.” Another said, “Close your eyes. Feel it….it’s always been there. It will guide you.” On this very special day we will explore the power of the Force that surrounds, penetrates, and binds everyone – regardless of size, shape or physical and mental abilities. This practice will include partner work and is open to all abilities. Space is limited. NOTE: This space contains an accessible bathroom.

Please RSVP to myra(at)ajoyfulpractice(dot)com if you would like to join one or both of these practices.

I am MBS 2019

~ NAMASTE ~

PASSION, FREEDOM, LIGHT, & TALENT: 2019 Kiss My Asana Offering #16 April 17, 2019

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Healing Stories, Uncategorized.
Tags: 10 Virgins, Anjaneyasana, Anointed Warrior, Crescent Lunge, Good and Faithful Servant, Gospel, inspiration, John Milton, KISS MY ASANA, Mind Body Solutions, parables, Talents, truth, Wise and Foolish Virgins
add a comment

The ~~(slightly belated)~~ “practice preview” below is part of my offering for the 2019 Kiss My Asana yogathon. I encourage you to set aside at least 5 minutes a day during April, to practice with today’s theme or concept as inspiration. You can practice in a class or on your own, but since the Kiss My Asana yogathon raises resources as well as awareness, I invite you to join me at a donation-based class on April 27th or May 4^th.

I also challenge you to set aside a certain amount every day that you practice with this concept/theme in mind. It doesn’t matter if you set aside one dollar per practice or $25 – set aside that amount each time you practice and donate it by April 30th.

Founded by Matthew Sanford, Mind Body Solutions helps those who have experienced trauma, loss, and disability find new ways to live by integrating both mind and body. They provide classes, workshops, and outreach programs. They also train yoga teachers and offer highly specialized training for health care professionals. By participating in the Kiss My Asana yogathon you join a global movement, but in a personal way. In other words, you practice yoga. Or, as this year’s tag line states….

do yoga. share yoga. help others.

***

“As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. ‘Tell us,’ they said, ‘when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?’”

– Matthew 24:3 (New International Version)

“Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning,”

– excerpt from the “Parable of the Faithful Servant” in Luke 12:35 (NIV)

“It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

– excerpt from the “Parable of the Faithful Servant” in Luke 12:38-40 (NIV)

After throwing the “thieves” out of the temple and between the questions of the authorities, elders, and “spies,” Jesus teaches. Remember, in the historically context – and as far as many would have been concerned at the time – Jesus was simply a renegade Rabbi, a teacher, who was focused on showing his people how to have a closer relationship with G-d. More often than not, he taught in stories or parables. Several of the stories associated with Passion Tuesday or Holy Tuesday involve people waiting for something amazing and transformative to happen. What is important to note is that each story requires action from the characters.

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke all mention “The Parable of the Faithful Servant.” Maybe because they have previously, and privately, questioned Jesus about events that he has said are coming, Luke wonders if the message is for the disciples or for everyone. The Gospel According to Matthew provides a very direct narrative by placing the faithful servant’s story directly before “The Parable of the Ten Virgins” (sometimes referred to as “The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins” or “The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids”). Just as in the story of the faithful servant, this second story involves a wedding, light, and being ready. The ten women are waiting for the possibility of being attendants (another word for servant) at a wedding, but it gets dark and they fall asleep. When they are awakened by the pronouncement that the bridegroom is coming, they trim and light their lamps. The only problem is that five (5) of the bridesmaids have run out of oil and failed to bring more. When the bridegroom comes, he can’t see the ones whose lamps are not lit and, according to Matthew, Jesus repeats, “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.” (Matthew 25:13 NIV)

The details that reoccur in each story reinforce the message. First, there is a wedding – a momentous celebration that marks a union, a joining together. Second, the people who are waiting to join the wedding party are somehow in service to the bridegroom. Third, everyone has a purpose – although that purpose is not always explicitly explained. Fourth, everyone has a light and that light must shine in order for someone to be recognized. Fifth, there is no telling when one’s services or presence will be required, so (sixth) everyone must be ready at all times.

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them.”

– excerpt from the “Parable of the Talents” in Matthew 25:14 (NIV)

The Gospels According to Matthew and Luke detail a parable about a landowner (or master) who leaves his servants in charge of some goods. Luke, associates the story with a different narrative, but Matthew places “The Parable of The Talents” directly after the one about the virgins and uses a segue to indicate that while the details of the story are different the message is the same. This time there are three (3) servants and instead of light, they are given talents, a form of currency: one servant receives five (5) talents, another two (2) talents, and another one (1) talent – “each according to his ability.” (Matthew 25:15)

Now, who knows where the landowner is going – perhaps to the aforementioned wedding – but what is known is that the first and second servant put their talents to work and increases the wealth, while the third servant buries his talent. (There is also a non-canonical gospel that says one of the servants squanders his talents.) When the landowner/master returns he praises and rewards the servant(s) who increased the wealth, but chastises the one who literally buried his talent for safe-keeping. In Matthew 25:27 the landowner/master points out that if the talent had been put in the bank for safe-keeping, it would have earned interest – thereby increasing the wealth.

Again, the message is clear: it is not enough to sit on one’s laurels and wait for salvation – one must exert effort in some way in order to be prepared.

Another motif in the parables, and one that plays out in the last days of Jesus’ life, is the importance of oil and currency. Some commentary indicates that while Jesus was considered an agitator and a renegade what pushed the elite to get rid of him (rather than to just tolerate him) was when he threw the money lenders out of the temple (see Passion Monday). Eventually, Judas is decides to betray Jesus not only because he is promised “a few pieces of silver” as payment, but also because of he is angered when expensive oil is used to wash Jesus’ feet (see Passion Wednesday). And here, in between the historical events, are the parables about oil and money.

According to Arland J Hultgren – a New Testament professor at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN – a talent was a unit of weight and, when used as a unit of money it would be valued as that weight in silver. A talent would be worth about 6,000 denarii, or six thousand times a day’s wages. I’ve seen estimates that translate this into U. S. dollars and indicate that one servant received $300,000 USD, one servant received $600,000 USD, and one servant received $1.5 million USD.

Can you imagine, literally, burying $300,000 USD. If you didn’t bury it, how would you put it to work? How would you put $1.5 million USD to work? Keep in mind: it’s not your money. Would you change what you do with the money f you knew you could “earn” $300,000?

Now, flip it around, and consider that you’ve been given a talent…or five: How are you using your talents? How are you using your resources? How are you letting your little light shine? How does your wealth increase because you invest in your talents? What happens when you don’t use your talents?

It is interesting to notice what one values, how one attributes value, and how one uses what they value. Not just on a personal level, it’s also interesting to notice this on a national and/or global level. Passion Tuesday 2019 – and this discussion of talents – falls on April 16^th, which is also Emancipation Day in the District of Columbia.

On April 16, 1862, almost nine (9) months before signing the Emancipation Proclamation, U. S. President Abraham Lincoln signed the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act. Also known as the Compensated Emancipation Act, the act freed slaves in Washington D. C., and allocated $1 million USD (a little more than 3 talents) to pay Union slaveholders up to $300 per freed slave. As some freedmen had “purchased” their family members, some black people were compensated as Union slaveholders and, eventually, some former slaves would file for compensation if their former masters had not made a claim. An additional $100,000 (less than 1 talent) was granted to pay newly freed slaves $100 – but only if that slave chose to leave the United States and colonize in Haiti or Liberia. The act freed 3,185 slaves in D. C., but did not affect fugitive slaves who were escaping Maryland.

“When I consider how my light is spent

Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,

And that one talent which is death to hide

Lodg’d with me useless, though my soul more bent

To serve therewith my Maker, and present

My true account, lest he returning chide;

“Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?”

I fondly ask. But Patience to prevent

That murmur, soon replies: “God doth not need

Either man’s work or his own gifts; who best

Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state

Is kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed

And post o’er land and ocean without rest:

They also serve who only stand and wait.”

– “When I Consider How My Light Is Spent” by John Milton

FEATURED POSE for April 16^th: Anointed / Crescent Warrior (Anjaneyasana)

From Downward Facing Dog or Table Top, step the right foot in between the hands. Another option for getting into Anointed Warrior (Anjaneyasana), also known as Crescent Warrior, is to start in a Half Lift position and then step the left leg back. Either way, the front (right) knee is as close to 90 degrees as possible, with the knee directly over the ankle (and tracking the pinky toe). Make sure the feet are in two separate lanes, like cars on an empty highway. Bring the back (left) knee to the mat and even if you give that knee some cushion, press the top of the back foot down in order to take the pressure off of the knee. Press the bottom of the front foot down for increased stability.

Once you’ve established your asana, inhale and lift the torso up so that your hands can rest on the front thigh. As you exhale, slide the hips back so that they are over the back knee. This will create a square box made from your legs, your hips, and the floor. As you inhale, lift the pubic bone up and notice the space created in your low back and the engagement along the front of the back (left) hip and thigh. If you can maintain the space and the engagement, exhale and sink a little deeper in the lunge. The front knee should stay over the ankle, pressing the heel down.

Once you feel stable, inhale your arms forward and up. Find a heart opening experience. Remember, arms are an extension of the heart in yoga so consider the different ways you can open your heart. Arms can extend overhead with the palms together or apart. You can find goal post arms or invert your Namaskar. Other options include arms wide like angel wings, chest expansion, and supporting the low back. You can also keep your hands on your front knee. Start the back bend in your base. After 5 – 10 breaths, return to your starting position or move into Child’s Pose for a few breaths. Repeat on the second side. Consider all the effort/work required for your heart to be lifted and open: feet and ankles stabilize, legs provide strength, hips allow you to segue from strength to flexibility, the core supports the heart as it lifts and extends.

Anjaneyasana is literally “The Seat of Anjana” and is one of the poses associated with Hanuman, the monkey king in the Ramayana. The pose is named for Anjana, Hanuman’s mother, and reinforces the idea that in order to lift and open the heart you have to have a solid foundation – on and off the mat.

### NAMASTE: The Light in me honors and appreciates the light that is also inside you. ###

PASSION & #42: 2019 Kiss My Asana Offering #15 April 16, 2019

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Baseball.
Tags: 42, Astros, Baseball, Bhagavad Gita, Chadiwck Boseman, Dodgers, Helen Mirren, inspiration, KISS MY ASANA, Life, Luke Black, Mind Body Solutions, MLB, Parivrtta Trikonansana, Passion of the Christ, Passion Week, Revolving Triangle, truth
add a comment

The (slightly belated) “practice preview” below is part of my offering for the 2019 Kiss My Asana yogathon. I encourage you to set aside at least 5 minutes a day during April, to practice with today’s theme or concept as inspiration. You can practice in a class or on your own, but since the Kiss My Asana yogathon raises resources as well as awareness, I invite you to join me at a donation-based class on April 27th or May 4^th.

I also challenge you to set aside a certain amount every day that you practice with this concept/theme in mind. It doesn’t matter if you set aside one dollar per practice or $25 – set aside that amount each time you practice and donate it by April 30th.

Founded by Matthew Sanford, Mind Body Solutions helps those who have experienced trauma, loss, and disability find new ways to live by integrating both mind and body. They provide classes, workshops, and outreach programs. They also train yoga teachers and offer highly specialized training for health care professionals. By participating in the Kiss My Asana yogathon you join a global movement, but in a personal way. In other words, you practice yoga. Or, as this year’s tag line states….

do yoga. share yoga. help others.

***

“One’s personal duty in life (one’s sva-dharma) should be viewed as one’s highest responsibility to his or her highest Self, the Atma. This ultrahigh level of duty carries with it the requirement that one never does anything that is contrary to this True Self Within. And even if you consider your sva-dharma more narrowly from the standpoint of being true to your profession, you should not hesitate to fight. For a warrior, war against evil, greed, cruelty, hate, and jealousy is the highest duty.”

**– Krishna speaking to Arjuna (2.31) in The Bhagavad Gita: A Walkthrough for Westerners by Jack Hawley**

Sacred texts from a variety of different cultures, tell us that everyone has a purpose. However, even if you don’t believe the old adage, science has shown that people who live a purpose driven life have better physical and mental health and stronger resilience than their peers. It’s a bit of a cycle: we need our mind-body-spirit to fulfill a purpose and fulfilling the purpose strengthens our mind-body-spirit so that we are better equipped to fulfill the purpose.

Sometimes, however, we do things – or don’t do things – that sap our energy and drag us down. If our mind-bodies are temples, then the things that sap our energy are like thieves in the temple. Thieves can be eating the wrong foods; drinking too much of the wrong beverages and/or not drinking enough water; not resting; not exercising; partaking in illicit drugs; not managing stress; and/or being surrounded by negative opinions. Doesn’t matter what they are though, because at some point we have to throw the thieves out of the temple in order to restore the temple to its original purpose.

“And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,” (Matthew 21:12 KJV)

“And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.” (Matthew 21:13 KJV)

– The Gospel According to Matthew

Passion Monday, or Holy Monday, is associated with the story of Jesus cleansing the temple. According to the New Testament Gospels, Jesus is very clear about his purpose as he enters the last week of his life. He understands that there will be suffering (hence, the passion), trials, tribulation, and betrayal, and joy. He knows he will be tested and tempted (yet another passion/suffering). It is unclear if he knows how quickly the suffering will begin, but suffice it to say, it is immediate.

When he returns to Jerusalem for Passover, Jesus finds that the Temple of Jerusalem had been turned into a defacto market place. All four (4) canonical gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) state that Jesus runs the livestock and the merchants out, and overturns the tables of the money changers and the dove sellers. He then begins to heal the sick and to teach, thus restoring the temple to its original purpose. Children praise him and this, along with everything else, riles up the establishment.

In three (3) of the New Testament Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) several groups of the establishment question Jesus’ authority and his views on taxes. First he is asked, “By what authority are you doing these things?” To which, Jesus asks his own question regarding the authority of the then wildly popular John the Baptist:

“And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things.” (Matthew 21:24 KJV)

“The baptism of John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him?” (Matthew 21:25 KJV)

“And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.” (Matthew 21:26 KJV)

Later, in another attempt to trap Jesus, the elders ask him if the Jewish people should pay taxes to the Roman Empire. He asks them to show him a coin suitable for payment and, when they present a coin with a Roman face on the front – specifically, Caesar’s face – Jesus says, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s”.” (Matthew 22:21)

As Passion Week is associated with a movable feast, Passion Monday doesn’t always fall on April 15^th, U. S. Tax Day, but it does in 2019.

April 15^th is also Jackie Robinson Day in Major League Baseball. It is the day, in 1947, when Jackie Robinson broke the modern day color line (in Major League Baseball) and started Opening Day playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Keep in mind that in the mid-1900’s there was a professional Negro League and prior to that, in the 1880’s, there had been 2, maybe 3, African-Americans playing in Major League Baseball. But times had changed; the country had changed, and baseball had changed. And, in the 1940’s all would change again.

“But if you do not fight this battle of good over evil, you will fail in both your worldly duty and in your duty to your very Self. You will violate your sva-dharma. Not doing the right thing when it is required is worse than doing the wrong thing.”

**– Krishna speaking to Arjuna (2.33) in The Bhagavad Gita: A Walkthrough for Westerners by Jack Hawley**

Jackie Robinson Batting Average: .311 / Hits: 1,518 / Home Runs 137 / RBIs: 734

Jackie Robinson was an amazing athlete, excelling in track and field, as well as in football. He was an Army veteran and he would go on to be recognized and honored as a baseball player. In addition to winning a World Series with the Dodgers (1955), he was (the 1^st ever) Rookie of the Year (1947) and the 1^st African-American to be named Most Valuable Player (1949). He was a six-time All-Star, a batting champion, and a stolen base leader. Despite all that he would accomplish, many would argue – and the stats would support the argument – that in 1945, Jackie Robinson was not the best player in the Negro Baseball League.

Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, and Larry Doby (who would go on to break the color barrier in the ALB) all had better stats than Robinson. Even George Burns (the baseball player, not the comedian) had more steals than Jackie Robinson in the 1940’s. And yet, Branch Rickey, the Dodgers club president, spent 3 hours (in August 1945) talking to Robinson about playing for the Dodgers and about all the racial hostility he might encounter – on and off the field. Ultimately, Robinson asked, “Mr. Rickey, are you looking for a Negro who is afraid to fight back?” To which Rickey replied, “Robinson, I’m looking for a ballplayer with guts enough not to fight back.” Jackie Robinson said he could be that ballplayer.

When I was a kid, I use to watch my maternal great-grandfather watching baseball. I had no interest in the game, but it was interesting to me that he was so invested. That being said, he wasn’t a baseball fan the way his daughter (my grandmother) was a basketball fan. My grandmother was such a huge Houston Rockets fan that “Rockets” became part of her nickname. In 2017, just a few months before my grandmother died, I watched a little bit of the World Series with her and my mom (her daughter). It was the Houston Astros versus the Los Angeles Dodgers and at one point my mother said, “I wonder which team your grandfather and great-grandfather would have been rooting for.” Not thinking about the history of baseball in that moment, I questioned her question – after all, they were Texas men! But then my mother reminded me that the L. A. Dodgers were originally the Brooklyn Dodgers and that there was a time when “every Black man in America was a Dodgers fan.”

Jackie Robinson’s number (42) was retired by the Dodgers in 1972 and by all MLB teams in 1997. For those of you who don’t follow baseball: when a number is retired it means that no other player will wear that number on their jersey. And yet, if you watch a MLB baseball game on April 15^th, you will notice that every player, on every team, is wearing Number 42. Everybody is Jackie Robinson.

“Jackie‘s body was a temple of God, an instrument of peace.”

– excerpt from Reverend Jesse Jackson’s eulogy of Jackie Robinson (October 1972)

“His leadership helped win 7 Dodger pennants / He eased the acceptance of baseball’s first Black player into the Major Leagues”

– inscription on the tombstone of Harold Henry “Pee Wee” Reese, Captain of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Navy veteran, Baseball Hall of Famer, proud son of Louisville, Kentucky

Despite his personal opinions about integration, Eddie “The Brat” Stanky was one of the first people to “accept” Jackie Robinson as a teammate. They were both second basemen, but (as Stanky was already fielding at second base) Robinson was assigned to first base during his rookie year and he said that Stanky gave him tips that made the transition easier. But, that was all in private. Publicly, he didn’t have a whole lot to say when Robinson first faced insults during games, but Stanky was the first person to publicly take Robinson’s back when fans and players from other teams hurled insults.

Other Dodgers followed Stanky’s example.

Pee Wee Reese is one of the Dodgers who followed Stanky’s early example, but it is Reese’s support for Jackie Robinson that is most remembered, most memorialized, and most celebrated. At some point, maybe in 1947 – but most likely in 1948 (when Robinson was back on second base) – Pee Wee Reese stood beside Robinson and put his arm across his teammates shoulder while they had a little chat. It was an ordinary, everyday, baseball moment. One baseball fans see all the time – and think nothing of it, other than wondering / guessing what strategy is being discussed. Even though it wasn’t a moment that made a lot of headlines, it is a moment that has become iconic: a moment in history captured in a statue, a picture, a movie, and a day.

“Maybe tomorrow we’ll all wear 42, that way they won’t tell us apart.”

– Pee Wee Reese, #1 (played by Lucas Black) to Jackie Robinson #42 (played by Chadwick Boseman) in 42

“The answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything is…42.”

– Deep Thought (voiced by Helen Mirren) in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

FEATURED POSE for April 15^th: Revolving Triangle (Parivrtta Trikonasana)

Keeping in mind that everything has a purpose, spend a little time preparing the body for today’s featured pose. NOTE: Revolving Triangle is not prenatal approved unless it is modified.

You can warm up with Sun Salutations and Triangle Pose (Trikonasana) and/or you could practice lie down on your back and practice Supine Big Toe Pose (Supta Padangustasana), starting with the right side. In Supine Big Toe Pose, make sure the left hip and shoulder stay grounded you lower the right leg over to the right. After you’ve spent a few breaths with the right leg over to the right, bring the leg back to center, switch hands (so that the left hand is on the foot or the strap) and move the right leg over to the left, making sure that the right shoulder is grounded. (This twist is not prenatal approved.)

For Revolving Triangle, separate the feet at least 2 fists width apart. If you have tight hips, you may need to take them a little wider. Keeping the right foot in front, step the left foot as far back as your able to and still maintain stability. With both legs straight (no bend in the knees), check to make sure the right hip is reaching back towards the left heel and that the left hip is reaching for the right big toe. Place your right hand on your hip and, as you inhale, stretch the left hand high into the air. As you exhale, reach the left hand forward and down until you come as close to the outside of your right foot as you’re able to come without straining or losing your balance. Your hand can be on the floor or a block. Squeeze the thighs towards each other and extend your spine as you inhale. As you exhale, rotate your upper body to the right. Right hand can stay on your hip or lift up out of your heart. Every time you inhale, squeeze your legs towards each other and reach the ribs away from the hips. Every time you exhale, twist through your core. After 5 – 7 breaths, lower the lifted arm on an exhale. Inhale to look up and lengthen. Bring your hands to your hips on an exhale and stand up on the inhale. When you are ready, do the second side. Once you’ve completed the second side, move into a standing forward fold.

A prenatal option is to sit with legs stretched wide and keep the upper body upright as you rotate it to the right. You want to keep this as an open twist, so consider sitting up on top of something. After 5 – 7 breaths, switch to the second side. After the second side, fold forward and rest in between the wide legs.

### Jai Gurudev Jai Jai ###

PASSION & PEACE: 2019 Kiss My Asana Offering #14 April 15, 2019

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Lent / Great Lent, Religion.
Tags: Forward Fold, Jasna's Yoga, KISS MY ASANA, Mind Body Solutions, Palm Sunday, Passion of the Christ, Passion Sunday, Passion Week, Uttanasana
add a comment

The (slightly belated) “practice preview” below is part of my offering for the 2019 Kiss My Asana yogathon. I encourage you to set aside at least 5 minutes a day during April, to practice with today’s theme or concept as inspiration. You can practice in a class or on your own, but since the Kiss My Asana yogathon raises resources as well as awareness, I invite you to join me at a donation-based class on April 27th or May 4^th.

I also challenge you to set aside a certain amount every day that you practice with this concept/theme in mind. It doesn’t matter if you set aside one dollar per practice or $25 – set aside that amount each time you practice and donate it by April 30th.

Founded by Matthew Sanford, Mind Body Solutions helps those who have experienced trauma, loss, and disability find new ways to live by integrating both mind and body. They provide classes, workshops, and outreach programs. They also train yoga teachers and offer highly specialized training for health care professionals. By participating in the Kiss My Asana yogathon you join a global movement, but in a personal way. In other words, you practice yoga. Or, as this year’s tag line states…

do yoga. share yoga. help others.

***

Om

sahana vavatu
sahano bhunaktu
Saha viryam karavavahai
Tejasvi navaditamastu
Ma vidvishavahai

Om shanti shanti shantih.

Conscious, subconscious, and unconscious mind /
on every plane of existence

May we be protected
May we be nourished
May we work together with great energy
May our study together be brilliant and effective
May we not hate or dispute with one another

On every plane of existence peace (within us), peace (all around us),
peace (to and from everything we encounter)

– Teaching Peace Chant (translation courtesy of Richard Freeman)

“Let us go forth in peace.”

– Final instruction in the Divine Liturgy

In many yoga traditions, the physical practice begins and ends with a chant or mantra. There are mantras that trace the teaching lineage of the tradition as well as a mantra that honors Patanjali, the author of the Yoga Sutra. Because of the way they end, several mantras are referred to as a şantipat. Pronounced “shanti,” the first root word means peace. It is not uncommon for people to think that the last part (pronounced “pot”) means path – and as it establishes how you want to move forward you could consider it your way or path. However, pat means “falling” or “going,” and these types of mantras are usually translated as “the falling down of peace.” They could also be translated as “going in peace” – which mirrors the final instruction in the Divine Liturgy and one of the last things stated before the Procession of the Palms in some Palm Sunday services.

In the Western Christian tradition, Sunday, April 14^th marks the end of the Lenten Season and the beginning of Holy Week. Palm Sunday, also known as Passion Sunday or the Second Sunday of the Passion, is the Sunday before Easter Sunday. It is a time when Christians are getting ready to commemorate the last days of Jesus, the crucifixion, and the resurrection: in other words, the Passion of the Christ.

Passion (noun): 1. [mass noun] strong and barely controllable emotion; 1.2 intense sexual love; 1.3 [in singular] an intense desire or enthusiasm for something; 2. (the Passion) The suffering and death of Jesus.

**Origin: Middle English: from Old French; from late Latin passio(n-), from Latin pati- “suffer”**

**– from Oxford Dictionaries**

All four (4) canonical Gospels in the Christian New Testament refer to Jesus returning to Jerusalem, for an observation of Passover. Remember, historically speaking, Jesus was a rabbi focused on getting his Jewish community to be better and more devout Jews. So, he comes home for Passover, but he does so in a way that is quite memorable and jubilant. He rides in on the back of a donkey, a symbol of peace (as oppose to riding in on a horse, which would be seen as a symbol of conquest or war). As he enters the city, it says people welcome him and honor him by laying down palm fronds and sometimes their coats in the middle of the road. (And all of this happens after he raises Lazarus from the dead.)

As part of a Palm Sunday service, Christians will display palms throughout the church and have a Procession of the Palms. Children wave the palms. Similar branches will be used in areas where it is hard to come by palms – leading the day to be called “Yew Sunday” or “Branch Sunday.” The palms waved on Palm Sunday will be burned down to ashes, blessed, and then the ashes will be used for the following year’s Ash Wednesday observations – which kick off the Lenten Season.

Theologically speaking, Jesus was aware of his destiny: the temptation, betrayal, and suffering that would all lead to his crucifixion and resurrection – all intended to usher in an era of peace. He attempts to prepare his disciples for what’s to come, but they are not prepared to go forward in peace, at least not in the way the faithful may be prepared today.

“Jesus shows us how to face moments of difficulty and the most insidious of temptations by preserving in our hearts a peace that is neither detachment nor superhuman impassivity, but confident abandonment to the Father and to his saving will, bestows life and mercy.”

– excerpt from 2019 Palm Sunday homily by Pope Francis

When referring to Jesus’s return to Jerusalem, many Christians will refer to his “triumphant” return. In his 2019 Palm Sunday homily, however, Pope Francis focuses on Jesus’s humility and his ability to surrender to God’s will. Pope Francis said, “He shows us this kind of abandonment by spurning, at every point in his earthly ministry, the temptation to do things his way and not in complete obedience to the Father.”

Even if one is not Christian, there is a lesson in this message and an opportunity for svadyaya (self-study). Consider how you show up when you are challenged and/or things aren’t going your way. Do you show up in a way that alleviates suffering or in a way that creates more suffering?

Eastern philosophies, like yoga and Buddhism, view suffering as imbalance in the natural state of being (yoga and Taoism) and/or the result of attachment to (craving / desire for) a particular outcome (yoga and Buddhism). We all want things to go “our way” and yet more often than not things go in a different way. If we can’t let go of “our way,” we suffer. To find balance and to alleviate suffering, one must detach and practice non-attachment until it becomes a habit.

But, let’s get back to that experience of peace.

“So the redeemed of the LORD will return and enter Zion with singing, crowned with unending joy. Joy and gladness will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.”

– Isaiah 51:11, Berean Study Bible

“From an attitude of contentment (santosha), unexcelled happiness, mental comfort, joy, and satisfaction is obtained.”

– Yoga Sutra 2.42

Isaiah is considered the first of the “Latter Prophets” in the Hebrew Bible and the first of the “Major Prophets” in the Christian Old Testament. Much of the “Book of Isaiah” contains details about what people can expect from and how they can recognize the Messiah or Savior. For Christians, Jesus fits the criteria and, therefore, brings them joy and peace now and in the hereafter. (Isaiah 51:11 and 52:7) It is not only a message that is brought; he also brings salvation (or the promise of salvation).

Consider, for a moment, how much easier life is if the hard stuff is being surrendered to a higher power.

In the second section of the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali also talks of peace and joy. He particularly indicates that if someone diligently practices the external restraint (yama) of non-harming (ahimsa) then the people around them will give up hostilities (YS 2.35). Furthermore, he states that practicing the internal observation (niyama) of contentment (santosha) then “unexcelled, happiness, mental comfort, joy, and satisfaction.” (YS 2.42)

Consider, for a moment, what happens if you accept what is in the moment and surrender everything to the moment.

FEATURED POSE for April 14^th: Forward Fold Pose (Uttanasana)

Palm Tree Breathing is a sequence of poses from Jasna’s Yoga that I include in certain practices; sometimes for physical and energetic reasons, sometimes for symbolic and emotional reasons, sometimes for all of the above. The sequence consists of two (2) poses in repetition – Mountain Pose (on the toes variation) (Tadasana) and Forward Fold Pose (Uttanasana). Both poses require strong core engagement (locks or bandhas), strong foundation engagement (asana), and balance, combined with breath awareness (pranayama). While the sequence can be modified by keeping the heels on the ground during the Mountain Pose, finding ease and stability in the Forward Fold is a critical element – and one that is often overlooked or taken for granted.

Standing in Mountain Pose, with feet together or slightly apart, focus on balancing the weight and standing up tall. (Remember, this is also Equal Standing.) Spread the big toes and little toes wide in order to start activating the arches and stabilize the ankles. Squeeze the legs towards one another and spiral the outer thighs in towards your mid-line. Squeezing a block, small book, or small ball between your legs encourages adduction and internal rotation. Use the quadriceps to lift the knee caps up, so that the thighs are firm; lift the pelvic bones up so that the sits bones drop down; squeeze the perineum muscles together and up (like you’re trying not to go to the bathroom); draw the belly button up and back; and the shoulders.

Inhale deeply and – with hands on hips – hinge from the waist as you exhale. Inhale, look up and lengthen so that you are in the Half Lift position (see yesterday’s post). Place your hands on your thighs or bend your knees and place your palms on your thighs. Spend a few breaths in the half lift position in order to find the flattest back position possible – even if that means the knees are bent.

Now, if it’s accessible, places your hands on a floor or a block – so you have closed-chain engagement and, therefore more control over accessing your muscles. If placing your hands lower causes you to round your spine, bring the hands back to the thighs and use the legs as a prop. Keeping the back flat and the core engaged, start to hinge or fold from the hips. See if you can bring your hands flat to the floor or the block without your low back rounding. (Remember: Low back issues, unregulated blood pressure, eye issues like glaucoma, and certain types of osteoarthritis are reasons to stay in the Flat Back position.)

Keep your weight balanced between hands and feet, arms and legs. You want dynamic tension that pushes your hips and ribs away from each other. After a few breaths, bend your knees, let your chest rest on your thighs, but maintain the core and foundational engagement. Release the arms, but keep the feet, legs, and core strong. While you surround your upper body to your lower body, let something roll of your back, something that no longer serves you. Or, let go of something you know. Or something you want but aren’t getting. If you are in the Half Lift position, whatever you are releasing rolls off when you stand up.

Either roll up, one vertebra, or inhale to a Half Lift and then lift the whole torso up on the next inhale.

If you want to move through Palm Tree Breathing, inhale your arms up for Mountain Pose. Again, make sure everything is strongly engaged. Use a block if you want to strengthen your adductors. Stay on your heels or roll up to your tip toes. Keep your eyes on something that’s not moving. As you exhale, lower the heels, hinge from your hips and fold. At the end of your breath, your heart will rest on your thighs. Inhale and reverse swan dive, maybe lifting the heels as you go, but definitely straightening the knees and rolling up one vertebra at a time until arms are overhead. Exhale and repeat at least 3 – 5 times. Finish with an inhale to Mountain Pose.

{NOTE: The Throat Chakra (the fifth intersection or wheel created by the overlapping of the three (3) primary nadis or energy channels/rivers) is associated with will and determination – specifically, Caroline Myss uses the mantra “Submit personal will to Divine will.” You can think of “Divine” as God, as the Universe, or as the World as a whole. Either way, consider the different positions your neck is in as you move through Palm Tree Breathing, and notice how the breath feels moving through your throat.}

### OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTHI OM ###

MEET MS. BANNING: 2019 Kiss My Asana Offering #13 April 13, 2019

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Uncategorized.
Tags: Abhyasa, B.K.S. Iyengar, Bill Conti, Half Lift Flat Back, inspiration, KISS MY ASANA, Mind Body Solutions, Mindfulness, Sri Pattabhi Jois, Upward Facing Foward Fold, Vairagya
add a comment

The “practice preview” below is part of my offering for the 2019 Kiss My Asana yogathon. I encourage you to set aside at least 5 minutes a day during April, to practice with today’s theme or concept as inspiration. You can practice in a class or on your own, but since the Kiss My Asana yogathon raises resources as well as awareness, I invite you to join me at a donation-based class on April 27th or May 4^th.

I also challenge you to set aside a certain amount every day that you practice with this concept/theme in mind. It doesn’t matter if you set aside one dollar per practice or $25 – set aside that amount each time you practice and donate it by April 30th.

Founded by Matthew Sanford, Mind Body Solutions helps those who have experienced trauma, loss, and disability find new ways to live by integrating both mind and body. They provide classes, workshops, and outreach programs. They also train yoga teachers and offer highly specialized training for health care professionals. By participating in the Kiss My Asana yogathon you join a global movement, but in a personal way. In other words, you practice yoga. Or, as this year’s tag line states….

do yoga. share yoga. help others.

***

“All you have to do is open up a little bit and then you’ll be experiencing a part of that person’s soul. It’s just there – in the presence of a beautiful painting, a creation, something created by someone else. This is insight into not who they are physically, but who they are on this other plane. So, what makes it magical, always, is to hear music performed live.”

– Bill Conti

“When the audience and the performers become one, it is almost nearly divine, where this oneness can actually meet in some, not physical place, but in some spiritual place, in the middle, not the performers performing, not the audience receiving, but all of a sudden that contact is made and it becomes wonderful.”

– Bill Conti

Everyone does it at some point or another. It doesn’t matter if we sit down to watch a movie, a play, or a television show – or maybe we’re reading a book or listening to a show on the radio – at some point we suspend disbelief. We open ourselves to the possibility of the possibilities being laid out before us…without expectation, without attachment, and without aversion. Just for a moment, we let go of what we know and open to what is.

The job of an artist, like composer Bill Conti (born 4/12/1942), is to create something that serves as a layer or filter, a lens through which the audience sees the world unfold. Composers like Conti will often use motifs (a brief melody that is part of a longer passage) and leitmotifs (a brief melody or motif that is directly tied to a person or event) to reinforce a certain concept or emotion that the creative team wants the audience to experience. In other words, the creative team is creating samskars (mental impressions) and vasanas (in this case, a habitual subconscious reaction). And, when the creative element is iconic – like so many of Conti’s compositions are – we develop an inescapable habitual (and visceral) response to the music that exists long after the music ends. Without even knowing it, the music shapes the way we think, act, and speak – again, long after the movie ends. Think about what happens when you hear part of the theme from Rocky – even when it’s played on a piano.

But, what happens if we notice what happens? What happens if we start studying our habits and noticing the things that appeal to us and the things to which we have an aversion? What happens if we investigate why we do the things we do? What happens if we practice a little non-attachment and look at ourselves from an objective vantage point – one without the veils of our experiences (i.e., without the samskaras and vasanas?

“dŗşțā anuśravika vişaya vitŗşņasya vaśīkāra sanjñã vairāgyam ” (YS I.15)

dŗşțā seen or perceived

anuśravika heard or revealed in scripture

vişaya object, subject, matter of experience

vitŗşņasya free of craving or desire

vaśīkāra state of mastery, control

sanjñã awareness, consciousness, knowing

vairāgyam non-attachment, neutral, without attachment or aversion

“We are all ready to read / Just as we are born knowing what we like”

– from “The Foundation” by Thievery Corporation

In order to master the mind and the fluctuations of the mind, one needs to not only practice continuously and with reverence (abhyasa), as Patanjali indicates in Yoga Sutra II.14, but also with non-attachment (vairagya). Since, however, we have attachments – meaning things and people to which we have attraction or aversion – part of the practice is observing our behaviors and then gradually detaching, or letting go, of our attachments. As we consistently practice letting go, it becomes a habit so that the attachments do not form. This means that, like so many other elements in the Eastern philosophies, the practice of non-attachment is a technique as well as a state of being.

The easy misconception is that practicing non-attachment means that one forcing everything away and becoming numb. In fact, the opposite is true. When we move through our days without noticing why we lean one way or the other, then we are numb to our true nature and, in the process, we miss certain elements of our lives. If, however, we can lift the veils of our habits we start to notice more about ourselves and the world around us. We start to notice cause and effect, but we also start to interrupt behaviors and patterns that lead to suffering.

“In the back of your mind, when you say you want to write music for the movies, you’re saying that you want a big house, a big car, and a boat. If you just wanted to write music, you could live in Kansas and do that.”

– Bill Conti

An example that Swami J uses to explain the difference between detachment and non-attachment is that of two (2) ex-smokers. In this example, they both stopped smoking years ago. One smoker, however, sees a cigarette or smells smoke and immediately begins craving the cigarette. When the first former smoker recognizes that craving, resists acting upon it, and then let’s go of the desire (or allows the desire to pass) this person is practicing detachment. On the flip side, the second former smoker no longer has the craving; when there is no conscious or subconscious desire to smoke there is nothing to release and that is the state of non-attachment. (Anybody want to go down this particular rabbit hole?)

“There’s a higher place that I have no illusions about reaching. There’s a sophistication and aesthetic about composers who only write only for the music’s sake.”

– Bill Conti

FEATURED POSE for April 13^th: Half Lift or Upward Forward Fold Pose (Ardha or Urdhva Uttanasana)

There are certain poses that are easy to overlook when moving through poses one-breath-one motion or when you are predisposed to think some poses are more important than other poses. One such overlooked pose is Half Forward Fold (Ardha Uttanasana), which is also referred to as Upward Facing Forward Fold (Urdhva Uttanasana). In Sun Salutations it may be considered a “gateway pose” – because it bridges the gap between standing only on the feet and the inclined series where you are standing on hands and feet (or only on hands). If you take a moment to let go of your attachment or aversion to the pose and really examine it, you will start to notice that it’s not only a bridge, it’s also a ferry.

From a standing (or seated) position, exhale and bring your heart to your thighs (bending your knees if you have low back issues and or tight hamstrings). As you inhale, look up and lengthen the spine. Place your hands on your thighs, or bend your knees and place your elbows on your thighs. Making sure that your shoulders are pressing back, find a little bit of Cow Pose (to make sure you have a “flat back”) and then gaze at your nose or third eye center. Engage your core by zipping up (spreading toes and balancing on all corners of the feet; squeezing the perineum muscles together and up; drawing the belly button up and back). Breathe here for 3 – 5 breaths (inhale + exhale = 1 breath).

As you’re breathing here, see if you can maintain length in the spine while also starting to lengthen the legs. If it is accessible to you, reach the hands down to the floor or a block – but only if you can do so without losing the extension in the spine. Notice how you react to being in this pose.

After the requisite number of breaths, exhale and see if you can bring your heart to your thighs without losing the extension in the spine. Inhale, use the whole breath to look up and lengthen again. Exhale, and use the whole breath to fold. Inhale to your flat back; bring hands to hips as you exhale and then lift the torso up as one unit.

Consider how Upward Facing Forward Fold contains elements of Equal Standing / Mountain Pose. If Sun Salutations are in your practice, move through a couple of sets and see if you can maintain your flat back (looking forward) position all the way through Chaturanga Dandasana. This is a fun practice to do with a small ball balanced on your low back! (See if you can keep the ball on your low back until Downward Facing Dog (or your back bend).

Upward Facing Forward Fold is a great pose to do with hands up against the wall and arms extended. It is prenatal approved; just widen the legs to make room for the baby. If you have low back issues, unregulated blood pressure, eye issues like glaucoma, or certain types of osteoarthritis you may find that Upward Facing Forward Fold is a better option for you than Forward Fold (Uttanasana). If that is the case, you can do the above sequence just by bending the knees on the exhale and straightening them on the inhale. Honor your body, but also watch your aversion (or attraction) to modifying your practice.

### NAMASTE ###

WE CAN BEGIN AT ANYTIME: 2019 Kiss My Asana Offering #12 April 13, 2019

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Uncategorized.
Tags: Ashtanga, B.K.S. Iyengar, beginning yoga, Gary Soto, hatha yoga, inspiration, KISS MY ASANA, Mind Body Solutions, Poetry, poetry month, Seane Corn, Sri Pattabhi Jois, sukhasana
add a comment

The (slightly belated) “practice preview” below is part of my offering for the 2019 Kiss My Asana yogathon. I encourage you to set aside at least 5 minutes a day during April, to practice with today’s theme or concept as inspiration. You can practice in a class or on your own, but since the Kiss My Asana yogathon raises resources as well as awareness, I invite you to join me at a donation-based class on April 27th or May 4^th.

I also challenge you to set aside a certain amount every day that you practice with this concept/theme in mind. It doesn’t matter if you set aside one dollar per practice or $25 – set aside that amount each time you practice and donate it by April 30th.

Founded by Matthew Sanford, Mind Body Solutions helps those who have experienced trauma, loss, and disability find new ways to live by integrating both mind and body. They provide classes, workshops, and outreach programs. They also train yoga teachers and offer highly specialized training for health care professionals. By participating in the Kiss My Asana yogathon you join a global movement, but in a personal way. In other words, you practice yoga. Or, as this year’s tag line states….

do yoga. share yoga. help others.

***

“How strange that we can begin at any time.
With two feet we get down the street.
With a hand we undo the rose.
With an eye we lift up the peach tree
And hold it up to the wind – white blossoms
At our feet. Like today. I started”

– excerpt from “Looking Around, Believing” by Gary Soto (born 4/12/1952)

Ever look around and wonder why we begin where we begin? Every wonder if we could start our yoga practice with a different pose? Or if it even matters where we start? For that matter, what would happen if we started earlier in life? Or later?

Okay, okay, some of those are purely rhetorical. And, as the title of this post clearly states, “we can begin at anytime” – but, what about the place/position in which we start?

If you are exposed to different styles and traditions, maybe through a single teacher or through your own curiosity, you will find that some styles and traditions always start with the same pose – but that “same pose” is not universal. Some practices start with Child’s Pose (Balasana). Some start with Equal Standing / Mountain Pose (Samastithi / Tadasana).Some start with the practitioners on their backs; still others start with practitioners in a seated position – but even then it’s not necessarily the same seated position. Why all the variety? Let’s go deeper.

There’s something to be said for tradition. If you look back at Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras there are no asanas (or poses) detailed. Instead, Patanjali provides critical instructions on how to practice the poses. Specifically, he instructs “cultivating a steady/stable, easy/comfortable/joyful seat/pose” (YS II.46) and then proceeds to explain how the awareness and extension of breath (pranayama) extends out of finding balance in the body. Classical sacred texts like Hatha Yoga Pradipika (circa 15^th century), Gheranda Samhita (early 17^th century), or Shiva Samhita (circa 14^th – 17^th century), mostly list sitting on your sits-bones poses and begin with some variation of a cross-legged position. In all cases, the focus is on having an elongated spine, with the head balanced above the shoulders and hips, and effort balanced with relaxation. This type of pose reminds one of a meditation seat and is a great way to remember that the physical yoga practice is also a meditation practice, with the ultimate meditation state as its final goal. Emotionally, energetically, and symbolically, starting in a seated position indicates that the practice is a time for study, contemplation, and devotion.

Ashtanga, one of the first vinyasa practices to come to the western world, begins with Mountain Pose (Tadasana), which is also the first pose featured in B. K. S. Iyengar’s Light on Yoga. It is a foundational pose, in that there are elements of Mountain Pose (which Iyengar also refers to as Equal Standing) in almost every pose. When standing, there is particular emphasis on balance – left to right and top to bottom – and on the extension of the spine, which is supported by the engagement of the core. It is a pose which can be practiced on the feet, in a chair, but also lying on one’s back. It’s a great starting place, because it is a great reference point: you can come back again and again and notice the changes you have brought about in your body. There is, however, another benefit of starting in Equal Standing / Mountain Pose – it is standing at attention and so it is a signal that the practitioner is ready for what comes next and, more importantly, ready to move in any direction. Like certain sitting on your sits-bones poses, this is one of the most neutral starting positions simply because you can easily move from it into almost any position.

Child’s Pose is a great place to start, because one’s head is down and (like a child preparing for a nap) one is less likely to be distracted by external surroundings. There is a physical turning inward, as well as an emotional and energetic turning inward. Even though this can be a hard pose to hold if you have knee issues, it offers a lot a physical benefits: there is an opportunity to release the low back; an opportunity to open the hips; an opportunity to compress the abdominal area and thereby stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system (in order to calm the body); it’s a baby inversion; and it is a great opportunity to stretch out the front of the legs. Most importantly, perhaps, is that once again the spine is long and there is balance. There is also a symbolic reason for starting in Child’s Pose: the beginning of the practice marks the birth of the practice (and practices that start here often move through a symbolic life cycle).

Since she draws from her experiences with different styles and traditions, Seane Corn will sometimes start practices from a standing position, sometimes from a sitting on the sits-bones position, and sometimes in Child’s Pose. During her vinyasa teacher training, however, she also points out that starting the practice on one’s back, creates openness and receptiveness. When you start on your back, you are also physically supported (along the head, shoulders, elbows, arms, hips, and heels) in a way that may allow the spine to easily align. The more supported and aligned you are, the more comfortable you might be and, therefore, the more receptive. Additionally, lying on your back indicates some form of Corpse Pose (Savasana) which, when considered in the context of reincarnation, can also be the symbolic “beginning” of the life cycle. (For example, if you start in Corpse Pose you can easily rollover into Child’s Pose and then stand up on all fours and then eventually stand up on your feet).

“As far as I can tell, daughter, it works like this:
You buy bread from a grocery, a bag of apples
From a fruit stand, and what coins
Are passed on helps others buy pencils, glue,
Tickets to a movie in which laughter
Is thrown into their faces.
If we buy a goldfish, someone tries on a hat.
If we buy crayons, someone walks home with a broom.
A tip, a small purchase here and there,
And things just keep going. I guess.”

– excerpt from “How Things Work” by Gary Soto

Where you begin your practice can set the emotional and energetic tone of the practice. And, while a good starting position will allow you to go anywhere (even if some poses require more movements than others – think 6 degrees of separation), some starting positions specifically prepare you for what’s to come. For instance, starting in Cow Face Pose (Gomukhāsana) legs, prepares the body for hip opening, while sitting in Hero’s Pose (Virasana) stretches out the front of the legs and knees (similar to Child’s Pose).

FEATURED POSE for April 11^th: Easy Pose (Sukhāsana)

Easy Pose (Sukhāsana) can be the beginning, middle, and end of your practice. Sitting on the floor, with shoulders and hips aligned, bend your knees so that shins/ankles are crossed and each foot rests underneath the opposite thigh (i.e., right foot is under left thigh). Tilt the sits-bones slightly back and root them down in order to lengthen the spine.

Hips should be in line with or higher than the knees. If there is compression in the back and hips and/or if the knees are higher than the hips, sit up on top of something (making sure your stability is not compromised by the prop you’re using for support). If the knees are uncomfortable, experiment with the hips being higher than the knees, switching which leg is in front / on top, and/or squeezing the legs closer or further away from each other and from the hips.

Once you have your legs crossed, wiggle your arms and then let them rest on your thighs – palms up if you want a little energy, palms down if you want to be grounded. You can take any seal (mudra) or leave the palms open and relaxed.

Stack your spine as if you have coins in your back, with the largest denomination on the bottom so that you end up with a dime, a nickel, and a penny on top of whatever hair is on your head. Relax your shoulders and jaw, creating a little space between your lips and teeth. (Not so much space that someone could look down your throat to see if you still have your tonsils, but enough space so that the mouth, lips, teeth, jaw, and tongue can relax.)

Gaze 4 – 6 feet in front of your belly button and either softly shutter your eyes or blur your eyes through that focal point (drishti). Set a timer for 5 – 10 minutes and begin to notice your breath and the parts of your breath.

At the beginning of the practice, see how long you can sit and breathe in Easy Pose before you get distracted. Notice the first three (3) things that distract you. For instance, if your mind wanders away from your breath and you start thinking about something outside of the moment, your #1 today is “Thoughts.” If you deliberately refocus your mind on the breath and the parts of the breath, you may find your body getting a little antsy – in which case, your #2 today is “Sensations.” (Sensations can be pain or discomfort in the body that makes you want to move, the feeling of being too hot or too cold, and or the feeling that something needs to be scratched.) If you deliberately refocus your mind on the breath and the parts of the breath, you may find yourself feeling like it’s time to move or that you’re getting sleepy and then you could label your #3 today as “Emotions.”

Obviously, the examples above are generic examples and you may experience them in a different way or in a different order. However, note how long it takes for you to be distracted. You could also make a note of how many times you bring your awareness back to breath. Keep in mind, this (bring the mind back, again and again) is the practice.

Make a note regarding your experiences during the time allotted and then move through any set of yoga poses or some other physical activities. If you notice specific physical discomforts/distractions, focus your practice on strengthening of relaxing the areas of the body that distracted you. If you found you were having a lot of mental distractions, challenge yourself by doing something that requires your complete attention. (If you’re looking for a practice, click here and see how Gary Soto’s poems inspired last year’s 12^th offering.)

When you come back to the pose, set the timer again and notice what happens.

“Beneath my steps, my breath”

– excerpt from “Oranges” by Gary Soto

(for my twin and her best friend)

### NAMASTE ###

EMPTINESS & FULLNESS emptiness & fullness: 2019 Kiss My Asana Offering #11 April 11, 2019

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Uncategorized.
Tags: emptiness, fullness, inspiration, KISS MY ASANA, Mark Strand, Mind Body Solutions, Misuzu Kaneko, Poetry, poetry month, Thich Nhat Hanh
add a comment

The “practice preview” below is part of my offering for the 2019 Kiss My Asana yogathon. I encourage you to set aside at least 5 minutes a day during April, to practice with today’s theme or concept as inspiration. You can practice in a class or on your own, but since the Kiss My Asana yogathon raises resources as well as awareness, I invite you to join me at a donation-based class on April 27th or May 4^th.

I also challenge you to set aside a certain amount every day that you practice with this concept/theme in mind. It doesn’t matter if you set aside one dollar per practice or $25 – set aside that amount each time you practice and donate it by April 30th.

Founded by Matthew Sanford, Mind Body Solutions helps those who have experienced trauma, loss, and disability find new ways to live by integrating both mind and body. They provide classes, workshops, and outreach programs. They also train yoga teachers and offer highly specialized training for health care professionals. By participating in the Kiss My Asana yogathon you join a global movement, but in a personal way. In other words, you practice yoga. Or, as this year’s tag line states….

do yoga. share yoga. help others.

***

EMPTINESS & FULLNESS emptiness & fullness
EMPTINESS & FULLNESS emptiness & fullness
EMPTINESS & FULLNESS emptiness & fullness
EMPTINESS & FULLNESS emptiness & fullness
EMPTINESS & FULLNESS emptiness & fullness
EMPTINESS & FULLNESS emptiness & fullness
EMPTINESS & FULLNESS emptiness & fullness
EMPTINESS & FULLNESS emptiness & fullness
EMPTINESS & FULLNESS emptiness & fullness
EMPTINESS & FULLNESS emptiness & fullness
EMPTINESS & FULLNESS emptiness & fullness
EMPTINESS & FULLNESS emptiness & fullness
EMPTINESS & FULLNESS emptiness & fullness
EMPTINESS & FULLNESS emptiness & fullness
EMPTINESS & FULLNESS emptiness & fullness
EMPTINESS & FULLNESS emptiness & fullness
EMPTINESS & FULLNESS emptiness & fullness
EMPTINESS & FULLNESS emptiness & fullness
EMPTINESS & FULLNESS emptiness & fullness
EMPTINESS & FULLNESS emptiness & fullness
EMPTINESS & FULLNESS emptiness & fullness
EMPTINESS & FULLNESS emptiness & fullness

What was your reaction to all that “empty” space? Did you react the same way you do in a yoga class when the instructor suddenly stops speaking? Did it make you nervous? Did you think it was a mistake? Did you think I was posting about the first photograph of a black hole? Did you notice it at all?

Today is the birthday of Misuzu Kaneko and Mark Strand; two very different poets, who lived very different lives in very different places, but who wrote poems on very similar themes. Today is also the second “Throwback Thursday” in Poetry Month – so click here to read last year’s post about their lives and poetry.

“We cannot say that emptiness is something which exists independently. Fullness is also the same. Full is always full of something, such as full of market, buffaloes, villages or Bhikshu. Fullness is not something which exists independently.

The emptiness and fullness depends on the presence of the bowl, Ananda.

Bhikshu’s look deeply at this bowl and you can se the entire universe. This bowl contains the entire universe. This is only one thing this bowl is empty of and that is separate individual self.

Emptiness means empty of self.”

– excerpt from Old Path White Clouds: Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha by Thich Nhat Hanh

FEATURED POSE for April 11^th: Triangle Pose (Trikonāsana)

Triangle Pose (Trikonāsana) is a foundational pose – some might even call it a “beginner’s pose” that can also be very challenging. One way to work the pose is to notice the “empty” spaces around and in the body and to make those “full” of engagement. Triangle can be practiced early in the practice (with very little warm-up) or as part of a standing pose sequence. Thighs, hips, and heart will be externally rotated. This pose can be done from a seated position. It is also prenatal approved (even encouraged). Supine Big Toe Pose (Supta Pādāngustāsana) is a reclining pose with similar engagement.

While standing in Equal Standing/Mountain Pose notice the “empty” space around your body. Move into the space on your left by arching the upper body to the side (similar to a Hot Half Moon, see KMA 2019 Offering #2). Notice the sensations in the spine and back. Repeat, or echo, the movement on the right. Come back to center.

This time, move into the space by stepping or floating your feet apart so that the feet are under the wrists or between the wrists and the elbows. Notice where you’ve parted the air and also how you are filling the space. Turn your right toes out so that the right heel would bump into the middle of the left foot if the legs were together. On an inhale, stretch out your collar bones; as you exhale reach your right forward until you reach your limit (and have reached the end of the breath). Inhale your right arm down and the left arm up, so that the arms are lined up over the right ankle. You can use a block to lift the floor up if you need more stability. As you exhale, move your right hip towards the left hip. Notice where “the air moves in / to fill the spaces where [your] body’s been.”

Notice the “empty” space between your legs. It is full of an invisible triangle. Reinforce your awareness and engagement of this triangle and then sit on it by dropping your sits-bones towards the top of the triangle. Now that the thighs and hips are rotating up, engage your core and extend your spine. Consider that to extend your spine, you have to move the ribs and spine into a different position than they were in Hot Half Moon. Notice that as the spine lengthens the “empty” space beneath the right side of your torso is filled with a triangle (formed by the torso plus the right arm and leg). Gaze up, out, or down, but make sure the neck is comfortable.

After 30 seconds to 1 minute, engage your core and lift the torso up and return to Equal Standing. Repeat, or echo, on the other side.

If Triangle is your whole practice today, finish up by lying on your back with arms and legs spread wide. Notice how it feels to be spread out, to occupy so much space. Now, draw your legs together and arms into your sides for Savāsana. Breathe and allow the breath to extend out into the space you filled when your arms and legs were wide.

If Misuzu Kaneko’s story resonates with you, because you or a friend struggle emotionally, please call 1-800-273-TALK.

### OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTHI OM ###

ORGANIZING THE WORK(ers): 2019 Kiss My Asana Offering #10 April 10, 2019

Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Uncategorized.
Tags: Anne Lamott, Bakasana, Cesar Chavez, Crane Pose, Crow Pose, Delores Huerta, Kakkasana, KISS MY ASANA, Maty Ezraty, Mind Body Solutions, Thomas Edison
add a comment

The “practice preview” below is part of my offering for the 2019 Kiss My Asana yogathon. I encourage you to set aside at least 5 minutes a day during April, to practice with today’s theme or concept as inspiration. You can practice in a class or on your own, but since the Kiss My Asana yogathon raises resources as well as awareness, I invite you to join me at a donation-based class on April 27th or May 4^th.

I also challenge you to set aside a certain amount every day that you practice with this concept/theme in mind. It doesn’t matter if you set aside one dollar per practice or $25 – set aside that amount each time you practice and donate it by April 30th.

Founded by Matthew Sanford, Mind Body Solutions helps those who have experienced trauma, loss, and disability find new ways to live by integrating both mind and body. They provide classes, workshops, and outreach programs. They also train yoga teachers and offer highly specialized training for health care professionals. By participating in the Kiss My Asana yogathon you join a global movement, but in a personal way. In other words, you practice yoga. Or, as this year’s tag line states….

do yoga. share yoga. help others.

***

“Every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person a potential activist, every minute a chance to change the world.”

– Delores Huerta (born April 10, 1930)

In some ways, it seems like Delores Huerta has been organizing workers since she was a child. She is a second generation Mexican-American whose parents started off as migrant workers and then divorced (when she was 3) and moved into positions where they could support the labor force – her father as a politician, her mother as the owner of a restaurant and hotel that welcomed a diverse population of low income and farm workers. Huerta was active in a variety of extracurricular activities during her school years and went on to teach elementary school; however, she said, “I couldn’t tolerate seeing kids come to class hungry and needing shoes. I thought I could do more by organizing farm workers than by trying to teach their hungry children.”

By the age of 25, Huerta was working to improve the economic status of Latinos in Stockton, California. In her 30’s, she co-founded an organization that set up voter registration drives and also co-founded the National Farm Workers Association with César Chávez. She is known for the motto “Si, se puede.” (Yes, we can.)

“When you have a conflict, that means there are truths that have to be addressed on each side of the conflict. And when you have a conflict, then it’s an educational process to try to resolve the conflict. And to resolve that, you have to get people on both sides of the conflict involved so that they can dialogue.”

– Delores Huerta

Conflict in the pages of a book can make for a good story. You get to see how things are resolved, usually in a nice neat little package with all the loose ends tied up into neat bows. Real life rarely works that way, and writing the good story where conflict arises and then gets resolved can be just as daunting and overwhelming as real life. And, as we’ve seen recently, it’s a lot of work to establish dialogue between people with viewpoints. It seems like an overwhelming amount of work to change the world.

We’ve all been there: overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the work yet to be done. It doesn’t matter if we are overwhelmed by the work because procrastination has placed us under a looming deadline or if someone presented us with an unrealistic timeline. It doesn’t matter if the amount of work is relatively small compared to something we’ve done in the past or will do in the future. Nor does it matter if the work is related to our profession, our passion, and/or life. In the moment, we sit in some variation of frozen; unable to do anything, let alone the first thing. And yet, just like when you’re playing a video game, the first thing is the key that unlocks the second thing…and so forth and so on. The first thing also gives you the tools to unlock the second thing.

“Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he’d had three months to write. [It] was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother’s shoulder, and said. ‘Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.'”

**– excerpt from Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Ann Lamott (born April 10, 1954)**

Writer, activist, speaker, and teacher Anne Lamott used the story about her brother as the inspiration (and title) of her book Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. The book is a writing course that is also, like all of Lamott’s work, a life course. And, both the story about her brother and her book, prove that my favorite adage from my first yoga teachers is also true about writing: How you do writing, is how you do life (and vice versa).

“A good sequence is like a good story. There is a beginning (an introduction), the middle (the heart of the story), and the end (the conclusion).

– Maty Ezraty

Building a yoga practice – or just creating a sequence – is just like developing a new habit. There is some part of us that knows how to do it, but if we’ve never done it before (or it’s been a long time), it seems mysterious, daunting, and overwhelming. Where to begin, or “Getting started” is Lamott’s first chapter. In it, she discusses the merit of telling the truth. In many ways, this is a very good place to start when you’re on the mat. Satya (Truth) is one of the yamas or external restraints (also known as universal commandments) in the 8-limbed philosophy of yoga. If you come to the mat without being honest about where you are (in your practice) and how you’re feeling, there’s a good chance you will hurt yourself. Being honest with your self is a challenge on the best days, but it especially challenging when the focus is moment-to-moment, breath-to-breath. In being honest with yourself, it is just as important to recognize your strengths as it is to recognize your weaknesses.

In the first chapter, Lamott also advises using one’s childhood as a starting place. This, it turns out, is also something we do in the physical practice of yoga. Every pose is an asana (seat) and therefore has a foundation or roots that need to be engaged in order to practice the pose. Additionally, the physical practice is also a mental practice as well as an emotional-energetic and psychic-symbolic practice. What that means is that (a) working the body requires working the mind and (b) each part of the body is energetically and symbolically tied to parts of history and lived experience. The lower body, which supports us for the majority of our lives, is connected to our “Root Chakra” and is related to our first family, tribe, and community of birth. I often explain this connection by saying, “Just as we are biologically connected to people we may not have ever met or will ever meet, we are also energetically connected. Unless you have a specific reason for starting elsewhere, the practice begins with the feet and legs. The beginning can be standing poses (which build strength, as well as flexibility), seated, or supine poses that address the lower body.

There are 29 chapters in Bird by Bird – and they all can be used to breakdown how one builds a practice, a sequence, and or a habit. I’m not going to break them all down at this time, but here’s a sample:

Chapter 2: “Short assignments” – In a vinyasa practice, where we’re moving with the breath it can be fun to string a ton of poses together and move one-breath-one motion. It can also be dangerous. Giving the body (and the mind) easily digestible bite-sized pieces, aka short assignments. Even if you are not practicing vinyasa, give the mind-body time to process the work you’re doing as you’re doing it. Poses like Equal Standing, Wide-legged Forward Fold, Child’s Pose, or a basic seated position like Easy Pose (Sukhasana) can be moments of transition where you pause and breathe. This is true even with vinyasa. (Remember, vinyasa means “to place in a special way” it does not mean “do pushups and a back bend.” You can practice one or two standing poses and then pause for a few breaths in one of the transitional poses before continuing to your next “short assignment.” One really cool rule of thumb I was given during teacher training is to look at the “one-breath-one-motion” idea as changing a single plane or angle within the body. (For example, moving from Warrior II (Happy Warrior variation) to Triangle or Extended Side Angle makes sense in the body, because the feet, legs, hips, and heart stay in the same horizontal plane – and rotation. Moving from Warrior II (Happy Warrior variation) to Warrior III makes less sense because you are changing horizontal and vertical plane orientations, plus changing the body’s rotation.)

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

– Thomas Edison (in developing a practical electric light bulb)

“How many worthwhile endeavors are cast along the wayside because we are not guaranteed total success? Yet the result of inaction due to fear of failure is failure by default.”

– Aliza Kramer (writing about the Chanukah story)

“Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor.”

– Anne Lamott

Chapters 3, 4, & 18: “Shitty first drafts,” “Perfectionism,” & “Jealousy” (respectively) – It’s very rare that we get something “perfect” the first time around. That’s part of the reason we “practice” yoga instead of “doing” yoga. It’s also challenging to find yourself in a room full of people who seem to know what they’re doing. It’s easy – too easy – to discount the fact that they once started at the beginning and didn’t know what they were practicing. It’s easy – too easy – to discount their hard work and assume that they are naturally strong, flexible, and or coordinated. Jealous comparisons prevent us from seeing the work of others, and also from doing our own work. Consider each time you step on the mat as a workshop moment, where you find ways not to do something and ways to go deeper.

Chapter 13: “How do you know when you’re done?” – One of the things I love about practicing yoga is that you’re never done. There’s always something to learn about yourself and the practice. There’s always some new challenge that can be built on your foundation. And, it’s fun to see what happens next. That being said, no one can be on their mat 24/7. At some point every practice session comes to its conclusion. If you look at the lower body as your first chakra (or energy wheel) and think of each chakra as a “short assignment,” then you work your way up the body and finish when you reach the crown chakra at the top of your head. Another way to know when you’re done is to break up your “short assignments” with a transitional pose where you can sit and breathe for a moment. Since the ultimate goal of the physical practice is to prepare the mind-body for deep seated meditation, use the transitional pose to assess the mind-body, in order to determine how close you are to stillness. You can be “done” when every part of your body and mind feels stable and at ease enough to be still for 5 or more minutes.

Chapters 21, 22, & 24: “Writing groups,” “Someone to read your drafts,” & “Writer’s block” (respectively) – Sharing your writing with a group is similar to sharing your practice with a group. There is a little extra boost of energy and momentum that comes from people engaged in the same thing at the same time. There is power in the group that can help us go farther than we might on our own. Practicing yoga or writing in a group, especially when people are at different levels, gives everyone an opportunity to learn and grow by considering other perspectives. It can also be helpful – when you’re working on those “shitty first drafts” – to have an outside pair of eyes, someone who can view your practice as it is and as it develops. Ultimately, this is the role of the teacher – someone who can encourage you to continue on your path, make suggestions when you seem to be falling off the path, and offer you next steps you may not have considered. Also, when you feel stuck or blocked, as we all sometimes feel, the teacher, as well as your group, can support you as you step back and take child’s pose for a moment or consider another perspective, maybe even a different way of practicing.

“Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don’t give up.”

– Anne Lamott

FEATURED POSE for April 10^th: Crow & Crane (Kākkāsana & Bakāsana)

As I mention during classes on St. Patrick’s Day, there are a lot of bird poses in the physical practice of yoga. There are legit birds, as well as imaginary and mythical birds. There are birds that fly great distances and those that are along for the ride. One of the most ubiquitous poses inspired by a bird is “Crow Pose.” As I have pointed out in the past, there are some translation issues when it comes to this pose that accessible to people who may not realize it is in their wheelhouse (meaning something they can practice). “Crow” in Sanskrit is Kākkā – which sounds a lot like a crow, but it also sounds a lot like “kaka” which is slang for $^*+ and something a lot of English-speaking teachers are reticent to say in yoga. On the flip side bakāsana, the word we often use for “Crow Pose” is actually “Seat of the Crane.” Adding to the confusion, Kākkāsana is the prep for Bakāsana (and therefore, more accessible).

If you want to skip the arm balance as an arm balance, you can do the actual pose on your back or prep it in a squat. You can also use props to help with balance. The squatting variation is the only one that is prenatal approved.

Before moving into today’s featured pose, give yourself some short assignments that warm-up the body (Sun Salutations or cat/cow if you are practicing in the squat or on your back); strengthen and lengthen the legs (standing, seated, or supine poses for the legs); create flexibility in the hips; engage the core muscles; broaden the chest area; and strengthen the arms and wrists. When you’re ready to move into the pose, consider each part of the body as its own species of bird.

From your starting position, open the knees as wide as or wider than the hips. Feet can be together or apart, but make a choice and spread the toes wide. Lengthen the low back and sacrum (the flat part of the back), by lifting the pubic bone up on inhale and letting the sit-bones and ribs reach away from one another. Engage your core. Bend your elbows and bring them into your side body so that the elbows are hugging your ribs. This begins to engage anterior serratus, so when you feel muscles squeezing along your rib cage, see if you can actively tighten in that area. Bring your hands to the floor (or the ceiling, depending on your perspective). With elbows bent back and squeezing in, you want your upper body to engage as if you are going into Chaturanga Dandasana. Rise up to your tip toes so that you can place the knees into the armpits. If you are balancing on your hands, knees actively rest on the backs of the arms. If you are on your back, if feels more like your elbows are resting on your thighs. In all variations, keep your shoulders relaxed.

From standing, you can step your feet up onto a block (behind and under your hips) or shift your body forward and back – not to get momentum, but to check the placement of your hands and arms. Once you have established a solid foundation, shift the weight (so that the toes are barely on the floor) and zip up (meaning spread your toes, squeeze your perineum muscles like you’re trying not to go to the bathroom, and draw the belly button up and back). As you engage the core, the feet float up – don’t panic!

If you are on your back or in the squat, still engage your core and lengthen your spine.

When the elbows are bent this is typically referred to as “Crow Pose.” If you can consistently balance in “Crow Pose,” squeeze everything into your midline and start to straighten the arms. This is typically “Crane Pose.”

Focus on letting your heart soar!

Feel free to play around a little bit and then finish out your practice with a gentle wrist stretch, maybe a Forward Fold with Chest Expansion or that “Gorilla Pose” from last week. Finally, spend some time in Corpse Pose (Savasana) or any neutral pose where you can be still and quiet for at least 5 minutes.

### OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTHI OM ###

« older posts

A Joyful Practice

MOVING INTO STILLNESS: 2019 Kiss My Asana Offering #18 (for Day 29) April 30, 2019

– excerpt from Karima Monsour’s message for 2019 International Dance Day

“….Then there is movement, Change, as slowly the cloud bruises Are healed by sunlight, or snow caps A black mood; but gold at evening To cheer the heart. All through history”

– from “The Other View from the Window” by R. S. Thomas, with accompanying music composed by Hilary Tann, featuring Guy Johnston

“For the first twenty years you are still growing, Bodily that is; as a poet, of course, You are not born yet. It’s the next ten You cut your teeth on to emerge smirking For your brash courtship of the muse.”

– from “To a Young Poet” by R. S. Thomas*

“early April out in my bathrobe and gardening boots”

– Hilary Tann

“There are nights that are so still that I can hear the small owl calling far off and a fox barking miles away.”

– from “The Other” by R. S. Thomas, with accompanying music composed by Hilary Tann, featuring Guy Johnston

“…It is then that I lie in the lean hours awake listening to the swell born somewhere in the Atlantic rising and falling, rising and falling”

– from “The Other” by R. S. Thomas, with accompanying music composed by Hilary Tann, featuring Guy Johnston

“Moments of great calm, Kneeling before an alter Of wood in a stone church”

– from “Kneeling” by R. S. Thomas, with accompanying music composed by Hilary Tann, featuring Guy Johnston

### OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTHI OM ###

ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES: 2019 Kiss My Asana Offering #17 (on Day 28) April 29, 2019

### NAMASTE: The poem in me honors and appreciates the poem that is also inside you. ###

We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Programing…. April 21, 2019

PASSION, FREEDOM, LIGHT, & TALENT: 2019 Kiss My Asana Offering #16 April 17, 2019

“As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. ‘Tell us,’ they said, ‘when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?’”

– Matthew 24:3 (New International Version)

“Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning,”

– excerpt from the “Parable of the Faithful Servant” in Luke 12:35 (NIV)

– excerpt from the “Parable of the Faithful Servant” in Luke 12:38-40 (NIV)

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them.”

– excerpt from the “Parable of the Talents” in Matthew 25:14 (NIV)

“When I consider how my light is spent

Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,

And that one talent which is death to hide

Lodg’d with me useless, though my soul more bent

To serve therewith my Maker, and present

My true account, lest he returning chide;

“Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?”

I fondly ask. But Patience to prevent

That murmur, soon replies: “God doth not need

Either man’s work or his own gifts; who best

Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state

Is kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed

And post o’er land and ocean without rest:

They also serve who only stand and wait.”

– “When I Consider How My Light Is Spent” by John Milton

### NAMASTE: The Light in me honors and appreciates the light that is also inside you. ###

PASSION & #42: 2019 Kiss My Asana Offering #15 April 16, 2019

– Krishna speaking to Arjuna (2.31) in The Bhagavad Gita: A Walkthrough for Westerners by Jack Hawley

“And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,” (Matthew 21:12 KJV)

“And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.” (Matthew 21:13 KJV)

– The Gospel According to Matthew

“But if you do not fight this battle of good over evil, you will fail in both your worldly duty and in your duty to your very Self. You will violate your sva-dharma. Not doing the right thing when it is required is worse than doing the wrong thing.”

– Krishna speaking to Arjuna (2.33) in The Bhagavad Gita: A Walkthrough for Westerners by Jack Hawley

Jackie Robinson Batting Average: .311 / Hits: 1,518 / Home Runs 137 / RBIs: 734

“Jackie‘s body was a temple of God, an instrument of peace.”

– excerpt from Reverend Jesse Jackson’s eulogy of Jackie Robinson (October 1972)

“His leadership helped win 7 Dodger pennants / He eased the acceptance of baseball’s first Black player into the Major Leagues”

– inscription on the tombstone of Harold Henry “Pee Wee” Reese, Captain of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Navy veteran, Baseball Hall of Famer, proud son of Louisville, Kentucky

“Maybe tomorrow we’ll all wear 42, that way they won’t tell us apart.”

– Pee Wee Reese, #1 (played by Lucas Black) to Jackie Robinson #42 (played by Chadwick Boseman) in 42

“The answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything is…42.”

– Deep Thought (voiced by Helen Mirren) in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

### Jai Gurudev Jai Jai ###

PASSION & PEACE: 2019 Kiss My Asana Offering #14 April 15, 2019

Om

sahana vavatu sahano bhunaktu Saha viryam karavavahai Tejasvi navaditamastu Ma vidvishavahai

Om shanti shanti shantih.

Conscious, subconscious, and unconscious mind / on every plane of existence

May we be protected May we be nourished May we work together with great energy May our study together be brilliant and effective May we not hate or dispute with one another

On every plane of existence peace (within us), peace (all around us), peace (to and from everything we encounter)

“Let us go forth in peace.”

– Final instruction in the Divine Liturgy

Passion (noun): 1. [mass noun] strong and barely controllable emotion; 1.2 intense sexual love; 1.3 [in singular] an intense desire or enthusiasm for something; 2. (the Passion) The suffering and death of Jesus.

Origin: Middle English: from Old French; from late Latin passio(n-), from Latin pati- “suffer”

– from Oxford Dictionaries

“Jesus shows us how to face moments of difficulty and the most insidious of temptations by preserving in our hearts a peace that is neither detachment nor superhuman impassivity, but confident abandonment to the Father and to his saving will, bestows life and mercy.”

– excerpt from 2019 Palm Sunday homily by Pope Francis

“So the redeemed of the LORD will return and enter Zion with singing, crowned with unending joy. Joy and gladness will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee.”

– Isaiah 51:11, Berean Study Bible

“From an attitude of contentment (santosha), unexcelled happiness, mental comfort, joy, and satisfaction is obtained.”

– Yoga Sutra 2.42

### OM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTHI OM ###

MEET MS. BANNING: 2019 Kiss My Asana Offering #13 April 13, 2019

“….Then there is movement,
Change, as slowly the cloud bruises
Are healed by sunlight, or snow caps
A black mood; but gold at evening
To cheer the heart. All through history”

“For the first twenty years you are still growing,
Bodily that is; as a poet, of course,
You are not born yet. It’s the next ten
You cut your teeth on to emerge smirking
For your brash courtship of the muse.”

“early April
out in my bathrobe
and gardening boots”

“There are nights that are so still
that I can hear the small owl
calling
far off and a fox barking
miles away.”

“…It is then that I lie
in the lean hours awake listening
to the swell born somewhere in
the Atlantic
rising and falling, rising and
falling”

“Moments of great calm,
Kneeling before an alter
Of wood in a stone church”

**– Krishna speaking to Arjuna (2.31) in The Bhagavad Gita: A Walkthrough for Westerners by Jack Hawley**

**– Krishna speaking to Arjuna (2.33) in The Bhagavad Gita: A Walkthrough for Westerners by Jack Hawley**

sahana vavatu
sahano bhunaktu
Saha viryam karavavahai
Tejasvi navaditamastu
Ma vidvishavahai

Conscious, subconscious, and unconscious mind /
on every plane of existence

May we be protected
May we be nourished
May we work together with great energy
May our study together be brilliant and effective
May we not hate or dispute with one another

On every plane of existence peace (within us), peace (all around us),
peace (to and from everything we encounter)

**Origin: Middle English: from Old French; from late Latin passio(n-), from Latin pati- “suffer”**

**– from Oxford Dictionaries**

“How strange that we can begin at any time.
With two feet we get down the street.
With a hand we undo the rose.
With an eye we lift up the peach tree
And hold it up to the wind – white blossoms
At our feet. Like today. I started”

**– excerpt from Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Ann Lamott (born April 10, 1954)**