FTWMI: Another Hard Working Day June 21, 2023

Happy… [insert everything that’s being celebrated today, including Pride]!

For Those Who Missed It: This expanded and “renewed” compilation was originally posted in 2022. Some verbiage has been revised and some information was previously posted in June and December 2020.

“We must understand that yoga is not an Indian (thing). If you want to call yoga Indian, then you must call gravity European.”

– Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, founder of the Isha Foundation, speaking in a 2016 United Nations panel discussion about International Yoga Day

Today (June 21^st) is vying with May 1^st to be the hardest working day of the year. It’s International Yoga Day, World Music Day, World Handshake Day, Atheist Solidarity Day, World Humanist Day, and sometimes (including this year) it’s Summer Solstice. I feel like I’m forgetting something….

Oh yes, one of these days is also connected, inspired even, by someone’s birthday. So, let’s start with that.

Born June 21, 1938, in Mysore, India, T. K. V. Desikachar learned yoga from his father, Sri T. Krishnamacharya, who became known as “the father of modern yoga” because his teachings led to a resurgence in the physical practice of yoga in India. Eventually, a handful of Krishnamacharya’s students were charged with sharing the physical practice with the rest of the world. T. K. V. Desikachar was one of a those students and some say that his method of teaching – as well as the tradition of practice (originally called “Viniyoga”) that he taught – is the most consistent with Sri Krishnamacharya’s teachings.

Just as was the case with his father and grandfather before him, T. K. V. Desikachar’s students included his children and world leaders. Just as his father and grandfather did, he stressed the importance of teaching and practicing according to an individual’s needs – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. His teachings were so influential that a celebration of yoga was proposed to the United Nations General Assembly in 2014. The first International Yoga Day observation occurred today in 2015, with over 200 million people in almost 180 nations practicing yoga – some even extending the celebration into the entire week.

Since today is also a solstice, someone somewhere is probably practicing 108 Sun Salutations.

“One of his longtime students, Patricia Miller, who now teaches in Washington, D.C., recalls him leading a meditation by offering alternatives. He instructed students to close their eyes and observe the space between the brows, and then said, ‘Think of God. If not God, the sun. If not the sun, your parents.’ Krishnamacharya set only one condition, explains Miller: ‘That we acknowledge a power greater than ourselves.’”

– quoted from the Yoga Journal article entitled “Krishnamacharya’s Legacy” by Fernando Pagés Ruiz

The word “solstice” comes from the Latin words meaning “sun” and “to stand still.” The solstice marks the moment, twice a year, when one hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun while the other is tilted away. The incline make it appear as if the Sun is hovering over one of the poles – thus creating the longest day (and the longest night) of the year. In the Northern Hemisphere, today was Summer Solstice, the longest day and the shortest night. It’s a moment of transition that marks incremental changes: increasingly shorter days (i.e., more night).

I often mention the yoga “tradition” of practicing 108 Sun Salutations on the equinoxes and solstices, but I have no idea how long such traditions have existed. I do know, however, that ancient Indian texts – including some related to astronomy – highlight the auspiciousness of 108 and that all around the world various cultures have celebrations related to the changing positions of the sun. Since many of the surviving sun-related rituals and traditions from around the world involve movement (e.g. dancing around a May pole, leaping over bonfires, and cleansing rituals), it is not surprising that people still find practicing Sūrya Namaskar (“Salutes to the Sun”) so appealing. After all, it is a practice of constant change,  highlighting a period of transition.

While there are different types of “Sun Salutations,” it is traditionally viewed as a series of twelve poses and, therefore, a practice of six (inhale-exhale) breaths. The movement mimics the body’s natural tendencies to extend, or lift up to the sun, on the inhale – which is the solar breath – and to get closer to the earth on the exhale – which is the lunar breath. It is a mālā (“ring” or “garland”) meditation practice involving a japa-japa (“not thinking-repeat” or it can be explained as “repeat-remember”), which is similar to a reciting, chanting, or praying with a rosary or beads. In fact, there are chants and prayers which are sometimes used along with the movement. Not coincidentally, 108 corresponds with the way people use mala beads and old fashioned rosaries – which had beads to recite 10 decades (10×10) plus 8 beads (for mistakes). On the rosary, the cross is the guru bead.

Click here for more about sun-related celebrations and stories or click here learn more about the auspiciousness of 108.

If you click on the 108-related link above, you will note that 108 shows up in some traditions as the number of vedanās (“feelings” or “sensations”) that humans can experience. On one level, the calculation breaks down how we internalize vibrations. It does not, however, break down all the external stimuli that might result in the 108 sensations. For instance, it can be used to explain all the different feels we might have over a memory that pops up when we eat a biscuit, see someone that reminds us of someone, move our body in a certain way, and/or hear a certain tone (or combination of tones). It does not explain, however, how there is so much great music in the world – or why everyone deserves music.

The idea that “everyone deserves music / sweet music” is something very much at the heart of World Music Day. Not to be confused with International Music Day, World Music Day was started in France in 1982 and has been adopted by over 120 nations, including India. The idea for free concerts in open areas by a variety of musicians was first proposed by an American, Joel Cohen, as far back as 1976. In 1981, however, French Minister of Culture Jack Lang appointed musician Maurice Fleuret as the Director of Music and Dance. The duo collaborated to create an event in 1985, whereby even amateurs would be encouraged to musically express themselves in public. Fleuret said there would be “music everywhere and the concert nowhere.”

According to Johann Sebastian Bach, “[Music] should have no other end and aim than the glory of God and the re-creation of the soul, where this is not kept in mind, there is no true music, but only an infernal clamour and ranting.” A quick study of music from around the world will show that, throughout history, many people have created music that is devotional in nature. In fact, kirtan (“narrating,” “praising,” or “reciting”) is a form of bhakti (or “devotional”) yoga, where chanting is combined with music. More often than not, the chanting is related to one of the names of God, mentioned in the 108-link above.

Today’s playlist, however, has no kirtan during the 65-90 minutes of practice music. Because, well…

“Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness’ sake.”

– bus billboard for the American Humanist Association

There are atheists everywhere, even though many people believe they are few and far between. In 2010, Mike Smith started a Facebook group to make Atheist Solidarity Day an official holiday. Even though he deleted the group soon after, people were engaged. Today, atheist celebrate June 21^st as a global protest, celebration, and awareness raising event for people who don’t always have the freedom to openly express their lack of belief in “god,” whatever that means to you at this moment.

To be clear, not all humanist are atheist; however Humanists (as described by the Humanist Manifesto of 1933) are atheists. While I could call myself a humanist, I am neither a Humanist nor an atheist. Still, today’s black and red theme is in solidarity of people having the freedom to believe what serves them – as long as it doesn’t harm others.

As we are finding more and more each day, that last part is the tricky part of believing in “freedom of religion.” So many people believe that other people’s beliefs are causing them to suffer, when – in fact – it is that very belief (about other people’s beliefs) that causes suffering. Additionally, people sometimes believe that their beliefs are so correct that they should be forced on others – an attitude which can create more suffering. It’s a vicious cycle.

On World Refugee Day, with regard to personal safety, I mentioned that we are all (on a certain level) responsible for our own feelings of safety. I think the same is true about suffering. This has nothing to do with the fact that one person can harm another person or do something that causes another person to suffer. Instead, what I am saying is that if we feel unsafe in a situation, we are responsible for acknowledging that feeling and examining it to see if it is rooted in reality. Then, we act accordingly. Similarly, if we are experiencing mental and emotional anguish over another person’s beliefs, we owe it to ourselves to go deeper. Ask yourself: How does this other person’s belief affect me in the real world? Does this person’s belief (system) truly threaten my existence?

We have to be honest with ourselves and recognize our own kliṣṭa (“afflicted” or “dysfunctional”) thought patterns in order to see the roots of our own suffering. Doing so will also allow us to see how we are contributing to division in the world. In the process, doing so can bring us a little closer to “coming together” – which is, ultimately the whole point of yoga, and all these celebrations.

“My son, place your hand here in the sea and you are united with the whole world.”

– Ivan Zupa, founder of World Handshake Day, remembering the advice of an old man

Please join me today (Wednesday, June 21^st) at 4:30 PM or 7:15 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. Use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You will need to register for the 7:15 PM class if you have not already done so. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.

Wednesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “06212022 Another Hard Working Day”]

In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es). Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.

Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.)

### BREATHE INTO YOUR SPINE ###