Yoga Digest

Posted: 16 May 2020 12:59 PM PDT

I was just told that my yoga studios would be closed indefinitely. Both of the studios, where I
teach classes, to finance my writing career, would close without any re-opening information. A
moment after, I started receiving emails announcing closures from my massage place,
acupuncture place, nail place, my dentist, and my vet. It was like listening to an orchestrated
symphony of chaos the rest of the day. As I sat with that awareness, I received a call from a
friend who was concerned because her child's school is closing for the week, and at the time,
she had a full calendar of appointments. She works full-time, and I could tell that she needed to
talk through what she just heard, but didn't quite know what to say yet. I also wondered why
she called me and not a fellow mom, but I felt really special. Later, that school will close for the
year and those work appointments would cancel or transition to virtual meetings. All of them.

During the week, I turned on the news and heard that we were closing borders, stopping air
travel, and as a country, we may be at war with China. All speculation, of course, as is most of
television news lately. In those early days, I thought, "surely this is just temporary panic and
everyone is just being cautious because there isn't a vaccine for the new flu strand." Such a nice
thought. I was wrong. The world closed for six weeks, more depending on where you live. We
were forced to re-work everything, overnight. We were forced to show our creativity and
organization skills to avoid losing it. Oh, and the fear of getting sick. We had that looming over
us, while trying to not lose it. Through the myriad of chaos that ensued, I recall moments of
light. It's the light I want to share with you now. The chaos, the anger, and the despair is there.
You felt it too, with your own details and your own filters. We don't have to discuss that. The
light though, may not have been felt by everyone, and as healers, we are called to share.

"The logic and the emotion don't align." I remember boldly and sternly stating this to my
husband. To which he said, "don't take it all on yourself." This was his gentle reminder to his
empathetic wife to not carry the burdens of the world on her shoulders. (Especially right now
while I couldn't get a massage or acupuncture treatments.) I had to learn to manage through
the mess, and even though I didn't understand some decisions being made my law makers,
instead of pushing against them, I needed to find a way to work with them. I had to pull out my
tool bag, the one I discuss in my book, and actually use the tools.

Creativity

Self-care

These two were my first priorities. I know that working from a creative space aligns me with my
power. I will work at my best when I am using creativity for a task. Even the most mundane task
or frustrating responsibility can be made better with creative solutions. Give it a shot! Take one
thing on your plate today that you're not looking forward to. How can you make it fun? How
can you inject energy into it? Maybe you can edit the environment you're working in today?
Maybe you just put on a brighter lipstick shade. Be creative.

Now is the time to step up my self-care, despite my traditional resources being temporarily
closed. What can I do? Exercise at home is easy. I have YouTube, other online exercise classes,
and stairs. The weather is nice, so I can use this time to up my running mileage. I have an ionic
foot soak, Epsom salts, and a foam roller. I am in charge of what I eat and this is a great time to
clean it up a bit. I will make good choices and try some new recipes. I know I am better when I
feel better, so feeling my best during this time is my top goal.

It took a few weeks, but I settled into this new routine and actually began to like it. I didn't
realize how full I kept my days with things that may not need to happen as often. I found that
there were certain things I couldn't do that I really didn't want to do anyway. I enjoyed the
slower pace of my day, and even when I started working with clients (virtually) again, I
scheduled a few hours for this, and then truly got to focus on some fun projects with my family
and friends. The opportunities for conversations, the space for more time together, and
peaceful moments became a craving. I find myself now wondering what I really want to bring
back to my days, once the world opens again. I find myself a bit sad that the ambient noise of
life will naturally rise again, and wonder how I can protect the good habits I've created lately. It
took the world forcing me to stay at home to realize I still have some clutter in my life.
This world pulls us to want more, and to ask for more, and to collect more when maybe all we
really need is less. Maybe we need less pressures? Maybe we need less memberships? Maybe
we need less appointments or obligations? Maybe we need less negative chatter? Less secular
news? Less time spent on anything that doesn't light us up with joy. Ask yourself these
questions:

1. What have I not missed during this season?
2. What new light has shown through the darkness of sickness, pain, death?
3. What can I afford less of?

Reflect on your lists and answers and find space to create your days. Seeing this time as a gift,
despite the pain it has caused, allows you to step into your power as a creator of your reality. In
a world that leans toward gaining more, taking more, and collecting more, maybe for true joy,
all you really need is less.

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What Ignites the Spark of Transformation in Yoga?

Posted: 16 May 2020 12:34 PM PDT

What ignites the spark of transformation in yoga?

The simple answer is philosophy.

The transformative effects of yoga are nearly impossible to describe because they are entirely subjective. Each individual comes to the tradition with their own unique needs. In time and with effort and persistence, moments may arise when the practitioner becomes aware of shifts in consciousness. The shift in consciousness is key.

Undoubtedly, yoga poses have taken the spotlight when it comes to people's perception of what yoga is. That belief though, is lacking depth. Praising the pose for changing your life is like praising the paper, glue and binding of a book for transformation; when really the ideas, wisdom and concepts that challenge your thinking or inspire new horizons is what leads to transformation. The structures of the book and body certainly serve a purpose. The print on paper allows the concepts to be circulated and shared. The body is utilized by the mind to experience nature all around us. But the spark – that is intangible and comes from within.

When it comes to life and its unrelenting torrent of challenges, the importance of the ability to hold the body in a physically difficult position falls far behind the importance of mental clarity, confidence and fortitude. A yoga pose without influence from philosophy or attitudes (bhavas) is like an empty calorie.

It may be beneficial to think of a pose as a conduit. The question though, is what are you directing your energy (or lifeforce) toward? There are speculations for example, that a person prone to anger, who learns to harness the power of prana, may end up stoking the anger instead of quelling it. If that same practitioner focuses the mind on an attitude such as acceptance (a concept of Karma Yoga), then their pose and pranayama practice will energize the antidote to their anger. The result would be experiencing life in a more calm and neutral manner than in a reactionary and combative manner.

A common point of focus for yoga practitioners is balance. But what are students of yoga attempting to align to achieve balance? This is where philosophy comes in. In yoga there is the conceptual view of the Koshas. The model of the Koshas inspires practitioners to recognize the layers that make up the experience of life. We know we have a physical experience. In addition, there is an energetic, emotional, intellectual and a spiritual experience. A seasoned yogi understands that balance isn't as simple as a steady tree pose; true balance is giving equal attention to the entirety of one's being. Focusing solely on the body without philosophy often leads to imbalances such as; egoism, vanity, competitiveness, self-centeredness, attachment to permanence of strength, flexibility or health among others.

The true and authentic transformation of consciousness depends upon a shift in view of the innate relationship with the nature within and around. The shift undoubtedly happens within the mind as a result of the incorporation of philosophical concepts in practice.

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