The Lazy Person’s Guide to Enlightenment

When I first got into yoga about twenty years ago, I collected a whole library of spiritual-related books. Through the years and moves, my library thinned. One book that has stuck with me and I have refused to give away is called The Lazy Man’s Guide to Enlightenment by Thaddeus Golas. Not much of a book really, but more a thin 30 page pamphlet not much longer than Ramana Maharshi’s “I am That.” It was evidently handed out on the streets of San Francisco in 1971 until it was published. It is a backhanded guide to Bhakti Yoga if you will.

The basis is simple: the universe is made out of one type of “stuff” and that “stuff” expands or contracts based on how much we love or withdraw from love. Feeling bad? Just put your love into something. Feeling spaced out and “pourous”? Maybe you are putting too much love into something that is already saturated with love. As I am getting older and more cynical, these types of easy peasey ideas actually break me out of my funk.

The book steers clear of some type of diety or God, but just the act of expanding or contracting your love. If you are of a certain faith, you can apply this to that which you worship. This also works well with relationships, pets and plants. Experiment on your pet. Give your pet as much love as you can in the next five minutes and you will see that this theory holds water. Then try it on humans.

When you practice yoga, you are giving yourself an intense dose of love. Just don’t overdo it or are pushed into getting into some type of Instagram challenge pose.

It seems the world is in a big funk now: political corruption, coronaviruses, homelessness, global warming etc etc. Maybe it is time to start thinking differently. Love is a great tool to change the world and certainly yourself.

 

 

Invocation to Patanjali for beginning students?

In this morning’s class, one student brought printed out words to the Invocation to Patanjali she found on the internet because she wanted to learn the chant.  She distributed copies for all the students. Unfortunately, she ended just printing out the first few lines and cut off a word. We already have printed versions of the whole chant at the studio in laminated cards, but I don’t pass them out. I simply chant when the clock hits seven am.

She asked why don’t I pass out the words? That is a question I ask myself often, but here is what the “words” look like:

They are a bit intimidating for the beginner. Especially at 7 am. In my best voice I chant the words. It is call and response. This is how I always start the class.

Yoga is an oral tradition. This is how it has been taught from a long time ago. People didn’t learn with laminated cards with phonetic spellings. They learned from simple call and response.

There is much more to it than that. The invocation is a skillfully concealed pranayama. You don’t read a pranayama. You breathe it. It is the use of sound to unify the class from the beginning. It gets us on the same “page.”

It is a metaphysical chant. The sound forms purify the nadi-s and spin the wheels of the chakras. The chant generates a field around the student to allow absorption of the teachings.

So perhaps next class I will pass out the laminated copies to compare the experience. You never know, they might just “learn” the chant that way…

 

On a happy note, today marks Iyengar Home Practice’s sixth anniversary. Hopefully there will be many more.

Sometimes Savasana is all you need

I taught a nice class this morning. Five of my regular students showed and it is “standing pose week.” We went through some standard standing postures: adhomukha svanasana, utthita trikonasana/parsvakonasana, vira II, ardha chandrasasna, and prasarita padottanasana. We went through some not so standard variations of utthita hasta padangusthasana with a chair and rope wall. I even threw in a rare salamba sarvangasana for a basic level class using the wall in lieu of chair and omitting halasana.

Standing poses demand a certain rigor that the other poses do not. Because you are on your feet most of the time you can push a bit harder. As we are transitioning to the damp rainy season in Hawai’i, the standing poses offset stiff joints that accompany wetter weather.

After the last active pose, I settled the class into savansana. Out of the corner of my eye I saw one of my students peer in the door. She had thought it was Friday and came for the class taught at that time. She seemed disoriented. In my hush voice, I had her come in and at least do the savasana with the class. After all, she commuted to class from wherever she lives and made the effort to suit up. She reluctantly agreed.

I gave her a nice savasana set up I learned from my mentor Ray many years ago. A “mini” setu-bandha setup with two blankets set long to go under the spine so there is a subtle chest opening more than you’d just get lying on the floor.

I always to a 10 minute savasana no matter what. Most people don’t take that much time in their lives just to commit to doing nothing. I feel it is important with our stressed out society.

After class that student came up to me and said that she had been on the East Coast (six hour time difference than Hawai’i) and was so jet lagged, she thought it was Friday. She said she was stressed because she was preparing for a conference call. The relief on her face was markedly different from when I saw her stressfully peering into class just 10 minutes before. Everything was okay for her now and she could enjoy her day she was “given” by realizing it was Thursday.

Sometimes savasana is all you need….

Catching up with Navratri

Autumn is young, and that means we are smack in the middle of a wonderful semi-annual Indian tradition called Navratri (nine nights). In late September or early October, manifestations of Durga in celebrated each of the nine nights. As India Standard Time about a day and half different that where I am, I have to guesstimate which “night” is the correct one for each Durga manifestation.

This year Navratri started on September 29th. The first night celebrates Durga manifestation Shailputri who symbolizes the Hamalayas (the rock name “shale” comes from the this). Next is Brahmacharini, celebrated for doing strict tapas, then Chandraghanta who brings peace. The next night is Kushmanda who brings health and wealth. The fifth night is for Skandamata who is the mother of Skanda. One who does puja for her also gets blessings and boons from her son as well. The sixth night is Katyayani who killed the demon Mahishasur and is the first of the “warrior” Durgas. Next is the fierce Kaalratri who wields a bloody sickle. She is also known as Kali Maa and is not to be trifled with. On the eighth night is Mahagauri who had performed austere penance and was covered in soot. After Shiva washed her being pleased with her practice she was a stark white color. On the ninth and last night there is Siddhidatri who is the giver of boons for those who showed devotion during this nine night time period. The very last night is called Dusshera which celebrates Durga’s victory over evil.

My wife and I like to listen to the different mantras of each Durga during the different nights. We may be getting boons as things have been going much more positively for our family lately and our health has improved.

There are much deeper stories of all of these Durga manifestations. StoRyvival, a youtube channel, has wonderful commentary on each of these manifestations of Durga and other Indian traditions. There are also lots of navratri mantras available on youtube as well. Navaratri is twice a year and the other one is during the springtime.

May you get blessings during this time of year!

Jim needs your help

Jim Dillman, long time Iyengar yoga teacher and Vietnam vet, is battling cancer. His friends have set up a Go Fund Me page to assist with his medical bills. In my early days of Iyengar yoga, Jim encouraged me to become a teacher. He has been an inspiration for me because he is a living testament to how yoga can profoundly heal someone and transform them into a force for good. If you have known Jim, or want to help out a wonderful soul, please send him well wishes.

A season of reflection

Hi all! I know it’s been a while. A good friend of mine sent me an email encouraging me to start blogging again. A lot has happened since I last posted both personally and in the US Iyengar community. I felt I needed to sit back and see how things unfolded before jumping into the fray again.

It’s been about a year since I passed my Intermediate Junior I certification. Almost instantly after passing, I was able to relax and just teach the way I wanted to instead worrying about the syllabus. Despite my certification, I prefer to teach basic and raw beginner students. I think I have learned so many modifications trying to get into the Junior I poses, I have applied many of those principles to the simpler poses with nice results.

One thing I have never felt too comfortable with is physically adjusting students. Perhaps it is because of my background in psychology and counseling that I realize people have a lot trauma. Being in an asana can be vulnerable, and to be unexpectedly handled can be like ripping the band aid off an emotional wound.

When I got the notifications that a senior member of our community was ousted for inappropriate adjustments, I felt a jolt. It made me question a lot of things about how we are taught to adjust students in this method. Touching someone is a powerful thing, and can be easily misconstrued. Perhaps that is why I prefer the more basic classes is that many of the asanas don’t require a lot of adjustment if the verbal direction is clear. Long story short, I felt very sad by the news as it put a black mark on this style of teaching which I felt for so many years was peerless.

While all of this was unfolding, I had to sadly give up one of the classes I taught for 16 years because of a road closure that made it difficult for me to get to the class on Saturdays. That, coupled with students who have left the island or became ill left me a little shaken as well. It was almost like having a friend pass away. 

There have been times in the past year I thought about packing it up. I felt like I was going through the motions. My personal practice had deteriorated and my asana ability was crumbling. I was getting fewer students. My health was going downhill as well. I gained weight and my blood pressure was high.  I was constantly exhausted.  Working a full time job and a few side gigs plus yoga classes was taking its toll. And my wife and I are still caregivers for her mom. I saw a doctor who recommended I do a sleep study as my wife said that I snore. As it turns out, I was diagnosed with sleep apnea. I started using a CPAP machine at night.

Shortly after using the CPAP machine, I felt much better. I didn’t have to take naps every day. My blood pressure improved. And most importantly, my mental clarity started getting sharper again. My weight started to go down as well.

My classes started getting bigger. Now I am starting to get six to nine students when before I was lucky to get four or five per class. I started feeling good about teaching again, and have started back on my personal practice. I have been teaching this particular class for about five years now. I feel close to my students as they have supported me through all the years of getting this certification, my father-in-law passing, and my personal struggles. In short, I am tremendously grateful for my students. At the end of class I chant the Guru Mantra that was taught to us shortly after Guruji’s passing. It is for thanking all of my teachers and my students who as it turns out, are some the greatest teachers of all.

Thanks for the email Sonia!

The Last Class

This past Saturday I taught my last class at Unity Church of Hawaii after 16 years. Long time students have moved away or gotten on to other things. Low attendance has been making it difficult to break even, despite rent being a nominal $25 per hour.  Towards the end, I wound up paying for most of the class out of my pocket. That was okay as I am gainfully employed.

The real culprit was the closing of a major highway that joined the two sides of the island. The Pali Highway succumbed to a landslide after heavy rains in February. During the week it can be contra flowed, but on weekends it is closed, making my commute to class twice as long.

That being said, my last four students were ones I have had for years. It felt like I was moving away from family. They come from very different walks of life. One woman works for the city and is an anime aficionado who takes care of her mother with dementia. Another is a retired woman who makes elegant Hawaiian clothing, and is the mother of a guitar player in a major rock band. One is an energy consultant who makes cities greener via clean energy policies. And lastly, one is an 85-year-old ophthalmologist who graduated from Harvard Medical School and is the surfing champion in his age division.

There were many more students over the years. Each taught me so much more than I could possibly teach them. I have extended them to join my other classes during the weekday. All have busy schedules. It seems so much of the modern 200 hour yoga trainings these days are designed to pack classes densely as soon as people can click a spot in the next class. But I doubt they train their students for this, letting go.

Now what will I do on Saturday mornings? Sleep in? Or perhaps take the opportunity to further my own yoga practice…