QUOTE OF THE DAY
Sri Swami Sivananda
Sri Swami Sivananda
Forget the past. Begin life afresh. Face life boldly. A glorious future is awaiting you.
Well, it's been quite a week for me. For the first time in 7 years I decided to do an 8 day Panchakarma rejuvenation cleanse at one of the revered Ayurvedic clinics in Mysore. I cleanse all the time at home; UECleanse, colonics, juicing, etc, but I have never done Panchakarma; which is not only a cleanse, but a rejuvenation & oleation of the internal body using different Ayurvedic therapies. I drank a total of 270ml of medicated ghee (clarified butter) over the course of 4 days for breakfast, had Abhyangha massages, eating only sattvic foods like kitchadi & warm cooked veggies (no spice), dal, chapati, etc, sirodhara treatments daily (warm fluid slowly pours over the forehead for 40 min to calm the mind) with medicated buttermilk and then the last day (which is Tuesday) I'll be eating a certain medicated paste that will keep me close to the toilet all day long, eating only some rice porridge once the bathroom trips stop which they tell me is about 7-8 hours. FUN FUN FUN!! ;) One of the main reasons I have hesitated doing this 'cleanse' here is b/c #1 India is already so intense and strips us of some many creature comforts, #2 for the fact that i have a very long, intense practice and #3 the dreaded thought of giving up my favorite vice.... COFFEE!!! yikes! But, intuitively I knew it was time and that I needed to do this for all 5 'layers' of me (the 5 mayas). Tomorrow will be day 7 so I am almost there! I have made it to practice all but 1 day and I feel amazing. The best part is I will take many things I have learned and bring them with me into my everyday 'routine' to sustain these results. After all, isn't that the point? To go through all of this only to go back to habits that don't serve me would be a waste of time, energy and money.
Practice is the same... we get on our mats each day to move, breathe, meditate, chant, etc.. WHY? Ideally, to see the divine in all things and to get clear & find peace within our heart & mind. To clean the body and the mind so that our relationship with ourselves and everyone/everything else around us becomes healthy and peaceful. Practice gives us an opportunity to slow down and LISTEN to what is inside our heart and mind... the COURAGE to look at it and face it, process it.. and then TAKE ACTION. And then create new behaviors and actions that produce healthier outcomes. (moving away from old samskaras and creating new ones that we water and feed so that we don't go back to the old ones) It's about cleaning our karma and seeing clearly so that our future actions aren't based in klesha but are based in yama & niyama & prama. Then we can, in time, be truly happy, peaceful, and free.
The auspicious happenings in India always amaze me. Today I was going to have the courage to ask Sharath to speak about the yamas & niyamas at conference in front of over 300 people. We all came in and sat down... he chanted for us and then began... "Yama & Niyama"...... my jaw dropped.. it was as if he read my mind! He took 1 full hour to expound on the HEART & SOUL of yoga practice.. how we live our lives OFF THE MAT is the most important thing. This is the 2nd time I have heard him so passionately make a point to all of us that yoga is NOT ABOUT THE ASANAS... the handstands, the 'up & over's' (in fact he mentioned that he doesn't understand why so many people are doing these acrobatic things... Guruji was not teaching this) the "flying" around with each vinyasa. He began to go through and talk about each yama and niyama with examples:
Ahimsa: don't hurt anyone or anything; with your actions, thoughts, or words.
Satya: always be honest with yourself first and then others. this will enable you to walk around at peace.. these 2 yamas together; ahimsa & satya are so important.
Asteya: don't steal; things, thoughts, ideas, etc.
Brahmacharya: celibacy, or being totally faithful to your partner and he/she to you. this will cultivate a very special energy inside of us.. very positive.
Aparigraha: non hoarding. not taking more then we need. He talked about how greedy people are nowadays and how people will go to any measure to get what they want. He said the most happy people have nothing; those living in the slums of India who are lucky if they have 1 meal a day. It's the people who have 7 meals a day whose bellies are full.. yet, they are still not happy or satiated.
He went on to speak of the Niyamas:
Sauca: cleanliness; of the inside of the body/outside of body & most importantly cleanliness of our mind. He said it means to keep the inside of your body clean by what you feed it, how you clean the outside (and here he was funny by reminding us how important it is to WASH BEFORE YOGA.. take a hot shower to clean the dirt and wash away the previous day's "energy" as well as warm the muscles. he proceeded to say "many of you are coming stinky.. i don't even want to touch you".. the room filled with laughter) Even more important then these 2 aspects of sauca is cleanliness of mind.. think peaceful, kind, happy thoughts. Don't wish ill will upon others, jealousy, anger, envy, etc.. this will surround you with bad energy and that will attract more bad energy.
Samtosha: contentment. being happy with what we have.
tapas: practice and living a structured, DISCIPLINED life. eating at same time of day, practicing same time of day, bedtime same time... good food, keeping good positive healthy company, speaking kind words, reading spiritual uplifting books. Not running around gossiping, partying, eating & drinking toxic things, etc. He said that many people show up on the mat and then go and basically lose or destroy all that good energy by embarking on negative behavior. what is the point of doing yoga then? he said you might as well go take an aerobics class.
Svadhyaya: self study... looking at your own thoughts, words, actions, reactions, taking accountability, having a teacher who can help to show you 'yourself" and working towards really knowing your Self (with a capital S... higher self)
and lastly...
Isvara Pranidhana: the ability to surrender to the divine. Whether it be God, a higher force, etc. Ideally picking an Ishta Devata (diety of choice) like Jesus, Ganesha, Krishna, Alla, etc and working towards living like they did. Connecting to their energy while you practice and you will begin to embody their qualities.
As you can imagine I was beyond pleased that he discussed all of this with us as you all know how important the Yamas & Niyamas are to cultivating a truly "yogic" (peaceful, happy, healthy) life. I thought he did a wonderful job in his delivery with examples from the Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, and his own life. Once again, Sharath is proving himself to be the Guru that Guruji so confidently appointed to take over the KPJAYI when he passed on and I have no doubt he looks down upon his grandson & most dedicated student with great pride & love.
So, I have decided to extend my stay in India until February 18th. I'm not ready to leave this energy just yet. This has been a wonderful trip and I am not only learning more and more about myself, but getting confirmation on so many things I have felt for a long time now. I will see you all the week of February 20th as I will be teaching 8 classes at Balance that week. Jessica will be posting those classes in the next email blast as well as on the Balance Face Book page soon. I will be leaving again on Feb 26th to head back out west until early April to do some teaching on the other coast. I'm really excited for these new opportunities.... it is time. And i am SO INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL for the amazing staff of teachers and Jessica, our wonderful new manager at Balance, who I know are doing a wonderful job bringing you all the many gifts & blessings of yoga.
May we all be protected together.
May we be nourished together by these practices.
May we work together for the greater good of mankind.
May our studies be enlightening.
And my there always be peace, respect, and love between us.
Hari Om Tat Sat.
Stacy
p.s. here is a picture of me and Shiva with his new puppy! ;) Shiva is a wonderful man who is a swami & helps all the yoga students find apartments, scooters, pretty much anything you need..
p.p.s. some information on ......
Ahimsa Satya Asteya Brahmacarya Aparigraha Yamaha
Sauca Samtosa Tapaha Svadhyaya Isvarapranidhanani Niyamaha
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