Time and Practice

I have not written for awhile..... I moved to a new part of town with my partner and opened a studio in my home.  During this time I felt as though I had no time.  Teaching, moving, transitioning my whole attitude towards home and sharing space (this is a whole new experience for me as I have never lived with anyone).  I felt afraid, excited and overwhelmed. Like always I stayed with my discipline around my Asana practice but started to feel as though my Yoga practice had fallen by the way side.  My practice off the mat was suffering. Was it time that I lacked or perspective? 

Here in this short passage I found time.

At one of the Dalai Lama’s talks he was asked, “Why is prayer important for a spiritual life?”

His reply was that prayer (meditation) is, “A simple daily reminder of your deeply held principles and convictions.”

Another listener asked, “For someone who is really busy, how does one find the time to do these kinds of prayers and meditation practices?”

The Dalai Lama said, in essence, you can always make time. But then he went on to add:

…if you think seriously about the true meaning of spiritual practices, it has to do with the development and training of your mental state, attitudes, and psychological and emotional state and well-being. You should not confine your understanding of spiritual practice to terms of some physical activities or verbal activities, like doing recitations of prayers and chanting.

If your understanding of spiritual practice is limited to only these activities, then, of course, you will need a specific time, a separate allotted time to do your practice — because you can’t go around doing your daily chores, like cooking and so on, while reciting mantras. That could be quite annoying to people around you.

However, if you understand spiritual practice in its true sense, then you can use all twenty-four hours of your day for your practice. True spirituality is a mental attitude that you can practice at any time.

For example, if you find yourself in a situation in which you might be tempted to insult someone, then you immediately take precautions and restrain yourself from doing that. Similarly, if you encounter a situation in which you may lose your temper, immediately you are mindful and say, “No, this is not the appropriate way.” That actually is a spiritual practice.

Seen in that light, you will always have time.

A Taste of Compassion

Just a little note that I will be teaching an hour of basic Yoga and mindfull movement  this coming Saturday April 2 at 2PM in Huntington Beach.  Here is the link for 'A Taste of Compassion'.

 It is my first time attending this conference so I am not sure how it goes however the topic of discussion is something we can all look at.  How many times in a day can you transform your words into a more positive less reactive language. How would this transform your relationship to not only yourself but to those who come into contact with you?  Remember that we are what we think.  Hope to see you there!

Ask Yourself

Are you a fountain or a drain? Do you fill those around you? Do you fill yourself? Are those you surround yourself with fountains or drains?  Do you walk away from seeing a friend and feel supported and rejuvenated or tired and tense? This question has become increasingly important to me and I hope to you as well.

Growing Pains

We all arrive at tough times, we all can feel frustrated and blocked. It's essential... It's growth. I see this often in my Yoga practice. My body can seemingly feel injured or weak or incapable of moving into certain asanas with ease. If I push I only hurt myself or create more frustration. I'm a pusher, I like to move through blocks quickly but what I have discovered over and over again is that pushing results in the opposing force pushing back harder. Whether it's a muscle, ligament or emotion there is an element of time and space that is required for growth. It is my practice to wait, listen to my body and allow it to open and understand when I'm ready (although I often feel as though I am always ready!). The challenging part is to have enough patience to relax around the times when I am not able to move through the pain but I am meant to sit with it. I never have looked back at one of these hard moments in my life and thought that it was a period of failure. With a little time and perspective these rough spots in my life always reveal themselves as times of growing and learning.

I read this on a card at a gas station off the 5 freeway halfway between Laguna Beach and Redding. I appreciate the sentiment.

"The bend in the road is not the end of the road, unless you do not turn." Anonymous

What Lies Beneath

I find it more and more essential to read between the lines.  Whether it's regarding a contract for a new job or a pain in the body it can be almost guaranteed that there is more to the story. The initial pitch for the job may sound exciting!  The small twinge at the origin of your hamstring may be a tiny whisper that comes and goes throughout your Yoga practice... Hmm.  It's not to say that all is wrong and that surely the new job will totally suck.  Same as the small whisper in your body, it may or may not be your hamstring slowly pulling away from the bone.  However, it is up to you to look deeper.  Practice svahdyaya, self-study and care enough about your personal well being to acknowledge the potential depth of all things.

I find this short video to be a modern example of the power of self study.

http://www.youtube.com/user/ItsAllAboutBloodFlow#p/c/0/KqmeB6GB25Q

Truth

"Truth is stranger than fiction, but this is because fiction is obliged to stick to probability; truth is not." -Mark Twain

Dedication of Merit

This is a traditional Buddhist prayer taught to me by my teacher Cyndi Lee and passed along to her via her guru Gelek Rinpoche. During my first three years of studying Yoga I would recite these words with the rest of my classmates after each asana class. I still recite the words daily. I hope these words reach into you as they have reached into me.

"May all beings have happiness and the causes of happiness,
May all beings be free from suffering and the causes of suffering,
May all beings never be parted from freedom's true joy,
May all beings dwell in equanimity,
free from attachment and aversion." -- Gehlek Rinpoche