Taste Senses

Early Wednesday morning we picked up my BFF Darcy from the airport. The car ride back was full of laughter and bliss, even though she had a pretty horrific experience getting here as she was rerouted and spent 5 hours waiting in Denver due to Lufthansa airlines being on strike snd then almost missed her connection in London. As the old axiom goes, it's the journey, not the destination. Talk about an opportunity to practice yoga, right?

Shortly after that we went to the beginning of our festivities where a puja for Ganesha was underway. It began with another incredible meal on a banana leaf. Each meal includes all the tastes. Apparently you are to begin with sweet to evoke digestion. I also discovered the sweet helps calm the spicy, that can be helpful after accidentally eating a  chili. I can't help but realize the brilliance of the way food has been served to us. First, a totally biodegradable banana leaf is your plate, and you eat with your hands, so no washing of utensils are involved at all. The totally acceptable way to clean your hand is by licking your fingers, and then there is a huge communal sink with a dozen faucets where you wash your hands. It's all so efficient, social and Eco friendly. Oh and the food has been served to us by a group of Brahman priests. They have each dish in a big bucket, and walk down each table giving you a spoonful and then the next priest plops down another spoonful, etc. until your leaf has a complete meal on it. It all happens within a couple of minutes, so everyone is served pretty much together at the same time. Again, I marvel at the efficiency.


The Ganesha Puja is the first celebration as he removes the obstacles for the festivities about to take place. There's an arati ceremony of sorts in the temple which is followed by many hours of  chanting, and offerings to Ganesha. Some of the items offered to him are flowers, ghee, and of course, prasad (which has been hand made by the priests). One of these rituals I have fallen in love with is when a whole coconut is placed on top of the fire. This coconut respresents the ego, the fire is the sadhana (the practice) and it is the fire (the practice) that destroys the ego but busting it open.

Another incredible lunch is served, and we eventually take a walk to shop. Although exhausted, we end up at a Saree store. We have a lot of fun trying on Sarees and taking pictures of each other. We all end up with not one, but two Sarees. They are an incredible deal, will be tailored to fit and we are all looking foward to picking them up in a couple of days. 

Bliss after the long journey

10/21/14

We arrived in Bangslore at 3am. Although I know I'm tired, my body is revved up on adrenaline in anticipation of a hot shower and a hot cup of chai and my first class with Arun. It's been raining so the air is moist and clean and cool. When we arrive at the new hotel, there is a delightful surprise of it being exceptionally clean, brand-new, with towels never used and beds never slept in. This feels so luxurious!

We make it to the 6:15 AM class which is the perfect remedy to jet lag from the long journey. As we stroll along the early morning dark streets, there's the wonderful sounds of birds starting to chirp, monkeys in the trees and dogs barking in their yards. The cars are just starting to come out and the horns beeping are faint.  I want to slow down a bit and savor all the auditory sensations.

Stepping on the entry steps of Prashant Yogashraya is like putting on an old favorite pair of jeans. It's great to see  friends there from around the world taking class at this auspicious time for the studio. Not only is the studio full of students, but there's also the usual students around the perimeter and this time, even in the office, practicing therapeutics. I always find this so fascinating and interesting. We chant the invocation to Patanjali, and because this morning is Patanjali's birthday, we chant the ending, "Pranamami Patanjali" 108 times. My energy lifts and my heart swells.

After class the international students are gathered off to the side for a little informal debriefing about the festivities for tonight. There is to be a Patanjali Puja at the studio this evening. I am so excited!

We walk back to our hotel where there is also a great restaurant for breakfast. Our first meal in India is scrumptious and does not disappoint. We devour fresh, hot, idly, vata, masala dosas, curd, Indian pickles, mint chutney, and hot chai. We eat until we are so full, it is impossible to take another bite.  Yum! Indeed yum to it all! 

Off to India again...

Arun teaching and demonstrating at Brentwood Yoga Center

October 19, 2014

"Atha Yoganusasanum" (Now the exposition of Yoga begins)
 
Although it's been a little hard for me to wake up lately as the Northern California days grow short and the weather is turning cool and crisp, I did wake up early this morning. It was the sounds of morning that tuned me in. I heard the Canada Geese honking, the doves cooing, my cat meowing form the other room, and the very faint sound of cars driving. As I opened my eyes, thinking, well, this is the last morning in my own bed, next to my warm husband for 3 weeks, I remembered the amazing sounds of India. The mornings in India will be quite different--first before day break, I'll hear the chant of prayers from the nearby mosque in Bangalore, then the vegetable cart lady calling for sales, the dogs beginning to bark, and one beep, two beeps of the cars and buses, which will turn into a riot of beeps very quickly and not subside until late in the evening.

I was having mixed emotions about returning to India. Several close family members of mine aren't in 100% of health and I am concerned about being so far away (India is a 20 hour plane ride), and then (not to open a can of worms), there's all these virus' being spread around on airplanes. I'm usually not paranoid, but a few close friends and family (who all watch TV and the news too much in my opinion) have urged me not to go because of this. My mom even offered to pay for my trip if I would please cancel. It's hard to not have this in the back of your mind.

"Yogas CittaVrtti-Norodah" (Yoga is settling the mind into silence)

It was actually my dear, dear husband, who said to me last night, "All will be fine, you are always careful, we will all be fine. Make this a spiritual trip, and stop worrying." Wow, was that really Bobby that said make it a spiritual trip? The trip is always spiritual to India, I know that, but somehow I let that part slip away from me in the me hem of getting caught in the mind stuff. I tripped and fell on the very basic teachings of this practice I love so much. So thanks a million my love, Guru-Bobby, I am set back in balance like a strong, blissful  Tadasana, and I am ready to go.

I look forward to practice every morning and afternoon with Arunji and the community at Prashant Yogashraya. I look forward to celebrating Arunji's 60th birthday with him. I look forward to celebrating Prashant Yogashray's 30th anniversary. I look forward to being in India during Diwali. I look forward to putting on my Sari and wearing Indian clothes. I look forward to eating the best Indian food ever and having lots of veggie and vegan choices! I look forward to my little side-trip down to the southern tip of India. I look forward to the wonderful assault on all my senses--sounds, sights, smells, taste, and touch.

I'll try to blog as much as possible (WiFi willing)--stay tuned. Reply back with questions!

Namaskar,
Sandy

My journal notes from India

Recently, my teacher from India, Arunji asked me to send him my notes from my studies with him last year in India. As I read through them, I cried softy, missing India, the people, the smells, colors, authenticity, and of course, classes with him. I was so inspired by my own notes that I decided to share my letter to him from me.

 Picture Above of me and Arun at Yoga Niykaya, India January 2011

Dear Arun,

Here are some of my notes--as promised. These are just my notes specifically about you from my journal I kept while in India. If they are not exactly what you are looking for, feel free to let me know and I can write something more formal.

First Day:

"Yoga class at 6am with Arun was well received and attended. His studio in Bangalore located above his house was packed full with students. The smell of India, of the cool, fresh morning along with the colors and beautiful people was sweet, new and wonderful. We began class with an invocation to Patanjali. I cannot describe in words the experience of a full room of yogis, in India, actually chanting Om with just conviction and passion. The sensation of the vibration went right down to my soul and felt so exhilarating and justified after such a long journey.  Women and men seem to practice in separate parts of the room--interesting..."

Same day, afternoon class:

"Argh, such a great practice with many twists, but I am just too exhausted from the long journey to keep up they way I want to and can't remember the entire sequence. I will pay more attention tomorrow so I can better document the practice."

Quotes and Gems from Arun during pranayama:

"Be doubly careful. If you do not practice pranayama properly it will eat you, and you may become sick."

"Be silent first to practice anything"

"The exhale is important. Life begins with exhale, ends with exhale. We sneeze, cough, talk and cry all with an exhale. And if you have good karma in the end your friends will cry for you."

"If your heart is dry, you become depressed as the chest closes."

"The inner teacher arrives during personal practice."

"The inner tambora comes out during pranayama; the inner vibration."

"Accept what you are and enjoy it."

"Practice kindness; have no enemies."

"We learn how to conquor our own sorrow through the holistic practice of yoga."

"Muhtita"

"Be content with what you have. Do not be greedy. Accept what your teachers give you without questions or wanting more."

I wish you well Dear Arunji. And thank you for asking me to do this. It brought tears to  my eyes as I read through my journal and reminisced with the teachings from you. I feel truly blessed and privileged to know you and have you as my teacher.

With love and light,

Sandy

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The meaning of AUM, Om, Ohm...

This is a short video of my beloved grandson who is a special needs boy. He doesn't speak much at all--it is a real challenge for him. In this video, we are trying to get him to brush his teeth in a playful way. He has a charming, sweet way of wiggling around things he doesn't want to do, and chanting 'Aum' is one of them. Notice how he pronounces each sound with perfection. We never taught him this, somehow, he just knows. Which supports all the evidence out there of what 'Aum" really means.

The mystic symbol "Om"or "Aum" represents pure consciousness, the true source of all that is manifested in world, the sound of absolute reality. The individual syllabic sounds of "AUM" is said to each represent a different state of consciousness--(A), waking, (U), dreaming, (M), the state beyond the mind and spirit, and the silence after Aum, the true essence of absolute reality. The dot about the symbol Aum is the fourth state which combines all three states and transcends them.

Aum conveys the concept of omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence. Aum is said to mean the best prayer, or the best praise. The letters A,U,M, symbolize speech (vak), mind (manas), and the breath of life (prana), while the entire symbol stands for the living spirit which is but a portion of the divine spirit.  The three letters also represent the three genders, masculine, feminine, and neuter. They stand for the three gunas or qualities (sattva-balanced, rajas-light, tamas-dark). The letters correspond to the three tenses-past, present, future, while the entire symbol itself stands for the Creator, who transcends the limitations of time. They also stand for the three teachers--mother, father, and Guru, and the three stages of yogic discipline--asana (poses), pranayama (breathing regulation), pratyahara (regulation of the senses) while the entire symbol stands for Samadhi--the goal of these three disciplines. They represent the triad of divinity--Brahma (the creator), Visnu (the maintainer), and Shiva (the destroyer), but the whole symbol together represents Brahman from which the entire universe emanates.

The letters A,U,M, and stand for the mantra, "Tat Twam Asi" "that Thou Art." And so we may conclude that the word Aum might be too vast, too abstract to define it into one thing. It is all things. It is beyond definition, beyond tangible. It is everything.

And so, as I listen to my grandson chant it as a way of skipping out of brushing his teeth, it gives me another meaning, another sweet meaning and understanding of inclusion.

Aum, Shanti!

Good Night Moon! Good night Ganesha!

Do you remember that children's story, 'Good night Moon?" Do you remember George Burn's old line at the end of his show, "Say good-night Gracie"? And are you feeling the influence right now of the shorter nights as Summer Solstice approaches? It's hard to say good-night, because the light is growing longer each day, and maybe we all feel a little off balance. But right after the Solstice, the influence of the moon will start to roll in and the days will grow shorter, the nights longer. Everything has a cycle, a season, a natural pattern of processing, and we are no different.

So, this little old yogini is coming of age--50 is just a few weeks away. And, yup, I'm a moon child--continually waxing and waning, rising and falling and trying all the while to keep balanced. On June 21st, I'll ring in the Solstice with Sun Salutations, but then I think I'll celebrate by doing 50 Moon salutations of June 28th (my birthday). I love Moon Salutations, I love them much more than Sun Salutations. And I love the story of Ganesha and the Moon, which allows us to understand the intentional energy of the Half Moon Pose (Ardha Chandrasana). Do you know the old story?

First, let's look at the pose itself, as "a picture is worth a thousand words." This is a pose of balance. We strive to find balance between strength and flexibility. We stand on one foot and one hand, and eventually look toward the sky. This takes practice, and the ability to do this pose waxes and wanes everyday.

Me in Ardha Chandrasana on the Albion River, Mendocino

Ok, so here's the mythical story.
Ganesha, the elephant God adored by so many for his gift of creating new beginnings and clearing the path was said to have a love for sweets. Many times you'll see him pictured with a bowl full of prasad (blessed sweets) and his belly full. But he was also a master of yoga, (of course he was, he had no choice with his father being Shiva!) and was usually adept in balancing indulgence. One day after stuffing his belly full of sweets (out of balance) and mounting his trusty steed (that tiny mouse you always see with him), a cobra slithered in front of their path and frightened the mouse. The mouse darted one way, and Ganesha (off balance from over-indulgence) fell the other way. When Ganesha hit the ground, his belly exploded and the sweets scattered everywhere. He got up, dusted himself off, gathered the treasured sweets and stuffed them back in his belly, grabbed the cobra and tied it around his belly to keep the sweets in. Chandra (the moon) had been watching this scene from above and exploded into laughter. This upset Ganesha to no end and in a fit of rage he broke off his right tusk and hurled it at Chandra. The hole in the moon made its light go out, and so the earth was stuck with continuous sunlight. They say, that with this action, love was lost. Everything became scorched and romance had no place to reside. A group of gods pleaded with Ganesha to allow the moon to shine again, and he agreed, but with a compromise. The moon would have to wax and wane, and only mature to its full potential every four weeks. The moon would never laugh at Ganesha again, and Ganesha would always carry his broken tusk with him as a remembrance of when he lost his balance and became enraged.

This story is a paradigm for us. As we live through our stages of life, we are given lessons. We carry these lessons with us, as scars, as 'baggage,' as shifts in moods, changes in our bodies, changes in relationships and the elegant simplicity of growing old. We need opposing halves to keep in balance. We need both light and dark energy. Without these two opposing energies, we do not half a halfway point, the perfect balance between light/dark, male/female, prana/apana, etc. The practice of yoga keeps us in balance and allows us to recognize when we are tipping off balance. When this happens, it is our yoga practice that sustains us and illuminates the path back to the halfway point, back to balance. Stay Human, stay real. Open your heart to peace, love and happiness.

Namaste'