Yoga Sutra

Focus on cultivating the energy in the feet to ground you into the earth, dissolving imaginary concepts in the mind and creating a Lightness of Being!

Yoga Sutra 2.31 is all about more core strengthening and Muscular Energy to shine out the 1st Limb of Yoga, the 5 Yamas of non-harming, truthfulness, non-stealing, conscious control and right use of our vital force and non-attachment in Balancing Poses.

B.K.S. Iyengar translates this sutra as: “The five components of Yama are called ‘mighty universal vows’, as they are not confined to class, place, time or concept of duty. They should be followed unconditionally by students of yoga in particular. They form the framework of rules on which society is based. This universal approach should also be applied to all the other component states of yoga without distinction of time, place or circumstances to lay down the precepts of a universal culture. They represent the ideal, responsible way for everyone to live.”

Meditation Master Sri Mooji says that without meditation, without tapping into the depths of our Being every day, we go out our front door living from the surface like staying on the desktop page of our computer without ever entering the Source, the hard drive. When we live from the surface, our life becomes a series of knee jerk reactions and stress. We have to “try” to ‘live the Yamas. When we connect with our hard drive, Source, and live from there, the Yamas easefully and naturally flow through us. Join us in Friday Night Meditation Class this week and tap into your hard drive!

A slow meditative flow will attune your body/mind instrument to listen in order to follow the inner promptings and to recognize those magical moments of synchronicity beyond the Kleshas (obstacles, afflictions) and will include breathing practices to balance the nervous system and end with a meditation.

This type of practice will be supported by Yoga Sutra 2.4 which teaches us to recognize the layers of intensity of the Kleshas in order to reduce, weaken and inactivate them permanently.

Yoga Sutra 2.4 says, “Inability to accurately perceive what is True is the primary cause of afflictions which may be dormant, weak, controlled, or very influential. Subliminal conditions that prevent spiritual growth result from flawed perception and incomplete understanding.

Those afflictions which are dormant may be activated and cause problems in the future or may be eradicated when understanding is improved. Those which are weak may easily be overcome. Those which are controlled can be more easily weakened or eliminated. Those which are very influential can also be weakened and removed by using our powers of discriminating intelligence and by super-conscious meditation practice that results in the emergence of Self-Knowledge.”

On the surface level of life we can often feel disconnected and fragmented. Reconnect with the real YOU this week in classes at LCY reinforcing the importance of moving with mindfulness, integration and cohesion. We will use intelligent alignment in a slow flow culminating in a variety of inversions such as handstand, headstand and shoulderstand. There are variations of all of these to accommodate any body issues. We will integrate integrate Yoga Sutra 2.5 to support the theme of moving mindfully through our practice.

Yoga Sutra 2.5 says, “Ignorance is confusing the permanent, the pure and the bliss of the unlimited Self with the limited individual self.”

The Four major forms of ignorance of this are:

Seeing the temporary as eternal: For example, thinking that the earth and moon are permanent, or behaving as if our possessions are permanently ours, forgetting that all of them will go, and that our so-called ownership is only relative.

Mistaking the impure for the pure: For example, believing that our thoughts, emotions, opinions, or motives in relation to ourselves, some other person, or situation are purely good, healthy, and spiritual, when they are actually a mixture of tendencies or inclinations.

Confusing the painful to be pleasureful: For example, in our social, families, and cultural settings there are many actions that seem pleasure filled in the moment, only later to be found as painful in retrospect.

Thinking the not-self to be the true Self: For example, we may think of our country, name, body, profession, or deep predispositions to be “who I am,” confusing these with who I really am at the deepest level, the level of the eternal Self.

Patanjali Yoga Sutra 2.54

SVA VIṢHAYᾹSAṀPRAYOGE CITTASYA VARŪPANUKᾹRA IVENDRIYᾹṆᾹṀ PRATYᾹHᾹRAḤ

Meaning
When the senses cease to engage with objects they turn back to where they arose from.

Translation
sva = their own
vishaya = objects, region, spheres, realms, fields
asamprayoge = not coming into contact with, non-conjunction, cessation of engagement
chittasya = of the mind field
svarupe = own form, own nature (sva = own; rupe = form, nature)
anukarah = imitate, resemble, follow, be engaged with
iva = like, as though, as it were
indriyanam = mental organs of actions and senses (indriyas)
pratyaharah = withdrawal of the indriyas (the senses), bringing inward

The first 4 Limbs of Yoga are cleaning house, laying the foundation for health and stability in your life, balancing physical health and mental health. Then the 5th limb, Pratyahara, is the juncture where we go from distraction to direction. It’s a turning point, an intersection of 2 planes of existence.

This means allowing thoughts to flow without interruption, while the senses are simply not diverted into those thoughts.

Ways to practice
*Practice non-judgement and staying calm when things happen
* Weaken habit patterns which are not useful to your growth
*Practice patience with others, yourself and during yoga practice
*Meditate with the continual practice of letting go of thoughts and let them flow continuously

One analogy we can relate to in daily life is the first day or two of vacation. We’ve already done the work. We’ve cleared the time, made the arrangements, paid our bills, found someone to look after the house and pets and survived the travel ordeal. We are finally at our destination. Or are we? Often the first day or so of a vacation is spent gradually letting go of life at home and embracing the new world of vacation. It takes a little bit to let go of all the details and distractions of life back home. But gradually the focus shifts and we begin to relax into the moment. This is the process of pratyahara but instead of turning our attention to a vacation we turn our attention inward, toward the inner Light of supreme Consciousness.

Even coming to yoga class, we enter in a distracted state from traffic, work and family etc. We begin by taking our seat and settling down. Then we center ourselves and invoke a new dimension of inward focus into our being. This ability happens because you become the archer. Pulling back to the source when awareness goes to the object. Self realization lines up with what the senses grasp onto in the world. There is nothing wrong with the senses in life, it’s our attachment to the senses that creates the problems. Stay in the Flow. Let thought arise naturally and and let them settle back from where they arose from.

This sutra is on the 5th Limb of Yoga, Pratyahara, drawing inward. Close your eyes and go inward. Settle into your breath and let the outward flowing mind settle. The mind is only a problem when you interrupt it. It’s actually a flow. The only thing to do is let go of attachment to the outgoing senses. Let your breath be a continuous flow even between the inhale and the exhale. Anytime you go inward and meditate it’s like going on vacation. It takes some time to settle. Going on a vacation takes a few days to settle. The same way, when you meditate or even turn inward theres a flurry of actions in your system that takes time to settle before you withdraw into your true nature. You withdraw, you change gears, you go from one level to another level.

Pratyahara, withdrawing the senses, is something we should do as a daily practice for heath and well being. Of course it’s always nice to go on a retreat for a full day or week or month but even a few minutes of withdrawal makes a difference to all the systems of the mind, body and spirit. When you come back you’re not quite as attached. peace gets a little more exciting than outer action. When you’re in peace, you are in pratyahara.

The first 4 limbs of yoga are to build stability in the physical and mental bodies. Then Pratyahara can happen. What goes on in your mind is stimulation of the outer world. When you go on vacation, you plan the time, pack, leave and get to your destination. It takes a few days to settle if you even do settle. Lots of times people go on vacation and there is no settling, just more outer, outer outer business and they come back exhausted.

We had the perfect environment for pratyahara in our beautiful site in the mountains next to a gorgeous stream. We did yoga and meditated everyday and hiked and read and ate really well as usual. We slept under the stars and the moon and the ancient trees on the earth and fell in tune with the rhythm of life.

Coming back that withdrawal is still there in the form of detachment and not getting drawn outward by the senses. We can get it anywhere with practice. You keep going to that space and eventually don’t leave. It’s the perfect sutra back from vacation.

Going inward is so sweet. We should do it everyday, otherwise we can get consumed by the outer world. Then we live in the past which is depression or we live in the future which is anxiety. In yoga we practice the frequency of the present, confident with our own body, with our own self. Independent of outer circumstances. In Yoga we practice not pushing too hard but yet keeping and edge so more life force and peace can flow through us in the present. We’re making our bodies vehicles of light.

The senses are not the problem. It’s how we react to the senses that are the problem. If you don’t react to them, you can go to a very withdrawn space. You learn to feel a very refined vibration. That vibration may sound boring or dull, but it is scintillating and electric and blissful. The excitement we call attaching into the outer senses most of the time is stress, agitation, depression, anxiety. The outer physical is very dense. Thoughts focused on the outer are dense thoughts. Thoughts aiming us inside lead us toward the bliss and the light of the self. Get clear on where you are going to take appropriate steps to your transformation. You can reincarnate in this very life. What is your path? How are you going to the Light of bliss within? You have to let go of the outer for some time and focus within to know it.

Use this practice to cultivate an inward flowing mind. Turn within and be present to your own unfolding

Patanjali Yoga Sutra 2.55

TATAḤ PARAMᾹ VASYATENDRIYᾹṆᾹṀ

“Pratyahara results in the absolute control of the sense organs. The effect of pratyahara is felt when the senses are mastered, and the mind is ripe and avid for its spiritual quest. When the senses have ceased to run after endless pleasures obtained from the phenomenal world, they can be yoked to serve the soul.” B.K. S. Iyengar

Pratyahara is shifting attention from the outer world to the inside. We try to shift counter productive habits from the outer world, the senses, rather than the inside. Unless it comes from the inside, the change won’t stick. Withdrawing the senses brings us to our peace, our Truth, and from there what isn’t beneficial falls away. There is a dissolving into ecstasy.

Translation:

tatah = then, thereby, thence, from that
parama = highest, supreme, ultimate, perfected
vashyata = mastery, control, being willed
indriyanam = of the mental organs of actions and senses

Close your eyes and connect with your breath. Last week the sutra was on Pratyahara, withdrawal of the outgoing, insatiable senses. When you allow the senses to dissolve and bring your awareness inward, you connect with that peaceful place inside you. When you are aware of your center, the midline, the heart, the brain relaxing from all it’s activity, you settle into the Source of your True nature. This week’s sutra says when you turn the senses inward, you master the senses and you master the mind. Then you use your senses without any attachment and you dissolve into the inner energy, the inner sweetness.

Repeat the sutra 4x

When all the restless settles down something happens… a sweetness, an aliveness, a vitality, a space of ecstasy fills you.

Take a few nice long exhales to leg go. Smooth, slow inhales, long exhales. Find the peaceful sweetness. Dissolve into the sweetness of your peace today. Open up to inner sounds, smells, insight. Listen carefully. What’s going on inside? Listen for the vibration of Om. Let all the restlessness dissolve. Merge with the inner flow. No outer distractions. Flow with the internal river of Om.

Take a moment to sit and settle into the inner ecstasy. Feel the senses turned inward to your True nature. Here, the mind is mastered. You have that ecstasy and peace. You feel different, more connected. May this give you a different state of mind to live from.

TADEVᾹRTHA MᾹTRA NIRBHᾹSAṂ SVARŪPA ŚŪNYAM IVA SAMᾹDHIH

Centering
Sit upright with minimal effort. Open hearted. Open minded. Tap into your breath, not rushing it, not forcing it, just slow it down and see if you can take your attention from having to breathe to the act of being breathed. The act of letting the air enter you and leave you and it will find its own natural flow in and out. Cleansing breath; hold at the top expend into the lung space, part your lips and exhale. 2 more. Relax into the breath. After concentration is developed you are able to concentrate without losing concentration. That is meditation. But we go back and forth. When you’re able to keep the concentration it is meditation. then there’s samadhi. whatever you’re focusing on you see from the observer. whatever you are focusing on disappears and the observer is left. this is a high level of meditation where unity takes place. its always there but we don’t realize it is there because we don’t identify with it. if we cultivate a taste of Samadhi then concentration and focus on that turns into a joyful ffeeling and the joyful feeling turns into bliss and you dissolve into the bliss and you begin to identify more with that as your natural state than the temporary dramas in outer life. Then that streams through your life as an expression of your true nature.

Invocation
Chant 3 OM”S and dissolve into the OM’s. Rather than the feeling of chanting out the Oms, relax into the Om’s. Samadhi is a relaxed OM~

After Chant
Get a sense there’s no identification with the outer world or the inner world. If you stayed in the space in between, you dissolve. That’s the beginning stage of Samadhi. Nithyanda calls it the no return zone. Once you’ve tasted it you’ll never identify with the limited or suffering person you thought you were. Once you have the experience of being dissolved you never fully come back to the limited self. We don’t have that experience because we identify with the outer world and because we don’t filter it with who we really are and we get bombarded. We don’t identify with who we really are to express in the world in a way that’s useful and we get frustrated. So with meditation and samadhi we dip into who we really are to express in the world in an appropriate way. We usually identify with others through their filter and we lose ours and it becomes a jumbled mess. Yoga and meditation unjumble the mess and take us to Samadhi.

Meaning
When the mind is absorbed in focus with no sense of I left, illumination shines forth devoid of form.

Translation
tad = that
eva = the same
artha = object, place, point
matra = only, alone
nirbhasam = shines forth, appears
svarupa = own form, own nature (sva = own; rupe = form, nature)
shunyam = devoid of, empty
iva = as if, as it were
samadhih = meditation in its higher state, deep absorption of meditation, the state of perfected concentration, absorption

Explanation
This sutra indicates a sacred space that is indescribable with words.

dharana (The 6th Limb of Yoga, focus)- concentation, taming the mind

dhyana- (The 7th Limb of Yoga, meditation) the mind is tamed and goes deeper. the mind and object lose it’s name and form which is beyond the object.

samadhi –(The 8th Limb of Yoga merging with intelligent Consciousness) total absorption in the object and even the mind disappears in that space and innate intelligence streams forth into life.

Chant the Sutra

Merge with the chant. Lose all sense of the I. The observer, and the observed all become one. That’s illumination!

Short Meditation: Observer, observing, and observed

With meditation, there is still an observer, observing the observed. When the observer becomes so absorbed in the process of observing the object that there seems to be only the object, that is the beginning of samadhi. It is as if the observer, the process of observing, and the object being observed all three collapse in such a way that the only thing remaining is the object. When this deep absorption happens, meditation becomes samadhi. You’re in samadhi right now: Your own nature is samadhi. We’re not usually in it because of false identities.

Nithyananda says: You go into a high bliss when your doing exactly what your supposed to do in your body on the earth. Usually we because we are not in touch with self we don’t know how to filter life in a way that doesn’t bring stress, (overload) or we don’t know ourselves and how to express that into the world so it is accepted and becomes useful. He says to learn to do things in joy and that will drop you in samadhi.

In asana practice we line up in a pose where we’re at and merge with the experience of one level of samadhi. that may happen some in asana class but there is still lots of distraction in a yoga pose. Asana is meant to prepare us for meditation. That’s where it happens. Samadhi comes through meditation which dissolves the little III and we merge with the big I. There are different levels of Samadhi. The first is simply living in the world happy all the time. The height of samadhi is living in full absorption with Spirit.

Asana Practice: Do all or part of the practice. You can google any unfamiliar Sanskrit Yogic words, Peak Pose: Hanumanasana

Down Dog pedel, down Dog stillness – Final week of Hanumanasana as a peak pose in different variations, up the wall, upside down, on the floor and our theme for this class is Tiptoe To The Edge of Adventure

Down Dog pedel, down Dog

plank, DD There is an expression, The difference between an ordeal and an adventure is perspective.” Often times in life things feel like they are big, they’re heavy, there’s alot going on, and if you just flip your perspective somehow it seems alot more accessable, like you can handle it, you can overcome it and hopefully have fun while your doing it. That’s our intention for this class.

Plank, hold- remember it’s not an ordeal, it’s an adventure. lower from knees, cobra, down dog, pigeon fold

Down Dog, pigeon fold- Hanuman represents the divine servant and one who is always ready for adventure, never seeing things as an ordeal but rather as an adventure. In the Samadhi state we are drenched in the possibility of life ever ready for adventure. Maybe you can peel another layer preventing you from that from your practice. Hopefully whatever you build here on the mat you can take and use in everyday life. The difference between and ordeal and an adventure is your perspective, how do you approach it? When things get challenging on your mat how do you approach it? Do you meet it with clenched jaw and tight shoulders or smooth breath and relaxed face? Either way it’s indicative of how we interact with experiences off the mat in life. So when a drama comes up how do you react? Just notice and see if you can turn it into an adventure.

Down Dog, Plank- look down at the left hand and outer rotate the upper arms, come on to the finger tips of the right hand and then stretch the right hand forward, stay in plank or lower your knees and take the left leg back, then back knee to right elbow, Plank, down dog. Other side

Down Dog, Plank- look down at the right hand and outer rotate the upper arm, com onto the fingertips of the left hand and then stretch the left hand forward. stay in plank or lower your knees and take the right leg back then back knee to left elbow. Plank, down dog.

Walk the hands back to uttanasana. Hold the elbows, lean back into the heels and lift the toes. then put the toes down and lift the heels. lean back into the heels and lift the toes. put the toes down and carefully lift the heels.

Uttanasana- walk back out to down dog, jump to the front of the mat. Uttanasana, tadasana

Surya Namaskars:

#1 Uttanasana, right leg back lunge, use blocks on each side for front ankle and come on to the tip toes of your left foot.

Down dog left leg in the air up and back, square the heart toward the floor, swing the foot to lunge, drop the back knee, press the thigh and open the heart, swing the arms up to Anjaneyasana. lunge to uttanasana

Uttanasana- clasp behind the back. lean back and lift the toes up, lean forward and lift the heels up, again lean back and lift the toes up, lean forward and lift the heels up. Release the hands to the floor. Inhale up to tadasana

#2 Uttanasana, left leg back lunge, blocks on each side . right foot come to tip toes Down dog fly right foot up and over then square the hips toward the floor and swing the foot to lunge. drop the back knee, hands press the thigh, anjaneyasana. to lunge to Uttanasana.

Utanasana clasp the hands with the other thumb on top. lift the toes, then lift the heels, lift the toes, then lift the heels Uttanasana all parts of the feet down.

Utkatasana- hips low, heart high. look to see your toes. if you can’t see them move your hips and knees back more. arms up. lift toes, swing arms back bow forward and lift the heels. 3 more times arms up lift toes, swing arms back, bow forward and lift the heels. 2 more times.

Hold Utkatasana with the heels up. It’s an adventure, not an ordeal. Samadhi is an adventure. For one in samadhi nothing is an ordeal.

Uttanasanana- right leg up and back, bend the left knee to the chest, left heel up, bend the right knee to the right glutes then stretch the right leg back to lunge. Step the back foot in a little and straighten both legs. put hands on blocks or the floor by your front ankle. Lift the front toes. Take a few long blissful breaths. walk the hands or blocks back. take the back foot back to lunge.

Virabhadrasana 2- don’t pitch the low back in, pull the ribs in, lift the front heel.

Peaceful warrior-front heel up, lunge, front heel up, keep the heel like that or lower the heel for the transition to half moon, ardha chandrasana, step back to lunge, turn the back heel out and come up to peaceful warrior.

lung, down dog, plank, lower, cobra, down dog- blissful breaths. Jump to Uttanasana.

inhale up. Tadasana. Side two.

Utkatasana arms up, toes up, swing arms back, heels up, 3 more times last one heels stay up hands to floor or blocks. lift the right heel and bend the right knee in towards the heart. bend the left knee and tale the left heel to the left gluts. straighten the right leg and take the right heel up higher.

Step to lunge. step the back foot in some to Parsovttanasana. bow over the front leg. look up and find some length then bow over the front leg. walk the hands back and bow deeper. step the back foot to lunge and turn it to the side.

Come to Virabhadrasana 2 and lift the right heel up. keeping the right heel up peaceful warrior. Lunge, keep the heel up or flatten the foot for the transition to 1/2 moon. then lift the front heel. look down to keep focus.

Step back to lunge, back foot to the side. Inhale up to peaceful Warrior.

lunge, down dog, plank, up dog, down dog, childs pose-read sutra

down dog- 1 last variation. Stretch the left leg up and bend the left knee, roll the leg open and lean on the right hand. this will be wild thing pose but lift the left hand up and just let the left leg hover for a moment before setting it down for wild thing pose.

down dog, up dog, down dog, left leg up and swing to lunge. drop the back knee for 1/2 Hanumanasana Down Dog up dog, down dog,

childs pose-

down dog, right leg up and bend right knee and open the hip. look at the left hand and outer rotate the upper arm. lift the right arm and open the back knee. start to drop the foot but hover if you can. then set it down into wild thing. It’s on an ordeal, it’s an adventure if you stay in samadhi. right leg up and swing to lunge, drop the back knee for 1/2 Hanumanasana

down dog, up dog, down dog,

take hands wide on your mat, jump between your hands bent knees, crossed legs and sit down.

Come on to your back for core strengthening the core-front, back, sides

on back, arms overhead feet on floor knees bent. inhale head up, arms and palms up, count to 5 then pulse palms down and pulse 5x up and down.
on back put a block between the ankles. squeeze the block. stretch the legs up. lift the head and the palms up. hold 5 then palms down and pulse 5

3 roll on the right side, curl the chest. bottom arm stretches out, top arm up and over leg. lift the feet off the floor, flex the toes, walk the bottom fingertips upbehindyou. come down and go to belly. we’re working around the core. the core is circumferential.

take the block out front in hands, press the block and lift the arms, head and feet. hold for 5, lower, up again and hold for 5 then lower.

come on to the right side, bottom arm stretches back, top arm reaches back over legs. lift the legs up, com on the fingertips of the back arm and walk them in.

On back, put the block between the heels the long skinny way. squeeze the block. lower almost to the floor , hold for 8 counts then back up 8 counts. release the block. knees to chest
come onto the left side. left forearm down, right arm high, right leg high.

lift the left leg, reach the top arm over the leg. spread the toes. lift the bottom leg up too.

come on belly. grab a block and hold it in front side ways. thumbs high, pinkys low. lift the block foread, push the hips into the mat, lift the head, chest and legs.
take the block to the left hand and place it on your sacrum. stretch both arms out front, then reach for the block with the right hand.

both hands on the block stretching forward. lift the legs, chest and head and stretch the block forward and legs backward. take the block in the right hand and place it on your sacrum. stretch both arms out front then reach for the block with the left hand.. both arms out front. release the block.

roll on to the right side, right forearm down, lift the left leg, the left arm up then stretch the arm over the left leg. lift the bottom leg up too.
on back no block. knees to chest. then legs straight up. inhale arms over head, exhlae, right hand pulls right knee to chest. left hand to floor. rock back and up to seated. left and right hand on the floor behind you. over the legs for a count of 5.
on back knees to chest. left knee in, right hand to floor. rock up up and hover. you can put toes on floor if needed.

rock back, knees to chest.

roll on to belly to stretch front body. come to sphinx pose and drag the heart forward. cobra, down dog, walk hands back to uttanasana. come up tadasana

Go to a wall
Hanumansasana up wall.

Childs pose

L pose split or handstand split

childs pose

Regular Hanumanasana on the floor back toes on wall

childs pose

On back again
Put a block under your sacrum and stretch the legs straight up. stay there or if you want take the hands alongside body and legs over head for Halasana. feet don’t have to touch. Stay in either one of those variations or if you roll the left shoulder under, left palm up and the right shoulder under and right palm up bend the elbows and support the low back and then extend one or both legs for salamba sarvangasana, supported shoulder stand. spread those toes. Now playing with this if your here the difference between an ordeal and an adventure your flipped upside down you’ve flipped your persective can you maybe drop your right foot up and back and your left leg up for full reclined Hanumanasana. It’s the shape you were just in but now its flipped. Now just playing take your legs into a straddle split. helicopter the legs and take the other leg down . helicopter up and split again. legs straight up, take block out from sacrum and slowly lower vertebrae by vertebra like your spine is a runway rolling out.

Knees to chest. good breath in, long breath out. inhale as deeply as you can, sigh it out.

shift your hips to the right, cross your right knee over your left knee drop both knees over to the left. We’re realigning the spine after the inversion with garudasana twist. anytime you invert it’s good to realign the spine with a happy baby, a fish pose, a twist.

Other side. Shift your hips to the left, cross yur left knee over your right and drop both knees to the right.

Back to center, knees to chest, happy baby and roll around, release everything down for savasana. take a shape you can really really rest in. take a full breath in, fill the lungs and hold. take just a sip more and hold. let it go with a sigh and take rest.

Savasana
It’s easy to go into samadhi after a good yoga practice. you know you are in samadhi when nothing sticks out. it’s a dissolving int bliss and in that bliss you lose yourself and become immersed in the Light. Samadhi is always there. You just have to identify with it. Its the gift you were born with. Just dissolve into 100 per cent who you are. Your own true nature is Samadhi.

Seated
Maybe you’re not 100 per cent in Samadhi but you feel better than when you started your practice. Identify with this feeling not the other limited or blocked feeling. Identify with your own true nature which is always there.

Thank your body and mind for showing up and being strong enough and capable enough to move through and tiptoe the edge of adventure.

May we always remember the state of Samadhi is in us and we can flip our perspective from ordeal to a Hanuman adventure when things get rough.

Om, Shanti, Shanti, Shanti,

TAD-JAYᾹT PRAJNᾹ LOKAḤ

TASYA BHUMIṢŪ VINIYOGAḤ

Meaning
The application of Samyama occurs in sequential stages.

Centering
Our Yoga comes in stages. The beginning of yoga is becoming confident in your body so you can be confident for sitting in meditation. Then learning not to be affected by your thoughts and emotions. That may take years. When we relax and go deeper we can luxuriate in our natural state.

Different stages of meditation
Just to sit still and be comfortable in your body and to let thoughts and emotions settle is very beneficial to the body and mind.  different for different people depending on the level of stress people hold on to from their lives.  once negative stress has been minimized then the mediator can go to a deeper stage of relaxation and attention can withdraw from thoughts, emotions, memories, external sounds, and distractions, feelings etc.  sometimes people get at a certain stage during a meditation practice that becomes a challenge and they give up. Maybe in yoga practice as well.
at deeper stages one can contemplate the chosen object or ideal with exclusion from everything else and have complete absorption and develop the ability to maintain the state of Samadhi.
unless you were born a natural mediator this can take years and years to develop.  The only way to go through this process is a consistent, attentive and interested practice. Otherwise your just going through the motions. Just because it may be difficult at first is no reason to avoid practice until mastery is realized.  like dip and dye something stays.  seeking becomes the goal.
In meditation the stage you are at may be just letting go of the day. It has to happen. This stage has to happen. And how long this stage lasts depends on how much stress you hold on to. You just dip in a little more each day and with time you go deeper and get those flashes. Its not something we can make happen. It takes consistent practice. Or you can just do nothing and bob on the surface thinking you are getting somewhere or realizing your Self which is always there. It’s just down in the ocean a little bit. Just get under the crust which may take a little while. Then you can luxuriate in the depths. Like Yoga, there’s crust in the body and over time we luxuriate in the poses.  We are all at the core of our being full awake and realized. The difference between an accomplished yogi, and one who is not, is the degree of realization of this truth.  However long this takes to do this shouldn’t be an issue patience becomes a natural virtue.

Invocation
Offer that patience into your practice today.

Short Meditation after Invocation
When we follow our thoughts its like moving horizontally along the surface of the ocean and forgetting the depth of the ocean. Yoga is the verticle life to the depth of our being. The depth of our being is way deeper than the horizontal will ever be. The breath is verticle. As you sit, you follow your breath on the vertical line at the core and you have that path to luxuriate in. The depth comes in stages. You go deep and get a flash of truth, wisdom, knowledge. Those flashes will change you life.

Sutra Meaning
The application of Samyama occurs in sequential stages. We know from the past few weeks that a Samyama is when we have focus, meditation, and blissful absorption in an object or chosen ideal. When we have all three of those at once, the full knowledge of the object or chosen ideal is known.

Translation
Tasya = its, of that
bhumisu = to the planes, states, stages
viniyogah = application, practice

The stages get finer and finer. The inner journey itself reveals the subtler aspects.

Chant Sutra

Short Meditation after Chanting the Sutra
There are different levels of Yoga and meditation and they occur in stages. A beginner meditator won’t get the flashes. But you stay doing it no matter what. Like Yoga we do it. Even with an injury there is something to do. Yoga one time per week won’t give you the experiences you would have if you do it every day. With meditation you sit, you stay at it. You need an intention with meaning to love to do it. Its that seeking self-realization that is the goal. Self-Realization is the awareness that our natural state is blissful absorption in the whole. People think it will take a long time to be Self-Realized. It’s not about time. If you do yoga and if you meditate regularly you will develop patience. Things don’t go the way we think it will or want it to go and we’re still patient and we go to another level of yoga. We live from a deeper awareness.

Asana Practice
In each pose go deeper and rest in the vibration of the highest self. Surrender into the inner ground of Being, of equipoise, of beauty of the Self. There is a natural reverence to our breath when we go deeper.

Cat/cow- be in the flow of your breath in a very ease filled way

cat /cow down dog- bent knees, heels lifted, cat cow 5x

6 Surya Namaskar with:

2 Regular Surya Namaskar

1 with anjaneyasana to reverse prayer

1 with crescent to reverse prayer

1 with 1/2 moon to crescent to Virabhadrasana 2 to Peaceful Warrior with Mermaid arms

1 other side with 1/2 moon to creascent to Vira 2 to Peaceful Warrior with Mermaid arms

Childs pose-reading

all 4’s right leg out to right onto the inner edge of the foot. pull the inner edge of the foot, draw the outer edge the top part up toward the knee. then reach your hands out to down dog hands and place your 3rd eye point on the floor if you can. its a form of gate pose. arms extend alongside the ears. take the sitting bones back the inner groins back and stretch as long as you can.

Other side- left leg out wide come on to the inner edge of the foot, pull the inner edge of the foot in, spin the inner thighs and sitting bones back and wide, draw the low back in and walk way forward to the earth, bow the 3rd eye to earth. breathe. so it starts opening up the inner thighs from the power of the adductors to center, opening up the hips, low back and the hamstrings too.

all 4’s- side twist, thread the left arm under, press the back of your left hand down and come onto the right fingertips and press them down, bend the right elbow, draw the outer right hip way back, get both shoulder blades on the back, anchor the right shoulder back, maybe reach the right hand up and around the low back to hold the inner left thigh. reach up through the chin and press back through the right side of the skull, breathe and feel the spaciousness all the way down to the pelvic floor , through the low belly, up through the diapghragm, lungs and the low ribs.

all 4’s- thread the other arm under, on front fingertips, if possible stretch the left arm up and around. be very spacious in the breath, the breath sweeps around energetically into the pelvic floor, widening the base, opening through the belly, up through the diaphragm, lungs and low ribs.

down dog to right leg forward lunge

Hinged Prassaritta Padotanasana- turn toes in slightly, and bend your knees about a 1/2 inch. rock back into your heels so much that you feel you are going to fall back but counter that by reaching your fingertips way out front. Rock back so much that you can lift the whole right foot up except for the heel. put that down and lift the whole left foot up except for the heel. then both feet, lift up except for the heels. go back back back onto the heels. it’s calling into action the posterior chain of muscles. then reach way up high onto the fingertips, anchor the inner thighs back, draw the low back in breathe the base of the belly back, extend the spine and breathe deep.

Now come into the normal form of the pose, reach wide and hold the big toes, inhale look up, lengthen the spine and draw the shoulderblades onto the back of the heart. Part of the inner stillness is resting into the root of the heart. The root of the heart in the subltle anatomy of the yogi is a very powerful energetic center for the yogi. it is located at the backside of the sternum and at the mid thoracic of the spine. It is the hridyaya that means the essence of anything and everything, the midline within, the power of the hearts pace itself to be committed to loving awareness in every single circumstance of our life.

come up 1/2 way on your fingertips, turn your right foot out and your left foot slightly in, keep your right knee over the 2nd toe, reach the arms out and forward on your fingertips. keep pressing the right knee out. this is a variation of Parsvakonasana. that’s form 1. Form 2 plant your palms down, bend your elbows and lower the crown or 3rd eye towards the floor. activate the shoulder blades on the back and go more deeply within.

keep surrendering into the inner essence of self, that high vibration of the innermost self which is also the most anchored, rooted, grounded Presence of Self.

Other side-go way up high on the fingertips, pull the feet magnetically to center, bow in, lengthen and brighten through the spine, slow deep breathing, a conscious surrender to the innermost Presence of Self. One definition of meditation, dhyana, is to abide in the inner Presence of Self. come to the second form, walk the hands in towards the feet, bend the elbows apart, put a little more power into the back of the heart and lower the head towards the ground. slow deep breathing, I surrender into the depth of my Being.

Skandasana Form- reach for the ankles, Skanda is the God of War so to speak but is the one who stays very, very deep within to know how to act in a noble and respectable way. Turn both feet out a little bit. bend the right knee and come in low as you keep the left leg straight. then bend the left knee and go side to side. bend one elbow and one knee and straighten the other leg out. stay low to the earth. flow with your breath.

Stay present within and last one, come all the way over to the right, spin the left toes up and walk way out on your fingertips. 1/2 Malasana pull the left heel down, move the sitting bones apart, spine long. Phase 2 press the right arm and right inner leg towards each other. arms in cactus pose. Breathe. Phase 3 if you like is to wrap around and to bind. Anyone of those is fine, An easy variation is to come all the way down on your seat, walk your right foot out a little bit and take fingertip down dog arms forward. That’s a nice form too.

Release, stay low to the earth and go over to the other side. pull the right heel down and in, spread the toes, fingertip down dog forward, part 1. For an easier version you can come onto your seat here. take the left foot out in front of you and pull the heel down and the rest of the foot up. right leg is straight. and take the variations from here. There’s always variations. Phase 2 is taking the left elbow to the inner left thigh, hands in cactus pose. Claw the hands, Tiger Paws, breathe, surrender to the inner Self. and Phase 3 if you like you can wrap and bind. let your gaze be soft and healing.

release and turn to the front and take down dog

stretch right leg straight and come to lunge, fingertips on the inside, cat/cow with your breath, inhale fold in exhale Lions breath to clear the path and roll the eyes up 4x

drop the back knee and come down to the elbows. lift your left foot up except for the heel and turn the foot and knee out to the left. then rock forward and back a little bit to open the hips. this engages the posterior chain of muscles which opens the hips and low back and keeps us safe.

Monkey twist pose- ground the whole left foot. you can stay down on the elbows or come up onto your hands. reach the right hand and hold your left foot. lay the right shoulder back, draw the outer right hip back, breathe into the back of the belly. draw the right foot into the sitting bones. feel free to go onto your elbows.

down dog, left foot forward other side cat cow lunge with Lions breath, tonghe out, clear the way, clear the clutter with the pranic broom of the breath that clears us out so we can rest in the easeful nature.

lower the back knee down turn the left foot out knee over 2nd toe, slide the back knee back, walk the belly over to the right then lower down onto the elbows and shimmy back and forth. how does this feel?

Monkey twist- either stay up on your left arm and twist to hold the left foot with the right hand. or stay on the left forearm and reach with the right arm. lay your bottom shoulder back, spread the toes, breathe into the back of the body, breathe into the belly back press the foot in closer and closer. release

down dog right leg forward lunge. step the back foot in a little toes out to the side, a version of Parsvottanasana. Pull the thighs in and back and take the outer right hip back. lift the front foot up except for the heel. reverse the hands flat on the floor or a block. fingertips to the backside. keep pulling the right heel down, lift the r side of the belly and draw the r hip back. lengthen out, come up half way, bring the hands to prayer behind the back of the heart, the root of stillness and fold long through your spine. slow deep breathing. release your hands to the floor,

down dog- Parsvottanasana other side

step forward uttanasana

Uttanasana to hasta padasana- put the palms on the floor fingers facing back under your feet. keep the power of the legs strong, hug the calf muscles in and straighten your legs as much as you can. look up and push down at the wrist creases. fold in. look up, come onto your fingertips. on each side of the ankle. keep the front foot lifted except for the heel. step the back foot in a little. rock back on the front left heel. take your hand and pull the left thigh in and take the left hip back. bow in and breathe. ground the front foot hands behind the heart to prayer. slow deep breathing and lengthen through your spine. release your fingertips down and go to down dog

down dog come to your knees and sit back onto your heels with your toes curled under.to give an opening into the fascia on the bottom of the feet. take arms wide palms up and reach up, palms together and exhale to the heart. Surrender to the inner heart. take the 3 middle fingers apart to create a flowering of the heart in chalice like form, the opening of the heart energy from the connection to the depth of connection to the inner stillness and essence that we are.

Uttanasana, Tadasana

L pose hands on the wall one leg up then the other

a variation on Trikonasana- start with trikonasana on a block, lowering in stages. if you can reach the floor bend your back knee and lift your front foot except for the heel. reach over the top to your toes. take the bottom forearm inside and press the hand into the heel hugging the back of the calf with your forearm and elbow. stretch the elbows away from each other. this is a parivritta form to prepare us for other poses. 4th form is to slide the back foot back a little straighten the back leg

Trikonasana and then variation

samakonasana wide angle wider with forearms down heart forward then spin up onto the heels and come down how you can. hands behind you, close your eyes, breathe and brighten it up inside as you surrender deeper to the inner stillness even in the midst of your hamstrings trying crazy new things. Breathe deeply.

hold the knees, pull in and stretch legs straight.

Janu Sirsasana- knee wider than the hip, sit on blanket if low back rounds. come onto the fingertips to the far left corner inside the front knee. just like you tried to lean back in the beginning of class in prassarita pose try to lean as far back as you can while pressing down and forward with the fingertips to open the back. reach your right hand to your left knee and your left hand over to your right foot or shin or ankle. pull the back shoulder to the inside and that will be easier to reach the foot. next phase is taking both hands to the foot, bend right elbow down left elbow up and breathe into the innermost space of self. One of the names of the innermost self is Shiva, the ground of the self, the totality of everything, the inner essence of self that holds the space for the creative energy to rise and give shape to whatever it will.

Janu Sirsasana other side- check to see that the alignment supports the inner stillness. slow deep ocean breath spiral open and listen to the inner ocean of the heart. steep yourself in the inner stillness from the depths that is your very inner essence nature.

Pashimottanasana- put a stretch aroung your feet part 1. part 2 hold the toes and broaden the elbows and lengthen the spine and part3 is to wrap around the feet. inwardly drench yourself with stillness and Presence.

Navasana boat pose- phase 1 press the fingertips behind you and lift the legs bent knees then straigthen the legs if you can. phase 2- hold under the thighs and roll them in keep the knees bent or straighten them. phase 3 holde the toes and straighten the legs. energy uprising

Triangekapadapaschimottanasana- if it’s too much on your knee, stamp your right foot on the earth out to the right. then you can comeup onto the heel and work from there. left hand on the floor and reach with your right hand.

prepare for heron and cradle the left leg. if your right foot was in front just bring it in.

take a strap around the foot and push it out and up to the sky. press the elbows wide and think of a long necked heron. phase 2 is holding the foot and pressing up. phase 3 is surya yantra. pull the leg up and over the shoulder, lean back put your hand down take your right hand on top of the foot, lean back and straighten the leg as much as you can.

Legs out

Other side

Triangekapadapaschimottanasana and cradle to heron and sundial

Paschimottanasana fold in

Savasana
Relax your inner thighs, relax your lower spine, Relax up through your ribs, up through the sternum, the heart, the throat, all the way up through the top of your head. Now that you’re horizontal feel like your sinking from the top of your body, through the middle to the bottom. So instead of staying on the surface, settle into the depths. You will settle in sequential stages. Keep letting go and settling. Settle into the depths. You can luxuriate in the part of you that’s expanded and free and always there. Just practice going there every day until you’re established there. Then you are Yoga. fold into the ultimate expression of stillness. the Shava is the corpse. the innermost stillness of Self. slow deep breathing. while the inner spaciousness that is the innermost abiding presence of Self simply be, nothing to do, nothing to figure out. surrender into the depths of the stillness of the Self that is eternal dependent on nothing outside of it to simply be at ease. Allow yourself to be entirely nourished in the assimilation of your practice. Rest in the depths of your Self.

Seated
Roll the groins back so it becomes a habit you do in every yoga pose. Be very aware of that. When you move from the core, you go to the depths of your Being, not skimming around on the surface. You have more depth. So see where you are at. Have you been going deeper? Have things been transforming? If not you may want to go deeper and longer in your practices. When you sit to meditate what’s going on? Go past the stage of just trying to control and regulate everything. When you regulate and control you’re just on the surface. When you’re just Being in the Present, there is no agenda and you are in blissful absorption of the moment.

May we have patience and enjoy the sequential stages of our practice at each stage we come to.

Om, Shanti, Shanti, Shanti,

5 Reasons To Do Handstands Every Day
Handstands are an extremely underrated exercise, for one main reason: most people think they just can’t do them.  But just because you didn’t do gymnastics when you were younger and aren’t yet an advanced yoga practitioner doesn’t mean you can’t start doing handstands starting today.

Aside from bringing out your inner kid and just being plain fun to do, there are actually several ways handstands can benefit your health, especially if you do them on a daily basis.

So whether you do them against a wall or manage to do freestanding ones, here are five reasons why you should do handstands every day:

1. They’ll make your upper body super strong.
In order to stay upside down for any length of time, you’ll need a massive amount of shoulder, arm, and upper back strength. In fact, it’s not uncommon for beginners to start shaking after just a few seconds of holding a handstand.

To build up strength, start by holding a handstand against a wall for three sets of 5-10 seconds. Work up to holding them for a minute or two at a time. Practice often, and watch as your upper body strength skyrockets.

2. They’ll increase your balance
If you’ve ever tried a handstand, you know that besides needing to be strong to do them, you’ll also need to have substantial balancing skills as well in order to be able to hold yourself up. Freestanding handstands, especially, require you to be able to have full control over your muscles and to constantly make small adjustments to avoid falling.

Practicing freestanding handstands or doing handstands against a wall and trying to take your feet off the wall for as long as possible will help increase your balancing abilities like no other exercise can.

3. They can boost your mood.
Not only will handstands make you strong and help improve your balancing abilities, handstands can also make you feel happier, since the blood flow to your brain has an energizing and calming effect, especially when you’re feeling really stressed out.

Another way handstands can help your mood is by reducing the production of the stress hormone, cortisol, which can not only de-stress you in the short-term but could also help relieve minor depression and anxiety.

4. They build core strength.
There’s no need to spend hours focusing just on your abs — you can have fun doing handstands and build core strength as well.

Since staying upside down forces you to stabilize your muscles, you’re constantly working your abs, as well as other key muscle groups such as your hip flexors, hamstrings, inner thigh muscles, obliques and lower back while in a handstand. Training handstands every day will get you a well balanced, super strong core.

5. They help with bone health, circulation and breathing.
Since handstands are technically a weight-bearing exercise, they can help strengthen your bones, making you less prone to osteoporosis. Handstands are also beneficial for your spine, and help aid bone health in your shoulders, arms and wrists.

Not only that, the upside-down nature of a handstand can increase circulation to your upper body, while relieving pressure on your feet and legs and stretching your diaphragm at the same time, which in turn can increase blood flow to your lungs.

So start building handstands into your daily routine, even if it’s just a few a day. You’ll not only be benefiting your health; you’ll have a blast while doing it!

Learn to balance the two subtle breaths called Prana Vayu and Apana Vayu along with Yoga Sutra 2.12 and Asana classes emphasizing intelligent, aligned and integrated movement.