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Garbage In, Sure! But is There Garbage Out?

29/5/2013

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That's one way of framing it - kinda dramatic, but somehow on point.

In the modern era here, we've all been inundated with an incredible amount of information, perspective and mythology about food. From the production of what we eat, the processing and distribution of food, to what diet we choose to eat. Lots of folks putting lots of time and words into that realm.


And, yes, there is some truth to that sentiment that says "you are what you eat." It's worthy of thinking on, of discernment and positive action. Don't get me wrong. But, what we are eating is not the entirety of what we are ingesting!

In Ayurveda - the yogic science of life -  ama is the concept of anything that exists in a state of incomplete transformation. In particular, it is claimed to be a toxic byproduct generated due to improper or incomplete digestion. Often, the target of internal cleansing is this ama, which has numerous translations from Sanskrit to English: “uncooked”, “un-annealed”, “immature”, “undigested”, “non-nurturing”.

The general principle of is that all inputs, or ahara - food, relationships, environment, entertainment - must be digested as experiences. This digestion depends primarily upon the strength of our agni - the digestive fire that is the product of our tapas in practice. Otherwise they will leave residues that impede function: mental residues, emotional residues, physical residues... undigested stuck matter. A place where illness, discomfort and disease may dwell.

Let's frame it at this - you are what you ingest... ingest nutrition and benefit from it; ingest non-nutritive things and you will have to work a little harder to digest them, appropriately. We can avoid the congestion by ensuring you have time for digestion after ingestion.


Ever practiced on a full stomach?? Just doesn't work (although I used to have a rail-thin student who would tell me right before class "I just ate an entire Cinnabon"... it made me sick to my stomach)!

So, there's the cleansing diets, and the juice fasts and the multiple ways we address the inequities in our diet... but what are you watching and filling your brain with? What music are you just drinking in like Big Gulps? What gossip are you nibbling on like an unending bowl of popcorn? Same thing, we should be digesting and flushing and eliminating, not letting our minds get cluttered with meaninglessness and shite. What's getting taken in, and what is becoming ama?

What time are you putting into digesting that stuff, that ama?? Or, are you just mentally constipated, full of shit? Are you emotionally drained for others because you consume and ingest their dramas and emote them, and then can't actually process them or be involved with helping improve the situation? Are you hungry for others trials and tribulations? In person, through gossip, through the glowing screens in your life?

What are your mental digestive processes? The fire of creativity, imagination and manifestation in images, words, sounds or movements? Discernment through seated silence? Inspection and introspection - what are you doing to ensure there is a moving, flowing digestive process working up top, as well as down under?

Sometimes, we need to make some space... after a big meal, unbutton a button and take a walk. The mat and our practice can be a place where we make some space. You know how it is, you've got a lot of bills to pay and work to do; the stuff is piled all over your desk - what do you do? Well, I make piles until there is a clear space in the center of the desk. Then I bring one thing into it at a time and address it - if I discern it's a distraction, I set it aside and refocus.

This can be the metaphor for our practice - on the mat in asana, or in mindfulness or meditation. Create space, examine items one at a time, discern their import and relevance, keep what is worthy, what wisdom has been gained and learned. Then, process and address the rest of what is in there, and finally release it.

Ingest, process, digest, store, eliminate... then, give thanks and praise!


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Getting Edgy in Your Practice - C'mon Up to the Campfire!

21/2/2013

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Within the flickering light and warmth of the flame, but not consumed…

Within the asana practice, there can be times of struggle and times of ease; times where we feel the need to coax just a little more out of it, and times where we realize that we are simply coasting through it. We need to be aware of those moments that take us from our intention and attention, or attraction, to the natural and innate tendencies to push too hard, or to simply drift away into the ease and mindlessness.


The edge: not the ‘edge’ where they say "if you aren’t living on the you’re taking up too much space". No, the edge of the practice, that vital space of information and transformation; any less effort and our mind wanders out of the asana practice – any more effort and we would abuse the subtlety of pranayama and lose the benefit of the practice!

So, I would liken this ‘edge’ in the practice to a campfire – come along for my story.


The campfire is warm and it represents safety; its light and warmth are a comfort and it’s a refuge from the darkness. The light keeps the critters away, it casts a protective circle - the heat keeps you warm and contained, and present. The dancing of the flames on the embers is entrancing, mesmerizing, and timeless. It’s what is happening, it’s the primary conversion of energy that we can participate in, it offers purification and possibility; and, potentially danger as well.

If we rush too quickly towards that edge, the campfire, we may stumble, or create too much momentum and not stop in time. We may choke on the smoke, we may get cinders in our eyes, and we may singe our eyebrows or even be injured in the manifestation of the fire! We lose clarity, we hurt ourselves, we gasp and recoil, and we cause stress.

If we tarry, or we hesitate, we also may suffer. We may remain cold and distant; we may be lost outside of the safety and comfort of the circle of light. We may be prey to those things in the shadows that aren’t pleasant, and without the light of the campfire, we may imagine them to be larger or more persistent than they are. We would miss the community, the reverence, the dancing lights of the embers and flames, the energetic exchange of the fire and folk.


And, what is the ‘edge detector?' How do we know that we aren’t playing with fire, or giving ourselves a cold shoulder? The breath: the breath is the detector of the edge in our practice.


Does it lose the quality of mindfulness when we don’t fully engage and bring ourselves into the asana – not the 'fullest expression' - just engaged integrity and focus? Does it become shallow and unattended and does the mind wander? If you can plan your day, you should rather commit to being present and engaging in the practice; find more sensation and engagement, come a little closer to the flame.

Likewise, do you take every offered intensification and expression, greedily rushing in, mindless of the edge and then finding yourself gasping, panting, mouth-breathing? If we rush too quickly to the heat and the transformation or purification, we can’t sustain - and contain - the healthy fire without the pranayama.


A difficult question to take into our practice – are there poses where you know you sacrifice the breath in order to ‘nail’ the pose? What is the benefit of that?? Does the expression of the asana that you seek undermine the integrity of the pranayama and turn you into a mouth-breather?? Sweet lil' blue-faced baby cow-hugging Krishna, forbid it!

That’s why I like this metaphor of the ‘edge’ and the campfire. Don’t rush in and get burned and ruin your trip; but don’t hang out in the cold woods and get bit by a big bad wolf!! Practice working gently to and fro, right at the threshold where you maximize the internal mantra of ‘I am breathing in, I am breathing out’ and let that be the whole of your mind.

Breath, linked to engaged expression in posture: Pranayama, Asana, and perhaps, Pratyahara – the intentional withdrawal from your senses and into the moment in front of you – and edgy concept, but a worthy one!

Give thanks and praise, see you ‘round the campfire!



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Sit - Step 8 to Happiness.

25/11/2012

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Mindfulness. Sitting with you, by yourself, being you and watching the drama of you being you. It can be tough, it can be sweet, it can literally save your life.

And, anything that eases the burdens, reduces the stresses, sweetens the ride and gives us time to enjoy and thrive is bound to be a happiness creator. I put mindfulness as tool number one on that list.

What do I mean, more specifically, by mindfulness? Some folks prefer to use the words 'meditation' or 'centering', for some folks it may even be 'prayer', 'contemplation' or 'sadhana'. I mean, simply and directly, creating an intentional time away from activity and interaction with the purpose of sitting still, in purposeful observance of the mind.

You may choose to add observance of the breath, or to add a mantra, or to add an object or image of devotion. The idea is to 'concentrate' in the most classic sense of the world. To come back together towards the center... to reduce our circles of concern and thought back down, like an onion being peeled one layer at a time, until we come to the core, the essence, the seed.

It's a practice, and yes, it can be frustrating. I think as many folks have told me they can't practice mindfulness because they say 'my mind won't ever shut up, how am I supposed to sit and be still!" as tell me they can't do yoga because "I can't touch my toes!". It's a practice... I couldn't speak any language until I was able to walk around as a toddler being unintelligible making noises for a couple years. Miracle of miracles, I ended up speaking (and reading and writing, English!) You practice, you learn; you don't, you don't.

The brain, the mind, your consciousness, your mental condition - whatever you identify with, you are able to work on it, refine it, train it, strengthen it and improve it. Neuroscience has come a long way, and we now know that neuro-plasticity extends through your entire life. You can make this happen, you start with five minutes a day, feeling like a failure because 'the committee in your head is just outraged and out of order!' Persevere, keep at it, chuckle at your own foibles at it... then, maybe you go up to 10 minutes after a week, and you keep doing it.

Practicing mindfulness will increase your energy and your strength. Since stress has so many profoundly negative and taxing effects on us both mentally and physically, when we use mindfulness to eliminate or better control stress, we reclaim more energy. We may think and act more purposefully because our minds aren't weighed down with problems, and have more endurance, because of the reduction of stress on your immune system, which positively affects everything else.

Mindfulness helps to keep you in a positive frame of mind, by actively increasing the levels of serotonin produced in the brain. This benefits of heightened levels of serotonin work to alleviate headaches, tension, depression, as well as providing an elevated sense of well-being.


It has been shown that with regularly practiced mindfulness, blood pressure can be regulated. While this is due largely to the overall reduction of stress, there is also an impact on how blood circulates and how the blood vessels respond and react in a positive way.


Mindfulness creates better ability for focus, and heightened memory function. This leads to the mind 'feeling stronger, more resilient and better able to handle the trials and tribulations of everyday life'. This then leads to greater states of contentment, the ability to seek and pursue fulfilling actions and choices, and the willingness to trust and take risks.


Mindfulness helps you to get out of the details and see the bigger picture; we are able to see things much more clearly. Irrespective of what plagues us, what problems we may have, when we just sit and take the time to observe the action of being, it all becomes just a little less personal, a little less tragic, a little less dramatic... we may even discover solutions for those problems simply by clearing our mind of the repetitive chatter. Then, we become able to take action to clear away the problems and address the issues.


Strong intuition is key to finding a connection to our inner Self. Through harnessing intuition we can preserve the well being of our bodies and minds. To achieve that, we must develop practices which bolster our intuition. A prime method for developing and harnessing good intuition is through mindfulness, which helps you observe your thoughts and feelings in order to have true discernment. It also provides the tranquility to fully follow, understand and embrace our highest purpose, our truest nature, and therein, to find happiness.

Richard Davidson, a neuroscientist at the University of Wisconsin, has led experiments in cooperation with the Dalai Lama on effects of meditation and mindfulness on the brain. His results suggest that long-term, or short-term practice of mindfulness meditation results in different levels of activity in brain regions associated with such qualities as attention, anxiety, depression, fear, anger, the ability of the body to heal itself, and so on. These functional changes may be caused by changes in the physical structure of the brain.

There, so in addition to all of that above, we've got proven tool for weight loss, we hit blood pressure already, it's a mental acuity strengthener, and it's been proven to reduce heart disease. It'll make you smarter, a more empathetic and emotionally intelligent person, and overall, increase your ability to sustain periods of contentment and happiness.

All of that is excellent, but the highlight for me is this. Studies show,
people who start out the day with fifteen to thirty minutes of mindfulness statistically have a better, happier day. They handle anything that comes up with ease, with no stress --- or at the very least, minimal short term stress --- they move easily from task to task, with complete focus.

Simply put, mindfulness helps us be happier. We all have a set point of happiness in our lives, like the optimum temperature on a thermostat. The environment makes us feel ourselves higher or lower, but there's always that set point we recalibrate ourselves to; where we experience happiness. Through the practice of mindfulness meditation we can raise that happiness calibration to a higher level, which, over time will make your happy times even happier, and your unhappy times seemingly less unhappy.

Get happy, give thanks and praise, do the work... make the time, just five minutes at first - sit and be mindful. Observe the breath, repeat an affirmation, focus on a candle flame. Allow your natural thoughts to emerge and simply notice them, then let them drift away like clouds in the sky.

Check back for my next tip - that would be Step 9 - Serve and Help.



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Reduce Distractions - Step 6 to Happiness.

20/11/2012

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That sounds pretty straightforward, until you realize how addicted we are as a culture to continuous input and stimulation. Like right now --- be real --- don't you have another form of media running, music, radio, TV? And, you're reading, but maybe also you're really thinking about what else you should/might be doing, and that takes it out of reading and into mind games.

That's pretty much how it is for me - I know as kids we were praised for being able to multitask in school and it was all the rage. Improve your productivity, maximize your results, amaze your friends, please your parents!!

Well, pilgrims on sea, it just ain't so. In fact, when I first came to the yoga practice and I was struggling to find my place, to understand what was going on, I spent a lot of time multitasking in class. Thinking about "what does that mean?" and wondering "why would they choose that word/pose?". May sound judgmental, probably was, but if I was in a space where I could judge while struggling with my breath, then I was clearly multitasking. And, in truth, it wasn't very productive; I didn't maximize my experience and results.

About six months into my practice, I took Teacher Training for the first time. I recall, the first night we did a fifteen-minute minimally guided meditation. It was well offered and carefully managed and for many of us in the room, the longest extended period of focus, concentration, meditation, mindfulness or what have you that we had ever experienced. After, as we were dialoging and folks were sharing that, I recall my Teacher offering - "yoga is undivided, uninterrupted, continuous focus".

Bam! I got that. And, while I still work each practice to get that, I get it. I grok it. I feel it. That is why I'm happy to extend the definition of yoga way past the asana practice. For some, I think that is the last place they'll encounter yoga. For some, it's a perfect golf swing, being in the zone during a tennis match, throwing a pot on the wheel, getting lost in solving a puzzle, any action where we exhibit pure, uninterrupted, undivided focus... that's the truest yoga.

Ask yourself, if you've experienced flow state --- where it just is and you are and there is little separation between engagement and outcome ---you remember how great it feels. It feels like yoga, like union, like really being connected and linked on so many levels. It feels good, it makes you feel good.

I can provide y'all a bunch of science behind it, but we went there pretty heavy yesterday. There are lots of conclusive studies that show multitasking actually elevates stress responses and minimizes productivity and the new common wisdom is to dedicate specific time to specific tasks or projects and - here's the kicker - even Internet-based companies have 'recess' or 'tech-free time'. Many high-tech offices have a one-hour period a day where you aren't allowed to make or take calls, to have meetings or be scheduled to do something. You simply pick one focus and work.

Try it - pick something easy to minimize. I've been driving my '65 VW lately, it only has an old, cranky radio. It basically gets two stations. I've recently decided it's more fun to drive and be involved in driving her then it is to listen to the absolute bullshit talk-radio that fills my stations. I'm the kind of person who loves to have music in the car, so I mostly found myself turning it on, being plagued by distraction as I wait for music. Now, I just leave it off, and if I need music, I sing!

Reduce just a few distractions. Go to dinner with a friend and leave your phone in the car!!! Take a technology-free day, no media, no computers. Give it a try and let me know how it feels. Find something worthy of your focus and give it your all.


Give thanks and praise - check back tomorrow for Step 7 - Move!



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Place Trust in Yourself - Step 4 to Happiness.

17/11/2012

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Trust, belief, faith and hope... all of those are important, at different times and in different measures. But, to be honest, each of those words implies an element of surrender, of being out of control, of letting go. Scary stuff, for many; yet oddly comforting.

You've definitely heard it and been told that "you can't love someone else until you love yourself"; true that, but no one talks about trust this way. I think it is exactly the same proposition. Or, maybe I should say "in case of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, be sure to place your mask on first before assisting those you are traveling with."

How do we start building trust in ourselves? If you're here and reading this, you won't be surprised by this answer. It's a spiritual practice; it begins by believing at an authentic level that the Universe is a basically intelligent and benevolent and loving place that is evolving in common good. And, that you are uniquely and intricately insinuated in creation.

The trust is built from belief; the belief is shored by the knowledge. Knowledge that you are important to the Universe and its creative function, and that you are co-creating the experience which you believe you are simple living and perceiving.

Then, you ask, how do we make that happen? You just start trusting... First, you figure out how to align your own beliefs and actions in order to create trust with yourself. Whether that be the choices you make or the discipline you stick to or the goals you set yourself. Know that you are worthy of the challenge, up to the work, and be accountable to it.

When we trust, others or ourselves, it's an incredible act of vulnerability. We are vulnerable, because we believe, without knowing, that we can depend on others or ourselves. Therefore, the level of trust we can give others is completely related to the level of trust we can expect from ourselves. There's that subtly threatening aspect again, the surrender and the vulnerability. Well folks, the greatest work is done with the eyes closed and the heart breaking. Trust yourself, it's worth it.

Practicing mindfulness is one way to develop this relationship of knowing and being nurtured by the cosmos; as with any spiritual practice or one based on consciousness, you must do the work, within. We've go to strike an intentional interchange and play between hope, faith, and belief. Sitting daily and cultivating a relationship with reality and your mind is the best way to create the basis for trusting your own beliefs and having faith in oneself.

Trust - that's when we have a belief and we see it or experience it, and it's reliable and it's dependable. When we know the intentions and actions are in alignment, we can build the foundation for trustworthiness. Trust is truth, in action and in experience. It is a gift, it is a blessing, and it is a boon.

It is most often our ego, or experiences and the residual stain those leave on our personality that will prevent us from fully experiencing trust in ourselves and others.  Becoming more aware of triggers and unconscious roadblocks to trust allows us to work through them and move past those impediment. Perhaps, then we can allow ourselves to experience the joy of trustworthiness.

What is it that you aren't doing? Where have you lost faith in yourself or your abilities? What would it be like to simply trust yourself, your intuition, your gut, your best instincts?

Give thanks and praise, trust yourself to be up to your challenges and rise to meet them - come back tomorrow for Step 5 - Create Bonds.


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Explore The Shadows - Step 3 to Happiness.

16/11/2012

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Well, you know you're blogging in the yoga-sphere when you are Shine one day and Shadow the next - that gentle tug of the balance in opposing forces.

I think one really common misconception, and one that is perpetuated by a lot of folks in the community is that it's all love and light, happy and bright. Holy blue-face, it's NOT! It's more often about getting real with what is real, and understanding where we 'are coming from.'

You know, you can't tell how bright it is unless you've seen the darkness. We have to know isolation and desolation to be able to accept the sweetness in consolation. And each of us has had our struggles. One thing about my community, we can get bragging rights for sharing really openly in the right environment. I've been to enough deep trainings and intensives to tell you all, confidently, no one comes through unscathed... so many are hurt and damaged and have been abused, misused, maltreated, neglected, etc.

It's always amazing to me now when folks are surprised. When someone's carefully created facade finally crumbles and falls and you realize someone you held in high esteem is just as frightened and insecure and triggered as you have been; that we have all failed, been shamed, been hurt.

A long time ago, because I really wanted to be doing the work --- the more profound work of yoga education, which to me means getting deeper than the asana, into all of the experience, and to use this to discern, train and understand --- I moved to the folks who I thought could get me there. I was fortunate to be able to find my primary teacher, Seane Corn.

With Seane and company, (as I'm also talking about the collaborative work of OTM) the shadows are not off-limits, rather, they are the fertile ground for self-discovery. I have often seen and witnessed, as well as had the personal insights myself, that 'our greatest fame is a result of our greatest shame'... the introverted child, who was ignored or neglected will often become a really important, key player; a center of attention. Those who have been wronged will become protectors.... those who were diminished will work on helping others grow.

Many very successful people i know have been startled to 'track their success' to some early childhood or adolescent trauma or traumas. Yes, profound, I would suggest, nearly universal and yet, we are taught to be ashamed of those things, to get over them, to leave them behind, not to be a victim, etc.

The act of denial and avoidance leaves us less than whole. And it leaves us reactive - trigger-able! For what we have experienced either directly or otherwise in our trauma can bring out the worst in us; even though the mirror of that is the best of us.
 
Case in point: when I was about 11 or 12, a family member of mine inappropriately used me to experiment with sexually. It was not chronic abuse, it was a one-time occurrence. Still, at that age, before kids had access to Cable and Internet I claim true youthful, naivete. I had no idea I was giving oral sex or being made to have intercourse other than the odd physical acts.


I grew up in a family where sexual abuse was for 'another class' of folks, where no one who drank themselves to sleep was an alcoholic because that term was for losers who hit people and got arrested. I grew up in a family where therapy meant you were fucked up and my family wasn't fucked up. Except, like every family it was in one way or another. Even with lovely parents, pillars of the community.

I never said anything, it then 'didn't happen' and I was able to do this really interesting thing which I will call 'compartmentalization' or 'turning it into an ABC After School Special'. That means it went in a mental box, it got stored, every once in a while I would completely review it (I remember a lot of details) but never 'feel' it, just watch it.

I got really good at it; and I got left alone a lot. I liked that. The situation had nuances. My parents were great, but I was the youngest, by a gap. My older siblings had all the home movies, lots of snapshots, the cute costumes. I've got one reel of Super 8, and some hand-me-downs on in the Polaroids. I'd say my parents went back to having a life and mostly allowed my older siblings to raise me. One did more than the other; that's the one I bonded with. That's the one who abused me.

It's easy to see it now, I blamed my parents for being absentees and not caring for me. I accepted the alternative caregiver and then that person abused the trust and me. I had no one to go to, and it wasn't going to be talked about or good, so I just stuffed it away. It didn't happen again, so eventually, it didn't happen.

For about the last five years, every time I'd get into a deep, good practice, and be presented with some good hip-openers, the 'box' would come out of the 'compartment' and I would review it, but again, like I was watching a movie and it was happening to someone else. That only lasts so long; this year, I put the movie in Sensurround and just played it, felt it, mourned it, raged on it, and then said, 'yup, that's me, that's real'.

How'd we get here from Happy, the gentle reader asks?? In one straight line!


While the shame and trauma I experienced made me who I am, someone who is very loyal, protective, takes the leadership role to ensure integrity and moves to places to care for others, my triggers get the exact opposite. Righteous indignation, rage, vengeful, exclusion, condescension, negativity.

If I don't let the story of where I'm coming from be real, then I can't understand where I am. If I can know my triggers, by finding my shame and owning it and learning from it, then I will know that I am here, better, stronger and in service because of it. And, I can hold myself, use my practice, use my discernment, and not fall victim to being held in that space, but rather continue to shine.

I shine brighter because I found the deepest shadow; I find happiness because I don't deny or avoid real sorrow. Never fixed, just keep turning inward and doing the work - the knife shines after the stone.

Make sense? Feel like there might be something there? Do the work, tread lightly but surely; asana practice is the safest laboratory for personal discovery and change. Find yours.

Give thanks and praise - and come back tomorrow for Step 4 - Place Trust in Yourself!


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Authenticity - Are You Hiding Your Thorns?

5/10/2012

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Wow, sorry!! I guess I took about a week off there! Thanks for your patience, consider me back at it!

Put a lot of effort into GaneshFest and what an incredible gathering it was!! I still am high from all the love, vibrations, prana and soul-sweetness that I felt there. So eternally grateful for my co-creators and collaborators, and in fact, just spent much of this last week sitting in gratitude. Letting it settle in, make sense, feel good - oh, and yes, some deep long naps, and some crazy number-crunching to bring it all to close!

I wouldn't trade that experience for the world! In fact, I'm super buoyed by the amount of positive feedback and buy-in... so many folks, both those who attended and those who created, are asking 'what's next?'. I am as well! I think this community and the work we can do is clear; now we need to focus on how to continue that service, and how to uplift our entire group! I'm excited for the challenge!

One pleasure of the weekend was watching such a diverse group of folks, who really share so much in common, connect, share, get real, and be authentic. We had Asthangis, Flowers, Kundalinis, and of course, the ever popular 'yoga mutts' - just breathing, hanging, practicing and being together. That resonance, and the conversations I had, lead me to this post - a post on 'authenticity'.

If you read me much, by now you know I love language and linguistics. Not only because I see so much of the PIE (Proto Indo-European) cognates run from Sanskrit to both the Romance and the Teutonic/Norse language groups, but also because words are like asanas. They contain so much
inherent information; if we simply explore the foundations, then the expressions mean so much more.

Authenticity - being yourself, being true to yourself, being authentic... ok, let's go deeper.

authentic (adj.) mid-14th century first usage, meaning "authoritative"

This comes down from the Old French root, autentique - then, down from the 14th century into Modern French authentique.

The word came into Old French via the words "authentic; canonical," which are directly from Middle Latin -  authenticus. This comes to Latin, from the Greek word  authentikos meaning "original, genuine, principal," which itself is a conjugate of authentes, or "one acting on one's own authority,"

This breaks down really directly, from autos "self" + hentes "doer, being,". Like I mentioned before, go back far enough and you get to PIE, where we have the root *sene- "to accomplish, achieve."

Ok, so you're 'self-being' and that makes you some level of acting from one's own authority; let's look at that.


authority (noun) from the Old French auctorité "authority, prestige, right, permission, dignity, gravity". I like that! From the Old French of the 12th century down to Modern French, the word is autorité. This was influenced from the Latin -  auctoritatem (the nominative is auctoritas) and means "invention, advice, opinion, influence, command,". From this same root, we get the Latin auctor  or "master, leader, author".

Authentic  also indicates "accomplishment" and "achievement", so let's dive into those, briefly:

accomplish (verb) from the late 14th century word in Old French -  acompliss-, the stem of acomplir "to fulfill, fill up, complete". This was refined from the 12th century Vulgate Latin word  *accomplere. This is formed via the Latin ad- "to"  + complere "fill up" (think of "complete").

achieve (verb) from the early 12th century word in Old French - achever,  "to finish, accomplish, complete". This comes from the phrase à chef (venir) "at an end, finished". We also see this in the Vulgate Latin -  *accapare, from Late Latin - ad caput (venire); both the French and Late Latin phrases share the literal meaning "to come to a head," from stem of Latin caput "head" (think cap, as in ballcap; think Capitol, as in the head of government; think Kapala Bhati as in "Skull Shining!).

The way I read it, authenticity is taking responsibility for being exactly who we are, and acting from that sense of purpose. It means we should find dignity and gravity in our composure, and that we should become leaders - either to self, or to those who may need guidance.

It also contains the principle of fulfillment; of the joy that is found in truly being the self. In allowing others to love your entirety, rather than deciding what to share with whom, from guilt, shame or concern of judgment. Simply to be, and to be fulfilled - to be complete, to come to a head.

This is a noble goal, and kinda scary. That means maybe you find out your yoga teacher loves a beer now and again... that's ok, if they're authentic - but if there are shame games, or "do as I say, not as I do", or even subterfuge, that is denying our wholeness, our self, our divinity - the nature of our authenticity.

And, as a friend reminded me - being authentic is like being bald and accepting it... which means, you don't worry about which 'hat you are wearing' or when to switch them. You don't have to be this person, then that, and then one in the middle when two worlds collide. You don't have to remember what language and words to use, if you don't edit yourself to the occasion.

It's a tough mission; I've seen some incredible examples in the past two weeks and I'm renewed in my desires and emboldened in my actions to come to a place that is authentic ,caring and sharing. I just gotta be me, wouldn't wish it on anyone else!! And, if I'm gonna be me, I've gotta get better at it, everyday! That's the plan!

How are you feeling about that? Do you notice authentic folks in your life, or on the contrary, have you begun to notice when it doesn't feel solid? When folks don't seem to be who they are?

Do you notice the tendency in your own life to 'become someone else' in an alternate situation? Are you one way with friends, one with family, one with co-workers? Just think on it, notice what it might be about...

Then, give thanks and praise - feel complete and bring it to a head!


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Collaboration - A Form of Yoga... or Linking Two Forces for the Good of All...

25/9/2012

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Sorry, been a little bit - I've been having some busy days getting ready for GaneshFest!! Have you purchased your tickets, yet?? You can do so here - we're looking to have a full house, to raise spirits, funds, consciousness and the roof!!

If you were in the ATX this past week, we've had some good things going on. We were one of the cities globally that hosted an event and held the BeThePeace gathering, hosted by LOVEATX, this past Friday night.


Check that link and go to the photos of the event, some really incredible moments captured in there! Hundreds of like-minded folks came together to do yoga, to celebrate in a moment of planetary community, to chant together, to march together and to meditate together!

I had the pleasure of co-leading the yoga session with my newest collaborator, Joshua Sukhbir. We were those Facebook friends, you know, with many common friends and similar tastes, and I'm sure we liked each others posts! But, until Thursday afternoon of last week, we hadn't met or rapped in person; so we did just that!
 
It was great - I love working with other yogis all the time, but this was particularly sweet! I know his training background and he is in my lineage of teachers and from my 'world.' So, we easily created common space, and just started talking about what we wanted to bring to the yoga, what our message was, and how that related to Peace.

Didn't take long, we just shared some thoughts, some anecdotes, agreed and hit some resonances pretty early on, and then just agreed to play it by ear, and by eye. I'd have to say, that this is my favorite way of collaborating - find and share common ground, then just play with what arises in that laboratory! And, we did!

Our shared message was that 'One cannot fight for Peace' - we can't force it, enforce it, or expect it if we are fighting people; nor could we continue with language that separates, makes other into 'other' and doesn't recognize both the divinity within, and the struggles and traumas imposed from without! Our messages were from our own perspective, but supported and complemented the other. The folks got into the groove and let go - there were times where one of us simply finished a sentence, turned his head, made eye contact and the other just picked right up. Again, feels like true collaboration - no leading, no following, just syncing and sharing.

We were able to bring folks inside themselves, then connect folks to each other - we even did some standing assists as a complete group in our Trees - feeling the support, the community, and how struggle can become play, when shared. We did a lovely heart-to-heart meditation where we tried to imagine ourselves as others  and the other as our self. We did a healing circle, for those who attended and needed, but also for the world. We did a 'metta' - loving compassion - pranayama, and we simpy made linked community.

I feel really fortunate to have the opportunity and the community within which to collaborate. It's very satisfying, is most often done in the spirit of service, and it feels like we are changing a paradigm. From top-down to side-to-side...

That's part of my mission, and part of the entire conversation about Peace. Don't fight, work. Don't struggle, endure. And, make every change you can within yourself, and let that shine. Can you be the calm flame in the roaring fire? Can you be the soothing voice in the screaming tempest? Can you show peace, create it and make it obvious, in that others might find it?

Good work, good news - you can do it!! Give thanks and praise!


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Ganesh Chaturthi - You Say It's Your Birthday? It's His Birthday, Too!

19/9/2012

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It is an auspicious day!! 

First and foremost, it is Ganesh Chaturthi - the occasion on which we celebrate Ganesh, his birth and his works! It just also happens to be my beloved teacher, and solid friend, Seane Corn's birthday, and I find no irony in that - Seane has done a lot to remove obstacles and be a support on my own personal growth.

We are celebrating Ganesh's birthday because it is worthy of celebration and contemplation, but also, because we are in the last days of preparation for GaneshFest, 2012 - our "Off the Mat Into the World" Global Seva Challenge fundraiser! 


We're hosting three nights of music and two full days of yoga (live music an DJs accompanying) with 20 beloved Austin Teachers sharing the flows. Please come check it out - we need your support to be able to reach our goal, as well as bringing folks from all over together in shared joy, service and purpose.

Why Ganesh?? Well, he's a helpful soul. He sometimes puts obstacles in our way, when we need them most. He may test us, temper us, see what we are made of. He also removes obstacles, he is invoked for good beginnings and fresh starts! He's lovable, jolly and in service to us all.

There's a great legend, as there always is, behind the story of Ganesh. Traditional stories tell that Lord Ganesha was created by goddess Parvati, consort of Lord Shiva. Parvati created Ganesha out of sandalwood paste that she used for her bath and breathed life into the figure. She then set him to stand guard at her door while she bathed.

Lord Shiva returned and, as Ganesha didn't know him, he didn't allow him to enter. Well, Lord Shiva didn't know Ganesh either, and wasn't excited about him standing at the bath of his lover... Lord Shiva became enraged and asked his follower ghosts to teach the child some manners. Ganesha, being born of Parvati, the embodiment of shakti or power was very powerful himself. He defeated the ghost-followers - called the "ganas" - and declared nobody was allowed to enter while his mother was bathing. 

Sensing a growing turmoil, the sage of heavens, Narada, along with the Saptarshi - the seven wise rishis, or sages - went to appease the boy with no results. Angered, the king of Gods, Indra attacked the boy with his entire heavenly army but even they didn't stand a chance. By then, this issue had become a matter of pride for Parvati and Shiva. After the devas were defeated, the trinity -  the controller, preserver and destroyer of the universe -  launched an attack against Ganesha. Amidst the fight, Shiva severed the head of the child, and brought on Parvati's rage. 

Seeing her son dead, Parvati revealed her true self, as the Adi-Shakti, the prime energy that fuels the universe and sustains matter. Taking on a terrible form, she vowed to destroy the universe where her son was killed and re-create a better one. The Gods prostrated before her and Shiva promised that her son will live again. 

The trinity hunted the world for a head and came across a mother elephant crying for her dead baby. They consoled the mother and fixed the head of the baby elephant in place of Ganesha's head. Lord Shiva also declared that from this day, the boy would be called as "Ganesha" (Gana-Isha  - lord of the Ganas). In this way, Lord Ganesha came to be depicted as the elephant-headed God.

Lovely story - and just for fun, contrast it to the story of Isis - aka Isha, a female diety - who also is served by a family member, once killed and dismembered, and reconstructed, with a Hawk's head. Just sayin', a good story travels a long way.

So, what does it mean for you - it means what needs be meant. Things seem blocked, stuck, in a rut - look to Ganesh for some release. However, if things are going well, don't be surprised if you get a little test. 


The GaneshTest we'll call it - just how serious are you about your purpose, your calling and your dream?? Purposeful enough to endure some hardship? Committed enough to stay placid through the moments where nothing is happening? Are you up to the test?

Whatever you decide, make it a sweet day - enjoy, give thanks and praise!!

Tickets for GaneshFest are on sale now - grab them HERE - we need your help to address the shame and disgrace that is human sexual-trafficking in India. Please join us in practice and in Seva!

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Empty Mind - Mindfulness and the Paradox in Practice.

15/9/2012

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Brain Burned Away - Mindfully Empty...
I was thinking about this a lot this week, then teaching yesterday was a great opportunity to explore the idea and the theme a little more.

I know a lot of folks struggle with 'mindfulness' or 'meditation'. Perhaps more accurate to say they even struggle with the thought of the practice much more than the practice, if you see the nuance.

Meditation is a tough word, probably carries to much imagery and gravitas. Mindfulness works, I like it, but it provides a subtle paradox - what doesn't in this tradition? We want to be 'mindful', yet the problem is our mind if full - full of monkeys, full of ama (undigested sticky matter - the 'junk food' we watch, listen to, the drama, the shite), full of negative thoughts, full of projection and reflection... At least, that's what I experience.

When I came to the practice, it took me the requisite time to figure it all out. To get body awareness, learn left and right, be able to pay attention, to learn to listen, and to build bone density and basic upper body strength. After I got to the baseline, I was able to work deeper into the practice.

I moved into the more vigorous practices - Flow, Vinyasa, Ashtanga. It was in those practices that I found a way to apply the vigor, and the necessity of staying focused on transitions as a way to burn away the monkey mind, to find a bit of clarity, emptiness and solace. I noticed this to be true in my practice, and later to be true as a teacher. There is a student who presents to the vigorous practice because it takes that to wear away or to burn off the over-riding mind. Therein, those students find their quietude.

You teach from your practice - so I teach that. That's at the foundation of my perspective and it's what defines the tribe I serve. I've got to keep looking at how that might evolve, how that might grow, how that might continue to mature in it's service, both in my practice and in my teaching.

I've also recently really enjoyed teaching MBSR - Mindfulness, in atypical settings and non-yoga environments. More specifically, to folks who don't normally do yoga, or traditional meditative practices, or may not even be active. It's amazing, humbling and encouraging to watch the almost immediate changes this basic practice of mindfulness can bring - calmness, softened features, slower and more deliberate speech, presence, amity, and so much more. It's been a privilege to take these techniques and share them.

To the point of this post - for some of us, we're so full in the mind, so cluttered, so frenetic, that we need a deliberate practice, a threshold, perhaps even the gross sensation of vigor combined with focus, to burn away those thoughts, projections, reflections and assumptions. Then, to our surprise, there is a clarity afforded. Once the mind has been 'emptied', then we can be 'mind-ful'.

What helps me is ritual - routine, discipline. Doing Surya Namaskar is ideal. There is an inherent grace and rhythm to the kriya, and it easily becomes muscle memory. Therein, we have two choices... check out, or dive in. When our body knows what to do, we can often just drift away -  mind emptied. Ever arrived at work in your car, really not remembering any of the traffic lights or cross-traffic turns?? Hmmm.

But, if we take that same muscle memory, and the subtle disconnect that it affords, then we can truly train the freed attention to become the observer; not participant, not driver. And in that observation, become completely mindful - in true Mindfulness.

Meditation, Mindfulness, Yoga - here's where they meet - 'undivided, uninterrupted, single-pointed focus that is sustained'. Make sense as an operational definition?? How does it work for you? Where do you find single-pointed mindfulness?

Give thanks and praise.

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    Chrispy - Bhagat Singh

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