Joyful Heart Yoga

It's heartbreaking to see innocent lives shattered by someone intent on hurting others. People are going about their business, enjoying the day. For some surely the marathon was a quest -- a chance to gain victory over a setback in life, or to realize a hard-fought goal. How can we be safe in a world where there are people who want to hurt us?

Unfortunately, there is no safety. We can do what we can to make the world a better place. We can hold our elected officials accountable for enacting our wishes to make our country more safe. We can be a good example by treating others with loving kindness, and we can raise our children to do the same. But still there is no safety. We cannot control everything and everyone. 

At times like this many people ask, "How can God let this happen?" Well, it seems obvious to me that God is not focused on making our lives free of pain. That doesn't seem to be his job. From the beginning of time all living creatures have had to suffer pain, illness, hunger, etc. Somehow we got to thinking that if we prayed enough and were good enough we would be protected from these things, but it doesn't work that way. No one is immune from suffering in this life. I suppose if we did live pain-free, perfect lives we would have no need to look deeper into spirituality. We would not have lessons to learn from … to grow from.

I read a poem today that I think is a perfect ending to the article I wrote yesterday about the school shooting. Those of us who are "light bearers" should not lose heart. We have work to do!

Light Bearers

by
Danna Faulds

We are light bearers, stewards


of a truth that insists on being


shared despite doubt or fear
 or 

imagined limitation.
 We spread 

the flame
 by teaching or by growing 

still,
 by daring to be outrageous


and dancing beneath the full moon,


or by holding a friend in need


and taking part in life's normal 

routines.
 This is our message--


there is hope encoded in each 

cell,
 each loving thought, 
each

time we reach out to one another.


There's truth that won't be stopped

by toppling buildings, snipers' 

bullets, 
war clouds on the horizon,

or the inner storms 
of grief, despair 

and insecurity.
 We are the peace we've 

been seeking,
 the peace that stretches

beyond the mind's need
 for form or 

understanding,
 the peace for which

each human heart longs.
 Now is 

the time
 for the light bearers to 

I recently found out that some of my students don't know that I have a few videos on this website, so I'll put them here for you to see. The first is a short lesson on yoga breathing, and the second is a practice that I designed to help bring the mind to sharper focus so you can carry on with whatever you need to do during the day. It may help you stay focused at work or in school, or before a performance. I've also included one of the videos from our Costa Rica retreats as well. Enjoy! (If the website music interferes, you can scroll down to the bottom left-hand side of the page and turn off the music.)

Namaste!

Sandy Pradas

All suffering is caused by the difference between what is actually happening and the way you want it to happen. This can involve other people’s behavior or situations such as jobs, finances, family dynamics/relationships, health, and aging.

Learning acceptance is a wonderful healing gift that you can give to yourself.

Everything you experience is part of your journey through life. It’s an opportunity or a teaching experience. Maybe a wake-up call. Whatever it is, embrace it because it can put you further ahead on the path. Surely you have all experienced something that you initially thought was bad only to discover later that it turned out for the best or lead to personal growth.

Acceptance isn’t giving in or being passive. I once heard acceptance compared to aikido. Aikido works with the energies of push and pull. When someone pulls you towards them, instead of resisting and trying to pull away, you move toward them, using their momentum so they have no power over you. Likewise, acceptance means going with the flow, rolling with the changes, and using the energy in a situation for healing.

In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali says that the cause of suffering is not seeing things as they are.  We don’t recognize the impermanence of life, so we cling and crave rather than savor and enjoy. Nothing is permanent: health comes and goes, circumstances change, one day we have money and the next day we don’t, people come in and out of our lives. Change is constant, yet we persist in trying to avoid the unpleasant and cling to the pleasant. We make a really big deal out of things that aren’t that important on a grand scale. We delude ourselves. We try to control others. Our fears, our beliefs, and our biases color all of our thoughts, all of our decisions.

The practice of yoga – postures, pranayama, and meditation – shines the light of awareness on the inner workings of the mind. As we are able to increase our focus and concentration and delve deeper inside we start to clearly see this delusion – this ignorance – and we come to understand that the world isn’t at all the way we thought it was.

The tagline of Joyful Heart Yoga is "Live Wide Open!" What does this mean? It means dismantling our defenses and habitual patterns of reacting from fear -- fear of the unknown, fear of loss -- and opening ourselves to all of life's wonders and mysteries. We find that sense of awe and enchantment that we had as children. We open ourselves to love even though that means opening ourselves to sorrow and loss. We allow ourselves to live in the flow of life even though we have no idea of where it will take us. Instead of sleepwalking through life, we become fully awake and alive.

The best way I know to live wide open is through the regular practice of yoga, pranayama, and meditation. These practices slowly peel away layers of resistance and help to loosen our old "stuff," sending it bubbling up to the surface so we can look at it and learn from it as it dissipates into the ether, leaving us feeling more free, more clear, more clean. In otherwords, wide open!

Namaste!
Sandy Pradas

The seed cannot know what is going to happen. The seed cannot even believe that he has the potential to become a beautiful flower. Long is the journey, and it is always safer not to go on that journey because unknown is the path, and nothing is guaranteed. Thousand and one are the hazards of the journey, many are the pitfalls. But the seed tries, it makes an effort; it drops the hard shell which is its security, and starts moving. Immediately the fight starts: the struggle with the soil, the stones, the rocks. The seed was hard, but the sprout will be very, very soft and dangers will be many.

But the sprout starts towards the unknown, towards the sun, towards the source of light, not knowing where, not knowing why. Great is the cross to be carried, but a dream possesses the seed and the seed moves. The same is the path for man. It is arduous. Much courage will be needed.      -Osho

Dear Yogis & Yoginis,

When I meditated on what my New Year's message should be about, the word "courage" immediately came to mind. Maybe it's because my son is moving to the other side of the country tomorrow. It takes courage to leave the known for the unknown. But like Osho's seed, the voice within is strong and he's willing to put aside his fears and doubts and move forward anyway. 

Photo of Michael J. Lindell, Inventor & President of MyPillow, Inc.

As many yogis know, once you start walking around with good posture, you start noticing how uncomfortable a lot of furniture is. Chairs, car seats, sofas, etc., just don't seem to be designed for holding yourself up properly with an elongated and well-aligned spine. And then there's our beds: A place where we spend 8 hours a night rejuvenating our bodies and minds is the most important piece of furniture in the house. 

A comfortable mattress and pillow are of supreme importance. A mattress needs to have enough give for your shoulders and hips to sink in without putting your spine out of alignment if you're a side-sleeper, and enough give for your rear to settle in without throwing off your alignment if you sleep on your back. If your tailbone is tilted up or down, or if your shoulders and hips are high and everything else is sinking, you're going to wake up with a sore back. 

And then there's the pillow. If you sleep on your back, you need support under your neck that doesn't lift your head so much that your chin points down to your chest. And it can't be so thin that your chin points up to the ceiling. If you're a side sleeper it's even more tricky finding the right pillow. The pillow needs to support all of that space between your neck and shoulders. When the pillow is right you should feel supported and comfortable and your neck should be aligned -- not raised up or down. Since we all come in different shapes and sizes, it's not easy to create a pillow that would suit everyone.

It's no secret that many people in the U.S. have a dysfunctional relationship with food. We eat on the run, we eat what's easiest and fastest, we often eat alone under stressful conditions such as cramming down a sandwich at our desks while working, or we eat mindlessly in front of the television. 

Contrast this eating style to what I've observed in Spain. Of course, I'm generalizing, just as I did in the above examples, but after several visits, including our recent Joyful Heart Yoga Retreat in Spain, I've noticed some big differences between the way they eat and the way we eat, and I am trying to adopt some of their habits.

For breakfast it's typical to eat a roll and coffee. (I'm not adopting this habit -- I need a little protein in the morning, so I prefer my yogurt and flaxseed or a whole grain cereal.) But I am picking up the habit of keeping the portion small, and that goes for coffee too. In Spain, coffee and tea are served in small cups rather than large mugs. I found that my stomach enjoys the smaller size because it's less filling, and I don't feel bloated. I bought smaller cups and bowls to help me with portion control, and I make sure to eat mindfully so I enjoy the taste of my breakfast.

My heart goes out to all of the people in Japan, to the creatures and plants, and to the earth itself. This disaster is particularly heart-breaking because on top of the earthquake and tsunami, there is now radiation leaking from the nuclear facilities. It's devastating.

On the day of the earthquake, one of my students sent me a poem called "The Peace of Wild Things," by Wendell Berry. 

When despair for the world grows in me
 and I wake in the night at the least sound
 in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
 I go and lie down where the wood drake 
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
 I come into the peace of wild things 
who do not tax their lives with forethought 
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
 And I feel above me the day-blind stars
 waiting with their light. For a time 
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free. 

It's true that most wild things live in the moment, and there is great peace in that. It's also true that we are wild things -- we are part of nature. And as a natural species, we are subject to the laws of nature, to the cycle of birth and death. No matter how much we fill our lives with busyness, no matter how technologically advanced we become, we still do not have control. There is no safety; there is no security in worldly things. Our jobs, our bank accounts,  our homes, buildings and monuments, our electronic gadgets, our relationships, our loved ones, and even our own bodies are all here on a temporary basis. We can lose them at any time, so if we base our sense of peace, happiness, and security on any of those things, what will happen to us when we lose them? 

This has been an odd day -- nothing really came out as planned, but it was all fine because I was able to stay in the present moment. I had to cancel my morning class and a trip to see my son in a play -- the only chance I had to see it in this run. Right now I have a heating pad on my back trying to prevent a backache after shoveling some very heavy snow (despite all the hard work, I still can't get my car out of the driveway), and I've got ice on my bruised and bloody finger, which got pinched in a closet door. Although the pinched finger hurt like heck and was the last in a line of insults, I was actually able to laugh when it happened. Even though I would have preferred to have things turn out differently, I was able to stay on an even keel all day. None of these things upset me, which was good since there wasn't anything I could do to change the circumstances. What good would fussing and complaining do? Or feeling guilty? It was what it was. 

And it wasn't all bad. Being snowed in gave me some extra time to pack for my retreat to Costa Rica, which starts in just three days. A day that was supposed to be jam-packed with busyness turned out to be somewhat relaxing (except for the snow-shoveling, back ache, and bloody finger). Learning to stay calm and centered in all circumstances is a recurring theme in my classes, but we did extra work on that topic this week -- perhaps better preparing me for this day. When we're in a pose that really challenges our bodies and minds, we have a chance to work at creating greater equanimity. We can use our breath to stay in the moment and not be overwhelmed by physical sensations or the fearful chatter of the mind. We don't have to get involved in any stories that the mind wants to spin. We can stay present and open to fully experience whatever comes. Then we can use those same skills in our lives. 

Over the last few weeks I've felt a surge in energy. A lot of creativity has sprung up, and I've started several projects in addition to my regular work, family duties, and trying to get ready for Christmas. I have so many things going on that I'm not really making much headway on any of them -- it feels like I'm flitting about from one thing to another, almost bouncing around like a ping pong ball. So I feel a little frustrated that I don't have enough spare time to sit down and do what I want to do. Sometimes this frustration turns into restlessness or aggravation. This is unbalanced vata dosha at work.

When the weather turns cold, there is increased vata in the air. This energy can affect us all, and can be especially strong in anyone who already has vata tendencies. Restlessness, high energy, frustration, aggravation, sleeplessness ... if you are experiencing these symptoms, it's time to bring yourself back into balance: 

1. Yoga. This is no time to let your practice slide. Although you may be attracted to vigorous workouts at this time, what you really need is slow, deep breathing like dirgha, ujjayi, and nadi shodhana; slow, deep posture flows where you stay firmly connected to breath; and meditation. Do whatever other exercise you want, but don't skip your yoga, breathing, and meditation as it will be most effective in bringing you back to balance. 

According to the ancient science of Ayurveda, cold air can aggravate Vata dosha. We might find ourselves feeling agitated or flighty. We may start to become more dry from the inside out -- creaky joints, dry skin and hair, brittle nails, etc. To pacify Vata dosha, we should move away from eating cold, raw foods and eat warm, nourishing, foods as fall and winter approach. This is especially important for the first meal of the day, so I've listed three warm breakfasts that you can make on a weekend and have lots of leftovers to heat and serve during the week. All of the recipes are user-friendly, so you can adjust the ingredients to your liking.

But before you eat or drink anything else, start your day with a glass of room-temperature water with a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime to hydrate your cells and flush the digestive tract. If you eat fruit in the morning, eat it next -- after your water and before your warm breakfast. Buen provecho!

Gallo Pinto

This traditional Costa Rican breakfast is tasty, hearty, and will give you energy for hours. It's important to use rice that has already been cooked and thoroughly chilled, so you might want to make the rice one day before. A key ingredient is Salsa Lizano -- a unique sauce made from vegetables that is produced in Costa Rica. It is available online, but if you join us on our Joyful Heart Yoga in Costa Rica retreat this winter, you can stock up on Lizano! In the meantime, you can substitute Worcestershire sauce -- it is not the same but will still make a tasty recipe.