Come practice yoga!

Dear Selves,

It's almost summer again, even though we had one more demonstration of power from Mother Nature - SNOW ON MAY 24TH!! I believe she's just trying to tell us to pay attention to the way we are conducting our business on her surface, to accept her changes, and help make life better for all human beings.

With that in mind... come practice yoga with us at the Sri Radha Krsna Temple, in Spanish Fork, Utah. I teach classes every Monday, and we have other instructors from Tuesday through Thursday, and Saturday. Hatha yoga begins at 6:45 pm and goes to 7:30pm. It's wonderful to practice there at this time of the year because of the way the sun light hits the temple as it sets down, creating an "out of this world" atmosphere.

Yoga at the temple is free, but donations to the teachers are appreciated. We also offer japa yoga and kirtan yoga as well. It's open to all... don't be shy!!

Hope to see you there!

Haribol

What's in your backpack?

If you had the chance to watch the movie Up in the Air, you remember the seminars presented by Clooney - "What's in Your Backpack." Interesting concepts... made me think, "what's in my bag?"

It seems to me there is a connection with the vedic principles of happiness and the movie character's ideas about life. Most of our lives we pursue those things that are suppose to bring us happiness, but essentially they slow us down, tie us to situations that are not the happiest in our lives... or keep us enslaved to them. We work our entire lives for this - things that we cannot even carry with us as we progress as human/spiritual beings. We work now for a tomorrow we don't know will exist instead of enjoying the present moment, carrying a very light backpack.

I'm not saying we shouldn't enjoy what life brings us, but there's always a moment where that which brings us happiness becomes the dictator of our lives. Is this what's happening to you? I can see several of those little things in my life...

The practice of yoga and meditation help us find the happiness we look for within ourselves, as well as enjoy the beauties of life without attachments. Chapter 6, text 20-23 of the Bhagavad Gita mentions the state of Samadhi, a transcendental state where one is completely absorbed in happiness and self realization, undisturbed by anything else around. This is where the "backpack" becomes so light, and yet full of all that we need in life.

Detach... Enjoy... Love... Live... and keep your backpack light!

Namaste

Happy New Year! And no resolutions...

I have no sense of time anymore! The holidays went by so fast... it was a great time to reconnect and relax a bit.

On New Year's Eve, as I was watching the count down on t.v. with my son, he asked me what was my New Year's resolution. I fired the question back at him, and of course he said, "I don't have any." Obviously, he's only 13! His resolutions exist on a day to day basis, regarding school and video games...lol!
I looked at him and said, "I don't have any," feeling great relief. I don't need resolutions, I don't need the stress of starting a new year thinking about how to get this one thing done. We both agreed it's too much stress.

In a sense though, we all have resolutions, plans, desires... we all want something to change in the next year, to get better, to take us to a different place. It's like the start of a new term in school - we have 100% grades and attendance, and we plan / wish / decide to do our best to keep it so. No more tardies, turn in homework on time, study for the tests, right?!

However, people believe they must decide to pursue some unattainable goal, something they have no real desire to obtain - they are doing it because they should, or because someone else did it and said it was great, or because they read about it somewhere as "the thing" to do this year. I used to do that a lot in the past... and ended the year frustrated!

I have goals. I have desires I want to fulfill. I decided to take the "13 year old boy" approach - one day at a time, and only that which is really important to me. No attachments, though! It all depends on how life unfolds itself before me. And no shoulds!!

Let's enjoy our journey through this life. Let's enjoy the changes 2010 is bringing to us, be positive about them, learn with them. Be in touch with yourself and find out what are the true desires of your heart. Be. Breath. Meditate... it's all good!

May 2010 be filled with much love and light for you!

Namaste

The line which defines right and wrong is so thin, ethereal, and movable. What seemed to be right yesterday may have a total different look today, totally wrong perhaps. Decisions made months, years, decades ago, "the only right way to go" at the time, today sound so wrong that it makes one wonder if it would be possible to go back and fix it. You see - it was right, now it's wrong, so I want to make it right. It's maddening, isn't it?

Years ago, I took a step in my life which affected the lives of those around me in a big way. For a long time I swayed back and forth between right and wrong, to try and explain it in a rational, right or wrong way. Only today I have finally got in touch with the pain caused by that decision... not that what I did was painful to me specifically, but the pain I may have caused somebody else hurts me. I never stopped to think about it! I had the a-ha moment during my morning meditation, and it tossed me to the right or wrong mode again. So, because this other person may have suffered due to my actions, I hurt and therefore what I did was wrong... right?

I think I'm learning some sort of lesson here, which brings me to my yoga practice.

First, the duality of this world prepares us for doubt, questioning, multiple personalities and the right or wrong mind set. We grow up on "this is right and that is wrong" mode. We become judgemental, always wanting the right, criticizing the wrong and evaluating people and situations constantly, grading them according to our perceptions. Am I so enlightened that my perceptions are completely aligned with universal truth that I can point my finger and determine if this or that person are doing the "right" thing?

Second, acceptance of what is before you. People / situations / things are simply what they are, there is nothing right or wrong about them. Usually, we make decisions based on the knowledge we have at hand, to the best of our abilities. As we progress in life our knowledge improves and our senses refine. So, the decisions of the past may seem wrong, but in reality they are what they are - decisions. We live with the consequences/pains, we have the chance to learn from them, and to make other decisions from where we are. We can't waste energy thinking "if..." What if I had taken this other road? What if I had married this other person? What if... What if... What if... This takes us NOWHERE!

Third, I would like to quote Patanjali: "And now, Yoga." The meaning of yoga is to yoke, "union," but union with what? Body, mind, spirit, when "yoganized" become one - no more duality! That is the purpose, to find our essence and get out of the mind set created by duality. Can we find this union all around us? Dark/light, beauty/ugly, sound/silence, right/wrong... it's all one! These qualities are what they are, and necessary the way they are!

I'm dealing with the pain of my decision. It teaches me to see things under a different light, it teaches me a lesson I needed to learn. It makes me who I am today. I don't think of it as right or wrong anymore... it is what it is. I move on to make other decisions and I don't know if they will be right or wrong. I just try to stay in my heart and make it all... yoga!

Namaste

Sound is everything!

Namaste!
I want to share a mantra I enjoy greatly by Sadhguru.

"Sound is Bhramhan, the manifestation of the universe
It is sound that has become all life-forms

It is sound that binds, it is sound that liberates
Sound is the basis of bondage
Sound is the basis of Ultimate Liberation
Sound is the bestower, sound is the power
Sound is Bhramhan, the manifestation of the universe

Everything is sound
Sound is omnipresent."

If you'd like to listen to the Sanskrit version by Sadhguru himself, I suggest you to visit the Isha yoga website - the name of the CD is Nadha Bhramha. I love the mantras, it's my favorite part of yoga.

Love to all

Shanti

The time to surrender is now!

Namaste!
Life is so busy right now, specially with the end of the year approaching - Thanksgiving, Xmas, New Year's. If you are a normal person, you're probably worrying about the food, the reunions, the gifts, the entertainment... all that goes on with the end of the year craziness. Are you feeling stressed out? Too much to do... and so little time. What about the money - is there enough for all this? I can tell you, there are a lot of people suffering from insomnia right now.
My question is - who came up with this stuff? Why do we have to make this time of the year the most difficult to go through?
Last year, my family decided to Feng Sui the holidays and make it about spending time together. We had a different menu, we avoided the mall and kept everything very simple. We decided that our gift to the Earth was to not go around buying things that we would probably discard the next year. Isn't it what we do - buy things that we only use a couple of times and discard? It was liberating! We are so attached to the craziness that we forget the real meaning behind it all - Love and Peace!! Can we buy Love and Peace?
Amidst the craziness, we forget ourselves, our plans get delayed... after Xmas I'll relax/take time to read the book I want/do yoga/meditate...or maybe after New Year's, to start it anew, doing everything differently. We wait and wait, for the right day, for the right moment, for the right mood, for the right weather, for the right company. We wait for the perfect alignment of every circumstance to surrender to life as we want it. Is it possible? When do we surrender?
During the program in Tennessee, Sadhguru said that we mistakenly believe that life here is eternal, therefore we don't live... we don't surrender to life and enjoy it. We postpone life to when we believe it's more appropriate to live it. Only when we come to understand that, someday, life will cease to exist, then we will start to live.
Surrender now! Read that book today! Start your meditation practice today! Change your diet today! Practice yoga today! Live today, right now!
Say no to stress; say no to what is unnecessary in life; say no to waste. Surrender to Love and Peace! Make it about Love and Peace... we can all do this.
May all be well with you. May all live in peace, love and abundance. May the Light and Love of God shine upon you.
Shanti hi

The end is also the beginning

Salutations! It's been a great season so far... and I love the sunset at this time of the year! Even though the air is cool, the sky has such a warmth, the fire in the clouds. I love fall!
Lots of things changed in the past weeks. I'll share...
Our Tuesday group has been a great blessing in my life. At this moment, I want to thank my friends Jackie and Kevin for making it possible, making great contributions to keep it going. They were a great support and constant in their practice. My great appreciation for their help and love. Thank you guys!!!
I also want to thank all those who participated in our practice - it was a great joy to share my time with you. With that said, I must announce that our Tuesday group won't meet in Orem anymore... the end of a season.
However, I would like to invite you to come attend yoga classes at the Krshna temple in Spanish Fork. I was invited to teach there a couple months ago and finally decided to accept the invitation. In reality, I have been practicing yoga there for a while, on Saturdays, and I love it! The practice there includes kirtan, singing of the maha mantra, and also some yoga philosophy. After practice, we can indulge in some wonderful food prepared with so much devotion and love. I'll be teaching there on Tuesday evenings, at 6:30, but the program actually starts at 6:00pm. They also offer yoga classes on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Come join us... it's a great opportunity to get all of what yoga has to offer to our lives.
So, this is the new beginning, a new adventure, a different learning experience... it's Shiva creating and destroying, keeping life moving always. Shambo!
Love and peace to all.
Namaste