Babs' Yoga Blog

Happy 2010!

Administrator — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 19:57:13 +0000

My classes resume today (1/4/10) and it’s time for all of us to renew our commitment to ourselves. We had a 2 week break over the holidays and during that time I maintained my practice in a gentle way. It seems like a potential blog topic…..

Yoga when you want to take it easy or when you don’t have much time. (The following is what I do…)

2 sun salutations – or more depending on how they feel. You’ll know.

Standing postures: Triangle 1, Angle, Revolved Triangle. Balance (tree, king dancer, etc.)

Backward bending postures: cobra, 1/2 locust (one leg at a time) and boat (arms and legs all out, lift away from the floor.)

Child’s pose or yoga mudra to counter stretch.

Forward bending – anything. Listen to your hamstrings and hips. Legs out, legs straight, legs straddle, legs in butterfly, legs folded and bend forward….

Twisting – 1 or 2 twists that feel great, seated or lying on the floor.

Inversions – 1/2 plow, 1/2 shoulderstand, arch, fish, headstand or baby headstand (hands and knees, crown of head to the floor, reach back and hold ankles. It’s real cute.)

Sit up, close your eyes for a couple of minutes, breathe, relax, then get up and walk away feeling much better than you did before physically and mentally because you actually did your practice.

One more word — when you get into a particularly challenging posture, stay in it longer and observe what happens. Those are the postures who have the most to teach us.

Charity- a local way to help.

Administrator — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:03:26 +0000

In the news this week, I heard that 1 in 7 Americans are not getting enough food. (That’s insane.)

I teach all my public classes at Northwood Christian Church, 46th & Central in Indianapolis and their food pantry needs help. More families than ever are coming to the church on Saturday mornings for assistance and the small congregation simply cannot keep up with what is needed. Anything you can donate would be very appreciated.

And while we’re at it, the church also offers a yearly “Christmas Store” for the children of the food pantry patrons. They very much need new toys or cash donations by November 29 so they may hold their “store” event December 5.

Thank you in advance for whatever you can do to help. Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

Ishvara Pranidhana

Administrator — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:57:43 +0000

Self-surrender. Here in the west, we may have a problem with surrender (as in defeat). After all, as a nation we embody the archetype of the rebel. In our quest for self-realization we work, we change, we meditate like a crazy person, and then – zip. Where’s our bliss? Perhaps we have been thinking we have to do everything on our own and have forgotten to ask God for help. Surrender, surrender, surrender. All day long, surrender to God. Let go and let God. Surrender your ego and be open to grace that comes your way.

Svadhyaya

Administrator — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:51:14 +0000

Self-study, also studying scriptures and anything that motivates you. Self study goes way beyond our western approach to psychotherapy, although that certainly has merit. Start with studying the stories of saints and sages, those who have “made it” and who inspire you to do the same. Then apply as much of their experiences to your life as possible and find the light within.

Tapas

Administrator — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:47:58 +0000

Self-discipline or literally, tapas means “heat.” Tapas can mean whatever gives you the motivation to change yourself, the drive, the transformational fire that keeps us on path. Start gently. Say, you notice that when you eat sugar you feel stiffer and your meditation isn’t up to snuff. An option might be to eat sugar every other day and observe yourself. Then begin to choose the good over the pleasant.

Santosha

Administrator — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:44:32 +0000

Contentment. Give up trying to impress people you don’t even know with all your shiny stuff and be grateful for what you have, especially in these economic times. Acceptance of who you are and what you have makes contentment and happiness a conscious choice. Being in the moment is a good thing.

Saucha

Administrator — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:41:22 +0000

Now we enter the niyamas (observances). Saucha is purity – physical purity by cleansing the body inside and out (and the yogic cleansings may seem extreme!), verbal purity (akin to verbal non-violence), and mental purity – garbage in, garbage during your meditation.

Aparigraha

Administrator — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:38:58 +0000

Non-possessiveness. Enjoying the things of the world without attachment. It’s important to fulfill our desires, to use the Law of Attraction and bring the things, people, and events into our lives that we want to experience, but true, lasting happiness lies only within.

Brahmacharya – celibacy

Administrator — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:24:09 +0000

Don’t freak out. It’s not just about celibacy, but gently curbing all our senses so that instead of our energies going “out,” we have more energy within for our spiritual practice. This would include our visual sense cravings (lots and lots of movies), our aural sense (lots and lots of music, talk radio…), the taste sense, you get the idea.
When we over-indulge in these senses, and then sit to meditate, frequently our meditations consist of re-watching the movies and listening to songs in our head, which make it even harder to quiet the mind.

Spirituality first, celibacy much, much later. Eventually, after many years of meditation, the energies in the lower chakras reside in the higher chakras and the sexual drive lessens with no angst or supression. Until that time, enjoy!

Asteya – non-stealing

Administrator — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:10:34 +0000

Don’t take things that aren’t yours. Pretty simple, yet a lot of us have experienced bringing our home made lunch into the office, labeling it as ours, and putting it in the communal fridge, only to find later that someone has taken it!!! How irritating. Sometimes we have to hide things to others won’t succumb to temptation.

Non-stealing also includes taking ideas that you didn’t create yourself – like someone claiming credit for a business marketing idea that was all yours. Or the kids in the classroom, who by their constant talking and interrupting, steal class time from the rest of the students.

I don’t know the solution in handling other people’s stealing, but we can certainly begin with our own practice of asteya.