Monday, November 6, 2017
Monday, October 23, 2017
Progress in your Yoga Practices
Have
patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose
courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly set about
remedying them - every day begin the task anew. -Saint Francis de Sales
While we were living on the Blue Mountain in
India, we noticed that our local bank had a very neighborly arrangement for
collecting funds from the villagers. Poor villagers have very little to save,
only a few copper pennies at most. To encourage them to deposit even these few pennies
every day, the bank employed a boy with a bicycle to go into the village to
their homes, collect their few coppers, and enter the total in their account.
In meditation it is the same: when the Self
comes, we can say, "We are no great saint, but a few times today we have
tried to be patient. A few times today we have tried to put our family first. A
few times today we have resisted some little craving for personal
satisfaction." This is how most of us are going to make progress for a
long time: a few pennies here, a few pennies there, collected every day. But in
these innumerable little acts of selflessness lies spiritual growth, which over
a long period can transform every one of us into a loving person. To quote the
bank advertisement, "It all adds up."
Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day
– Eknath Easwaran
The homework is to reflect on what it takes
to make progress in your Yoga practices and what progress means. Spiritual
growth? Physical prowess? How would progressing slowly in your practices cross
over into other areas of life? Consider which of the Eight Limbs of Yoga are
most relevant in this discovery.
Yama – universal moral commandments,
Niyama – self- purification by discipline,
Asana – posture,
Pranayama – rhythmic control of the breath,
Pratyahara – refinement of the senses,
Dharana – concentration,
Dhyana – meditation,
Samadhi – a state of super-consciousness or
absorption.
The five Yamas are as follows:
-Ahimsa, a commitment to non-violence.
-Satya, a commitment to being honest and truthful.
-Asteya, a commitment to non-stealing.
-Brahmacharya, a commitment to continence
(responsibility), moderation and dedication to the understanding of Divinity.
-Aparigraha, a commitment to non-covetousness.
The five Niyamas are as follows:
-Saucha, a commitment to purity internally and
externally.
-Santosa, a commitment to being content and reducing
desires and becoming cheerful and creating balance of mind.
-Tapas, a commitment to being disciplined in the mind
and body and directing the mind towards the self within.
-Svadhyaya, a
commitment to study the source of our actions, to continue to study and learn
and to search for truth and self-realization.
-Isvara Pranidhana, a commitment to surrendering to
the powers that be and abiding to the greater will.
References:
Light on
Yoga, Light on the Yoga Sutras, and The Tree of Yoga all by BKS
Iyengar
Rushing Water Yoga, 417 NE Birch St., Camas , WA 98607 , 360.834.5994
Tapas
Thy
desire is thy prayer; and if thy desire is without ceasing, thy prayer will
also be without ceasing. . . . The continuance of your longing is the
continuance of your prayer.
-Saint Augustine
I once had a physicist friend who would
gladly discuss electric power; but harnessing the power of a passion or a craving
- well, that was not dynamics; that was poetry. "Power," he told me
sternly, "is the capacity to do work. Work is the energy required to move
a definite mass a definite distance. No movement, no work. No work, no
power."
Day or night I had never seen my friend far
from his desk. Then late one evening I came out of a movie theater and saw him
striding along like an athlete, several miles from his office. "What got
you up from your desk?" I asked. "You're breaking the habits of a lifetime."
"Coffee," he muttered. "I ran
out of coffee."
"Here," I said, "a very
definite mass has been propelled at least three miles, simply by one little
desire for a cup of coffee." He got my
point.
Every deep desire is a prayer. Every desire
also contains a certain quantum of energy - energy to grasp the desired goal.
Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day
– Eknath Easwaran
The homework is to explore the third Niyama
- Tapas. One definition of Tapas is to
use burning effort under all circumstances to achieve one’s goal in life.
Consider what Saint Augustine means by “desire” and apply Tapas to your
discovery.
Rushing
Water Yoga, 417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607, 360.834.5994
Monday, September 18, 2017
Ahimsa
Greetings Sadhakas,
This week in class
we are considering Ahimsa.
The little
unremembered acts of kindness and love are the best of a good man's life.
-William
Wordsworth
Our lives affect
others, whether directly, through the environment, or by the force of our
example.
For instance, we
could say that smoking shows a lack of love. First, our capacity for love is
actually caught in the compulsion to smoke. But more than that, the example
tells even casual passersby, "Don't worry about what your doctor says.
Don't worry about the consequences. If it feels good, do it!"
Pele, the Brazilian
soccer star, was in a position to command a king's ransom for endorsing
commercial products. He never gave his endorsement to any cigarette, putting
the reason in simple words: "I love kids." That is a perfect choice
of words. He does love kids. He knows that in most of the world they will buy anything
with his name on it. Therefore, though he came from a poor family, no amount of
money can tempt him to do something that will mislead young people or injure
their health.
To love is to be
responsible like this in everything: the work we do, the things we buy, the
food we eat, the people we look up to, the movies we see, the words we use,
every choice we make from morning till night. That is the real measure of love;
it is a wonderfully demanding responsibility.
Words to Live By:
Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran
The homework is
to revisit the first Yama: Ahimsa. “The
word ahimsa is made up of the particle ‘a’ meaning ‘not’ and the noun himsa
meaning killing or violence. It is more than
a negative command not to kill, for it has a wider positive meaning, love. This loves embraces all creation…….BKS
Iyengar. "Ahimsa is an intelligent, harmonious relationship. Harmony is the essence of nonviolence." V.
Thakar. "The yogi, grounded in the practice of ahimsa, acts from a
place of love and respect for all beings, including himself. This begins a new
cycle of love and respect instead of harm and pain." BKS Iyengar.
See how you can make Ahimsa come alive in your lives.
Blessings,
paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994
www.rushingwateryoga.com
Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003
Monday, September 11, 2017
Selfless Action
Greetings Sadhakas,
This week in class
we are considering selfless action.
-Bhagavad Gita
It is not so much work that tires us, but
ego-driven work. When we are selfishly involved, we cannot help worrying, we cannot
help getting overly concerned about our success or failure. The preoccupation
with results makes us tense, and our anxiety exhausts us.
The Gita is essentially a call to action.
But it is a call to selfless action, that is, action without any selfish attachments
to the results. It asks us to do our best, yet never allow ourselves to become
involved in whether things work out the way we want.
It takes practice to learn this skill, but
once you have it, as Gandhi says, you will never lose your nerve. The sense of inadequacy
goes, and the question "Am I equal to this job?" will not arise. It
is enough that the job needs to be done and that you are doing your best to get
it done.
Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day
– Eknath Easwaran
The homework is to consider that through
selfless action we can learn to not become attached to the action or to the
fruits of the action. “Action done in selflessness is nourishing. You nourish
yourself and you nourish the other person….Whatever you do, do it without self.
Do it with selflessness.”1
1 Excerpts
from Time to be Holy – Swami
Sivananda Radha
Blessings,
paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994
www.rushingwateryoga.com
Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003
Monday, August 28, 2017
Living a Life of Selfless Service
Greetings Sadhakas,
This week in class
we are considering our legacy and living a life of selfless service.
I want to go on
living even after my death! And therefore I am grateful to God for giving me
this gift, this possibility of developing myself and of writing, of expressing
all that is in me. I can shake off everything if I write; my sorrows disappear,
my courage is reborn.
-Anne
Frank
When you discover
that everyone is contained in you and you are contained in everyone, you have
realized the unity of life, which is the divine ground of existence. Then you
are not just a person; you have become a beneficial force. Wherever you go,
wherever you live, those around you will benefit from your life.
The life of such a
person, such as Mahatma Gandhi in our own times, becomes a permanent, selfless
force on this earth, because even after death his influence continues to bring people
together, to make them aware of their trusteeship for the resources of the
earth and for all creatures. Gandhi is still alive because he is still at work
as a real force, advancing peace, good will, and unity.
Even one unassuming
man or woman leading a selfless life, though he or she may live only a few
years on earth, enriches all life for all time to come. Even if one person in a
community is leading a selfless life, he will make his contribution, and she
will slowly inspire others to make the same contribution, because human nature
responds to such an example.
Words to Live By:
Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran
The homework is
to consider what your legacy is, what your contribution is. Challenge yourself
to lead a more selfless life – like Jesus, like Gandhi. Through your own
experience explore how the many practices of Yoga support you in this endeavor.
Blessings,
paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994
www.rushingwateryoga.com
Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003
Monday, May 22, 2017
Can't Have Enough of "Tapas" !
Greetings Sadhakas,
This week in class
we are considering Tapas - to use burning effort under all circumstances to
achieve ones goal in life.
Strength
does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.
-Mahatma Gandhi
What counts most in life is not IQ but WQ,
"Will Quotient." No one can plead that he or she lacks will. There is
will in every desire. Every desire carries with it the will to bring that
desire to fruition. When it comes to something we like, we have all the will we
need. Someone says, "Hey, come on, we're going skiing!" and that is
enough. We will get out of bed at three in the morning, drive for hours, stand
cheerfully in the snow waiting for the ski lift, and in general suffer all
kinds of discomfort with a will of iron. Yet as small a challenge as a letter
to Aunt Gertrude will find the will against us.
To control our destiny, we need to harness
our will, to do not what we like, but what is in our long-term best interest.
If the will is strong enough, great things can be accomplished; if the will is
weak, very little. In every endeavor, it is the man or woman with a firm will
who excels.
Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day
– Eknath Easwaran
The homework is to experiment with yourself
to see if bringing more consistency and dedication (Tapas) to your Yoga
practices increases your ability to harness your will. In harnessing your will,
learn how to recognize what is in the best interest of the people around you and
work towards realizing this “best interest.”
Blessings,
paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994
www.rushingwateryoga.com
Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003
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