Our native state of being....

Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,

This week in class we are considering our native state of being.

Know the Self within and go beyond all sorrow.

- Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

When all hostility, fear, and insecurity are erased from your mind, the state that remains is pure joy.

That state, hidden at the very center of consciousness, is the Eden to which the long journey of spiritual seeking leads. It is "the peace that passeth all understanding," that resolves all conflicts, fulfills all desires, and banishes all fear.

The purpose of all valid spiritual disciplines, whatever the religion from which they spring, is to enable us to return to this native state of being - not after death but here and now, in unbroken awareness of the divinity within us and throughout creation. Theologians may quarrel, but the mystics of the world speak the same language, and the practices they follow lead to the same goal.

Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran

The homework is to explore how the practices of Yoga can help us uncover what our "native state of being" is.  How does cultivating presence, concentration and awareness serve us in this process?  How does cultivating a quiet mind and relaxed nervous system aid us in this process?     

Blessings,

paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga

417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994

www.rushingwateryoga.com
info@rushingwateryoga.com

Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003 

The consequences of our actions......

Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,

This week in class we are considering the consequences of our actions.

A human being fashions his consequences as surely as he fashions his goods or his dwelling. Nothing that he says, thinks, or does is without consequences.

- Norman Cousins

The Hindu and Buddhist scriptures give us the same truth in what is called the law of karma, which is the psychological equivalent to the physical law that every action has a reaction equal and opposite to it. The Buddha says we can fly higher than the heavens or hide in the depths of the earth, but we will not be able to escape the consequences of our actions. Though we drive to another city or fly to another country, though we change our job or our name, our mistakes will pursue us wherever we go.

Paradoxically, the only way we can begin to escape from the consequences of our actions is to stop running from them and to face them with fortitude. In this sense, every difficult situation is a precious opportunity. When we find ourselves in some situation where we always make the same mistake, if we can manage not to make that mistake, the chain can be broken. Often, if we face it squarely, that situation will not come up again.

Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran

The homework is to learn how you can use your Yoga practices to prepare for breaking the chain of habitual behavior that is unhealthy for you and those around you.  Notice when you have an aversion to an asana and concentrate on overcoming that aversion by doing the best you can do and being grateful no matter what the outcome.  Consistently face your aversion with the joy of practicing and learn to appreciate the process.  Then apply this process to life situations off of the mat.  

 
Blessings,

paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994

www.rushingwateryoga.com
info@rushingwateryoga.com

Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003 

The third, fourth and sixth limbs of Yoga: Asana, Pranayama and Dharana

Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,

This week in class we are considering the third, fourth and sixth limbs of Yoga: Asana, Pranayama and Dharana.

Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom.

- The Buddha

Blaming ourselves when we get angry is not going to be of much help in the long run. What is helpful is to gain a clearer understanding of how anger comes about. Getting angry is like having a malfunctioning engine. The mind is like the engine of the body, which can be compared to the chassis of the car we drive. But the sad fact is that most of us know a lot more about our car engine than we do about our own minds.

We don't even have the slightest idea of where the ignition switch of the mind is located. As a result, the engine goes on cranking out thoughts of every description throughout the day and throughout the long night in dreams. Worry and resentment and anger use up enormous quantities of vitality. It's like leaving our car idling in the garage all night long; in the morning when we need to get to work, we have to push it down the road.

What we need to do is learn how to slow down the mind, and eventually to park it at the side of the road when travel isn't necessary. Then we will have all the vitality, all the fuel, we need when we want to reach a worthwhile destination.

Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran

The homework is to learn how you can use the breath (pranayama) as your ignition switch to interrupt the mind and slow it down.  Learn to use the concentration (dharana) you develop in your asana practice to direct the mind in ways that encourage the positive use of your vitality.  Combine the use of both the breath and concentration to rest the mind more and store up your vitality. 

Is this a description of the practice of Yoga?

Blessings,

paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga

417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994

www.rushingwateryoga.com
info@rushingwateryoga.com

Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003

The second Niyama, Santosa or contentment.....

Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,

This week in class we are considering the second Niyama, Santosa or contentment.

We must not wish anything other than what happens from moment to moment, all the while, however, exercising ourselves in goodness.

- Saint Catherine of Genoa

A tremendous amount of our vital energy is squandered in the vacillations of the mind. If things go our way, we get elated; if things do not go our way, we get depressed. Yet elation and depression are made from the same cloth.

It is when the mind is getting elated that we need to be very vigilant, because what goes up will inevitably come down. If, through the practice of meditation and repetition of the mantram, we can keep the mind calm when good things are coming our way, then when bad things come, we won't be dejected. Our mind will stay calm.

Only then will we be free to be truly spontaneous in our responses to life.

Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran

The homework is to consider the second Niyama (practices of self-purification through discipline) which is Santosa or Contentment.  This is a commitment to being content, reducing desires, becoming cheerful and creating balance of mind.  Additionally, we have to be willing to let things go, especially likes and dislikes.  Ask yourself how the practice of Santosa will impact your responses to life?

Blessings,

paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga

417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994

www.rushingwateryoga.com
info@rushingwateryoga.com

Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003

The use of a mantram.......

Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,

This week in class we are considering the use of a mantram to redirect our minds when they go down an unhealthy path.

Suffering is the ancient law of love; there is no quest

without pain; there is no lover who is not also a martyr.

- Heinrich Suso

Practically speaking, in order to learn to love, we need a tool for transforming anger into compassion, resentment into sympathy. We need some kind of brake to apply when the mind shifts into high gear under the influence of anger and other negative emotions. The mind is so used to having its own way in almost everything that all it knows is how to race out of control.

How many of you would ever step into your Pontiac or Toyota if you knew the brakes could suddenly fail. I could say, "You have plenty of gas, a big engine, gorgeous upholstery, and radial tires. Why don't you go ahead?" You would reply, "But I can't stop the thing!" Amazingly enough, most of us manage to travel through life without knowing how to brake the engine of the mind.

We can all install a simple but effective brake - the mantram. Whenever you feel agitated, annoyed, impolite, or downright angry, keep repeating the mantram. Gradually the mind will race less and less. When the brake is thoroughly road-tested, you will have the equipment to be patient and kind in every situation. You will be ready to face the tests that real love demands.

Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran

The homework is to create your own mantram that you can invoke to brake the mind.  Choose something meaningful and short.  Then use this mantram to divert your attention when you start to follow the mind down a path that is not healthy for you or those around you.

Blessings,

paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga

417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607
360.834.5994

www.rushingwateryoga.com
info@rushingwateryoga.com

Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal, and Vancouver Washington since 2003