Ahimsa and Asteya..........

Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,

This week in class we are considering the first and third Yamas: Ahimsa and Asteya.

Trifles make perfection, and perfection is no trifle.

- Michelangelo

Mogul art, one of the great periods of artistic achievement in India, often is in miniature. The artist concentrated on very small areas, on little things, and worked with tenderness and precision. Only somebody who understands art will be able to see all the love and labor that has gone into it. Family living is like Mogul art, worked in miniature. The canvas is so small, and the skill required is so great, that most of us really do not appreciate the vast potentialities of family life.

Today we hear a great deal about the family becoming obsolete. Let us hope this is just the fantasy of those who do not understand the value of the family. To me, the family is like a free university, where we can get our finest education in living for others. Family does not just mean Papa, Mama, Junior, and Janie, but all the members, including grandparents, uncles and aunts and country cousins. The family can include dear friends and those who participate closely in all our endeavors.

We begin by being tender and unselfish and putting up with innumerable discomforts for the sake of adding to the joy of our family. Then, gradually, we extend our love to include our friends, our community, our country, and our world.

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

The homework is to look at how you define your family relationships and the quality of those relationships.  Evaluate how you are applying the yamas Ahimsa (love, non-harming) and Asteya (non-stealing, selflessness) to your relationships.  Consider how this way of being can be generalized across the board in all areas.

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 fifth Yama, Aparigraha.......

Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,

This week in class we are considering the fifth Yama, Aparigraha.

Love does not insist on its own way;

            it is not irritable or resentful;

                        it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right.

- I Corinthians

In My Fair Lady, Rex Harrison sings in exasperation: "Why can't a woman be more like a man? . . . Why can't a woman be like me?"

It did not surprise me to learn that this was a very popular song. In every emotional relationship, even if we don't put it into words, each of us has a rigid set of expectations which requires the other person to act and think in a particular way. Interestingly enough, it is not that person's way; it is our own.

When he or she acts differently, we get surprised and feel irritated or disappointed. If we could see behind the scenes, in the mind, this sort of encounter would make a good comedy. Here I am, relating not to you but to my idea of you, and I get irritated because you insist on acting your own way instead!

It is really no more than stimulus and response. If you behave the way I expect, I'll be kind. If you behave otherwise, I'll act otherwise too: rude, or irritated, or disappointed, or depressed, depending on my personality, but always something in reaction to you. It means, simply, that none of us has much freedom; our behavior is dependent on what other people say and do. To live without self-centered expectations is the secret of freedom in personal relationships.

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

The homework is to look at your relationships with a new perspective - a perspective that includes an awareness of when you are being self-centered.  Observe if you can catch yourself when you want things to go your own way and watch what happens.  The fifth Yama can be applied here: Aparigraha which means in part freedom from rigidity of thought, training our minds not to feel the loss or lack of anything and/or greedlessness. 

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 senses and Dharana and Pratyahara.......

Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,

This week in class we are considering the senses and Dharana and Pratyahara.

The senses have been conditioned by attraction to the pleasant and aversion to the unpleasant: we should not be ruled by them; they are obstacles on our path.

- Bhagavad Gita

We are conditioned to like some things and to dislike others. There is not necessarily any logic to it - it is often just a matter of habit.

Take food, for example. We like what we learn to like. In Kerala we have a particular kind of mango that is eaten green, when it is acutely sour. There is nothing inherently pleasant about this sensation; in fact, a detached observer would call it painful. But everybody likes it; everybody eats it; so you learn to like it too. And in the end, you cannot do without it.

Beneath all likes and dislikes is a basic compulsion of the mind to pass judgment on everything: "I like this, I don't like that." When this compulsion is rigid, it is rigid everywhere - with food, with philosophies, and especially with other people.

So, when we free ourselves from a compulsive liking for sour green mangos - or chocolate cake or red chilis - the whole likes-and-dislikes compulsion is weakened. As a result, all our other likes and dislikes will have a looser hold on us, giving us greater freedom, which will affect even our personal relationships for the better.

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

The homework is to consider the fifth and sixth limbs of Yoga Pratyahara – refinement and/or withdrawal of the senses and Dharana – concentration as a way to help you observe your likes and dislikes.  As you observe see if you can challenge some of your habits - even if they are related to something that is considered good.  See for yourself if challenging some of your habits leads to greater freedom.

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