Kriya Yoga

Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,

This week in class we are exploring Kriya Yoga.

Wandering with thee, even hell itself would be to me a heaven of bliss.  

                                                             – Ramayana

For the long spiritual journey, ongoing support, guidance, and inspiration are necessary for everyone. We all need the support of people who share our aspirations, and to whom we can turn in difficult times. So we should not overlook the importance of spiritual companionship.

Meditating with two or three friends gives tremendous support. When husband and wife practice meditation together, they strengthen one another immeasurably. The challenges of self-transformation become so much easier to bear when we can face them with the support of those we love.

But if we find that there seems to be no one to share our interest in meditation, the important thing is to be patient - to have faith that we will eventually find the spiritual companions that we need. Until then, we can turn to a few invaluable books in which spiritual aspirants share their experiences. These books can become old friends: the writings of Swami Ramdas, the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, the works of Saint Teresa of Avila, Of the Imitation of Christ, the teachings of the Buddha, to give a few examples out of a vast storehouse of spiritual wisdom.

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

The homework is to review the concept of Kriya Yoga as presented in Pada II of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras.  Kriya Yoga is the Yoga of action and involves the last three Niyamas*.

            -Tapas, Austerity (Discipline).  This is a commitment to being disciplined in the mind and body and directing the mind towards the self within.

            -Svadhyaya, (Self-study).  Study the source of our actions.  This is a commitment to continuing to study and learn and search for truth and self-realization and remembering to “be aware”.

            -Isvara Pranidhana, (Surrendar to God).  To practice Isvara Pranidhana is to dedicate all that you do in life towards humanity.

            Apply this concept of Kriya Yoga to your own spiritual journey.

* Described in the second chapter of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, the Niyamas establish the rules of conduct that apply to individual discipline.  Practicing and adhering to these principles creates self purification in the practitioner.  

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

Aparigraha - the fifth Yama.

Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,

This week in class we are exploring Aparigraha - the fifth Yama.

The earth which sustains humanity must not be injured; it must not be destroyed.

                                         – Hildegard of Bingen

In the ancient Indian tradition, many timeless truths underlying life - on which the health of the world depends, and our life too - are conveyed in simple, beautiful allegories. The earth is Goddess Earth. She is a person. She is a living personality. Today we have forgotten that the earth is our mother, and that unless she is healthy, that with which she nourishes us will not make us healthy.

Air is also considered to be a great god, whom we are expected to worship by keeping it pure, because our very life depends upon it. It is incomprehensible to me how this vital necessity of ours has been ignored in our modern civilization in the frantic pursuit for material possessions, many of which are not necessary. We needn't embrace poverty, but a beautiful life can be a simple life. Isn't pure air more precious than anything else?

This is not a pessimistic outlook; it is a very optimistic one, because environmental problems can be solved by little people like us, working together.

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

The homework is to review the fifth yama, Aparigraha.   "Parigraha means hoarding or collecting.  To be free from hoarding is aparigraha.  It is thus another facet of Asteya (non-stealing).  Just as one should not take things one does not really need, so one should not collect things one does not require immediately.  By the observance of Aparigraha, the yogini makes her life as simple as possible and trains her mind to not feel the loss or the lack of anything.  Then everything she really needs will come to her by itself at the proper time."*  Learn what it means for you to observe Aparigraha and embrace simplicity.

*Paraphrased from Light on Yoga  -  BKS Iyengar

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 

Developing the capacity to bear with our errors.

Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,

This week in class we are learning how to develop the capacity to bear with our errors.

Love and pity and wish well to every soul in the world;

dwell in love, and then you dwell in God.

                                                                         – William Law

Loyalty is the quintessence of love. When two people tell each other, "As long as you do what I like, I'll stay with you, but as soon as you start doing things I don't like, I'm packing my bags" - that is not love; that's convenience. Loving somebody means that even when they trouble you, you don't let yourself be shaken. Even when they are harsh to you, you don't move away. Even when they make a mistake that hurts you, you don't go off and make the same kind of mistake to hurt them.

All of us are so liable to human error that unless we have some capacity to bear with the errors of others, we will not be able to maintain a lasting relationship, which is the tragic situation that many people find themselves in today. We should never settle for this unhappy state of affairs.

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

The homework is to use your asana practice to develop the capacity to bear with your errors.  Notice when you do not like an asana and when your mind suggests that you should avoid it.  Try to witness this process and ask yourself why.  Work to go beyond avoiding asanas that you are not drawn to and that challenge you.  Consider that practicing whatever part of the asana you can will help you develop the capacity to bear with your own errors.  Then generalize this process to your relationships.

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