Yoga Sutra 1:33

Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,

This week in class we will be exploring Yoga Sutra 1:33.

Whatever I am offered in devotion with a pure heart -

a leaf, a flower, fruit, or water - I accept with joy.

                                                          – Bhagavad Gita

We can look upon everything we do as a gift to the Lord. If we hoe the garden carefully so that our family - or a neighbor's family, or someone in need - can have fresh vegetables for dinner, that is an offering to the Lord. If we work a little more than is expected of us at something that benefits others, that too is an offering to the Lord. Everywhere, in every detail of daily living, it is not a question of quantity or expense that makes our offering acceptable; it is cheerfulness, enthusiasm, and the capacity to forget ourselves in helping others.

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

The homework is to observe your daily rituals and see where you can forget yourself more and work to help others.  Yoga Sutra 1:33 says that "By cultivating attitudes of friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and disregard toward the wicked, the mind-stuff retains its undisturbed calmness."   - The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Sri Swami Satichidananda

In one of Patanjali's most quoted sutras we are encouraged to cultivate Metta or Lovingkindness, Karuna or Compassion, Mudita or Sympathetic Joy, and Upekkha or Equanimity.  Patanjali suggests that if we do so we can keep the fluctuations of the mind at bay and realize our true nature.

In forgetting yourself more see if you can do so with sutra 1:33 in mind.

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

Tapas

Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,

This week in class we will be exploring the Tapas - the third Niyama.

In truth, to attain to interior peace, one must be willing to pass through the contrary to peace.  Such is the teaching of the sages.

                                                          – Swami Brahmananda

I once asked my grandmother, "Why shouldn't we go after pleasant things, Granny? It's only human. And what's wrong with wanting to stay away from unpleasant things?" She didn't argue with me. She just told me to eat an amla fruit.

It was easier said than done. The fruit was so sour that I wanted to spit it out, but she stopped me. "Don't give up. Keep chewing." Out of love for her, I did, and the sourness left. The fruit began to taste sweeter and sweeter. "Granny, this is delicious," I said.

"But you didn't like it at the outset. You wanted to spit it out." That is how it is with spiritual disciplines.

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

The homework is to review the third Niyama - Tapas.  Learn how the discipline we bring to our Yoga practice - part of our Tapas can help us challenge ourselves to progress in our spiritual practices.  Tapas means to use burning effort under all circumstances to achieve ones goal in 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

Kriya Yoga

Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,

This week in class we will be exploring the concept of Kriya Yoga.

I was held back by mere trifles, the most paltry inanities, all my old attachments.

                                                             – Saint Augustine

Sooner or later, most of us encounter the haunting fear that if we turn our senses inwards, which is what diving into the murky water of consciousness means, we may lose everything enjoyable in life. This fear is one of the most formidable obstacles between us and deepening meditation. But if we persevere, we will see the day when these old attachments will fall away, almost of themselves, and no one will be as surprised as we are.

Gradually, with experience, our faith grows that deep within us the Self is willing and able to take responsibility for our ultimate welfare. Slowly we can surrender our personal will to an immeasurably more profound purpose. Bit by bit, we can work ourselves loose from the grip of compulsive entanglements in the faith that our capacity to love and be loved will thereby be magnified a millionfold.

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

The homework is to study the Niyamas, the second of the eight limbs of Yoga and see where the concept of surrendering our personal will for a more profound purpose fits in.  The Yoga Sutras present the concept of Kriya Yoga.  This would be a good place to start your study.

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