The Fifth and Sixth Limbs of Yoga: Pratyahara and Dharana

Greetings Sadhakas,

This week in class we are exploring the fifth and sixth limbs of Yoga: Pratyahara – refinement and/or withdrawal of the senses and Dharana – concentration.

There is no greater trouble for thee than thine own self, for when thou art occupied with thyself, thou remainest away from God.  

 

                                                  – Abu Sa'id

Do you want to be free? Most of us are held hostage in life by our likes and dislikes. We are bound by countless little preferences in food, clothing, decor, entertainment - the list goes on and on.

The person with rigid tastes in one area, for example in food, is likely to have rigid tastes elsewhere as well. He will probably enjoy only one kind of music, she will appreciate only one style of art, and when it comes to people, he has very definite allergies. In any case, a rigid person is conditioned to be happy only so long as he gets everything the way he likes it. Otherwise - which may be most of the time - he is unhappy over something.

The way we respond to small matters reflects the way we will respond to the larger matters of life. If we can begin to release ourselves from our little likes and dislikes, we will find that we are gaining the capacity to weather emotional storms. Then we can begin to face whatever comes calmly and courageously.

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 automatic response patterns and rigidity.  See for yourself if challenging some of your patterns of response and rigidity allows you to approach life more calmly and courageously.

Blessings,

paul cheek

Rushing Water Yoga

417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607

360.834.5994

www.rushingwateryoga.com

info@rushingwateryoga.com

Isvara Pranidhana

Greetings Sadhakas,

This week in class we are exploring Isvara Pranidhana. Translated as surrender to God and/or as dedication to humanity.

He that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is love.  

 

                                                  – I John

These words sound so ethereal that most of us cannot connect them with daily life. What, we ask, do personal relationships have to do with the divine? I would reply that it is by discovering the unity between ourselves and others - all others - that we find our unity with God. We don't first get to know God and then, by some miracle of grace, come to love our fellow human beings. Loving others comes first. In this sense, learning to love is practicing religion. Those who can put the welfare of others before their own small personal interests are religious, even if they would deny it.

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

The homework is to consider the fifth Niyama (the Niyamas are the second limb of the eight limbs of Yoga), Isvara Pranidhana. Translated as surrender to God and/or as dedication to humanity. Learn for yourself if the art of dedicating all your actions to humanity allows for the reflection of your own inner divinity.

Blessings,

paul cheek

Rushing Water Yoga

417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607

360.834.5994

www.rushingwateryoga.com

info@rushingwateryoga.com

The Practice of Letting go of Desires

Greetings Sadhakas,

This week in class we are exploring the practice of letting go of desires.

Remember that you ought to behave in life as you would at a banquet. As something is being passed around, it comes to you. When it comes to you, stretch out your hand gently, take a portion of it politely, but pass it on. Or, it has not come to you yet. Do not project your desire to meet it. So act always in life.

                                                                                    – Epictetus

This is the nature of desire: it jumps out from the present to the future. When you have a very pleasant event planned, the desire has jumped out already to meet it. Even though this particular event will take place on Saturday, and today is Monday, half of you is already living in Saturday.

And next Monday morning, you will be at your desk, remembering the great day you had Saturday.

Epictetus says, don't ever let your desire jump out to the future, and don't let your mind wander to the past, because you will never be present in the here and now.

If, for example, you are going to the theater to see Anthony and Cleopatra, it is only when you get into the theater that you let your attention dwell on it completely. Until then, you don't think about it. And when you are watching the play, you are there completely, with no wisp of consciousness wandering to what your boss said to you yesterday about the project that is late, and no wandering to what you would like for breakfast tomorrow. You are there completely, sailing down the Nile with Cleopatra.

  

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

The homework is to look at your desires with the idea that all desire leads to disappointment.  Then cultivate the practice of letting go of desires.  Make a list of some of the desires you are “holding” on to.  Be honest with yourself.  Let the list sit for a few days and then revisit it and see if any revisions are in order.  Then choose one thing from your list to completely let go of.  Say to yourself, “This moment is the perfect moment to let go.”  Continue with this practice and all that will be left is love.  

 
Excerpts paraphrased from “Living your Yoga, Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life”, by Judith Lasater.
  

Blessings,

paul cheek

Rushing Water Yoga

417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607

360.834.5994

www.rushingwateryoga.com

info@rushingwateryoga.com

How Dharana (one-pointed concentration) Works Together with Ahimsa (non-harming, Love).

Greetings Sadhakas,

This week in class we are exploring how Dharana (one-pointed concentration) works together with Ahimsa (non-harming, Love).

When one is rising, standing, walking, doing something, stopping, one should constantly concentrate one's mind on the act and the doing of it, not on one's relation to the act, or its character or value. . . . One should simply practice concentration of the mind on the act itself.

                                                              – Ashvaghosha

There is a close connection between deep concentration and love, and with the practice of one-pointed attention we can greatly increase the precious capacity to remain loving and loyal no matter what the vicissitudes or circumstances we encounter.

We can practice this one-pointedness throughout the day by doing one thing at a time, and giving our full attention to whatever we are doing. While having breakfast, for example, we can give our complete attention to the food and not to the newspaper. If we are listening to a friend, even if a parrot flies down and perches on his head, we should not get excited, point to the parrot, and burst out, "Excuse me for interrupting, but there's a bird on your head." We should be able to concentrate so hard on what our friend is saying that we can tell this urge, "Don't distract me. Afterwards, I'll tell him about the parrot."

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

The homework is to explore through your Yoga practices how Dharana (one-pointed concentration) works together with Ahimsa (non-harming, Love) to help cultivate Love and loyalty no matter what the situation.

    

Blessings,

paul cheek

Rushing Water Yoga

417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607

360.834.5994

www.rushingwateryoga.com

info@rushingwateryoga.com

Discriminative Knowledge (Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, II:26)

Greetings Sadhakas,

This week in class we are exploring discriminative knowledge (Yoga Sutras of Patanjali II:26).

Loss of discrimination is the greatest source of danger.

                                                              – Sanskrit proverb

The greatest source of danger to a human being is loss of discrimination, and this is the main malady in our modern  civilization, where we have lost our capacity to differentiate between what is necessary and useful, and what is unnecessary and harmful.

How often do we stop and ask, "What is really important? What matters most to me?"

If every one of us starts asking this simple question, it will transform our daily lives and even the world in which we live. After all, we need clean air and water more than we need microwave ovens. Doing work that is meaningful and of service to others is more important than owning luxury cars. We need loving human relationships more than we need home entertainment systems.

Many modern conveniences make life more pleasant and can save time. We needn't live without them, but when we begin to think such things are not merely useful but prized possessions, we may gradually lose our discrimination.

In order to understand what is important in life, what our real priorities are, discrimination is essential.

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

The homework is to study Yoga sutra II:26, "The ceaseless flow of discriminative knowledge in thought, word and deed destroys ignorance, the source of pain."*  Patanjali suggests that developing discernment, the faculty of discrimination, and seeing clearly what is essential without any ambiguity leads to a lucid mind that perceives the world objectively and positively. Ask yourself how do the practices of Yoga help to cultivate discernment and discriminative knowledge?

 

References: *Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, BKS Iyengar and The Essence of Yoga, Bouanchaud

 

Blessings,

paul cheek

Rushing Water Yoga

417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607

360.834.5994

www.rushingwateryoga.com

info@rushingwateryoga.com

Dharana, or Concentration

Greetings Sadhakas,

This week in class we are exploring Dharana, or concentration.

This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one.

                                                              – George Bernard Shaw

All of us have tasted the freedom and happiness that self-forgetfulness brings. In watching a good game of tennis or becoming engrossed in a novel, the satisfaction comes not so much from what we are watching or reading as from the act of absorption itself. For that brief span, our burden of personal thoughts is forgotten. Then we find relief, for what lies beneath that burden is a still, clear state of awareness.

The scientist or the artist absorbed in creative work is happy because she has forgotten herself in what she is doing. But nowhere will you find personalities so joyous, so unabashedly lighthearted, as those who have lost themselves in love for all. That is the joy we glimpse in Saint Francis or Mahatma Gandhi. To look at the lives of men and women like these is to see what joy means.

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

The homework is to notice how the more you can concentrate (Dharana - the 6^th limb of Yoga) during your Yoga practice the more relaxed you feel afterwards. Then try and apply this process to your daily life and see what happens.

 

Blessings,

paul cheek

Rushing Water Yoga

417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607

360.834.5994

www.rushingwateryoga.com

info@rushingwateryoga.com

Becoming More Literate in Love

Greetings Sadhakas,

This week in class we are exploring becoming more literate in Love.

Love seeks no cause beyond itself and no fruit; it is its own fruit, its own enjoyment. I love because I love; I love in order that I may love.

                                                              – Saint Bernard

It takes a good deal of experience of life to see why some relationships last and others do not. But we do not have to wait for a crisis to get an idea of the future of a particular relationship. Our behavior in little everyday incidents tells us a great deal.

We only need to ask ourselves, "Am I ready to put the other person first?" If the answer is yes, that relationship is likely to grow deeper and more rewarding with the passage of time, whatever problems may come. If the answer is no, that relationship may not be able to withstand the testing that life is bound to bring.

Relationships break down, not because we are bad, but because we are illiterate in love.

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

The homework is to work to become more literate in Love. Work on cultivating unconditional love.  Start by putting others needs before your own without any thought of getting something in return.  Try to extend this love to those closest to you first and move out from there.

 

Blessings,

paul cheek

Rushing Water Yoga

417 NE Birch St., Camas, WA 98607

360.834.5994

www.rushingwateryoga.com

info@rushingwateryoga.com