Pratyahara.........

Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,

This week in class we are exploring the fifth limb of Yoga Pratyahara, the withdrawal of the senses or the refinement of the senses.

Before us are life and death, good and evil. That which we shall choose shall be given us.

                                                   – Ecclesiasticus

The capacity to discriminate between right desires and wrong desires is very precious. Right desires benefit everyone - including ourselves. Wrong desires may be pleasing, but they benefit no one - again, not even ourselves. The criteria are simple to state, but not so simple to apply in everyday life.

The problem that arises is that wrong desires can be very skillful impersonators. They put on a three-piece suit and a false mustache and present themselves suavely as Mr. Right, the benefactor of all; if they happen to be just what we like, that is only happy coincidence. To live wisely, we need to be able to recognize right desires and yield to them, which is a pleasant but rare state of affairs. But much more important, we need to be able to recognize wrong desires and resist them.

This can be very difficult. There are times when we have to take on the desire face to face, like a boxer in the ring. The very attitude of resisting in the face of a wrong desire is the beginning of good health, vitality, and love.

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

The homework is to study the fifth limb of Yoga: Pratyahara.  Pratyahara is the withdrawal of the senses or the refinement of the senses.  The work of practicing pratyahara is to have the perspective and discrimination to not be drawn into the foray of mind stuff about the goings on in the world.  See how your Yoga practices can help you develop more discrimination, especially as it relates to desires.  What is the end result when we become more aware of our desires and evaluate them in light of their impact on our 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 

Oneness............

Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,

This week in class we are exploring oneness.

A human being is part of the whole, called by us "universe," a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separate from the rest - a kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.        

  
                                                 – Albert Einstein

None of us see life as it is, the world as it is. We all see life as we are. We look at others through our own likes and dislikes, desires and interests. It is this separatist outlook that fragments life for us - man against woman, community against community, country against country. Yet the mystics of all religions assure us on the strength of their own experience, if only we throw away this fragmenting instrument of observation, we shall see all life as an indivisible whole.

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

The homework is to use your Yoga practices to explore the unity of life.  Yoga teaches us how to slow down and challenges the concept of "doing" and encourages movement towards a state of "being".  It encourages us to become or "be" the pose with a oneness.  See if slowing down and being, instead of always doing, provides you with the experience to cultivate the compassion that allows us to embrace this oneness.

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

Choice

Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,

This week in class we are exploring choice.

When you move amidst the world of sense, free from attachment and aversion alike, there comes the peace in which all sorrows end, and you live in the wisdom of the Self.         

                                                             – Bhagavad Gita

The grace of God sometimes comes in the form of sorrow. If we are not prepared to realize the unity of life, the Lord in his infinite love will let us suffer until we are forced to change our ways.

Of course, it isn't at all easy to change: often it is quite painful. It's very much like learning to use a stiff arm again. If your arm has been injured, and twisted into a rigid position, even the slightest movement becomes painful. Yet you have to learn to move it in order to regain the use of your arm. There is suffering in this, as there often is in any kind of growth.

We should never conclude that our lives are hopeless, that we can never improve, that we are condemned by God or fate or chemistry or conditioning to repeat the same mistakes. We always have a choice. That is the glory of our human nature: not only that we can always choose a better path, but that someday we will. We can never alienate ourselves from our divine Self, and the whole force of evolution is pushing us towards the divine vision, in which we see ourselves as we really are.

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

The homework is to remember that you have a choice when it comes to how to deal with difficulties and that difficulties could be a blessing in disguise.  Learn what your habits are when difficulties arise and challenge this habitual response and work to re-direct your energy towards a healthier response for you and the people 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