Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,
This week in class we are considering Ahimsa.
Unto those that hath shall be given, and they shall have abundance: but from those that hath not shall be taken away even that which they have.
-The Gospel According to Saint Matthew
This is a strange paradox, a little-known secret. Jesus isn't speaking of worldly goods. He is speaking of a very rare kind of treasure: the more you draw on it, the more you will have. The more patient you are with people, for instance, the more patience you will have. The more generous you are today, the more generosity you will have tomorrow. The more love you give, the more loving you become.
The principle can be stated in the plainest of terms: if you are selfish with your love, the scant security you cling to will be battered by life. But if you give of yourself freely, your security will be unshakable. Your joy will be limitless. You will always have more to give.
Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran
The homework is to consider the very first precept of Yoga - Ahimsa. Ahimsa translates as non-harming and as Love. In Yoga sutra II.35 as translated by BKS Iyengar it is stated that when one is established in Ahimsa "one’s aggressive nature is relinquished and others abandon hostility in one’s presence." Practice Ahimsa and see for yourself if others abandon hostility in your presence.
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
Monday, February 27, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Tenderness in our communication.
Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,
This week in class we are considering tenderness in our communication.
Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you.
-The Gospel According to Saint Matthew
This is love at its most magnificent. In order to love like this, we cannot be attached to ourselves. It is because we think so much about ourselves that we strike back, show resentment, speak harshly, move away.
Jesus' words do not mean agreeing with everything people say or supporting whatever they do. We sometimes have to oppose people we love. Yet, if we do it tenderly, it is not likely that it will cost us a single friend. In fact, that person might say, "I've found a friend who will support me and stand beside me always."
Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran
The homework is to consider how our Yoga practices can help us develop tenderness in our communication. Consider the following limbs of Yoga in your process: Pratyahara – withdrawal and emancipation of the mind from the domination of the senses and exterior objects; and Dharana – concentration.
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
This week in class we are considering tenderness in our communication.
Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you.
-The Gospel According to Saint Matthew
This is love at its most magnificent. In order to love like this, we cannot be attached to ourselves. It is because we think so much about ourselves that we strike back, show resentment, speak harshly, move away.
Jesus' words do not mean agreeing with everything people say or supporting whatever they do. We sometimes have to oppose people we love. Yet, if we do it tenderly, it is not likely that it will cost us a single friend. In fact, that person might say, "I've found a friend who will support me and stand beside me always."
Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran
The homework is to consider how our Yoga practices can help us develop tenderness in our communication. Consider the following limbs of Yoga in your process: Pratyahara – withdrawal and emancipation of the mind from the domination of the senses and exterior objects; and Dharana – concentration.
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
Monday, February 6, 2012
What does the Buddha mean when he says that we become what we meditate on?
Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,
This week in class we are considering what the Buddha means when he says that we become what we meditate on.
If you let your mind dwell on ghosts, you'll become a ghost yourself. If you fix your mind on God, your life will be filled with God. Now - which are you going to choose?
-Sri Ramakrishna
In meditation, we learn the skill of bringing our attention back to the words of the inspirational passage whenever it strays away. Attention is like a restless puppy, fond of running after anything new that comes along. When it sees an intensely charged memory, it cannot let it roll by; it has to chase the memory and keep yapping, yapping, yapping.
Just as with a dog, we have to call the mind back over and over again, whenever we sit down for meditation. This may go on for years. But if we keep practicing diligently and systematically, the day will come when we can put our attention where we want it with little effort, and it will stay without movement or protest. Then, however unkind somebody may have been, we will not be mastered by resentment; our attention will not turn to the past at all.
Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran
The homework is to consider what the Buddha means when he says that we become what we meditate on. Can this be generalized to all of our thinking? How can understanding this inform our Yoga practices?
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
This week in class we are considering what the Buddha means when he says that we become what we meditate on.
If you let your mind dwell on ghosts, you'll become a ghost yourself. If you fix your mind on God, your life will be filled with God. Now - which are you going to choose?
-Sri Ramakrishna
In meditation, we learn the skill of bringing our attention back to the words of the inspirational passage whenever it strays away. Attention is like a restless puppy, fond of running after anything new that comes along. When it sees an intensely charged memory, it cannot let it roll by; it has to chase the memory and keep yapping, yapping, yapping.
Just as with a dog, we have to call the mind back over and over again, whenever we sit down for meditation. This may go on for years. But if we keep practicing diligently and systematically, the day will come when we can put our attention where we want it with little effort, and it will stay without movement or protest. Then, however unkind somebody may have been, we will not be mastered by resentment; our attention will not turn to the past at all.
Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran
The homework is to consider what the Buddha means when he says that we become what we meditate on. Can this be generalized to all of our thinking? How can understanding this inform our Yoga practices?
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
Monday, January 30, 2012
The two wings of Yoga: Abhyasa or effort, willpower, and practice; and Vairagya or letting go, acceptance, and detachment
Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,
This week in class we are considering the two wings of Yoga: Abhyasa or effort, willpower, and practice; and Vairagya or letting go, acceptance, and detachment.
By two wings we are lifted up from things earthly: by simplicity and purity.
-Thomas a Kempis
To soar to the heights, the soul needs two wings. One is purity, which enables us to keep our eyes on the one thing in life that matters: awareness of the divinity within every human being. The other is simplicity: of lifestyle, but also simplicity in our desires.
This raises a worry that many serious-minded people have today. Living in the workaday world, surrounded by all manner of influences we cannot control, can purity and simplicity ever be anything for us but beautiful abstractions? It is one thing to grasp intellectually how we want to live; it is quite another to put our ideals into practice.
Yet, it is possible to learn to tug our attention away from lesser things, and focus on what really matters. And, to our great surprise, we will actually hit on some remedies. One person may start with his teenaged son, discovering a way to give him support that hadn't occurred to him before. Another may mobilize help for children dying of hunger in Ethiopia or help the homeless in the inner city.
Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran
The homework is to consider what obstacles are on your path that inhibit your ability to move towards "what really matters." Use the two wings of Yoga: Abhyasa or effort, willpower, and practice; and Vairagya or letting go, acceptance, and detachment as your guide. Work to find balance between your effort and letting go of getting anything out of your effort. Take whatever little steps or attempts you can make.
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
This week in class we are considering the two wings of Yoga: Abhyasa or effort, willpower, and practice; and Vairagya or letting go, acceptance, and detachment.
By two wings we are lifted up from things earthly: by simplicity and purity.
-Thomas a Kempis
To soar to the heights, the soul needs two wings. One is purity, which enables us to keep our eyes on the one thing in life that matters: awareness of the divinity within every human being. The other is simplicity: of lifestyle, but also simplicity in our desires.
This raises a worry that many serious-minded people have today. Living in the workaday world, surrounded by all manner of influences we cannot control, can purity and simplicity ever be anything for us but beautiful abstractions? It is one thing to grasp intellectually how we want to live; it is quite another to put our ideals into practice.
Yet, it is possible to learn to tug our attention away from lesser things, and focus on what really matters. And, to our great surprise, we will actually hit on some remedies. One person may start with his teenaged son, discovering a way to give him support that hadn't occurred to him before. Another may mobilize help for children dying of hunger in Ethiopia or help the homeless in the inner city.
Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran
The homework is to consider what obstacles are on your path that inhibit your ability to move towards "what really matters." Use the two wings of Yoga: Abhyasa or effort, willpower, and practice; and Vairagya or letting go, acceptance, and detachment as your guide. Work to find balance between your effort and letting go of getting anything out of your effort. Take whatever little steps or attempts you can make.
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 two wings of Yoga: Abhyasa or effort, willpower, and practice; and Vairagya or letting go, acceptance, and detachment
Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,
This week in class we are considering the two wings of Yoga: Abhyasa or effort, willpower, and practice; and Vairagya or letting go, acceptance, and detachment.
By two wings we are lifted up from things earthly: by simplicity and purity.
-Thomas a Kempis
To soar to the heights, the soul needs two wings. One is purity, which enables us to keep our eyes on the one thing in life that matters: awareness of the divinity within every human being. The other is simplicity: of lifestyle, but also simplicity in our desires.
This raises a worry that many serious-minded people have today. Living in the workaday world, surrounded by all manner of influences we cannot control, can purity and simplicity ever be anything for us but beautiful abstractions? It is one thing to grasp intellectually how we want to live; it is quite another to put our ideals into practice.
Yet, it is possible to learn to tug our attention away from lesser things, and focus on what really matters. And, to our great surprise, we will actually hit on some remedies. One person may start with his teenaged son, discovering a way to give him support that hadn't occurred to him before. Another may mobilize help for children dying of hunger in Ethiopia or help the homeless in the inner city.
Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran
The homework is to consider what obstacles are on your path that inhibit your ability to move towards "what really matters." Use the two wings of Yoga: Abhyasa or effort, willpower, and practice; and Vairagya or letting go, acceptance, and detachment as your guide. Work to find balance between your effort and letting go of getting anything out of your effort. Take whatever little steps or attempts you can make.
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
This week in class we are considering the two wings of Yoga: Abhyasa or effort, willpower, and practice; and Vairagya or letting go, acceptance, and detachment.
By two wings we are lifted up from things earthly: by simplicity and purity.
-Thomas a Kempis
To soar to the heights, the soul needs two wings. One is purity, which enables us to keep our eyes on the one thing in life that matters: awareness of the divinity within every human being. The other is simplicity: of lifestyle, but also simplicity in our desires.
This raises a worry that many serious-minded people have today. Living in the workaday world, surrounded by all manner of influences we cannot control, can purity and simplicity ever be anything for us but beautiful abstractions? It is one thing to grasp intellectually how we want to live; it is quite another to put our ideals into practice.
Yet, it is possible to learn to tug our attention away from lesser things, and focus on what really matters. And, to our great surprise, we will actually hit on some remedies. One person may start with his teenaged son, discovering a way to give him support that hadn't occurred to him before. Another may mobilize help for children dying of hunger in Ethiopia or help the homeless in the inner city.
Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran
The homework is to consider what obstacles are on your path that inhibit your ability to move towards "what really matters." Use the two wings of Yoga: Abhyasa or effort, willpower, and practice; and Vairagya or letting go, acceptance, and detachment as your guide. Work to find balance between your effort and letting go of getting anything out of your effort. Take whatever little steps or attempts you can make.
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
Sunday, January 22, 2012
The Niyamas or the practices of self-purification through discipline and specifically Svadhyaya or Self Study
Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,
This week in class we are considering the Niyamas or the practices of self-purification through discipline and specifically Svadhyaya or Self Study.
Place your mind before the mirror of eternity; place your soul in the brightness of Her Glory.
-Saint Clare of Assisi
We are shaped by what gains our attention and occupies our thoughts. Today, amidst all of the conditioning to the contrary, we need constant reminders of our higher nature, and that is why spiritual reading can be very helpful. The media drown us in such a low image of the human being that it is essential to remind ourselves constantly of something higher.
All of the world's religions provide nourishment for the spirit distilled from centuries of spiritual exploration. It is a wise investment of time to take half an hour or so each day for reading from the scriptures and the writings of the great mystics of all religions. Just before bedtime is a particularly good time, because the thoughts you fall asleep in will be with you throughout the night.
Our consciousness takes on the color of what we think about. By reading the words of a favorite saint or mystic, we imbue our mind with thoughts that are beautiful, true, and full of light.
Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran
The homework is to review the second path of Yoga - the Niyamas or the practices of self-purification through discipline and specifically Svadhyaya or Self Study. For one week commit to devoting time each day to reciting, studying, and meditating, on an inspired text.
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
This week in class we are considering the Niyamas or the practices of self-purification through discipline and specifically Svadhyaya or Self Study.
Place your mind before the mirror of eternity; place your soul in the brightness of Her Glory.
-Saint Clare of Assisi
We are shaped by what gains our attention and occupies our thoughts. Today, amidst all of the conditioning to the contrary, we need constant reminders of our higher nature, and that is why spiritual reading can be very helpful. The media drown us in such a low image of the human being that it is essential to remind ourselves constantly of something higher.
All of the world's religions provide nourishment for the spirit distilled from centuries of spiritual exploration. It is a wise investment of time to take half an hour or so each day for reading from the scriptures and the writings of the great mystics of all religions. Just before bedtime is a particularly good time, because the thoughts you fall asleep in will be with you throughout the night.
Our consciousness takes on the color of what we think about. By reading the words of a favorite saint or mystic, we imbue our mind with thoughts that are beautiful, true, and full of light.
Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran
The homework is to review the second path of Yoga - the Niyamas or the practices of self-purification through discipline and specifically Svadhyaya or Self Study. For one week commit to devoting time each day to reciting, studying, and meditating, on an inspired text.
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
Monday, January 16, 2012
Building our Practices on What Endures and From a Balanced and Firm Foundation
Greetings Yogis and Yoginis,
This week in class we are considering building our practices on what endures and from a balanced and firm foundation.
Beauty is all very well at first sight; but who ever looks at it when it has been in the house three days?
-George Bernard Shaw
Often we try to build relationships on what is pleasing to us, particularly on physical attraction. But if there is anything sure about physical attraction, it is that it has to change. We cannot build on it; its very nature is to come and go.
Physical attraction is a sensation - here one minute and gone the next. Love is a relationship. It is pleasant to be with someone who is physically attractive, but how long can you enjoy an aquiline nose? How long can you thrill to the timbre of a voice when it doesn't say what you like? It's very much like eating: no matter how much you are attracted to chocolate pie, there is a limit to how much of it you can enjoy. Beyond that limit, if somebody merely mentions chocolate, your stomach stages a revolt.
If you want to build a relationship, build it on what endures. To build on a firm foundation, we have to stop asking, "What do I like?" and ask only, "What can I give?" Then there is joy in everything, because there is joy in the relationship itself - in ups and downs, through the pleasant and the unpleasant, in sickness and in health.
Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran
The homework is to practice some of the postures that you are least fond of. Sandwich them in between postures you are fond of. Challenge yourself to build your practice on what endures and from a balanced and firm foundation. Discover for yourself if this work translates into your relationships off of the mat.
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
This week in class we are considering building our practices on what endures and from a balanced and firm foundation.
Beauty is all very well at first sight; but who ever looks at it when it has been in the house three days?
-George Bernard Shaw
Often we try to build relationships on what is pleasing to us, particularly on physical attraction. But if there is anything sure about physical attraction, it is that it has to change. We cannot build on it; its very nature is to come and go.
Physical attraction is a sensation - here one minute and gone the next. Love is a relationship. It is pleasant to be with someone who is physically attractive, but how long can you enjoy an aquiline nose? How long can you thrill to the timbre of a voice when it doesn't say what you like? It's very much like eating: no matter how much you are attracted to chocolate pie, there is a limit to how much of it you can enjoy. Beyond that limit, if somebody merely mentions chocolate, your stomach stages a revolt.
If you want to build a relationship, build it on what endures. To build on a firm foundation, we have to stop asking, "What do I like?" and ask only, "What can I give?" Then there is joy in everything, because there is joy in the relationship itself - in ups and downs, through the pleasant and the unpleasant, in sickness and in health.
Words to Live By: Inspiration for Every Day – Eknath Easwaran
The homework is to practice some of the postures that you are least fond of. Sandwich them in between postures you are fond of. Challenge yourself to build your practice on what endures and from a balanced and firm foundation. Discover for yourself if this work translates into your relationships off of the mat.
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
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