"Yoga is the uniting of consciousness in the heart."
~Yoga Sutra 1.2
"United in the heart, consciousness is steadied, then we abide in our true nature - joy."
~ Yoga Sutra 1.3
Above are the first two Yoga Sutras, a book of sayings or "threads" that speak to the spirituality of yoga and was written thousands of years ago by yoga sage Patanjali. Currently I'm reading The Secret Power of Yoga, and it speaks about the sutras as they apply today, especially to women. As author Nischala Joy Devi states, these two sutras focus on how "we are all divine" and illustrate who we are both inside and out. She also writes it's "important to remember that you are not the only one who is Divine. Everyone is the same as you, just housed in different containers, shapes and temples, embracing the same essence."
Utilize these two sutras in your daily meditation practice and within your life. Instead of trying to control your mind, realize that your consciousness abides in your heart, and as Devi puts it "the heart responds more readily to tenderness, and gentle, caring treatment of your consciousness is the best way to liberate it."
Meditate from your heart and joy will follow.
Showing posts with label Patanjali. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Patanjali. Show all posts
Monday, March 31
Sunday, March 23
The power of now will set you free
"There is no fear of the cycle of birth, life and death for when you stand in the present moment, you are timeless."
~Rodney Yee, YJ's Yoga for Relaxation and Meditation dvd
Armed with two bags full to the brim with at least twenty pounds of books, I ventured to our local-used bookstore. And yes, probably not smart of me to carry so much weight since I'm almost eight months pregnant, but I'm nesting and need to make room for baby! This must have been the first time I actually sold books at this particular store because they totally jipped me.
"Your total trade in is $7.50," said the store employee.
"Uh, so what books aren't you taking?" I inquired.
"That's for all books..." he replied. In my mind I wanted to FREAK out about how they were taking advantage of the process, but then I reminded myself of the heaviness of the books and lugging them into and out of my car. Not to mention how much room getting rid of them would save. After taking a deep inhale, I said, "Thank you" and took my pathetic amount of cash where I spent it times four in the store. BASTARDS! I need to open my own used bookstore, man!
Enough of my self pity, however notice how I practiced presence (kind of) and didn't allow my pain body to show up (if you're reading Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth you'll know what I mean). Let's return to the quote at the top, which I heard in one of my purchases at the used bookstore - yoga dvd "Yoga for Meditation" with Rodney Yee. Even before I began reading A New Earth, I wanted to dive deeper into the seventh limb of yoga, meditation or dhyana. But due to the words in Tolle's book, I am convinced of its power. Here's a quote from A New Earth that really conveys the potential behind being present/meditation:
'"Be aware of your breathing as often as you are able, whenever you remember. Do that for one year, and it will be more powerfully transformative than attending all of these courses. And it's free."'
~ Eckhart Tolle
To make meditation a daily habit (now doing three to five times per week), I'm exploring various ways to instill the practice into my life. This morning I watched Yee's "Yoga for Meditation" and am a bit disappointed it doesn't allow to skip through the various yoga and seated practices Yee includes to get to the specific parts you want. However, if you are just beginning meditation and want to try different seated positions and are looking for a very easy-going yoga practice prior to the meditation, it's a good start.
After practicing the first segment "Mountain" and viewing a few of Yee's seated postures, I ended the practice with "Wind" and "Sky." At the very end, he said the quote above, and it really struck me because the last few days I've begun FREAKING out that I'm not prepared for our upcoming arrival in late spring. Up until a few days ago, I think (maybe that's the operative word) I was doing relatively well staying present and stress free about the whole thing. Yet now it's two months away (or less!), and I'm starting to feel very worried about finding daycare, finding a new car so I won't wrench my back from putting the baby in its car seat within my two-door vehicle, etc.
But what's worry going to do? Both Yee and Tolle reminded me there's nothing to fear, even childbirth, if I remain present ... life will continue to be. Not that I should neglect finding a new car (hopefully not a minivan!) or a daycare or whatever need there is. However, I need to return back to the now with the aid of my breath and focus on what can be done now versus focusing on what I didn't do in the past or about what possibly can't be done in the future. That will get me nowhere but into a negative space.
So take a deep inhale with me in this present moment - "All is well." ~ Louise L. Hay
Below is a brief video (not the same as the dvd mentioned above) with Yee on meditation.
Namaste.
~Rodney Yee, YJ's Yoga for Relaxation and Meditation dvd
Armed with two bags full to the brim with at least twenty pounds of books, I ventured to our local-used bookstore. And yes, probably not smart of me to carry so much weight since I'm almost eight months pregnant, but I'm nesting and need to make room for baby! This must have been the first time I actually sold books at this particular store because they totally jipped me.
"Your total trade in is $7.50," said the store employee."Uh, so what books aren't you taking?" I inquired.
"That's for all books..." he replied. In my mind I wanted to FREAK out about how they were taking advantage of the process, but then I reminded myself of the heaviness of the books and lugging them into and out of my car. Not to mention how much room getting rid of them would save. After taking a deep inhale, I said, "Thank you" and took my pathetic amount of cash where I spent it times four in the store. BASTARDS! I need to open my own used bookstore, man!
Enough of my self pity, however notice how I practiced presence (kind of) and didn't allow my pain body to show up (if you're reading Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth you'll know what I mean). Let's return to the quote at the top, which I heard in one of my purchases at the used bookstore - yoga dvd "Yoga for Meditation" with Rodney Yee. Even before I began reading A New Earth, I wanted to dive deeper into the seventh limb of yoga, meditation or dhyana. But due to the words in Tolle's book, I am convinced of its power. Here's a quote from A New Earth that really conveys the potential behind being present/meditation:
'"Be aware of your breathing as often as you are able, whenever you remember. Do that for one year, and it will be more powerfully transformative than attending all of these courses. And it's free."'
~ Eckhart Tolle
To make meditation a daily habit (now doing three to five times per week), I'm exploring various ways to instill the practice into my life. This morning I watched Yee's "Yoga for Meditation" and am a bit disappointed it doesn't allow to skip through the various yoga and seated practices Yee includes to get to the specific parts you want. However, if you are just beginning meditation and want to try different seated positions and are looking for a very easy-going yoga practice prior to the meditation, it's a good start.
After practicing the first segment "Mountain" and viewing a few of Yee's seated postures, I ended the practice with "Wind" and "Sky." At the very end, he said the quote above, and it really struck me because the last few days I've begun FREAKING out that I'm not prepared for our upcoming arrival in late spring. Up until a few days ago, I think (maybe that's the operative word) I was doing relatively well staying present and stress free about the whole thing. Yet now it's two months away (or less!), and I'm starting to feel very worried about finding daycare, finding a new car so I won't wrench my back from putting the baby in its car seat within my two-door vehicle, etc.
But what's worry going to do? Both Yee and Tolle reminded me there's nothing to fear, even childbirth, if I remain present ... life will continue to be. Not that I should neglect finding a new car (hopefully not a minivan!) or a daycare or whatever need there is. However, I need to return back to the now with the aid of my breath and focus on what can be done now versus focusing on what I didn't do in the past or about what possibly can't be done in the future. That will get me nowhere but into a negative space.
So take a deep inhale with me in this present moment - "All is well." ~ Louise L. Hay
Below is a brief video (not the same as the dvd mentioned above) with Yee on meditation.
Namaste.
Thursday, March 6
A New Earth
Along with the rest of the world, I'm reading "A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose" to take Oprah's online course with author Eckhart Tolle exploring its meaning. The hubby and I tried to watch the first live webcast this Monday, but due to so many viewers (over 500,000!), our Internet connection kept stalling. It didn't surprise me since I work closely with the webcast group in my corporate day job and know the technology can get overloaded with far fewer numbers. I still give credit to Oprah for being a pioneer and for being smart by offering a web and audio replay (I still need to watch the rest of Monday's!).
A few friends at work are also reading the book; one of them said it wasn't clicking with her. A few years ago, I tried to read Tolle's first book "The Power of Now," but it didn't resonate with me and I quit it after a few chapters. At the time, I was practicing the physical postures of yoga but wasn't really into the spiritual side of it yet. Now my practice has deepened where I've begun to study Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and other spiritual yogic texts. After only reading the first two chapters of "A New Earth," I already see a lot of similarities between the novel and yoga. In fact, I just read a blog post expressing the same parallel on The Everything Yoga Blog.
Take advantage of the opportunity to read "A New Earth" while benefiting from the input of the author and Oprah for 10 weeks. Tell me if you're reading it too and how it's going for you.
A few friends at work are also reading the book; one of them said it wasn't clicking with her. A few years ago, I tried to read Tolle's first book "The Power of Now," but it didn't resonate with me and I quit it after a few chapters. At the time, I was practicing the physical postures of yoga but wasn't really into the spiritual side of it yet. Now my practice has deepened where I've begun to study Patanjali's Yoga Sutras and other spiritual yogic texts. After only reading the first two chapters of "A New Earth," I already see a lot of similarities between the novel and yoga. In fact, I just read a blog post expressing the same parallel on The Everything Yoga Blog.
Take advantage of the opportunity to read "A New Earth" while benefiting from the input of the author and Oprah for 10 weeks. Tell me if you're reading it too and how it's going for you.
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