Last week I went to Tiffany Woods (an Anusara-inspired teacher who is going through the certification process) class at The Shop in Park City Utah. It was my first time at The Shop and it was phenomenal. Tiffany mentioned she was on a teleconference call with John Friend talking about the newly named Shiva Shakti Tantra of Anusara yoga. She said that at the end of the phone call someone asked John how to explain this Shiva Shakti tantra to our Anusara students, and well spoken, articulated John Friend replied, “The universe is a big ball of pulsating bliss”. I absolutely loved this! I am so grateful Tiffany shared this with us. All week in my practice on the mat and in my life of the mat I thought about how the universe, the trees, the trash, the sun, me, everyone….is all a part of this pulsating ball of bliss.
I focused and meditated on this pulsating ball of bliss. This pulsation is like a dance of Shiva and Shakti. Shiva is like the sun. The one energy, consciousness, the masculine principle of stability, stillness, and that which never changes. Shakti is like the sunshine. The dynamic expression of the oneness, the feminine principle of freedom and is in constant motion. I thought about how this pulsation (spanda) explains the ups and downs, the contraction and expansions of life.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
my teaching experience 6/9/10
I just got back from teaching my all level class (9:15-10:30 at Flow Yoga EMC). It is a new class and it has slowly building up students. When I come to teach I normally expect 3-6 students. It is hard having a new class because it takes time to build up students and momentum, especially at a new location. It is a good reminder as a teacher to have patience and remember that I do have something to offer and even teaching one student is such a great opportunity to teach and experience the Shakti of life.
Anyways today I had a plan for what I was going to teach. I was thinking inner spiral and outer spiral of the legs. I had some clever sequences planned and some exercises to help the students experience what inner and outer spiral done appropriately should feel like. It gives more support and stability and the opportunity to experience and expand more fully. However when I got there I just had one student. When ever I have one student I throw my plan out the window and it becomes more of a private. I ask what they want to work on, or if they have any questions, or if they ever experience any pain that we could look into…
We decided to do some light stretching, more of a therapeutic practice. However as we were practicing I was aware of the inappropriate shoulder alignment in many poses. I knew this student and know that she has regularly complained of shoulder pain. So I decided to focus on keeping the shoulders plugged in to the back of the heart. Really working the rhomboid muscles, pulling the tips of the scapulas together so that the shoulder blades can assist in the opening of the heart. It was wonderful. My beautiful friend who works the front desk slowly moved into practice with us. She first practiced in the lobby and then eventually grabbed her mat and came and practiced (now two students). This was another wonderful reminder that it is a great opportunity to have smaller classes because you get a chance to really break down and teach the universal principles of alignment.
Some of the sequence:
We worked on finding the rhomboid muscles in tadasana doing a few exercises to find the scapula alignment. For example we extended the right arm toward sky and bent out right elbow then took our left hand to the right elbow like a shoulder stretch. I first asked them to pull the shoulder blade off the back body which is a nice stretch but is not shoulder integration. I find it is nice to point out what we shouldn’t do so we can feel that before moving into what we should do. I then had them pivot there torso to the right, which provides more access to squeeze the tip of the right shoulder blade toward the back of the heart. I then helped by stabilizing and securing there scapula in that position on there back as they rotated there torso back to center. WOW! Rhomboid muscles identified :)
We worked on finding the shoulder integration in our plank and chaturangas as well. As we were doing this I noticed that both ladies were collapsing in the hips and not engaging the core so we also went over inner spiral of the thighs + outer spiral (scooping the tail bone) to get the low belly engaged then we melt the heart found out shoulder integration and SLOWLY lowered down. We practiced always squeezing the tips of the shoulder blades together so the top of the shoulders would never come down below the elbows even as we transitioned to cobra (again working the shoulder blades to open and expand the heart) and then to AMS (downward dog). I got such great comments like “this required so much more awareness” and “felt so much more in control” and “strong”.
We laid on a rolled up blanket with the tips of the shoulder blades just above the blanket. Here we worked at plugging the shoulder into the hear extending the arms toward sky palms facing each other and then slowly lower the thumbs toward earth and then slowly extending the arms toward sky, keeping the shoulder integration the whole time. This was a lot of fun the muscles where shaking and I reminded them that “when the muscles shake it is the muscles jumping for joy!” They were so surprised that by lying on a blanket and lowering and lifting the arms which sounds so easy required so much focus and “heat” as one student said.
We did some bridge work and then made it to urdhva danurasana shoulder plugging exercise. Before I did this I had them sit in heros pose and take anjali mudra over there head so their forearms where facing sky and elbows were pointing to the front of the class. Here we worked at unplugging the shoulders taking the elbows forward, and then plugging the shoulders taking the shoulders tips together, elbows back, and heart expanding forward as a result of the shoulder integration. We then did this in urdhva danurasana prep with our head on the ground. Unplugging, plugging, unplugging, plugging, unplugging, plugging…
Then we did a cool down integrating the femur bones into the hamstrings and some twists, then a nice shavasana.
After class I talked to the student and said "so much for stretching" haha. She laughed and said we did plenty of stretching. She said she loved will be sore tomorrow, and she is also happy to know better alignment.
What a wonderful way to start the morning. It is great to know that I can still teach a good class spontaneously without a plan. It requires that I focus on the students and what is going on in their bodies and their minds.
I am so thankful to my students and my teachers. Now I am off to walk the dog, garden, read, and then teach another class at 5:40 at The Yoga Center and I think my father in law might be coming to his first class. FUN FUN FUN
Anyways today I had a plan for what I was going to teach. I was thinking inner spiral and outer spiral of the legs. I had some clever sequences planned and some exercises to help the students experience what inner and outer spiral done appropriately should feel like. It gives more support and stability and the opportunity to experience and expand more fully. However when I got there I just had one student. When ever I have one student I throw my plan out the window and it becomes more of a private. I ask what they want to work on, or if they have any questions, or if they ever experience any pain that we could look into…
We decided to do some light stretching, more of a therapeutic practice. However as we were practicing I was aware of the inappropriate shoulder alignment in many poses. I knew this student and know that she has regularly complained of shoulder pain. So I decided to focus on keeping the shoulders plugged in to the back of the heart. Really working the rhomboid muscles, pulling the tips of the scapulas together so that the shoulder blades can assist in the opening of the heart. It was wonderful. My beautiful friend who works the front desk slowly moved into practice with us. She first practiced in the lobby and then eventually grabbed her mat and came and practiced (now two students). This was another wonderful reminder that it is a great opportunity to have smaller classes because you get a chance to really break down and teach the universal principles of alignment.
Some of the sequence:
We worked on finding the rhomboid muscles in tadasana doing a few exercises to find the scapula alignment. For example we extended the right arm toward sky and bent out right elbow then took our left hand to the right elbow like a shoulder stretch. I first asked them to pull the shoulder blade off the back body which is a nice stretch but is not shoulder integration. I find it is nice to point out what we shouldn’t do so we can feel that before moving into what we should do. I then had them pivot there torso to the right, which provides more access to squeeze the tip of the right shoulder blade toward the back of the heart. I then helped by stabilizing and securing there scapula in that position on there back as they rotated there torso back to center. WOW! Rhomboid muscles identified :)
We worked on finding the shoulder integration in our plank and chaturangas as well. As we were doing this I noticed that both ladies were collapsing in the hips and not engaging the core so we also went over inner spiral of the thighs + outer spiral (scooping the tail bone) to get the low belly engaged then we melt the heart found out shoulder integration and SLOWLY lowered down. We practiced always squeezing the tips of the shoulder blades together so the top of the shoulders would never come down below the elbows even as we transitioned to cobra (again working the shoulder blades to open and expand the heart) and then to AMS (downward dog). I got such great comments like “this required so much more awareness” and “felt so much more in control” and “strong”.
We laid on a rolled up blanket with the tips of the shoulder blades just above the blanket. Here we worked at plugging the shoulder into the hear extending the arms toward sky palms facing each other and then slowly lower the thumbs toward earth and then slowly extending the arms toward sky, keeping the shoulder integration the whole time. This was a lot of fun the muscles where shaking and I reminded them that “when the muscles shake it is the muscles jumping for joy!” They were so surprised that by lying on a blanket and lowering and lifting the arms which sounds so easy required so much focus and “heat” as one student said.
We did some bridge work and then made it to urdhva danurasana shoulder plugging exercise. Before I did this I had them sit in heros pose and take anjali mudra over there head so their forearms where facing sky and elbows were pointing to the front of the class. Here we worked at unplugging the shoulders taking the elbows forward, and then plugging the shoulders taking the shoulders tips together, elbows back, and heart expanding forward as a result of the shoulder integration. We then did this in urdhva danurasana prep with our head on the ground. Unplugging, plugging, unplugging, plugging, unplugging, plugging…
Then we did a cool down integrating the femur bones into the hamstrings and some twists, then a nice shavasana.
After class I talked to the student and said "so much for stretching" haha. She laughed and said we did plenty of stretching. She said she loved will be sore tomorrow, and she is also happy to know better alignment.
What a wonderful way to start the morning. It is great to know that I can still teach a good class spontaneously without a plan. It requires that I focus on the students and what is going on in their bodies and their minds.
I am so thankful to my students and my teachers. Now I am off to walk the dog, garden, read, and then teach another class at 5:40 at The Yoga Center and I think my father in law might be coming to his first class. FUN FUN FUN
balanced action, newtons third law of physics
(I have been organizing my yoga documents on my computer and I have discovered a few blogs that I never posted)
Balanced Action and newtons third law of physics
Balanced action reminds me of Newton’s Third Law of Physics: "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction".
Every yoga pose is like an experiment. Sometime the experiment goes well, sometime not so much. No matter how the experiment goes can we still bring a soft, playful and compassionate presence.
There is a big difference between action and leaning. When you use action, you push and cause the body to integrate, hugging into the mid line. When you lean you put weight onto a limb, which causes a collapse in the body. When you have an action, when you hug in, you will automatically get a reaction, a lift in another part of the body. Finding this out in yoga is groovy. This gives you yet another aspect of your experience to anchor your attention to. Helping you to be aware of your yoga = “yoking”, marrying the poses together in such a way to bring about a revelation, of connecting to your blissful essence, of aligning your body, mind, and spirit with the divine.
According to Newton’s Third Law of Physics "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction". This scientific fact is great to keep in mind as we conduct our asanas. We can monitor the quality of our experiments by being aware of the opposite reaction. Since the opposite reaction is present it means we are performing our action properly
Examples:
1.Anjaniasana: In our lunge we want to be pressing the ball of the back foot down into the matt and forward so much that the back thigh floats up slightly (femur bones back).
2.Plank: In plank we have two actions that cause two reactions. First the hands push into the floor so firmly that the chest lifts and secondly the balls of the feet press forward and down so the thighs lift.
3.Parvrita Utkatasana: Twisting chair pose, let’s say we are hooking are left elbow to the outside or our right knee and we bring our hands to anjali mudra. You want to tuck the tail bone slightly to the kidneys lift, and you want to press the elbow into the thigh so firmly that the ribs move away from the thighs and the left side of the belly moves more toward the right.
4.Bakasana: Three actions and three reactions. First, you are pressing into the floor so firmly the chest lifts. Second, you squeeze the elbows toward each other so the mid belly lifts. Lastly, you press the knees into the arms and hug into the midline so that the low back lifts.
Balanced Action and newtons third law of physics
Balanced action reminds me of Newton’s Third Law of Physics: "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction".
Every yoga pose is like an experiment. Sometime the experiment goes well, sometime not so much. No matter how the experiment goes can we still bring a soft, playful and compassionate presence.
There is a big difference between action and leaning. When you use action, you push and cause the body to integrate, hugging into the mid line. When you lean you put weight onto a limb, which causes a collapse in the body. When you have an action, when you hug in, you will automatically get a reaction, a lift in another part of the body. Finding this out in yoga is groovy. This gives you yet another aspect of your experience to anchor your attention to. Helping you to be aware of your yoga = “yoking”, marrying the poses together in such a way to bring about a revelation, of connecting to your blissful essence, of aligning your body, mind, and spirit with the divine.
According to Newton’s Third Law of Physics "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction". This scientific fact is great to keep in mind as we conduct our asanas. We can monitor the quality of our experiments by being aware of the opposite reaction. Since the opposite reaction is present it means we are performing our action properly
Examples:
1.Anjaniasana: In our lunge we want to be pressing the ball of the back foot down into the matt and forward so much that the back thigh floats up slightly (femur bones back).
2.Plank: In plank we have two actions that cause two reactions. First the hands push into the floor so firmly that the chest lifts and secondly the balls of the feet press forward and down so the thighs lift.
3.Parvrita Utkatasana: Twisting chair pose, let’s say we are hooking are left elbow to the outside or our right knee and we bring our hands to anjali mudra. You want to tuck the tail bone slightly to the kidneys lift, and you want to press the elbow into the thigh so firmly that the ribs move away from the thighs and the left side of the belly moves more toward the right.
4.Bakasana: Three actions and three reactions. First, you are pressing into the floor so firmly the chest lifts. Second, you squeeze the elbows toward each other so the mid belly lifts. Lastly, you press the knees into the arms and hug into the midline so that the low back lifts.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Why practice yoga?
(I have been organizing my yoga documents on my computer and I have discovered a few blogs that I never posted, so here is one :))
In Anusara you study yoga for two main reasons:
1. To know more. This is called chit in Sanskrit. To know more has to do with muscular energy (drawing the muscles to the bone, drawing from the periphery along the core lines of the body toward the focal point, and drawing from the periphery to the midline) knowing more, deepening your consciousness is related to Shiva and masculine energy.
2. To be happy! How wonderful. This is called ananda meaning bliss, delight, joy. To be happy is similar to organic energy (extending out from the midline toward the periphery, softening the skin, and extending out from the focal point along the core lines). It is choosing to expressively share our beautiful uniqueness with others. Ananda, being happy and expressive is related to Shakti the feminine energy.
Anusara yoga is about remembrance. Remembering that at our core we are part of this one auspicious energy. We remember chit and ananda at the beginning of every class when we sing the Anusara invocation “sat chit ananda”.
I love this wonderful practice rooted in the non-dual Shiva-Shakti tantra philosophy rooted in intrinsic goodness. I love this, the idea of doing something so we may know more, and so we may be happy. May we choose to use every experience in our life to gain more knowledge (chit) so we may live and align more fully with grace, and to bring us more happiness. It is easy to write this and make it sound easy but it is important to remember that chit and ananda takes a lot of hard work. It requires tremendous amounts of tapas (heat) and adhikara (studentship, if you want to learn more about adhikara read my previous post http://authenticselfyoga.blogspot.com/2010/02/adhikara-studentshipthe-5-elements-of.htmlI). Even though this practice demands discipline and hard work, it sure does make for one fun journey and I am continuing to discover much ananda and chit.
In Anusara you study yoga for two main reasons:
1. To know more. This is called chit in Sanskrit. To know more has to do with muscular energy (drawing the muscles to the bone, drawing from the periphery along the core lines of the body toward the focal point, and drawing from the periphery to the midline) knowing more, deepening your consciousness is related to Shiva and masculine energy.
2. To be happy! How wonderful. This is called ananda meaning bliss, delight, joy. To be happy is similar to organic energy (extending out from the midline toward the periphery, softening the skin, and extending out from the focal point along the core lines). It is choosing to expressively share our beautiful uniqueness with others. Ananda, being happy and expressive is related to Shakti the feminine energy.
Anusara yoga is about remembrance. Remembering that at our core we are part of this one auspicious energy. We remember chit and ananda at the beginning of every class when we sing the Anusara invocation “sat chit ananda”.
I love this wonderful practice rooted in the non-dual Shiva-Shakti tantra philosophy rooted in intrinsic goodness. I love this, the idea of doing something so we may know more, and so we may be happy. May we choose to use every experience in our life to gain more knowledge (chit) so we may live and align more fully with grace, and to bring us more happiness. It is easy to write this and make it sound easy but it is important to remember that chit and ananda takes a lot of hard work. It requires tremendous amounts of tapas (heat) and adhikara (studentship, if you want to learn more about adhikara read my previous post http://authenticselfyoga.blogspot.com/2010/02/adhikara-studentshipthe-5-elements-of.htmlI). Even though this practice demands discipline and hard work, it sure does make for one fun journey and I am continuing to discover much ananda and chit.
Friday, June 4, 2010
new mantra: Experience
I just got back from enjoying 5 long lovely days in the desert of Moab Utah. It was wonderful. When I first got there I was so happy to be in the desert (the desert is one of my favorite places ever), however I couldn’t stop thinking. I kept thinking and worrying about yoga, family, and all this other stuff. I thought “why I am on a vacation? I want to submerge myself in the essence of nature. Why can’t I let go of this attachment to my thoughts?” I then thought of the word experience. This word became my mantra for the rest of my trip.
When I was busy worrying, thinking, obsessing over these thoughts in my mind I wasn’t experiencing the moment, the moment that was unfolding right then and there. I wasn’t aware of my breath, the posture of my body, or the feelings of my life force energy (prana) pulsating inside me. When my mind was racing around like a ball bouncing around in a pin ball machine, I felt distracted, empty, not full, and not super happy. So I would pause and experience the precious moment that was unfolding. I would feel the breath moving in and out. I would notice the way I was holding my body, I would notice how the energy (the prana) was moving through my body. I would then adjust my body, enhance the quality of my breathe so I could fell full of vibrant energy. I did this my whole trip. As I sat and meditated, ate, hiked, talked, danced…anything and everything. I kept thinking and saying “experience”. Experience the touch of sun and breeze on my skin. Experience the sounds and smells. When I shifted my focus it doesn’t mean that all that other stuff that was preoccupying my mind no longer existed, it just meant that I wasn’t hooked to the thoughts.
My husband plays lots of video games and in some of his games he has to train. For example he takes his advatar to this training area and he practices shooting his bow and arrow. There is a little monitor in the side of the screen that displays his skill level and the more he practices these skills the better he gets. Then when he leaves the training area his bow and arrow skills are more finely tuned and he does better in the real game situation. When I saw this I thought this is yoga!
We train on our yoga mat to practice experiencing the essence of ourselves. We start by sitting down on our mat. We experience our breath, posture, prana, and mind. From there we move through some warm ups. Can we keep experiencing what is happening within every pose and within ever transition? Can we notice when we get hooked by inappropriate thoughts and bring our awareness back to what is actually happening? We then move into more challenging poses. Can we stay with the experience as we use more strength and endurance. The more we practice experiencing what is happening in each moment on the mat, the more we increase our ability to be able to experience the present moment off the mat and to the real obstacles we encounter on our path.
I have a lot of people say to me “I can’t do yoga, I can’t mediate I just can’t stop thinking.” Yoga is not the stopping of thinking, but it is the learning not to get overly hooked by your inappropriate thoughts. I say inappropriate because thoughts are helpful, and allow us to express our freedom, but when we worrying, stress and picking at inappropriate thoughts is when we get hooked. Instead of getting hooked by every thought that comes into your mind can you just be aware. Can you think to youself “I am thinking but at the same time I can feel my breath, my body, and my spirit?” Can you be so aware that you can distinguish between an appropriate thought that allows you to connect to life and handle the challenges more fully, and can you choose to let go of the inappropriate thoughts that don’t serve you? When you are thinking, can you keep a connection to your heart, body, and energy?
I love this “experience” mantra so much. I used it so much in the desert. I hiked to this beautiful river that was secluded and peaceful and I started thinking for probably 30 minutes about other things, I was just distracting myself by overly thinking and planning. I then realized what I was doing and I paused. I thought experience. Experience what is happening right now. Hear the water, the birds, feel the sun and the breeze, feel the breath and the body. I kept laying there for over an hour and it was wonderful. I felt so full of energy so vibrant yet a sense of calmness. This is the feeling tone I am trying to create through the practice of yoga, a sense of alertness and vibrancy and at the same time a sense of peace and ease.
One of the classes I taught we focused on the theme experience. For the UPA (universal principles of alignment) we focused on experiencing the inner (expanding) spiral of the back leg and the outer (contracting) spiral of the front leg, here is the sequence:
*AMShigh runners lung
Tadanasana, urdhva hastasana, uttanasana, ardha uttanasana, Lunge, AMS, vinyasa, uttanasana, tadanasana
Tadanasana, urdhva hastasana, uttanasana, ardha uttanasana, Lunge, virabhadrasana 2, AMS, vinyasa, uttanasana, tadanasana
Tadanasana, urdhva hastasana, uttanasana, ardha uttanasana, Lunge, virabhadrasana 2, reverse virabhadrasana, AMS, vinyasa, uttanasana, tadanasana
Tadanasana, urdhva hastasana, uttanasana, ardha uttanasana, Lunge, virabhadrasana 2, reverse virabhadrasana, modified utthita parsvakonasana, utthita parsvakonasana, virabhadrasana 2, AMS, vinyasa, uttanasana, tadanasana
Virasana (eyes closed experence)
Ams, ardha chandrasana, virabhadrasana 3 prep, **urdhva prasarita eka padasana, virabhadrasana 3, virabhadrasana 1, AMS
Malasana, bakasana 3X
Tadasana, garudasana legs, hands in anjali, arms reach up, full garudasana, virabhadrasana 3 with garudasana arms, virabhadrasana 1 with eagle arms, virabhadrasana 1, uttanasana, tadansana
Malasana, bakasana
***Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (active legs squeeze toward midline, reach up)
Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (with quad stretch, mermaid style)
Janushirasana
****Matsyasana (with knees bent soles of feet on floor)
Supta twist
Shavasana
Sanskrit words translation
*AMS (Adho Mukha Svanasana, Downward Facing Dog Pose)
** urdhva prasarita eka padasana (standing splits)
*** Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (pigeon)
**** Matsyasana (fish)
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Reiki
I haven’t mentioned this a lot in my blog because it is new to me and I am still trying to experience it. I have however, been studying reiki for quite some time. “Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing.” It is administered by "laying on hands" and is based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy" (prana) flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one's "life force energy" is low, then they are more likely to get sick or feel stress. If ones “life force energy” is high, they are more happy, healthy and vibrant. Reiki is the laying on of hands and it is using your hands to move, enhance and cleanse the energy in your body bringing health, peace, and vitality.
About 6 months ago I got my first attunement. The first attunement means I was attuned to the prana or ki (life force energy). This attunement gave me the ability to channel the life force energy to use for self healing. I planned on doing my second attunement shortly after my first, I even scheduled an appointment with my friend, but it didn’t feel right at the time. That is one thing I love about reiki. I feel like my intuition has gotten deeper and more connect to my authentic truth. Right before I left to go camping on Tuesday, situations and grace alignment and my beautiful friend Allison, gave me my second attunement!
The second attunement was really cool! Not only can I heal myself but I can do treatments on other, and I also learned symbols to make the energy and healing more powerful! Reiki attunements open and expand the prana-holding capacity or the energetic body and clear any energy blockages. The attunement opened a channel for the Reiki energy to flow from me to a client. The more I practice using Reiki the clearer and stronger the flow becomes.
After getting my first attunement I have been doing treatments to myself, but only when I felt I needed it. Over one month ago I started doing daily treatments. It is really cool to see myself grow as a reiki practitioner. My intuition is getting more sensitive, I am learning to feel where my hands should be and how long my hands should be over certain parts of my body. When I was camping I did lots of self treatments, it was wonderful I would leave the camp and hike to a rock and sit down mediate and hen perform a reiki session. I felt so vibrant the whole trip. Sometimes I imagine my body as a cub that contains life forces energy, which is like water. Sometimes, especially when I was distracted I felt like my cup was empty (even though I know it never is) however after doing reiki I felt so full of energy, of prana, as if the water (prana) was overflowing my cup (body). This is such a great feeling! Sometime it would make my eyes water, and I would think, this is me at my essence! This is how I should always feel!
I also did a few treatments on my friends. I mainly practiced on my fabulous friend Steph and I thank her so much for sharing her wonderful, phenomenal, beautiful energy with me. Performing a reiki treatment demands presence. You have to be present in order to experiencing what is happening. You have to be open to the moment, allowing the energy to flow and be sensitive so you know when to move and when to stay from position to position. I felt my hands warm, and my clients would comment on my warm hands (it’s funny because my first reiki treatments I always thought that my teacher’s hands were also warm). At my hands I felt powerful energy either sucking or pushing energy in and out, but instead of this energy just coming from my hands I felt the energy coming from behind my shoulder, as if the energy was being drawn from the sushumna (the central energy channel that runs up and down the spine) behind by heart.
My life is a wonderful journey. I feel so lucky for all the opportunity and pains that have happened in my life because it has brought me here. I can’t wait to see where my journey leads me, and I am so happy to share my experiences here on this blog. Thanks for reading.
(PS. If you happen to be in Utah I am providing reiki for trade or pay what you can, I would love the opportunity to share this with others, please contact me kachelis@hotmail.com)
Resources
http://www.reiki.org/faq/whatisreiki.html
http://healing.about.com/od/reiki/a/reiki_two.htm
skepticalteacher.wordpress.com
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Kanchukas and intrinsic goodness
We have freedom in our life. We have the freedom to choose how we want to live our life. We also have the freedom to choose our perspectives. We can choose to be negative, we can choose to pick at everything and point out and notice the bad, but we are also free to choose another perspective. We can choose to be positive; to see the goodness in life. We can even choose to see that everything in its essence is intrinsically good. We can choose to look at the brightest side of every situation. (I wrote a story of Shiva and perspectives Perspectives are powerful.)
Maya uses 5 different cloaks (kanchukas) to try to hide the beauty and intrinsic goodness of life.
Maya: the differentiating power of the universe, it makes us see the one as being separate.
The 5 Kanchukas= cloaks:1.Kala: limits omnipotence (Kriya, relates to action of the 3 A’s), creates limited agency or the capacity to act. Makes you feel like you can’t do it.
2.Vidya: limits omniscience (jnana, relates to alignment of the 3 A’s)) creates limited knowledge. Makes you think you don’t know enough, that you have inadequate knowledge.
3.Raga: limits fullness of heart (iccha, relates to attitude of the 3 A’s) creates desire and longing to be full again.
4.Niyati: limits omnipresence freedom of creative power and expression (Shakti) creates fabric of Space, and the energetic tapestry of causality. Limits the individual expression. We think this causes this and this causes this and that we are too small to participate in the destiny of life.
5.Kala: limits eternal awareness (Shiva) creates time, and the sense of sequential awareness.
My metaphor about maya and her use of the kanchukas:
The kanchukas are mayas way of hiding the beauty and goodness from us. I like to imagine every situation fits into a big glass box and in the middle of the box there is a beautiful shinning light of goodness, this light is Param Shiva (the highest energy). Maya uses these cloaks, like five pieces of cheese cloth fabric of 5 different colors, that are sown together to make one big sheet. Maya then throws this big sheet over the box (the situation), so you can still see the light shining out of the box through the cheese cloth fabric but the light is distorted from the cheese cloth fabric so you can’t see the total truth, the intrinsic goodness of life. For example the kala section of this cloak shines all the light through it accept it limits omnipotence. So you can’t see that you do have the power and capacity to act. The vidya fabric shines all the light through but it doesn’t shine out that you have full knowledge, it limits omniscience. The raga swatch doesn’t show you that your heart is full, so it creates a longing in you so that you can be full again. When really you are full but maya has thrown on this fabric that makes you think you are empty. The niyati fabric shines all the beauty through the cheese cloth except your freedom, so you think that you don’t have freedom of creative expression. The last cloak maya uses is kala and it doesn’t let you see that you have eternal awareness.
How do the five kanchukas fit into intrinsic goodness?
We can acknowledge that these cloaks exists that in every situation, we can acknowledge that maya uses these 5 cloaks (kanchukas) to hide how great life is, how great we are. We can choose to look for the goodness that does shine out in any given situation. We can remember that there is more goodness under her cloaks, but we just can’t see it yet, but we can still no it is there.
How can we use the Kanchukas to see the beauty and intrinsic goodness of life?
Whenever we experience one of these kanchukas like omnipotence, omniscience, emptiness, omnipresence, and lack of awareness we can remember that these are just cloaks that maya uses to hide the full beauty (shri) and goodness from us. We can use the kanchukas to remind us of the intrinsic goodness of life. The kanchukas spell out limitations and they also give us the opportunity to make up our mind on how to behavior which allows us to express our freedom. They also give us an opportunity of discovery. The cloaks also allow us to experience situations at the appropriate time. They cloaks provide an opportunity for revelation at appropriate times. It is like Ganesha the elephant headed god, he is both the remover and the placer of obstacles so we can experience things when we are prepared to and not before. We can see through more and more of the cloaks the better we perform our studentship (adhikara) and we will gain appropriate wisdom on our evolutionary path.
Maya
Maya creates these categorize of illusion and brings about the appearance of difference. She hides the truth of oneness. It is easy to see maya as this horrible thing hiding beauty but she is doing it so we can delight in the goodness, so we can see and experience more. If we saw goodness everywhere, all the time we would get used to it and not be so delighted with the beauty. It is like when we get sick. I know whenever I am healthy I am not always thinking how grateful I am for my health, but when I get sick I remember and appreciate my health so much and then for a week or two after I was sick I live with gratitude for my health and how great it is that I am not sick. But over time I get used to my health and I am less grateful because it is so constant. It takes these cloaks of maya so we can delight and embrace the beauty
I found these resources very helpful:
http://tantra.tribe.net/thread/05d265ed-18b3-4e05-a88f-ff9c4f23ccb6
They Anusara Immersion Packet, by John Friend
Adam Ballenger and the wonderful individuals in my immersion group.
Maya uses 5 different cloaks (kanchukas) to try to hide the beauty and intrinsic goodness of life.
Maya: the differentiating power of the universe, it makes us see the one as being separate.
The 5 Kanchukas= cloaks:1.Kala: limits omnipotence (Kriya, relates to action of the 3 A’s), creates limited agency or the capacity to act. Makes you feel like you can’t do it.
2.Vidya: limits omniscience (jnana, relates to alignment of the 3 A’s)) creates limited knowledge. Makes you think you don’t know enough, that you have inadequate knowledge.
3.Raga: limits fullness of heart (iccha, relates to attitude of the 3 A’s) creates desire and longing to be full again.
4.Niyati: limits omnipresence freedom of creative power and expression (Shakti) creates fabric of Space, and the energetic tapestry of causality. Limits the individual expression. We think this causes this and this causes this and that we are too small to participate in the destiny of life.
5.Kala: limits eternal awareness (Shiva) creates time, and the sense of sequential awareness.
My metaphor about maya and her use of the kanchukas:
The kanchukas are mayas way of hiding the beauty and goodness from us. I like to imagine every situation fits into a big glass box and in the middle of the box there is a beautiful shinning light of goodness, this light is Param Shiva (the highest energy). Maya uses these cloaks, like five pieces of cheese cloth fabric of 5 different colors, that are sown together to make one big sheet. Maya then throws this big sheet over the box (the situation), so you can still see the light shining out of the box through the cheese cloth fabric but the light is distorted from the cheese cloth fabric so you can’t see the total truth, the intrinsic goodness of life. For example the kala section of this cloak shines all the light through it accept it limits omnipotence. So you can’t see that you do have the power and capacity to act. The vidya fabric shines all the light through but it doesn’t shine out that you have full knowledge, it limits omniscience. The raga swatch doesn’t show you that your heart is full, so it creates a longing in you so that you can be full again. When really you are full but maya has thrown on this fabric that makes you think you are empty. The niyati fabric shines all the beauty through the cheese cloth except your freedom, so you think that you don’t have freedom of creative expression. The last cloak maya uses is kala and it doesn’t let you see that you have eternal awareness.
How do the five kanchukas fit into intrinsic goodness?
We can acknowledge that these cloaks exists that in every situation, we can acknowledge that maya uses these 5 cloaks (kanchukas) to hide how great life is, how great we are. We can choose to look for the goodness that does shine out in any given situation. We can remember that there is more goodness under her cloaks, but we just can’t see it yet, but we can still no it is there.
How can we use the Kanchukas to see the beauty and intrinsic goodness of life?
Whenever we experience one of these kanchukas like omnipotence, omniscience, emptiness, omnipresence, and lack of awareness we can remember that these are just cloaks that maya uses to hide the full beauty (shri) and goodness from us. We can use the kanchukas to remind us of the intrinsic goodness of life. The kanchukas spell out limitations and they also give us the opportunity to make up our mind on how to behavior which allows us to express our freedom. They also give us an opportunity of discovery. The cloaks also allow us to experience situations at the appropriate time. They cloaks provide an opportunity for revelation at appropriate times. It is like Ganesha the elephant headed god, he is both the remover and the placer of obstacles so we can experience things when we are prepared to and not before. We can see through more and more of the cloaks the better we perform our studentship (adhikara) and we will gain appropriate wisdom on our evolutionary path.
Maya
Maya creates these categorize of illusion and brings about the appearance of difference. She hides the truth of oneness. It is easy to see maya as this horrible thing hiding beauty but she is doing it so we can delight in the goodness, so we can see and experience more. If we saw goodness everywhere, all the time we would get used to it and not be so delighted with the beauty. It is like when we get sick. I know whenever I am healthy I am not always thinking how grateful I am for my health, but when I get sick I remember and appreciate my health so much and then for a week or two after I was sick I live with gratitude for my health and how great it is that I am not sick. But over time I get used to my health and I am less grateful because it is so constant. It takes these cloaks of maya so we can delight and embrace the beauty
I found these resources very helpful:
http://tantra.tribe.net/thread/05d265ed-18b3-4e05-a88f-ff9c4f23ccb6
They Anusara Immersion Packet, by John Friend
Adam Ballenger and the wonderful individuals in my immersion group.
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