August 30, 2010

For those of us in the northern hemisphere, the dog days of summer have settled in with a big ole lazy heat wave. Who wants to move when the air is so heavy? Yoga class today? No, thanks, set me in front of my fan with an icy latte and a spicy novel. It’s good to slow down in the heat, even if that means giving ourselves permission to laze around.

At some point though, the novel ends, and the body calls for movement, despite the sweltering weather. Recent research shows SITTING to be a major culprit in health decline. So I’m heading to the studio, no matter how strong the sun is today. No matter how lazy my mind tells me that I am.

I’ve been working on supta padanghusthasana (reclining leg lift) which is a foundation pose. It’s a forward bend that is practiced lying on the floor with the back of the body completely supported. Even if my back is achy or slightly injured, I find I enjoy the stretch and release of this particular pose.

With both knees bent, I reach for the big toe of my left foot with the second and third fingers of my left hand. Those are the “peace sign” fingers for all you lovers of hamstring release. Stretching the left leg, reaching the toe pads toward the ceiling, lengthening the inner ankle bone up and away, I soften my shoulders, my hips, my belly, my face and gaze gently up at my big toe. Maybe I curl my mouth into a half-smile. Just for the heck of it and because I need to remind myself that I am inviting my hamstrings to release with non-forceful effort.

Sometimes I practice with the foundation foot pressed into a wall. It’s amazing how that can ground the femur. Then I can invite the groins to release deep within. Sending my awareness into the places I tend to hold and then slowly breathing into that area. The lifted leg slides a bit closer toward my shoulder. Perhaps I’m able to grasp that ankle today. The lower back responds to the stretch by softening and dropping. I imagine my brain dropping onto the back of my skull as my thinking slows.

And then, for fun, sometimes I practice while in legs-up-the-wall pose.

There are the variations, beginning with supta padangusthasana two: Turning the leg out from the hip so that the knee begins to look toward the floor, I draw the raised leg away from the body and up towards the shoulder.

Or Supta padangusthasana three which is not an official pose but delivers a strong stretch all the way around the hip. I swing the lifted leg back to the center; switch the hand  grasping my foot, and invite my body to roll onto the side as the foot drops onto the floor and I release the opposite arm away from me in a “T: position. With a strong exhale into the shoulder blades, I tuck the other shoulder under my body and release the upper hip away from the leg

MMMMMM, It’s all delicious.

Category: Home Practice, Life, asana | No Comments »
Tags: asana, back care, foundation pose, hamstring stretch, hip stretch, Home Practice, summer practice, supported forward bend, supta padangusthasana, yoga home practice

May 6, 2010

I love this delicious, colorful, and very healthful salad. It garners rave reviews at potlucks too.

The first time I made it, I hand grated everything. Wow. It took a LONG time. Now I use a food processor.

Don’t worry too much about exact amounts. I’m sure it’ll still taste delightful. The original recipe called for a handful of walnuts, but I prefer just veggies.

Since I’ve just finished reading Joel Fuhrman’s EAT TO LIVE and am embarking upon his nutritional plan, I think I’ll add some shredded cabbage next time. I’m on a quest to eat more leafy greens.

DIRECTIONS

1. Wash, peel, and grate 5 fresh beets, 5 unpeeled apples, 5 peeled carrots.

2. Add a handful dried cranberries (or raisins or currants)

3.Add a small amount – no more than a tablespoon of a sweetener to taste. Not sure this is really necessary though.

Category: Recipes | No Comments »
Tags: apples, beets, carrots, easy recipe, Eat To Live, raw food recipe, Salad, vegan recipe, vegetarian

April 30, 2010

Sutra 2.45: samadhi siddih isvara pranidhanat

Samadhi: contemplation. Siddih: power, accomplishment, realization. Isvarapranidhanat: through devotion to the Lord, positive behavior and the ritual act of devotion.

Contemplation and its powers are attained through worship of God. (trans. Bernard Bouanchaud, The Essence of Yoga)

A final Niyama or lifestyle guideline, focuses upon one’s relationship with the Divine.

Many undertake yoga class as a means of physical fitness or mental relaxation. And that it is. In time, however, yoga’s effects reach deep into our sense of self.

Though yoga itself does not espouse a particular religion, and though most practitioners would not consider themselves the least bit spiritual when they undertake yoga, hopefully, they will find seeds of a higher power or at least an inner life developing as they continue yoga asana and meditation.

Moment by moment, practice by practice, breath by breath, we learn to relinquish our boundaries and all that limits us in this world.

As we “grow” our awareness in asana or pranayama, and with what is happening in our body in space, we also start watching what our minds and hearts are up to! The energy of the others in the room feels almost physical. Slowly, we understand how our energy is interacting with the other folks’. How did we miss all this before? With new found certainty, we understand that we are more than the group of isolated individuals we once thought we were.

After class we stroll outside and notice the grounded energy of the trees and the vibrant, vibrating colors of the flowers along the path. There is a creek nearby that flows, imbued with an unseen force that is not exactly alive, nor dead.

If we are Christian, we begin to see grace everywhere.

We can feel the creek, the trees, the flowers as a sense of kinship develops. A little unsettling at first, this humming inside grows gently blissful. The heart center blossoms open and limitless.

We ARE yoga now.

Category: Spirituality, Sutra, Yamas & Niyamas | No Comments »
Tags: god, ishvarapranidhana, living yoga, niyama, Patanjali, Spirituality, yoga practices, Yoga Sutra

April 20, 2010

Yoga Sutra 2.44: svadhyayat ista devata samprayogah

Svadyayat: through reading and chanting sacred texts. Ista: desired, chosen. Devata: divinity. Samprayogah: union, fusion.

Union with the chosen divinity comes from the study of self through the sacred texts. (trans. Bernard Bouanchaud)

B.K.S Iyengar tells us in his Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali that “Traditionally, svadyaya has been explained as the study of the sacred scriptures and recitation of mantra, preceded by the syllable AUM (see 1.27-28), through which the sadhaka gains a vision of his tutelary or chosen deity, who fulfills all his desires.”

Barbara Stoler Miller in her Yoga, Discipline of Freedom, elucidates the function of mantra: “Through the repetition of and meditation on specific mantras, the yogi can commune with a chosen deity, who can then aid his spiritual practice.”

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Swadyaya—self-study—Sometimes an unwelcome task/sometimes an obsession.  If only I would learn everything I need to learn with each experience, but I never do and so I keep on repeating the lessons.

How is this sutra related to the practice of Tapas?

How important is it to work with a teacher or mentor? Will another person help me find clarity and guide me from possible self-destructive or egoistic tendencies swadyaya may induce?

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How do I define the canon of “sacred texts”? Is it static, ancient, or dynamic, evolving?

Donna Farhi, in Yoga Mind, Body & Spirit says that “Any activity that cultivates self-reflective consciousness can be considered swadhyaya.”

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How does knowledge of myself lead me to Divine knowledge and vice-versa, How does Divine knowledge lead me to understand myself? Is the Self a mirror? If so, what does it reflect?

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Bernard Bouanchaud asks us to ponder the implications of this sutra in the Modern Age: The Yoga Sutras were written in a time and culture that emphasized the sacred. Contemporary Western culture is secular and sacredness that does not conform to accepted religion is often rejected. In such a context, what word can replace “divinity” (devata) in this aphorism?

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Through meticulous attention on the sounds of the mantra, consciousness grows inward and focuses sharply. Further meditation on a chosen deity can provide a vehicle for insightful experience.This Niyama gives the yogin another powerful tool for transformation.

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Nischala Joy Devi in The Secret Power of Yoga suggests that this niyama challenges us to examine our beliefs and our attachment to our beliefs.She encourages us to allow our view of reality to grow and change as our hearts soften in practice.

There’s a parallel in zen meditation: I am not my thoughts. I am not my emotions. I am not my body.

Sutra 2.44 suggests that mantra and deity visualization can help us cut through long held beliefs.

Category: Sutra, Yamas & Niyamas | No Comments »
Tags: B.K.S. Iyengar, Bernard Bouanchaud, Donna Farhi, Nischala Joy Devi, niyamas, Patanjali, Self-Study, Swadyaya, yoga sutras

April 13, 2010

A Yogin’s Cuisine,

Recipes for Health & Happiness

This is my favorite new snack food. The entire family enjoyed them while we lived in Mumbai. Recently, I found a simple version in an Italian grocery store.

They fulfill my deep need to CRUNCH and a half cup thoroughly satisfies most snack urges.

After reading The Engine Two diet by Rip Esselstyn, we radically altered our diet in January 2010 . It’s  a low-fat vegan plan. Someone I live with was told that his cholesterol was so high; he’d need medication unless….We followed Rip’s program for a month and voila ~ M.’s cholesterol numbers came down.

Though nearly vegetarian before, we both felt great with less eggs, cheese, and milk and NO face-food anymore.Our bodies felt lighter and cleaner inside.

I didn’t lose any weight the first couple of weeks, but didn’t really expect to; I just wanted to improve my health. On the plan, I knew I was eating more variety, less salt, more fiber. And for some unknown reason, my water intake went way up!

Since, I DO need to lose some weight though, I decided to try Weight Watchers online (I detest meetings). Happily I found that there are vegetarians and even some vegans on WW! That helped me figure out portion sizes and also lent encouragement to my efforts. So far I’ve lost about twelve pounds. It’s not a huge amount, but it’s going in the right direction and I never feel as if I’m on a DIET. That’s a first for me. This is the way I plan to eat for the rest of my life.

After the first month where we were pretty strict vegans, we have settled into about 75% vegan-ism. Because of some female health issues regarding the estrogen/progesterone balance, I also wanted to limit my soy intake, so I felt small amounts of occasional cheese would be OK rather than basing too much of my diet on soy foods.

INGREDIENTS (the hot version)

1lb. dried chickpeas soaked overnight in a bowl of cold water

1.5 tsp. canola oil

2 tsp. cumin

2.5 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. cayenne powder

1/8 tsp. salt (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1) Rinse soaked beans well.

2) All all ingredients. Mix well.

3) Place single layer on cookie sheets (we use two).

4) Bake at 275 degrees for 1.5 – 3 hours or until crunchy, stirring occasionally.Enjoy the popping sounds as they cook.

The beans continue to cook AFTER being taken out of the oven.They grow crisper in the process, so be sure to take them out while still a bit softer than you prefer.

This recipe is easily varied. For instance, omitting the cayenne and chili powder yields a tasty version without the bite. Try serving them at your next party instead of chips and prepare for compliments.

R. makes them with Italian seasoning. I’ve yet to try that, but look forward to adding oregano and basil to my next batch. Am also thinking about trying to spice them Turkish-style with Zatar.

If they grow soggy, it’s easy enough to pop them back into the oven to re-crisp them.

Category: Recipes | No Comments »
Tags: chick peas, easy recipe, engine two diet, protein, snacks, spicy, vegan, vegetarian, weight loss

March 22, 2010

In Western New York, Spring, the mud-licked goddess of joy and rebirth, has floundered through the melting snows of March and found her way with the warmer, softer breezes, flowering snowdrops, and brilliant birdsong.

Neighbors are sweeping off salt-littered stoops and chatting in the street. All agree: it’s been a long, tough winter.

Mindfulness meditations can bring me right home into the season. I practice opening to what is happening during this, the most ephemeral of all seasons.  Sometimes I sit with a palm outstretched and filled with sunflower seeds for the chickadees.

Whether they land or not doesn’t matter. I’m offering and watching.

Sometimes the garden bench is the most inviting place in the world. I practice listening and find it much harder than watching. Doesn’t matter though. I continue and begin to feel as if life itself has slowed its push and shove. I am no longer a tacit observer of the environment, perched on the bench, waiting for life to begin. I feel the vibration of the sounds move through me. A slight shimmer passes inside my arms and I breathe through the heart center. I am no longer an alien entity; I’m a living being in an alive environment. A sense arises from deep in my spine that I’m home again.

Early spring meditation: Open a window or door, or even better, sit outside in a garden or park, tune your ears to a specific bird call and listen as long and as carefully as you can. If Mind wanders about in that spring restlessness, gently bring it back to the song. Just as you would observe your breath, observe everything you can about this particular song.

The rise and fall of the melody,

the loudness,

the harshness or softness,

the pitch,

the duration of the notes,

the repetition.

Can you hear other birds responding?

Can you feel the sound entering your ears?

What happens when your consciousness is attuned to your hearing, does that affect what or how you hear?

Invite the song to permeate your being.

Allow your life to become this birdsong. Where do you feel it?

Breathe.

Category: Life, Meditation | 2 Comments »
Tags: baby wren, barefoot photos, birdsong, early spring meditation, Meditation, mindfulness practice, Spring

March 14, 2010

Yoga sutra 2.43: kayendriyasiddhirasuddhiksayattaapasah

Kaya; the body. Indriya: the eleven sense organs, including thought. Siddih: power, perfection. Asuddhi: impurity. Ksayat: by the destruction, elimination. Tapasah: discipline, asceticism, austerity.

By eliminating impurity, a disciplined life brings perfection and mastery to the body and the eleven sense organs. (trans. Bernard Bouanchaud, The Essence of Yoga)

Tapas, the third yogic niyama, or code for living well, is another means for personal evolution. We don’t embark upon these practices for the sake of austerity or novelty or egoic gratification. T.K.V. Desikachar (The Heart of Yoga) stresses that Tapas must not cause suffering, “everything about tapas must help you move forward.”

Tapas is the inner fire or discipline which keeps the yogin practicing. Lethargy would be its opposite. One of the definitions of the word YOGA is “discipline,” so it’s easy to see how  Tapas is related to daily practice.

What is it that draws me to my mat day after day, year after year? It’s the fire that burns in my heart center, awakening a sense of embodiment that yearns for asana to express itself.

Yoga Scholar, Bernard Bouanchaud, asks us to consider the relationship between contentment, santosha which implies acceptance and Tapas, the fire that burns impurities. I’d ask, how then does Shauca, or purity itself affect or deepen the Tapasic experience?

A tidbit of trivia I learned from Wikipedia: One who undertakes tapas is a Tapasvin.

A primary purpose of yoga is to become aware of, to channel, and to utilize energy. Yoga can be considered a form of Tapas. Certainly it is integral to the yogin’s life. In Yoga Mind Body & Spirit, the popular teacher and New Zealand yogini, Donna Farhi says that, “Far from being a kind of medicinal punishment, tapas allows us to direct our energy toward a fulfilled life of meaning and one that is exciting and pleasurable.”

The other elements of the ashtanga yoga are inter-related practices. Pranayama and Asana help to stoke the fire. Pratyahara assists the Tapasvin in focusing the energy. Brahmacharya, the moderation of one’s vital energy, is a natural extension of Tapas. Its practice helps keep the heart fire bright and pure.

Farhi quotes Buddhist teacher, Pema Chodron,  “What we discipline is any form of potential escape from reality.”

It’s Tapas that helps me put some ooomph into a daily pranayama, so the practice does not become dull and listless. Tapas propels me and holds me on my dietary regiment. I pray for Tapas to light the flame of my teaching, service, and for inspiration for this blog!

Category: Sutra, Yamas & Niyamas | 2 Comments »
Tags: Bernard Bouanchaud, Donna Farhi, heart fire, Meditation, Nischala Joy Devi, niyama, tapas, yoga, yoga practice, Yoga Sutra

March 8, 2010

A Yogin’s Cuisine,

Recipes for Health & Happiness

This is an incredibly simple recipe from my childhood that I’ve adapted. It provides a fabulous and nearly fail-proof opportunity to introduce children to the culinary arts. In other words, invite them to make a mess in the kitchen.

NoBakes are best reserved for special occasions since the sugar content is beyond speaking about. It’ll cure any sweet tooth or chocolate craving.

Very adaptable to variations, such as using peanut butter or pecans instead of the walnuts, dried craisins or cherries for the raisins, adding a dash of amaretto or kirsch or, (I never tried this, though it sounds scrumptious, orange liquor) for grown-up tastes.

INGREDIENTS

3 c. oats

1 tsp. Vanilla

1 1/2c. walnuts

1 c. shredded coconut

1 s. raisins

1 c. cocoa

2 c. sugar

1 stick soy margarine

½ c. rice milk

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix oats, vanilla, & nuts together in a large bowl

2. Combine sugar, cocoa, milk, & margarine in a saucepan and bring to rolling boil

3. Pour the hot mixture over the oat mixture & stir until mixed

4. Drop by teaspoon on waxed paper or fill tiny paper cups for a more finished look if you’d like to serve them to company.

Refrigerate for about an hour. ..or Freeze. (You won’t want to wait for these!)

I found more than a half dozen videos of No Bakes on YouTube. This one is a non-vegan version and a first video from elysium 29. Great job girls!

Category: Recipes | 2 Comments »
Tags: children cooking, cocoa, coconut, cookies, raisins, recipe, vegan, vegetarian, walnuts

March 1, 2010

A Yogin’s Cuisine,

Recipes for Health & Happiness

Mike created this deliciously satisfying dish when I wanted “comfort food.”

It’s very nutritious with the beans, walnuts, and vegetables, tastes great with the sweetness of the raisins and squash, and it’s comforting without a lot of oil.

Try it next time you’re in a funk over dinner. It serves 4 and tastes wonderful the next day or two if there’s only one or two of you.

 

INGREDIENTS

1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed

1 Tbs. canola oil

2 -3 cloves garlic

1 onion chopped

2 stalks celery

1 green or red bell pepper

½ tsp. tumeric

1 ½ tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. cumin

¼ – ½ tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. ginger powder

1 can cannellini or garbanzo beans (15.5 oz.) drained

½ c. raisins

½ c. water

1 cup couscous

½ walnuts

DIRECTIONS

1. Saute squash, garlic, onion, celery, and pepper for about 10 minutes, stirring often.
2. Add spices and sauté while stirring for two more minutes.
3. Add beans, raisins, and water. Continue to cook on low heat until squash is soft.
4. Meanwhile prepare couscous according to directions, adding the walnuts.

Serve the Squash mixture over couscous. Garnish with sliced oranges if desired.

Category: Recipes | 2 Comments »
Tags: butternut squash, cannellini beans, couscous, main dish, vegan, vegetarian

February 23, 2010

gibbous moon slants

poems composed in darkness

feverish heart beats

Category: Meditation, Poetry, haiku | No Comments »
Tags: gibbous, haiku, moon, poems