The French Philosopher Pascal said that all human happiness comes down to the ability to sit still in a room alone.
Why do you think that is?
We're together on this one.
The simple act of sitting by yourself without distraction. Distraction from what?
(Where ever you go there you are)
Yourself. But maybe more than that. Maybe just what is. A percentage yourself and a percentage the world around you. The very amorphous moment that is now. Contact with this gives an unexplainable sensation of peace. Quietude. Continuance.
I once heard that if you don't find sitting still interesting, than sit for longer. 5, 10, 15, 60 minutes... things become more interesting. True that! I strongly recommend that you try it.
Sitting still for elongated periods shifts your awareness from the gross to the subtle. Yoga shifts your awareness from the dense to the refined and ethereal. Yoga shifts your awareness from your external sense environment to the internal environment of your mind body matrix. Once this is established and explored it expands you back out into your environment- without losing your awareness of the inner world. Then you are moving in two directions. Expansion happens. Amplification. Vertically you are ascending to your natural potential and horizontally you are interconnected with others and the earth the way you innately know you can be. Openness happens in the mind and body. You can be in a relationship that is harmonious with yourself and the other. Give/receive, love/be loved, inhale/exhale.
Sitting still for elongated periods you can help you to be more in tune with your body and mind. Where do the thoughts come from? Where do they go? Can you do this without thinking about the proper answer or what someone else would say? Can you not only feel the skin but the flesh? The place in your chest where your heart is... in front of the spine and behind the sternum? Can you feel it beating? Can you be in tune with one single cycle of inhale and exhale? Which nostril has a more open channel for air? Which lung expands more freely and is it related to the weight on your sitting bones?
How interesting.
While sitting with your eyes closed you don't care about what you look like or about what others think of you... and it is not like you don't care because you are too smart or good to care about such things, but just because you actually DON'T CARE. The way you FEEL is much more interesting and enthralling.
Who knew?
I was hiking up a trail the other day and I ran into a nice gentleman and we struck up a conversation about yoga. He was telling me how he really wants to get back into yoga but the type of class he was looking for was specific. He really hates it when the teacher asks the students to feel the relationship of their anus to the roof of their mouth. He just wants a good stretch.
No judgement on that! A good stretch is an amazing experience!
However, these things may seem silly at first but with a bit of practice they seem completely valid and interconnected to the state of the asana. If you can feel the dome of your perineum and the dome of your palate and their striking similarities... chances are you are not entangled in a cluster of tricky thoughts that are distracting you from the moment- and from actually living your life.
And.... (this is all stuff I need to be reminded of, so when I'm talking about you I am not pointing any fingers, I'm really talking about us)
Maybe the next time you go to the store you will actually remember those eco reusable bags. And you won't forget that really nice person's name. (Doh!) And when you are listening to someone tell their story of sadness you will be totally present with them and will give them the space to tell it. And when you are angry with someone because your own agitation levels are in the red, you will take a deep breath and not say the nasty little thing that is on the tip of your tongue. When you are climbing you will be absorbed in the upward flow without thinking of falling. When you are riding or skiing or biking you will hit the tranny without hesitation. When you are hanging out with your child you will understand the primal, ready and uninhibited ways of an innocent youth... without getting angry. When you have an interaction with an animal you will be able to speak to them without uttering any sounds.
Hmmmmm.
And you won't take yourself too seriously for making any mistakes if you slip up... you'll know they are in the past, which has no business in the present moment - that you can observe as you sit still in a room alone.
Lydia
Asana Tip for the Day (Inspiration from Patricia Walden):
In Salamba Sarvangasana (Shoulder Stand) press the OUTER shoulder down into the mat. Press the outer elbow down into the mat.
Be aware of the shoulder blades and press them onto your back so the upper spine curls in to the space behind your heart. Don't let your middle back be dead in the posture. Lengthen strongly the latissimus dorsi muscles on both sides and sharpen your inner leg so it journeys UP to the ceiling.
Spread your toes and soften your facial muscles.
Lift your chin a small amount so that there is a space between the back of your neck and the floor and the C7 is lifting away from the floor ever so slightly.
Breathe.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Authenticity - Who am i??
Whoa - that's a big question? But perhaps a good one??
On some levels seeking an authentic human experience should be easy, we are after all human, so aren't all of our experiences authentic??
Maybe...but there is something innocent inside of each of us that intuitively knows certain experiences are deeper and more meaningful.
They effect us into our core.
Certain conversations that are more from the heart then from the head.
Some days we are more present in our lives then others,
Filled with a sense of purpose and freedom
Accepting fears and flaws without fleeing into avoidance of truth.
Humbled by the harshness and magnificence of the world.
Breaths are deeper,
postures flow beyond analysis or judgment.
Stillness is everywhere.
I accept that the depth of these experiences shines in comparison with a world that challenges us daily with consumer culture, media, small-talk and an excess of intellectual analysis.
But, in accepting that, I am also striving to daily dive deeper into real experiences that deepen my human experience. I believe this is a conscious choice and even within the world of yoga one we need to be mindful of.
Recently i've been reading and listening to the ponderings of an inspiring yoga teacher Michael Stone (centreofgravity.org). Below is a quote from his recent book, The Inner Tradition of Yoga.
"The heart of yoga is the cultivation of equilibrium in mind and body so that one can wake up to the reality of being alive, which includes not just joy and health but impermanence, aging, suffering and death. A yoga practice that excludes the shadows of illness or aging cuts itself off from the truths of being alive. Similarly, a practice that focuses exclusively on physical culture and the performance of yoga poses at the expense of psychological understanding and transformation is a one-sided practice. Without the balanced practice of all eight limbs, and a path rooted in the first limb (morals and ethics) especially, yoga practice can easily become another form of materialism."
I'll leave you with that for today, more soon! I'm off to another workshop with Rameen Peyrow - this time here in Canmore. Sattva is the name of the workshop, perhaps the title of my next writing...three weeks till i head west, getting really excited for the coast and the little studio which will soon come to life!
chanti
sarah
On some levels seeking an authentic human experience should be easy, we are after all human, so aren't all of our experiences authentic??
Maybe...but there is something innocent inside of each of us that intuitively knows certain experiences are deeper and more meaningful.
They effect us into our core.
Certain conversations that are more from the heart then from the head.
Some days we are more present in our lives then others,
Filled with a sense of purpose and freedom
Accepting fears and flaws without fleeing into avoidance of truth.
Humbled by the harshness and magnificence of the world.
Breaths are deeper,
postures flow beyond analysis or judgment.
Stillness is everywhere.
I accept that the depth of these experiences shines in comparison with a world that challenges us daily with consumer culture, media, small-talk and an excess of intellectual analysis.
But, in accepting that, I am also striving to daily dive deeper into real experiences that deepen my human experience. I believe this is a conscious choice and even within the world of yoga one we need to be mindful of.
Recently i've been reading and listening to the ponderings of an inspiring yoga teacher Michael Stone (centreofgravity.org). Below is a quote from his recent book, The Inner Tradition of Yoga.
"The heart of yoga is the cultivation of equilibrium in mind and body so that one can wake up to the reality of being alive, which includes not just joy and health but impermanence, aging, suffering and death. A yoga practice that excludes the shadows of illness or aging cuts itself off from the truths of being alive. Similarly, a practice that focuses exclusively on physical culture and the performance of yoga poses at the expense of psychological understanding and transformation is a one-sided practice. Without the balanced practice of all eight limbs, and a path rooted in the first limb (morals and ethics) especially, yoga practice can easily become another form of materialism."
I'll leave you with that for today, more soon! I'm off to another workshop with Rameen Peyrow - this time here in Canmore. Sattva is the name of the workshop, perhaps the title of my next writing...three weeks till i head west, getting really excited for the coast and the little studio which will soon come to life!
chanti
sarah
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Good Grooves
When deepening one's practice of yoga one penetrates or becomes aware of different layers in the psyche and the body. Like peeling back the skin of an onion to reveal another strikingly similar layer. Yoga is a psychosomatic practice, it pertains to the mind and the body. For example, a yoga practice may make one feel stress free, buoyant and bright, but may also make a person become painfully aware of a deeper layer of their psyche that contains guilt and embarrassment. When a person becomes more aware of themselves they start to become more aware of their surroundings and their impact on their surroundings. Similarly, a yoga practice may make someone feel like their hamstrings and shoulders become more pliable and supple, but this level of progress will expose deeper layers of restriction or weakness in the body... for example the achilles and the iliopsoas.
The restriction in the mind and the body in the form of patterning is referred to as Samskaras in Buddhism. Samskaras are the fundamental impressions left on an individual, which are acquired in the present and the previous lives through various experiences. These samskaras prove to be the coded form of the entire life of an individual.
Everything we do or think leaves an imprint. Samskaras are like psychological and physiological grooves or slide paths that become harder to break or cease flow of as they get stronger. We all know how hard it is to break addictive habits!
For example, I was making a ginger beet soup yesterday and I decided to chop the fresh ginger root into tiny pieces using my left and less dominant hand. I couldn't believe how awkward and difficult it was to chop 1/4 of a cup of the stuff. I strongly kept wanting to switch hands and I became a little agitated. While this process was going on I was just observing the way my mind reacted to attempting to break a physiological habit. The groove was very deep. It made me wonder what kind of psychological grooves I may possess that I am not yet fully aware of.
There is much work ahead for me.
No one has ever said there isn't a little pain on the path to freedom. But maybe the pain doesn't have to be YOUR pain or MY pain. Maybe it is just pain, and it is universal.
In each moment we have the choice to create another samskara (volitional formation) through dullness, negativity and habit patterning. We also have the choice of making a good groove (mental disposition) by just observing reality as it arises with awareness of our impact on others and the earth. We have the choice of making good grooves.
My experience thus far has been that as soon as I feel like I have "gotten somewhere" with anything pertaining to becoming more liberated in my experience of life there is another layer waiting to be explored and peeled back to expose another. Ambition to become enlightened could either leave me perpetually unsatisfied or it could be balanced with the wisdom that I can be free in each stage of the path by realizing the true and pure nature of perfect awareness without judgement or self reference. There may be steps to take, slowly and persistently, but freedom can be in each step and with each breath. The balance is tedious, and my mind continually wants to label and own things as they come up into my experience, but I feel the most progress when I appreciate and observe the small things and when I act for someone else's benefit.
The mind and body is a wonderful apparatus isn't it?
Speaking of which we went climbing in the sun today! The first pitches of the year... and I was free when I observed the sensation of the first sunlight hitting skin after a few long weeks of winter.
I hope you enjoyed it too.
The restriction in the mind and the body in the form of patterning is referred to as Samskaras in Buddhism. Samskaras are the fundamental impressions left on an individual, which are acquired in the present and the previous lives through various experiences. These samskaras prove to be the coded form of the entire life of an individual.
Everything we do or think leaves an imprint. Samskaras are like psychological and physiological grooves or slide paths that become harder to break or cease flow of as they get stronger. We all know how hard it is to break addictive habits!
For example, I was making a ginger beet soup yesterday and I decided to chop the fresh ginger root into tiny pieces using my left and less dominant hand. I couldn't believe how awkward and difficult it was to chop 1/4 of a cup of the stuff. I strongly kept wanting to switch hands and I became a little agitated. While this process was going on I was just observing the way my mind reacted to attempting to break a physiological habit. The groove was very deep. It made me wonder what kind of psychological grooves I may possess that I am not yet fully aware of.
There is much work ahead for me.
No one has ever said there isn't a little pain on the path to freedom. But maybe the pain doesn't have to be YOUR pain or MY pain. Maybe it is just pain, and it is universal.
In each moment we have the choice to create another samskara (volitional formation) through dullness, negativity and habit patterning. We also have the choice of making a good groove (mental disposition) by just observing reality as it arises with awareness of our impact on others and the earth. We have the choice of making good grooves.
My experience thus far has been that as soon as I feel like I have "gotten somewhere" with anything pertaining to becoming more liberated in my experience of life there is another layer waiting to be explored and peeled back to expose another. Ambition to become enlightened could either leave me perpetually unsatisfied or it could be balanced with the wisdom that I can be free in each stage of the path by realizing the true and pure nature of perfect awareness without judgement or self reference. There may be steps to take, slowly and persistently, but freedom can be in each step and with each breath. The balance is tedious, and my mind continually wants to label and own things as they come up into my experience, but I feel the most progress when I appreciate and observe the small things and when I act for someone else's benefit.
The mind and body is a wonderful apparatus isn't it?
Speaking of which we went climbing in the sun today! The first pitches of the year... and I was free when I observed the sensation of the first sunlight hitting skin after a few long weeks of winter.
I hope you enjoyed it too.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
For my Mother
Hello everyone, and happy new year!
It has been a while since i've written - so inspired but lost for words of how to describe the gift of life and learning. I've also been busy, settling back into the Rockies after an amazing holiday with my family in Ontario. Just over a month in these mountains, surrounded by a wonderful community that has given me so much. I am enjoying every moment!
And, within each moment i am becoming more and more excited for the new adventure in Squamish.
Tomorrow is my mother's birthday.
If i could give her a hug and walk by the lake with her i would, but with provinces between us - i'll share my love for her below.
Gifted with grace, openness and a true passion for life she teaches me each and everyday.
In love with her garden
her books, her family and her children.
So much so that i often wonder when she makes time for herself.
Amazed by the simplicities of this often overly complex world.
Patient and so unconditionally giving of her love and her energy.
Over the holidays someone commented that we would turn our heads for a moment and my mom would have another gourmet meal on the table.
Yoga is so much about surrender to the truths of being alive.
And within surrender is absolute freedom.
So many of the lessons i am humbled by in this life my mother embraces in a simple, modest way.
Friend, mother, sister and lover - you are so beautiful.
I love you.
The photos are from the time i spent by Lake Ontario with my family over the holidays.
Thank you to all of you for being such an inspiring part of my life.
Family can mean so many different things to different people. Either way, it is the people who are closest to us that can teach us the most about ourselves in relationship to this world. As long as we have ears to listen??
love to all of you!
Sarah
p.s. Our website is all updated, feel free to check it out and share your thoughts. www.theyogastudiosquamish.com - less then two months until our opening weekend!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
There is no Secret Ingredient
Have any of you ever seen Kung Fu Panda? (The movie)
I was just hanging out in Toronto with Sonnie's 4 nieces and nephews and had the opportunity to watch it. WHAT A GREAT MOVIE.
Well, 2008 is coming to a close. Sonnie and I got home from the airport yesterday to a car that wouldn't start. We spent all day looking for a new vehicle in Vancouver and conversing with seemingly desperate and mildly pushy car sales people. Today we are going to do the same. I guess it is a logical end to the year... to trade in the car and lease a new one. This will be the first NEW car I've ever driven. Not to mention the first 4 year commitment I've ever made- save my commitment to Sonnie. We bumped into a friend on the way to the city and she commented on the decision... "sign of growing up,) she said.
All the travel, turkey and wrapping paper made my head a little fuzzy. I'm pretty happy to simmer down into my life as it is again and hear the noise fade to a pianissimo. Christmas is really about the kids. Even though it was a little hectic with long nights in the airport, and capricious weather that had everyone not knowing (could that be bad?) I found it nice to go a few days without thinking of myself very much.
The first time I went to India I was with my dear friend Mindy. We spent New Year's Eve together and both chose a word that we would contemplate and come back to throughout the year to come (instead of a New Year's Resolution). I chose commitment that year. It proved to be a year with less doubt, more direction and a decisiveness that I was looking for. The next year Mindy chose my word. Lucky. I found myself in Bangalore, India, with Sonnie, at 3 am in the morning on Jan. 3rd, after 36 hours of traveling, and staring at our hotel sign that was blinking and sputtering in the dark and rat infested streets. It read "Lucky Hotel".
I knew it would be a good year.
This year Mindy will send me a word and I will also choose my own. My word will be Sonnie. A name, yes, but a very good one.
What will yours be?
If you feel like sharing please post.
And remember, there is no secret ingredient... you just have to believe.
So much love to all of you that read and share. This is going to be a good year.
Lydia
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Two heads are better then one....the dream continues!
Happy holidays to you all!
It's Sarah and Lydia writing together, amazing!
We've spent most of the past week drinking tea, brainstorming, registering The Yoga Studio and crunching numbers for the startup of the new adventure...we've also taken long snowy walks, sat still, practiced with Ron Reid and Micheal Stone, laughed till our stomachs ached, enjoyed amazing food and played scrabble way passed our bedtimes.
We've also been loving the company of the Cooper's Hawk (we think?) that seems to have taken a liking to my parents property.
It is so amazing to be together!
Two heads are indeed better then one.
As I write, Lydia is searching for grant applications on the internet so that we can reduce the start-up costs of this project. If anyone has any suggestions of grants that may apply to a yoga studio dedicated to community building and environmentally conscious living please let us know.
Mostly we wanted to write and let you all know that we thank you for your support and hope that you have a wonderful white holiday season. We heard on the news that this is the first time in over four decades that all Canadians, coast-to-coast, will enjoy a white Christmas - what an amazing country we live in!!?
Also, check out our new updated website - www.theyogastudiosquamish.com
so much love.
sarah and lydia.
It's Sarah and Lydia writing together, amazing!
We've spent most of the past week drinking tea, brainstorming, registering The Yoga Studio and crunching numbers for the startup of the new adventure...we've also taken long snowy walks, sat still, practiced with Ron Reid and Micheal Stone, laughed till our stomachs ached, enjoyed amazing food and played scrabble way passed our bedtimes.
We've also been loving the company of the Cooper's Hawk (we think?) that seems to have taken a liking to my parents property.
It is so amazing to be together!
Two heads are indeed better then one.
As I write, Lydia is searching for grant applications on the internet so that we can reduce the start-up costs of this project. If anyone has any suggestions of grants that may apply to a yoga studio dedicated to community building and environmentally conscious living please let us know.
Mostly we wanted to write and let you all know that we thank you for your support and hope that you have a wonderful white holiday season. We heard on the news that this is the first time in over four decades that all Canadians, coast-to-coast, will enjoy a white Christmas - what an amazing country we live in!!?
Also, check out our new updated website - www.theyogastudiosquamish.com
so much love.
sarah and lydia.
Friday, December 12, 2008
A dream to share....
Hey all,
It's been a while since i've posted so a big hello to all of you who are joining and reading from time to time.
And, thankyou for your support!
Another winter storm has arrived in Canmore. This storm is coming from the north and is bringing a deep freeze - temperatures aren't supposed to rise above minus 20 all weekend. I suppose it's a good excuse to cuddle up by the fire and read or watch a movie. I am currently roasting root vegetables and making squash soup to enjoy with Scott over this chilly weekend...
As the opening of The Yoga Studio in Squamish approaches, I am pondering lots of ideas around what yoga has brought to my life and what I am inspired to share with people on this path. I have always been attracted to deep, real human relationships and this practice exposes and challenges me to more honestly relate to myself so that in turn i can better relate and open myself to the world (both people and places!).
In more ways then i can know, yoga is about relationship...and if it's not, then what is it teaching us?? To put our legs behind our heads??
It is clear that there are deeper dimensions to the practice but i think it is important to ask ourselves often...and to be honest about how this 'yoga' is enriching our lives?
Making us more open to growing?
Less attached to patterns within ourselves that hold us back -
towards truth and honesty with ourselves and the world around us?
This is the yoga i really want to share with people. The physical yoga practice is a path to liberation in the body, which so many of us have been imprisoned by at some point in our lives. And, I love to teach and share about learning's i've had in my own asana practice as a gateway to a deeper sense of truth.
But, as the holidays approach, I am thinking lots about family and friends. And I am inspired to share gratitude with the community that makes up my life. Thank you all so much for making my life so wonderful and for teaching me in the ways that you do.
The yoga of the holidays for me will be walking by the lake with my family,
staring into the eyes of my lover,
sitting down to beautiful meals prepared by my amazing mother,
listening to my sister play the guitar,
playing chess with my brothers and my dad,
embracing my oldest friend and her new son, Grae
and breathing deeply with gratitude for this life.
I head east on Monday to meet up with Lydia in Toronto.
Together we will breath, laugh and learn on this new path as business owners.
We are so excited to spend some time putting energy into the vision we share.
A dream of creating a space,
A passion for sharing community and real relationships
- with people and places in this world.
So much love to all of you over the holidays - enjoy the moments!
sarah
It's been a while since i've posted so a big hello to all of you who are joining and reading from time to time.
And, thankyou for your support!
Another winter storm has arrived in Canmore. This storm is coming from the north and is bringing a deep freeze - temperatures aren't supposed to rise above minus 20 all weekend. I suppose it's a good excuse to cuddle up by the fire and read or watch a movie. I am currently roasting root vegetables and making squash soup to enjoy with Scott over this chilly weekend...
As the opening of The Yoga Studio in Squamish approaches, I am pondering lots of ideas around what yoga has brought to my life and what I am inspired to share with people on this path. I have always been attracted to deep, real human relationships and this practice exposes and challenges me to more honestly relate to myself so that in turn i can better relate and open myself to the world (both people and places!).
In more ways then i can know, yoga is about relationship...and if it's not, then what is it teaching us?? To put our legs behind our heads??
It is clear that there are deeper dimensions to the practice but i think it is important to ask ourselves often...and to be honest about how this 'yoga' is enriching our lives?
Making us more open to growing?
Less attached to patterns within ourselves that hold us back -
towards truth and honesty with ourselves and the world around us?
This is the yoga i really want to share with people. The physical yoga practice is a path to liberation in the body, which so many of us have been imprisoned by at some point in our lives. And, I love to teach and share about learning's i've had in my own asana practice as a gateway to a deeper sense of truth.
But, as the holidays approach, I am thinking lots about family and friends. And I am inspired to share gratitude with the community that makes up my life. Thank you all so much for making my life so wonderful and for teaching me in the ways that you do.
The yoga of the holidays for me will be walking by the lake with my family,
staring into the eyes of my lover,
sitting down to beautiful meals prepared by my amazing mother,
listening to my sister play the guitar,
playing chess with my brothers and my dad,
embracing my oldest friend and her new son, Grae
and breathing deeply with gratitude for this life.
I head east on Monday to meet up with Lydia in Toronto.
Together we will breath, laugh and learn on this new path as business owners.
We are so excited to spend some time putting energy into the vision we share.
A dream of creating a space,
A passion for sharing community and real relationships
- with people and places in this world.
So much love to all of you over the holidays - enjoy the moments!
sarah
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