Archive for Bhagavad Gita

September 2020 Yoga & Qigong Classes; Honoring First Responders on Labor Day; Yoga – Ballet Bear

Dear Friends and Family,

On this Labor Day, I would like to especially honor all those who continued to work on the front lines during the pandemic: our nurses, doctors, medical staff, grocery workers, sanitation workers, firefighters, police officers, transportation employees, elected officials, delivery workers, farmers, building staff, news reporters, teachers, government officials, mail carriers, merchants, and so many more! When most of us were and still are to a certain extent, staying home and social distancing, these workers were the lifeline for all of us. The 7 pm clapping for our essential workers was so uplifting and I don’t believe ever done before – even after other crises. In our modern culture that generally worships celebrities and sports figures, it is wonderful to see the general population appreciating every day folks – these are the people who we truly need and rely on, but generally don’t get the credit or respect they deserve. I hope we can continue this level of appreciation for every day folks, and realize we are all equal no matter the amount of social media followers we have or money in the bank. After all, it is not the job or role we have that counts, it is how we conduct that job, the way we show up in the world, and the integrity with which we perform our jobs and roles in society.   

For some related inspiration from the ancient yoga text The Bhagavad Gita, these quotes are still relevant in modern times:

“SHOW GOOD WILL TO ALL Be fearless and pure; 
never waiver in your determination or 
your dedication to the spiritual life. 
Give freely. Be self-controlled,
sincere, truthful, loving, 
and full of the desire to serve.“ 

“Seek refuge in the attitude of detachment and you will amass the wealth of spiritual awareness. The one who is motivated only by the desire for the fruits of their action, and anxious about the results, is miserable indeed.” 

_________________________________

On another note, I thought you would appreciate my forest visitor who has no problem balancing in yoga tree pose/ ballet retirer position while eating all our bird food!






My tree pose was not standing on the deck poles, so I have deep respect for this feat! Although we loved our fascinating visit, and I am not boring of the videos I took, the bird feeder will now go into hibernation – long before this teddy bear does! 🙂

 

See you in class soon I hope!

Happy 2016, and Setting Daily Intentions Rather Than New Year’s Resolutions

Wishing everyone a peaceful, happy and healthy New Year!

I am away this last week in December 2015, and will be taking a writing course New Year’s weekend at Kripalu Yoga Center in the Berkshires. Hopefully, I will learn how to deal most effectively with writer’s block and procrastination – traits I have been experiencing since college and law school! Can anyone else relate to these issues?

In part, I believe that for me, both writer’s block and procrastination stem from old, deep-rooted patterns of perfectionistic goals – ideals which of course, run counter to all that is taught in yoga; i.e., that the journey is more important than the result; that yoga is an exploration of the self, and not a perfect pose (“asana”); that we value the means, over the ends; and as the Bhagavad Gita teaches, it is the integrity of the process that is most important, and thus to let go of attachments to the outcome.

If you, like me, were raised in a traditional Western upbringing, these concepts are antithetical to messages we received at both home and school. Westerners tend to be very results and achievement oriented. I came from that type of background, coupled with the perfectionistic standards of a professional ballet training from a young age.

When I first read the Gita (Eknath Easwaran’s edition) in my first ever yoga teacher training, it was life-changing. I was amazed at how the concepts written about thousands of years ago, still directly applied to our lives in the the 21st Century. I still have to remind myself that staying in the present moment and enjoying the process, as well as valuing the process, is paramount.

Results cannot be controlled, as they are often beyond our mortal individual powers. But we can have control over the integrity of the process, and then let go of attachments to outcomes. Speaking and acting from a center of truth (“satya”) in seeking an environment that is just, peaceful, and non-violent (“ahimsa”) for all is a yogic ideal; we don’t know if that ideal will ever manifest in our lifetimes, yet that unknown does not negate the importance of those sattvic actions and state of being.

Many people create New Year’s resolutions, but often finding they are unable to fulfill those resolutions, become disappointed with themselves. Resolutions tend to be overly ambitious and focused on an unrealistic result, rather than small, step-by-step intermediary goals.

Before teaching the asana portion of all my yoga classes, I like to offer students and myself the opportunity to set an intention for the yoga practice, the day, or further out in time. In this type of practice, we are basically setting mini-resolutions throughout the year that are practical, timely, and manageable. Maybe they are attainable, maybe they are not. The important thing is setting that intention, breathing into it, and then letting go of the attachment to the result.

If we do this type of practice throughout the year, I believe it obviates the need or desire to set unattainable New Year’s resolutions, such as “I will never procrastinate with my writing ever again.” Once a year resolutions that set us up for failure and disappointment may not serve a useful purpose; instead having an intentional daily or weekly practice throughout the year helps us focus on the process over results.

With that in mind, wishing you all the very best for 2016! May we continue to teach one another life’s myriad lessons and support one another in the process!

Nutcracker Ballet Arts