Awake and Grateful (November 2024 Newsletter)
In a conversation, an acquaintance, retired from work, said they were in a place of suspended animation where they did not know whether to sink or swim. It must be a very frightening place to be where one doesn’t know whether to sink or to swim or whether, in fact, they are sinking or swimming.
It is nature's way to allow everything to move at a pace that is comfortable - neither rushing along, nor dallying but maintaining a steady rhythm from day to day. The seasonal changes in nature are at an easy, comfortable pace. One cannot hurry nature nor stop it in its tracks.
This natural state helps all beings develop just like everything around us is growing. It recognizes the season of growth, that of ripeness and then a season of slowly moving into a restful phase of dormancy.
There is no struggle to change anything.
The important thing is to recognize and fall in step with what happens in our environment and within each of us.
We must be or become active participants in our own lives, whatever stage we are in. At the same time, be present to the simple pleasures of life, be in constant gratitude, because really we have plenty and more than enough for this moment. Float along with joy.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Namasté,
sipra
Calendar
Sunday, November 3: Daylight Saving Time ends - a chance to sleep in!
Tuesday, November 5: Election Day - virtual classes only
Saturday, November 16, 1:30 PM: Yoga Nidra Workshop
Thursday, November 28, 11 AM: Free Thanksgiving Day Yoga; all other classes cancelled
Friday, November 29: Studio closed for Black Friday
Intentionally Simple (October 2024 Newsletter)
It takes just one person to walk away from the crowd and go his own way to be noticed. I cannot help but think of Mahatma Gandhi as one such personality. It is his birthday on October 2, and it is with him in mind that the topic this month is Intentional Simplicity. Gandhi was a lawyer with a degree from England's Inner Temple. He reverted from a showy lifestyle and focused instead on more important matters such as helping the downtrodden (the untouchables) in India and then the untouchables in South Africa. He returned to India for the freedom fight against the British. Shedding all outward signs of materialism, he is known as one of the leaders who dressed in handwoven, undyed cotton, and actively led India to freedom with a simple nonviolent movement of resistance, known as Satyagraha, resisting all things that were imported including the adopted British lifestyle.
It takes just one person to walk away from the crowd. By doing so, they show strength, purpose, direction and above all intention. This leads to a conscious, conscientious and self-directed spiritual movement led by one’s conscience, which is the Spirit. Then they can begin to live purposefully and within an environment that is free from artificial complexities and consumerism, which lead to life that becomes progressively more stressful.
We are each unique and uniquely gifted. Let’s each find our own way to voluntary simplicity. Who are you?
Namasté,
sipra
Calendar
Friday, October 18, 7:30 PM: Jewelry Making Workshop
Monday, October 21, 7:30 PM: Self Care with Ayurveda
Thursday, October 31: No evening classes for Trick or Treating
Sunday, November 3: Daylight Saving Time ends - a chance to sleep in!
Saturday, November 16, 1:30 PM: Yoga Nidra Workshop
Thursday, November 28, 11 AM: Free Thanksgiving Day Yoga; all other classes cancelled
Friday, November 29: Studio closed for Black Friday
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this and THAT… (September 2024 Newsletter)
This is where I am
That is where I am going.
This is who I am
That is who I want to be.
This is life as I have known it till now.
That is as it turns out each Fall; the season of
Goodbye, AU REVOIR and see you soon.
This is never That
THIS is always changing, while
THAT never does.
THIS is NOW
THAT is the ever-vibrant energy that pervades all and EVERYTHING.
And is never not present in the present tense.
THAT is never THIS.
THAT is beyond anything that can be described or is material/matter
No words can describe, no words can express.
THAT is nothing, no thing,
THAT is SAT, CHIT, ANAND.
Truth, Consciousness, Bliss.
AHAM SAA
I am THAT, I AM, I…
Namasté,
sipra
Calendar
Tuesday, September 17, 7:30 PM: Lecture: Yoga Knowledge in Translation
Monday, September 30, 7:30 PM: Self-Care with Ayurveda
Friday, October 18, 7:30: Spiritual Jewelry Making Workshop
Saturday, November 16, 1:30 PM: Yoga Nidra Workshop
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Ebb and Flow (August 2024 Newsletter)
Our life flows on without stopping for a single moment much like water which cannot stand still and instead is always looking for a new outlet. That is natural for all liquids and for all of us. It is nature. We are filled with moving flows within us - water, breath, nerves and energy. All those moving parts left untrained and uncontrolled make us crazed and anxious. In the Tao Te Ching it says, “There is nothing in the world more soft and weak than water, yet for attacking things that are hard and strong there is nothing that surpasses it, nothing that can take its place”. Be soft, be gentle, be flowing. Allow all these energies to move you. As it is, with power and strength and allowing our thoughts to lead us, the reckless mind constantly directs us all the time, even in our dreams. What shall we do about it? Do nothing. Learn to allow for silence and stillness. Meditate with no thoughts of achievement or gain. Sit silently, walk silently. Look around at the splendor of the world that surrounds us. Allow your thoughts to come and go. Pay no attention to them. Put away the device for a part of each day. It is as insidious as the wayward mind. From the Tao again, "Activity conquers cold, but stillness conquers heat. Purity and stillness are the correct principles for mankind."
Namaste,
sipra
Photo Credit: Diane Sorensen
In sipra's backyard is this little statue of Buddha covered in moss and vines, sitting placidly through all kinds of weather.
Re: the Prefix RE (July 2024 Newsletter)
Photo Credit: Tai Pimputkar
In summer, can we forget the stresses that are unique to winter and springtime? In terms of snow, ice and cold, yes indeed! But each season has its own way to make us feel uncertain, and sometimes fearful. Weather or otherwise, when we are fearful, we fall into a pattern of fight or flight behavior which adds to the stress and makes us act irrationally in a way we would not, had we been calm and relaxed.
I often suggest you build a rhythm to your day that keeps you stress-free no matter what. Be your own light, says a shloka or saying in Yoga. Atma deepaha bhabha. ॥ आत्म दीपो भव:॥
How do we do this? Another shloka from Gautama Buddhahas the answer:॥ मौनं सर्वार्थ साधनम् ॥ Fix all your problems with silence.
In practical terms, find some appropriate words beginning with the prefix ‘re’. Some good examples would be
Recap, Restore, Rebuild. Then repeat these three thoughts with Recall. Each time you think through a thought in this order, when recalling you will find that the content changes as you cycle through the repetitive thoughts going through your mind. As always, I suggest you use no apps and no devices to help you create the silence. It takes patience and practice. You will love the resulting ability to slide into a space that is weather free, people free and thought free.
Namaste,
sipra
Love (June 2024 Newsletter)
Photo Credit: Tai Pimputkar
Memorial Day marked the end of the uncertainties of winter and spring weather, and the relatively quiet pace of life for many of us. It changes right after Memorial Day and suddenly it’s summer. But first we should think of what we memorialized on this long-awaited day. We are of course remembering all the exceptional qualities of those who have served the country in war and kept it safe in times of peace. Deep down within their hearts they all have in common one supreme driving force, that of LOVE. Not all of us do or can serve the country by joining the armed services or other entities that keep the peace. But it is love that makes us perform small and big gestures of love. The point I try to make here is that the supreme test of love is sacrifice. One gives a little or gives a lot. In love there is no judgement, no weighing, no condition, no expectations, and no thinking. The essence of love is an act or a restraint from action that is spontaneous, simple and immediate.
love is a place
by e e cummings
love is a place
& through this place of
love move
(with brightness of peace)
all places
yes is a world
& in this world of
yes live
(skilfully curled)
all worlds
Please note that the odd structure, spelling, lack of punctuation, and odd grammar are not typos. Hence a brief background on E. E. Cummings is appropriate in this article. It might make you seek out and read his works. You will find it worth your while. Cummings was a poet, playwright, artist, author, and professor at and from Harvard; he was also an ambulance driver in World War I. His experiments with language were well known in his time, i.e. most of the 20th Century. His language experiments are known for odd spellings, grammar and a general disregard for 'cute' language as it was termed. His intent was to shred it to bring out the heart and soul of the English language, and indeed he did.
Show love. Share love. Give love and accept love.
Happy summer and stay safe.
Sincerely and in peace,
sipra
Peace is Cooperation, Focus and Meditation (May 2024 Newsletter)
Photo Credit: Tai Pimputkar
Peace is not easy to come by. Sustained peace for one, for all, or for society as such does not exist. That is not to say that peace is not possible. If we work at it, it can and it does happen, however sporadically. We must distinguish between peace that the individual can create and feel for themselves, and the peace that we all work together to create. In a few days, it will be Cinco de Mayo. As you know, it is a remembrance of a war won by 2,000 Mexicans against 6,000 troops using no training at all but working together with cooperation, goodwill, friendliness, supporting each other with compassion.
Working together requires cooperation. How would we define it in yogic terms? As usual, we can turn to Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. In his first chapter describing the way to self-realization he expands on cooperation.
Check out Chapter 1, Samadhi Pada, verse 1:33 to 1:39 regarding cooperation. To be able to live and work together we have to be able to control our minds. Therefore, the first method deals with consistent and ongoing meditation on four types of attitudes towards people. They are friendliness or ease in a relationship, compassion or support, happiness or goodwill, and neutrality or acceptance of those one may not like (1.33). Does this sound like cooperation? It is.
Patanjali’s wisdom is a practical path to finding one’s identity, within the illuminated mind! He gives clear instructions as to how to become that transcendent Self. As always, Patanjali’s methods are as simple and applicable today as they were around 400 CE.
Lastly, he suggests learning to focus on whatever you find pleasing and useful as a point of focus. Perhaps a flower or a scene. There are additional verses on meditation, how to develop it and practice it consistently.
Stick with it. Easy to say, but worth it however difficult it may be to maintain a regular practice.
Sincerely and in peace,
sipra
Find Your Peace Within (April 2024 Newsletter)
Image: Photograph of a Russian canal boat from the Prokudin-Gorskiĭ collection at the Library of Congress.
At the end of our yoga practice, we finish up by chanting, “Om, shanti”. Shanti means peace. It is the very first requirement in accepting ourselves with humility. How can we be at peace with others if we are not at peace with our own selves. To know oneself means to stop, look and listen. The subconscious mind has thoughts and behaviors that we do not pay attention to, or analyze, but act on regardless. Start with cleansing your own thoughts first.
Catch yourself when negative thoughts start. All negative thoughts are violent, because they take you away from that space of calm relaxed contentment. In a sense, it is self-injury. Ahimsa paramo dharma. (Ahimsa is non-violence, Paramo means supreme, and dharma means moral law or to support right behavior.) In the Sanskrit language, अहिंसा परमॊ धर्मः
How do we do that? Simple and yet so hard! Be focused. Be aware. Be present. Presence is attentiveness to what’s going on around you and in you. Watch your breath. Breathe normally but watch your breathing for about three minutes. Slowly deepen the breath, moving from a superficial in and out the nose to moving it deeper into the lungs. Try for three minutes. Go deeper yet into the belly. Three more minutes. While doing this breathing technique, place one hand on your heart and the other on your belly.
Om Shanti ॐ शान्तिः, शान्तिः शान्तिः
Sincerely and in peace,
sipra
Step Forward, Leading Up (March 2024 Newsletter)
With every passing season we revisit the thought, “Am I headed in the right direction?” At times we are uplifted by our choices and direction, and at other times we can’t believe that we just meandered off the path we were on and impulsively went where the wayward crowd was headed. No matter what, it is all a part of the life experience. This is important! Every step we take is leading somewhere. If performed in good faith, it is onwards. The important thing is, what did I gain today that I did not have yesterday? Move on then, step by step in complete honesty. "For the Gods see everywhere."
It's easy to be distracted and sometimes difficult to return to living in the present moment untouched by the things that distract us. Stay in the moment. It will not return.
The Builders by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
All are architects of Fate,
Working in these walls of Time;
Some with massive deeds and great,
Some with ornaments of rhyme.
Nothing useless is, or low;
Each thing in its place is best;
And what seems but idle show
Strengthens and supports the rest.
For the structure that we raise,
Time is with materials filled;
Our to-days and yesterdays
Are the blocks with which we build.
Truly shape and fashion these;
Leave no yawning gaps between;
Think not, because no man sees,
Such things will remain unseen.
In the elder days of Art,
Builders wrought with greatest care
Each minute and unseen part;
For the Gods see everywhere.
Let us do our work as well,
Both the unseen and the seen;
Make the house, where Gods may dwell,
Beautiful, entire, and clean.
Else our lives are incomplete,
Standing in these walls of Time,
Broken stairways, where the feet
Stumble as they seek to climb.
Build to-day, then, strong and sure,
With a firm and ample base;
And ascending and secure
Shall to-morrow find its place.
Thus alone can we attain
To those turrets, where the eye
Sees the world as one vast plain,
And one boundless reach of sky.
Sincerely and in peace,
sipra
Photo Credit: Sipra Pimputkar
Sometimes Love Hurts (February 2024 Newsletter)
Photo Credit: Tai Pimputkar, taken in Connecticut
We celebrate in February the shifting sun which, it seems, is slowly approaching us, getting brighter and warmer, and at this thought the world rejoices. We notice the birds and the tiny shoots of early spring plants beginning to make their appearance along with so many other creatures. We are all eagerly waiting to see what Buckeye Chuck, Ohio's weather forecasting groundhog, will predict for the next six months on February 2. Will it be sunny and warm or wintry and cold? It appears that if the current trend were to continue, we might expect warmer than usual temperatures. What does this have to do with yoga or Yoga-Well-Being or your life? In fact, quite a lot.
The Isha Upanishad states, "Covet nothing. All belongs to the Lord. Thus working may you live a hundred years. Thus alone will you work in real freedom." Recognizing that all that surrounds us is provided by the Self, (That which is forever, the designer of nature and all life), for the self (I, who am the fortunate recipient of life). We must bow to nature and protect it. The world around us cannot survive the constant onslaught on nature and the environment. Deforestation, pollution of land and water bodies, the continued break down of the natural ozone barrier that protects us from the harmful radiation of UV rays of the sun, endless trash production resulting from packaged goods...these are some of the things hurting and killing natural life. Extinction is a sad word to have to use in this month's newsletter which should be full of love, but it has already started happening at an accelerated rate. Nature is love, nature is life.
Please nurture nature. Do the simple nature preserving things, and know your conscience is clear.
What can we do about it? We have heard about this repeatedly for more than half a century, yet we still continue to create garbage. Find simple ways to avoid all that packaging around foods, cosmetics, clothes and everything else. Stop using aerosol sprays. Can we not request stores and businesses to make it simpler? We can start small. Reuse what you can, turn down what you cannot. Learn to compost, use recycling when you can.
Learn what your locality recycles and how to properly dispose of hard to recycle items. (The city of Columbus has many useful resources for its residents; other municipalities have similar guides.)
Many enterprising individuals and businesses are successfully preventing further damage to the environment through creative use of stuff no one wants. Find them. Help them help make it better.
I'm excited to see the new series An Optimist's Guide to the Planet with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, on streaming starting February 8, as it promises to tell stories of people making a difference, all around the globe.
By making it a daily endeavor to live well, you will also love well. Feel secure, safe and nourished from the sweet contentment of doing the right thing and enjoying its fruit. That is love. Love yourself and all others. Be present, look around, see and hear. Be still and be silent now and again. Life is actually quite easy and simple and full of love. Lovely!
Sincerely and in peace,
sipra