Service with a Smile (May 2022 Newsletter)
Here’s a simple thought, easy to live with and execute if you can only do it all the time. Treat all your duties, chores, tasks like a walk in the park.
Each day and every moment, all the time offer every thought and action as a service. Offer service with a smile. Try it. Perform happily and be happy. It is the attitude of sattva (the attitude of calmness, balance, and harmony), as opposed to rajas (the energy of competitiveness, selfishness, and constant movement), or tamas (the tendency to behave negatively, unwillingly, acting or not in pain and sorrow).
Is your life a walk in the park? Can you make it so?
Namaste,
sipra
Alignment (April 2022 Newsletter)
Alignment in poses is essential for deriving the best benefits from a yoga class. After all, why do we practice yoga? For a good stretch, balance, strength, calm mind, good health, and well-being.
What is alignment in yoga? Alignment is the arrangement of the body into a pose where it feels comfortable, stable and at ease, but still working hard. It consists of fully using the entire body and the breath to execute each pose. Most poses should feel just a little beyond one’s comfort zone. How then is the pose comfortable and at ease? In Chapter 1, verses 10 to 15 of the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali states that yoga should consist of sustained practice without wanting or attachment till it becomes so firmly rooted in the psyche, physiology and morale that the conscious mind grows silent, non-reactive, and unattached to anything at all. This is alignment in the supreme cosmic sense! The feeling should linger long after class. It should last all the time.
Interestingly, when through regular practice one begins to align with the spirit, there is a sudden resistance and boredom with it all, and we drift away from the practice. Back to square one! Enlightenment isn't so easily forthcoming!
The photo makes this point clear. The grassy edge of the sidewalk is steady and unmoving (you might say it represents Purusha - That which is true and real, permanent and steady). The shadow of the fence (prakriti - you and I, who are always changeable and always changing,) slowly aligning and then drifting away. Oh, so close to the finishing line! Enlightenment is not so easily forthcoming!
Practice often, be consistent, and stick with it. Even if not enlightened, we can at the least live our lives in true freedom.
Namaste,
sipra
True Knowledge is Self Knowledge (March 2022 Newsletter)
Spring is fast approaching and is the season for windy days and nights that affect our respiratory tract and digestion. Take a teaspoon of honey each day. It's a good thing.
Most yoga classes address the oneness of all things and the non-separation of the subject that is me, from an object which is the other. In Yoga philosophy (Raja Yoga) all the ancient texts say there is only the One, unchanging and infinite. There is nothing apart from that which is the Ultimate or Brahman. All the things we see, hear, feel, experience is part of a changing and impermanent world that is not real. How can we know that this is so, and why should we believe it?
Advaita (non-duality) philosophy as this is called, is based on ancient classical texts, and argues that each person must discover this truth for themselves. It assumes nothing. It teaches you nothing. It expects you to follow no one, nor accept anything because you have been so directed.
The Nyaya school accepted four legitimate ways of obtaining valid knowledge. Six natural ways of knowing are accepted as valid means of knowledge (pramāṅa): perception (pratyakṣa), inference (anumāna), verbal testimony (śabda), comparison (upamana), postulates (arthapatti) and non-apprehension (anupalabdhi).
(See Patanjali's Yoga Sutra 1.7.)
The only one we need to consider is pramāṅa. Pramāṅas or the sources of true knowledge do not contradict each other and each of them presents a distinct kind of knowledge. Explore on your own the philosophies of the world and you will find they all agree on basic truths.
Inference and the other means of knowledge cannot reveal the truth of Brahman on their own. How can ‘inference’ be logical or scientific
Advaita recognizes that in addition to Śruti (revelation) it requires yukti (reason) and anubhava (personal experience) to perceive true knowledge and actualize knowledge of Brahman.
The reason for this serious article is to make you see that meditation is not simply closing your eyes and listening to nature sounds or having someone guide you through a meditation. It is work that needs to happen each day on one’s own. We invite you to check out two workshops on Transcendental Meditation or Mantra/Japa meditation. The term ‘Transcendental Meditation’ was popularized by the Beetles. Why don’t you try it too? It’s simple, focused and calming even if the yogic concepts are too esoteric.
Namaste,
sipra
Now and Beyond This is THAT (February 2022 Newsletter)
I was invited to teach a term-long weekly yoga class at a local middle school in the Hilltop area several years ago. It was an illuminating, reassuring and enlightening time. The first time I entered the classroom one of the boys jumped up on his desk, crossed his legs, rested his hands on his knees, closed his eyes and loudly chanted a long ‘OOOOMMM’. It was a promising start in a community where yoga is the least of their concerns.
Image credit: KittenBroEeev, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
In my classes I suggest a variety of ways to focus one’s attention, hoping that one of the many ways will resonate with each student. However, in the back of my mind is always the thought that perhaps we should stick to the simplest and most profound of mantras, chants, vibrations and what have you! The sound ‘Om’.
Om is the sound of silence. Om is the sound of the one hand clapping. Om is the vibration of the living Universe as it breathes. It is a steady pulsation just like a breath… on and on and on. Correctly pronounced it is exactly as it is written, ‘OM’. Known as anahat nada in Sanskrit, it means that it is a flow, vibration or sound (nada) produced without two objects being struck together as in a percussion instrument (anahat).
The sound is the combination of three sounds, A.U.M. ‘A’ represents one’s waking state and the physical body. It also represents the birth of sound, since sound and vibration are primary to all experience, as explained in 'First there was the Word'. It is the beginning or waking. ‘U’ represents the subtle body and the dreamless state of existence and represents life and living. ‘M’ is the ending drawn out sound which represents the causal body in a state of deep sleep, death, and other states beyond consciousness.
Note the crescent on top of the OM symbol, and pay special attention to the tiny dot that floats above it. The dot is known as turiya, literally meaning the 4th. The crescent divides this world of things that the senses can experience. All of this is maya or illusion. The 4th means it is beyond life and is true. It is the eternal Self, indescribable and beyond comprehension. There are no words for it!
How should it be sounded? Who knows? If we could describe it, it would be within the ambit of our senses, but it is not. We cannot describe what is beyond. But we can each experience it differently in color, light, echo and sound. Try it, stick with it. In yogic terms, it should be sounded all the time, and also as one takes their last breath so that they may gain enlightenment.
OM
Namaste,
sipra
Sale and Sail on... (January 2022 Newsletter)
It has been a year of being anchored in one place. Often stuck where we don't want to be. Moored without being able to move leaves us with muddled and muddied plans.
Have you created real action-oriented plans? Perhaps you don't have the final details, given the uncertainty that we still face due to COVID and its persistence and insidiousness. But it is not just the plans for the New Year that we need to have ready so that we can sail forward into the world of matter. We have another world we need to move forward into – that of the Spirit.
What I am saying today is generally repeated each month in my newsletter in some form. To me that is all we know and all we need to know. Grow the spirit, transform yourself into the Being full of loving kindness that you truly are. Give without thought of recompense, accept what others offer you with gratitude, a smile, and a bow. Morning, evening, and all day long pay attention to what you do, what you see, what you hear, what you feel and what you taste. Keep all your senses sharpened and honed. You are the kings and queens of your world, be worthy of that title. Be in a state of constant gratitude. Learn from varied sources that are wise, but don’t depend on them. We are fortunate to live at a time when all knowledge and wisdom can be easily accessed through technology and travel (when possible). Learn as much as as you can but don’t get caught up in one source/app or personality that seems to fulfill your needs at this moment. Don’t stunt your growth. Sail on…
New Year resolutions? So, what about them? After all those 30-day challenges that you have stressed over in the past, or felt elated on completing, has it really changed anything for you in the long run? If it has, good for you; if not, don’t go for it again. You want a new year free of stress. Don't try to sail upstream. You won't go anywhere, except perhaps backwards!
Happy New Year! It’s just another day if you really think about it. But it’s always good to have an occasion to get together and share a laugh or two.
Namaste,
sipra
Holidays! Take a Break (December 2021 Newsletter)
Thank you to Fourth Avenue Christian Church for hanging the wreath, and for all their kindness and generosity. The church, Pastor Ken Slenkovich, Tom Davis and family, and the congregation has made it possible for us to stay in our beautiful studio and in business, through these many months of shutdowns and slowdowns.
The end of the year is a time for gathering and celebrating. Gather with an open mind. Celebrate mindfully; every gift chosen with discernment and care; every hug meaningful and warm, every bite of food enjoyed fully by each mouthful. Accept whatever it is in the spirit in which it was meant.
When the selection, preparation and presentation are fully focused on, it becomes a meditation in itself. It is deep and soulful. It is quiet and heartfelt. In the Tantric sense - one of sensuality with all senses engaged - physical, mental and spiritual – it becomes self-absorbing, and an act of devotion. Find the rapture and the Union with your Real Self, let it become Samadhi (the union with the Divine).
Happy Holidays. May it be free of stress, full of good health, love, and laughter.
Namaste,
sipra
Choices and Calling (November 2021 Newsletter)
The strained smile of indecision
This month as we begin to settle into collecting our harvest, both literally and spiritually, we want to reflect on where we stand with respect to our own expectations. These quotes from Rumi, 13th Century mystic, perfectly sum up what I’d like to bring to you on your ‘Hopes’ and ‘Spiritual Calling’:
When you let go of who you are, you become who you might be.
Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.
What you seek is seeking you.
When you are engaged in work that inspires you, you become absorbed in the work and everything else becomes extraneous. Nothing else matters – none of the negativity around you sticks. It drips off like falling rain. You are left always doing your best each moment and always focused on just that.
The smiling face of joy and bliss
My dogs and I encountered these untouched arrangements of twigs, leaves, berries and pavement stains on a walk, and they fit this month's theme perfectly.
On the other hand, we are often in a job or relationship that leaves us incomplete and hoping for something better. We continue day after day, and year after year intending to change things and hoping to make it happen. ONLY YOU CAN CHANGE THAT! Before taking that first step in the new direction, do some soul-searching. Does the thought of doing something different recur constantly? It doesn’t go away, right? Well, that’s because it’s your calling. It doesn’t need to be anything grand or earth-shaking. It just is who you are, and what you need to be to blossom into who you truly are. Come on Angel, take flight!
Don’t burn your bridges right away but take that first step in the right direction. Step by step with commitment and dispassion (abhyasa and vairagya).
Namaste,
sipra
The Perennial Garden (October 2021 Newsletter)
Summer is at an end, and the flowers at the Park of Roses are in full bloom, just before the point where they keep on trying to bloom and simply over-bloom and shed their petals. But look! There’s a new little bud low down on the stem waiting its turn to bloom, but it may turn too cold by then and the little bud may never get to flower. Close by are other seasonal plants that are just getting ready for their own season of growth. I took this photo last week of the Perennial Garden at the Park of Roses in Northwest Columbus, where we meet for class on weekends. (You should try it. We will continue classes there as long as weather permits and the temperature remains above 55°F.)
The perennial garden is an allegory for our own lives. In constant bloom, in constant motion, so that it appears to be uninterrupted and perpetual. But everything is continually changing depending on the varieties planted. Do you have plants for every season so we can call it a true perennial garden? How do we nurture it, and how well and how often do we tend to it? Do we weed and cultivate it, or let it run wild?
It makes us think! Everything is everything and nothing is nothing. But then, everything is nothing, and nothing is everything. Of course, that means nothing is nothing. When you close your eyes, the garden is gone. Open your eyes, and there it is again. It was there all the time, but it’s changed just a little bit from a moment ago. That is the nature of the everlasting garden! It's always there in the external manifest world, just never exactly the same, but it's never there in the internal landscape of the spirit where it's always the same, season after season of life and life renewed.
At YWB we want to help you think about both external and internal perennial gardens to make them last forever. In Sanskrit अमर्त (amarta/amartya) means perennial, immortal. (There are many other words to describe this state.)
We hope you will consider the many ways to raise your spirit and refresh your body coming up this fall.
Kundalini Meditation workshops
Ayurveda workshops: from sowing the seed to making the it your best thriving garden.
Yoga Nidra meditation workshop
Living right makes for a good life.
Namaste,
sipra
A Tribute to Jeff Kohn
No matter when you were at YWB, you would never have met or heard of Jeff. On the other hand, you've probably taken class with his wife Janet Kohn, either virtually or in the studio. Jeff passed away last night after many years of struggling with pain. Through all his pain, he was always virtually attending classes just off screen, where he lay in bed, always humorous, cheerful and kind. Janet has always been by his side, smiling and optimistic, regularly attending class three times a week. Janet has always been the first to jump in and help out if there was a need at YWB. She represents what YWB is and what it wants to instill in its students - loving, kind, compassionate, positive, disciplined and always happy. (Ask us if you'd to be in touch with her.)
Rest in peace, Jeff.
Moving On... (September 2021 Newsletter)
Image by Ronny Overhate from Pixabay
Have you noticed how every show on every news, documentary, and social media is trying to sell you stuff? It’s always a new, better, smarter, prettier version of merchandise you may already own. One category of items is designed to keep you looking better, appearing healthier, always chasing the dream of being ‘picture perfect’. Even the medical procedures and surgeries are designed to keep up the appearance of youth and vitality.
While we continue to buy the latest, life is slipping away and soon we are thinking about retirement and bucket-lists between visits to health providers to keep us going.
Aging is a natural process; it is not a disease. It is in fact true for all manifest, living things: birth, life and death will follow in that order.
In Ayurveda, old age is referred to as Jara (pr. jaraa, personified as the daughter of death).
Chronological aging is biological. Since it is time-based there is no going back. Cells, tissues, organs, and body systems begin to wear out. However, there is the magic of Dhari, that which prevents the body from decay. Jivita is what one does to help keep one alive and functioning. Think YOGA! It's multifaceted effects extend through the body; elevating, calming and clearing the mind till one can conquer it, so that death is not to be feared.
A daily practice of yoga, meditation and introspection helps to delay the aging process. Yoga enhances muscular strength and body flexibility, improves respiratory and cardiovascular function, promotes recovery from addiction, reduces stress, anxiety, depression, and chronic pain, improves sleep patterns, and enhances overall well-being and quality of life. Pranayama (breathing techniques) oxygenate the blood, reducing inflammation and joint pain. Yoga helps in elimination of waste and toxins regularly, smoothly and completely. Body, mind and emotions maintain their balance in homeostasis. Continue with a regular practice for a longer, more active, healthier life, however long that is...
Practically this means
that you keep up the practice of yoga at least 3 times each week doing different styles of classes for a balanced outcome
that you watch what you eat, when you eat, and how much you eat. Check your body type or Dosha. Eating less rather than more will keep you trim and healthy. Ideally, a fistful of food is all we really need. Be sure to add some fresh cooked or raw greens like spinach, kale, collard greens etc. to your daily diet. Reduce the consumption of meat. Eat seasonal and fresh produce
Drink plenty of fresh, room-temperature water daily
Get a good night’s sleep with about 7+ hours of sleep. Go to bed early and wake up early.
Keep up the random acts of kindness. Sadvritta or moral reasoning, good conduct, and compassionate living transform us into the spiritual beings we truly are
Spend time outside daily, and enjoy the moment. Put away the devices. Instead look, listen and feel. Be at peace!
In my articles I often refer to Ayurveda and it's amazing science. While I have limited working knowledge of Ayurveda, we are fortunate to have on our staff Vandana Baranwal, Indian Ayurveda physician, who is always willing and eager to spread this information. Growing up in the holy city of Banaras, India she has been very fortunate to learn from some of the world's most renowned teachers. Before moving to the USA, she was Professor of Ayurvedic Obstetrics and Gynecology in Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, India. Ask us about taking a class with her.
Namaste,
sipra
August: Month of grandeur; Exalted and Glorious (August 2021 Newsletter)
A near and dear one suggested that I constantly talk about religion and Hinduism. Another suggests that the conclusion to whatever I talk about is always, “The One”. The latter is true, the former not so much. While to the casual reader these articles would appear to be religious topics, Hindu-ism is not an ‘ism’ at all. And thereby I mean that it is not a religion. The word ‘Hindu’ refers to those who lived on the banks of the Indus River. ‘Hindusthan’ is another name for India, and is the land (sthaan – land where these natives live). Essentially made up of heterogeneous peoples with varied cultures, Hinduism has been presented as monotheistic or believing in one God, polytheistic - in many Gods. (Indeed, worship can be mystical, moral, or religious, and ultimately a deep sense of spirituality is what is transforming and creating joy (ananda). It doesn’t really matter what religion one follows.) Hinduism is monism, where the idea of one, two or endless gods is seen as reducing this pulsating Source and Intelligence to a finite number. Numbers are limiting and the Divine is limitless. The One referred to above is the source from which all comes, and to which all returns and is not a number like 1 or 1,000.
How do we know what this intelligence is? Traditionally, there are three primary means to ‘discover’ the Supreme Intelligence.
Experimental (vai-sheshika) using logic or Nyaya. This has to do with seeing the impermanent or destructible form of things.
Cosmological or in modern scientific terms, as in Quantum Mechanics, (Samkhya). This uses direct supra-mental experience as in Yoga mind training.
Metaphysical (Vedanta) with language as its means, uses dialectics and semantics of all the many seers (rishi, pronounced rhi-shee) who have received direct wisdom through their chanting, meditations, writings, insights and so on, through Mahavak (Ma-haa as in Supreme or the highest, vak - uttered words.) These are the chants, mantras, practices that repeated frequently, incessantly, become second nature to one, and create magical effects such as calmness, acceptance and awareness and love and in more developed states access past and future time and events and even change their course.
Following are the four practical Mahavak that we use in class from time to time and all refer to Brahma/Brahman representing Pure Consciousness pervading everything but which Itself is without shape or form.
Prajñānam Brahma (प्रज्ञानम् ब्रह्म) “Awareness/Consciousness is Brahman," (Pra meaning Supreme, jnana - knowledge)
Ayam Ātmā Brahma (अयम् आत्मा ब्रह्म) - "This Self is Brahman" (Atman or Self/soul)
Tat Tvam Asi (तत् त्वम् असि) - "That You are, or You are that” (tat - That which is Real, or True)
Aham Brahmāsmi (अहम् ब्रह्मास्मि) - "I am Brahman" (Aham means I am)
Each is drawn from the original insights in the different Vedas and formed into practical meaningful statements in the later Upanishads. They have been passed down the centuries by word of mouth.
Namaste,
sipra