Chris Johnson 3/30/23 Chris Johnson 3/30/23

Student Practice through Thick or Thin... (April 2023 Newsletter)

Yoga started to intrigue me in my mid-fifties. I had never done it before and was experiencing a lot of stress. I found a class taught by Sipra Pimputkar and quickly found I had very little flexibility. Then I realized, it did not really matter, I need to just start. One of the second things that struck me was being told to breathe. “I am breathing! Why do you keep telling me that!” Well, I learned that there are many ways to breathe, for various purposes, to gain energy, to reset my body, to calm my mind and that, in part, is how I fell in love with yoga.

Through the years I have become more flexible (physically and emotionally), more focused in my yoga practice and I’ve been able to integrate what I have learned into my daily life. Staying in the moment, not ruminating about what is past or being fearful of what is to come has been a continuing challenge. I am happy to report I can bring myself back to the moment with minimal effort after years of practice. However, I am still working to stay there.

Everyone has joys and sorrows in their lives. The birth of my grandsons filled me with happiness. Seeing them grow and learn has been remarkable. On the other end of the spectrum is death. The death of family members caused me great grief, but I was able to mourn them and realize that death is part of life. During the pandemic, on what was to be my husband’s last day, he was in the hospital. I was able to get my daughter and son-in-law into the hospital and then more family and friends. I was able to relish the joy he felt being surrounded by people who loved him. I just did my best to stay in the moment. As my husband lay dying I held his hand and told him what an amazing man he was and how lucky I was to have married him. I did not worry about my future; I was just there with him where I wanted to be. A few days later, I went back to my yoga practice to keep learning and growing and to continue to live in the moment.

I repeat this offering daily and it gives me comfort: “May I be happy, may I be healthy, may I be free of suffering and in a safe space. May my loved ones be happy, may they be healthy, may they be free of suffering and in a safe space…”

Namaste,

Janet Kohn

Chris Johnson 1/31/23 Chris Johnson 1/31/23

I am my own child

I am my own child. Every thought, action, or intention affects who I am, what I was and what I shall become. Living simply and in a fulsome way generates good energy physically and mentally. It will allow you to eat right, enjoy your food and benefit from the nutrition it offers with better health and feelings of Well-Being. Your microbiome is unique to you and changes continuously throughout your life. The millions of good gut bacteria depend on how you experience life. The bacteria fluctuates with what you eat, how you eat, when you eat and the thoughts and feelings you focus on as you eat. We can all control and improve how the tummy feels and how we metabolize each mouthful of food to create health. Eat a high-fiber diet with prebiotic foods such as yogurt and berries and avoid the overuse of drugs. Supplements, however, are not a bad thing, since we cannot get all that our body needs each day. Remember always, fresh is best.

In Siddhartha, Hermann Hesse states, "Within you, there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at anytime and be yourself". Returning to the Source is Stillness, and the Sanctuary is the absolute certainty that I am encompassed by Love and Protection Divine. The Source creates and continues to generate and protect life in all its forms. I might think that without my constant endeavors my world would fall apart, but it isn't so. Stand back, sit back, look around, SEE! ENJOY, FULL OF ABUNDANCE, FULL OF GRATITUDE for, as it says in the Tao Te Ching, "the highest virtue does nothing. Yet, nothing needs to be done. The lowest virtue does everything. Yet, much remains to be done."

Namaste,

sipra

Chris Johnson 12/30/22 Chris Johnson 12/30/22

Entering into 2023 (January 2023 Newsletter)

*Photo Credit: Tai Pimputkar, taken in New Hampshire*

We will not address the need for New Year resolutions. It’s not even a new year for everyone right now. It was, on the other hand, a holiday season for most. We celebrated for different reasons and in different ways. The end-result of most celebrations is food and gifts. If we are not thrilled with the gifts, find others who would like them or donate them. Let it not be the source of your discontent, sitting there, staring at you, making you unhappy. If too much good food was and continues to be a problem, remember it’s up to you to walk, run, exercise it off. Freeze the goodies and ration yourself to one a day.

It’s not so difficult to be content. Being mindful that life could be so much worse. Patanjali more than 4,000 years ago very succinctly stated in the Yoga Sutra 1.33:

The psyche can be calmed by cultivating as an object

friendliness, compassion, gladness and disinterest

within happiness, suffering, virtue and vice.

By cultivating attitudes of friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and ‘disregard’ toward the wicked, the scattered mind retains its undisturbed calmness. (Although the common translation is ‘disregard’ toward the wicked, I believe it would be more accurate to say ‘disinterested’ or ‘impartial’, i.e. not giving in to personal feelings of anger or disgust etc.)

How do we cultivate these feelings towards others on a consistent basis? The answer is to be found in the very next sutra, or aphorism. (An aphorism is a short and pithy 1 or 2 line verse where a word cannot be added or changed without changing the entire content and meaning.)

The next aphorism of the Yoga Sutra 1:34 reads:

Or, through both lengthening the exhale and holding out of the breath.

The word 'OR' doesn't mean that you can disregard Sutra 1.33. It really is saying that in addition to the acts performed, learn to meditate also. The way to focus our minds for meditation is through certain breathing practices. This is not pranayama or breathing techniques of a yoga practice. The first technique is the simplest and is similar to the one we do in class called anuloma. Try it.

Wash out your nostrils or use a neti pot. Lightly block off both nostrils just under the bridge of the nose with the middle finger and thumb of your right hand. Breathe in through the left nostril while lightly blocking off the right side. Make it a sharp, extended, deep inhale. Don’t hold. Exhale sharply through the same nostril three times Keep your body from jerking or moving. Make no noise while doing this practice. It is a silent breath. Repeat the breathing in the same way breathing through the other nostril. When you have completed three exhalations and three inhalations through the right nostril, bring your attention to the eyebrow center and take three normal breaths. This constitutes one complete cycle. After a week or so of regular practice, add another 3 complete cycles. If not for meditation, it might help you just calm down and reduce stress. Try it!

Namaste,

sipra

Chris Johnson 12/1/22 Chris Johnson 12/1/22

Happy Holidays from YWB (December 2022 Newsletter)

I just returned from India, where I went for a quick visit lasting just 11 days. (I visited Delhi and its suburbs, and not my childhood home in the Himalayas.) Despite some anxiety and uncertainty, it was a trip full excitement and anticipation, thanks largely to my daughter who treated me to the entire trip and who travels there often on her way to Tibet and Nepal.) Having her there for reassurance, I was able to relax and enjoy the trip.

Life is very different in India from the way I remember it. Yet life is the same everywhere, isn't it? People bustling about for work, leisure, and pleasure… but with one essential difference. What stood out conspicuously was that all life forms happily coexist. Along with the overwhelming number of people, there were cows and calves, feral cats, street dogs, almost human monkeys, donkeys, and bright and colorful birds ranging from large peacocks to hummingbird size, all living together. It is a life of 'live and let live'. During the day the constant din of traffic, animals and people fills the air. At night all is silence, at least where I was, except for the constant low-key chatter of monkeys.

Rich and poor, simple and sophisticated, old and young, traditional and modern, all acknowledge the right of others to be there. All is quietly right with the world. No one is better than anyone else. No one owns anything that is outside of their own minds and bodies.

Simplify your own life by simplifying your own mind and minding your own business. Stay connected to what is, and not what might or might not be.

Namaste,

sipra

Chris Johnson 11/1/22 Chris Johnson 11/1/22

Free to Be You and Me (November 2022 Newsletter)

As human beings, we have endless privileges. In fact, we have so many that we let them just come and go, and do not utilize them at all. It's a bit like those coupons for freebies we mean to use, but don't. We get caught up daily in various time consuming, mind numbing or mind draining activities that our lives don't get to enjoy most of its wonders. One lifetime is too short to enjoy it all, but it's a good start. What if we didn't have those rights? Recent research is bringing to light the horrible plight of those who don't have the freedom to enjoy the life we take for granted.

It's a small act that can allow every single person to have equal opportunities in life. That is not to say things will suddenly change overnight. But YOU must take a step in the right direction. Plan to vote this November. Go today if you have the time. Election Day is coming up shortly, but you don't have to wait. VOTE! Don't let your chance to really create a good life for all citizens slip away. Many have died to gain the freedom that is the cornerstone of America.

Being human in a civilized society means you need to be humane. Think carefully before you vote. Don't be led by anyone, and don't only think of your personal interests and needs.

Vote from your heart where truth resides, along with love, compassion and honesty.

Namaste,

sipra

For information on voting in Ohio, including absentee ballots, early voting hours, finding your polling locations about more, visit VoteOhio.gov.

Image Credit: League of Women Voters poster c. 1920, via Wikimedia Commons

Chris Johnson 10/7/22 Chris Johnson 10/7/22

Home (October 2022 Newsletter)

Home is that undefinable place where one feels complete. Large or small, luxurious or minimal, it is where one finds rest and comfort. It is where we can drop all pretenses. This is the nature of consciousness. The mind can let go and get to a state in meditation where all thoughts simply dissolve, like into a quicksand, and one meets up with that timeless, shapeless, formless seed out of which all thoughts and experiences arise. If it is so simple, how is it that our entire lives are spent chasing a dream that is rarely realized in anyone’s lifetime?

We are born complete. The invisible and indivisible primordial matter of which we are constructed needs nothing more. Anything and everything is derived from this. Simply by living constantly in a state of awareness of this moment keeps us home feeling happy and safe. That primordial seed, that home, is one we all share. To acknowledge that completeness, (Sa Aham - I am That) is to be HOME. It is to BE.

Namaste,

sipra

Chris Johnson 9/1/22 Chris Johnson 9/1/22

Meditation: You Need No One and Nothing (September 2022 Newsletter)

*Image credit:* *Michael Reichelt* *from* *Pixabay*

No matter how often we speak of it, and no matter in how many ways we address the topic, there is only this present moment where we can control our environment and move into silence and spirit. How can we do this? Read and follow this simple Sufi thought:

“The Sufi is he whose thought keeps pace with his foot.

He is entirely present:

His soul is where his body is,

And his body is where his soul is,

And his soul is where his foot is,

And his foot is where his soul is.

This is the sign of presence without absence.”

All distractions of the mind (chitta) are due to not being present. If our minds are somewhere else, we fragment ourselves, the mind is not where the body is, and the body and soul separate and are separated. All thoughts are based on our experiences from the past. How else would we have a thought if we know nothing of it? These thoughts (vritti) may be pleasing or not (klishta/aklishta), but they cause the mind to race and draw us away from our Soul Self -That which truly is! When our days and nights are suddenly filled with stress, it is too late to learn how to be present. Start your practice into silence and presence now.

Namaste,

sipra

Chris Johnson 8/4/22 Chris Johnson 8/4/22

Life is Forever (August 2022 Newsletter)

Irene was my friend for over 40 years. Fun, funny, intelligent, always exploring and learning about life, nature, people and places, Irene was interested in life and everything that made life worth living. She wanted to do everything and she did. A lot! A life well-lived. She passed away yesterday following complications due to diabetes. Rest in peace dear friend, Peace. (The name 'Irene' comes from Eirene, the Greek goddess of peace.)

Nirvanashatkam, or Six Stanzas on Nirvana – Swami Vivekananda

AUGUST 13, 2011 By VIVEKAVANI

(Translation of a poem by Shankarâchârya.)

I am neither the mind, nor the intellect, nor the ego, nor the mind-stuff;

I am neither the body, nor the changes of the body;

I am neither the senses of hearing, taste, smell, or sight,

Nor am I the ether, the earth, the fire, the air;

I am Existence Absolute, Knowledge Absolute, Bliss Absolute —