Yoga

Plan ahead as we are entering a period of new ways of thinking and operating.
 – planning is crucial, watch the tendencies to be jealous, or skip steps - especially after the 22nd of the month which is a resetting date - resetting our awareness.  Focus is a key issue. As Mercury is retrograding (starting on Sept 24) issues of concentration and attention to details, will rise to the surface.
 
Please do whatever it takes to clear your mind from a sense of confusion and clutter. Laugh for twenty minutes, run or dance, clapp... meditate – open up through Yoga or martial arts... it is needed, more these days as the speed of information and awareness intensify.
 
As we are entering Fall Equinox – emotions will intensify. We may experience aggravation and frustration due to our own inability to go with the flow and our ego will thrive based on attachments to accustomed ideas and habits.
 
This is a period were we will be forced to restructure our thinking and re prioritize and reorganize our values. This equinox is the time to regroup, reorganize and let go of any attachment and any unfinished business that will not be finished at this time.
 
It is the time to exchange ideas and advice - we will experience the need to deepen the conversation between us. Depth means no more cheap talk. Mean what you say and be what you mean.
In love light and peace and gratitude!
 
Akiva satnarayan

This is the first in a series of excerpts that I would like to share with you from my next book "Upeksha Yoga: Transforming Negative Emotions" (forthcoming, ©2008 Shy Sayar), regarding the use of yoga to transform and transcend negative emotions.  Enjoy, and keep an eye out for "Part 2: Transforming the Pain of Loss".

    "let's face it - most of us our cultures are quite inept at teaching us to handle our emotions.  some of us were taught that "children should be seen, not heard", or simply learned to keep our feelings to ourselves because, well, no one asked.  Some of us were trained through a strict code of honor and shame to suppress our feelings even from our own consciousness.  On the other end of the spectrum, we were and are encouraged to "get it out", to mentally conceptualize and verbally express our experience.  Yet, how many of us have felt that therapy is "all talk", that we know very well how we feel and can give a very precocious account of it all, but still we get no relief and continue to act out old, destructive patterns?  and how many of us stop to contemplate what we even mean when we say "feelings"?  to query the relationship between emotion and physical sensation?
    There is an alternative way.  When practiced with skillful intention, yoga can illuminate the link between our minds and our bodies, and give us the tools to identify and relieve the emotional tension we store in our bodies.  To varying degrees, we all tend to "close in" on difficult experiences in an attempt to protect ourselves.  Yet, if we stop to observe it, we find that this tendency actually locks pain in, instead of keeping pain out.  We harden, even crystallize our painful experiences into time capsules of pain in the body, storing different types of past emotions in varying parts of the body.  This book is intended to instruct readers in the art of rendering these unconscious blockages conscious, and skillfully transforming the pain of stress, fear, anxiety, anger, depression, and other experiences into dynamic and vital energy.  This energy may then invigorate and inspire us to identify and attain our goals in life.
  
    Stored emotions manifest in the body as constant tension - continuous, unconscious and unnecessary muscular engagement, throughout our day.  Far from strengthening our muscles, this tension exhausts and weakens our bodies, hardening us physically and psychologically.  It limits the range of motion in our limbs as well as our repertoire of responses to our experience.  Sedentary lifestyles entrench our tension and rigidity, deepening our imprisonment in negativity.  As it turns out, in order to relieve unconscious muscle tension and learn how to relax, we need to consciously engage our bodies in skillful exercise.  This is the idea behind practicing active asanas (yoga postures) followed by relaxation (Savasana, child's pose, etc.) and seated meditation.  Yet, ambition and ignorance often bring our tension right into our yoga practice, allowing us to keep our physical and mental rigidity and, at times, leading to more tension and even to injury.  Therefore, we must learn to find softness and surrender around and behind our effort - in life as much as in asana."

to be continued...


© 2008 Shy Sayar
Shy Sayar's Upeksha Yoga™
www.UpekshaYoga.com

I am currently in the process of publishing a book on the style of yoga I have created - Upeksha Yoga - and I wanted to share a few of the principles from it.  I humbly hope they might inspire your practice!

* Upeksha yoga prioritizes alignment for the safety and longevity of both practitioner and practice, yet there is no perfect pose to be attained.  The perfection of asana is available to any practitioner through balancing effort and surrender: finding one's own physical limits and non-violently challenging these limits with awareness and lovingkindness.

* Equanimity and balance in asana may be achieved through the relaxation of all muscle activity unnecessary for a particular pose, the regulation of the breath, and focusing the mind on the alignment and the sensations of the body.

* Practice is to commence and conclude with a focus on softness in body and breath and complete surrender to gravity, and at its core seek to rapidly raise the body's inner heat and then strengthen and even exhaust the muscles.  Yet, 1) continuously re-mind yourself of the availability of softness and surrender even in the most challenging of poses, and 2) Upeksha prescribes no particular sequences or poses - all asana promotes Upeksha when practiced with a focus on equanimity and a balance of effort and surrender.

* Once the body is properly heated and the muscles exhausted, the focus of the practice is to shift to deepening the body's flexibility.  Stretching the body is most effective when maximal muscular effort is followed by the relaxation and softening of the body as much as possible while not losing length in the stretch; i.e., reaching maximal extension and then sinking more deeply into the stretch through the surrender of tension.

* Energy is a scientific reality and a tangible experience.  Gravitational potential energy allows us to lengthen the body through pressing into the ground.  Neuroelectric energy allows us to relay the intention, skill and wisdom of the practice to every part of the body.  Soundwaves, lightwaves, etc. energetically connect us with our environment and are always available as a means of focusing the mind.

* Attaining emotional and psychological balance involves removing the obstacles to the free movement of breath and neuroelectric energy by consciously surrendering tension and expanding awareness of sensation.

* Seated meditation poses are asanas as well and should be practiced with the same intention of Upeksha - balancing body, mind and breath in equanimity.

© 2008 Shy Sayar
Shy Sayar's Upeksha Yoga™

 Some theories:  1) People who believe in a random and unorganized universe tend to think illness is the result of bad luck.  Actually, some very religious folks subscribe to this theory as well, probably in order to avoid believing the next theory:  2) Illness is punishment from the angry and vengeful God.  The God from the bestselling book that says “forgive thy neighbor” and “turn the other cheek” but prefers not to follow His own advice.  

3) Another school of thought is that illness is a messenger from nature here to let us know about some kind of imbalance in the mind/body system that needs to be addressed immediately.  The body/ mind can be very forgiving.  I’ve met people who were heroin addicts for 10 years, were lost at sea for a week, or were prisoners of war, who somehow seem to be doing ok.  But because each of us is unique the breaking point of one person can be quite different than that of another.  One traumatic event can push some folks irreparably over the edge into illness or insanity while someone else can march across continents on bread and water to find a peaceful place to live.

 It seems that the stronger your filtering organs are, the better your digestive system, the more you can abuse your body and not feel the consequences immediately. Environmental and cultural toxins should also be factored in.  The limiting and dangerous habits and belief systems we inherit can also directly or indirectly imbalance our system and create an environment ripe for illness to grow in.  Many early settlers and explorers had a hard time finding anything to eat in the Americas because they couldn’t find any of the plants and animals they were used to.  Incredible as it sounds, many even starved to death.  This is a classic example of how cultural “training” can work against us. 

If we believe that nature is ordered and cooperative and that it seeks balance in all systems we can start to listen to our bodies keeping that in mind.  If, instead of turning a deaf ear, we hear the messages the mind/body is sending all along we can opt for taking action, in order to avoid getting to the point of chronic, or fatal illness. 

Here are a few things that stand in the way of us really hearing what the mind/body is saying:
1) Advertizing:  People think that if it is being sold to the general public it can’t be toxic or bad for you.  (antiperspirants, preservatives, cigarettes, artificial coloring, hydrogenated Trans fats, etc)  Or we end up thinking that it is better to tolerate a few toxins in order to fit in, be cool, or smell like everyone else.
2) Numbness:  Even those of us who do yoga or have had training on how to listen to the needs of the body often forget or go numb.  Rushing around trying to get things done, be responsible, produce, follow the rules, making other people happy, we often stress out our internal organs and nervous system by not eating when we are hungry, not going to the bathroom when we need to, not relaxing when we are tired.  Who has the time right? 
3)  Monkey Mind:  (the inner dialogue/critic etc) with its constant chatter of programmed ideas, borrowed belief systems, insecurities and fears, creates far too much noise in the head to be able to hear what is really going on.  This monkey is even smart enough to convince us that it IS telling us the truth.  As long as we are living in such a noisy head no wonder we can’t hear the rest of the body trying to tell us what it needs. 

If we care about the environment we have to start with our bodies.  What we do that is good for the earth is always good for ourselves.  What we do that is really good for ourselves is always good for the environment.  Are we eating nitrates, pesticides and preservatives but fighting global warming?  Are we buying fair trade and organic local food but spraying ourselves with chemicals, or living in toxic homes that knock the internal ecosystem off balance?  We can’t ignore the little messages and then be surprised when the big message hits us:  ILLNESS or NATURAL DISASTER (the same thing).  Global warming messages have been coming for a long time.  Now we are finally hearing the call to action. Take care of yourself too.  Mother earth will love you for it. 

In August you will experience your spirit on a deeper level!
Its a spirit over matter kind of month!

New knowledge will come your way; Issues of trust (in self); recognition and mastery, kindness and forgiveness will be the key to move through daily circumstances.    

These times are internal - you are going to get to the bottom of your soul! Please take some responsibility!

Through August you will weigh your life purpose and opportunities. Why these events are happening?
What am I up to? Why am I here? Will be some of the themes that will fuel your being this August!

Give yourself the space and the time to tap into the reservoir of unconditional love and light.
Make an effort to take time off, time alone, listen to your soul – tap into your inner wisdom. Any inner work will do – yoga, long hikes, meditation and short trips – it will elevate your spirit and get you focused in pursuing your heart’s desires. You will need to make an effort to elevate your soul!

Good times to study something new, and to experience your inner wisdom. You’ll be attracted to the power and flow of music. Listen, go to live music performance (especially on the 8.8.8). Friday triple 8 is the infinite connection to the whole.

There will be a strong Influence of feminine energy – listen to the goddess more intently this month – as intuition and intellect bland, the heart will be more receptive – let go of any past life grudges. Be kind to yourself and others.

Do your best not over-think and analyze your moves and motivations – try to flow with the spirit of the moment. It is a good time to sort things out without being too critical (of yourself and others). Internal analysis sometimes leads to finger pointing and blaming – be aware of that – it is us it is all in you!

It is a month that embodies the full spectrum of the rainbow, manifesting in white. Empty yourself so you can be present to the full spectrum of your capacity.

These are great times to study, to acquire some new practice, new knowledge. Some internal work
is needed, it doesn’t mean that you need to be alone; take care of your internal process.

The new moon will be a good time to get together, to share music and spoken word. Take yourself (and others) to a a chanting events, praying and getting other peoples advice – can be very helpful. Do not try to handle everything on your own.

In gratitude, love and peace
Akiva Satnarayan