What is Yoga?

You’ve heard the explanation that the word yoga comes from the Sanskrit root word yuj – meaning to yoke or to create union. What is the practice of yoking; of creating Union? What does this look like? It looks the way you intend it to. In Anusara Yoga our intention is to create union with the greatness of ourselves. Simply put, all of our practices, from asana to Pranayama to meditation to the incorporation of the Yamas and Niyamas have one singular intention: to create union and alignment with this greatness that is ourselves. We celebrate the auspiciousness flowing through us in the form of our bodies, breath, ideas, memories, experience, hopes and dreams. This auspiciousness, this goodness is us. It is each other. It is our joys, it is our tears, our strengths and our weaknesses. It is our good days and our bad, our injuries and our healings. Our intention is to assume and embrace it all as a deep beloved offering of the one energy that unites us.

What is yoga? It is realizing you are never separate from the greatness of yourself. It is realizing that union to this greatness is worthy of celebration, collaboration and intention to align with it in every breath and in every pose. This week the practice of Anusara yoga offers us a profound vehicle to remember and celebrate the goodness in our lives, in our hearts and in the world around us.

Sauca:  Cleanliness/Purity of the Body, Mind and Heart

Sauca is the first Niyama, a list of observances that help us live a productive and balanced life.

Sauca refers to the opportunity we have to lead clean and orderly lives – every aspect of our mind, body and spirit can be cleansed, purified and aligned with our purpose.  There are many traditions and activities that help us purify.  We regularly bathe and brush our teeth.  We clean and clear our environment. We practice Sauca when we let go of negative thoughts, avoid emotional dependencies or behaviors and eat healthy food and drink clean water.  Regularly practicing all these things actively polishes the mirror of ourselves so that we reflect to the world our beautiful spirits.

Clear, pure goodness flows naturally from our hearts this week as we participate in Sauca on every level.  Our mats are lined up in an orderly fashion; we strive to align our bodies to the best of our capacity and we encourage clear transitions from one pose to another.  We will discuss smudging, the use of incense, chanting, and ringing of bells to help us purify our body, mind, and spirit.  

Ahimsa:  Choosing a Life Affirming Path

Ahimsa is the first of the Yamas; yogic ethical precepts that define and determine a life in right relation.  It is often translated as ‘non-harming’.   This week we take a look at the opportunity to open to a life affirming path.  A life affirming path is one that supports and uplifts your body, mind and spirit.  We begin with awareness of positive and negative attitudes about our body, and ultimately how well we treat ourselves and others.   

How good is your relationship with your body?  Do you listen and account for its opinion?  Do you operate in a way that is kind and compassionate to it?  Injury results on the mat when we are not paying attention.   In general we were not in right relation to our body.  Our mind was forcing a situation, or was inattentive to it.  Our emotional state demanded retribution or acknowledgment at any cost and received it with an injury.  We were not in right relation.  Our path was not life affirming.  We were not being kind and compassionate with ourselves.  We were not subscribing to Ahimsa.  If we practice Ahimsa for ourselves, this mind and heart set will spill out into the rest of our lives.  Our relationships improve, our choices become obvious and a life affirming path is more successfully navigated.

Get set this week for plenty of positive reinforcement for nourishing thoughts, kind words and self-honoring of the body.  Together we practice moving into right relation with our self and the world around us.

A Celebration of Friendships: The Kula Rocks

We practice together.  We share life together.   Together we laugh, heal injuries, celebrate triumphs and share insights, soup recipes, health tips and hugs.  We support one another in handstand.  Offer a high five for an awesome backbend.  We are supported and we offer support.  We are a Kula:  A family of the Heart.  We could easily call one another sister, or brother, but we prefer ‘mat mates’.  Our joy of the practice and the love of remembering that life, is, indeed good; keeps us coming back to Good Life week after week.

This week we celebrate our good friendships with one another and are given an opportunity to bring more friends to class for free.   Your friends can find out where you’ve been going to get that natural glow about yourself.  Give them the same gift and share your studio.  

After class we break bread together – okay, more like cookies or some similar treat. In fact, I just pulled a batch of chocolate chip cookies out of the oven about an hour ago.  Feel free to bake up something yourself and bring it in.  Together we make life a celebration.

Dharana – Mental Concentration

Dharana is one of the Eight Limbs of Yoga. These aren’t actually to be thought of as ‘limbs’ but rather as a wheel with 8 spokes all leading to its center. This center represents the end result of practicing yoga: enlightenment. Of course, enlightenment can mean a whole host of different things to different people – for Anusara yogis, enlightenment is any time we touch happiness and love born of remembering our true supreme nature.
In our practice this week we follow the path of Dharana, the 6th spoke. ‘Dharana’ is the practice of mental concentration. The object of concentration can be within or outside the body. In our asana practice we will concentrate on following our breath in each asana. We will also utilize a practice technique of following a Drishti – a focal point. Time and time again, we will practice either bringing steady focus to our breath or to the established Drishti. This concentrated effort leads us toward joy, peace and a remembrance of our radiant heart.