So the other night I woke up to noise coming from down stairs. I got up, went downstairs and crept through the living room. I could hear rustling behind some boxes (we are moving) in the dining room. I grabbed a broom, and went over to the boxes. The noise stopped. Using the broom I pushed the boxes to the side when suddenly a rat jumped out and ran right at me. I hit it with the broom twice, and it ran off to the the side. Somehow I had ended up in the kitchen defending the rat hole with the broom. The rat tried to run into the kitchen but I again landed the broom on it. It flew off to the side and ducked behind the stove. I pulled the stove away from the wall, but the rat wasn't there. I looked under the stove, but it wasn't there... Then I heard it. the rat had crawled up inside the stove. I pulled the bottom drawer out of the stove and low and behold I could see the rats tail hanging
down. "Scissors" I though, but luckily I couldn't find any. I found a kitchen knife though. With out
Reflections on the Practice of Letting Go,
Showing posts with label Yoga. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yoga. Show all posts
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Saturday, June 18, 2011
On Yoga, Fukishima and Waking Up
To all yoga practitioners, whether you call it yoga practice, or by it's more common name "Life”
You are a master of Prakrti (everything manifest), you’ve just forgotten. In the face of adversity you have only to remember your being-ness more intrinsic than the dis-ease of the mental plane, and from this connectedness radiate healing and unconditional love from your source. It's that simple.
For most of us maintaining this awareness as a constant waking state is challenging. It is easy to slip into identification with ego, body, mind. This false identification is not without cost. Identification with ego, body, mind has a specific "medicinal" affect on our body and bodies (physical, mental, emotional and subtle). In the physical body it is oxidizing, experienced as tight muscles, injury or disease. The corresponding subtle aspects can be harder to describe. For a practitioner however the greatest cost is that false identification with perceived limitations lulls us deeper to sleep.
Most of us remain in a profound waking sleep even as we move through our daily lives. Though our physical body is located right here right now, we experience not what this is, but what the mind thinks it is; the dream of past, future, judgement and preference. If we have a daily practice of awareness we may catch glimpses of right now, not as we think it is, but as direct perception.
I have sensed much discomfort/resistance to the relatively new consciousness arising about nuclear power, waste, radiation and its affect on us... that is every-body. I have heard in our discourse, a sense of helplessness, seen in our actions a desire to bury our heads in the sand, to not know. It can be easy to not want to look at what this is and instead focus on things that are more "relevant". It could be though that how we collectively choose to address this situation is the most relevant. As scary and confusing as what we face may seem, as practitioners what is at stake here is bigger than radiation, health, life or death.
Every choice we make has the effect of expanding our awareness or contracting it. This phenomenon is commonly called Karma. Karma is neither "good" or "bad". All Karma leads eventually to liberation once we finally release resistance to "what it is" and become receptive to the experiential knowledge that is shared alike through joy and pain, sunshine, rain, this and that.
When we face adversity or joy, this or that, we have 2 choices. We can accept it or we can resist it. We can embrace it in unconditional acceptance, or fear it and and try to resist. Of coarse we can only resist for so long. One day soon we all will surrender. Knowing that acceptance and resistance each have a "medicinal" effect, the conscious practitioner chooses acceptance.
There is debate in yoga circles about the correct practice in the face of "Wickedness" (Sutra I.33). The Yoga Sutras recommend “Indifference”. This is not to be confused with "ignoring" or “inaction”, which it is sometimes mistakenly thought to mean.
While it can be tempting to ignore or try to dull the intensity of daily life, whether that be tight hamstrings in paschimottanasana or Nuclear Meltdown, as practitioners, the medicinal affect of resistance in the form of dulling carries to great a cost. Fear is the opposite of expansion. Preference is the domain of ego and mind. Mind might not “like” what it thinks it sees, but our practice of being awakened invites us to step back into unconditional love for everything and everybody. Fear clenches and dulls awareness while acceptance and surrender open us to greater understanding, deeper appreciation.
The practitioner responds to Nuclear Meltdown, with breath and awareness, that the intensity purify and dissolve all obstacles to conscious awareness. From our connectedness to source we the act skillfully.
Yoga a practice of inaction. Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita defines Yoga as Skill in action. It is the invitation to awake from the dream of preference and be fully awake now; That our actions may be the expression of our highest intention, that our thoughts words and deeds be the outpouring of the ferocious and incomprehensible beauty of who and what we really are. This is most challenging, relevant and medicinal in the face of great intensity like that which we are offered here today.
Please leave Comments/Reflections in the Box Below
Please leave Comments/Reflections in the Box Below
Friday, February 25, 2011
Tonic Herbs for Yoga Practice
Tonic herbs are non-stimulant plants that with consistent use over time condition the the body, mind or subtle aspects to be healthier, stronger and more vital. Tonic herbs and agents, often called adaptogenic herbs have a tonifying effect on the body. That is they challenge the bodies organs, or systems and with consistent use over time the body "adapts" to the challenge, or becomes immune. While antibiotics have the long term effect of creating stronger pathogen strains, and weakening our bodies own natural defense, many tonic herbs work with the body, nourishing, balancing ad harmonizing body systems in a way that prevents disease. Tonics have been used alongside self realization practices for thousands of years and have tremendous potential for aiding body mind and spirit on the path of of surrender.
Tonic herbs can be distinguished from stimulant herbs that may have a similar initial effect, in that they do not provide immediate benefits. Stimulants provide an initial effect, drawing from the body's reserve energies to create a heightened state more immediately. This is of coarse is then associated with a swing in the other direction, as the body comes back depleted from the stimulated state. This can become a malevolent cycle if more stimulants are used to compensate for depletion. A tonic on the other hand conditions the body over time to function on a higher level. Tonic herbs are associated with a benevolent cycle. Over time tonics can cultivate more energy, balance, strength and vitality, which manifests as feeling good, motivating us to live in a way that cultivates more of this. In the Yoga tradition this is called a satvic state and is most conducive to the awakened awareness we call yoga. A tonic subtly challenges body systems over time, and body becomes conditioned to the challenge. That is not to say that a tonic will not have a "feeling" associated with using it. Just like every food has a taste and changes the way that the body feels (whether we are conscious of that or not), so too every plant, every medicine will have at least a subtle feeling associated with it.
It can be useful to understand that while herbs may affect the physical body, organs, and systems of the body, they also act on the subtle layers of being. The body can be understood as existing on many dimensional planes. With the physical being the most solid, the body ripples out in ever more subtle expressions, thought emotions, and ever more subtle aspects. Transformation on one level of being, affects all levels of being, and far from being distinct from one another the bodies or koshas are one dynamic very connected experience. As esoteric as this may sound, it is very practical. When you exercise the physical body, it usually has the affect of elevating your "spirit" too. That is physical exercise reduces mental stress, lifts mood, and make you "feel" good. The experience we call "health" is that of "ease" in body, mind, emotions and the intangible experience. As far as tonics the benevolent or satvic state they cultivate in the body is not limited to physicality. For instance Reishi Mushroom is associated with nourishing Shen, or subtle energy. This can be understood in concrete terms as increased concentration and calm, or the quieting of mental chatter in yoga called chitta vritti. It is clear why Reishi has been used for many thousands of years in the Taoist tradition as a compliment or aid to meditation practice.
Like Yoga the use of tonic herbs is a practice. Like Yoga tonic herbs won't transform you if you don't use them regularly. Herbs have long been used along side Yoga practice with the intention of realization of the totality of self. Just As Yoga in India has worked alongside the Aryuvedic system, Taoism, Zen and Chi Gong have worked alongside Chinese medicine. The best way to get started incorporating tonic herbs into your practice is to pick one. By their very definition, tonics do not create harmful side effects in people. This does not preclude idiosyncratic reactions. As you start to include any new herb or food in your life, listen and feel the effect. Often you can intuitively sense how it is affecting you. Decoctions, are a traditional way that herbs have been consumed, but they can also be eaten. In my practice I use extracts as well because they can easily be added to food or smoothies or tonic elixirs.
For a list of high quality herbs and extracts we offer and descriptions you can visit radiantlifeyoga.
Tonic herbs can be distinguished from stimulant herbs that may have a similar initial effect, in that they do not provide immediate benefits. Stimulants provide an initial effect, drawing from the body's reserve energies to create a heightened state more immediately. This is of coarse is then associated with a swing in the other direction, as the body comes back depleted from the stimulated state. This can become a malevolent cycle if more stimulants are used to compensate for depletion. A tonic on the other hand conditions the body over time to function on a higher level. Tonic herbs are associated with a benevolent cycle. Over time tonics can cultivate more energy, balance, strength and vitality, which manifests as feeling good, motivating us to live in a way that cultivates more of this. In the Yoga tradition this is called a satvic state and is most conducive to the awakened awareness we call yoga. A tonic subtly challenges body systems over time, and body becomes conditioned to the challenge. That is not to say that a tonic will not have a "feeling" associated with using it. Just like every food has a taste and changes the way that the body feels (whether we are conscious of that or not), so too every plant, every medicine will have at least a subtle feeling associated with it.
It can be useful to understand that while herbs may affect the physical body, organs, and systems of the body, they also act on the subtle layers of being. The body can be understood as existing on many dimensional planes. With the physical being the most solid, the body ripples out in ever more subtle expressions, thought emotions, and ever more subtle aspects. Transformation on one level of being, affects all levels of being, and far from being distinct from one another the bodies or koshas are one dynamic very connected experience. As esoteric as this may sound, it is very practical. When you exercise the physical body, it usually has the affect of elevating your "spirit" too. That is physical exercise reduces mental stress, lifts mood, and make you "feel" good. The experience we call "health" is that of "ease" in body, mind, emotions and the intangible experience. As far as tonics the benevolent or satvic state they cultivate in the body is not limited to physicality. For instance Reishi Mushroom is associated with nourishing Shen, or subtle energy. This can be understood in concrete terms as increased concentration and calm, or the quieting of mental chatter in yoga called chitta vritti. It is clear why Reishi has been used for many thousands of years in the Taoist tradition as a compliment or aid to meditation practice.
Like Yoga the use of tonic herbs is a practice. Like Yoga tonic herbs won't transform you if you don't use them regularly. Herbs have long been used along side Yoga practice with the intention of realization of the totality of self. Just As Yoga in India has worked alongside the Aryuvedic system, Taoism, Zen and Chi Gong have worked alongside Chinese medicine. The best way to get started incorporating tonic herbs into your practice is to pick one. By their very definition, tonics do not create harmful side effects in people. This does not preclude idiosyncratic reactions. As you start to include any new herb or food in your life, listen and feel the effect. Often you can intuitively sense how it is affecting you. Decoctions, are a traditional way that herbs have been consumed, but they can also be eaten. In my practice I use extracts as well because they can easily be added to food or smoothies or tonic elixirs.
For a list of high quality herbs and extracts we offer and descriptions you can visit radiantlifeyoga.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
Calcification and "Medicine" as Yoga Practice
Calcification is the root cause of many diseases. From heart disease to arthritis, it is a hardening of the body tissue, as microscopic barnacle like organisms live and die creating a coral reef like structure in the body tissues and arteries, often incorporating heavy metals and toxic material into their structures, as protection from our body's immune system. While the goal of Yoga is not longevity, Yoga energetically looks like the free flow of energy. Yoga is expressed in the physical body as flow, ease, health, and flexibility. Elimination of bad calcium has been the focus of much discussion recently in alternative health circles. As a Yoga practitioner I am very excited at the implications.
Yoga is our natural state of being... that is, conscious awareness of being, or the essential "self" which is unbound even by being. Energetically it is described as the free flow of prana, through the nadis. In three dimensions it is the embodiment and expression of the multi-dimensional self. In practical terms, this is expressed as "ease" in body mind and emotions, as opposed to "disease". Obstacles to the expression of the multi-dimensionality of self can be physical, mental or emotional. Yoga describes 5 koshas or bodies, each more subtle then the next. Physical, Mental, Emotional, Energetic, and Bliss make up the bodies. It is helpful to think of them as separate from each other for the purpose of illustration, but they are really one dynamic expression. For example, when we experience worry in the mind, this creates "tension" or tight muscles in the body. When we experience the emotion anger, it has a specific chemical reaction in the physical body systems. Conversely, when we eat toxic low quality foods, this doesn't just affect the physical body, but also the mind, emotions, energy body many subtle expressions.
With this background it becomes clear that from the lens of a yoga practice, physical disease is an obstacle to expression of the totality of self.
disclaimer.....
That is not to say that an awakened being can't be fully manifest in a calcified body. To awakened awareness the body is prakriti, illusory and non-real, and a master of prakriti would be unhindered by the illusory constraints of all things manifest. I am clarifying this only that my words remain an invitation for the articulation of infinite possibility.
For most of us however, the body, and its corresponding expression on the level of mind and emotion, can be a significant obstacle to our ability to remember the expansiveness of who and what we really are. Flexibility is not the goal of Yoga, or even a requirement of Yoga, but it is an indicator of Flow. Yoga can certainly be expressed through a diseased body, but the quality of that expression is ease. Elimination of disease is not the objective, but rather a tool to be used by the practitioner of self realization. I want to be clear that progress in Yoga is not measured by by a beautiful or healthy body. Yoga is conscious awareness that transcends the body. As beginning practitioners, however,the practice of keeping the body healthy and flowing is Satvic. That is it is a state more congenial to the experience we call Yoga.
Purifying the body with the intention of sacrifice is a shat kriya. In these days the body, mind and emotions are subjected to an incredible barrage of seemingly new poisons. In the air, water, food and even the DNA of the food we eat, are new chemical expressions that the body has no practice eliminating. The destruction of nature systems has further degraded the earth's (i.e. the body's) natural processes of detoxification and renewal.
In a discussion with Matthew Backos (who I will be interviewing shortly), he described how Adya Clarity is simply mimicking the state our water would assume on a pristine earth. Natural systems would effectively infuse ionized minerals and magnetic particles into water in a way that would naturally detoxify heavy metals, pathogens, and cellular waste. It is only the interruption of natural systems, i.e. human interference, that prevents us from being healed by our very environment.
Calcification is the blockage of ease in the body. A calcified spine corresponds to an energetic state which blocks Kundalini. With out getting too esoteric (maybe its too late), prana can be visualized as living water, with all its connotations. Electrical Magnetic elixirs like Adya Clarity can aid the effects of Yoga practice, by creating fluidity, and the balance of natural Ha, and Tha energy, which allows the body to turn up the volume on both ida and pingala aspects. By releasing the blockages which occur on the physical level of experience, we are eliminating the blockages which occur on the more subtle levels of experience, beginning with mind and emmotion, but ultimately clearing energetic pathways to consciousness of our multi-dimensionality. This is the premise behind Hatha Yoga and the practice of Asana and Pranayama. Raja Yoga, or the practice of Meditation, is a great for people who are already advanced in their practice (from this life time, or past ones), but can be frustrating for people if we do not first create a satvic state in the koshas.
There are many ways people are using to eliminate calcification. I have used MSM and Adya Clarity. MSM in the way I have used it (a tablespoon/gallon of water) is more gentle in my body. Adya Clarity (teaspoon/gallon water) is more insistent that transformation occur. It feels that it works faster. The crucial thing with either method is to make sure that you are drinking plenty of water. I have found MSM in large doses to be very dehydrating, and the detoxification symptoms I have experienced with Adya Clarity can reduced to almost nothing by drinking enough good water. If you are practicing yoga, though this issue may be worth exploring for yourself.
-Matthew Portwood
radiantlifeyoga.com
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| Adya Clarity For information about our offerings visit radiantlifeyoga.com |
Friday, February 4, 2011
Classes at Asheville Culture Project
We finally are kicking off some more classes at the Asheville Culture Project. Friday class will periodically have a special focus such as Nutrition, Sutras, Energetic Anatomy and other various things that might interest yogis. Were offering an ongoing free week (starting any day), to new local students, so feel welcome to join us at any time.
Mon | 10:00am-11:15am | Asheville Culture Project | Power Vinyasa |
Wed | 10:00am-11:15am | Asheville Culture Project | Power Vinyasa |
Fri | 10:00am-11:15am | Asheville Culture Project | Power Vinyasa/ Special Topics |
Sun | 5:45pm-6:45pm | Asheville Yoga Center | Hot Flow |
Asheville Culture Project - 257 Short Coxe Ave Asheville NC 28801
Asheville Yoga Center - 239 S Liberty St. Asheville NC 28801
Note: the Free Week is valid for new local students only.
More info visit radiantlifeyoga.com
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Yoga Classes Audio Download
Three Classes taught by Matthew. These are recorded with a dicta-phone, and so are a little rough, but if you can follow along its a good practice.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Samskara- Self reproductive quality
Samskara is a quality, it is a guna. It is the tendency to think, say, do, because we've doe it before. Samskara is self reproducing, and can take on a life of its own. Sometimes called thought forms samskaras's are subtle matter that arises out of nothingness because we create it. As we create it again and again it becomes
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