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SEPTEMBER 21, 2010 FROM GUEST BLOGGER RACHEL DEWAN

Dear Peaceful Yoga Warriors,

It's Ganesh's birthday, so I hope you can join me on the mat this week to celebrate.  Ganesh is the sweet, gentle elephant-headed deity of Hindu mythology.   He is the bearer of auspicious beginnings, and he has much to teach us.  Generally referred to as the "remover of obstacles" (join me in class to find out WHY...and how he got his elephant head!), the Tantric twist on the teaching is that he represents the obstacle itself.  He is the reminder that challenges come up, that life is often hard, but that WE have the power to transcend and grow.  When we actively engage with the challenges we face, rather than looking for someone (real or myth) to take them away, we live an awakened life of intention.

Join me 4:00pm Tuesday or 10:45am Friday for an empowering practice, facing our challenges head on with a little wisdom from our elephant-headed friend.  Learn the story of Ganesh, delve into the iconography, do a little chanting (kind of like "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" in sanskrit :-), and have an all around rockin' birthday party!

Kisses & blessings,

Rachel Dewan, ERYT and Anusara Inspired

MARCH 9, 2010:  So I read this great article abou Gary Lauder's clever idea to reduce traffic accidents: a traffic sign that says "Take Turns".  I love this. It's solo yogic! It's simple, cheap, smart and kind.  And if 50% of traffic accidents happen at intersections it could save lives. The yogi in me takes this suggestion and applies it to our emotions. So imagine you approach the intersection of your emotions (just like you would in your car) and you look around and politely allow the emotion you are feeling to cross over.  Then the next emotion takes its turn quite politely.  Splendid!

Yet as human beings we often push back our feelings creating in the flow of our lives a flood at some point of pent of emotions. Or we deny what we are feeling trying to run away from it.  Neither of these works.  When we allow our feelings to take turns we are really CARING FOR OUR FEELINGS.  As Rumi writes;  "It's good to leave each day behind, life flowing water, Yesterday is gone and it's tale told. Today new seeds are growing."

This is really getting to the heart of a Tantric practice which encourages us to embrace all of who we are.  The sadness and the joy, the tiredness and the vigor, the fear and the love.  This is a nondualistic approach to see that there is not a winner/loser or bad/good that we don't have to battle our emotions, thoughts or feelings any longer.  Running away from what we feel will only prolong it.  And all of our feelings can be put into 3 buckets: pleasant, unpleasant and neutral.  So as hard as it might be to heal and remain in a state of being healed we are taught through yoga to embrace your feelings, care for them.

A great meditation from Thich Nhat Hanh suggest we take a feeling, let's say sadness, and talk to your feeling: say to your sadness "breathe - I am taking care of you now."  Acknowledge this feeling is you and as you breath out, let it go.  Then allow for the next moment to unfold and the next feeling. Breath into that one.  Take one at a time and stay with the flow taking turns. 

Most importantly know that whatever you're feeling is part of your humanness, love and hurt co-exist, one is the compliment to the other so to prevent staying in a state of suffering it helps to embrace all you feel and care for yourself.  We literally learn about ourselves as we experience emotion, feeling and thought.  We also become expert through this in the human experience. We can by caring for our own feelings learn how to care for how others feel.

If we can take turns in our emotions we can allow others to feel what they need to feel and take turns appreciating them too for their humanness.  Through this we create a more polite world. A world of peace and authenticity.  Love yourself, Love your life! Silvia

 

Gary Lauder's new traffic sign: Take Turns | Video on TED.com  

So take to heart the words of Joseph Campbell who said, “Life is not about the meaning. It’s about the feeling.”  The Feeling of life even the hard stuff is the beauty.  Tantric views ask us to accept the full spectrum of who we are, denying none of our feelings.  So on the mat we practice feeling the poses.  And the poses are not easy.  Yoga is challenging but as we embrace the feeling of life (even the anger, the fear, the worry) we come alive again and realize the key is in our hand to free ourselves from suffering.  Pain is part of life but we don’t have to suffer endlessly. 

Feelings really are more powerful than thoughts and it is through feeling we are one step closer to freeing our hearts.  Those of you who are on the razors edge deciding whether to stay in the prison of your own making or come out the other side please know this, The deeper that sorrow carves into your being the more joy you can contain.”  Kahlil Gibran.  You know then you have the capacity to be joyful and FREE!

Will we have sometimes sorrowful days, months, or years, maybe. But it’s been my experience that even that demonstrates to us that sometimes its necessary to love peace so much that you are willing to sacrifice for it.

So today have the courage to set yourself free!  For Stress paralyzes life; love releases it. Worry confuses life; love harmonizes it. Anger darkens life; love illuminates it.  As Augustus William Hare writes, “The feeling is often the deeper truth.”  Embrace your truth, embrace what you feel and free your soul for love and peace!  With humble gratitude for life, Silvia