Free Yoga + Thai Massage!

Remember: There are THREE FREE Ashtanga classes coming up - starting tomorrow!

Monday Jan. 12th @ 7:30pm

Wednesday Jan. 14th @ 5:30pm

Saturday Jan. 17th @ 4:00pm

This is my New Year's gift to you!  Bring friends, bring family, get a taste of how Ashtanga can benefit and enhance any aspect of any yogic style.

ALSO: Feeling stiff or sore from your desk job or your workout? I offer 1-hour Thai Massages for $25! Wonderful for yogis, at an unbeatable price. Come talk to me about it after class, or email me (lindsay.yoga [at] gmail.com)

See you soon!

Internal renewal for the New Year

Blessings, happiness, and well-being to each and every creature on the planet. I hope the new year has brought you a sense of renewal and rejuvenation, both in and out of yoga class!

Try using this energy and this mental concept of a "new beginning" to allow yourself freedom to expand. Freedom to drop judgements. Freedom to be happy, even when (especially when!) you have been stuck in a pattern of unhappiness or negativity, for whatever reason.

It is sometimes all to easy to forget that, when negative thoughts are swirling, hooking their sharp little claws into our sense of well-being, we do not have to invite them in. Nor do we need to try to fight them, by engaging in escapist activity (or fight WITH them, channelling more negativity and upset right into the storm itself).

It makes sense that, as physical beings, our first two reactions to fear or pain are to either run away or fight. This helps keep the physical body safe - especially in pre-modern times. However, the problem is, these are usually the only two strategies we've learned to deal with ANY fear and pain, not just physical! And of course, these strategies are of no help to the mind/psyche (or the spirit.)

So what can we do instead? That's right! I thought you'd be able to guess :) We stop using a fight-or-flight strategy with the mind (which often leads to things such as nervousness/anxiety, depression, feelings of worthlessness or self-loathing.... a very long, sad list. Many of us have been there, and there is a light at the end of the tunnel, believe me). Instead, we being to practice simple, non-judgemental observation. "Simple" in this case does not mean easy. Instead, it refers to a quiet, uncluttered state or method. Trying to sit in non-judgement is very very difficult at first! From the time we are small, we are taught to express preferences, judge other people and things, rank things on scales from best to worse, most- to least-liked, etc.

As you can see, that's quite a lot of cultural baggage already. Then add all the SELF-judgment we continually engage in. Not only is all of this judgement painful in some way (to ourselves, others, or both), but it also completely obscures any awareness of the present moment! For example, one morning you get dressed and look in the mirror. A little voice in your head says, "You don't look very good today. Not good at all. You're looking (thin/heavy/short/tall/polka-dotted/rainbow-striped/whatever it is - take your pick.)

Now you have two choices. You can agree with that tiny voice, begin to doubt your clothing, your hair, your appearance in general. You begin feeling sad, like you are not good enough. You wish you were someone else. Feeling this way, you know there's no way you can enjoy your day now. ..... OR ..... When that little voice criticizes your looks, you don't buy into it. You know that it's just more unhelpful mind chatter. Where did it come from? Your parents? Your friends? Society's idea of "beauty"? In the end, it doesn't matter. What does matter is that you DON'T buy into it! Let it flow right passed you and return to your breath, or choose another mediational focus (a candle flame, an image you like, japa beads, etc.) Just like building any skill, this takes time. So stick with it! I promise you will see results; your head will be nicer place to be! :)

But what if it feels stuck!? It feels like this thought is driving you crazy! Well, it may not seem this way, but feeling comes first, and then thought/reaction comes a split second later. So, although it takes time, we can learn to experience the feeling, observe the thought it triggers, let this cascade of thoughts move through and be processed by the body, and then dissapated; thus breaking the habit of following the thoughts along their destructive course.

In many places, especially Western societies, being non-reactive to events (both internal and external) is seen as extremely strange, & perhaps even somehow "cold". This is an understandable misinterpretation. For example, when the Dalai Lama speaks about Tibet, he does not speak in anger. This confuses a lot of people - how could he NOT be angry? But the Lama is working from an entirely different standpoint; a different paradigm. He sees that anger and violence only beget more of the same. He sees that being "reactive" to the situation the way many people might be will not improve conditions.

Taking a different example, there was a monk living in the forest with very few possessions - a bed, a table, and some windchimes by the window . He had a young apprentice who came every day to study. One day, the apprentice way playing with the beautiful windchimes when they dropped to the ground and broke. He turned around, terrified, to face his master. Instead of anger, he was greeted with his master's smile. "You have nothing to worry about," the Master said. Those were for enjoyment, not for pain." This story is a great example of how even pleasure can lead to negativity & pain. When we are attached to something, be it a person, an object, or a yoga pose, we automatically create opportunities to feel pain if these things are no longer there/the same for us. By letting the positive thoughts of "like" and attachment flow past us in the same way, we approach equanimity from both sides.

The next time something goes "wrong" (start with small things) and you hear that inner voice beginning to judge you (or the situation), take a deep breath. Step away for a moment if you need to. Then try to approach it in a different way. Pretend you are helping your best friend or your child with this problem. Even if it doesn't go perfectly the first time, try try again. You can actually re-train your brain so that your automatic response to stress is more calm, less stress!!

In life, we all have our own completely unique experiences. But these experiences are inextricably entwined with others, and we are all brothers and sisters on this journey. Yes, life will bring pain and sorrow to us all. But it will also bring happiness and pure joy, and - if you are still enough to breathe it - inner peace. This is difficult work. Be compassionate with yourself.

Namaste

Start your New Year off with a FREE week of Ashtanga!

That's right - the second full week of Ashtanga classes at A2 Yoga in 2009 is FREE to everyone! That is:

Monday, Jan. 12th @ 7:30pm

Wednesday, Jan. 14th @ 5:30pm

and Saturday, Jan. 17th @4:00pm (you can always view the schedule at A2yoga.com)

Come to all 3 to really get a feel for what Ashtanga can do for you! Rapidly build your strength, improve flexibility using specially structured sequences, and enhance your concentration and mental yogic practice! Knowledge of Ashtanga will allow you to take your practice further - in any direction you choose. 

Also: I will be teaching on New Year's Eve (Wed. Dec. 31st @ 5:30pm), and I will be at the New Year's Day 108 Sun Salutation event (along with Jo & others - Thurs. Jan 1st @ 11am), so come celebrate the end of 2008 and the dawning of 2009 with us!!

Happy Holidays!

A2 Yoga is closed today & tomorrow. Happy holidays & bright blessings to you all!

-lindsay

Quotes of the Day

A consistent thinker is a thoughtless person, because he conforms to a pattern; he repeats phrases and thinks in a groove.

If we can really understand the problem, the answer will come out of it, because the answer is not separate from the problem.

There is no end to education. It is not that you read a book, pass an examination, and finish with education. The whole of life, from the moment you are born to the moment you die, is a process of learning.

---Jiddu Krishnamurti

Steep yourself in enlightenment

Enlightenment does not usually come as a blinding flash, all at once. Instead, if you allow it, it will slowly infuse itself into every aspect of your life, over the course of months and years.
-John Tarrrant

You are not your thoughts: Reshaping your inner world

Yoga is a physical practice, but as I stress in my classes, it has a powerful effect on the mind, as a form of meditation. And what is meditation, exactly? It does not mean "having no thoughts" or anything of the kind. It means observing, non-judgementally, everything that is going on internally. Sometimes the mind will be very loud. Sometimes it will calm down. Observe these fluctuations, and their impermanence. Sometimes you will have the realization that your mind feels very free and expansive! And then you will realize that thinking about this expansiveness has made it disappear, because to think about it, you come out of that state. But this is nothing to worry about. Observe all these fluctuations.

You will start to notice that there are certain voices in your mind that are much louder and more prominent than others. Now, I do not mean this in any "hearing voices = illness" way. We all have constant voices in our heads - our self-talk. And it is our self-talk, NOT our external world, that largely determines how we feel and how well we can deal with things.

At first, as you notice and observe these voices, they may seem to get louder. This is just because you are paying more attention to them. Continue to observe, even if your mind makes a racket! Watch how even the most difficult thoughts and emotions pass away after they arise, to be replaced with other thoughts and emotions, equally impermanent.

As you begin to identify the prominent voices, you will notice how much they affect you. Many of us have prominent negative voices, thanks to both our culture and our upbringing. These negative voices can make us sad, anxious, depressed, angry... they can make life seem almost unbearable. But here's the good part: you can work with these voices, re-shaping your inner world into a wonderful place to be! And when your internal world is peaceful, relaxed, and happy, your external world will be as well, regardless of what's going on.

Now, I am not claiming that just by talking positively to yourself, you will be happy all the time. First of all, this is a process, not a quick fix. It can take months, or years, but it does have the power to completely transform your life. I will back up my statement by sharing my own personal experience.

When I was 4 years old, my baby brother, only 6 months old at the time, died of a heart defect. This was obviously a terrible blow to my family, and we all sank into a deep depression. Now, some people may say that 4 years old is too young to be depressed, or to even really understand the event. But my experience was that I was very aware of what had happened, and I felt a tremendous loss. I missed my brother. I wanted him back. I wanted my parents to be happy again. I wanted things to be different.

The loss of my brother created all sorts of damaging self-talk for my 4-year-old self. I thought that if I were a better kid, this wouldn't have happened. I thought maybe it should have been me instead of him. I thought that God or the universe or someone was punishing our family. Why else would this happen? What was the point of my brother's life? It seemed like it had brought us nothing but agony.

As I grew up, the depression stayed with me. I often thought of myself as "no good" at things, or just "no good" in general. I thought I was damaged in some way. Being diagnosed with epilepsy only added to this idea that I was "damaged". I would think to myself, if only I could be someone else. I don't even want to be me. Life is too hard. I can't do this. That was my motto for years: I can't do this. I can't "do life". It's not for me. I am out of place in this world, and I should not be here.

My depression, complicated by seizures due to epilepsy, became so severe that I ended up dropping out of high school with only a few months to go. I had hit bottom. I literally could do nothing other than lay on the floor and cry. Nothing helped. Not my parents, not my therapist, not my doctors. I didn't see how anything would ever get better. So in my mind, I resigned myself to this life of misery and pain.

But then..... then I found yoga. And as the physical practice began to bring me back to life, the mental aspect began to help me feel better - something I thought could never happen! I was astounded. I began practicing more and also studying yogic and Buddhist philosophy. I began to meditate on my negative thoughts, and to deconstruct them. I would watch as the negative thoughts proved to be untrue, again and again. I was not out of place, or worthless, or bad. I was simply human. And I began to function again. I finished high school, and went to college.

As I felt better, I began to work with my pain more directly. I would meditate on my thoughts and feelings about my brother's death. Then I would consciously challenge and debate them. For instance: "why was his life cut so short?" was challenged with: "you don't know how long everyone's life is supposed to be. Maybe his was the perfect length, like all of our lives." My thoughts of "why was he born, just to die so soon? To make our family suffer?" were gradually replaced with: "well, he came into our family and left us with a gift of tremendous compassion and understanding for all those who experience loss - and that is everyone." The idea that "my life should have been different" gave way to: "everything is as it should be".

Over the course of a few years, with many many hours of practice, my inner world became a peaceful, even happy place. It allowed me to stop focusing on my problems and to turn my energy toward helping others. It actually allowed me to turn my problems into strengths.

Now, I cannot say that I never feel sad about my brother any more. There are definitely times when I am sad, when I miss him, when I wonder what he would have been like. But that's just one voice, almost whispering now. And it is both comforted and overpowered by the new way of understanding that I have built for myself. I could choose to continue to believe that life is unfair, and that it dealt me a harsh blow. But I don't want to live in that world. Instead, I choose to live a life that was blessed by a very special person; a person who taught me compassion for all living beings, without ever saying one word. I thought I would never get over grieving his loss. But I have, by honoring him as my teacher.

So that is a piece of my experience with transformation, for whatever it's worth. We all have our own challenges, our own harsh blows to deal with. But what I want to convey is that we CAN CHOOSE a happier, more peaceful, more integrated way of living. It may not be easy. But it can shape your world into a wonderous place to be. So don't believe your negative thoughts. I assure you, they're inaccurate. And they aren't you. You are a being of compassionate energy, so much bigger than any thoughts.