Meditating in motion

Indian legend relates many stories about Lord Shiva, also known as “Rudra”. He is famous for being the embodiment of the power of destruction in an eternal cycle of creation maintenance, and destruction. Shiva is also associated with deep states of meditation where thoughts are absent and only silence and emptiness exist. It is said that Lord Shiva once entered a profound state of meditation for the benefit of mankind for a very long time. When he finally emerged from this state and opened his eyes, the deep joy, peace, and love he felt for the human race was expressed with sacred tears which ran down his cheek and fell to earth. Each tear generated a rudraksha tree whose tiny fruits are born of the tears of rudra—the Lord Almighty Himself.

The word rudraksha, in fact, comes from the two Sanskrit words rudra, a synonym for Lord Shiva, and aksha, meaning “eyes”. Botanically, the rudraksha tree is known as Elaecarpus ganitrus Roxb. These trees grow in very few places in the world including the Himalayas of India and Nepal, as well as in parts of Indonesia. They are large trees with a wide silhouette whose flowers bloom annually. The rudraksha berry varies in size (3-40 mm; 1/8 to 1½ inches). It has smooth light green skin and pulp much like a green grape. Lodged within the pulp is a single round seed which has a rough surface and a hole running through it from top to bottom. It is these seeds which are the rudraksha beads. Each seed also possesses fron 1 to 21 vertical lines running down its surface, like the longitude lines on a globe. These lines are known as mukhas, or facets, and are natural formations of the seed. Seeds with one vertical line are known as ek-mukhi (one facet); those with two lines are dwi-mukhi (two facets), and so on.

Many different Hindu scriptures written over many different periods of history describe divine qualities of this little bead. One intriguing aspect of rudraksha lore is that it is worn and worshipped by absolutely everyone regardless of caste, religion, sect, creed, color, or sex. Given the highly secularized history of India this is quite peculiar. Even today, as in past times, it is worn by the Brahmin priest while performing solemn ceremonies, by the soldier engaged in battle, by the store owner or stockbroker conducting business, by the student for knowledge, the poorest of our society for sustenance.

Generally speaking, one who wears the rudraksha in the prescribed manner will invoke the energies of Lord Shiva and negative thoughts and emotions will be destroyed. Rudraksha has a calming effect on the central nervous system. It is said that the rudraksha helps maintain a normal blood pressure and helps maintain health. It has no adverse effects and promotes peace of mind and prosperity for the wearer. In various ancient scriptures (i.e. Padma Purana, Shiva Purana, Mantramaharnava, Rudrajabalopanishad) it is proclaimed that if a person meets his death while wearing a rudraksha he is released from the cycle of life and death and achieves moksha (liberation).

How To Use and Care For The Rudraksha Mala

• It is best to wear the rudraksha mala (i.e necklace) for the first time on a Monday. If at all possible it should be first brought to a Shiva temple for sanctification early on a Monday morning and then worn immediately after worship. If a Shiva temple is not available then simply wear it initially on a Monday.
• At bedtime remove the mala and place it on the alter in your home. When traveling you should sleep with it on.
• After bathing in the morning, hold the mala in the right hand and repeat the appropriate mantra aloud (see below) for 108 times.
• Do not wear the rudraksha mala during periods of menstrual bleeding or while attending funerals.
• The rudraksha mala has a very long lifespan. A properly cared for mala can be passed along to eight generations as a family heirloom.
• The rudraksha mala can be washed occasionally with warm soapy water and allowed to dry naturally. Do not soak for extended periods of time.
• Rudraksha beads vary in size from 3-40 mm. The size of the bead has no bearing on its effects. However a given mala must contain beads all with the same number of mukhis.

What's the easiest path?

The 6 am practice is well underway.  I've got about 11 individuals that are showing up daily to experience yoga and meditation.  Today was day 4 of our 30 day journey.  There were lots of yawns in the room, including my own.  It isn't easy to get up at 5 am.  It's hard work and requires a lot of commitment and discipline.  Looking around the room this morning, I was overwhelmed for a moment to have such amazing people in my life.  As tired as I am, I can't think of a more wonderful way to start each day than with the energy of these committed and dedicated yogis. 

They get it.  They are doing their work.  They are on a spiritual journey full of self-discovery and hard work.  It's not just the getting up at 5 am that makes this journey hard work.  It's also the process of looking inward and allowing oneself to change.  It's the self awareness and self discovery.  It's more than hard work.  It's bravery.

Some people can't stay the spiritual path.  They think it is too difficult.  I personally believe that being on a non spiritual path is just as difficult.  Perhaps you don't arise at 5 am, but there are other hardships.  Illness, disease, unhappiness, lack of fulfillment and ever eroding less favorable habits are just a few of the hardships.  I think it takes the same amount of energy to stay in one spot as it does to grow and expand.  Staying in a spot simply means you have to constantly battle the emotions, situations and people in your life that are trying to get you to change.  Changing simply means you are battling the emotions, situations and people in your life that trying to get you to stay the same.

Regardless, it's hard work both ways. 

The idea that one is easier than the other stems from the fact that staying the same has quick results.  Changing takes time.  To stay in your habits, your thought patterns and your belief system appears easy and takes no time.  It's impossible for some to envision the long-term consequences and hard work of staying the same. To challenge the ego and the mind and embrace the spiritual appears hard.  The ego does not like uncertainty and battles every step. 

Ultimately, as the ego subsides and the soul emerges, life does take on effortless ease.  In the end, the hard work was worth it.

Om Shanti,  Pamela

Awesome Career or Dharma Questions to Ask Yourself

 I love to work.  I won't bore you with the astrological details of my Saturn (hard work) being conjunct my Venus (love) in my second house of money, but that creates a person that would probably choose to work over eating, sleeping, playing and just about everything else.  Work is play.  I guess that explains my entrepreneurial skills and my enthusiasm for building yoga centers, websites and creating workshops and products.

Another thing that I have tapped into that supports all of this is the ability to embrace uncertainty.  If you could relax into the uncertainty of changing jobs or launching your own career, you would find that the whole world colludes for your success.  Relaxing into uncertainty is a practice.  You can begin this practice by envisioning your dream job that is connected to your Dharma or life's purpose.  When you can combine your passion for work, need to achieve success, and desire for income with helping and serving, you have a slam dunk recipe for passionate work.

Think about the following questions:

• If you had all the money and time in the world making those two things irrelevant, what career would you choose?
• Today, how can you help and serve another?
• What skills do you possess that are unique and set you apart from others?
• What did you want to be when you grew up and how has that changed?  Has it changed?
• What is your biggest material desire and why?  How will you feel when you receive that desire?  How will your life be different than it is today?
• Who do you admire and why?  How can you cultivate that quality within yourself?
• What is your biggest obstacle stopping you from having the career you desire?  What small thing can you do today to begin to move that obstacle?

Manifesting your dream job isn't really that hard.  I think the hardest part is simply giving yourself permission to dream.

Om Shanti,  Pamela

Find Meaningful Work

Live as if you were living already for the second time ~ Vince Lombardi 

Last night I was teaching Week 3 of the Elemental Cleanse Course to my teachers in training.  Week 3 is fun because we have the opportunity to talk about Dharma or Life's Purpose.  Dharma is the idea that you incarnate in this realm to serve some specific purpose through the daily work that you do.  Finding meaningful work where you express your unique skills and talents in the capacity of service to humanity fosters happiness.

Tapping into Dharma is about getting up every single day of your life and LOVING the drive to work.  It's about being passionate about what you do.  It's about helping others.  We spend an exorbitant amount of time at work, so you know how important it is to be happy at work. Many have had the experience of serving a job that they were not happy in.  It takes a toll on your whole life including your emotional and physical health.

As I was speaking, I was picturing that last breath that each of us will take.  I imagined how your life flashes before your eyes.  For a moment, I was sad as I imagined a person greeting death, looking back, and not feeling like they had really embraced their life.  Don't do that.

Instead, tap into your skills and talents.  What are you naturally good at?  What do you do well?  What do you get lost in?  What activities do you engage in where time seems to stand still? Of course, I have yoga centers and teach health and wellness for my work.  I also have my own business and that means freedom to come and go.  I get to help people feel better all day every day.  It's an awesome job and I'm in my dharma.  I know that sounds fun and obvious, but what you might not know is that I used to be a CPA (certified public accountant.)  Each morning, as an auditor, I would slip on my suit, grab my briefcase, fight traffic and head off to a client to audit their books.  

If you've ever been audited, you can imagine.  You can also imagine that you aren't the most popular person in the building.  It's a tough job and requires about a 12 - 14 hour day most days.  There's extensive travel and the pay is lousy.

I LOVED IT!!!

I was great at it.  You see, I took my job very seriously.  As a CPA, I knew that I was keeping the financial reporting system honest.  I also knew that I was helping the company to improve systems and flow.  I loved the travel and meeting new people.  I  was thrilled to have a stack of papers a mile high in front of me, to bury myself in it and to come up for air at the end of the day.  I was young and vibrant and loaded with responsibility which translated to "power" in my young mind.   

There was nothing spiritual about being a CPA.  Still, I was in my dharma.  Think about that.

Om Shanti,  Pamela

95% of People Gain Back Weight Post Diet

I guess that statistic shouldn't startle me, but it does.  95% of the people that lose weight on a diet will gain it back within 3 years.  This is according to many, but I'll credit Gary D. Foster, PhD,Director, Center for Obesity Research and Education, Professor, Medicine and Public Health.   So a person joins a program like Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers and goes through all the hard work, not to mention expense, of losing the weight just to gain it back in 3 years.  

Why? 

Simple.  Dieting changes a person.  Dieting doesn't transform a person.  The constant in change is that it is always changing.  Facilitating change alone is not enough to empower an individual to not go back to their old habits.  To eliminate habitual patterns, a person must transform. 

That's where a lifestyle incorporating yoga, meditation and nutrition come in.  An Ayurvedic lifestyle transforms a person on all levels, body, mind, and spirit.  This is how the Elemental Cleanse™ works and why it creates transformation and not change.

In your mind are little roads for your thoughts to travel that you have created and maintained for a lifetime.  They are familiar to you.  So familiar, in fact, that you can get from point A to point B without even paying attention.  Think about the last time you experienced driving your car and doing just that.  Lost in thought, you arrived at your destination without running any red lights, but you don't really remember the ride.  The Elemental Cleanse™ takes you through a process where you become, not only very aware that you're driving on the road, but it also makes you aware that the road is in need of repair.  You  begin to realize that the road is actually quite ugly and not taking you to your desired destination.   In fact, the road isn't even a road.  It's a track just like at the races that goes around and around forever.

Through the process of Cleansing, you have a tangible experience of health.  Your mind and body receive an experience in what it is to feel good and the racetrack you have been on becomes very unattractive.  You decide to build a new road with a destination.  This is the energy and effort of the Elemental Cleanse™.

Once the choice is made, the new road goes under construction.  The new road is smooth, fresh and screams freedom.  You really like the new road and where it is headed.  Sometimes, though, you find yourself back on the racetrack.  You don't even know how you ended up there.  You were just driving along and there are you.

You notice immediately that it is bumpy.  It is uncomfortable.  You cannot stay there.  You quickly look for the exit to the new road.  This happens again and again until the racetrack slowly disappears.  The magic to the Cleanse is the bumpy road becomes unbearable.  You will not stay there.  Your soul won't let you.  You take action.  It's beyond willpower.

That's how the Cleanse works.  That's why it works for so many different situations.  That's why it will work for you. 

The Elemental Cleanse™ doesn't just work for weight loss.  It works to transform the root cause that is leading to the following symptoms of imbalance:

• Poor digestion
• Heartburn
• Acid reflux
• Indigestion
• Constipation
• IBS
• Hemorrhoids
• Gas & bloating
• Weight Gain
• Obesity
• Acne
• Itchy, flaky or dry skin
• Eczema
• Psoriasis
• Allergies
• Fibromyalgia
• Arthritis
• Headaches including Migraines
• Joint Pain
• Insomnia
• Interrupted Sleep
• Unclear thoughts and Forgetfulness
• Lack of Energy and Enthusiam
• Depression
• Lack of Purpose
• Lack of Joy

The In-Person experience is scheduled for August.  You can Cleanse anytime with the Elemental Cleanse™ ecourse.  Learn more>>>

Yoga Chitta Vritti Nirodhah

I'm on day two at Amrit Yoga Institute.  The days start at 7 am with the Amrit Yoga practice.  It's 26 postures designed to elevate the pranic body and still as Guru Dev says, the "modifications" of the mind.  Press points, or establishing yourself in your feet, and then drawing the spine up become your focus.  Your breath becomes your focus.  As you hold the poses for what some would say are excruciatingly long periods of time, the discomfort and sensations in your body become the focus.  All of these serve to bring you back to that sweet space in your mind where you are that, this is that and that is all there is. 

In other words, it's a tangible experience of oneness.  It's the settling and quieting of the mind that allows you to have "no mind" and therefore an experience of who you really are which is not your mind.

 

During practice today I found myself not wanting to move.  Holding a warrior for 1, 3, 5 or even 10 minutes would have been nothing.  The practice is so beautiful.  As you feel the obstacles and blocks in your body you send prana to that spot.  You softly move and adjust until the spot releases.  It's gorgeous.

Relaxed into my body and stilled in my mind, the mind which can be your best friend and introduce your to God or your worst enemy and keep you away forever, went still.  Gone.  Nothing.  No time.  No space.  No....  Spontaneous  mantra came to me:

Yoga Chitta Vriti Norodhah Yoga Chitta Vriti Norodhah Yoga Chitta Vriti Norodhah

Now this would make sense to me if this mantra had been present before practice or if I was focused on this, but I haven't thought this mantra for a very long time.  Honestly, I didn't even know I knew that by heart.  My Sanskrit is poor.  

Yoga Chitta Vriti Norodhah Yoga Chitta Vriti Norodhah Yoga Chitta Vriti Norodhah

Translated.....

"Yoga is the individual discipline that leads to the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind."

Wow.....

Om Shanti,  Pamela

Learn more about Amrit Yoga here>>>

What is yoga?

I'm in Salt Springs, Florida hanging out at the Amrit Yoga Institute for a few days.  It's a chance to observe their teacher training program and learn about Amrit Yoga from Desei Amrit, affectionately know as Guru Dev.  He is truly one of the last living Yogi Masters and it is a true blessing and honor to sit in his presence. 

Today he talked about Yoga and what it really is.  We tend to think of Yoga as this physical practice of becoming strong, lean and flexible.  Certainly, yoga postures are part of yoga, but yoga is much more than that.  As Guru Dev said, yoga brings spirituality into practicality.  It is a system or a technology that allows a person to feel harmony, inner balance, unification and most importantly integration.  It is a way in which you learn to disconnect from what you are not, and connect to what you are, a soul.  

What are you not?  That's a good question.  You are not your name, your occupation, your house, your body or your mind.  You are that quiet place in you that can observe all of those things.  For a moment, just sit with your eyes closed and notice your thoughts.  Just watch them.  Thoughts are simply fluctuations of the brain.  If you can watch them, who is watching?  That's the real you.  The silent witness that observes and does sometime participate in this drama.  This part of you is a constant.  It doesn't change.  It is eternal.  It is Soul.

The reason that you suffer in life is because you have become detached from Soul.  You think that you are your name, your occupation, your house, your body and your mind.  Anytime anything doesn't go right with one of those, you become unhappy and suffer.  You suffer because you are unable to sit with the fluctuation.  For example, on a typical day you make dinner.  This may be something that you enjoy doing.  On some days, however, you are tired or in a hurry.  Making dinner gives you no pleasure and you become resentful that you are the only one who cooks.  You wish your partner or children would help.  This makes you angry and bitter. (It also makes the food angry and bitter so be careful!)  The fact that you make dinner didn't change.  It's just your attitude around making dinner that changed and made you unhappy. 

The physical practice of yoga on your mat is a safe place for you to begin to notice the fluctuations in your mind and cultivate the ability to take that practice off of your mat.  In Hatha Yoga, you get into a pose, you hold it.  You hold it for a long time.  It's uncomfortable.  Your mind will start to tell you a story.  Mostly it's telling you that you can't do something, that you are out of shape, or that the person next to you looks better than you.  You pause, you realize that that is just a story.  You feel the sensations of the pose and you realize that is just a story too.  Your mind goes quiet and you connect.  Back to our dinner example, you would realize that you are just having uncomfortable thoughts that are changing your experience of making dinner which usually makes you happy and doesn't have to make you unhappy.

Do you have to do yoga to have this experience?  No.  Lots of people run, clean or paint and end up in the exact same place.  Yoga is simply a directed approach to making spirituality accessible in your daily life.

Om Shanti,  Pamela

Fuzzy teeth

I ran out of toothpaste over this past weekend.  It took me until last night to finally secure some.  It wasn't due to lack of effort. I actually stopped by or tried to stop by CVS three times.  When I did stop by, I became distracted by everything else and forgot why I want in the first place...Vata head.  At the studio, we are out of my favorite Neem toothpaste so no hope there.

It hasn't been all bad though.  It's reinvigorated some of my Ayurvedic practices that are supposed to be part of a healthy daily routine.  This is what I did for about 5 days and I'm continuing with the exception of using toothpaste as well.

• Fill mouth with Neem Mouthwash and brush teeth pretending it's toothpaste.
• Swish with Sesame Oil.   This is called oil pulling.  Sesame oil is antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal and I could go on.  Simply swish until the oil turns white.  It's a little off-putting at first, but it feels so good and your gums sparkle.
• Use tongue scraper to scrape the ama or toxicity off of the tongue.  Ama is the yucky white coating that you get on your tongue from poor choice-making.  I sell stainless steel tongue scrapers in the studio.  I forgot how much I LOVE this practice.  By day 3 my tongue was so nice and pink.  It is said to improve digestion as it stimulates the glands of the mouth.  It's so awesome.  
• Floss.  They say that people who floss live 3 years longer.
• Swish with Neem Mouthwash again and you are good to go!

Honestly, toothpaste might be overrated. 

click through to read more about the benefits of Sesame Seed and Oil>>>

click here to see a tongue scraper.  If you are in Cinci, just grab one when you are in for yoga.  I think the shipping would be as much as the scraper.  If not in Cinci, try Whole Foods>>>>

Happy Smiles!  Om Shanti,  Pamela

You Must Be Dreaming

For the past 6 - 8 months or so, I've been practicing a type of yoga called "Dream Yoga."  It's a Tibetan practice intended to transcend Karma.  Karma is the result of, not only your daily choices (as you sow you reap), but also of your experiences of past lives brought into this world.  Amazingly, Karma is also created in the dream state.

The states of consciousness are (1) waking, (2) dreaming (3) deep sleep and (4) self or soul or oneness.  Obviously when you are awake and making choices, you are creating Karma and you are aware.  No one knows what happens in deep sleep, so it is safe to say there is no Karma there and of course if you are "one" as self or soul, you are not creating Karma.  

In your waking state, you can make the most nourishing choice in any situation and that's going to minimize and ultimately transcend Karma.  In a dreaming state, however, you are running amuck in an uncontrolled and unconscious fashion.  Those sleeping dragons or unconscious choice-makers that we talk about in the Elemental Cleanse go nutso!  You may experience wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy and gluttony. So the big question is, "how do you minimize the Karma in your dreams?"  That's called dream yoga.  It's a fun practice that helps you to have lucid dreams or dreams where you are conscious and can consciously make a more nourishing choice within the dream.  

I love the practice because not only does it transcend Karma, it also provides deep insight and meaning into your dreams.  We like to believe that our dreams mean something.  The Tibetans believe that dreams are mean nothing unless they are done with consciousness.  It also improves your sleep.  If you have a hard time sleeping this will help.

Here's the practice:

• Women lay on your left side. (this has to do with the lunar and solar energy channels of the spine)
• Men lay on your right.
• Recapitulate your day.  That means quickly walk through the events of your day with witnessing awareness.  Be the observer.  Don't attach to the drama of the day.  Simply watch it like you would a move.  This should only take 3 - 5 minutes.
• Tell yourself that you will remember your dreams.
• As you go to sleep, picture a white light, an angel or a goddess within your heart.  Whatever you picture, make it bright and luminous.
• With your attention on that image, allow it to expand and fill your body and beyond. 
• You will fall asleep having that image.  If you wake up in the middle of the night, do the visualization again and go back to sleep.
• If you wake from a dream or in the morning when you wake, write down any dream that you remember or any flash of insight. 

now here's the interesting part....

During your day, tell yourself that you are a dreamer in a dream.  Look around the world as if you are living in a dream.  It's so cool.  You will notice amazing and wild things that you have never noticed before!  I love this part of it.  I even make a game of it with my kids.

There's more to it, but this will get you going.

Om Shanti,  Pamela

Say no more

Yogis,  the studies have been done, categorized and published.  The amazing and profound conclusion after 40 years and who knows how man dollars is the following....

drummmmmmmroollllllllll

MEDITATION IS GOOD FOR YOU

I know.  So surprising.  Here are the facts according to tm.org from the top 100 studies:

• Decreased Medical Care Utilization and Hospitalization
• Reduced Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors
• Reduced Atherosclerosis/Stroke
• Lower Blood Pressure
• Decreased Cholesterol
• Reduced Congestive Heart Failure
• Decreased Free Radicals
• Decreased Depression, Anxiety and Insomnia
• Reduction in Stress and Pain
• Improvements in Intelligence, Creativity, Academics and School Behavior
• Improved Integration of Personality
• Increased Efficiency and Productivity
• Reversal of Aging and Increased Longevity
• Higher Levels of Brain Functioning
• Reduced Substance Abuse

Effective Criminal Rehabilitation

What are you waiting for?  Click through for a FREE meditation MP4 download. 

learn more>>>

Om Shanti,  Pamela

The Most Powerful Word

My journey into this holistic world of preventative care began at the Chopra Center for Wellbeing.   I arrived there broken.  I was experiencing chronic incurable pain in my back.  I was abusing prescription drugs and alcohol.  My perfect life including the doctor husband, 2 kids, golden retriever, mini-van and country club membership was in decay.  I felt more than lost and hopeless.  I was teetering between staying in this world and leaving this world.

Going to Chopra Center was a big deal.  It's expensive.  It means leaving your family for a week.  It means negotiating with a spouse for permission and understanding.  You can imagine when Deepak Chopra takes the stage to talk about healing for his allotted hour or so, your are pretty excited.  When he enters the room and makes his approach, you get really excited and happy. 

Well, at this particular event, Deepak took the stage and talked for a few minutes.  He then opened the floor to participants and a microphone was passed around.  Most people had good and interesting questions and Deepak is a master with a crowd, so it was fun.  But then....the microphone got passed to this lady.  I swear she talked for 20 minutes about her life and all its problems.  Now at the time, I wasn't exactly patient or as compassionate as I am now.  As she droned on and on, all I could think was, "Shut up. I don't want hear about your stupid life. Pleasssseeee somebody rip the microphone out of her hands and sit her down."  I'm looking at Dr. Chopra thinking he is insane.  Why on earth is he letting her go on and on? The entire audience of 500 was shifting in their seats and I'm sure having similar (hopefully less vile) thoughts.

After about 20 minutes, the lady took a breath and stopped talking.  Dr. Chopra just stared at her.  He then ever so slowly took the microphone to his lips, looked her straight in the eyes and said.....

"So?"

Holy crud.  So?  As in So What?  Who Cares?  Why are you bitching?  So so so so so so.

The entire audience went completely silent.  Now Dr. Chopra is not an unkind man.  He is overflowing with compassion and of course after the dramatic pause he kindly expounded on her situation.  The point, however, was that it doesn't matter what your story is.  It's just a story.  Everyone has a story.  Sitting here in this moment, I have a story.  I am not my story.  I have a story.  I am not my story.  It's just a story.

You are sitting in a moment where you have a choice.  Are you the story?  Are you the next story?  Are you the abused child?  Are you the alcoholic?  Are you the abandoned and betrayed?  Are you the chronically injured or ill?  Are you cancer?  Are you arthritis?  

Who are you?  

Release your story and write a new one.  The past does not matter.  It's done and there isn't a thing you can do about it.  Right now matters.  Your intentions for the future matter.  During the Elemental Cleanse we go through a process of releasing the past.  It's simple.  Journal about all the things in your life that have made you who you think you are.  Release them.  It's a little more methodical during the Cleanse, but this will get you started until you make the decision that you are ready to Cleanse.

Om Shanti,  Pamela

 

Now the teaching of yoga will begin...

 Atha Yoganusasanam

This is the first Sutra of the Yoga Sutras of Pantanjali.  Pantanjali is an Indian sage who drafted the Yoga Sutras and who is rumored to have possibly drafted the Ayurvedic medical text, the Caraka Samhita.  Pantanjali is often thought of as the father of yoga because he devised Ashtangha Yoga or the "Eight Limbs of Yoga", but yoga existed long before Pantanjali.  Pantanjali is credited with codifying yoga.  There are 196 sutras that are the foundation for Raja Yoga.  Raja Yoga is the "royal path of yoga" and is the practice of the 8 limbs.  It is concerned with the health of the mind.  This practice includes right living, right action, right thinking, meditation, movement, awareness, bliss and merging with the creative force.  

A sutra is a stitch or thread.  It is depicted as a thread threading a needle.  You are the emptiness of the needle.  Once the thread is merged with your consciousness, it is part of you forever. 

Atha Yoganusasanam  is loosely translated to "and now the teaching of yoga shall begin."

• Atha means now.  If it means now, then something must have come before.
• Yoga means union.  It is union with life as we know it.  It is not union with God or Spirit.  There is no need to unite with that which is already in you.  It is simply relaxing into life. 
• Anusasanam means in the direction.  It makes you think that you are headed in a direction.  This direction is of your choosing.

Now that we got that outta the way....

Our Yoga teacher training at Elemental OM began today.  We have 16 yogis eager to devour the teachings of yoga.  Looking around the room, I was thinking of this yoga sutra.  I thought of the "now" that they are all sitting in.  What brought them to this path?  What brought them to a place where they want to immerse themselves in this rich lifestyle and to become healers and teachers?  

I thought of yoga.  Are they searching for something?  Is the beginning or the middle or an insane quest to connect with something that is perceived to be higher?   My own quest into yoga certainly was.  How do I best teach them that they have all they need, that there is no search, that they are already perfect?  How do I save them that painful step in this journey?

I thought of anusasanam.  What direction are they headed?  How do I best guide them in the direction of their own personal choosing?  How to I help them to cultivate peace or sattva in their mind so that they can organically and naturally learn to control their thoughts and fluctuations and thereby become happy on this journey?

Om Shanti, Pamela

 

Does anyone have a tissue?

No, this isn't a teary eyed blog and I don't really need a tissue because I am a tissue!  Have you ever stopped to think about the fact that you are simply a covering made of food and that cover is tissue?  In Ayurveda, you have 7 "tissues" or "dhatus" of the body.  Each one is dependent upon the health of the other.  Each is it's own unique organism with barriers to entry to prevent disease and illness.  When the barriers are depleted by stress, illness and bad choices, the doshas (Vata, Pitta and Kapha) go through the holes in the barriers and cause the tissue systems to go out of balance.  The tissue systems are:

Plasma (12 hours to healthy)
Blood   (5 days)

Muscle (5 days)
Fat (5 days)
Bone (5 days)
Bone marrow and nerve (5 days)
Reproductive fluid (5 days)

 

Knowing that each feeds the other means that if you simply feed the first one really good stuff, the other systems are going to be healthy.  The first tissue is plasma.  If you were to put your blood in a test tube and run it through one of those machines that spin, the blood would separate and on the top would be a clear substance called Plasma.  Plasma can be cleaned out in 12 hours.  That means if you eat a nice meal of beans, grains, veggies and fruit, your plasma is going to be clear and sweet and yummy for the blood.

Blood takes a little longer to clear out...5 days in fact.  If you eat good for 5 days, you will have healthy plasma and blood.  Add another 5 days to that and another and so on and all the systems of your body will get completely cleaned out and healthy.  So, it takes about 35 total days to totally reset your system and clean out all the tissues of the body.

That's what we do during the Elemental Cleanse.  We take 28 days to get to your bone marrow and nerves and then you are empowered to eat for your body type to continue to get to the layer of Reproductive fluid or what we call "shukra."  Shukra means sweet.  It's not just what makes babies.  Shukra is what makes Ojas.  Ojas is the divine spark that is your essence.  Have you ever seen a person with sparkly eyes, a big smile and lots of energy?  They have Ojas in excess and it's wonderful.

Ojas is what makes you feel vibrant, fresh, clear and beautiful.  That's really why the Elemental Cleanse works so well.

Om Shanti,  Pamela