YOGA | The Yoga Bridge

The Yoga Bridge, Week 19, March 7, 2014

10 Mar 2014 Leave a comment

by Jason in YOGA Tags: Invocation to Patanjali, resistence to the invocation

On Wednesday 10:00 am, Instructor at the head of the class, ” Does anyone need a sheet for the words to the Invocation to Patanjali? A female doctor responded, chuckling, ” No, no thank you. I don’t believe in any of that. I’m a scientist, a medical doctor. I don’t believe in any of that because it’s based in religion and I don’t want to invoke any ghost. ha ha ha. I’m a scientist.” Mean while, as I sat in swastkasana waiting for class to start, I was wearing a bright orange shirt with a printed statue image of Patanjali. In fact, I made the shirt myself. The doctor glared at me as well as the instructor. I smiled and remained silent. I like the Invocation and can’t wait to say it. As a Catholic, we believe in Saints. I didn’t get in the argument. I thought to myself, I know that I didn’t create myself. I can’t prove God, or the soul, exist either, but I don’t doubt they exist, not for a nano second. I felt sorry for her that she was so rigid in her thinking, but I was glad she was there.

When I get a chance, I will find an English translation of the Invocation to Patanjali and post it.

The Yoga Bridge, Week 18, Feb 28, 2014 Books

03 Mar 2014 Leave a comment

by Jason in YOGA Tags: Light on Life, Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Patanjali, Yoga Yajnavalkya

Since I don’t have direct access to a guru, what to do? Books.. I do have plenty of books to read. I just started reading Light on Life. I am waiting on the arrival of Yoga Yajnavalkya, by A.G. Mohan, and Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, B.K.S. Iyengar.

Strict adherence to the yamas and niyamas. I am trying to wear more purple to stimulate the spiritual chakra. I bought orange shirts, for yoga, to constantly remind myself of my spiritual journey.

I just finished reading, Main Street Vegan. I haven’t completely become vegetarian, I ate meat about five times in February, but I am working my way there. I am in agreement with the book. I recommend it. Someday, I hope to be a vegan.

The Yoga Bride, Week 17, February 21, 2013 The Joy of Yoga Is The Challenge

23 Feb 2014 Leave a comment

by Jason in YOGA Tags: B.K.S. Iyengar, scoliosis, setu bandha sarvangasana with a chair, yogarosa

On Wednesday, I went to an entry level yoga class. I was learning yoga but also was observing how the teacher instructed. There were three women, one in her late 70s, a middle aged women with scoliosis, her first yoga class, another middle aged women, and myself. At first, the class was sluggish until the last fifteen minutes. The instructor spoke firmly, but with kindness, and was protective of the students safety in each pose. We did ardha Chandrasana against a wall. It seemed to me an advanced pose. We did baddha konasana while sitting. Great pose.

Towards the end of class, we did a challenging pose, setu bandha sarvangasana but with our feet on the edge of a chair while grabbing the chair’s front legs. The woman with scoliosis praised the pose and said she felt better. She was new to yoga and I could tell she was hooked because she was asking when was the next class. I heard the 70 year old woman say she felt better. She was doing a the pose in a different way because of her age and ability. This class was the highlight of her week. The other woman seemed to appreciate the pose. Setu bandha sarvangasana was a pose that I value. The class end on a high note with everyone excited for the next class. As always, we finished the class with corpse pose, savasana.

The joy is experiencing improvement no matter how little or great it is. That is the joy of yoga for myself. Breaking through a plateau. Tiny improvements and not falling back.

The Yoga Bridge Week 15, Authentic Mexican Serapes

09 Feb 2014 Leave a comment

by Jason in YOGA Tags: B.K.S. Iyengar, home yoga practice, Iyengar Yoga, Serapes, yoga blankets, yoga props, yogarosa

I bought some yoga blankets this week. I decided that I wanted to have quality yoga props. My home yoga practice is an investment in myself. I ordered authentic Mexican blankets called Serape. The art of serape making goes back many centuries. The web page proclaimed that these blankets were manufactured by descendants of Mayan Indians of the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. I hope that was true and that everyone can profit.

Here is my impression. These blankets are works of art, brilliant colors, and expertly woven. The cotton is soft. It is true that these serapes brighten the room and spirit. These serapes are different from the yoga blankets we use at the studio less soft and require different folding techniques.

http://www.stylemexican.com/mexican-blankets-sarapes.html

The Yoga Bridge, Week 14, The Home Yoga Chair

02 Feb 2014 1 Comment

by Jason in YOGA Tags: home yoga, Iyengar Yoga, yoga chair, yoga props

After searching for a yoga chair and not finding what I wanted, or at the right price, I decided to make my own. Target, $10 folding chair, a steal; however, the back of the chair was welded on. I tried a saw, that didn’t work. I took pliers and used them like a can opener until the welded spots started breaking, then I could yank the back off. This method took a lot of brute force. Well la! A bruised finger, a small cut, a lot of shouting, sweat, thirty minutes, and I got my home yoga chair.

The Yoga Bridge, Week 13, The Practice of Detachment

26 Jan 2014 Leave a comment

by Jason in YOGA Tags: Detachment, impermance, Iyengar Yoga, yoga home practice

The yoga class schedule changes month to month. Sometimes good change. Sometimes inconvenient. Teachers also change their schedules. Students come and go. I understand this and I am okay with people pursing their lives.

Last year, I had a hard time dealing with change, favoring teachers. Today, as a way of coping with change, I am using the class, teacher, and student relationships as a practice in detachment.

As a general rule, I don’t want to be dependent upon one teacher, place, or thing. The focus is on home, self practice. The world we live in is in constant change, a fact. Just as at the yoga studio and outside of the studio, I live the same way. I will survive the teacher change, change of times, and the new student moving back to Idaho. When at the studio and I am with the yoga instructor, I want to use the time as best as possible because change will occur. For now, I believe the development of the home yoga practice to be very important.

The Yoga Bridge, Week 12, The Eight Steps of Yoga Applied to Swastikasana

20 Jan 2014 Leave a comment

by Jason in YOGA Tags: eight limbs of yoga, eight steps of yoga, swastkasana, yogarosa

On Monday, at noon, I attended a level one yoga class. This was my third time to a level one class. The year before, I could mostly attend multilevel classes because of the lack of courses offered and time conflicts.

This week I thought it was informative how the yoga teacher tried to apply the eight steps, limbs, of yoga to swastikasana, the basic sitting pose. The instructor coached us into the correct posture for swastikasana. Now close the eyes and go inward. Then she began to talk about the eight steps of yoga as applied to swastikasana. Printed on the south side and west side upper corner of the room near the ceiling are the eight limbs in Sanskrit. She told us about 1) Yama and 2) Niyama as something we need to work on. Lifestyle, Yama has five principles, non violence, freedom from greed, chastity, truthfulness, and freedom from desire. Lifestyle, Niyama was cleanliness, contentment, study of ego. Then, the 3) posture, swastkasana, 4) breathing, focusing on the inhalation and exhalation without stopping, and 5) detachment to the external world, try to ignore the senses. 6) Concentration, not moving in the posture and going inward. 7) advanced concentration, not our skill level and finally, Super advanced, 8) when you lose the sense of your separate existence. Nothing else remains except the core of one’s being, the soul.

The Yoga Bridge, Week 11, Sit bones? What? Excuse me, do I have sit bones?

12 Jan 2014 1 Comment

by Jason in YOGA Tags: awareness, balance, Coconut Grove, consciousness, Florida, Miami Science Museum, Miami Science Museum and Planetarium, sit bones, swastkasana

When I was ten, in the fourth grade, we talked about stars and planets in science class. Everything was in the book. It wasn’t until I was a middle aged adult at the Miami Science Museum and Planetarium, Coconut Grove, Florida, where an employee showed everyone Jupiter through the roof top telescope. The Miami Science Museum and Planetarium had opened the observatory every first Friday of the month, probably still going on. Then, without the telescope, the naked eye, he showed us other planets that were visible in the night sky. All this time, they were right there and I had never noticed. Sad. But I have enjoyed them ever since. I guess what I find so fascinating is that when I look up to the stars and planets, I feel that I am part of the universe and the 9 am to 5 pm work routine, Monday thru Friday, human life plays, a very small place in the universe.

Swastkasana, basic sitting position, my first time. The instructor called out to me, ” Where are you sitting on your sit bones?” Up til that point, I have been sitting everyday of my life. This was kind of a revelation that I had sit bones and somehow position matters. “Sit bones, I have sit bones?”, I thought to myself. I couldn’t find them. I had never thought of them. I looked at other people in the class. I wanted to know if they knew anything about these sit bone things. At that time, everyone was turning inward and getting ready for the Invocation to Patanjali. Just like the stars and planets, and sit bones, I was very out of balance. A drone.

Today, I am very conscious of how I am sitting in Swastkasana. I am very conscious of how I stand in Tadasana. I know that I am not perfect but I still try my best; however, I am closer to being balanced. A declaration, I am no longer seeking profit. I have enough. I had my first delicious vegan meal on Friday in Hollywood, Florida, Hara. I ordered a book on vegan-ism.

The Yoga Bridge, Week 10, Is Amen really Om?

09 Jan 2014 Leave a comment

by Jason in YOGA Tags: Amen, om

Amen
exclamation
1.
uttered at the end of a prayer or hymn, meaning ‘so be it.’.

How do you know Amen means” so be it?” What root language is Amen?

Try this out. Say amen aloud, pronouncing it as (ah-men). Next, say Om aloud. Note, Om is pronounced Aum. Similar, isn’t? Not exact.

For the record, I am a Christian. Don’t worry! I’m not at all fanatical nor do I speak about it much. In my youth on Sunday mornings, I would hear this word, Amen, after a prayer and not anyone could give a good explanation of the meaning nor it’s origin.

The sound OM, is the sound and name of the creator discovered by ancient shaman priests of India. Please note, I’m not speaking with real knowledge but pop culture information I found on YouTube and the internet. Be free to write a comment to object or confirm.

There seems to be different theories on the origins of the word Amen. Could Amen and Om be the same. I do believe it is possible.

The Yoga Bridge, Week 8, December 20, 2013 Yoga, The Emotional Cleanse

23 Dec 2013 Leave a comment

by Jason in YOGA Tags: B.K.S. Iyengar, back bends, corpse pose, The Path To Holistic Health, utthita trikonasana, yogarosa

After a Friday morning yoga class of intense back bends during Savasana, corpse pose, I had a bad child hood memory surface, a memory almost 40 years old. I had thought, at least hoped, to leave it in the past. It was truly overwhelming. I fought back my emotions. When I got alone, in my car, I let it rip. What’s going on? I believe, in theory, that the body just like each cell has stored knowledge. I believe yoga to be emotionally cleansing. During corpse pose, the five minute cool down before the end of a class, I really try to mimic death, no movement except for the breath. Each time, I want my old self to die and try to create a new better me.

At the yoga anniversary party, it was interesting to see people outside of yoga and how they behave. A real yogi lives a yogi life both in the class and outside of it, Yama.

” Okay, everyone, jump or step your legs apart for UTTHITA TRIKONASANA, extended triangle posture.” This is a pose that is done often in class. Sometimes my mind goes blank as to what to do. I am at a point where I am taking time to read to improve this pose. During class, I have stopped asking questions because I view it as more as of an obstruction to the flow of the class; however, I will ask questions in the level one classes but not any of the advance unless I have pain or to avoid an injury. I think its better to observe and imitate.

A great aid for yoga is the book, Yoga: THE PATH TO HOLISTIC HEALTH
. This is where I am getting the information and pictures. I plan to read this section 108 times as in a mantra. I haven’t tried this before so I will let you know how it goes, the mantra method of learning.

The Yoga Bridge