According to Wikipedia, yoga sounds like a religion. But to many yoga practitioners, including myself, it is not viewed as a religion.
I was raised, baptized, and confirmed a Catholic. As a youngster, I enjoyed going to church. There was singing, shaking people's hands to offer peace, a little snack and the treat of a yummy doughnut after. But I was always confused. I loved the little church I attended, but there were so many other churches in my town. I remember asking my mom, "Let's go to that church, it looks so beautiful." She responded with, "We can't." "But why?", I would ask and she always replied with, "Because that's not where we go." I was learning that we were all God's children and that He loved us all, no matter what. And I went to His house to praise Him. Well, to me He had a lot of houses and I wanted to visit them all, and that's when I learned I was a Catholic and I couldn't go to the other churches because they were not Catholic. Hence my confusion. Weren't we all God's children? As I grew older, going to church lost it's luster and magic and I started to resent going and as soon as I finished with my confirmation, I left, forever.
Fast forward about 10+ years, to my discovery of yoga. Long story short, my life seemed to be spiraling out of control. I went to a couple of different churches with friends and on my own, but I always felt removed, not a part of what was being offered. They didn't seem to click with my emptiness. A friend mentioned a yoga teacher he liked and so one Saturday morning, I got up, walked to the studio, and my life was changed forever. I don't remember what the teacher had us do or exactly what she said, but I remember every fiber of my being liked it and finally felt at peace and a connection to what had seemed to be missing. I went every Saturday, nothing could stop me. I even joked with my friends that it was my religion. I was taught in my teacher training that yoga is many things. It is a philosophy, a physical practice, a science, a theory, a way of life, a passage to bliss, but not a religion.
So this is why I think yogis do not view yoga as a religion, even though when I read Wikipedia it sounds like one. Yoga does not adhere to any creeds, any rituals, such as baptism nor does it's practitioners have to attend weekly services. Yoga does have ancient texts and a moral code, that are studied and interpreted by many, but it is up to the individual how much he/she wants to follow those codes and incorporate them into their daily lives. So you could say that yoga is a religion of one. I think that yoga is spiritual. The practice of yoga, on and off the mat, may lead to a diminishing of the ego and to a connection of the heart. It may cause one to feel love and kindness for themselves and others. And isn't that what we are all searching for as we live out our days on Earth?
Peace for now :)
note: bold and underlined words are links. please feel free to click on them.
6.27.2009
6.21.2009
Honoring the Sun
Today is Summer Solstice. A day that many cultures and religions have, for centuries, celebrated the sun. Although not directly coinciding with any harvesting, this time of year was seen as a time for good luck, especially for newly wed couples. Hence the plethora of June weddings to this day. And for our friends, who live in the cold Northern region of our blue planet, this is a time of awakening. With the sun staying in the sky all day, never fully dipping below the horizon, ice melts, plants bloom and everything appears to be alive once again.
I invite you to celebrate today and every day with a series of Sun Salutations. The Sanskrit/Hindu name for this energizing, heat building, breath synchronizing, sweat inducing set of poses at the beginning of class is known as Surya Namaskar. Almost every Hatha yoga tradition begins class with some variation of these 12 postures. The teacher always reminds us that it is to "warm up" the body, but as students we can't help but think it is a "form of torture" for eating too many cookies or drinking that extra glass of wine the night before. And even though, physically, Surya Namaskar is a way to warm up the spine and to begin the process of detoxifying the muscles and oxygenating the blood, I ask you to take a deeper look at this series of torture, I mean poses.
Traditionally, this series is done facing the sun, right at sun rise. It is a way to honor the sun for all that it provides: light, energy, life, warmth. With out the sun, humans, plants and animals, would not be here, living and thriving on this great blue ball. For the sun rises and sets, day in and day out, just like our breath rises and falls as we move through the series. On inhaling breaths, we are in the back bending poses, or as I like to refer to them, the heart opening poses. Opening ourselves to the potential of everything "good". On the exhaling breaths, we are in the forward bending poses, surrendering and letting go. And in the center of all this opening and surrendering, is Adho Mukha Svanasana, downward facing dog. That small, but bountiful break where we have the time to rest, regroup, and reconnect with the breath, the body and the mind; it is during this break that the sun salutation is inviting the heart to rest, is allowing the mind to refocus on the breath and is offering the body to feel open and to surrender from the stresses of the day.
So whether you're taking a class or staring at your empty mat at home, give yourself completely, physically, mentally and emotionally to the sun and honor it for all that it provides you. For without that great mass of gas in the sky, you wouldn't be pondering, doing sun salutations or drinking another glass of wine!
Here is a link I found with cute stick figures modeling each of the poses in the sun salutation. Take a look and then go salute the sun!
Peace for now :)
I invite you to celebrate today and every day with a series of Sun Salutations. The Sanskrit/Hindu name for this energizing, heat building, breath synchronizing, sweat inducing set of poses at the beginning of class is known as Surya Namaskar. Almost every Hatha yoga tradition begins class with some variation of these 12 postures. The teacher always reminds us that it is to "warm up" the body, but as students we can't help but think it is a "form of torture" for eating too many cookies or drinking that extra glass of wine the night before. And even though, physically, Surya Namaskar is a way to warm up the spine and to begin the process of detoxifying the muscles and oxygenating the blood, I ask you to take a deeper look at this series of torture, I mean poses.
Traditionally, this series is done facing the sun, right at sun rise. It is a way to honor the sun for all that it provides: light, energy, life, warmth. With out the sun, humans, plants and animals, would not be here, living and thriving on this great blue ball. For the sun rises and sets, day in and day out, just like our breath rises and falls as we move through the series. On inhaling breaths, we are in the back bending poses, or as I like to refer to them, the heart opening poses. Opening ourselves to the potential of everything "good". On the exhaling breaths, we are in the forward bending poses, surrendering and letting go. And in the center of all this opening and surrendering, is Adho Mukha Svanasana, downward facing dog. That small, but bountiful break where we have the time to rest, regroup, and reconnect with the breath, the body and the mind; it is during this break that the sun salutation is inviting the heart to rest, is allowing the mind to refocus on the breath and is offering the body to feel open and to surrender from the stresses of the day.
So whether you're taking a class or staring at your empty mat at home, give yourself completely, physically, mentally and emotionally to the sun and honor it for all that it provides you. For without that great mass of gas in the sky, you wouldn't be pondering, doing sun salutations or drinking another glass of wine!
Here is a link I found with cute stick figures modeling each of the poses in the sun salutation. Take a look and then go salute the sun!
Peace for now :)
6.19.2009
The Beginning
I was asked by a current yoga student if I would be interested in posting a blog. This request came because the school district I work for is shutting down this summer due to the CA statewide budgetary crisis.
At first, I was a little wary about doing something like this because...well, truthfully, it involves writing...writing my thoughts and then exposing them to the world. I have never been fond of my writing abilities, in fact if you want to put me into a high stress situation, just tell me I have to write.
Anyways, I am digressing a bit here. I have now been off work for two weeks and I have given this whole blog idea some serious thought. I mean why couldn't I write about yoga and my experiences with yoga, especially if so many others can do it. So here it is my blog page. I hope that all who visit will be able to find some interesting information as well as relate to my experiences of putting yoga to practice in the world and not just on the mat.
If you are here then you have noticed that my address is ahimsasanctuary.
Ahimsa is the first of the ten living principles. It is a sanskrit word for non-violence or non-harming. But it is more than just about not killing, it goes deeper than that, for when we practice compassion and kindness for ourselves, we will then be able to give compassion and kindness to others.
Sanctuary as defined by the Oxford Pocket American Dictionary of Current English:
1. A holy place. 2. a the holiest part of a temple, etc. b The part of the chancel containing the high altar. 3. a place of refuge for birds, wild animals, etc. 4. a place of refuge. 5. a immunity from arrest. b the right to offer this. 6. hist a sacred place where a fugitive from the law or a debtor was secured by medieval church law against arrest or violence. take sanctuary resort to a place of refuge.
I have chosen this name because I would like this blog to be a refuge of compassion. For all who wander or stumble upon this blog, may you find a place to rest your weary eyes on content that will be, hopefully, uplifting, informative and at times, humorous.
Peace for now
At first, I was a little wary about doing something like this because...well, truthfully, it involves writing...writing my thoughts and then exposing them to the world. I have never been fond of my writing abilities, in fact if you want to put me into a high stress situation, just tell me I have to write.
Anyways, I am digressing a bit here. I have now been off work for two weeks and I have given this whole blog idea some serious thought. I mean why couldn't I write about yoga and my experiences with yoga, especially if so many others can do it. So here it is my blog page. I hope that all who visit will be able to find some interesting information as well as relate to my experiences of putting yoga to practice in the world and not just on the mat.
If you are here then you have noticed that my address is ahimsasanctuary.
Ahimsa is the first of the ten living principles. It is a sanskrit word for non-violence or non-harming. But it is more than just about not killing, it goes deeper than that, for when we practice compassion and kindness for ourselves, we will then be able to give compassion and kindness to others.
Sanctuary as defined by the Oxford Pocket American Dictionary of Current English:
1. A holy place. 2. a the holiest part of a temple, etc. b The part of the chancel containing the high altar. 3. a place of refuge for birds, wild animals, etc. 4. a place of refuge. 5. a immunity from arrest. b the right to offer this. 6. hist a sacred place where a fugitive from the law or a debtor was secured by medieval church law against arrest or violence. take sanctuary resort to a place of refuge.
I have chosen this name because I would like this blog to be a refuge of compassion. For all who wander or stumble upon this blog, may you find a place to rest your weary eyes on content that will be, hopefully, uplifting, informative and at times, humorous.
Peace for now
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