Here's How to Have It All

In the Earthquake Epicenter

It just so happens the Ashram where I do yoga is a part of Divine Service Home in Katmandu, a permanent home for elderly homeless people. 

They are near the middle of the earthquake destruction, and the nuns there are also helping the community any way they can. Any monies you donate here will go DIRECTLY to the people affected by this devastation - even $5 or $10 can make a big difference. 

You can contact me directly at scottware11@gmail.com or you can mail a check to Divine Art of Yoga Center, 851 W Whittier Blvd, La Habra, CA 90631. 

Thank you!

Yoga Benefit #87

What Do You Do Here?

Are you feeling called?

You know the place. It’s not too far from your home. You pass it all the time. You’ve always thought it looked… interesting. 

Whether it’s a special yoga studio, an Ashram, a temple, or whatever… 

You know you want to drop in.

But you feel embarrassed. 

You shouldn’t. 

They’re actually very nice and understanding inside. In fact, they might even be expecting you, in a way. Lots of people have found that same place in the same way, by listening to their intuition, the quiet voice inside them. By allowing themselves to be pulled into the place to ask what it’s all about.

 

If you’re being called, I recommend you answer it. A reward awaits you.

Putting the U in Community

One of the things I like best about our community at the Ashram is that people feel free to express whatever’s on their mind, and frequently what’s in their hearts.

You can get small talk anywhere. 

In many offices or social circles, it’s not customary to share about things that matter deeply to you, such as your concern over a sick relative, or perhaps your own ailment, or something that’s troubling you. 

When there's business to be done in a work environment, many people's hearts close up.

But in a truly supportive community, you'd never hear, "I'd complain, but who'd care?" They do care - that's the difference.

Or if you want to share some deep life lesson you just learned, or respond to someone’s query with your own extensive knowledge on the subject, you can do that in a nurturing community. In fact, your contribution is expected.

That's another thing a great community does - it gives back in the form of giving you a purpose, particularly if it has charitable endeavors. It reminds us that we all have something to give, and how good it feels to give it. You gain in the giving.

And when you have good news to share? It will be truly celebrated. Not with jealousy, but true appreciation.

I googled “what makes a good community” and found a great article where six community workers express their views on this topic, and it's too good not to share: What Makes a Good Community? They’re from Northern Ireland, which demonstrates the principles for a good community are universal – I recommend giving it a glance.

I learned that you can't have community without open hearts. Who wouldn't want to hang out in a place like that?

Next Time You Pass the Mirror...

Some Fortunes You Keep

My Goal Is To Stop You From Reading This Blog*

First, here are the reasons I write this blog:

1. To express the amazing experiences I’ve had since starting yoga and meditation, not caring if even one person reads it (although I’d prefer a few readers...)
2. To process the profound changes in my life as a result of the practice
3. To help others find or create a similar type of community
4. To inspire others to start their own blog about their community

In other words, my goal is to have lots of people read this blog… until they don’t have the time because they’re too busy writing their own spiritual community newsletter/blog, or are too busy contributing to that community.

So if you do it right, your life will be too busy to read this blog!

And I’m not talking about the kind of busy that keeps you running like a hamster in a wheel.

I’m talking about the kind that fulfills you, feeds your soul, and maybe even makes the world a better place.

It’s the kind of busy the comes when you don’t want anything for yourself – which is a real gift to realize – and you now have the time and space to give to others who haven’t gotten that gift.**

For instance, the baijis at my Ashram have devoted their lives to service and are already very busy, and when we raise all the funds to build a bigger studio to allow more students, they would like me to lead some yoga classes so they’ll have more time for their ministering duties. There are also fundraising duties for the two old-age homes (the baiji’s sisters run those) and an orphanage in Nepal (all of which I plan to visit in the next year – busy-busy). There is also the wonderful Sunday afternoon satsang service followed by a delicious vegetarian meal.***

There are also tabla lessons, harmonium lessons, and vegetarian cooking lessons when they let me peek into the kitchen on Sunday afternoons. At our Ashram there’s even a Homeopathic specialist with years of study in natural healing you can occupy yourself with.

So I dedicate this post to the givers out there who are taking steps to make the most of their day. You might as well: it could be your last.

*Except for those at my Ashram. You better keep reading – I might mention you.

**Another name for that gift is “the present.”

***On that day I’m "busy" right through to dessert.

The Key

Peace At Last

 

It’s been said that what everyone wants most is to find peace, whether they know it or not.

Is this true?

Yoga and meditation will surely send you sailing in that direction with greater ease, but what about our thoughts?

According to Marc Chernoff’s article 8 Things You Must Give Up to Find Peace, you'll be on the path to peace if you let go of the following:

1. Old regrets and excuses
2. The burning desire to have all the answers
3. The false hope of a pain-free life
4. Ties to insensitive people
5. Obsessing yourself with negative news
6. The belief that fulfillment resides in the end result
7. Measuring your success by material wealth
8. The need to keep everything the same

We know we should do all these things, but we don’t. Why? What gets in the way?

Our ego. Our restless, restless mind-ego. 

Judging instead of loving. Fearing instead of loving. Believing in negative unexamined thoughts we acquired in childhood that lodged in our psyches and went undetected for years.

Then how can we limit or stop our ego-mind from judging and fearing?

By calming it. 

Everyone knows taking deep breaths will calm you down in a stressful moment – imagine what an hour of deep breathing will do for you through daily yoga and/or meditation?

I invite you to try. The world doesn't change, just how you perceive it.

Can't Beat That

Calmer, With More Energy?

I didn't know what I was in for when I started practicing yoga and later, meditation. I didn't know the effect it would have on my life outside the Ashram.

I didn't know I would get calmer overall, especially in potentially stressful situations.

I didn't know I'd be able to kick caffeine fairly easily when I replaced it with morning yoga and be able to still maintain good energy throughout the day.

I didn't know I'd become more mindful of my eating choices, and be able to calm the cravings and stay out of fast food drive-thrus.

I didn't know I could sleep so soundly.

I didn't know I would become more grateful overall.

I thought I was just getting in better shape and alleviating some back and shoulder pain that wouldn't seem to go away.

Turns out, that was just the beginning.

Hello, Can You Read Me?

I've been asked several times how to subscribe to this blog, so readers can receive an email every time there's a new post. This is much easier than remembering to come back to this page all the time, right Kantu?

It's very simple. All you do is put your email in the box to the right.

You probably cannot see the box on your phone, however. You may need to open this page on your computer to see this:

Like magic, for free, you will be sent every single post. I hope you see this as a good thing.

Thank you for your interest in this blog and I look forward to your comments.

First, Bare Your Feet

“There’s something different about you,” I said to a fellow Ashram yoga devotee as we drove to a seminar in Los Angeles.

“What?” she wondered.

“You’re wearing shoes. I hardly recognize you.”

The joke wasn’t far from the truth simply because we're used to seeing each other with bare feet. We remove our shoes before entering the Ashram, as with most yoga studios. And because there is a good spirit of community inside those walls, where acquaintances can become good friends and maybe even family, you get used to seeing them a certain way.

Of course it’s practical to be barefoot preceding yoga or meditation, but it’s also cleaner, humbler, and steeped in tradition across many cultures. Science claims health benefits to going barefoot, including increased blood circulation and pressure point massage. 

It also seems to create an air of informal familiarity. Trust. And dare I say it, coziness? 

In fact, could you imagine Congress debating bills in their bare feet, leaving their wingtips at the chamber door? Would more humility, wisdom and compassion infuse their debates? 

If so, I’d probably end up saying, “Congressman, there’s something very different about you.” 

Investigating Oms

Like many Ashrams or yoga studios, we do some oms before and after yoga.

During meditation, we om quite a bit.

Why om at all?

First, it feels good. You are holding your breath for the length of the om. Then you take a deep breath and do it again, exhaling as you om. How relaxed are you going to be after half an hour of this? Very.

Also, “the primordial vibration om (or aum), is known as the most sacred sound in Hinduism and Buddhism. Thousands of years ago, the Vedic seers knew what modern science has only recently discovered: everything we see in the universe consists of energy vibrations – even those objects that appear solid,” says Deepak Chopra.

"The sound itself seems to calm the nervous system," says author Stephen Cope. "Like all chants, it gathers and focuses the mind, and in that state it's not vulnerable to the rising of the odd thought that will create grasping or aversion. It shifts us out of our ordinary discursive mind and into a more contemplative mode."

Peace is the byproduct, and I treasure it. Once you've experienced it, you won’t be able to see how war could exist in the world if everyone did this.

That’s how I came up with the name for this blog.

Yoga Changed the World?

In Stanley Wolpert’s “A New History of India” it says, “As a true Mahatma, Gandhi sought to pit his yogic powers of self-control, abstinence, suffering, and meditation against the awesome might of the world’s greatest empire.”

Gandhi then led India to independence from Britain using nonviolent civil disobedience and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world.

It’s nice to know I’m practicing something with no limits. 

Nothing Succeeds Like Yoga

Some yoga postures I love - they feel like they were made for my body.

Some I hate. At least at first. It just seems like my body wasn't made to bend that way. Ever.

And then it does. Little by little, over weeks or months, I’m able to complete postures that had eluded me, which feels great.

But there are some I still can’t do, and I've learned it doesn't matter. As long as I’m in the game, stretching, pushing my body appropriately to go further, I get the results I get, and that’s perfect.

If you’re competitive, give it up – you’ll only stay frustrated, and possibly push yourself too hard and then have to nurse an injury for a few weeks. Been there. A few times.

When I do yoga at home, I mostly do my favorite poses. That’s why class is important – I get pushed in directions I may not want to go at first, but are good for me. 

And when I meet a pose that frustrates me? Even if I don't nail it, I remind myself that the effort will leave me feeling great in the end. In yoga, you succeed even when you fail. 

The Baijis

We’re lucky to have two wonderful baijis (nuns) running the Ashram. They are more spiritual than religious, and they welcome anyone’s input that is positive and empowering. They believe a good idea can come from anywhere.

They wear the saffron robes of those who have renounced the material life and are devoted to service to others. I am very humbled by that distinction, which ironically makes we want to do anything for them.

They are also Mahatmas, which are defined as people who are held in the highest esteem for wisdom and saintliness. I’m still learning how profound this is, and I feel privileged to be in their company.

They’re also a lot of fun. More on that later.

For more on the baijis, click here.

First Post - Joining an Ashram

Since I joined the Divine Art of Yoga Center and began practicing yoga and meditation on a regular basis, I have experienced a shift in my life that has astounded both me and the people close to me.

Am I more fit and flexible? Yes. Have I lost weight? Sure. Am I calmer in general? Much. Am I far less prone to get grouchy? My wife says yes. Has my blood pressure gone down? My doctor says yes.

Am I happier and more at peace than I've ever been?

Yes. A thousand times, yes.

I thought my experiences with my Ashram would be of interest to those seeking these types of benefits and more, who are considering yoga and meditation with a spiritual undercurrent.

If this is you, I recommend looking for an Ashram near you, or any yoga studio or non-profit yoga center, which ask for donations instead of charging fees for classes. Check it out to make sure you feel comfortable, then dive in. The best of them are a home away from home.