Poetry

by Elizabeth 'Rainey'
Seattle Yoga Arts Teacher

I am thrilled to return to my regular teaching schedule as of Jan 3rd. While on sabbatical my love of poetry was re-ignited. As I read these words of passion and potency each day I was inclined to see our yoga practices as poetry of the body and mind.

What is poetry? An elegant, efficient and creative way to express what is, in someways, inexpressible. A way of dancing with language on the page and across the heart. In the space between the words and the silence afterwards we come alive to the reverberations of this holy movement. This is what we do on the mat; dance with the language of our bodies to express the infinite capacity of our hearts. And then we sit and listen to the pulse of our breath and being in the silence of meditation. We are the poetry of aliveness and yoga is a way to ever refine this language of our hearts.

I bow to the poets who daily urge me to see beyond the surface of the thing, the moment, the person and speak to the throbbing potency of my heart that rests there. I invite you to find the ones who speak your language and let them call you into your own divine expression of all you are.

See you soon at the writing desk of the heart and on the dance floor of the yoga mat!

For more about Rainey, visit her website or Facebook page.

Light Contemplation

by Bobbi Ewing

Seattle Yoga Arts student

As we inhabit the depths of the dark season, moving closer toward the winter solstice, the darkest day of the year, we are in the perfect space to contemplate light. As we lose light in our outer landscape, we might also feel darkness creep into our inner landscape, as I experienced during the seasonal shift, falling away from summer into fall and now winter.

 

As I remained present with the darkness I felt inside, I was moved to contemplate light. I began a new ritual: I light a candle every night. After I light each candle I study the flame, I become curious. I look into the flame and marvel at its color – the gold, the blue, the purple “hallow” at the tip of the thread. I notice the shape of the flame – its soft edges, its crest. I watch the steady flame or if there is movement in the air that disturbs the flame, I watch the flame flicker and dance, swaying side to side, bouncing in all directions.

I stay with the dancing flame until it becomes steady and still again. I note to myself that the light always seeks to steady itself, to come back to the center, to find a place of tranquility. I think to myself, “what a great metaphor!” The light models a state of being I can cultivate in my life: tranquility, inner stillness.

I put my hands over the flame and feel its warmth and its heat. With my heart sense, I feel gratitude for this glowing and radiating light. I am grateful that because of this light I can see in the dark, both literally and figuratively. I am grateful for all that this light is teaching me. I am grateful that the light is shining on my path of discovery.

Sometimes my practice and ritual of lighting a candle is a symbolic gesture. I place an intention on the light, an intention I want to manifest in my life, such as tranquility. The light represents that intention, it radiates the intention, it sends out the light of that intention.

Sometimes lighting a candle is a hopeful gesture. The light becomes the flame of a hope, wish, or desire I have in my life. The intent behind this action is to keep the fire burning around this hope, wish, or desire instead of letting the fire, the light, die out.

Other times my practice of lighting a candle serves as a reminder of my inner light. The light I hold in my hands, my light, is precious and sacred. In these reverent moments I recite Pantajali’s Yoga Sutra I.36 “visoka va jyotishmati,” which translates into English as “the light within is free from all sorrow and suffering.”

I leave you with these rays of light to carry you from darkness into the light:

“When it gets really dark, you can see the stars.”

"Be a light unto yourself." – The Buddha's final words

For more of Bobbi's writings, visit her blog My Inner Mystic.

Let Go, The Time is Now

by Angi Donovan
Seattle Yoga Arts Teacher

If we knew the taste of true freedom, do you think we would continue to hang on to the things that entrap us? I often wonder this when my not so life-giving habits repeatedly fool my freedom yearning heart. I know what my heart wants and yet I have watched my ego continually put energy into that which has never once brought me true fulfillment. Sound familiar?

I believe this is something that all of us come up against, whether it’s negative thinking, substance abuse, hiding out, compulsive eating, gossiping, not taking time for ourselves to move, stretch and breathe, etc., we are all subject to these clinching human habits.

I ask myself and you: what would it be like to let go of these things? Who would you be without them? What would you do if nothing was holding you back? What are you waiting for?

Together this December 2012 we will explore the power of letting go. Let us set down and release what no longer serves us and see what happens. I do believe the time is now!

From my heart to yours, I offer you these classes:
Source Yoga North Tacoma:
Tues./Thurs. 9:30am Basic Flow
Wed. 9:30am Refine & Align

Source Yoga UP:
Wednesdays 7pm Relax & Restore

Seattle Yoga Arts:
Sundays 8:30am Essentials
Sundays 10:15am Deepening
(For the month of December: Mondays 10am Deepening and noon Essentials)

See you there!

Nurturing Insight

by Meg Agnew
Seattle Yoga Arts Teacher

If you’ve had some experience with insights, you know they can’t be called up on command. The best we can do to encourage the arising of insight is to create hospitable conditions. Reflecting, meditating, journaling, attending a silent retreat and walking meditation are some activities that are frequently associated with the arising of insight. Our relationships, too, are rich sources of insight. Once an insight sprouts up, we do have a wonderful opportunity to nurture its potential to create positive change.

Insights come in many varieties. One insight might invite us to alter our behavior or adopt a more compassionate attitude, while another may encourage us to view our past from a fresh new perspective. More rare is the insight that shifts our entire take on reality, like when Krishna revealed his true identity to Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita. Whether heart opening or mind blowing, an insight is a precious gift that springs from our own deep wisdom. How can we honor this offering? How do we nurture this seed of wisdom into a full flowering so that it serves the highest good?

One approach might be to consider which Brahma Vihara our insight is pointing us towards. The Brahma Viharas are qualities or heart-mind states that are revered in both the Buddhist and Yoga traditions. Sometimes referred to as the “heavenly abodes” or the “four immeasurables,” they are: loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. It is taught that these four are the only states that one experiences after becoming fully enlightened. 

If our insight is truly a wise realization, it will be pointing us toward one (or more) of the Brahma Viharas. When we recognize which one, we can support the full unfolding of our insight by focusing our yoga practice on that particular quality. For example, say we’ve had an insight that seems to be calling for greater acceptance around a difficult issue. In this case, we might practice standing postures with an intention to cultivate equanimity as we connect with the Earth’s unwavering support at our foundation. If our insight is calling us to deepen our heart’s natural capacity for kindness or sympathetic joy, we could choose to do postures such as backbends that physically open the heart center and have been shown to increase feelings of happiness. Compassion for self or others pairs readily with forward bends or restorative poses that quiet and renew. These are simply some suggestions. Stay open and notice what speaks to you. There may be a particular pose that suggests itself as the perfect symbol of your insight-in-progress. Practice it as a heart offering to your arising wisdom and growing capacity for love.

Freedom

By Judith Roth

In the face of today’s information overwhelm, the practice for me always comes down to “Where am I putting my attention and awareness?”

Our quest for freedom lays in the conscious choices we make moment to moment in our daily lives. It’s easily understood that this constant barrage of negativity exuded by our communication systems sometimes takes our breath away, reinforcing the huge adrenaline state of fear.

How many of us purposely absorb ourselves in inspirational writings, prayer, in practices that heal our feeling of separation and find the freedom to move more deeply toward the divine?

Just as the barrage of negativity grows in this current political climate, it’s important to realize that equal amounts of energy that don’t receive publicity are going toward practices enhancing the transformation of consciousness and moving us all closer to healing the myth of separation.

I can feel the inspired energy shift.  In the face of storms of negativity promoted by the media, the  season ahead could reflect the shift in consciousness actively taking place on our planet.

The rippling effect of our practices, gatherings and devotion are powerfully transformational.

Find Judith Roth at Sky Temple in Yelapa, Mexico.  http://www.yogainyelapa.com/

On Prana

by Elizabeth Rainey

prāṇa: vital air, life breath, vitality, energy, power

We breath in and out hundreds of times a day and with this activity we animate our body-mind. Intertwined in the flow of the breath rides the mysterious force that enlivens us and allows us to move our bodies and create with our minds. It pulsates in every cell and coordinates all our activities. It is the sparkle in our eyes and the radiance of our being. The breath ... so fundamental, so magical, so easily forgotten.

Through our yoga practice we become more attuned to this subtle and foundational aspect of our being and learn how to nurture and honor it. Our āsana practice is designed to help free the body-mind of obstacles and blockages so that we have more energy available to us. Over time we begin to sense where it is stuck and where it moves freely and endeavor to bring it into a dynamic balance.  Through the practice of prāṇāyāma we cultivate a relationship with our subtle body and invite its potent currents to open, clear and infuse every aspect of our body-mind. The practice of meditation is the settling of our prāṇic body into the open space of our awareness where it can expand beyond the body-mind.

It is said that the link between body and mind is the breath. We know from experience that when we are agitated so is our breath and when our breath is deep and easy so is our body-mind. So, as we attend to our breath (and prāṇa) we access a deeper, more subtle and steady part of our being. And we begin to be able to infuse that steadiness into the constant dance of our body-mind and life.  We also acknowledge our  interconnectedness with every other living being on this planet in an intimate dance of inhale and exhale.

Breathe the light
Ride the wave of possibility that enters you moment by moment
Speak from that sacred place of connection
Honor this divine gift of breath with every action and thought
Be inspired.

See more about Rainey at elizabethrainey.com.
 

Beginner's Mind

By Angi Donovan

What if you could go back to the very first time you felt the powerful presence of your breath? Or back to all the new and intriguing sensations that came to light in your first yoga class? What if you could go back to that wide open space where what you “know” was not yet known?

While we have built much strength, flexibility and balance by being experienced yoginis and yogis, the unbiased and deeply receptive state of a beginner’s mind can easily get lost in all the knowledge that is gained.  So as the kids of our community return to school this September we too will return to new ground where the experience of life is bigger and more interesting, and where our perception enthusiastically wonders what the next moment will hold.

Start fresh this month as you take your sense of awareness and practice back into the enlightening power of the beginner’s mind!

Step Into Presence

by Angi Donovan

My teaching theme for August is stepping into presence.  You’ll know when you have arrived to this place called presence. There will be no stories, no judgments, no expectations; just grounded feet, an open heart and for the very first time you may find yourself living just as you are. No fears to hide from, only eyes staring directly into the moment ready to love. Yoga is our practice for this great adventure; our mats a space for something new, our bodies a medium to be felt and expressed, and our hearts an opening to what is real. If you pay attention you can be caught by the humbling aliveness of your own being.  Each time we stop to breathe or move or take in, we step into the profound experience we call presence.  Explore this with me in class this August 2012 and come to know the power of the moment exactly as you are.  See you there!

With Much Love,
Angi

Welcome!

Welcome to the Seattle Yoga Arts blog, where we aim to broaden the conversation about yoga, help you get to know your talented teachers better, and expand on ideas and topics that arise in class, study and from the great hearts of us all.

Please submit blog posts that have to do with yoga, healing, meditation, practice, insight about life as it relates to practice, inspiration, and evolution to desiree@seattleyogaarts.com.

Your teachers will also use this space to expand on their class teaching topics in the realms of anatomy, yoga philosophy, asana theory and practice, and much more.

Check in often and subscribe to this blog for regular doses of imagination and ingenuity.  The human mind is as creative as all the forms of nature, and we hope to hear from you here!

With a bow of gratitude for the great light you each bring to our community.

Denise Benitez
Founder/Teacher
Seattle Yoga Arts