Ahimsa (Non-Violence): starting on the mat

Working with Ahimsa means bringing an intention of non-violence into thought, word, and deed. Ahimsa is considered the foundation of yogic ethics.

Violence, according to B.K.S. Iyengar, resides in a person’s “mind and not in the instrument [s/]he holds in his[/her] hand” (1994, p. 32). Ultimately, it is essential to evolve toward the change of thoughts in order to achieve ahimsa.

In asana: begin to witness your body. Let go of competitive ego and expectations and trust that your body is right where it’s supposed to be. Be present to yourself, treat yourself with compassion. Modify when necessary and accept props as appropriate.

What is the tone of your body awareness during asana? Fighting or surrender, dominance or witnessing, attachment or acceptance?

How does the idea of non-harming play out in your life off the mat? Witness your thoughts, listen to your own speech, notice your actions. What does non-harming mean to you?

The Goals of the Mind and the Intentions of the Heart

It is the work of the heart to birth intention, rather than that of the mind.

Phillip Moffitt, a Buddhist meditation teacher, offers this article on fine-tuning our understanding of intention and differentiating intention from goal-setting. With goals, Moffitt says “the future is always the focus: Are you going to reach the goal? Will you be happy when you do? What next?” Intention, by contrast, “is a path or practice that if focused on how you are ‘being’ in the present moment.” A goal says “I want to grow a tree.” Intention tends the soil.

Moffitt is clear that intentions are generated not by the mind, but in the heart (see the intention meditation in the 12/29 post). “Goals help you make your place in the world and be an effective person. But being grounded in intention is what provides integrity and unity in your life.”

Setting an intention is not a one-time event, but a process, a practice. We set our intention and live it. We use our practices (yoga postures, pranayama, meditation, journaling, etc) to move inward into that reflective space to again cultivate those intentions and then we move it back out into the world. We walk it off our mats and into our lives. And then we begin again. It’s this didactic process of working back and forth between the mat and our lives that allows us to stay engaged in life in a way that is grounded in our deepest truths.

Good luck!

Xoxoxom

Amy

Intention

"And now the teaching on yoga begins."

Thus begins the Yoga Sutra, a quintessential text for anyone intending to take the study of Yoga deeper into their hearts and lives. It's easy to see this opening, as Charlotte Bell did, "as a throwaway verse," but on deeper examination, it can be honored as a setting of intention.

Next time you take to your mat, or begin anything -- your day, a task, a conversation -- try pausing to feel an intention take form in the heart. I'll offer here a formal way for creating that pause, but know that even the pause of one breath can create a framework for what proceeds that is more fully-tethered to your inner truth.

Find a quiet space and take a seat which supports the spine. This may be a traditional seated posture, or it may be sitting in a supportive chair. Wherever you may be, sit with purpose. Let your spine be supported by the rooting of the sitting bones and lengthened by the suspension of the crown of the head towards the heavens.  Rest your hands on your knees or thighs.

Inhale as you let your gaze soften to the floor. Exhale as you let your eyes close and your shoulders melt down and back. Scan your senses, bringing your awareness into the present moment. Let your present moment awareness come to focus on your breath.

As your breath lengthens, direct the breath to the heart center. As you breathe in, behold the space of your heart. As you exhale, feel any tightness there float out. As you inhale, draw your hands together in prayer position just in front of the heart. As you exhale, hold the space open as you feel intention arise. Trust whatever comes through -- be it a word, an image, an affirmation, or something you can just glimpse a bit of. Trust that you have more than enough to begin.

As you feel ready, press the thumb knuckles into the heart center to seal your intention. Rub the palms together vigorously to begin to manifest your intention. Split the warm palms over the eyes. As you are ready, open the eyes into the palms -- begin to see with your intention. Float the hands back down to the knees and proceed with your practice, whatever it may be.

Namaste

Peace and Calming

 If ever an oil could "have me at 'Hello'", it's Peace and Calming.

Just as it's name suggests, this blend issues in a wave of peace and relaxation -- allowing you to begin to melt back to center. 

During savasana, we often work into our own natural state of deep calm. It may not seem so some days, but we all have access to this state. Working with the yogic tools of asana, pranayama, meditation and relaxation, we can fine tune our ability to move back to this internal abode of serenity. 

For your practice, it is beautiful to diffuse Peace and Calming throughout. You can also use it topically as you move down onto the floor, heading towards savasana. It is great applied to the feet (just 21 minutes and it's found it's way into every cell), swept from temple to temple, or at the backs of the ears.

It is good and right that you relax each day. Those moments will work wonders for your health, your relationships, your work and all that you do and touch.   

Purification

I find myself very drawn to the smell of Purification. I don't know if it's the tangy cirtus enticement or just the evocative name that draws me. Nonetheless, it's the bottle I pull out the most.

I've found my exploration of the oils to be similar to my work in asanas. Some I love all the time, as I love child's pose or utkatasana. Some are just what I need on certain days, like I need a round of spinal extensions when I'm feeling heart-heavy or a downward dog at the wall when my low back is tender. Some I think I should like, but admit only to myself that I don't like (locust), fear (upward facing bow), or <gasp> despise (I'll leave those to your imagination).

And, although I can sometimes trick myself into thinking child's pose and lavendar are good for everyone, I know from serving my yoga circles that that's simply not true.

And so, as I continue my exploration with Purification and all the oils, please join the conversation. I'd love to hear more about your experiences, too.

Saucha, the first of the Niyamas, is often translated as clealiness or purity. Those of us taking meaning at the most mundane level may think of physical cleanliness or "living clean" -- eating well and nutritiously, refraining from toxic substances, etc.

We can also take the practice of saucha into our asana practice. Look back on this blog for more on that possibiltiy.

In using Purification, I am looking for a deeper dimension of purity. Inhaling the scent of citronella and lemongrass, I invite in the cleansing inhale. Exhaling with ease, I let go of whatever doesn't serve me -- be it physical restriction or tension, mental business or fatigue, a heavy or lonely heart -- I use my breath and this scent to clean myself out. Clearning myself out for some new delight, as Rumi would say.

What does purification mean to you?