Opening to Grace

Michael (our beloved yoga instructor) is doing a wonderful job with word choices and when to employ them.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE when Michael chooses to say "Open to grace."  It makes all the difference when an asana is getting particularly challenging.  It makes me pause and remember to be good to myself, to be open hearted and to be accepting of my own goodness.  You'd think of all things a person could  accept him/herself, but I think sometimes that's the hardest thing to do.  Perhaps that's why they call it "yoga practice."

Meaning is More Than Words

I have to admit that I had to read Mark Johnson's excerpt about body-based meaning more than once.  It seemed too obvious at first.  Of course there is no separation between mind and body. I could not function without my brain and body working together.

Without reading Johnson's entire book or article, I suspect what he is referring to is the absence of God or some other supreme being that would give human beings meaning that they could not otherwise receive on their own.  I have to say that this is a brave first reading to assign a class of 30 students in an elective class.  I wonder if students expected such an existential first reading!  As to whether I agree or disagree with Johnson, I would have to read more.  What is the title of this book or article?

Donna Farhi's Effort and Surrender

Those who know I enjoy yoga most likely know I enjoy reading Donna Farhi books and would love to study with her.  From time to time I open Bringing Yoga to Life and randomly read an excerpt.  I find it telling that Friday morning, the first Friday of my first week in graduate school, I should open the book directly to the chapter Effort and Surrender.

In the Yoga-Sutra Patanjali distinguishes between different kinds of effort.  We are told that self-realization is imminent if our actions are performed with ardor, enthusiasm, and sincerity and that the more intense this passionate effort, the closer the goal (1.21-1.23).  Yet immediately following this exposition on effort, we're advised that effort and the spontaneous realization of oneness are a contradiction in terms.  We can choose another option, and that is to surrender to God.  How do we reconcile these two seemingly contradictory paths?

I'm not sure I can answer that question for myself yet, but after this first week of school (and essentially the first week back to technique classes), I think most of us wanted to surrender in some way; to rest and just to listen.  Friday morning my alarm went off to the music of The Gotan Project - wonderful Tango music that helped me drip out of bed and onto a yoga mat in the next room.  I laid on my back and went through breathing exercises, moved through some simple restorative poses and eventually draped myself over a bolster in a relaxed child's pose.  What I found so wonderful was the lack of effort that allowed me to be still and listen to my breath and my heart.  My heart beat so that it moved my body slightly over the bolster till it didn't seem like "my" heart beating, but just a lifeforce making its presence known.  I found this incredibly comforting and peaceful.  My day moved along with greater ease as well.