Integrate to End Suffering; Welcome Change!

Photo credit: Amy Dotson

Happy New Year!  I hope this post finds all of you healthy, happy and whole.

As some of you have already experienced, yoga is a tool for integration. At the end of the last year, I took some time off to reflect on what was a very challenging and growing experience over the past 12 months. What I discovered is that my challenges, and my times of suffering occurred when I wasn’t integrating fully. There were periods when I was so much in my body, but didn’t allow my mind or heart to motivate me; there were times when I was in my head (okay, a lot of times!), and I felt my body and heart were neglected; and there were opportunities for me to be so much in my heart that I felt I might burst, but my head and my body were not there, too. Each of these times brought joy and necessary insight, and each of these times brought me a good deal of suffering. It was only during the rare moments that I experienced my body, heart and mind all working together as a team towards one goal, that I felt relief from suffering. And it was only during these times that I felt a balance in my energy.

For the coming year, I will be posting about ways to balance the body, heart and mind as a method to improve the flow of life force and free ourselves from suffering. Beginning next month, the posts will be more frequent and I’ve invited guests to write entries relating to the month’s theme. My website will be going through a upgrade, and I hope to be able to offer more resources as the year progresses. I also hope to move to a system that allows followers to connect with my blog more easily. So, do peek in, follow my blog if you can, and enjoy the holistic advice on living with ease.

Namaste

Announcements

• Lorien's public class schedule has changed for 2013, so check Lorien's schedule page.
• New Year's Day special classes: noon-1:15pm Wellness Yoga, followed by 1:15-2:00pm Breath and Meditation at Breathe Los Gatos. Join us and start your year off with ease, mindfulness and intention!
• Jan 19 1:30-2:30pm: FREE Check Your Boobies party! Join us at Breathe Los Gatos for this educational and fun event, and bring someone who needs to learn about breast health.
• Feb 2 1:30-4:00pm: Yoga for Cancer Survivorship at Breathe Los Gatos.
• Coming soon: Yin Yoga Immersion weekend, Yin Yoga Teacher Training... more details to come.

Inventive vs. Innovative Thinking, the Yogic Perspective

In his latest book, Light on Life, master yoga teacher B. K. S. Iyengar poses the idea that the intelligent yogi seeks innovation - the inspired choice of something totally new. He states that "all people are clever compared to other forms of life", but being clever and inventing new ways to do the same thing over and over isn't enough to liberate us from suffering.

He goes on to say about the yogi's intelligence:

"It can choose. It can choose to perform an action that is new, that is innovative. It can initiate change. It can decide to jump out of the ruts in which we are all stuck and strike out on a path for its own evolution. Intelligence does not chat. It is the quiet, determined, clear-eyed revolutionary of our consciousness. Intelligence is the silent or sleeping partner in consciousness, but when it awakes it is the senior or dominant partner."

Fo me, this year has been about living consciously, about waking this intelligence. Ten months before I picked up Mr. Iyengar's book, I was struck by the thought that it was time I befriended, tamed and trained my mind. My first step towards this goal was to pay attention to my thoughts, which supported the reflexive quality of my mind. The second step was honoring the ability to choose. That sounds simple, but it is by no means easy. We all have the ability to choose: we either choose creative invention towards the same end, or we step out of the rut and innovate a new end.

Announcements

• Tuesday, Nov 6: please go out and VOTE! Then, bring your proof of voting to a nearby yoga studio, because many of them offer free classes for those who vote.
• Saturday, Nov 10 1:00-4:00 pm: there is still room in the Winter Wellness Workshop at Willow Glen Yoga. See Special Events for more details.
• Friday, Nov 16: Lymphedema presentation offered by Cancer CAREpoints, located near Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose; see www.cancercarepoint.org for more details.