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Mantra Markings

Order is a lovely thing; on disarray it lays its wing, teaching simplicity to sing.

 -Anna Branch

The downside of moving three times in one year is that I can't rely on the permanent-marker-pen-labels on my storage boxes. One, labeled "Bookshelf Misc.", now contains a mixture of kitchen and bathroom miscellany so random searches are the real order as I'm unpacking. I've gone from my folks' home to a three bedroom house with a gorgeous view of the Kona shoreline that Tall Guy and I are renting. Boxes from our storage unit are stacked in the garage now and I'm on a mission to get rid of all of my old stuff.

Important items are also showing up. Such as my entire stock of Mother Sequence books that were on their way from India when I closed the studio. As I flipped through a crisp, new edition, I had a distinct urge to write my own notes onto the pages and to chant the twelve mantras while doing the Sun Salutations.  For the last two mornings at sunrise, I've enjoyed slowing down the pace of the Suryanamaskaras to match my chanting, and allowing the original dimmer switch that the sun is, to light up the room. My random searches do bring real order.

 

In case you're interested...

The chants and postures go something like this.

Here's how to find what time the sun is supposed to rise where you live?

Update 2.2.13: I'm still doing this but a short meditation time has begun to follow. It has now become the motivating factor for my daily practice. 

 

April 2011 Workshop Features Jehangir Palkhivala

Jehangir Palkhivala returns to Kona Yoga, April 8-11, for yet another fascinating workshop filled with his knowledge of yoga, and many years of experience with the healing wonders of the human body. Jehangir travels annually to the U.S. from Mumbai, India, where he lives with his family and teaches yoga.

 

WORKSHOP

The Prasarita Sequence
Saturday, April 9: 9am-12noon, 2pm-5pm
Sunday, April 10: 9am-12noon, 2pm-5pm

The Prasarita (The Open Heart) Sequence offers practitioners a great sense of joy and freedom. This practice opens out the body, helps the mind become expansive and allows the heart to blossom. Jehangir will start by taking students through the 'Ujjayi Effect' and help them experience the 'Nada of Enjoyment' - “to settle the mind happily in the heart”. Jehangir will take students through a fresh sequence with their focus on an open body, and expansive mind and blossoming heart. He will also take them through a step-by-step experience of heart purification in the light of Patanjali.

The intention is to free our hearts with Patanjali's beautiful concept of Sorrowless Flame and the Being beyond Attachments. These allow our spirits to open up to the source of infinite joy. (Much depends on the heart of the practitioner – its willingness to surrender, its desire to bloom).

Please carry writing material with you.

TALKS

Komalan Shariram
Friday, April 8
5pm - 7pm
A unique technique that originated in the Mumbai Advanced Class, where the participants group into sets of five or six and with the help of bolsters and each other, learn to soften and ease the nerves and muscles into a state of intense relaxation. The aim is to eventually, replicate and achieve this state without the use of external aids.

Healing with Food
Monday, April 11
5pm – 7:30pm
This talk is based on new information, research and experiments collected through the course of the year. If you've ever attended any of Jehangir's workshops, you'll remember his numerous suggestions and recipes for all types of ailments through the use of whole foods.

 

FEES

Entire Experience: Workshop + 2 Talks $300.00

Single Classes $ 65.00

Friday 4/8 Talk $ 40.00

Monday 4/11 Talk $ 40.00

Both Talks, no Workshop $ 70.00

Workshop Only $240.00

Workshop + 1 Talk $270.00

 

 

REGISTRATION FORM

The above information, as well as a Registration Form, is available in PDF format as a 2 page, tri-fold brochure.

 

CONTACT

[email protected]

 

Jehangir Palkhivala returns to Kona Yoga: April 16-18

Jehangir Palkhivala will be returning to Kona Yoga next month, April 16-18. There will be a Friday evening talk, Shitali Karana, on the 16th, from 6 to 8pm. According to Swami Rama, "There is no exercise known to be higher, and better than this exercise to alleviate stress." No yoga experience is necessary for this talk, as well as the one scheduled for Saturday evening, April 17, "Healing Foods, Healing Practices" (6-8pm).

Jehangir will also be offering yoga classes on the following days and times:

• Friday, April 16: 9am - 12noon
• Saturday, April 17: 9am - 12noon
• Sunday, April 18: 9am - 12noon and 2pm - 5pm

More details, fee information and a registration form are included on a flier available at the studio or may be downloaded as a PDF form. Reservations are on a "Paid First System" and if you have any questions about your ability to attend yoga classes, please e-mail me at Barbara@konayoga. I'll be available by phone from Monday, March 29.

Jehangir is a master teacher who has many years of experience helping folks with a wide assortment of injuries and ailments. At the very least, plan to attend the Saturday evening talk to hear how people are maintaining optimum health through whole foods and yoga.

"Inhale Joy" with Jehangir Palkhivala
April 16,17,& 18
at Kona Yoga

Workshop Flier and Schedule..

It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.-Aristotle Onassis

Last week's nuclear test by North Korea, has rippled fear and anger across the globe. Even though nuclear experts believe that North Korea is years away from being a "nuclear state", a 4.7 magnitude, underground, radioactive explosion is, peacefully stated: unnatural. Even anti-nature.You can't call any action that carries global consequences, "a feeble attempt by an ailing ruler".

That's it! That's all I'm going to say about what happened. I'm not even going to suggest what the rest of the world should do but I am doing something.

In perfect choreography, I received an e-mail Saturday morning from the Global Coherence Initiative (GCI) with the following suggestion: For the next two weeks let's take a few minutes a day to hold a state of compassion for the Earth, while envisioning it in a perfect state of balance and alignment. Send heart coherent compassion which is free from fear-based drama and attachment to outcome. This multiplies the effectiveness of our care.

Briefly*, the steps are:

1. Breathe and calm yourself in whatever ways you choose.
2. Choose something you appreciate - a person, pet, nature, etc. - and radiate the feeling of appreciation to them for about 2 minutes.
3. Now evoke the genuine feelings of compassion and care for the planet.
4. Breathe the feelings of compassion and care going out from your heart.
5. Radiate the genuine feelings of compassion and care to the planet or to a specific area of immediate need.
6. See yourself, along with other caretakers, participating in this process of healing and facilitating peace.

I was going through all the steps except for the last one, seeing myself in the process with other people. It feels so much more powerful that way. Let me know if I should see your face too.

Of course, this particular event may not be in your scope right now. You may have issues closer to home and heart but you can employ the same tactics. Says the GCI message:

When our meditations, prayers and other practices are genuine, they count and can help reduce planetary discord wherever they are focused. All of our efforts add to the whole, which increases the power of our individual and collective intention to help.

*Complete Coherence Instructions. 

Global Coherence Initiative simply explained.

Source: Reuters, "Q+A: Why did North Korea rush to a nuclear test?". May 27, 2009.

Photo: Tree Hugger

The Completed Circle

When our eyes see our hands doing the work of our hearts, the circle of Creation is completed inside us, the doors of our souls fly open, and love steps forth to heal everything in sight. -Michael Bridge





Have you ever found yourself at the end of a yoga class, not wanting to get up and leave right away? You sit there on your mat and wish that you could stay in that bubble of softness and bliss, forever. Those of us in Jehangir Palkhivala's workshop this past weekend did just that and it's taking me a few more days to get back into the rhythm of daily life.

This is an abridged newsletter to announce the cancellation of Sunday's class, in observance of Easter, April 12. All other classes will be held as scheduled.

Also, I have been asked to start classes for men and classes for children. If you have any interest, please give me some feedback on preferred days and times.

I will close with a few of Jehangir's Words of Wisdom:

"...to judge how well your practice went, notice the rest of your day."

Always ask while doing yoga, "For whom am I practicing?"

When the way you feel is controlled by a condition, you can never influence a change in the condition; but when you are able to control the way you feel within a condition, then you have the power to influence change in the condition. -Esther and Jerry Hicks.

If I gave you a day-by-day accounting of the past ten days, it would surely sound like a Rube Goldberg contraption. Disparate and unusual scenes and actions were all connected. Even while appearing to be roadblocks, things fell into place and led to the next step to accomplish one seemingly simple act: get to Day 21.

I learned, from the computer infection that plagued my system for over a week, <continue reading>

Cartoon via www.cs.cmu.edu

21 Graceful Days

What we hope ever to do with ease, we must learn first to do with diligence. -Samuel Johnson

I've got seventeen more days to go on my 21 Day Grace Period. From March 5 to March 25, I'm following Jehangir Palkhivala's Mother Sequence of yoga poses as my practice. I've done it before with glowing results, but this time my interest is on the efficacy of a 21 Day focus.

What is so magical about repeating an action or a prescribed regimen for 21 Days? It hasn't been scientifically proven although you'll find many articles and books claiming "Research shows that it takes 21 Days to develop a new habit". I can't find evidence of any such study being done, but it still seems to work.

Jehangir has had a lot of success, helping people to heal physical ailments by prescribing the sequence for 21 Days, along with a diet of unprocessed and basically raw foods. If 21 Days works like a miracle for stubborn health problems, why not use it to improve other areas of life?

So far, I have written:

• Day 1. Why 21 Days?


• Day 2. The End is Near: 21 days seems doable.


• Day 3. Focus: You can't help but succeed with that amount of focus toward one goal.


• Day 4. Look the Other Way. When things don't go as planned., look again.

Your comments, questions or suggestions are always welcome. Mahalo.

Photo: ThePretenda

Making Joy & Peace a Conditioned Response

It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters."-Epictetus


If you have a debilitating phobia or anxiety, psychologists have an effective way to systematically desensitize the triggers, by first teaching you a relaxation skill. Then you'd be taught to use that relaxation technique in response to graduated amounts of stimuli from the annoying object or activity. Overtime, you would be able to defuse reactions of fear or dread and respond in a more normal manner.

That same "response to graduated amounts of stimuli" is how I view my current yoga practice. Over the years, the Mother Sequence has slowly taught me to react with a feeling of joy as I inhale and a sense of pervading peace when I exhale. It has become, meditation in motion.

There were days when I focused more on the physical, the postures. On other days I paid attention to lengthening my breath or reciting the 12 mantras during sun salutations to steady my mind. Slowly, so slowly, my body has found ease and my left and right brains have learned to enjoy their syncopation. All of that activity, now allows me to react, by choice, with joy and peace when merely breathing.

I'm now exploring the benefits of teaching these qualities at the introductory level of yoga and also taking those lessons with me as I learn new skills outside of yoga. The body and mind don't have to be conquered like some phobia, in order for the spirit to emerge in joy and peace. When we start with a happy ending in mind, our choices and reactions along the way will play along as well.

Next Week: How to practice while seated at your computer.

Photo: TricycledTeenager

Samundari City, a little history of Mumbai (as told by a wave)

We've received a new supply of the Mother Sequence books by Jehangir Palkhivala and they're available at the studio for $10 each. Also just in is a very limited supply of Samundari City, a children's book written by Jehangir's wife, Rashmi. The Palkhivalas reside in Mumbai, renamed Bombay by the Portuguese and changed back to Mumbai in 1995 (I learned that from the book) and Rashmi relays the city's history through the character of Samundari, a wave in the Arabian Sea.

Informative as it is entertaining, this book of over 150 pages is delightfully illustrated by Prakash Kurup. I think I'll use it as my guide/travel book when I make the trek to Mumbai...one day soon.

The Joyful Wait

One must pass through the circumference of time before arriving at the center of opportunity.
-Baltasar Gracian

I have just come through a three day workshop with Jehangir Palkhivala and because it was not my first, the trip was comfortable and everything I imagined it would be. Parts of the journey went through familiar terrain and parts of it caught me off balance, but I expected it.

Now I sit, waiting for the connecting lines. There will be physical changes as I practice new postures and learn to move with variance into the old. There will be days when my body will surprise me with a range of motion that was once inconceivable.

It may take a year or two before I'm able to gracefully sit with one leg behind my head and the other held straight. How much more generous a future is that for growing older? I expect, and welcome that progression.

What excites me even more is that the connecting lines will take me into regions that I've not yet explored. I'll read through the notes taken during the workshop or relay parts of the experience in my classes and one day find that I've actually altered my perception of what's now mundane. I'll recall a statement Jehangir might have made and the sound of his voice will stimulate a brand new response in me.

But for now, I sit, waiting for the connecting lines. The greatest gift my teacher may have given me this time, might just be this joyful wait.

Photo: Massic