The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don’t go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want.
Don’t go back to sleep.
People are going back and forth across the door sill
where the two worlds touch.
The door is round and open.
Don’t go back to sleep.
Rumi
Otis Redding
“Sitting on the dock of the bay.”
Got to love it!
Row, Row, Row your boat gently down the stream.
Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, Merrily, life is but a dream.
IF…..
IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream – and not make dreams your master;
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
‘ Or walk with Kings – nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!
On Sunday, September 18th, individuals from all over the Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan area will be joining together in a very special YOGA GATHERING. This gathering will be our 3rd annual attempt to set a record for the most individuals gathered at one time doing yoga. Download Flyer here.
The cost to participate is:
$15 for class admission (only) OR
$30 for class admission, a yoga mat and a T-shirt*
You can sign up now by pre-registering or you can sign up at the door.
To pre-register please make your check payable to: Ahava Spa and Wellness Center c/o Yoga on St. Clair.
To pick up your $30 package early, you can mail or deliver your check to: Ahava Spa and Wellness Center, 34 South St. Clair Street, Toledo, Ohio 43604
For information on past events: 2nd Annual Yoga on St. Clair Street helps cancer patients
“The Tree of Yoga”
B.K.S. Iyengar
Sthira sukham asanam ~ Patanjali
Which ever pose helps you to be still and steady with ease can be called as Asana.
If somebody were to ask you, “Can you sit still for an hour doing nothing?”, what would be your response? Some people may respond with “Oh! that is easy and I would love that” where as some other may respond with “I cannot sit idle for that long. I would rather do something productive”
Here is a small exercise for you in case you are not habituated to meditation. Take out half an hour and absolutely free yourself. Make sure you block out every appointment, switch off the phone and if required lock yourself in a room.
Promise yourself that you would sit still for 15 minutes and try not to move a single muscle. Try to concentrate on the breathing. I am recommending to concentrate on breathing since this will make this task easier; but it really is up to to you. Purpose here is not to practice meditation, but to sit still and see the effects.
Once you start this exercise you would soon see how difficult it is to sit still even for 5 minutes. You start thinking about various events in the past and also what is likely to happen in future. You will suddenly feel like finishing some urgent task.
Then, if you notice carefully, you would be able to observe the uneasiness in the body also. You may feel itching sensation at various places, or little uncomfortable in the back, or stiffness in the legs. You will soon feel like just moving or straightening the back, or adjusting the neck a little.
The urge to move the body parts is very strong and you will feel see how difficult it is to sit idle. Basically the mind does not wants to allow you to sit idle.
When I first learned about yoga, several years ago, I was skeptical — In my mind it was more of an exercise form, and that too not very impressive since everything happened so slowly; don’t we need to be active for the exercise to be good and gain more benefits, and isn’t yoga suitable only for lazy people who pretended to exercise?
Today, I’m happy to say I’m a complete fan of Yoga, practice it and love it and also sit still.
Why Practice Sitting Still
Lot of people associate sitting still with idleness, but it is far from true. Practicing stillness is very important to progress in Yoga. This prepares the body to be stable, mind to calm down and gain strength in the back. This will help in meditation since most of the meditative poses are sitting poses. Sitting or remaining still is a pre-requisite to meditate and sitting poses are the easiest poses to remain still.
Vipassana, which is Buddhist meditation, or any other meditation practice requires you to sit for very long duration of time without moving. When we move, the awareness comes out to outer state from the inner state which disturbs the meditation. Hence it is important to practice keeping the body still.
How to Practice
Start with simple pose which ever is comfortable to you sitting on the floor, like sitting cross legged. Sit for 5 minutes without moving. Then gradually increase the time. When we do this for long time, gradually back will gain good strength and the knees will also have improved tolerance to remain sitted. Constant practice is the only way to do this. keep yourself determined to sit the duration which you have decided. Gradually it will become easy enough for you.
Few Tips
You can sit with a wall as support.
Sit on a Pillow.
Sit in Vajrasana Pose. This is easier to sit on compared to the cross legged poses. Also you can sit in this pose after meals and it will also help in digesting the meal.
Sit in Padmasana Pose. This is the pose which is recommended in many books and by many people as the most suitable for meditation.
The Eagles.
Learn to be still.
“You need not leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. You need not even listen, simply wait. You need not even wait, just learn to become quite and still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked. It has no choice. It will roll in ecstasy at your feet.”
Franz Kafka
Every day is a new life to a wise person.