~ musings on feeling, sensing, breathing, moving & being ~
Caring for others will bring you closer to liberation sooner than anything else will.
"Some people will say that they don’t want to be political. Well, you can’t help but be political. Every action, every choice you make affects us all. To say that you are political is to say that you care about the world we all live in. Caring for others will bring you closer to liberation sooner than anything else will. And yoga provides a wonderful template for responsible action.
When we relinquish selfishness as our motivating principle, the potential for true happiness opens up. From compassion toward others you will realize happiness for yourself. Through service to all beings you will experience the bliss of the end of suffering for yourself.
Replace the question “what will yoga do for me?” with “How may I serve thee, Lord?” Let love be your guide.
When you love what you do, the means to do it will be revealed to you."
- Shannon Gannon and David Life,
Jivamukti Yoga, Practices for Liberating Body and Soul
No university can teach you to be yourself.
"No university can teach you to be yourself.
The only way to learn is by practice.
Learning words is not enough.
You may know all the theory,
but without the actual experience of
*yourself*
as the impersonal and unqualified center of
being, love and bliss,
mere verbal knowledge is sterile.
So many words you have learnt, so many you have spoken. You know everything, but you do not know yourself.
For the *Self* is not known through words - only direct insight will reveal it.
Look within, search within.
Engrossed in a dream you have forgotten your true *Self*
The false self must be abandoned before the real *Self* can be found.
Within the prison of your world appears a man who tells you
that the world of painful contradictions,
which you have created,
is neither continuous nor permanent and is based on a misapprehension.
He pleads with you to get out of it,
by the same way by which you got into it.
You got into it by forgetting what you are
and you will get out of it
by knowing *yourself* as you are.
Without Self-realization, no virtue is genuine.
The reward of Self-knowledge is freedom from the personal self.
Freedom from the ego-self is the fruit of Self-inquiry.
To be what you are,
you must go beyond the mind
into your own being.
It is immaterial what is in the mind
that you leave behind,
provided you leave it behind for good.
This again is not possible
without Self-Realization.:"
-Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Luxurious Practice.
Once a week or so, I would clear out for myself about a 4 hour block, for what I called my “luxurious practice”. The name alluded to the fact that on most days my time by myself on my mat was limited or rushed - but on these long practice days I could really take my time to work on anything and everything I was craving, nice and slow, without any time pressure. It was so so fun and delicious!!
Many years ago, when I was living in LA, fully immersed in studying yoga with my favorite teachers and teaching upwards of 17 classes per week, I would occasionally block off a chunk of time for a lengthy practice at home.
Once a week or so, I would clear out for myself about a 4 hour block, for what I called my “luxurious practice”. The name alluded to the fact that on most days my time by myself on my mat was limited or rushed - but on these long practice days I could really take my time to work on anything and everything I was craving, nice and slow, without any time pressure. It was so so fun and delicious!!
Our Saturday two hour class is meant to give us all a taste of that experience. This is a class that is NOT rushed. It’s meant to be exquisite, luxurious, dedicated, fully sensorial, and delicious.
Last week someone commented after class they felt they had received an acupuncture treatment, a massage, and a chiropractic adjustment all-in-one from the work we did on our mats that morning.
So that’s what we’re aiming for, to really get a full system treatment, to reset our bodies, minds and spirits, to breathe and move in a way that releases the deeply stored gunk we’ve accumulated from the hustle and busyness of life, and re-establish the easeful flow of our breath and Chi throughout our whole selves.
The class includes time for yoga, pranayama, meditation, chanting, and plenty of deep exploration within.
I hope you will join us sometime.
Maybe I will see you soon!? I’m so so happy to be back.
Love you all so much!
thank you for being in my life.
natasha.