From Bulgaria to Cleveland - Why?

Here I am at the Cleveland airport going back to Europe after 3 weeks staying in Cleveland Heights having been hosted by the Yoga Academy of North America and the Atma Center.  I am overflowing with full contentment and gratitude. I appreciate the value of the Western thought in terms of applying the classical Eastern heritage of yoga. By grace I was at the right place and time with the right people. It’s so nice when you have such synchronicity in your life.

This was my 5th time coming here. I did my Teacher Training 1 and Teacher Training 2 at YANA and I came two more times just to be in touch with this source of knowledge and application of yogic lifestyle in the society.

What pulls me back here so many times?

First of all the teachers – They are great professionals. They are an example of community team and supportiveness. They are positive, kind, encouraging and patient. Every time I learn a solid amount of new things here. In YANA I meet both Eastern wisdom combined with practical Western yogic science, variations, and modifications extracted from many years’ experience - basically applicable for Every Body. From no other school could I learn such valuable details in teaching.

Swami Atmarupa - the core of YANA and Atma Center. I can’t really explain to somebody who doesn’t know her how she touches my heart and surely not only mine. Only a very strong person can bear such work. Only a fully dedicated person can survive and leave behind so much. Only a very well organized mind can run so many projects at the same time. No wonder she is appointed as one of the Acharyas of Satyananda Yoga.

Atmadarshan – once in your life you must meet such a teacher. There is no way after to forget about yoga practices, as well as yoga philosophy and psychology.  She is capable to translate and transfer high levels of information in a very comprehensive way so that everybody can understand.  She is absolutely natural and spontaneous. With her sense of humor your abdominal muscles will get much stronger and you won’t need to go a facial massage! And again, she is completely dedicated. 

The students - extremely well trained - instead of me teaching them – they are teaching me.  They are adapting the modifications showing me how to transfer all this to my students. Satyananada Yoga is indeed Yoga for EVERY BODY. Many people think that yoga is not for them, because in their first yoga class the teacher has asked them to do a shoulder stand, or demanding pranayama practices without preparatory steps. They would hardly have the bravery to return back.  In Satyananada Yoga there are plenty of preliminary practices and stages, consideration, and strong emphasis on principles of care.

Cleveland Heights – it is an adorable place for me. The neighborhood is quite like a huge park that is very different from the hustle and bustle of many big cities. My dream is to I live in such an environment:  old, big trees and beautiful gardens. Walking around you can feel so much connection with nature.  People you meet on the streets are kind and positive - everybody smiles and greets you, which is unlike most of the places all over the world. I’ve heard that Cleveland does not have a good reputation in the U.S. from some incidents in the past. But now I have the totally opposite impression.

Kurukshetra – the residential house is a very charming place. It has an atmosphere that you are in a spiritual environment. However, it is different from the strict rules in the ashram, where the discipline is imposed and sometimes hard to observe from people living in society. Here you follow the rules and regulations without tension, easily with inner understanding. 

Maitri Saraswati - When people smile and are nice to you how you can know for sure whether they really like you or they are overdoing it just out of politeness?  The animals do not wear masks. Their first signal will correspond directly to your character. If someone is aggressive or not in harmony with the environment – they will bark, kick you out, bite. The fact that Maitri allowed me to walk her, feed her and take care of her needs is more evidence that I am in the right place. But Maitri is not just a dog – she is a yoga practitioner.

I am finishing Swami Atmarupa’s farewell brownie knowing that the best things in life don’t last forever.  Eating only Brownies, even if you like them so much – you will get sick.  I’ll keep this sweetness in my mind until next time. With open heart I recommend YANA and Atma Center to everybody. 

Who's Serving Whom?

I have just completed my first year of teaching a unique, inspiring population - people who are blind or have low vision. This small but dedicated group at the Cleveland Sight Center has challenged my teaching skills and comfort level, but also facilitated incredible growth and fulfillment.

These students say they attend yoga because they feel stronger, more flexible, more self-confident and more relaxed than at any other time in their lives. They come, they say, because I treat them as equals and don’t talk down to them.

The class inspires us all to be creative. Guide dogs must be accommodated. The room must be dimly lit because some people are bothered by overhead lights. I wear bright, vibrant colors - pinks, oranges and yellows - so those with partial vision are able to see me. When balancing, instead of focusing the gaze on a spot ahead, I ask students to focus their hearing on a sound or music - and yes, unlike other classes in this tradition we play music, for this reason.

This class requires a great sense of humor. We laugh when my instructions produce a posture not seen in any yoga books. We laugh when I stop in the middle of my instruction and tell everyone to start over because I have to rephrase everything. Giving visual demonstrations is impossible - verbal directions must guide students safely into and out of poses. Instructions have to be very precise and easy to follow. And when I or they miss the mark, we laugh.

I prepare for class by practicing with my eyes closed. My balance and proprioception without vision is much worse than my students’. I quickly appreciate the challenges facing blind students, as well as their courage, inner strength, focus, determination, and perseverance.

I respect and admire these students, who have overcome great obstacles to become independent and take charge of their destiny. One rides his bicycle to class in heat, cold, rain or snow. Some take busses and walk down busy Cleveland streets to attend. Some ride Paratransit, which can mean a three hour round trip. Because of them, I am inspired to continuously refine my language and instruction, making it more precise and specific, more direct, concise and simple. I feel humble and grateful every time I walk into this class.

Congratulations to Yogacharya Swami Atmarupa Saraswati

The Bihar School of Yoga celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 2013 where it was announced that Swami Satyananda’s mandate to spread yoga from “door to door and shore to shore” across the world had been fulfilled. Moving forward, Swami Niranjanananda declared that the next fifty years will focus on the consolidation of yogic teachings; on learning, immersion and research; and on the preservation, refinement and distillation of yoga for future generations.

Tasked with this mission is the newly formed Yoga Vidya Council. The purpose of yoga vidya sadhana is to cultivate the faculties of head, heart and hands; experience equipoise; live yoga and express the truth, beauty and auspiciousness of life. We are pleased to announce that the Yoga Academy of North America is home to one of six individuals invited to serve as founding Yogacharyas of this Council, Swami Atmarupa Saraswati.

As many of you know, Swami Atmarupa has devoted the last 21 years of her life to making Satyananda Yoga accessible to all. She began teaching classes out of her home in 1995 and at various locations throughout the greater Cleveland area. In 1997, she opened the Atma Center in Cleveland Heights, which continues to thrive and serve hundreds of students. As Director of Education for the Yoga Academy of North America, she has provided unparalleled instruction and mentorship to students of Yogic Studies, Teacher Training and specialty programs so they can align more fully with yogic principles as well as bring the benefits of Satyananda Yoga to their communities throughout North America and the world.

The Yoga Vidya Council is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging serious, sincere, and committed yoga aspirants from every strata of society to live a yogic life of peace, wellbeing and harmony. We congratulate Yogacharya Swami Atmarupa on receiving this great honor and offer our support as she devotes her energies to the fulfillment of this mission. The entire YANA community is blessed to have her wisdom, experience and commitment to help guide us further along the yoga path.

Inner Silence Part Two - Awareness of Thoughts

As our world becomes increasingly busy, we spend more and more time extroverted and multi-tasking.  We need to find a way to create inner balance.  Antar Mouna, a yogic practice developed by Swami Satyananda, provides us with the perfect framework to turn inward to deal with our minds and all of the feelings and thoughts lying within the substratum of consciousness.   

Last month we discussed stage one where the awareness is learning to witness the external sensory perceptions without attachment.  This begins to develop the capacity to be a ‘witness’ to each experience - how to see what is happening as just another experience and not personalize it by attaching emotional relevance to it. 

Once we learn how to witness the sensory information with a level of detachment, then we move on to stage two and turn inward to view the spontaneous flow of thoughts.  This sounds simple enough but in reality is quite difficult.  To truly watch the spontaneous flow of thoughts, one must remain uninvolved in the thinking process.  Instead what usually happens is we want to get in there and play mental gymnastics with our thoughts, analyzing them, dredging up the emotional content associated with them, and then pushing the thought aside as a more interesting thought arises, or some uncomfortable, subconscious feeling begins to arise and we move away from it. 

For most, the normal method of working with our thoughts is to keep the mind ‘busy’ with outside activities so we don’t have to deal with ourselves.  We think one way one minute and a different way the next.  This ongoing involvement with the thinking process does not train us to see our thoughts objectively with dispassion.  This busy, active thinking can suppress thoughts that need to rise to the surface and be released.  We are unable to develop the tools to effectively manage the mind. 

To master stage two we must become the witness and allow thoughts to move before our awareness with the same amount of attachment as when we watch waves rise and fall on the ocean.  We can’t hold onto the waves and as we watch they change one into the next.  As we watch the thoughts they will also change one into the next if we allow them to flow and remain the witness to the process, not the participant. 

As we continue to practice, we begin to see reoccurring thoughts, patterns of thinking, certain emotions associated with thoughts – we see ourselves.  Watching as the witness, we begin to develop a more objective perspective from which we begin to realize we are NOT our thoughts.  We find the quiet, inner nature of our self that is separate from our thoughts.  We connect with our source.  That aspect that is always there and has always been there watching.  It is the part of us that holds our intuitive knowledge, our inner knowing beyond the dramas in life. 

And in finding this part of us, we can gradually facilitate change in our personalities and transform our lives.

YANA offers many programs to help you live a happier and more productive life.  See our upcoming events and trainings on our calendar.

The Practice

Beginning with stage one, assume a comfortable position and gently close the eyes.  Become aware of the sensory perceptions.  Be aware of the sounds around you, the smells, the taste on your tongue and everything that is touching your skin.  Keep moving the mind from one sense perception to the next.  If the mind wants to go inward and delve into thoughts about the events of your life, don’t allow it.  Keep the mind moving from one external perception to the next.  Be aware with three-fold awareness; 1) mentally be aware that you are aware, 2) that you are aware of the object of perception (such as your skin or ears) and 3) that you are aware of the subject of perception (such as your clothes touching your skin).  Continue with this practice for at least five to ten minutes.

Now gradually turn the awareness inward to watch the thoughts.  As each thought arises, observe it and let it go.  Watch the thoughts as you would listen to a friend talking to you over a cup of tea, with attention and without judgement.  Be a friend to your own thoughts.

Whenever you catch yourself actually thinking or creating thoughts, be aware of this and detach – let the thought go on its way.  Another one will come.  Let it go.  Keep watching as a witness, without judgement or suppression. 

Practice for 5-10 minutes and then turn the awareness back out to the senses.  Be fully aware now of the sounds around you, feel your body and take a few slow deep breaths.  When you feel ready, open your eyes.

Changing Mental Patterns with Viloma Pranayama

In yoga, we often say the breath is the bridge between the physical and mental processes.  Breathing practices in yoga are known as pranayama - coming from the root words prana, or life force, and ayama, meaning to expand.  Pranayama practices are not simply learning how to control the breath in different ways.  They are methods to enhance our health, to alter and balance our level of energy, and to change our mental patterns. 

Viloma pranayama is one of the basic breathing methods that is taught with the purpose of expanding the breath capacity.  In viloma, the process of breathing in or out is interrupted by stopping the breath for short pauses.  This technique not only helps us take deeper breaths, but during the retention of the breath the mind becomes more one-pointed.  Whenever we hold our breath even for a second, the mind is fully aware that we are holding the breath and aware of nothing else. 

If you wish to practice these techniques and you have hypertension or heart disease, please do not pause the breath for more than a second or two. 

In viloma stage one, the breath is interrupted on the inhalation 3-5 times while filling to capacity and the breath is then released slowly in one continuous exhalation.  Try it.  Breathe in, pause, breathe in more, pause, breathe in more, pause, and then exhale slowly.  Do this several times and then return to your natural breath and notice how you feel from the practice.  Viloma stage one builds tension during the inhalation and then allows a slow release of that tension.  Over time through this practice, one not only increases the lung’s capacity but one has the mental experience of learning to let go of tensions.  In life, there are times when the tension builds and we need to pause, more tension and more pausing, but at some point the tension reaches a point where we must learn to let it go.

With viloma stage two, the breath is interrupted on the exhalation 3-5 times after a long, slow inhalation that fills the lungs to capacity.  In this practice, breathe in as deeply as possible, pause, let some breath out, pause, let some more breath out, pause, and let the remaining breath out.  Do this several times and then return to your natural breath and notice how you feel from changing the pauses to the exhalation.  During viloma stage two, one has the experience of taking a deep breath, but also the mental experience of taking time to respond to the tension by letting go slowly in a controlled way, a bit at a time.  Again in life, there are times when we need to let go more cautiously and slowly - not automatically reacting and letting everything out without thinking.

Over time with consistent practice, viloma will increase the breath capacity and can assist in how we manage our mental tensions.

Reflections on Trips to India

The first time I went to India was in January of 1980 as an “adventure traveler”.  I was one of a new breed of tourists who explored remote areas by unusual methods of transport in hopes of finding adventure and excitement away from the normal tourist trails.  I rode a camel through the Thar Desert, bicycled from the Taj Mahal to New Delhi, trekked in the Himalayas, river rafted down the Trisuli River and rode elephants in Chitwan National Park.  By the end of the trip, I managed to find I had been transported on more than 20 different “vehicles” over the 5 weeks in India and Nepal including those already mentioned, as well as the odd dugout canoe and ox cart.  It was definitely an adventure.  I had never camped a day in my life and I didn’t own a passport before going on the trip. 

Over the past 36 years, I’ve traveled to India many, many times.  There is no place in the world like India.  It can be both maddening and appealing, both exhausting and exhilarating - in the same moment.  The whole of India pulsates with the dualities of life.  Sometimes I can’t wait to leave it.  I’ll tell myself I will never go back.  Then after a time, I feel drawn to return.  India lives in my soul.  How can I deny it?

But I no longer go to India as an adventure traveler looking for an unusual experience of in the world around me.  I go as an adventure traveler looking to understand the world inside me; the world of my personality, my thoughts, my feelings.  I go as a sannyasin trying to find mySelf.  I go to learn from my guru.  To receive inspiration.  To recharge my spiritual batteries. 

India and the ashram take me from the familiarity and comfort of my daily life and put me in a position where I more fully see the less appealing aspects of my personality, my habits, my likes and dislikes.  I learn so much about who I am, what progress I’ve made (or not made), and how to continue moving forward on this path.  It reinforces that I’m heading in the right direction.  Every trip provides the opportunity to come closer to experiencing the vidya, the higher knowledge of yoga. 

And so I will keep going back.  Not just to India and the ashram, but to my meditation practice.  Back to the adventure of seeing, discovering and knowing my mind.

(If you wish to truly engage the adventure of knowing your mind, consider training with the Yoga Academy of North America.)

Showing Up

One of the biggest lessons that I have learned from my long involvement with yoga is to show up!  What do I mean?  To be the best that I can be I cannot hide or make excuses!  I cannot hide from my responsibilities even when I desperately want to do so.  I cannot hide from my commitment to my guru.  And even more difficult - I cannot hide from myself and my thoughts! 

To progress on my spiritual path I have to show up and face all of my negative and positive qualities, all of my strengths and weaknesses, all of my fears.  I have to live my life realizing that every thing that I do or do not do is no one's responsibility but my own.

In the Yoga Sutras, the two key methods to managing the "whirlpools" of the mind are abhyasa and vairagya.  Abhyasa is described as a dedicated yoga practice, over a long period of time, with faith that change will come however slowly.  Patanjali was not talking about getting your yoga mat out in the morning and doing a few asanas or a little meditation and then going on with your day forgetting all about yoga.  In fact, abhyasa is the practice that must be done off the mat, cultivating the perspective of the witness to be able see our mind with objectivity and detachment.  After all, if we only practice our yoga for 30-60 minutes in the morning, what are we practicing the other 23 hours in a day?  Think about how your day is spent and realize how you are reacting and dealing with life is what you are actually spending the most time practicing!  If you are frustrated, stressed out or dissipated, then you will get very good at these qualities if you devote so much time to them!  And if you are practicing positivity, happiness and focus you will also begin to excel in these.

The other method, or the other wing of the bird that will help you fly is vairagya.  Commonly defined as non-attachment, it truly means to work hard without attachment to the results.  Most people expect so much of themselves and others.  We are all so attached to what we do and what we think.  There's a wonderful bumper sticker that says, "Don't believe everything you think!"  This is an example of vairagya.  Don't be attached to the stuff of your mind, especially emotions.  Swami Niranjananananda has said the very word "emotion" should be thought of as E=energy + motion.  We must learn to let emotions move through us without attachment.  It's okay to be angry.  Everyone gets angry sometimes.  But learn to watch the anger and let it go.  Don't hold onto it, touching it over and over with the mind, thinking it is a bad thing, that you are bad, or you will give it more energy and it may be released in a very forceful and hurtful way.  Show up to your emotions, see them for what they are - energy + motion - and let them move through you.

Show up to your mind and learn how to accept every aspect of your being.  This is a very advanced practice of yoga!