Here it is, February 14th, the day saved aside for love. Most of us find singling out a day to express one’s love a little absurd and rather express it freely every day. Some of us may even feel begrudgingly willing to participate. Still, talking a little about love is always a good thing and can help us to express it more freely in knowing what love means to us.

One word for love is “bhakti,” from the root “bhaj,” meaning “to participate in.”* It can also be thought of as “devotion.” When one is in love, he or she devotes his or her love to another in the way of time, attention, respect, space and keeping the other person in his or her thoughts. Often, the lover must forego wants and desires in order to provide a space for the loved to recieve what he or she wants or needs. Sometimes, our own wants overshadow the expression of love. We may even hold a contemptuous view of love due to our maladjusted focus on receiving something from our relationship or love itself. Of course, genuine love is never resented and only cherished as a way to share an Earthly unitive state.

This union in Earthly love is truly a practice ground for experiencing “higher love,” or para-bhakti. The Bhagavad Gits speaks of the path of Bhakti Yoga as a way to liberation from the selfish self (18.54): “Having become identical with the world ground and being tranquil, he neither grieves nor craves. Beholding the same Reality in all beings, he gains supreme love for Me. Through love (bhakti) he really knows Me; how great I am and who. Then, having really known Me, he forthwith enters into that supreme state of My Being.” This kind of love may also be thought of as Isvara Pranidhana, or surrender to the Divine, as outlined within the Ashtanga Path. It requires of us that we move away from the many egotistical attractions and fears that keep us from loving. Personally, when confused about whether I am truly loving, I ask myself the question: “Does this bring me closer to union or further away?” This simple question helps me not only in my interpersonal relationships but the suprapersonal relationship with the Divine.

The many hurts and traumas that we experience in love, whether Earhtly or otherwise, serve to keep us sometimes separate. This is simply a protective feature of the ego. There is no doubt that it takes great courage to love and it takes a lot of practice. As Jami puts it: “You may try a hundred things but love itself will release you from yourself. So, never flee form love, not even in an Earthly guise, for it is a preparation for the Supreme Truth. How will you read the Koran without first learning the alphabet?” One must not only be fearless but also faithful on the path, in the other and her or his self in order to practice love and eventually achieve the highest love. This courage and faith is the stuff that fills the chasms between us.

 It is interesting that the Gita emphasizes shraddha, or faith, so much. Shraddha isn’t simply a faith in another or something we believe will save us but is translated as: “What is held in the heart.”** Krishna states in the Gita: (17.3): “Our faith conforms to our nature, Arjuna. Human nature is made of faith. Indeed a person is his faith.” Perhaps what we hold in our heart leads us unerringly to all the right places, to endlessly loving moments and eventually to the greatest love we could ever know. Perhaps a willing faith of our own path to love, our own heart and the pure space in the heart of each being will bring us the peace to experience love in its true form. Paired with the courage it takes to stand up again from the many training blows we encounter on the love path, we are sure to succeed in our very real need to love and be loved.

All of this commentary seems to justify love and the honest practice of it as if it isn’t already happening. There is a lot of love expressed in a lot of real ways and I honor those with the courage, conviction and trust to willingly express their love in a world that tends to be afraid of it’s own true self. And, I mean to say, we can all find a way to work as it pertains to upholding love in our lives. Maybe it means forgoing our sustained wounds in order to reconnect with a lost friend. Maybe it means offering a simple kind smile in a fearful situation. Maybe it means chanting the name of our own Divine to build that fortitude in our heart. The paths and practices are many and one thing is certain, any amount of effort to love will surely bring us closer to that love.

Finally, I end with sharing a little encouragement which may aid you on your path to expressing your wide open heart: “Love is a skill, a precious skill that can be learned. There are many other skills that are useful, even neceassary, but in the end, nothing less than learning to love will satisfy us. The saints and mystics tell us that life has only one overriding purpose: to discover the source of infinite love and then to express this love in daily living. Without love, life is empty; without love, life is meaningless. The only purpose which can satisfy us completely, fulfill all our desires, and then make our life a gift to the whole world, is the gradual realization of the Self within, which throws open the gates of love. We cannot dream what depth and breadth of love we are capable of until we make the discovery that this divine spark lives in every creature. “***

Wishing you all a very happy Valentine’s Day. I love you all. Hari Om Tat Sat.

*The Shambhala Encyclopedia of Yoga, Georg Feuerstein

**The Bhagavad Gita, translated by Eknath Easwaran

***Living Thoughts of Great People, Eknath Easwaran

It occured to me that in an awful lot of the recipes I typically post, ghee is an essential ingredient. Ghee, however, is also quite expensive if bought in the regular health food store. So, what better way to empower the chefs out there than to offer a great oven-method ghee recipe. I have been making ghee for years, with varying success. If nothing else, one learns a lot about butter, patience and presence through the process. Committing to the providence of ghee is truly quite yogic. Multi-tasking whilst tending the ghee is a big no-no. Even thinking about a thousand different topics while making ghee can make it a less than lovely batch. So, plan some time aside with your ghee and see if you can make it an offering rather than a chore.

Ghee may be thought of as essentially clarified butter, meaning that all the milk solids are removed from the pure oil of butter. It is a great alternative to other oils that do not offer a high heat cookpoint. The flavor is nutty and lovely and can be flavored differently during the cooking process by adding ginger, cloves or sesame seeds. In Vedic literature, ghee is refferred to as “food for the brain” and Ayurveda touts ghee as master digester. Ghee is appropriate for lacto-vegetarians but not for vegans. Be suspicious for “vegan ghee” and definitely look at the ingredients if you are buying over the counter. And, of course, moderation in all things will help to keep your relationship with ghee a good one. The following is a basic recipe, but you can add other ingredients during the simmer process to subtley flavor the ghee. Work on the basic recipe first until you get used to the process. For a super lovely treat, pour the hot ghee over dates and soak them for a couple of days. High energy treats for the week! Enjoy! Hari Om Tat Sat.

Stove Top Ghee (Sada Ghee)*

1. Place one pound of unsalted butter into a sauce pan. Melt over moderate heat while turning the pan so that the butter doesn’t sizzle or brown. Once melted, bring butter to a boil and produce a frothy foam. Once foamy, stir gently and simmer. Simmer uncovered and undisturbed, until white protein solids turn brown and fall to the bottom. There should be a thin crust on the surface of the clear, golden liquid underneath.

2. Skim crust off the top and observe the odor. If it smells like sesame oil, the ghee has been cooked too long, which doesn’t necessarily make it bad.

3. Remove form the heat and ladle off the clear, golden liquid into a fine seive or cheesecloth. Do not disturb the solids at the bottom. Once liquid is strained and cooled, put in container with tight fitting lid. Refridgerate in the summer but in the winter, the ghee has a great room temperature shelf life.

4. Some folks like to retain the milk solids at the bottom and mix them into hot cereals or sandwich spreads. Some others are okay discarding them. The world of choice is a wonderful thing!

*Lord Krishna’s Cuisine, Yamuna Devi

First Friday Puja has once again arrived! On February 4th, at 7:30pm, we will join and chant in honor of Lord Rama, the seventh avatar of Lord Vishnu. He is the hero of India’s epic story, The Ramayana. He is seen as a symbol of loyalty and bravery, as well as the perfect man, husband and king. He serves to uphold dharma and correct living. We will chant a shanti, or peace, mantra called the Purnamadah. The chant and a translation of it are as follows:

Aum purnamadah purnamidam

 Purnat purna mudachyate

 Purnasya purnamadaya

 Purnameva vasisyate

Aum shanti, shanti, shantih.

That plentitude is perfect.

This plentitude is perfect.

This plentitude arising from that plentitude is perfect.

Even when this plentitude ceases to exist, that plentitude will be perfect.

Om peace, peace, peace.

We hope you can join us for a beatuiful evening of offering, chanting and sangha. Hari Om Tat Sat.

As anyone who has practiced during an injury is aware, it can be a dauntingly difficult to reconcile where you have been with practice and where you currently may be with the injury. Injuries often limit us within our “normal” practice and challenge the mind to the ever-present opportunity to surrender, detach from results and think outside the box of our conditioned asana. All in all, injuries may provide us with a beautiful chance to be present, work our edges in a new way and provide us with valuable new threshholds that may have not been explored without the onset of injury.

About four and a half weeks ago, I stubbed my left foot  bad enough to break a toe. My mind’s first line of action was to deny that the toe was broken and go on with all my regular activity, thinking it a sprain. This lasted for a couple weeks, a few re-stubbings and practice related pain intensification before I started to face that that little guy, indeed, was not moving and was looking like a plump dung grub for far too long to not be broken. My mind then decided to spend the next week of Yoga practices and other workouts digging its heels in and berating the toe for in inefficacy. These negative thoughts not only diminished my practice, activity and mood; they left me somewhat depressed and a bit melancholy about aging and dying. Really?!?! Existential angst over a little toe? Yes. So, it caused me to look for the opportunity within the limitation. Truly, the intital injury and the subsequent re-injuries seemed to be saying, “Slow down.” So, I did.

I had to change my agenda and my attitude. I started to simply do a little less rigorous asana and work on slow, stable poses that, in retrospect, provided me with an even deeper postural respect and deeper poses. Whenever my negative and unkind mind inserted a nasty little comment, such as: “Mine as well give up now and go back to bed,” I tried having compassion for the toe, understanding that it’s resistance was because it was trying to heal. Not only was my resistance keeping me from rich practices, no matter their intensity, but it was keeping my mind in its samskaric belief that “more is better.” I thought I had gotten over that one, but apparently not. So, that one little injury on that little toe stirred up a lot in terms of  attitude, beliefs in worth as far as myself and my practice, and what a healing focus really is.

With the challenge of my new outlook, being to slow down, be more mindful in my movement in asana and in life, and to replace negative self-talk with positive statements (even if they felt phony!), I ceased to hurt myself further. Asana practice gradually got stronger, with the added benefit of re-introducing things that I had long since learned but forgot the joy of learning for the first time. Rolling over my toes from Chaturanga to Down Dog was an epiphany. Goddess Tiptoe Squat became a respected teacher. Even balancing in tree was a great joy in the simple realization of the fragility of roots. Master Toe is still healing, but is far more enthusiastic to work with me when I work with it, and sometimes just plain surrender to it. Funny…I’m pretty sure I’ve said things like this in class when facilitating, but nothing drives a personal learning home like practice!

I share my simple story as a way to encourage those of us who are the practicing injured or working with heavy mind states as to what their body can do now compared to what it could do before. These are some of the hardest mind states to work with, especially when we consider the conditions beyond injury, such as profound illness or incapacitation. We can practice, as always, where we are. Someone may have a broken bone or sprain that enables them to work with their edges and their opinions about those edges. Someone else may be aging and feeling those effects within the body, which is a whole new dimension in acceptance and working with edges in a balanced way. And someone else may be terminally ill, facing the questions, challenges and opportunities of transition into a new level of healing and where it is to be found. These are the ways in which we work mindfully and life provides us ample scenarios in which to do so. One thing I am sure of, we aren’t handed situations in which we cannot work our practice and life a little more mindfully; a little more awarely; a little more compassionately. Let’s keep our eyes open for that potential. Hari Om Tat Sat.

Here is a wonderful vegetarian recipe for those of you who like chili. It can flavor on the warm side, but the seasoning may be adjusted for more or less spice. It is also easy to make in the crockpot with canned beans, if time is of the essence. Nutritious and filling, it keeps wonderfully frozen or refridgerated. Here, I have paired it with  Piquant Lemon Rice for a nice side or base dish*. Please enjoy! Hari Om Tat Sat.

Rajma (curried red kidney beans with Panir)

2 1/4 c. dried kidney beans                                       6 c. water                                                              1 bay leaf

1/4 tsp. turmeric                                                            1/4 tsp. cayenne or paprika                          1 tbs. ghee or butter

1. Soak beans in 4 c. water overnight at room temperature (or use canned kidneys, which will omit all bean preparation. You can skip to next section and remaining ingredients). Drain beans, reserve soaking liquid and add cold water to make 6 c. liquid. Put liquid and beans in medium pan with remaining above ingredients and boil to simmer for 1.5-3 hours. Mash 3/4 c. of cooked beans and set aside. There should be about 1 1/2 c. of cooking liquid. if there is more, remove beans with slotted spoon and reduce liquid to that amount.

remaining ingredients:

2 1/2 tbs coriander seeds                                             1 tbs cumin seeds                                                        1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1/3 tsp ajwain seeds (oregano seeds)                       2-3 tbs fresh minced ginger                                   1/2 c. water

1 tsp garam masala                                                           1 tsp turmeric                                                               1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tbs lemon or lime juice                                        5 tbs ghee or peanut oil                                            1 package of paneer (optional)

4 medium diced tomatoes                                              1 tbs butter or ghee                                                    1/4 c. parsley or cilantro, fresh chopped

2. Combine coriander, cumin, fennel and ajwain seeds in coffee mill or spice grinder. Reduce to powder. Transfer to a small bowl.

3. Place ginger and 1/2 c water in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into powdered spices with garam masala, turmeric, salt, lemon or lime juice and stir.

4. Heat 5 tbs of ghee (I usually half this amount) in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Fry paneer, if using, until browned nicely. Remove and set aside. You can also buy pre-fried paneer in the frozen section of Talin.

5. Pour spice paste into ghee and fry for 1-2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and cook for 8 minutes, until tomatoes have reduced to a sauce.

6. Add the beans, mashed beans, fried cheese, 1 1/2 c. of the cooking liquid (or water/broth if using canned). Simmer 15 minutes. Add remaining butter or ghee before serving and garnish with fresh herb.

Nimbu Bhat (piquant lemon rice)

1 c. basmati rice                                    2 c. water                                                1 tsp salt (or less)

3 tbs ghee or sesame oil                      1/2 c. cashew bits                               1 tsp black mustard seeds

1/3 tsp turmeric                                    1/3 c lemon juice                                  3 tbs cilantro or parsley, chopped

1/4 c. grated coconut for garnish

1. Bring water to boil in medium saucepan and add rinsed rice, salt and 1/2 tsp ghee. Reduce to simmer and cover. Cook for 20-25 minutes until fluffy.

2. Heat remaining ghee over medium heat. Drop in cashews and brown lightly. Remove with slotted spoon over rice.

3. In same fry pan, fry the mustard seeds until they sputter and pop. Pour into rice along with turmeric, lemon juice and fresh herb. Mix well.

4. Serve garnished with coconut.

First Friday puja will be held on January 7, 2011 (already?!?) at 7:30 pm). The last time we worked with Tara was almost two years ago when we chanted her bija mantra “OM” 108 times. This time, we will connect to the compassionate goddess by chanting a popular peace mantra, which is as follows:

Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah

The past week, I have been sharing some pumpkin chocolate chip bread after classes and have promised to share the recipe as well. I got the recipe off the web from a cute little couple at Two Peas and Their Pod: the Cooking Couple. Let me preface, this recipe is NOT low-fat, gluten-free, low in sugar or any of the typically healthy caveats we might look for, so best to bake some today and enjoy it before the new year! Hope your holidays are beautiful, everyone! Hari Om Tat Sat.

Coming up on another New Year always inspires me to think of how I might live the coming year more fruitfully, compassionately or happily. For myself, the biggest message I am getting lately is to “narrow down the contradictions.”  For instance, I can talk as the day is long about what it looks like to hold a peaceful space for yourself in the busy-ness of life, but I find myself holding more space for nitpicky worry about the upcoming holidays. With this comes knowing that going to bed a little early might help me to awake refreshed and ready to carry about my day with grace and joy, but actually finding myself unwinding in the evening with the “Bookworm” game on my husband’s phone or watching something that probably won’t actually aid me in the true pursuit of peace and contentment. Then, I hear of a story about a now single mother trying to keep the joy of the season for her son and daughter after her husband was killed a year ago in Afghanistan and understand I don’t have problems, unless I choose to see situations as such. All of this magic around me led me to the following reminder, which I found on the Yoga For The People wesite and have been sharing in class. At request of many students, I offer this magificent reminder of our true capability:

“I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element.

It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather.

I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration.

I can humiliate or humor; hurt or heal.

In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated and a person is humanized or de-humanized.

If we see people as they are, we make them worse. If we see people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming.”

Goethe

This quote is so inspiring to me because I believe that our true nature makes all of this possible for us. When we realize the inherent power that lies in the calm center of our truth, we find that all of us are made of the same elements, energies and abilities, even if we don’t see it as so in certain situations. Further, this quote is a call to arms: the arms of loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity. These are the Brahmaviharas, or “sublime attitudes” followed by Buddhists of all lineages. They are attitudes to be cultivated in good measure in all situations. Loving-kindness, or metta, is love for all beings unconditionally and a hope that all being are well. Compassion, or karuna, is understanding all beings as essentially the same as us and hoping that their suffering is diminished. Sympathetic joy, or mudita, is rejoicing in the accomplishments in all beings lives, including our own. Equanimity, or upeksha, is learning to accept gain and loss, success or failure without attachement for ourselves and others. These are just the ideas I am called to remember when I think of how to truly support those around me in the most authentic way possible. Even if I can only focus on one in an interaction with someone, I am closer to understanding the wealth of supportive practice within and without.

My hope for all of you this coming year is that you embrace your true power in supporting yourself and those around you by making small and simple choices to be loving, compassionate, joyful and equanimous. As you find yourself making these numerous and momentary decisions, may the brightness of your energy and life shine brilliantly and aid in the upholding of this inherent ability in all beings to find the same choices. Have an abundant New Year, dears. Hari Om Tat Sat.

The busy-ness of the holiday season often takes us right out of our regular Yoga routine. We find it hard to get to a class, much less even take a deep breath. During this time, it can be helpful to remind ourselves that Yoga isn’t just asana, or seats/postures. Yoga may be found in all our daily activities and, if so inclined, we can practice more of our time off the mat than we would actually find it possible to on. Using the yamas and niyamas from the Ashtanga, or Eight-Limbed Path, can be a useful framework for finding Yoga in as many moments as we can in the holiday season, and hopefully beyond.

Ashtanga Yoga  is is an eight-limbed Yoga path outlined by Pantanjali the Yoga Sutras. It includes Yamas (restraints), Niyamas (observances), Asana (seats), Pranayama (breath expansion), Pratyahara (sense interiorization), Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditation) and Samadhi (formless bliss). The Yamas and Niyamas are the framework for the Yoga path and can be explored in many daily moments in our dealings with our environment and other beings. Practicing in such a way “off the mat” may even aid our moments on the mat.

Yamas (restraints): “These constitute the ‘great vow’ of the yogin and are to be practiced on all levels irrespective of time, place, or circumstance.” *

Ahimsa (non-harming)…seems simple enough, but how often have we lashed out at someone taking to long in the grocery line or cutting us off in traffic? These reactions can take place outwardly or inwardly, both equally harmful to others and ourselves. We may also find ourselves taking less good care of ourselves during this time of year, or judging ourselves more harshly for shortcomings. Our work with ahimsa might have us challenging the negative thoughts we have about ourselves by applying the opposite thought or cultivating some mindful breathing. We might remind ourselves of the importance of persoanl time and space and then (gasp!) make time for it. We can also offer those who seem to be threatening our sense of self a prayer rather than our disapproval. We could all use a little more positive energy and sending this out to someone you feel has wronged you may not only help him or her, but build that postive energy within you as well.

Satya (truthfulness)…sometimes this is a hard one to cultivate when we are exposed to family members and our own roles around them. Let’s just say, a little satya goes a long way. For instance, we may find our emotional body stretched thin when having to act in certain ways or roles to uphold another’s sense of who we are. In just recognizing this may be the case, we have great opportunity to speak our truth in a way that is kind, but supports our needs as well. Say Uncle Joe is giving you a hard time about not eating holiday ham because you are a vegetarian, a terse and cheerful statement such as, “Works for me!” may not always change his mind, but might simply take some wind out of his sails. Put your truthful energy into a framework that promotes understanding and acceptance rather than dissention and argument. Even if it isn’t always possible, it is a skill worth practicing.

Asteya (non-stealing)…seems obvious but truly, there are a thousand deceptive little ways we steal. We steal stuff, time, feelings, experiences and really, asteya means not to become one who is constantly taking these things from others. Just as we wouldn’t steal our neighbors front door deliveries (and if you do, please stop), we can also find ourselves practicing asteya by not stealing our friends’ and families’ time with long-winded or unnecessary stories or by offering them the dignity of their own feelings and experiences, rather than trying to dominate their experiences with stories of our own. We all need to take a certain amount of time and things to maintain our place in the world, however, we should look at whether what we have gained is through our own honest need and we haven’t left any other being lacking on any level due to that gain.

Brahmacharya (conservation of energy)…this is a tough one, as many of us who find ourselves running around like headless chickens try to do more than a 24 hour day would allow can affirm. Brahmacharya is simply a construction effort-being chaste with how we spend our time and energy. For instance, if I go to spend time with an aquaintance who complains constantly about the stresses of the season despite my earnest efforts to soothe her, I realize that that very interaction was a misuse of my time. I would be better employed by serving someone or sharing time with an individual with whom we may both benefit from the time we have spent together. Perhaps something as simple as driving in the car to many differnt errands can be brahmacharified by planning a route and orchestrating days where you will naturally be in the places you need to go. A wise use of time and energy.

Aparigraha (greedlessness)…Aparigraha is also known as non-grasping. Certainly, in such a capitalist/consumer society, many of the holidays celebrated have been reduced to what you get. I know I fight this battle with my son all the time. I try to emphasize the gift of giving and the latest Star Wars toy commercial comes on. It is a challenge, to be sure, but even if we can’t find ourselves in the perfect situation to be making “Gift of the Magi” offerings, we can still at least assess our true attitudes toward giving and receiving. Are we disappointed by what we receive in the holiday season? Does enthusiasm wane when we don’t get what we want, in the way of gifts, attention or time? Are we truly content just in the giving without the return of reward? Is there any sense of not being complete without gathering something from the outside? Non-grasping is trainable and worth the effort.

Niyamas (restraints): “Niyama is defined as one’s ‘continuous attachment to the supreme Reality.”*

Shauca (purity)…some of us may also think of this niyama as “cleanliness” and miss the grander scheme of its importance. One could surmise that if someone’s home is cluttered and dirty, so may be their mind and consciousness. Practicing cleanliness and organization in the outer world is a gross, and needed, form of shauca. We understand through this outer work that we have an ability to organize and clean our outer environment. As the outer, so the inner. As we understand this ability to clean up our homes and work spaces, we can refine the principle to purify our inner landscapes as well. Choosing to eat pure foods and drink, breathe fresh air, take care of the vessel we reside in thorugh exercise and rest, and promote loving and pure thoughts of ouselves and all beings. Some of these things may be difficult in a season where we tend to overindulge and let go of some of the normally purifying things we do. Any time  you percieve you may be neglecting your inner and outer purity, consider placing your energy into a mantra, maybe one as simple as “shauca.” If this doesn’t seem realistic, at least have contentment with your choice.

Santosha (contentment)…we touched on this a second ago: contentment with choice and outcome.  It means being okay with your actions, your motivations, your results, EVEN IF YOU SEE THAT THEY ARE IN A PROCESS OF CHANGING. So, when you choose to give a gift to one person and not another, don’t regret  your choice or judge yourself for it. Content with fact that you have given and that grows fruit. Even if Giftless gives you something, happy with that gift and the joy that you mean something to that person. Perhaps the true joy is understanding the nature of a constant exchange of energy, the constant opportunity to choose and gift of present nonattachment.

Tapas (austerity)…diligence, work, effort, heat in a guided and intentional manner. You may say, “Well, yeah, I just ran around to three different places across Albuquerque to decorate my house, get baking goods, and finish shopping for my nephews. I know what tapas is!” In a way, that is tapas in that it is a lot of work. But add the intentional and guided caveat (as well as a little brahmacharya) and you may have a much different scenario as to how you feel post meniacal tapas as compared to steady, mindful and planned work in accomplishing the same tasks. No less work, but guided in a different manner yielding a different feeling-which leads us to our next niyama…

Svadhyaya (study)…How are you feeling as a result of your holiday actions? Fretting over details and plans and time? Or, through an intentionally appropriate amount of work balanced with surrender, riding the joyful wave of the holiday season? We have to ask ourselves what the results of our actions are and if they manifest in an imbalanced and depleted shell of a being, then we should reassess what needs to change to create a balanced and vibrant being. An answer as to what creates the latter lies in a wise application of all the yamas and niyamas, but we don’t even know this until we look at it. On another level, we can study why we even celebrate. Do we come from a religious background that required us to or do we celebrate for the love of our family? These are worthwhile explorations and may even provide us the opportunity to get closer the the root of our spiritual beliefs, thereby affirming and strengthening our path.  

Ishvara Pranidhana (surrender or devotion to the Lord)…this is a good one to end on and not just because it is the last one! Sometimes there are just too many things we need to accomplish, too many roles we need to fill and too little time to get it all done in, leaving us not one little bit to focus, replenish and regroup. That is why we need time to PRACTICE ishvara pranidhana. Get up five minutes early in the morning to simply sit and offer gratitude. Take five minutes mid day to bow your head and surrender some of your heat to the calm and nutritive waters of the great “don’t know.” Offer a final five minutes before going to bed to sit down and release from yourself the things of the day with a grateful heart and a faithful attitude in the coming day. 15 minutes of meditation has never been so easy to fit in to your day and even if five minutes is hard, start with one or two threet times a day. You will find yourself more steady with the support of surrender at your back and possibly able to help others find the same.

Well, those are just a few small ideas of how to incorporate the yamas and niyamas into your life at what may be a busy holiday time and beyond. The opportunities are themsleves exhaustive. Make up your own ways to incorporate Yogic elements into your life. Even if we find ourselves practicing one that seems particularly applicable for a week, we are sure to see a result. Then, through wise study of the effects, you can adjust, transform and add new practices to increasingly live your Yoga. Practice isn’t relegated to a sticky mat, special space or study with a particular person. It is the living cause for your willingness to explore the possibility of peace in all your moments. May your enjoy your practice and happy holidays! Hari Om Tat Sat.

*The Shambhala Encyclopedia of Yoga by Georg Feurerstein, Ph.D.

First Friday puja is on December 3rd at 7:30pm and we are happily exploring the power of the Lord of Yoga and transformation, Shiva. We will learn a little about the many aspects of Shiva and chant “Om Namah Shivaya.” Please bring any altar offerings or treats to share afterward. Hope to see you there! Hari Om Tat Sat.