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Meditations, Lessons and Reflections

These posts are added after deep reflection following private and group meditation lessons.

Blessings

Joy Happens

7/29/2014

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When we sit a meditate, we are free. We release the attachment to pain. We let go of the idea of "no, I can't" and we become "yes, I can." Spiritual maturity means walking your own path and in doing so, we find bliss. True bliss. Not a cliche or wall street version of struggling for an idea that is supposed to be bliss, but the joy that is you. The real, actual you. The Self. 

Letting go is complete. It is an understanding that you are the creator of your own life. You do not need permission to be happy. No one - not me, not your family, not your friends - can tell you how to find happiness. It is already there within you, waiting to be rediscovered. Dream your dream. 

Shanti,
  S.




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The Monkey Mind

7/27/2014

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Concentration is a technique for balancing and centering the mind. Without concentration, there can not be meditation. And without meditation, one is inhibited from entering a state of quiet contemplation. Most human beings are out of balance with life. We may imagine that if our emotional state is all over the place then we are "really" experiencing life. From a yogic perspective, this is completely false.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna states, 'Arjuna, the practice of yoga is not for him that eats too much or eats too little; nor is it for him that sleeps to much or keeps awake excessively. He who moderates his eating, his work, his recreation, his sleep, he alone is capable of mastering yoga.'

There is a lovely book full of teaching stories from India that I would like to recommend. It is called: 

The Monkeys and the Mango Tree: Teaching Stories of the Saints and Sadhus of India by Harish Johari

The stories in this book are simple, yet profound and meant to be shared. I hope you will consider bringing a copy of this book home and sharing it w/ your family and loved ones.

Shanti,
  S.



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Half Cobra Pose

7/22/2014

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This evening during the asana portion of our meeting, someone in our group remarked that she was having trouble executing a pose because she has tight quadriceps. I wanted to show her a pose that any beginner can do that has that issue, so I promised her that I would add it to my blog. Here are the step-by-step instructions for Half Cobra Pose (ardha-bhujangasan). In addition to being very beneficial for relaxing tight quads, this pose is an excellent pose for all muscles, ligaments, nerves of the legs, stomach, spine and arms. It is an easy pose to relax and stretch the entire body.

First, stretch your left leg back as far as possible. The right knee is bent w/ the foot flat on the floor. Place the right hand on the right knee, left hand and spine are bent slowly backward until left hand, spine and left leg look like a semicircle. Hold 3 seconds. Repeat w/ the left knee forward.
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Know Thyself

7/15/2014

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Yoga is about consciousness. In today's culture we spend a lot of time running, ranting and raving. We rarely allow ourselves one moment of "unproductive" time. And then we wonder why our bodies hurt, why we feel unhappy and why our lives are in a state of upheaval? We are completely distracted, therefore we can not truly understand who we are. How do we find balance? We. Stop. Running. To me, the single most important posture in all of yoga is Shavasana. Here's why:

Shavasana, aligns the spine. The brain and spinal column are command central for the entire body. Align the spine and the body begins to function properly. Shavasana can be performed by people of all ages, regardless of their level of fitness. We can all lay down. Shavasana is completely restorative. And it can be done almost anywhere.

Shavasana should always be done on a flat, level surface. Begin by slowly lowering the body from a sitting position with knees bent. Lower the spine one disc @ a time, with full conscious awareness of the way the body feels as it is rolling down toward the ground. Make certain that the shoulder blades are flat against the ground and that the spine is straight. Then lower the legs one @ a time. To perform Shavasana properly we must completely relax each and every part of the body. This takes practice. I recommend that you take time for total relaxation in Shavasana @ least once a day, preferably within minutes of returning home from work. I try to perform Shavasana anytime I notice an imbalance in the way my body feels. This means that I am usually on the floor several times a day. I always feel better immediately after.

Dharma Mittra, a modern yoga master, has this to say about Shavasana:

"All restorative poses can be held for 5 to 30 minutes since they don't create any undue tension, sensation, or strain. Shavasana, Corpse Pose, is the pose of total relaxation, and the only pose in which a yogi breathes through the mouth. Beginners often skip this pose @ the end of practice but they are missing one of yoga's most powerful moments. With every breathe you allow awareness to enter the deepest part of yourself. Resting, but with your mind fully aware, Shavasana calms the brain, relaxes the body, helps lower blood pressure, and rebalances the entire system. Ten minutes will bring you all these benefits; fifteen minutes is preferable, and corresponds to two or three hours of deep sleep."

The very first thing I ever teach any student new to Kriya Yoga is Shivasana. If you only have 10 minutes a day to dedicate to yoga, I would encourage each and everyone of you to practice this one pose. You will reap the benefits each and every time you do it. 

Namaste,
  Sandy
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We Could All Live Without It

7/2/2014

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I had commitments after the last couple of group meditation lessons, so I neglected to make blog entries. To those of you that follow it, my apologies. 

For the last few days I've been looking @ readings and reflecting on what to ad to this blog. My mind keeps returning to something Yogananda wrote about gossip. I feel strongly that I should post it here. This is a problem that I feel we all have...and life would be so much easier, sweeter and more joy-filled without it.

Shanti,
  S.

"Your individual happiness depends to a large extent upon protecting yourself and your family from the evil results of gossiping. See no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil, think no evil, feel no evil. Most people can talk about other people for hours and thrive under the influence of gossip, like the temporary influence of intoxicating, poisonous wine. Isn't it strange that people can smoothly,  joyously, and with caustic criticism talk about the faults of others for hours, but cannot endure reference to their own faults at all?

The next time you are tempted to talk about the moral and mental wickedness of other people, immediately begin to talk loudly about your own mental and moral wickedness for just five minutes and see how you like it. If you do not like to talk about your own faults, if it hurts you to do so, you certainly should feel more hurt when saying unkind and harmful things about other people. Train yourself, and each member of your family, to refrain from talking about others.

By giving publicity to a person's weakness, you do not help him. Instead, you either make him wrathful or discouraged, and you shame him, perhaps forever, so that he gives up trying to be good. When you take away the sense of dignity from a person by openly maligning him, you make him desperate.

When a man is down, he is too well aware of his own wickedness. By destructive criticism, you push him still further down the mire of despondency into which he is already sinking. Instead of gossiping about him, you should pull him out with loving, encouraging words. Only when aid is asked should spiritual and moral help be offered. To your own children or loved ones, you may offer your friendly, humble suggestions at any time and remove their sense of secrecy or delicacy.

'Judge not that ye be not judged. For with what judgement ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with that measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.' (Mathew 7:1-2)There is plenty of dirt to remove from your own mental home. Do not indulge in evil talk about the mental dirt in the lives of other people, but get busy and free your own life from weaknesses. Silently heal yourself of the desire to criticize, and when free from condemnation and gossip yourself, teach others to be better by your sympathetic heart and good example." 
~ Paramhansa Yogananda

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    Sandy Stutz

    Deepest Gratitude to Swami Pranananda, Paramhansa Yoganada and all teachers of Kriya Yoga past and present.

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Holistic Yoga Journey
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