Tree of Life: The TRUNK

Tree of Life: The TRUNK

Yoga is not a religion. It does not replace religion, but is a wonderful complement. Yoga welcomes all religious backgrounds or none at all. It teaches that we are spiritual beings in human form. Our bodies are a temporary vehicle through which we are having a human experience that should edify our souls. It teaches LOVE.

Yoga philosophy believes that each of us has a soul - ATMAN. We also have the mind and body. Our true identity can only be found when these are blended into one unified whole: Holistic. This is the TRUNK of yoga, the foundation. As branches extend from the Tree of Life, the branches of yoga extend from this grounding principle. This includes the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, 200 A.D.

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Some call him Ishwar, some call him Allah, some simply God, but we all have to acknowledge that it is He who made us for greater things: to love and be loved. What matters is that we love. We cannot love without prayer, and so whatever religion we are we must pray together.

-Mother Teresa

Karma

Karma
It is the cause and effect of our actions.  Any action is understood as creating "seeds" in the mind that will sprout into the appropriate result when met with the right conditions. Most karmic results will keep you in the wheel of samsara (continuous movement through the cycle of birth, life, and death, in which all beings of the universe participate), while others will lead to nirvana (enlightenment, perfect peace).

Christian concept:  You reap what you sow.  “The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:8-9
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When things become our masters we are very poor.  -Mother Teresa

Everything starts from prayer. Without asking God for love and still less are we able to give it to others. Just as people today are speaking so much about the poor but they do not know the poor, we too cannot talk so much about prayer and yet not know how to pray.

-Mother Teresa

Meditation

Meditation
One of the hardest parts of my yoga teacher training is the required 10 minute meditation every day.  Throughout my life, without realizing it, I've often meditated by staring into the flame of a candle and just watched the fire lick the air.  My mind was quiet with the curious nature of the element entirely and it absorbed me.  I unintentionally practiced Dharana at random times in my life.
I think it's the idea of meditation, or the pressure I put on myself to get it right, that gives me anxiety of the daily task.  Sometimes I will just try to listen really hard- that brings me to the present.  If I can hear crickets and really focus on their creaky song, my heart and mind become silent in awe and wonder.

Always aim at complete harmony of thought and word and deed. Always aim at purifying your thoughts and everything will be well.

-Gandhi

Science is a Source of Spirituality

"Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality. When we recognize our place in an immensity of light-years and in the passage of ages, when we grasp the intricacy, beauty, and subtlety of life, then that soaring feeling, that sense of elation and humility combined, is surely spiritual. So are our emotions in the presence of great art or music or literature, or acts of exemplary selfless courage such as those of Mohandas Gandhi or Martin Luther King, Jr. The notion that science and spirituality are somehow mutually exclusive does a disservice to both."

-Carl Sagan

Yoga Teacher Training - Day 3

Yoganize Teacher Training - Day 3
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Yoga is not simply an exercise, a work-out, or even a meditation.  Yoga is a state of mind- a stillness of our thoughts; a quietening.  It releases us from stress and illness, bringing us back to our pure existence.  We maintain a practice to achieve this state of mind by focusing on the body, mind, and breath.  We arouse a sense of peace, harmony, and balance.  We feel centered when we are calm and we quell any trace of Ego.  It is in humility that we connect with the divine light in ourselves.
Yoga encourages:

• movement that works to relax the body
• relaxation to quiet our frantic minds
• chanting to arouse and release emotions
• meditation to center the spiritual elements

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