Author: Diana Gould Bonyhadi

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Halloween Thoughts & Patanjali’s 8-Fold Path

Happy Halloween.

Hey Yogis and Yoginis.  How is your Fall going?  Her in the Northwest, we have been blessed with the most amazing October.  Many sunny skies, some clouds, some wind and a couple of powerful storms.  And today, Halloween, it is sunny, crisp and the sky is filled with clouds of the most interesting patterns.

Today is a day for celebrating spirits that play in the night; Jack-O-Lanterns, trick or treating, parties, costumes, and masks.  As I was out raking leaves, I began thinking about the dress-up aspect of Halloween.  When we don our costumes, are we setting out to hide our true identities or are we taking the opportunity to show the hidden sides of ourselves.  Maybe we are exploring deeper aspects of ourselves we don’t have the chance to explore at other times of the year, those parts that we are perhaps to shy to share in normal circumstances?

And of course, I began to look at this from the yogic perspective. I began to explore the parallels between a deep yoga practice and the celebration of Halloween.  Yes, I know you are probably laughing right now.  But really, I think we can do this.  Look for example at how in yoga, we get the chance to go deeper into each pose, perhaps reaching into areas we don’t normally go.  Trying out poses that we have seen but never thought we could do.  Encouraging our breath and our bodies to reach out and explore the limits of that which we consider ourselves to be, and in doing so, find that the boundaries to our identities might be pushed just a bit further.

Maybe the most interesting question is ….  What masks do we wear everyday to shield ourselves from ourselves and the rest of the world?  How do we present ourselves to the world and how do we protect ourselves from the world.  Perhaps everyday is Halloween, and it is only during our yoga practice that we begin to shed the masks and explore our true selves.  Indeed Patanjali in laying out the eightfold path of yoga  states quite clearly that it is through our practice that we can learn to take off the masks and experience our Divine selves (see list of limbs cited below).  A scary and yet magnificent possibility.

So, as you play this Halloween and dress up yourself, your home, your children, and perhaps even your pets, take a moment to explore how your costume might indeed be a manifestation of a deeper part of your being.  Step into that space and enjoy it.

Shalom & Namaste & Happy Halloween

Diana Bonyhadi

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The core of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra is an eight-limbed path that forms the structural framework for yoga practice. Upon practicing all eight limbs of the path it becomes self-evident that no one element is elevated over another in a hierarchical order. Each is part of a holistic focus which eventually brings completeness to the individual as they find their connectivity to the divine. Because we are all uniquely individual a person can emphasize one branch and then move on to another as they round out their understanding.

In brief the eight limbs, or steps to yoga, are as follows:

1.      Yama : Universal morality

2.      Niyama : Personal observances

3.      Asanas : Body postures

4.      Pranayama : Breathing exercises, and control of prana

5.      Pratyahara : Control of the senses

6.      Dharana : Concentration and cultivating inner perceptual awareness

7.      Dhyana : Devotion, Meditation on the Divine

8.      Samadhi : Union with the Divine

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A Week of Enlightenment

A Week of Divine Enlightenment

Well no, I can’t say that I have become an enlightened being this week, but I did set the intention for the week to open myself up to the possibility of experiencing the divine fully in each and every moment. And what a great week it has been.

It started as a simple question; “If I were truly an enlightened being, how would my actions in the moment change?”  The first thing I noticed was a shift of awareness.  My internal critical self took a step back.  Enlightened beings are not so judgmental – wow what a relief that was.  In my practice, I found it easier to open more fully to each asana, delighting in the postures for their own sake.  My breath flowed more gently and my meditations were longer and deeper.  In my daily life, I discovered that the traffic was less annoying and chores became vehicles for nurturing my family – not dreaded tasks.  In short, I found myself more open to the positive in every situation and more supportive of everyone around me – even those teenagers with whom I share space.

As a yoga teacher, this has turned into a deep blessing.  Opening each class with an invitation to honor the divine within, allowed all my students to reach deeper into their practices.  As a result the room became a sanctuary, and each student a manifestation of the divine.  Literally, all of us were glowing.  The asanas shimmered and the meditations were nurturing and affirming.

When we invite the divine into our lives, we are making the choice to fully acknowledge the grace, beauty and sacredness of our world. If my experience this week is any indication, creating space for the divine is a pathway for creating greater possibilities for peace in our lives and the world.

Finally, a comment on the numerous articles in the press about the perceived conflict between yoga and religions.  First, yoga is not a religion, it is a philosophy.  It is best viewed as a road map for our intrapersonal and interpersonal interactions.  Yoga – which literally mean yoking or union – strengthens the connections between the individual and their own religious commitments. In my practice this week, I found support and clarification of my Jewish faith, particularly as expressed through the Sh’ma: “Listen Israel, Adonai is holy, Adonai is one.”  By embracing the divine, I embraced the concept of the holiness of all beings and the interconnectedness of everything.  I mean, if I am divine, then you are too, and he is, and she is and he is, and so forth.  What a beautiful sparkling world of divine beings we are.

Shalom & Namaste,

Diana Bonyhadi

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New Classes for Fall

Hey Everyone,
I am expanding my teaching schedule. Come check out the new classes.

 

Village Green Yoga
Tuesdays & Thursdays: Noon to 1:00
Lunch Express – Specifically designed to help you re-energize and re-focus. And get you back to work on time. Come spend your lunch hour doing yoga, and feel great all over for the rest of your day.

Village Green Yoga

Alternating Saturdays: 8:00 – 9:15am

All Levels Yoga. Start your weekend right.  Come join us as we move through asana, pranayama, and mediation, Opening our hearts to the beauty within and around us.  Clarifying our minds to see our own paths, and strengthening our bodies to enable us to fully realize our dreams.  Sounds too deep?  Okay, just come, and stretch and laugh your way into morning.

 

Urban Oasis

Wednesday 7:00pm – 8:15pm

Level I Alignment Yoga

Ready to move out of the beginner class?  Not quite ready to jump into the all levels classes?  Want to learn more about the fundamentals of the asanas, as well as a bit about pranayama.  This is the class for you.  If you have taken the beginner series and want more, join us for Wednesday evening classes.

Shalom & Namaste,

Diana Bonyhadi

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L’Shana Tova & Patanjali Sutra II.5

Anitya asuci duhkha anatmasu nitya suci sukha atma khyatih avidya

Sutra 2-5

The need for pleasures and the source of suffering comes from identifying with
that which is not eternal. True self is pure and eternal.

`L’Shana Tova

Happy New Year.  I spent most of yesterday and the evening before in synagogue.  It’s Jewish New Year and so a time for deep reflection.  We are called to reach deeply into that reflective space and ponder where we have been and where we want to be in the future.  This is the time when we take stock.

Traditionally, we call this the time of repentance.  The ten days of awe, when the book of life is opened and we get to re-write ourselves into the book of life.  It is the time when we look back at the past year and hold ourselves accountable for all that we have done.  For many it is a time of self-flagellation.  Our minds fill with the “I should’ves, Why didn’t I, Why did I?” And we ask for forgiveness.  Some of us even write the difficult letters, or make the phone calls to those we love and have hurt during the year.  But most importantly, it is a time of letting go.

I belong to a unique synagogue.  We practice an integrative form of Judaism which is draws upon ancient Jewish practices of mysticism, meditation and chanting. It also draws upon the wisdom teachings of Buddhism and Daoism.  I find that the combination of song, prayer and meditation allows me to go deeper into myself and to nurture the divine spark that lives within.

According to our Rabbis, the real work to be done during this week is the work of self-love.  Yes, look inside, take stalk, but also forgive yourself and let go. I don’t know about you, but I certainly am my own worst critic.  So to be presented with the task of looking inside and practicing self-forgiveness is a deep spiritual challenge.

This is a time of catharsis.

And I find that my yoga practice is deepened by my Jewish faith and vice versa.  We meditate on the mat and we meditate in synagogue.  We honor the divine that lives within in our yoga practice, and we honor the One that is Universal Being in our Jewish faith.  Patanjali reminds us that our attachments to what has been and what could be, keep us from living fully in the moment, and thus lead to pain.  The days of awe remind us to look back, take stalk and then let go, and embrace the New Year with an open heart and a clean slate.

So to all my fellow yogis and yoginis, and to all my Jewish brothers and Sisters, may I wish you a sweet New Year.  I encourage you to open yourselves up to yourselves.  Take time for silence and meditation. Listen quietly to the clear voice that lives within.  Know that we are all manifestations of goodness.  And celebrate your unique unfolding, on the mat and in your life.

Shalom & Namaste

Diana Bonyhadi

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Celebrating Freedom

Happy Independence Day

Aside from the the usual – bonfires, s’mores, roasting hotdogs, parades and fireworks – how will you celebrate 4th of July?  I will practice sun salutations on the beach and stand on my head and watch the waves move in and out.  I will also watch a parade and go to a bonfire.  But there is more to it than that.  I am called on this day to look deeper.  I am called to a moment of presence, an opportunity to set an intention and to honor the gift of freedom, given to me as a citizen of this fine country.

This American of American Holidays stands as a hallmark of our country’s commitment to freedom.  Freedom to be who you are, celebrate how you wish, pray as you believe and walk tall as an individual.  It also marks our country’s determination to choose our own alliances and set our own economic and political trails.  This is a heady list of choices to make at the personal and social level.

I can’t remember who said this, but “with choice/independence there  comes great responsibility.”  So it seems that on this day when were are celebrating our freedom, we should also be examining our own commitments and intentions.   So perhaps today is a day which can practice living  in the same way that we our start our yoga practice.  Today let us set our intentions for our practice of life.

Questions to consider

  • I am free to choose how I live – how do I want to live?
  • I am free to pray as I want – to what or whom do I want to dedicate my prayers?
  • I am free to associate with anyone – how shall I choose my friend and how can I support them?
  • I am free to vote and exercise my political will – what do I truly care about and how can I support that with my vote?
  • I am free to live each day as I wish – how can I live each moment of each day more fully?
  • I am free to celebrate as I wish – what is it I want to celebrate and bring light to?

Have a fantastic 4th. Enjoy the celebration of freedom.  Enjoy your freedom.

Shalom & Namaste,

Diana Bonyhadi

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108 Sun Salutations

Happy Summer.

Today felt like the first official day for me, as I actually got to sit in the sun by the lake, and the ice cream man came by and I had the first fudgesicle of the summer.  A perfect day, and I am truly thankful for the moments in the sun spent with my children.

July 10th is rapidly approaching and we yogis  in Seattle are getting ready for the Yoga for Hope event at Memorial Stadium to support City of Hope Cancer Research Center.

108 Sun salutations is not a random number.  In fact, yogis around the world celebrate the spring equinox and the official changes of  seasons by conducting 108 sun salutations.  This practice will be done alone, or more commonly in a group.  The energy of sharing such a practice is incredibly powerful.  Also, there are official yoga mala days in which people join together to do the 108.

By why 108?

In fact, the number 108 carries spiritual significance throughout a wide swathe of cultures:

* 108 is the number of “Upanishads” comprising Indian philosophy’s “Vedic texts”.
* 108 is the number of names for Shiva (a really important Hindu god).
* 108 is the number of names for Buddha.
* 108 is the Chinese number representing “man”.
* 108 is the number of beads on a Catholic rosary.
* 108 is the number of beads on a Tibetan “mala” (prayer beads, analagous to a rosary).
* 108 is twice the number “54”, which is the number of sounds in Sanskrit (sacred Indian langauge).
* 108 is six times the number “18”, which is a Jewish good luck number.
* 108 is twelve times the number 9, which is the number of vinyasas (movements linked to breath) in a Sun Salutation.

There is your history.  Tomorrow I will give you the sequencing.  Students in my classes are getting more and more familiar with the concept of doing 108.  We’re not all there yet, but  the vision of 108 is no longer an impossibility.

Shalom & Namaste,

Diana Bonyhadi

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108 Sun Salutations

108 Sun Salutations, are you kidding?  All in a row? One right after the other?  Why?

There are a lot of good reasons, and I will give them to you in a minute, but for now, let me give you the details.

Yoga for Hope

Fundraiser for City of Hope

Cancer Research

July 10, 2010

Registration @ 9:00am

Salutations begin @ 10:00am

Memorial Stadium at the foot of the Space Needle

Seattle, WA

Nine of Seattle’s leading yoga instructors will teach an outdoor class focused on the sacred number 108-practicing 108 Sun Salutations underneath the Space Needle at Memorial Stadium in hopes of bringing the spirit of health and community together! The instructors have partnered with City of Hope, a leading biomedical research, treatment and education center, to help raise support and awareness for cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

Researchers at City of Hope understand the importance of complementary and integrative therapies like yoga. Their Integrative Medicine Program, by incorporating complementary modalities with state-of-the-art medical care, is seeking to understand the mind-body-spirit connection to assist those battling life-threatening diseases, such as cancer, diabetes and HIV/AIDS.

Click here to register, and support this fine project. It will be a great day, a great practice, a fantastic experience.

Tomorrow I will share with you about the wisdom and history of this amazing practice.

Shalom & Namaste,

Diana Bonyhadi

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Yet Another Official Endorsement of Yoga

Health magazine’s, June issue provided a list of the top 10 things you can do to improve your health.  And yes, Yoga made it on the list.  We all  know  how good yoga is for us, but every now and then it is nice to see the greater health community taking note.  And the more “clinical” studies that are conducted, the greater likelihood that yoga will move from the list of alternative therapies to the list of accepted and, dare I say it, medically approved therapies, even ones that are covered by insurance.  Perhaps I am dreaming, but I fully believe that the therapeutic benefits of yoga are so pervasive, that yoga should be covered by everyone’s insurance.

“When your back hurts, jackknifing into downward dog is probably the last thing you want to.  But a study in the journal “Spine” found that patients with chronic low-back pain who took two 90 minute Iyengar yoga classes a week for six months experienced less pain and depression, and were able to do more than those who followed conventional treatments.”  Health , June 2010.

Have a Great Day,

Shalom & Namaste

Diana Bonyhadi

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Rainy Days Make Me Dig Deeper

Okay, I admit it.  I am a Californian.  I love the sun, I am not particularly fond of rain, and now that it is June in Seattle and still raining, I am having to dig a bit deeper to remain bright and energetic.

I started my practice today with Svasana – now that might seem a bit backwards, but it seemed the best place to begin.  Fully grounding myself to the earth and appreciating the deepness of that connection.  It also allowed me to accept that my energy is lower when the sun doesn’t shine.

From Svasana, I was able to begin slowly moving through leg stretches, hip rotations, supine twists, and even some core work.  Before I knew it, the wintery blues were gone and I was ready proceed with my regular practice.

Accepting where I was in the moment allowed me to create a practice that was nurturing and nourishing.

Things to ponder

  • How often do I deny where I am really am in the moment?
  • How often do I “power through” when it would be better to “ease on through?”
  • Is it harder to go slow or fast?

Shalom & Namaste,

Diana Bonyhadi

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Back Bends Workshop this Weekend

Urdhva Dhanurasana

Opening your Heart to Spring – Finding Safety and Comfort in Back Bend

Sunday 1:30 – 4:00

Urban Oasis Yoga & Wellness Center

3310 East Lake Sammamish Parkway

Sammamish, WA 98075

(425) 677-8403

This workshop is designed to help everyone experience the joy and healing benefits of back bends.  Students will be exposed to a variety of different back bends, and will learn important elements of alignment to ensure that their experience with back bends is both safe and rewarding.

Please join us as we open our hearts to the beauty of Spring and the beauty within.