being present

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Skiing, Sunday Salutatuions and Interfaith

Now there is a title.  Really, I just wanted to let you know that this entry is all about everything, and that everything is connected.

So, I went skiing on Saturday.  Haven’t been in 3 years, and I admit that I was a bit concerned about my ability to stay upright on those skis.  I was afraid of getting hurt (no time for that), and at not being as good as I used to be.  And the good news is, the skiing was wonderful.  It took a couple of runs, but I found my rhythm and I let go into the  joy and beauty of the moment.  I realized that I had let my attachments to the past and my fear of the future keep me from doing something I truly enjoy.  I had also let the business of my life get in the way of my living of life.

On Sunday morning I was back at Village Green Yoga for my Sunday Salutations Class.  This class combines yoga asana with philosophy and spirit.  My day of skiing had left me neither sore nor tired.  In fact, I was stronger and more revitalized than I had expected.  Taking time off from my routine had restored my energy.  I was reminded once again of the importance of staying present and living in the moment.  And I was reminded that our connections to the divine are invigorated by our joyful participation in life.  Class was amazing, and all of us were renewed and inspired by our practice together.

In the afternoon, I attended an Interfaith Gathering called Tending Adam’s Garden.  Jews, Muslims, Christians and Buddhists came together to discuss what we can do together to help repair the world. This is a monthly meeting that brings members of different faith communities together to address the critical issues that are confronting our world today.  At the heart of it, is the understanding that while our faith traditions may be different, our hopes and dreams for a life of full-fill-ment, wholeness and connectedness are shared.  Here are just some of the responses that were given to the question  “What are the essential qualities that are needed to repair the world?”:

  • Open-heartedness, commitment, courage, education, self-awareness, recognition of our interconnectedness, respect for one another and ourselves, compassion, the willingness to listen, patience, belief in our capacity to do good, and a connection to the divine.

As I listened to the group discussion, I was brought back to yoga.  Not only are all of these qualities identified in the 8-fold path, but many of them are also specifically identified in the yamas and the niyamas.  And as I think about our practice of yoga, I am reminded that on the mat we are encouraged to practice with compassion, to study ourselves and the teachings, to listen with an open heart, to practice with ashimsa, and at times we need both courage and patience to find the next pose.  And certainly we must practice with compassion.  If all goes right, and we stay very present, we can’t help but feel our deep and abiding connection to the eternal divine wisdom that lives within all of us.

So, skiing, yoga and interfaith.  It is all connected.  Have a great week.  Do something you love.  Share it with someone who nurtures your spirit.  Practice your yoga with an open hear, both on the mat and beyond.  Look  at the world and pitch in to make a bit better.  And rejoice in our interconnectedness – with each other and the Divine.

 

Shalom & Namaste,

Diana Bonyhadi

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Jean Houston on Public Radio Network

“Tending the gardens of our lives involves a kind of cosmic yoga; we yoke ourselves back to remembering that we are made of the same stuff as the Universe from which we continuously arise second by second”

Jean Houston

Have you ever had a chance to hear or see Jean Houston?j

She is one of those magical women who reminds us of who we really are and all that we can be.  She leads us on a journey of self-discovery and helps us to see our part in the global cosmos. She is also really cool, insightful and very vibrant and funny.

And guess what?  This time you don’t have to cough up any money to hear her.  Which is unusual, as she is the real thing and people all over the world turn to her for leadership on personal, interpersonal and international issues. And usually you do have to pay.

But tomorrow it is free.

So, check it out Friday at 2:00pm PST on PRN (Progressive Radio Network)

Shalom & Namaste,

Diana Bonyhadi

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Insight from a weekend with Sara Powers

Greetings,

I spent this past weekend with Sara Powers who is the founder of Insight Yoga.  Sara and her husband Ty have been leading yoga classes and workshop for many, many years, and although I had not yet had the opportunity to study with her in person, I had been familiar with her through her video “Insight Yoga.”  As the only yoga video with which I like to practice, it felt like re-meeting an old friend when I walked into to take her workshop.

Sara Powers has set her heart and mind to the integration of yoga, meditation and transpersonal psychology.  So to spend a weekend with her, was an experience focused within, on the prospect of “being in yoga”, rather than of “doing yoga.”  And what a pleasant prospect it was.

As everyone knows who reads this sporadic blog, my focus has always been on “living yoga,” whether it occurs on the mat or hopefully even beyond the mat.  Thus to spend a weekend focused inward, breathing our way into the deepest parts of ourselves, was a great blessing.  I will admit however, that I am not so adept at being still for such long periods of time.  Not only did my body shout out its discomfort, but my brain was also busy, sending me all sorts of messages.

And yet that was what we were there to do.  Become aware of the ramblings of the brain.  We sat meditation before and after asana practice.  We practiced meditation in the asana practice.  In fact, yoga with Sara is meditation in stillness and in motion.  Our work in meditation was not to shunt away the messages of the brain but rather to become “mindful” of them.  Instead of noting a thought and saying “I see you now go away,” we were to acknowledge the thought and follow it. By allowing ourselves to follow a thought, we engage in a process of self-acknowledgement, and self-affirmation.  It becomes liberating to enter this process, and a bit entertaining.  For example, here is just one of the thought trains that I followed…

“Breathe in to the hara. Awareness of breathing into the hara. Am I thinking my breath?  Am I focusing on my breath? Am I focusing too much on my breath? Am I distracting myself from my breath? Am I really meditating?  Mindfulness… What happens if I spend the whole time analyzing the focus of my breath?  Will I no longer be practicing mindfulness? Follow a thought … There are no thoughts … How did I do that?  Oops, there is a thought.  My thighs are beginning to hurt … Should pay more attention to hip openers, or maybe I should pay more attention to closed hip positions … how to teach this balance …  Are my students getting it?  How can I serve them better”

Okay, you get the idea.  Not only did my mind search around for things to latch onto, but under it all, was a common thread of “am I good enough?”  And I doubt I am the only one out there who is constantly filled with self-doubt.  But that is the power of a mindfulness practice.  We can see how often we go to these places, and by doing so disempower those voices of self-doubt.  Recognizing our communal need for love and affirmation, and the collective tendency towards self-doubt, we in turn become more accepting and nurturing as individuals and as community.

Now that is pretty darn cool.

So, take some time (ten minutes) to sit in contemplation of your thoughts.  Acknowledge them  for what they are.  Enjoy the process.  Enjoy letting go.  Live your yoga.

Shalom & Namaste,

Diana Bonyhadi

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Yoga to Balance the Winter Blues

Good Afternoon.

I see snow on the mountains.  The air has changed and now it is surely winter.  That’s okay by me, now I have an excuse to drink eggnog in the mornings and hot chocolate in the afternoons.  Maybe I will even get to go skiing this year.

Another thing that winter brings is an increase in vata energies.  Now I am by no means an expert in ayurveda  ( I can however, recommend a few fabulous practitioners), but I do know that too much of anything can lead to imbalances.  Too much vata energy can lead to an increase in colds, joint pains, arthritis, congestion, dryness of skin, insomnia, and a generalized sense of agitation.

But you don’t need to let the “winter blues” get you down.  Don’t let the wild winds of winter blow away your serenity.  Turn to your yoga practice to bring balance back into your life.  Now is the time to slow down your practice, and build and stoke the internal fires. Start by holding your poses for longer – go deeper exploring the edges of each asana.  Add a few balance poses – Vriksana (tree) and Gururdasana, will bring both heat to the body and calmness to the heart and mind.  Turning further inward, spoil yourself with a deep forward bend aided by props.  Do a long paschimottanasana (seated forward bend) but use bolsters and blocks so you can stay longer.  Finally, add a few minutes to your svasana  – add them at the front end, as you place blankets on and under your body.  Nurture yourself with bolsters and eye pillows.

Yoga and ayurveda have long been the  sister sciences of well-being.  Learning about your doscha, and how seasonal changes effect your doscsha  can help you to stay healthier and calmer regardless of the season, the weather or your “to-do” list.  For more information on ayurveda, here are a few of excellent links:

http://www.chopra.com/ayurveda

http://nccam.nih.gov/health/ayurveda/introduction.htm

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/ayurveda-000348.htm

Have a great week, stay warm, and love yourself.

Shalom & Namaste

Diana 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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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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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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Compassionate Seattle

Compassionate Seattle

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra 1.33:

Maitri karuna mudita upekshanam sukha duhkha punya apunya vishayanam bhavanatah chitta prasadanam.

By cultivating attitudes of friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous, and equanimity toward the non virtuous, the mind maintains its attitude undisturbed calmness.

In this Sutra, Patanjali reminds us that our practice of yoga is indeed a practice of living and acting from the heart of compassion.  Whatever we do on the mat to bring health and clarity to body, must also be an integral part of how we live beyond the mat.  Balancing love, happiness, pain, virtuousness and equanimity in all that we do, will bring greater calmness and peace to our hearts and our communities.

You could say it started when His Holiness the Dali Lama came to Seattle in April of 2008 for the Seeds of Compassion Conference.  During that historic week people from all over the Pacific Northwest and beyond came together to envision a world of compassion.  And what a fantastic week it was.  I had the privilege of being involved in many aspects of the event and was touched at the deepest levels by the heart and vision of our community.

But in reality, Seeds of Compassion wouldn’t have happened here, if the spirit of compassion was not already alive and vibrant within our community.  People from all walks of life, have been working together behind the scenes for years, living and sharing the spirit of compassion.  And that is why, Seattle is about to become the first city in the US and perhaps the world to have an official Charter of Compassion.  Living, educating and working from a place of compassion will now be officially incorporated into almost every aspect of our city’s vision and plan.

So, how can you get involved?  Be part of the official celebration and launch of Compassionate Seattle, April 2010 – http://my.compassionateactionnetwork.com/profiles/blogs/compassionate-seattle-its-up

Date: April 24th 9am – 8pm
Main Event: 9am – 5pm: Compassion Showcase and Exchange
Evening Celebration and Performance: 5- 8pm
Location: Center for Spiritual Living, 5801 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, Washington 98105
Tickets: Available through Brown Paper Tickets and can be purchased for the entire day/evening (9am – 8pm) or just for the evening celebration (5pm – 8pm). Lunch can also be purchased in advance (or bring your own.)

Shalom & Namaste,

Diana Bonyhadi

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Routine as the Touchstone to Deepening your Practice

Home again from vacation.  The bags are unpacked, the laundry clean and put away, meals planned for the week, and all of us have returned to the routine of school and work.

Routine which may become monotonous, does provide a stable ground upon which to rest.  We know what is expected of us, and how best to manage our strength and energies within it.  Routine, which can sometimes lead to boredom, also provides an opportunity for renewal and deeper introspection.

Take for example the sun salutations.  We know the routine:

  • Tadasana
  • Utanasana
  • Adho Mukha Svanasana
  • Plank
  • Bhujhangasana/Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
  • Utanasana
  • Tadasana

As we breath and move from asana to asana we gain strength and clarity.  Each asana is a meditation in and of itself.  And yet each asana leads to the next asana, deepening the meditation.  As the flow becomes more and more familiar, we begin to deepen our practice and our understanding of ourselves.

Sure, there is room for boredom.  All the room your are willing to allow yourself.  As soon as you mentally jump ship (so to speak) the asanas no longer provide the foundation for the meditation, and become no more than an aerobic exercise.   The true gift of the sun salutation lies in its ability to link our breath, movement and mind into a heart opening practice.  One in which we put aside all of our “to-do” lists, and allow ourselves to experience a greater sense of well-being and connectedness.

And there is great room for enhancement and variation.  All the other asanas can be incorporated into the sun salutations.  Routine becomes enhanced, and yet grounded in a deeper practice.

So, as we return again to the routine of daily living, I find myself embracing my sun salutation practice as a touchstone for renewal and re-entry.  May it be so for you as well.

Shalom & Namaste,

Diana