THE YOGA CONNECTION
A Season for Gratitude and Giving
Giving as a Yogic Practice
by Swami Atmarupa Saraswati
“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” - Winston Churchill
The holiday season is upon us, and for many, this is a time of gift giving. In the midst of the marketing and retail craziness, this is a relevant time to look at the process of giving and how giving can make us better yogis.
Ex-President Bill Clinton’s book, Giving – How Each of Us Can Change the World, describes “Giving Circles” - - groups of middle class professionals who each pledge an amount and then pool the donations to provide support to small, worthwhile organizations that are challenged to find funding through grants or philanthropists. There are more than 1 million tax-exempt nonprofit organizations in the US, and this does not take into account nonprofits with annual incomes of less than $25,000.
In our Western culture of abundance, some people have begun to realize life should be more than accumulating stuff. After all, as they say in the South, “I never saw a U-Haul trailer behind a hearse.” In other words, you can’t take it with you. Concerns about global warming are beginning to make us more conscious of our ‘carbon footprint’ on the world. As a more global perspective awakens, a realization is dawning of being a part of a bigger whole, and this is at the very core of yogic teachings.
In the first three sutras of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, yoga is defined as reaching a state when the whirlpools of the mind are blocked. Then - tada drashtuh svarupayevasthanam – the seer resides in one’s true essence. The mind unites with universal consciousness instead of identifying with the sensory perceptions and the material world. This connection leads to a state of bliss. There are no attachments in this state of bliss. No possessions to worry about. No bills to pay. No angst of relationships. Patanjali goes on to say that to overcome the pain of identifying with the world around us, we must engage the practices of yoga over a long period of time (abhyasa) and experience a sense of nonattachment (vairagya).
Nonattachment does not mean detachment. It is not a state of uncaring. In fact, it means to be fully present and engaged in the world, but with the realization your time here is finite and all that you have is temporary and transient. As Andre Gide has said, “Complete possession is proved only by giving. All you are unable to give possesses you.” I remember Swami Satyananda saying that in India if a villager has one pair of shoes, he considers himself fortunate and takes very good care of those shoes without ever thinking about having a second pair. As Westerners, we may have 20 pairs of shoes and still want more – and our mind has many more thoughts about those shoes - to find a place for them, keep them clean, match our clothes – the shoes begin to occupy the mind. Now look at this in the context of all that we own. Our mind becomes possessed by our possessions. How much do we really need? How much can we let go?
There are so many aspects of giving and the reasons we are reluctant to give, but time and space are limited. In this season of giving, consider the words of Swami Sivananda:
“The water of the Ganga cannot decrease if thirsty people drink it. So also your wealth cannot decrease if you do charity. Share with others whatever you possess, physical, mental or spiritual. You will expand. You will experience oneness and unity of life. Strip yourself of the veils of limitations. It is easy to fight in the battle, but it is difficult to give a gift silently without manifesting pride and self-glorification and without expressing to others. Charity must be spontaneous and unrestrained. Giving must become a strong habit. Give, give and give.”
Some of the many items given away annually to the villagers around Rikhiapeeth, India.
Gratitude for SATYANANDA YOGA®
By Deb Smith & Mantram
Approaching this article, we asked ourselves the question: What is so special about the yoga we study and teach -- the system designed and delivered to us by Paramahamsa Satyananda Saraswati?
Yoga for everybody. First, SATYANANDA YOGA® meets people where they are. People aren’t expected to adapt to yoga practices. The teacher’s job is to adapt the practice to the student. We are trained in anatomy & physiology and understand how AND why we adapt practices for safety as well as individual differences or for different populations. One example is the group of students we served at the United Cerebral Palsy Association of Cleveland. The instructor found that responding to the rhythm and sound of Kirtan chanting was the most appropriate way for students in this class to practice yoga.
Foundation classes and sequencing. These classes are designed sequentially to build physical strength and flexibility without incurring injury. Progressing through Foundations A, B & C, students systematically increase upper body strength and weight bearing capacity while decreasing the possibility of wrist and shoulder injuries. Another example is how we teach twisting. In Foundation A the twisting is done from the floor with the spine in a supported position. Seated twists, introduced later, require more core strength to keep the spine straight, thus preventing injury to spinal discs.
Comprehensive nature of the SATYANANDA YOGA® system. In addition to asana (stretches and strengthening), other aspects of practice are always included. From the very beginning, classes incorporate meditation, relaxation, pranayama and the systematic cultivation of awareness. Awareness is gradually deepened to allow the student to focus on increasingly subtle aspects of their experience. In Foundations B and C, the physical form of the Sun Salutation is taught in depth, followed by breath coordination. At Intermediate levels, chakra awareness and mantra chanting are introduced to enrich this practice.
Pranayama from the outset. Many schools of yoga do not teach pranayama to beginning students at all. In Satyananda style classes, pranayama practices are taught from the very beginning, and are advanced gradually as well. Lung capacity and diaphragmatic control must be developed first in order to prepare for more sophisticated practices that manipulate the body’s subtle energy.
Unique practices. Introduced in the Foundation classes, the Pawanmuktasana (energy block releasing) practices uniquely promote the free circulation of energy throughout the body. The first series of anti-rheumatic practices, for example, provides students of any age or ability the opportunity to move safely while releasing energy blocks from every major joint and muscle group. The anti-gastric series optimizes digestive function while creating the core strength needed to advance physical practice without injury.
Satyananda Yoga Nidra®. Yoga Nidra provides students with the deep relaxation so badly needed in our over-active over-stressed culture. This practice, based on the ancient tantric practice of nyasa, was first introduced to contemporary culture by Swami Satyananda in the 1970’s and has been widely adapted by other traditions. Yoga Nidra deepens awareness in the same way as our other practices - - starting with the physical body, moving to the breath, and gradually to more subtle aspects and deeper layers of awareness.
These are a few of our favorite things! In this season we can all be thankful for the precious gifts of Paramahamsa Satyananda Saraswati which, in turn, we are blessed to be able to pass on to others.
Gratitude Enlivens and Heals
According to Robert Emmons, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at the University of California Davis, "Our research has shown that grateful people experience higher levels of positive emotions such as joy, enthusiasm, love, happiness, and optimism." Emmons also says, "We have discovered that a person who experiences gratitude is able to cope more effectively with everyday stress, may show increased resilience in the face of trauma-induced stress and may recover more quickly from illness and benefit from greater physical health."
This newsletter is provided to you by the Atma Center, 2319 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights, Ohio. [216-371-9760 www.atmacenter.com] The Atma Center is one of three places authorized worldwide to offer advanced training in Satyananda Yoga through Yogic Studies and Teacher Training courses.